Book 4 – Chapter 173

It didn't take long for the appeal of staring out the window as the plains went by to fade and get a little boring. There were small copses of trees and small rock formations here and there that put Torien and Cecilia on high alert as we passed them by but other than that the ride was really peaceful. Torien was the kind of person to keep her bow in hand the entire time and the dark-haired human didn't keep that huge two-handed axe with her for no reason. If we did run into bandits, I wouldn't put any money on them. Still best to keep an eye out anyway though.

I looked around the inside of the carriage, taking a moment to examine each of my friends and see how they were enjoying the trip.

Raya's face was practically glued to the window, her fox ears perked and twitched at the sounds of birds or insects and her three foxtails flowed back and forth behind her as she stared out the window. It must have been exciting for her, her first glimpse of the world outside of Goldenhearth. The newly budding mage hadn't had a chance to practice more magic with Morrigan yet but that's for the best. I didn't want to risk Raya burning anything with her new foxfire as we moved, nor her vomiting when she ran out of mana. I wasn't sure yet if that was going to be a reoccurring problem or something that only happens the first few times before she's acclimated herself to mana management.

Sibyl, the smaller catkin was smiling in amusement as she watched her girlfriend excitedly stare through the window. She had been on adventures in her younger years so the sights were a bit less exciting to the woman. The short feline beastfolk girl looked so different from the tall imposing wolf-woman she used to be. Her change was certainly one of the most dramatic changes out of the bunch. She told me that she has a strength/endurance build but I've never actually seen her fight yet.

Bella and Morrigan were sitting across from me and chatting idly about magic, comparing Bella's nature magic to the things Morrigan could do with her focus on wild magic. Both of them had traveled before, though this would be the first time Bella saw this part of the country so she was watching the scenery as we traveled. My deer girl with her cute heart-shaped spots always looked beautiful and Morrigan, despite not being a succubus like a lot of us, was also quite attractive as well. Her large red eyes were a nice contrast with her dark black cat ears and lightly tanned skin. It has been plenty long enough that I could tell the twins apart by how they held themselves rather than just whether or not their eyes were red or blue. The difference in their clothes alone helped at a glance too of course.

Mimi and Silva were sharing the booth across from me, Mimi was excitedly staring out the window, 'tasting' the mana that swirled through the plains. She was still in her hidden beastfolk form, a precaution against Theo and Cecilia, so she currently had the light tawny fur that made her look a bit like a ram-horned deer-headed lioness rather than the metallic gold skin that she normally had in her regular form. Mimi's chimeric form was always intriguing to look at and made her bubbly and excited atmosphere stand out even more against her exotic look.

Silva was playing some kind of solo-player card game. I assumed it was something akin to solitaire but I couldn't begin to even guess the rules were based on what she was doing. She, like Raya and the twins, was a demi-beastfolk but she was more of a mix than the others. Rather than just the ears and tail, her legs turned into giant rabbit paws below the knee giving her natural furred socks on her large animalistic feet. I knew from experience that this deviation from the norm made her incredibly fast and powerful. She had a strength-focused build and it showed on her muscular form, her darkly tanned skin was covered in small white scratches that she wore proudly. The black-hilted spear she had grabbed from the cultists was leaning against the booth she sat in with a hastily made leather sheath covering its blade.

Theo sat alone in the corner looking out the window seeming rather bored. The man was also a demi-beastkin but it was easy to overlook his changes, especially now that he was actually wearing clothes. He had notched bull ears that blended in with his hair and furred arms under his sleeves that gave away his partial bovine beastfolk heritage. Other than that, he had few other obvious indicators, not even a tail. Despite looking like a walking tank, the man was an enhancement mage, more of a buffer support class than someone like Morrigan who threw fireballs and conjured earth and ice spikes. While his personality left some things to be desired I couldn't argue that the man was pretty handsome. He was also a total flirt, able to get something like half the brothel to sleep with him for free before we left.

It was kind of amazing I had found myself with so many hot companions... though the succubus transformations had influenced some of that.

I sighed as I looked down at the letter I was given from Nathaniel, the head priest of Morkinnen who was currently in charge of Goldenhearth. I was almost afraid of the contents. I got the impression that this was about the cult of Amphores that we'd been dealing with since we left Traehall. As much as I wanted to take a break from all of that I figured I had better at least see what it was about. Who knows, it could include important information that would help me avoid the group in the future. Hopefully it wouldn't just get me more involved. I tore open the envelope and inside I found a folded piece of paper as well as a second smaller envelope closed with a wax seal. I set aside the smaller sealed letter and unfolded the paper to read over it.

***

Dear Lilith,

I left this with the guards at the gate since I knew you were leaving for the capital soon and no one seemed to know where you were staying.

Marcy, the golden haired canine beastfolk slave that Matilda told us about, has been interrogated. There wasn't a lot we could gather from her. Despite looking as pitiful as she did, the woman was completely indoctrinated into the cult's grasp and has not been forthcoming even after extended interrogation. I have however discovered that she is the one who led and organized the ritual to summon the hell hound that ended up killing Jasper and the other guards. She has shown no remorse for those murders and will be among the prisoners who will be executed for the attack on our city.

