AO 5 Ch 36

Chapter 36

I strategized with our group over the next few more days to gain confidence in executing our plan. There were many factors at play we had to consider.

One of the most crucial aspects of pulling off this plan was knowing when people were going to be where. In this instance, the responsibility mostly fell on Maribelle. Her infiltration of the Lord's Manor and acquisitions of the Lord's schedule, as well as the habits of the mistresses, were vital.

Of course, Lady Tybalt had been nowhere to be seen.

Maribelle confirmed the information we had gathered so far while she completed her reconnaissance. Lady Tybalt and Lord Tybalt were estranged and rarely seen together. Besides sending Maribelle to the warehouse to heal the rebels, we avoided leaning too hard on the Lady for her assistance.

And all of the discussion had led to why I found myself perched on a rooftop at night, a black cowl wrapped around my head, revealing only my eyes and cloaking the rest of my body in mottled dark blue. Maribelle had informed me that black was, in fact, not the best color to wear for a night attack. There was a reason mage-forged tended to wear gray. At the moment, I actually resembled the mage-forged quite a bit.

The mage-forged typically had several pieces of steel mixed into their garb. A pauldron here, a gauntlet there, to protect them. Even if they were disposable soldiers, none of the Garrish mages wanted them to crumple too quickly.

I, on the other hand, only wore a single piece of armor. Maribelle had insisted on me wearing a heart guard, which amounted to a palm-sized piece of thick metal held over my heart by several straps. Because it covered such a small area, it could be a much thicker piece of metal. It was thick enough, Maribelle assured me, to block an arrow from a mage-forged or a crossbow bolt even at short range. 

For this part of the plan, I rested on the roof of a house with the rest of my anchors and Eva. Lord Valken was off on his own. He had assured us that he was more than capable of fulfilling his part of the plan solely by himself. Which was good, because our plan would both happen now, and in a few hours from now, when Lord Valken made a significant distraction. 

"Ready?" I glanced at Emlyn.

She tugged the cloth around her face, straightening it. "Ready when you are," she said, pinching the cloth around her mouth so it didn’t shift from talking. 

Darkness enveloped my eyes, and I peered through the shadows, moving to the neighboring manor. It was the same building where the prisoners were being held down below.

The Lord's Mistress was still awake at this dark hour, sipping wine by the fire. Her two daughters were asleep upstairs, and her guest was just departing. After what was hours of her complaining about the Lord, I almost felt bad for him, having to put up with such catty women.

Also, I was incredibly thankful that my anchors were so different from those awful mistresses. They were all pretty incredible.

"Alright, guest is out," I said, even as I watched all of the anchors’ heads track the guest as she threw up her cloak around her head, holding it tightly as she hurried through the streets at dark. 

"My turn." Maribelle jumped the gap between buildings with ease, lightly bouncing off the side of the house, only to grab the eaves and scamper across the face of the building like a spider. 

"Honestly, no matter how many times I see her do that move, it is impressive," Eva said. 

"Well, we can all do that move," Emelyn frowned at Eva. 

"No, that she can do it with her chest," Eva clarified, making my anchors all roll their eyes. 

I used my dark magic to peer through the shadows. I wanted to be able to give Maribelle a good idea of where everyone was inside. The moment the coast was clear, I pushed on her soul. Her bluesteel daggers carved a small chunk of the glass away and palmed it before reaching through and unlocking the window. She tugged at my earth sphere ever so slightly, and I gave magic to her as she put the glass back in place and smoothed it out with the swirl of her finger, grounding the earth magic through the glass. 

"Well, that's an interesting use of magic," Eva was next to me, watching everything that was happening through the shadows. 

Maribelle swung the window panes open and gestured for us to join her.

With a wave of her hand, Eva made a cord of darkness that tethered to the top of the building while wrapping around her waist. As she jumped, swinging straight into the window, her tether shifted unnaturally as it course-corrected her right into the gap. 

"Well, now I have to try that," I said, beginning to make a tether myself, only for Emlyn to grab me around the waist and make the jump herself. A small crackle of electricity poured off her boots.

"Hey, I could have done that fancy move," I said as Emlyn landed with both of us.

Zuri and Aurelia followed, only for Maribelle to close two doors of the window back and latch them.

"Oh, I'm sure you could have made it, Ard," Emlyn said. "I just didn't want you to have to use too much magic before the situation got more serious. You know, keep our ace in our sleeve."

I stared deadpan at her. Normally Emlyn’s manipulations were far less direct. "Really, Emlyn?”

“What, are you not our ace?" She hissed in a slight whisper.

"Even if it's a whisper, can you please not talk while we're breaking in?" Zuri glanced at us, a scowl on her face. 

Eva held her hands up like she was innocent. "Don't include me in this. It's all those two."

