Other areas, however, are more stable. Starcoast City has been around for centuries and has grown into a bustling metropolis. At one time, it depended on its massive walls for protection from monsters and bandits, but it has since grown beyond them. As a large seaport city, it became a center of trade. As its wealth increased, magic academies and research labs were built. In time, magic became a part of everyday life, to the point of something you could buy in the market.
As with any large city, it had it's fair share of secrets and dark alleyways. Rumor had it there was even an underground black market somewhere within its walls.
It was also the last known location of Janett Kühn, a freelance delivery woman. She had little qualms about who she worked for and had sometimes acquired the parcels herself. Normally, she could take care of herself, but there had been no word from her in months.
Ronny Kühn, a dark-haired man, sat in his room at the Light Dream Inn. It was cheap, but it was also clean. The building was four stories tall, with most of the first floor was taken up by the pub. The room itself was small, holding only two beds and a dresser. Four crystal lamps lit the room during the night, but for now, the sun illuminated through the window. For the time being, it served as their base of operations.
Ronny was sitting at a folding table. He had brought both the table and the chair with him from home. These small inns often lacked tables and he often did work he didn't want to do down in the pub. At the moment, he was maintaining his sword while the girls were out. He had been making some coin with his inventions, but for the time being, they had to make do as adventurers, taking missions and capturing bounties.
For the moment, he was casually dressed in a brown tunic and long pants. His red armor was in the corner of the room, displayed on a simple wooden mannequin. It was made of a dark copper compound that resembled scales. On a collapsible rack was his shield, which he had already finished polishing.
He used an enchanted polish he scrubbed his sword. It was different from the standard polish he used on his armor; this one was made just for swords, strengthening and repairing the metal to an extent. Still, he had to be careful when applying it as it only extended the lifespan of the weapon.
Just as he finished, the door to the room swung open and a blond woman with shoulder-length hair sauntered in. She was only a few years younger than Ronny, wearing nothing more than a white undershirt and shorts. "Hello, Ronny." She smiled warmly.
Ronny set down the sword on the table. "Hello, Nancy.” He turned and started to get up. "So, did you find any leads?"
"No, but I learned something good while looking for Janett in Bayside Garden." Nancy moved closer to Ronny. "Make me your slave."
Ronny stumbled a bit. "W-What?" His sister had gotten into some mischief, often things he had to bail her out of, but this was a new one.
"Well, I was wondering about how little clothes some people have been wearing even outside of Bayside Garden and I asked around for that. Turns out if you’re a registered slave, you don't need to even wear clothes. That said, will you be my master?" She smiled and leaned closer.
Ronny rolled his eyes. Like her mother, Nancy was a nudist. They enjoyed getting naked whenever possible. This was why she had been searching for Janett in Bayside Garden, the clothing-optional section of the city. At least, that was the excuse she gave for spending all her time there. She had also been looking for an apartment in that district.
He thought about what she had asked of him this time. He had known about the slave registry system in this city. It was strictly voluntary, at least when you signed up. He was trying to find Janett's name in the registry, but had trouble accessing the records. For one thing, this city, likely even this whole world, had no computers. Everything was on paper, so he couldn't hack into it and the staff wouldn't give just anyone access to them.
Ronny let out a sigh and stood up. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he looked her in the eyes. "Are you sure about this?"
Nancy smiled and nodded. "I'm sure. I've known you all my life. After all the times you’ve helped me out, I'm sure you’ll take good care of me... Plus it'll keep the other guys’ hands off of me."
Ronny rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Maybe this will better keep her out of trouble." He looked back at his sister. "Fine, I'll do it."
Nancy squealed. "Oh, thank you, Ronny!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
***
As it turned out, things were not so simple. Signing up to be a slave was easy, but first Ronny had to register as a master. In order to do so, he had to pass a background check, take a course, and pass a few tests. The background check was the easy part, he had little history in this country and committed no crimes they could possibly know about. The master course took a few days, and even then, it was mainly learning the do's and don'ts of slave ownership and bondage, as well as what would be expected as master. He was already feeding Nancy, so that was no big deal, and it was unlikely he would need to tie her up unless she was going to get herself into trouble again. He was then subjected to both written and psychological tests. Lastly, he had to submit a crest.
