As the guards started moving my only thought was: Fuck.
If I would be imprisoned, I needed either to die or to be given freedom again. And even if I died (which was very hard inside of a prison cell), I would be forcibly revived at the nearest revive point (which was in the center of the black market, overwatched by guards). And I would get the [runaway] status and while my experience would be halved, I could be caught by lawful factions if I did a crime and would suffer punishment if caught.
So one might understand why I felt like running. But this wasn't an option since they were definitely faster, stronger and experienced in catching people. But to my surprise, they walked past me and headed to the merchant. "You are requested." The man seemed visibly shaken but let himself be taken by the guards.
After they walked a few steps, I realized what was going on: My only hint to Coven's murderer was ransacked by the guards of the black market! What if he would be thrown out or killed by them? How could I find or even question him if one of the two possibilities happened? I started moving through the crowd, following the guards. The distance grew more and more, as well as my panic. No! I couldn't let it happen! I would have them to take me too! I gathered my magic, gave every inch of MP I had and casted while running trying to plow through the masses. Ice spread under my feet, implementing the best idea I came up with, excluding the option of frying everyone in my close proximity and triggering the aggro of other NPCs or Players.
And luck was on my side for once.
People around me slipped, making way for me to jump over them or step on a few unlucky people. I closed in to the guards, the icy floor spreading under their feet until one of them slipped, fell, causing the other to stumble a bit as well. He was almost pulled down by the weight of the other guard and the merchant who was disrupted through one of them falling. It was my chance! Instantly casting the next spell, the spreading of the ice stopped, only to be replaced by an absolutely gorgeous rain of flower petals cascading down with me in the epicenter. The mixture of petals and ice was more than simply devious and although the thin ice already started melting, the wetness only enhanced the slippiness and the struggling of the other guard to stand properly again made the other lose balance. I succeeded! Inwardly cheering I stepped in front of them, outstretching my hands.
"Please take me too! I casted the ice and the flower petals!" My plan was ingenious! Outrageously smart! I would be taken by them as well and could ask the merchant all questions I desired. And after being tortured and maybe killed by the guards I could revive again and keep on looking for the suspects. The suspects who would have a name or identity by then, other than being stronger than me.
"You attacked us?"
"I wouldn't call that an attack, but sure! Take me to imprisonment! I'm guilty."
"Take her as well." One of the guards commanded the other who took my wrist. Grinning, maybe a little bit too smug, I waited to be dragged along only to frown and then grimace.
[Death through a heart attack: 00 min 03 sec]
[02 sec]
[01 sec]
"Noooooo!" was the last thing I managed to scream before the system announced to me: [You died through an [Heart attack]. Next time head to a healer, doctor or priest in time to cure your disease.]
My body burst into disintegrating sparks. The guard's surprised face was in my view before it was replaced by the brightness of the reincarnation point.
And now, a lot of angry Players knowing my face and NPCs who weren't averse to torture me a bit were separating me from the guards and the merchant. My idea wasn't as clever as I thought. At least I would be reborn at another revival spot after dying again to avoid players being trapped by others.
Already resigned to my fate, I didn't expect other guards to come out of the crowds and walk towards me.
"You better not try to escape again." one of the guards said to me, before grabbing me roughly, dragging me through the crowd. Some angry faces were far too close for my comfort, but no one attacked. They were afraid to hurt a guard by mistake and either die or worse - lose the right to trade on the black market. The furious faces lessened and I arrived next to the other pair of guards who still had the merchant.
This small group headed deeper into the tunnels. Deeper and deeper until they reached a gate. After passing through it thanks to various devices and actions needed to open it, the door swung open, revealing something outrageous: A castle inside the tunnels.
The cavity was not as big in height as the main cave housing the black market, but the large plains surrounding the castle were three or four kilometers in width. There was nothing but the castle.
Was this the hideout of the Lord of the Underworld? Curious, I followed the guards alongside the plains to the castle.
Surrounded by a steep burrow filled with spiked metal spears and a substance seeming like oil, I had no desire to fall off the drawbridge leading into the castle. Four more guards were welcoming the ones who escorted me and the merchant. The walls towering over me were barely occupied. It seemed like the guards of the underworld weren't countless and even a mystic figure like the Lord of the Underworld had problems in finding progeny for his armed troops.
But as quiet and deserted the place seemed, the more magnificent the building looked. I already saw the large trade center, the estates of nobles in the better neighborhoods, the mansion of the city lord as well as the magic tower. But they all paled in comparison. The castle was definitely younger than the other buildings and although moss and plants already started climbing the walls it just made the structure seem more vibrant and magical. As if nature itself tried to claim the building back from the clutches of the Lord of the Underworld and his guards.
I especially liked the style of the buildings, a mixture of rounded shapes mixed with a few more piercing, straighter elements. It seemed like a mad engineer planned the castle, getting other ideas midway and creating a mixture of forms and shapes. A single statue was in the middle of the large inner courtyard. By a closer look while passing by, I noticed that it was a smaller version of the demon in the murals of the ceiling of the black market. The design was far more intricate and I could make out veins and arteries running through the wings and soft malice emanating from the demon's eyes who looked upwards. I followed the gaze directed at the largest tower, a real giant and almost half as big as the magic tower.
