Chapter 42: Chapter 41

Normally, the Master of the City wouldn’t be a terrible opponent. Hard, to be sure, he was well trained and well equipped. But not something she’d bawk at. Unfortunately, right now she was poisoned enough to kill three people, bleeding more blood than she knew she even had, and exhausted from the fight before. It sort of evened the odds a little, and would make this quite the challenge. 

 

Lurching forward, she moved into range, risking it all on getting a punch in before he could hit with his swung blade. Fortunately, she was better than she thought, because the man’s arm just detached as she got close, and she landed her punch with no issues, enough damage to blow through his luck and give him a good whack on the schnozz. Ha, what a great word, schnozz. 

 

The Master, understandably, was a little irate. He had just had his arm cut off and punched in the face with a spiked gauntlet in one move, anyone facing that kind of hax mode power would not be happy. He seemed as if he was questioning whether he should run or try and make a second shot, and just stood there. Almost frozen to the spot.

 

“I know, she’s quite beautiful, even like that, huh?” Filnon asked, the sword by her side dripping with blood. Right, of course, that was the logical explanation for the guy being disarmed, not Estaria developing sudden dismembering powers.

“You! Damn Witches!” the Master shouted, wildly swinging at Filnon, though she might as well have been a mile away from close the blow came to hitting her. “I had it all planned out. I was going to be the Lord of Har Ganeth! My son would sit on the Black Council and be unparalleled compared to this ilk, this town! And you, for the sake of one insignificant bitch, you ruined all-”

 

His monologue was cut off by Estaria putting a fist through his chest and ripping out his heart, which was quickly disposed of. 

“Ew” was Estaria’s first reaction. There was a surprisingly large amount of blood involved with punching through a person’s chest and ripping out their heart. With that done, Fukuri gone, and no more immediate threats, Estaria would slump against the doorframe and slide down onto her ass. Poisons and fatigue were real bothers when put together in high doses with an adrenal crash and blood loss.

 

Filnon quickly ran to Es’ side and started patching up her wounds with store-bought bandages and creams. 

“We have to get you home” Filnon exclaimed, stopping the bleeding as best she could.

“Mmm, I am craving a good night’s sleep right now. City sounds a bit of a mess though” Es replied, leaning against Filnon as her arm was slung around the Druchii’s shoulder.

“No, I mean your home. To The Empire” Filnon replied, simple, straight to the point, and relying on a pragmatic look of the situation over emotions. But Es, just stared at the woman.

“I’m sorry, I think I got some blood in my ear, can you repeat that?” Es finally asked as they hobbled down the road. She was absolutely right about the state of the place, Witch fought Guard in a violent orgy of bloodshed.

 

“Get you to The Empire. The political scene is going to explode now the Witches have attacked the standing army of a City. We are going to Har Ganeth to offer our services in exchange for sanctuary, but we have no idea how you’ll be received. So we need to get you back where you belong so you aren’t part of what is to come” 

 

It was all very logical, but there was a small flaw with that, so Estaria would shove Filnon off and stand shakily in front of her, eyes ablaze with fury.

“Say what you actually mean” Estaria exclaimed, not sure a city in flames when she could barely stand was a good place to have this long-brewing argument, but this was where it came out. It seemed like the world was silently mocking her for letting things build up, because they will always explode at the worst moments. “You are jealous and possessive and because you can’t have me, you want to send me away so nobody can have me” Estaria accused, pointing wildly at the Druchii. 

 

Shocked she had been so transparent about the whole thing, Filnon didn’t even bother to try and deny it, and just scowled at herself, holding her arm awkwardly. 

“How can I not? You are the only person I can even begin to care about. I tried with the Witches, but they…just, I can’t. The best I can do is not hate them for who they are, but I still can’t see them as anything other than just…there”

 

Es and Filnon were temporarily interrupted by a guard who thought he could take them while distracted, and got a dagger in the shoulder for his efforts, his helmet crunched in along with his head as Es delivered a killing blow while Filnon’s dagger distracted him.

