43. Raven

"I was told to expect company. I certainly didn't expect it to happen so quickly." Lord Peter Errama was amused, as Raven, stunned and paralyzed by some of kind of strange poison, couldn't even move.  The Lord of Errama tore the cloth covering her face and paused.

He stared at her for a while, trying to wonder who exactly she was.

"I don't actually happen to know who you are. Why are you trying to come into my chambers?"

She couldn't talk. The effects of the paralysis were so strong that she couldn't even move her facial muscles.

Lord Peter Errama wondered for a moment, and then realized he should figure out what she wanted.

The lord was not kind, he took a normal mail dagger, and cut her clothes. First, he cut the belt to her clothes, and then realized there two set of daggers. "Oh. Two daggers. You're here to kill me? That makes you an assassin, isn't it?"

Raven panicked. In her mind, this wasn't how it's supposed to be. She instantly regretted her moment of impulsiveness..

Peter frowned, and then, looked at her bra. "What's hidden in there? Maybe some secret weapons or talisman?" He cut off the strings to her bra, and revealed her breasts. Peter didn't touch her breasts, instead, checked her bra. There really was some money hidden in there. "Oh. Just money."

The Lord then cut off the belt, and rummaged through the content in her belt. "Oooh. Magical talismans and potions. You were expecting a fight?"

Peter took a look at her, and then, checked his own cabinet for a set of shackles. He then shackled Raven to the bed. Each of her hands and legs were shackled separately to a part of the bed.

Raven wanted to scream, but she couldn't. "Let's see what else you are hiding underneath your clothes."

He cut more of her pants off, and soon revealed another two set of daggers.

"Woah! You're packing weapons! You really were trying to kill me." Peter mused. "I'm the Lord of Errama, and I try my best to protect my city from the demons. What grudge do you have against me?"

The girl wished she could cry. But it's too late for that. Peter took his dagger, and cut through the rest of her clothes. Raven was naked on the bed, but Peter didn't even look at her body. Instead, he just checked her clothes and pants for weapons.

"Hmmm. That's all."

He looked back at Raven, and frowned.

"What should I do with you?"

He thought for a moment, and sat next to her. Raven felt the paralysis slowly wear off.

"Ah! I know. I could sell you to the slave lords. First, I'll issue you a criminal verdict, classifying your attempted murder of the Lord of Errama. Then, out of mercy, since, I caught you before you attempted to murder me, the punishment, which is normally death, is replaced with a life of slavery. That, therefore, makes you a property of mine."

"-no." Raven said, horrified at what Peter Errama just described.

"Also, by extension, your friends and family would therefore be marked as associates of criminals."

Raven thought about her party members, and she had the look of utmost horror. "-we-we are heroes. We can explain!"

"Oh. The heroes? Wait. As far as I recall, there is no hero party. No demon lord has been slain so far." Peter countered. "If I recall correctly, only after the first demon lord is slain, would the hero be formally granted the protections of the state. As of now, only the temples grant you their blessings."

The archer-ranger didn't know that the law was worded that way. It naturally made sense, there's always pretenders. Fake individuals who claim they are heroes to benefit from all the powers a hero could claim. Such as immunity from most laws. "What! No."

"Surely, if they really are heroes, they'll be able to prove their innocence." Peter mused. "But then, ah, let me ask for some opinions."

Peter walked over to his room and picked up one of those crystal communication devices. It's extremely expensive, and the range was fairly limited. But it allowed Peter to communicate with someone. "Hey. Question, I got a female assassin in my room. What should I do with her?"

"Fuck her." The voice replied.

Raven's face turned pale instantly. She was naked, but so far Peter didn't do anything sexual. But those words instantly made her legs squirm. She tried to over her lower parts, but the shackles prevented her from doing so. Peter looked back at the ranger. "I'm not interested though. She's not my type."

Raven felt relief at being told she was unattractive.

"You think I can sell her to someone who'd be interested? Or should I just capture the entire group, if she has associates."

"No! I did this on my own volition! The hero has nothing to do with this!"

Peter paused. "Really? Perhaps I should then parade you through the streets as a criminal?"

Raven shouted. "No! Please don't!"

The Lord sat down on a chair, and frowned. "Now, this is quite a puzzle for me. You see, I'm just a simple Lord, who cares about making money, and also protecting the city."

"Yes! Yes! You're a good man, milord!" Raven begged. "Please, please just forget I've ever attempted anything. I- I wasn't even here."

At that point, the crystal shook again. "Yes?"

Edmund was naturally on the other side of the conversation. "I'll pay you well if you ensure she visits the Nightline Towers alone for a week. I'd love to have sex with her."

Peter frowned. "Would her party notice her absence for a week? I'm not too keen on having to deal with the heroes nosing around. Do you pay enough?"

Edmund laughed. "Of course, Lord Errama. Have I ever paid too little?"

"Hmm." The Lord frowned, and looked back at Raven. "So, what's your name?"

Raven wasn't sure whether she should lie. "Crow." A ring on Peter's hand flashed red, she panicked and corrected herself. "Raven! Raven!" This time it was white.

"So, Miss Raven. My business partner offered a good deal of money to have sex with you for a week. If you accept, I'll free you. If you don't, well, slavery. If you flee, I'll have your party captured. Oh wait."

Peter checked through one of his cabinets, and found a special kind of shackle. It was a locational magic shackle commonly found it VIP prisoners, so that their wardens could always find them. He shackled her leg.

"There. If you run, we'll know. Behave, and I'll take it off after a week. Do you know the consequences, and what you have to do?"

Raven nodded. "Yes. Yes!"

"You sure? The heroes won't bother me and my business partner?"

Raven panicked, and immediately shouted. "I'll- I'll do it. Just let me go and I'll talk to the hero! I'll- I'll just say that I have a special mission to do for a week."

"Oho?" Peter turned back to face the naked Raven. "And how do I know you'll hold up your end of the bargain? The man on the other side wants to fuck you. Will you reject him in the end? Of course, the alternative is prison. Which, I suppose you'll lose it anyway with the type of prisoners commonly found in there."

Raven looked like she'll cry. "I'll- I'll do it."

Peter laughed, and then tapped the crystal again. "My good business partner, it seems the little Raven agreed to our deal. She'll visit you for a week and service you accordingly."

"Fantastic. I'll let you know if her performance is unsatisfactory."

"Oh please do. She may not be my type, but I'm sure there are other, more worthwhile targets."

Raven gulped in horror. "I'll do it. I'll do it please. Leave them alone and out of it."