CH 113: Fortress

Jasmine raced across the forest, her feet barely making a sound as she made her way towards the bandits’ base. She could feel something in the air, an uneasiness that made her skin tingle. Magic. Either the warding spell or something else entirely.

She slowed down when the feeling got overwhelming, her instincts screaming at her to leave. She took a moment to calm her breath, taking in the feeling and the lack of sounds. It explained why there were no animals nearby.

The trees around her wilted, their leaves brown and brittle. This part of the forest was dying. She touched one of the tree trunks, feeling the brittle bark as it crumbled at her touch. There was more than a warding spell at play here.

She pulled up her mask, covering every bit of skin she could, before dashing towards the epicenter. Not only her instincts, but her rational thought told her to leave, too. She pushed through, passing trees in increasingly decrepit states until there were no standing trees left.

She had a clear view of a building at the base of a cliff surrounded by fallen trees. It exuded that threatening aura that polluted the air. Jasmine activated her camouflage skill, her clothes blending seamlessly with the colors of her surroundings, before slowly making her way towards the structure.

The building itself didn’t seem to be decaying, its wood looking pristine and newly built. As she got closer, she could start to pick out the magic traps and alarms scattered throughout the field. She masterfully danced around each one before making it to the building’s wall.

Right as she made it, the massive door swung open. Jasmine dropped to the ground and watched as people flooded the field. These weren’t bandits. They were unarmed and looked like civilians. However, their movements seemed stiff, their eyes dazed, almost like a golem’s.

Jasmine waited for them to disappear into the woods before moving. She quietly scouted the perimeter, looking for any safe way to enter. Inside each window were several bandits guarding it, making it hard for Jasmine to enter. She did, however, notice windows on the second and third stories that were open.

She quietly attached her climbing gear to her hands and feet, a pair of gloves with claw-like protrusions and spiked harnesses for her boots. She ascended a wooden pillar like a spider. She glanced at the field, expecting roaming guards but found none.

She entered an open window on the third floor. She cautiously poked her head in, looking for any signs of life. Finding none, she entered. She put away her climbing gear before exploring.

She was taken aback by how few bandits were roaming the third floor, as she was able to survey the entire thing without finding any conscious bandits. It seemed like this was their sleeping quarters.

So, she decided to move to the second floor. She risked the stairway, hearing no movements or people coming from below.

The second floor, though, was filled with people. But they seemed off.

Jasmine could tell at a glance. Their eyes were lifeless, their movements stiff and without thought, just like the crowd from before. None of them seemed like bandits either, they must be the villagers. They had to be.

There were children and elderly women mixed in, all with the same dead-like expression and movements. All of them were blankly looking at the walls or walking about. It looked like they were sleepwalking.

Jasmine didn’t test them, just slipped past them. None of them spotted her. Her camouflage skill worked well in the dimly lit corridors. She checked each room, finding more storage or sleeping bandits. Some had more dazed villagers, too.

None of this made sense to Jasmine. She’d never seen people like this, nor heard of spells that could do this. They seemed to be mindlessly walking or moving objects, under a spell of some sort. Were they being mind-controlled?

She’d never heard of spells that could do that. Suggestion and manipulation spells were a thing, but not mind control. It had to be a monster of some sort. There were a few parasite-like monsters that could do it, but those would use humans to build nests, not this.

Did these bandits find a monster capable of more?

She made up her mind. She would risk the first floor to figure this mystery out. It was stupid with all the guards, but she needed to know what was going on or some way to stop it.

She descended to the first floor, hiding from the roaming guards. But, much like the top two floors, there wasn’t much to this one. More storage or living rooms, just with more bandits. Overall, it seemed like there were 20ish in total. Far more than had been expected.

She found a guarded area leading to a cellar-like basement. A lone sentry was roaming the room, making it hard for Jasmine to stay hidden. But Jasmine decided to enter, she needed to know.

She waited, risking the two-hour timer she gave her party members for this information. Finally, the guard looked to be slacking off. She took this moment to enter the cellar, its door already open for her.

She knew this was reckless, but she had to figure this phenomenon out. She needed to find a way to turn this spell off. Or else Elsie and Claire would have to face those villagers.

Three more bandits were down here, but two of them were asleep, and the other was drinking. She thanked the gods that bandits made piss poor sentries.

Then she saw the creature.

A woman? Or a monster? She wasn’t sure. Inside a massive cage was a chained creature, the top half was human-like, but where her legs should be was a snake’s tail. Its tail was a dark red, with black stripes going vertically up. Its hair matched its tail, red with dark highlights. There was also a brand of some sort glowing on its chest.

Jasmine was thrown off by how beautiful the creature’s face looked. She cursed her blessing for a moment, getting distracted by the creature’s curves and soft lips.

That moment of hesitation cost her, though. The creature’s eyes snapped to her position.

Jasmine held her breath, hoping the creature might mistake her for another captor. Instead, it smiled. Slow, knowing, and amused. Showing off its fangs to Jasmine, a human-like chuckle came from it. Jasmine felt the air around her thicken as the creature exuded magic.

The drunk bandit threw a rock at the cage, causing it to rattle. “Shut the fuck up!” the woman slurred. “Fucking annoying piece of shit.”

The creature didn’t flinch. It turned to the drunk bandit, its eyes changing from brown to a glowing purple. The bandit stopped moving, her eyes mirroring those of the villagers above. Then the creature did something Jasmine didn’t expect: it spoke.

“Are you here to kill me?” It said, clear and human-like. Jasmine froze. She didn’t know what to do. “Or… are you here to rescue the villagers?”

Jasmine nodded. She took a deep breath and decided to do something else that was reckless. “Save the villagers.” She confirmed. “As for killing you… that depends.”

The creature, woman?, chuckled. “Depends on what?  Whether I’m the monster controlling them?”

“Yes. But, you seem to be held captive here.” Jasmine cautiously replied. “You seem quite intelligent too, if I can promise to free you… Would you let them go?” The woman’s smile grew wider, her fangs protruding from her mouth now. “Do you trust me?”

Jasmine shook her head. The woman’s eyes faltered, a hint of sadness overcoming her.

“That’s okay…” The woman said, her smile fading. “I have little hope to persuade you…”

Jasmine studied the creature, sensing genuine emotions from its voice. “I don’t expect any mercy… But… I mean them no harm. They were always kind to me…”

Jasmine wanted to ask for clarification, but the Lamia shook her head. “No time. Reyna is returning soon. Please. Make sure the villagers are safe after you kill me.”

Jasmine was shocked. “You want to die?”

The creature nodded, “Yes… If it means they can be spared.”

“No. I’ll take a leap of faith.” Jasmine whispered to herself, already committed to recklessness. “When the fighting starts, can you turn off your spell?”

The creature perked up, tilting its head. “But… what? Aren’t you an assassin? You should kill me… that’s how you break a spell, isn’t it?”

“I’m here to kill bandits, not monsters. If you can help, then you can live.” Jasmine replied.

The creature blinked in confusion before nodding. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jasmine had already left. Its smile returned, and it chuckled.

Jasmine slipped back out the window. She barely avoided the roaming guards, but made it out. She watched as the mind-controlled villagers returned, surrounding a woman on horseback.

Jasmine guessed that was Reyna.

Scars marked Reyna’s face, tattoos coiled up her arms, and a glowing necklace with the same symbol as the creature’s brand. Her presence alone was a threat. Jasmine knew instinctively that this woman was truly dangerous.

Jasmine waited, motionless, until Reyna and her horse vanished inside the building.. Jasmine didn’t realize she had been holding her breath, but she was.

She hastily made her way out of the open field, sprinting back to her party members.