Outlander Pt. 04

Nadine looked puzzled, "I've never heard of mana cores changing that way. I have heard of heart cords among full beast-men before. I'm surprised you developed not one but another with a human." We sat in comfortable silence while digesting the new information.

We were brought out of our heads when the door opened. Petra entered our room, followed by Tessa with a cart of food. "Good, I was hoping you would join us for dinner, Nadine," Petra remarked as she sat in the new third chair our room had acquired. After thanking Tessa for our dinner, we all dug into the delicious food. We spent the next hour swapping stories and getting to know our new friend.

Once we finished and placed the cart in the hall for collection, the three of us headed to Shalyndria's study to find out what had been found in the Church. We found the door open upon arrival and entered. Terrance and Hank sat across from the Princess on the couches. They all smiled when we walked in. Hank took his leave as the three of us sat down. I took note of the documents and journals on the table between us.

Terrance was the first to speak, "Thank you, Shaun. I have no idea what I would do if anything had happened to Milla. Now on to the bad news. It seems the leader of this parish, a Cardinal Primus Richleau, left the city to meet with other Church leaders several weeks ago. He is due to return next week. The Cardinal is complicit in slavery, and he took several kidnapped girls with him when he left. I can only infer that most of the Church leadership is involved." The look of disgust on everyone's face said all that needed.

Shalyndria's words resounded through the quiet room, "Lord Arbiter, in the name of the innocent citizens of my country, I, Princess Shalyndria McDonaugh, as representative of the Islenase Empire, ask that you investigate the evil that has steeped through the Church of Cicerene. I guarantee help you may need." I only felt determination and hope coming from her sprite in my core.

Petra spoke before I could accept, "Princess Shalyndria, I ask to be relieved of any all duties to the Empire so I may join the Arbiter on this crusade."

The two friends shared a knowing look between them. "Petarina Lontra, you are free to do as you please. I do ask you to continue your protection until reinforcements arrive in a few days." Petra cried out in pain as soon as the words left Shalyndria's mouth. When it passed, I lifted the back of her shirt. The fur on her back now had white hairs patterned in angel wings, matching my own.

We all looked at Nadine, who was just as surprised as we were. "I have never heard or read of anything like this in the history of the Church, I'm sorry," was her only comment. We moved on when it was decided it couldn't be anything terrible.

Terrance continued with what was found at the cathedral, "Several council members are named having purchased slaves. Unfortunately, Baron Lichvus is not mentioned by name, however deliveries of slaves to the keep have been recorded."

Shalyndria gave Terrance his orders, "Alright, tomorrow morning, have Hank go to the square and announce a public council meeting at midday. I will need every available guard we have at that time so we can arrest the corrupt members. I will take Petra and Bob for personal protection for the morning meeting." I tried to interject, but Shalyndria stopped me and continued, "Shaun, I need you at my side as Arbiter. We need to be on the same page concerning the heretics and criminals on the council."

I considered Shalyndria's delicate position before answering, "The rule of law should be upheld as much as possible. I will turn criminals over to the guards whenever I can. I don't want regular people to fear Cicerene and me." I paused to consider my next words.

Shalyndria spoke up before I could, "It has gotten late, and tomorrow looks to be even more trying than today. Nadine, please come to the meeting with Terrance and the guards tomorrow in case we need a witness to the Church's crimes." The Princess shared a look with Petra before continuing, "Goodnight, everyone. Shaun, please stay a while. We have a few things to discuss." The others left the study before Shalyndria stood and came to sit beside me.

After studying me for a few minutes, she seemed to make a decision. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke, "I have a confession to make, Shaun. When we met, I was engaged to a Baron's son on the other side of the empire. The marriage was political, Baron Everett, having saved my father's life. Knight Dent Everett is a beast of a man who is rumored to have let us say different tastes." She shuddered at whatever thoughts ran through her head. I tried to wrap the torn woman in my arms, but she gently pushed me away.

"When we met, I decided to try and manipulate you into either killing him or stealing my away so I could say you kidnapped and raped me. Either way, saving me from having to marry that deviant," her words shocked me. When I called her sprite, it hid from me, as if afraid of what I was going to say.

