The Bandit’s Daughter
You wake up and yawn, stretching your wings. Then, as usual, you kick Lucy out of your room. For some reason, the cow had started to sneak into your bed at night over the past week. You are still unable to comprehend how an animal so large could move so quietly when she needed to – waking up to the sight of the cow’s big brown eyes staring lovingly at your face had given you quite a shock. It still does, though you are beginning to get used to it. You freshen up, preparing for the long day ahead. It is now the fifth day of Ellen’s regeneration, and the tenth since you began the project. Together with Zayan, you had spent day and night working on the regeneration pod, attempting to ensure the desired result.
Merely regrowing her eyes was easy: as far as you are aware, a person’s physical body is derived from a template laid down at birth – said to be designed by the goddesses, back in your world. That template governs numerous traits such as height and weight and eye colour. Of course, environmental influences could also affect those traits, such as if you cut a child’s legs off at the knees, irreversibly reducing their height, or if you starved them perpetually, decreasing their weight. Regardless, that template is the origin of the body. And so it stood to reason that the aberrations spotted by Zayan were inherent to the template for Ellen’s eyes.
The answer was then simple – you needed to modify the template. But how? That was the hard part. It took the combined genius of both you and Zayan to figure out a way to manipulate the regeneration magic in the pod towards that objective. Indeed, you had not racked your brain so hard in many, many years, not since your groundbreaking magical thesis back in the Academy of Towers. Having your entire self caught up in the pursuit of a new magic that no one had ever attempted… that was quite nostalgic. You had almost forgotten how it felt to chase the unknown, to push the limits of your understanding.
Your effort paid off, partially. It was indeed a monumental breakthrough, but one that would have also gone to waste had Zayan not understood the workings of the human eye well enough to come up with a serviceable modification to Ellen’s template. Even then, she claimed that this was near the limits of her current – considerable – prowess. It was the first time that you saw such humility from that woman.
And so here you are, standing in front of the pod for the tenth day in a row, monitoring the situation. The project should reach completion soon, and as a bonus, your time spent on this research had allowed you to grasp the workings of the Regeneration spell.
There are dark circles under Zayan’s eyes as she mutters something over the readings. The ceaseless work has taken its toll on even her, with her gluttonous capacity for research. “Should be alright. Translation, transcription, all of them check out. The modifications will stick, what is left is to ensure there are no abnormalities in the arrangement of the modifications…”
“Excellent,” you say. “It looks like we are on track to complete this right on schedule.” Throughout the past week, you have gained a newfound respect for Zayan’s prodigious abilities, and she yours. Your proficiency at magical theory was in fact a surprise to her: she had thought that your immense power meant that you brute-forced every magical solution, that you had no capability for finesse. Evidently, she was delighted to revise her initial opinion. On your part, you were no less impressed by her capacity to work miracles.
Unfortunately, those miracles did not extend to restoring your condition. You had brought up the possibility of using template modification to cure yourself one night, but Zayan had shot down the possibility after some careful measurements and observations. Apparently, your physiology is resistant to change not only via toxins and compounds, but also on the template-level. To change it was a feat beyond her capabilities for the moment – it would likely require power on a divine scale to make the desired alterations to your body. You wonder if it would be a good idea to sink so low as to pray for help…
***
When the regeneration is finally complete, you place the sleeping Ellen in a more comfortable place. Hoping that she will not remember the brief period of lucidity that had led her to try to claw out her eyes, you lift the spell.
Again, there is movement under her eyelids. Again, she slowly opens her eyes, her long eyelashes swaying gently. Again, you see those clear green eyes, staring out at a world that is new to her. You wait, ready to put her under instantly should she show any signs of relapse.
“This is… what is this?” she murmurs softly, raising a hand in front of her. “Is this… is this my hand?” She opens and closes her fist carefully, stretching her fingers. “I can… see my hand?”
You resist the urge to openly rejoice at the successful experiment. Pride wells up in you… not least because you have accomplished something that ‘divine favour’ has not. Instead, you settle for addressing Ellen with a gentle tone. “You are awake. Good.”
Though you had expected her to swivel around towards you, she does not move her head except for a slight cocking to the side. Only after a second does she turn to look at you. “Who are you?” she asks. “What happened? Where am I?” Though her voice is polite, you can sense the restrained eagerness and curiosity trembling underneath. “Am I dead? Are you an angel?”
