A return to the land of sleep was, unfortunately, not in the cards. With the passage of time came the sun’s rise and the night’s banishment. In consequence, all the rest of the city rose too, which meant Jadis and her lovers had to stand up and face the day, regardless of how tired they might be. Especially since there were currently thousands of soldiers in and surrounding the temple of Valtar that were quickly realizing that they had been inexplicably healed by one hundred health points.
“Thank you,” Dys said to Thais as the older woman passed another bucket of hot water through the partially open door. “We really appreciate the help. This was sort of a messy ritual.”
“You are more than welcome,” the Valbjorn replied as she reached for another pail of water. “In fact, I’m certain that I’m the one who should be thanking all of you! In a single morning, you’ve managed to restore tens of thousands of health points to those who were in need! A lot of pain and suffering has been allayed today.”
“Eir is always happy to help,” Dys grinned. That was her true sentiment, though her next words were equally true. “As are the rest of us. I just hope we don’t have to do a ritual like this again anytime soon.”
“Too challenging?” Thais asked while raising a shaggy eyebrow.
“Not exactly,” Dys shook her head. “Just way more intense than any of us expected. I think we’ll all need a break to recover from that amount of, ah…”
“Climaxes?”
Dys blanched at the bluntness of the bear woman’s response. Not because such forthright speech bothered her, but because talking about sex with Thais made her feel like she was discussing her love life with her mother. The Valbjorn just had that sort of maternal vibe that made Jadis feel like an awkward teenager getting caught with her pants down in her bedroom for the first time all over again.
“Yeah… it was a lot.”
“I’m sure,” Thais said with a knowing smile. “By the sound and smell of things, you lot had a very good time, indeed.”
“Too good of a time,” Cora called out with a pronounced pout as she approached the door with another load of towels. “Lady Jadis, please tell Eir that the next time she needs to perform a ritual like this, I am more than willing to participate!”
“I’ll let her know,” Dys told the putout priestess as she accepted the stack of towels. “Honestly, we might take you up on that offer if it comes up next time.”
“Really?” Cora perked up. By her expression, it seemed that she hadn’t thought that she’d be taken seriously. “That—that would be, ah, it would be my great pleasure to assist!”
Dys smirked knowingly at the visibly excited brunette. She liked to tease the priestess, and Cora liked to tease back, though their relationship had never progressed past that point. Likely it never would, in Jadis’ estimation. Cora was obviously into her, but it was more infatuation than a true connection the way Jadis had with her lovers. Still, as they had discussed previously as a group, they were all fairly comfortable with the idea of letting in the occasional non-lover into their collective bed for the sake of sex rituals and the like. Such a circumstance hadn’t come up as of yet, but if it were to happen with anyone, Jadis could easily picture Cora filling that role.
Besides which, Sabina had been almost completely useless during the second stage of Eir’s sacrament. With her notoriously easy trigger, she’d spent most of the event curled up on the floor as a drooling, leaking mess. Having someone around who could switch out for the excitable smith would be helpful.
“We’ll have to see,” Dys winked at Cora. “Honestly, I really do hope we won’t need to use this ritual again for a long, long time. If we do have to, that means a lot of people have been hurt.”
Dys’ nod to the truth dampened both Thais and Cora’s moods a bit, but the potential for gloominess never got a chance to take hold thanks to a well-timed shout from further into the antechamber.
“Fucking abyss, it’s on the gods damned ceiling! Jadis! You’re a bloody monster!”
“Ah, would you mind—”
“Bringing more towels?” Cora interjected before Dys could finish her request.
“Yes, thank you.”
It took another half an hour before Jadis and her companions finished toweling off and cleaning up the mess they had made of the antechamber. That time gave them breathing room to recover, which was helped along by Bridget’s Stamina Beacon spell rejuvenating their flagging endurance. By that time, it was past nine in the morning, which meant the whole city of Glanum was up and active. At least, Jadis presumed so, because when she and the others walked out of the back hallways to the main hall of the temple, it felt like the entire local army was waiting for them.
“It’s the Nephilim!”
A voice called out above a rumbling murmur, loudly echoing in the confines of the temple’s stone walls. The cheer that followed a second later struck Jadis like a physical force. Hundreds, if not thousands of voices rang out, nearly overwhelming by sheer volume.
