“They have a warrant. Captain Severn is there and wants to interrogate Lady Dani.” His gaze turned to look at me. “If you want, there is an emergency exit in the cellar. It is your decision.”
I rolled my eyes, “No, then it’ll cause greater problems for the rest of you. If Severn is here and he wants to talk, I’ll talk with him. Cal, you remember that list I gave you?”
He went pale, “Why?”
“Think it’ll work as a distraction?” I said, pulling up the judgements. I’d planned the punishments ahead of time. Most were only listed as Tier 2, though I suspected that could be raised when the system took a harder look at them because of this.
There was a pause, Grimoire raising an eyebrow at our conversation. Calmar wiped his hand down his face, “Do it.”
I went through and mass activated the judgements.
Strip
Removes levels equal to the severity of the committed crime. Can reduce stats to 0. Can result in death or severe injury.
A wave of rewards filled up my spatial storage, which I’d look through later. Unsurprisingly, several of the judgements simply came back as ‘Invalid Target. Target Deceased’. I’d sort through it all later. “Let them in, Grimoire.” I said with a confidence I didn’t feel.
The butler looked to Calmar for confirmation, who nodded. With deliberate grace, the butler opened the door and stepped outside. As we waited at the bottom of the stairs, we waited for the guards to come. Deacon joined us a moment later, wearing his hat with the guitar held by a strap to his back. Despite the short amount of time, he looked presentable, though weird with his arm fully grown back.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He said, defensively. “I finally feel like a person again, and you’re looking at me like I grew a second head.”
“Or a new arm.” I said, gently poking it. “How’s it working?”
“Surprisingly well. I need some practice, but that’s the easy part.” He let out a sigh, “I’m just glad I can finally use my actual class abilities.”
“I don’t know, you did well enough whistling.” I commented.
He blew out a puff of air in amusement, “Not even my highest level spells.”
I was about to ask what those were when the door opened, letting in a dozen or more guards who started to fan out in pair. Several began looking through various rooms, servants following, likely to prevent any major mess. And standing in the center of the foyer, Captain Severn stood, looking straight at me. “Lady Rosecrest. I have some questions for you.”
I motioned towards the door leading to a lounge, “Shall we move this to somewhere a little more comfortable?”
He looked towards the door, “Very well. Lead the way.”
I moved towards the lounge, Calmar and Deacon moving to follow. Two guards intercepted them. “Deacon comes with me. Moral support.”
The two guards looked to their captain, who nodded. Deacon stepped past them and all three of us went into the lounge. We took seats on opposite couches, with Deacon standing behind me.
“Do you know why I’m here?” Captain Severn started.
“I have an idea. Porter mentioned there were bodies found by the warehouses near where we first met.” I said.
“Thirteen bodies. Seven members of higher society, five guards, and the head of the Polstead caravan that is in the city.” He pulled a folder from a side bag I hadn’t noticed and set it down on the table in front of me, opening it to show a page listing various names and amounts. Right near the bottom was my own. “You purchased two slaves from the auction.”
I reached over and looked over the names on the list. Several of the names prompted investigation quests to pop up. I minimized them all. “I won’t deny it.”
“Your family has a history of being anti-slavery, especially since your father married Lord Calmar’s mother, Veronica Joy.” He leaned forward, “A woman whose slave crest has been the cause of a number of questions for your father.”
I blinked in surprise. “I hadn’t known about that.”
I felt something at that point, a subtle aura that pressed against me. “You still suffer from missing memories?”
I furrowed my brow and reached out with my own aura to slap the one pressing against me away. Captain Severn raised an eyebrow, but did not comment. What was that?
Deacon was the one who responded, “Part of my responsibility as her bodyguard is to assist with that. Filling in gaps of common knowledge that may pop up. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, there are still many blind spots.”
I didn’t turn to look at Deacon, but noticed the Captain’s look in his direction. “Then have you informed her of the responsibility of slave owners over the slaves in question?” He flipped over another page and set it next to the first. It was a depiction of Adelhard drawn in pretty good detail, though the ears were different. “Do you recognize this boy?”
“Adelhard. I was informed he was a Street Rat when he was put up on the auction. I felt bad for him, so I spent a great deal of crystals securing his freedom rather than let him go to some brothel like the other person bidding wanted.” I explained, twisting the truth a little. I’d known he wasn’t a Street Rat from the start.
“He was spotted by various carriage drivers before they made their way to safety. Witnesses report him using the shadows to teleport and taking out the victims with skills beyond a simple Street Rat.” He was examining me, “But you don’t seem surprised by that.”
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Oops. I must not be as good at hiding the truth as I thought. “My scan spell came back as a series of unknowns. I assumed he had an ability to hide his class.”
“And what happened after the auction?” He prompted.
“I asked both of the people I bought if they wanted jobs. They both declined, with the Enchanter fleeing at the first chance. Adelhard was still in the alley when I left.” I stated, trying to keep my face neutral.
“And the weapons he used? Where did he get them?” Severn asked the question I had been dreading.
There was a pause as I considered how best to answer the question. If I lied, and he called me on it I’d probably be screwed. Is there a version of the truth that I can get away with?
“Lady Danielle, this will go better for you if you’re open and honest with me.” More aura pressed against me, spreading out over my own.
I glared at him. I was just go off on him about the aura attacks before Deacon spoke. “Are you accusing her of something? Even if she did provide a weapon, it was to, in your own admission, a child. One who had just been freed and on their own in a strange city in one of the more dangerous parts of town.”
Deacon, I need to give you a raise. I thought as Severn’s mouth twisted like he’d bitten into something sour. “Be that as it may, she is still responsible for the actions said slave performed. Until they are registered, slaves are still slaves. Collar or not.”
