"Okay, now you're fucking with us," The armored woman narrowed her eyes. "We're supposed to believe this thing is safe because of an unnamed Goddess?"
"Shush," The assassin, Quinn, shot a glare at her. "She's not lying."
Jasmine blinked. "I'm impressed you could tell."
"Part of my job," Quinn refocused on Jasmine.
"Right, probably helps your Lady," Jasmine motioned with her head towards the regal woman. "What is a Lady doing out here, by the way?"
"That's none of-"
"Quinn," the regal woman cut her off. "Stop."
"Yes, My Lady," Quinn lowered her knife.
"If Quinn says you aren't lying, then I trust you are telling the truth," The woman sheathed her sword. "And, former Lady. These five are creatures of habit."
They let out a series of protests, but the woman stopped them with one raised hand.
Jasmine couldn't help but laugh now. She let herself laugh for a couple of seconds before backing up to Samira. She grabbed the snake woman's hand and lowered her knife. "You seem like a merry bunch. I'd love to stick around, but I do need to get going."
"Hold on," The mage spoke in a more serious tone. She dropped the smile as her eyes glowed. "She may be safe, but her magic isn't."
"Fuck," Jasmine muttered under her breath. "Yeah. Had to deal with it when we first met her."
"It's why you shou-" Jasmine spun and covered Samira's mouth with her hand before she could say anything else.
"Since you can tell when I'm lying," Jasmine spoke over Samira's desperate pleas, muffled by her hand. She was speaking with no filter anymore. Jasmine was internally panicking as she felt compelled to speak. "I'll be honest. She can control people with her magic. Not just compel. Complete control."
The former Lady unsheathed her sword again and took a deep breath. "I was afraid that there was a catch. Good work seeing that, Mabel."
The mage didn't even turn to acknowledge the woman's praise. She walked closer to Samira and Jasmine, causing the assassin to tense up. She didn't want to fight. She knew it'd be suicide.
"Uh-huh," the mage finally mumbled. She was mere feet away from the two. "I'm sensing divine magic radiating from her… crotch?"
She was no longer talking about Samira. Her focus was on Jasmine's pelvis, where her gift was. Jasmine could feel her face swell with embarrassment, and her expression changed to shock. "What?"
"It has a faint red glow to it and a sweet, intoxicating allure to it," Mabel explained as she approached Jasmine. "Almost like an aphrodisiac…"
"Mabel, was it?" Jasmine started to panic. She could tell from the look on the mage's face that Claire's magic was affecting her. Her eyes were hazing over with lust. "Back off. That is not magic you want to mess with."
"Mabel!" Quinn yelled at her. "She's not lying."
Mabel blinked, and the glow in her eyes faded. She looked confused for a moment before returning to her Lady's side. She shook her head violently, then turned to Ariah. "Can you see what has afflicted me?"
Ariah's eyes widened as she studied the mage's stat sheet. "N-no. It's jumbled. I've never seen something like this."
Jasmine felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Not even Lily could observe the effects of Claire's gift on others. Her observation skills were quite powerful, even when compared to high-class mages. Whoever these people were, they were more powerful than Jasmine realized. That sent Jasmine's mind into a spiral.
"You can see that?" Jasmine said without thinking.
"It's like it's encrypted." Ariah didn't even acknowledge Jasmine's question. "This magic is not something a human could produce."
"So it's the work of the 'unnamed Goddess'?" Mabel asked.
"Has to be," Ariah nodded. She was straining her eyes to try to break through the magic protecting the affliction. "I can only make out Influence. The other word won't budge."
Jasmine blinked. She had to start coming up with a plan or something. There was no clean way for them to get out of here. The only thing she could do was barter or negotiate. Her mind raced with plans and ideas, but the time was quickly running out. The armored woman was getting impatient, and the noblewoman was slowly approaching Jasmine.
"Please," Jasmine took a deep breath. "I know you can't trust me. But we know about her magic. It's corrupted and not in its proper form."
