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The Big Oof! Volume 1 Chapter 38: Search and Seizure
🕑 Added 2023-04-26 14:46:49 +0000 UTCHaving regained her breath and Composure, Azeline joined Bennett as she walked forward in front of a group of Villagers getting into formation. “Calm yourselves and lower your weapons!” Azeline yelled commandingly, marching over to the terrified peasants that were clutching their spears.”Or would you rather be implicated in the theft of the Inquisition's magical items!?” Azeline snarled.
Silence fell upon the villagers as they all looked at each other in uncertainty before the entire caravan broke out into hushed whispers.
Azeline raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in atmosphere and crossed her arms, waiting for a response. One of the peasants stepped forward, his voice shaking as he spoke. "We...we didn't steal anything from the Inquisition," he said, looking up at Azeline with fear in his eyes. "We don't even know what you're talking about!"
“Y-ya! How do we know yer tellin the truth!?” Another voice called out from further down the convoy. “Ye could just be sayin’ that to rob us!”
“You could turn this wagon around and speak with the Knight Captain Rhea and his Grace Salvanius themselves.” Azeline spoke with a smirk on her face. “But you would run the risk of being associated with heretics.”
The caravan fell silent once more, they heard the stories of what came with being judged as a heretic or being associated with one.
The tension in the air was palpable as the villagers huddled together, nervously clutching their weapons. The stories of the Inquisition's brutal tactics were well-known, and none wanted to run the risk of being branded a heretic or even be accused of associating with one. They knew that even the slightest suspicion of wrongdoing could result in one long and painful demise.
And the fact that Afton immediately ran as if he had a hand in whatever wrongdoing the Northern Woman spoke of only added to the fear. In the eyes of Inquisitors, one was guilty until proven innocent when it came to corruption, and the villagers knew if there was an ounce of truth to the accusation levied at them… They would be burning at the stake before dawn.
Sensing the fear, Azeline put her hands on her hips and spoke loudly, “We’re only here to take what’s ours and bring back the thieves for judgment!” She shouted and waited a moment to allow the Villagers to gossip amongst themselves for another brief moment. “We know exactly who the culprits are and what was taken, so the only thing we ask of you is not to interfere!”
The peasants looked at each other, unsure what to do until a voice called out, “If Soife’s boy didn’ do no wrong doin, then why’d he run?”
This caused murmurs of agreement from some of the other villagers, as they all remembered Afton's panicked sprint away from the convoy. “I’s heard him braggin the other night ‘bout how he was gonna show those bastards whose boss!” A young female voice called out, standing on top of the highest point of the cart. “These Mages saved my life, so I don’t see why’d they be lyin’!” She continued.
Azeline’s head looked over to the little girl and noticed it was the same child that Elijah had saved from being dragged into that kobold den. "Thank you for speaking up," she said, nodding at the little girl. Turning her head back to the small mass of peasant guards, Azeline continued, "Now you can choose, let us get our rightful possessions and be on your merry way, or let the Inquisitors be the arbiter of judgment.”
Suddenly a shrill scream for help echoed throughout the forest causing everyone in the caravan to jerk in alarm.
“That was… I ain’t doin’ this…” one of the Villagers dropped his spear and slowly backed up. “I’ll cooperates, I swears it!” He pleaded while holding his hands up.
The others looked at each other in uncertainty, their resolve weakening as the scream continued to pierce through the forest. It wasn’t until the screaming stopped did they finally throw down their own arms and reluctantly raise their own hands.
“Smart.” Azeline responded with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.
Looking back at Bennett who still had his weapon trained on the group of men, she signaled to the peasants to move backwards. “I think he wants you to step away from your weapons.” She said with a shooing motion.
The peasants slowly began to comply, their hands still raised as they backed away from their discarded spears and started to head to the rear of the caravan. Bennett kept his rifle at the ready and pointed at the group as they moved away until disappearing behind the final cart.
“Get this loser, I’m going to go check the carts.” He said, before giving the Coachman a spiteful and vicious kick to the side.
