Finally arriving within Hosenka, it felt like a wave of relief lifted upon Vyra’s shoulders.

To say pleased, it would have been a gross understatement.

Much had taken place, even in the past several hours which had all but amplified how much she was looking forward to this sort of vacation. There should have been no complications, no issues, but it seemed that from the point in which Alisa had suggested it that things had led the entire situation into a far from ideal one.

Even from the carriage trip alone, it was seeming that it was going to have been something out of frustration and strife, but even at the time Vyra could not have imagined quite how it would have played out.

The venture through the woods that stood between Vyra and Hosenka, even that had been something that had proven to have as much, if not more frustrations, than things to appreciate from. The trip was relaxing in a manner of speaking, a chance if nothing else to enjoy nature and the areas that were beyond that of the roads between Hargeon and Marigold – the road most often traveled by the Demi-Human – but even that was something that was compromised in what followed.


[206/2000]

The battlefield in particular, that was what had her so shaken now, so looking forward to this sort of vacation. To stumble upon a battlefield like that, sprawled out in the middle of nowhere essentially, with numerous dead bodies all seeming to have died in either the acquisition or defense of something as insignificant as the small staff that Vyra now had her in possession.

A spoil from her trip one could have rationalized. Why she had even taken it she could not say with complete certainty, but something that she felt better for her to have than simply leave there. Certainly, the measures that she went to retrieve the staff were hardly polished or impressive, but if it were something by which she was able to carry out, there was no doubt that someone who may have more appreciated what the staff was or otherwise knew about it could have gotten to it too.

And who was to say that the person that may have encountered and retrieved it would not have worse ambitions and intentions for it than Vyra?

While she may not have known the full capabilities of this staff either, she at least could have imagined that she was doing the right thing in taking it for herself. If nothing else, maybe it would have been something for Alisa to have when she returned. The exact details of the battle did not have to be known to her, but Vyra could at least discuss the battle results that she had first witnessed.

Something to figure for when she was back in Hargeon, but not right now.

It was time for Vyra to simply enjoy a vacation.

[486/2000]

She wasn’t quite sure where to begin and enjoy herself. She had been told that Hosenka had no shortage of things to appreciate and enjoy, to make oneself feel completely and utterly pampered, and it seemed exactly that.

No shortage of things of relaxation afforded to her, and thanks to Alisa Vollan, Vyra was eligible to enjoy whatever sort of enjoyment she wished. An amount of jewels had been delivered already and an arrangement had been struck. The new Blue Pegasus mage was eligible to enjoy any and all manners of pampering that the city could have offered, and with all of the options presented before her, she was not sure quite where to begin.

Before even going so far as to make a plan for herself, Vyra simply took a nap within the large room that had been provided to her. Whether it was the sense of guilt that had begun to feed upon her or since leaving the battlefield, having slain several of those guards rather than trying to provide them any sort of aid, or if it were the exhaustion that had come with her travelling the long road through the woods. The carriage ride over, a time when she perhaps should have gotten some sleep, she instead decided to watch with anticipation at the sights that she had never seen before. Thus, to actually arrive within Hosenka, she was ready to fall asleep right there. That she was able to at least reach her lodging for the trip was a minor miracle.

[742/2000]

Quite when she woke up, she wasn’t sure. It was still the same day, or perhaps more appropriately it was evening of the same day. The sun had already begun to set, casting a beautiful cascade of colors across the sky, a vibrant mix of reds, oranges, and yellows cascading down upon the village of Hosenka. Even just the view from her window was impressive in its own right, Vyra marveling at how lively the city was at night, to the point that it seemed like a completely different animal than what she had first seen. Versus even Hargeon or Marigold for that matter, Vyra could not remember seeing either of those cities as bustling as Hosenka seemed to be at night.

It was exciting, admittedly, to see that this was where she was going to spending the next few days. Or were it longer than that even? Truthfully, even Vyra was not entirely sure of quite what to expect from all of this; everything had been arranged by Alisa, transportation, lodging, activities, Vyra had no idea of what to expect outside of knowing that per anything she wanted, she had no reason to feel guilty towards, no matter what it may have been that she sought out.

But, before even taking any of those considerations out, Vyra figured to get some loose idea of what to expect out of here. Fortunately, the woman whom had first welcomed Vyra into the luxury hotel was still there, and as the two chatted for a little bit, Vyra came to find out quite a bit about what there was to do within Hosenka, but one in particular felt particularly enjoyable.

A sauna.

A world class sauna in which one could go to, enjoy for as long as one would have liked, without having to worry about anything at all. Per almost everyone who ever entered there, they all came away from it absolutely loving it, many even going as far as to cite it as the single best part about their entire experience within Hosenka.

