AO 5 Ch 34

Chapter 34

I hummed to myself, arms crossed behind my back, as I walked the city with Aurelia and Zuri, sticking close. "Business opportunities, Zuri, business opportunities. We should buy a few... tailors? Smithies? What's in demand this time of year?" I mused aloud. 

"Trevor, there is no need to buy businesses in Fargo," Zuri replied. 

"I'm just keeping up the ruse," I whispered. "Besides, wouldn't it be nice? One day we just buy up a couple of businesses with whatever coin we can scrounge up from my filthy rich noble family, and then we can just live off the money they make."

"Trevor," Zuri admonished me. "That's not how it works. I wish it were that simple. If it were that simple, everyone would own everything and no one would have to work. Coin is important as an investment to get that strategy rolling. But if someone owns a shop that's making plenty of money, why would they sell it to you, just so you can live off their hard work?"

I opened my mouth before snapping it closed. "To make more money?"

"That could be one way," Zuri said. "But most likely anyone selling a business means that business is going to have a fatal flaw in its near future or be over priced."

"You're no fun sometimes. We all want to dream of being rich." I told her.

"You are rich." She replied.

"I have fulfilled my dream, then. Right," I glanced over my shoulder at Aurelia. Sometimes when we started talking business, the Virel's eyes seemed to glaze over and she stared off into the distance, uninterested in the conversation. 

"That aside, what about tonight, Zuri?" I enjoyed throwing her off.

"Tonight?" Zuri raised an eyebrow. 

"Well, I owed Maribelle the first night," I said simply. "And she took full advantage of that."

Zuri smirked. "Yes, she did. She even had Eva run some distractions for her."

"Oh, I didn't realize that.” I tried to replay the evening.

“How do you think you chased a lady through the night, screaming without anyone coming to help?" Zuri threw her arms in the air.

"Fair enough. I thought Fargo just might not be as nice a city as we thought. Especially because she took me down to the lower quarters before that." The seedier environment really added to the role she liked to play.

"Oh, I know. Evelyn was complaining all morning about how bad it stank down there." Zuri chuckled.

I sniffed at my clothes to see if any stink had clung to me. Thankfully, it had not. At the time, I hadn’t noticed at all. Then again, I was rather distracted.

"Well, like I said, Maribelle had her night, and now I want to give you your night," I also wanted to bond with Zuri. That way, she could never escape me. I paused, that thought sounding a little more like I had been... like I treated Maribelle. But it wasn't like that. It was because I never wanted to lose my ladies. I would give an arm and leg for each and every one of them to stay by my side forever. 

I glanced back over at Aurelia, who was now fully paying attention to our conversation. Zuri must have noticed as well. 

"What about you?" She asked the crimson-haired anchor. 

"Me?" Aurelia asked, pointing at herself. "Bonding? I…” Aurelia hesitated. “I have no problem with it," she said after a moment. 

"No problem with it and wanting it are two very different things," I told her. 

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Aurelia hastily corrected herself. "I meant it more in the sense that I... don't mind it but was also looking for you to make the first move." The last part came out in a rush. 

I opened my mouth before wisely closing it back shut. "Oh! Oh!" I exclaimed, my brain working to catch up with what she was telling me.That she wanted me to make the move was completely in line with her mantikitten personality, but I hadn’t even realized it trying to be too conscientious of my position.

"If that's a problem," Aurelia started and I held up a hand to stop her from speaking. 

"No, not a problem at all, Aurelia. I am truly honored that you would consider it. And that you, as you said, don't mind. I... guess I was being hesitant because I didn't want to push you. Now you've made it clear that you're hoping for me to make the first move, I would ask you, Aurelia, oh beautiful anchor of mine, would you like to be with me forever and ever and never leave my side?" I said the words quickly before flashing her a giant smile. 

Aurelia had a blossoming smile in response. "See? That wasn't so hard."

I smiled back, hoping that if I smiled long enough, any awkwardness would disappear. And thankfully it did, as her smile warmed. 

"Yes!" She said hurriedly, realizing she had not given me an actual answer. "I would very much like to bond, Ard. I mean, Trevor. I just..." She struggled to come up with the right words. My anchor was so excited she forgot the roles we were in right now for a moment.

Finishing it for her, I continued. "Needed me to take the lead. I think I understand, Aurelia. After all, that fits your personality quite well."

She nodded, a blush dusting her cheek. "Thank you for understanding."

"No, thank you for telling me what was on your mind. I can only do so much. My mind reading is contact-oriented, and to be frank, I don't use it on you ladies that often." I nodded to myself.

Zuri raised an eyebrow. "That often?" She echoed my words. "As in, you still do, just not that often?"

I paused, trying to figure out what to say.

"Not that often?" She prodded, really not seeming to let this one go.

"I feel like I'm being taken a little out of context." I pinched my fingers. "But yes, not that often. Every now and then, when Emlyn is getting sad, or Aurelia has asked for two shoulder rubs in consecutive days, I just like to take a peek and make sure everything is fine."

Aurelia squinted at me. "When I ask for shoulder rubs?"

"Yes. It seems to me that when you ask for them often, you might be a little stressed." I replied.

