“All right,” Drake said. “So, I have good news and bad news.”
“Good news?” Gaby asked hopefully.
“We’ll do that first. I’m not going to murder you all just yet.”
Gaby breathed a huge sigh of relief. Carl slumped against her and breathed, looking close to passing out despite Valentia’s healing. Drake doubted she had done anything but her best with him. He simply suspected getting your guts sliced open fucking hurt.
As for Robin, she simply watched him with cautious eyes. She no longer looked angry, but she didn’t look at ease either. He couldn’t blame her.
“The bad news is, if I’m right, the Asp isn’t here any longer. Or she never was.”
“No, you’re mistaken,” Robin said firmly. “Do you seek to defend her?”
“I really couldn’t care less what the evil acid lady gets up to,” Drake assured them. “What I’m telling you, boy and girls, is you’ve been played.”
Gaby was getting that vacant look again. “Like... music?”
“I happen to know who’s holed up in that fort, and it’s not the Asp.”
“Then who is it?” Robin demanded.
“Lady Skybreak, Lord Skybreak, and her three most terrifying bodyguards.”
Robin turned pale. “How could you know that?”
“I’m Lord Gloomwood.” He smiled his creepiest smile. “Remember?”
“But... that...” Robin now seemed to recognize how much trouble she was in. “They would murder us. Lady Skybreak alone could swallow us in stone!”
“Good to know,” Drake agreed. “Now, in Ashglaive and Corinian, when you were there, were there other people interested in the bounty on the Asp?”
“That’s why we rushed here so fast, lord!” Gaby said. “We were worried someone would get here first and defeat her before we got the chance!”
Drake glanced knowingly at Lydia. “So if you had to guess, how much more cannon fodder has Lord Redbow just aimed at everyone inside that fort?”
Lydia looked grim. “If it is as you suspect, both seasoned mercenaries and anyone with a rarity capable of combat may be headed here right now. Or they’ve already arrived.”
“It’s Redbow’s go to strategy,” Drake agreed, remembering his earlier conversation with Sky about how they casually tossed assassins at people. “They don’t care if the assassins they send die because they’re a dime a dozen, and if they actually kill the target, bonus.”
“We are not a... dime a dozen,” Robin said with a glare. “Do you treat everyone so callously?”
“Mind your tongue,” Lydia snapped. “Lord Gloomwood’s benevolence is the only reason any of you are still alive right now.”
Drake was again surprised by how quickly and fiercely Lydia defended his honor, and he didn’t know whether to be amused or proud. He now knew what they were up against, and that it was all the more important to get Sky out of here soon. He was glad he’d come.
Robin, for her part, seemed sufficiently cowed by Lydia’s rebuke. She didn’t even look like she wanted to fight anymore. With her chance for revenge snatched away, she looked lost.
Drake needed to get to Sky and get her out of here before dozens more bounty hunters showed up. But first, he’d needed to hear from his scouts. As Nicole melted into being directly beside him, he found her watching the three captives with visible amusement.
“Did you find puppies?” Nicole asked coyly. “Can I play with them?”
That was definitely one of the creepiest things she’d ever said in his presence. He hoped she was trying to intimidate the new kids on his behalf. Otherwise, he might worry about her.
“They’re bounty hunters.” Drake frowned at her. “And wait, how long have you actually been here?”
She shrugged.
“Were you going to make me repeat that whole conversation despite the fact that you already heard it?”
Nicole smiled at him. “What an interesting question!”
He wasn’t about to take that bait. “Where’s Sachi?”
“Here, lord.”
Drake didn’t jump and congratulated himself on his fortitude. The way Sachi always seemed to pop up out of nowhere made him half-wonder if she could turn invisible, but Zuri had said nothing about that. Either way, he had the answers he sought.
Ahead, his three captives were all speaking in low tones.
“Were we really tricked?” Gaby asked. “Did we come all this way for nothing?”
“Apparently.” Carl coughed. “Team effort.”
“Hush now,” Robin said quietly. “I need to think.”
Drake looked at the trio of now dispirited bounty hunters. “I need all three of you to tell me you’re not going to try to escape. If you try to run, I’ll let my maid play with you.”
All of them nodded quickly and fervently. “We won’t run, lord!”
“Now, I’m going to have a chat with my associates,” Drake said. “Sit tight.”
He assumed Valentia was still keeping watch for enemy soldiers and scouts. He moved far enough away from the trio of would-be bounty hunters that he could speak with Nicole, Sachi, and Lydia without being overheard, then motioned for them to crouch down.
“What’s it look like by the fort?” he asked.
