“Your companions still do not know you are marked, they also do not know you were in the fortress itself.” The nameless girl explains softly, as Casper focuses every ounce of energy he has on quelling the mark. “I sensed the sudden surge in energy from you and rushed back in before the roof exploded. I can take the credit for the damage, but you need to escape back to the forest, grab our backpacks and supplies and wait for the girls there, it would be the most believable.” 

Casper heard her, and agreed with the words she said, but still his body fought against his own mind, as it yearned to fight, to fuck, to consume, to destroy, to take anything it could. 

Still, despite the pull from that animalistic part of him, Casper willed his conscious mind to take a few steps away from Silas. 

“Silas.” Casper spoke in an even tone as he addressed the healing man. 

“You owe me your life, you are mine until such time as that debt is repaid to me. My first order to you, is to obey this woman here as an extension of myself. Am I understood?” 

Using what little strength he has, Silas nods his understanding before turning his gaze to the nameless girl. 

“Do with him as you see fit, you know we both need answers, start there.” Casper finished, turning to leave. 

Luckily for Casper, as he clambered over the rubble of the fortress and got further away from Silas, and the nameless girl, the marks effects over him lowered to a persistent simmer. 

Looking around, it was hard to believe the fortress hadn't fully collapsed, given the amount of power he exerted. The place was a veritable ruin. 

The walls were cracked and crumbling, with stones still falling from the massive hole through every single floor up past the ceiling, like a multi-level skylight that insisted on expanding every few seconds. 

There was nearly no evidence of any usable furniture. The shockwaves having reduced it all to scrap wood. 

Casper worked his way to the far wall opposite the door, he needed to move quickly in order to get back to their supplies before the girls, or else it would look suspicious. 

Using that simmering power still within him, Casper simply walked through the wall as if it weren’t there, bringing him back out into the open air of the fortress’s hillside. 

The hardest part of all of this would be explaining how most of his clothes were gone. He still had most of his pants, though they had been turned into torn  up shorts. His shirt was nothing more than strips of fabric dangling at this waist from where it was tucked into his trousers. 

His shoes were once again totally destroyed, with his gloves having burned up along with his scarf, he felt mostly naked as he jogged his way down the hill and into the security of the tree line, in order to make his wide arc to where his packs were. 

Given what Casper knew of the mark, which now seemed so very little, was that only certain magics could make it visible or observable. The proprietor of the auction house had to cast a specific spell on the nameless girl in order for even the magically inclined audience members to see her marks. 

This meant that even though Nephinae was magically inclined, she very likely wouldn’t be able to see the mark without the casting of a similar spell.

Still, he really didn’t like the risk, though it wasn’t as though he could go and quickly buy some new clothes. 

Picking up the pace, Casper returned to the backpacks he and the nameless girl had left behind and hidden. 

Unearthing them both, and trying his best to quickly remove the brambles, he positioned himself to appear as though he had been waiting the entire time. 

“Shit.” Casper instantly shot upright as the girls crested over the hill and appeared in his line of sight. It didn’t look like they had noticed him yet, but with his still heightened senses he could see and hear them clear as day, and what he saw he didn’t like. 

“What the hell happened!?” Casper shouted out as he hoisted both his and the girls backpacks over his shoulder, and sprinted the distance to the girls who noted his appearance with their own looks of concern. 

“What happened to you?” Annabelle gaped, flicking her eyes across his nearly entirely exposed body. 

“I’ll explain later, what happened to all of you?” 

HIs words must have come out much harsher than intended, as all of the girls flinched at the rage in his tone. 

Annabelle even took a step back, Elisayra looked on the verge of tears and Casper realized it must have come across as anger at them. 

Casper quickly shook his head and took in a deep breath, trying his damn hardest to keep the simmering power of the mark out of his mind as he clarified. 

“Are you alright? What happened to all of you, you worried me.” 

This shift in tone worked, as the fear in their faces gave way to mutual concern once more as Annabelle looked from person to person. 

“We were ambushed by a tall man in all black, I encountered him twice before, he seems to have taken an interest in me but I refused him. He- this is all my fault.” Annabelle’s voice broke for a moment, though she quickly regained her composure, as she took to one knee and lowered her head. 

“The man in black wanted me, and because I told him no he did this. He took my eye, he crushed Elisayra's fingers and broke Alex’s arm. Their suffering is on my hands.” Annabelle kept her eyes trained on the ground as her hand twitched slightly. 

“Any punishment you decide to give me, I will take it with honor. This is my failure.” 

“You don’t have to-!” Alex began to protest, taking a tentative step towards the larger women, but stopped in her tracks as Annabelle brought a hand up. 

