Chapter 119

I described the process of opening the door but it became obvious pretty quickly that I was going to be the one who had to open it. The diagram described switching between six magic elements. Ice, fire, water, light, wind, and finally earth. Despite not being skilled with any of these magics directly I had affinity for all of them and this lock or seal or whatever, didn't require too much magic to crack open.

I placed the tips of my fingers on the spot indicated in the diagram and followed the pattern. I did it slowly because the pattern was slightly curved and I wanted to make sure I did it correctly. At each of the indicated points I shifted my magic to a different type and continued the pattern. When I finally got to the end, the pattern lit up and the wall clicked open.

There was faint breathing coming from down the dark hallway, a few feet inside was a slight recess in one of the walls. I cast another [Light Orb] and let it progress forward and illuminate the path. When the orb passed the indent I could hear a start and the rattle of chains. Whatever was in here seemed to be locked away.

I took a deep breath. "Let me go first, I'm—"

"I'll go." I turned and Mimi stepped forward. "I'm sturdy, if there's danger I can back off no problem!"

I wanted to argue but she was right. Out of all of us, Mimi was the least likely to be hurt, and with her speed, she might just dodge whatever comes her way instead.

I nodded my head. "Alright. Be careful. I'll keep the light up for you."

Mimi walked through the small hidden door, tracing a hand along the wall as she went. When she reached the indent in the wall there was a gasp from whatever was there and more chain rattling. Rather than stop, Mimi continued down the hallway, looking for any other danger. When she was satisfied it was clear she came back.

"No problem. There's a man chained to the wall over there." She pointed to where the recess in the wall was. "I didn't see any monsters, it looks safe."

I pat her on the shoulder. "Good job Mimi." The rest of us entered the hallway until we got to the indentation. There was an emaciated man chained to the wall there naked. He was a human with brown hair and black eyes, his skin was pale and he had bright red marks around the dark bruises where his wrists and ankles were chained to the wall. In front of him was an open slave collar, it looked as if it had fallen from his neck some time ago judging by the dust that had collected on it. He had bags under his eyes, they darted between the four of us, trying to understand what was happening. His karma was mostly neutral, only slightly positive but I didn't see any miasma coming from him. He looked normal other than his circumstances.

"Morrigan, do you see any magic or traps?"

She looked around the indent. "No, no magic. I'm not an expert on traps so it's hard to say but it doesn't look like it to me."

Bella looked concerned. "We're going to help him right?"

"Of course," I said with a soft smile.

I gently grasped one of the man's wrist cuffs, careful not to hurt him. There was a padlock, though the keyhole was on the front rather than the bottom. Each shackle had a matching one.

"Torien's not here, we'll have to look for the key. For now let's give him some water and heal him."

The man's eyes lit up but he didn't speak yet. So far he's only let out grunts and wheezing breaths. People are only able to live 3 days without water but this man looks like he's been here longer than that. There was a small coat of dust on the collar that had fallen from his neck and the attack on the city had been longer than a mere three days ago.

I held my waterskin to his mouth. "Slowly now. I know you're thirsty but try not to drown yourself." I tipped the waterskin and the man just about started suckling the opening. After several gulps, I pulled it away and let him catch his breath again before handing it to Bella.

"Bella, go ahead and heal him and give him more water. Morrigan, show me where you found that diagram for the secret room. Maybe we can find the key." As well as some information on who this guy is. He looks like he was being kept as a slave but I don't know why he would be bolted to the wall like this. The man looks harmless but I'd like to be sure I'm not letting a serial killer loose or something.

I turned toward Mimi. "Please keep Bella safe in case we missed something. And don't try to let him out on your own, I don't want to risk hurting him when he looks this frail."

"Of course!" Mimi said with a grin.

Morrigan led me to the room where she found the diagram. It looked like a fancy study. The room was filled with books but on inspection, they were things like almanacs and shipping routes. Probably quite useful to the people who needed them but I wouldn't know where to start. I moved on to a desk with a chest of drawers.

"The diagram was on the desk here, turned face down. I tried the desk too but it was locked."

I walked up to the desk and tried it. It was locked alright but not for long. I braced one hand on the top of the desk and yanked the handle as hard as I could. The drawer ripped from the desk, the wood splintered as the plank that held the lock plate broke off. It was a shame to ruin such an otherwise beautiful desk but considering there was a man chained up in the other room I wasn't feeling all that charitable. In that first drawer was a leather-bound journal with a key tied to a ribbon hanging from it.

Morrigan sighed. "Really Lilith?"

I shrugged. "Your sister isn't here and I didn't want to leave that guy tied to the wall for too long."

I opened the journal and could immediately tell the book was written in the same cipher as the diagram. This guy went to great lengths to hide whatever was in this journal. Why am I able to read it? Maybe because it's a cipher of a language I speak?

