Ancient Ruins

by Benjamin Medrano

  The door opened to reveal a pretty woman with raven hair. The woman’s piercing blue eyes glanced over the room as she stepped in, almost certainly checking for threats, he knew. She had a serpentine tattoo on her left cheek and a severe set to her face that somewhat offset her beauty, and she wore black leather armor and a long, curved sword at her waist. She held her fist to her chest in a salute as she spoke evenly. “Adjudicator.”

  “High Enforcer Serel,” he replied, smiling slightly in return. “To what do I owe your visit? Especially given the time of night?”

  “My scouts returned from investigating the delay of Grayhold’s caravan,” she replied bluntly, folding her hands behind her ramrod-straight back. “Caravan security appears to have been half of what was recommended. The entire detail was slain and Princess Phynis is missing, while tracks lead west toward the mountains and north-west toward the border of Sifaren.”

  “I see. Lord Calvin must have decided that our suggestion of escorts was overly cautious,” Jared murmured thoughtfully, shaking his head. His brow furrowed as he paced across the soft carpets. “A pity. He’s been rather successful in most regards.”

  “Perhaps so,” Serel replied, her gaze hard and pitiless by comparison. Jared thought it was truly fortunate for Lord Calvin that she would not be in charge of any repercussions. “Do you wish to reassign some of my Enforcers to retrieve the princess?”

  “Hmmm…” Jared considered a moment more, then asked with a raised eyebrow. “Was she successfully branded?”

  “My information indicates that she was branded with a royal crest immediately after she was returned to Grayhold,” the High Enforcer explained shortly.

  “And the mindshard?” he inquired patiently, carefully considering the full situation. “What of it?”

  “It was implanted without her knowledge. That is assuming that Lord Calvin’s reports were accurate.” Her answer was curt and pointed, and Jared suppressed a sigh of annoyance. He liked Serel for the most part, but she was too serious much of the time, and when she decided someone was incompetent, she tended to hold onto grudges until they died of old age.

  “Excellent. In that case, send two platoons of scouts in pursuit, each with at least four officers who possess black command sigils,” Jared ordered, turning to face Serel again with a smile. “Have a single company of line troops backing them up, with… Lady Marath commanding them. They will be tasked with retrieving Princess Phynis.”

  “As you wish, Adjudicator,” Serel acknowledged with another salute, the annoyance on her face fading. She paused a moment before asking, “And my own mission?”

  “Your mission takes priority. Even if it results in the princess escaping,” Jared told her, shaking his head. “Only when you have the temple in sight are you to read your sealed orders. Even I don’t know their contents, so read them carefully. The Archon was quite insistent.”

  “As you say, Adjudicator.” Serel bowed her head this time, the mention of the Archon obviously having quelled any other misgivings she had. Serel turned to leave, but paused and frowned before asking, “What of Lord Calvin?”

  “I will pass word along to Justicar Hall. It is not my place to decide how the Lord will be treated for his lack of foresight. That position belongs to the Justicar.” Jared shook his head, pitying the man as he added, “I believe his caution will not result favorably, though.”

  “As you say, Adjudicator. I shall carry out my orders. By your leave?” Serel nodded, a thin smile flickering over her own face at his explanation. When he nodded, though, she bowed her head slightly and left the room.

  Jared shook his head, smiling wryly at the woman’s response. Touching the crystal again to lock the room, he was about to go to bed when a thought struck him as he looked at the elf. He was allowed a few personal slaves, and it could be any captive that wasn’t royalty or requested by the Archon or High Adjudicator. He hadn’t chosen one yet, and this slave… he could work with. The woman was beautiful and pleasant, and he had budding thoughts of how to make an abandoned project of his work. It required seven potent spellcasters, and since priestesses almost universally were spellcasters, she was the first he'd need.

  “Slave. Make yourself presentable,” he ordered as he approached his nightstand and uncorked a bottle of brandy.

