As Adria was dealing with some documents involving her ‘other’ business in her underground office, she was interrupted by a knock at her door. Not pausing her task, she dismissively said, “Enter.”
The door opened and Aislin entered the office. Like the rest of the underground workspace the walls were stone, though the flooring differed being cut slabs instead of cobblestone. The room was illuminated by some medium grade fire runes engraved in torch holders along the walls. There were large cabinets to the right and a large desk where Adria was seated straight ahead. Behind her were wooden filing cabinets, each drawer individually labeled. “Excuse me, Ms. Mori, but this letter has arrived for you. It was labeled as urgent.” Aislin stated.
Adria’s writing came to an abrupt halt as she looked up, “Urgent you say?”
Aislin gave the letter to Adria, who opened it and began to read:
Adria darling! How are you? Doing well I hope! I remember you asking me to let you know if anything regarding that village raid where you found the boy you have taken in comes up. So, here I am letting you know! Apparently, a man along with four other people are going around talking about the raid openly and how they were the ones to do it! Why? Well, beats me! Though, it sounds like he is going around the continent, spreading the word about it. I hear he is headed your way next, so be careful darling! Until next we chat!
Silvan~.
Putting the letter down and massaging the bridge of her nose, Adria muttered, “Amazing how that damn spider can annoy me with a simple letter.”
Adria stood up and dismissed Aislin, telling her to head to bed. Now seemingly alone, Adria walked over to the large wardrobe-like cabinet, and as she opened it called out, “Nalea, come here.”
The sound of someone lightly landing on the stone flooring could be heard from outside the room. Clad in her black cloak, Nalea entered the room, kneeling before Adria as the latter pulled out some daggers from the cabinet, sheathing several of them into the various holsters she had on her body. Nalea asked, “You called ma’am?”
“Yes,” Adria began as she fastened everything on, “I am going to head out for a bit. You are in charge of Zycors protection.”
Confused, Nalea asked, “Where are you planning on going, madam?”
Fixing the cuffs on her suit, Adria responded, “To deal with some loose ends.”
With that, Adria closed the wardrobe and headed towards the exit. Stopping at the entrance, Adria warned, “I believe I do not have to remind you of what will happen should you fail, correct? You are dismissed.”
With that, Adria left Nalea alone in the office. Nalea slowly stood up and briefly shuddered. She walked out of the room to begin her task, closing the door behind her.
Adria exited the guild hall and made her way to its roof. As she stood there, basking in the glow of the moonlight, her neutral expression morphed into a sadistic one. With a malicious smile plastered across her face, Adria said to herself, “How long has it been since I have engaged in information ‘extraction?!’ Ooooo, I am getting all excited just thinking about it!”
Adrias body began to have sparks of electricity crackle around it as she uttered, “Engulf.” That order caused her body to be completely covered in electricity. The newly formed electrical sphere began to move at an incredible speed as she followed up by saying, “Flash.” She then seemingly vanished, traveling extraordinarily fast through the city as she made her way to the north north-eastern section. As she arrived atop the wall surrounding the city, Adria stopped, dispelling the electricity. She held out her hand towards the open grasslands and mountains, As she gave another order, “Detect malice.” A sudden wave of mana blew forth from Adria’s hand and, intertwining with the mana ambient in the air, the wave washed over a great distance of the expanse of land before her. Using this order, Adria was able to detect and sort out any form and level of malice emitted from humans in a roughly ten mile radius. Though, the further to the edge of the radius a person was, the less accurate of a read she would be able to get.
As the information was delivered to Adria, she began to sort through it all to find her targets. There were a few minor responses, most likely from bandits or mercenaries, that she disregarded. Then it happened, a group of four men, three of which had slightly higher malice than the bandits. The final man, however, harbored greater, more targeted malice than the other three. Adria determined they were seven miles away, and decided to head out to about three-in-a-half miles to meet them about halfway from their position and the city. As entertaining as it would have been to see the look on their faces if she dropped in on their exact position, Adria thought it would be far more entertaining for them to realize the implications of a single person waiting for their group.