"It's not that I'm stressed; it's just that I very much like shoulder rubs." She seemed a little upset by the way she puffed her cheeks out. 

I held my hands up. "It's not that they're a bad thing. I just noticed it," I said. "It's like a secret message between you and me. When you need shoulder rubs, you are stressed. And if you're stressed multiple days in a row, then I know to take a peek and try to fix it."

"What were we talking about again?" I turned back to Zuri. "Bonding. Right." I completely skipped over the topic of using my soul magic to check in on their thoughts.

Walking through the street, there was a procession of carts. The group had arrived at a late hour and through the gloom of the darkness, they looked incredibly haggard. Aurelia put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from walking.

"Refugees," she said, squinting. Zuri had already stopped as well. My first thought was wounded soldiers, but no, they were not military.

Rather than letting them both continue to guess, I gave them the correct answer. "The rebels. These are the wounded they said they would bring to Fargo."

Zuri made a noise of understanding and nodded. "That was my second guess.”

“Should we approach them?" I asked.

"Let's watch and wait," Zuri suggested, her eyes hardening as they lifted to the rooftops. "I think whatever this group may be, it seems to have attracted enough attention."

I couldn't see whoever she was looking at, but with a quick application of dark magic, I peered into the shadows, which was most of the night, only for my vision to shift. 

Nested at the rooftop she'd been staring at, an anchor in guard's attire knelt on the roof watching the procession only to leap to another roof to follow them.

It seems she was correct. The large group of wounded had attracted the attention of the city guard, meaning that the Lord would know soon.

"It's an anchor. Should we be concerned?" I asked.

"It's probably standard," Aurelia said. "A large group of wounded coming into any city would be watched. Those kinds of groups can often cause quite a bit of unrest and trouble."

I nodded along like it made perfect sense to me. "Can we wait for them to leave? For them to stop watching the group before we make an approach?" I said, not wanting to get the attention of the city guard before we had a chance to rescue Uncle Valken's spymaster.

"How about we continue our stroll and try and get a read for where they're staying tonight?" I took up Zuri's arm, hooking it in mine. "After all, we have to set the mood."

Zuri snorted and rolled her eyes. "You are always in the mood. So much so that Emlyn has already snagged several pitchers from the inn."

"She has?" I gasped. "I didn't know that."

Zuri hummed, not believing a word that I said. "Either way, I have no problem with a nice moonlit stroll with you, Ard." Zuri held my arm tighter against her, as if I was going to run away.

"Well, that just sounds wonderful, doesn't it, Lovely?"

***

The next few days were slow going. Apparently, the city of Fargo was not going to let the group of wounded rebels out of their sight.

We spent two days watching them, realizing that they were being followed by an anchor at all times. Eventually, I became impatient and realized we were going to have to do something about the spotters so that I could talk to the rebels without issue.

And now, we were about to make our move.

Maribelle, Zuri, and Aurelia were with me. Emlyn was watching over Eva. The two of them seemed to be getting along better lately. Emlyn had found a new target to pester and decided to make Eva's life harder.

This was okay because I needed Eva to understand my pain. I loved Emlyn. I loved her so much that it was okay that she was a pain in the butt. I couldn't imagine my life without her, but she was still a pain in the butt.

Maribelle landed down next to where we were hiding in the alley with barely a whisper of cloth rustling to announce her. "I count three anchors watching," she said.

Zuri clicked her tongue. "That'll be more difficult than I had expected. Silencing all three at once will be a difficult task." She glanced over at me. "I can't leave you alone. So Aurelia, you stay with Ard. Maribelle and I will take one anchor each."

"I'll take the one furthest from here," Maribelle said, her bluesteel daggers coming out of her skirt.

"Don't kill them," Zuri waved to her.

"They are Garrish forces," Maribelle said quickly. "Every life we take here could be one saved on the front lines."

"I'm aware, but if we need to do this quietly, without arousing suspicion. I think the best choice is to knock them out and tie them up. If we do it right, they'll be too embarrassed to report the attack." Zuri answered.

My brows rose up at Zuri's diabolical mind. "Remind me never to piss you off."

"You already know better," she patted my cheek. She had gotten a little bolder since we had bonded. Her soul was at the tip of my fingers.

I could pop it back into Soulguard and protect it should I ever need to. And of course, bring her back to life. Aurelia was now the only one of my anchors not bonded.

"I'll take the one right up there. That's the one I have already spotted," I pointed up at the nearest roof line. "Dark magic should work just fine. Do you want me to drop them off here for you, Zuri?"

"That would do just fine. We can deal with embarrassing them later." She jumped up out of the alley, dark magic radiating from her and making her near impossible to see in the darkness. Maribelle shot out as well.

Meanwhile, Aurelia put the head of her battle axe down against the alley. "Always those two sneaking off and taking all the fun."

"I didn't think you much enjoyed knocking unsuspecting people out," I glanced at Aurelia.

"You're right, that doesn't sound very fun. Instead, I'm more interested in getting caught and having a nice brawl," she wiggled her nose. "I feel a little underutilized with all of this subterfuge. Not to mention, I think I'm getting a little rusty. I haven't really had a chance to go all out in some time."

