Chapter 25: Chap. 21 : Return of the Unwanted Guests

Saeja descended from the carriage they had been lent by the governor, the guards looking at them. Their helmets might cover their faces, but that did not diminish the tension in the air. She looked at the trees, the Seaguard Greatwoods feeling more menacing than last time, the trees taller, their foliage thicker and their shadows darker. She took a deep breath, and stepped in.

Last time had been a mostly accidental meeting, but here there were specifically going to seek the Warden out, against their explicit wishes. She tried to not imagine the horrific tortures the Warden was likely to inflict on her and her friends. ...I at least hope if it comes that far that I can convince them to only kill me.

"You're worried." Ruvarie said behind her, Saeja nodding. "I mean, I don't blame ya, but like..." she looked to the side. "Hope that fucker dies in a fire or somethin'." Fire would be too good for him, Saeja thought internally. She had seen a few burnings in the past, and she could speak from experience these were harrowing, horrific events.

"He deserves worse." she answered through gritted teeth. "Assuming we don't die horribly to the Warden, that is." she continued, airing out her worry. Ruvarie got a bit antsy, while Tarac behind her took a calm breath. Saeja frankly envied his calm right now, she was a ball of nerves.

"...From my understanding of their character, as long as we do not attempt to threaten them and are straightforward about the reason for our presence, everything should go... maybe not smoothly, but it is unlikely to escalate to violence.", he started. "Considering the kind of man Duke Vosvelz, I would wager any adventurers he would associate himself with would fail to do either of these things."

Saeja nodded, while Ruvarie went into thought. There was something she wanted... no, needed to say, but without making Saeja even more of a mess than she already was. "Saeja." she said, the axewoman coming to attention. "If you try to sacrifice yourself again, I am personally dragging you out of here."

"...And I would be in it for a scolding again ?" she said with a low voice. "...Okay." Ruvarie frowned deeply. She knew why Saeja was like that, and considering the circumstances, she couldn't blame her for being frazzled, but she was still too important to the functioning of their team.

Tarac opened his mouth, then closed it, unsure of what to say. He was not fond of Vosvelz, for the duke was to him the worst kind of noble : greedy, selfish, and irrational. A man that only considered short-term profit over long-term benefit and cared about naught but his coffers, filled with blood money from dubious schemes. He did not even spend that money, according to Saeja. He just sat on the pile as it grew bigger.

The trio kept walking in silence for a while, and he kept his eyes out for monsters. It did not take long for Ruvarie to notice something. "I recognize that tree." she said, pointing at a tree with a gnarled trunk, the hard twist standing out. Did a freakin' Shredder get thrown into this tree ? "We're gettin' closer to the dungeon. How should we do this ?"

"I believe the smartest thing would be to wait at the exit of the dungeon, and wait for the Warden to warp us to the gate." Tarac answered after a bit of thinking, the two women nodded. Showing patience on our part and waiting for the Warden to be ready for us should make things a bit smoother. They were walking on eggshells either way, but...

That means that it's gonna be easier for the Warden to flood our position with poison or traps or awful things like that, but... Saeja considered. "We should sheath our weapons when we arrive." She suddenly felt very annoyed, her worries spiking as she considered something. "Do we have a white flag or something ?"

"Yep." said Ruvarie, the axe-wearing brunette instantly calming down. "Got one here.", she said, pulling it out of her item ring. The other two nodded. It would help clarify their intentions, which would likely reduce the risk of the situation escalating. Saeja kept marching forwards, uncertain. Between a rock and a hard place... Let's hope it goes well.

---

Zoemie had just finished her bath when she felt presences within her dungeon, her anger spiking. "Who the fuck it... Oh, it's these three again !" Guess that nightmare wasn't just all for show. She looked at their movements as she dressed herself, grabbing her combat outfit rather than the light clothes she was planning to wear.

The trio had sheathed their weapon, and were sitting down. One of them then pulled out... a white flag. Okay. Zoemie wasn't certain how she felt about it... but she at least appreciated the honesty. I hope for them that they are not trying to trick me, though. Because of they were, she would most likely go extra in making it hurt.