I rolled my eyes, which didn't actually do anything because I was still peering through the darkness. There was no one outside or in the hallway beyond. I waved for Maribelle to continue and she slipped out the door, working the latch silently, moving down the hallway.

The house was silent except for a few clinking of glasses downstairs where the maids cleaned up after her most recent guest. We'd already scouted who was in what room, so we were comfortable moving quickly.

Maribelle moved like lightning down the hall, opening two more doors. Then she shot through the open doorway while Aurelia went through the other. 

There was a muffled thump as Aurelia's battle axe ensured the sleeping anchor would not be waking up anytime soon. Maribelle smothered the other.

It was my job to step up and use my soul magic to put them in an even deeper sleep than either of them could do with physical means. The magic dove into their souls and with a slight snip, I disconnected them from their bodies. The connection already felt like it was trying to grow back.

I frowned and pushed a little harder, tying the soul up much in the way I was reminded of Missy once doing back in Hidivente to keep all of the mages unconscious before Valerian's attack on the city and nobles. Surprising myself, it worked. I could feel that their souls would reconnect if I ever removed the barrier. 

"Done," I whispered and moved over to the other, doing the same thing.

While I continued, Aurelia brought the first woman into the room. 

"Go ahead and start." She held the battle axe up. "I have a few others to collect." 

Eva didn't say anything as she dropped off another woman, giving Aurelia a sharp salute and following Aurelia through the house. The mistress only had two daughters, but the other mistress had two as well and our brief investigation of her showed that she was just as sinister as the first. Together, they would be six wonderful new prisoners to replace the ladies we would save later in the night.

I had waffled back and forth on if we should do this, but in the end, it was necessary to protect the women who were currently captured from suffering blow back if King Martin sent people to investigate.

That part of the plan wasn't my problem. My problem instead was molding the two ladies unconscious in front of me. I touched the first's forehead, throwing out her hair and turning it blonde easily enough before giving her body a quick work over. I tightened the skin and turned her into a young, beautiful, blonde-haired, green-eyed woman to match the rest in the cells below. 

Maribelle and Emlyn were keeping watch next to me while Zuri disappeared. For her part of the plan, we needed the guards unconscious and there were enough of them. But the simplest method was going to be a slow-acting sleeping draught added to their food and water.

"This is almost too easy," Emlyn said as he sat me down. 

"Don't jinx it," I hissed. "Besides, it's only easy because I am so incredible. How many other mages walk around able to effortlessly power four premium anchors and do the things I can? I can do just about anything."

I finished up with the first woman and held my hand out.

Maribelle gave me one of her blue steel knives. I cut the hair off, removing the light brown and leaving only the blonde. It wasn't surprising that the lord’s daughters didn't want to look anything like the ladies he kept below. 

"Can you get rid of this?" I held out a fistful of hair to Emlyn. She shrugged and went to one of the drawers, stuffing the massive hair in the back of one of them. 

I gave her a look to let her know that I could have done that. I was thinking something more sophisticated.

Emlyn shrugged. "What? It's not like anyone's going to care to find a bundle of hair." 

I went to work on the second as Missy's shimmering form appeared next to me. 

"What are you going to do with their minds?" she asked, sitting perched on the bed with her legs crossed.

At the moment, Missy was not cloaked in twilight. Instead, she was revealing herself. She was in her complete maid uniform, like she had just finished dusting my mother's bed. Then again, I didn't know what the goddess was doing, and she very well could have just been dusting the bed and folding the clothes. 

“In truth, I had been planning to wing trying to wipe their minds of their identities.” I smiled at her. "It's delicate work." 

Missy sighed and touched a finger to the forehead of the lady I had already finished. "There's no point in being subtle." Where her finger touched, there was a slight glow, like she was sucking something out of the woman. Missy shook her hand off as if she was trying to free it of a bug that had landed on it. "One down," she went to the other, tucking her wavy raven locked behind her ear as she bent down.

"Can I ask what you're doing?" asked.

"Oh, this is the best part," she smiled. "I'm not changing anything. I'm just taking away their abilities as an anchor. Well, and I am muddling things just a little bit, like a quick stir to mix up memories." 

"What does that even mean?" I asked.

"It means that once you replace them with the ladies, they will not have any anchor abilities. And should they claim to be who they are and ask questions, they'll most likely get a few details wrong. Though it won't change who they are. Just small things, like misremembering the color of the dress they wore when they were first introduced to court." 

Maribelle grinned like a fiend. "Diabolical. They’ll get questions wrong if they try to claim to be themselves.”

I had a feeling her worship of Missy was about to step up to another level.

"I think so too," Missy smiled and then touched the other woman, performing the same action. 

"You can just take away their ability to be an anchor?" I asked, slightly gobsmacked at the idea that she could strip power so easily. 