“Depressing,” Nicole said. “At least sixty soldiers ring the fort. While most are armed and armored like mercenaries who lack rarities, they could be hiding them. Either way, even though I can sneak through their lines, they’d attack as soon as I knocked on the door.”
“And the front door of the fort? I assume that’s locked tight?”
“Barred from the inside. There isn’t even a window for Lydia to flutterstep through.”
“Sixty soldiers.” Drake whistled softly. “Kind of wish I could still rat out and chow down.”
“There’s more on the ridges, lord,” Sachi said. “I did not explore the entire ridgeline, but there are archers and assassins camouflaged above the visible soldiers. All have a clear line of sight to the fort and could easily rain arrows down on anyone who emerged.”
“That’s all very encouraging,” Drake agreed. “It sounds like just charging up to the place and knocking on the door is going to get us slaughtered.”
“It would get you slaughtered,” Sachi corrected. “Then, no one goes home.”
She was right. Even if the rest of his people could somehow fight through all that and get inside the fort, without his current ability to teleport people back to his carriage they’d just fight their way into a trap.
“We have to do something,” Lydia said. “After we’ve come all this way, it seems like a waste to simply give up. If they truly do plan to pit would-be bounty hunters against Sky and her people, it will be a massacre on both sides. Sooner or later, she will fall.”
He glanced back at the three bounty hunters he, Lydia, and Valentia had nearly murdered tonight. He already had an idea to get inside Fort Skybreak. It was almost a good one... but it was all going to depend on if Sky would pick up the damn phone.
He looked to Sachi. “Will any of those soldiers come looking for us?”
“I don’t believe so, lord,” Sachi said. “They seem focused on penning in anyone who emerges from Fort Graystone. Up here, we’re clear of their lines.”
“Then we have time.” He looked to Lydia. “Here’s my thought. We still know Sky has her mirror, so we’re just going to have to hope she contacts us soon.”
“She must be warned,” Lydia agreed. “But what else do you intend, lord? You have that look you always get when you’re hatching some new plot.”
Drake frowned. “I have a look?”
“You have a look, lord,” Sachi said. “A plotting look.”
“I was not aware I had a plotting look. That sounds like it could get me in trouble, since it reveals that I am plotting.”
“Gods,” Nicole said softly. “You want to pose as bounty hunters and march inside!”
Drake grinned and poked her arm. “Gold star for you.”
“That is an exceedingly bad idea,” Nicole added.
Drake’s grin faded as he considered her tone. “Why?”
“You know the Asp does not reside within that fort,” Nicole said. “Moreover, whoever commands those mercenaries will certainly demand to know if we plan to claim the bounty. You cannot refuse to answer. They might attempt to take us hostage if you refuse.”
“Ah... right.” Drake recognized the one speed bump in his latest clever plot. If he went this route, he’d have to reveal that he could lie to Nicole, Valentia, and Sachi.
Still... how long would it be before they figured it out on their own? And what was he gaining by keeping it secret? Valentia and Sachi had proven their loyalty to him time and again, and Nicole seemed on the way there. What did he lose by telling them?
He lost the ability to have them testify in Korhaurbauten. He couldn’t risk letting any battle maid testify before the noble court because there was a chance someone might ask them about something they couldn’t lie about, and then it would all come out. So was there some way he could pull off his latest scheme without revealing the truth about his lies?
Plenty of time to consider that. First, he had to see if he could even get in touch with Sky. If he couldn’t reach her through the mirror his clever plan wouldn’t work regardless, because even if they managed to open the barred door and get into Fort Graystone, Sky’s cadre of murderous bodyguards were waiting inside to kill them.
Drake doubted they’d be in the mood to fire warning shots at people they believed were coming to take down their current lord... and their former one.
“Let’s hold off on our ‘invade the fort’ plan for now,” Drake said. “I hate just sitting on our hands, but it’s clear we can’t fight our way in. Bluffing our way in is going to be difficult as well. We still have two days until the cabal, so we still have to figure something out.”
“And if your fair-haired manor lord still does not answer you?” Nicole asked.
“Then I’ll make a decision,” Drake reminded her. “That’s what I do. Decision making. Now, I have another question for you three.”
Sachi cocked an eyebrow. “Even me, lord?”
“Is there some reason you don’t want to be included?”
“I am not a battle maid.”
“Right, but you are a Sachi. You know how much I like my Sachi.”
She purred loudly. “Ask what you wish.”
“How do you feel about the kids over there? Are they Gloomwood Manor material?”
Sachi’s ears twitched. “I thought your suggestion to recruit them was a jest.”
