First step

Llorva was pleasantly surprised to find that the feathers felt like silk and were as warm as a gently sunned stone. From the sheen that the candles casted upon them that they would be cold and metallic like the skin of Vinncents other form.

"They're so soft." Llorva said as she got up and went to Vinncents side to feel his left wing.

Vinncent just chuckled as Llorva marveled at his wings.

"Do you believe me any more than before?"

Llorva stopped stroking his wing as she looked at Vinncent's face.

"Not really however I do believe it a bit more... but not much."

Vinncent gave a small gentle smile as he responded,

"I am glad that you can accept what I am albeit hesitantly. I am thankful beyond measure for your willingness to trust me even though we met only two days ago."

Llorva simply gave a small nod before she resumed petting Vinncents wing. Ignoring the grown woman petting his wings like a small dog he continued to eat his meal as he brainstormed his plan of attack.

He had no information on the world so it wasn't a bad idea to look around the city for a library where he could get some more information about the world. If he were to do so it would however mean he would have less time to search through the mines that would be Kali's new hive for any one who might be still working in them. Then there came the problem of how he could lead an army of xenomorphs to liberate the city without them attacking the innocent civilians and slaves.

The idea of attack only if attacked wouldn't work because of the slaves that would likely be used as cannon fodder. Marking the willing innocent with special insignias might work but then the enemy may catch on and mark their troops as well. Using the armor of the guards as a tell would also likely be caught on to but also provides the problem of potential pro-slavery aristocrats and citizens from being weeded out. He couldn't try to evacuate the slaves and innocent civilians due to the high chance of the plan being discovered and additional troops called in before the battle.

The only thing that could work is to use marks to single out the innocents and attack the armored guards and deal with the pro-slavers later. At most he guessed he had three days worth of time where he would be able to warn a potential resistance leader and explain to them how to mark the innocents. The final day he would have to issue a declaration of attack to the city inorder to warn the rest of the populous and those who don't wish to fight.

Vinncent was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed the lack of a hand on his wing and turned to look at Llorva.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern

"Yeah I am fine, why do you ask?"

"Your face made it seem like something was bothering you."

"I'm just concerned about how I can execute my plan to attack the city." Vinncent sighed as his wings began to disappear into his body.

"Care to elaborate?" Llorva asked as she watched the wings go.

"I need to properly warn the innocent without alerting the garrison and figure out a way that they can be safe when the attack begins. The only plan that I think would work is to contact any leader of an anti-slavery movement and give them instructions on a mark to give to the innocents. Then to also have the army attack the people wearing armor."

"That is quite a predicament. Without a way to distinguish friend from foe the demons would just kill everyone and make you seem evil, thus eliminating any chance of you to safely start a positive reputation to contend with the church."

"Exactly but I can't directly control the demons because of the size of the city and the amount of forces that I would need. So I need someone who I can rely on in the city to help me."

"Well... I think you may just be in luck then." Llorva smiled

"Why is that?" Vinncent asked an eyebrow raised

"I had a chat with the bartender yesterday when you left alone me in the room. Turns out he owns the Inn and is a former Chaplin to the church and just so happens to not like the idea of slavery." Llorva gave a small smile as she explained to Vinncent.

"Are you sure that we can trust him though? After all he did work for the church." Vinncent asked concerned

Llorva nodded and looked Vinncent in the eye

"I talked to him and he told me that what made him leave the church was when he heard about a slave getting tortured to death and then the event was talked about as if someone had just swatted a fly. Then once he was finished he went into the kitchen and his son came out and thanked me for getting him to talk about it. He said that his father never really told the story to anyone besides him and that he thought his father was suffering by not telling anyone."

"It might be worth a shot to talk to him but I would prefer to talk to his 'son' first so that I can make sure that he's not lying."

"let us go give them a visit shall we?" he asked

Llorva got up and grabbed Vinncent's plate from the night stand. Walking to the door that he held open for her.

"Yes, let us go." Llorva smiled as she passed Vinncent who locked the door before following Llorva down the hall.

