A History Through Blood

Modibo watched as Victoria carefully went through the tightly packed with treasure on the five carts provided to them by Metawa. They had managed to secure a private space in the merchant hall to store their earnings before they left for Mecca. Initially they had planned to have a celebratory meal, surrounded by their newfound riches. Such a thing was rapidly disregarded when the good doctor sensed something was off about the payment.

After removing the protective covering, Victoria's focus had immediately shifted to one particular golden statue buried amongst various coins and trinkets. At the time Modibo had assumed that it was merely a golden cat figurine, decorated with strange local iconography of the region. Instead it was imbued with ancient magic that the adze was unable to properly identify. Summoning her bodyguard, she meticulously went through the entire wagon to remove any item which held any trace of mystical energy. Baru allowed her to do as she pleased, trusting in her abilities after how well the prior two encounters were handled.

A common trend soon emerged from the growing collection of items that were growing in the corner. Most of the segregated items were statues or jewelry, usually made of gold or similar precious metals. Each one looked to be well aged and shared many of the same symbols. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be writings from a civilization none present were familiar with. If they were indeed from centuries ago, it would provide a rather robust explanation.

"Where did they come from?" He wondered aloud, holding a cat-like busk up to the torch-light. "They were probably taken from an ancient tomb." Commented Kahina, who had moved as far as she could from the items. "She believes, based on the more decorative elements, that they were once funeral offerings. Metawa likely received or confiscated the valuables from grave robbers who had stumbled upon an old tomb. It aligns with the traces of magic and general age of the items." He suddenly felt the gaze of several cats as he slowly placed the ornate feline head back into the cart.

-

It had taken longer than expected to separate all of the magical items from the varied collection that they had received. Due to their nature, a sizeable portion of the Victoria's share would be in the form of these relics, as she was the only one who could process them relatively safely. The items were, of course, cursed by who ever had buried it in a crypt. The magical enchantments placed on the items would usually grant the owner protection from disease and sickness, however such a blessing would be reversed if removed from their resting place*.

The solution to their problem storing the cursed items was to: seal it away and try to sell it to a discerning buyer. Fortunately, Julianna had been working hard to practice her light based magic while residing with-in Victoria's soul. Over the four months of confinement during their travels, the former nun had worked to both: channel the holy magic from the angel's gift and recreate the religious works of their former clients. Causing a degree of pain to both Victoria and herself.

For her dedicated efforts, she had achieved several things. The most noticeable were a series of burn-like scars that wrapped around her arms and torso which took far longer to heal than previous wounds. Had she spoken to the clans North of England, her scars would appear similar to the strange blue tattoos or body paints that the now extinct Picts wore. By channeling the holy magic in this way she was able to partially wrap it around her body to only mild discomfort. It wasn't enough to allow her or Victoria to roam unimpeded in the sunlight, but did offer a yet another useful tool in their arsenal.

Her other achievements were amateurish, yet functional, imitations of the sacred rituals practiced by the more secretive sects of the church. Julianna had created her own hybrid rites, based on Victoria's general occult knowledge and decades of church sermons that was barely serviceable. She had some success dispelling other enchantments and could create a makeshift seal of binding. It was not enough to impede most creatures, but for lingering enchantments and curses it could manage to do so. Part of her wished to return to England and learn from the church directly, just to improve her technique. Compared to the angels she had seen, as well as the ones in Victoria's memories, the morality of the human's cultivated knowledge was far more palatable to her own changing values.

Julianna's solution to store the cursed artefacts was a layered box. While the outside appeared to be a normal wooden crate, it housed a slightly smaller one that snugly fit with little room for movement. The small gap would be filled with a selection of herbs held in place by a strange paste, made from an assortment of plants that Victoria had been collecting and cataloguing. Finally, the inner-box was wrapped in linen that had been soaked in holy water and painted with relevant holy scriptures. It would stave off the worst of the curse before they could sell them. Add in a few pelts over the top, it was hard to know what was being transported inside.

Now her work was done, Julianna indulged in a mug of warm beer and a few slices of mutton offered by the group. One of the things she missed from her mortal body was the satisfaction she got from a good meal. Fresh bread, good meat and other luxury foods remained just as tasty, but something had been lost. It was almost like she was eating to keep a hold of something, rather than out of necessity. Rose was similar in the way that she would try and maintain something by trying anything sweet that she could.