“That exploding rock thing was pretty cool,” Drake said. “And Lydia, just what happened when Gaby stopped you dead? Did she really paralyze you?”
“She did, lord.” Lydia looked thoughtful. “She even caught me mid-flutterstep. I was not aware, until that encounter, that anyone could catch me mid-flutterstep.”
“A puppy caught you?” Nicole asked with a grin. “You’re slipping, Lids.”
“She obviously cannot hold a person forever,” Lydia said. “I was able to force my way forward. I would have freed myself and killed her in another moment.”
“And you did free yourself the moment Gaby lost concentration after Val iced her boots,” Drake agreed. “Still, that’s not a half bad rarity. I bet it’d be pretty badass if I burnished it. I wonder if I could stop a whole damn carriage?”
“Robin, the archer, has a strong will and is skilled with a bow,” Lydia said. “Her disposition seems compatible with ours, however, I worry about her blood vendetta.”
“Against the Asp,” Drake agreed. “I imagine that could be inconvenient since I can’t compel her not to go kill that lady.”
“That is correct, lord,” Lydia said. “She also believes that joining a blood pact will compel her to follow your orders. If she believes you will not let her pursue her vengeance, she may refuse to join us.”
“Right,” Drake agreed. “It’s still her decision, and I don’t want to tell her the truth unless she joins us. So it’s a chicken and egg situation.”
“You could just threaten to kill her little friends,” Nicole said. “If you were to threaten to murder the boy and blond girl unless she submits to your blood pact, she’d join us.”
Drake frowned at her. “You already know I don’t work that way, and we’ve already verified these three didn’t come here to assassinate me. They’re just kids who got played by a dickhead manor lord, so I’m inclined to let them walk.”
Nicole sighed. “Val’s gonna’ be so mad at you.”
Drake grinned. “She already is. Still, I’m inclined to offer them a chance to join us, if they want to join us. And if they join us, we’ll tell them how my pact works... but not before.” He didn’t need any rumors getting out. “Now, any objections?”
Lydia shook her head. Nicole shrugged. Sachi bared her sharpened teeth.
“Right, then Val’s the last.” Drake stood. “Sachi, could you go relieve Valentia?”
Author's Note: Next week, Drake works on his plotting look, practices some doublespeak, and starts a small fire.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Read Ahead on My Patreon
Chat on My Discord
“All right,” Drake said. “So, I have good news and bad news.”
“Good news?” Gaby asked hopefully.
“We’ll do that first. I’m not going to murder you all just yet.”
Gaby breathed a huge sigh of relief. Carl slumped against her and breathed, looking close to passing out despite Valentia’s healing. Drake doubted she had done anything but her best with him. He simply suspected getting your guts sliced open fucking hurt.
As for Robin, she simply watched him with cautious eyes. She no longer looked angry, but she didn’t look at ease either. He couldn’t blame her.
“The bad news is, if I’m right, the Asp isn’t here any longer. Or she never was.”
“No, you’re mistaken,” Robin said firmly. “Do you seek to defend her?”
“I really couldn’t care less what the evil acid lady gets up to,” Drake assured them. “What I’m telling you, boy and girls, is you’ve been played.”
Gaby was getting that vacant look again. “Like... music?”
“I happen to know who’s holed up in that fort, and it’s not the Asp.”
“Then who is it?” Robin demanded.
“Lady Skybreak, Lord Skybreak, and her three most terrifying bodyguards.”
Robin turned pale. “How could you know that?”
“I’m Lord Gloomwood.” He smiled his creepiest smile. “Remember?”
“But... that...” Robin now seemed to recognize how much trouble she was in. “They would murder us. Lady Skybreak alone could swallow us in stone!”
“Good to know,” Drake agreed. “Now, in Ashglaive and Corinian, when you were there, were there other people interested in the bounty on the Asp?”
“That’s why we rushed here so fast, lord!” Gaby said. “We were worried someone would get here first and defeat her before we got the chance!”
Drake glanced knowingly at Lydia. “So if you had to guess, how much more cannon fodder has Lord Redbow just aimed at everyone inside that fort?”
Lydia looked grim. “If it is as you suspect, both seasoned mercenaries and anyone with a rarity capable of combat may be headed here right now. Or they’ve already arrived.”
“It’s Redbow’s go to strategy,” Drake agreed, remembering his earlier conversation with Sky about how they casually tossed assassins at people. “They don’t care if the assassins they send die because they’re a dime a dozen, and if they actually kill the target, bonus.”
“We are not a... dime a dozen,” Robin said with a glare. “Do you treat everyone so callously?”
