Chapter 29: Chapter 29
"Yes, our leader is a woman, but she is not like the ordinary women you've seen in Westeros. She is a warrior maiden from a city that was once part of the great state of Hyrkoon's Fief."
"Hyrkoon's Fief, you say..."
I knew of this place from records in Braavos; there is more information about Essos there. From what I remember, Hyrkoon is known as Azor Ahai in the East of Essos, and his name was borne by Hyrkoon's Fief, a once flourishing state that has since largely diminished. In its heyday, Hyrkoon's Fief built three fortress cities. These were true military strongholds, watch posts, and garrisons to protect the kingdom's western borders from bandits, exiles, the mad denizens of the Bone Mountains, and the barbarians beyond. The surviving fortress cities are Bayasabhad to the southwest, Shamyriana to the west, and Kayakayanaya to the northwest.
Over time, the citadels turned into towns, and Hyrkoon declined after its rivers and lakes dried up, and its once fertile fields turned into a desert. Today, the heart of Hyrkoon is the Great Sand Sea, barren sandy dunes, dry riverbeds, and sun-scorched ruins of fortresses and towns. It's said that in the southern parts of the sea, it's so hot that all the water has evaporated.
It's quite likely that this state is indeed Hyrkoon's homeland, or at least closely connected to this mythical figure. Considering that the Long Night is indeed a real event, the grand past of this region might also be real.
"From which city is she exactly?"
The young man, startled again, stammered:
"I don't know... Please forgive me..." he said, clearly thinking I might kill him for such an oversight.
I didn't try to reassure him, as his fear would prevent him from doing anything foolish.
My thoughts naturally continued to ponder the leader of these bandits. Indeed, if she is from Hyrkoon's Fief, her rise to the leadership of bandits is quite normal. According to the information I received, Hyrkoon's Fief is known for its warrior maidens, who wear iron rings in their nipples and rubies in their cheeks. Also, in the culture prevalent in Hyrkoon's Fief, men have few rights and are reduced to the status of mere housekeepers.
"Indeed... quite a sad story for men..."
Our further journey was quite quiet; I was deep in thought, and the bandit was too scared to ask anything, clearly fearing for his life.
But after about ten or fifteen minutes, the bandit said:
"We are beginning to approach... Don't take it as rudeness, but you need to be as quiet as possible."
Seeing my look, his already fearful soul became even more agitated, but seeing no harmful action from me, he continued:
"You do want to speak with the leader, right?" Receiving a nod from me, he continued. "Then you can speak to her if you approach her as a newcomer."
The plan wasn't bad, but one thing bothered me, so I decided to ask him about it:
"Aren't they going to be suspicious about the absence of your companions? And aren't you thinking about running away after all this, possibly betraying me beforehand?"
Hearing this, the young man radiated so much fear that I thought he might just drop dead. But apparently grasping the situation, he quickly said:
"I would never think of such a thing. If I did, I would surely die, and I believe that you could annihilate everyone."
The bandit concluded in a rather somber tone, clearly having demonized me quite a bit, but given his actions, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. So, I simply remained silent and indicated with my gaze that he should continue leading the way.
"Deyron, their camp is quite close, not many people. It seems that in addition to the squad we destroyed, there are also two or three squads missing."
"Hmm... It seems they are stalking someone else besides me."
As we approached the camp, I used the gift from the Many-Faced God to change my appearance just in case. The bandit no longer seemed surprised by anything, and a certain resolve seemed to set in him. By my estimation, he was merely reaffirming his opinion that I was a monster from the Depths of Hell.
"Heh... What should I say in front of your companions to fully integrate into the role?" I asked in a different voice.
"Gulp You should behave as politely as possible... If, of course, you want to end this peacefully."
"Understood, don't worry so much. I'm not planning to purposefully kill everyone. At least not now."
Upon hearing my response, the bandit did not exactly calm down, but he did lose a degree of his fear. Meanwhile, after turning another corner, I came upon two men armed and guarding the only entrance to their camp. Behind these two, there was a camp bustling with some sort of revelry.
