Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:24

Bonto Lane, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.

“Larry, let us call it a day,” I said from the back of the wagon as we slowly went down another road.

Occasionally, as I finished off another combat school, a few pursuers would give chase, but those fools were left battered and bruised in various alleyways. But as time went on, more and more groups of people, that seemed to be searching for us, were spotted on the roads. It got to the point where out of the last four schools we went to, one of them wouldn’t allow us entry, and two others were too heavily guarded for my plan to go forward.

The Rain Sabre School was the last to be successfully raided, and that was almost two hours ago.

We stalled at the end, but the morning and early afternoon had gone well, fifteen different schools, all belonging to my cousins, had been raided, their disciples and apprentices were all left broken. Just like with the pursuers sent after us, I had held back and refrained from killing anyone, which both served to blunt any reprisal that would come, and to camouflage my behavior. Instead of an active attack against the families, this could appear as if I were simply a traveling warrior looking to make a name for myself.

The halfling warrior Cat would now be a persona I could use later on.

“Yes… Cat.”

Captain Nev still struggled when it came to some things, calling me anything other than, My Lady, was one of them.

While it was an annoyance, it was only a minor one, and I didn’t blame him either. It was a matter of course. Captain Nev was a Spectre of the Hemlock, our Pine Family’s elite force. The other families all had something similar, a fiercely loyal, powerful, small scale force.

I wasn’t sure what went into their training, but I knew a few things. The Spectres were all orphans, a choice made so that they would have nowhere else to go, so that their backs would be to the wall, but also so that they had no outside conflicts. The Pine Family was their family, their fellow Spectres were their brothers and sisters.

So calling me without using the utmost respect, went against Captain Nev’s very being.

“Hey, Larry, that girl we just encountered, did you notice anything about her?” I asked about something that had been on my mind for a while.

“Hmm? The man who pulled her to safety must have been a guard, and he must have had some skill. She might have been a noble?”

That was likely an accurate guess. I was sitting on the back, so I didn’t see the moment when she came running out, nor did I see when the guard pulled her away, but I was able to get an idea based off of the sounds.

“That isn’t it. Didn’t she seem…” I trailed off, not exactly sure how to describe it.

“Well, she was certainly odd, a bit quiet and shy I guess?” Captain Nev answered.

“Shy? That wasn’t what I saw.”

When we pulled past her, she had her back to me, but her posture was languid, unfocused. She did lazily turn to look back at us, and at first, her gaze was likewise, unfocused and vague, but after a second she focused on myself and her gaze sharpened, to an almost frightening degree.

“She seemed unsteady on her feet, and she looked down when I was talking to her.” He added.

“Hmm…”

I could only sense a small amount of mana from her body, likely some kind of low-grade protection magic, or even something to keep her warm in the cold temperatures. Nothing particularly stood out, but her gaze was too intense for her to be a normal person.

“Why are you asking… Cat?”

“No matter. Larry, return us to the warehouse, it is still early, and I have something I need to do before I head home.” I ordered.

“Yes, My… Cat”

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:39

Olivia’s Warehouse, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.

Our warehouse within the 7th circle hadn’t changed much since I had last seen it, which after all, was only a day ago. The Spectres had moved some additional furniture in, but the big change, as the several crates of supplies that had been moved in.

Boxes of preserved food; nuts, dried fruits, salted meats, even pickled vegetables were spread around. There were several barrels of water too. Besides the food, there was also medical supplies, bandages, salves and poultices, a few potions, and various antidotes. And deeper in, either hidden by other things, or stored safely in the basement, was a multitude of weapons, long and short spears, crossbows and bolts, axes, hammers, barbed chains, caltrops.

“How is it My Lady?” Ula, one of the three female Spectres asked as I came in.

“You have done well.”

“Thank you. We’ve been working on this place tirelessly since you left. We have enough supplies to comfortable feed all of us for weeks, enough water too.” She said proudly.

“That’s not all,” Oz, another one of the Spectres added, “we’ve also opened up all of the walls, we loaded them up with iron rods. Nothing short of a siege ram will take down these walls.”

“While Oz is right, there is only eleven of us when we are all gathered, and this place is too big to properly defend with that number, so we built several fall back positions, not to mention traps. If we do get attacked, this place will become a deathtrap.” Bahn, another said.

“You have all done well.” I praised.

“Thank you My Lady.”

“Thank you My Lady.”

“Thank you My Lady.”

All three of them became a chorus of thanks.

“Ula, is there a private room for me?” I asked.