Jay froze up, stunned by the reaction. She was used to being the focus of a crowd’s attention thanks to both her frequent daring acts of combat as well as just being the unique entity that came from being the only one of her species. Even so, having thousands of beaming faces cheering for her was an experience that mentally knocked her on her ass, at least for a moment.
“Jadis?” Aila called out to her. “Should we… move?”
Aila’s question was enough of a prompt for her to realize that just standing there gormlessly like a squirrel surrounded by dogs was not the best impression she could make. Shifting her mental tracks, Jadis squared her shoulders and put on her most self-assured grin before confidently striding forward down the center aisle.
“Just stay between me,” Ida whispered to her lovers as the five of Jadis created a wedge formation that forced the soldiers surrounding them to give way. “We’re going straight back to Aelius’ manor.”
The crowd parted before Jadis like bread for a knife, easily giving way. As exuberant as all of the cheering soldiers were, they were also still soldiers and had enough training and good sense to give the Nephilim and her companions room to move forward. Passing the men and women who filled the temple, Jadis got a chance to see the effects of Eir’s ritual. Relief washed through her in a way that reminded her of the divine power the sacrament had presented. It seemed that the spell had worked even better than they had hoped.
When Jadis and her lovers had snuck into the temple earlier that morning, she had seen the condition that most of the sleeping soldiers had been in, and it had not been a pretty sight. The blood and gore of the chaotic battle was gone, but the wounds and sickness of a battle’s aftermath lingered. Hundreds of men and women had laid on the pews and floor and on every other available space. Many were wrapped in salve-soaked bandages, slowly recovering from the damage done to their bodies. Many more were missing hands, arms, legs, and feet, or otherwise sported terrible scars on their faces and chests that the bandages could only do so much to hide. Still more were obviously suffering from illness, their skin pale and sweating, the smell of disease and rot coming from their very pores.
The mass of soldiers surrounding her now was in a far improved condition. Just as they had known would be the case, Eir’s ritual sacrament had done nothing to remove the poisons and diseases that had been inflicted upon the unfortunate many, nor had it restored any missing limbs. However, everyone’s health had improved dramatically, giving even the sickest of the afflicted a stronger grasp on life. Further, the damage done to those who had been scarred or had their limbs removed had been soothed and smoothed out. Jadis couldn’t see any scars on the people she passed at all, and the soldiers who had lost arms or legs looked like they were bearing the condition far better than before.
For those who had been waiting only for health restoration, Jadis imagined they would be fit to leave the temple that very day.
“They should be cheering for you,” Dys commented to Eir as they neared the temple exit. “You’re the one who healed them.”
“I am not bothered,” the smiling saint replied just loudly enough for Jadis to hear. “I have no need of accolades. Besides, my power would not have been possible without you.”
Humility was definitely one of Eir’s stronger traits, but that didn’t mean it needed to always be at the fore. Jadis made a mental note to make sure that Eir got her due for the miraculous bout of healing that everyone in the temple’s vicinity had received that morning. First, though, they needed to get back to Aelius’ house where they could take a minute to breathe.
There were even more soldiers outside of the temple waiting to cheer for them as they exited the building. Jadis wasn’t even sure that all of them had been injured and healed by Eir’s ritual. Still, once they were outside, their group was able to make faster progress. It helped that after a few minutes, various captains and commanders in the army started barking orders that directed soldiers to form up for final health inspections. With a war still going on, every able-bodied man and woman was needed back on the lines. The Demons across the river Haliax hadn’t simply gone away, even if their prince was dead.
As Jadis made a beeline for Aelius’ home, which wasn’t too far away from the temple at the base of the giant tower in the center of the city, she noticed a few significant figures along the edges of the crowd.
Aelius and his two children were the easiest to spot. All three were in their full armor, though the older Seraphim had his helmet off and was watching Jadis and her group with an intense expression on his face. He didn’t seem upset; far from it, in fact. He was smiling in a pleased way that reminded Jadis of the cat who had caught the canary. Perhaps not the most suitable metaphor to use to describe a feathered man, Jadis realized after a moment of thought, but she felt the emotional impression stuck. Despite his happy expression, there was still a watchful intensity to his gaze that Jadis took careful note of. Perhaps it had to do with the levels that had been gained. He had a spell that allowed him to see the status sheets of others, after all.
