I know you've done two chapters, but I'll start with this one as I'm really enjoying this then I'll move on to Vigilante.
Amazing beginning with the lore history, I love that sort of stuff, excellent job.
Once again I like the outfits that the guards wear and you explain them in great detail.
Oh coulter, hopefully she'll learn one day that the disguise techniques that Yuka performs is not out of cowardice but out of sheer brilliance.
I like Azeneth, I think I may of said it before, but she's a pretty cool character, I like her personality and I think she just a joyful character to have around.
I find myself once again enjoying the interactions between Coulter and Yuka, their characters bounce off each other wonderfully with their clashing personalities and they are one of the highlights of this overall ARC.
I might be going out on a limb here, but I genuinely don't recall an Acolyte being used in a USB scenario before, fantastic work it coming up with this new idea.
With the merchant woman (Eztli) cropping up, I have a feeling you have additional prequel scenes coming up in the future?
A nice little off screen mugging there at the beginning and Chichen Itza is making for a fantastic setting especially during it's golden years.
I loved these new installments, the world is continuously full of intrigue and of course the whole fantasy setting has left many doors open for new and never before seen outfits and uniforms to be stolen, which I can tell your taking full advantage of.
The writing was perfect and the dialogue between the characters was flawless a truly enjoyable viewing, also to answer your question I personally don't mind if you want to upload the chapters as new topics or one long continuous thread, as long as I can continue reading this series I don't mind.
Definitely some solid world-building in the intro. Although I don't (yet) love this series the way I do your Utopia works, I'm impressed by the way you manage to incorporate such rich detail into the world.
The highlight of this chapter was the scene between Azeneth and Jinora. I really like the interaction between these two, and how it highlights their contrasting personalities - Azeneth clearly enjoys the art of uniform stealing more than Jinora does. This leads to an interesting rapport, with some fun dialogue. My favorite:
“Have you ever wondered what our task would look like if commoners had more choice when it comes to underclothes?” the metis couldn't help but comment.
“What?” Jinora asked.
“Nothing. Just a random thought.”
The part with Alessia was also fun. Nice details about her name and why she chose to shorten it, and a good way to show sympathy to Yuka in the way she feels sorry for the poor artist. It's also another way of showing Coulter's mischievous side, in that she's not quite as on board with the "steal clothes to infiltrate" portion of their adventures, but still takes time to bug her teammates when she can.
As for the chapters on one topic, that seems perfectly fine to me. It helps add the feeling that this story is one long saga. I look forward to seeing where it goes next.
trackman and tirepanted: World-building/lore is one of the things that motivate me to continue writing. Glad you liked it. Given the fact that people are either on board with the idea of indifferent, I'll keep posting the chapters in one long thread then, at least for now.
trackman: Describing the outfits in this story is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because they are different from the clothes encountered in most other stories, a curse because it requires more efforts. While I like writing all my characters, I can see why Azeneth's personality is the most fun. As for the references to Eztli, we will indeed learn more about Coulter's past.
tirepanted: Hopefully, over time, these characters and world will prove to be worth successors of Aster, Klenia, and Co. Azeneth's part was expanded since you confessed that you were hoping to see non-shapeshifting people have more opportunities to steal clothes, so I'm happy that you liked it. Azeneth's and Jinora's dynamic is indeed fun to write. The conversation that you quoted was actually a little cry from the heart, since the setting doesn't allow for as much diversity as a modern setting when it comes to underwear. Alessia was indeed supposed to be a sympathetic person, hence why Yuka felt sorry for her and for ruining her plans. After all, she's one of the good guys. Fundamentally, Coulter is an unhappy person. She's sometimes petty with other people to make them as unhappy as she is.
I'm a all for World-building.
I've been drawing comics & writing stories for my characters in my "Campy Comics" universe for decades.
Believe it or not, some of them I created back when I was only 6 or 7 years old. Sure, they weren't very complex at that point, but still.
We're talking some of the character go back 40 years.
However, "Core" character like Loner, Verdict & Taz, didn't start to have a real continuity until about 1987. Over the past 20 years I went back and "Cleaned up" their history. In early 2000's, I began writing a lot of "Flashback" stories. These "Lost" tales were meant to fill in & expand the characters' history a bit.
Last part of the chapter. Couldn't avoid a good chunk of exposition and 'non-Uniform-Stealing-relatied plot' in the second half, as I wanted to introduce several plot points and characters. In hindsight, I think I should have posted all the chapter in one go. Hope you'll enjoy!
Chapter 2: Part 3
**************
“I wish I could just torch this place... Ce-Tochtli was part of the ruling body of the Order when they attacked my wagon train.”
These were Coulter's first words when she arrived in front of the palace.
