***The World***

***Karin***

“Don't worry, lad. This old man will find the rest of the way on his own. I thank you.” I crunch up my wrinkled face in an attempt to smile at the guard who showed me the way to the central marketplace. Reaching behind myself, I take one of the ripe apples. “Here, take this as thanks. It's been a while since I made this trip. Normally, my grandson sells the apples on the market, but you know the young folk. He preferred to run off in order to become a soldier or risk his life in some other way. Some people just can't settle down before they have lost a limb or two.”

The guard nods and jumps off the cart, ignoring my offering. “Just stay out of trouble, old man. And remember that the gates close at sunset. You have to be out of the city by then if you want to return to your village. The rules are a lot stricter since the Empire started moving their forces around. Once the gates are closed, they stay closed until morning.”

“Sure, sure.” I wave him goodbye as he starts jogging back to his guard-house, the old man who couldn't find his way probably already forgotten in the city guard's mind.

I wait until he is around the corner of a nearby side-street and stop smiling.

These people are worse than children for allowing someone to enter the inner city as easily as that. All it took was to buy an apple-cart with a load of decently looking fruits and play the senile apple farmer from the countryside. If I do it right, I may even be able to walk into the palace itself.

Aren't they afraid of skinwalkers? If one of those monsters got this far, it would have practically free reign until most of the citizens are dead.

Raising the apple to my mouth, I take a generous bite and study the market in front of me. There are vendors of various sizes all over the place, praising their goods. Most of the ones in my immediate surroundings offer various meats and vegetables, although, further ahead it looks like there is some sort of cloth-section.

Holding the cart's reins firmly under control, I search for a place to get rid of the goods. The more mysterious my actions in this city are, the better. Ashley said that she would watch and grade my performance.

A chance presents itself when I notice a rather large stall with various vegetables. But what draws my attention aren't the goods, but the vendor who pays attention to my cart with an appraising eye.

Stopping the cart, I slide off the driver's seat and approach the man, trying to look old and fragile, but this time without giving the impression of being with one foot inside the grave like I did with the guards.

“Hello, name is Lars from Reynolds Farm.” I offer him my hand, assured in the knowledge that I did my research about this region before I took on this mission. “Know a place where I can sell this cartload with high-quality apples? I can promise that all of them are hand-picked directly from the tree. They won't rot or spoil easily.”

“From the Reynolds farmstead? I know of it, you sell high-quality stuff, but aren't you normally providing other towns with your goods? Reynolds is big and well known, but you are quite a distance away.” The vendor carefully raises his hand to shake, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Yes, yes. You would be completely right in a normal year.” Closing the rest of the distance, I take his hand in mine and we shake while I cast a subtle spell of befuddlement to calm his mind and to ease his doubts, letting the mana ooze out of my palm and into him, relaxing his muscles.

“You can't imagine how good the weather has been this year downriver. It was perfect for apples. So much so that we are drowning in them. The master even ordered us to throw anything of lesser quality away, just to keep the prices up and not to tarnish our name when it's not necessary. We have so much high-quality harvest that it's even feasible to transport some of the excess further upriver, even if the journey takes a few days.” We keep shaking hands during the entire negotiation process, as it is custom in these lands.

Not entirely taken by my story, the man narrows his eyes. “Hm. That sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch, and I can hardly believe that goods like fruits would be undamaged after a transport by carriage. Especially not after such a distance.”

I nod. “That's right, good sir. But tell you what. Even if you just pay me fifty silver for the whole load, you will still make quite a bit of profit and the journey will have been profitable to my master. You can pick out the good stuff and throw away the apples that don't make the cut for people with higher standards.”

“Hm. Prices must have dropped quite a bit if fifty silver pieces are worth that journey,” he replies.

“That they did, as I mentioned, and the labour of a lowly serf isn't worth much these days since our economy tanked. Most of the smart people are trying to get over the border, no matter which side. So, do we have a deal? You have until tomorrow morning to sort out the cart, then I'll make my journey back to the master's estate. Have to stay within the time frame, or it's back to manual labour for the poor old me, instead of driving a cart.”