“Annie, this isn’t-” Elisayra too began to speak, only to be silenced in similar fashion, though this time only from a look from Annabelle. 

“If Annabelle is going to be punished, then so should I” Elisayra’s voice rises up despite the woman's look of protest. Elisayra then took up a similar position next to Annabelle, lowering herself to one knee with her head cast down. “I was the one who told her to leave you at the auction house, I convinced her to run away because I was scared.” 

Alex then took a knee opposite Annabelle, “I made the decision to leave the city without waiting for you. It was my fault you got left behind in the city.” 

“Whatever fate befalls my mistress should befall me as well” An unfamiliar figure spoke next, taking a knee behind her. 

Casper looked to Nephinae then, and noticed that she wasn’t even aware of the others, instead her gaze was fixated entirely on Casper. 

Her eyes were wide, and her breathing heavy as she fixated on him, unmoving. 

Shit, he was wrong then, It looks like his gamble and assumptions were incorrect, because Nephinae most certainly saw something on, or in, Casper that had her stunned. 

How the fuck was he going to deal with this? He couldn’t say anything to her now without alerting the others, though with their heads cast down he decided to give the full elf a very intense look, hoping that the message of “Say nothing” was clear from his eyes alone. 

His moment of silence must have come across to the other girls as contemplation of their punishments, as Casper began to feel the very atmosphere of anxiety around them begin to grow. 

At this rate he felt it would have been better to just let them know he was marked, so they would be confident in his survival. Being left at the auction house and the city was honestly the best possible thing that could have happened, as it allowed Casper to do exactly what was needed without worrying about them finding out about his mark. 

Now, they were all under the impression that they had failed their duty to him and were practically begging for punishments. 

How could he ever explain that the decisions they made were the objectively correct ones, without being suspicious? The inconvenience of his companions being terrified of him, or hating him, would probably be much more easily overcome than trying to come up with reasonable punishments for their perceived wrongdoings. 

However, it wasn’t as though he could not punish them. He was in too deep with this whole life debt thing to abscond with it now, And that's nothing to say for their cultural attachment to the practice. To Deny them the life debt or the responsibility would honestly hurt them so much more than any punishment he gave.

Besides, knowing Elisayra she would only assume the absolute possible worst thing should he not doll out punishments and then spread that through their party like wildfire. 

No, he had to play into this, both to protect his own image, identity, and, more importantly, to prevent anything worse from happening. 

With a sigh, Casper straightened his shoulders and looked down at the kneeling women before him. 

“Annabelle, for your part in the damage done to these women, your punishment will be twofold. Firstly, you are to train with me until you break, to ensure that this weakness does not stand.” 

“And your second command?”

“My second command is for you to train the others as well. You will not rest until you are the strongest in this camp.” 

Annabelle lifted her head to look Casper in the eyes, a faint hint of protest within them. 

“Is this punishment not satisfactory?” Casper challenged, raising an eyebrow. 

“Casper…I, my failure is more than training can make up for, I…” 

“What would your previous captains have done then?” 

“Honestly? I would be banished, killed, beaten, or left or dead somewhere for something like this.” 

“And you want me to reduce myself to that level of savagery?” Casper challenged again. 

“I didn’t mean-” 

“I know, I know” Casper raised his hand to stop her from speaking further, trying his best to play into the role they expected him to be in.

“I need allies on my journey, and you are one of the most persistent fighters I have ever met, you are world wise, a good judge of character, and most importantly, Elisayra relies on you. It would be unfair to Elisayra, who has already suffered so much, to prevent you two from being together. So, I will not cast you out or beat you, instead my order is as it was stated. You need to train until you are the strongest, until your body breaks, am I understood?” 

“Of course Casper, thank you.” Annabelle lowered her head once more, waiting to hear the punishments that would be given to the others. 

Honestly, as much false confidence as Casper managed to put into that, the whole thing felt wrong to him. 

Not just the punishments themselves, but the strange formal obedience. It made him uncomfortable. He had considered all of these women his friends, so to see them act as though he was their master didn’t sit well. 

Once he was done with this whole punishment thing, he would talk to them individually to try to fix up their relationships. He didn’t want to be anyone's master, he wanted to be their companion… 

Until then however, there were more “punishments” to give. 

“Elisayra.” 

The small half-elf jumped slightly as he spoke her name, and it made him feel even worse than he already did for the poor girl. 

“Your punishment will be to select one of the others here to help you in the process of healing your hands…” 

Casper looked at the mangled mess, and knew that it would be a long road for her, and a painful one at that. 