Approaching these two makeshift guards—who were also merrily inebriated—I asked:
"Guys, is the leader in?"
Hearing a mumbled yes in response, I continued:
"I'd like to introduce her to the newcomer," pointing to myself. The two guards just smirked and gestured towards a bottle, which I politely declined, but the bandit took a deep swig and exclaimed, "Ahh, delicious!"
"Exactly! This rum is like no other!" one guard chimed in after taking a gulp from the bottle.
"Absolutely!" replied the other, following suit.
My escort, somewhat relaxed, then said, "Let's go."
Inside, the camp was not exactly the pinnacle of civilization, but it was a robust setup. Skins and fabrics of various qualities were hung everywhere, the latter most likely stolen. The camp was marked by idleness, with drunk and merry people scattered throughout. Besides the bandits, there were also prostitutes and women who possibly participated in the fights, evident as many had pierced nipples prominently displayed.
Seeing my surprise, my escort explained:
"These are our leader's closest associates; they came to these parts with her."
"Hmm... Local Amazons," I thought to myself.
Observing their musculature confirmed this; women not engaged in combat could not possess such physiques.
"Hey!" shouted a woman I was watching and assessing. "Want to sleep with me?" she asked seductively, swaying her chest and flashing a provocative smile.
I politely smiled back and declined, for despite her unusual beauty, I had too much on my plate.
The woman just clicked her tongue and moved on, and I could hear her flirting with another man.
"Interesting characters..." I muttered to myself.
"It surprised me at first too, but I must say, Iroida could have given you an unforgettable night," my guide commented, maintaining his composure despite his lingering fear.
"I didn't come here for 'an unforgettable night' of that sort, my dear 'friend'."
Hearing this, the young man nervously smiled and led on, and soon we stood before a more lavish tent, noticeably without any guards around.
"Come in!" called a strikingly firm and beautiful female voice from inside.
Upon entering, a tanned, silver-haired woman appeared before me, her age hard to determine. Beneath her clothes, muscles rippled, but rather than detracting, they enhanced her appearance, adding a unique charm. Considering her beautiful face, unmarred by a scar, it was a lethal combination for anyone.
Moving from assessing her appearance to her eyes, I could see why she was the leader here. Behind this woman's eyes, I saw a warrior spirit accustomed to victory. She, too, seemed to be studying me, making her own assessments.
"Heh..."
Deciding not to beat around the bush and to quickly get to the point of my visit, I began:
"It's a pleasure to meet such a beautiful and formidable person," I concluded with a slight bow.
The woman responded with a look of interest, and after a moment, she said:
"Leave us."
My guide, with a resigned nod, exited, and it seemed she suspected something.
"My name is Isis, and I hail from the Fief of Hyrkoon. I have lived long enough... So tell me, who are you?" she asked more seriously. "And I do not expect answers like those from a novice; no ordinary person carries such strength."
I arched an eyebrow and replied:
"And how did you guess that? I haven't given myself away," I said, seeing no point in hiding anything since she was utterly convinced of her words. Nothing I could say would change what she thought about it.
She just smiled and pulled out a curious device from under her table, which didn't seem magical. But it glowed... with my power?
"I received this tool during my youth in the Fief of Hyrkoon. It's a long story how I acquired it, but it has never failed me. Its main purpose is to detect magic. And I considered that magic is not a common thing in this world, especially not like yours."
This device was an oval stone wrapped in a metal ring. I wasn't exactly sure how this tool worked. To study it in detail, one would indeed need to hold it.
As I pondered her words, the woman stowed the device under the table and continued:
"So, why don't you tell me why you're here?"
She spoke very tensely, apparently preparing for an attack if necessary. And if I wanted to avoid bloodshed, I had better start talking:
"Heh... You can call me Red, and I came here for answers." After a dramatic pause, I continued. "I would like to know some things about the labyrinth."
Fear emanated from the woman, apparently realizing what I was referring to and considering my demise as I finished my monologue, infusing magic into my voice and emotions.
