《The Devil’s Cage》The Devil's Cage
Advertisement
The Devil's Cage Chapter 359
While Mary was packing her things to leave, Kieran pulled over two war horses.
He used the bedding inside the high tower where Galeart was resting and made a simple stretcher, placing the patient on top.
Kieran wished Galeart would recover and wake up soon because the information that he could gather was too little.
Most of it were of his own guesses, and there was almost nothing that he could really confirm, except for one point. That one point that Kieran was extremely certain about was, there was something fishy about that imperial envoy!
Swusters Castle was not far from Tita Town, only a day’s journey on horseback.
If it was a secret meeting, there was no need to make a big detour to Tita Town.
A small town with a population of around 200 hundred was very sensitive against strangers. The guards at the town entrance might not be able to fight a real battle, but recognizing strangers was easy for them.
With the secret order on him, the imperial envoy should move in secret, but he picked such a place that might risk exposing himself. The fact was baffling Kieran’s thoughts.
Unless…
“There were some matters that forced him to do so! Being chased by assassin so he needed to request help from Swusters Castle owner, or…”
Kieran’s heart bloomed a malicious thought. Everything began with the assassination of Swusters Castle’s owner. Under the circumstances that she might be assassinated by someone familiar, Kieran couldn’t help but think more. However, it was just a guess and couldn’t be verified yet.
“What kind of incident could cause multiple parties to strike relentlessly?”
Kieran grinded his brain in a puzzled manner.
He was sure that the Duke Sergourney that he killed before was not the same side as the assassin in the high tower. Apparently, if Duke Sergourney had a qualified assassin in line, he wouldn’t have gone to Swusters Castle himself and tried to storm the tower by force.
Advertisement
The assassin who killed the Swusters Castle owner belonged to another faction as well.
This faction should be the most hidden and with the quickest response because they might very well be the faction that was chasing to kill that imperial envoy.
Though there was a possibility that they were independent as well.
“Three to four factions at once? Who do they represent?” Kieran thought of it while rubbing his chin. By the time Mary moved her necessities onto the war horse, Kieran could only figure one question out.
The faction with the fastest response to matters should be the ones closest to the king. Only such a position could observe the king’s every move.
“There are others who are hiding beside the king… What is this king doing?”
Kieran shook his head, refusing to comment on the king.
Before completely knowing a person, Kieran would not make further comments. Same went for the natives as well because it would only cause prejudiced perception towards a matter.
If such a comment was wrong to begin with and Kieran had a prejudiced perception towards the matter, it would not be a good news for him. It would only cause him to misjudge things or even create lethal threats to himself.
“Can we depart now?”
Mary asked Kieran after sealing the tower’s door shut.
“Sure!”
Kieran nodded and he rode in front, followed by Mary.
Kieran was not at all surprised when Mary displayed an outstanding riding skill. With her mother’s abilities and strength, under her instruction and influence, it would be normal for Mary to possess riding skills or sword skills.
Behind Mary was the unconscious Galeart and some of the things Mary wanted to bring with her, which utilized three war horses to carry her load.
Kieran glanced over the load that Mary had brought. Most of them were miscellaneous, but among them was a long rapier, compared to Mary’s stature. When the specially made rapier appeared, it verified Kieran’s guess about Mary.
Advertisement
Dak Dak Dak.
The war horses moved over the hang bridge with a constant speed. When they reached the end of the bridge, Duke Sergourney and the other dead bodies appeared before them.
Kieran could see the hatred and contempt towards them on Mary’s face.
“Need me to take care of the bodies?” Kieran asked.
“I’ll do it myself!” Mary said before jumping off the horse.
The little girl’s way to deal with the bodies was also quite simple, pushing every one of them down the mountain streams.
Though repeatedly dragging nearly 20 grown men’s dead bodies was quite the burden towards a thirteen year old girl. She was already panting heavily after dragging half of them, but when Kieran offered to lend a hand, she still refused.
After spending half an hour pushing the bodies down the mountain streams, Kieran and co. continued their journey.
The moon of the night sky was bright and clear, shedding faint light on the narrow jungle path. Stars could be easily seen with a raise of the head through the seams of the jungle crown on top. The songs of the insects were lingering in their ears; the quiet feeling was quite satisfying as well.
If it was not for the wrong mood, it might be a decent night walk.
Mary lowered her head and kept quiet when they resumed their journey.
Other than the exhaustion from before, there were changes in her mental state as well.
Kieran was quite familiar with such a change.
When he first entered the game, he’d been through the process as well, being familiar with dead bodies and learning to calm his mind. It was not a decent experience, but in order to survive, Kieran clenched his teeth and took the hands-on experience.
Most importantly, no one else could lend their hand while one faced such a process; all that was available was himself.
So Kieran watched her quietly without saying anything. It might seem a little harsh and cruel, but being cruel on herself was kinder than others being cruel on her.
While keeping quiet in their journey forward, all that was left was the horse gallops.
Until the unconscious Galeart moaned.
“Galeart!”
Mary who was quiet and had her head down quickly jumped off the horse happily and went over to the makeshift stretcher.
“Ma…Mary?”
Galeart who had just awoken couldn’t tell what was going on, but when he saw the little girl, his mind was refreshed. But when he saw Kieran, a vigilant expression appeared on his face. Even after Mary introduced Kieran, the vigilance remained.