As the four men reached the four mile point, the sun began to gleam over the horizon. As it rose higher, illuminating the field, the group's leader stopped them. They had come face to face with Adria. “I would normally greet new people in a far more professional setting,” Adria began, “however, I feel this is a special case. So allow me to ask what business you have here in Abros.”
The four men looked at each other, and the leader stepped forward. He was wearing unmarked armor, his face covered. From how he carried himself, however, it was easy to tell he was a soldier, or someone who had received formal military training. The man responded, “May I ask who you are to demand an explanation from us?”
Adria, arms crossed and trying her best to hold back her sadistic urges, replied “I see, you would like to do introductions first. Very well then. You may address me as Ms. Mori. I own and oversee a guild in this city here. Something to keep in mind as well, I have many connections that feed me quite a bit of information.”
The man responded, “Well, I still have yet to hear a convincing argument, Ms. Mori, as to why we should disclose our business to you. Due to that, I will have to deny you an answer. Now if you’ll excuse us, we will continue on to the city.”
As the men began to walk, Adria put one of her hands out to stop them. With a more serious expression now on her face, she intimidatingly explained, “I know of you four through one of my previously stated connections. I know you are here to talk about your pivotal role in the many village raids, specifically the raid of a village located in the southern part of Velathria. The only reason to openly speak about such an event that I can think of… would be to draw someone out. Someone with a tie to said village. Sound about right?”
Using the pause between Adria’s statement and the leader's reply, one of the men walked over to the latter. “H-hey vice-... I mean boss, I think I remember reading a report about someone with the name Mori.”
Turning to address his subordinate, the leader replied, “And what report would that be?”
Starting to panic a bit as his mind began to put the pieces together, the subordinate replied, “I-I was going through some documents about the more dangerous people, you know, so we could avoid them and all. And I remember one whose name was ‘Adria Mori.’”
Adria, her expression warping into a more sadistic form, praised the subordinate, “Looks like someone has access to some rather important information! You see, I actually went to that village a few days after the initial raid, and found a few insignias of the Velathrian military. Armed with that information, you lot claiming ownership of said raid, coupled with the possible motive of trying to draw out a possible survivor, I can assume who you people are targeting.”
The leader removed his helmet and responded, “Well then, since you seem to already know why we are here, what are you going to do about it?”
One of the subordinates, panicking, asked him, “Why did you confirm her suspicions?! If we said she was wrong there was nothing she could have done.”
The leader, whose mood had turned foul, replied, “You idiot, if this woman really is Adria Mori, then she knew from the beginning of this encounter. She has been toying with us.”
Adria sadistically chuckled as she confirmed his statement, “Well, it appears you know far more about me than even that other young lad. I would have to assume you are rather high up to have such information, especially considering how tight Velathria tends to keep its information about us ‘powerhouses.’”
The leader, trying his best to not be thrown off by her laughter, introduced himself, “Seeing as you already know who we are affiliated with, there is no point in keeping up this charade. I am vice commander Volnir of the Velathrian army, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Vice commander you say?” Adria repeats as she begins her response, “Well, vice commander Volnir, if you were someone else I would say it was nice to meet you. However, considering the hell you put my son through, it is more fitting to say… it’s nice to know I am the one sending you to hell.”
With a far more aggressive tone, Adria continued, “Know that the person you are trying to lure out is under my protection, as is this city. If I ever catch you or any other Velathrian maggot trying to enter this city in any meaningful capacity such as this, know I will protect what I hold dear by any means necessary.”
Drawing his sword, Volnir stated, “I don’t really care what you hold dear. I have a mission to carry out, now move or die.”
Adria fires a small wave of mana at Volnir and begins to laugh sadistically, “Dear, you are nowhere near strong enough to make such threats. But despite that, please do try and entertain me!”
“Go to hell!” Volnir shouted as he rushed Adria.
“You first~.” Adria lightheartedly responded.
