Almagest City

Chapter 3: Freen

Orias Knight, the star of Almagest Investigations. He's been taking down gangsters, catching criminals, and exposing corrupt officials for almost five years. "Why him?" That was what Freen asked when Lady Ally told him that's who their target was. He sounded like a bright spot in this city, someone who could be on their side.

Turns out that even the most shining knights have dark shadows. He might have thought of himself as righteous, but Orias was hiding secrets, at least according to Ally. "How do you think he got to be so revered?" Ally had asked in response. "Does his armor shine because he polishes it, or because he cleans off the blood?" It was a profound realization.

And now, Orias was right in front of him. Unconscious and tied up, sure, but this was him. Freen didn't know what to think. He looked like the hero everyone said he was: Shining armor, and a handsome, chiseled face. It's like Orias Knight was pulled straight out of one of the old legends.

"Is that all, my lady?" The hooded figure asks. If you were to peek under the hood, you would find pale, sallow skin; his eyes dark and sunken into their sockets. A master of darkness, exactly how you'd expect a specialist in the subject to look.

"Yes, Ro," Lady Ally replies. "That is all."

"The waters will rise." Ro bows, disappearing into an unsettling and twisted vortex of shadow.

"And on the other end?" Lady Ally asks, turning to Freen. Lady Ally's skin is a dark green orc-like shade, but her features and figure are of a human woman; young and beautiful. They peek through a shining white-gold robe. She's always looked like this, as long as Freen could remember.

"The child is ours. As soon as we have what we need, he will be released without harm. In fact, it should be any second now." Freen says.

"Am I right in hearing that two of the children died at the scene?" Ally asks, displeasure peeking through the question.

"Yes. Unfortunately." Freen knows Ally hates when there are more casualties than necessary. She had given Freen her orders, and something had not happened as planned. Was he wrong in threatening the mercenaries? Anton's band told Freen they don't cross lines. Children were one of them. More liars, smothering this city.

A woman walks into the warehouse, the unconscious boy slung over her shoulder. She takes off her mask and her hood, letting her red hair flow down. "Freen. Lady Ally."

"Alicia? What's the update?"

"His father has given us what we need." Alicia says. "The keys and the deed are ours, and we've got access to the excavations north of the city."

"Then our job is done for today," Ally says. "I trust you to return Rasal Herakles to his home safely?"

"Yeah. Sure," Alicia says. She flexes her fingers, and the typically bright and animated red sparks that shoot from Alicia's fingertips fizzle. "All the warping around has been draining me, though. Gotta do it the long way."

"As long as you complete the job," Ally says. With a nod to both Freen and Alicia, Ally bends down, lifts Orias' large, armored figure over the shoulders of her own slender frame, and retreats into the warehouse, toward the secret exit.

"Did you know Lady Ally brought out Ro for this?" Freen asks once he's sure Ally is gone. "When Lady Ally said she had Orias covered, I thought she meant she would grab him herself. I didn't think she'd bring out Ro for this."

"It makes sense that he's out here," Alicia says. "Ally said she's almost ready."

Both he and Alicia had been serving Lady Ally since they were children, Alicia a few years longer than he had. From as far back as he could remember, Freen was helping Alicia on missions and learning from her, working towards Lady Ally's ultimate goal. Despite being a flightless human, Alicia taught him how to twist, glide, and climb quickly and silently in the air; learning to tuck his feathers under his cloak and dive in for a swift and deadly attack. If Lady Ally had a second-in-command out of all her followers, Alicia was it. She was practically Freen's sister.