Lillianna

I had left the woman we had rescued with Erick and was currently making my way across the rooftops of Fornall, before leaving though I had changed into my usual traveling attire and brought Enenra with me. The information I had gathered during the day was useful but I needed more before I was sure my plan to deal with the Count would work. What I was looking for right now was information on the Count’s more dubious dealings. The rulers of kingdoms and cities almost always partook in illegal activities for one reason or another. This was the reality for those who ruled and I did not particularly find it disagreeable, it was often better to have the criminal underworld working with you than against you.

A few hours had passed since I began looking for a way to contact the underworld of Fornall but had not been lucky so far. As I was about to leave the area I was currently searching I come across what I had been looking for. I find two men in front of a warehouse and they appeared to be guarding it. They have the appearance of hired thugs and are vigilantly standing watching, their wooden cudgels hanging from their waists.

After observing a few people enter and leave the building I had decided that this was worth investigating further and drop down into one of the side streets adjacent to the building. I then make my way towards the warehouse at a leisurely pace and soon find myself in front of the two guards.

“I’m here to buy information, have I found the right place?” I ask the guards in a casual tone.

The guard to my left looks at me with curiosity in his eyes, before replying.

“Get out of here girl, this is no place for you” he says in a dismissive tone.

“If you are not interested in my livres that I will find someone who is” I say nonchalantly as I bounce a small bag of coins in my hand that I had withdrawn from under my cloak.

“What if we just take them from you little girl? Did you think about that?” the same man says.

“By all means, please try and take it” I say as I continue to the play with the coin pouch.

There is a small moment of silence before the guard to my right decides to speak.

“There is an entrance fee, a livre for each of us” he says with a smile on his face.

“Here’s two each, now get out of my way I’m in a hurry” I say as I throw the coins in their direction.

Without further trouble, they allow me into the building and direct me towards a group of men sitting around a table. The building was indeed a warehouse and consisted of a large open holding area for goods and a small area at the front with tables and cabinets. The group of men, who were five in number, looked middle aged and wore attire common to the lower classes of Fornall.

As I approach the men at the table, their attention shifts towards me once they notice my presence. I throw the small bag of coins onto the table and make myself known.

“I’m here to buy information regarding the Count. Consider this a gift to start the negotiations” I say as I point towards the coin pouch that I had thrown onto the table.

The man at the head of the table who I assumed was their leader looked at the coin pouch and then returned his attention to me.

“What kind of information?” he asked.

“I want to know about the dealings the Count has with men like you”

“Men like us?”

“Don’t play stupid with me, I don’t have time to waste” I reply in an annoyed tone.

“What exactly do you want to know?” the leader asks with a hearty chuckle, as he places the coin pouch into his pocket.

“I want to know about any illegal operations he runs and I heard recently that he has gotten quite wealthy. I want to know how he came into passion of this wealth”

No one answers my demands for a time but soon the leader begins to speak again.

“I don’t know where he got all that coin from, all I know is that it wasn’t from us”

“And about his operations?”

“I’m going to need a few more coins before I can remember anything like that” the man says with a greedy grin on his face.

I take out another bag of livres that I had been hiding under my cloak and throw it on the table.

“That is one hundred livres, if you try to deceive me, I guarantee you that no one will leave this building alive”

*These guys better not fuck with me*

The man once again takes the coins and places it into his pocket.

“The Count pays us to keep our hands off his goods. He smuggles weapons and armour out of the city, where he sends them I don’t know. Other than that, he stays out of our way and we stay out of his, it’s good business"

“Anything else?”

“Sometimes he might pay us to kill someone but he hasn’t asked us to do that in a while”

“How many other groups does he work with?”

“If I had to guess, anyone that is willing. It’s not a secret that the Count works with people like us”

“Is there anyone in particular that I should pay a visit to if I wanted more information? Someone who might know more about this smuggling operation”

The group of men remain silent for a few moments before one of them leans over to their leader and whispers something into his ear. The leader gives a few nods and turns his attention back towards me.

“You could try talking to Gilberta Anders, she’s the one who handles the Count’s smuggling operation. But I don’t think she’d tell you anything” the leader says in a dismissive manner.

“Where do I find her?”

