“As expected of a chaka,” Lady Nela laughed. “Even without having bound a spellheart, your body’s vitality makes you more than a match for the fourth layer of zeal accumulation. I like what I see.”
“Now that we have that settled, I’ll be going. Come Sava, we need to make it to the constable’s office before they close.”
“Wait!” Lady Nela shouted.
I turned, worried that the gang leader was coming back for seconds, but she was still on the ground looking up at me with a mixture of fear and confusion.
“I’m Nela Songstone. Only a year ago I was daughter and heir to the mighty Songstone Clan. Though little remains of my once great clan, I still have friends and resources across the kingdom and even beyond. I’d like to invite you to... visit for a while. I have exotic wines you could try, and my servants will see to your every need.”
So, the blonde girl was from a fallen clan. More stuff for me to research. She was trying to tempt me to her side with luxury. I was almost tempted to accept. Additional resources were always helpful.
But she seemed too eager. Too desperate. I didn’t think it would go well for me. Besides, I could never picture myself as a gold digger, and they might not let me bring Sava along. I’d really grown fond of her recently.
“We’ll talk some other time,” I turned, and without leaving time for any more delays I turned my back, grabbed Sava’s hand, and left the way we had come. I’d only just gotten myself comfortable with Sava, and I had no desire to go back to being someone’s prisoner. Sure, this Lady Nela might give me creature comforts, but I didn’t fancy myself as able to sweet talk my captor a second time.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SAVA LENT ME most of what little clothing she was wearing to help reassemble my disguise. She was now walking around in what amounted to a bikini and traveling boots. Not that I minded.
It didn’t seem to attract the notice of anybody else either. Apparently, there were no taboos against showing off your body among elves. It was probably because there were so few elvish men. It’s not like women here needed to worry about lustful male gazes when there wasn’t a single man around.
As we walked through the settlement, we ran into a few individuals who looked at me strangely. My undersized garb and shrouded figure drew more eyes than Sava’s bare skin. Nobody stopped us though, and Sava was able to direct me to the local royal constable’s office unimpeded.
“We’re here to turn this in for the reward,” Sava held up the death spellheart to the elf sitting behind the desk.
The elf looked at the death spellheart. “Of course. I’ll need to weigh it and then you can fill out the required paperwork.”
Then she pulled out a scale with two trays balanced on either side. On one tray she placed the spellheart while on the other she placed a few bronze weights. Once the trays balanced she nodded to herself and jotted something down on a piece of paper.
“Not bad for a basic spellheart in terms of physical quantity of zeal. Per the Queen’s decree, you’re qualified for 230 queensmarks or an equivalent amount in spellhearts of common aspects in compensation.”
Sava let out a low whistle. I was impressed as well. I wasn’t entirely sure what money was worth in this world, but from Sava’s trade with Grotkins I gathered that her whole load of potions was worth about twelve queensmarks. And those took her quite a while to brew, even with my help. The Queen must really want these black spellhearts.
“Follow me,” the clerk said.
Sava and I did so, and she led us to a back room. “I need to tap into the reward money again. Somebody’s turning in a death aspect spellheart,” the clerk said to guardswoman stationed by a large, strong looking door.
The guardswoman nodded. “Sure. I’ll fetch the box for you,” she turned around and unlocked the door behind her.
Both the guardswoman and the clerk were surprised to find someone already inside the small chamber. A tall, green-skinned well-muscled lady was busily stuffing her pockets with every coin she could get her hands on. Around the room were several chests that had been smashed open, coins spilling out. Copper and most of the silver ones were left on the ground, but the green-skinned lady had already picked the gold coins up.
“Intruder!” the clerk said in a hushed shout. “How could you let a thief by you!?” She accused the guardswoman angrily.
“Thief... what are you talking about?” A puzzled, distant expression came over her eyes. “This is Princess Tivana. She stopped by today for a surprise inspection of our treasury.”