Every master and mistress in Starcoast had a personal crest, a seal they marked their slaves with. This was normally done with magic, but some had also used ink or a hot iron.
Once they finished with all the red tape, it was Nancy's turn. The three of them entered the Department of Slavery. It was a three-story tall brick building. Its architecture had an older feel to it rather than the modern and semi-modern buildings that made up most of the city. The inside had a tall ceiling that lit things up very well. There were a few statues along the walls, mainly of women. Some wore collars, while others held crops.
Flanking Ronny was Nancy and Fleur. Fleur was a petite woman with long white hair that shined in the light. She was slim, pale and had very small breasts, something that was a sore spot for her. She looked young, but was in fact older then the both of them combined, maybe even more than half the people in the room, not counting the elf by the fountain. She had come along to help with the search for Janett.
Ronny stopped at the front desk. "Hello. We are here to register a new master and new slave." He set down an interim license on the counter.
The latex-clad bunny girl looked at the paper work. "Very good. Please take the door to your left and enter room three."
"Thank you." Ronny picked up the license. He then led the way to room three. Inside was an old wizard sitting behind a desk. "Hello there. I am Ronny Kühn. I am here for my crest and to register a slave." He held out the paper.
"Yes, Mr. Kühn. Let's see." The wizard took the paper. He then pressed a crystal on his desk. Soon, a small, engraved metal disk with a red crystal in the middle popped out of a slot in the wall.. "Your crest is ready." He slid it into device on the desk. It was over a foot tall and shaped kind of like a flat C. "Place your hand here." He pointed at a pad just below the crystal in the device.
"Sure thing." Ronny rested his right hand on the pad.
"Thank you. Now hold still." The wizard pressed a button. The crystal fired a beam of light onto the back of Ronny's hand. Soon, a red magic circle two inches in diameter appeared above his hand as the beam stopped. The image in the center was that of an eight-toothed gear with four triangles pointing away from it; three at the top, one at the bottom. These five shapes were meant to form the appearance of a dragon’s paw. The outer rim was a number of runes rotating around. "There you are. You are now officially a master."
Ronny pulled his hand back and look at the holographic symbol. In a moment, it faded. Pressing the back of his hand it reappeared, but only for a few moments.
"Now then, let's take care of your slave." The wizard removed the disk from the device, and then looked at the two women. His eyes passed over the short Fleur before moving onto Nancy. "Would that be you, ma'am?"
Fleur pouted a little, feeling a bit slighted.
Nancy nodded, a smile on her face. "Yes, that’s right."
The wizard pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out a paper form, setting it on the table with a pen. "Here is a standard contract. It states that you are willfully giving up your freedom to this man. Think carefully before signing it." His voice sounded a bit bored, as if he said this all the time.
Nancy quickly glanced it over and signed her name.
Ronny also signed before handing it back to the old man.
He looked at the paper for a moment. "Nancy... Kühn?" He shrugged. "Very well. Please step onto the circle and we can get started with the scan." He pointed to a large circle on the floor.
"Okay, sure." Nancy walked over to the spot and stood in the middle. Soon after, rings of light floated out of the circle and spun around her as they moved up and down.
Ronny watched the process. During the master training course, he had learned that it was illegal to register someone as a slave under the effects of mind control, and it was standard procedure to scan the potential slave's mind before marking them.
The wizard looked over the holographic display on the desk. After eyeing her scan, he nodded and turned it off. "Very good." He stood up and put the disk into another device. This one was on a metal stand and looked like a laser from an old science fiction movie, or something Ronny might have put together. "Face me and hold still."
Nancy turned and looked at the machine. It soon sent another beam of light into the middle of her chest, just above her breasts. As soon as it stopped, a larger version of Ronny's crest appeared over her chest. Like his own, it faded after a moment.
"There you go. All set." He removed the disk from the device and took it back to his desk.
"Thank you." Ronny nodded. He turned and headed to the door.
"Thanks so much." Nancy giggled and followed her brother. She already started removing her top.
"Let's get to the gallery already." Fleur followed as well.
By the time they got to the art gallery, Nancy was already naked, wearing only her shoes. She had also been asked to show her crest five times on the way. "Maybe I should get a collar. They don't seem to ask to see the collared girls that much."
"Maybe. But first, let's see if she’s in here." Ronny walked up to the art gallery’s front entrance. It was a marble building with pillars in front and a pair of alabaster griffins on either side of the door. He bought three tickets and they entered.