I opened the book to the most recent entry. It seems that my translation title translates the first month as January even though it's technically called something else, interesting.

***

January 14th

We are getting close to the night of the city-wide ritual that will give the cultists cover to kill the Baron. It really is a shame, I rather enjoy the man's company and we share many things in common. His young daughter has invited Katerina to many of her tea parties with some of the other noble daughters. They led to a few unexpected connections over the last few years. Alas as long as he works to oppose slavery in the kingdom, the Amphores cultists will continue to seek his death. It is rather humorous that the prejudice the Tamin church holds towards the beastkin gave them such a huge blind spot. As long as it continues to predominantly be beastkin who are taken into slavery, they aren't interested in stepping in and continue to maintain their neutrality on the topic. Instead, they run around looking for demons wherever they can find them and harassing the common folk rather than using their influence somewhere that would actually impact their quarry. Amphores and some of the other demon-worshiping cults are gathering on the eastern frontier. As much as I would rather avoid whatever the cults are scheming it will be much safer to flee toward the frontier than go back to the capital with all the issues happening there.

The cultists are paying me a substantial sum to use my house as some kind of anchor point for their rituals so they insisted I leave this morning but it will be too challenging to sneak Julian out of the city during the day. I often regret being impatient and kidnapping him rather than contriving a reason to enslave him lawfully. Perhaps I can bribe someone in the slaver's guild in Traehall, their frontier spirit may allow me to find someone open to less ethical practices if the money is right. I will have to be quick, the cultists intend to release the demons one bell after sundown so I will need to have a carriage ready if I want to escape with Julian before they release the demons. I am just glad I have already sent Katerina off ahead of me, I wouldn't want her to ask me why I am bringing along a male bed slave in my personal carriage. If all goes well I will be on my way to Traehall by the time this city is up in flames.

***

I closed the book and rubbed the bridge of my nose. This was way more information than I was expecting to find here. It seems I've stumbled on a coconspirator of the attack on the city. The man chained to the wall seems to have been someone who was kidnapped and turned into a 'bed slave.' The thought turned my stomach.

"I've found what I needed Morrigan. If the man in the other room is Julian, then he was a man who was kidnapped and held as a bed slave by the owner of this journal. Whoever wrote this clearly knew the city was going to be attacked by the 'Amphores cult' and was paid to use his house as part of the ritual. Something must have happened and he never made it back."

Morrigan's brow furrowed. "Do you think the demon downstairs..."

I grimaced. "I'd rather not speculate but... there was a lot of blood. Anyway, let's go let the poor man out. I can't imagine how he's feeling right now. First kidnapped then left to die chained to a wall."

When we came back to the room Bella was feeding the man some of the jerky from our rations. A lot of the color had returned to his face and the bruises on his wrists and ankles were healed. The man was still quite emaciated though, so he still looked quite frail. I held the journal behind my back, I wanted to be sure this was who I thought it was before releasing him.

"What's your name?"

The man turned his head and croaked out a reply in a weak voice, "J-Julian."

I nodded. "Good, I found the key." I pulled the key from the journal's ribbon and went to one of the locks. "Bella, Morrigan, hold him for me, don't let him fall."

They braced him as I unlocked his wrists and held him up while I unlocked his feet. This close to him the man smelled terrible, I would rather not speculate on what I was smelling.

"Do you want to clean up here? Or would you rather leave as soon as possible?" I asked him.

"I c-can leave?" He rasped out.

"Yes, you're free now. The man who kidnapped you is likely dead, caught up in the demon attacks."

His eyes went wide. "Demons?"

"It's too long a story to explain right now. But we've killed the demons that were here. We should take you to the guards, the city isn't very safe right now and you need to recover." I gently brushed the hair out of his eyes, tears ran down his face.

"Th-thank you. I'll never forget this, your kindness..."

I smiled. "It's okay." I turned to Morrigan. "Can we take him to the guards? Will they help him?"

She frowned. "It's hard to say." She looked down at the leather-bound journal in my hand. "That journal might have a lot more information they would be interested in. If you hand it over with the key to the cipher, they would probably be glad to take care of this guy for us. If there's proof in there he was kidnapped, the city may give him any of the kidnapper's remaining assets in the city as compensation."

"Let's do that then. If nothing else this journal is a huge clue for them." I looked over at the naked man again. "We should clean him up though. I need time to translate the cipher and we should get him bathed and clothed before we head back into the city. We also need to meet up with Torien and Silva soon."

Bella nodded. "I'll help him bathe. Morrigan, will you help find him some clothes please?"

"Sure."

A few minutes later I was at the kidnapper's desk writing out a key to the cipher in one of the blank pages of the journal. I hadn't expected to learn so much more about the situation from what amounts to a random sidequest. I sighed and kept scribbling in the journal. On the bright side, the man had quite a few inkwells and a handful of expensive leather-bound journals that found a new home in my bag.