Stepping towards the groaning man, Azeline grabbed the scrawny and groaning coachman by the scruff of his shirt and roughly dragged him away as Bennett jumped onto the cart. "You’ve made a grave mistake." she said with a hateful look on her face.
Clutching his ribs and wincing in pain, the Coachman looked up with a pathetic look and started mouthing words. “I-I…. I…” He stammered before a foot pressed against his throat.
“I suggest you keep quiet,” Azeline said with a snarl. “You’ve made me lose an immeasurable amount of face with my companions and made my problems, their problems.”
The Coachman's eyes widened with fear as he struggled to nod as tears ran down his face. Azeline spat to the side with a look of disgust and released her foot from his throat, allowing the Coachman to gasp for air.
Bennett continued to rummage through what was left of the battered and oxless cart, tossing aside any items while letting out a string of curses. Frustration started to grow as he failed to find any trace of their equipment and supplies. He turned to Azeline with a scowl on his face. “Nothing! Fucking Nothing!”
Growling in anger, Bennett jumped off the side of the cart, grabbed the young coachmen by the neck and dragged him up to a stand. “WHERES MY SHIT ASSHOLE!?” He yelled.
Surprised by the powerful hands that were wrapped around his neck, the Coachmen could only yelp in response as he stared into Bennett’s manic eyes. “I- I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Not usually the one to trend towards violence even when he lost his cool, Bennett couldn’t help but send a fist straight into the coachman’s stomach. “OH YOU’RE GONNA LIE TO ME NOW YOU PIECE OF SHIT!? YOU’VE SOLD OFF EVERYTHING I HAD LEFT!” Bennett frothed at the mouth, sending particles of spittle into the Coachman’s face.
Blow after vicious blow was sent into his victims body as Bennett flew into a blind rage as Azeline stood off to the side and watched her companion wail on the poor young man.
Azeline bit her lip, unsure of how to proceed. She knew that she shared the blame for their current predicament, but she also understood Bennett's fury. "Ben, Enough!" she finally shouted, pulling at his shoulder. "We won't be able to find out what really happened if you kill him!"
Bennett stopped mid-swing, his breathing heavy and his face contorted with rage. He glared at the battered coachman for a few more moments, who was now slumped over and whimpering in pain before turning around in a huff.
But just as he walked away towards the next cart, Bennett turned his head to see Yana popping out of the forest brush, giggling like a maniac with Elijah just behind her.
"Kill him?" Bennett asked, noticing the expressions on their face.
Elijah’s smile stretched further as he looked at Bennett. “Nah, kobolds got ‘em. I just simply let them enjoy their midnight snack.” He replied maliciously.
Bennett's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, but also with a hint of dark amusement. "You're one ruthless son of a bitch you know that?" he said, shaking his head. "But I suppose that serves them right for fucking us in the first place." Bennett finished jumping onto the second cart inorder to resume his search.
Elijah shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he watched Bennett continue rummaging through the cart. "Well, he fucked around and found out," he said, jumping into the cart with the engineer.
Yana buzzed excitedly in front of Azeline, who was still within earshot, and exclaimed loudly, "Hey, hey! Did you hear? We fed that fool to the kobolds!" She continued, her enthusiasm barely contained as her wings fluttered rapidly.
Azeline didn’t quite share in the revelry, felt a chill go up her spine. The thought of being eaten alive by Kobolds seemed like something out of a horrible fever dream that even the most seasoned Freelancers. Kobolds weren’t exactly formidable creatures and didn’t have the strongest bite, so their method of eating prey was particularly slow and agonizing.
“That’s… great, Yana…” She replied, wincing at the thought.
Having her gaze fall upon the battered coachman, Azeline couldn’t help but feel a flicker of sympathy stir within her. She knew all too well this poor soul would soon face a fate not unlike Afton's. The Inquisition was notorious for its ruthless methods in extracting information and meting out punishment, which could only be described as nightmarish. Yet, that fleeting moment of sympathy faded as she reminded herself that this was the repercussions of their own treachery.
