Reincarnated! A Tale of the Sorceress Amaya

“It… it was horrible! The guard… he started screaming, clawing at his face. Then.. then he burst into flames and this thing emerged!” The man explained.

This sounded just like what we saw in Iron Rock. A guard transforming was really concerning. Was that imperial infighting or something else? Was there truly a cult operating within the Empire?

“If they managed to put those runes on the guards this could happen everywhere in the city…” Lucy said.

“That is a horrifying thought. But we don’t know when they were placed. I assume the victims were not aware, or willing. It could have been somewhere in their free time. A club, a bar,...”

“Or it could have been at a larger gathering of the guards. Imagine if they infiltrated the army barracks.”

“Surely they would notice…”

“They did not in Iron Rock.” Lucy pointed out.

“True, but that was a hidden base. Surely a permanent structure would have better defences. Not that we can do anything about it anyway.”

The man we saved stared at us in confusion. I suppose we could have just talked telepathically. Then again, if we simply stood there in silence it might have been creepy.

“Shall we free him?” Lucy asked, pointing at the man.

“I don’t know. He is probably in prison for a reason. And he should be safe now, we haven’t seen any other demons in here. The streets might even be more dangerous.” While I disliked the Empire that did not mean I presumed anyone imprisoned by them to be innocent. I would not let the man die, but there was no reason to free him.

Lucy shrugged. The man opened his mouth a few times but no words emerged. He might have been too confused, or scared, to say anything. We left.

Nobody else was alive inside the building. The streets outside were deserted. I saw a few bodies lying around. People that did not get away in time. I also saw a few dead hounds, Shani’s work presumably. Since she was not around there were most likely more things to hunt. Oh no… I suddenly went pale.

Lucy noticed. “Amaya, what is wrong?” She asked telepathically.

“I told Shani to stop the demons. But we don’t know how many are inside the city. She might be bursting into secret labs. Maybe she is not just going after the obvious ones. I have no idea what powers she has to find them.”

Lucy just laughed. “That is not a problem, that would be amazing! They could never blame you for that! You gave a perfectly valid order. If the Empire just happened to have demons stashed everywhere that is not our problem.”

I was not convinced the Empire would see it that way. But she did have a point and I relaxed a bit. They would not be happy but in the end they could not officially blame me.

“We should check for survivors.” Lucy said.

She was right. I was capable of casting a low level healing spell. It would be enough to stabilise wounded citizens. Unfortunately the hounds were rather deadly. We only found a person I could save. There were no traces of surviving hounds. Shani did a good job. While we inspected the nearby streets a response from the Empire arrived. Four heavily armoured people with plate armour and one mage with a robe. They came by air and landed next to us. Two of them had a sword and shield, two had halberds, and the wizard was unarmed. He was the one who spoke. “What happened here?” They looked tense but the swords remained sheathed, for now.

“I am Countess Amaya Delphinium of the Dominion. We heard an explosion and came to investigate. Someone unleashed demons in your guard station nearby. We were able to save one prisoner and were looking for survivors right now. I have also summoned an elemental and tasked it with hunting those demons.” I stated.

They clearly recognized my name. This looked like an elite unit, it would make sense if they were informed of visiting diplomats.

“Ladies, your help is appreciated. Our job is to secure the area and deal with threats so the investigators can find out what happened. Since I cannot confirm your identity I am afraid I will have to ask you to wait for them.”

I simply pulled out my diamond membership card. It did not have a picture but it was magically linked to me. Channelling some magic into it made the name light up.

The wizard's eyes widened as he saw the card. “Uh… that is enough, yes. I apologise for doubting you.” He bowed.

I did not blame the man. I could have been an imposter. He was just doing his job.

“No problem, I understand. Also, I have to warn you that there is a chance this is happening elsewhere in the city as well. We have seen similar magic in Iron Rock and a lot of people could be compromised and used to summon demons. With magic sight you should be able to see the runes on them. They can be dispelled if you discover them before they activate.”

The man turned rather pale at my explanation.