“That would be the Mages' method. I'd like to imagine that we are a little more... sophisticated. We have subtelty on our side.” Yuka, still under the guise of Alessia, retorted.
The three women arrived in front of the palace's main entrance. They were expected.
A guard was waiting for them, to lead them in front of Ce-Tochtli's intendant. The latter was going to be in charge of Alessia's stay. The soldier didn't make a comment when Jinora, disguised as a port official, and Coulter, disguised as a guard, followed him alongside with Yuka. He led them through several corridors to the intendant's work room.
They entered.
The room was filled with wooden shelves full of account books and other documents.
Ce-Tochtli's intendant was a woman called Tlalli. She had a tanned skin, thick black hair and brown almond-shaped eyes. She was tall and fit, with a angular face, a refined nose, and a pointy chin. She had an axtlacuilli coiffure: two hornlike tufts created by dividing long hair in the middle; the hair was bound with a cord, and folded up so as to leave the bulk of the hair resting on the nape of the neck, with the two ends secured at the top of the head. She was wearing the official clothes of an intendant: a white calf-long sleeveless robe and, over the robe, a green, yellow and red waist-long huipil with a square pattern and a white quechquemitl on which a red stylized sun was embroidered. Over her clothes, she was wearing a gold medallion depicting a stylized sun, and on which Ce-Tochtli's name was written, to showcase that she was the intendant of a Sun Mage. She was wearing gold earrings and gold bracelets.
“The representative of Bommare is here.” the guard announced.
“Thank you. You can leave us.” the intendant said while finishing to complete an account book.
The guard bowed his head and left while closing the door.
Tlalli put her paperwork aside, rose up, and looked at Yuka.
“Alessia-Arte Benedetta Lucia Isidoria of House Sforza-Visconti. I welcome you in the Empire.” she said. “My name is Tlalli. I have the honour of being in charge of your stay. My master will meet you later today. In the meantime, I think that you wanted to visit the art gallery of my master?”
Yuka bowed her head. “That would be lovely, yes.”
“Perfect. I will show it to you. Just give me the time to remunerate the official who brought you h...”
The intendant suddenly paused. She glared at Jinora.
Busted! Yuka thought.
“Wait! You're not the official I sent!” Tlalli exclaimed. “You-mfff!”
Yuka clamped a hand over the intendant's mouth to silence her and squeezed her cheeks. Her palm glowed. Her victim's eyes widened, then rolled back.
“Mblblblblblbl...”
The intendant passed out in Yuka's arms.
“What did you say? We have subtelty on our side?” Coulter ironically commented.
Holding the unconscious motionless body of her victim, Yuka shrugged. “Bah! It's not like we could have let her follow us... You will take her appearance, and her clothes.”
“What?”
“Well, now that we have this new catalyst, it would be a shame to not use it as much as we can...”
“I won't remove her clothes.” the red-haired mage barked.
“You know, trying it yourself for once may help you change your view about it...”
Coulter glared at her.
The shapeshifter gave up. “Fine, I'll do it... Change your face to look like hers in the meantime.”
Yuka grabbed Tlalli's quechquemitl and huipil, and pulled them off. Around Tlalli's waist, a golden yellow cloth sash was tied. The shapeshifter unlaced it. However, her face lit up when she realized something. “So, that means that I'll get to try the new restraints you've invented...”
Coulter rolled her eyes and gave up. “Here. Play with your new toys.” She threw a few rolls of black ribbons next to her.
The shapeshifter quickly finished takingg off the intendant's official robe, as well as her jewels and her sandals. Tlalli was left wearing only a grey knee-long sleeveless underdress made of light fabric.
Then, Yuka grabbed one of the rolled up black ribbons.
“Be careful to not touch the sticky side.” Jinora intervened.
The shapeshifter mummified Tlalli's upper body with one of the rolls, pinning her arms on her sides from the shoulders to the elbows. Then, she wrapped part of a second roll of ribbon around the intendant's wrists and hands. She cut the remaining part of the ribbon and used it to bind her victim's ankles. With a third roll of ribbon, she mummified Tlalli's thighs and calves. Finally, she used the remaining part of the third sticky ribbon as a gag. She shoved a piece of cloth into Tlalli's mouth and wrapped the black ribbon around her lower face and over her mouth several times.
“These things... They are the future!” Yuka couldn't help but comment out loud.
Coulter, who now had Tlalli's face thanks to her illusions, looked daggers at her. “Is that supposed to be flattery?”
“No, no, I mean it! It's genius! It allows to save so much time! And you don't need to worry about the target undoing the knots...”
“Throw me her clothes and shut up.” the mage-woman barked.