Descending the stairs the main hall lay before them. Men and women dined and laughed while enjoying the Inns food before going about their day. Behind the bar the Innkeeper's son served mimosas to a group of well dressed women. An irritated look plastered to his face, the young man served one of the women who wore a slightly loose fitted red dress. As the duo drew closer to the bar they could clearly hear what the women were talking about to make the poor man so irritated.

"He really knows how to make good mimosas, doesn't he girls?" the woman in the red dress asked

Her companions nodded and chattered.

"I wish that he was one of mine. He's so handsome, can make good food and drink and looks nice and virile." A woman with a blue gown commented prompting a fit of giggling from the group.

A vein bulged from the man's head in annoyance

"I told you ladies that I am not a slave and would like it if you stopped referring to me as such."

The women quieted at his words and looked at each other briefly before they began giggling again.

"Poor boy, that may be so for now but how can you guarantee that it won't be in the near future? After all I'm sure my husband wouldn't mind getting me an early anniversary present." The woman in the red dress said as she bit her lower lip with a seductive smile.

The man closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them again he saw Vinncent and Llorva walking toward the bar as they went around the group of women. Walking toward an empty section of the bar away from the women.

"How can I help you folk this morning?" he asked, clearly happy to have an excuse to get away from the group.

"Not bad, and might I say that the breakfast you made was top notch." Vinncent smiled at the young man as he took the plate from Llorva.

"Thank you. However I feel that that isn't all is it?" The man smiled

"No, We were wondering if we could talk to you about how much we might be able to trust your father with something important?" Llorva asked

"I would say that he's rather trustworthy especially since he was a Chaplain in the church. After all when a Chaplin is sworn in he has to vow that he shall not sin while serving the church." the man said slightly confused

"That's good to hear however, that is not all we want to know." Vinncent said

"What else do you want then?" the bartender asked

"My companion here tells me that your father is oppose to the idea of slavery. Is it true?" Vinncent smiled before the man's face became pale

"You aren't with the inquisition are you?" the man asked in a nauseated voice

"No, You might say that we or rather he is far from being in the inquisition." Llorva lightly chuckled behind her hand.

"I take it that your companion told you of my fathers story." the man gave a slight glare to Llorva

"Oh none of that now. She did the right thing by telling me since your fathers goals and mine align so well together. I was wondering if I could trust your father with a certain task that I cannot do on my own."

"You don't mean tha..." the man was quickly interrupted by Vinncent

"Quiet our conversation has already drawn too much attention." Vinncent said while gesturing his head to the group of now quiet women.

When the young man looked over to them the women all began to talk about random things ranging from weather to the political situation of the kingdom.

"I would prefer to talk with your father in private. Can you lead me to him?"

"I'm afraid I can't. My father left earlier this morning to go and buy ingredients from the market." The man shook his head

"Do you know when he will be back?" Llorva asked

"Between an Hour and a half hour." The man shrugged

"Well I suppose all we can do is wait." Vinncent said as he pulled a bar stool back from the counter and took a seat.

Llorva simply followed his lead and sat down. Now realizing that the duo were going to stay the group of women began to whisper about the newcomers.

"How can she have better hair than me? This is unbelievable!" a woman with a yellow dress and a bun gripped

"Her skin looks so smooth too. If only I could have skin like her."

Hearing their whispers about her Llorva quickly became uncomfortable under their gaze. Vinncent caught on once he saw her staring off into space with her fist over her mouth and fingers drumming on the bar top. Listening for a bit to the woman's chatter he could understand why she was uncomfortable. Although quiet it was not hard to make out some of what the women were talking about. The primary topic was Llorva as the women commented on her appearance and how they should look better than a commoner.

Irritated by the way their discussion was headed Vinncent stood up from his stool and went around to Llorva other side. He pulled out the stool and sat giving the watching women an angered look as he did. The women were quiet for about five minutes before they again resumed talking this time about Vinncent. Most of them remarked how handsome and strong he looked the two women wearing a red and a blue dress quickly dragged the innocent talk into the gutter.