“Mind your tongue,” Lydia snapped. “Lord Gloomwood’s benevolence is the only reason any of you are still alive right now.”
Drake was again surprised by how quickly and fiercely Lydia defended his honor, and he didn’t know whether to be amused or proud. He now knew what they were up against, and that it was all the more important to get Sky out of here soon. He was glad he’d come.
Robin, for her part, seemed sufficiently cowed by Lydia’s rebuke. She didn’t even look like she wanted to fight anymore. With her chance for revenge snatched away, she looked lost.
Drake needed to get to Sky and get her out of here before dozens more bounty hunters showed up. But first, he’d needed to hear from his scouts. As Nicole melted into being directly beside him, he found her watching the three captives with visible amusement.
“Did you find puppies?” Nicole asked coyly. “Can I play with them?”
That was definitely one of the creepiest things she’d ever said in his presence. He hoped she was trying to intimidate the new kids on his behalf. Otherwise, he might worry about her.
“They’re bounty hunters.” Drake frowned at her. “And wait, how long have you actually been here?”
She shrugged.
“Were you going to make me repeat that whole conversation despite the fact that you already heard it?”
Nicole smiled at him. “What an interesting question!”
He wasn’t about to take that bait. “Where’s Sachi?”
“Here, lord.”
Drake didn’t jump and congratulated himself on his fortitude. The way Sachi always seemed to pop up out of nowhere made him half-wonder if she could turn invisible, but Zuri had said nothing about that. Either way, he had the answers he sought.
Ahead, his three captives were all speaking in low tones.
“Were we really tricked?” Gaby asked. “Did we come all this way for nothing?”
“Apparently.” Carl coughed. “Team effort.”
“Hush now,” Robin said quietly. “I need to think.”
Drake looked at the trio of now dispirited bounty hunters. “I need all three of you to tell me you’re not going to try to escape. If you try to run, I’ll let my maid play with you.”
All of them nodded quickly and fervently. “We won’t run, lord!”
“Now, I’m going to have a chat with my associates,” Drake said. “Sit tight.”
He assumed Valentia was still keeping watch for enemy soldiers and scouts. He moved far enough away from the trio of would-be bounty hunters that he could speak with Nicole, Sachi, and Lydia without being overheard, then motioned for them to crouch down.
“What’s it look like by the fort?” he asked.
“Depressing,” Nicole said. “At least sixty soldiers ring the fort. While most are armed and armored like mercenaries who lack rarities, they could be hiding them. Either way, even though I can sneak through their lines, they’d attack as soon as I knocked on the door.”
“And the front door of the fort? I assume that’s locked tight?”
“Barred from the inside. There isn’t even a window for Lydia to flutterstep through.”
“Sixty soldiers.” Drake whistled softly. “Kind of wish I could still rat out and chow down.”
“There’s more on the ridges, lord,” Sachi said. “I did not explore the entire ridgeline, but there are archers and assassins camouflaged above the visible soldiers. All have a clear line of sight to the fort and could easily rain arrows down on anyone who emerged.”
“That’s all very encouraging,” Drake agreed. “It sounds like just charging up to the place and knocking on the door is going to get us slaughtered.”
“It would get you slaughtered,” Sachi corrected. “Then, no one goes home.”
She was right. Even if the rest of his people could somehow fight through all that and get inside the fort, without his current ability to teleport people back to his carriage they’d just fight their way into a trap.
“We have to do something,” Lydia said. “After we’ve come all this way, it seems like a waste to simply give up. If they truly do plan to pit would-be bounty hunters against Sky and her people, it will be a massacre on both sides. Sooner or later, she will fall.”
He glanced back at the three bounty hunters he, Lydia, and Valentia had nearly murdered tonight. He already had an idea to get inside Fort Skybreak. It was almost a good one... but it was all going to depend on if Sky would pick up the damn phone.
He looked to Sachi. “Will any of those soldiers come looking for us?”
“I don’t believe so, lord,” Sachi said. “They seem focused on penning in anyone who emerges from Fort Graystone. Up here, we’re clear of their lines.”
“Then we have time.” He looked to Lydia. “Here’s my thought. We still know Sky has her mirror, so we’re just going to have to hope she contacts us soon.”
“She must be warned,” Lydia agreed. “But what else do you intend, lord? You have that look you always get when you’re hatching some new plot.”
Drake frowned. “I have a look?”
“You have a look, lord,” Sachi said. “A plotting look.”
“I was not aware I had a plotting look. That sounds like it could get me in trouble, since it reveals that I am plotting.”
“Gods,” Nicole said softly. “You want to pose as bounty hunters and march inside!”