  Pouring some of the amber liquid into a glass, he glanced over as the elf stood up, looking around as if trying to figure out what to clean herself with. Her eyes were filled with anger, which meant that she hadn’t broken. That was good. After taking a sip of brandy, he added, “You may use your magic to clean yourself for this task, but you may not dress after cleaning yourself. I wish for you to remain naked for the evening.”

  If a gaze could cut, he’d likely be bleeding on the floor from the glare the woman gave him, but he was more satisfied that that she didn’t manage to resist the order. At least this time. Earlier, she’d displayed impressive willpower, refusing to answer his questions for a few moments even under the compulsion of her brand. Of course, it had only been for a few moments, which somewhat ruined her attempt.

  Whispering a few words, the elf’s fingers danced gracefully through the air as she wove her spell. A soft white glow enveloped her body for a moment, and then she was clean again. All of the sweat and grime vanished, and it was like she’d taken a bath, combed her hair, and otherwise made herself perfectly presentable for a court function. And all of it done in seconds. He would have to remember that she could do that in the future, considering how useful it must be.

  Shaking off his distraction, he pointed at a spot in the center of the room and ordered, “Stand there. Don’t try to hide yourself. Besides, that’s pointless after earlier.”

  Flushing at the humiliation, the tips of the elf’s ears quivered slightly in rage. But despite any anger she felt, she couldn’t help herself from following his orders. Once she was in position, he circled her again slowly, examining her critically for any real flaws. Finding none, he finally stopped in front of her and nodded. He placed a hand on the golden brand and looked her in the eye as he spoke formally, “I, Adjudicator Jared Falgrave, claim you as my personal slave. None save Enforcers or my superiors may give you orders via your brand, save as granted by myself.”

  The brand heated under his hand for a moment, then the heat faded. Stepping away, Jared smiled to himself as he took out a small chest from the nightstand. This iron banded box was locked with another crystal, and he touched it, wondering where other Adjudicators kept theirs. He didn’t see the point in hiding his, considering that if someone could get this deep into the manor, they could certainly find the box without much difficulty. But as he opened it, another thought struck him, and he asked curiously, “How do you feel?”

  “Outraged, angry, frustrated, and defiled,” she ground out, her voice beautiful in spite of the anger infusing every word she spoke. “I hate you more than I have anyone or anything in my life, and I hate that I helped you in any way. Even if I had no choice in the matter.”

  “That’s enough,” Jared replied in a leisurely tone, cutting off further complaints as he looked through the small chest. The interior was split into an upper and lower compartment, and he sorted through the top first. It was filled with tiny pouches, each labeled with a single word. Words like courtesan, goldsmith, submissive, dominant, gladiator, as well as many others. It took a little while to find the one he wanted, and he pulled a thin, colorless jewel out of the pouch, the gem little more than a spindle an eighth of an inch across and an inch long. Removing the top tray for the moment, he continued looking through more pouches that filled the bottom, these ones labeled with colors instead. He replied almost absently as he worked. “I’m not surprised you feel that way. I imagine that if our situations were reversed, that I would feel much the same. On the other hand, I think that you have no one to blame but yourself.”

  He upended a pouch in his hand, and a golden jewel spilled into his palm. The topaz was a perfect oval to his amateur eye, and he continued piti
lessly. “You are the one who chose to become a priestess of Medaea. You also didn’t train enough to gain the strength necessary to fight off the raiders who attacked the town you were passing through. You knowingly chose to travel near borders that you knew were regularly attacked by slavers. If you had chosen differently on any of these aspects, you likely would still be safe and sound in Yisara. Instead, you are a slave. You are my slave, whether you like it or not. I am the one in power, and power is what truly matters.”

  He stepped closer to her, smiling as her glare weakened and her cheeks paled under his verbal assault. Holding up the clear jewel for a moment, he gently pressed it against the middle of her forehead and waited. The spindle-shaped gem warmed after a few moments and slowly melted into the elf’s body, vanishing without a trace. As the priestess gasped and swayed in place, Jared smiled broadly, speaking quickly and firmly. “Forget your old name, that name never existed for you. You are now named Topaz, and that is the only name which you have ever had.”