As Adria was dealing with some documents involving her ‘other’ business in her underground office, she was interrupted by a knock at her door. Not pausing her task, she dismissively said, “Enter.”
The door opened and Aislin entered the office. Like the rest of the underground workspace the walls were stone, though the flooring differed being cut slabs instead of cobblestone. The room was illuminated by some medium grade fire runes engraved in torch holders along the walls. There were large cabinets to the right and a large desk where Adria was seated straight ahead. Behind her were wooden filing cabinets, each drawer individually labeled. “Excuse me, Ms. Mori, but this letter has arrived for you. It was labeled as urgent.” Aislin stated.
Adria’s writing came to an abrupt halt as she looked up, “Urgent you say?”
Aislin gave the letter to Adria, who opened it and began to read:
Adria darling! How are you? Doing well I hope! I remember you asking me to let you know if anything regarding that village raid where you found the boy you have taken in comes up. So, here I am letting you know! Apparently, a man along with four other people are going around talking about the raid openly and how they were the ones to do it! Why? Well, beats me! Though, it sounds like he is going around the continent, spreading the word about it. I hear he is headed your way next, so be careful darling! Until next we chat!
Silvan~.
Putting the letter down and massaging the bridge of her nose, Adria muttered, “Amazing how that damn spider can annoy me with a simple letter.”
Adria stood up and dismissed Aislin, telling her to head to bed. Now seemingly alone, Adria walked over to the large wardrobe-like cabinet, and as she opened it called out, “Nalea, come here.”
The sound of someone lightly landing on the stone flooring could be heard from outside the room. Clad in her black cloak, Nalea entered the room, kneeling before Adria as the latter pulled out some daggers from the cabinet, sheathing several of them into the various holsters she had on her body. Nalea asked, “You called ma’am?”
“Yes,” Adria began as she fastened everything on, “I am going to head out for a bit. You are in charge of Zycors protection.”
Confused, Nalea asked, “Where are you planning on going, madam?”
Fixing the cuffs on her suit, Adria responded, “To deal with some loose ends.”
With that, Adria closed the wardrobe and headed towards the exit. Stopping at the entrance, Adria warned, “I believe I do not have to remind you of what will happen should you fail, correct? You are dismissed.”
With that, Adria left Nalea alone in the office. Nalea slowly stood up and briefly shuddered. She walked out of the room to begin her task, closing the door behind her.
Adria exited the guild hall and made her way to its roof. As she stood there, basking in the glow of the moonlight, her neutral expression morphed into a sadistic one. With a malicious smile plastered across her face, Adria said to herself, “How long has it been since I have engaged in information ‘extraction?!’ Ooooo, I am getting all excited just thinking about it!”
Adrias body began to have sparks of electricity crackle around it as she uttered, “Engulf.” That order caused her body to be completely covered in electricity. The newly formed electrical sphere began to move at an incredible speed as she followed up by saying, “Flash.” She then seemingly vanished, traveling extraordinarily fast through the city as she made her way to the north north-eastern section. As she arrived atop the wall surrounding the city, Adria stopped, dispelling the electricity. She held out her hand towards the open grasslands and mountains, As she gave another order, “Detect malice.” A sudden wave of mana blew forth from Adria’s hand and, intertwining with the mana ambient in the air, the wave washed over a great distance of the expanse of land before her. Using this order, Adria was able to detect and sort out any form and level of malice emitted from humans in a roughly ten mile radius. Though, the further to the edge of the radius a person was, the less accurate of a read she would be able to get.
As the information was delivered to Adria, she began to sort through it all to find her targets. There were a few minor responses, most likely from bandits or mercenaries, that she disregarded. Then it happened, a group of four men, three of which had slightly higher malice than the bandits. The final man, however, harbored greater, more targeted malice than the other three. Adria determined they were seven miles away, and decided to head out to about three-in-a-half miles to meet them about halfway from their position and the city. As entertaining as it would have been to see the look on their faces if she dropped in on their exact position, Adria thought it would be far more entertaining for them to realize the implications of a single person waiting for their group.
