Orwell's Point

A shadowy figure detached its self from the eaves of the roof which it has been hiding on. It skited around the edges of the building, from one roof to another, careful not to enter the light of the full moon.

Every now and then, it paused and checked its surroundings, to ensure no one was following it before it continued on.

Finally, it reached the place it wanted and it stayed on one of the nearby building's roof and observed the area. After several turns of the glass, it was certain that it wasn't followed and no one was alerted to her presence, it approached the building warily.

As the figure slowly emerged from the shadows, the light of the moon highlighted its body, revealing a shapely figure that was clearly a woman's.

"One, target reacquired."

"Two, roger, keep eyes on her!"

The woman wrapped up in dark clothing, crouched low and slowly approached the house in the middle of merchant's district. She paused every now and then, staying low before she stepped to the side. Another pause, another turn of her head to check her surroundings, and another step forward like she was walking in a minefield.

Finally, she reached the three story wood and brick building, and carefully started to climb its walls. She did the same as on the ground, pausing before each grip and changing her direction of ascent till she reached the top floor windows.

"One, target is attempting to enter the premises, over."

"Two, continue observations."

The black clad woman removed something from her belt and did something to the window before she slipped a piece of wire under the window slits and unlatched the window from within. Shortly after the figure disappeared into the darkness of the townhouse.

"All units, surround the building!"

Several figures suddenly emerged out from the shadows just like what the woman did earlier. They approached the townhouse from all directions and kept to the walls and side of the streets despite the ungodly hour, where there wasn't even a soul out.

"Place looks trapped to hell!" One of the shadows stated as they crouched next to the townhouse's low wall. "One, we need a defuser!"

"Two, standby."

Shortly after, a window lit up from within the townhouse on the top floor. The men outside the townhouse instinctively crouched lower to avoid being seen. "What in the heavens is she doing?"

"Two, advance and observe closer!"

They peered over the fancy railings set on the wall, and they slowly climbed over the railings. As they carefully made they way across the garden, the lead shadow suddenly paused and shot a closed fist out.

The two other shadows behind him came to a complete halt and they swept their eyes alertly across the entire lawn. "Shit! I sense some magical shit all around us!"

"One! We need the girl mage to come and defuse the arcane traps here!" The lead shadow reported softly.

"Two, roger, standby."

As they waited for support, they could see the candle light inside the house moving down from one level to another through the cracks in the window curtains, till it disappeared after the orange glow reached the ground floor.

A short figure landed with a thud followed by a, "Oomph!"

All three members of Claymore Two spun around and hissed at the girl who was rubbing her behind and gave an apologetic bob of her head.

Liz winched in pain as she fell off the top railing of the wall fence despite someone helping her over and she landed on her butt, jagging her tail bone painfully.

She half waddled and half limped her way over to the three serious looking soldiers before the one in the front which she recognized as Corporal Pokka, whose little brother was killed by her party back when she was still an adventurer with the Hero.

He gave her a crude nod as acknowledge and jerked his head to the path before him and hissed softly, "Looks like some magical alarms and traps here."

Liz nodded and she crouched next to the beefy soldier and she touched the ground before her with her staff and a soft glow erupted from the crystal tip and the path before them lit up with a couple of magic formations, "Its a level two spell! Very nasty!"

She closed her eyes and concentrated her will, channeling her mana to the tip of her staff and three magic circles grew out. "Disarm! Disarm!"

The revealed magical traps flickered and the glow gently disappeared from view and Liz wiped a bead of sweat off her brow. "Phew... it's done!"

"Good!" The Claymore Two corporal nodded. "Stay here and wait for further instructions!"

"But I want to come along! I need to know... if... she is still the same..." Liz quickly said. "Let me come! I can help!"

Cpl Pokka stared at Liz for a moment before he nodded, "Try anything funny and don't blame me for being rude! Stay behind me at all times!"

Liz nodded hurriedly and stayed as close as possible as they walked towards the front door. "The door is warded but I can disarm it easily! Disarm!"

The wards on the door flickered again as Liz cast her spell and disappeared. One of the soldiers removed a chainsaw like device and he pressed it against the door hinges. A soft buzzing and sparked popped out from the hinge as the portable laser cutter melted the hinges to slag. He repeated with the other hinge before keeping the tool away.

The other soldier applied the end of his crowbar against the door and gently pried it open while the rest supported the now loosen door. Cpl Pokka whispered to Liz, "See if your hand can unbolt the bar inside!"

Liz quickly stretched her hand into the crack just barely large enough for her slim hand to slip into. She fumbled around before her hand touched the bar and she struggled for a short while before managed to flip the door bar out of its socket and whispered with a triumphant tone, "Done!"

