The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 100 - Infiltrating the Ares Manor (Patreon)

Piper stood across from the Are’s family manor, concealed behind a wall of illusions, and stared up at the gaudy walls. Someone had enchanted to masonry to shine like precious metals and gems; first it gleamed like gold, then silver, and finally a sea of sparkling diamonds. The entire thing looked ridiculously garish.

Thankfully, the manor wasn’t much larger than the aspirant’s guild, which meant it should be relatively easy to find Ophelia. But at least a dozen guards patrolled on the walls above the street, complicating any attempts to get inside.

Upon arriving, her group had taken up a position a short distance down the street. They had been watching the comings and goings for the last few minutes, in the hopes of spotting an easy way inside.

If she failed to spot one, then she would turn to the thief’s plan to infiltrate the manor. But that was almost certain to be riskier than using her illusions. Still, she would do anything to reach her friend.

Gorebark twisted in her grip. “You finally going to shoot some pink apes?”

“There’s a good chance,” she whispered back. “I know at least three of them inside who probably deserve to die.”

Eleni stared at the demonic bow. “That thing is really creeping me out.”

Wisp poked the grip, almost getting bitten by Gorebark in return. “I think it’s awesome. Do you know how much I could sell this for? I bet I could buy a house afterwards. No, two houses! And a butler.”

“Why do you need a butler?” Piper asked.

“Everyone needs a butler. To do… butlering stuff.”

Piper gave the thief a wan smile. “You have no idea what a butler does, do you?”

“I know,” Wisp said indignantly. “I just don’t want to tell you.”

Piper returned to watching the manor. With her new powers, she could easily destroy the entire complex. Three shots of [Abyssal Splitshot] from her bow activating [Demonic Mark] would most likely bring down the entire front wall. From there, it would be easy to stroll right up and take out any survivors.

But if she chose that option, then all her efforts to infiltrate the inner city would have been for nothing. And she also had no idea where Ophelia was being held. What if she blew up a section of wall right next to her friend? It was too risky to use any powerful magic until she knew more about the situation inside.

“Sarnyxia,” she whispered. “I have a mission for you.”

At Piper’s side, the demon materialized, cancelling her own [Wraithskin]. “What ridiculous thing do you want me to do now?”

“The next time the gates to the manor open, I want you to sneak inside and find my friend. She should be held in a cell somewhere. Most likely in the basement if they have one."

The demoness examined her claws, looking bored. “Is that all?”

“What? You want to do more?”

“What I wanted was to continue living my life in the Infernal Realm.” Sarnyxia fixed a hard glare on Piper. “However, a certain human removed that option.”

“I’m sorry for that,” she whispered. “But you gave me no choice. Remember, you attacked first.”

“It was preemptive self-defense. Both of us know you were there to kill me.”

“Just go do as you're told,” Piper whispered harshly. She really didn’t want all the details of her time in the Infernal Realm revealed to Eleni and Wisp.

Piper watched as the shadeling disappeared behind the cloak of a [Wraithskin] spell once more. She could only assume Sarnyxia was following her orders, because the spell hid any traces of the demoness’s passage.

Settling in to wait, she decided to allocate her numerous free attribute points. She pulled up her character sheet and examined it.

Piper Ashcroft

Race: Shadeling, Level 56

Class: Deceiver (Epic), Level 56

Class: Shadowflame Tempter (Legendary), Level 5

Attributes

Strength – 125

Dexterity – 70

Stamina - 60

Vitality – 50

Perception – 40

Swiftness - 70

Magic - 280

Mana - 1200

Mana Regeneration – 750

Free Attribute Points - 102

Racial Skills (7/10)

·         Demonic Blood, Level 39

·         Demonic Fury, Level 2

·         Demonic Intellect, Level 9

·         Infernal Resistance, Level 8

·         Quick Claw, Level 26

·         Subjugator, Level 4

·         Tail Strike, Level 25

Skills (10/10)

