Broken Soul

Michael

"This way, Lord Plon," Michael said over his shoulder and hurried down a corridor in the House Telp mansion in Emall.

The baron was hot on his heels with dread on his face. Michael wasn't sure if it was genuine, but if it was, he would at least have one positive thing about the imminent situation.

Michael's plan to catch the head of the conspiracy had gone off without much of a hitch. Lord Plon came running as soon as he heard about his son's supposed fate. Michael very much preferred this outcome rather than having the strike force that had been hiding close by surround the House Plon seat of power and Lynx sneak in to abduct or murder the baron.

The possibility of Lord Plon being suspicious and lashing out was big, but luckily, the false information or the man's arrogance had seemingly worked out in the end.

Michael was hurrying as if haunted. The act he had to perform in front of the baron had hurt a little, so he just wanted to get to the more satisfying part. It also helped that the man couldn't ask questions while Michael was nearly running through the corridors.

They finally reached a room deep in the mansion, and Michael turned around. "He is in here," Michael said to Lord Plon and his two guards. He then opened the door and quickly slipped through while giving a slight nod to Erhen, who was guarding the door from the outside.

Michael spun around a few steps into the room, and his expression turned to satisfaction when he saw Lord Plon and his two knights enter the room as well. The knights looked around in confusion while their lord froze when he saw Dittrich bound and gagged to a chair.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Plon asked in a dangerously low tone.

The door slammed shut behind them, and the lock fell into its place. This seemed to drag the knights out of their confusion, and their hands flew to their swords. The rest of Michael's guard was here and mirrored their movements while Kiran let a spell sigil burst to life.

"STOP!" Michael demanded, and everyone froze.

He smiled at the fallen baron before explaining. "It is quite a shame that you can't even recognize your own son's handwriting. Quite a sad showing for a father."

The lord paled visibly, and his eyes began to search for a way out.

"You are not getting out of here. I led you into the middle of the estate, and the only way out is through that door."

Redric looked at the door, and so did one of the knights.

"I wouldn't recommend that. Not only is a skilled knight waiting for you out there, but also a whole detachment of soldiers. That is, if you even manage to break through the thick doors," Michael explained.

Redric seemed to think for a moment before putting on a confused expression. "Milord, I don't understand what is going on here. Why is my son in chains, and why have you lured me here under false pretense?"

Michael couldn't help but smirk and shake his head in disbelief. "Please let us not fall to such childish tactics as feigning ignorance. You can't expect to get away with this act after trying to have me, your liege, murdered, do you?"

"You murdered? My lord, I would never. Whatever that misguided son of mine has done, it has nothing to do with me. I implore mercy for one unaware of such a conspiracy," Redric fell to one knee, and his voice quaked as if he had just been accused of selling his mother.

"I guess we are being childish then," Michael sighed. "Redric Plon, you are hereby under arrest for colluding to murder your liege, corruption, murder, treason, inciting the subjects of House Rowan, and a dozen other things. Order your men to lay down their weapons, and we can ascertain the truth behind these charges."

Redric's expression suddenly changed from deference to wrath as he shot back to his feet and began to yell, "Do you think you will get away with this, brat? My fellow nobles will rebel the moment they hear of this!"

Michael simply smiled at the noble. "Do you know what is happening in and around the town right now?"

Redric stared at him but didn't say a word.

"You have given me a gift that I can barely express my gratitude for. You gave me the best possible justification to clean house. Your co-conspirators are being arrested all over the county by soldiers of mine, but also some of Duke Wallsten's. By the end of the day, each of them will be in chains. So, I thank you for your assistance, former Baron Redric Plon," Michael explained and didn't even try to make it not sound mocking.

"You useless bastard. You ruined everything," Redric yelled at his chained son and then turned to his knights. "Get me out of here."

Michael didn't expect them to try. It was a fool's hope for them to square up against the finest of House Rowan's knights at a two-to-one disadvantage, not to mention the magical support Kiran could provide. He was surprised, though, as the two men ripped their swords from their sheaths and charged at Michael, probably seeking to take him hostage.

As expected, it turned out to be a fool's hope, and they were quickly subdued. One was smashed into the wall by Zeke's hammer, and a deluge of water immobilized the other.