“It won’t be easy, but you are the best thief I have ever see, and that skillset is too valuable to lose. The road to recovery will be excruciating and hard, the bones will need to be reset, the skin stitched back together, it will hurt. But you need to bear that pain so I can gain access to your skillset once again.” 

Elisayra nodded softly, fear in her eyes at the impending hurt, though the relief of not being discarded overtook any fear as her eyes met his. 

“Alex…” Casper trailed, his attention once again shifting to the stunned Nephinae who didn’t let her gaze leave Casper’s body for even a moment. 

This next punishment would be hard on the girl, he knew that, but the only thing she did was exactly as Casper told her to do. He couldn’t justify any punishment to be given to her so instead he needed to use this chance to fix a problem before it arose. 

“Your punishment will be to relinquish ownership of Nephinae, she will become mine, though you can maintain your ownership of this new slave in our ranks.” 

Alex’s eyes went wide at that. Her head quickly whips up to look at Casper with confused, pleading eyes. 

“You have my word that I will not degrade her, harm her, or use her. But taking her from you is just enough punishment for leaving me.” He lied. 

Alex nodded softly at that, lowering her head back down. “I understand.” 

Casper let out a breath, and caught a glimpse of the nameless girl walking towards them from the bottom of the hillside. 

“Now, to explain what happened to me, and my last order to all for this evening.” Casper started, conjuring up the most convincing lie he could manage as quickly as possible. 

“The Duke, Duke Regalt, had planned an attack on the Auction house using the marked girl as an excuse to execute the law that states “all who bare witness to a marked person must die.” Casper explains. 

“He wanted to purge the infection that was the crimson harbor, and while I can’t blame him for the intent, he also killed alot of people who likely didn’t deserve it. Furthermore he procured a red dragon which he used to launch his assault on the auction house.” 

The girls listened intently to his every word, which he was very thankful for. They would likely believe him, especially given that he has used enough real information to disguise the lie that was coming. 

“Duke Regalt and his Last Legion were responsible for the deaths of my family, my village, my home. They were set on spikes, raped, houses burned, children trampled in the mud. They didn’t just leave no survivors, they made sure my family suffered as they died.” Casper grits his teeth, as recalling the memory causes the simmer of power in him to rise very quickly to a burn, before he can suppress it again. 

“If he is willing to bring a marked girl into an auction house, as a lawful excuse to murder them all, then he has very likely been doing the same to towns and villages that he wants control over.” 

The girls nod along at that, their faces quickly shifting to sympathy for Casper as explains what set him on this quest to begin with. 

“I was able to procure the ownership contract for the marked girl from the auction house, and I tasked her with defending me from the dragon. Which is why I'm in the state you see now.” 

The nameless girl approaches silently from behind, as not to interrupt his explanation. 

“She is mine. I own her both in contract and as a lied debt for stealing her contract and allowing her to defend herself. She is an ally, and while I know this might be hard for some of you, my final command for you all this evening is to accept her into our ranks, and understand that I will not accept any harm to befall her, or any of you.” 

Casper scanned the women, and nodded in satisfaction as they all voiced their understanding in unison. 

“Good. let's get moving then. The sounds of that fight in the fortress will draw attention and we don’t want to be around when people get curious.” 

Casper looked to the tanned and tattooed woman with horns, and then to Alex. 

“This must be the slave you bought to help us navigate?” 

“That's right,” Alex confirmed. “She is a half-fiend tribal from the surrounding area. Her name is Laihal.” 

“Good, Laihal, lead us far away from this place to a safe location to camp for the night. We need to move quickly.” Casper studied the woman more seriously now as he spoke to her and found himself slightly at a loss for further words as she stood to her full height with a devil's smile. 

“Of course Master, it would be my pleasure.”

She purred the words. The simmer inside Casper once more flared up into something dangerous at the sight of her. 

The pale tattoo markings that adorned her body made her even more enticing to him. Her figure was divine for a supposed “half fiend”, and the hungry look in her eyes threatened to make Casper do something he would regret. 

She had a very similar intoxicating allure that the nameless girl possessed. 

While the nameless girl’s attraction felt metaphysical, like a pheromone or a strange, spell-like connection that drew him to her. This half fiend Laihal drew out the marks raw animalistic, primal hunger. 

She was dangerous to be around, especially right now. 

Casper turned away from her then, to watch the reactions of the others as they too stood and noticed the nameless girls presence

Annabelle became almost instantly violent. Her body tensed and her fists balled tightly at the sight of the girl. 

Alex grew fearful, quickly taking a position behind Laihal and Nephinae to put distance between them. 