Aside from winged trio that she knew, Jadis saw that there were two more Seraphim present that she had not met before. Both were men in light armor with young faces, though outward appearance was a poor judge of age when it came to avatar races. At a guess, Jadis presumed the two were messengers, since their armor and garments looked similar to the runners who regularly passed along letters and reports throughout Eldingholt and the empire at large. They could also just be more of Aelius’ relatives, but that seemed unlikely to Jadis.
Another familiar figure Jadis spotted on the opposite side of open area was her mentor, Noll. The old wolf was watching the commotion with his usual grouchy expression, though his eye wasn’t on Jadis or her companions. His single golden orb was scanning the crowd, a sharp glint present that she normally only saw when he was in mid-combat. The reason why the aged mercenary was so tense took Jadis a few seconds to realize, but only a scant few.
Noll’s mission, given to him by the emperor himself, was to hunt down the Greater Demon who had dared to attack the city of Eldingholt and slip away. Twisted Desire, as they all knew to call the centipede Demon after Aelius’ examination, was still at large. She may have fled the moment her surprise attack didn’t go as planned, but she could still just as easily be within the city walls. That possibility existed because cultists were likely in the city as well. Certainly, that part was speculation. They had no direct evidence that there were any cultists of Samleos in the area. However, Jadis and Noll both agreed that the timing of the siege and way it was coordinated, especially since the attack involved Twisted Desire… The involvement of cultists simply made the most sense.
While Jadis doubted that any cultist would be so brazen as to attempt an attack in the middle of a crowd like this one, she wouldn’t be surprised at all if one or two were hiding in plain sight. It wouldn’t be all that hard to disguise themselves as wounded soldiers. They could even hurt themselves for real to sell the lie. Eir’s ritual would probably even heal them, since it healed all allies in range. Jadis wasn’t sure whether an enemy disguised as an ally would be healed or not, but she bet that they would be. If they weren’t, then spells with similar wording would be used all the time to root out spies and infiltrators.
The search for potential cultists was just one of many different priorities that were vying for Jadis’ attention. In a way, killing Demon Prince Vinea had almost been the easy part. The aftermath of such a feat was pulling at her from multiple directions at the same time. Even with multiple bodies, Jadis wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to get to everything in a timely manner.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how the conversation would soon go, the last group of notable spectators that Jadis spotted seemed intent on resolving at least one of her many tasks and duties right away.
A duo of middle-aged men was waiting for Jadis and her companions right along the path they had to take to get to Aelius’ home. One man was tall and thin, while the other was shorter than average and had a stocky build. The two were flanked by soldiers who clearly weren’t there to be healed, going by their on-duty posture and fully armored equipment. The men themselves had on military clothing that reminded Jadis of what Vraekae usually wore, though the taller man had on a simple yet highly-polished breastplate over his uniform.
“Lady Jadis Ahlstrom. I’m glad to finally meet you,” the slim-faced man with a hooked nose greeted her with a hand extended. “General Voss.”
“Good morning,” Jay returned the general’s greeting with her best attempt at professionalism, well aware of the hundreds of eyes that were still lingering in the area. “Good to meet you, too.”
“This is my counterpart in the city, Magistrate Lodovico,” Voss introduced a slightly shorter and thicker human man who had just enough green tinging his tan skin that Jadis guessed he had some orc or goblin ancestry.
“A pleasure,” the shorter man said with a surprisingly high-pitched voice and a formal smile. “I am truly honored.”
“My apologies for the ambush,” Voss spoke with the tone of someone who was used to being on the move. “However, when I heard that you and your companions were performing a healing ritual, I thought it would be a good time to catch you.”
“No problem,” Jay said, though her other selves kept eyes on the crowd that was dispersing around her far more slowly than she would have preferred. Pointing in the direction of Aelius’ manor, Jay asked, “Do you mind if we…?”
“Of course,” Voss said as he and the magistrate and their guards fell in step with Jadis and her companions. “This war is keeping us all busy, never mind the aftermath of an attack by a Demon Prince.”
“Regarding which, we are all eternally grateful for your aid,” Lodovico quickly added as he took large steps to keep up with their set pace. “I want to assure you that my office is taking a careful account of the reward you and your mercenary company is due for the assistance provided. No debt goes unpaid in my territory.”