The clerk was flabbergasted. “Princess Tivana!? That’s an Orc! She’s green! And why would the princess suddenly decide to visit our tiny little town announced and inspect our tiny treasury!?”
The puzzled expression on the guardswoman’s face grew larger. Eventually, things snapped into place for her and she realized she’d made a terrible mistake. “You’re... You’re right. What was I thinking? We’ve got an intruder!”
Then the orc made her move. She pulled something out of her pocket. Something deep amber colored that glimmered strangely. It was slightly bigger than the necromantic spellheart I’d just given up. That one had interested me, but something about this spellheart just drew me in immediately. I wanted it. Like I’d never wanted anything else in my life. And I think that it wanted me as well.
It wasn’t just me whose interest had just been drawn. Everyone in the room was staring at the little yellow stone.
“I be not an orc,” The orc said slowly in broken elvish. “I be elf princess. Pretty and much powerful. I take money, and this is good and right.”
What the hell?
I glanced at Sava and the clerk. They didn’t seem puzzled by the orc’s actions. Instead, they were nodding along as if the orc had just made the most logical argument in the world. The guardswoman was already bowing in the orc’s direction.
Again, what the hell?
”You, big elf, ” the orc said with a hint of apprehension in her voice. “Bow for princess, yes?”
Suddenly it clicks. “Oh! This is some sort of mind control!” But if that’s the case, why wasn’t it affecting me?
The orc’s eyes went wide. “No mind control! Me elf princess!”
I snorted in laughter. I’d been here a week and even I could tell this woman wasn’t a princess of anything. She wore what once might have been described as rags, before they’d been worn full of holes and fraying threads. The scraps of leather she’d wrapped around herself made better clothes than what she was wearing.
Her skin was a greenish gray color, and she had a pair of tusks sticking out ever so slightly from her lower jaw. Long black hair had been braided into three tails, and she was wearing leather armor that only partially covered her ample breasts.
She was hot, though differently than the elves. Where the elves mostly skewed to the petite side, this orc was buxom. Complete with flush red lips and an athletic round ass. She would have been quite the knockout back home, barring the inhuman features.
“You know, I respect this,” I waved around the small chamber. “Robbing the local police station is a bold move. Normally people go for a bank or something. But in your case, it seems to be a profitable endeavor, though I can think of a few long-term scams you could do with mind magic that would work better than this.”
“No mind magic!” The orc insisted. “Me princess!”
“Unfortunately, you’re interfering with my plans for this place,” I cracked my knuckles. Punching that elf a little while ago had shown me how much my body had improved, and I was eager to push those limits further.
The orc growled. It looked like she had given up on mind tricks. The orc pulled a rusty hammer from her hip and wielded it in the hand not holding the amber spellheart.
“Elves puny little girls. Yorik is a real tough orc woman. Yorik will crush you, puny elf.”
Yorik, orc warrior (reduced to level 5)
The fifth layer of zeal accumulation? I should be able to handle that. Though re
duced was curious. Was she weakened somehow? The orc didn’t give me the chance to continue sizing her up.
“You’re hot, but the incredible hulk routine is a bit of a turn off,” I said back to her.
I hadn’t gotten into a real fist fight since middle school, but I was ready for this. Every time I tested it, my body was able to push itself to heights beyond my wildest expectations. I’d sized up those gangsters in the back alley and didn’t find them too impressive. Even against their third layer of zeal accumulation lackey. I’d knocked her flat on her ass in one blow with just the strength of my fists. This orc didn’t look so tough. I bet I could —
Wham!
The rusty hammer collided with my forearm, which I had just barely managed to raise in time to block the blow. Okay, so this ‘Yorik’ was fast.
The orc didn’t waste any time. The moment her first blow bounced off my arm she pivoted and sent another blow crashing towards my head.
I dodged to the side. The hammer continued downwards anyway, where it smashed a hole in the ground and tossed wood and tile up in a shower of debris.
