Aether Beasts

The next few days were hard on the girls we'd saved as each was in a way traumatized and broken, and the clarity with which they remembered the time before the brothel varied from person to person. Some remembered their families being slaughtered but couldn't remember faces or names while others had no detailed memories of times beforehand. One girl hadn't talked for over a day and it had taken a deep look into her mind by Zirani using some advanced method to realize that the removal of the shroud had caused damage to a part of her mind.

So many broken people. If not for Zirani, I wouldn't have known what to do. I could understand trauma and pain. I had endured enough of it back at the tower, but this was a different sort, and worse in some ways. It would be a mercy to wipe those memories away, but not even Zirani had the necessary skills and expertise to perform such an operation. The mind was a delicate thing and the shroud had been the only thing keeping things from deterring. It was cruel in a way that the object that had caused their enslavement had been the only thing keeping their minds from breaking.

It was the nature of dream aether though. That was what Zirani had said. It was a dangerous and powerful form of aether and unlike those in her lands, the people here didn't have any protection or had learned to defend against it.

"This shroud would not have worked on anyone in my lands," Zirani said. The spatial tree was split into different rooms. There was the main room, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a few bedrooms. It was all very cozy, especially since at times it looked and felt like I was outside. With the sunlight orbs and soft moss along with the gentle breeze created using a simple enchantment, if one closed their eyes it would feel like they were outside. Zirani had probably done it on purpose to help the ladies feel more relaxed.

"How has Misty's searching come along?" Zirani asked.

I shrugged. "She hasn't reported anything yet."

We had decided that the best way to find the other brothel was to let Misty loose on the city. One aspect of her powers that she had not really utilized was her charm, which didn't use dream ether, but apparently, it was very common for vampires to gain the ability and if they didn't naturally then usually through the draining of someone who had the ability.

"She's in the richer parts of the city," I explained. "Using her charm to get information. Sandra's keeping an eye on her, making sure she had backup if she needs it."

Zirani shook her head. "I doubt she will. Her physical capabilities alone mean there is probably no one in this city who is a match for her, save for maybe a few. Even then, however, I don't think they've ever come across a vampire."

"Or it's beast."

Pity upon the fool who thinks Misty easy prey.

I didn't go near the girls mainly because most seemed scared and frightened around me simply because I was a man even when Zirani told them I had helped rescue them. That helped a bit but I still kept away. I didn't blame them or feel any sort of anger for their reactions. Just sadness and pity. What sort of horrible things had they had to endure? Whenever I was in the tree, I made sure to only stay in one of the bedrooms.

There were many problems that they would have to deal with in the coming days such as figuring out what they wanted to do, and what they wanted to be called. A few remembered their names but most didn't, meaning they would have to get a new identity. Zirani helped them as much as she could and a few of the stronger ones helped the others, but it was clear that they would need more. Surprisingly the former madame Natalia who now called herself Sofia was the one who helped the most. Zirani wasn't sure if it was because she had been a madame or what, but it was helpful.

As the arrival of the expedition grew closer I was worried we wouldn't find anything but It was just two days away from the expected arrival of the expedition when Misty finally got some information on the whereabouts of another building, though not a simple brothel.

"I think it's where they bring the kidnapped girls before they gave them out." Misty pointed to a location on a map of the city she had bought.

"Gave them out?" Sandra questioned.

"I think they gave them to the brothel who use the item and then some stayed but others were sold."

I sighed. "That means there's more of them out there then."

"This warehouse is our main priority for now," Zirani said. "If they are smart then they might have a log of all their sales."

"And then what," I replied. "Are we going to hunt them down one by one?'

Zirani smiled. "No, we take this place out first and then wait for the expedition. If my guess is correct and there is a representative from my court then it will be a lot easier."

"How so?" Misty asked.

"This place, this city exists because of the expedition," Zirani said. "And its leaders and residents all know that a quick way to its downfall is angering the people who come here. My court brings lesser and old variants of crops that we haven't given out as charity in our lands to this place among other things."

I nodded. "So we hit this place, rescue some more people, find out how many were sold, and then wait?"

"That's the plan," Zirani said.

"What about the girls?" Sandra asked.

"I've managed to get a few of them to help the others and there is plenty of food and drink in the kitchen for them." Zirani shrugged. "I want to stay and help them, but there are things that we need to do, and for now they are safe which is more than can be said for others if what Misty learned is true."

With a plan figured out the four of us made our way to the area after Zirani did one more check on the girls. It was a dreary day with dark clouds hanging overhead and a chill wind as if something knew what was about to happen. It was located in the outermost edges of the city and looked abandoned at first glance, however, the closer you got the clearer it was that it was occupied. Guards wearing dark cloaks with dark cores patrolled the area, using the rooftops and any other vantage points. Each was masking their cores to a limited degree. Not as good as how Zirani had taught us, but enough that a normal person and average arcanist wouldn't be able to easily detect them.

A bit of observation showed that they were on a rotation and that every fifteen minutes they would move from a vantage point and search the nearby area, before going to a different vantage. There were over a dozen of them and I had to admit if not for our increased skills and abilities, not to mention our amazing teacher, then we wouldn't have been able to get past them.

However, as good as they were, they were no match for Sandra whose bloodline increased her dark affinity and with everything she learned. Well, the first guard didn't even get a chance to twitch before a dark spear pierced his heart. The second and third fell quickly after and by the time the others had realized what was happening it was too late.

The area around the warehouse was dark and there were plenty of shadows. Sandra moved like a ghost, and with her bond to me, I could give her information that I or the others had found. It was the first time she had truly gotten to show the difference between her dark affinity and others. The crazy thing was that I knew she had been holding back and she hadn't even needed to really use her gravity affinity all that much. That would have been overkill.

"What now?" Misty asked.

"We enter, kill anybody save for a one who we can interrogate," Zirani said in a cold voice. "Anybody who is a part of this doesn't deserve to live."

"I second that," I replied. "Slavers don't deserve mercy."

"So do I," Sandra said as she popped out of a nearby shadow. "By the way, we might want to be quick. There are only five more minutes until what would have been the next rotation."

The four of us made our way down from the roof we were on and towards the main building. Each of us readied ourselves as the sound of voices was heard alongside muffles and whimpers which made me clench my fists in anger.

These bastards were about to get what they deserved.