Letting out a sigh, Azeline turned her gaze away from the beaten coachman and towards the huddled villagers, who were watching the proceedings with a mixture of fear and curiosity. "If ye find anythin', I just want to let y’all know we had no part in them boys' foolishness!" An older male peasant yelled out, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to distance himself and the other villagers from the actions of the coachman and Afton.
"Dolem! How could ye say that!? We don't even know if they did anythin'!" One of the women, Lira, reprimanded him. "They could be lyin' fer all we know, and just tryin' to take advantage of us," she added, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at the group.
However, Dolem was having none of it, “Damnit Lira! You seen how them mages fight!” He turned and shouted angrily. “You think they’d give a rats ass about what we’s got!? I’d wager what them damned boy stole was worth more than all our lives put together!”
Lira crossed her arms, still skeptical but unable to refute Dolem's point. The other villagers murmured among themselves, unsure of which side to take in the debate.
"I ain't gonna burn for that arrogant son of a bitch and his idiot friend! The boy's just like his mother, and guess what!? He probably died like his mother!" Dolem spat, his anger boiling over. “Screamin and cryin! Y’all heard it!”
His harsh words drew gasps from the villagers, and Lira shot him a disapproving glare. "Dolem, that's enough!" she scolded. "How could you say that!? We gots to stick together if we’re gonna survive in these harsh lands!"
Dolem clenched his fists. "I'm just speakin' the truth, Lira! We don't need their kind bringin' that kind of trouble down on all of us! We got enough problems as it is!" Turning to the rest of the villagers, the older peasant shouted. “Do y’all want yous and your children burnin at the stake just cause Soife didn’t wanna control his rotten son!?”
The villagers murmured among themselves, some nodding in agreement with Dolem, while others shifted uncomfortably, not willing to voice their thoughts. The atmosphere grew tense, and it seemed as though the situation could escalate further at any moment.
Just as the situation seemed to be getting out of hand, Elijah popped his head up. "Can all of you shut the fuck up, please?" he said, causing the gaggle of villagers to quieten down.
The atmosphere grew heavy with silence as everyone's heads whipped towards him in fear. "Thanks," he said with a piercing and intense gaze . With the quiet restored, Elijah refocused his attention on the cart he had been searching, resuming his efforts with renewed determination.
Soon the minutes turned into hours as Bennett and Elijah meticulously sifted through each and every cart, ripping open every bag and turning over every piece of linen in their search for their stolen equipment. As they searched, their frustration grew with each passing moment, finding nothing that resembled their lost belongings. However, their determination remained unwavering, they knew for a fact that the two bumbling idiots who sold them out must have taken SOMETHING as compensation.
Finally, as they reached the final cart, their perseverance was rewarded. Concealed beneath a pile of bundled linens, Bennett discovered a bag filled with hundreds of rounds for their pistols, along with a pair of mana-rich spines harvested from the shadow bear they blew up.
“FOUND SOMETHING!” The engineer yelled in excitement.
Elijah, who had been puzzled over a pair of undergarments he'd found, quickly turned his attention to Bennett when he heard the shout. Dropping the odd article of clothing, he rushed over to Bennett's side of the cart and looked into the burlap sack.
But disappointment clouded his eyes when he saw what Bennett found and ran his hand through his hair. “At least it's something…” He sighed, sitting down on an oddly shaped crate.
Yana, who wanted to see what the excitement was about, fluttered over to the two humans and looked into the sack. “I don’t understand, what's so exciting about some magicless round thingies?” She said, looking up in confusion.
Looking over to the fairy with a tired expression, Elijah let out another sigh. “Those ‘magicless round thingies’ is what I used to kill you.” He responded, taking the bag from Bennett as the Engineer continued his search.
"And it's great we found more, but this is just a fraction of what was stolen from us," Elijah added, his frustration evident in his voice.
A twinkle shone in yana’s eyes at the revelation, as she grabbed a singular bullet and lifted it into the air to inspect.. "Hmmm… is that so?," she murmured, spinning it around to see every inch of it. “How does it work?” The fairy asked, looking up with confusion still written on her face.