"Let me finish with the second.” Missy shook her hand again and wiped it on her skirt. “Though it was quite difficult for me to make Zinov a mage. I's a much simpler task to expand and contract existing potential. Technically they are the weakest anchors in existence." 

I blinked at her. "So you can make anchors into mages?" It reasoned if the base potential of the two was the same, then expanding it would turn an anchor into a mage.

"Yes, but it is quite hard," she said softly, a sly smile spreading across her lips. " Besides, you can make people into mages. Have you not already?" She gestured at Emlyn and Maribelle.

I blinked at her again, turning my stare at my two women. Maribelle had just been pretending to be a serpent mage because she could in fact use magic outside of her body. It was much like a mage, and very different from an anchor. 

"Really?" I said with a giant grin spreading across my face to match her own. 

"Though clearly your abilities are still quite lacking," Missy pursed her lips, trying to get one up on me, as usual. 

"You know, I wasn't sure if I'd like you," Emlyn wagged a finger at Missy, "but I think I do." 

I finished up transforming the second daughter, only for Aurelia to come in and drop the mistress on the floor. A large bruise was already forming on her face. 

"Oh, I didn't even hear you," I commented. 

"Good work's done in silence," Aurelia rolled her shoulders. "She put up a little bit of a fight, but I was able to keep the sound down." 

Maribelle gave a small salute before gesturing Aurelia out the door. The two of them still had work to do.

I had managed to change the three people's attire appearances very quickly for a full body makeover.

Zuri walked in with Eva, dusting off her hands as I was still working on the mistress.

"Did you have fun?" I asked her, not looking up.

Zuri was quiet and didn't respond, forcing me to look up. She was staring dead at Missy, a large frown pinching her eyebrows together. 

"Oh, don't mind her.” I waved the issue away. “It’s just Missy.”

“You mean the literal goddess sitting in the middle of the room? Zuri responded.

“Yeah, don't mind her. She's not very important," I waved dismissively at Missy, who snorted. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Zuri." Missy spoke.

"Well, we've met before," Zuri said, holding out her hand. "But I suppose, now that you're being honest with me, it's not bad to do another introduction." 

Missy shook her hand, chuckling. "Don't hold all that against me."

"I'll try," Zuri shot back. "It seems you are joining us.”

“I know how much Ard detests playing with people. So, I've offered my services in modifying the womens’ memories." 

Zuri raised an eyebrow, before turning her gaze back on me.

"What? I really have zero interest in digging around these people's heads. If she's going to come and help me out with that, I am not going to turn her down.” I said in defense.

“Just don't let her get you in trouble." Zuri grumbled.

I glanced at Missy. "You're not here to get me in trouble, are you?" My tone was playful. 

The goddess laughed, sitting back down and lightly smacking me on the shoulder. "I would never get you in trouble. Well, I would absolutely get you in trouble. But I'm not aiming to do it right now."

"That makes me feel so much better," I rolled my eyes. Missy was being incredibly friendly. I had to wonder if there was an ulterior motive. At the same time, everything I understood about the goddess made me think that she was incredibly lonely.

She could very well be joining us just to spend time with others and be a part of something more exciting than being alone. After all, she was using my soul as a sauna. 

"Could you work on this one?" I pointed at the mistress whose body was still forming into what I was starting to think of as the template. All three of them would look exactly the same when I was done. When I went down into the prison, I would be able to more easily make any necessary changes to match the prisoners if they all had a closer starting point. 

"What do we do now?" Missy asked. 

"Don't pretend like you didn't listen while we were plotting," I rolled my eyes. "Speaking of listening in on the plan, if you're listening in, could the goddess you think is helping Martin be listening in as well?” I shivered a little bit.

“As long as you aren't actively praying to the cow-titted bitch…” Missy started and I noted that she never even used Freya’s name, but her face often twisted into a frown regardless. “And you would likely notice her if she came near you, Arden. She and I share several godly aspects. Though they come from different origins, it gives the two of us a slightly repulsive feeling, like trying  to shove two similar magnets together." 

I glanced around the room. "What's a magnet?”

“Lodestone, perhaps?" She said, glancing at the room.

Zuri nodded. "We have lodestones.”

“Good. You know when you push them together in certain orientations?" Missy started.

Zuri and Eva were now following along the conversation, whereas Emlyn and I were looking like idiots. 

"It's a special rock," Zuri explained, "that has an attractive force to certain other rocks, but repels each other." 

"Oh," I nodded as if I understood. However, I had no idea. Someone would have to show this to me later. Perhaps there's something interesting I could do with earth magic if I understood the concept. 

"Either way," Missy said, "you would feel if she was nearby or if someone was particularly blessed by her.”

“Didn't the spheres come from her?"  I said, glancing at Missy and keeping a small eye on Eva, who was learning information for the first time, her brow pinching down.

She’d been quiet since she walked in on the goddess.

I wondered how she was going to take it.