CHAPTER VI: TROUBLED THOUGHTS

Hamish was going to kill his little sister. That was, if he ever found her.

Galaxy-black katana sword ever at his side, he sat in a tuft of grass outside the main council hall, sipping nectar from an equally black drinking horn and feeling generally annoyed. In truth, he should have foreseen this. The Arc family was not known for the ability to let bygones be bygones. Of course little Laura would set out to seek some kind of revenge. But Hamish never expected her to side with an outlaw felve, much less to utilise such evil and cruel magical weapons. It was now common knowledge in the council that her arrows could not be pulled out, and caused ever-increasing pain and suffering until the victim died. Hamish had watched as a huge chunk of flesh was sawed off one of the corpses, all in an effort to retrieve the murder weapon. He had watched as the arrow was sent deep into the shoulder of a test subject. He had watched as the criminal they had used died writhing in agony.

In a delicate matter such as this, a few corners had to be covered. The council was not yet aware that their enemy number one was in fact his litter sister. When that happened, they would surely pull him from the investigation under the guise of a conflict of interest. Hamish knew the truth; they did not trust someone with power like his not to save his little sibling from her deserved punishment. Laura had embarrassed the council at a crucial moment; they were just beginning to solidify their presence as a ruling government. the wolf-slayings made the council's authority look unrecognised. He was already aware that they planned to make her a scapegoat, to show what happens when you disobey the new regime. He wasn't sure how he would get her a lenient sentence, or even if he wanted to. She was a thick head fully deserving of her punishment, but she was still his sister.

Next, the magic crossbow. He had no doubt she wouldn't use it on him, but he had to find a way to get her to stop using it on others, or to disarm her. He knew from experience that the use of magic items always came with a consequence, especially items with violent abilities. He was sure she was already noticing it; the small, irritating setback that would soon grow into a major disability.

Hamish sighed and massaged his temples. Oh Laura. Why do you have such a drive for revenge?

Last but not least, the outlaw felve. Little was known about him, but he is rumoured to help those who seek revenge by granting them magic items, and that he has a severe hatred of dragons. In fact, he was originally wanted for trapping a dragon's soul in a magic item. The manipulation of souls, especially for malicious purposes, was a grievous crime worthy of life imprisonment.

The magic item with the trapped soul was never found.