Reborn: From Nothing

Ozias and I have been training together recently. The technique I am reverse engineering is moving along slowly, but that is to be expected for what I am trying to master. Right now, I am practicing combat with him.

“No, you don’t want to leap in at my neck. When you are short, you attack low. Weaknesses can be turned into advantages when you use your mind during the fight. Also, make your movements more compact. Your attacks are easier to dodge due to your fighting style, which is why you can’t telegraph anything you do if you want to land blows.”

“Got it, any advice when using this type of magic?”

I still detest him, to be honest. But, I respect him nevertheless. If I had to choose between learning from him or fighting him I would choose to learn from him.

The fact that he is so patient, as he holds no concern for the actions of others, makes him possible to deal with. I don’t really have to control my hatred for him much because of his demeanor, but even I recognize how dangerous he is.

We still haven’t discussed the recent conversation. That is just who we are, if I had to choose between spending time preparing for a fight or spending time talking about feelings like a woman, I would train.

The adults in my old world used to try and get me to open up and share my emotions. I thought it would help once too, but I couldn’t be more wrong. Any time I have ever opened myself up to anyone, it always blew up in my face.

The fact is opening up to people only works if you are weak with someone strong to protect you. Opening up to others is effeminate and for the effeminate. To show emotions is weak, and that’s something I can’t afford.

I imagine Ozias thinks the same way. Or not, as much as I like to think we are on the same page on this, it is unlikely. That guy never has reasonable or understandable things in his mind.

So we just train like normal. I can feel myself getting stronger and my movements more sure. This must be the blessing of combat experience, with a deep understanding of my strengths and weaknesses as well as how they interact with others on the battlefield I can train even more efficiently.

The combination of getting so much stronger physically and making progress on ultimate techniques is presenting a genuine hope in achieving my goals long term.

…

Two weeks have passed since my last mission. I got a summons from the king in the morning, and once again Ozias was there. There was also Domitius and a younger man there, probably 16.

“You have come to Cassius, take a seat. I have just finished briefing Ozias and Domitius on their missions. I suppose the two of you haven’t met yet, this is Appius, son of Domitius. He will be overseeing your mission.” Cleon spoke.

“You say that as if I need supervision.”

“I trust you to get the job done, but this matter is delicate. And you are about as delicate as a crystal bear with an infant. Your job will be to complete the task, Appius’ job will be to ensure you don’t create chaos.”

“Whatever, just tell me what the job is.”

“In a village three days north of here which is part of the route to the next battlefield, there have been a series of murders of our soldiers stationed there. We suspect this to be the work of freedom fighters. You have a week and a half to get to the village and find the murder or murderers. The murderers will be executed, and no one else.”

“Can you not just destroy the whole village?”

“If I wanted a full-scale revolt I would do just that.”

“You don’t think you can contain it? Or do you think tolerance will make you liked and accepted by the people?”

“While I don’t care about being loved by my people, but I still need order in my kingdom. Obedience to the rule of law is vital in order to prevent anarchy.”

“It is better to be feared than loved?”

“Neither matter. Government is a mere tool to organize and create better outcomes for a nation, and I am the government. Do you love or fear a kitchen utensil? No, but you enjoy the outcome those tools create.”

“Well, whatever. I will find and kill the rebels. Send your babysitter with if you want.”

“Very well, I will be expecting a success, Cassius.”

I walked out of the room without talking to this Appius guy. I am fairly offended that they are blatantly distrustful of me, but Cleon doesn’t seem like he will give up on it.

It’s been almost two months since the invasion began. I am starting to get used to living within enemy territory. Though this is likely just the start. But I have at least reached the stage where I am ready to leave the house I am staying in at any time.

After a few hours of preparation, I met up with Appius at the gate where a carriage was waiting for us. He comes off as serious, just like his father. The main difference is the lack of experience and strength emanating from him.

“Alright, I will brief you on all of the details,” he said immediately.

“Hit me.”

“The first murder occurred 5 weeks ago. This was the night that our men arrived. Immediately after this, a magically enforced curfew was established. The next murder occurred one week after that and then became even more frequent. 9 soldiers have died, and more are projected to.

Another magic item was brought to the village called the truth orb. It is a magic item that can detect lies and was only operable by one magician in the nation. The magician was targeted and killed after questioning only 5 people.

Added night patrols are useless, and so are random stops at homes at night. The killer is fast and stealthy, 15-minute house checks didn’t catch the killer, proving they killed and returned to their home in less than 15 minutes.”

“Magically enforced curfew?”

“The next patrol added to the village used a communication/barrier magic item they were trained in. The magic item is a rope that is stretched around a house that can only be opened up from the outside. It is relatively easy to break through, which is why ordinary soldiers can use it, but…”

“That would be giving themselves away.”

“Correct, and the breaking through of this barrier lets out a loud noise as well.”

“If the murders are still being undetected with this, it most likely means a soldier is colluding with them.”

“That is correct.”

“You say it’s easy to use, how easy?”