While she was changing clothes, Yuka concealed Tlalli's unconscious trussed up body behind her desk. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Coulter was wearing white underclothes (a thin sleeveless tunic and a knee-long underskirt) adorned on the edges with black Charioteer embroideries.
The shapeshifter then looked at Jinora. “By the way, we'll have to find you another set of clothes.”
The black-haired woman, who until now was content with staying in the bakground, jumped when Yuka talked to her. “What? Why?”
“You're dressed as a port official. You're not supposed to roam the corridors.”
Jinora nervously rubbed her hands. “But how will we... find one?”
“Simple. We'll seek help from the intendant...” Yuka explained with a smile.
“How? You knocked her out and trussed her up!” Coulter retorted.
“Good thing her replacement is here then.” the shapeshifter said with a smile.
“Her replacement...?” Coulter looked at the clothes she was now wearing. She understood. “You tricky slu...”
“You want the book and the catalyst as much as we want, right? Well, Jinora is the only one who knows the layout of the palace: she's seen a map of it once. So come with me. We'll find a servant or a slave, and bring her here to give Jinora a new set of clothes.” The shapeshifter turned towards her friend. “Jinora, stay here and wait for us. We won't be long. If someone asks, tell them that Tlalli went searching your payment.”
Jinora nodded.
The shapeshifter left the room.
Coulter followed her. “One of these days, Yuka... One of these days...”
**************
Jinora actually didn't have to wait long.
Yuka and Coulter were quick to return. A young woman was following them. She had auburn hair, chestnut eyes, and the light skin of the people hailing from the vassal kingdoms. She was of average height with a plain-looking face, which was probably an advantage in a profession for which it was important to be discreet. Her armpit-long hair were tied into two braids in her back. She was wearing sandals and a white calf-long sleeveless servant robe with a grey cloth sash tied around the waist.
“Hurry up!” Coulter barked. “We need your help.”
“Yes, mistress intendant.” the servant obediently answered.
“Go there.” Coulter pointed at the middle of the room.
The woman complied. “What is it that you want, mistress intendant?”
A hit on the neck with a glowing hand, courtesy of Yuka, sent her to slumberland. The shapeshifter grabbed the falling woman by wrapping her right arm around the servant's waist.
“You didn't have to be so rude with her...” she said to Coulter.
“Rude? You're about to divest her of her clothes!” Coulter retorted.
“Yes, but I'm not being rude about it.”
The shapeshifter laid the servant on the floor.
“I'll help you...” Jinora proposed.
Together, they removed the servant's sash, robe and sandals. Under her outer clothes, the auburn-haired young woman was wearing a white loincloth and a white waist-long sleeveless underdress.
While Jinora was disguising herself, Yuka wrapped the servant's lower face, upper arms, wrists, hands, thighs, and legs with the sticky black ribbons in order to bind and gag her.
The unlucky woman was then concealed in the same hiding spot as Tlalli, resting against the intendant as if she was a pillow. Yuka covered their unconscious bodies with the discarded guard and port official uniforms.
Jinora was now looking the part of the meek servant.
“Let's not waste any more time. Jinora, lead us to the room where the magical artifacts are stored.” Coulter said.
**************
Azeneth left Alessia and the port official they mugged in another hideout in Chichen Itza. The two trussed up women were laid on a large straw bed. Both had awoken by now. The port official was so scared she didn't even dare move. On the contrary, the artist seemed more confused and curious than truly scared, even though she was bound, gagged, blindfolded, and stripped down to her white smock.
“A messenger will inform the city watch about your predicament in a few hours.” the metis said to the two women to reassure them, especially the port official. “You just need to wait patiently until then...”
Azeneth looked at Alessia.
“Yuka asked me to say to you that she's sorry for knocking you out, and stealing your clothes and your appearance. She thinks you're a sympathetic woman, and regrets that she ruined your projects.”
"Nmh nhhd tmh mhplghz..." Alessia was trying to say something through her gag.
Out of curiosity, Azeneth removed it, though she didn't touch the blindfold.
“Surely you must be jesting!” the artist exclaimed once ungagged. “I have been taken hostage by rebels! When I return to Bommare, I will be the center of everyone's attention! Everyone will want to learn about my adventure! You can't imagine how many potential patrons I will have the occasion to meet!”
Azeneth couldn't help but chuckle. “Good luck for the future, then! I hope we will one day meet under different circumstances!” She put the gag back on.
She then left the house. Because of a manipulation of the town's land register made by a corrupt official paid by Rashid's agent, the building belonged officially to Sun Mage Ce-Ome, who was notorious for the disdain he felt towards Ce-Tochtli. Hopefully, the reveal that the representative supposed to meet Ce-Tochtli was found here would stir up the conflict between the two Mages.