We haggle for a little longer, but in the end, I get my fifty silver for what was originally worth a hundred. Well, before I drove it through half the city-state, just to have a legitimate reason to enter the town.

Money in hand, I excuse myself while one of the vendor's employees gets tasked with sorting out the cart. Holding my back, I wander off, implying that I would have a look through the town before sleeping in some cheap inn.

Once the store disappears in the crowd, I change directions once more and wander closer to the city's central palace, presumably with my target inside it.

Captivated by the nice architecture, I marvel at the sight of what I had to observe from afar up until now. While the rest of the city consists of plain, white buildings, the palace is a work of art with long archways connecting several towers, decorated with golden domes which sparkle in the sunlight.

It's a much different sight from what I am used to. Compared to my poor village and the town in another world, this land lives in excess and luxury. It would be a shame if the city got destroyed in the war between the Alliance and the Empire.

Before I know it, my exploration has taken me along the palace's outer wall and away from the market into a street. Apparently, it's forbidden to build too close to the palacewalls, or to set up shop, because there are no buildings which would make it easy to get into the palace.

“Look what we have here. Grandfather, aren't you a little too interested in the palace?”

Turning around, I find myself facing two palace guards in shining armour, much prettier than the plain leather armour of the city guard. Their armour is pure plate-steel and polished to a shine. The only thing they forwent were their helmets because of the summer's heat.

“I am sorry, good sir. I am from the countryside, and thanks to fortunate circumstances and my lord, I got the opportunity to travel to the capital. It's the first and probably last time for me seeing something so grand and marvellous like the palace,” I justify myself.

The other guard snorts. “Just make it quick, Serdas. I'll continue the rounds so that nobody gets edgy, while you explain the rules to the old man.”

They seem to be on a tight schedule. If they turn out to be as strict and thorough as they ought to be, then this mission might be quite difficult.

“Yeah, yeah. Just see to it that the others don't start bitching.” Guard one waves his hand, shooing the other away.

His companion shrugs and passes me without giving me a second glance. Apparently, patrolling along the wall and being back on time is very important.

“Now back to you, grandpa. There are strict rules about coming too close to the wall. Anything closer than five metres, and you have to pay one gold if you are caught.”

I try not to look too surprised. “One gold! But I don't have that kind of money!” Quickly looking up and down the street, I make sure that we aren't watched. I could pay the greedy guard of course, but that would raise other questions. My current persona doesn't exactly look like it would carry gold coins around. And one entire gold? That's just too excessive.

There is nobody around, aside from the other guard who is slowly disappearing around the soft curvature of the wall. A black cat is lying stretched out on a windowsill, lazily watching the street with half-closed eyes. This might actually be an opportunity. In any other situation, I wouldn't try to wing it, but there might be no better chance to get taken into the palace's dungeon. Once inside and past the inhibition field that stops spies and assassins from teleporting in, I should be able to find an opening to exploit.

“Aaah...”

Trying to sound desperate, I run for it.

The guard easily catches up and rather roughly kicks my legs out from beneath me. A little surprised at his violence, I fall and catch myself just in time with the palms of my hands, scratching the fragile skin.

“Oh, I love this part of the job.” He kicks me in the side, causing me to wince because of the unexpected vehemence. The bastard isn't holding back at all. If I were a real old man, I would have broken ribs for sure! Then he rolls me over and pulls me up at my clothes, pushing me against the wall.

“He- Heelp!” I scream.

“Don't bother, grandpa. The people in this street all know the game.” Grinning, he backhands me right across the face, rocking my whole head to the side.

Looking at my face, his expression suddenly turns from excited to disgusted. “What the?” He looks at his glove, which is covered in a slimy, red goo.

I reach up to feel my cheek, just to find that a rather large patch of the old man's skin came loose and is now hanging down, still partly attached to my neck. It most likely reveals a large part of my real face beneath the stolen skin.