She sighed. They're not going to leave, huh ? At least they're willing to wait. She still decided to hurry. The sooner she was done, the better. She finished dressing herself, and teleported the trio to the gate, conjuring the same chairs as last time.

Saeja let out a sigh of relief as she was teleported at the entrance, the chairs here yet again. "I think it's the exact same ones as last time.", said Ruvarie. Good news, I hope. She sat down, and felt the pressure again, except this time it felt even worse. How much of it was due to the Warden themselves and how much due to Saeja's own jitteriness was up in the air, however.

She distracted herself by looking around a bit – but as far as she could tell, the entrance was the same as last time. The Warden cut through the darkness after a short while, appearing in front of them again, with the exact same outfit. "You three again... First you haunt my nightmares, and now you return here. Do you not tire of being a nuisance ?" they asked as they pulled their chair and sat down.

"I shall have you know that the nightmare-haunting is mutual..." Saeja blurted out the first thing on her mind, although the Warden's reaction seemed to be surprise rather than anger or amusement. She recentered herself after, however, chastising herself. This kind of comment is probably not very smart.

"Trust me that we would much rather be anywhere else than here." Ruvarie said, Saeja starting to panic, especially since it was very, very much true. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Can't you just go feed hungry orphans or something instead of showing up to piss me off, then ?" the Warden snarled in return, the answer surprising all three of the adventurers. ...Huh ? Saeja had expected some kind of mocking insult, not... that kind of comment.

"Trust me that if I had the cash to afford feeding the starving orphans, you bet your ass I would be doing just that !" Ruvarie snarled, reminded of bad memories. She gritted her teeth, trying to calm herself down, conscious that engaging in verbal sparring was a mistake. Their job was to get information, and if things went into a fight, they'd get utterly slaughtered.

"A group of adventurers have gone missing." the mage started, cutting in. "Normally, we wouldn't bother anyone, least of all you, with such matters, but Duke Vosvelz has decided to get himself involved, and... the person who sent us here found themselves with no other option.", he explained.

"Can't the Vosvwhatev bastard do that himself ?" Zoemie snarled. So their backer was this Vosvelz guy ? I need to confirm it's them, then mention that backer. Zoemie grumbled internally. Apparently, someone else sent them, and it's not that bastard. She wondered idly why these three specifically, but decided to ignore it for the time being.

"No, it would be dangerous, you see !" Saeja snarked, letting her hate for the man seep through. "He could get himself killed ! By, I don't know, anyone in this country with anything resembling a sense of decency !" she continued, airing out her rage. And I hope with a weapon that his own duchy sold, she continued internally.

"...So I assume the bastard is a corrupt, greedy asshole to the omnimax ?", the Warden asked, seemingly a bit confused by Saeja's comment. Saeja didn't answer, having realized something that unsettled her a lot more. The Warden's not alone. There's someone else hiding in the corridor.

And if her impression of the pressure was correct, they, while weaker than the Warden, could still utterly maul Saeja and her friends. "Wouldn't have described him better myself." said Ruvarie, Saeja pulled out of her reverie. A bit of an understatement, she thought. But to explain to someone who never met the man, it'll do.

"...Urgh." the Warden grumbled. "What a pain... Fine..." Their head moved as they glared at Saeja, who wanted to dig a hole and hide in it. "What info you've got about these adventurers ?", they asked, annoyance growing stronger within their voice.

Tarac took the conversation over, recalling the informations they had been given by the guard captain before they departed. "Two women and an armored third member, of undeterminate gender...", he started.

"Heard enough." the Warden interrupted. Saeja felt her stomach heat up at the interruption. Either they were going to fight, either the Warden knew something. She disliked both of these possibilities, for they meant nothing good.

Zoemie considered. Heh, omnimax. Anyway... So it is these three. Okay. Let's be smart about this. She could just tell them, but... Since they're here, might as well get some info. "Alright. You're gonna answer some questions, and I'll tell you what you wanna know. Deal ?"