Elijah glanced at her, considering whether or not to explain the mechanics of the firearms or ballistics. A few moments passed before he settled on a solid no seeing it would be too much of a hassle to go through all that at that moment. "It's complicated, Yana," he replied wearily, beckoning her to come over "I'll explain it later."
Initially opening her mouth to protest, Yana caught sight of Elijah's tired expression and thought better of it. From the brief amount of time she’s been his master, she realized that pushing against this stubborn idiot any further was fruitless and instead, floated over to sit on his shoulder. She understood that Elijah had reached his limit for the time being, and it was best not to exacerbate the situation especially after the past few hours.
From her perch, Yana instead turned her gaze towards the huddled and whispering villagers. Their faces were a mixture of horror and curiosity after overhearing that her servant had found stolen goods among their possessions. A wicked grin spread across Yana's face, as she reveled in the fear and confusion that gripped the villagers and bolted off Elijah’s shoulder.
"You hear that, dummies!?" Yana said, floating in front of the group of peasants. "They found some of the stuff you stole from them!" Her voice was sharp, dripping with condescension and malice.
The villagers flinched at her harsh tone, glancing nervously at each other. "T-That's not true!" The peasant named Lira spoke out. "W-we didn't steal nothin'! It was the village head's boy!" She stammered, desperation evident in her voice as she tried to deflect blame.
Azeline couldn't help but chuckle at Lira's sudden change of heart. "Oh, how quickly you throw Afton to the wargs and abandon your convictions of 'sticking together'," she mocked, shaking her head in amusement. "It's amazing how fear can make one forget their so-called principles."
Shifting uncomfortably under Azeline's mocking gaze, the peasant woman’s earlier bravado quickly dissipated as she realized the severity of the situation. Lira seemed to shrink in on herself as her face flushed with embarrassment and fear while the rest of the villages started to physically distance themselves from her.
“Do you want to know what we do to people who steal from us?” Yana said with an evil grin on her face as she stretched her hands out. “We burn then…” She finished as malice oozed from her voice.
Just as Yana was about to unleash another spell, she immediately froze when she heard Elijah speak out, “Yana!” He shouted while jumping off the cart. “Leave ‘em alone, we’re leaving.”
Yana looked at Elijah for a brief moment as disappointment filled her gaze, but ultimately decided to obey his command. Reluctantly, she lowered her hands and floated back to sit on his shoulders while her grin faded into a pout.
“Don’t waste your energy, we only hurt people who need to be hurt.” Elijah said as he motioned to Azeline to follow.
The woman huffed, grabbed the coachman by the scruff of his shirt, and yanked him onto his feet. "Walk," she commanded sternly, her voice laced with a subtle threat of violence. The coachman, shaken and bruised, stumbled forward with a nod, knowing better than to challenge her authority. Azeline walked behind the Coachman as they slowly made their way to her waiting companions and past the whispering villagers. Humiliation was written all over the poor man’s face as he grew more aware of the whispers and stares that followed them.
“They’re gonna burn him…”
“That’s Jorda’s only son right?”
“Ya, and it seems his son is going to join him in death…”
Tears started streaming down the poor boy’s face as he limped forward, regretting every decision that led him to this point. He never should have listened to Afton and agreed to his idiotic scheme…. But he was just so angry that these foreigners helped the blacksmith’s daughter and just let his father die horribly.
"Why me…? Why did I listen to him?" he sobbed quietly to himself.
Azeline pushed him forward once more, "Because you're a heaven’s damned fool!" She snapped, unable to stand the self pity on display. The coachman continued to mope, his face streaked with tears as he stumbled forward, “At least have the courage to own up to what you’ve done!”
No response came from the young coachman as he limped toward the town, lamenting his ill fate. Azeline could only sigh in disgust, casting her eyes upward to see the first light of dawn gradually peeking over the treetops.
“And to think I even paid you to not do something stupid...”
