25 Conspiracy in the forest

"At the crack of dawn, the starry night covered by clouds faded into the void once again. Even those millions of stars and moon have a place to call home that they can return to every day. I wonder, will that ever-escaping dream be mine? Talk about pathetic, I'm laying inside the old geezer's cabin and guessing what is going on outside. I do hope having the silver guardians at my side will help in the future. Time to wake, I can feel Eira on my chest like always, one, two, no five people in total, I sense them."

After two days of being unconscious, Staxius woke. Eira in arms, everyone's gloomy and depressive mood changed for the better. None from the silver guardians had the audacity to speak after practically killing him. Instead, they chose to avert their gaze and look at the ground and some at the ceiling.

*Clap,* "Wake up everyone, no need to feel responsible for my health. Despite the fact I barely know you guys, I'm honored to have such pretty faces to wake up too. No need to worry sis, yours is better, when you grow some tits," He whispered the last bit.

*Cough,* "Thanks for the vote of confidence master, we've been eagerly awaiting your return." Adelana spoke.

"No problem Adelana, if I may ask though, where is Alyson?" He asked as he slowly got up. The body was light, no pain, nothing, he was fully healed and felt better than ever.

"You noticed, how lovely," Ancret whispered into his ears from behind as she stood on her toes.

"Ancret, nicely done, if you were a bit older then I might have considered but for now, why not grow up like sister Adelana?" He replied nonchalantly.

"Meanie," She pouted.

"Ancret, d-don't d-do that, I-it's disrespectful," Ayleth spoke softly, none expect Staxius caught it.

With a soft and gentle gaze paired with a comforting smile, he directed his full attention to the shy Ayleth, "Tis no issue, calm down,"

"So master, what are we going to do now?" Annet asked with a smile so bright that Staxius had to physically look away.

"Hmm, I-I'll get back to that in a second." Tired from the multiple personalities, Staxius used emotional control and gave a slight aura of not wanting to talk.

"Alright girls, enough messing around, we have a carriage to take care of. Master, just give us the word and we are ready to leave at any minute." Adelana freed him.

One by one, each of them left. They still wore the expensive armor but without the helmet. "Phew, Undrar, stop hiding your presence and get out here, we need to have a little chat."

"Tsk, fine…" Annoyed she reluctantly walked towards him.

"Don't tell me a demi-god is feeling jealous? Ha-ha." He laughed.

"…"

"Silent treatment I see, anyways, did you do as I ask?"

"Yes, I've already checked those girl's past, and it's dark, not as dark as you but it's black."

"Any chance of them betraying me?"

"You could have just used dark arts to find that."

"I could but what's the point, you tell me."

"Fine, it's unlikely but nothing is completely a hundred percent in this world."

"Can I trust them at least? Never mind, don't answer that, they all have the same eyes as I do, cold-blooded killers. So how long have I been passed out for?"

"Two days."

"You know what, I'm not even mad at that, isn't that right sweetie," The focus completely changed to Eira who was being playful.

"Undrar, just for the record, I only accepted their pledges because of you, I trust your judgment.

They may be a little hard to deal with, but it's fine, as long as Eira is safe." He spoke seriously.

*Fwoop,* "Ouch," The spying Alyson fell.

"Tis rude to spy." To that, Alyson nodded and spoke in a monotonous voice, "In the forest, a group of soldiers carrying someone are headed to Kreston."

"So, you were on the lookout, how far have they gotten?"

"When I left, they were halfway across."

"Carrying someone? Okay, this may be some plot to instigate war. Silver guardians are already showing their worth, impressive."

"Your orders?"

"Call in everyone, we have work to do, Undrar, I'll leave Eira to you."

*Snap,* "I'm I just a babysitter to you?"

"What are you doing inside my head? No matter, if Eira is safe, come along."

The field outside was wrecked, sliced up trees, broken down boulders, ashes and poison darts scattered everywhere. Not to mention the dried-up blood splatter.

"Sorry for calling like this, however, I need a favor." He asked as he bowed his head.

"There is no need for that master, you need but say the word and it shall be done," Adelana spoke.

"Tis only a request, not an order, if you don't want to do it then it's fine. "

"Request or not, we will follow you to the ends of the earth."

*Sigh,* "Alyson has spotted some man carrying a person heading for Kreston. Now, this may only be speculation, however, I'm completely sure that it's a plot to instigate war. I need two of you girls to follow said soldiers and watch their every move. Also, try and find out their insignia, if they are plotting something, they are probably disguised. There are two objectives here, uncover the plot, and find who's responsible. I'll say this clearly, if at any point you feel like your cover has been blown, then retreat. If you need to kill some people on the way there, then I don't care. Adelana, I'll leave the selection to you and for the rest, we are headed to Dundee. We'll wait for your return there, earning some money first is priority before setting off to Krigi."

"If this is stealth, then every one of us has had sufficient training, however for this covert mission, I think Ayleth and Ancret are the perfect fit."

"Very well, everyone, get in the carriage, we are leaving. Good luck to both of you Ayleth and Ancret," With a small pat on both their heads, everyone left.

"Are you sure that was wise to let them go off like that?" Undrar spoke while inside his mind.

"You told me to use dark arts, so I did, I don't feel any ulterior motives just yet, let's just play along. Also, I never went into the village afterward, what happened to them?"

"The silver guardians helped out for two days in the recovery of the injured, rebuilding and other miscellaneous deeds, they took all the blame so you could have had a night's rest. If not for them, you were going to die by the hands of some angry husband, why didn't you come sooner he said, Adelana talked him out of it and got on their good side once again.

"Damn they are scary girls aren't they,"

Jumping from tree to tree, both sisters finally caught up with the soldiers, their mission began. On the other hand, not knowing how to ride a carriage, Staxius, ashamed, sat at the back with Undrar, Eira, and Alyson who just kept a blank stare.