Azeneth was supposed to leave the town, to meet up with Rashid (who was travelling under the guise of a merchant), and to return with his fake caravan to the hideout.
Jinora, Yuka, good luck! I'll let you handle things from here!
**************
Ce-Tochtli's magical artifacts were stored in the room next to the one in which his works of art were exposed.
At the center of the room, there were an oval-shaped bright red polished stone and an old book.
“The tome is here... And the catalyst too!” Coulter excitedly exclaimed.
Yuka grabbed the catalyst and the tome. According to Rashid's intelligence network, this book was written before the death of the gods... and in its pages were written informations about the artifacts that had been crafted during this period. The Mages couldn't translate it. Only a handful of scholars from Ghazan could, as they were the only ones who still had the knowledge of the language in which it was written. If the book truly could give them access to one of such artifacts or allowed them to build some of them... It would give them a great advantage!
“Ce-Tochtli's a fool to not have given such a book to be safely kept in the Grand Temple!” Coulter commented.
“That man must have an overinflated ego... I guess he likes the idea of keeping something so valuable for himself.” Yuka commented.
“We've done it... We can leave...” Jinora whispered. She was looking relieved. She smiled.
Suddenly, the black-haired woman let out a small cry of pain. She put a hand on her chest and fell on her knees.
“Jinora?!”
"Yu... Yuka... Please help me... It hurts!"
Yuka moved to help her, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the figure behind her friend.
Behind Jinora, a man has appeared. He was wearing the golden robe with silver tints of a high-ranking Sun Mage.
Ce-Tochtli looked at Coulter and Yuka, and smiled.
“I'd like you two to tell me who you are working for. And if one of you two is the shapeshifter working for our enemy, as I don't think Tlalli or the emissary from Bommare would be stupid enough to betray me...” he calmly said. “And in exchange, I may let your friend live.” He tightened his fist. Jinora's body arched violently and she screamed in pain.
Yuka and Coulter exchanged a look.
“Take my hand.” Coulter whispered.
“What?”
“Ce-Tochtli is too powerful. I can't defeat him in time for us to flee before the other Mages arrive. We have to flee with the artifacts!”
“I won't abandon Jinora!” Yuka retorted in a whisper.
Yuka realized that they had an advantage. Ce-Tochtli couldn't sense Coulter's powers because of the latter's hidden catalyst. He wasn't suspecting that the 'red-haired witch' was one of them, since normally he'd have sensed her illusion.
The Mage snapped his finger. Jinora's body arched a little more and she screamed in pain once again. She was crying.
Yuka glared daggers at the man cruelly toying with her friend's life. She felt her hatred ignite. Yes, she wouldn't allow this man to live after what he did!
“Crush him.” she whispered to Coulter.
The redhead looked at her incredulously.
“I won't give you the artifacts and I won't give up on Jinora.” Yuka added. “If you want them, you'll have to save her first. Or to leave us both here.”
She was taking a huge gamble. There was a possibility that Coulter would choose to flee alone and leave them to their doom. Even though the red-haired Charioteer hated the Mages, she wanted to live in order to crush them all, not be obliterated by them after having been able to kill only one high-ranked official.
“You know, on second thought, your hesitations have become bothersome.” Ce-Tochtli intervened. “I think I will crush your friend's bones. Maybe it will make you two more cooperative...”
The Mage closed his fist.
Nothing happened.
Ce-Tochtli frowned.
“Uh? Who dares block my powers?”
Coulter moved her hands. The illusion masking her face wore off and the Mage's hold over Jinora was broken. The black-haired woman fell on her knees, coughing.
Ce-Tochtli's eyes widened in fear. He took a step back. “You!” The Mage hastily erected a protective golden translucent dome around him with his power.
Coulter clenched her fist. The dome shattered.
“You fool! My colleagues will never let you esc...”
“Just die already!” Coulter barked.
An arrow of light and fire, similar to the one which killed Ce-Tlaloc, shot out of the redhead's palm. The man screamed in pain as his body started to burn from the inside. He fell on his knees.
“Grab Jinora, you fool!” Coulter screamed at Yuka, who had taking her eyes off the terrible sight. “The others are coming!”
Yuka didn't waste any more time. The artifacts still in her arm, she ran and took Jinora's hand. Coulter ran to grab her hand.
Ce-Tochtli died.
Coulter used her powers to transport them.
Nothing happened.
Coulter's eyes widened.
“They're already here! They're blocking us! I can't transport us!” she shouted.
**************
A dozen of figures wearing golden robes appeared around them. They were surrounded.
Coulter immediately raised her hands. A protective translucent dome of energy shrouded her, Yuka, and Jinora.
The shapeshifter glanced at the red-haired mage-woman. On Coulter's face, there was an expression that she never saw before. Fear. The redhead was afraid. Yuka realized that they were really in trouble.
