Step 3: Profit

The fishing village on Silvermist Isle did not need Ireena’s help. At the very least, most of the residents didn’t. They were beyond help.

She found the site of a massacre. A swarm of creatures had rampaged through, slaughtering Felore’s people. She said she was a priestess; this was her flock. Morninglord protect! The bodies weren’t even eaten for the most part; the majority were left to rot.

She recognized the perpetrators; she’d read about owlbears before. She hadn’t realized they walked around on their hind legs, but that was hardly relevant. The antlers might be dangerous, but from the injuries sustained by the scattered corpses they looked like they primarily used their claws and beaks. She breathed to calm herself; she couldn’t be sure that she actually knew the situation. Like the Draenei not being tieflings, these creatures might have completely different abilities than what she knew.

There was a small pillar of smoke from one of the houses. Ireena couldn’t bear to simply leave without investigating. She’d never be able to look Felore in the eye if she ignored what might be the last survivor.

She picked the route that contained the fewest owlbears, removed her belt so her oversized tabard hung loose, took on her larger size, and charged. Let it be said: Cow Lady had been trained for search and rescue, but she’d also been trained with the assumption she’d always be operating in a city where medical care could be found within a few hours at most.

••••••••••

The trek up the side of Mt. Rikuroa was surprisingly easy. Oh sure, there were seru and monsters, but they were nothing to worry about. Not anymore.

Zena’s eyes blazed with glee as she felt the strange magic surge through her body. The metal in the spoon, which Mei had called Pewter, was apparently a common material for silverware in this world, made of tin and lead mixed together. Neither she nor the two Ra-Seru had the faintest clue why it would strengthen Zena the way it did, bringing her up to par with Vahn’s own enhanced physique, but that hardly mattered.

Vahn was only in his teens, but he was human, absolutely shredded, and gained some level of magical enhancement from Meta, all of which had placed him firmly above Zena physically until now. It wasn’t just strength, either, as her balance and manual dexterity also improved substantially, not to mention that it masked her fatigue. The two of them could rush down any single creature on the side of the mountain in seconds, and as long as she didn’t flare the pewter one pellet seemed to be enough to last her an hour or so. She had a dozen of them.

Compared to all that, the other metals seemed awfully anticlimactic. Copper was pleasant, but continued to exhibit absolutely no effect she could sense. She burnt it continuously, just because she saw no reason not to. Brass seemed more complex somehow, allowing her to expel the energy in dozens of different shapes and frequencies, but she honestly had no idea what any of them did and was worried about experimenting too much in the field. Hopefully she’d have a chance to try it out later in town, but even then it might be a little bit dangerous.

Gold was confusing. It very obviously did something, but nothing that had any kind of obvious use. Before they’d left the safe room, when she burned a tiny sliver nipped off of a gold coin, she beheld a vision. A white haired elven woman, blue eyed and well fed, looked down on her. Her face was softer and rounder than Zena’s, like that of her mother.

She also saw a thin, **** ragamuffin dressed in leather armor. Her eyes were tainted green with Fel energy, like those addicts who still clung to the past in Silvermoon. Her hair was relatively short, kept in a ponytail, and she held a blade at her waist, so she was in all likelihood magically illiterate.

The two Zena’s glared at each other, hatred bubbling just beneath the surface as a feedback loop formed, each knowing exactly what the other thought. How dare she look at me with pity? How dare she look at me at all? And then, as quickly as it started, she was only one blood elf. She swayed, and Mei rushed to her side to steady her. None of the others had seen anything. She hadn’t even actually summoned the prissy bitch she could have been. That might have been useful. She’d just… seen her. Been her, but not in any way that mattered. What possible use was that?

The monsters on the mountainside were odd, of course, as they all seemed to be in this world. Strange beasts that looked like pumpkins walking on stilts made to look like elongated bat wings lunged from the shadows, but were no trouble at all to dodge when she burnt pewter, which she usually was given the amount of rock climbing involved. The large, lumbering worms were actually weak and slow enough for Mei to handle, but there were an awful lot of them.