“Yes, of course My Lady, would you like me to show you?”

“Please”

“Right this way.”

“Also, Can one of you go to the roof? There should be a rather dirty stuffed animal on the northern corner. Bring it to me.”

“Yes My Lady.” Bahn jumped when I asked.

“Then right this way My Lady.” Ula said.

Wednesday, February 18th, N.E. 807, 17:40

Olivia’s Warehouse, 7th Circle, Royal Capital Arvas, Fredirin Kingdom.

Olivia Pine Fredirin.

The private room Ula brought me to was very similar to my normal bedroom, just smaller, made with lower quality items, and lacking shelves of stuffed animals.

There was a bed, and just looking at it, I could tell the bedding was at least of high quality. For now however, I skipped the bed and was going to sit on a comfortable looking arm chair, but then I realized I was still wearing my armor. My dirty, bloodstained, leather armor.

“Haah…” I sighed as I sat down on a simple wooden chair set at a table.

“My Lady, it is Ula.”

I didn’t need to wait long before Ula returned.

“Enter”

“Pardon me,” Ula said as she came in. “I’ve brought the stuffed animal. Bahn was needed to set another trap.”

“Thank you. And extend that to Bahn also.” I said. “Here, let me see that.”

Ula dutifully came over, and held within her hands was a dirty, soot-covered stuffed sheep.

Gimmy.

“My Lady… where did this come from?” Ula asked hesitantly.

“Hmm?”

“Well, we did scour every corner of this building when we first came in, and while it was somewhat hidden, there is no way we missed it before.” She explained.

“Ah, well, this is Gimmy.”

“Gimmy? Oh! Your stuffed animal?”

“The very one who came with me when we left the Citadel.”

“I see, where did it get too then? And how did it get… burnt?” She asked.

“Secret,” I responded.

“Ah! My apologies My Lady.” Ula said while bowing in a panic.

“Do not worry about it, but, I would like some privacy.”

“Yes My Lady.” She said as she swiftly withdrew.

Now alone, I looked at Gimmy. When I had controlled him I could see, in a manner of speaking, but Gimmy’s eyes were glass beads, far different from my own. His vision, while similar, was only a facsimile of what a person could see, as such, I hadn’t been able to truly see what he had looked like until now.

“You are quite dirty,” I said to the filthy stuffed animal.

The great majority of the filth was soot and ash from when I had guided him through the vents in the Canyon Estate, but some of it was also blood, and a small bit of brain matter, that belonged to Michael Canyon Fredirin. The blood was not only caked into his fur, but it had mixed with the ashes and created a sludge that was even worse.

“I’ll ask Ula to give you a bath after, but first…”

I unlatched the belt of pouches that was draped over Gimmy’s chest. None of the tools were particularly important or valuable, they were made and acquired hastily, so even if I needed them again, higher quality tools could be easily acquired.

The soul extractor was an exception, however.

Putting the sheep down on the chair across from me, I held up the soul extractor. It was little more than a magic wand, a bit thicker and a bit shorter than a normal one, but still, little more than a normal wand. But, with a twist, the top part with two prongs on the tip was disconnected from the bottom, and within that bottom, was a thumb-sized crystal.

When I had received the extractor from the guild’s man, Caterpillar, this crystal was a colorless white. Now, it dark brown with hints of red, almost black really.

I held the crystal in my hands and focused my attention on it. My mana slowly crawling out like tendrils, wrapping around the stone, before they just slightly entered it.

“Micheal Canyon Fredirin, can you hear me?” I asked.

In response, the solid color of the crystal began to sparkle, some parts became lighter, and others darker, and these colors swirled around within it.

“Wake up,” I said as the swirling grew stronger.

“...”

“Michael Canyon Fredirin, Wake up.”

“...huh…”

“Focus Michael Canyon Fredirin.”

“...who…? ... what…?”

“WAKE UP!” My voice shot directly into the crystal.

“Huh? Shannon? What… What is going on? Where are you?”

“Are you awake?”

“Who? Who are you? Where is this? Where is Shannon?”

“Calm yourself, Michael Canyon Fredirin. You must focus.”

“I am focused. You focus. Who are you?”

“Answer me then, who are you? What is your name?” I asked him.

“Michael Canyon Fredirin, you've called me that already.”

“Who is your father? Your mother? Who is Michael Canyon Fredirin?” I asked softly this time.

“Father… who is my father again... “

“Focus, think, remember.”

