The interior of the tavern smelled of essential broth. I ate the last piece of roasted meat. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. The clay cup hit the oak counter with a hollow thud. My regenerated Vessel demanded action. The otherworldly meal put the girls on their feet. The base hummed with idyllic peace. Mina was washing dishes. Luthia was reviewing the parchments taken from the residence.
I yawned shortly. I scratched my neck. Blood buzzed in my veins. The warmup in the forest was great. But raw capital will not build itself.
I stood up from the bench. I threw my black coat over my shoulders. "Elena," I threw calmly. "Lock the tavern tightly. Slide the bolt. Let no one in. Luthia, guard the windows from the back room. We will be back in a few hours." The blonde nodded. She understood the instruction. She knew the rules. The gaze of the others shifted to me. I turned to the elf. "Shnee. We are going," I ordered.
We stepped out into the gloom. The night air of Oakhaven was crisp. It stank of the gutter and wet stone. The alleys were drowning in silence. I walked at a leisurely pace. I kept my hands in my pockets. My Brazen chill completely dominated the space.
Shnee walked right behind my shoulder. Her steps were soundless. However, I sensed microscopic tension in her. I knew this symptom. Our base was swarming with new faces. The family was growing. The girl with a slave syndrome naturally began to analyze her position. She feared rejection.
I stopped. I turned slowly toward her. The elf froze. Her hand twitched toward her rapier. She looked at me. A shadow of fear flashed in her diamond eyes. "Stop making up problems," I said coldly. My voice was hard. "We are picking up new people from the street. We are building a base. Your head is probably telling you that you will soon fall into the background. Throw that nonsense in the trash."
Shnee swallowed hard. She lowered her gaze to the pavement. I hit the nail on the head. Pure logic. I took a step forward. I gently grabbed her chin. I lifted her face. "You are my First Pillar," I stated with absolute certainty. "You are the one guarding my back. Your authority in this crew is undeniable. Whoever joins us will have to accept your position. You have no reason to be jealous. You belong to me. You are untouchable. Understood?"
The air left her muscles. The fear evaporated in a fraction of a second. Her diamond eyes ignited with fanatical devotion. Possessiveness was satisfied at its very foundation. She smiled predatorily. "I understand, Dave," she whispered. We moved on.
The Crimson Trail warehouse stood off the beaten path. The building resembled a fortress. Massive walls rose in the gloom. Two thugs stood in front of the entrance. They wore rusted chainmails. They were playing dice on a wooden barrel. They stopped immediately at the sight of us. They grabbed their sword hilts. "What do you..." the first one started.
I didn't let him finish. I didn't even take my hands out of my pockets. I struck with raw telekinesis. The invisible force grabbed them both by the necks. I smashed their heads together with a powerful crash. The skulls crunched. The men fell unconscious into the mud.
I stood before the oak doors. Instead of looking for handles, I focused energy in my boot. I delivered a kick. The roar resembled an explosion. The thick gates flew off their hinges. Pieces of wood soared inside. They crushed someone on the other side. I entered the warehouse through a cloud of dust.
The interior stank of fear. Iron chains hung everywhere. Empty cages stood by the walls. A true den of slave traders. The center of the hall was occupied by dozens of thugs. They wore leather armors. At the sound of the forced doors, they rushed for their weapons.
I stopped. I looked at them with pity. Common trash. I turned my head to Shnee. The elf's diamond eyes were completely dead. She stared at the chains. Her chest heaved. The demons of the past returned. Now she had the tool of revenge in her hand.
"This is your turf," I threw calmly. My voice echoed in the hall. "Traders. Normally I would break their bones. I will let you do more. I choke their movements. You kill whoever you want. You have absolute authorization." The white-haired girl smiled broadly. Her rapier hissed. The air around her froze. The thugs rushed to charge. They shouted vulgar threats.
I yawned. I used point telekinesis. I grabbed the first attacker by the right knee. I jerked mentally downward. The joint broke the wrong way. The thug howled. He fell to the floor. I grabbed the second one by the torso. I threw him against a stone pillar. His ribs snapped. I simply crushed the third one's shoulder with an invisible vise.
The trash cleaning began. I bypassed attacks with a leisurely pace. I broke their physical resistance. I immobilized the trash on the floor. I turned them into defenseless targets. One of the mercenaries attempted a sword thrust. I lowered my center of gravity. I blocked his wrist with the back of my hand. I redirected the momentum. I hit his elbow with an open hand. The arm bent with a disgusting crunch. The man screamed. He dropped his weapon. He fell to his knees.
Shnee rushed to the slaughter. She used murderous speed. She drove among the fallen enemies like a blizzard. She struck with surgical precision. Her rapier pierced the throats of the lying bandits. The cold steel cut windpipes. She used ice magic. Every thrust ended with the immediate freezing of the wound. Blood did not squirt onto the floor. It froze in the veins. It made a disgusting crunch.
Another trader tried to swing an axe. I intercepted his movement. I squeezed the space around his hand. I crushed his fingers on the hilt. He howled. Shnee spun in mid-air. Her blade went smoothly into his heart. She twisted her wrist. The frozen organs snapped from the inside.