"Deal.", the redhead answered. Zoemie considered. The big ones are the collar, and the marks Xaj photographied. Oh, right, the whole "waste disposal" thing too, maybe. She decided on a plan, and nodded internally. Zoemie conjured a small table in front of the adventurers, and teleported the collar onto it.

"What's this ?" she asked, all three of the adventurers reacting at the sight of the item, and although Zoemie couldn't tell what their reactions were exactly, the recoiling seemed to imply to her they didn't like what they saw.

"Slave collar. Legal in Vosvelz territory, but not in Zajera" answered the brunette. "Qualifies as smuggling." She picked it up, Zoemie noticing idly that she had much shorter nails than the other two. "It appears to be broken." Apparently whether that's legal varies ? Huh. Sounds like a PITA to remember.

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Zoemie did not care who or what that Zajera was, so she ignored the name and moved on. "What does that do ?", she instead grumbled, having never heard of such an item before, although she had an inkling of an idea.

"These are used to enforce slavery relationships. I believe it's a class of contract magic, but I am uncertain." started the mage. "To put it crudely, any orders given by the owner to the slave must be executed in full.", he continued, Zoemie's digust growing further. Okay, so I was pretty much right... Thank fuck that didn't get me.

"Fucking disgusting.", she commented, the trio nodding in assent. So that's why things worked out the way they did once it was around her neck. Still, she got owned by her own damn collar. What a fucking idiot. Zoemie took a breath before teleporting the photos. "What are these marks ?"

"Interesting." said, the mage. "How was this image put on the paper?" he asked himself, looking at the photos and throwing a battery of analysis spells on it. Zoemie grumbled in frustration at the mage's sudden interest. That's not the question right now !

"I'm talking about the... whatever these... marks are, not the photos themselves !" Zoemie clarified, being under the impression she had been misunderstood.

"Don't recognize these ones." the redhead said. Recognize what ? Tell me what these are, lady !

"I don't care about who they belong to, I want to know what these are supposed to be !" Zoemie growled, starting to get really annoyed. Why do people have to be so fucking dumb sometimes ? It doesn't sound very hard to answer !

"You don't know ?" the redhead asked, Zoemie feeling like she was about to hit her head into a wall. Xajymzia threw on her a soothing spell, Zoemie thanking her internally. She might not want to fight them, partly out of laziness and partly because she didn't want to kill more than necessary, but... God they're annoying.

"I wouldn't be fucking asking if I didn't !", the Warden screamed in return, as the pressure grew stronger from the sheer annoyance the Warden felt. "Can't you people be fucking straightforward for once ?

Saeja felt shivers go down her spine and her sweat go cold, the pressure on her skin intensifying, like it could choke her out. "Just answer, Ruv. Please.", she interrupted, pleading out of panic, hoping things wouldn't go even worse.

"...Okay. Fine.", the redhead started. "These are crime brands. Kind of." She took a breath. "When a criminal is captured, depending on the severity of the crime, they receive a brand on the shoulderblade. Most organized crime groups tend to add to the brand, into a specific motif unique to them." she continued.

Zoemie nodded. Criminal brands, and a slave collar. She considered. Was there anything else ? Right. What she meant by "waste disposal". She took a breath. "Okay. I got something else to ask, but before that I'm gonna talk. A bit. So listen up, I'm not repeating myself." The trio went quiet.

"The three fuckers you're looking for came here, yes." Saeja felt a ball in her throat. Ruvarie was tense, while Tarac was focused. The masked figure continued. "They wanted to use my place for, direct quote, "waste disposal.". When I tried to get them to be explicit, they dodged the question. Do you know what they meant by it ?" the Warden asked.

"They meant corpse disposal." Ruvarie answered directly. "They were associated with organized crime. It couldn't have been anything else than using the dungeon to get rid of the corpses left behind by their shady shit.", she detailed.

"Fuckin' knew it was something fishy.", the Warden said. "Ok. Listen up. The three fuckers mentioned having a backer, and that he was wealthy and powerful." Saeja said nothing. She wasn't even surprised. It was so like... him to back known criminals for his own ends. The only thing he had ever cared about was money.