“Do not kill them!” a voice suddenly intervened. “This is a golden opportunity! Prevent them to flee, but do not kill them! At least not yet!”
The man who just spoke was still rather young, with short thick black hair, dark eyes, and a tanned skin.
Ce-Acatl. The recently-appointed Archmage.
The man took a step forward.
“Coulter Adamas, of Clan Moulder. I wish to negociate with you.”
The redhead glared daggers at him. “Negociate?! I have nothing to say to the likes of you!”
“Believe me, I have no desire to fight you. My predecessors were fools. Instead of trying to kill you, they should have joined forces with you! But I am not like them. I want to let bygones be bygones. Join forces with me! By harnessing your powers, we could exterminate the Gengis shamans and destroy the magic inhabiting their wretched lands! We could wipe out the Ghazanite obelisks and their entire fleet! We could start a dynasty of half-gods as powerful as the first Sun Mages! We could do anything!”
“Are you seriously proposing me an alliance while the charred corpse of your friend is still at your feet?” Coulter retorted.
Ce-Acatl ignored her outburst. “I promise that you and your friends will be spared. They will have to remain our captives during the rest of their lives, of course, but they will be allowed to live.”
“I have another proposition. Why don't you just go somewhere and die to save me the trouble of melting your bones?!”
Ce-Acatl shrugged. “Then so be it. We don't need you to be willing. There are enchantments to seal someone's ability to cast spells, others to control their body. I'm sure you will reconsider my proposition after a few years under our care.” The Archmage then looked at Yuka, who was still under the guise of Alessia. “And I will take great pleasure putting that little shapeshifter out of commission for good. Ultimately, I recruited one to counter her for nothing... Well, fate loves to be ironic sometimes.” He looked at his colleagues. "Companions, please proceed."
Yuka gulped.
The Mages all raised their arms.
Cracks appeared on Coulter's protective dome. The red-haired groaned and used all her power to keep it from collapsing. However, while she possessed tremendous amounts of power, she couldn't compare with a dozen of the Empire's finest Mages.
Yuka knew that she had to do something. Coulter had to use all her energy to keep the barrier protecting them from the Mages standing, and she wasn't going to last long. In fact, the only reason why they were still alive was because Ce-Acatl wanted to capture them alive.
The shapeshifter realized that she was still holding the catalyst they were supposed to steal.
She suddenly had an idea.
The Mages were expecting a magical assault, and were protecting themselves accordingly. But what if...
Were they protecting themselves against more mundane threats, such as getting hit by a projectile? She could maybe break their concentration and allow Coulter to break through the magical blockade they were erecting to prevent her from transporting herself and her two allies to safety...
“Coulter... Be prepared to transport us to the hideout.” she whispered to the red-haired woman.
The latter didn't react. She was sweating profusely, a grimace was twisting her lips. The shapeshifter hoped that Coulter heard her. They wouldn't have a second chance.
Yuka slightly moved away from Jinora, who was half-unconscious. She spotted a Mage that wasn't looking at her. She took the catalyst... and threw the stone at his head.
The man was hit in the forehead. He shouted in pain and stopped using his magic.
Within the ranks of the Mages, there was a short moment of hesitation.
“Who's attacking us?!” one exclaimed.
Coulter jumped at the opportunity.
"No! You fools!" Ce-Acatl shouted "It's a trick!"
The red-haired Charioteer used all her remaining power to pass through the blockade of her opponents... and managed to transport them away to safety.
**************
They appeared in the hideout.
The place seemed empty. Azeneth was still on her way. As for Rashid and his agents, they were also somewhere elese. Still, Yuka felt relieved to see the light purple crystals that were blocking the sight of the Mages.
They had survived!
The three women fell on the floor, both due to the exhaustion and the nervous tension.
Jinora had fainted and Yuka was holding her friend against her.
“This guy is nuts!” Yuka exclaimed. “What was is hoping to achieve...?”
“Don't you see, you idiot?!” Coulter retorted while panting. She was looking exhausted. “He wants me! He turned the Emperor... into his puppet king... and now... he dreams of putting his descendants on the throne! He... he wishes to create a... a dynasty of Mage-Emperors...”
“And for that, he'd like to...”
“... procreate with me, yes... To... to combine our two... bloodlines...” Coulter was stammering now.
Yuka shook her head, and decided that their best course of action for now was to tend to Jinora's wounds.
“I don't know when the others will come back. We'll have to take care of Jinora in the meantime. Coulter! Help me carry her to a bed!”
Yuka heard a dull thud.
“Coulter?”
The red-haired mage-woman had passed out because of the exhaustion.
Yuka realized that she'd have to carry the two women alone. “Great...”
