Chapter 60: WHAT'S OURS, AND THEN SOME
Ivan handed a note to Ari as he abandoned the carriage right before the office of the safety department, this world's version of the police. All she had to do was hand the note to an officer and they'd get the gist of the situation. The children in the back would add some weight to the matter for a hopefully faster response. Though Ivan didn't expect them to show up for at least a few hours while they gathered up their troops. He ignored the stares at his back before hopping onto a rooftop, he had about three hours to rob the Freidhof before the safety department showed up.
Ari watched as his back was enveloped by the darkness of the night, the moon only highlighting him for a second before he disappeared. She ignored the childrens' inquiries as she stepped off of the carriage. She knocked three times on the door before someone had answered, even in this late-night the safety department operated. Ari handed the receptionist the note before going back to the carriage. The receptionist stared at her in a daze before unfolding the sheet of paper, their eyes nearly popping out of their head as they rushed outside to verify the matter.
Seeing the cart full of children and even a dagon child the receptionist hurled question after question to Ari. She sat in silence as she stared off in the direction of the art museum. Frustrated with her noncompliance the receptionist went to the back and asked the children themselves, after receiving confirmation from all of them they rushed back inside the safety department stating that they'd need to contact headquarters for backup. Seeing that her mission was complete Ari walked off without saying a word, much to the childrens' worry.
No one knew what she was thinking as she headed down the streets, chains clinking with every step. Her gaze was unfocused as each step emanated the pitter-patter from her bare feet. Her emerald eyes stared in a certain direction, after a few minutes of walking… she paused her steps. She stared down at her feet.
BANG!
The chains shackling her feet shattered as the restraints that had been put on her after more than a decade no longer held her down. Her slow walk turned into a strut, then a jog, shortly after she began running, and now in a full-on sprint. A faint smile crept upon her lips as she felt the wind flow through her hair.
From the street, she jumped onto rooftops, eager to see how high she could reach. It was at the zenith of her reach that time seemed to slow down as she stared at the yellow moon, her arm reaching out to it as time seemed to speed back up. When she landed back on the ground she stood still for a second before arching her back forward, her body shaking as she brought her hands to her mouth.
"Pahahahaha~!" Fair laughter emanated from her mouth as tears pooled at the corner of her eyes. "...I'm free," She muttered to no one in particular. After regaining her composure she wiped the tears pooling in her eyes before staring in a certain direction. With a strong step, the tiles beneath her shattered as she leaped forward. Her eyes darted at every corner as she made sure not to crash into anything
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"Alright, let's do this!" Ivan returned to Yue and Tio as each of them put on their disguise. Yue adorned a mask of a metal bat while Tio slipped on her iron dragon mask… not very subtle if Ivan said so himself. Then again he thought it was pretty funny, as he withheld his laughter while the two of them glared at him discontentedly.
In any case, it was good that they took the proper caution against identification. While they intended for no one to leave this area knowing who they were, it wouldn't be strange if some curious outliers decided to come on over just to sate their curiosity. In which case it'd be rather crude to dispose of them just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
While Tio would refrain from using her dragonification in this battle as it'd be a huge indicator of her identity, she did reassure the two of her skills in her human form. Boasting her proficiency in fire and wind-related spells. Quite the good combination of affinities if Ivan had to say. Her dragonification probably would've got in the way underground anyway so he didn't care much for this development.
It had been well over an hour since the auction had been completed. Those who remained were either staff or loiterers here to do some behind the scene deals. The museum had been closed for the day but that didn't stop the three from breaking open the door as they waltzed in. This world was quite lacking technologically so home defense was usually attributed to magic spells, those of which easily broke with Ivan's right arm.
Minutes went by and they reached the staff room hiding the secret staircase. Each nodded toward each other as they approved to enter the enemy territory. Rather than performing the knock sequence and alerting the doorkeeper, Ivan held his right arm up as he transmuted his way through the false wall. The three only fell shortly before landing in the dark stairs, in which Tio held up a finger as the area became brightly illuminated.