"You are a sore loser, Redric. Not that I am surprised. Well, I will be off then, have some treason trials to prepare. How about you spend some quality time with the son you have been so concerned about?" Michael walked toward the door as Redric was bound to a chair, similarly to Dittrich.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I HAVE FRIENDS AT COURT. YOU WILL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS!" his empty threats followed Michael as he left the room with a smile that he didn't intend to get rid of.

Geron

Geron oversaw the groups of people who were led out of the estate. Their attack had caught them completely unaware and led to a quick victory without many casualties on either side. It was quite fortunate that the remaining knight of House Plon surrendered when Geron threatened to bar all exits and burn the whole building to the ground.

He noticed a well-dressed woman being basically carried out of the mansion, kicking and screaming the whole time.

"That would be the lady of the house, I imagine," Boris said with an expression that screamed that he was already done with her antics.

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Geron agreed and then made his way over to the lady to find her viciously insulting the guardsman who had dared to carry her around like a sack of flour. She instantly recognized Geron as the leader, or at least a knight, and turned her wrath on him.

"You there! What do you think you are doing? Do you have any idea who this estate belongs to? My husband will have all your heads!" she screamed at him, her voice way too high for Geron's liking.

"Mila...," Geron tried, but the woman just continued screaming.

"What kind of a horde of barbarians are you running here that they dare to touch a lady of noble blood! I will have his hands chopped off and turned into table decorations!"

She didn't seem like she would stop any time soon, and Geron had no patience for this. His mana suddenly surged and pushed in on the woman, who instantly seized up, her eyes looking at him, terrified.

"Shut up and listen. Your husband will be arrested soon, and you should pray to Lord Idas that your whole family doesn't face the same fate as he will. So sit down and don't make the situation any worse for you and your children as it is," he growled. She fell on her behind when he recalled his mana, but at least she was quiet.

Geron walked away from her and took stock of the nearly two hundred family members, lower nobles, servants, and other people living in or around the estate. Most looked resigned to their fate, but he thought he saw relief in some of the servants' eyes.

"Lord Commander," a soldier came up to him and saluted.

"Speak."

"The estate is empty, sir. We found the house treasury but are yet to breach it," the man hesitated before continuing. "The operative Lord Rowan has sent us is already working through Lord Plon's documents."

Geron understood the soldier's attitude toward the masked members of the Officio Umbra. He himself found them unsettling. Geron told the man to keep working on the treasury and to inform him if anything changed, and then made his way to the study of the disposed baron.

The mansion was in a chaotic state. Geron's men had to hunt down many of the inhabitants and break down more than one door. Now they were searching the whole place, which definitely contributed to the chaotic environment.

Geron didn't pay them much attention and made his way to where Lord Plon's study was supposed to be. When he reached it, he didn't find Lynx as he had expected, but a woman with a fox mask working her way through the documents.

He stopped and inspected the woman, but she seemed not to notice him. She continued to read a letter and then finally put it down. Her eyes pierced him with an eerie intensity, but he held firm on the eye contact.

"Welcome, Lord Commander. Is there anything specific you need from me, or are you just checking in?" she asked, her voice similarly cold as Lynx's.

"Escaping the whining of the prisoners," Geron admitted and stepped over to the table. "I expected your master. I was told that he was close by and would assist if things went against plan."

"The Grandmaster left as soon as it became apparent that everything was going to plan. We have many duties that require our attention, and our numbers are limited," the operative replied calmly.

They really were unnerving. Not being able to see their faces made it hard to discern their current mood, but this one especially seemed as close to emotionless as he had ever seen by the few officio operatives he had met.

"I have been wondering about that, actually. How many of you are there?" he asked.

"That is not something I will share," the woman said.

Geron nodded and picked up one of the letters. "Guessed as much. So have you found anything, miss …?"

"You may call me Silver, Lord Commander," Silver answered and took the letter out of his hand. She was moving confidently, which reminded him of a stalking predator moving through the forest. He couldn't help but tense up as her hand touched his.

"Most of this is just inconsequential correspondence. I assume we will have to find a hidden compartment or something similar to find anything useful. Lord Plon hasn't been so foolish as to just have compromising documents lying around while he is away traveling."