“She runs her business out of a shop in the merchant district called Sunset Trading, she lives on the top floor. You should be able to find her there”

“It would be best if you forgot that you ever saw me” I say as I leave the building, making sure they understood it as the threat it was.

Lillianna

Not long after, I find myself on a rooftop across from Gilberta’s shop. As it was nearing midnight the area was free of any bystanders and I decided to make my way down to street level. There was no activity in the building and I went with the assumption that Gilberta was currently sleeping. The shop was quite unremarkable and one would not have been able to tell that it was a front for a smuggling operation at face value. I circle around the building making sure to take note of any exits and possible surprises that might await me. My caution was for naught though, as I did not find anything that could pose a danger.

Using the daggers that Erick had bought me, I pry open a window at the back of the building. Once through the window I take in my surroundings while holding my daggers in a defensive posture. The window had led to a kitchen or cooking area, deciding that there was no need to investigate this room further I make my way deeper into the building. Upon exiting the kitchen I entered the main room of the shop. There was a large counter facing the main entrance of the shop with rows of books on shelves that contained ledgers.

Quietly I make my way towards the books and pull a few of them of their shelves to examine them closer. I light a lamp that was left on the table and proceed to read through the ledgers. They consisted of records of trade goods that had been sold and transported throughout the province of Fornall. There was nothing incriminating, just mundane trade records. Satisfied that there was nothing to be gained from browsing these books, I make my way upstairs, remembering to extinguish the lamp and bring it with me.

The top floor of the building consisted of a number of rooms and I carefully go from one door to the next, checking what was inside. In one of the rooms I find Gilberta sleeping in her bed, she looked like an ordinary middle-aged woman with strikes of grey in her brown hair, her pale face had a smile on it as she slept peacefully. Still unaware of my intrusion and not wanting to wake her yet I leave her uninterrupted and continue onto the other rooms. The last room I investigate appears to be a study with a large wooden desk and a number of books along a shelf on the wall. The books along the wall don’t interest me as they consist of stories and other unimportant things, the desk however does draw my attention. It was common to hide documents in hidden compartments and this desk was large enough to contain more than a few such compartments.

Relighting the lamp, I carefully inspect the desk. After a short time I notice a hidden latch in one of the draws. Upon opening the latch, a false bottom in the draw opens and I find a well-worn ledger book. The contains of the book recorded the smuggling of arms and armour to a small village on the western border of Fraul. Judging by the secrecy of this book, it was obvious that these arms sales were not officially condoned especially since the buyers originated from the Pa-ghan Empire.

Looking further through the ledgers I come across something that ignites my rage. I find dozens of pages listing the names of slaves who had been sold off to the Pa-ghans. Though the life of a slave was harsh they were still afforded certain rights in Fraul, one of those rights being that no slave was to be sold to a foreign nation. The reason that this had angered me was not because the law had been broken but because the Pa-ghans were infamous for their brutal treatment of slaves. They were known to force mothers to watch as their new born babies were thrown to the dogs and would often work the men to death in their mines, feeding the remaining slaves the bodies of their deceased companions. Though the tales of Pa-ghan brutality may seem hard to believe they were well-documented and had been verified during the many wars between Fraul and Pa-ghan.

With my rage barely contained I make my way back to Gilberta’s room but not before taking the ledger book with me. I slowly approach her sleeping form and place my hand over her mouth to muffle her voice, before stabbing one of my daggers into her leg.

“MUAHMUAUMMMUARG!” she tries to scream as she jolts into a sitting position.

“Sorry to wake you so late at night, but I have a few questions to ask” I say impassively.

“ARGHHHMMUUAAGHH!” she screams, my hand still over her mouth and the dagger still in her leg.

“Be quiet or I’ll have to stab you somewhere you won’t like”

She quickly hushes herself but continues to whimper quietly.

“Now answer my questions quietly and quickly. If I think you are lying, I will cut off your figures one by one. Do you understand?”

She nods furiously to show understanding.

“Good. Now tell me, are you smuggling weapons for Count Ramuse?” I ask as I remove my hand from her mouth.

“Yes” she whimpers.

“Who are you smuggling them to?”

