The night was dark, with very few stars to light the empty sky.
The wind rustled the trees, with a cold breeze that send shivers to the unprepared.
But beneath the rocky formation, poking out in the middle of a forest, warmth was prevelant.
Within the cave, lies a a maze of rocky tunnels. The sounds of moans and groans echoed against the sharp walls. People walked around, laughing and chatting without a care. With steel and coin jingling from their waists.
One such person is a hooded swordsman. His face hidden beneath the shadows but his blue hair was far too distinct to be ignored.
With a longsword hanging from his waist. He walked through the rocky hallway without a care. Neither attentive, nor dismissive but more accepting but not indulging and then he paused.
At his right is an open door with the sound of grunts and laughter ringing his ears.
The man sneered in anger as his eyes turned, catching the creaking bed as a fat man rammed himself atop a girl.
Her crotch is bleeding while her limbs struggled against the man. The rope on her wrist and ankles dug deep with every movement. Keeping her trapped beneath the slob and groaning into nothing.
He knew the sound the girl makes. A struggling little thing who had screamed her throat dry.
The blue haired man grabbed the door and slammed the door close with loud bang before moving on.
"... disgusting four inched dick... Doesn't even have the decency to close the fucking door." the man grumbles out.
Walking through the maze like corridors, he soon arrived at a pair of double doors, reinforced with iron bracers and studs.
He didn't bother to knock, and stepped in to another scene that had him raising a brow.
"Agh! Hag! Hu! Aug! Yes! Yes! Fuck~!"
He turned at one side where a four poster bed creaked, and it's occupants veiled. But their silhouettes left nothing to he imagination.
Within was the shape of a woman ramming herself up and down a man. An either unconscio–
"UMMMFFFGG~!"
Or powerless man to stop her.
The blue haired swordsman winced, seeing the amount of blood pooling from the bed, clearly not coming from the woman.
He shook his head, displeased but distraction came suddenly.
"I give it an hour before she breaks his pelvis into fine powder." he turned to the source of the voice and sat in a chair, right in front of the desk, was a red robed undead. "A moment Brain Unglaus."
"Brain will do. I'm not a fan of formality." the blue haired man answer as he lowered his hood, showing his sharp handsome features and wavy blue hair.
The bald necromancer nodded as his quill remained moving. "Then Davernoch... in privacy."
"Of course, Davernoch." replied Brain as he sat there waiting.
His ears never lost the sound of the woman enjoying herself and the muffled please for help coming from the bound man. But he fought the urge to turn.
His eyes tried to busy themselves. He took in the few decorations yet opulent items in the room. There was even a fine scabbard at the ground, right in the middle of the floor.
He looked again to the necromancer but quickly turned away to lessen the growing discomfort. Instead his eyes remained affixed at the black orb on his desk.
The Orb of Death, an item distinct to the necromantic order of Zuranon. He focused as his eyes and took in the pulsing shadow within and in a matter of seconds, he realized it. Every moan, every muffled noise, every scream of pain and lust... the darkness within the orb would pulse, like a mouth opening and eating...
It was as alive.
With wide eyes he turned to the undead and saw him looking back and smiling from ear to ear. With a bout of discomfort that made him shiver, he gulped down his question and flared his nerves through his nostrils looking like a sigh of acceptance.
As he leaned his back on the chair he was sitting on. Davernoch turned to the orb, and nodded as if pleased.
"YEESSS! FUUUUCCCCGHHHH! AUGH!"
Brain saw Davernoch raise a brow and in pure curiousity, he turned to the bed where the woman twitched and shake beneath the veil.
After a few minutes, a curved blade flew into her hand and then– *Stab- spurt~!
–drove it's blade straight through the man's skull.
"*sigh~ That was good..." the woman remarked while grabbing a healing potion from the bedside table and drinking it in one go.
She the extracted herself from the bed. And robed herself. Her eyes widening at Brain's presence. A surprise that morphed into a seductive smile as she walked towards them.
Hips swaying, while gently running her hands from the bruises that were slowly healing, on her cheek, to her chest, atop her stomach and as the robe split to reveal her leg she gently ran her hand across her bruised thigh. With white fluids running down her dark colors.
Each swipe as if magically wiping the bruise away.
Brain smiled, and admitted, he was slightly impressed. She is -to his eyes- a strong woman. Add to her beauty, and her exotic colors that glistened with sweat and she was most definitely worth his admiration.
"Took you long enough." Davernoch remarked, his attention though was at the corpse on the bed. "Still, must you go for the brain."
"You bargained for him and only paid 2/3rd of the price." Edström defended, before her voice turned teasing. "If you had been a bit more generous, I certainly wouldn't have minded making it clean."
"Pfft– full price for a broken toy. I don't think so." the undead rang a bell on top of his desk and three red robed men entered.
