"Calm down. I'm only here to talk", Ali said as he looked behind him at the priest who tightened his hand around the handle on the door and closed it behind him.
"Who are you?", Katarin asked, standing straight and looking Ali in the eyes through his mask.
'She has the same eyes…', Ali thought, looking at her golden eyes.
"I suggest we speak in private.", Ali said, looking at the knights in the room.
Katarin stayed silent for a moment before signalling for her knights to leave the room. Something about how Ali spoke made her want to hear him out.
Once the knights begrudgingly left the room, Ali took a seat at the table, and Katarin stayed standing and looked down at him, making himself comfortable.
Ali reached for his mask and took it off. Seeing his face, Katarin's eyes widened. Since she'd joined the church, she thought she'd got rid of all her womanly side, forgoing love and any traction to the other sex, but once she saw him…
All of that went out the window…
"My name is Ali. I'm sure you know me as the baron the viscount is going to war with very soon.", Ali's statement took her out of her daze.
"And what are you doing here? I should take you in for questioning with relations to demonic activity reported in your lands, and for using your authority on the priests of the True Flame. Appointing the head priest of a church is not within your right.", Katarin said, getting closer to Ali, her powerful aura putting pressure down on Ali.
She was a peak-level four aura user, well, at least that's what she showed Ali. 'I heard paladins can use incantations of the True Flame, similar to Dragonborns, but instead of mana, they use holy magic.' Ali thought, looking at Katarin whose armour also had engravings all over it.
"Because I willingly came here to answer all your questions and to make you an offer.", Ali said, looking up at her.
"You will answer all my questions? Really?", Katarin put her hands on the table and leaned down to Ali. She was acting like a detective in a crime series right now.
"I am", Ali said as he flicked his hand and a ration bar appeared in his hand, surprising Katarin who thought it was simply a slight of hand.
"Ok we'll start with my questions and then if I'm satisfied, I will hear you out. If not, then I will personally escort you to the Viscount's manor.", she said, sitting down on the other side of the table.
Ali nodded and took a bite of the ration bar; this was his tenth one today.
Half an hour of questioning about Ali's origin and specific details of his past passed. He made up stories and answered without a single sign of lying. Katarin was frustrated at her inability to see anything past his same expressionless face and calm tone.
"So I was walking at night through my newly conquered town and I felt an ominous presence. I followed my instincts and found a demon follower hiding in my town. I confronted the goblin using a human disguise, and he immediately activated something that blew up his house completely.", Ali said, and Katarin narrowed her eyes.
"So you're saying nothing escaped this explosion. Did you see the inside of his house? Is there anything else?", Katarin asked, and Ali could tell by now she wasn't very good at this investigating thing.
"Only a letter. It fell at my feet, and I picked it up. It was between this follower and maybe his senior or something. I'm not sure. Anyway, the letter was talking about them finding a hero, but then this other demon follower wrote saying he will exact his revenge against me. Very scary…", Ali smirked at the last part.
Katarin then followed up with more questions. Ali answered shortly, not giving her much. Katarin sighed and closed the book she was writing on. 'At least it's something. This is more than we have found in a month. To think they found the hero. We suspected they used him to open the gate..', she thought, then looked up at Ali.
'What to do with him, I can't feel any aura from him but I'm sure…I'm sure he's stronger than me, there's something about him, I wouldn't want to fight him, I know that…', she thought to herself.
"Paladin, if you keep staring like that, it'll make me think you fancy me.", Ali teased, and the inexperienced Paladin fell for it.
"WHAT?", she blurted out, flustered.
"I don't have a wife, and soon I will be the viscount and ruler of the richest city south of the capital. I can understand why you would fall for me. I think you're attractive too, and I would most definitely consider you if you throw your name in the pot.", Ali said confidently.
"YOU…", Katarin had never been this insulted in her life. She was a royal princess and now a paladin. Nobody had ever dared say something like that to her.
"It's okay, I like shy girls too…", Ali didn't stop. He was actually slightly enjoying this.
"STOP", she shouted and smashed the table to bits with her fist. Ali stayed seated with a smirk on his face. He knew he had to stop now, else she'd actually swing at him.
"Another word and you won't leave here alive…", she threatened Ali, who showed no reaction.
"My offer?", Ali asked.
"SIGH, go ahead, but it better not be anything ridiculous.", she warned him.
"I understand. Your hand in marriage—", Ali couldn't finish before she reached for her sword and went to unsheathe it.
"A joke…", Ali raised his hand in surrender and a smile on his face. Katarin pointed her sheathed sword at him and said nothing. She just pointed it at him, and her golden hair floated behind her in white flames.
Ali waited until she calmed down and sat back down before starting again.
"So I want you to not get involved in the war.", Ali raised his finger, counting his demands.
"Do not get involved in the chaos of the city when the time comes. It is only nature for a chaotic change to happen as I'm planning to clean the city when I take it.", Ali raised his second finger.
"And finally, you will personally introduce me as the rightful new ruler of IronPeak when the time comes." Ali raised his third finger, and Katarin looked back at him with a serious expression.
"You really believe you can beat a level five aura knight? Viscount Motter is a famous knight in the kingdom; he could even be one of my father's royal knights." She said.
"Leave that to me." Ali replied.
"And what great return will I get from you for all this?" she asked.
"Well, first, I will build churches all over my land, spreading the True Flame to every corner of my territory. And…".
Ali snapped his fingers, and his shadow expanded to cover the whole room. Katarin stood up immediately and unsheathed her sword at Ali. She took her stance, and her sword shone a brilliant white flame that would deter any dark magic, but Ali's shadow didn't even react to it.
"What are you doing? Using cursed magic here and before me…", she said, staring at Ali, who was still seated.
"Calm down, Katarin. This is not dark, cursed, or demonic magic; it's simply a spell that gives us privacy from outside. Sheathe your sword…", Ali stood up this time, looking down at her, his black eyes much colder now.
Katarin slowly lowered her sword but kept her aura flowing over her armour just in case…
"Out with it," she told Ali.
"I know where you can find a demon, a powerful one too…"
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