The shapeshifter was worried. She wasn't the best when it came to tend to people...
“Yuka... What's going on?”
Yuka rarely felt so relieved to hear an other person's voice. “Yisüi! Thank the gods! I need your help!”
Chapter 2: Epilogue
**************
Coulter recovered quickly. Jinora didn't.
Ever after several days, the black-haired woman was still unconscious. Yisüi and Yuka were tending to her while she was lying on her bed. The former slave's help proved to be invaluable, and she wanted to save Jinora at all costs as she was the one with whom she felt the closest. The two women bonded while they were taking care of their companion.
Coulter was in an even worst mood than usual, complaining all day and breaking things with her powers. Though Yuka couldn't tell if it was because of Jinora or because of what happened with the Mages. The redhead barely left her room. Yuka could often hear her talk alone. The shapesifter was hoping that she was simply grousing out loud... and not hearing voices.
Azeneth and Rashid arrived at the same time. The prince was often travelling the Empire under the guise of a merchant and the metis met up with his fake caravan on her way to the hideout.
The second she learned what happened, Azeneth stormed in Jinora's room.
“Yuka! What happened?!” she shouted.
For once, she wasn't smiling or pretending to take things lightly. She was worried sick.
**************
Azeneth's exclamations drew the attention of Coulter, who regrouped with the metis, Yuka, Yisüi, Rashid and his agents in the room in which Jinora was resting.
Azeneth was holding the unconscious black-haired woman against her.
“Who did that to her?! I'll skin them alive!” she screamed.
“It was Ce-Tochtli. He's already dead.” Coulter said.
Azeneth glared daggers at her and at Yuka. “Why didn't you protect her?!” she reproached them.
The shapeshifter lowered her head in shame.
“Because he took me by surprise! That's the fault of your stupid infiltration rules forbidding me to use my powers!” Coulter retorted. “Had we followed my plan and torch this palace from afar, this wouldn't have happened!”
Azeneth opened her mouth to retort something, but Jinora stirred slightly at the same time and the metis decided that her strengths were better spent at tending to her friend rather than at pointlessly arguing with Coulter. She scoffed in disgust and lost interest in the Charioteer.
The red-haired mage-woman then looked at Rashid. “Anyway, I've done my part. We may not have the catalyst, but we brought your dumb book. Now that you're finally here, I want my payment.”
Rashid looked at Jinora, then held Coulter's stare. “Is this really the right time?”
“I refuse to wait one more second. This woman's been allowed to live for far too long. I consider each breath she's taking a personal insult.”
Rashid shook his head. “The woman is called Safiye. She's a mercenary and a spy from my home kingdom, a former courtesan from El Idriss. That's why we couldn't find any information about her in Pakal.”
Coulter thoughtfully looked above. “A woman from Ghazan...” she whispered to herself. “Of course! I should have realized it before... The green eyes were a giveway!”
Without adding anything, the redhead stormed out.
**************
Azeneth was sitting next to Jinora on a chair. She was still holding her hand.
“I'm sorry for yelling at you.” she said to Yuka. “I know it's not your fault. Or even Coulter's. I was just... worried...”
“I know. I don't hold it against you.” Yuka answered. She put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Azeneth and Jinora knew each other before they met Rashid or Yuka. The metis was the one that was the most affected.
“Besides, if someone should be blamed, it's me.” Rashid intervened. “I became too confident. I shouldn't have taken so lightly an infiltration in the palace of a Mage. I shall find other ways to...”
They suddenly stopped talking. Yisüi was standing in the doorframe.
The blond-haired former slave looked Yuka in the eyes.
“I would like to help you people.” she announced. “I would like to help you fight against the Mages.”
They all shared glances.
“Are you sure?” Yuka finally asked.
Yisüi looked her in the eyes. “Yes. I want to be more like you. I want to be braver. I want to protect my home and my people from their ambitions. I want to stop them from hurting people... like they hurt Jinora.”
The blond-haired former slave was still pale and frail-looking, but in her eyes there was a burning determination.
Yuka couldn't say anything, except: “Thank you.”
Rashid shrugged. “Welcome aboard then.”
Yisüi approached Jinora's bed. “Is she going to be alright?”
“I hope...” Azeneth muttered.
She and Yisüi started to talk. Rashid was lost in his thoughts, probably thinking of future contingency plans to make sure such a tragedy would never happen again. Yuka would talk to him later.
The shapeshifter quietly left the room. She needed to walk a little, to be alone. Too many things were happening at the same time. The tragedy that befell on Jinora was as much her fault as it was Rashid's. She was the one responsible of the mission. Jinora was under her responsability. She should have been more careful... She should have made sure to better check their surroundings...
Yuka almost lost a friend. The thought was unbearable.