The main room was three stories tall with large stairs going up along the walls. The ceiling was glass, allowing the sunlight to illuminate the room. There were a number of doors leading into the different wings. Already, they could see a few statues of nude women around the doorways. There were also more than a few visitors of several different races: elves, humans, demons, even an orc. They walked around, looking at the various exhibits within each gallery and along the hallways leading to them.
"The statues are on this side. There are a few sections of them." Fleur led the way, walking between a pair of marble catgirls. The two mirrored each other's pose. One had one foot in front of the other, her left hand to her side, slightly behind her with her palm level, while her other arm was bent and her hand raised at shoulder height, gesturing gently to the door next to her, all while her tail wrapped around her leg on the other side. The other catgirl likewise had a similar pose, only switching the right for left. Both wore only charming smiles.
The trio entered the one-story room. It was more like a wide hallway, with crystals along the ceiling. Every few feet, there was a marble statue, normally of a woman.
"Well, let's see if she’s here." Ronny walked to the left, looking at the first statue. She was an elf holding a bow with the string pulled back, but didn't look as tight as it could have been despite the bow being curved back. Likely a replica as opposed to the genuine article.
"Sure thing." Nancy moved to the other side of the hallway. She checked out a woman with her hands held in front of her, cupping a shifting ball of light that reflected off her firm breasts.
Ronny moved onto the next statue. This time, it was a muscular wolf woman in an action pose, her hand extended as if she had just thrown a spear, her body twisted in motion. She had shoulder length hair that remained fluttered behind her head, remaining up as she stood motionless.
The next statue was that of a petite bunnygirl. She had her hands on her hips and shifted to the side. She had a cute smile and leaned forward only a little.
"Is that her?" Nancy skipped over a few statues and stopped in front of a marble woman. Her right hand caressed her side, her fingers spread. Her legs were pressed to her left. Her left hand was up to her face, two fingers cutely pressing against her lips. She had the same body type as Janett, her hair going down past her butt. However, she also had pointed ears.
Ronny and Fleur walked up to them. Fleur looked over the marble woman. "I thought your mother was human."
Ronny put his hand on Fleur's shoulder. "Well, she does look like her from a short distance.
"I didn't see the ears at first." Nancy walked around the marble elf. "She does look a lot like her, she's in pretty good shape."
"Well, let's keep looking." Ronny moved over to a nearby statue. This time, it was of a dragoness. She supported herself on her knees and left hand, while her right index finger casually pressed against her lovely smile. The woman's body was covered with small scales, mainly down her arms, legs, and the middle of her back. Her wings were half spread and curved while her tail was extended into the air behind her.
Fleur glared at the statue's C-cups. "A dragon has no need for such balloons to draw in attention." She took Ronny's arm and pulled him away, stopping at a statue with A-cups.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that." Ronny calmed Fleur down and stroked her side once she stopped.
After a little while, a woman's voice spoke up. "Why, aren't you a lovely subject?" A woman with green skin and snake-like hair walked up to Nancy; a medusa. She wore a shiny red latex catsuit with a transparent cleavage window running down to her navel. Her sleeves and skirt were also transparent red latex. She also had on a pair of thick sunglasses that hid her eyes and a pair of red high heels. "Have you ever done any modeling?" She smiled.
Nancy turned to face the woman. "Um, no…" She took a step back.
"Well, if you are interested, I could always use another model." The green woman moved closer.
Ronny walked back to Nancy. "She’s been a bit too busy lately for modeling, I’m afraid." He placed his hand on Nancy's bare shoulder.
The green woman turned her head and looked at Ronny. "Oh, are you her master?"
"Yes, that's right."
She held out her green hand. "I'm Zexa. I'm an artist partnered with this gallery. Every statue in this wing is my work."
Ronny shook Zexa's hand. "I'm Ronny." His eyes glanced over the marble elf. "Say, I was wondering if you could help me out. We’re currently looking for someone and thought that she might be here. Her name is Janett." Ronny moved over to the elven statue, pointing his thumb back at it. "She looks a lot this woman, only human. Caucasian in her late 40's, very long dark brown hair, and runic tattoos all over her body. Have you seen her?"