“What the fuck are-”

Kicking out, I sink my knee into his crotch. A pained cough and a wheezing breath escape the man as I grab the metal of his chest piece by the neck and whirl him around, pushing my hips against his. Having the perfect grip for a hip-throw, I catapult his whole body into the air and bring him down onto the ground, fully intending to shatter his bones in return for hitting me. He lands rather roughly on his back, having the air pressed out of his lungs.

“Sorry, but it's your own fault that I have to change my plans. If you hadn't done this, I would have allowed you to capture me.”

Snorting, I mount him and straddle the man between my thighs. As he tries to sit up, I force his shoulders back to the ground and shut him up by pressing my lips against his, inhaling deeply.

It's not that bad if I just imagine slurping up a bowl of soup while I use the spell, and he wasn't exactly a nice person. Even so, I feel myself getting horny as I suck out the man's life by using a reversed form of healing kiss. Damn all succubus magic to hell!

***

Above them, the black cat flicks an ear while watching interestedly as one of the metal men flails in his last throws of death, reminding the predator of a twitching mouse to play with. Although, the old geezer who is biting the metal man feels too dangerous, his suppressed aura very obvious to the sensible animal.

Once more bored when the last twitches and shakes rock the metal man's body, the cat goes back to sleep.

***

Five minutes later and having gotten rid of the old man's skin in a nearby dumpster, I try my best to sort out all the leather straps which held the guard's armour together. I probably look like a new recruit who is trying to put on plate armour for the first time.

Somehow, I manage not to look like a total newbie by the time I reach the other guard at the palace gate. Still, he and two other guards frown at me as I approach.

“No captured peasant, Turin? What took you so long? Don't tell me you are getting soft in your old days. Or did the geezer give you trouble? You look rather dishevelled, man. How did you get that dirt on you? That's sitting too losely!” The man who was on patrol duty with 'Turin' steps closer and reaches for one of the leather straps on my chest-piece. Pulling at it rather forcefully, he tightens the armour around my chest, making it feel like a corset!

Sucking in a sharp breath, I try to make my chest as small as possible as it is squashed against my ribcage.

“Just a little. He ran and was faster than I expected, the little weasel,” I try to sound embarrassed and filled with rage in an attempt to play the man's character as best as possible, the short interaction with him being my only hint. “I fell and he got away. Have to send out a patrol! He was probably a spy in disguise!”

The other guard rolls his eyes. “That's Turin for you. Maybe you shouldn't play games with everyone who gets close to the wall. Your behaviour is why you have patrol duty around the wall out here with us, the least important job of all. And if the old man really was a spy, then he is impossible to find by now. Probably just a near-sighted peasant like he said he was. In both cases, it would be a huge waste of time to start a manhunt. He didn't even touch the wall.”

I press my lips together in a thin line and try to look displeased in an attempt to play the ignored guard. Which isn't that hard, considering how my boobs are currently having a bad time.

The next time I get, I'll drop this persona without a second of hesitation. Oh, I should have used real body-shifting for this mission, but I am still too afraid to do it without Ashley's supervision.

Allowing them to laugh at my cost, I stand there and wait until they decide to continue with their duties. The two men who waited at the palace's entrance start walking away, taking a route along the palace's walls.

Following my own colleague, I enter the palace's property past a group of guards in very decorative costumes, likely elite soldiers who are in charge of the gate. Unlike our armour, theirs is embroidered with fine artwork.

I feel a surge of energy as I pass into the energy field which stops all teleportation into or out of the palace. It was the reason why I had to go through this convoluted plan to enter the city. In their fear, the leaders of the city erected a magical barrier to prohibit most forms of magical travel. Flying or teleportation close to the palace is really hard because of the interference. Inside the palace it is impossible, not to mention the really strict screening methods of the local guards.

After several of Luxley's agents had failed, Willow decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to test my abilities.

Huffing, I lament the fact that either of my three teachers could have just walked into this palace and beheaded this so-called king. I think his name was Urisk. Not that it matters. He will soon be no more than a footnote in history.