  The elf let out a soft whimper as she blinked slowly, seeming to be in pain. Jared ignored that, though. It was normal for such invasive changes, and there was nothing he could do about that part. Instead, he held the topaz and concentrated, fixing his desires into the gemstone. Once he was certain he had them in place, he pressed the jewel against Topaz’s body, midway between her navel and crotch between two curved segments of the slave brand. The design looked as though it was drawn to frame the gemstone—which he knew was actually the case. Both the jewel and brand grew warm for a moment, and then the gem half-melted into the elf’s skin, leaving half exposed as the gem became part of her body.

  Letting go of the gemstone, Jared smiled and nodded to himself as he examined his work. The jewel glittered against Topaz’s skin, and her pain seemed to have subsided. Which was fortunate, since the procedure had woken him up enough to be fully interested in her again. Setting his near-empty glass aside, Jared looked at his distressed elf and ordered, his smile widening. “On your knees, Topaz.”

  Chapter 5

  Alaina held a hand over her mouth as she tried to suppress a yawn. Blinking away the moisture the yawn had brought to her eyes, she quickly scanned her portion of the camp perimeter again. It was an incredible honor to have been chosen to help rescue Princess Phynis, but with that honor came more than a few risks, and anxiety had been her constant companion for the last few days. The last thing Alaina wanted was to be enslaved by Kelvanis. Fortunately, they’d at least saved the princess from being auctioned off to the highest bidder. That would have been an utter disaster.

  Even that knowledge didn’t make a night watch any more enjoyable, though. Especially on the edge of the Godsrage Mountains. It was true that most of the more powerful monsters rarely came out of the mountain’s depths, but just being here unnerved Alaina, and the way that Lily had just seemed to appear made her shiver. Part of Alaina wondered if Lily might be a doppelganger or something of the sort, even if she knew that the captain had checked for things like that.

  It was the thought of a doppelganger or monster that made her freeze in place when the ghostly female figure walked out of the darkness with a look of such indifference that for an instant Alaina thought that she was seeing a dark spirit of some form. But as the figure stepped closer, a glimpse of what looked like patterned wood rings on the woman’s skin caught Alaina’s attention, causing relief to flood her body at the evidence that the woman was alive. She quickly nocked an arrow and took aim, her fingers quivering from the chilled night air.

  “H-halt!” Alaina demanded. Aiming at the woman’s chest, she spoke again, her voice firming after the first unsteady word. “Halt and identify yourself!”

  As the nearest other guard responded to her cry and came into sight, the dryad glanced at Alaina. The glance was so brief that Alaina almost missed it, and something about the woman’s dark eyes made her shiver again. But the dryad didn’t even pause, walking straight toward the camp.

  “Halt, or we’ll attack!” Draven’s deep voice was unmistakable, and his bow was fully drawn and unwavering. When the dryad didn’t slow at his warning, Draven growled and loosed his arrow. Alaina winced slightly, but watched as the dryad continued with her graceful, perfect steps.

  Alaina almost couldn’t see what happened in spite of watching closely. The arrow hissed through the air so fast that it was almost invisible, and the dryad’s left hand blurred. An instant later, the dryad’s arm was fully extended in the direction of Draven, and a harsh thock echoed through the night as the arrow he’d fired sank deep into the tree next to him. The dryad didn’t even miss a step.

  The way the woman moved and reacted suddenly made Alaina very glad she hadn’t attacked, and she slowly relaxed her bowstring. Draven just stared at the arrow with wide eyes as the camp woke.

  * * *

  The distinct feeling of annoyance coming from Sistina woke Lily from her fitful slumber. Not anger, not frustration, simply annoyance. And at the shouts, she stirred, confused in her rough bedroll, and thought longingly of her bed back in the caverns. She’d forgotten what it was like to sleep outside, or to sleep while tied up, since she could barely feel her hands.

  Rolling over, her eyes widened and she swallowed as she bit into her gag. As she watched, Sistina walked directly past the guards and into the camp, ignoring every challenge and attempt to stop her. And the dryad’s eyes were fixed on Lily. Feeling anxious, Lily glanced around nervously as the camp came to life. And the first thing she saw was Vendis, who appeared to be extremely upset.

