Chương 108: Chapter 2.45: Not Every Enemy

Sirrana quickly got out bandages and swiftly staunched all the bleeding at the knee and the side of the stomach. Favius only briefly glanced at what she did to the arm, how she applied a tourniquet without making a fuss. Isn't that too tight? Then he glanced down and forced himself to keep looking at the damage Caliga had done with her stomping. Probably would have meant an amputation even back on Earth. And even if there are healers… He swallowed at the thought.

Something tells me this guy is not getting sent to Aelia. Urania and Caliga were standing there, and Favius noted that Caliga still held the wineskin. She took another long sip from it and grinned at Favius.

"See?" she said, her voice giddy yet somewhat slurred.

"We caught him. We showed that bastard." Favius wanted to groan but somehow ended up chuckling.

"Yeah, we did," he replied.

"Give me that." He took the wineskin and drank another long sip.

"Look," murmured Urania, pointing into the distance where Brutus had just called out to a Decurii of guards. They exchanged a few brief words before the guardsmen left again. Caliga snatched the wineskin back from Favius.

"Hey," he hissed. His nose scrunched up. He touched his chest and felt the warmth of the wine. It's quite a strong vintage. I mean, it's not that I'm unaware of what they are doing. He looked between Sirrana, who was finishing the last bandage, and Brutus, who came closer. Alcohol and positive reinforcement. They don't want us to think about combat in any negative way, shape, or form. He relaxed his shoulders. Well, both me and Caliga asked to be trained as warriors.

Before his thoughts could continue, Brutus arrived and Sirrana made a shooing gesture from her prisoner to the Magnicultor. Brutus flashed her a toothy white grin in the moonlight.

"What? Does the mighty Lady Cultivator need a strong man's aid to carry her prisoner?" Sirrana raised her nose and sniffed. Favius noticed that her head had constantly been swiveling, scanning, and assessing. I don't think she's even aware of that. If she joined the scouts at age sixteen… He swallowed. Hell, even without cultivation, she would be a damn scary soldier.

"No, Ovinius Kestrelo. This lady is perfectly capable of carrying the weight." Brutus and the children watched the interplay like a tennis match. Sirrana gestured at the arm.

"Do you think I enjoy getting blood off my clothing, though?" Brutus snorted and hoisted the man onto his shoulder, somehow keeping the bloody mess that had been the hand and forearm away from himself. Taking another sip of wine, Favius studied the moonlit blood drops falling onto the darkly stained lawn with detached fascination. They began walking towards a cluster of outbuildings that Favius had never investigated, and Caliga walked next to Brutus to poke the man in the thigh.

"All right, we got him," she said, her voice unreasonably excited and happy. Favius giggled, yet none of the adults reacted.

"Indeed," said Sirrana.

"So, children…" She looked around.

"What ought we to ask him?" Caliga straightened and literally squealed.

"Oh, oh, oh! What Hesnia told him to do and who his contacts and associates are." She pronounced the last words with dramatic flair. Favius rolled his eyes and even Urania groaned.

"Sister, he was drinking cheap wine before sneaking over the moonlit lawn like a moron. Do you really think he works for your mother?" Caliga glared at Urania.

"Of course he does. We went out to catch a spy and we caught a spy. So…"

"First of all, we need to figure out his name." He glanced at Sirrana.

"Maybe there even is a point in listening to what story he tries to tell us." Sirrana nodded.

"Indeed. Just letting someone talk when they are scared can reveal a lot, even if they are not telling the truth." Urania hummed and nodded. Walking up next to Favius, she held out a hand to get the wineskin for herself. Favius sniffed and moved it away, but Brutus touched him on the shoulder.

"Give it to her." Favius took a deep breath and handed the strong wine over to Urania. Well, she wasn't involved, but she saw a guy with a cleaver assault both her older siblings. I guess she earned a sip. He smiled, his face hot against the night air. They walked down into a cellar, and it took Caliga complaining for Sirrana to light a torch and, soon after, two oil lamps. Favius looked around at the racks and amphorae.

"A wine cellar," he noted, while Sirrana unceremoniously propped the man against one of the shelves and bound him. Favius studied the trail of blood droplets they had left behind. Caliga walked over to Urania and attempted to get the wineskin.

