Rayne Read online

  The man that Rayne knew to be Lord Preston looked toward Lord Clearly and nodded his assent. “I thank you for the generous invitation, but can we cut to the chase and find out what we are doing here?”

  “We have a mutual partner in our endeavor here that I want you all to meet. Gentlemen, please meet our esteemed guest, Lyrinth of the Dark Elves,” Lord Clearly told them.

  Everyone looked to the man they had been trying to ignore. It was obvious they weren’t sure what to expect from this meeting.

  “Thank you for the introduction, Lord Clearly. I am indeed Lyrinth and I’m here to work out a mutual deal for the betterment of our mission.” The elf stated.

  Lord Brayson turned to address him. “I apologize for sounding rude, but we’ve hardly spoken to a Dark Elf in more years than I can remember, and now you waltz in here to discuss some unknown deal? Last I checked, you still rarely dealt with humans.”

  Lyrinth nodded his head at that statement, and then his gaze bore into Lord Brayson.

  “I am here on behalf of our Holy Lady. Many of my people still disdain the humans from what happened, but there are those of us that still believe in Isabell, bless her name,” Lyrinth intoned.

  That was really all that Rayne needed to hear. The invocation of the evil Goddess’s name was enough to prove that these men were all nothing but trouble. You could lie in your devotions pretty easily and claim you were a supporter of the families, but you would never profess devotion like that in a falsehood. You would be more likely to die from a horrible fate than for that to work. Rayne stuck around, though. If these men were truly what he needed, there was a good chance he could find out much more.

  “So, we are all here to serve the Lady, but what is your purpose in this conversation?” Lord Quintin asked.

  Lyrinth and Lord Clearly both smiled at each other in knowing appreciation.

  “I’m here to help solve some of your problems,” The elf told them. “I know of some of the unrest in your cities and villages. There’s a contingent of us in my lands that serve our Lady, and we’re currently working on a plan. It’ll take time, but it should line up with your crisis.”

  “I am intrigued by your statement and would like to hear more,” Lord Brayson told him.

  “We are raising a force of goblins and orcs as raiders. We plan on deploying them next year throughout the lands. I’m requesting that none of you oppose us in this endeavor. It’s been ordained that we’ll annihilate the people from the less populated areas and leave the major cities that our allies rule alone,” Lyrinth told them with a grin.

  Each man looked at him in shocked surprise.

  “Why would we do that? That wouldn’t help us in any way, and we wouldn’t be able to feed ourselves. We keep a large storage of food for the noble families that we have taken from the peasant classes to keep them under control and docile, but that will only stretch so far before we’re out,” Lord Quintin stressed.

  “I know of the control you have to provide to your citizens, so I’ll offer to supply your cities with the necessary food to survive if you agree to let us take the people that haven’t moved to the city. We may even be willing to sell them to you as slaves so you can have free labor and not waste your coin,” Lyrinth told them.

  They all still had shocked looks on their faces, but were starting to see the possible benefits of the plan. Fewer people to manage out in the fields were better, and it would almost completely negate the threat of possible rebellion. They would pull as much of the food as possible from the outlying villages, just before the assaults, to strip them bare. So what if a few people died of starvation before the goblins arrived to capture them? Why would these nobles care?

  “Would we have this agreement in writing?” Lord Brayson asked.

  Lyrinth smiled. “Of course. I can provide a written agreement to these terms, and we can seal it over the name of Lady Isabell,” he told them.

  That seemed to settle their agreement quickly. No one would dare cross an agreement swore over the name of the Goddess who ruled this land. Well, no one with any sense, anyway. To their surprise, Lyrinth pulled out the necessary document at once. It seemed he had been prepared for this meeting and knew the Lords would surely agree to this request. Each man made their way to the document and signed it with the quill and ink sitting on the table.

