"How are the elves?" I ask Zeraya who just arrives this afternoon while I idly read a book. Since occupying this bandit village, it is about almost time for us to kick the high gear.
Though I ask Zeraya about 'elves', I am not specifically asking about Trudviar, Varen, and the others.
"I manage to convince someone among them who can help with the escape," Zeraya tells me with a stoic face.
The routes of Wisley and Zeraya focus on Jeremy Barony for the first week and a few days. As Zeraya didn't find any traces of captive elves in the Jeremy estate, the chances are they are in the Zaun Barony. And it didn't disappoint.
For this, I will make sure to make the Zaun barony suffer. The logical approach should be attacking the Zaun estate first and concentrating my forces on them so that I can boost our number. I have a different opinion on the matter, however.
I cannot risk my soldiers hampering their morale. According to Zeraya, the state of things in the dungeons where they are keeping the elves is so much more depressing than the one they witness in the bandit village.
Moreover.
Wisley seems to be moving behind my back. That portly subservient merchant doesn't look much but he knows how to think for himself. I am lucky Zeraya had information about what the merchant is up to.
"Tell me about it," I ask Zeraya of what did occur.
…
Moving backward in time in Boarhoney Inn, two figures come head to head. An unassuming stepdaughter of the baron, and a mysterious merchant from the empire.
It was the deep of the night and Wisley finds the tension bearable.
"What do you want from me, vile woman?" Wisley spits an insult to see the character of the person he was dealing with. This woman is two-faced and cannot be easily trusted evident by her acting in the presence of madame Zaun.
The woman snickers as she finds the term 'vile' too appropriate. "I sure am vile. Elven blood after all courses in my veins. Do you know that Baron Zaun has a mistress half-elf?"
At the mention of elf, chills reach down his spine. Wisley realizes he has a great advantage against this self-proclaimed quarter elf, but he cannot trust her easily. "I am Wisley, just a random peasant…"
"And I am Ririn Zaun, a pleasure to meet you… so, can you tell me about your special product? The coca?" Ririn tilts her head cutely and sensually moves her black cloth causing Wisley to frown.
Ririn removes her garments and reveals by her waist is the slave mark for elves, a triangle with the brand of Zaun insignia meaning she is property of the Zauns. "I thought you might be thinking of me as lying… So here is proof. Do you know what this means? I have about 100 to 200 years on my life…" She says implicitly.
Wisley erases his frown together with his displeasure. This Ririn is not a simple woman. He stays quiet letting Ririn take over the conversation.
Ririn smirks as she fixes her garments.
"Your special goods are interesting. That Piven is an idiot for advertising that to his family… If this is your method of secretly controlling the barony from behind the scenes, I can only say that you are a master schemer behind the scenes, merchant…
"I am not sure however if this is entirely just your work, you belong to an organization, or there is someone else who has your back. Just know that I am very eager to join your fold… I am a much better puppet than those foolish people.
"I am observing them for some time, and I realize their intelligence seems to fall quite under. Their ability to control their emotion is certainly becoming more terrible. If you make me your puppet, you wouldn't regret it as I am just a lowly quarter-blood elf that you can easily suppress.
"So please, make me your puppet…"
Ririn lies on the bed exposing her vulnerability at its barest to Wisley. She exploits her charms and makes use of them. The 'confession' is something she decides beforehand so that she can show her sincerity to the merchant.
The human world is a very cruel place. And for this cruelty, there are certain people that exist who embody this. Ririn is confident in her deductions that the merchant is a hostile force she can strongly take advantage of as long as she plays her cards right.
By revealing her elf blood as a weakness, she strongly believes that the other cannot help but feel tempted. The demi-humans surely have no place in the world of the nobility.
However, not every noble know of her 'existence' as a demi-human because she lacks the physical characteristic to define her as such. This makes her very easy to use and control.
Ririn is willing to fall this low as long as she can put herself in power.
What Ririn doesn't know however is that the hostile force working on Wisley is not human, but elven. Wisley panics in his mind. If Ririn learns of his elven involvement, she might just go to the Elf King and beg him for her motives or something of similar nature. Not to mention, she will also be able to easily appeal to the sense of kinship among elves if she mentions her elf blood.
Wisley won't be able to make use of her if she learns of the Elf King behind him.
For a long time, Wisley was hoping to get into contact with his acquaintances to ask for help, but his half-elf escort is always there to stop him. But now, an opportunity presents itself to him. Zeraya the half-elf must be busy with something else, and Wisley won't be able to have a second opportunity after this.
How can he make use of Ririn?
Clearly, Ririn wants to volunteer herself as a puppet. That means she wants power, maybe to go as far as becoming the baroness. She has an ambition that Wisley can take advantage of.
Wisley grits his molars as he comes to a daring decision.
"You got it all wrong. I am just another puppet."
Wisley gives a sickly grin sending chills down Ririn's spine. For this, Wisley decides to tell the truth and use this truth, to manipulate Ririn.
"I have good news for you, however… War is coming. The elves will come from the south from whence the Lorekleim Forest dwells the mysterious elves. They will bring war and hate. I don't know which of the two baronies will fall first, but I am sure to tell you that they won't just stop with these baronies."
Ririn's face is pale as disbelief transforms into a grimace.
"W-w-what are you saying?"
Wisley is not a master manipulator. He is just a merchant with business acumen who happens to meet bad luck in his caravanning to Lorekleim Forest. For him to make sure of his survival, his son, and his crewmates, he must use his wits to their fullest.
"Now, I suggest you go now. I have a half-elf bodyguard that is proficient with fighting, espionage, and killing. She is not exactly friendly. More of my kill switch." Wisley tells her another bone-chilling truth. If this half-elf learns that she knows this, she will definitely die.
"I suggest you go now and find yourself a hiding place. If you want to make use of the information you just learned then free to do so. It is not like someone will really believe you…" Wisley sneers at her.
Taking the last bits of her courage, Ririn asks Wisley about his intentions. "What are you going to do next?"
Wisley lowly chuckles and self-depreciatingly tells her what he ought to do. "Of course, I will confess this conversation to my half-elf bodyguard. For whatever happens next, I cannot tell as only destiny will decide."
"You fucking crazy fat pig!" Ririn curses and hurriedly removes herself from the room.
That evening, Wisley didn't sleep and waited for Zeraya the whole night.
Zeraya returns to the inn by the window and frowns at the waiting merchant.
…
"He confessed," Zeraya bluntly admits to me with all of her strength draining away from her. "Your majesty, I ask permission to torture him in more brutal ways possible…"
After telling me the whole story of the entire exchange of dialogues that Zeraya manages to reenact word for word or so I believe, Zeraya slumps into a chair in defeat. "Fuck," She cusses. "That fucking Wisley is a fucking weasel!"
"The helper I was talking about was actually Ririn, the baron's stepdaughter… The reason I manage to accomplish my mission of securing the elf captive's escape route is because of this Ririn…" Zeraya makes a confession of her own.
Aaah~~
That must be why Zeraya is feeling total shit.
As an escort and implicitly Wisley's overseer, not only did Zeraya fail on watching over her charge, but also fails on doing the job that I assigned to her. On top of outwitting Zeraya, Wisley also manages to out-contribute her.
If Wisley is an elf, I'd love for him to join our forces.
"Rather than weasely done, it was wisely done." I throw some wordplay pouring salt on Zeraya's injury. That aside, it is now time to gather my army and let ourselves loose. I believe it is time.
Before that, "Zeraya, can you get me Wisley?"