·         Ambush Detection, Level 7

·         Animal Caretaker, Level 5

·         Archery, Level 25

·         Cooking, Level 6

·         Enduring Casting, Level 12

·         Identify, Level 17

·         Hunting, Level 10

·         Running, Level 27

·         Hammer Wielding, Level 5

·         Subterfuge, Level 31

Deceiver Spells (6/10)

·         False Face, Level 32

·         Phantom Flesh, Level 6

·         Truth Shroud, Level 35

·         Shifting Veil, Level 22

·         Umbral Terror, Level 8

·         Wraithskin, Level 13

Shadowflame Temptress Spells (3/10)

·         Misery Crown, Level 1

·         Pit Chains, Level 3

·         Void Silence, Level 3

Her mouth nearly dropped open when she reached her free attribute points. She knew she’d gained a lot of levels from killing the adventurer, but 102 points was crazy.

She quickly glanced over her spells and skills, noting she’d gained a few levels here and there in her battles over the past few days. But most of them were lagging from lack of use. In the future, she’d have to focus on leveling up her skills in particular. Or at least change out the ones she wasn’t using much for something more useful.

Since both of her classes focused on casting, she decided to increase her magical attribute points first. She placed 20 points into Magic, bringing it up to a nice round 300. Next, she placed 50 points into Mana—with the high cost of demon summoning, she really needed to improve that stat.

That left her with 32 points remaining. She decided to split them between Strength and Dexterity; 25 points went into Strength and the remaining 7 into Dexterity. The fight against the adventurers had proven that she would still need to engage in hand-to-hand combat sometimes.

She’d barely finished allocating her attribute points when a wagon loaded with barrels trundled up to the front gates. A man with a stooped back and greying hair called up to the guards, and a moment later the gates swung open.

The driver took the reins of the oxen and guided the cart inside. A short time afterward, the gates slammed shut. Hopefully, Sarnyxia had slipped in during the brief opening.

Piper tapped her foot against the ground as she waited. When her demoness reappeared at her side from nowhere, she almost jumped out of her skin. “Why aren’t you inside the manor?” she exclaimed. “I thought I ordered you to find Ophelia.”

Sarnyxia arched her eyebrow. “There are powerful wardings on the gate. I would have easily been discovered.”

“Oh, shoot.” Piper turned to Wisp. “I guess you’re up. Tell us about your plan to get inside.”

“Great!” Wisp said excitedly. “We all dress up like servants and sneak into the manor.”

“Is that it?” Piper frowned. “No offense, but you don’t look like a servant. None of us do. But you especially.”

Wisp moped as she tried to pat down her frizzy hair. “I don’t look that bad.”

“No, no,” Piper held up her hands apologetically. “I didn’t mean you look bad. I just meant you don’t look like a prim and proper servant. No one would believe you’d take orders.”

“Well, the servants don’t go through the front gate anyway,” Wisp continued, looking slightly mollified. “There’s a little gate on the side of the manor.”

“And it doesn’t have wardings?”

“Probably not? I heard a thief snuck through there once.”

“There’s no need to dress up like servants, then. I can just make us invisible and we can slip through when someone opens it.”

“There’s no way that would work.” Wisp shook her head from side to side. “The door is tiny, and so is the room beyond. Someone would bump into someone and then we’re all screwed. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go in the stocks again.”

Piper exhaled. “I guess we’re going to become servants. But there’s still the problem of none of us actually looking like servants who work there.”

The young thief pointed across the street. “Why not just copy anyone who leaves?”

“But what if no one leaves?”

Wisp only shrugged in reply.

Piper fought down a sigh. If this failed, then she was going to get a lot less subtle in her attempts to enter the manor. Every minute she delayed, Ophelia was probably being subjected to terrible things.

But if she launched a frontal attack, then a lot of guards and servants were probably going to die. And she’d really like to keep down unnecessary casualties. Still, if anyone attacked her, she would defend herself.

Gorebark twisted to look at her. “You’re thinking you don’t want to hurt anyone, aren’t you?”

“The guards and staff have nothing to do with this.”

“You really are the worst.”

“Thank you,” she said primly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It’s not meant to—” Gorebark’s words cut off as she clamped a hand over its mouth.

