"I thought you were captured," Aasan said, showing off the flag in his hand.
"So you captured the flag alone, to negotiate with their leader to free with the flag," Michelle snorted.
"Well, I found the fortress empty, and not many guards where the flag was kept, so picked it up," he said. Then gazed at the lady in the ring of fire. "Is she the leader?"
''Looks like it," Michelle said. "So how do we take control of the stronghold?"
Before Aasan or the lady could answer, a dozen fellows appeared from behind, bearing their weapons.
"Protect the mistress," one of them yelled as was about to attack Aasan. While few of them started to encircle Michelle.
"Shut up you guys," the leader in the ring of fire snorted at her underlings. "How incompetence of you guys, could not even stop a single guy from taking the flag?"
The guards went silent where Aasan snickered, "Oh, it's not their fault, they were not just facing any guy."
The leader gazed at Aasan deeply before moving to Michelle again. "I'll give you the ownership of the flag and the fortress, but I had a few demands."
"Speak, Lady. .. ?" Michelle asked.
"Sitara," the captured leader said.
"Alright Sitara, continue with your demand."
"Wait a minute," Aasan asked from the right. "Why are you listening to her? We can just eliminate her and take possession of the fotress."
Sitara snorted at Aasan and continued noticing the red head was waiting for her. "My demands are very simple. I will give you the ownership of the flag in exchange I will not leave this fortress nor any of my underlings, while I will follow every command of yours if it's within my moral limits." Sitara paused, looking at her underlings, "While they will follow my commands, so everyone's at your command, what's that sound?"
"Wait a minute," Aasan sounded out in protest again, holding out the flag. "How is she owning this place, as far as I rember, the flag is with ?
"You can shit with the flag if it already has an owner," Sitara snorted. "You have to capture the leader and flag both to gain the ownership of the fortress."
''But why are you willing to make her the leader instead of ?"
"I don't like your cocky words," Sitara said with a straight face. She did not waste a second on Aasan, asked Michelle again. "Do you agree?"
Michelle thought for a mont before opening her lips, "As much as I wanted to agree, I don't know how could I trust you, as you can see I just overthrown you from your thrown."
"I have a solution for that," Sitara said, opening a parchnt paper from her cloak. "I'll sign a maha contract with you. Terms being the sa."
"Mistress, please think about it further. We can still. . ." the guard still spoke out.
"Are you guys still here?" Sitara glared at her incompetent underlings as all of them turned silent, looking at the ground.
Michelle sighed. "I don't know why are you agreeing with this. That contract is just better than being a slave. . ."
"Exactly," Sitara sighed as well. "I guess you guess are from the last ones to appear in the testing ground, so you don't know."
"What?" Michelle eyed Sitara suspiciously.
"I'll tell you later, please sighed the contract first," Sitara said as she has everything prepared even before she ca to the testing ground. Sitara signed the parchnt paper with her mana, leaving her mana imprint. Even though it's a thousand tis weak compared to an oath stonewhich binds directly to the soul, Maha contract has its perks as well.
Michelle knew all about that, read all the contracts twice, finding no wrongs or cheat in it. Even the penalty Sitara added was quite severe as the one breaking the contract will lose all opportunities in the Maha Tower. Besides, be known as an oath breaker.
Michelle signed it as well.
. . .
After the signing was done, Michelle took over the stronghold. The n under Sitara were disinclined to agree with sothing like this, but a single glare from Sitara made them silent.
To Michelle, this tall girl did not look a little cowardly, yet she could not tell why Sitara agreed to give away the fortress so easily.
"Would you mind giving us so space," Sitara asked Aasan after she sent away her guards.
"No," Aasan said smilingly. "I suspected so secrets to unveil now how could I miss?"
Saying that, Aasan took a seat in a chair across from the too girl.
A guard ca in shortly after that, bringing in a bottle of wine and three glasses. Sitara dismissed the guard before pouring out wine for everyone.
Sitara looked at Michelle, but seeing no disagreent from her, she started, "I reckon you're quite surprized at why I agreed to such terms?"
Before Michelle could answer, Aasan opened his lips again. "Isn't it because you did not want to be eliminated? Did not want to be slaves? Or you found us two quite trustworthy, so decided to gamble on this chance?" he said. "Let guess, is it above of them all?"
Sitara's lips twitched. "Can I hit him?" she asked Michelle.
"Of course you can," Aasan said again. "But be ready to get hit back."
Sitara fud with anger at Aasan's words, yet she could not say sothing, threw an empty glass at him, which Aasan caught quite easily.
"Cool down, my lady. No need to wiggle off your anger from losing at ," he said, pouring out a glass of wine for himself.
Michelle could not handle any of the exchange between the two, opened her lips, "So what you are saying again?"
Sitara sighed. "I hate to admit it, but he's quite right about the reason why I choose this," she said. "Though I still had chances of fleeing, but who would want to be a holess stray in this extre cold?"
Aasan did not mock or anything, only appreciated the wine saying, "It's warm."
"Actually, I would've fled imdiately if the one that seized the fortress were a group," Sitara continued. "It only been four days I was here, but you would not believe how chaotic this place already is. . ."
.. .
"Davin, looks like we rested for too much," Anton said, gazing at the sky.
Even though the sun has not risen yet, the full moon was glowing brightly. Mist and snow hovering in the air, drifting as far as their gazes go. They only ant to rest for a couple of hours, but the damning weather with the chilly aura in the maha mana delayed them further.
"We should move now," Davin said. "We'll probably reach there in five or six hours."
"That is it if Wrik or Tanya was still there," Anton added.
Davin stood up and joined Anton on the path again.
______________
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