  * * *

  “What in the hells is that woman doing in the middle of camp?” Vendis’ angry exclamation woke Phynis from her exhaustion-induced slumber.

  Blinking away her sleep, Phynis missed whatever the reply might have been as she yawned, struggling to her feet blearily. She might be more active than her siblings were, but she wasn’t used to sleeping outdoors, and the events of the last few days had hardly helped. But Phynis blinked several times, rubbing at her eyes as she wondered if she was still asleep at the sight of a beautiful, naked woman walking through the middle of the camp. The aches and pains through her body told Phynis that she was awake, though, which made the situation more surreal. Even more oddly, the woman looked somewhat elven, but not at all like a native of the region. Phynis had seen elves from other regions, and they had pale skin quite at odds with the darker brown or gold of dusk and dawn elves.

  Stepping up next to Desa, Phynis spoke softly, watching the chaos as the soldiers seemed almost paralyzed as to what to do with the woman ignoring them. “What’s going on?”

  “I can’t say I’m entirely certain. From what I’ve heard, I guess the dryad just walked through the perimeter, ignoring the guard’s challenges,” Desa replied softly, a concerned look on her face.

  “Dryad? So there actually was a dryad?” Phynis blinked then smiled. “I want a closer look!”

  “Highness…” Desa started to protest, but sighed as she looked Phynis in the eyes. Shaking her head, she conceded softly. “Fine, My Lady. Just keep your distance? Please?”

  “That’s fine, I just want to see her,” Phynis replied, smiling in faint triumph. This must be the dryad who the prisoner claimed could alter Kelvanis’ slave brands, and that made her curious and hopeful.

  The two moved closer to where Lily was being kept, even as more guards surrounded the dryad and prisoner. Phynis blinked in surprise as she got a closer look at the woman with the slight wooden pattern to her skin. She was quite different from most of the dryads she’d seen before. Most of the ones she’d seen were shades of brown, and far less curvaceous. And most of them wore clothing, even if it was mostly leaves. The thing that struck her as strangest, though, was the lack of any form of concern on the woman’s face. Most dryads were shy and likely to hide rather than meeting a large group, and this one didn’t even seem to care that she was surrounded.

  Phynis watched in fascination as the dryad leaned over the prisoner and touched the rope with a
single finger. There was the faintest glow, and in an instant, the hemp rope unraveled and fell to pieces around Lily, and Phynis heard a faint swear word escape Desa’s lips. A moment later the gag fell apart as well, and Lily spat out the fragments of the rope before taking the dryad’s hand and letting her help the elf to her feet.

  “T-thank you, Sistina,” the young elf spoke shyly as she looked at the ground in embarrassment, and Phynis blinked in surprise as the dryad smiled for a moment. The smile lit up the dryad’s face like a beacon, and she felt somewhat sad when it was gone so suddenly.

  Crooking a finger at Lily, the dryad turned and started walking back the way she’d come from. Phynis managed to resist letting her jaw drop at watching a dryad simply ignore nearly thirty soldiers surrounding her—all of them armed. There were even two mages waiting, though there was something odd about their expressions.

  “Stop! Where do you think you’re going, after barging into our camp?” Vendis demanded angrily, stepping into the dryad’s path and planting her feet firmly.

  For the first time, the dryad actually stopped and looked at Vendis, and she didn’t look terribly impressed. Glancing at Vendis and the rest of her guards, she finally pointed at herself, then at Lily. Taking Lily’s hand, the fey pointed past Vendis. Finally, she gave Vendis a patronizing look and gestured for Vendis to move, the gesture looking more like an adult trying to chivvy a child out of the way.

  “How dare you…” Vendis growled, her eyes darkening as she put a hand on her sword’s hilt, and took a stance.

  “Wait, Captain.” Phynis almost surprised herself as she spoke, taking a step forward. At her words, everyone’s eyes focused on her, as at this point, just about everyone was awake. Those watching her included the two intruders, though while Lily looked anxious, the dryad seemed decidedly unimpressed.