"No wine for blind moles like you," mocked Urania. Caliga gasped in outrage.

"You dare," she hissed and tried to poke Urania. The youngest sister squealed, and Favius snorted and shook his head.

"Oh Gods, the wine is hitting," he murmured under his breath. Brutus cleared his throat.

"By the All-Father's Balls. Girls, stop messing about."

"We were—" They began, but the next moment both Sirrana and Brutus unleashed their auras. Favius still stepped back from the charged perception of violence right after he had gotten over the paralytic flash that hit him. The girls seemed to sober up in an instant and the prisoner jerked violently against the empty wine shelf. Favius shook his head. Fuck. I wasn't the center of that aura, but that poor guy… The man's eyes were wide as saucers and he shivered violently. Favius looked over their pitiful prisoner.

The electric tang of ozone hung heavy in the room, and Sirrana drew out the arcane-steel blade she kept under her blade catcher. She took a single step towards the man, who still sat there shivering with his mouth agape.

"Know this," drawled the assassin, playing with her blade, blurring it around her hand in an intricate pattern.

"You're going to talk. The only question is—""Yes. Please," he said, his voice shrill as that of a young girl.

"Imma tell you everything. Oh Gods, please, please, please! I know nothin'! I… I… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. So, so…" He kept murmuring, and Sirrana flicked her wrist. Favius felt another brief impression of her aura as the arcane steel sank deep into the boards of the shelf, right next to the man's head.

"Stop babbling. Name?" demanded Brutus with a menacing growl.

"Janosz! Janosz, me Lords, please." Sirrana flicked her wrist.

"Janosz. What were you doing out there?"

"I… I meant ney harm. I 'as just surprised when I saw 'em. I swear by the Gods. Please, please don't…" Brutus was suddenly right next to the man and slammed the flat of his hand onto the board behind his head.

"Stop being pathetic," he thundered. Even Favius flinched back, though it wasn't his face the Magnicultor's spittle landed on. Favius saw a wet spot spreading between the man's legs. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Oh Gods, why does everybody piss themselves?" he murmured and, much to his own surprise, giggled at the whole situation. This is so fucking absurd. It's as if I'm in a bad mafia movie or something like that. Sirrana put her hand on Brutus's shoulder and pulled the Cultivator back.

"Please, Ovinius Kestrelo. Let's not bite off his face." She smirked, yet Brutus leaned in closer and growled like a feral animal. The man let out a whimper before the Magnicultor stepped back. Sirrana gestured at the girls.

"Bring this poor man some more wine. He clearly is fond of it." With hesitant steps, Caliga advanced and held out the wineskin, but Sirrana gestured broadly.

"Squirt some into his mouth, girl." Caliga looked between everyone else in the room before shrugging and doing as she was told. The prisoner gulped greedily before his eyes fell onto his hand.

"My… me arm. What… What? What!" His voice grew louder and Brutus raised a hand as if to slap him.

"It ain't hurting like nothing yet," he growled. Favius felt a shiver run down his spine, but Sirrana held up a hand to Brutus.

"Please, calm yourself." She smiled at the prisoner, and Favius couldn't help but mirror the smile. They are really fucking doing good cop, bad cop right now, aren't they?

"Please tell us what brought you here. Why did you attempt to sneak into the estate during the fire?" The man sniffed and licked his lips. Favius noticed the wine-stained saliva leaking all over his chin.

"Last week, that bastard Cerul 'ad me beaten for a wine stain on me clothes. He's always been singlin' me out, always hated me." The man's voice rose in timbre and confidence. Favius's eyes narrowed. Doroth didn't come across as the abusive type, but then again… He swallowed, and despite everything and the pleasant warmth of the wine, familiar embers of anger mixed within him. This guy is still a slave. I can't quite blame him.

"Right. I'm sorry to hear that," said Sirrana in a soft voice.

"So what did you decide you had to do after that?" The man sniffed.

"I wanted to run south. It's…" He swallowed, but after one look at Brutus seemed to decide to tell something, maybe even the truth.

"Word is Blue Hills pays for any news and makes all Republican slaves freedmen or even citizens if they share somethin' juicy." Sirrana nodded.

"I'll let you in on a secret. That's actually true." The man paused in amazement.

