My Servant System

Opening the door of the carriage, I got out and stretched, taking a deep breath of the crisp air and loosening up my muscles after a few hours spent cooped up inside a carriage with five other people.

Anput, Leone, and Jahi were a given, and they stepped out behind me, staring down at the sleepy city below that was bathed in the pale light of the moon, each of us feeling refreshed from the power nap we took on the way here.

Behind them came Nirinia, the large Djinn cracking her neck and rubbing at it too as she joined us, keeping her gaze neutral and away from the last person who had decided to accompany us on this journey as well.

A golden haired, golden eyed warrior woman with two fluffy ears crowning the top of her head, Adelina Leonisa had strong armed her way into this excursion under a guise of wanting some diverse training and to keep herself sharp, whilst also receiving a recommendation from the pure, gentle Lady D'Arcon, meaning we were going to allow the Lioness to accompany us here lest we displease her.

It was very clear what her reasoning for joining us was, and it had made the start of the journey rather awkward since she kept stealing glances at the Djinn before looking away, while Nirinia flat out ignored her the entire time, looking out the window with a serious expression.

After a few minutes though, we got used to it and fell asleep, trusting in the two guards that the Empress had accompany us as well to take us to the Barony that had fallen to the Cult of Ambition.

Eriana and Cernia both remained on the carriage, with one of them - we had no idea who was who since they wore identical armor, and although they had different weapons, they hadn't introduced themselves either - saying "Please wait a moment as we store the carriage away. The Barony may look peaceful and neutral on the outside, but it is anything but on the inside."

Nodding, we turned our gazes back towards the Barony below, taking in the sight of the simple city that had slight signs of destruction throughout its many structures.

Due to its proximity to Ungrida Canyon, the Arbo Barony was a well off little city that was entirely capable of raking in large amounts of profits, the bustling Adventurers Guild and various alchemists and blacksmiths that live inside the city of Arbo.

The structures were made from stone brick and accentuated with different colors of stones mined from the Canyon, creating a beautiful array of buildings that were both similar and different at the same time.

I looked back to see the two guards covering the carriage in a layer of earth and submerging it into the ground, while the steeds that had been used to transport us were let loose and allowed to roam freely, though the guards seemed to trust that the they could be found again.

"So would you like to sneak in to the city or should we just-"

Jahi and Nirinia glanced over at the guards, the two bulky women raising a brow while Jahi said "Storm the place. If they attack us, kill them. If not, spare them. Keep the city intact as best as we can but root out those damn Cultists as quickly as we can."

Eriana and Cernia just nodded, slipping past us and taking a good look at the city below, with one of them saying "Very well then; just spear through the gate and cause as much of a ruckus as you can; we'll go around the perimeter and clean up whatever is left behind. Work all together in or in groups of three or two, if you wish. Be careful though, since we aren't sure if the Cultists have some advanced artifacts or if they can summon that Fiend. If they do, shoot a bolt of mana into the air to warn us."

Jahi turned to us and said "Teams of two; Anput with me, Nirina with Leone, and Kat with Adelina. We'll breach the city and split off to take everything over. Make sure the civilians remain unharmed if at all possible. Sound good?"

We looked at one another, staring at our assigned partners before nodding and grouping together, appreciating the way Jahi spread our strengths out evenly amongst the pairings as best she could.

"Well, let's get to it then. No need to wait around. The sooner this is done, the sooner we can get to Ungrida!"

Ignoring the fact that this entire excursion was based on both massacring this Cult and harvesting resources for ourselves, I still did want to help those unfortunates who were suffering inside the city, if only because I felt pity for them having their entire lives turned upside down.

Besides that, I was a little curious - and slightly annoyed - about what Adelina would try to say to me during this siege on the city, since the woman clearly wanted to discuss whatever new had happened between her and Nirinia.

I had a feeling that this would be a rather tedious - yet juicy - piece of 'girl talk' that would keep me entertained throughout the course of this battle for Arbo City, and while I was slightly annoyed that she was barely taking my previous advice, perhaps there would be better progress this time around.

"Alright, well if we're all ready, let's breach the gate and head inside! Leone, if you'll do the honors..."

The Vampire had a small smile on her lips as she began to trace out the runes for one of her spells, and we looked down at the stone city that would soon be illuminated by more than just moonlight, pity in our gazes as we settled down to watch what was about to happen.

Leone's smile only grew wider as more mana was funneled into her spell, and the brilliant crimson runes began to shine even brighter as her spell slowly came to fruition.