The only real threats were creatures that resembled large eyeless bats with glowing purple wings. They were the native Seru of this mountain, and made a beeline for Zena over the other two. Worse, if they were injured without being killed they would simply fly away and return moments later, fully healed, sometimes flanked by another beast they hadn’t stopped to finish off.

They were near the peak of the mountain when one of the bats fell from the ceiling onto Zena’s back, its dim, outstretched wings flaring with light as they wrapped around her arms. It bit down on the back of her neck, and dozens of needle-like pinpricks pierced through her armor along her spine. It latched onto her with agonizing speed, fusing with her body.

“Run!” Terra said through Mei’s mouth, “Run! We are almost to the Genesis tree!”

The two Ra-Seru bearers abandoned Zena as the horrid creature fused with her, possessing her that it might tear them to shreds. White hot pain flared through her body, and she stood up, panting with pain. She felt strong. Damn strong. She could feel the wellspring of stolen life energy within the bat… the Vera.

She waited for the creature to control her body like a puppet, the way Gil had told her they would. It didn’t. She felt a vague urge to follow her two companions, to break their bones and spill their blood. Alarming, but nothing she couldn’t push through so long as they weren’t in her presence. Even if they were, she suspected it would only be distracting.

She realized something, though her head felt a little bit foggy. She was possessed by a Seru; wasn’t there some kind of mission to pull someone like her out of the mist? That seemed like a better idea than picking a fight with Vahn. She sprinted down the mountain path, ignored by the Seru monsters and beasts alike as their compatriot. She didn’t reach the bottom of the mountain, let alone pass through Drake Castle and reach the area protected by Rim Elm’s tree, before it became a moot point.

A pillar of golden light speared into the sky, visible through the dense mist, and she felt a surge of wind as the mist was pushed away from the source of the light. Her Seru eased its grip, and the pain eased to nothing as it healed her back instinctively. It nestled in, calming substantially as it did.

“Hey,” Zena panted, checking over her shoulder, “Do you want to come along with me? You’ll never have to encounter the Mist again. All you have to do is sell your soul.”

Alas, the strange batlike creature didn’t really understand what was going on. It didn’t understand its hosts words, so no flood of meaning surged through it. A shame; it might have agreed.

Had Zeto still been alive, he would have surely arranged some kind of defense at the peak, which might have delayed them for several minutes at minimum. It was the obvious place for Terra and Noa to have fled to after they vanished from under his nose, after all. Alas, the former Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Conkram was summarily slaughtered by the rabid beasts under his command when the Sim-Seru guiding his thoughts abruptly and unexplainably vanished.

••••••••••

Revive the Genesis Tree on Mt. Rikuroa.

Reward: 5 credits, Zubat Card, Absolute Gullibility Spray

Absolute Gullibility spray: someone who inhales this gas will lose the ability to question things that they are told for about an hour. They don’t have to LIKE what they hear, but they will BELIEVE it. If it runs directly counter to something else they know to be true, this will probably cause dissonance.

••••••••••

Cowlen, the night elf man in the fishing hut, helped to bandage Ireena’s wounds. He told her what he knew, that a giant crystal fell from the sky and drove the local moonkin mad. In all likelihood, they had been affected by the same kind of radiation that Ireena was still recovering from, driving them mad with pain and sickness. It was strange that their pain would manifest as rage against the nearest settlement, but the Dark Powers had a cruel sense of humor.

“I know of a safe place you can go to, sir.” Ireena said, “I’ll bring you there, if you’d like. There’s a priestess there named Felore who sent me here. She’d be glad to see you, I think.”

“No.” He said. “I won’t go. I’m going to find my wife and daughter’s bodies, bury them, and then… well, I’m not sure what to do then. What is there without them?”

Ireena looked at the small campfire they now shared, and at the thin line of torn flesh upon her arm. The small amount of healing ointment the Draenei had been willing to spare her was already spent, reducing the deep cut to a thin scratch. That had been from only two of the owlbears, but she’d needed to fully subdue them before Cowlen opened the door. She was fairly sure that she could avoid any similar injuries if she refused to stay in close quarters with the beasts.