The three followed the path as they watched out for any traps, from there it only took a couple of minutes before they reached the large wooden doors. Seeing his opportunity to shine again Ivan walked forward as his right arm glowed blue. He ignored the two's murmuring as he descended the steps down to the stage. Tio and Yue hurriedly followed after him as he stepped on stage and entered the back room.
In the first room, Ivan held the doorknob for a moment before taking time to think, deciding it would be the best course of action he allowed Tio to enter first as flames enveloped the room. Those caught in it were allowed no time to scream in pain as they disintegrated into ashes. This process would continue for the next couple of rooms as Ivan remembered which room his signed documents were held.
It was that room that Ivan ordered Tio to not incinerate. Yeah, he planned on destroying his documents but seeing as how it withheld the documentation of others who have bought and traded slaves it would be of great use to the safety department in capturing those who actively participated in the trade. Ivan knocked on the door as he waited for someone to answer.
"Hm?" The man who answered was the same person who had been the host for today's auction. Still adorning his black and white checkered mask he curiously opened the door before a palm came hurtling toward him. His muffled screams were nearly inaudible as the arm that had grabbed him sparked blue.
In seconds his resistance ended as his body dangled lifelessly in the air. A thud resounded in the three's ears as he fell to the ground. Yue walked up to the body before incinerating it with her fire magic, leaving no traces behind of how he died. Ivan sighed at this scene before running over to the wall of cabinets that took up half of the room. Shifting through each one before noting that they were in alphabetical order, it didn't take long for him to find his name as he pulled out his folder of signed documents.
He handed it over to Tio while she took care of the rest. For now, their first objective had been completed. Well, technically second. Then again saving the children was not really on their agenda in the first place. Ivan's eyes crept around the room as he looked for someplace that might be good for safekeeping the money. He looked behind paintings, under rugs, behind cabinets and found nothing.
Which led the three to believe that the stash was probably someplace in the sewers along with where they held the slaves. With that in mind, they descended into the sewers as Ivan brushed his hand against the dirty bricks that lined up the walls. He paused his steps as he focused on a particular space close to the cells. With his transmutation, it was easy to feel what was easier to transmute just by touch, and this area specifically was by a large margin more difficult to transmute than the rest of the sewer.
His left arm sparked as the wall molded to form a hole large enough for a person to climb through. And there it was— sacks of Luta full to the brim, gold bars stacked neatly in the corner, expensive paintings and jewelry arrogantly on display. Without another word, Ivan walked forward as his ring glowed brightly, in seconds everything that was in the room disappeared. The three grinned happily as they made sure not to leave a scrap behind.
As Ivan had promised, he had managed to take back what was his– and then some. In any case, the stuff they found would be useful in upcoming operations Ivan planned for. Money is a very valuable asset in any world. The gold bars would instead go to the manufacturing of his 'guards' so that was settled. As for the jewelry and paintings, well they'd probably be used as decoration for the workshop.
With that matter settled the three followed the sewer out as they didn't want to happen upon anyone should they traverse the path they took to get down here. All in all, it was a very successful stealth mission where all of their objectives went completed. The masks were not even needed as most of the criminals of Freidhof weren't able to get a look at their faces before being incinerated to ash.
As far as they were concerned the rest would be up to the safety department to take down Freidhof. If they were smart they shouldn't have any trouble in recruiting the Holy Church and Kingdom to join them in their incursion. From there it wouldn't be difficult to use some of the documents left behind to link the criminal activities here with the group and provide a reason to hit their main base as well as sub-bases.
The moonlight at the end of the tunnel became visible as the three rushed out. They breathed in the fresh air as they lamented their choice of taking the sewers, sure it would help with their clean getaway but after twenty minutes of walking it was getting to their heads. Ivan began stretching his arms before he noticed an extra presence along with them, only this presence was not trying at all to sneak upon them.