Zexa thought about it. "Hmmm, I don't have much memory for tattoos, they don't carry over. I can't say the name rings a bell."
"That's too bad. But have you seen a human that looks like her?" Ronny looked back at the elf.
The orc from before walked down the hallway. The large man bumped into Zexa, causing her glasses to knock free.
"Hey, watch it," Zexa grunted as she turned.
Ronny saw the back of Zexa's head, just missing her eyes by chance. He also saw Nancy, the color draining from her body, her hand raised to cover her mouth as a mild look of shock was spread across her face. In mere moments, she had hardened into marble, her breasts turning into firm orbs and her legs spreading just a little apart.
Ronny reached for his hip, forgetting that he left his sword in the hotel room for a moment. "What did you do?" He got ready to close his eyes, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Change her back," Fleur growled. She bore her teeth and a cool mist seeped out of her mouth.
"Relax, just relax. It was just an accident." Zexa picked up her glasses and slid them back onto her face. "I didn't mean to turn them to stone." She looked over at the marble orc who had just bumped into her. "These big guys hit harder than most, even by mistake."
"I want you to change her back."
Zexa sighed. "Well, I am going to need to restore the orc at least." She moved over to Nancy's petrified form. "Still, she is cute like this, would you consider lending her to me? You could earn some money that way."
Ronny rested his hand on Fleur's shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but the mist still flowed from her mouth. "Not a chance. Change my sister back right now."
Zexa was taken aback. "Your sister? That's kinky." She smirked. "Hold your fire or ice or whatever it is. I keep a talisman handy for just an occasion." She pointed her ring at the orc, the gem in the middle glowing bright. Slowly, his marble body turned green and his alabaster hair turned black.
The orc grunted. "What just happened?"
Zexa folded her arms and tapped her foot. "You bumped into me and knocked off my glasses. I wound up turning you and this young lady into statues. Be more careful."
"Oh. Sorry about that." The orc scratched his head.
"Be more careful next time." When Zexa finished berating the orc she turned back to Nancy. "It's a shame I can't keep her like this a little longer. Well, let's see if there is still time left. My ring lets me break my own transformations, provided they haven't had enough time to settle."
Ronny shouted, "You mean there’s a time limit!? Why didn't you get to her right away?"
"Relax will you. No need to have your... daughter(?) blast me."
This time, Fleur shouted. "I'm older then he is!" More mist flowed from her mouth.
Zexa looked at Fleur's modest chest. "Oh, sorry to hear that." She backed behind Nancy. "Well, I had to restore both of them, and it takes me a moment use the ring again. I figured less people would question another statue of a nude girl than a statue of a man in full leather, in case I had to take the time to go get Gwen." The ring glowed again, this time pointed at Nancy. Soon, the color returned to her body and she stepped back into Zexa.
"What just happened?” Nancy blinked.
"Sorry about that." Zexa kissed Nancy's cheek. "There was a little slip up and my glasses fell off." She sensually stroked Nancy's chin with her index finger. "You did make a lovely statue."
Nancy backed away.
Ronny put his hand on Zexa's shoulder. "Enough teasing her."
Zexa giggled. "Sorry, just having a little bit of fun." She playfully suck her tongue out. "Still it would be nice to have you in my gallery, if only for a few days."
"I think we’re good, thanks." Ronny moved between Zexa and Nancy. "Did you make every statue in this building?"
"No, just this wing. The other wings are for statues made by others, or other types of art such as paintings or pottery. Still, I am responsible for more statues in here than any one person."
"Very well. I think we’ll go take a look around the other works before we go. Good day." Ronny turned and led the girls down the hallway.
"Well, you know how to find me if you change your mind." Zexa blew a kiss and giggled.
The trio exited the hallway into a round room. They found more statues along the walls with a lone dragoness standing akimbo on a short podium in the middle. She had no wings or tail, but wore expensive accessories made of gold and diamonds.
Fleur huffed. "More unnecessary fat up top." After a quick look around the room, she headed out the other door.
Ronny followed. "You really should stop letting the more top-heavy dragonesses get to you."
They looped around and explored the other halls. Many of them were grouped together in themes, such as the dozen golden women of different races. Even the paintings were lifelike, some shifting when you took your eyes off of them, while others acted more like oil-based televisions.
However, not one of these works of art depicted Janett. "I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing she isn't here." Ronny sighed.