“I am…” You decide not to give your name. “A friend. I brought you here for treatment. You are in my home. No, you are not dead. And… no, I am not an angel. Why would you think I am one?”
She laughs nervously. “Oh, Nan always told me stories of angels carrying children off to the world of the dead so they could feast upon their bones. I’m… I’m sorry. That was rude of me.” She bows her head in apology. “Wait… your voice… I’ve met you before, haven’t I?”
“Have we?” You smile enigmatically.
“Yes, I’m sure of it. Back in my father’s mansion, some time ago… but have I heard it more recently? I’m sorry, but just how did I end up here?”
It looks like she has forgotten even her abduction. You are not sure whether it is a side-effect of her regeneration or her traumatic sight, but it is not a matter you can or should address at the moment. Leaning back, you explain to her how you have a deal with her father – that part, at least, is true: the message you sent was acknowledged and a deadline given, which you had just barely met – and that you had cured her blindness in return for some favours.
You chat with the governor’s daughter for a while more before taking your leave. “Unfortunately,” you say, “for certain reasons that I am not at liberty to reveal, I must ask you to stay in this room until I bring you to your father.”
“I understand, sir. But won’t you give me your name?”
“You might learn it soon enough,” you say with a smile as you close the door behind you. Then you lock it. It would not do for her to try and run around exploring her new sight. You return to the laboratory, passing by a napping Zayan. On her desk is the glass cylinder in which Ellen’s old eyes float. They interest you, but for now, you need to meet with the ones who have just returned to Grahferde.
***
When you arrive at the village square, you see about Arlin, Aria and a new girl that you have not seen before, bound with rope. Her brown hair is tied up in two pigtails and she appears to be about the same age as the twins. Her dark eyes dart around angrily as she fidgets, betraying her nervousness. You judge that there is potential in her to grow into a healthy beauty, but for now she must settle for merely being called cute.
“Master!” Upon seeing you, Aria runs over. “We’re back!”
Arlin follows behind at a slower pace, a complex expression on his face. He appears to be pondering something.
You give Aria a pat on the shoulder. “How was it? Was it fun for the both of you?”
“Of course. I got to fight my fair share of bandits,” she grins, giving you a bloodthirsty smile that reminds you of the demon princess. Arlin remains silent.
“Speaking of fighting, where’s that woman?” you ask, noticing that Rin is not around.
“Ah. Mistress Rinnefiela is… quite irritated,” says Aria cautiously. She glances at Arlin.
He nods, and says, “Things didn’t go the way she planned. After she brought us back here, she went off to, ah, ‘release some tension’.”
Just then, there is a muffled rumbling far off in the distance, as if something large had impacted the earth, and the ground under your feet trembles slightly. “I see,” you say quietly, looking in the direction of the noise. “Well, she will be back soon enough. In the meantime, tell me what went on at Fortunio’s place.”
“Hey, you! That sleazy looking idiot over there! You’re the boss?” shouts the girl they had brought back, hopping towards you. “Let me go right now, or my mother will have your head!”
She makes it within striking range of you – though you are not sure how she plans to attack, with a headbutt? – when Arlin intercepts her, darting in between the both of you. The girl crashes into him and is promptly restrained. Holding her tightly, Arlin pushes her away from you. “I’m sorry, Master! Let me handle this!” Turning towards the girl, he whispers urgently, “Tenia, don’t do this. Don’t do anything stupid. He won’t harm you… probably.”
You sigh and beckon to Aria, who is watching them with a slightly amused look on her face. “What is going on here?” you ask.
“Well-“
But before she can explain, the girl, Tenia, shouts out loudly. “I trusted you, you asshole! Then you led that monster to us! Was that why you approached me in the first place?” Arlin flinches, a look of guilt on his face. He seems at even more of a loss when tears begin falling from Tenia’s eyes.
“Ah, I get it,” you say, starting to understand what has happened in Virtue Forest. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Petze moving towards Arlin and Tenia, her furry cat face scrunched up in concern. It would probably lead to something fun to watch, but you will save that fun for after you get the full picture from Aria. You do not want to be distracted at the moment. You speak up. “Petze?”
“Y-yes, Shining One?” she squeaks, snapping to attention.
“Would you have the goblin matrons prepare some quarters for our new guest here?”
“Yes!” Snapping off a quick bow, she retreats to do your bidding, a slight reluctance in her step.