I looked into her eyes and asked the only question I needed an answer to, "If that was then, What do you want now?"

She immediately started to cry harder. When I wrapped her in my arms this time, she wrapped hers around my chest in return. We sat there till her sobs petered out, and she sat back up. ". I want to know that what I feel for you is real, and not me trying to escape the hell I'm supposed to marry into. Shaun, will you spend the night with me? Just hold me in my sleep. I haven't had a decent rest since that night on the road."

When I contacted Petra through our bond, I got a surprising response, "Can I join you two?" The shocked look on Shalyndria's face when I relayed the request had me in stitches. It seems the Princess had no idea her best friend was in love with her. We waited for the small woman to join us before heading to the third floor of the Manor.

Chapter 18

Waking up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that both my arms were numb. I smiled as I looked at the reasons why. I recalled falling asleep with Shalyndria between Petra and myself, but someone had other ideas later, it seems. I kissed each woman on the cheek as I extricated myself from their grip. After getting dressed for my workout, I looked to the bed and let out a small laugh. Petra had closed the distance and was hugging the Princess's head to her chest like she was a child, and Shalyndria's hands rested on a fur-covered ass.

I returned to my room an hour later to find an irritated Petra, "Why did you leave without waking us? Shalyndria was upset when she saw you were gone. You are lucky I was able to explain about your morning routine."

I hugged her and tried to mollify the gorgeous otter, "You're right, and I'm sorry. I will apologize to her on the carriage ride to the meeting later." After eating breakfast together, we started to don our uniform armor. Watching Petra slide the chest plate on; I noticed a change. A winged heart over crossed kukris now rested over her heart. When she turned to get our weapons out of the wardrobe, I saw the angel wings now covering her back. My gasp made her turn around, "Someone changed your armor. Your wings are also on the back of your chest piece now, and you no longer have the royal emblem over your heart."

I pulled my armor on as she examined the changes to hers. I stopped and checked my breastplate before putting it on. Wings and the same emblem had appeared on my armor as well. The only difference being, mine had the Arbiter symbol on the left side of my chest as well. As I picked up the metal, "Welp, we need to find and thank our artist. This emblem is beautiful, and the wings are exact copies of the ones on our backs." Petra nodded, and we finished getting ready for the day.

We found Nadine in her natural form, waiting at the bottom of the stairs, "Good morning to you both. Tessa let me into your room last night so that I could make the changes with magic. The winged heart and kukris are the original symbol of our Goddess, Cicerene. Before you ask, I don't know why you two have been blessed with the wings." Shalyndria walked down the stairs as we thanked the naga.

I turned when I heard the footsteps and took in her beauty. She looked both professional and stunning in the floor-length charcoal skirt, red shirt, and charcoal blazer. When my brain started to work again, I was able to apologize, "Morning, gorgeous. I'm sorry I left before saying anything this morning. I wrongly assumed you knew about my morning workouts and decided to let you sleep." Her small smile and happiness were all I needed to see. I continued, "Nadine, since you're here, are you coming with us now, or later with Terrance and the guards?"

"I will come later, my Lord. Sir Terrance is arranging a wagon so that I may stay in this form," Nadine replied. I winced at Lord but moved on. Petra, Shalyndria, and I said our goodbyes to the mysterious woman and left for City Council.

We arrived at the keep, and Bob helped the ladies from the carriage. As we entered the council chambers, I took note of the only other doors I could see behind Baron Lichvus. Twelve men sat in ornate chairs spaced around the edge of a pit filling the center of a large room. Bleacher-like seating ringed the recess for several rows above the council. A feline beast-folk sat at a table in front of the Baron. While Bob and Petra walked behind Shalyndria to an empty thirteenth chair, I stood next to the large entry doors as the Princess recommended on the way here. The morning past uneventfully, talk of taxes and new laws almost lulling me to sleep.

At the midday bell, people started to fill in the seats above the council. Several of the council members began to whisper among themselves as more people filled the seats, and City Guards began entering among them. Terrance was the last to enter with Hank and Nadine. As Hank closed the large entry doors, I noticed Petra move to block the only other door in the room.