The sound of it all, the idea of a nice, long soak without having to be fearful of time, of any members of Blue Pegasus calling out or making noise that would have stood to distract or pull Vyra out of her delight, it sounded all just too great.

[1134/2000]

It was impossible to say quite how long she had been within the water, but it felt as though time simply stood still.

She was in heaven, or as close to it as one could have reached. The warm water from which the faint streams of steam rose up drenching her body as she lay there, her head comfortably leaned against the collection of pillows intentionally piled up to create a small fort, or in this case to create an even larger pillow.

The woman at the front desk of her lodging was right; this was idyllic. Even more, the arrangement set up for her; a variety of small meats, freshly-squeezed orange juice, and a number of cheeses to compliment them, there was no reason that she could think that would have pulled her away from this spot.

Hell, it wasn’t enough of the question that she just end up spending the entirety of her vacation here. If it was all paid for, whom where the people working there to be opposed towards?

It took her by surprise to hear the door open, especially given Vyra’s request that it be kept shut. At first she did not turn around though, figuring that the attendant would simply drop off whatever it was that they had for her and then depart again, but when the door never shut it prompted her to give a brief pause. The sounds of the armored boots imposing their weight upon the floorboards though gave her reason to turn around.

[1387/2000]

“Who are you?” She asked, a fear rushing through her as she looked on, examining them all. Nine in total, eight of them bearing the same armor as was present upon those whom she encountered upon the battlefield, causing a wake of terror to ripple through her spine. Whilst fearful towards them, it more were the one in the middle, the goliath whom seemed to absolutely tower over not only her, but the rest of them too.

Completely concealed by a full suit of armor, the figure said nothing, the helm upon their head simply looking in the broad direction of Vyra, the Demi-Human unable to gauge at all what to expect or be cautious towards. Presumably everything, her eyes fixated upon the towering figure and the massive Warhammer being casually held in one hand, rested upon the massive chest piece of armor.

Terrified for her own safety, but equally terrified at the idea of movement, Vyra simple remained there, her body having barely made a movement before the eight footman scattered, splitting off into pairs of four each, all of them encircling around the waterlogged Vyra still within the hot spring. She thought of moving, of trying to get away, not having much consideration even to the idea of where she may have gone with the encircled group. A quick turn around to maybe find some sort of window to escape died out as soon as she saw the crossbows drawn, the pace at which each of them had a bolt locked in so quickly that they had been loading them even before setting their feet.

“You should come with us,” the towering figure within the armor demanded. His voice was cold, indifferent more than anything else. Hardly something that would have motivated any sort of reaction from Vyra, had it not been for the Warhammer that he allowed fall upon the wood, a thundering thud rocking through the sauna as broken pieces of wood splintered out in all directions.

The Demi-Human simply looked on, her eyes widened in fright, her mind struggling to figure out what to say, anything to say really.

But no words came out of her mouth, fear having paralyzed her.

[1753/2000]

The events of what happened next came as a blur to Vyra. All that was clear was the Demi-Human awakening at some point within what could have only been described as a carriage, one similar to what she had begun to take on the way to Hosenka in the first place.

Unlike that trip though, she did have the misfortune of being bound and gagged whilst traveling, a pair of thick leather straps secured around her head in her mouth, preventing her from being able to say anything at all, save for the occasional grunts. Even further, beneath her her arms were bound, thick leather straps similarly keeping both of her wrists in place, leaving Vyra completely defenseless throughout the venture.

The bindings though were in large part secondary though to the overwhelming threat that was in the immediacy, namely the massive Knight that previously towered over her within the sauna. They sat there within the carriage, opposite of Vyra, making little to no reaction from the efforts of the Demi-Human, simply watching on with apparent indifference. Vyra sought to convey something, anything at all, just something that would hopefully get the Knight’s attention. But it seemed that absolutely nothing got his attention.

It wasn’t until she had all but given up, resigning herself to simply looking out the window of the carriage with complete dismay, the sights of wherever they were off to being perhaps the lone solace to what stands to be a ruined vacation.

“Enjoy what you can,” the Knight said, Vyra turning around with disbelief as she hoped for something. More information, something, anything really. But the Knight would say nothing further, nor give Vyra any further reaction. They simply remained there.

Vyra looked on for a few moments on, her eyes widened with hope that maybe he would say something else.

As it became clear that no further information would come her way, she slumped and opted to simply look out the window once again, to which as though on cue, the Knight spoke once again.

“When we arrive at Lord Barothy’s Keep, should be no more than a short time before you face trial for your crimes. We may not have been able to stop you, but hopefully the souls of those lost will relish in your execution.”

[2137/2000]