Chapter 204: 78 Gaw: Ravens of Ill Omen

Twenty years ago, she gave birth to a baby girl, a beautiful little child who fit snugly into her arms. She had seen other newborns before, had even served as a midwife in the course of mastering healing, but holding her own child… Juliana would do anything to protect her, to keep her safe from the [Assassins] that would slaughter her family in the night.

She remembers handing her baby to her [Maid], Manesh. She remembers the final kiss she gave to her little girl before Manesh scurried away through the dark passages out of the city. She remembers facing the killers and desperately fighting for time, every extra second they were occupied was another they weren’t chasing her daughter.

She remembers breathing heavily on the stone tiles, sweat and blood mixing, but refusing to die. Somehow, some way, she had survived long enough for the [Guards] to arrive and save her life.

For the next several years, she searched desperately for survivors, for one, just one friend to have escaped.

There were none. She was alone now. And with the march of time, her hope dwindled and died.

Juliana’s hands shake as she slowly raises them. “I,” she chokes out, searching for words, “You are…”

Two decades. Over twenty years. If her daughter had grown up, somehow survived, she would be an adult by now. A beautiful young woman, if only she had the chance.

“Josephine?” she mouths her daughter's name as her hands cup the younger woman's smooth face. Her vision goes blurry with tears, but she can still feel her. She knows.

It’s her.

“I…” the woman exhales “I go by Jessica now.”

Juliana pulls her daughter into a hug, sobbing. She begins to wail and cry. The grief and angst of over two decades releases all at once. She feels her daughter's arms wrap around her, and then she hears Josephine’s, no, Jessica’s cries.

While parent and child reunite, Abernick silently and stoically blinks the tears from his eyes. Deflon does not, and happily weeps to see them together again. Even Fiona sniffles.

Quasi rolls his eyes and plops down into one of the lounge chairs. He reaches over to a table, grabs the nearby wine he assumes to be strong, and uncorks it. After taking a whiff and a swig, he considers the drink and sinks deeper into the chair.

You have been poisoned by Drunkard’s Kiss

Alcohol resistance is reduced by 95% for 3 hours.

He snorts happily and downs the rest of the bottle.

_________________________________________

“Do I really need to be sitting here?” Jessica asks.

“Yes,” Juliana says and tightens her arms around her daughter's waist, unwilling to let her go anytime soon.

“But, this is embarrassing,” Jessica blushes. All eyes watch her as she squirms in her mother’s lap. Well, most eyes. Quasi blissfully sleeps with a smile, lost in dreamland after ingesting a staggering amount of wine while no one was paying attention.

“I don't care,” the [Baroness] declares with a smile on her face. “I lost you once. You’re not getting away that easily.”

Jessica groans and the others chuckle.

“So, who are your friends?” Juliana waves at the others.

Still blushing, Jessica nods. She points at the scrawny, prunish man with all the signs of age, but none of the years. “That’s [Prince] Abernick. He’s also a [Necromancer],” she then points at a swarthy skinned woman, “And that’s [Queen] Fiona. She’s a [Death Mage] and is married to him,” she points at Quasi.

Juliana glances at Deflon who nods affirmatively. She raises an eyebrow. “Your companions are all royalty with taboo classes?” she giggles. “I bet there's a saucy tale.”

Before Jessica can answer, Abernick leans forward. “Sorry to interrupt,” he says politely, “but you seem quite at ease despite the pronouncement. I would expect a person of your peerage would be devoted to the churches and their teaching.”

Juliana scowls, her face a rictus of rage. Her arms tighten around her daughter. “Not since they slaughtered us..”

“Slaughtered?” Fiona asks. “Did the church pay the Assassins’ Guild to attack you?”

The [Baroness] sighs. Her eyes glow as she looks around, making sure that nobody is nearby to drop eaves.

“The Assassins’ Guild only took the blame. The ones who killed my family were Shadow Ravens.”

Fiona frowns. “Who are the Shadow Ravens? Is it some kind of guild?”

“The Shadow Ravens are elite [Assassins] under the complete control of Odin. They are his executioners,” Abernick explains. He then looks at Juliana. “Which begs the question, why did they attack your house?”

Juliana chuckles sadly. “When we brought back a few people they wanted to stay dead, they didn’t want to kill them a third time.”

Abernick nods. “The gods are hypocritical pieces of shit, no offense to you, Jessica.”

“Eir would never allow harm to be inflicted to others,” Jessica says absolutely. “The goddess loves all life and only wishes to heal the injured.”

“Josephine,” Juliana reaches up and flicks her daughter's short hair back behind her ears, “never trust the gods. They lie and scheme, playing games with mortals. I doubt even Eir’s hands are clean.”

“They are!” Jessica exclaims. “My goddess wouldn’t harm anyone. She’d never want anyone to get hurt. She only wants to heal.”

