ALL NOVEL 39
In the evening, Kostner arrived. He commands Howard to open all of our cages. Not the nervous mercenary though.
“Follow me.” Kostner said as he leave
I let Taal and Rhya leave out first since I want to check something. The necklace calmed down as they left. Seems like the mercenary is clean. Only then I followed outside.
“So, mind telling me why the two of you are here in disguise?” I whispered to Rhya
“You saw the golden light?” she whispered back
“Uh huh”
“Usually it will be very hard for us, but now we can visit the mortal world without an avatar again. Since the summer festival is coming soon, we decided to come in disguise and surprise Ulric.” Allright. One more complication, gods can materialize because of what I did. I’m glad I will be a Greater Daemon soon.
We are led to the city square where three pyres are erected. On one is the female nun and on the two are the two men with her back within the house. Evidence of heavy torture is visible on the nun, skins on hand and feet are peeled and the exposed flesh are mangled. A crier stands and lists all the crimes the nun and the two others have committed. I don’t bother listening as things do not make sense. There’s no notification of either the Masque or the Changeling being ousted. Then the burning started. The two men screamed while the nun stayed silent. As if content, her misery will end soon.
Oh shit! Still no notification. She’s innocent wasn’t she? Then why does the necklace respond? With the three dead, there are only two more nuns present at the time. Then either the necklace responds to one of those two or someone else inside the buildings. Hopefully the former. I glance around to the gathered crowd. No nuns of Shallya are present.
The flames are out an hour later. I turned towards Kostner who was visibly frowning.
“Hey uh, what happens to the other two nuns that-”
“Case closed Gehrman. Your effort is no longer needed.” He shuts down, the frown stays on his face, and immediately leaves. The crowds start dispersing too.
“What are your opinions on this?” I asked Taal and Rhya. “Of the nun I mean, is she really a cultist in your experience?”
“No. Just has plenty of men’s smell on her.” Input Taal.
“Torture usually doesn’t work on them. At least it will not break them as fast as her.” Rhya gives more useful information.
“Why, what’s wrong?” she then asks.
“Can I ask for your help? I think we got the wrong person here.” Both looked at each other. As if telepathically speaking with each other.
“What do you have in mind?”
“There are two other nuns present during the scene. It could be one of the two, if not them then I don’t know anymore.”
“Very well then. We have promised to help. If this burning does not resolve this I don’t see a reason we will stop helping.”
“Oh, thank god.”
“You’re welcome.”
I turned and led the two to the temple district.
And another one followed them in shadows
____
We found the chapel dedicated to Shallya easy enough. As plenty of the nuns are outside in the front yard. Audible screams can be heard from the inside. Some of the nuns visibly recognize me.
“Oh hey, it's you.” One of them greets me with a tired voice.
“What happened there?”
“Lin’s having another of her episodes. She keeps screaming about making a mistake or something.” Seems like I am correct.
“It's good that all of you are outside already. Now I want all of you to leave the place and call the guards.”
“Wha-why? Is there a problem?”
“Yes.” She looked up to me confused but decided to trust me and leave along with the rest of the nuns.
I nod towards Rhya and Taal as we enter the chapel. We split up. I find the two nuns while Taal and Rhya escort the rest of the people inside the chapel outside. I followed the screams that led me to a room. I wait for Taal and Rhya to finish clearing up the place. As both escorted out the last group of people and made some distance, the necklace is still shaking. When both were done, I entered the room. There I saw the one who screamed the daemon inside the building visibly shaking while the other one was trying to calm the other like back then.
“We have some problem, both of you need to go outside”
“What’s going on?” I ignored the question and opened the door wide.
However the hysterical one eyes open wide seeing my necklace in some kind of recognition. Taking the risk, I punched at her as fast as possible. But like a blur she evaded and broke through the window to get outside. Carrying the other nun outside to the yard.
“Shit!” I yelled as I followed them outside through the window. Rhya and Taal followed behind me. The Masque undo her disguise as she takes the other nun hostage. Her skin turned pale purple. Needle-like fangs fill her mouth and horn grows on her forehead. Her nun robe turned into the usual exotic dress Daemonettes wear. A wand of mask on the right hand while the left arm turned into one big jagged claw poised on the hostage’s throat.
“IT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS! THIS IS MY CHANCE FOR PENANCE! I CAN’T FAIL MY GODDESS AGAIN!” She screamed over and over. Getting more and more hysterical. Guess Slaanesh really traumatized the Masque for her to be this hysterical.
We spread out, Rhya with her bow on the left, Taal with his spear on the right, and me with nothing in the middle. Should I risk suspicion and pull out my soulbound weapons?
Rhya can’t get a clear shot as the Masque’s body can’t keep still. Her hooved legs twitch and kicking and her body sways back and forth in a strange rhythm.
“No-no. I HAven’t faiLED the GAME yet! I can KIll all of you, put ANother disguise and—
BANG!
A sudden shot hit the Masque at the back of her head. As the Masque’s head lurched forward, I was surprised to see Kostner. Smoke billows from his repeater pistol barrel. I pulled the nun away from the claw as the Masque tried to balance herself. Not dead from being shot at the head. But now with a clear shot, Rhya shoots an arrow while Taal throws his wooden spear at the same time. The Masque evades the arrow but the spear grazes her flank as her body bends and twists in unnatural manner. Another shot from Kostner lands at her thigh. Slowing her down enough for Taal, already in his chimeric beast form to savage her to death.
I guess I did not need to do anything.