Revenge of the Sorcerer King 37

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Chapter 37

Alessa

The ones of us that could withstand sunlight made our way out of the next in the morning. Saruis looked bummed that he couldn’t come but such was his lot in life now. Oberon led us to the mercenary guild to collect our reward. Ted and I waited outside since the Mercenary guild here looked even worse than the last towns.

It wasn’t five minutes before someone was thrown through the open door to roll head over heel after they collided with the ground. Oberon walked out, his fist dripping blood as he whipped it off with another random cloth he’d found somewhere. He tossed something at me and I reached out quickly to grab it.

“Here you go. We have plenty from the mayor job, so you can have it all,” Oberon said once he neared us.

“You sure?” I asked. I knew my eyes were sparkling.

“Yeah. I also learned something interesting. Let’s go.”

Oberon turned and started walking towards the castle in the distance. The quality of the roads, buildings, and even people improved as we walked further into the city. The mud-stained roads became cleaner. People were wearing better clothes and buildings were freshly painted and nicely maintained.

We continued to walk along the street but we were starting to get odd looks. The only people wearing armor in this section of the city appeared to be the guards. Oberon continued on like he owned the place, but I was still worried that someone would try to stop us. Ted just looked out of place with how often he was glancing around.

“Calm down you two. The best thing to do is to look like you belong,” Oberon said with a snicker.

“That’s easy for you to say. I’m sure you must have walked among people like you owned them before,” I said. Oberon stopped mid-step and turned back to look at me. With his helmet on I couldn’t get an idea of what he was feeling. “Sorry.”

“No. You’re right. I remember that I did act like that towards the end of my life,” Oberon said.

“Uh. Sorry,” I said again as I really didn’t know what else to say.

“You three! What business do you have in the noble district!?” A pair of guards demanded as they approached us.

“Gentlemen!” Oberon said spreading his arms wide. “We heard about an interesting exhibit you have up ahead. I’ve never had the chance to see one of the Family in person, and I’ve seen quite a few rare things.”

“You freaks couldn’t possibly afford to see her,” the guard said with a snort.

“Ah. You, fine people, have no reason to worry about us,” he said pulling out a sack and showing the guard. “In fact. Here. For working so hard.”

The guard stared Oberon down but finally backed down after taking in his armor. “They’re fine. Drinks are on me tonight.”

We watched them walk away then we continued to make our way forward. I wasn’t sure what face I was making but I was sure it wasn’t a good one. They had my mother on exhibit! How dare they! I could literally feel the rage seething in me. I would make them pay.

“Control it,” I heard from in front of me. I realized that a red haze had formed around the edge of my vision. I saw Oberon’s back as we walked. The red haze faded a bit. I took several deep breathes to clear the rest. “I felt that from up here.”

“Yeah. I thought I was about to have my head bite off,” Ted said.

“Sorry. I lost it for a moment.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. And don’t worry. We’ll kill them all,” Oberon said. I shivered when I heard the tone in his voice. If I had to describe it, evil. I grinned at that.

Oberon

These… people. No, animals, was more like it, thought that they could treat my family like this. They would all die. I promised that I could make this city a sea of flames if it was the last thing I could do. They would have an all-new reason to fear my family. I had to control myself or miasma would start to leak from my body.

A few minutes later we finally made it to the address I was given at the mercenary guild. A large building in the noble district that served at the pampered rich’s red-light district. Large glass windows adorned the first floor of the building that showcased dozens of beautiful women that were barely wearing any clothes.

Four guards watched the street. There was an actual line in front of the building. I visualized the schematics of a few spells to calm down. I knew they weren’t all here for my descendant, but I was still growing irritated about the situation. We joined the line and were quickly ushered in. We didn’t have to bribe these guards, as we’d already made this far.

Inside the doors, a man stood in a nice suit. He directed the person in front of us down a hallway then turned to us. “How may I assist you today?” The way he said, his nose almost turned up, showed how he thought of us. I added him to the list of people I made sure was dead when I left this awful city.

“We want to see the Family member,” I said, trying to suppress the killing intent as much as possible.

“That will be forty gold coins. Each.”

I heard what sounded like metal grinding. Glancing behind me, I saw Alessa clenching her fists so tightly, I was worried about Vaunn’s hands. If it wasn’t for the stash we found at the mayor’s house, we would be hard-pressed to pay the amount. I handed over twelve white gold coins. “Here you go,” I said, resisting the urge to punch him.

“This way.”

We followed him up down the hall until we came to a stairwell. We climbed them until we reached the end of the stairs, which put the building at five stories tall. If the women on the street level were beautiful, then the ones here were country ending. They each were like a sun blazing in the night.

“My god. I never knew women could be so gorgeous,” Ted said as he struggled to keep his eyes in check.

“Women will be the end of the world. Trust me,” I said with a laugh.

“Pigs,” Alessa said.

“My dear. Is it wrong to admire a sculpture if it is beautiful? That is all we pitiful souls are doing,” I said patting her shoulder.

“Can we just find my mother so we can get out of this… sick place?” Alessa murmured glancing around as she examined each woman in turn. It didn’t appear the guide heard her though.

We continued walking for a few more moments until we came to a cell that was walled in by glass. A woman sat on a divan holding a single flower that was almost as vibrant as her. Alessa was from good stock. Her mother managed to outshine even the other women in this place. It would be interesting to see how elevated that beauty was with her being a vampire.

“Here you are. Amiere Darkfeather. Member of the Family,” the guide said then tapped the glass. The woman looked up and saw the guide. He twirled his hand and I saw her sigh then stand as she turned to show her exposed back. The black phoenix that was my family’s hallmark was on full display.

“I can say I’m not disappointed. Can we speak to her?” I asked the guide not having to feign my interest.

“No. That has been strictly forbidden by Lord Frinz,” the guide said with a shake of his head.

“Pity,” I said then noticed another woman in the cell with Amiere. “Who is that?”

“A recent acquisition of Lord Frinz. A commoner girl, but her beauty equals even the top girls here, so he gave her to Amiere as company.”

“I see. We’ll take our leave now. Thank you for the… enlightening tour,” I said turning on my heel and walking the way we came.

“You paid forty gold, sir! Surely you want to look a bit more before you leave?” The guide asked, surprise leaking into his voice.

“No. I’ve seen all I need,” I said. The other two stood for only a moment before they chased after me. As I walked, I leaked a bit of mana into the surroundings to get a feel of what magic they had to protect the place. I wasn’t disappointed in that regard either. Someone that knew what they were doing had warded this place. Sneaking in would be difficult.

“Time for a little chaos,” I said the flames of my sockets leaking from my helmet.