I follow the other guard into the palace and further to a guardroom where we get rid of most of our gear, while I try to look like I am brooding, hoping that nobody strikes a conversation with me. While my Skin-Taker spell should be able to fool almost everyone, as I literally take on the flesh and skin of the target, I don't learn much about their behaviour and memories.

Should someone get the bright idea to strike a conversation with me, it wouldn't take them long to find out that something is wrong with me.

While my colleague gets busy with his bedding, taking one of the eight spartan beds in the room, I excuse myself with the intention of taking a leak. Thankfully, the man just grunts and ignores me.

Ignoring him, I leave the room and trail down the corridor we took to get to the palace's quarters. This area is clearly reserved for the military personnel. A stairway provides me with an easy way to get deeper into the palace, but I run into a dead end when a pair of palace guards bar my way. They are in even fancier armour with gold plating. Definitely higher ranked than the one I have. They are protecting a door that looks like it would lead into the inner palace.

A simple guard in charge of the outer walls wouldn't have access to this area, so I don't even try approaching them.

When I notice a maid in a fancy looking dress, a slight smile twitches across my face. She came out of a door right next to the guards, probably some kind of servant's entrance. More importantly, the guards didn't pay her any attention, so I quickly follow her into some sort of storage room.

Having a goal in mind, she purposefully heads for a broom and a bucket and jumps when I close the door behind myself.

“I have a question.” Stepping closer, I smile and take her hand, applying the same confusion spell which I used on the shop owner in the market.

Then I reach for my forehead, dig my fingers into the skin and pull off my face. Well, at least what she perceives as my face.

She opens her mouth to scream, but combined with my influence and the unexpected situation, the mental pressure proves too much for her. Her eyes roll upwards in their sockets and she faints as I catch her.

Working quickly, I get rid of the guard's identity and store the now naked, unconscious maid in a mostly empty closet, piling the guard's leftovers on top of her. Then I get to work, using real body transformation to change my features in an attempt to look like her. She is young and female, so I am not too worried about changing something I can't undo. Contrary to changing into a man, impersonating another woman is really easy.

Less than two minutes later, equipped with a maid uniform and a few illusions to look pristine, I stroll confidently past the guardians and into the inner palace. One of them looks at me but doesn't pay me any more attention after recognizing my face.

From there on out it turns out not to be hard to find my target, who is lounging on the balcony of an empty throne room. Smiling, I approach the middle-aged man and compare his features to the picture I got from Willow, just to be sure. It would be a shame to go through all of this, just to kill the wrong person.

“My king, I was told you need something,” smiling, I try to put Ashley’s training to good use as the man notices me. Approaching, I move exactly as she taught me to. According to her, a woman's movements can be as hypnotizing as a spell.

The king's eyes immediately slide up and down my figure and I am sure that I have him when his eyes stay stuck to the tight-fitting fabric of the maid uniform's chest area.

He starts stuttering, “I didn't- ahem- I- blergh!”

Now close enough, I strike out, jabbing my fingers into his throat. Squeezing, I open up the major arteries as blood wells out from between my fingers and his eyes quickly flutter shut. Without blood pressure and a constant support of oxygen, the brain quickly ceases its functions. I never experienced it myself, but a physician back in the other world told me that its one of the less frightening ways to part with the world.

Having seen many horrors in my two decades of life, I can only agree to that assessment.

He lets out a gurgling breath and then the king crumbles like a puppet as his shocked muscles relax. I quickly take his hand and pull the twitching corpse back into the throne room, fearing that some random onlooker might have seen us on the balcony.

Ashley told me to make a spectacle of the king's death. To show the city officials that the Empire isn't to be played with. But she never said that the man would have to suffer.

Sighing, I pull the corpse with me, trying to remember Ascathon's lessons about subtle magic and Ashley's teachings on succubus art-forms. Together with Willow's instructions on fairy-magic I should be able to create something that all three of my teachers can be proud of.

Let's see, I have a ton of blood...

Looking back at the trail I made with the king's body, I remedy that. I have a lot less blood...

But there are plenty of organs and flesh... oh, and bones. Ashley said to never forget the bones.