36 Chapter 36 - The Boy Knight is Slain (1/2)
”So this is him...” Jack stared at the corpse with great distaste.
Peering up at Dana he clenched his teeth. On one hand, she had butchered the townspeople against his orders, slain the target of their investigation AND gone off on her own. And yet, she at least found the target while getting some intel before he died too.
Then there was the matter of the Lord that had triggered this debacle at all...
”You are certain he said their companions were heading into the monster forest to hide? The werewolf, parasite AND the demon? You have to be certain, you definitely heard him say the demon was with them?” Jack's hands opened and closed. Any atrocity could be overlooked if they captured the portal demon. The countless lives saved would make any other cost cheap by comparison.
”I am certain, Warden,” Dana said with a dark look in her eyes.
Jack did not remember her hating him this much and wondered of being played for a fool by the Lord had angered her as it had him/ Perhaps...he should not have yelled so much when she first arrived. But still, had his temper really been so angry as to earn that aura of bloodlust?
”This information is valuable and will be the only reason I'm not executing you, Dana. Your actions have turned the townspeople against us, gods know that stupid Lord's advice already made the guilds hate us too. To think he would lie so brazenly that the adventurers were hiding them...despicable.”
”The Guildmembers, they are safe?” Dana said with rounded eyes and bated breath.
Jack grinned, ”aye Dana. They are safe, I meant them no harm. We just wanted to find the escaped prisoners amongst them, the fate of our kingdom demanded we work with speed. What has gotten into you? I had thought you didn't care for anything bar your faith and the cause.”
Perhaps, jack thought, he had misjudged her. Seeing the shaven haired necromancer sigh with relief, he almost thought she was human. But then Jack remembered her record, the terrible atrocity that had put her into prison to begin with.
To think the sole living being who had willingly served the Plague King could so shamelessly return to the scene of her genocidal crime and then not even bat an eyelash about it? The depth of that kind of evil made jack shiver. And she dared stare at him as if he were the bad one here?
”You will join us in giving chase immediately. Luckily our assassin tracked them down to the monster forest and has already found a Willow tree they were recently waiting under before her returned. With both of you together, our forces will surely catch them in no time. You are dismissed.”
Even though Dana should have been pleased, she instead appeared shocked.
”N-no, they are definitely heading deep into the forest itself. Most likely to hide,” Dana said quickly, ”they are a dim witted people - trying to find a hole to crawl within and stay out of our sight.”
”Dana...thank you for this information. But Ozzy had already explained why they would take a path that would lead through the mountains and back into our kingdom. That path would be risky, certainly, but would evade the patrols I've sent along the king's road. I'm trusting his advice on this matter.”
As Dana moved to speak again, Jack held up a finger.
”Not another word Dana, this is my decision. Now go get ready.” Once the rebellious necromancer had left, Jack gestured for a crusader to allow the next appointment in.
Covered in gold and furs, the fat Lord Richmond had enough belly for four and chewed on a drumstick even as he came to their meeting.
”You should never make a Lord wait...Captain,” Lord Richmond said as he sucked the grease from his fingers.
”And you should not lie to me. Even if I am no longer a Templar Inquisitor, I am still of the inquisition. I could have you hanged for that stunt with the Golden Goose. To think you would claim they were hiding the enemy when you really just wanted to drive them out of town...”