The orc glared at her oversized hammer in anger, as if it was moving slower than she’d expected it to.
“Assassin! Step away from the princess!” The guardswoman, still under the influence of the orc’s mind control, shouted at me while drawing her sword. The clerk started shimmying away as fast as possible.
Sava glanced between me and the orc, apparently deciding which side she was on. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned and tackled the guardswoman to the ground.
I found it comforting that Sava was so willing to commit treason on my behalf. I’d have to thank her when she was no longer under the influence of the magical mind-affecting illusion.
“I see how it is, Yorik. You don’t think you can beat me in a competition of pure strength, so you’ve got to use dirty tricks and magic!” I taunted as I caught a hammer blow to my shoulder blade. That was going to be sore tomorrow, but the fact that that blow didn’t cave in the whole left side of my body indicated that I hadn’t overestimated my abilities.
The orc hollered at me in response, her attacks slowly becoming more savage. My words had angered her, but I got the sense she was more frustrated with her own inability to defeat me than with my insults. “Orcs win through strength! Insult at your peril, elf!”
At the risk of sounding cocky, she wasn’t that tough. I was holding my own unarmed. My lack of foresight in not bringing a proper weapon had come to bite me again though, because if I had a good weapon this would already be over. Oh well, that would just make this more of a challenge.
I lowered my guard just a bit, presenting an opening right in the middle of my chest. The orc took the bait and struck a blow that sent me stumbling backwards a pace, but it was worth it. I clamped my hands around the head of her hammer and tugged it closer to my chest.
The orc panicked when she realized that I had hold of her weapon. At first I thought she had realized that she wouldn’t stand a chance against me without her hammer, but there was something more to it. Her eyes widened at the sight of it caught in my grip, as if I’d grabbed her own heart and was trying to steal it from her. She tugged desperately with both hands, but the head of the hammer was locked under my arm and not going anywhere.
The orc woman fought as though she had the strength of a bull, but in practical terms she was no stronger than she physically looked. I doubted mind zeal did anything for physical strength, and I was naturally bigger than her. While she wasn’t a lightweight, it wasn’t hard to overpower her.
What surprised me was that her fighting style appeared to be based on overwhelming strength, which was something she just didn’t have. Even Sava could put more force behind her arms than this thanks to her magic.
Using one hand to bind up the hammer, my other hand was free. So, I gave her my best right hook. The blow knocked her to the ground, causing her to lose her grip on the weapon. Now entirely in my grasp, I flipped the hammer around, so I was holding it correctly. Grime covered the end like it had been dragged through the mud, but the hammer was still solid metal underneath. A bit inelegant for my tastes but a weapon was a weapon.
The orc growled at me from the ground, touching her jaw as if she couldn't believe she’d been knocked off her feet. She tried to climb to her feat, unsteady and dizzy from my recent blow. I’d gotten and kicked the orcs legs out from under her. She toppled to the ground, lying face down. She tried to push herself up again but I planted my foot on her back to keep her pinned.
The orc didn‘t struggle against my hold. Instead she lowered her head. She knew she’d been beaten. She looked up at me from the corner of her eyes, panting and red-faced. I got the sense that she’d never felt so humiliated before, but at the same time her expression faintly reminded me of Sava the previous night. Was she aroused by this?
“Yorik, was it?” The orc nodded in response. “I have a proposition for you.”
“Apologies citizens... it seems our reward chest is empty. We must have paid more in bounties than I thought,” The clerk blushed a bit. She was responsible for keeping track of these things after all.
Not that she had any need to be worried. She’d been nothing but polite to me, and I’m not the type to repay that by throwing her under the wagon. I touched the mind aspect spellheart in my pocket. This little thing worked wonders, though to get it to work I had to convey my instructions through Yorik. I couldn’t use the spellheart when it was bound to Yorik.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll just come by in a few days,” I said with a cheery smile. And I was cheery. This had proven to be an excellent day. Sava glanced at me curiously as we left the constable’s office.