The traders panicked. They tried to flee. I struck with a wave of force. The air hardened. The escapees hit an invisible barrier. They fell to the ground. Shnee got to them in the blink of an eye. She slit their throats with washed-out pity. We operated in perfect symbiosis. My dominance. Her execution.
In two minutes, we eliminated forty men. The Leader rushed out from the elevated office. The guy resembled a spilled mountain of meat. He wore a chainmail. He clutched a massive axe in his hands. He saw the massacred crew. His face twisted with fury.
"You piece of trash!" he roared. He spat down. "Do you know who you are attacking?! My guild does business with the higher spheres! The Marquis...".
"The Marquis is a permanent decorative element of his desk," I cut him off impatiently. "You are boring. Attack.".
The Leader ran down the stairs. The earth trembled under his boots. He closed the distance. He took a murderous swing with his axe. He intended to cut me in half with one strike. I did not use telekinesis. I wanted to feel this resistance.
I opened the pores in my right forearm. Slime spilled out. The blue mercury hardened in a fraction of a second. It formed a diamond coating. The axe hit my arm with a powerful roar.
Sparks showered to the sides. My bones did not even groan. I blocked the weapon in place. The Leader froze, shocked. His mind caught a lag. The blade did not cut the coat. I used the momentum. I grabbed the axe handle with my hand. I pulled him toward me. I stripped the fat man of the remnants of his balance. I delivered a lightning-fast blow with my left fist straight to his solar plexus. The force drove into the chainmail. The rings broke. The fat man's ribs fell inside his chest with a disgusting roar. His lungs collapsed under the pressure. He spat blood. He dropped his weapon. He fell to his knees. He wheezed pitifully.
"Yours, Shnee," I murmured. I stepped aside.
The elf stood over the defeated man. The Leader tried to raise his hands. He wanted to beg for mercy. He did not make it. Shnee delivered a ruthless cut from above. The rapier drove straight into his larynx. Ice mana shot from the blade. The blood froze immediately. The fat man collapsed to the floor.
A dead silence fell in the warehouse. Frost covered the boards. Blood trickled into the gutters. I walked up to the office. A massive safe was inside. I placed my hand on the thick steel. I released a kinetic charge. The mechanism was torn apart from the inside. The door gave way. I pulled out heavy pouches of gold. I grabbed a pile of trade agreements. Slave ownership deeds. I threw everything into the bottomless bag. The war machine needed capital.
A surviving thug cowered in the corner of the warehouse. He lay under a pile of crates. He pissed himself in fear. He trembled. He covered his head with his hands. Pure logic suggested a simple investment.
"Get up," I ordered icily. The bandit jumped to his feet. He folded his hands in prayer. "Lord... mercy..." he babbled.
"You have one chance," I said. My voice echoed through the hall. "You will run to Silas's office. You will tell him these words: 'The road is clear, debt ledgers taken over'. If you run away, I will find you. I will break every joint of yours. Understood?".
The thug nodded fanatically. He ran out of the warehouse. He tripped over his own legs. I looked at Shnee. She sheathed her rapier with a quiet click. She bowed to me slightly. She acknowledged my dominance. Revenge was accomplished.
"We are returning to the base," I threw. I shooed a fly away with my hand. We walked out into the gloom. The Crimson Trail was erased from the board. The change of management became a fact. A new day awaited us. The Oakhaven market started to break under my boots.
We returned to the Golden Griffin. The night air was left behind the thick doors. Elena immediately slid the heavy bolt, cutting us off from the dangerous city. The interior of the tavern welcomed us with pleasant warmth. It smelled of burning wood and roasted meat. I threw the dirty coat onto a chair with relief.
"Clear," she answered with a soft voice. She wrapped both hands around the cup. "I always thought this dull fear would never disappear. That the chains would stay in my head for the rest of my life. That the Crimson Trail would always be my nightmare.".
I drew in air. I crossed my arms on my chest. "Pure logic speaks clearly, Shnee," I started with a hard, but protective tone. "Fear disappears only when you physically remove the source of the threat. It will not fix itself. Blood washed away your past. The problem was utilized. You are free.".
She moved closer, shortening the distance on the bench. She rested her head on my shoulder. She did it completely naturally. Her former predatoriness gave way to boundless sense of security.
"You gave me the tool for revenge, Dave," she whispered. Her fingers gently brushed my sleeve. "You gave me back my dignity. No one else would have done that.".
I placed my heavy hand on her white hair. I stroked her slowly. "You took it yourself," I corrected with Brazen chill. "You are my First Pillar. My sharpest tool. You built your strength. No one will hurt you anymore. You belong to this base and you are untouchable.".
Her dark mask completely fell off. It was replaced by a hunger for closeness. She cuddled tighter into my chest, drawing warmth from my stable foundation. She found her home in the Golden Griffin.
"I will be your blade forever, Dave," she said with fanatical devotion. "I know that," I murmured, smiling slightly. The family was slowly becoming indestructible.