Rana let the lifeless body slumped against the wall stained in its own blood. She stared at its frozen scream and silent plea of mercy. The dead could not make a sound even if it wanted to, no matter how hard it tried. She knew from experience and it was one she wished she could forget. She sometimes wondered what would happen if she did not know about the void, but every time she concluded it was worse to be ignorant. The reality before her was what mattered when making the correct decision, and whether she condemned someone to an eternity of suffering should have no bearing on the matter. However, it was a responsibility that no one should have, a judgment no one should make, and guilt no one should bear.

She allowed the thought to fester in her mind before shaking it off. It was not of her own volition to let her diseased mind wander, but it was getting more difficult to fend off the lull. She looked at the dead body one last time before turning away. There was nothing more to be said. She had gotten what she needed from him, and now, it was only time until everything was placed on the board and readied to be toppled. Still, there was one more move and it was one that she was unsure of its rate of success.

She waited and the familiar smell of youth and light steps approached with an urgency that she expected.

“Who did this? Tell me what happened,” Jessica said. The girl kept her voice low but there was no doubt a strong sense of anger and disbelief in her tone. If Rana was not careful, there was a chance the rogue-class would unleash all the anger, sorrow, and pain from the violence the girl suffered under the raiders onto her.

“I killed Gregory,” Rana said. She did not know of Jessica and Gregory’s relationship. The information was not something that could be gleaned from their brief seconds of interaction with each other, and it was not something she had time to investigate. She needed to see how the girl reacted, to see if further persuasion was possible, or if the conflict could only end in bloodshed. She wished that was not the case. “He was an enemy.”

“I don’t understand. What do you mean by the enemy? He was protecting the settlement alongside all of us and was our captain,” Jessica said. She was stunned by what Rana told her and was trying very hard to process the information and see if it coincides with what she already knew from her own experiences. It was fortunate that she and her captain’s relationship was only that of allies and nothing more. If it was only evidence and reason she demanded, Rana would oblige. “That is impossible. He took care of all of us and risked his life for us in battle. How could this be?”

“His personal reasons I wouldn’t know, but it is not impossible for even the closest of allies to turn traitor. There is no bond that could withstand the threat of treachery, not even blood or kin,” Rana said, and her final thought was more of a whisper. Jessica either did not catch the personal regret in her voice or simply chose not to pry and only waited for Rana to continue. “I don’t know Gregory enough to give you a reason for his betrayal, but his treachery is the truth. It occurred to me that the fight ended too swiftly and the defenders died too fast and easily. Their defeat should’ve taken much longer, and with marked one defenders present, the Raiders should’ve suffered significantly more losses. I initially thought that the defenses of the settlement was weaker than anticipated, but when I was escorted with the other prisoners, I sensed traces of mana within the rubble of the burned down gate. The problem with that was during the battle I did not sense a Spell powerful enough to blow such a structure apart, even if the gate was flimsily built. There was something amiss, and I concluded that the defenders were not able to utilize their positional advantage at all.”

“Now that you mention it, it only took a small detachment of riders to take down the gate and I was surprised at how powerful I thought the common raiders were to be able to do so,” Jessica said as she pondered deep into thought. The rogue-class focused on scouting and waiting even in combat, to take advantage of enemy weakness, so it was not surprising the girl was keenly aware of what was happening during the battle. It was a trait needed to be a successful rogue-class, and it was a trait that was trained and honed. “They completely overran our positions and taken down the regular guards, leaving us marked ones to fend for ourselves. I also thought they were very prepared to deal with us like they know how we fight and where we are coming from.”

“To confirm my suspicion, I decided to give Gregory a visit and have him explain himself,” Rana said. She decided to keep her ability to sense emotions hidden. “What he said did not match up to what I’ve seen, and I find his injuries too superficial. He was too well-off for being a prisoner, and the guard make-up of this area only makes sense if there was someone from the inside to alert the raiders outside.”

“Maybe there is an explanation for all this,” Jessica said, but there was no doubt she was simply grasping at straws. She did not want to believe the reality before her. Rana wondered why, but she did not pry and allowed the girl to finish coming to terms with the situation. “Is there any proof?”

“Would you believe him if he told you he was struck on the head and fainted? He said his helmet protected him and was the reason he was left alone,” Rana said. She then threw a destroyed ward towards Jessica and the girl caught it. She continued to speak while Jessica examined the piece of obsidian. “I found this while searching his body. It is a ward and is used to communicate simple information to whoever held the other piece. This should be enough evidence to show that he was a traitor. Don’t worry, I have already disabled it with a trick. The raiders do not know he is dead. They simply think there is nothing to report.”

“How do you know all this? To deceive a ward is a very difficult task, let alone altering the runes within in such short notice,” Jessica said. She knew the basics of marked one capabilities and mana applications the world uses. She was either studious or wherever she went to complete her marked one training was a good institution. “Who are you? What you are doing is something even most ascended marked ones find difficult.”

“I have confidence that even among my peers, and despite what my mark shows, I am very adept at mana manipulation and the control of runic-patterns,” Rana said. She was about to move on and explain the next phase of their plan, but the girl was still young and needed some guidance if she were to survive for a longer period of time. If she died quickly, her plan would fail. “Here is an advice. The mark is not a testament to the capabilities of a marked one. The mark only shows the potential power available to them. It tells us what they can do, but not what they will do. It is up to you to figure out how an enemy will use their mark so you could exploit their weakness. The astute can do so in only a few exchange of blows, but the devious can also misdirect their opponent. In battle, it is prudent to be prepared for anything, but it is also folly to expend effort into being cautious of things that will not happen. The mark can constrain, but it can also enable the marked one. The better you are at utilizing your mark, the more you are able to push its limit, the better your odds are at winning the fight. That is true for you and your opponent.”

“I never expected you to be this wordy,” Jessica said with a light chuckle. The girl was right and Rana was surprised as well. It reminded her of her inquisitor days training her recruits. “Thank you.”

“Did you complete the task? I want to know what happened,” Rana said after being taken aback at the gratefulness in Jessica’s tone. It was unexpected. “I think it is about time to begin.”

Jessica nodded and told Rana that she already completed everything that was asked of her. It was not an easy task, and Rana was genuinely impressed the rogue-class was able to get everything done in such a timely and successful manner. It also pained her that ultimately it would not be enough. Sometimes, a path could not be altered and its conclusion was predetermined. However, to whom would the ending pity the most, Rana did not know. The only thing she knew was the follow the path until the end.

“Let us go, Jessica. It is time to hunt the hunters. It is a raid on the raiders.”