"Truly? So I could have…"

"Oh yes," said Sirrana. But Brutus let out a low growl and the man flinched. Looking between them, Favius raised an eyebrow before sniffing. Of course the enemies of the Republic want to entice slaves in important positions to defect. That's just common sense. And not that making them a freedman or even a citizen is going to be very costly.

"So," the man began.

"I 'ad all me preparations ready and would 'ave gone in two days, but…" He glanced at Favius before swallowing again.

"With the fire and everything I went through…" He shifted awkwardly against his restraints as if trying to reach out a hand to Sirrana. She leaned in and extended her good hand to brush the man's cheek.

"Yes?"

"Thought I deserved to take a little something for me new life. You know, a better start."

"Scum," spat Brutus. But Sirrana clicked her tongue and caressed the man's cheek again.

"That's perfectly understandable, friend. Nobody could blame you for that."

"Yes, yes. And then… then this." He jerked his chin at the children. Favius's eyes narrowed even as both Brutus and Sirrana gestured for them to follow. They walked down another corridor of the wine cellar and formed a huddle within Brutus's aura.

"Sooo," drawled the Magnicultor. Favius swallowed to steady his nerves.

"He must be bullshitting us, right?" said Caliga.

"He's a really good actor. I wouldn't have thought that he'd keep to his story with the two of you. But, well, if he was really a spy, he probably knew and prepared." She gestured.

"So he played dumb when we caught him."

"Yes, but…" Favius narrowed his eyes.

"No," he said.

"You're making a common mistake in thinking, Caliga." She glared at him.

"I am?" Urania gasped.

"She's doing the thing where, instead of properly considering evidence, she rationalizes every piece of evidence to fit her idea that she caught a dangerous enemy agent." Sirrana looked between the three children before chuckling.

"That's a fascinating way of putting it, but yes. That's exactly what's happening here." Caliga gawked at her.

"So he's really just a thieving slave who tried to run away?" Sirrana let out a darkly melodic chuckle.

"You'd be surprised by how much mundane mischief you stumble across when fighting the war in the shadows. There was this one time when we were running out of time. I was searching a building for my target in full battle rattle when I burst into a room where five men were…" She swallowed hard and looked down at Urania and Caliga. Favius couldn't help it. He burst out laughing alongside Brutus while the girls' eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Oh Gods. That… That's fucking hilarious," Favius croaked out, unable to get that particular image of a deadly serious Sirrana interrupting some private moment while searching for the person she was supposed to assassinate. Sirrana sniffed.

"Moving on," she drawled. Brutus winked at her.

"You can give me the details later." She snorted in disgust.

"Every time I tell this story," she murmured. Favius and Brutus winked at each other.

"But indeed. Back to business," said Brutus after he got his expression under control.

"Children, how do you suppose we proceed from here?" Caliga studied every face in the circle.

"Maybe you should…" She gestured at Sirrana's knife.

"Figure out if he's actually telling the truth." Urania took a half step back and sniffed in disgust.

"That's unnecessary. He gave us a name in the story. Doroth Cerul would know about him, right?"

"Exactly." Brutus snapped his fingers.

"Sirrana, if you'd be so kind." The Speculatorii Infiltratoris nodded and left the room. Soon the girls were back in the other passageway, taking covert glances at the prisoner. Favius half listened to Caliga's increasingly embellished accounts of the encounter and how they bickered over the wineskin. Then he felt Brutus's aura close in on him with unusual precision.

"How are you doing?" asked the Magnicultor, less than half a step away from Favius.

"What do you mean?" replied the boy. Brutus sighed.

"I know how to arrange for the blooding of a young aristocrat, how to get them ready for combat. But you…" The Magnicultor didn't finish the sentence. The side of Favius's mouth twitched upwards.

"Well, I think you did quite well, Brutus. The wine, the heavy praise, and positive reinforcement. I feel psychologically so much more prepared for killing people. Thank you." He giggled before making a sour expression.

"Fuck me. That really is some strong wine, no?" Brutus snorted.

"Well, I could debate your use of humor, but I'll assume that you're doing fine based on it." Favius held up two fingers and let pneuma flow through his thoughts. Am I really fine? I literally just watched… Then a part of Sirrana's lessons came back to him. Overanalyzing thoughts is not neutral. If I keep going over this again and again and consider how I failed… No, that wouldn't be helpful or healthy. Favius let out a long breath.