Geron felt like she was lecturing him, even if her voice didn't sound like it.

His tone got sharper as he leaned on the table to look the spy in the eyes. "Why are you reading it then rather than looking for the more important documents?"

Silver returned his gaze, and he could see her eyes twitch just a little in annoyance. He was satisfied with having gotten any reaction at least.

"The 'important documents' will be good proof for the crimes of the baron, but we have his criminal activities mapped out quite thoroughly, so they are just that, proof. We can gather that later. Right now, I am just seeing if there is anyone he had contact with that could become a problem on the political stage that his arrest will open up," Silver explained.

Geron smiled at her and straightened himself. "Good, just wanted to make sure you are doing something worthy of your time. Oh, right, if you find some extra time, I would appreciate it if you could help my men with the vault. I assume you have some knowledge about stuff like that."

"Of course, Lord Commander," the fox-masked woman lowered her head. "I will assist you wherever I am able to."

"Great." With that said, Geron turned around and left the room again, no longer wanting to be in the woman's presence. He looked back at the room over his shoulder and frowned. There was no doubt that he would kill her if they ever fought, but his instincts were still telling him that this woman was even more dangerous than she seemed.

Kiran

It was oddly satisfying standing on a balcony as a mage, watching nobles being pushed around in chains and not the other way around. He would, of course, like it more if it were a group of inquisitors, but baby steps.

It was also weird. The nobles were pleading, threatening, and sobbing just like everyone else Kiran had seen being prosecuted. For all their self-serving arrogance and belief that they were something better than the normal people, they acted just like them.

"I don't think I ever saw you grin like this," Sola's voice called his attention back to her and Pan sitting on the balcony with him.

He made an effort to hide his glee a little better as he turned to the priestess and sat down again.

"I am just happy that these corrupt nobles are being introduced to a little bit of justice," the old mage replied. He couldn't hide his smug tone quite as well as he had wished.

Sola didn't seem to mind, though. "I personally think it is more grim than joyous. Sure, it is a good thing that they are being punished for their crimes, but I find it concerning that so many have gone unchecked for so long that they could devolve into this."

"They have divine right on their side, who would 'check' them?" Kiran replied a little sourly.

The priestess went silent. She didn't refute him on his comment, and now that he thought about it, they hadn't argued a lot lately—at least not as much as they used to.

"Michael is checking them, and he will continue to do so," Pan spoke up confidently.

"He sure is," Kiran agreed. "Speaking of him, is he also still avoiding talking to you about his soul situation?"

Both women nodded, and Sola said, "He told me that he isn't using any magic right now, even if he couldn't find any problems, and that he has to focus on the current situation and can't deal with this right now."

"He told me the same with the addition that I should tell you both not to use me as a messenger," Pan added with a smile that barely peeked out from under her hood.

Sola smirked. "He has been stubborn ever since he was a child. No reason to change now. It has been a couple of days, and nothing bad has happened yet, so I think we can give him a few more before we corner him."

"I don't know. I feel like we have been allowing him to run around with an open wound and no idea what damage it has done for too long already," Kiran argued, but then deflated. "But you are of course right that the boy rarely changes his mind without good reason, and if our concerns haven't convinced him yet, then they probably won't now either."

"I think he is fine," Pan said. "I have been watching him and couldn't find any irregularities in his mana even while he wasn't paying attention."

"There always is the possibility that the fracture of his soul has not weakened it as a whole. None of us are specialists on souls and their workings," Sola suggested.

Kiran couldn't argue with that, of course. That problem was compounded in that none of them had a pure mana affinity. They, of course, knew how mana worked in its basics and more intimately with their respective affinities, but no one knew how mana as a whole worked better than a pure mana mage.

"I suggest we act like we are letting the issue go, and once we are back in Reen, we tell Rayakan about it," he suggested.

Rayakan wouldn't allow herself to be brushed off, and Kiran was certain that she would be very interested in Michael's situation.

"That is just cruel," Pan commented with a humorous smile.

"It sounds like a good idea. Let's do that," Sola agreed.

"Michael should have just dealt with us when he had the chance. He deserves what he has coming," Kiran commented with a wide smile.