Chapter 67: Expecting easier prey?

Hammerrun, Sigurd Kingdom

“Are you an idiot!?” growls a man draped in a dark cloak to his equally dressed comrade as he paces in the dark alley. “There is no escape from Jeeves! The fucker can show up anywhere, anytime he wants to! Not to mention splitting himself up! And you honestly think you can trick ‘im!? It’s no wonder Magnum was pissed! Jeezus!”

“There has to be a way! Maybe if I use a sleeping potion or something before hand-”

“Enough!” The first man interrupted. “The reason why Jeeves exists in the first place is because of idiots like you!” he said, shoving the man against the wall.

“Cut me some fucking slack, bro! I’m tired of watching porn every day!” the other man complained as he rubbed his shoulder.

“Then you better wise up and stick to the data!” the first man growled as he shoved his comrade again.

“I know already!”

“You better know. Now, come on. If we’re lucky we can catch one of the early risers.”

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The two men skulked through the narrow alleys of Hammerrun with the shadows of early dawn for cover. Crimson irises glowed beneath their hoods and a bloody ‘P’ was cut into their necks. The members of Paradise were on the prowl for unsuspecting priestesses.

Despite the talk in Hammerrun about priestesses having their chastity taken, it was only rumors at best. The women themselves showed no signs of being hurt or mistreated in anyway, and the only things the “victims” had in common were that their rings were taken and that they couldn’t remember what happened the day before.

From an outsider's perspective, most thought that the priestesses simply succumbed to lust while in a drunken stupor. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for Nor women to have a drink in a pub. The Sigurd kingdom was in fact one of the few kingdoms in Chaos online where men and women were relatively equal, so there were very few social barriers regarding sex. Whether it was the forge or the battlefield, the ratio of men to women was fairly close to 1:1.

Thus the Sigurd kingdom, a place where women aren’t given any sympathy, became a prime location for Paradise. If they were careful, the only consequences of their actions would be the damage to the priestess reputation.

“Oh, found one already?” the large cloaked man muttered after seeing a white robed figure from afar. He quickly turned to his comrade. “Get your Hypnosis ready. Any sign that she’s about to make a break for it, I’ll be relying on you.”

“Right.” The smaller man nodded in response.

Even in the dim alleyways the robed figure could easily be distinguished as a woman from her curves and the way she walked. Unfortunately, she was walking away from the pair of men that stalked her footsteps and seemed completely unaware of the danger.

Just as the woman was about to walk out into one of the busier streets, a strong hand came down on her shoulder. She turned around with a looked of shock that sent glee in the men’s heart. Yet in the very next moment the expressions of both sides were reversed. Under the hood of the priestess a bright red mark glowed ominously over her left eye.

“Fuc-“ the large man was unable to finish his sentence as an iron fist crashed into his abdomen, clearly denting the armor under his cloak while the force of the blow smashed him into the wall.

“Red Hand!?” the small man cried in surprise as he drew a dagger.

“Expecting easier prey?” Rosemary grinned as she rushed for the second man, leaving her first victim to stumble to the ground.

A dagger flashed out for her throat, but in one fluid motion she weaved to the side and removed her robe. The image of a priestess was instantly shattered by sturdy leather armor. Her arms were covered up to the shoulder by two hard-silver gauntlets that had open palms and clawed fingers. Every time her hands moved, blood colored ribbons flapped in the wind.

In combination with Orthodox Boxing she used Rush and Heavy Blow to land a counter hook to the body. Under normal circumstances, a Priestess would in no way, shape or form be able to fight bare-handed. But this was Chaos Online, where deception was common sense.

The rogue-mage folded in half as the air was forced out of his lungs. Rosemary not only had a high ranked Hand-to-Hand combat skill, but she also had the racial trait of the Nor, Born Warrior, which could make the skin as tough as stone. But Rosemary had taken this trait to the next level every day, and now her skin could pass as secondary armor.

“Where is your base?” Rosemary asked as she stood over the man she just knocked down.

“I’m not telling you a damn thing!” the small man kicked off the ground and rolled back just as two silhouettes entered the alley.

The sound of ringing metal came from behind her. The large man had regained his composure and drew his sword.

“I see you called your friends.” Rosemary sneered.

“You made the mistake of coming here alone, and now you’ll suffer for it. If the Red Hand shows up without her ring, then we’ll practically be stress free.” the man smiled lasciviously.

“Who said I came alone?” Rosemary replied with a smirk.

As soon as the words left her mouth a dagger appeared over both of the silhouettes at the end of the alley. In the next instant, the daggers had found the hearts of their victims and neither one had to time to utter a cry before they were dead. In their place stood a pair of twins with short black hair and pitch black cloaks. The only way a stranger could tell them apart would be the numbers ‘1’ and ‘2’ painted on their faces.

Seeing the tables turned in an instant, the big man quivered in rage. “I’ll take you with me!” he cried. His sword arced for Rosemary’s head at a blinding speed followed by trails of lightning.

Rosemary didn’t move a muscle and just stood there looking at the man as if he was an idiot. Just as the sword looked like it would cleave her in two, it stopped. Blue sparks scattered in every direction as the Arc Cutter collided with a glowing dome.

“What is this!?” the man roared in confusion and anger.

Not even bothering to answer, Rosemary stepped in and landed two more blows in the same spot as before. Causing the man’s armor to lose considerable durability and press in on his organs. Though his health hadn’t been completely depleted, the pain was too much to even stand, let alone swing his sword.

This was the essence of Chaos Online’s combat. It was often quick and ruthless with the victor being decided at any given moment. Gone were the days of watching a health bar or waiting for the opponent to run out of mana. In a world were fatal blows were as easy as stabbing someone in neck, such time consuming fights were dangerous.