Juliana squints and gazes at her daughter. She frowns. “[Analyzing Touch],” she activates her skill, ignoring her daughter's frown.

Jessica

Level 218 [Abbess]

Looking at her daughter’s name, class, and levels, she can't help but be both proud and upset.

Then she remembers her daughter's age.

“How are you over level two hundred already? You’re barely over twenty!” she exclaims in surprise. “Were you locked up in a dungeon for a year?” she asks jokingly.

Jessica blushes and looks down. “Um… kinda. Two years, actually.”

Everyone goes silent as they look at Jessica. They knew that both her and Quasi had trained in a dungeon, but they never mentioned how long they spent.

“That must have been miserable for you,” Juliana says, remembering her own trips into dungeons. The claustrophobic walls and monsters were not fun to deal with.

Jessica smiles. “Those were actually some great years. Way better than my year as a slave.”

Jessica coughs as her mother squeezes her extra tight. “A slave?” she growls, “Who dares make my daughter a [Slave]! I will have them flogged and killed several times! I will coat the ground with their pieces, still alive, and make their loved ones put them back together again.”

“They’re dead,” Jessica quickly interjects, “Quasi killed them all.”

The pressure lessens. “Quasi?”

“His real name,” she explains and gestures to the sleeping man drooling on the couch.

Juliana stares at the [Necromancer]- nay, a [King]. A class only possible to hold if you have a kingdom under your control. A [King] that drank an entire bottle of extremely expensive enchanted wine made specifically for those with high endurance.

“Are you his lover too?” Juliana asks and quickly feels her daughter's body turn rigid.

“N-no.” she answers, “I have sworn a vow of celibacy. My love is only for my goddess.”

Juliana snorts. “No. You are a daughter of Carpe Diem. You must give birth to an heir.”

“W-what?”

Juliana taps her daughter's side. “Don’t worry, I will arrange a husband for you. Though, if you still have your virginity, we may even be able to get a [Prince].”

“Wait! No. I am not getting married, nor am I having children. I have sworn celibacy. I will lose my class if I, if I,” Jessica blushes from just thinking about the idea. Her face and ears reddening under the eyes of those around her.

“Sex? My daughter, we are women; it is our duty to create life,” she strokes her daughter's arm, “as for your class, I am impressed you are an [Abbess], but that class will never unlock your bloodline. You will need a new one if you ever hope to obtain the [Resurrect] skill.”

With a growl, Jessica forcibly twists out of her mother’s arms and gets off her lap. She glares at her mother. “I will not lose my class and I will not marry anyone! If you want an heir, then make one yourself!” she shouts and storms out of the room.

Juliana’s heart tightens in her chest as her daughter leaves. Barely an hour hence, and their happy reunion is over. Yet at last, she has her daughter, here, with whom to have a fight.

“She’s not wrong,” Abernick breaks the silence, “You seem to have quite a bit of vitality. You should still be fertile.”

The [Baroness] slowly nods, her eyes still fixed at the exit where her daughter stormed off. An old memory makes her smile. She’d stormed off the same way when her own family had told her to stop fucking the smith.

“I would, but any suitor I choose won’t survive. The other [Barons] have threatened to kill them unless I choose someone they approve of.”

“So?” Abernick blurts. “Just find someone to put a seed in you and send them on their way.”

Juliana shakes her head. “Carpe Diem needs a [Noble] heir, one acceptable to the Crown. I would need to choose someone at or above my rank. Even then, they would be targeted by [Assassins].”

Abernick leans back, understanding the politics quite well. Juliana is the sole member of her household, which means she is alone against all the other [Barons] who have hundreds of family members.

“That's why you want Jessica to birth an heir. You can transfer your class to your grandchild as long as the child is a [Noble].”

“Yes,” she sighs, “With a direct heir, the other nobility will stop eyeing my position. They will realise that marriage with me will not provide them control of my house or my bloodline.”

Fiona leans forward. She takes a glance at Juliana and then at Quasi. “What if you were to become a mistress to a [King]?” she ventures.

Juliana follows the [Queen’s] gaze to Quasi.

“That would work, but again, he’d be targeted by [Assassins].”

Deflon, usually quiet, speaks up. “Quasi single-handedly destroyed the entire [Assassins] guild in Camelot. I don’t think he fears the guild” His deep, rumbling voice attracts everyone's attention.

“As I said before,” Juliana begins again, “my house was not attacked by the Assassins guild. They were attacked by the Shadow Ravens. The elites of the Shadow Ravens are known to kill named individuals. I doubt,” she points at the sleeping man, “he would survive if they send one of their kill teams after him.”

“Aaaaughhahhh,” Quasi releases a groan as he groggily wakes up. He looks around himself and glances at each individual. He wipes the drool from his mouth with his arm, yawns, then curls into a fetal position and closes his eyes. A few seconds later, he’s asleep again.

Juliana glances at the window. Night has already fallen.

