Chapter 16

Five days later he met up with the group in a nondescript house near the eastern northern gates. "Great, everybody made it, violet." Becker started the meeting "Football" "Sheep" "Grass" "Beast" "Howitzer" "Plane" he looked towards Georg after everybody said one word. "Georg you know my memory isn't the best, no reds this time either right?" Georg nodded "Yup, no reds we're safe. Good job everybody." They each had several code words they'd use in certain situations. The ones they used tonight indicated that they did their job and weren't followed or threatened. The representative of our employer is in the next room, I'll get his cargo. Everybody hid their faces with wooden masks Catherine made for everybody. Her hobby was carving. "Hey look at that, your masks actually resemble something now." John teased her. The rogue vanished and held a dagger to his face as she appeared behind him while smirking. "Careful Johnny or I might carve it directly next time." the others smiled at their exchange but turned their attention to Becker as he led the five women they had rescued in the room. They had clean new clothing and looked healthier as described by the employer.

The clothes couldn't cover their scars completely though. "Weren't they supposed to be skin and bones?" Steven asked but Maverick punched him as a response to the insensitive question. "They ate nearly all my storage, hahaha. Trust me they looked much worse when I got them out." Becker supplied the answer. 'They must've eaten a truck load to empty HIS storage.' Becker was known to keep a lot of food for emergencies and simply because he loved it. He even made cheese and sausages himself which is quite impressive with the level of technology in Dawn. He might've got some magical help though.

The women looked around seemingly frightened. They didn't know any of the people in the room and even Becker only showed himself to them masked. They knew he had rescued them but their future fate was still unknown."Alright, time to see where this whole thing goes." Becker knocked on the door where their employer or a representative was waiting. They often did their jobs without knowing for whom. Of course they confirmed their sincerity before accepting to not walk into a trap. 'Now let's see how they react.' when the women wouldn't know the man it likely meant some sort of slavery or worse would be their fate. The man entered the room and four of the five women immediately changed their expressions. Two of them hugged each other and broke down into tears. One was simply smiling and the last one run towards the man and greeted him with a hug. "Peter, thank you so much!" Georg had a smile under his mask 'Ahh, I'm glad it's a happy end.' it was mostly fifty fifty when it came to jobs with people involved. Georg saw enough in his life to not be shaken too badly by somebody losing their freedom or being killed but it certainly made that day a bad one if it happened, especially with women and children.

"Shh love, no names here. We hired these men to ensure nobody knows about this." the woman nodded and Peter approached Becker. "Thank you so much. I didn't think all four were even still alive. I'm sure to put in a bonus for your tremendous work." Becker shook his head. "No change with the money. The price was negotiated with the outcome unclear. We'd want the same if only one of them made it." he explained their way of doing business. With a reputation like that it would result in fewer angry customers whose jobs weren't finished completely. Peter nodded in understanding "I'll be sure to recommend your services." he immediately wanted to leave with the four women when Georg stopped him "There were five women. You said all four were rescued. Do you not know this woman?" he pointed at the lone frightened looking woman by the stairs.

The masked man looked at her for a while and then shook his head. "I'm sorry but no, I'm sure you will take care of that little problem." one of the women immediately held Peter's arm and looked towards Georg. "No please! Don't kill her. She was there with us the whole time. Say something!" she looked at the other girls with pleading eyes "It's true, she's been there even before us." Peter sighed "Well we can't take her with us, you know that. I guess it's up to you what you do with her. We give you permission to do whatever you deem necessary." and with that he left towards the secret entrance of Becker's house. The women followed him without further complaint 'I do wonder who they are. They're ready to leave somebody behind who suffered with them for presumably over two years. Maybe she knows something?' Georg dismissed that idea as he knew the women were kept in isolation most of the time. 'They probably hardly knew each other. Oh well, might just be that this day is going to end badly after all.'

