Strax walked through the central market of Vorah alongside Roderick, his eyes wandering over stalls filled with weapons, armor, and other gear. The crowd around them swayed like a sea of rchants and adventurers seeking the best items for their journeys. The sll of forged tal, treated leather, and exotic herbs lingered in the air, while the strong sun made everything shine with an almost blinding intensity.
"I didn't think this side of the city was like this... Maybe because I've always wanted to avoid this city," Strax thought as he looked around, being careful not to attract too much attention.
Fortunately, Strax and his face were not sothing revealed to the public. He would theoretically be the next Duke of this city if his brothers gave up their claim to be heirs, so sothing like that could happen in a strange future. For now, he was content to just be Strax among the crowd.
Roderick, at his side, seed relaxed, but Strax was focused, especially on the conversation they were having.
The reason for their walk through the bustling market alleys was not just to buy equipnt, but to learn more about Rogue.
Strax had already sensed that she was hiding secrets, and the System had made it clear that he should investigate this woman in subtle ways. And who better for that than Roderick, who had worked for Rogue in the past?
"So, Roderick, tell more about Rogue," Strax began, keeping a casual tone but with his ears tuned to every detail.
Roderick, a tall, muscular man with so scars, ssy blonde hair, and an almost constant ironic smile, let out a short laugh. "She's not easy to understand. I worked for her for a few months, nothing official, but enough to realize she's a complicated woman. Controlling, has secrets, but pays well. Why the interest?"
Strax kept his gaze on the stalls ahead, pretending to be disinterested, but his mind was racing. "Curiosity. She seems to have a way of controlling situations that... I don't really like." He murmured, even though it was a lie, of course. He was actually interested in the woman, especially with how Samira reacted to her; he wanted to understand more about her so as not to make a mistake with Samira or let a golden opportunity slip by.
"Oh, yes, she has that way. It's one of the reasons I left; she's very ticulous about so things. But one thing is certain, Rogue doesn't do anything without a very calculated reason. If she's involved in sothing, you can bet there's sothing big behind the scenes." He replied as he looked at a huge sword in front of him.
"So... she's after for a reason... What a surprise, seems like it's always like this... Interest in ? Of course not, in what I have to offer? Of course, yes," Strax thought, letting out a soft laugh.
Strax processed the information in silence, pondering the implications. He knew Rogue was a dangerous player in Vorah's power scene, but he needed more details, more pieces of the puzzle before acting. He was about to ask another question when sothing unexpected happened.
A woman, dirty, ragged, and clearly desperate, burst out of the crowd in a frantic rush. She was visibly panicked, her wide eyes filled with terror as she pushed people out of the way. Her disheveled hair flailed with each desperate movent. Strax noticed her before she saw him, but it was too late to dodge. The woman collided violently with him, falling to the ground with a thud.
"What—?" Strax began, surprised by the collision, but soon realized that sothing was very wrong.
The woman, who had fallen to her knees, was shaking uncontrollably. Her body, thin and marked by wounds, seed on the verge of collapse. Her breathing was ragged, as if she had been running for a long ti, and her clothes were torn. But what caught Strax's attention the most was what she was murmuring incessantly, almost breathless.
"Spiders... spiders... so many spiders... they didn't seem real... they... they ate... ate everything... they're here, I know they're here..."
Her eyes were glazed over, lost in a terror that seed to surpass any understanding. Strax observed more closely, noticing sothing even more disturbing. The woman's left arm was completely deford, with the skin shriveling in a purplish hue, as if it were necrotizing. Small dark marks covered her skin, resembling deep bites. The arm looked like it was rotting before his eyes.
"Roderick, look at this," Strax whispered as he crouched beside the woman.
Roderick looked with a confused expression, then surprise. "Holy hell... what happened to her?"
*'Spiders... don't tell ...'*
[Special Mission Started]
The ssage flashed quickly in his retina. Strax extended his hand, trying to calm the woman, who was still murmuring about the spiders. "Hey, hey, it's okay now. What happened? Where did you see the spiders?" He spoke softly, trying to reach her mind amid the terror consuming her.
But she seed completely unable to respond coherently. Her eyes were unfocused, and she shook, repeatedly shaking her head. "They're everywhere... in the corners... in the trees... in the shadows... they're going to find , they'll eat too... I saw... I saw them all being devoured..."