"Master, should we go around Brisnet Heights or just climb it?"

Up close, Brisnet Heights looked even taller, her tip was white and hidden by clouds, her sheer presence was enough to send chills down anyone's back. "How long will going around take?"

"A week at most, if we go steadily and not tire the horses then we should be fine. The detour will take three days, if we got over the mountain and use the old roads up there which is rumored to be crawling with bandits then we should take off said three days and arrive in just four days."

"I see, we could play it safe but time is an issue, ok, we are going over the mountain. You said there was a path there, so can we make it all the way across?"

"Yes, it's possible but not advisable."

"With you girls here and some of the winter clothes given by the old geezer, we can go for it. Do it

Adelana, let's conquer Brisnet Heights."

"As you wish, master."

Leaves crying out as both sisters rushed inside the forest could be interpreted as a strong gust of wind. With some hand gestures, Shy Ayleth who in the lead signaled Ancret to slow down. Below them, five soldiers wearing Kreston's holy army's armor carried someone whose face was almost unrecognizable. Her body was covered with scars and dried up blood, face shrinking from lack of food and water, hair falling off, she looked pitiful.

"Parcyvell sure is fucked in the head, I mean look at this bitch, a worthless waste of space until the very end," *Spit.*

"Shh, the forest has ears don't you know, let's just complete the assignment and get this mission over and done with."

"Tsk, man, even fucking her would be bad for my dick, fine whatever, a brothel is where we are headed after this."

"Quiet the fuck down, the patrol is approaching."

Like clockwork, a platoon of fifty soldiers armed to the teeth approached.

"Who stands there," The officer in charge shouted.

"Let's get paid," One of the men wearing Kreston's outfit whispered as they ran for the border.

"Catch them men, psychopaths from Kreston shan't be allowed to live, fire."

Arrows, bullets, spears and darts, everything was fired. Three were killed by gunshots, one poisoned and one beheaded, the group compromising of Kreston soldiers was completely wiped out.

"Sir, its lady Millicent, they abducted her."

"That worthless piece of crap is our lord's betrothed? No matter, bring her with. We'll camp the night and leave tomorrow morning."

"Captain, what about Lady Millicent?"

"We have no food to spare for a sack of bones, just give her some water and tie her to a tree or something, get her out of my sight. Also, if any of you men wants to have some fun then I'll ask you to touch yourselves instead of laying a hand on her. Never mind, just bring her necklace and throw her down the lake. We only need proof that Kreston attempted to take her away. There is no need for her to be present, do as you wish with her."

The platoon set up camp exactly on top of where the Kreston soldiers were killed. From the shadows, the Geua sister watched, silently and boiling in anger. Later in the night, most of the men got drunk and slept, everything was quiet apart from the massive campfire they built.

"Ancret, we've completed our assignment, let's leave at once."

"Roger that," Directly below them, Millicent was tied to a tree, half-conscious and stomach growling for food, she softly breathed. Thinking she finally had a moments peace was only but a lie, within that platoon, men who were driven by lust and alcohol, stumbled their way to her. Her eyes lit up once again, all the suffering brought in by Parcyvell flashed by, she tried to scream and run away but ultimately failed miserably by her lose in strength. The sound of pants being pulled was heard, Millicent began to cry, it was soft but distinct.

"Ayleth don't do anything fooli…"

*Whoosh,* Two slices, blood spilling out like a fountain, using both her daggers she slit their throat.

*Bouf,* Ancret got down from her tree, "What were you thinking?"

With murderous intent and anger reflecting in her eyes, she turned, "I can't stand the thought of

another woman being defiled, Ancret, please heal her."

"Fine whatever," *Healing element, activate, full-body recovery.* A green light surging out of her hands enveloped Millicent, few seconds later she was healed.

"Who stands there? The captain saw the green glimmer coming out from where Millicent was.

"We need to leave, Ayleth, help me carry her and let's go."

"But I want to slaughter more people…"

"Shut up, Staxius is waiting for us, LET'S GO."

"Master…" The bloodlust faded, with the night sky as their cover, they ran. The end of Rotten

Thicket was in sight, *Woosh,* An arrow grazed past Ancret's head and hit a tree in front.

Instinctively, Ancret took Millicent and jumped into the tree line while Ayleth threw her dagger at the same time. The timing and precision were perfect, an inch away from when Ancret got out, the dagger flew and ended its course inside a soldier's head. They were followed, or so what they thought, it was the Kreston army, the paladin stood in the middle on a horse.

"My, my, what do we have here? Some lovely pair of girls, killing one of my men wasn't that nice now was it?" He got off and slowly approached. Unimpressed by his presence, Ayleth unleashed her own.

"Bryant Tiebaut, master Staxius told us so much about you, he said you were very strong, maybe stronger than us."

"Staxius Haggard, ha-ha, a name I never thought I'd hear again, what about it, are you scared?" He got closer to her face.

"Not really, you don't seem that scary for a fanatic. Anyways if you want enemies to fight it's not us, rather the ones you're looking for are behind, drunk and asleep."

"Oh boy, Ayleth is speaking freely to him, her shy persona is gone which means that she's in full bloodlust mode, I need to stop her."

"Bryant darling, why waste your time on us girls, we are but frail petals floating as the wind guides us to the unknown," Ancret spoke in a flirtatious manner as she stepped into the open

"I've but one question to ask," He backed off slowly and got in his battle stance, "Is Staxius alive?" Everyone got on guard, "Yes, he's alive." The immense aura faded into nothingness, with a smile he spoke, "Give him my thanks, believe it or not, he saved me once. Now then, goodbye."

Speechless, they stood as the sun awoke once again. "M-master saved him?"

"Guess so, who cares, let's leave."