Instead, she stood in the open with her arms to her side as she stared back at him. It seemed she predicted he'd use this exit to flee from the scene. As for whether he would even return successfully, well she never doubted it for even a second after the fight that took place here the first time. Though she didn't recognize the figures beside him she kneeled on her right knee as she bowed her head forward. The bull-like mask was a little intimidating to her but the face she recognized.
Under the scrutinizing gaze of Yue, Ivan stepped forward. Though he could guess her intentions he still had to ask. Ari held her breath as she heard him approach. Her toes curled as her heart started beating with anticipation.
"Ari, right?" Ivan started with her name. He had no idea if that was her true name so it was better to see if she approved of it. When she responded with a nod Ivan continued with his line of questioning. "Would you like to accompany us?"
She nodded frantically as if to make sure Ivan understood her intentions.
"Can you speak?"
She shook her head softly.
"...Has it always been this way?" Afraid his question might poke a sensitive spot Ivan spoke hesitantly.
Once again, she shook her head somberly. Insinuating that she had lost her speech capabilities in her time of captivity. Ivan sighed as he got up from his crouched position. Hesitantly reaching his hand out to her head as he mulled over his thoughts, she shook upon contact and remembered what happened to those who were touched by his palm, but after a few seconds of nothing, she relaxed as she enjoyed the contact.
It wouldn't be difficult for Ivan to create something that would repair or emulate her speaking capabilities. Perhaps an amulet or choker enchanted with creation magic or a potion mixed from some rather rare herbs. Either way, the possibility was there. The only problem was that she was someone who knew of his capabilities. Between killing her here and now or taking her in to keep an eye on her he decided the latter would be more appropriate.
If she seemed trustworthy then he wouldn't mind helping her out with her situation, from there it wouldn't be difficult to return her to her family if she wished so. He asked her to remain patiently where she kneeled while he went over to talk with Yue and Tio.
"So what do you guys think, would you mind having her man the workshop for a little while before I work on helping her home?" Ivan spoke to the two while they needed to speak of this matter rather than them bearing resentment as Ari attended the workshop. If her presence made them uncomfortable then so be it, he wasn't going to jeopardize the happiness of Yue and Tio just to help this stranger.
"... If you want to help people go for it, what's important is that you do what you feel is right. If you feel you'll regret not helping this girl one day then I stand by your side with your decision." Yue spoke rather curtly, though it seemed she rather approved of his decision to help out this slave girl.
"Fufufu~ My master. You are free to do as you please, as your humblest servant who am I to refuse? Though it will be quite lonely having your attention diverted by another, then again that's a sort of neglect play n itself~" Once again while Ivan didn't get where the whole 'master and servant' play was coming from, he understood that she didn't have any qualms with the situation so long as he remembers her.
With that settled the three approached Ari as a sword materialized in Ivan's hand, he laughed a little at her flinching before tapping the sword on each of her shoulders. A little something to make her feel as though she was officially a part of the team. She relaxed as she noticed it was just a knighting ceremony played on her as a prank.
Laughing cheerfully the three welcomed her into the team, and though she held her stoic expression the faint blush on her tanned cheeks didn't go unnoticed by them. Which only made the blush stronger. This newly formed group of four hurried away as the quicker they returned to the hotel the less suspicion would be cast on them. Though Ivan had to make a mask for Ari as it was likely the safety department would recognize her face.
That along with some clothes that covered more than her breast and legs…
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You know... I've learned a lot since I started writing. One of the things I've learned is the importance of having an outline. Then maybe all of this wouldn't seem like a random mess to even me. Which is why I'm damn sure I'm going to make one on my next work. In retrospect when testing whether or not if I was comfortable with using outlines I should have tried with it first rather than without it.
Anyways, besides my useless rambling allow my to give my thanks for you having taken the time out of your day to read this. As always, thanks for reading. Have a great evening and see you soon~!
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