“The Pa-ghans”

“Why” I ask as I narrow my eyes.

“The Count asked me to sell some things from the city armoury because he needed more money. The Pa-ghans were willing to pay the most for them”

“And he knew you were selling it to them?”

“All he cared about was the money he didn’t ask who I sold it to”

“What about the slaves, did he ask you sell them for him?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about”

I withdraw the dagger from her leg and grab her right arm. I force her right hand to stretch out over the bed and in one swift motion I slice off her fingers. She lets out a blood curdling scream as her fingers drop to the floor and clutches the bloody stumps with her left hand.

“Sorry, I took too many fingers off. Now do you want to try answering that question again, this time without lying?”

“He doesn’t know… *sob* anything about that”

“Why are you selling slaves to the Pa-ghan then?”

“*sob* They offered… me so much… money… how could I refuse*sob*”

“And you are sure the Count had nothing to do with it?”

“Yes, he didn’t know anything, please I’m not lying” she begs.

Without any further words I drop the dagger onto the bed and raise my now empty hand into the air. I will Inanna into a silver blade and decapitate Gilberta before she can fathom what is happening, the blade then evaporates. Blood spatters around the room and onto my clothes, while her shocked expression is frozen on her face as her head slowly tumbles to the ground. Picking up the dagger, I stab it into her chest and leave it there as a warning to others. After looking over the bloody scene for a few moments I pick her head off the ground and wrap it in bed sheets.

*Time to pay the Count a visit*

Lillianna

By the time I had found the Count’s manor and studied the building, a few more hours had past. The manor was an impressive building with four storeys and a large garden surrounding it. The grounds were well guarded but with Enenra shrouding me it was not difficult to go about undetected. Count Ramuse’s room had a large balcony that overlooked the area, which I had Cormon toss me onto.

Upon reaching the balcony I make my way inside, still cloaked by Enenra, and find the Count sleeping in a large bed at the centre of the room. He was younger that I thought he would be. He appeared to be in his early twenties with dark brown hair that reached his shoulders and had a pale complexion.

~Cormon, hold him in place and keep him quiet but don’t stop him from talking~

~Yes Master~

I toss Gilberta’s head that was still wrapped in a bed sheet at the sleeping Count. The decapitated head hits his face and he springs upright onto his bed. He makes a muffled sound but with Cormon holding his jaw closed the sound doesn’t carry far. He fumbles trying to unwrap the head and upon succeeding, lets out a stifled scream.

~Release me Enenra~

With that command the shadow surrounding me retreats back into the cloak around my shoulders. The Count’s eyes widen with sheer terror at the sight and he frantically tries to flee the room while Cormon holds him in place.

“That’s enough, be still or I will make you still” I command.

“Wh... who are you?” the Count stutters.

“I go simply by the name Lilianna and I am a mage as you can tell”

“What do you want?” his voice still full of fear.

“That’s a bit complicated so I’ll start from the beginning. You see, I was making a deal with the village of Riverbrook, you are aware of this village yes?”

“Yes, it is one of the settlements I govern”

“Good. Riverbrook was about to sign over their trade rights to me before your men arrived and interrupted my negotiations. As I understand it, your men were there to relocate the people of Riverbrook. This obviously was inconvenient for me, as you can understand”

The Count nods to show that he understood.

“When I tried to reason with your men, there were quite rude and so I had to take matters into my own hands”

“What did you do to my men?” the Count’s voice had hints of anger within it.

“I killed them all, of course. It’s not a good idea to upset a mage, now is it?”

“So what do you want then and who is this?” the Count asks as he points towards Gilberta’s head.

“I am getting to that your Excellency. You see I’ve come to Fornall to make a deal with you, since your men had interrupted my negotiations with Riverbrook, I thought it best to deal with you personally”

I say with a sinister smile before continuing.

“Honour the trade agreement I have since made with Riverbrook and you can live. The terms are simple, give me an exclusive Writ of Trade for all goods originating from the lands north of Fraul with Riverbrook being the sole settlement named in said Writ able to trade on my behalf. Do this and I will let you live”

“That still doesn’t answer who this is” again the Count points towards Gilberta.