Sadly I had no time to fully sightsee the castle and was pushed forward by the guards. My boots made a clicking noise on the large stone plates which were inlaid to the ground, almost perfectly close to the ones surrounding them without leaving a gap like the streets of Daystreak usually had.
Closing in to the large entrance of the castle, I asked myself how much this might have cost to build? Stone was required, engineers, workers and many, many funds. My mouth couldn't stop closing after seeing the inside. There was no lavish decoration as I might have expected, no gold lying around to impress the visitors. But I felt the magic in every ounce of the castle, with every breath I took in. There must be countless formulas and spells built into the walls or cast after the structures were built. The extravagance shown with this 'simple' trick was too far for me to comprehend. Magic was very, very expensive. A constant spell or formulas needed energy sources. Monsters and mines could yield mana cores or energy stones to fuel such spellware and formulas. But they weren't cheap at all. The larger the mana core or energy stone and the higher the quality the more gold one paid for them.
Some very 'wealthy' nobles would be able to use such mana cores and energy stones for heating the house in winter or cooling their storeroom.
And the Lord of the Underworld 'enriched' his whole damn castle so much that I could feel the magic make my skin prickle soothingly. My mana regeneration was even doubled because of the ideal environment to do magic.
While walking through the floors, I watched the walls, the furnishings and the few people who I saw on the way. The magnificent, wonderful castle was practically empty.
After a long way of walking the guards in front of me stopped and those beside me halted, too. In front of the small group were two guards standing in front of a grand door.
"We brought the merchant." reported one of them. One guard went in and came out a few minutes later, ordering them to bring the merchant inside. Only after the door closed, the man took notice of me.
"Who is this?"
"She is an offender who caused unrest. We brought her here…"
"Because she is a revenant, I know. Others who attacked the guards usually die instantly or are directly brought to torture."
"She also seemed to want to be imprisoned. Shall we send her to the torture chambers for a questioning?" The guard beside me asked.
"No, we'll let the lord decide. I will inform him about the criminal and her doings on the black market." The guard went inside again.
A very long time passed. Finally, the guard came out, his face pale and instead of saying anything he just stared at the opposite wall. After another few minutes, the door was opened. A woman stood inside and showed a motioning gesture.
"Please, come inside." she said, her voice tender and her expression merciful. These are the people I have to be wary of the most. This was one of the lessons Coven taught me. Whomever pretends to be nice and gentle while serving a criminal was either stupid and would die early or cunningly hiding their true motives. Which boiled down to either power, money or revenge. Or personal ethics aligned with the criminal's.
I followed inside the room, leaving the guards behind me. It wasn't a throne room but more of a small reception chamber. A man was sitting at the round table and signing documents. Small mountains were already formed around him. Aides scurried around, some carrying papers, others busily using books or magical devices. Instead of a terrifying crime lord, the picture of an exhausted employee replaced the terrifying shadow of an oppressor in my mind.
The woman led me to a chair to sit on and left the room. There were more than one door leading out of the room. I assumed they already brought the merchant somewhere else, but the confirmation made me fiddle with my fingers. I hoped that I could still find him and survive the questioning of the rumored Lord of the Underworld.
I finally raised my head to fully look at his face. As described in the rumors, he was scarred heavily. His whole face was covered by scars, letting him seem fierce. Short, black hair, already turning grey at the temples and eyes that were in a very dark brown. If one ignored the scars, he would have been like any other middle aged man. Not special in any way and neither handsome or too ugly. Just mediocre. The scars made him seem much more grueling and appear more stunning. At least one would freeze after seeing so many scars.
My eyes wandered and remained on the famous scar on his neck. The white skin of the scar was in a stark contrast to the rest of the skin.
"Name." he said, bored, raising his head from a newly signed document, while an aide picked it up to carry it away.
"M-Mystyval Ru-ná."
"Profession."
"Battle mage." He raised an eyebrow. "A low ranking one." I added in a whisper.
"Why did you attack the guards of the black market?" His voice asking this question was deeper, maybe suppressing emotions of anger and revulsion.
"I…uhm…" I hadn't thought about what I should spout as an answer. My thoughts raced fervently. Trying to come up with a half baked replacement story was surprisingly hard.
"I…wanted to buy the cloak and was interrupted."
"And because of a cloak, you attacked my guards and will be tortured and imprisoned for a long, long time?" A mild amusement was in between those lines.
"N-no, I mean, the cloak was stolen from me, and I was trying to get the guards, but…you know,...I didn't get the time to talk to them."
His piercing gaze fell upon me, before returning to the documents one of the attendants passed him. The long text passages made me already dizzy from seeing them.
"Lock her up for a month. If she resists, double the time for every try." The halfhearted command spoken shocked me deeply. The cloak would be gone by then, if the merchant was released earlier. I didn't even know where he was taken! What if I would lose my trail because of the prolonged imprisonment?!
"I heared, people like me only are locked up for a few days…" I started rambling and the man looked up, his gaze now missing any indifference. Pierced by his freezing gaze, I swallowed hard.
"You're the first of your people daring enough to lie to me. I consider it my friendly advice and a reminder that not everyone takes lies as kindly as me. Stay put and quiet and reflect upon your behaviour."
"But…"
"Lock her up, now. And for two months." I shut my mouth instantly and watched in horror as one of the aides called the guards in, ready to escort me into a cell.
What should I do now?