Jasmine felt Samira's body tense up. She moved her mouth away from Jasmine's hand and finally got a word out. "What do you mean?"
Jasmine shook her head. "I'm not sure. Claire…" Jasmine eyed the women. She should have been more cautious about saying Claire's name. "Her Goddess told us to find you. We need to purify your magic, somehow."
Samira held up her hands. She watched the magic flare in them, which caused the entire six-woman party to tense up. "I can get rid of this cursed magic?"
"We can purify it," Jasmine said in a calmer voice. "Not sure what that does for your magic."
Samira leaned her head against Jasmine, finally feeling the fatigue of her body. She realized she'd been walking for days without sleep nor rest. "I hope it changes my magic to something pure. Something that would make the kids smile."
Jasmine sheathed her knife and quickly supported the faltering Samira. She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, and sleep finally took her. Jasmine made sure she was still breathing before turning her attention back to the party. She lay Samira on the ground and put her hands up.
"Well," Jasmine chuckled. "I'm out of ideas…"
"Surely you've thought of an escape," Quinn said in a cold tone.
"Not with a passed-out lamia," Jasmine smiled. "I'm not leaving her."
"You'd sacrifice your life for this thing?" The armored woman cracked her neck.
"Samira. Not thing," Jasmine growled. "Dumbass."
That got Quinn to break her expression. The assassin had to hold her hand up to her mouth to not burst out laughing. The armored woman muttered something and started to step forward.
"Joslyn," Lady Roseline blocked the woman's path with her sword. "She's baiting you."
"It was worth a shot." Jasmine relaxed her shoulders. She was caught. If she could get a hostage, maybe she could use their life to get out of here.
"Why you-"
"Joslyn," The noble woman cut her off again. "Relax. We need to figure out what to do before anything else."
"Surely we can take care of this lamia," the woman with the shield approached the Lady. "We can't just let them go."
"Maybe," the noblewoman closed her eyes. "But being too hasty could cause us issues with the Divine, Frida."
Jasmine knew their names now. She vaguely remembered the name Roseline from going over Elisabeth's reports with her. But not much was coming to mind on the name of her fief or her politics. She just hoped they lucked out with a reasonable noblewoman.
"Letting her go could be far worse than any Divine punishment," Quinn finally recovered from laughing. She straightened up and was back to a colder tone. "Can't let someone, or something, who can control people loose. Imagine the damage that could be done with that kind of magic."
The noblewoman thought for a moment. She looked towards the sky and contemplated the best thing to do. Jasmine could feel a sense of dread, since Quinn's words were true. If Jasmine were in her shoes, she'd be suggesting the same thing. Especially after seeing Samira's magic in action.
The noble woman closed her eyes and let out a long, deep exhale. She bowed before Jasmine and spoke in a regal, polite tone. "I am afraid I cannot let you leave. My retainer is correct. The magic you described is far too dangerous."
"Fuck," Jasmine unsheathed both of her daggers. She could feel the bloodlust radiate from the armored woman and the cold gaze of the assassin focus in on her. She got into a stance, ready to fight.
"And I'm afraid I cannot allow that," a voice called out from the trees.
Jasmine and Quinn widened their eyes. Neither of them recognized the voice nor heard where it came from. The person was able to sneak up on two assassins. Every conscious woman was looking around for the source of the voice. No one could spot the source of the voice.
"Lady Roseline," all eyes snapped to the woman who seemingly appeared from thin air. She stood between Jasmine and the party, her cloak obscuring her appearance. "Or should I say, former Lady Roseline?"
"State your name," Quinn moved to protect her Lady.
"No," the woman said in a cold, dismissive tone.
"Stop fucking with us," Joslyn stepped forward, too.
"Elencia, control your retainers," the woman growled. She unsheathed a short sword from underneath her cloak. "I thought a noblewoman of your caliber was taught better."
Elincia blinked as the woman removed her hood. Short, violet hair flowed down to her shoulders, with an unmistakable scar on her left eye.
"Victoria."