“Apologies your Excellency, that is the head of Gilberta Anders. I am sure you know of her”

“I don’t know who that is” the Count tries to refute.

“Lying with only upset me, your Excellency. I know you used her to sell stock from your armoury to make extra coin on the side. What you might not know is who she sold them to”

Count Ramuse does not reply but seems to be disturbed by my words.

“So you really don’t know huh? Well you see, your little smuggler has been selling weapons and slaves to Pa-ghan. A crime punishable by death I believe. If word got out that the Count of Fornall had been aiding an enemy empire… I would hate to think what the people would do to their beloved Count”

“Wait! I knew nothing of this, you’re lying, you’re just trying to blackmail me”

“Whether you knew or not is irrelevant, what matters is that Gilberta’s smuggling operations can be traced back to you. It is common knowledge amongst the criminals of Fornall that you have been using Gilberta to smuggle goods. All that anyone would need to implicate you is some proof that you had been using her services”

I throw the ledger book that I had taken from Gilberta’s study at the Count.

“But that is not what I want, so you can have that book as a sign of my good will. It contains all the records of the your interactions with Gilberta”

“Even if I sign the Writ of Trade, there are other issues. You are a mage and only the Crown has authority over you mages”

“I am not from Fraul, so your King has no authority over me. Though I won’t deny that it could have negative political implications but this agreement will be a great boon to you and should be adequate compensation”

“How would it benefit me?”

“As you will be the one providing the Writ, it naturally provides you with the taxes from said Writ. Granted there is currently no trade with any peoples north of Fraul, but I will provide you with the opportunity to do so within two years. Consider the Writ payment for me personally exploring and establishing a trade network with the northern lands”

“And if I do not sign the Writ of Trade?”

“Then I will kill you tonight and deal with the consequences”

“Signing such a lucrative Writ with a foreign mage would likely have me dead before your return”

“Well then, I will provide you with one further incentive. Since you are worried about your rivals, how about I make one of them disappear?”

“And you would do this without implicating me?”

“Of course” I say with a genuine smile.

“How long do I have to decide on who to choose?”

“Not long, decide now or I will take your hesitation as a refusal to agree to my terms”

After a few moments of thought he provides me with a name.

“Elysia Navier”

“Your bride to be?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, will that be a problem?”

“Sign the Writ first”

“Hold up your end of the bargain and then I will sign your Writ, otherwise kill me now”

“Very well, I will make sure she disappears within ten days”

“Are you not curious as to why I chose her?”

“Does it matter?” I ask dismissively.

“I suppose not”

“Then I will be off. If you try to betray me, I will burn this city to the ground, keep that in mind in the coming days. I will return once the task is done”

~Release him Cormon~

Before the Count can reply, I dash towards the balcony and make my way back to the inn.

Count Sebastian Ramuse

Realising that I was still holding a decapitated head I leap out of bed and kick it across the room. I start to vomit, the decapitated head, the image of the mage shrouded in shadow, the threat on my life, all of it had been too much for me. After wiping my mouth clean I sit down on the edge of my bed and reality starts to sink in.

The mage was about to solve one of my biggest dilemmas. That dilemma being what I would do about my marriage to the Navier’s oldest daughter. I had been looking for a way to terminate the marriage but still save face publicly and with the mage’s offer, I had found it. With Elysia’s death I would be free from the marriage and still have the dowry, while the Naviers would be weakened financially and politically. The death of a betrothed daughter would be humiliating and as long as I was not implicated, only the Naviers would be weakened.

That thought brought me comfort from the recent ordeal but what the mage had said about Gilberta was quite disconcerting. I truly hadn’t know about her dealing with the Pa-ghan Empire and if word had got out about her involvement and I had been linked, it would have meant the end of the whole Ramuse family. I would need to deal with the Pa-ghan operations in Fornall before anyone found out about it, but that was not an immediate concern. There was also the matter of the men I had sent to Riverbrook. But those men could be replaced easily and now that I didn’t have to wait for their return, I could send my forces to Dantor first thing in the morning.

After thinking over the events again, I decided that in the end that this arrangement was something that I could use to my advantage. I also did not want a mage as an enemy so I had little choice but to accept the terms.

*I hope death doesn’t end up being the wiser option*