"Alright missy, stay put for another couple minutes." Becker motioned the girl to turn around which she did while visibly trembling. Becker then distributed the money he received right before Peter left. '3000 Gold, fantastic.' it was a lot of money considering the sum was 21k in total. "Well always a pleasure doing business with you." Steven bowed and left after checking the street. "I'll be gone too. Will check in with you in about three months, got another job waiting." Catherine left and John followed her while waving. Maverick sighed "Well gentlemen do we want to get this over with." Lena left too after looking at the woman with pitiful eyes. "I'll be leaving too, you know where to find me." She left.

The tree men turned their attention to the trembling woman standing with her back turned towards them. "You can turn around missy." Becker motioned her to face them. They still had their masks on. Before them stood a pretty small woman, about five feet five tall. Her hair was brown and long and she had dark brown eyes to accompany the hair. She had scars all over her visible skin and held her hands before her chest. "I'm not good at this, can you talk to her?" Georg pleadingly looked at Becker "What are you on about mate, you're the best there is for this." Maverick only shrugged "When he's right, he's right. Hey do you still have some of that mead downstairs?" Becker nodded to that "They ate nearly everything but didn't touch the alcohol. Come on, today's on me." they walked down when Becker turned his head "If you decide to kill her you're welcome to join too." and walked down 'Great fucking job Becky, that's exactly how you start your talk with a traumatized victim. Maybe I truly am the best for this but only because these guys are bloody blockheads.' he sighed and removed the hand that covered his face after Becker's comment.

"Look miss, you're probably not going to die today so relax at least a little. We didn't break into that mansion to kill whomever we get out from there." he motioned her to sit down by the table. When they both sat Maverick came back up and left a bit of food and drink wordlessly before he went back in the cellar. Georg took a bite from the sausage and drank from the mead. 'How does he do it?' he thought while marveling at the taste. "Alright so let's see what we know. You and some other girls were held prisoner by some douchy noble who probably raped and beat all of you on a daily basis. True or False?" the woman's eyes grew a little bigger at some of the words he uttered but she ultimately nodded. "How many years?" it was important to know. Georg knew a lot about dealing with civilians in warzones. Some of the prisoners he rescued were abused for over a decade. Some of them broke and the only thing he could give them was the mercy of death.

The woman tried to speak after a while but only managed to make some gurgling sounds. Georg offered her his mug which she took after a while. She first took a little sip and looked at him with fearful eyes. 'Is she expecting me to punch her?' he just ate a piece of cheese "You can drink as much as you like, that fatass downstairs has enough of it AND we just got paid." Something flickered in her eyes as she drank another sip, then another and in the end she finished the whole mug. 'Was that joy? Not sure.' he looked at her with curiosity.

"Fo...four y..yea..years." she managed to utter the words with a bit of stuttering. Georg banged twice on the ground with his right foot. "He never let you drink?" he grinned from behind his mask. She nodded at that. 'Right, weren't there vines in his estate?' Maverick came back up with two filled mugs of mead. "Seems like you made it miss. I'm glad you're under the living." she didn't get what he meant and he was gone as fast as he appeared. She took another gulp of the mead and grinned...it seemed like she had to relearn the expression again after her imprisonment.

Georg could determine the mental state of somebody in a very short exchange. The woman sitting before him wasn't broken, no the opposite was the case. 'Is that a wish for revenge I see in those eyes?' he smiled again and removed his mask. "Name's Georg, nice to meet you." he offered his hand which she took after a couple seconds worth of hesitation. "I'm Sofia...likewise."

She managed it without stuttering but her voice was still weak. "You don't seem like the others at all...what did you do before?" she looked at him confused "Hope?" she asked "No no, not before Hope. Before those four years." she looked as if it was hard to remember the time before her torment. "Adventures....Rogue...Healing." Georg was taken aback by those words. He did assume that she was the fighting kind but Rogue and Healing. 'I'm not so sure about her mental state anymore. Maybe I misjudged her?' he leaned back in his chair "Are you sure? That combination is a little...well." as if she understood she quickly shook her head "No, I'm fine!" she said a little louder than before "I'll show you." he thought about it and then nodded. "What do you need?" she only pointed to the kitchen knife he used to cut the salami.

