Captive of the Crimson Countess, Chapter 2: The Quest

Three Months Earlier

"I'm going with you ma'am." Marcel said as Blair finished tying closed the flap on her backpack.

"This is a suicide mission Marcel, a fool's errand. I am not getting my squire killed on something so stupid."

"No, you're only getting yourself killed." Marcel handed Blair her saber and Blair belted it across her waist. He then handed her two pistols in a bandoleer, which she swung over her shoulder.

"Look, if you object, you can tell Grandmother. She'd never approve of what I'm about to do. So if you want to stop me, all you have to do is expose me."

"You know I'm not doing that. It's your decision to go and your decision not to tell Baroness Wander. My objection is that you want to go without me."

"Look, Marcel, please. This is my sister. She's probably dead. But I owe it to her and myself to look for her. You don't owe anyone. And it would be irresponsible to get my squire killed on a mission that I shouldn't even be undertaking. Besides that, you're the only person I can trust to deliver my message."

Marcel stopped and raised an eyebrow. "What message?"

"If I'm not back in three months, tell grandmother where I've gone. I've told everyone else I'm going on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Valstaris in Voxcaelli Duchy. There would be no reason to take you. And it would be difficult to check and confirm. That excuse will hold in the short term. But if I take longer than three months, then something has gone wrong. After three months, tell grandmother where I've gone. Explain that I gave you a direct order to wait until you did to tell her. That way I'll get in trouble and not you, assuming I'm still alive."

"After three months, I'm leading a search team to bring you home." Marcel said.

"As long as you wait three months, you can bring an armada." Blair answered. She pulled on her armored greatcoat and threw her backpack over her shoulder.

"Don't die ma'am." Marcel said.

"That's the plan." Blair answered and headed out the door. She made her way through the corridors of Castle Wanderlust to the front gates. It was before dawn and the gates remained closed. She had the guard open the side passage rather than the main gate, and exited into the city. A pair of beggars sat against the wall of the castle, asleep and snoring. Blair took some coins from her purse, enough for two warm meals. She placed them in the begging cup, then slid the cup beneath the cloak one beggar wore. She sighed to herself and made her way through the city to the outer wall.

Don't die ma'am.

"I'm probably breaking that promise." She muttered to herself.

= = =

Blair’s thoughts drifted as she walked on. Blair and Ash had both trained under their grandmother as monster hunters. Ash was the older, and already a respected hunter. When Ash had disappeared, she had been investigating a human trafficking ring. Ash believed the traffickers were immortals or worked for immortals. Immortals were the most feared of the monsters. This was because immortals were once human, and they retained a human mind. Common folk distinguished between werewolves and vampires. But monster hunters knew this was an error. Both werewolves and vampires were immortals. The vampire was older than the werewolf, its power more developed. Ash could handle younger immortals. Blair suspected that Ash had run afoul of an older immortal, possibly an ancient vampire.

This didn’t thrill Blair. Immortals were only vulnerable to silver or wounds inflicted by another immortal. And an old immortal would be faster and stronger than a human by many degrees. An old immortal could shapeshift beyond the werewolf form of their younger kin. An ancient immortal could transform into mist or fog, or even ride the moonlight.

Blair shook her head. She was getting ahead of herself. She had to find Ash. And that meant following the human traffickers back to their base. That was her goal. Once she found the base, then she would learn what sort of immortal she faced.

Blair made her way through the Bazaar: the capital city of Wander Barony. It had once been a trading post and market. The Bazaar still contained a multitude of exotic goods. Aromatic spices floated on the air and made Blair sneeze. Conversations overlaid each other and people shouted. Animals cried out and wagon wheels rattled on cobbles. The Bazaar bustled, a chaotic engine of commerce. The Bazaar had a reputation throughout Ys as a place to find the impossible. Alchemists came here for rare ingredients. Monster Hunters came here for exotic monster parts. The rich and aristocratic came looking for novel diversions. And everything mingled into a heady mix.

Blair decided her first course of action would be to check with the captain of the watch. The captain would know something. And Blair was a member of the Wander family. The captain would defer to Blair. At least Blair hoped the captain would defer to her.

She was right. The captain was pleased to talk to anyone willing to help.

“There’s a trafficking ring alright.” The captain said. She paused and spat into the corner. “We don’t believe it’s based out of the Bazaar. Baroness Wander runs too sharp a city for that.”

“Then where?”

“Don’t know. They come in disguised as regular caravans.”

“So they sneak in and what, kidnap people?”

The captain nodded. “And they load people onto ships in some port city. I suspect Crabsgrave. The people there don’t ask questions.”

“So they kidnap people for hard labor?”

“Not so much recently. We’ve seen a bunch of young women get kidnapped recently. Always young and pretty. I told your sister this a few months back. Didn’t she sort it out?”

“We’ve had no word from her in some time.” Blair said.

“Not good. You be careful.”

Blair considered this. Ash had been investigating the kidnapping of young women across Ys. Older immortals feast on human flesh and human blood. And trafficking humans is an easy way to make a lot of money, as Immortals who survive tend to be rich. Ash was young and pretty. She could have fallen victim to the traffickers herself. Or she might have allowed herself to be caught to get closer to the heart of the operation. A dangerous plan, but Blair could see Ash doing it. Blair realized that she might qualify as young and pretty depending on who was judging. She might be at risk of trafficking. She could use that though.