The only thing we have been able to glean from her and the ledgers you found, is that the cult of Amphores is targeting slave transfer routes and slave markets. They seem to be mostly releasing the slaves they capture and then using those collars to enslave slaver's guild affiliated staff for their rituals while they search for people that have very specific traits. The specific things they are searching for have no clear connections yet but they appear to be related to those odd measurements that have been found in some of the documents. We're still searching for additional leads using the ledgers you discovered but there is a lot of information to sift through. What is strange at a glance is those targets seem antithetical to their motive for killing the Baron and as such we have to keep investigating to understand what their true goals and aims are.

I send this letter to you as a warning. The capital, Torlimal, has a heavy presence of this cult from what we can tell and many of their suspected targets are present within the city as well. The capital city is also the center of the slave trade in this kingdom so it is very likely you will run into them again if you go looking for demons there. I have already sent a missive to the King relaying the information we've found including your involvement in the matter. This should give you some protection as I expect the capital city guard is in a frenzy to weed out any of these demon summoners and the miasma that clings to you would make you a target if they didn't already know you were a [Demon Hunter]. I again advise you to use a pseudonym while operating within the city outside of official matters because I've gotten word that the Tamin church has been brought in as demon hunters and enforcers there.

There's a lot of tension in the capital right now. Nobles are at each other's throats, true demons are on the loose, the cult of Amphores is confirmed to be in the city, and the Tamin church has been given martial powers. If I hadn't been informed that you were being sent to the capital in exchange for the Adventurer's guild protection regarding a specific title, I would have advised you to go anywhere else.

Be careful, Lilith. You are a good woman and I would hate for something bad to happen to you because you carry an unfortunate name. I would ask you to stay out of trouble but I admit that you will likely be involved whether you like it or not. The King's knowledge of your involvement here will likely mean that you will be dragged into the situation whether you can get around the Tamin church or not. I apologize that I have been forced to put you in this position, I had no choice but to include you in a record of the events here in Goldenhearth.

Enclosed is a letter of introduction addressed to the head of the guard in the capital. This letter will be sufficient for you and your friends to get into the city without many questions. I will be personally vouching for your abilities as a demon hunter and detailing an abridged version of the events here to him as well, this will give you some official credibility and make moving around the city easier after you have arrived. I wish I could do more for you but I believe this will help you in your goals, especially if you wish to investigate the Cult of Amphores further.

I once again thank you for all that you have done in Goldenhearth and I hope you are able to remain safe and healthy.

I wish you the best,

Nathaniel.

***

I sighed as I returned the letter and paper to their envelope and dropped it on the table.

"Bad news?" Morrigan asked with a concerned tone.

I scratched the base of my horn. "A warning that we're about to enter a viper's nest. It sounds like the capital is on the edge of a war in the streets."

Morrigan raised an eyebrow and gestured toward the letter. "May I?"

"Sure." I rubbed my face in my hands. I shouldn't be surprised that the situation in Torlimal would be worse than in Goldenhearth but I would have liked to believe that we were getting out of the political stress at least. It seems that was a fantasy, things look like they're only going to get more political from here.

There was a slight knocking on the front of the carriage. I waited a moment... Two knocks. That meant that we were stopping soon for a break, no danger. I sighed in relief. I can't imagine having to deal with bandits while this distracted.

The carriage slowed to a stop and after a moment I opened the door and stepped outside. We were parked near a small lake. Nikka and Landa were already unhooked and Cecilia was leading the two over to drink from it. Torien was stretching, the coachman's seat was a lot less comfortable of a ride than the inside the carriage. They were forced to stay in the same position for a lot longer.

"Hey, come here for a moment Torien," Morrigan called out.

Morrigan handed Torien the letter I had shared with her. Torien began to skim it and looked more and more concerned as she got closer to the bottom. "This is pretty bad news," Torien commented.

I nodded. "I was hoping to avoid all of this but it sounds like it's going to be even worse from here."

Torien sighed. "No kidding, it's definitely a double-edged sword. Less trouble at the gate for more trouble inside. I would be really surprised if you managed to get yourself out of being conscripted as a demon hunter when we get there. If we just decide to leave the kingdom and avoid all of this trouble then we'd be pissing off the adventurer's guild and leaving ourselves wide open for others who don't like [Dungeon Destroyer]s. We're stuck in our current course of action."

"Yeah. We should tell the others how bad things might be," I added.

She nodded. "They should know what we're getting into. Raya and Sibyl should be less affected since they aren't technically part of our party but the rest of us will be getting involved. It's also worth noting that with the Tamin church working directly for the King right now means that we'll have to be extra careful how we act while there too. No flirting with other girls in public, more focus on being subservient in public for us slaves, and making sure not to piss people off just for being beastkin."

"Is it really that bad?" I asked.

Torien replied with a grim look on her face, "Yes. I'm not going to beat around the bush, we're going to have to blend in while we're there. If things are as bad as this letter suggests, people are going to be looking for people to string up by their necks. I could easily see things snowball if they find out too much about us."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "We'll have to discuss this over dinner tonight."

"Agreed," the twins said in unison.

Bella came over to me carrying two fishing poles. "Lilith, look! That lake is the perfect place to go fishing for a while! Cecelia said we'll break for a bell, come fish with me!"

I glanced at the twins before smiling back. "I'd love to." It's best that we have some fun while we have the chance. Things were only going to get more difficult from here.