A reward for services rendered had been briefly touched on during previous talks among their group. That said, Jadis hadn’t given the idea much thought. She had come to Glanum for reasons entirely unrelated to monetary ones, and she had fought and killed Vinea and the attacking horde because that was what had to be done to protect the city. She had talked with Sabina about getting a share of the potential material components that might come from a creature like the Demon Prince, but a bounty reward was something else entirely.
“You can figure that payment out later,” Voss brushed past his counterpart’s assurances. “More important is what we’re going to do about Odilia.”
“Uh, what?”
Jadis winced internally at her unintelligent response. She’d been slightly distracted by the possibility of a big payout and hadn’t expected the disagreeable Valbjorn commander to be the new topic of discussion. Still, she soldiered on.
“I mean, what does that—what does Commander Odilia have to do with me?”
“Ordinarily, nothing,” the general said with a weary sigh. “I prefer to keep my own council when it comes to disciplinary action. However, seeing as her words and actions during the battle last night directly impacted both you and your companions, specifically the reformed Demon Alex, I do have to take your opinions on this matter into consideration.”
Dys glanced at Alex, her position in the pack making that body easiest to observe the Demon. For her part, Alex was paying close attention to everything Voss was saying, as was everyone else in the group. While Voss kept his attention directly on Jay at the head of the wedge formation, she noticed that Magistrate Lodovico regularly glanced over his shoulder at the Demon. He didn’t seem particularly hostile or unhappy with her, though whenever their eyes met, he turned away. Jadis guessed it was either distrust of Demons in general, or just standard discomfort with Alex’s three eyes. She noticed that even among the residents of the temple district where they were generally welcoming and accepting of Alex as of late, some of the priests and priestesses still had trouble with the Demon’s unusual features.
Whether that was going to be a problem regarding Lodovico or not, Jadis couldn’t yet tell.
“Yeah, she was a total jackass,” Jay remarked as the large group continued their way down the curving street. “But unless you’re offering to let me fight her one-on-one without repercussions, I don’t see how I can help.”
“That can be arranged.”
When Jay gave the thin man a surprised look, he offered a shrug back at her.
“Her behavior last night was unacceptable for a commander in my army. I give leeway to most hot tempers when in the midst of a battle, but Odilia went too far. Under most circumstances, I’d let you work it out with her using fists or whatever other implements you might agree to. It’s the soldier’s way. However, she made some…”
“Inflammatory remarks,” Lodovico supplied helpfully.
“Right. She talked shit about the emperor and his sons,” Voss continued. “Doing that in front of dozens of her men is bad enough. Doing so to you, someone who has the emperor’s ear, is just damned worse.”
Jadis had the emperor’s ear? That was news to her, so far as she was aware. She had only ever met the elf once, and that had been for a relatively short time.
Then again, that one time was once more than the majority of the empire would ever get. Plus, she had received a private audience with Somerulf, on his express invitation. While no one else knew what they discussed, she was sure the fact that the emperor had spoken to her privately had made the rounds on the rumor mill. Adding in the fact that Jadis had regular business relations with the two princes, and she could see how people thought she had more influence with the emperor than she realistically did.
“Okay, yeah, she did say some pretty dumb shit the other night,” Jay continued her casual mode of speech since Voss didn’t seem to have an issue with swear words. “I still don’t know what you want from me?”
“The question I have for you is straightforward,” Voss replied. Before speaking his next words, he motioned with one hand towards Lodovico.
With a simple gesture, the magistrate cast a spell, a wave of power washing over them that quickly disappeared from all senses. It was hard to tell what had happened, until Jadis realized that distant sounds had dulled considerably. Likely the spell was some kind of obfuscation effect that would prevent eavesdropping.
“Demotion followed by a penance ritual would be my usual course of action,” the general continued after Lodovico finished his spell. “However, Odilia is, despite all her many flaws, an excellent fighter and a strong frontline commander. I don’t want to lose her leadership or the power her arm provides right now, especially not when a push into Volto’s territory is likely. With so many Demons dead and the Demon Prince slain, it’s a golden opportunity to take territory back before the Demons can entrench themselves further. So, my question for you is, would you and your companion be willing to accept a public apology from Odilia instead of the normal punishments?”
“An apology?”