“It may be best to finish our conversation in the morning,” she decides. With a grunt, Juliana stands up. “Come, I’ll have my [Maids] show you to the guest rooms.”

_______________________________

The ground rumbles violently as the earth churns upward. A bubble of stone rises from the ground before crumbling. Five heavily armed individuals stand in its place. They look around for a moment then turn their attention to the city of Shul.

“Raven 3?” asks Raven 7.

Raven 3 grunts. “Tracks lead here. Enemy within.” He points at the city. “Has not left yet.”

“Finally,” Raven 9 releases a breath. “This hunt has taken too long.”

“It’s to be expected,” Raven 6 says as he glances at Raven 3. “Tracking a quarry underground requires specialized skills. We’re lucky that Raven 4 was able to find the tracks again.”

“Don't relax just yet,” Raven 7 warns with his usual smile. “We know he’s in the city somewhere. We still need to find him and set up an ambush.” He turns to another member. “Raven 4, are you able to get us in the city?”

The ground rumbles as Raven 4’s mana shifts. “No. The walls are enchanted. Any attempt to travel underground will reveal our position,” he explains.

Raven 7 shrugs, his relaxed, disarming smile still plastered on his face. “Then it looks like we’re sneaking in.”

“Won't happen,” Raven 3 interrupts. His hand points to the entrance of the city where over a dozen [Guards] stand ready with appraisal skills. “[City Defender].”

The group squints at the city and sees many breathing bodies, but none of them have the impressive eyesight of Raven 3, who can see everything from classes to levels and skills.

“Oof. That's annoying,” Raven 6 comments. His hand reaches for the hilt of his crimson rapier. As a [Duelist Assassin], it is within his ability to end most threats with a single thrust and he can dispatch hundreds of those within seconds.

“No, killing unnecessarily could make our quarry run.” Raven 7 waves away the murderous glance of Raven 6. “I suggest me and Raven 9 sneak in and gather information. I doubt our quarry will stay in the city for long.”

“Sounds good to me,” Raven 9 nods and stretches. She raises her hand. “[Enchantment of Perjury].” Mana converges around her, melding with her skin. Her body changes from a slender redhead to a buxom blonde while her clothes change to those of a [Seamstress].

“How do I look?” the [Enchantress Assassin] twirls.

“It will do,” Raven 7 determines. With a flick of his wrist, he produces a needle and hands it to her.

“Good luck.”

With a wink, she rushes off to the city.

___________________________________

The night-shift belongs to [City Defender] Greymon, a young man who prefers silence over everything else. He enjoys the night with its fresh air and starlight. He’s also fond of not having to deal with people and traffic. Most people aren’t traveling once the sun sets.

It is for this reason he is surprised, though not extremely so, when a young lady with blond pigtails has her dress hiked up as she rushes to the gate. He hears [Guards] mutter about her being a [Seamstress], having seen her class with their [Analyze] skills. Greymon frowns at that. With an annoyed grunt, he stops leaning against closed gates and walks up the woman.

“What are you doing outside the city at this time?” Greymon asks the woman who looks away from the [Guards] and directly at him. Her azure eyes meet his own, deep cerulean pools that drag him into their depths. He quickly feels relaxed and can't help but smile.

“I’m so sorry,” she bows, “I was visiting my grandmother at her farm. She is sick, you see, and I was bringing her some medicine. By the time I finished caring for her, the sun had already set.”

“I… see,” Greymon says, feeling oddly relaxed. A distant part of him warns that something is wrong. He continues staring into her eyes, mesmerized by the beautiful spheres.

He grunts and attempts to shift his vision, but finds that it is rather difficult.

“Sir [Guard]?” she asks.

“Oh. Mmmm, right. Give me a moment. [Advanced Analyze]”

Venefica

Level 191 [Enchantress Assassin]

“You’re a-.”

“[Seamstress],” she patiently explains with a smile. “I work with my mother to sew clothes.

Greymon nods slowly, feeling uneasy.

“[Seamstress], right,” he repeats, feeling a bit confused.

“Um… May I enter?” she asks.

Greymon grunts and blinks. He feels a headache coming on.

“Yes, of course,” he waves her through.

She bows again, “Thank you.” and rushes past him. He watches the gate open slightly to allow her to enter. As the gate closes once again, he can't help but feel as though something was wrong.

After a minute of idling, he shrugs and walks back to his usual spot on the wall, The woman with pigtails all but forgotten.

_________________________________

With a shake of her head and a little chuckle, Raven 9 walks through the barely lit streets of Shul. At the first dark alley, she swerves inside and halts her skill. Who’d have thunk there’d be a guard who would look her in the face? Next time, she’ll make her cleavage a little deeper.

The illusion breaks, revealing her true form. Raising the needle in the air, she taps it thrice.

The needle disappears from her hand, replaced with Raven 7 and his haunting grin.