"He's so strapping I would love to tie him to my bed and ride him." Red smiled at the thought

"Oh that's so wasteful, if you're going to go through the effort of tying him down you may as well peg him too." Blue casually remarked

"True after all my husband never lets me peg him so why not do it with someone else?" Red laughed

Their discussion soon emboldened the others and quickly they began to share their fantasies involving Vinncent. Sitting silently on his barstool Vinncent only raised an eyebrow to their chatter. It was now evident to him why the Inns keeper's son was so glad to get away from them and why Llorva became so uncomfortable. These women were as relentless as they were weird however, it may have been the mimosas talking or maybe these women were just this way normally.

Deciding that the women were of no concern Vinncent looked to see how Llorva was doing. Llorva now had a small smile on her face as she looked at him.

"Does this count as the second time you've saved me?" Llorva asked with a mocking tone.

"I don't think it does. After all you looked uncomfortable with the way those women were talking about you." Vinncent pointed over his shoulder toward the group.

"Maybe I was enjoying how jealous they were. Did you think of that?" Llorva teased with a serious face

"Alright then I'll move so you can bask in their envy." Vinncent said with a defeated sigh before starting to get up from his stool.

"No, sit back down. Haha. I'm only teasing." Llorva laughed as she grabbed his arm

"Very well then." Vinncent said as he sat back down.

"I must admit that if you take what those women say with a grain of salt it's kind of funny to think about the applications of their words." Vinncent chuckled

"You mean besides how much they envy what they can't obtain." Llorva smiled

"No I'm talking about how they all keep reverting to talking about sex. They talk and fantasize about it almost as if they haven't gotten laid in several years... With how cock hungry they are I wonder if there are any chickens left in the coop." Vinncent said before making a small joke

"Mhm" Llorva stifled a laugh and covered her mouth with her hand

Vinncent gave his own small chuckle and looked around for the young man from earlier. Not finding him Vinncent concluded that he might be in the kitchen making more food. All he could do was shrug and wait. He guessed that they might need to wait only ten more minutes based off of how long the young man said his father should be gone for.

His guess proved true as roughly seven minutes later an older man walked out from a set of double doors at the end of the bar and walked toward Llorva and Vinncent.

"So my boy tells me that you two need something from me that has to do with my time in the church?" the man asked as he leaned on his left arm that rested on the bartop.

"Yes we or more specifically I need you to do something for me." Vinncent said

"Oh and what is it you need me to do?"

"I can't tell you here we'll need to go somewhere private."

"Is that so? How do I know I can trust you?" the man asked skeptically.

"Please listen to him. We talked yesterday about whether I could trust him or not, If I can trust him you can too." Llorva said leaning forward on the bar

The man paused as he thought before quickly nodding his head.

"Alright let's go in the back."

The innkeeper walked toward the double doors and walked through holding one of them open. Vinncent and Llorva promptly followed him into the kitchen and through a second door that led into a dimly lit store room. Once inside the innkeeper closed the store room door behind him and locked it.

"What is it you want to talk about then?" he said looking at Vinncent as Llorva sat on top of an empty barrel

"Llorva told me that your story about joining the church and the reason you left. You see the task I need done I cannot due myself due to time constraints." Vinncent said

"I ain't getting the impression of trusting him." The innkeeper glanced at Llorva with his arms crossed

"Trust me or not. It doesn't matter to me but with how Llorva said you opposed slavery your the man I need." Vinncent said waving his hand in a dismissive motion

"What about my views on slavery do you want with!?" The man asked, irritation clearly displayed in his voice.

"I am assuming that you are in contact with or are the leader of an anti-slavery movement. What I need you to do is to spread the word that salvation is coming to the oppressed of this city however only with a certain mark and attitude shall they be able to survive. You see I have an army awaiting my command to attack this city and I plan to do so within two weeks time. During this time I need you to spread awareness to the inhabitants of this city that oppose slavery that when the time comes to lower their arms, strip their armor and make sure to their marks are exposed." Vinncent explained

"That's a mighty fine tale you tell, If I didn't know people better I'd full heartedly believe it." The man looked at Vinncent as he leaned on a section of empty wall.