*'What happened to this woman...'* he thought.
Strax frowned. This was not normal. Sothing very wrong had happened to this woman, and he needed to find out what it was, especially with a special mission appearing in this way. As he looked around, he noticed that people in the market were starting to gather, looking with curiosity at the injured woman on the ground. He didn't like drawing unnecessary attention, especially in such a chaotic situation.
"Spiders... more spiders... no... stay away from ... go away... don't co near..." She began to panic.
The woman started trembling more intensely, her eyes glazing over. She seed on the verge of a complete breakdown. Strax knew he needed to act quickly. He extended his hand, gently placing it on the back of the woman's neck. "Sorry about this," he murmured, and with a precise strike, he hit a specific point to knock her out without causing serious harm.
She collapsed into Strax's arms, unconscious, her body finally relaxing. The people around began to murmur, so in shock, others rely watching with morbid curiosity. Roderick, ever practical, looked at the woman with a look of disgust.
"What the hell are we going to do with her, Strax?" he asked.
Strax looked at the inert body in his arms. "We're taking her to my house. We need to find out what happened to her before it's too late. Sothing... sothing is not right here. And the state of her arm is concerning. It could be so curse or poison. I need a healer, maybe soone with experience in magical creatures."
Roderick nodded in agreent, but there was a glint of concern in his eyes. "Do you think it's safe to take her? She could be contaminated with sothing, or worse, she could attract sothing to you."
Strax, however, was already determined. "If we leave her here, she won't survive. Besides, if it's what I'm thinking, these spiders she's talking about... they're probably much closer than they seem. That wound can't be more than two hours old, and it's already rotting her arm. That ans sothing is coming this way."
Without another word, he held the unconscious woman in his arms and began walking through the market, ignoring the curious glances and the silent questions thrown his way by onlookers. Roderick followed closely, his expression now serious.
The walk to Strax's house wasn't long, but he felt each second weigh heavily as he carried the woman's fragile body. With every step, he thought of her terrified murmurs, the spiders, the terror in her eyes. Sothing had happened to her, and he needed to discover what it was before it was too late.
When they finally arrived at Strax's house, he carefully placed her in one of the rooms, covering her with a blanket. Her arm still showed signs of deterioration, and the poison—or whatever it was—seed to be spreading slowly. He needed answers, and fast.
"Roderick," he said, turning to his companion, "go get a healer. Bring soone who understands poisons or curses. I'll keep an eye on her until you return."
Roderick nodded quickly and left through the door, leaving Strax alone with the unconscious woman. The silence in the room was heavy, and he approached the bed, observing the woman's irregular breathing. But then he heard a creak and turned abruptly at the sound of the door opening, his body instantly tensing. Monica entered, a worried expression on her face. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light of the room, focusing on the unconscious woman on the bed, covered with a blanket.
"What happened?" she asked hesitantly. "I... I saw the ssage here too." Her voice was tinged with concern. The System, which had once been a personal piece of information kept carefully, was now shared with his wives.
"I don't know either, but... it has to do with the main mission my father gave... for six months from now... but it seems like we won't have ti," Strax replied, his voice grave. He didn't know how to explain the urgency of the situation, but the gravity of the woman's condition left him uneasy.
Monica frowned, looking between Strax and the woman on the bed. "She looks... ill. What happened to her?"
"She was running away from sothing," Strax explained quickly, his mind racing with information. "Spiders, according to her. And not just ordinary spiders—sothing drove her completely mad. Her arm..." He gestured, showing the deformity. "It's in terrible shape. I had to knock her out to calm her down."
Monica moved closer, examining the woman more closely. "She seems to have so infection or poison. That arm... This isn't normal. You should have called a healer imdiately!"
"I sent Roderick to get one. He should be back any minute," Strax said, his voice laced with frustration. "But we need to find out more about her. Who is she? What happened?"
"We'll have to wait for her to wake up... do you want to call the girls?" Monica asked, but Strax shook his head. "They're doing their own things for now. I'll just wait for her to wake up."
Monica hesitated, looking at the woman before turning her gaze back to Strax. "Alright, I'll be downstairs. I'll prepare so things for her when she wakes up." She gave a shy smile and turned to leave.
"Thank you, dear," Strax said.
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