When Hank threw the deadbolt, sealing the room, the Baron stood and shouted, "What is the meaning of this? Why have you locked the room, Sir Terrance?"

Shalyndria stood and motioned for me to step forward. She answered as we walked to the center of the hall, "I will answer that Baron Lichvus. Yesterday, my maid Milla Nekonova and Lt. Petarina Lontra were kidnapped on the way to the market. Guardsmen loaned to me from the City Guard learned they had been seen taken by several men in sinister back armor." She paused to look each council member in the eye. She turned to me and called out, "In our time of need, the Goddess sent us hope. As I knight Shaun Kaughman so he could assist in the search, a new oath was spoken. Cicerene has not abandoned us! She saw fit to send us a blinding ray of hope, I, Princess Shayndria McDonaugh, present an Outlander and the new Arbiter."

The uproar that followed her announcement was deafening. The regular people plus some of the council members cheered while the Baron and the rest stood and tried to shout. I threw an orb of gold mana straight up to get everyone's attention. Once peace was restored, she continued, "Arbiter Kaughman, will now explain what has happened."

As I told an abridged version of my assault on the Church, Nadine and Terrance came up behind me. Terrance handed me a paper when I spoke of the Guards searching for clues to the whereabouts of other missing women. After reading what was on it, I spoke, "Councilors Xander Inflatus, Stefan Thropus, Yurik Swamit, Grecian Rethner, Draco Meltalius, Warth Strucka, and Anarikus Rin, you are now under arrest for illegal slavery. The City Guard is currently searching your homes, and Princess Shalyndria will preside over your trials, may Cicerene have mercy on your souls." There was a commotion as guards moved to arrest the men.

When the slavers had been escorted from the room, Shalyndria turned to the Baron. The pure hatred coming off this man had my hair on end. I rested my hand on my sidearm just in case he decided to do something stupid. The Princess addressed him as the final act began, "Baron Eldritch Lichvus, your keep was listed by the clergy as having received dozens of illegal slaves. You will accompany us as we search your home. I order this as a member of the Royal Family."

I pulled my pistol from its holster the moment I felt his mana start to move. I fired several shots as shadows covered his entire body. When they collapsed, he was gone. Nadine shouted, "Shadow teleportation, he can't have left the city based on the amount of magic he used."

Petra ran up as I turned to Shalyndria, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That he ran to the keep to ready defenses and destroy any evidence?" was her reply.

Petra spoke up next, "Wow, that's exactly what I was thinking." We all laughed at her mood breaking ability. I asked Nadine to join us as we planned our next assault.

Once we had a plan, I addressed the stunned crowd, "Good people of Verilant City, where I come from, we have a saying. It is always darkest before the dawn. I ask that you return to your homes. Tell anyone you meet and any friends and family members, please stay inside until this is over. After I have dealt with this evil, it will be a new time of peace and prosperity for the city." I nodded to my friends and lover, and then we left the room to commence our attack.

We approached the wall surrounding the Baron's mansion, with twenty guardsmen commanded by Terrance. Shalyndria issued orders to them while Petra, Nadine, and I readied spells to crash the gate. I took a moment to look at my core and was surprised by what I found. A new patch of green was flickering along with the red and blue I had become accustomed to. I pushed into it and found the green sprite. Instead of feet, she had a snake tail. I reached out and watched as it slowly approached and landed in my palm. I recognized Nadine's voice and let the sprite go, wondering what this new development foreshadowed.

I turned and kissed Petra between the ears. She smiled up at me as we turned to see our lover approach. Shalyndria stepped up, kissing me briefly before being spun around by the playful otter. I could see the shock in the Princess's eyes when Petra pulled her down and kissed her deeply. After letting Shalyndria go, Petra smirked as she spoke, "After we deal with this asshole and get home, I'm getting everything I want tonight. I love you, Shalyndria, always have." Any further talk was interrupted by the gate opening before us. What waited on the other side was the stuff of nightmares.

Chapter 19

I looked at the women beside me in horror as we took in the large mob of undead filling the courtyard. Most of the animated corpses were only minutes old, and they all still wore armor and carried the weapons they wielded in life. I looked to Shalyndria as we stepped forward and gathered fire in our hands.