As the four men reached the four mile point, the sun began to gleam over the horizon. As it rose higher, illuminating the field, the group's leader stopped them. They had come face to face with Adria. “I would normally greet new people in a far more professional setting,” Adria began, “however, I feel this is a special case. So allow me to ask what business you have here in Abros.”
The four men looked at each other, and the leader stepped forward. He was wearing unmarked armor, his face covered. From how he carried himself, however, it was easy to tell he was a soldier, or someone who had received formal military training. The man responded, “May I ask who you are to demand an explanation from us?”
Adria, arms crossed and trying her best to hold back her sadistic urges, replied “I see, you would like to do introductions first. Very well then. You may address me as Ms. Mori. I own and oversee a guild in this city here. Something to keep in mind as well, I have many connections that feed me quite a bit of information.”
The man responded, “Well, I still have yet to hear a convincing argument, Ms. Mori, as to why we should disclose our business to you. Due to that, I will have to deny you an answer. Now if you’ll excuse us, we will continue on to the city.”
As the men began to walk, Adria put one of her hands out to stop them. With a more serious expression now on her face, she intimidatingly explained, “I know of you four through one of my previously stated connections. I know you are here to talk about your pivotal role in the many village raids, specifically the raid of a village located in the southern part of Velathria. The only reason to openly speak about such an event that I can think of… would be to draw someone out. Someone with a tie to said village. Sound about right?”
Using the pause between Adria’s statement and the leader's reply, one of the men walked over to the latter. “H-hey vice-... I mean boss, I think I remember reading a report about someone with the name Mori.”
Turning to address his subordinate, the leader replied, “And what report would that be?”
Starting to panic a bit as his mind began to put the pieces together, the subordinate replied, “I-I was going through some documents about the more dangerous people, you know, so we could avoid them and all. And I remember one whose name was ‘Adria Mori.’”
Adria, her expression warping into a more sadistic form, praised the subordinate, “Looks like someone has access to some rather important information! You see, I actually went to that village a few days after the initial raid, and found a few insignias of the Velathrian military. Armed with that information, you lot claiming ownership of said raid, coupled with the possible motive of trying to draw out a possible survivor, I can assume who you people are targeting.”
The leader removed his helmet and responded, “Well then, since you seem to already know why we are here, what are you going to do about it?”
One of the subordinates, panicking, asked him, “Why did you confirm her suspicions?! If we said she was wrong there was nothing she could have done.”
The leader, whose mood had turned foul, replied, “You idiot, if this woman really is Adria Mori, then she knew from the beginning of this encounter. She has been toying with us.”
Adria sadistically chuckled as she confirmed his statement, “Well, it appears you know far more about me than even that other young lad. I would have to assume you are rather high up to have such information, especially considering how tight Velathria tends to keep its information about us ‘powerhouses.’”
The leader, trying his best to not be thrown off by her laughter, introduced himself, “Seeing as you already know who we are affiliated with, there is no point in keeping up this charade. I am vice commander Volnir of the Velathrian army, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Vice commander you say?” Adria repeats as she begins her response, “Well, vice commander Volnir, if you were someone else I would say it was nice to meet you. However, considering the hell you put my son through, it is more fitting to say… it’s nice to know I am the one sending you to hell.”
With a far more aggressive tone, Adria continued, “Know that the person you are trying to lure out is under my protection, as is this city. If I ever catch you or any other Velathrian maggot trying to enter this city in any meaningful capacity such as this, know I will protect what I hold dear by any means necessary.”
Drawing his sword, Volnir stated, “I don’t really care what you hold dear. I have a mission to carry out, now move or die.”
Adria fires a small wave of mana at Volnir and begins to laugh sadistically, “Dear, you are nowhere near strong enough to make such threats. But despite that, please do try and entertain me!”
“Go to hell!” Volnir shouted as he rushed Adria.
“You first~.” Adria lightheartedly responded.