Vinncent shook his head and looked over his shoulder at Llorva.

"Are you sure We can trust him?" He asked skeptically.

"I believe so, besides if we can't you can always kill him." Llorva shrugged her shoulders as the man's face slightly paled.

"Alright then, In that case should I show him?" Vinncent asked while looking at the man.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Llorva asked with her head slightly tilted in annoyance.

"Fine but if he tries to bolt you're helping me hide the body." Vinncent said as he took off his shirt and began to reveal his wings.

"What are..." The man began before the words caught in his throat as he watched two angel wings appear from Vinncents back.

"Okay that's proof enough to believe you. What does this mark look like?" the innkeeper quickly snapped out of his daze

Vinncent smiled and folded his wings tightly against his back

"I would need something to draw it on to show you."

Quickly the man pulled a small pad of paper and what looked like a pen out of his back pocket and extended them towards Vinncent

As Vinncent walked forward and grabbed onto the pen and pad the innkeeper quickly reached for Vinncent's wings with his free hand and plucked one of the feathers.

"OW! you bastard why would you do that?" Vinncent asked after jumping away and Llorva quickly stood up

"Sorry I needed to make sure they were real." The man apologized as a couple drops of blood fell from Vinncent's wings onto the wooden floor.

Vinncent didn't respond and instead withdrew his wings before putting his shirt back on. The removed feather in the innkeeper's hand slowly eroded into a dust that escaped the room through a crack in the wall. As the confused man looked at his now empty hand Vinncent placed the pad on top of a crate and used the pen to draw two tailed circles one above the other in a clockwise pattern (solid black Yin/ Yang). Satisfied with how it looked Vinncent handed back the pad and pen to the innkeeper.

"If you can do this favor for me you will be able to save the lives of hundreds and allow me to start the process of abolishing slavery. If not this city will be stripped of almost all life as I can only point my army where to go with instructions on what they can kill. I have no direct command over all of their actions and cannot police them accordingly." Vinncent said crossing his arms

"That said this is an opportunity for you to make your dream of equality come true. However, if you attempt to make yourself a prophet or misuse my request to rise to power I will not hesitate to kill you as it would prove you are no better than the tyrants I wish to dethrone." Vinncent scowled at the man as he finished his warning.

The man just looked down at his pad and inspected the mark for a couple of seconds before looking back up at Vinncent.

"You're rather serious about this, aren't you lad?" The man asked

"This task is the main reason I am on this planet and I will carry it out with the utmost prejudice if needed." Vinncent headed towards the storeroom door as he spoke Llorva not far behind him

As he opened the door and held it for Llorva he looked at the man inside.

"Remember salvation can come in many ways and from many people some of whom you would never expect. As even in total darkness there must always be a light."

Before the man could ask what Vinncent meant he had already let the door closed and walked out of the kitchen with Llorva. Leaving him alone in the stale room.

When Vinncent and Llorva walked out of the kitchen the group of women from earlier was gone and the lower floor was clear besides two men who sat at the bar. The sudden movement of the kitchen door drew their attention however upon seeing that it wasn't anyone he knew one of the men shrugged and went back to nursing his ale. The other sat and watched as Vinncent and Llorva walked past his eyes wandered up and down Llorva figure. When they were at the end of the bar the man spoke.

"How much for the Woman? I'll give you fifteen silver for an hour."

His companion choked on his ale and began coughing at his companions shameless question. Llorva simply glared at the man as Vinncent stood completely still his eyes focused on the door. Then just as suddenly as the man's question his body violently twitched leaving his head cocked to the side and his arms positioned at his sides as though he was praying to the heavens. Slowly his head straightened and a long, quiet, chortle escaped his lips. Still looking at the door he began to talk however his voice had an echoing serpentine undertone making it sound like two voices talked in perfect sync.

"What... Did.. You. Jussst say?"