  After everyone had signed, they stood near the document, and all swore to uphold the words of the document by the name of the Goddess Isabell. Rayne could feel a heavy presence in the room and saw sweat bead on a few of the men’s brows. Out of nowhere, he heard the word “Witnessed” reverberate and then the presence faded.

  With this business done, the Lords filed out of the room followed by the servants. Rayne left behind the rest of the servants but stopped right outside the room within earshot. The only two remaining were Lord Clearly and Lyrinth.

  “Did you bring the item I requested?” Lord Clearly asked.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t dishonor our agreement. It surprised me at how willing they were to accept this agreement, though,” Lyrinth told the man.

  “They’re all simple fools. None of them care about any of the outlying villages. It’s a hassle for them because they have to keep groups of thugs to collect excess food and keep the population under control. If they only have to focus on their cities, it will take much of the work away. They see this as a win,” Lord Clearly said.

  “Fools, all of them. This world belongs to the Goddess and no one else. None of their pathetic squabblings will do any good. The blood that bathes the world will be fuel for our glorious Lady when we launch our campaign. Let them cower inside their cities as we wipe away everything,” Lyrinth told him with a predatory smile.

  “It shall be as you say. Where’s the artifact you promised?”

  “Here you go,” Lyrinth said. Rayne peeked around the corner as Lyrinth pulled an orb of purple crystal the size of a large melon out of his bag and handed it to Lord Samuel Clearly. It had swirling purple shadows in it and looked ominous.

  “This is what a Soul of the Shadows truly looks like? It’s marvelous,” Lord Clearly said in awe.

  “It’s very dangerous and must be treated carefully. It’ll allow you to use shadows to your advantage when you channel mana into it. You must avoid the temptation of the voice, though. It’ll try to sway you the wrong way. The soul trapped within cares for nothing but the destruction of everything. If you let it have too much control, it will start killing anything and everything at will,” Lyrinth told him cautiously.

  The smile on Lord Clearly’s face grew even wider, and Rayne could see the unsuppressed glee on the man’s face. Samuel Clearly’s thirst for power would only cause trouble. The two men continued their conversation as they left the room. Rayne breathed out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath for so much of that conversation. It was time to get out of here, and he needed to do it as quickly as possible.

  The way back to the kitchen was clear, so he made it back through the servant’s secluded halls in no time. The tray was replaced, and the apron was hung back up. As soon as he exited the servant’s door, he ran into a problem. Two guards spotted him exit the building and called out to him.

  “Hey! Who are you? What are you doing?” One yelled at him. They were only a dozen yards away from him.

  Instead of trying to talk his way out of this situation, he took off in a sprint. It surprised both guards for a moment, but then they took off and tried to intercept him. Rayne didn’t like the idea of seriously hurting these men because he didn’t need that kind of attention. After what he had heard, he needed to get back to their warehouse and brief Rose and Lucas.

  The two guards had a better angle on him and were able to get in front of his path. Instead of stopping, as he was sure the guards expected, he lunged in for an attack. Both of his weapons were brought out, but he didn’t plan on using their edges.

  The first guard looked startled as Rayne took a running leap straight
for his face and planted his boot directly into the man’s nose. Rayne felt the metal helmet’s nose guard crumple at the impact and heard the man cry out.

  You have dealt 40 damage to Guard (1) (Level 10) (Crushing).

  The second man had seen the act and attacked with a downward chop. Rayne twisted his body out of the way and, with a burst of his Air Magic, sped up his arm as he brought the pommel of his dagger around and hit the second guard in the temple on his helmet. The helmet prevented the dagger from crushing his skull, but the speed of the magically enhanced swing caused the man’s head to snap to the side and instantly knock him unconscious. His other dagger was brought around backward and caught the initial guard in the back of his head. The man was bent over, clutching his busted nose, when Rayne’s weapon took him to the ground. Rayne resheathed his weapons and took off again to his exit.

  You have dealt 75 damage to Guard (2) (Level 10) (Incapacitate).