Drake grinned and poked her arm. “Gold star for you.”
“That is an exceedingly bad idea,” Nicole added.
Drake’s grin faded as he considered her tone. “Why?”
“You know the Asp does not reside within that fort,” Nicole said. “Moreover, whoever commands those mercenaries will certainly demand to know if we plan to claim the bounty. You cannot refuse to answer. They might attempt to take us hostage if you refuse.”
“Ah... right.” Drake recognized the one speed bump in his latest clever plot. If he went this route, he’d have to reveal that he could lie to Nicole, Valentia, and Sachi.
Still... how long would it be before they figured it out on their own? And what was he gaining by keeping it secret? Valentia and Sachi had proven their loyalty to him time and again, and Nicole seemed on the way there. What did he lose by telling them?
He lost the ability to have them testify in Korhaurbauten. He couldn’t risk letting any battle maid testify before the noble court because there was a chance someone might ask them about something they couldn’t lie about, and then it would all come out. So was there some way he could pull off his latest scheme without revealing the truth about his lies?
Plenty of time to consider that. First, he had to see if he could even get in touch with Sky. If he couldn’t reach her through the mirror his clever plan wouldn’t work regardless, because even if they managed to open the barred door and get into Fort Graystone, Sky’s cadre of murderous bodyguards were waiting inside to kill them.
Drake doubted they’d be in the mood to fire warning shots at people they believed were coming to take down their current lord... and their former one.
“Let’s hold off on our ‘invade the fort’ plan for now,” Drake said. “I hate just sitting on our hands, but it’s clear we can’t fight our way in. Bluffing our way in is going to be difficult as well. We still have two days until the cabal, so we still have to figure something out.”
“And if your fair-haired manor lord still does not answer you?” Nicole asked.
“Then I’ll make a decision,” Drake reminded her. “That’s what I do. Decision making. Now, I have another question for you three.”
Sachi cocked an eyebrow. “Even me, lord?”
“Is there some reason you don’t want to be included?”
“I am not a battle maid.”
“Right, but you are a Sachi. You know how much I like my Sachi.”
She purred loudly. “Ask what you wish.”
“How do you feel about the kids over there? Are they Gloomwood Manor material?”
Sachi’s ears twitched. “I thought your suggestion to recruit them was a jest.”
“That exploding rock thing was pretty cool,” Drake said. “And Lydia, just what happened when Gaby stopped you dead? Did she really paralyze you?”
“She did, lord.” Lydia looked thoughtful. “She even caught me mid-flutterstep. I was not aware, until that encounter, that anyone could catch me mid-flutterstep.”
“A puppy caught you?” Nicole asked with a grin. “You’re slipping, Lids.”
“She obviously cannot hold a person forever,” Lydia said. “I was able to force my way forward. I would have freed myself and killed her in another moment.”
“And you did free yourself the moment Gaby lost concentration after Val iced her boots,” Drake agreed. “Still, that’s not a half bad rarity. I bet it’d be pretty badass if I burnished it. I wonder if I could stop a whole damn carriage?”
“Robin, the archer, has a strong will and is skilled with a bow,” Lydia said. “Her disposition seems compatible with ours, however, I worry about her blood vendetta.”
“Against the Asp,” Drake agreed. “I imagine that could be inconvenient since I can’t compel her not to go kill that lady.”
“That is correct, lord,” Lydia said. “She also believes that joining a blood pact will compel her to follow your orders. If she believes you will not let her pursue her vengeance, she may refuse to join us.”
“Right,” Drake agreed. “It’s still her decision, and I don’t want to tell her the truth unless she joins us. So it’s a chicken and egg situation.”
“You could just threaten to kill her little friends,” Nicole said. “If you were to threaten to murder the boy and blond girl unless she submits to your blood pact, she’d join us.”
Drake frowned at her. “You already know I don’t work that way, and we’ve already verified these three didn’t come here to assassinate me. They’re just kids who got played by a dickhead manor lord, so I’m inclined to let them walk.”
Nicole sighed. “Val’s gonna’ be so mad at you.”
Drake grinned. “She already is. Still, I’m inclined to offer them a chance to join us, if they want to join us. And if they join us, we’ll tell them how my pact works... but not before.” He didn’t need any rumors getting out. “Now, any objections?”
Lydia shook her head. Nicole shrugged. Sachi bared her sharpened teeth.
“Right, then Val’s the last.” Drake stood. “Sachi, could you go relieve Valentia?”
Author's Note: Next week, Drake works on his plotting look, practices some doublespeak, and starts a small fire.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Read Ahead on My Patreon
Chat on My Discord
