For a moment, Jaeger was still standing over the corpse of a creature that wore the mangled and stolen form of his friend; the stench of powder, blood, rusted innards, and despair was overwhelming. Then he blinked, and he was back, standing in a taproom beside Kaeleth, and holding a mug of some dark, frothy drink. He downed the drink in a single move.
“Skin stealing? I’ve not heard of that before, sounds like it might be Chaos magic though. Maybe a unique magic even, some Outworlder nonsense?” Kaeleth mused aloud.
“Could be decay magic,” Jaeger said. “I had a run-in with some of that not that long ago.”
“Tapho dogs.” The oni bartender spat to the side. “I got second-hand, from one of her skeletons, that the necro ran tests on the living flayed guy and even managed to get her hands on one of the flayed corpses. She says it’s an aberrant magic, something that’s not supposed to belong.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “Cosmic magic.”
Kaeleth straightens at that, eying Jaeger before replying.
“Something got in from beyond the moon? I’d rather it was Outworlder magic at least that tries to fit in. Nothing good comes from beyond the moon.”
“Truth.”
A call from further down the bar catches his attention, and he excuses himself to deal with it, leaving Kaeleth and Jaeger alone.
“You know something, don’t you?” She says with utter conviction. “Don’t bother lying.”
“How would you know?”
Her eyes flash, and a hidden, alongside swirling runes, rise to the surface as she stares him down.
“When it comes to you, I don’t miss anything.”
A soft, purring chuckle rolls through his ears in response, and he hears Mischief’s voice rumble through him. You’re her current obsession and Order anchor; she’s more likely to miss the sun than your slightest emotional tic. This is more entertaining than watching you hunt. The voice faded as fast as it came.
Trying his best to hold a neutral expression, and failing if her head twitch was any indication, he responded to her.
“Yeah, I’ve had dealings with similar creatures.” He tapped the counter and leaned close. “Back home.”
A light of understanding enters her eyes, only serving to highlight her intense stare.
“Interesting. Do tell.”
“During the war, super weapons were being deployed like tonics at a brothel. My country and the enemy would release one, and then counter it with another, and so on. Skin Stealers were an infiltrator being; they’d take an identity, come behind our lines, and then sabotage or spy as needed. The thing is, I never found out what they were. If we ever found out what they were, I wasn’t important enough to know; all I knew was from firsthand encounters. From that, I came to believe they weren’t human or any other race of the like.”
She sipped her drink and leaned against the countertop.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Do you think this Flesh Trader could be the same? Or be using the same magic?”
“What are the chances of multiple Outworlders coming from a single world?”
“As a single group? Rare, but it happens; half the heroes of legends were groups like that. But in multiple single or even paired batches? Unheard of.”
“Then I’d say this can’t be the same. Plus, if this is magic, then the chances are even less; the Skin Stealers didn’t use magic, not really. They consumed a person in a very physical way.”
“Disappointing, but at the very least, your experiences will give us an edge. What’s the move?”
“Before that, tell me. How bad is cosmic magic?”
“Depends. If it’s just some magic, this is bad, but we could handle it. If it’s something from beyond the moon? It could be disastrous, force an alliance between all the guilds, orthodox and unorthodox, bad.”
Jaeger cocked his head in thought. This was again something he wasn’t accustomed to dealing with. For the moment, he’d have to use Kaeleth’s experience and judgment to make a call about this.
“You think we should handle this, or do we try for a different invite?”
“If it were disastrous, we’d have seen more signs; cosmic things force the world around them to match them. We should be good.”
“If you’re sure, then, way I see it, we’ve got two choices. We either rest up and come at it in the next day or so.”
“Word will get out about us by then.” She cut her eyes at a man nearby, “There are always fools more interested in money than life.”
“Our second option is we go now. We know its storefronts and home, and we move to each and look for it.”
Kaeleth nodded along with that.
“Risky, but sound. My main concern is fighting it. If we go after it in public, the guards might have a go at us.”
“Something like this would be at best tolerated; if we attack it, the guards are more likely to watch.”
She narrowed her eyes at that before waving for the oni bartender. A bit later, the oni ambled over.
“Sorry bout that, gotta keep my patrons in their cups.” He rubbed his hands on a towel lying across his shoulder.
“It’s fine. We just wanted some clarity on a few things about this job we’re on.”
The oni’s eyes narrowed.
“That could cost you, depending.”
Jaeger took out a stack of five gold coins and set it just out of sight on the bar top. Seeing it, the oni flashed a smile.
“Ask away.”
“The guards, what’s the heat if we go after the Flesh Trader?” Kaeleth asked.
“A week ago, I’d have said they’d be on you like me on a tuna roll. But, lucky for you, one of the Flesh Trader’s recent victims happened to be the estranged son of the guard commander. The guy was an adventurer and had heard rumors of the Flesh Trader; he came to investigate, then the Trader got him. The guard commander found the body outside the barracks, and a day later, he marked the Flesh Trader. I shit you not, a guard walked in here with an offer from the commander himself. Anyone who kills the Flesh Trader, and can prove it, gets all marks off their records and a single pardon thereafter.”
That drew in Jaeger and Kaeleth’s attention.
“That’s crazy. A clean record and full pardon?” She said.
“Oh yeah, the guard commander was pissed, but so was the dead guy’s guild. The guy was one of those nomadic Law thumpers, a uh,” The oni paused, snapping his fingers, trying to remember the word. “Mandator. That’s it. They’re covering the pardon; it’s valid in any city with their presence.”
“Adventurers’ guild?”
“Nah, Law Association.”
Kaeleth sensing, or perhaps assuming, Jaeger’s ignorance spoke.
“Makes sense that the son of a guard commander would join them. They might get in the way of this thing of ours, but they also keep the worst of us in line.”
The oni snorted and shrugged.
“A member of the Brotherhood speaking up for a thumper? Will wonders never cease?”
Jaeger shook his head.
“To break the law, one requires the law.”
“Truth. You two need anything else?”
“No, thank you.”
Jaeger slid three of the gold across to the oni, who scooped them up with a nod and walked off.
“Well, that changes things.”
Kaeleth sighed.
“Damn right. I give it about a week before this city is flooded with killers and cutthroats from every corner of Rangaea looking to get that pardon.” She shook her head. “A full pardon, in any city? Ridiculous.”
Jaeger looked at her.
“You interested?”
“The only ones who need a pardon are those dumb enough to get caught.” She rolls her eyes with a snort. “I say we just go back to the Melodom, drop our stuff there and then…”
Jaeger met her eyes and smiled.
“Then we hunt.”