"I'm sure we’ll find her sooner or later." Nancy patted Ronny on the back.
"The problem is if she had ended up in some private gallery or shipped out of the city." Fleur moved closer to Ronny.
"That's assuming she was even turned to stone and not enthralled or banished. Well, let's head back for now." Ronny led the way to the door.
****
The tavern was as lively as ever. People of all races and colors were gathered at the tables, drinking mead and chatting up a storm. In this city, it was fairly normal to see half-animal demihumans, elves, and even demons mingling with humans. The room itself was made of pine wood and lit with crystal torches and ceiling lights. Sunlight still shone through the two windows, but it couldn't reach most of the room.
The trio’s searches through all the galleries and statue shops in town had turned up empty. No one had seen a statue like Janett. Not any of the ones they checked anyway. There were still the private residences that they couldn't get into. They would have to swing an invite, but that seemed unlikely.
For now, Ronny looked at the request board. He had to earn enough coin to keep up with their expenses. With Fleur out of the city chasing down a lead, he looked for one that wasn't too dangerous.
"Escort mission, bountyhead, wyvern extermination, missing person, escort mission, part time filing, bandit extermination, party raid, rabbit elimination, fishing crew..." Ronny read through each flyer on the bulletin board. Some of them had been there a few days, but a couple of them were new. "Hello, what's this?" He looked at a new poster. "Village Protection. A mysterious woman with strange tattoos has been raiding the village of Rimehill. She possesses odd powers and has proven difficult to kill." He pulled off the flyer as he read the discretion. Hair color and skin color, runic body tattoos, approximate height… Sounded like Janett.
"Why would she be raiding some village?" Ronny blinked as he thought about it. She seemed to be taking something, but the flyer didn't go into details. Was there something she needed? She had been known to 'acquire' the package by any means necessary.
He let out a sigh. "This had to pop up while Fleur was away. Still, it merits looking into." The pay wasn't that high for fighting someone with a weird power. She might not be that hard to deal with, should it turn out to be another false lead. Taking the flyer, he asked the tavern keeper about it before returning to his room to wait for Nancy's return. He couldn't let her go off on her own for a few days.
After a while, Nancy entered the room. Once again, she was naked, wearing only a leather dog collar. They had gotten her feet coated with a special gel to protect them, so she often went without shoes. "Master, I'm back!" She giggled teasingly.
Ronny picked up the flyer. "Hello, Nancy. I think I found a lead on Mom. It seems a woman with weird powers and tattoos has been raiding villages lately. Based on what the tavern keeper said, she’s been going after small villages every few days before moving onto the next one. The thing is, I couldn't get to many details on what her powers are or what she was even taking, but her description is similar enough to be a match."
"Do you really think it's her?" Nancy walked over and looked at the flyer.
"Hard to say. The problem is, this lead may dry up soon and we don't have time to wait for Fleur to return."
"Then we’ll have to leave right away?"
Ronny looked at Nancy for a moment. He was torn between taking her with him and leaving her behind. If this wasn't Janett, it could be dangerous. However, Nancy had a nasty habit of getting into trouble when he wasn't around. He had to pay her way out of sticky situations more than once. "I think we can leave first thing in the morning. We’ll have to pack our things tonight. I’ll let Neva know to bring the horse around in the morning."
"Sure thing. What about Fleur?"
"I’ll have to leave a letter for her with the innkeeper. She can take care of herself." Ronny said that, but he was still a bit worried she might blast someone she shouldn't.
*****
Three days later, they arrived at Rimehill Village in a covered wagon. They had taken the M-train out of Starcoast, locking the horse and wagon in a cargo car. However, none of the tracks went close to Rimehill, so they had to camp out for a few nights.
Rimehill was small, nestled between the forests and along a small river. It was a simple village, consisting of log buildings and vegetable gardens. At its size, it was likely only a hundred to two hundred people lived there.
It quickly became apparent that the village was populated with demihumans of the beastly variety. People with the ears and tails of certain mammals walked around the city streets, going about their daily lives. Wolves, cats, bunnies, squirrels, and so on. A human was a rare sight, but there were a few of them. They mainly wore medieval-style villager clothing, but a number of them wore only loincloths, with leather bikini tops for the women. A number of people didn't wear much more than Nancy did, though she and Ronny didn't see anyone else completely in the buff.
Ronny soon made his way to the village center, parking in front of the town hall. He was already wearing his red armor, leaving his head bare for the time being.
Nancy got out of the back of the wagon, fully nude. This got her a few looks. She just smiled and followed her brother inside.
Inside, they were greeted by a gray squirrel man. He had a thick beard and wore a dark green cloak, tunic, and trousers. "Hello there. Are you the adventurer that answered our request?" He looked at Ronny first, but his eyes drifted over to Nancy.
Ronny nodded. "Yes, that's right. My name’s Ronny Kühn. I hear a woman with strange powers has been raiding your village."
"Yes, that's right. I am Elder Ackerley, the village chief. I was the one who submitted the request." The old squirrel held out his hand, which Ronny shook. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I know we are quite far from the city, even with that new iron horse I have been hearing about."
"You are quite welcome. What can you tell me about this woman?"
"Well, she is human as far as we can tell, but she has some magic about her we know not of. When we fought her, some strange black mist came out of nowhere and next thing we knew, we couldn't see. By the time it faded, she was gone." Ackerley sighed.
Ronny raised an eyebrow. That certainly does sound like something Janett was capable of. "What has she been after?"
"She has mainly been raiding our food stores. Small amounts at a time, normally, nothing that would devastate us. The problem is, since she has shown up, a number of our people have gone missing. Mostly women, including my own granddaughter Ashley." Ackerley scratched his head and let out another sigh. "I am sorry to say we have also lost a few who tried to fight the woman themselves. They either lost her in the darkness, or never returned."
"About how many are missing?"
"Twenty se... thirty. About twenty three of them are young women. This includes a small band of adventurers who got here yesterday. Three brave women set out and have yet to return." Ackerley looked grim.
"I see. That is troubling. Any idea where she is?"
"In the woods to the east. There are a number of natural caves over there, as well as some thick trees and brush. We tried tracking her down ourselves at one point, but kept losing people. We haven't gone after her as of late."
Nancy spoke next. "So do you have any idea how she fights, her age?"
"Hard to say. We haven't really gotten a good look at her. I can tell you she keeps a lot of her body exposed and is covered with some weird tattoos. We think they are magical. I'm sorry I can't tell you any more."
"Thank you. We will set out at once. Please watch my horse. It would be better if we went on foot for this." Ronny held out his hand once more.
Ackerley shook it. "Thank you again. I wish you the best of luck."
"You are welcome. Nancy, let's get going." Ronny adjusted his sword at his hip and took his shield.
"Sure thing." Nancy followed behind Ronny, not taking anything but a bag of snacks.
Using a map the chief's secretary gave them, the brother and sister pair marched through the woods. It was a bright sunny day. Birds were chirping and the wildflowers were blooming.
After the better part of an hour, Ronny stopped and held up his fist to the side, signaling Nancy to stop. He then drew his sword.
"Is she here?" Nancy quietly let slip her question.
Ronny heard a phrase, a spell. Suddenly, darkness swallowed up the sun. All he could see were shades of black and dark purple swelling around. He had been engulfed in Janett's mist before and this wasn't it. "Another bad lead. Well, time to earn my pay." Summoning the power from deep within him, the darkness cleared as his eyes turned yellow, his purples becoming slits.
Nancy was looking around. Her eyes were pitch black. It seemed that she was still trapped in the dark magic. "Ronny, I can't see anything."
"They never learn." A woman chuckled with a smirk. She had long dark brown hair, and the dress she wore looked more like a silk bikini than anything normal. Tattoos had been had been inked up and down her body, mainly around her arms. However, they were in a runic alphabet that Ronny wasn’t familiar with. She did look a lot like Janett, but she wasn't her.
Before Ronny could do anything, she lifted up her hand, her tattoos giving off a dim glow, and let loose a blast of blue mana from her palm. It hit Nancy square in the chest.
"Nancy!" Ronny shouted as he looked at his sister.
Nancy stood perfectly still, the magic washing over her body. A shine soon followed as her body shifted, becoming stiff. Soon, she was made of some blue crystal, refracting the sunlight in such a way that it looked like she was emitting the light herself. Only the leather collar remained untouched.
Ronny pointed his sword at the unknown woman. "Change her back, now!"
"No way, that would reduce her value. Wait..." The woman blinked, a bit dumbstruck. "How did you..." She looked closely at Ronny's eyes. "Looks like you have some magic resistance. I should have started with you first." She fired off another blast, this time striking Ronny's polished shield. It reflected, and suddenly there was a crystal tree behind the woman.
The shield had been coated with one of Ronny's inventions: a special anti-magic gel. It could be applied to any metal, but it really only worked well with shields. One of the drawbacks was the maintenance it required, but luckily for him, he had just given it a fresh polish the other day and hadn't used it since. At the rate he was going, it should have lasted him the entire fight.
The woman didn't even turn to look at the tree. "That is a well-built shield. Let's see if the... Ahhh!"
Fire erupted from Ronny's sword. He swung it and flames shot forth, forcing the woman to roll to the side as she screamed. Some of the flames went as far as the crystal tree, but didn't seem to damage it.
"Well, I see you have a few other tricks as well." She fired another shot, but was deflected by the shield again. "But sooner or later, I'm going to get you in the head!”
"We’ll see about that! Ronny flung more fire at the woman, forcing her jump to the side. He then ran to a nearby boulder. "I have to lead her away from Nancy."
This time, the spell struck the rock, but nothing happened. Ronny used it as cover as she fired off a few more rounds.
"I can keep this up all day. Just give up and save us both the trouble."
"Same could be said for you!" Ronny returned fire. Soon, he reflected another shot before jumping down. It seemed the woman was moving around to get a better angle. "Tell you what, if you restore the girl right now, I will let you live." He waited for a moment as he prepared for the next attack.
Ronny jumped to the side and readied his fire, stopping once he saw the sight in front of him. "Well, that solves one problem, but leaves me with another." He blinked a few times and his eyes shifted from yellow to their normal brown.
The woman stood right in front of him, a cocky smile on her face. Her right hand was still outstretched as she aimed at where he was a moment ago. However, she would not be firing another spell as she claimed, for now she was solid blue crystal just as Nancy was. As with his sister, the woman shone brightly in the sunlight.
"I’m going to have a long walk ahead of me." Ronny extinguished his sword and sheathed it. He then picked up Nancy and proceeded to carry her back to the village.
******
Ronny stood in Rimehill’s town square, overlooking a dozen blue quartz statues and counting. The villagers were currently unloading more of them from wagons.
Upon his return to the village, Ronny met with Ackerley again. He then sent out more villagers to recover the unidentified woman. Ronny led the way and in time, they found the cave she had been hiding out in. Inside, there were many of the missing villagers. The women had been stripped of their clothing and displayed in the cave. However, not all the villagers were accounted for. None of the men were in the cave, but they had found a wolf man in the bushes, so it seemed she hadn't gathered everyone. Still, what the woman said about Nancy's value was a bit troubling.
One of the statues was that of a human woman with long braided hair, holding a magic staff. She looked like she was about to cast a spell. Next to her was a buxom demon holding a jet black longsword. The third in the group was an elf, holding a bow. She was reaching behind her back, likely to grab an arrow from a quiver that was no longer there. These three were the adventures that Ackerley had hired the day before, and it was clear why they didn't return.
Ackerley himself was standing in front of a statue of a squirrel woman, a look of sorrow on his face. She was smiling, her fingers running through her hair. It was unclear how, but it seemed she had gotten a number of the women to pose for her.
Ronny glanced over the crystallized form of his sister, as well as the woman who did it to her. The village healer had so far been unable to restore her. She said something was blocking her.
After a while, Ackerley walked up to him. "You have done us a great service, Mr. Kühn. I am sorry about the loss of your famula. Maybe someone in the city can restore her. In addition to your reward and the feast, you may also take the assailant with you as well. I realize she is of little consolation, and I'm sorry we can't offer you more."
"No, I understand that. I should have left her in the village. Honestly, this isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened to her. I’m sure I’ll find a healer; there’s plenty of them in Starcoast."
A few of the village girls walked up to Ronny. One was a wolf girl, while the other two were bunnies. "The hero's feast is almost ready." "Come sit with us." "We will help you relax."
Ronny looked down at the groupies as they tried to tug him to the banquet hall. "I just know Fleur will smell these girls. I better wash up later." He started walking with them.
TO BE CONTINUED