“My father is… Patrick Canyon Fredirin, a duke. My mother is… Carrie Canyon. Right… I am the son of a Duke, Michael Canyon Fredirin.”

“Have you calmed down?”

“I think? Where am I? Who are you? And where is Shannon.”

“I do not know who Shannon is, so I obviously do not know where she is either. As for the rest, well, in time.”

“No, not in time. You will tell me now.” His angry voice said.

“Oh? Is that the domineering attitude of the son of a duke? Still, you win, I will answer you. You are in the basement of a warehouse in the 7th circle.” I answered.

“Then, what is this red fog?”

“About that… Well, instead, let me ask you something. Do you know what a soul extractor is?”

“Soul extractor? Of course, they are used to make magic items. Specifically, they pull a soul out of…”

“Do you understand now?”

“... Haha. Funny. You are suggesting that not only was I killed, but my soul was extracted?”

“Exactly.”

“Impossible. I went to sleep in my room, it is impossible for someone to have snuck in and assassinated me.”

“And yet, I am here, someone who you don’t know. Which would imply, I had kidnapped you, would that not be even more difficult?”

“...”

“Nothing to say then?”

“... Even if… Even if you were able to get to me in the Canyon Estate, you couldn’t have taken my soul, soul extractors will not work on sentient beings.”

“Ah… that shows how little you know. Soul extractors are normally ranked by grade, the grade indicating both the size of the crystal within, and the magical circuit that facilitates the transfer of the soul from the body to the crystal. In regards to the crystal, most of them are primed towards the type of beast that they are intended to be used upon. It follows the elemental types, red for fire, blue for water, gold for light, and so on. However, they can also be left in their base state, for when you do not know what you will be using it on.” I lectured.

“So? What does that have to do with anything?”

“The uncalibrated ones are less effective, requiring a stronger grade than a calibrated one. This, of course, increases the cost, but did you know an uncalibrated one will actually cost more than a calibrated one of an equal grade? Of course, this makes little sense at a glance, since a calibrated one goes through an additional step. What most people do not know, is that the uncalibrated one, isn’t actually uncalibrated, it is instead primed for all six types of mana.”

“Again, what does that have to do with anything?”

“A soul extractor that is actually, truly, uncalibrated, is an unfinished product. In fact, even more than that, it is a highly illegal product. Why do you think that is?”

“First of all, I do not trust you in the first place. But as for why, I do not know.”

“Simple, because during the calibrating process, a restriction is placed within the crystal, a restriction that prevents the crystal from absorbing a soul with a certain degree of structure. In other words, a soul from an intelligent being.”

“... I do not believe you.”

“In fact, if used early enough, a calibrated soul extractor can be used on a newborn infant.”

“That is appalling.”

“Indeed. Of course, most people do not try that, there is no need since an infant’s soul would be shockingly weak. Well, as for you, I should mention that if one knows the correct people, and is willing to pay, they can acquire an uncalibrated soul extractor.”

“Impossible. Production of soul extractors is controlled by the Artificer’s Guild, and is highly restricted.”

“It is, but money opens all sorts of doors. I do not know the specifics of how this one came into my hands, but I know it did. And then, it found its way to you.”

“I still, do not believe you.”

“I see, well the funny thing is, since you are merely a soul within a small stone, there isn’t much that can be done to prove it to you.”

“We are at an impasse then.”

“For normal people, yes. But, I am not normal. I wouldn’t say I am particularly skilled in it, but I do know how to perform soul magic, so how about this…” I said as I circulated my mana.

“...!”

“How was it?”

“That… was that… what you were seeing?” he asked in a near panic

“Yes, it was,” I answered.

“...”

“And that little rock in my hand, that was you. Your soul.”

“... What is it that you want?” He asked, his voice barely being held together now.

“Hmm… what do I want? You bring up a good question. To an extent, you are a hindrance to me. But, killing you would have sufficed for just that, so it could be said I also want to give me information.”

“... I see…”

“I would, however, be lying if I said I didn’t have another, baser, reason for all of this.”

“And that is?”

“Revenge,” I stated.

“Revenge?”

I didn’t answer, instead, I looked away from the stone and towards the adjacent chair while I circled my mana again.

“What… is that thing?” He asked.

“Gimmy.”

“What is a Gimmy?”

“A stuffed animal, specifically, a sheep.”

“A stuffed… sheep...? Wait, you can’t be!?” he shouted.

“Introductions are in order I guess,” I said slowly.

“...”

“Olivia Pine Fredirin greets you, my cousin.”