 

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“Why do you think I haven’t escaped yet?!” Estaria retorted angrily, making sure the guy was super-dead by breaking his face against the wall until there was no more face. She was pissed that that had slipped out in the heat of the moment, but there was no point trying to pretend it hadn’t now, so just turned to Filnon. “The first few days were understandable. New place, exhausted, no gear. But then what? I was refreshed, had run enough dungeons to buy survival gear, knew roughly where I was due to some sneaky observations of a map, and even had a few more levels.

 

Sure, sucks to lose the sword, but sometimes you just gotta take your lumps. I could go down, to The New World, and get into an Empire Colony, find my way back home from there. Or even just rush to the coast, grab a row-boat, and off to Ulthuan” 

 

Estaria would exhale, and Filnon took the opportunity to speak up.

 

“Terrible plans. The New World is a long way off even as fast as you are, and filled with wild and unknown dangers. Ulthuan is dangerous for it’s own reasons. They might not call them slaves, but the humans on that island are as free as the ones here” 

 

Hearing that, and the honesty in Filnon’s voice, it threw her off a bit and she had to think for a few moments to recover where she was. 

 

“Point stands! I’m strong, fast, equipped for the trials, can hide in Dungeons if I really need to. It was not a great plan, but it was one I could pull off if I felt the need. And yet, what then? I get home and am surrounded by these mewling little insects, with the only people I ever felt close to an entire ocean away. I can not get home and look at Elaine and see a person I hate. Or even a person I just don’t have any feelings for” Estaria would continue her rant, picking up a brick and launching it down the road, bashing off a helmet of a guard who had a Witch pinned in a corner. 

 

“So I stay here until I can feel properly around the human slaves. But every day I grow further from them as I grow in power. And I can’t stop growing in power or this place will kill me, and then you, and nothing will ever change. Back then showed me I can make a mess but ultimately they won’t notice when it takes a hundred men to kill me. I need to get stronger, and to do that, I will grow further from people. So, can I ever leave? Am I doomed to be stuck here forever? I can’t just risk it all on some ill-conceived notion of physical freedom. It’s just one collar for another, then”

 

Slumping against the nearby wall, she’d shake her head. The poison had mostly gone, her fatigue was in manageable levels, and she wasn’t bleeding to death anymore, so she was back to her proper self, physically.

 

“And now you’ve saved my life. And I know you want to be closer than we are, but I don’t know what to do! I don’t want you to feel like I was ever obligated to get with you, but I don’t want to just hang on forever, missing a good opportunity on the off-chance that I somehow just stop feeling like this one day and then get back home after the weeks or months or even years since I left and she’s still there waiting for me dutifully because that ever happens. Elaine is a lovely woman but there is a reason soldiers are apprehensive at getting close to someone and promiscuous as a result. I have seen partners jump ship the next week after their other half left for campaign”

 

Clearly having been tormented over this for a while, Estaria let it all bleed out of her. It was the perfect moment, given they were throwing all the cards on the table.

 

“Now I just feel bad for being petty” Filnon commented, scratching the back of her head. 

“Good. But also I am sorry. We should have talked about this sooner but I was just letting you get your head around what you wanted to say. Should have been more open with you. I am thankful for the support you’ve given me, and I care about you like I care about all the Witches” Estaria would step up to Filnon and take her hands softly. “If you can handle me sharing my love, I will try and include you more in it. And then once we take over Naggorand and return to The Empire, we can find Elaine and see if the throne can seat three, ok?”

 

Estaria’s cheerily stated suggestion gave Filnon a touch of courage, and so with a shaky smile, she would nod.

“Bold of you to think you will not be kneeling in front of my Throne” Filnon replied, still seeming shaky but otherwise trying to regain control.

“We absolutely need to find Elaine. You two would have a blast” Estaria would grin, and then the grin faded a bit when she realized it was her they would be having a blast with. “But for now, catastrophic uprising. We should probably get back to it, no?” Estaria suggested, gesturing to the screaming city. It was a great suggestion, so Filnon nodded, and pulled out her swords. More emotionally free than she had been in a while. 

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