The three soldiers quickly yanked the door away and set it carefully down on the flower bed and they aimed their suppressed weapons into the dark interior of the townhouse. "Sense any more traps?"

Liz whispered, "No, I don't sense anything before us, but... I can feel an aura of... something... and it seems to be coming from below us!"

"Got it!" Cpl Pokka gestured his men. "Look for any physical traps."

He next hit his radio, "One, this is two."

"Two, send."

"One, we are in, checking for any surprises before entering. Over."

"Two, roger, we are coming up your six, out!"

"All clear!" His men replied as they carefully examined the entrance of the foyer, only finding a tripwire painted in black paint set at ankle level. They traced the wire and found it linked to a bell and half a nocked crossbow set on the table aimed at the chest level.

Carefully snipping the wire and bell, they removed the bolt with the arrowhead with a dark substance most likely some kind of poison that glittered under their tactical lights.

The remaining Claymore Two members led by Sergeant Aztes, joined them inside the house. "Where's the target?"

"Seems like they are in the basement." Cpl Pokka replied in a low voice. "And this place... is too heavily trapped to be normal."

"I had Command check up on the owners and occupants living here," Sgt Aztes replied. "A small time merchant and his family, nothing much stands out."

"Too strange than," Cpl Pokka frowned. "And why is that girl here for?"

"Well, we are about to find out!"

-----

Eveyln had felt the pull of the idol that she hid in her bed frame for days. The dreams in her sleep were filled with both joyous and also nightmares, as she kept dreaming about Dante. In the happy dreams, she dreamt she had a family with Dante or filled with passionate love making with him.

In the nightmares, she saw Dante dying in her arms or killed over again and again. Finally driven almost mad, as the idol whispered in her mind that Dante was waiting for her and she sought for the source of it.

She had sneaked out when she was certain her guards weren't her watching when she went to sleep. Slipping out of her window was easy for a person with her agility and skills, after which she slipped out of the Keep, bypassing the guards on the walls before she entered the city.

With the idol carried close to her heart, she could feel it pulsating and pulling her towards one direction which she followed carefully, ensuring no one was watching or following her.

Finally, she found the place that was attracting her over and she woke the sleeping occupant who tried to knife her but she subdued him easily, before taking the idol out and instantly there was a change in the person's attitude.

The chubby male prostrated before her and all signs of hostility were gone. He even helpfully tried to answer her questions and when the questions he couldn't answer, he led her down towards the basement where the pull of from the idol grew even stronger the closer she approached.

The chubby male in his sleeping attire lit the torches lining the walls of the basement as they climbed down the stairs. The entrance of the basement was in one of the study rooms under a table and hidden under a thick layer of carpet and a false flooring had to unlock with a key that was hanging around his flabby neck.

As the torches slowly brightened the spacious basement, its size surprised Eveyln as it was as large as a ballroom of a noble's mansion! A ring of squarish pillars held up the roof of the basement and in the center of the pillar sat a block of old obsidian that glittered evilly from the torches.

On a closer look, the obsidian altar was in an arched shape and all around the altar were vines and myrtle leaves growing abundantly that spread and entwined around the ring of pillars. The ring of pillars was made out of white marble and had naked figures with wings hugging each other.

Evelyn could feel the pull of the idol kept next to her chest growing so strong that it felt like the idol would fly out from her clothes. She approached the altar cautiously while the chubby occultist smiled brightly at the side, watching her actions with a hint of amusement.

"What are you?" Evelyn whispered as she took a step closer and removed the worn idol which looked like two worms entwined together with tiny wings. She noticed a scent that smell like roses was growing thicker as she stood over the obsidian altar.

"Bend over," The chubby cultist suddenly spoke and unknowingly, he had appeared naked behind her. Evelyn felt slightly dizzy from the sweet cloying scent of the perfume that appeared to be coming from the burning torches.

She barely resisted as the cultist bend her over the obsidian altar which seemed to fit her body angle just nicely. She tried to push herself up but her hands and legs appeared to be bound by the myrtle vines that magically held her down.

With her mind dazed by the scent, she could only struggle weakly in confusion as the cultist behind her ripped her pants off and exposed her. She moaned as hands caressed her body and her clothes were removed piece by piece.

"What... are... you... doing...?" She cried out in a daze. "Sto...p .... where... is... Dan- Dante...?"

"I am Dante," The cultist inserted into her with a sharp thrust and she cried out in surprise at the pain.

She turned her head and saw the person slamming against her and her eyes soften as she saw the love of her life grinning at her.

"Dan- Dante! You... are back!"