On the one hand, Ireena suspected that she knew exactly what he intended to do after he buried his family: join them. He was too deep into his grief to think straight. He needed time to heal, and she didn’t think he would give himself that. On the other hand, she could fully sympathize with not wanting to leave behind a loved one’s desecrated corpse.

“Alright.” Ireena said, arms crossed, “I’ll help. I will take on the substantial risk involved in helping you to find your family, but I will need something in return. I will need you to sell me your soul and aid my people for one full year.”

“Done.” He said, so quickly that she wasn’t sure if it worked.

It hardly mattered. All Ireena really wanted was to give him an obligation to live for. Gil would have to be happy with that.

“Alright.” She said, “Keep watch while I rest. I traveled two days to get here and I intend to travel two more the moment your family is put to rest.”

Cowlen’s eyes widened as the large, muscular Tauren woman turned into a dark skinned human. He had absolutely no idea what to make of such a thing, but given what she promised he couldn’t help but thank Elune that she was here at all.

••••••••••

Nessa Biermann felt the light burn of a good workout throughout her body. She hadn’t really pushed herself too hard today; after all, she was the instructor. She was more focused on teaching and correcting than her own personal growth. Her evening workout was more about maintaining than anything else. Given her abilities, she hardly needed to bulk up further.

Her apartment at the barracks, not much larger than those of the footsoldiers, was comfortable enough. It was dark, of course, as they couldn’t afford to house anyone important in rooms with windows, but that’s why she kept a battery powered lantern on hand for light. Supposedly it would last for five years of continuous use.

She brushed her long blonde hair, and felt the lack of Jessica keenly. She and her twin had usually done this together, winding down for bed and chatting. The plan had always been to stay together until at least one of them found a man worth settling down with, but that never ended up happening. Their work with Max had been far too important.

Max Anders, known publicly as Kaiser, had been a planner. He had the kind of magnetic personality that let him bring people together, forge them into a single stronger whole. Under him, Empire 88 would have continued to grow, and eventually they would have run this town. Then they could have started fixing things, and eventually they might have been able to show the rest of the world how it was done. Even the sheep might have embraced Kaiser’s leadership once they saw how much better things were under him.

Instead, in a few moments, Nessa had lost everything. That was always possible when it came to the Endbringers, but she couldn’t properly attribute the deaths to Leviathan. No, they had fallen to treachery.

She was certain that the so-called heroes were responsible. Max had stepped forward to do battle with an enemy none of them could hope to defeat, expecting the backup he’d been promised, and they’d used the opportunity to **** him. All of a sudden, all their tracking wristbands had stopped working and the three of them were practically expected to fight Leviathan alone. They’d lasted seconds, and of the three only Nessa had been able to survive long enough for any kind of healing.

Kaiser had held onto too much faith in the Protectorate, the system, and thought that they were at least willing to cooperate against inhuman, absolute evil. Clearly they saw him as too much of a threat for that, if they were willing to break every rule they used to control the masses. That was when Nessa had learned that Zionists really didn’t hold anything at all sacred.

It was no surprise that they’d quietly shuffled Armsmaster out of the way afterwards to promote that model minority bitch Miss Militia. He was a warrior; he’d probably objected to such a dishonorable tactic and been disposed of. He was probably already being carted off to an undercover base somewhere. Everyone knew that Dragon was just a front for their think tank full of enslaved tinkers.

Then they’d deployed some kind of **** gas so she could get away with murdering Stormtiger in broad daylight. It all lined up too cleanly. They couldn’t work within the system anymore. Hookwolf was a warrior, not a general and certainly not a king, but that was fine. If every other path was cut off, the only thing left was to build an army.

Nessa would just have to keep an eye out for an acceptable heir to the Empire; it was a shame that turncoat bitch Purity had both of Kaiser’s children. She was probably filling their minds with poison right now. She’d even seen the daughter, freshly 18, in combat. She’d be a perfectly valid heir, even if a boy would be better.

Nessa finished brushing her hair and braided it for bed. She kept it loose during the day, but this would give it a slight curl with minimal effort. All of these thoughts, which she was **** to stew in alone, would have been shared just a few months ago. Vented, really, but Jessica had always had something to say as well. It took her a while to fall asleep, but once she did she slept soundly.