“Hello, Galeart.” Kieran greeted him with a smile.
Other than the fact that he could get more information after Galeart awakened, it was also because when Galeart woke up, Kieran’s sub-mission, [Rescue!] was tagged as completed.
Though Galeart’s greeting presented a cold and estranged feeling.
“Um, Nice to meet you, Sir 2567! Gratitude for saving my life!”
Although Galeart was saying thank you, but Kieran couldn’t feel a bit of gratitude.
“Is he taking precautions against me?”
Kieran was not at all mad about the action. Quite the opposite, he was looking at the elderly man with interest in his eyes. Galeart’s attitude and manner reminded him that he had neglected some things before, some very important things.
Advertisement
- In Serial6 Chapters
It's About the Journey
Alegría "Joy" Rodriguez-Thayer had been many things: a typical American corporate drone, an armchair linguist, a starving musician, and most recently, struggling to make ends meet with a mid-tier non-profit job after being widowed at 40, dreams of world travel stifled and ultimately shattered by a lifetime of missed opportunity. In another time and place, schoolgirl Izumi Yoshiko looked forward to her Coming of Age Day, having lived her whole life in the rural town of Takasane-machi in the land of Mikata-no-kuni. Being one of the few in her town born pureblooded human, she eagerly awaited the prophecy that she would become host to a "reborn soul".With their meeting, they set off to go see this great new world and make new friends along the way. The destination doesn't matter: it's about the journey.
8 228 - In Serial162 Chapters
Tides Of Protomis
(Updates are back, now every Friday) In 2006, The third world war began. What followed was a devastating conflict, were over a billion met their end. Only ending Seven years later, in the year 2013... It has been three years since it's end. In much of the world, things seem peaceful, as mankind begins to heal the wounds inflicted upon itself, though some conflicts continue, the scale is much smaller. Allowing for many of those involved to live somewhat peaceful lives. Enter Arctaius Corde, once a young boy thrust into life or death battles, connected to this very war, surviving with abilities gained as he became a proto-human. Today, he lives in the Tokyo. Though a troubled student at best, with a large amount of fights under his belt. They were nothing compared to those previous, and his life had become a more peaceful one. However, this would soon end. As a mysterious group that appeared during his childhood resurfaces, and begins to take action. Now, He begins his pursuit. (Desc is for Arc 1, currently on Arc 2. Make sure to comment your opinions, and discuss with other readers! Really enjoy seeing that kind of stuff, and it helps me improve my writing.)
8 90 - In Serial16 Chapters
The Mantle
Perrin, a former SF operator, turned programmers life goes to crap. Shortly after finding out he's married to a goddess and a cat, he is forced to go into a portal to save himself from a biblical battle going down in his RV park. He must learn to survive in a game world that is set on taking him out. A mysterious past unfolds as he searches for the exit. A finished and much more improved version of this story will hopefully be published soon. Since it started here, I decided to rerelease the chapters I wrote.
8 100 - In Serial12 Chapters
To Face the Day [Semi Hard Sci-Fi Space Opera]
A small human tramp freighter runs afoul of a privateer in the distant frontier. With their ship disabled, and no help on the way, its crew make a desperate plan, the consequences of which will reverberate throughout the entire Orion Arm. Semi-Hard Science Fiction story featuring humans, aliens, and Newtonian space battles. [Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 229 - In Serial13 Chapters
The Dragon & The Demon
Orenda Nochdifache-Firefist has sucessfully overthrown the Empress Xandra and broken the empire to allow the individual colonies to return to self-rule, as well as abolished the chattle slavery that had plagued the land- earning her the title of "Orenda the Reign Ender". The Knights of Order have officially won the war in a bloody revolution, putting an end to the three centuries of warfare under Xandra's leadership. No longer must people live in fear of Xandra's puppet, The Emerald Knight. But now Orenda must face the realities of her dream- the imaginary princess has become queen. And, she has a deadly secret she must keep in the form of a teenage Urillian boy who is not what he seems. Anilla is still on a never ending quest to find her dragon; her people beleive that every memeber of their tribe is born with a soul bonded dragon that exists somewhere in the world- and Orenda's little secret claims to have seen Anilla's soul before. Could he be the key to ending her quest? This work is a direct sequel to The Crimson Mage, and will obviously contain major spoilers for that work, so it might be a better place to start (though I will warn you that the first chapter of that story may be the worst thing I've ever written. Just power through it or encorage me to put up a second draft). It can be found here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21654/the-crimson-mage/chapter/307763/chapter-1
8 99 - In Serial10 Chapters
the Mana-Wilds (A Golarionite Odyssey) # 2: Dreams of Water
Katheer, Golden and Glorious, the once-proud Jewel of the East isnow the Oasis to a thousand souls who still cling upon hope. But now, those souls lay appetent with thirst as a verminous presence threatens to cut the life-giving waters of the city's only open water source, the Azure Canal. With the help of a Mexican Vaquero, a Merfolk Corsair, and an incurious Half-Genie Bard, can Team X-Ray get to the bottom of the nightmarish streets of Katheer before it is too late?Or will the Dream of rebuilding a better tomorrow be eroded by the lapping tides of the encroaching ocean? (Cover made by me using Picsart, Photoscape X and EldritchDreams Royalty Free Art)
8 95