“A public one, yes. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but considering that woman’s damnable pride, I can promise you that she will be suffering for every word.”
Jadis wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to Voss’ question. While she would have been fine with working things out directly with Odilia, the request the general was making of her felt a lot more political than just a formality. Severina had assured her that Voss was a soldier’s man, someone who didn’t care overmuch about the upper echelons of society and just wanted to do his duty. She felt that assessment was accurate, having met the man in person. Still, the situation felt like more, especially since the local magistrate was present.
“What would penance normally involve?” Jay asked, both to give herself more time to think and to satisfy her curiosity.
“Commander Odilia would have to submit to a temple-approved ritual,” Lodovico answered instead of Voss. “A minimum of six months of service to the temple, most of which involves meditation and contemplation of the transgression that warranted such a punishment. The ritual will not be complete until the punished fully understands and accepts their transgression, coupled with the intent to not do so again. Sometimes, six months is not enough.”
“Sometimes years is not enough,” Voss added under his breath.
“I thought long term prisons aren’t a thing in the empire. How do you enforce a ritual like that?”
“The priest in charge of the ritual knows if the ritual fails,” Lodovico explained. “Penance of this type requires willing participation on the part of the punished. If they are not amenable to such penance, then other punishments are needed.”
It was an interesting aspect to imperial society that Jadis had not explored much. Not that the explanation gave her any answers when it came to what should be done regarding Odilia’s punishment. As mad as Jadis was about what the Valbjorn had done, she felt like she was the wrong person for General Voss to be talking to. So, half turning as she continued to walk forward, Jay motioned for the right woman to step up.
“Alex? What do you think?”
When the pregnant Demon slithered to the front on her large tentacles, General Voss gave no outward reaction. His eyes turned to her, steady and implacable, as he continued to walk the same path without any change in demeanor.
Lodovico, however, took a few steps to the side once he realized who was moving up. He looked a bit nervous now that Alex was closer to him and the general, but he also made an effort to hide that anxiety. He even stepped back in line next to Voss, unobtrusively trying to resume his dignified air without drawing attention to himself.
“I will… Accept… An apology…” Alex stated, her three eyes meeting Voss’ unflinching gaze.
“Thank you, Lady Alex,” the general bowed his head slightly. “Your benevolence is greatly appreciated.”
“She must also… Fight Jadis…”
That demand caught the general off guard. Glancing between the Nephilim and the Demon, he tilted his head to one side as he spoke.
“You want to fight Odilia? In a duel?”
“Not me…” Alex shook her head. “Jadis… Needs closure…”
When Voss looked up at her again, Jay shrugged.
“I really would like a swing at her for pointing her sword at the mother of my child.”
Those words caused both the general and Lodovico to glance down at Alex’s swollen belly, though it was Voss who responded.
“So would I. Done. I’ll arrange a private duel for later. After the apology, and somewhere far from prying eyes. I’ll consider it a private dispute between citizens.”
Just as Jadis and the general came to their agreement, their group reached the front gates of Aelius’ estate. Glancing at where the guards were already opening the wrought iron doors, Voss performed another small bow.
“I won’t waste any more of your time or mine with these matters,” the general said. “I’ll send a runner to let you know when the public apology is to be performed so you can attend.”
“And I will notify you of your earnings once they have been properly assessed and are ready to be distributed,” the magistrate added.
With that, the two men bid Jadis and her companions a good day before heading off to deal with whatever other issues were on their plates. While the Odilia situation was a major annoyance to Jadis, she had to admit that she was grateful to General Voss for trying to make the situation easy on her by visiting her directly rather than waiting for her to show up later. It was a gesture of good will, and not an insignificant one considering how busy the man had to be with current events.
“Well, that’s mostly out of the way,” Jay said as their formation headed inside Aelius’ compound. Wrapping an arm around Alex, she expressed the next most important thing on her mind. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but after that ritual, I’m starving. I hope we can get something to eat before anything else happens.”
“Absolutely,” Aila said from where she walked just behind Jay and Alex, her words carrying more loudly than the murmurs of agreement coming from everyone else. “Perhaps we may even get some privacy during breakfast to discuss the options you have been given for your most recent level increase.”
Jadis nearly slapped her hands to her multitude of foreheads.
“Fuck. I knew I was forgetting about something.”
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