"Sorry about that, Brutus. But really, I think I'm handling it well. It was all just very sudden."

"That's one word to describe it," growled Brutus. Before the conversation could continue, the door swung open and Sirrana returned with Doroth Cerul, the manager of the storehouses, in tow. Favius nodded at the man, who looked rather disheveled. Well, he was chased out of bed by a fire alarm.

"Young Lords and Ladies," greeted the man while giving the blood trail on the ground a disapproving frown.

"We simply need to confirm a few things. This man…" Brutus gestured down the corridor.

"He said he's called Janosz and that you had him whipped for showing up in wine-stained clothing." Doroth looked down the corridor and took a step back.

"How? What?" Then he swallowed and straightened, and Favius saw icy anger in the man's expression.

"That worthless…" he murmured before turning to the five aristocrats.

"Well, he certainly spoke no lies. His name is indeed Janosz. His clothing was wine-stained and I had him whipped."

"But?" asked Brutus. Doroth sneered.

"His clothing was wine-stained because he returned from a night of binge drinking stolen wine." He glared down the corridor.

"And this was far from the first time. Really, I already had him on a list to be sold off to Rhexion. People like him…" The keeper of stores sniffed, and Sirrana nodded.

"Thank you. Here." She handed the man an oil lamp.

"Return and speak to no one of what you saw tonight. Is that understood?" He bowed at the hip.

"Your word is my command." With those words, he spun on his heels and left the wine cellar. The five of them stared in silence at the whimpering slave.

"Well?" Favius began and trailed off.

"Fuck," spat Caliga.

"We really only caught a thief."

"It would seem so." Sirrana cleared her throat.

"But even this is a valuable lesson. Not everything is a hidden conspiracy. Not every miscreant is serving in a spy network." Brutus grimaced.

"Except the ones that do." She shook her head and met Brutus's eyes. She made three quick gestures with her fingers, but Brutus shook his head.

"No, I don't think there's a need to send them away yet." Favius's heart sank and his eyes followed the blood trail. Oh my Gods. Brutus talked about the blooding. Does he really want us to…? Brutus's eyes fell on them and caught something in Favius's expression.

"Do not worry. I simply want you involved in the final…"

"Final decision?" asked Urania, her voice more curious than unsteady.

"Yes. I shall just list the problems. He is a criminal, and for his crimes…" He looked between Favius and Urania.

"He would be beaten red at the stake by even the most forgiving of judges. Threatening and assaulting two young aristocrats in a drunken stupor while attempting to rob their estate…" Brutus growled and Sirrana nodded.

"Indeed. Legally speaking, the best he can hope for is a hard cudgel and blows to the vitals." She sneered down the corridor.

"Though I would not be inclined to grant him such mercy." Favius's throat tightened. I know they use those poles and beatings for their punishments, but I haven't studied the legal code properly.

"And besides that, stumbling into an intelligence operation is itself a sin that most often knows only one punishment." Favius's fingers dug into his stomach through his robes before he let out a pneuma-controlled breath.

"Yes," he murmured to himself. The world had narrowed to him and the prisoner. I'd like to save everyone, but sometimes… He shook his head and met Brutus's eyes, which had been studying him ever since the conversation began.

"I agree. He's an operational risk to all our endeavors."

"So…" He looked between his two tutors.

"Which of you will kill him?" Sirrana clicked her tongue.

"I think it might be wisest for our entire presentation to not have a victimless fire." Brutus hummed and considered.

"Slit his throat and throw him onto one of the pyres. That surely is going to fire up the rumor mill even more."

"Exactly." Sirrana snapped her fingers, and Favius interrogated his feelings. Somehow, it might be the wine, but I'm not especially upset about it. I mean, it would be different if they were talking about burning him to death, but… But, well, mutilating and using the man's corpse isn't that bad. He shrugged.

"Sounds good." The girls too nodded in somber silence, and Brutus gestured towards the door.

"Very well." They filed out, and the last thing Favius saw was Sirrana drawing her blade again. There were no screams, only a brief flash of her presence and aura. They walked into the night that had somehow ended both more and less successfully than he had anticipated.