“You know... I would have thought you’d be a bit more upset about giving that spellheart up for nothing,” She said with a frown. I know she was upset about it.
I clapped her on the shoulder and gave her a wink. “I’ll fill you in later,” Yorik had a trick to make everyone in the immediate vicinity forget up to a minute’s worth of information, provided they were already under the influence of the mind-aspect spellheart. As a result, Sava and the two guardswomen remembered nothing of their short, but eventful encounter with the orc thief. Just the way I wanted it.
Yorik warned me against trusting it, since it was a spell that only worked against heartwielders, elves who physically carried around their spellheart, and were in the zeal accumulation stage, like Sava. Even then, strong heartwielder’s had a good chance at resisting it anyways. But this time, we were lucky.
I pulled the mind spellheart out of my pocket and inspected it again. I’d really love to have one of these of my own, but Yorik had been cooperative. I wasn’t about to kill her now just to take her stone. It was the only thing of value she possessed, after all. The first step was to get any spellheart working for me, no matter what aspect it was. To do that, I’d have to acquire numerous spellhearts and sift through them for one that worked for me. Luckily, I’d already seen to that.
Not fifteen minutes after we left town Yorik stepped out in front of us in the middle of the road.
“Orc bandit!” Sava hissed, immediately going for her bow and jumping in front of me.
I pushed her aside. “Not a bandit, Sava, just an honest woman holding up her side of the bargain. Where’s the goods?”
Yorik grumbled something under her breath while withdrawing a small leather coin purse. The contents of this purse were far more valuable to me than coins though. Inside jingled dozens of small spellhearts. Each one represented a potential path to magical power for me.
I pulled out the mind spellheart and Yorik’s hammer. “Good. Say, I could use a competent woman who is not afraid to get her hands dirty, orc or not. What do you say you stick around Yorik? I don’t have much now, but I can promise you I’m not the type to dream small.”
Yorik shook her head before I even finished speaking. “Just give Yorik her stone, strong elf. Take your stones,” Her eyes darted up to mi
ne and quickly away. There was the same gruffness I’d sensed during our fight, but now there was also a tinge of respect in there. Also frustration, and more than a little fear.
I shrugged. “Fair enough.”
As interesting as the mind spellheart was, I had dozens of other types of spellhearts in this little pouch, all unbound and ready for me to try.
“Hammer.” Yorik asked, eyes darting to the weapon.
I shrugged, flipped the weapon around and handed it to her. Tension fell from the orc’s shoulders as the hammer came back into her hands.
“How... who? What happened?” Sava demanded once Yorik had left.
I told her the story of how we’d run into Yorik in the middle of robbing the constable’s treasury in the middle of the day.
“Theo, that can’t be true,” She said when I finished.
I frowned. “That’s what I saw. You were pretty out of it. I don’t know why, but Yorik’s mind magic affected you and the guardswomen back there badly.”
“There’s no such thing as mind magic, Theo! No such thing as a “mind” spellheart. There are the elements, fire, water, earth, and air. Those are the foundational elements. I’ve never heard of a combination of elements that made up something resembling mind zeal. Without a type of zeal, such a magic couldn’t exist."
My frown deepened. “I know what I saw Sava,” This new information suddenly made that orc, Yorik much more interesting. I wish I’d been able to convince her to stick around. She’d proven quite useful in dealing with what otherwise would have been a very messy situation back at the constable’s office.
“Maybe you just think you saw something,” Sava leaned close to me, clinging to my arm. She’d acted a lot closer to me after today. I guess danger really is the best attractant.
“Or maybe you just don’t remember, because every time somebody uses mind magic around you they wipe your memories,” I replied.
Zeal of the Mind and Flesh: A Cultivating Gamelit Harem Adventure (Spellheart Book 1) Page 15