"Well, if you want to go all out, there's a certain maid that would probably take you up on it once you're bonded." And not before, because Maribelle could really only fight to kill. Emlyn had learned that lesson for the rest of them.

Aurelia's face fell. "You mean, like, to the death?"

I shrugged. "Maribelle would do it. She absolutely loves sparring against Emlyn."

Aurelia glanced away. If I read her right, she didn't dislike the idea, but there was a strange look crossing her face. 

The added emphasis made me realize what I was seeing. All of my anchors were a little scared of Maribelle, and perhaps Aurelia didn't want to make that worse.

I shrugged. "Well, the offer's out there. It's not like you and Emlyn can spar inside the city. And we need to already be ready. If you're rusty, are you ready?" I challenged her.

The Virel raised an eyebrow and thought, "Perhaps I'm not."

Though banter was quite possibly my favorite pastime, I couldn't allow myself to become so engrossed that I neglected my mission.

Peering through the darkness with my magic, I split my vision into multiple locations. Eva had taught me this trick. It gave me a headache, but it was sufficient for me to keep an eye on two of the watchers simultaneously. 

Tendrils of darkness solidified behind my target as I waited for Zuri to make her move. Her attack was swift.

My anchor slammed the pommel of her blade into the back of the other anchor's neck, her hand muffling his cries. He didn't go down with the first strike, and she hit him a second time before the tough anchor crumpled. 

I could only hope Maribelle was just as swift. The tendrils of darkness slapped around my target's mouth, tying themselves in a neat bow behind his head. More came up and overpowered his arms, pulling them back much like I had seen them capture the woman the other day.

I bound the man's forearms before several more tendrils lashed about his ankles. The tendril over his mouth was thick enough that he was having trouble breathing, so I put another one around his nose to stop his breathing entirely. 

He fought against the restraints around his arms, glowing slightly in the night as he tried to use his magic. That's when I made a small stone the size of a fist and smacked him good and hard in the side of the head. The stone cracked, and the man crumpled to the ground, still somewhat conscious but with much of the fight taken out of him. 

The tendrils began to float along the darkness of night, carrying the anchor. As his eyelids fluttered, the lack of oxygen slowly robbing him of his consciousness, I put another dark band over his eyes to ensure that he couldn't see me or where I was taking him. 

Maribelle landed next to me, though this time with more noise as she had one of the lookouts on her shoulder. She glanced around with a smirk on her face, no doubt pleased at being first, before Zuri landed a moment later, dropping off her package. 

"Are you last, Ard?" Zuri teased.

"Yeah, well, I'm not supernaturally fast like both of you." I grumbled.

But I had the man and he was moving towards us, several tendrils writhing in the shadows carried mine down to the alley floor. He was bound and gagged quite well, and at this point, I was fairly certain he had lost consciousness. 

"All right, now we just have to..." Her words trailed off as a faint shimmer appeared next to me. Aurelia's battle axe was up and ready to swing at whatever might be attacking. Zuri and Maribelle had their blades out, ready for a fight. But out of the light, Missy formed.

I held my hands up between Missy and my anchors and thankfully I kept all of my fingers. 

"What are you doing here?" I stared at the goddess. 

"I've come to help." She smiled, and my anchors relaxed, realizing who had joined our party. 

"Help?" Zuri raised an eyebrow. 

Missy ignored her and walked up to the three anchors. She touched each of their foreheads briefly, a small spark of magic visible only because it was so dark outside. 

"There." Missy stood up, her form already beginning to waver. "I altered their memories. Mostly I just looped what had happened thus far tonight. If you put them back up where they were supposed to be," she said, "they should wake up in a few hours as if they had just dozed off momentarily." 

Zuri squinted at the goddess. "Why are you helping us?" 

"Because I can," Missy answered defiantly, "and because there's no reason not to. What is happening in this city is disgusting, and I hope you guys put it to rights. I can't help you during the day." This time Missy's eyes settled on me. "However, at night I have enough power to be of some minor assistance." 

At that, her form wavered and Missy disappeared once again. 

I snorted, "Voyeur." 

There was a sudden throb in my head as her voice spoke. 

I heard that. 

"Of course you did, because you're a freaking voyeur in my life." I spoke to the goddess who was no longer there, only to see my anchors all staring at me strangely. I tapped my head as if that answered everything. "The voyeur is being a voyeur." I rolled my eyes. "Really, she needs to get a better hobby." 

Missy was now throwing a temper tantrum in my mind, and I could only grin with the satisfaction of victory.

Making a goddess throw a temper tantrum was satisfying.

I dusted off my hands. "Let's put them back, and then let's go talk with our old friend Clarence." I said as if it were my own idea and not Missy’s.

Maribelle nodded and picked up all three of Fargo's anchors as if they weighed nothing, before jumping up onto the rooftop to show off.

Aurelia muttered and held her battle axe close to the head before she began walking towards the inn.

We knew the inn was where Clarence and the rest of the bandits were staying. 

Though, they had split up and their wounded had been put in a warehouse by the docks, most likely because no inn in Fargo was willing to become a hospice for the dying.