I closed my eyes and thought about the heat from a plasma cutter I'd used briefly helping a friend. Compressing it down to a baseball only intensified the heat. As I picked a target, I notice Shalyndria studying my spell. I sent her my memories and mental pictures through our bond, and in moments she had copied my plasma ball. I counted to three in my head before we began our attack. Our spells exploded in the middle of the crowd, destroying dozens and setting countless others ablaze.

With the opening moves completed, I pulled a kukri and set the blade alight with blue fire. Nadine stepped aside and cast spells of protection on the guards as they passed, following my lovers and me into the yard. The next few minutes were a blur of fire and blood. When the area was clear of zombies, we stopped and got a headcount and realized we had lost five men. I paused to say a prayer for the men when load roars came from around the corner of the building.

We watched in disgust as four mammoth flesh golems charged us from the side. Nadine managed to erect a wall of flames to slow the disgusting monsters. When they finally pushed through the construct, the golems were burnt but very much functioning. While the guards surrounded and began to attack three of them, one of the atrocities veered off and headed toward us.

Petra and I took the initiative as we charged forward at matching speeds. I jumped, aiming for its head while Petra slipped around, trying to attack its legs. While I slammed one blade through its forehead and deep into whatever existed where a brain should be, I slid the other blue blade into the side of its thick neck. I pushed off of the shoulder, ripping my blades free and doing as much damage as possible while falling to the ground. I landed behind Petra, who was just slicing through a knee, severing the leg.

It roared in annoyance as it toppled to the left. We stared in disbelief as the severed leg started to slide back into place, and the flesh knitted back together. Once the appendage was reattached, the beast stood and stared at us. I turned to my partner, a plan forming in my head. "I need an opening deep into its body, preferably near the center," I told the graceful woman. Petra graced e with the feral smile I loved before rushing forward. I readied another plasma ball while she worked.

I took a moment while the plasma heated and formed to check on the others. Nadine and Shalyndria were using fire magic to help the guards. Two of the undead were destroyed, and the third was soon to follow. I turned back to see a broad gash right in the center being kept open by water. Knowing it was my turn, I ran forward. I shoved my spell as deep as I could into the massive torso, then leaped free just as it detonated.

Looking around as chunks of burnt flesh rained around us, I saw that all the golems had been destroyed without any more casualties. The others joined me as we approached the front doors of the mansion. Nadine slithered in front and used a blade of wind to cut the wood to splinters. As we searched the ground floor, something felt off. Terrance voiced our concerns, "Where are all the servants? Records show the Baron had a dozen legal slaves working here." None of us had an answer.

Shalyndria sent Terrance and the guards to search the rest of the building. Using our magical senses, Nadine and I explored the ground floor. In an out of the way closet, I found what we had been looking for. Stairs were hidden behind an illusion that leads beneath the house. Before going down, Nadine shifted from her snake form to make movement in the tight space easier. I sheathed my kukris and pulled my sidearm from its holster as I started down the stairs.

The stairs ended in a spacious room. I stopped the others in the stairwell when I felt the charge of mana fill the air. A black orb of magic hit the pistol in my hand, making it decay into dust before my eyes. I barely dodged the next one as I pulled my swords from their sheathes again. I turned to find three liches readying spells. I looked at their mana and saw strings heading through a doorway on the opposite wall from the stairs. I pushed light magic into both blades and advanced on the undead wizards with Petra by my side.

While Petra and myself engaged a lich, the third was bombarded by light and fire magic. Knowing the others had things well in hand, I concentrated on my opponent. It managed to dodge every strike, forcing me to get creative. Using beams of light magic, I started to lay my trap. Every time I forced the lich to move its feet, I placed a beam of light until it moved its foot through one, severing the foot at the ankle. I burned the abomination to ashes as it fell. I then turned to the others just in time to watch there own enemies burn to ash

Once we had regrouped, we started to open the four doors around the room. What we found in the places turned our stomachs. The first was a torture chamber, a table with manacles dominated the center of the room. The mixture of old dried and new blood on the surface told a grim tale. The various implements, blades, and other tools hanging on the walls all looked to have seen heavy use.