"They tried to open the wall of my dungeon with some magical items, but failed. They threatened me, and the archer chick tried to enslave me too." Zoemie explained. "I killed 'em.", she continued. "They interrupted on my turf and tried to hurt me and mine, so that's what they got.", she growled out. "Don't get me wrong." She took a breath.

"I'm not a good person. Never claimed to be. And I can't convincingly pretend to be one either. All I want is peace and quiet.", she continued, getting up. "You can keep these, as evidence.", she declared, gesturing at the items. Although, she conjured duplicates she teleported into storage, before they were cooped up in an item ring. The trio nodded to eachother.

"Good ? Good." she said. "Now fuck off and don't bother me ever again." she finished, before teleporting the trio out of her dungeon. Glad that's over with, she thought as she withdrew back into the darkness, Xajymzia following from behind.

---

Saeja considered as she started walking back. It... had gone about as well as it could have. She was alive, so were her friends, and they had more than what they were asked to look for. As she walked away, the pressure lowered and she let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay ?" Ruvarie asked, Saeja not answering. "...It ain't your job to save 'em."

"I know. It just... saddens me, you know. They have power, a lot of it, and their heart is... close to the right place, but... yeah.". She shook her head. "All three of us are alive and well, and we have what we looked for. Probably the best possible outcome.", she said, recentering herself as she unlimbered her axe and lifted it over her shoulder.

Tarac considered. The meeting had gone... had gone.He remained steadfast in his opinion that he would rather deal with the Warden than the nobles, if nothing else. The Warden had asked them for nothing but a bit of strategically unimportant knowledge, and had not attempted to extort anything of worth from them. "I must confess curiosity about these "photos"." he said.

These were very impressive – if a method to produce more could be devised... the ability to immortalize yourself or your lover in a fraction of the time a painter demanded, and with better quality to boot ? It would be incredibly popular among nobility. "But right now, I believe that is not the most pressing matter. Saeja." he said, the brunette listening attentively. "You're the best informed about politics of us three."

"No need to keep going." she started in answer. "Sorry for being brusque, I'm... on edge." She shook her head, and continued. "Alright. The southern duchess, Zajera, has an opinion on slavery that is best described as "necessary evil", and she woud love to not need it." – she and Ruvarie exchanged a knowing look, before Saeja continued.

"These three were guilty of smuggling at least one slave collar, and were associated with organized crime. Normally they might have ended up facing the gallows for that one, but with Vosvelz involving himself in that's unlikely, despite the very hostile relationship Zajera and Vosvelz have. He's still a duke, after all"

She continued rambling. "The thing here is that this is... powerful information we have. If Zajera learns of any details she will be furious, and the cretin's own attempt to figure it out only worsened his position." She shook her head. "People get suspicious about that kind of requests. Ultimately this will depend on the governor. If things escalate it's the corrupt bastard who will lose – and he's smart enough to know that."

"Why ?" Ruvarie asked, lifting an eyebrow. She knew the underground well, but that didn't extend to the politics of the highfalutin nobles in their manors of gold and silk, and while politicking to backstab and exploit others was common at all levels of society, it looked very different for a guttersnipe and a nobleman.

"Okay. So the thing you need to remember is that while Vosvelz territory is rich in metal and smiths, making coin selling tools and weapons, Zajera territory is the country's breadbasket. If hostilities start, the crown will back up Zajera for food security reasons, and any forces Vosvelz can muster are weaker than the royal knights." Saeja explained.

"Vosvelz know this, he knows this is a battle he can't win, so he doesn't want things to escalate either – armies are expensive, you see." She continued, snarking the last part. "Knowing the bastard, he'll consider silencing the governor, but will decide against it. Partly because of suspicion, partly because of cost, partly because it's inconvenient."

Saeja flashed a cruel smile. "But above all he will know adventurers were sent to investigate – and if something happens to the governor..." She took in a breath, her friends needing no more to deduce the next part.

Ruvarie took over. "You'd definitely rat the fucker out." Saeja nodded wordlessly.

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