They entered the cellar finding the two men kissing. Georg cleared his throat and they shifted their attention towards him. "Already done?" Becker said as he let go of Maverick. "Yep, she's fine...probably. Name's Sofia." Maverick looked perplexed "Probably? Never heard that coming from you." Georg and Sofia stepped into the cellar where he handed her the knife. "You sure about that?" Maverick asked worried. "She says she's...a rogue healer." the two men looked at each other and started to laugh. "The girl's mad mate, your judgment isn't the best anymore." Sofia quickly advanced and cut Becker's arm. "Ow you damn bitch!" he shouted as the blood started flowing, ready to punch her Georg stopped him "Wait, you saw her movements. She at least didn't lie about being able to handle a knife." Becker held back "Yea of course I saw that but she still cut me! Damn lunatic!" Sofia looked at him determined "Your arm." she motioned him to stretch out his bleeding arm. "What so you can cut me again!?" Becker refused "Yes, she said." but her voice didn't contain any malice, only distress.

Georg though about it and said "Let her Becker, I might have a crazy idea or you're just gonna walk away with two small cuts instead of one." Becker looked at him as if Georg betrayed him. "Alright just this once!" he always trusted Georg, his judgment of people was too good not to. Sofia took his arm in her left hand when the kitchen knife slowly started to faintly glow in a warm light. It looked as if the knife had been bathed in flame. She stabbed him but Becker didn't react. "Guys....wow...it's not hurting at all...I" he stopped for a second and looked at Sofia with admiration. "I get it..." just as he said it the wound from the first cut closed neatly and Sofia removed the blade. The second cut closed while the knife was removed, leaving perfectly fine tissue.

"Now there's something you don't see every day." Maverick said as he took a gulp from his mug. "Alright, you're definitely fine. I'd suggest you stay with me for a while before we decide on what to do from now on." he quickly got the two mugs from upstairs. "We'll leave for my house in the night. Becker do you have a spare cloak and two daggers?" he looked at Sofia as to confirm her equipment. She nodded and Becker went to look for the requested items. They drank and ate a little more celebrating their successful job and Sofia's rescue. It was still afternoon when the two men made their way upstairs. Georg made his way into a corner of the room "You should get some sleep too and please don't run away now. It's safer in the night. If you have to do it then." he slept until around midnight.

When he woke up he couldn't see Sofia or his friends anywhere but he could hear sounds coming from the floor above. 'Is that cheering?' when he went upstairs he had to sight at the scene. Both Maverick and Becker were drinking and cheering as Sofia used her skills. She was sweating and smiling as Georg entered the room. She looked his way and vanished. A warm sensation filled him as he turned his head to see Sofia stabbing both of her new daggers into his back. "Good morning too, I guess." he said as she vanished again and appeared before the two laughing men bowing.

"It's time we leave." Sofia sheathed her blades and waved goodbye to the two men. "Bye you drunk fucks." Georg didn't bother with a sincere farewell as the two were very long gone already. He checked the street and told Sofia to follow him. She was wearing her new hood covering her hair and part of her face.

They walked for a while in silence when Georg spoke. "When was the last time you walked these roads? Did you ever get out?" he looked to the side where a hooded woman was following. She shook her head lightly. "It's changed hasn't it. You did live in the capital before though?" Sofia nodded "They finished the wall four years ago. Since then a lot of buildings were built. You can see how the quality improved over time. We're currently in the southern part of New Sydney, the houses resemble the descriptions in middle ages history books, don't they?" He assumed she went to school on Earth because she looked at least twenty five. It is difficult to say sometimes with victims of abuse. "They're beautiful." she said as she looked at the buildings that surrounded them. "It's become a real city..." Georg felt like she'd break into tears any moment now but nothing happened and they continued on.