“That’s a load of shit.” I said, irritated. “Free will exists, what they do when they are freed is on them.”
“Not according to the law.” Severn said.
“A law to protect vile people, who deserve whatever they get.” I said, without regret. Even if I got in trouble for it, I wasn’t going to hide my belief. “And if you’re going to sit there and tell me you uphold such a law, then I misjudged your character, Severn.”
“Captain Severn.” He corrected me.
“Look, Sev.” I said, deliberately poking at his pride. It worked, since his face went from professional but severe to something close to anger. “If you want to arrest me for the actions of another person, go for it. And when I get out, I’ll be leaving the city, and recommending to my father that any further shipments be redirected to another city.” I didn’t actually know if I could manage that, but it sounded like a threat that would be taken seriously.
The way Severn’s posture straightened told me I’d hit on something important. “You’d risk your families profits just to spite me personally? Not like it’d do anything.”
“No? Even if I sent a message to the Duke’s son claiming your treatment of me as the reason?” I heard Deacon hiss behind me, and I took it as my queue to stop pressing.
Severn’s expression grew dark as he looked hard at me. “Do you think it’s wise to threaten the Captain of the guard?”
“Do you think it’s wise to busy yourself here when not just one murderer, but multiple are running rampant through the city? You’d focus on arresting someone for an act of mercy over the actual culprit?” I argued back. I was not taking any shit from this man since he was STILL trying to break through my aura with whatever skill he was using.
“I am here investigating the short sighted actions of a woman who looking at a collar herself if she continues like this.” He sneered at me, “Did you know we don’t have a prison? Anyone convicted of a sentence that would keep them incarcerated longer than thirty days is collared and sold for as long as it takes to pay whatever fine is in place for the crime.”
Rage boiled over and I stood up, “You have overstayed your welcome, Captain. If you are going to arrest me, get on with it. Otherwise, fuck off.”
He stood up, slamming his hands on the table as he did. “You will show me the respect my station deserves.”
“I have no respect for a lapdog of a corrupt system.” I said, venom dripping from my voice.
At that moment, a guard rushed into the room, “Sir! We have a problem.”
“Not now.” He said without looking at them.
“Sir! There have been multiple reports of people falling ill across the city. Two have died without any signs of injury.” He sounded terrified.
His head snapped to look at the guard. “Is it an attack? Who has been targeted?”
An idea hit me, and I sent a message to Zeratus. If it worked, this was going to suck, but maybe… it’d get me out of this.
“Sir, it’s more people from the same auction as the murders.” They gulped, “Some of the families are demanding to see you.”
Severn turned to look at me, “Did you have something do with this?”
I opened my mouth to answer when I got my reply from Zeratus. It… wasn’t in a message.
I collapsed to the ground, screaming as stats were ripped from me. I felt tired as my Endurance drained. I started coughing as the world seemed to dim and quiet slightly, my Perception dropping to the mid 20s. As I coughed, I covered my mouth, pulling my hands away to see blood on them.
Fuuuck, this hurts. Deacon had rushed next to me, rolling me onto my side as I started to shiver, suddenly very cold.
I heard shouting, but couldn’t understand any of it as my consciousness faded. My last thought was, I hope this doesn’t use up Second Chance…
Severn gritted his teeth as he left the Rosecrest estate. Despite it all, he wasn’t going to arrest the girl. Not yet. She was guilty as sin, he felt it in his bones, but all he had was vague at best. Until he caught the actual culprit, he didn’t have enough to hold her for long, and despite what he’d said her threat actually had weight.
“Captain!” One of the guards said, saluting him. “The manor has been swept top to bottom. No sign of the perpetrator and nothing worth even a fine.”
Severn turned to look at the man. “Head back to the barracks and write up the report. Leave no detail out. I have to look into these other incidents. Who all was effected?”
“The Harper family, a number of merchant houses, Lord Germaine’s steward, and the head of the Lambert house. We suspect there are more, but are waiting for reports.” The guard stated.
“Dismissed.” Severn said and the guard ran off. Two more fell in behind him as he moved towards the carriage. Once inside, he sat there, arms crossed as he considered the situation.
She knows the kid did it. It’s entirely possible she orchestrated the whole thing. If it had been the girl he’d first met, he wouldn’t have even considered it. He’d have slapped her with a fine and moved on to looking for the actual culprit.
But there are so many oddities. He thought, considering all of the information he knew.
She had traits that were hidden, even from the crystal at the barracks. Something that wasn’t out of the question, but unusual.
Her stats had been abnormally high, including a magic stats that would get her access to any academy of magic in the country. Despite that, she was still here. To be fair, she could still be getting her feet under her. Maybe she doesn’t want to leave yet.
Then there was the matter involving the guild. He hadn’t paid any attention to it, until he’d looked into Danielle’s current list of associates, specifically Deacon, the Dirgesinger. It hadn’t taken long to figure out they’d gone out on a mission before the swarm. Most of that team was currently in a guild holding cell, awaiting attention from the guard.
All except one. Jason David. The man had made multiple reports with minimal evidence about the girl, Paige. Paige, whose mother had recently died in a mysterious fire. Is that related? Perhaps. I’ll have to question the boy.
Oddities within oddities. A picture was forming that he didn’t like.
Then there were reports of a Collector in the area still. They were digging into a number of incidents involving crystal theft and extortion, but the Gilded were enough to handle such things. Why was he still there?
The picture began to clear, and he considered a rather wild idea. One that didn’t make sense, considering what he’d just seen, but the evidence supported it…
Is she a system agent?