  You have dealt 40 damage to Guard (1) (Level 10) (Knockdown).

  Rose should be waiting for him on the other side of the wall, and they could head back to the warehouse to discuss the events. Running up to the tree, he launched himself with a burst of Air Magic and grabbed onto a low branch. Using a bit of his athleticism, he swung up and around the branch to make it back to his feet and then jumped up a few different branches in a spiral pattern as he moved higher into the tree. When he reached the top of the wall, he jumped over and took off in a sprint for his meeting point.

  Rose was waiting on his as he arrived, and nodded at him as they both scaled the nearby rooftop. The rooftops were one of the safest places to escape, and both of them made a dash from roof to roof. The path had been traveled so much they were familiar with the safe places to run. Some houses had weak spots in their roofs you had to watch out for.

  After arriving at the warehouse, Rose led Rayne directly to her office. Rayne immediately told her they needed to speak with Lucas and it was urgent. Upon receiving this news, Rose sent a messenger with a letter to Lord Lyan. She then proceeded to the front of the building and dismissed any who weren’t indoctrinated into the Shadows of the Flame.

  As they sat in Rose’s office, drinking some of her favorite juice, Lord Lyan entered the room. He looked a little upset about being summoned on such short notice, but Rayne was sure this couldn’t wait.

  “Rayne, could this not have waited until morning? Even a report from Rose is usually sufficient,” Lucas told them with a weary sound to his voice. The man must have had a rough couple of days.

  “I’m afraid it can’t, or I wouldn’t have asked for you. We have a big problem.”

  Rayne explained the situation to them and described his mission. Rose looked upset by the report as he talked about sneaking in and was obviously wondering why he would bother to request Lord Lyan to be present. When Rayne made it to the meeting room with the participants, including the Dark Elf, they both perked up simultaneously. As he recited the event, both of their faces grew even grimmer. When Rayne stated they had sworn the contract by the Goddess name and Rayne said he had heard the confirmation, Lucas looked about to explode in anger.

  “How the hell can they even consider an option like that? Are they really so damn foolish as to essentially vacate most of the kingdom? Do they not see that this is the first step to total eradication?” Lucas said in hot anger.

  “It seems clear to me they need to all be removed and quickly. I know we try to gather intel more than anything, but this scenario requires a much more direct approach.” Rose said in earnest.

  “I agree. Let’s get the plans started now. We’ll have to arrange something to get these people out of the way. Maybe host an event and have some of the lords disappear on the way to the event. That should not cast too much suspicion on me.” Lucas proposed.

  “That might be too dangerous. It would probably work well in the short term, but it wouldn’t take long for someone to come for you. They would easily figure it out after a while. There has to be another way.” Rose told him.

  Rayne cleared his throat, and they both looked at him with questioning glances.

  “You have an idea, Rayne?” Rose asked.

  “Actually, not yet. I wasn’t done with the report.” He said in grim determination. “It gets worse.”

  “It can get worse? Do I really want to know?” Lucas intoned.

  “No, but you need to know.” Rayne continued the story, and when he mentioned the Soul of the Shadows both of their faces became as pale as a ghost. He quickly finished with his escape, but he could tell by their faces they had listened to nothing else after his mention of the orb.

  “Leave it up to the damn Dark Elves to supply one of these foolish nobles with something that powerful. These stupid nobles are more likely to kill themselves with that kind of power. If Lord Clearly were foolish enough to use it in the city, it would likely go on a rampage and wipe the place out. It was probably their plan all along. The contract would be irrelevant if the nobles were wiped out because of their own idiocy.” Lucas vented.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Rayne asked them.

  “Our top priority is that damned orb. We must get to it before Lord Clearly is foolish enough to use it. It’s time to call in the entire group and assault head-on. We can’t wait too long to come up with a good plan. We are entering the manor tonight, and there will be no quarter. It’s death to all that fight or those who resist. Avoid harming the innocents, though.” Lucas said in grim determination.