Piper settled in to wait for some servants to leave the manor. After nearly an hour had passed, six women emerged from a narrow alleyway. They all wore matching blue dresses with white aprons on the front. Two of them pulled empty carts.

She picked out the one closest to her size and then recast [False Face]. After molding her features to closely resemble the servant, she felt she could pass as the woman’s twin. For the others, she just picked faces at random for them. Her [Shifting Veil] could change the size of a person, unlike her [False Face] spell.

Eleni looked up from inspecting her sword and gasped at seeing her hand shimmer. After a second, she seemed to clue in to what was happening. “Please warn me next time you’re going to change how I look.”

“Sorry,” Piper said quickly. “I promise I’ll warn you next time.”

Piper continued to cast [Shifting Veil], even transforming Sarnyxia into a serving girl. If something went wrong, she didn’t want to waste precious seconds re-summoning the demoness.

She then spent the next few seconds altering their clothing to match the blue uniforms. When she was done, they looked exactly like the women who had just left the manor.

I just pray they don’t come back for a while. If they do, then we’re all in trouble.

Piper took a deep breath and set out across the street. She tried to look confident, but she had a feeling her face betrayed her. Eleni and Sarnyxia followed closely behind, while Wisp lagged behind them. The thief probably planned to bolt if things went wrong.

Eleni looked over at her with an unfamiliar face. “Do you always do stuff like this?”

“Stuff like what?”

“Sneak into the mansions of prominent first citizens and battle adventurers in the streets?”

“Sometimes? To be honest, I just wanted to become a wayfarer. But I’ve had a lot of bad luck.”

For the first time today, her thoughts returned to Althea and Selene. With everything going on, she’d managed to avoid thinking about their deaths. The moment the memories resurfaced, she had to ruthlessly push them down.

When Ophelia was safe, she could mourn them. Right now, she had a job to do.

“Why do you want to become a wayfarer with your class?” Eleni continued. “I would probably go work for a noble or something. I know a dozen ladies who would pay good coin for you to make them a new illusory dress every day.”

“My friend wanted to become an adventurer,” Piper said. “I think I just went along with her. And… I want to help people. It might sound crazy with my class, but I really want to do good in this world.

Eleni gave her a strange look before shaking her head.

The group fell silent as they passed under the manor’s wall. Piper felt the guard’s gazes burning into her back, but she avoided looking up. She needed to seem as though she belonged here.

They reached the alleyway without incident and hurried down the narrow corridor. About halfway down the length of the building, they arrived at a narrow door inset in the thick stone wall. Sturdy iron bound the door, and a peephole had been cut near the top.

Piper hesitated as she raised her hand to knock. If this failed, then a lot of people were about to die. But she would make sure none of them were in her own group.

With a deep breath, she rapped on the wooden door. She heard a grumble from beyond, and the peephole slid open to reveal a pair of rheumy eyes, surrounded by deeply lined skin.

“Back already, Gloria?”

Since Piper didn’t know who he was referring to, she simply nodded. “We forgot something.”

“Best not let Daphne know. If you’re late with the ingredients for dinner, she’ll have you whipped again. Give me a moment to open this darn thing.”

Piper held her breath as she heard a bar sliding off from behind the door. Then the sound of a locking mechanism clicking followed. Finally, the door swung open to reveal a short, stooped man. Only a few hairs still clung to his wrinkled scalp. A footstool had been pushed off to the side; most likely he needed it to see through the peephole.

She slipped into the cramped room, being closely followed by everyone else. They had to cram themselves together as the man shut the door behind them. A peephole slid open on the far side of the room, and another pair of eyes scrutinized them.

After a brief wait, the second door opened, revealing a sunlit courtyard behind it . A guard wearing a full suit of armor, armed with a spear and a round shield, motioned for them to enter.

Piper walked past the guard, whose gaze immediately drifted down her backside. At first, she didn’t understand what he was doing. The second she realized he was staring at her rear end, she blushed down to the roots of her hair. Apparently, looking like a grown woman sometimes brought with it unwanted attention.