You return your attentions to Aria. “Arlin snuck into their camp, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” she replies. “You asked us to ensure that Mistress Rinnefiela did not kill off all the women, right? My little brother, as expected, interpreted that order as being to spare as many bandits as we could, and to achieve a diplomatic resolution. After scouting out the camp, he pretended to be a homeless orphan and temporarily joined them in hopes of being able to sway them from the inside. After a week of no results, Mistress Rinnefiela said that he was at risk of being swayed instead and that the whole endeavor was a waste of time. She marched right up to the camp and declared that everyone there could either submit or die.”
“Sounds like her,” you nod. “What do you think, Aria? Was Arlin at risk of turning?”
She glances at her brother, who is still trying to reason with the captured girl. “My little brother can be a bit… naïve. I don’t think he would have betrayed us, but the Mistress was probably right in that his efforts were a waste of time,” she says honestly.
“What happened next? To make Rin irritated… hm, let me guess, she met something she couldn’t kill?”
“You’re exactly right, Master!” exclaimed Aria. “It was going well at first, the men were getting cut down left and right, and the women were being knocked out. Then she reached the bandit’s boss… I think she called herself the Bandit Queen. That girl over there is her daughter, by the way.”
“Was this Bandit Queen that strong?” you ask.
“Yes. She’s quite strong… maybe the second strongest woman I’ve ever seen. The Mistress still knocked her flat with a single blow though. But before she could do anything else, a cloaked person all in black appeared and cast some strange spell. There was this thick white mist that covered all our sight, and when it lifted the Bandit Queen and all her surviving subordinates were gone. Oh, and before that happened Mistress Rinnefiela’s axe passed right through the cloaked figure. It didn’t do anything though, like it was a wraith.”
“Oh, that must have been really annoying for her,” you laugh. You can imagine her perplexed look and the tantrum she might have thrown when her prey eluded her. Still, a cloaked figure in black… did Rin not encounter someone similar during the Erise battle? “If all of the bandits were rescued by that spell, how did you get your hands on the daughter?”
“Oh, Arlin accomplished that,” giggled Aria. “He led her away from the camp before the attack began. Well, he only meant to get her out of harm’s way, afraid that the Mistress might accidentally behead her or something. She might have even gotten away if I didn't catch up to her in time,” she says proudly.
“Hm, hm,” you nod.
“Even though he’s just my stupid little brother, he’s still popular with the girls, isn’t he?” says Aria, a mix of pride and amusement in her voice.
“Hm, hm,” you nod, more slowly this time, looking away from Arlin and Tenia. Petze is spying on them from behind a tree-house, presumably having completed her mission.
***
The self-proclaimed Bandit Queen’s daughter, Tenia, will need to be questioned: about her mother’s intentions, their relation to Byarlant, and the possible identity of the black figure that saved them. You don’t expect her to know much, but every little bit of information is helpful. You would do it yourself, but you are tired from all the work you have done on the regeneration pod and need to rest in preparation for your upcoming meeting with the Governor.
A. Arlin can do it. He is the only one with a connection to the girl thus far, and it is a connection that you can capitalize on.
B. You have Aria conduct the questioning. As a girl of similar age, they may be able to communicate more easily.
C. You get Runde to do it. The goblin scholar is versed enough in human language and might be unassuming enough for the girl to spill more than she thinks.
***
Besides that, it seems that Arlin might have a rather hot issue on his hands soon enough if things progress as they are.
A. You let the young ones be. Watching from a distance is entertainment enough. They'll figure it out themselves.
B. Poking your nose where it doesn't belong, you give Arlin some advice.
1. You give him advice on balancing a relationship with both Tenia and Petze. The poor kid might be needing it soon if he wants to see another morning.
2. You give him advice designed to destroy his relationships with Tenia and Petze. Bridges are there to be burnt, and who does he think he is, getting ahead of his master?
***
More importantly, you need to deliver Ellen back to her father. The location for the exchange has been picked: an abandoned windmill a short distance from Mount Asteronto. Governor Hastwell had been firm about the need to conduct the magnatite transaction outside the city. Within the boundaries of Ontoglia there existed eyes not under his control, and he could at least stymie them temporarily outside of it.
A. You go alone. You do not think the governor is so foolish as to double-cross you, but if it happens to be an ambush, should you decide to leave instead of destroying your ambushers it is easier to do so with just Ellen tagging along.
B. You go with Rin. As the only other person who can teleport, she will not slow you down if you need to make an exit. It would also be a good opportunity to discuss the cloaked people she keeps encountering.