“Anyone with a modicum of magic knowledge could use it on the first try. It would probably only take a day for a typical person to learn to use, given they had the instruction of someone with knowledge on it.”

“Interesting. You mentioned a truth orb?”

“Yes, it is a lie-detecting magic item.”

“Tell me about it.”

“The orb detects lies, but needs a mage with a lot of training to wield it. The first day it arrived one person was questioned for curiosity. They wanted to use it more but it was late when the mage arrived he was exhausted. That night the mage was killed in his tent and the orb was shattered.”

For now, I will just ponder that information. Honestly, thinking through all of this and collecting evidence might be too much of a hassle. I could just hang out at night looking for people who are hiding from me, but with only a few days and a representative of the king breathing down my neck, I shouldn’t half-ass this.

For now, I want to meet the guards, the commander of this unit, the people interviewed with the orb, and anyone else who strikes me as suspicious. I have never done an investigation like this before, but I am fairly confident in my ability to see through people.

We then followed the road to this village for the next 3 days. I brought my own tent this time. I wasn’t about to share a tent with the king’s bitch.

We arrived at the village of 120 people at noon. The commander came to meet me right away, he must have been expecting reinforcements to come very soon. He has black hair, appears to be 30 years old, and is wearing standard armor with a religious symbol over his neck.

“I thank God for our meeting today. You must be the reinforcements sent by his majesty? I am Rusticus, commander of the men before you.”

“Cassius, sent here to kill an insurgent.”

“It is nice to meet you. Now, let us move to a proper venue for discussion.”

I follow him to a large tent with a table in the middle of it. There I sat down and made a cup out of magic then created water within it. He sat down opposite to me and placed his forearms on to the table.

“I am sure you have been briefed already. Is there anything further that you wish to ask me?”

“Who are the prime suspects that have been narrowed down? and who was the person the orb was used on?”

“The first person was the old man at the sawmill named Magnus. He was a former commander in the army of the Republic. The twins who work at the blacksmith Tiberius and Gaius. The fisher just outside the town named Linus. Then the pregnant woman who runs a bakery named Carmina was questioned with the orb.”

“Why are they suspicious?”

“The men in my army were killed with blades, for which there are few in this town. Magnus owns a blade and has plenty of motive. The twins also have means of obtaining a blade combined with a motive, their father was killed during the dawn of the invasion. The fisherman has a spear and is very physically capable.”

“Why was Carmina questioned?”

“I was worried about the matter of her pregnancy. She showed signs of pregnancy just 2 days after her husband returned, which was a couple of weeks after the killing began, eliminating him as a suspect. I wanted to ensure that my men had not raped her, I find the crime to be appalling and death is the punishment for such an act in my unit. When I asked if she was raped, she responded with no, this was confirmed by the orb. I let the matter rest after that.”

Pregnancy signs 2 days after her husband returns heavily imply he is not the father to me. While this matter is weird, I will focus on other things for now. I don’t care about some random girl having a baby that’s not her husband's.

“I am going to investigate in the town, where can I find these men?”

I obtained instructions for navigating the town from the commander and then moved on to my investigation. The first thing I did was go to the pregnant woman's home. There was a young guard stationed in front of the home with an anxious look on his face. He trembled in front of me… well, it’s only natural.

I knock on the door and bring the woman to an isolated location to talk. For the sake of the interrogation. I push her against a tree and grab hold of my dagger for intimidation purposes. Her reaction was a little delayed, but she did tremble at this sight, and even wet herself.

“P-please don’t kill me.”

“I won’t, just answer my questions.” killing a pregnant woman is something I have no intention of doing, but I need this information fast.

“What do you want to know…”

“Who did you tell about the orb the night you were questioned?”

“Why… why do you want to know?”

“You don’t need to know.” The killer had to have known about the orb the night it arrived, even a child could realize this. I won’t tell her about this, because I don’t want her covering up for anyone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she made this connection.

“I told my husband about it in a tavern, a child overheard us and asked a bunch of loud questions about that orb. While I was answering the questions I found myself the center of all the attention in the tavern.”

“Who all was in there that night?”

When she listed the people, there were only two matches to the people on the list of suspicious people given by Rusticus. The fisherman and the former soldier. While the killer could very well be off that list, I should probably investigate them before any other townsperson.

I decided to interview the guards before moving on to the townspeople, as there were fewer of them. There are 25 currently stationed, the night watch is consistently rotated and the soldiers tend to move in and out of barracks freely at night.

None of the soldiers could point to any suspicious comrade. Even when I asked about people who were gone many minutes at a time or someone who left the barracks multiple times in the same period no one came to mind. Assuming that the barrier had to be taken down and put back up by one soldier colluding with the killer. Could there be multiple people involved? Or could the killer just be that fast? The fact that the barrier can be taken down and put back up without a soldier getting suspicion from others is odd.

When I was done questioning each guard night had come. I patrolled the streets that night, but nothing odd occurred, nor was there a murder either. With that, my first day investigating was over.