When they reached his house Sofia asked him suddenly "Do you live alone?" he smiled "Don't worry, nothing's gonna happen to you. You can have the guest room and even a key. Sofia quickly shook her head "That's not what I meant. There are people inside. At least three." Georg knew better than to mistrust a Rogue. 'Did they find me? I made a mistake...but where?' he couldn't figure out how somebody had found him. The greatbow was the only thing they'd be able to track back but many used them and his wasn't really a special item either. "Can you gauge their strength?" he asked as he removed a lance arrow from his special inventory. Sofia made huge eyes at that "Special class inventory, only arrows though. My current level is 234."

Sofia made sad eyes at that as the level difference signified even more how long she was gone. The highest publicly known levels four years ago were about 180. "Can't say anything about that except that there is mana user in there." Georg grinned "Well then there's no problem." he asked her where the enemies were approximately and then explained the plan. "You go through that window." he motioned to one of the windows on the second floor. "The magic word is slice." Sofia seemed to understand as she hid a couple feet next to the house. Georg thought for a moment and then put the lance back in his inventory.

He entered the house, put his bow next to the door and started the fire as he always did. As he crouched before the fire he said "Good evening gentlemen, and to what do I owe the honor?" The sound of movement suddenly filled the room as three people made themselves seen in separate corners of his house. "I presume you're the esteemed Georg the Howitzer. I did always think it was weird we never heard of you again after you left the force..." the man didn't ask a question. He was simply stating a fact. 'It's my house you idiot, who else would I be?' he thought as he stood up and faced the man who spoke to him. "You didn't answer my question. I don't remember ordering a group of escorts." the man before him made some signals to his comrades who seemed to tense a little. "Oh you're a funny one. I did hear about that. From your friend at the Academy that is." it clicked instantly and Georg couldn't help but feel a bit sad 'So that's what I missed. I should have waited longer before using his arrows. Not many know about him though so I guess it was really bad luck too.'

"You didn't kill me yet so I'm thinking there's a deal." he could already see the picture very well. "You're not only funny but bright too. I like that, makes my job a lot easier. So just on the off chance you didn't get it, we have your friend the great Zoltan. And we want to know eeeverything you know about the suicide wolves." Georg didn't show any reaction on his face. 'Oh I got it all right but this isn't how this is going to work mates. I do like Zoltan but I wouldn't sell out six friends for one.' he turned back towards the fire. "Well you're gonna have to slice me up pretty badly be..." he took a piece of burning timber and threw it at the man to his left while removing one of his lances from his inventory. It wasn't a modified arrow but the lance was still a terrifying weapon for close quarters combat. As he turned around and faced the man who spoke to him the intruder on his left started to gurgle as a dagger had cut through his throat while a second one pierced his arm.

The man let go of his weapon and turned around but there was nothing there. Meanwhile Georg blocked the sword of his opponent with his arm and smashed the lance in his face. He heard his skull smashing as the lance came out on the other side. Both men were still alive speaking for their level and especially vitality. Georg kicked the man before him while breaking his right arm with a move he learned in the military. While one of them was busy stopping the bleeding of his aorta and one tried to remove the lance from his head the last intruder faced Sofia. They exchanged a couple blows but it was going to go nowhere. His defensive attitude after what happened to his comrades and Sofia's limited range created a stalemate.

Georg who had picked up his bow in the meantime shouted "Sofia teleport!" as she vanished he loosed a lance from his greatbow about four yards away from his enemy. The lance ripped his left shoulder away with his arm and parts of his torso. Sofia finished the job as she appeared behind him and stabbing his throat from both sides. The shot arrow dealt a lot more damage than the one he used as a melee weapon because of his class bonuses and of course the fact that it accelerated to around 140 miles per hour in that short distance. He took another lance from his inventory while tripping his conversation partner from before. The arrow was loosened into the other side of his head from around three feet away. His head exploded in a cloud of gore.

Georg faced the last enemy who was still bleeding but managed to put himself together a little bit again. He caught the swing of his sword with his hand and punched him. After three heavy blows the man was knocked out.