"I would not advise rash actions," I concluded with lethal intent, having mastered this over years of studying Empathy. Now, I could not only read the true emotions and intentions of others but also broadcast and implant certain emotions on a deeper level.
Now, I had instilled, or rather impressed, an overwhelming fear in the woman, thereby overriding her fear of the unknown.
After a minute, the woman swallowed hard and said:
"I do not know what you are talking about." It should be noted that without Empathy, I would not have understood her lie and fear.
In response, I simply smiled and said:
"Let's not pretend you don't know what I'm talking about... You said yourself that you know about my magic, and one aspect of this magic is that I can discern truth from lies. Generally, I can bring out the true feelings of any soul."
With each word I spoke, the woman's resolve weakened further, and after a while, she sighed from exhaustion and said:
"Understood..." slumping from helplessness, she added, "Tell me, what exactly did you want to know?"
"Excellent..." I thought to myself, as things were not turning out too badly.
"I would like to talk about the monster that lurks in the labyrinths of Lorat."
Understanding what I would ask, Isis took a bottle from the table and took a hefty swig before beginning her tale:
"It doesn't hide there... It's confined? Yes, confined because if it were to escape, nothing would remain of Lorat." Another long swig. "What do you want to know? We avoid encountering it at all costs, as our one encounter left only a third of my original group..."
"Hmm... I see, but the question is, how do they avoid encounters with this monster?"
"And how do you avoid it?"
Isis simply pulled out a map, apparently, and unfolding it, said:
"This is our salvation. This precise map of the labyrinths."
Seeing my puzzled look, she explained:
"The labyrinths of Lorat are not a constant phenomenon," pointing to the map, where indeed images and drawings changed. "This point here is our location," she said, pointing to a multitude of tiny dots.
The map indeed seemed like a medieval GPS, showing changing paths.
"But why couldn't I see this from Tuna's view?... And how does this even work?"
Seeing my thought process and anticipating my questions, she simply said:
"I don't know how it works, but it does. People who leave the city seem to be under some magic and miraculously find a way out of the city. But there are those who cannot find this exit and may unfortunately encounter the monster you want to know about."
She then pointed to another point on the map, slightly threateningly designed, and Isis continued:
"That is the monster you asked about."
The point moved, not very quickly, as I could judge by the speed of people patrolling the perimeter of the camp.
"Where did you get such a map?" I asked, the most important question for me at the moment.
"I found this map here in Lorat, I don't know which deity favored me, but it happened completely by chance."
"Apparently asking about the presence or absence of maps is pointless, as if there are any, she doesn't know where exactly this map is."
"Could you lend me this map?" I asked, smiling sweetly as I thought, but apparently not sweetly enough because the look I received was very eloquent.
"Why should I do that? This map has saved our lives more than once."
"Ah... I didn't want to do this, but it seems I must." Saying this, I drew my two blades. "You see, you don't really have a choice. If I don't get the map voluntarily from you, then I will take it from your corpses."
Shocked, to put it mildly, Isis asked after some time:
"Can you give us time to think about this..."
I just shook my head, feeling that just a little more and she would be in my grasp.
"I've already lost too much time here."
"Then perhaps you will tell us why you needed the map?" she asked, wanting to hear my answer.
"Of course, to rid us of the monster."
Sitting in shock, Isis decided and said:
"Take it," and handed me the map, and I just smiled contentedly.
And taking the map, I walked further away from the camp...
From the perspective of Isis
"Who would have thought this was possible?" I thought, holding a rather decent bottle.
"But I had no real choice, for that damned mage could indeed have killed us. At least this way, I preserved the life of our camp. If he succeeds against the monster, my comrades will be avenged. And if not, I at least rid myself of a troublesome mage. Our camp has long needed to change regions." Thoughts flitted through my mind.
"Gulp It went down well.... Now, let's see what happens to you, mage?....."
----
Subscribe to my Patreon and get access to chapters before everyone else!
https://www.patreon.com/patreonarcane
Chapter 41 has already been published
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Arcane_Eso
Arcane_Eso Stones for the God of Stones! Souls for the Throne of Souls!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone