Chapter 3: the Dragon's Den
The knight and squire wasted no time in binding the woman and dressing themselves. Unfortunately for them neither the woman nor the slaves they freed were willing to tell them where the Dragon's Den is. For the slaves it was understandable, but no matter how much they threatened the woman, she wouldn't tell them what they wanted to know.
"You stole my face, my beautiful face why should I tell you anything?" The woman hissed with her head ducked so low that her face was hidden.
"Your loyalty is admirable, but it's in your best effort to tell us where you master is?" Bones said, cracking her knuckles menacingly.
The woman laughed hysterically. "My master? Do not mistake me for one of those complacent little dolls that Long plays with! I only call him master out of respect, something truly admirable considering what he did to my real master!"
"Your real master?" Shiko asked, confused.
"I am Lady Weiming of the Tiger Clan, the former ruling family of Duslan'! We ruled this city with fear, crushing anybody who stood against us, but then that slithering serpent worked his way through very fingers, dethroning our beloved master and humiliating her! Only by a merciful whim he let us live only to have us swear to serve under him! We have been forced to skulk around our own kingdom, waiting for the chance to pounce on that bastard Long and snap his little neck!" The woman venomously said, lacing every word with toxic malice.
"I'm sorry for you lost, but that doesn't justify your actions. Once I've brought down Long we shall return to relocate you to somewhere you can be more comfortable while you wait for your trial," the knight said, bowing. "Shiko, we better get going. We'll have to find the Dragon's Den ourselves."
"Right," Shiko said following after her master.
The sound of Marrow whimpering caught the elves' attention. The tiger held the dog by the ruff of its neck and was sitting in the doorway.
"Marrow!" Bones cried running towards the tiger.
"Bones-sensei wait!"
The tiger ran outside with the knight and her squire in tow. The tiger ran down the streets, easily out running the girls, but stopping every so once to look back, starting up once again once they were close. Around every turn it took, it stopped to make sure they didn't get lost.
"Why do I have a feeling this tiger is some sort of dues ex machina?" Bones asked, looking at the tiger.
"Hm, what do you mean?" Shiko asked.
"After we wounded that woman, it went into the back to stop by the cage! At first one might consider it a coincidence, but now it has taken Marrow hostage and ran off with her, forcing us to follow her. She led us into any number of traps and we wouldn't be the wiser!" the knight explained.
"I don't think that is its intention though!" The hunter said. "I believe it trying to repay us! This may sound crazy, but I think it trusts us!"
"In this world there are many crazy things that can't be explained, so I've come accept to accept them. However, in this case, it doesn't seem particularly crazy at all," the knight said, nodding.
They followed the tiger through a maze of streets until it abruptly stopped at the end of an alley, dropping the dog and laying low as though it were going to pounce.
Just before the elves could see the end of the ally clearly a number of figures passed by. Though the cloaks concealed their identity, they were suspiciously familiar. Among them, one even carried a scythe.
"I wander what my new play thing is?" one of the cloaked figures said. "I hope that little tiger cub didn't break it… I'll have to take her head if she did!"
"I wouldn't mind killing some people myself. Ever since our brethren had been defeated by that wretched knight, I've had the urge to kill! It must be his persona. I wouldn't put it pass him to use our collective awareness to try to try and reborn himself into one of our bodies," the figure said.
"You reapers are quite queer, but then I see the use of knowing what happens to each other. If one of you goes down, you can use the battle to learn how the enemy attacks and gain an upper hand when you try to seek him out," the first figure said. "Now where was the White Tiger's Wardrobe…?"
By the time that the knight and her squire caught up, the cloaked figures had reached the end of the street and turned. Unfortunately, without wasting a second, the tiger grabbed Marrow by the scruff of her neck again and dashed off.
(It stopped, but something was different this time… We were already to close for it to be concerned for us loosing it. It was almost like it was hiding from something…) the knight thought. "(Shiko-san, how many arrows do you have left?)" She whispered to her squire.
"(Three,)" the girl whispered her reply.
"(That's not very good and I've used a lot of mana. If we get ambushed, don't waste any resources; aim to kill!)" The knight whispered.
"(Right!)" The girl nodded her understanding.
They continued to follow the tiger until it reached a black five by ten building that they almost didn't see due to the unlit darkness of the night. Black banners bearing the golden Chinese character of "long" were draped over either side of a steel door and ornamental dragon statues lined the roof of the building, clutching in their three toed claws a golden orb. Though it was quite small and plain, it held grandeur of its own design. The elves were too observed with gawking at the small building to notice that the tiger had dropped Marrow once again until it nudged the door open with a soft, but low and thunderous sound that could be hearing echoing within the building.
"Is this it?" Bones asked no in particular, though she almost assumed the tiger would answer her anyways.
Unfortunately the tiger didn't make any move to enter the building, but face the elves and lowered itself upon its forelegs only in a quadrupedal form of bowing.
The knight was at loss for words. Though she liked to believe that animals could comprehend what they were saying, she never expected to be sentient enough to have manners. (Maybe it's been train… Then again, I can't say that for certain considering its last master wasn't quite that kind or caring…)
"Um, arigato Tora-san!" Shiko said bowing to the tiger in return.
"Ditto!" Bones said, making a quick bow before kneeling beside Marrow to check her for injuries. The fact that the dog wasn't moving caused her to worry, but further investigation revealed the dog merely lost consciousness. (I can't really blame you there. I'd probably do the same thing if I were to be carried off by a large, killer beast.) She gently shook the dog and whispered her name, but Marrow didn't stir.
"Is she alright?" Shiko asked, looking at the dog with concern.
"Yeah, she just passed out from fear. It seems she's out pretty deep, the only thing could possible wake her would be the smell of food," the knight said, shaking her head and sighing.
Almost as if cued the dog's nose twitched and her eyes flew wide open. Sniffing the air frequently, she got to her feet faster than either of the elves could react and started to follow whatever scent she had found into the building.
"Marrow wait!" Bone exclaimed, trying to grab the dog, but she was outpaced by the dog's one track mind. "Damn it! Shiko keep an on the tiger! I should be right out!"
"Right!" the girl said, looking towards where she remembered the tiger being. Her eyes widened with shock when she saw no tiger there or anywhere in sight. "Um, Bones-sensei…"
"Don't tell me; the tiger's gone," the knight said, groaning inwardly.
"I'm so sorry!" the girl cried.
"It's ok. Well then just stand guard," the knight said before disappearing into the building.
"Right!" The girl said standing by the door and gazing in the opposite direction.
Yelp!
Bones didn't like hearing that yelp, but took no more than five steps in the unlit building before she ended up tumbling down what she could assume to be stairs. As she reached even ground, with the room around swirling about in a nauseating pattern, she realized that the stairs came to stop though her mind wasn't exactly capable of much more a few seconds afterwards. When her senses aligned and her brain regain its ability to make complex thought, she began to look herself over to insure that she sustained no injuries. Thankfully finding none, she began to look for Marrow who happened to be lying not very far from her. She was too concerned with the dog's safety to realize the room that she was now in was lit, though no more than allow her to make a general check-up on the Sheltie.
"My, my, I was thinking my sister had forgotten how to knock when all together new faces coming tumbling down the stairs! I must admit I had to restrain myself from indulging in the rather comical manner you fell. It reminded so much of those cartoons I used to watch as a kid. Hopefully no serious wounds have come to either you or your pet," spoke a man behind the knight.
Spinning on heel, she looked at a man sitting on an overstuff coach with two identical twin girls draped on him from either side. "Are you master Long?" Bones asked.
"Before I answer your question, who are you? You face is quite familiar, but I have no means to identify it. You see my memory has seemed to have faded in the last thirty years," the man said.
"I am Gutou Daiyu-" the knight began, but she was abruptly cut off.
"Impossible. Unless you have found the secret to internal youth, you can't possibly be her. She would be old enough to be your mother, my child, so I'll ask again who you are?" the man said, waving his hand dismissively. "Or should I answer for you Gutou Sui?"
"H, how do you know that name!?!" The knight cried, grabbing the man by his changshan. Her eyes were wide surprise and anger. The only person that ever called her by that name was her mother and until now she had believed the only person to know that name was only her mother too.
"Calm down, little one. I will tell you everything, but you should want to let go of me- if you want to live," the man said calmly.
Bones was about to argue, but she then felt something prick her cheek. Out of the corner of her eye she could see freshly drawn blood sliding down a nearly visible thread. (Nylon wire!?!)
"If you haven't realized your predicament yet, my Dragon Ladies are each armed with refined nylon wire that has the strength of a chain of iron and the sharpness of a razor blade. Its thinness makes it nearly invisible to the naked eye. Any attempt on my health and these two girls will chop you apart so I suggest you calm down and let go of me, okay?" the man said.
Reluctantly the knight let go of the man watched as several threads of string unwound from several different areas of her body.
"Good, now please
have a seat, I'll have a few my of other girls lead in your friend from
above. I have a lot I want to discuss with you, daughter of Slave Princess
'Daiyu'…" the man said.
---
The White Tiger's Wardrobe laid in smoldering pools of molten marble. The slaves that were once housed within it lay on the street, their corpses bearing minimal wounds outside of the abuse from the former master and the death wounds that took their life.
"As you wished, I made sure that I didn't mar their bodies more than I needed, though to be honest they didn't even give up a fight and made it all too easy, spoke the scythe wielding cloaked figure. "It's almost a shame."
"And the tiger cub?" Asked Neco Lee, the hood of her cloak dropped to give her a wider field of vision.
"No where in sight, she must have fled from the scene. Have you found your gift?" the scythe wielder replied, gesturing towards a pile of clothing that it had taken from the clothier before destroying it.
"I doubt any of this would even qualify as a gift. Long only dabbles in slaves and narcotics and there's really neither here except for his usual wares… I guess the cub ran off with it. I'm not particularly clear how many tigers are in this city still, but I doubt I have enough girls including the new arrivals to handle them. I guess we'll have to head back and ask for his help. I hate doing other people's work!" the necrophiliac moaned, shaking her head disapprovingly.
"I wander if that knight would show up if we stir up enough trouble?" the scythe wielder said.
"I don't think he'd mine if you went looking for the cub in the red light district. If I remember correctly, that is autonomously controlled," The elf replied, waving its fellow off dismissively.
"I'll keep an eye out for that present of yours," the scythe wielder said, walking off.
"My, my, what a
waste. Such beautiful skin scarred," the woman said as squatted
beside one of the slaves' corpses and stroked it lovingly. "I'll
have to make the cub pay for playing with you so roughly!"
---
Bones couldn't stand the look of shame that Shiko bared as she was escorted by two women dressed in matching uniforms consisting of a black qipao with long, voluminous sleeves, black trousers, black shoes and a black dou li with a black veil that covered the entire face bearing the character of "long" on its front. The girl refused to look her master in her eye, believing that she had failed her duty.
She hadn't a chance to fight back. Once they appeared, she reached for her quiver to find that it had been cut off and several nearly invisible threads entangled her. She didn't waste any time realizing the cutting properties of the thread and was forced to obey them. She had made to look like a fool and surely dishonored Bones. Though it seemed odd that her master and Marrow was sitting idly before Long and his girls, she saw the cut on the knight's cheek and knew that they had been forced into the same predicament. The girl's heart ached with despair when was forced to sit right beside her beloved master that she had failed.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault," the knight dryly said. "I should known better than to try barging without knowing anything about the enemy's number or power. I had not only put myself in danger, but you and Marrow. I hope they didn't harm you on my behalf."
The squire was shocked to hear her master take the blame on herself. Tears beaded on rims of her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. "No, it's my fault. I had been more aware of surroundings; I could have lent you back up."
"I hate to be rude, but can't we just skip the whole 'it's my fault' skit? I'm not very fond of pointless arguments, listening to them or participating in them. Besides I have an important customer I'm waiting upon to return," Long said, waving his hand. "Besides I have many questions to ask you Gutou Soi. First, how's your mother? I heard she fled into the Gaiose Forest after leading the slave revolution and usurping the Tigers."
"She's dead," the knight said.
"Oh my! How tragic! Please tell me, did she go peacefully?" the man asked with an air of interest.
"No… She died fighting," the knight said, hiding her face so that none could see her grief as the memories of how she lost her entire family resurfaced.
"I'm very surprised. She was a true warrior and it seems she has passed her will on to you. Now what brings you here?" the man asked.
"I need a new blade," Bones said after some hesitation. She reached into her bag and retrieved the pouch that contained her nodachi and Skullguard uniform. Pulling the pouch open, she reached in and drew forth the nodachi. Unsheathing the sword, she revealed what remained of the blade.
"What in hell did that!?!" The man said, shocked. He took the sword from her and looked over. "It was melted, but how is that possible? This blade should be able to resist the flames of hell!"
"I transmuted it into Soulpiercing Silver," the knight said, looking away embarrassedly.
The man was speechless. After a long moment of silence he finally began to speak up, "You are just as reckless as your mother. I gave her this sword as a sign of trust and before I knew it she broken the blade in the revolution. I swear! You women have no idea how hard it is to come by a silver blade of this quality."
"I'm sorry," the knight whispered, bowing.
"It won't be cheap, but I think I might have a spare blade lying around," Long said as he turned the blade over in his hand.
"No matter the price, my order will reimburse you," the knight offered.
"Order? What kind of order is that?" the man said looking at her with interest.
(Crap! I said too much!) Bones thought, the color draining from her face.
"As I remember, your mother had fallen in love with a knight from the order of the Cryptkeepers. I've met him once, though I don't remember his name, I knew he was quite a honorable man. I also see much of him in you and wouldn't be surprised if you followed in his foot steps," the man said.
"My entire family, including my father and mother, are dead… I'm the only survivor," Bones said, closing her eyes and sighing.
"So you have become an avenger?" the man said, sounding disappointed.
"No. An avenger seeks to get back at the one who had caused their dismay. I cannot avenge my family for it was my fault nor am I disillusioned enough to believe killing a single person will make things right! They are dead and will remain dead, there's nothing I can do to change that! Besides, not only my family, but the entire village I once lived in suffered because of my folly! I refused to make that mistake again and I refuse to let that man to do as he wishes if it means he would make others suffer! By the Necronomicon I swear I will punish him for every crime he has committed!" the knight exclaimed. "And what your crimes cannot be forgiven!"
The man laughed. "Yes, I am a sinner. To quench my endless greed, I sell human lives and biochemical weapons to other sinners, but I am not heartless. I treat my slaves with respect and humanity. What their masters do to them after they're sold is none of my concern, but I do not take any pleasure in knowing what will eventually happen to them. If only I can bring order to this sinful city."
"Order?" Bones asked, confused.
"You may think I thrive off this chaos, but that is only half-true. I thrive because I can make adapt to the situation. I do not take any pride in my business, but in order to achieve my ultimate goal, I must lay low and wait for my chance as I had back when the Tiger clan ruled this city. In fact it was all thanks to your mother that I had my chance; a brave woman she is. However I fear her effort may have gone to waste as I control all, but the slums where the tigers have raised their own filthy businesses to cover their covert activities to ruin the name of my clan and take the city back! They stand in my way of achieving true order in this town! If this order of yours is at all lawful as you claim, then you should understand my situation!"
"This Tiger clan, by chance do they own the White Tiger's Wardrobe?" Shiko asked out of curiosity.
"They currently do, though I have set out rather trustworthy ally of mine to deal with them and retrieve something that they have taken from me. I plan on using this an example of what will happen. Hopefully by eliminating them, I can restore this city to its former glory," the man said.
"And how long will this former glory hold before it falls back into the chaos? How do you plan on maintaining your hold over this entire city? By fear?" the knight asked.
"No, no! I do not need to resort to such petty tactics as use police brutality to keep the people in line. What I truly need is a powerful ally. I here there was an order of knights that have been eying this town, but unable to make a move to take it and resort control. I plan upon establishing my full control of Duslan' to contact them with a simple and fair deal. Lend me their aid in keeping the order and I'll allow them jurisdiction within the walls. I'll even lend them the full authority over these girls, who are among my elite Dragon Ladies and control my entire forces! What more can I offer?" Long said, gesturing towards the girls on either side of him. "If my memory serves, they were called the Skullguard."
"If that is your desire, then I can act as a liaison between you and the order, but you must do something for me to prove your sincerity!" the knight said.
"If you mean the sword, I'll repair it on account of my debt to your mother and nothing more. As the lawful type, I doubt you'd be interested in any of my common wares… I'll search my stock house for something truly valuable for you, though it might take some time. I'll assign you a room in the Drunken Dragon Inn and to show that I'm not planning on killing you in your sleep I'll even lend you my girls," the man placed his hands at each of the girl's necks and began to chant. "Sealing the soul, chains of silver, bind and control!" An area of light around each of the girl's neck began to glow with a green light. As a silver collar materialized around each of the girl's necks, the light began to fall from the collar in a narrow line that materialized into a silver chain.
"Collars of Corpse Command!" the knight said in surprise.
"Eh?" Shiko looked at her master in confusion.
"Made of Soulpiercing Silver, collars of corpse command force the person who syncs with it or else suffer Soulpiercing and risk having the thread of their soul be cut. Generally they are only used on full automatic animation types of undead such as liches and vampires," the knight explained.
"As you said, these girls are quite dead, as are all of my Dragon Ladies and each where a collar of command synced to these two girls. The collars these girls are wearing have yet to be synced to anybody so it's up to you to do so yourself. Simply just grab the chains and make the contract of command," Long said, holding his hand out to the knight and her squire.
"I'll do it. My squire has little knowledge of the dark arts and wouldn't be able to rebound from the syncing process," the knight said, "But I must know their names first."
"Long Yi and Long Liang," the man said, making no move to point which was which as he said their names.
"One… and Two…?" Bones said, looking at the girls with a mixture of confusion and embarrassment.
"Well those are quite interesting names," Shiko stated.
The knight kneeled before the girls, grabbing the chains that dangled at their feet and closed her eyes. "I, Bones of the Skullguard, claim possession of the individuals, Long Yi and Long Liang! As long as I live, my every command is law until the contract is broken or rendered null and void." The chains in her hand began to glow black, starting at the sections held in the knight's hand and drifting down the chain to the collar before fading. The chains dispersed except for the links in her hand which became two silver rings in her hand. Sliding the rings onto each of her hands, she sighed and said, "The contract has been sealed."
"Now that is done, these girls will gladly direct towards the Drunken Dragon Inn. I will call upon you once your sword is repaired," Long said as the girls got up.
"Right this way, master," the girls said at the same time, gesturing up the stairs.
"Thank you," Bones said, bowing.
As the knight, her squire
and the dog got up the girls began to climb the stairs with the trio
in tow.
---
"My debt to you is beyond measuring, milady!" Weiming said bowing before a woman laid before her.
"Weiming, you are too humble. I no longer am the queen of Duslan', yet you treat me as such. Address me by Xiaojie," the woman said. A dread elf of unimaginable beauty, she laid atop a tiger skin rug, her over coat and robe hanging immodestly open to expose the pale, supple flesh underneath. Strewn about her were various other girls in various forms of dress, the iron collars they wore clearly marking them as slaves. The woman's bangs were cropped around her forehead where the character "Wang" could be seen.
"But to address milady like she was some lowly prostitute! I cannot!" the woman said, shaking her head.
"Your innocence is beyond understanding. Now put formalities aside as we more pressing matters at hand. You say that a girl who resembles the Slave Princess Daiyu has not only showed up, but made a mockery of my cubs and now challenges the Dragon… As much as I want to believe they'd kill one another, the fact that serpent was a conspirer to the Slave Princess. I can only assume it would only be time before he has convinced this look alike to finish what they started. She is a threat and must be eliminated at once," the woman said, take a puff at her pipe and breathing out smoke. "Prepare the War Tigers at once."
"Yes milady," Weiming bowed and rose to leave.
Just then an out of breath girl threw the wide double doors of the darkly lit room open, standing doubled over and out of breath. "Lady Hu Hou, the brothels are under attack!" The girl cried in horror.
The pipe fell onto the
ground, flicking ashes onto the tiger skin rug. "WHAT!?!"
---
The red light district of Duslan' was alit with bright blue flames as a scythe wielding cloaked figure ran about, killing all that tried to escape the burning brothels. The only distinction between the prostitutes and their customers that the assailant made was the matter in which it killed them. The men were cut down without mercy with the death wounds aimed where the scythe hit while the poor and unfortunate women forced to die screaming as their legs and arms were sliced away so that they didn't get away, quickly dying from blood loss. Since it wasn't aware of what Neco Lee's present even looked like, it was left to guess and to be safe, it made sure to kill anything it expected to the present in manner most easily overlooked.
The assailant nimbly jumped aside as a Shen Baio flew past. The assailant continuously evaded as several more Shen Baio came flying towards it. "What do we have hear?" the assailant asked watching as several female warriors clad in white robes and black armor.
Pulling the Shen Baio's chain back, they retrieved their chain-darts. "We are Lady Hu Hou's elite warriors, the War Tigers and upon the name of the Tiger Clan shall not let you go unpunished!" roared one of the warriors.
"Is that so?" the assailant asked.
The Shen Baio shot forward faster than the assailant had time to react. Ensnaring the cloaked figured, the warriors held the chain-dart firmly while others rushed forward with hook swords drawn in pairs.
"Fiery lush, charcoaled flesh, burn everything I touch!" the cloaked figure exploded in bright blue flames just as the War Tigers were within striking range, setting them alit and engulfing the chains. The chains melted in pools of molten metal around the now exposed body of the assailant which was no more than a charred skeleton as the warriors fell to the ground and rolled about in a futile attempt to put out the fire. "Fools! Nothing can extinguish my hellfire! Now burn in the flames of hell! Sulfur taste, fiery breath, reduce everything to smoldering waste!" The charred skeleton breathed a jet of bright blue flames at the remaining warriors.
"Who dares attack the Tiger Clan!?!" Demanded a voice from ahead of the reaper. By now that person was dressed, it was unmistakably Weiming though her face was hidden behind a porcelain mask.
"I am, but just a murder reborn from the flames of hell who now seeks to kill all that lives. And who may you be?" the reaper said.
"I am the Weiming of the Tiger Clan! Under the guidance of my lady I shall put stop to your rampage!" the woman declared, snapping her whip at the reaper. Before it could even reach the reaper it exploded into flames that raced towards her hand. "What the hell!?!" She cried, dropping the whip and jumping back.
"You aren't a smart one are you? Don't you see smoldering piles of ashes around you? Those were you friends before they played with my fire! You can't touch me! Now before I kill, I have a very important question. Are you the little cub that stole Mistress Lee's present?" the reaper asked.
"You mean the tiger. Well if you want it, you're too late. The same woman who stole my face took the tiger with her!" Weiming said. "Too bad you're going to die!" Reaching into her sleeves, she drew a number of daggers in each and tossed them at the reaper. As the flying daggers touched the blue fire, they melted into puddles of molten steel at the reaper's feet.
"Then I will have to find that woman and kill her myself, but not before you tell everything you know about her!" the reaper said, rushing forward.
Weiming turned away from the flaming assailant and ran off as fast as she could. (Damn it! I can't touch him while he's enveloped with those flames… I hope you have escaped safely, milady…)
"Deafen the hearing, turn to black, spherical searing!" As the reaper completed its spell, fire that covered its body flew forth as a massive ball of fire, swiftly trailing behind the fleeing woman.
Weiming ducked into an alley just in time to escape the fireball that left all in its wake in ashes. Even after the ball had passed she could smell sulfur in the air. She didn't realized the smell was coming from behind until a skeletal hand grabber her by the shoulder, causing her to reflexively peer behind her. A startled gasp escaped her masked face as she saw the charcoaled skeleton grab her by the mask.
Her screams echoed through
the night, but were muted by the roar of the unholy flames that lit
the moonless night.
---
Bones woke in a cold sweat. For once that dream didn't plague her sleeping mind and the warmth of Shiko's naked body allowed her to fall asleep without any trouble, but something tore her away from her peaceful sleep. She wasn't sure what it was, but she had a feeling that it wasn't good. Looking to the side of her bed, her eyes grew as large as shields.
The tiger from before sat beside the bed looking at them with curiosity.
(What is it doing in here? Did those girls let it in here?) The knight wandered looking it in the eyes. (Wait… Where's Marrow?) Before the knight could become worried, she heard the whimper of dog coming from under the bed.
The tiger got up and made its way towards the window.
The knight followed the big cat with her eyes though as soon as it reached the window her eyes were torn to the window. Though she was more than sure it was still night, the window was lit with a bright, unnatural light. Silently slipping out of her bed and creeping towards the window, she gasped in horror. From the farthest end of the city the unmistakable flames of hellfire burned brightly, covering several blocks. Throwing the curtains shut, she quickly got dressed, soundlessly opened the door and slipped out of the room before shutting it silently.
"Is something wrong?" the girls asked in her unison.
"The city's on fire!" the knight exclaimed as quietly as she could.
"No need to worry, it's only the slums where the Tiger clan are and it's self-contained so there's no need to fear it spreading," the girls said.
"Those flames are hellfire! There's only one person that can manipulate hellfire!" Bones said.
"Ah, Master's usual customer did come with a quite an interesting looking fellow! He was a charred black skeleton and he carried a scythe. I wander if that could be him?" the girls said, looking to one another.
(Another hellborn skeleton?) The knight thought her pace pale. "I have to stop it before it kills everyone in this city!"
"Um… I don't think it would be in your best interests to meddle! He is a guest of an important customer and if you interfere, we'll loose her!" the girls said looking to one another.
"Who is this damn customer that is so important that you'd put the lives of the innocent at danger to appease?" the woman asked.
"Why master's half-sister; Neco Lee!" the girls said.
Without warning, the knight ran out of the Black Dragon Inn and down the street. (Damn it! No wonder she had disappeared without a trace; she must have been recruited by that man! But what can she doing here Duslan?) The knight thought as she sprinted towards the fire.
"Onee-chan what are we going to do? She harms mistress Lee well loose an important customer, but if we let mistress hurt her, Master Long would get angry at us!" one of the two girls exclaimed.
"Don't worry Imoto-chan! We'll just keep them apart! But we cant just stop her because of the collars. We'll send the Dragon Ladies. She has command over us, but not them! If we order them to stall her, we should be able to lead Mistress Lee away!" The other said.
"Wow, Onee-chan, why didn't I think of that?" the first asked.
"You did, we share a single mind!" the other girl pointed out.
"O' almighty Dragon of the Heavens, we plea before you! Grant us your fangs!" Chanting at the same time, the girls slapped their hands together and struck the ground. Under their palms a light glowed, forming a pentagram under them. Intensifying to the point of being blinding, the light faded away, revealing nine identically dressed as the figures who had escorted Shiko into the Dragon's Den standing around them. "Follow the knight and make sure she stays as far away from the mistress Lee and her companion.
The nine women bowed and sprinted off after the knight.
"Imoto-chan you find Mistress Lee and her companions and keep them from the knight, I'll inform master," one of the two girls said.
"Right!" The other girl said, leaping through the window to land on the ground safely three stories below. Sprinting into a nearby alley, she began to weave through the back streets of the city, which held many shortcuts especially to the red light district.
"The other girl
should be safe on her own… I hope," the remaining girl said as
she followed as the first. As she entered the alley, she turned the
opposite direction which lead to the Dragon's Den.
---
The voices of the knight and the twins stirred Shiko from her sleep. Still groggy she laid half asleep in the bed, not able to comprehend any of what was being said. By the time the last of the twins had left, her mind was awake enough to register a wet tongue licking her on the cheek. She had been feeling for some time after the knight left the room, but she was too far still asleep to realize that it wasn't Bones. Now, with all senses working properly, her heart stopped dead in her tracks as she looked at the source of the mystery tongue. Laying atop of her over the sheets was a naked humanoid figure with the ears and tail of a cat. Though her hair was black, the fur pattern on her feline appendages was that of a tiger's and around her neck was an unmistakable golden collar.
"T, Tora-sama?" the hunter asked a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Now that we're alone, I can thank you personally for saving me back there," the girl said, slipping under the blankets.
"Wait! I'm already in a relationship! I'm grateful for everything you did for us, but, but I can't!" the squire said, trying her best to push the tiger-girl off her, but she wasn't capable of competing with the muscles that rippled across her tanned flesh.
"Come now, don't be like that…" the tiger said, lowering in to kiss the hunter.
"Wow, I don't think I've seen such a creature! I've been looking all over for you, present!" spoke Neco Lee leaning against the door way of the bed room door. "Though I never expected to get two cute girls tonight!" Stepping out of the door, her entourage of cloaked figures shuffled in, drawing kama from under their cloaks.
"Don't worry; I won't let them hurt you!" the tiger-girl said. A soft golden glow enveloped her as the girl transformed into the tiger she was before.
"Remember girls, keeping the wounds to a minimum!" Neco Lee said, laughing sadistically to herself.
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