The four of them filed into the manor, finding themselves standing in a grassy courtyard. A tree bloomed at the center, the sun dancing on the delicate pink flowers.

Dozens of servants bustled past them, keeping their gazes down. The entire manor was alive with activity, with marching guards, merchants unloading a cart, and people wearing fine robes striding about. At least the commotion should allow them to blend in more easily.

“Where’s your friend being held?” Eleni whispered out of the side of her mouth.

“If she’s anywhere, I bet she’s in the basement.” Piper pointed to the far side of the courtyard, where a set of stairs descended into the earth. “At least that’s a good place to start.”

She walked purposefully across the grass and under the broad branches of the tree. When she reached the stairs, she glanced around to make sure no one was watching. Then she took the steps two at a time. The others followed her example and hurried after her.

When she reached the bottom, she found another guard barring her way.

The man raised his helmet to regard them. “What are ya doing down here, Gloria?”

“I’m supposed to clean the prisoner’s room.”

The man scratched his straw-like hair. “All of ya?”

She clasped her hands in front of her and nodded.

“Best get to it.” The man stepped aside and opened the door. “Lord Ares is supposed to be back anytime.”

The mention of the lord made her move faster, and she rushed past the door. Beyond, she found a corridor splitting off in two directions. Looking both ways, she tried to decide which direction to check first.

“Stupid woman,” the guard said, thrusting his arm to the right. “They’re that way.”

“Thank you,” Piper said, curtseying deeply.

Leading the way, Piper led the four of them down the corridor. Dozens of doors with iron bars on the windows filled the hallway, and she waited until the guard had returned to his post before peering into the closest one.

The first cell held a man wearing little more than rags. She continued onward, checking each window. It wasn’t until the end of the corridor that she spotted a young girl curled up in the corner of a cell.

“Ophelia,” she whispered. “Is that you?”

As the girl turned around, a flood of relief surged through her veins at the sight of Ophelia. Her friend’s face was covered in grime, but otherwise, she looked no worse for wear. It appeared the Ares brothers hadn’t abused her at all.

“Hold on,” Piper said. “We’re going to get you out of there.”

Reaching up, she grabbed the bars. Hopefully, her strength was high enough that she could tear them right off. As she braced her feet, a hand shot out to grab her wrist.

Glancing over in surprise, she saw that Sarnyxia was holding her. “What are you doing?” she hissed. “I need to get her out of here.”

“Something is amiss,” the demoness replied tersely. “There are many illusions in this hallway.”

Piper concentrated and felt a faint sense of wrongness emanating from her surroundings. Once again, her low Perception had screwed her. Next time she leveled up, she would dump all her points into that stat.

An illusion fell away, revealing Jason, son of Ares, standing in the middle of the hallway. He clapped his mailed hands together. “Very perceptive. My illusionist is among the best in the city. However, I suppose he can’t compare with an infernal caster. The inquisitor said you may try to mount a rescue operation. Do you know what else she told me? That you’re the one who murdered my brother, Demetrios.”

Piper spun around as more illusions unravelled, revealing over a dozen armed men and women crowding the hallway. Thankfully, there only seemed to be the one Ares brother at the moment.

“Now,” Jason said, drawing his shining blade. “Which one of you is Piper? And how did my brother die?”

Piper altered her [False Face] to return to herself once more. The illusion shimmered, changing her hair to blond and softening her features. Then she stepped forward defiantly.

“When I found him, he hadn’t eaten in days,” she said, her mind returning to the terrible events outside of the Black Pyramid. “He attacked me for the food I was carrying. I cast a fear spell on him, and he ran straight into the Black Pyramid, where he died at the hands of a demon. I swear it was an accident.”

Piper took a deep breath. “All I want is my friend back. We’ll leave here peacefully if you just give her to me. And if it stops all of this, then I’m truly sorry for what happened to your brother.”

“No.” Jason’s face hardened. “It won’t stop what is coming. But at least I know I’ll finally have vengeance on my brother’s murderer.”