#midaset

It is finished.

I have avenged Ambrose at last.

I was able to chase the witch all the way from Quartise to Midglen where the trail seemed to go cold. What was the witch's undoing, however, was the abnormally large amounts of monsters in the surroundings.

Apparently, this was a new occurrence for these people, and I slowly waded my way through the zombie monsters until I made it to Midaset. The difference in quality of monsters became pronounced as I came to the small town, and even more so as I ventured through the surroundings until I came upon the forest behind Midaset.

Ten different behemoth monsters lingered in the forest. I saw quite a few pieces of shield fragments there as well, and if I venture to guess, I think that the Order members sent to fix the breaks in the Shield here were probably made into the very monsters that stood in my way.

Seeing that Ettie Bosket refused to show her face by these behemoths, I ventured a guess that she had yet to complete the control over these creatures, which was and is always correct, but even monsters will linger in places where food is plentiful, and if she was smart, she would have hidden her headquarters somewhere untouchable by monsters such as these.

They were wingless, after all, and while two of them were rather grand, the other eight were much dumber and slower. It's obvious in their unfocused gaze and the drool that tends to hang from their mouths.

I immediately cast a sharpening enhancement on my blades, along with a haste enchantment and a ice enchantment as well. They would last only three hours, but three hours is plenty, and I can always recast.

Levitating them with ease, I set the long swords to guard my perimeter, an ice spell on them to slow nearing enemies while my daggers and chakrams headed for my opponents, a lightning spell on those to shock and basically cause seizures for the creatures.

The first two went down easy, and I swiftly captured their souls in the empty Crystals. The third when down after my chakrams shredded its body into pieces, and the fourth after my daggers gutted the creature's brains.

It was from here on that I had troubles fighting the creatures as they teamed up. The swiftest of the two smarter monsters drew in close, taking swipes at my body through the small gaps between the swords. The largest of the smarter monsters shot out projectiles that definitely made through my sword barrier and pierced my arms, legs, and even through my chest. Luckily, my face did not suffer any damage.

The other three ran around, basically causing chaos and making it difficult to focus, what with forest debris flying everywhere on top of the projectiles and the swiping attacks.

What these monsters underestimated in me was my original occupation as an exceptional healer, not that they would know that. As easy as it is for me to wield my weapons mentally, it is that much easier for me to heal, especially my own body.

It took but a pulse of magic through my body to heal all the injuries at once, and another pulse to keep the healing spell on. It's a bit of manipulation magic, but one that manipulates my very cells to either fix itself into its original state, or to replace itself with a perfect original copy.

Once my body was healing, I did away with the annoyances, and took down the large monster first. The projectiles were very annoying as they easily went through my swords, and with the creature's thick hide, my daggers and chakrams weren't doing much damage.

I replaced my shield with the daggers and let the chakrams cleave circles around me while the long swords flew at the monster to make quick work of it. The extra sharp and sturdy enhancement helped greatly, and the stacked haste spells let my swords catch up to the swift one with ease.

Once all the monsters were dealt with, at least the large ones, the ones that would impede my search for her, I then proceeded to wander to the Edge Ridge. If I was a killer hiding in Kyrikos, I too would hide in the Edge Ridge. Not only are the tunnels extensive and easy to get lost in, but it is also the perfect place to hide as no one ventures to the Edge Ridge, not unless they were eager to die or wanted to study the remnants (although, many of these die too, so it's all the same, really).

As I wondered how I would find my culprit, my wedding band heated with warmth, and a light seemed to shine some ways in front of me. I knew at once it was Ambrose that was showing me the way, and eagerly, I followed. He too wanted justice! And I was eager to give it to him.

I found a near ground entrance to the tunnels, and by enhancing the muscles in my legs, I was able to jump high enough to reach the entrance even without wings.

Once the cells returned to normal, I proceeded inward, relying upon the warmth to guide me forward while I left a dagger plunged in the walls to guide me back.

In the end, Ettie Bosket was nothing compared to everything else before. The hunt, the chase, and the monsters. Everything was more challenging, even the tunnel.

She was thirty or forty, but wrinkled in age, with three misshapen wings on her back, two on the left and one on the right. The wings looked like a strange hybrid between scales and feathers, and occasionally bare skin in places. I surmise she did it herself, and poorly at that. Still, considering that that was probably her best attempt, it would explain why she was so horrible at everything else. Why I had little trouble discovering her.

I might have been a bit gleeful when I found the cavern she experimented in. Dead bodies everywhere, notes, papers scattered about, and what looked like broken Crystals and a few pieces of the Shield. If nothing else, all of this was more than enough to condemn her to a life of slavery.

The problem was, I didn't want that for her. Why should she get a chance at redemption when she killed Ambrose? Experimented on his soul probably! A soul that was and is still wandering Kyrikos?

It would have been so easy, to just throw her down a rift, let her die for eternity, or kill her and keep the Crystal with myself until I found a different solution, a way to torture her for her crimes. All these thoughts went through my mind in mere seconds after I pinned her into place with my swords.

One stab, and the deed would be done, or I could use my magic, my manipulation magic, my healing magic, and turn it against her. Turn her body against her and cause her pain beyond pain! And as I was struggling with which one to go with first, to how to prolong her suffering to reflect my own, Ambrose's suffering...

The wedding band grew hot, nearly enough to burn, but it didn't, and a thought rang clear in my mind. Ambrose did not want me to become sullied. He loved me for myself, for who I was, and while he understood the vengeance I wanted, he did not want me to become twisted because of it.

I struggled to hold in the tears as I placed a sleeping spell over the witch. She fell down unconscious, and I used the chains she possessed to bind her. I needed to move quickly, before I could change my mind. Before the vengeance overtook me again.

I walked the unmarked plains until I came to where the Keepers dwell in the Central City. They took her, still unconscious and bound, and promised that she would get her due for her crimes. I left after handing over the many Crystals I had collected during my quest to capturing her, and after I received my money, I left.

It's quite a sum, what I received, not just for the souls I captured, but for the criminal as well. I'll be set for a while yet, not counting the money Ambrose left me when he died.