Elisayra seemed relatively cautious, but not as bothered as the others. In fact she seemed halfway between gratitude and cautious respect for the nameless girl. 

“Let’s not dally then” Laihal cooed as she took the lead and began walking deeper south.

The women shifted uncomfortably for a moment, no one wanting to turn their backs on the nameless girl.

Casper clapped his hands together loudly, quickly grabbing the attention of the others.

“She is mine, remember? I swear to you all that I won't let her harm anyone here, and I expect you all to respect her as my property. Do you respect me enough to believe I will keep my word to you in this?” He asked pointedly, making sure to make eye contact with everyone.

Much to his surprise, Elisayra was the first to respond.

“Of course, I trust you.”

Looking into his eyes, he could tell the little half-elf was earnest. She really did trust him, probably far too much he figured.

Still, he would take too much trust over too little right now.

Following Elisayra's lead, Alex spoke up next.

“Of course, please forgive me for being worried.”

She too seemed incredibly genuine. Though Casper also noted a hint of fear in the woman's voice. Some nervous anticipation likely derived from his decision to take Nephinae from her.

He still needed to clear up the misunderstanding from that night in his tent too. Realizing quickly that taking the elf from her would only further confuse the poor girl, he decided he would seriously speak to Alex soon. After he spoke to Nephinae of course.

As if hearing his thoughts, Nephinae offered a silent nod to indicate her obedience.

Annabelle was the last to say anything, visibly struggling between a desire to kill the nameless girl, if she could even attempt to get close to a feat like that, and obeying Casper.

Annabelle looked back and forth between the two of them, the muscle of her jaw working hard to bite back some response.

“Annabelle?” Elisayra asked softly from the big woman's side.

She looked down at Elisayra, and they shared something in that look, something Casper couldn’t quite pick up in the moment.

Whatever silent exchange they had, it shifted Annabelle's attitude enough to look away from the nameless girl for longer than a few seconds, enough to speak to Casper.

“Fine.”

Annabelle spat the words, and gave one last look to the nameless before crossing her arms and shifting uncomfortably away.

Casper didn’t remember Annabelle being so outwardly combative, especially not towards him.

Maybe he had misunderstood their relationship? Casper could have sworn that she was much more friendly with him, more agreeable.

Perhaps it was the mark amplifying the minor interaction into raging annoyance he thought.

He would have to talk to her too, to get to the bottom of this defiance…

Casper shook his head.

No no, this isn’t defiance, I didn’t even want to own her to begin with, he thought to himself

This was just a disposition he wasn’t used to, it was nothing to be angry about. Nothing a little talk couldn’t solve at least.

Communication is the root of nearly every issue his father had told him, and he was already starting to feel the strain of only their handful of miscommunications already.

Better to hash it out soon than to let it fester.

“Are we leaving?” Laihal called out from several paces away, making an extra effort to sway her hips and tail as Casper looked.

Grumbling slightly, Casper returned his attention to the women.

“Let's get going then, and I promise you all, the next town we go to, we will be able to stay for a while. I swear it.”

The looks of doubt passed between the gathered women hurt him just a little, then again it wasn’t as though he could blame them.

Casper rolled his eyes and signaled the nameless girl over to his side.

She nodded, and walked over to meet him.

Casper watched for a moment as Nephinae and Alex exchanged some words to one another as the others fell into line.

“Do you truly believe Casper will keep his word? Will he not harm me?” Nephinae asked in a low voice, almost a scared whisper Casper realized.

“I trust Casper with my life. It was he who saved us if you recall. This is a punishment for me, not for you.”

Alex clasped the full elf's hands in her own, and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Nephinae nodded her head. “Will you be alright without me?”

“I will find a way.” Alex teased slightly, trying to lighten the mood between them. “Besides, it is not as though we will be worlds apart such as when I ran away. We will still be together, you will just tend to Casper for a time instead of me.”

“This is a punishment for everyone then. If I will not wash you, the gods know you will not wash yourself. Do you even know how?” Nephinae let a smile slip from her typically stoic expression.

“You! Why you-” Alex blushes, visible even from the distance between the two women and Casper.

Nephinae returns the kiss to Alex’s cheek, before taking her hands away from Alex’s.

Casper turned, to make it less apparent that he was listening in, and waited patiently for Nephinae to approach, eventually joining him on the side opposite of the nameless girl.

Casper began following Laihal, close behind, with the other girls taking up positions behind him.

He then almost instantly regretted the positioning, as this half fiend seemed to be hell bent on denying the mark from leaving his body with every sway of her hips, and flick of her tail.

This was going to be a very hard few days of travel, he realized.