Theapan Temple (Part 12)

Vorbuk and the priestess walked quietly outside the temple. The night was dark but that could not mask the sounds of magic coming from the temple's walls. Every so often a flash of colorful light would brighten the temple grounds for a brief second. It felt like watching a light show if you could ignore the fact that people were fighting.

"Priestess, the temple doesn't only keep knowledge on gods, correct? Johan seems aware of that vampire's existence." Vorbuk probed her.

"Of course, anything important happening is kept in record. To protect the world tree we have to be adept to obtaining information." Mai replied.

The temple worked hard to hide the location of the world tree. In order to keep up with important information flowing throughout the twelve kingdoms they had to put up a fight themselves. Johan Lovette had his own source of information. Scattering his own sources throughout the twelve kingdoms the temple had hidden spies among guilds as well as royal palaces.

It wasn't simply for the world tree. Johan Lovette was in charge of the temples as well as carried a duty to watch over the gods as their messenger. He could not live properly without having a powerful influence. Although the pope did not have his own kingdom the power he held was without a doubt as dangerous as one.

"Who exactly is he?" Vorbuk wanted to know more about the vampire elf.

"Ah," Mai gaped for a second at the question. "Aoki, is what they call the executioner. As a child his family was slaughtered in front of him and he was taken captive. After several years of being experimented on he eventually massacred the entire lab that held him captive. After that he worked for the Drethia Royal family as a torturer and executioner before abandoning it all and going into hibernation.."

Vorbuk thought long and hard for a moment. If he fought with Aoki he could not be certain that things would be easy. Aoki was stronger then Ashley. At the same time the information that the vampire held could be useful. Having worked for the palace even if it was long in the past he would still have knowledge on the way the palace and kingdom itself ran. Some knowledge may be outdated but not everything would be completely useless.

Capturing him would be extremely difficult.

He's someone with a history of being tortured so he wouldn't simply cave to being injured. Aoki's someone with a high tolerance to pain. Even if he was on the verge of death.. he may even be willing to accept death without uttering a word.

Aoki is someone who's shut himself off from realizing physical pain since childhood in order to endure so simple methods would never work on him.

"Is something wrong?" Mai asked him as she reached out her hand to tap his shoulder.

Tap!

Vorbuk gently brushed her action aside. Although he had been willing to help her when she tripped in the past he still was not comfortable with others touching him so casually. His action was subconsciously drawing an invisible line between him and the priestess.

"I just think that he could be useful if we could make him talk about Drethia in the future. Except if he was used as a lab rat as a child like that then.." Vorbuk responded honestly.

"I understand," Mai ignored his indifferent attitude. "your troubled because you want to temporarily keep him alive but you don't know how to get him to talk once you have him."

"No." Vorbuk shook his head.

"Pardon?" Mai was confused by his rejection to what she said troubled him.

"I know of something I could try I just cant guarantee he wont die instantly." Vorbuk had a method in mind that he could try to use on Aoki. It was not something he was unfamiliar with having used it once before. The only difference was in the past it had been willingly done. This time he would be forcing it on someone who intended to kill him from the beginning.

"What do you mean?" Mai asked while finding that Vorbuk was no longer focused on her. He was glancing around the surroundings. Nobody else was around them right now so she could not understand what he was looking for.

"Ashley?" Vorbuk called out.

"Huh?!" Amidst Mai's confusion Ashley's figure dropped from a tree near by without a sound. Bowing in Vorbuk's direction respectfully.

"Yes, master~?" Ashley smiled brightly.

I knew it.. That guy is becoming more like a stalker as time passes. Vorbuk cursed Ashley internally as he shook the frustration he felt aside.

"Do you know where Bredret is right now?" Vorbuk asked him with a tone as if he had never felt frustrated in the slightest.

"Yes, he is still inside the temple where the others are. He seemed to have calmed down after you left, master." Ashley reported what he knew.

"Good. You will be sending him to the closest location of a slave merchant." Vorbuk ordered him without hesitation. He could see Ashley flinching at his order.

"You want him.. to locate a slaver?" Ashley stared at Vorbuk as if he was investigating his intention.

"He will need to sneak him into the temple. If it is Bredret he will be able to barrel his way out easily. I will be making a deal with a slaver." Vorbuk explained to him so that Ashley's nerves would calm down a bit. The way that Ashley had been looking at him made him feel like Ashley thought he was questioning his loyalty. Ashley's biggest fear was ending back up in that place.

"You.. intend to mark Aoki as a slave?" Ashley could feel his heart pounding. He could not understand what he was feeling.

"Are you worried about him becoming my servant?" Vorbuk's question caused an awkward silence among the three of them.

If he intends to kill Vorbuk after the slave's mark was sealed. Aoki will die by the mark the moment his mind makes up the choice to kill.

If Aoki had it in him to give in to Vorbuk as his master the vampire would be given a chance to live. Living would cost him giving up everything he knew on Drethia when they went to attack the vampire's homeland.

"Master," Ashley slowly started to speak. "I shall relay your order."

Master is soft at heart. Ashley thought to himself as he turned around to go find the dragon on Vorbuk's order. A tightness in his chest causing him to grit his teeth with a cold gleam in his eye that nobody could see. It was his duty to protect his master no matter what. The life of his master was the most important thing to him. If a day was to come that Vorbuk could not make a proper choice and Ashley felt it would threaten his master's life he would make the right choice for him. For now Ashley could only listen and watch as Vorbuk made his own choices. Carefully observing his master's every desire in order to aid the path he wished to walk on.

Calm down. Everything is fine right now. Ashley thought to himself as he erased that cold gleam and replaced it once again with a bright expression before anyone could catch a glimpse of his hidden emotions.