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-

Kahina sat outside with Leo, preventing anyone from disturbing Victoria and her familiars. It was easy to come up with an explanation as to why they were not allowed in, advising them that she was currently treating a patient was enough to dissuade others from pushing further. They spoke as they usually did to pass the time, idly reflecting on their experiences in town and what they wished to do in their leisure time. Neither willing to acknowledge the cursed objects just beyond the door. Ignorance was not always possible, but it was a crutch they relied on, trusting that their benefactor would resolve it.

Their topic tonight was the short-haired cats who seemed to be abnormally common in the Capital. Kahina had bent down to play with one as they did so, only to be rejected as it nimbly climbed out of reach. Both the lands of England and the Mamluks had an abundance of cats, although the ones Leo was more familiar with had far thicker coats to compensate for the colder climate. Both served to keep the local rodent population in check and provided a comforting presence when the people could afford to rest.

A figure, cloaked in a robe of deep-black, approached them. The stranger was tall and feminine, her curves accentuated by cut of her flowing robes. Her skin, where visible, was only slightly darker than her English partners, with a pigment similar to that of lionesses that roamed Kahina's homeland. Various elements that should have alerted the building to her presence, such as her golden feline mask or the jingle of her beaded accessories, seemed to have no effect the the few who lingered at the late hour. Only Kahina and Leo seemed to be aware of her existence, something that they had conflicting appreciation of.

"Can I help you?" Asked Kahina, moving between the door and the encroaching stranger. The stranger stopped, assessing both of them as Leo stepped in to support her. "There is something of mine which is behind this door. It would be best if you were to step aside." It was a veiled threat, not even worth translating for Leo. "Please wait one moment, I need to check with the occupant first." Seemingly content to wait, the strange visitor watched as Kahina knocked on the door and advised Victoria in English of a potential guest. Hearing a positive response, Kahina stepped aside to allow the figure entry.

It took less than a second for the woman to slide across to the room to the box, inserting herself between Julianna and the now sealed crate. "These items, that you have so crudely bound, are mine." She declared, disregarding any and all introductions. The reflection of her silver claws shone dimly under the torch-light. Behind the feline mask, cold and calculating eyes glared towards the Adze. Watching for any reaction in the room, however minor.

"While you have a reasonable claim to the items in that create, I too have a claim." Victoria's counter was a strange balance of assertion and non-aggression. "My colleagues, who were unfamiliar with this land, sold an item to another party and received payment from someone who may or may not have known better. Where it not for the traces of magic, there is little evidence of your ownership. Especially the mortals who handled the transaction lacked any documentation." She summoned Rose to her side, passively showing strength without direct hostility. "We seem to be at an impasse." Stated the figure, raising her other hand as to menacingly examine her deadly claws with implied murderous intent.

"I will make you an offer, one which will be mutually beneficial and end our disagreement." Victoria's perceived reasonableness eased the tensions in the room, allowing the feline figure to step back. "Go on..." "I have a number of items that you seem to have little interest in that are remaining from the exchange from earlier." Observed Victoria, raising a hand to the boxes behind her. "If that is correct, I propose that I shall remain as the owner of the items and surrender the enchanted idols to you in exchange for a blessing on a few of the beetle figures. We shall call it a compensation for securing the items and part ways amicably." This seemed to be an appealing deal, at least based on how her tail swayed back and forth. "It need not be a powerful one, just enough as to prove useful to a merchant and doctor."

The offer was generous enough to grant pause, both of them got what they wanted at some cost. "Currrious..." remarked the woman, rolling her words as she spoke. "How much do you know about the items you have in your possession and how trivial such an enchantment would be?" "I am not in the business of selling items with inherent risk," calmly responded Victoria. "Those enchantments I requested from you can prove their value over a long period of time, it is far more useful to us than items which may not be sold or endanger those around it."

"Fine, I will accept your proposed exchange. Even if it lopsidedly favors me." Announced their guest after a brief pause. "Give me those old scarabs and I will grant onto them my boon." Now that matter was resolved, their guest began to stretch as Juliana removed the disputed items from the crate. The agreement also seemed to send the plethora of gathered cats in all manner of directions, having lost the motivation to act in conduit. "I will throw in a little bonus, as you were so cooperative." Announced the woman, who was double checking all of the contents. "I was planning to take revenge on that fat governor, but I will continue to watch him for a few months more. It will give you and your partners deniability." With that, she took her box of artefacts into the greater warehouse, disappearing between an impossibly narrow gap in the crates.