Beneath her bed, a small cylindrical creature unfurled its stony wings and detached from the underside of the mattress. It turned in the air and silently floated out into the air. Nessa shuddered and stirred in her sleep when she heard its faint electrical humming, only audible from inches away. The sleeping valkyrie snapped awake, but the parasite was already in position.

It clamped directly onto her spinal column, draining her energy and putting her back to sleep. It melded with her, melting like ice over the next few minutes. The experience faded like a nightmare.

Nessa woke up a few hours later. Her right hand groggily reached down to her nethers, teasing them. She didn’t normally masturbate in the morning; it was a filthy habit favored by those who lacked discipline. Perhaps that was why it was so clearly insufficient. The pressure built, but there was a wall keeping it back.

One of the other troops came to check on her when she didn’t report for the morning rally, worried about foul play. They didn’t know how right they were.

Nessa, cheeks flushed, was jolted back to herself. The pressure she’d built over a full half hour of edging did not abate, not in the slightest, but she was a warrior. She could work through distractions. She ate breakfast quickly and went to oversee the new recruits. They weren’t planning any operations that day, so she wasn’t needed in the field.

Besides, it wasn’t as if any of the men in Fenrir’s Chosen had any chance of satisfying her. If they could, it would have been fairly easy to get any of the men in bed. Nearly half of them had made their interest clear in one way or another, though only a few were brave enough to actually ask like real men. There was also at least some chance that a few of the ones that didn’t leer at her were fags, but she preferred to give them the benefit of the doubt.

She didn’t know who might manage it, and for some reason the only person she could think of was Flechette. She had absolutely no idea why the yellow bitch would even come to mind; they hadn’t even fought many times. It made no sense, even if the thought of her head between Nessa’s legs was delicious. She put the girl out of mind.

She muttered under her breath a thought she hadn’t voiced since she was a teenager. She’d never had this great a need since then.

“Fuck, I need to get laid.”

It was only then that she realized something.

“Am I under attack?”

••••••••••

Tier 5 minor name in process of capture: Nessa Biermann AKA Menja

Sell Price: 10 credits, Body Tune Up (single target), Martial Talent tag

Requirement for full capture: Sexual intercourse with a member of the retinue

••••••••••

Ireena didn’t let herself get caught in another brawl. She didn’t have healing to spare, so if a moonkin got too close to her or her companion, she simply punched them and kept moving. Her punches being what they were, not even the maddened beasts were in any shape to keep following for long after that.

They kept moving, going to each place Cowlen could think of; it didn’t take long to find his wife. Ireena hauled her back to his house, which he was adamant about burning down. If he was leaving and his family was dead, it was best that it all turn to ashes.

That maudlin sentiment faded quite a bit when they heard the voice of a young woman.

“Father?” She’d said, crawling out from behind a large rock. “Is it safe now?”

He didn’t answer, instead running to her and pulling her into a tight hug. He wept, and so did his daughter.

“I am sorry,” Ireena said after a few moments, “but the answer is no. It most definitely is not safe. We need to get out of here. I can toss a torch on the way out, if you’d like, but this will all be a waste if we don’t get away. Now.”

“Yes, yes I’m sorry.” Cowlen said, standing up and grasping his quarterstaff. “Magwin, do you have your bow?”

“No, I dropped it when I ran out of arrows.” She said, downcast, “There were just so many of them, I didn’t know what to…”

“It’s fine.” He said. “Let’s go.”

“Before that, I want to make you an offer.” Ireena said, “If you have nowhere left to go, I’d like to offer you a way to go far from this place. To follow me and your father there, however, I’ll need you to sell me your soul.”

••••••••••

T2 No-name captured: Cowlin

Sell Price: lesser gacha

T2 no name captured: Magwin

Sell price: lesser Gacha

••••••••••

Second to last chapter before I update the recaps and start on the next Brockton arc. That incidentally means polls. This first one is just a bit of fun

https://strawpoll.com/7rnzVezDxnO