While she was walking in an empty corridor, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.
Yuka stopped dead in her tracks.
Coulter was blocking her path.
**************
Yuka couldn't help but take a step back.
An angry Coulter was among the people she didn't want to come across while alone in an empty corridor, especially since they were in their hideout and the mage-woman could use her powers freely. And the Charioteer indeed looked livid.
“I heard Yisüi talking to you.” the redhead commented. “So, I see that you've made another friend.”
In her mouth, it sounded like a threat. Yuka kept quiet.
“It must be nice, to be so loved...” Coulter added. “To have so many people that care about you... It's a good thing that they don't see your true character, eh?”
“What do you mean...?”
“Don't play innocent! You can't lie to me. I know what you're really like. I know your true nature.”
Not again.
Coulter squinted. “I saw you had your fun once again, with the painter, with the intendant and with the servant... I saw you enjoyed mugging them, stealing their clothes, and flexing your dominance over them...”
Around the red-haired mage-woman, the air was vibrating. Apparently, she had fully recovered from her encounter with the Mages. Her grimace was expressing both anger and disgust.
Coulter then added: “I'm sure this Safiye had a lot of fun too with Eztli and Xochitl, before leaving them to die of thirst in the Hills of Tecuehtitlan...” she clenched her fist. “But now that I know her identity and where she's from, I'll finally be able to get my hands on her. And then, I will be the one having fun! People like her, and you, are no better than the Mages!”
Coulter turned her back without waiting for her reply.
“It must be hard, to be so lonely.” Yuka suddenly said while she was walking away.
“What?” Coulter barked without turning towards her.
“It must be hard to have to permanantly bottle up your anger.” the shapeshifter added. “To have no one to confide to, no one to help you ease your pain.”
Coulter stopped walking, her back still turned on Yuka.
“My people are persecuted by the Mages too, you know? They hate us, because we hold powers that they cannot posess, sense, or comprehend. The people fear us, think we steal their souls. We have to remain hidden, because they only give us the choice between servitude or death. We may be less different than you think." Yuka shook her head. "You don't need to be alone. It would only require some efforts.” she concluded.
“Because you think that we could become friends?” Coulter retorted. “I think you better should worry about some old friend of yours deciding to pay us a visit! An old friend that you left behind!”
Yuka frowned. “What do you mean?”
Coulter rolled her eyes. “You truly weren't paying attention to what Ce-Acatl was saying, weren't you?”
“I was trying to find a solution to help us!” Yuka justified herself.
“He mentioned hiring a shapeshifter to counter you.”
Yuka's eyes widened. No...
“To your knowledge, how many shapeshifters would be willing to work for the Sun Mages?”
No. Is it... her?
“There's only one who would.” Coulter concluded.
Yuka paled. “Tsuki...” she muttered.
That name was bringing back many memories.
“How long have you been running away from your past? Looks like this time, you won't avoid a confrontation.” Coulter concluded before leaving the shapeshifter alone.
Yuka's legs shook a little.
**************
Safiye was a beautiful woman with an oval-shaped face, a soft nose, and flowing brown hair. She was tanned, but her skin was not as dark as a Pakal woman's skin. There was a beauty spot on her right cheek, that she often had to hide with makeup, even though she liked this little physical feature. While she was of average size, she had nice-looking curves, as well as shapely well-toned legs. Though, of course, her most noticed physical feature were her deep emerald green eyes.
Indeed, Safiye had a body that would have more befitted a courtesan than a spy and a mercenary. And in fact, she used to be a courtesan, until one day she decided she wanted to live her life free and without any restraint. Her days as a courtesan seemed to be part of another life for her now...
At her feet, there was a woman stripped down to her underclothes: a dark grey loincloth and a brown strap of cloth wrapped over the breasts and the back. Safiye was currently wearing her traveling clothes: strong sandals, comfortable grey skirt tied with a purple cloth sash and grey huipil, dark brown cloak, brown travelling hat, and walking staff. The unfortunate woman was tanned and tall, had wavy black hair and hazel brown eyes, as well as a round-shaped face and a fit toned body. She was bound with ropes and stuff-gagged with a big thick brown rag. Coils of ropes were tied around her ankles, knees, wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
When the woman started to stir, Safiye bent over, raised her victim's upper body and wrapped an arm over her throat. She tightened her hold. The green-eyed woman was very proud of this technique, that could render someone unconscious in seconds.
“Hush... Hush... Just go back to sleep...” she whispered.
The traveler gurgled and lost consciousness again.
Safiye smiled and sighed. “Nothing personal. It's just good business.” Indeed, she had nothing against this specific woman. She simply needed her clothes and her guise...
Safiye glanced at the figure near her. Her new partner...