Davernoch gave one command, preserve the body. And they busied themselves hauling it away.
Brain remained sitting, remained quiet and admittedly, slightly unnerved and pleased at the woman's attention. But then he remembered his mission and thought to address it quick.
"I've come for the Princess. Orders from Coco Doll." he then handed them a scroll.
Edström of course prefer to press herself against Brain, silently fuzzing at the muscular man's body as she sat on his lap. Leaving Davernoch to take the scroll.
After the undead read the contents, he turned to the woman with a blank look and handed it to her.
Edström frowned, and gently extracted herself from Brain's lap. And once the contents was made known, she gnashed her teeth in anger and slammed her palms at the desk as if stopping herself from kicking up a fuzz.
"It appears our deal is unmet." said Davernoch.
Edström smashed her hand against the wooden table and cracked it with a loud*bam! "This must be a mistake!" she shouted. "Our orders were clear!"
"Orders change." Davernoch replied calmly.
"So did our pay!" the woman added with slight indignation. "The troubles we had gone through, the bribes sent, the time, the effort, the Coin! Do they think it easy to capture a Princess!?"
"Their explanation was sound. Keeping her alive is now detrimental. News of the King considering her words must be met with death."
"And she will! But to undo our efforts as if inconsequential to the end! That I will not allow!"
"I understand your frustrations Edström. But orders are orders. In the long term this would serve us good." the undead went to the door and opened it, frowning at the sound of conflict slightly echoing from down the tunnel. But he dismissed it and spoke.
"Once her body is found, and her death confirmed. We can direct the King's ire to our competition from the Theocracy. All the while sending a message of what happens to those who rocked the boat without considering the amount of passengers and the number of safety boats on board."
"Tsk! They can write what ever the fuck they want! But I will not accept the lesser pay!"
"On that I agree. With you and I side by side we should be able to bring them into the negotiation table."
"Hmmp! Fine!"
"And my pay?" Brain asks as a handful of men ran passed the entrance. But again, they discarded it. "Do you have it?"
"Ah yes!" Davernoch looked around and frowned when his eyes landed on the empty sheath, sprawled at the ground in the middle of the room. Till Edström walked to the bed and removed the sword from the corpse.
She returns just as she grabbed the sheath from the floor and displayed both the bloodied blade and the sheath atop the desk.
It was a long curved blade, a katana. A distinct weapon and known to only be forged at the Theocracy. It's blade gleamed in enchantment and it's pommel and guard showed masterful craftsmanship.
Eager and happy, Brain made to take the sword but stopped just as a floating scimitar, appeared in his vision.
"Oh baby... Not yet." teased Edström. "Job first... Fun after."
"Tsk! It's just a some girl." Brain complains.
"Then do you require a silver platter?" Davernoch retorts, eliciting a snarl of anger from Brain that he ignored. "As you can see, Eight Fingers pays well... to those that gets the job done."
The someone suddenly stumbled hard against the door. And as the heaving half-naked man, spoke, they got two words.
"Huge! *huff- Intruder!"
Blades surrounded Brain while fire ignites from Davernoch's hand as both glared at the blue haired man.
"You were followed!!!"
"No I wasn't!"
"Then how do you explain the intruder then!"
"A happenstance!" Brain shouts indignantly, "Whos to say that YOU weren't followed!"
"Because we left no one alive to do so." snarls Edström.
"Wait- wait- wait- wait-! I can fix this!"
"How generous of you." scoffs Edström.
"Consider it a professional courtesy!" he hastily explained. "In exchange! We forget it happened."
"Depends on how well you'd perform." remarks Davernoch.
"I have only ever lost to one man. So unless Gazed Stronoff was the one who arrived, I can guarantee you victory."
Davernoch snuffed the fire in his palm, making Edström question his decision. "You are actually considering this?"
"He is a potential recruit. Someone who can outmatch Succulent."
"That's not exactly a high bar." Edström mocks, knowing the incompetence of the weakest member of Six Arms.
"An achievement none the less. Besides, should he fail, he can take the place of your recently deceased...pet."
"Hmmnn..." Edström gave Brain and up and down, while running her hand across collarbone. "You had better... disappoint me."
Brain's surprise turned to anger eliciting laughter from the woman.
Just as he squared his shoulders to leave, he sent one last longing look to the katana, before huffing and leaving.
"So young... So much potential."
"High praise coming from you." said Edström as she swiped her robe before sitting atop his desk.
Davernoch's eyes flickered to her cheeks that spilled into the wood. And suddenly turned to the woman's face, now contorting into a wide smile.
"I thought you were dead down there."
"I am."
"Hmmn... A shame. With all the money you have stashed away, it would've been easier to get my hands on them.... If there was something I could offer." Edström said, slowly leaning forward and letting her chest spill to his eyes.
"Perhaps one day... You'll see the strength... in death."