  Rose and Rayne looked at each other and then to Lucas and nodded.

  “We will be ready.” They said in unison.

  Chapter 5

  Desperate Assault

  They scrambled around the warehouse, preparing for the assault. Most of the members of the group weren’t aware of the details of the mission, but they were recruited to help with the preparations. Smoke bombs were being churned out, weapons were being sharpened, and armor was being checked over.

  Rose surprised Rayne by presenting him with a set of leather armor she had made for him. It was a smooth leather, adorned with straps, and even had some cleverly concealed bands of metal sewn in. The bands were hidden, though, to prevent the chance that light might reflect off of them. The top had full-length sleeves on it and even had double-reinforced shoulders with metal bands hidden in the folds. The pants were the same durable material, and the entire suit was black as night. The black hood on the suit was the perfect size to fit his head without slipping down over his eyes, but while still obscuring his face.

  “Thank you, Rose. It looks marvelous.” Rayne told her earnestly. The armor not only looked great, but it was Uncommon Rarity and had good defense on it. Rayne checked the stats for the pants and the top.

  Advanced Studded Leather Breeches

  Armor: 22

  Durability: 65/65

  Rarity: Uncommon

  Quality: Good

  Weight: 1.4 kg

  Slot: Legs

  Traits: Leather armor for leg protection. This piece has hidden metal bands embedded for additional armor.

  Advanced Studded Leather Duster

  Armor: 24

  Durability: 75/75

  Rarity: Uncommon

  Quality: Good

  Weight: 1.4 kg

  Slot: Chest

  Traits: Leather armor for upper body protection. This piece has hidden metal bands embedded for additional armor.

  There was also a set of nice boots and the coif, but they were both Common Rarity and just armor like these. It was odd to see something marked as Uncommon Rarity but had stats that looked like Common Rarity. Rayne assumed it was for the hidden designs of the armor that it got bumped up because of the craftsmanship style.

  “Just put it to good use. I am sure you’ll need it tonight. Is there anything else you need before we head out?” Rose asked.

  “Pretty sure I’m all set. I still have some smoke bombs, and my daggers are both sharp and clean. Once I get this new armor on, I’m good to go.” He told her a
s he quickly started changing clothes. She nodded her head in acknowledgment and made her rounds to check on the others in the room. They had four full teams of people and each team was comprised of three members.

  Until this point, Rayne hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t officially on a team like most of the others. He had been accepted into the group, but Rose and Lucas had always kept him apart from the others. His confusion had set in by the time Rose returned, and he had to ask her about it.

  “Why was I never placed in a team?”

  She grimaced at his question but still answered.

  “We deemed your training more important, and both Lucas and I agreed you were better off with one-on-one training instead of becoming a unit like our other groups. The four full units we have will be on this assault, but Lucas has determined this mission is important enough for all of us to go. For this assault, you’ll be teamed up with Lucas and me. When this is over, we will probably have to rebuild some of the teams, and we’ll assign you to one of them. Hopefully, our losses won’t be too severe.” She told him firmly.

  The explanation sounded perfectly reasonable to Rayne, but he still felt something was missing. Unfortunately, he knew she wouldn’t elaborate more than that. It was a surprise she had told him that much.

  “Thank you for the explanation. Now, what are we waiting on?” Rayne asked.

  “Nothing, which was why I came to you. It’s time for us to assemble. I have dismissed the other members of the thieving group who aren’t officially Shadows of the Flame for now, and Lucas wishes to brief the entire group on our mission.” She said as she waved him to follow.

  They made their way to the gathering of people who were milling around. Almost as if on cue, Lucas walked out from the back, and the group became still and quiet. He was dressed in leather armor and had a long and short blade on his hip. The sight of their leader armed for action made them all nervous. They knew he was one of the nobles, and for him to risk his identity meant something terrible must be at stake.