When sporting her default appearance, Tsuki was a woman of average size and build, perhaps slightly more athletic-looking than average, who had round sky blue eyes and soft armpit-long light brown hair. Her skin was light-coloured, as if she came from the vassal kingdoms, soft and flawless. Her hair were tied up into a ponytail. Two locks were falling on her shoulders, one on each side. She was wearing plain brown clothes, no jewels except two jade earrings, and hadn't disguised herself yet.
Safiye didn't know what to think of the shapeshifter.
Tsuki was hired by the Mages to help the green-eyed spy. However, currently, the shapeshifter wasn't doing much.
When they assaulted the two travelers, she knocked out her victim by simply touching her, and was now keeping her foot on the throat of the black-haired woman lying in front of her, leaving just barely enough slack to allow her unconscious victim to breath. Tsuki was staring into space, as if she was gazing at an invisible side of the world.
“Are you going to kill her?” Safiye asked Tsuki.
“Aren't you going to kill yours?” the shapeshifter asked back, quizzically tilting her head.
“I don't kill.” Safiye retorted.
Tsuki giggled. “Of course you don't. You just leave them tied up and gagged without their clothes, food or water at the mercy of any passing wild animal or libidinous bandit... But you don't kill them.” She burst out laughing. “You have a strange way to deal with your conscience. You really are too much!”
Still, Tsuki removed her foot. She suddenly stopped laughing.
“Very well, I shall do things your way then.”
“I'll take her clothes for you.” Safiye proposed.
“That won't be necessary.” Tsuki said. “You can grab your pretty ropes and truss her up. I won't need her clothes.”
“What? But shapeshifters need...”
Tsuki put a finger over the green-eyed woman's lips. Her smile was defintively looking unhinged.
“Let me illuminate you. The Mages didn't hire me because I was Yuka's equal. They hired me because I am superior to her.”
Tsuki removed her finger. She dropped all her clothes on the ground, stood naked save for her jade earrings, and took a breath.
“Let me show you.”
Safiye couldn't help but put a hand on her mouth when the transformation began.
Tsuki's skin was growing and tearing itself, leaving her flesh exposed. Then, the skin melted and turned into fabric. Into clothes. Into clothes similar to the ones worn by the woman at her feet.
The emerald green-eyed spy had seen many things, but even she had a hard time stomaching this spectacle. The sight was disgusting, but the noise was even worst... Safiye couldn't imagine the pain of such a transformation. But Tsuki was smiling manically.
“Yuka thinks that she can forget her old friends...” the shapeshifter was saying. “So mean! It's time to teach her a little lesson.”
Tsuki's head contorted and changed shape, her hair grew shorter. She became a perfect copy of the woman at her feet. Including the clothes, without even needing to steal them. The only article of clothes she bothered to steal was the woman's travelling hat.
“What kind of freak are you?” Safiye muttered.
Tsuki giggled and winked. “I have received the blessing of the Black Star, the star of death so powerful it even killed the gods. As you can see, my body doesn't share the same limitations as Yuka's. I am not a shapeshifter, I am THE shapeshifter. And I long to pay a visit to some old friends of mine...”
Last edited by rufusluciusivan on Sun May 02, 2021 1:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Definitely plottier and more exposition-driven than your usual installments. On the one hand, that's unfortunate as it means there's less room for the always-welcome uniform steals. But on the other hand, it does set up some promising storylines for the future. I'm intrigued by this duo of Safiye and Tsuki - it's always interesting when new characters join the fray.
Not much to say about this part in general; it is well-written as per usual, and I like how you're testing the limits of the character's friendship. The constant use of magic and shape-shifting is still not my preference, but it's well-woven into the story and feels like a key part of the mythos.
I was amused by the use of the "black ribbons" and Yuka's reaction to them. A nice way to demonstrate that these stories are far from modern times. (It appears to be medieval, from what I can glean... though I am not a history expert.)
Honestly, while I enjoyed writing the plot as well as the character developments and interactions of this part a lot, I feel disastisfied with how the uniform stealings were handled in this last part. This time, I really regretted not posting all the chapter in one go: because of that, I realized too late that the uniform stealings of the second half were too unequally distributed. I understand why people wouldn't be really won over by the magic and shapeshifting part of the story even though it's a key part of the mythos. Hopefully, characters like Azeneth and Safiye will help balance things out between mundane and magical uniform stealings. That's one of their purposes in the story at least.
Indeed, the story is far from modern times. Roughly the equivalent of our 15th-16th century for the most part.
Really enjoyed seeing more use of Yuka's knockout touch. I particularly liked her using it on the servant girl. The trick her and lure her into the room and then it is a simple matter of a quick hit with the glowing hand and young brunette is out cold.