“Pay up. I told you she wouldn’t kill him.”

“Not fair! Look, he could keel over at any minute!”

Rosemary turned to the sisters behind her. The smaller man from earlier had already been captured and was cowering between them.

“Not everyone can be a bloodthirsty assassin like you, EagleOne.” she said to the woman with a ‘1’ painted on her cheek who had spoken first.

“That’s what I told her.” EagleTwo replied turning to her sister. “Now pay up!” she commanded with a hand out. EagleOne reluctantly forked over a small pouch of coins.

Rosemary sighed. She was already accustomed to seeing coin being exchanged between the twins. Especially when they weren’t losing somewhere else. “Did they drop anything?” she asked.

“Those two mages back there dropped some pretty neat gear. Might sell for some coin later.” EagleTwo nodded.

Rosemary nodded. If there were anything she could use herself, the sisters would have given it to her. They were co-workers after all. “Well since we captured them alive, we might as well give them to the paladins. Who wants to go fetch the paladins?”

The twins looked at each other with warily before simultaneously shooting out a hand. EagleOne had her fist balled up while her sister’s hand was flat. As usual, any dispute was instantly settled with rock-paper-scissors.

“Figures!” EagleOne rolled her eyes.

“Two wins in a row? Today’s gonna be a good day.” EagleTwo laughed as her sister disappeared from the alley.

With the battle won and the cavalry soon to come, she crouched down next to the agonized warrior as he labored for every breath. Having his armor caved in put an unbelievable pressure on his organs, yet he refuse to unequip his gear. As a Chaotic player, the chances of dropping gear was very high, especially for unequipped loot.

“Kind sir, you seem to be in pain. Do you require healing?” she asked sweetly.

“Argh, y-you bitch!” the man cursed.

Rosemary didn’t even flinch from his blunt refusal and calmly continued. “You know what I don’t get it? There’s a nice brothel down the street that’s been there for as long as I can remember, yet you insist on kidnapping my sisters. Sonsoft provided such a perfect outlet for you yet you and your ilk continue to spit on their good will.” She said.

The man only glared in response. He’d heard plenty of stories about her provoking words, and he knew full well that any response he made could undoubtedly lead to the downfall of more of his guildmates. It was best to just keep silent.

“Fine, stay silent. This little operation of yours will be brought down soon enough.” Rosemary’s eyes narrowed as she scowled at the man. “Just because you only target NPCs doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences. Even in Chaos Online there are places for people like you.”

Just then, EagleOne returned with five paladins behind her. Each of them were scantily armored since the Nor didn’t need armor at lower levels. So unless someone was told, they wouldn’t believe it if they were told they were paladins of the Church of Braumas.

The leader of the five stepped forward. “You called, Red Hand?” he saluted.

Rosemary nodded. “I did indeed. These men are Chaotic Travelers who belong to the group that troubles our sisters. I trust you know where to put them?”

“Of course, your holiness!”

The paladins surrounded the men and bound their hands with chains of light; a paladin exclusive ability to arrest Chaotic players. Then with the fugitives in custody the group set out for the paladin temple where the Travelers were to be tried and sentenced.

Crime in Chaos Online was usually punished with jail time, and the amount of time usually depended on the severity of the offense. But for Chaotic players, that was another story. The determined jail time was added onto the time that they spent as chaotic. Meaning if a player was chaotic for the last six months, then six months in jail was the minimum sentence they would receive. Even if a Good player was caught, if their souls were scryed and it was found that they were once chaotic, then the total amount of time they ever spent as a chaotic player would be the minimum sentence.

Of course, if that were all, many players would rather die than go to jail. The fact the Paradise members were apprehended with little resistance was because they knew they could afford bail. Only the most unforgivable crimes like high treason weren’t offered bail. So after the mandatory two weeks it would take to reset their alignment, they would be free men.

“Why do you even bother? You know they’ll be out soon right?” EagleTwo asked.

“Even if they go free, my duty is to bring them to justice.” Rosemary replied solemnly.

“Wow…really?”

“Forget it sis, you know how she gets when she’s in hero-mode.” EagleOne chuckled.

“Now that you mention it…where did she get it from?” EagleTwo smiled mischievously.

“You know she got it from that boyfriend of hers.”

“Don’t you mean ex?” EagleTwo tilted her head in feigned confusion.

“I don’t think so. She talks about him like he’s not. It’s really confusing...” EagleOne had a hand on her chin as if pondering some profound truth.

’Why did I even open my mouth?’ Rosemary sighed inwardly. The twins had been her co-workers for a while now, they were close. So it was obvious that knew about Brandon. After talking about him so passionately, the sisters wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to tease her.

“Are you done? Can I go now?” she said with her voice thick with irritation. But the sisters didn’t relent as they locked arms with her on each side.

“Aww, she’s blushing!” EagleOne said.

“Come on, Rosemary. Tell us another story about your high school sweetheart.” EagleTwo teased.

“I’m not telling either of you anything if you’re gonna be jerks about it!” Rosemary snapped.

“So feisty! There’s the fiery nun we know and love!” EagleOne laughed, but EagleTwo cut her off.

“Okay, okay. Enough. Let’s not leave her with a bad impression. She won’t be with us for much longer.” She smiled then looked back at Rosemary. “Where are you going now?”

Rosemary sighed helplessly. Even though the sisters could be annoying, they knew when to stop. “I need to go back to the paladin temple. The sooner I can get the commander on my side the better.” She said.

“Then we’ll walk you there.” EagleTwo replied happily.