The white haired woman continued walking forward, unbothered by the towering, heavily armored man and the crater he had created. She slid down the slope, walking past him.
**Shick**
The cloth rustled as the man grabbed the end of her cloak, stopping her in her tracks.
"Do you mind letting go?" The woman asked politely, contrary to her previous demeanor.
"I should do that… Because?" The paladin questioned.
"I have a cloak to return."
**Thump**
The paladin pulled on her cloak, tugging her body along, sending her bottom first onto the ground.
"Sit." The paladin demanded.
The woman ignored this, proceeding to stand.
**Clack**
The paladin's armor rattled as he pushed her head down using his finger, sitting her back onto the floor.
"Sit." His tone changed, a heavier, commanding voice came from the grills of his helmet.
Stubbornly, she ignored it once more.
**Sigh**
"Bind her." He said.
Chains of gold shot out from the ground, binding the woman's hands.
He knelt towards the woman to compensate for the disparity in their natural distance.
"I have questions, you have answers. You WILL speak when asked."
**Rattle** **Clink**
In an unexpected move, the woman broke off one of the chains, taking the cloak off.
"First. Return." She declared, extending the cloak in front of her, handing it to the paladin.
Still stunned, the paladin looked towards his companion. The saintess shrugged with a confused face.
"Fine. Stay here."
The paladin placed the cloak into his hand, clutching it before gesturing to his companion, and then walking away.
The saintess understood the gesture, removing the chains, raising a part of the ground, creating three stumps as a seat.
"Get the lady some clothes while you're at it." The saintess suggested, the paladin turned his head to a smile on her face. The paladin raised his hand in acknowledgement.
…
The paladin entered the base, assessing the damage. Expeditioners were already reconstructing and repairing the fortifications. A knight captain rushed towards him, kneeling, knights from the same order followed suit.
"Lord Ferrus! I am graced by your presence."
Ferrus raised his hand in greetings.
"Julius, it pleases me to see you well. Report." Getting straight into the matter at hand.
"Yes, my lord! Upon arrival, we established a base of operations, during which we encountered no interference. We were granted permission to survey Frostburrow due to no demon activity. We encountered a white haired woman that we engaged in combat."
"The one outside?" Ferrus questioned.
"Yes, my lord. We had… Previously killed her. She had seemingly resurrected and aided us in the battle against a sudden onset of demons." Julius explained hesitantly.
"Ressurected?" Ferrus was shocked by the information.
"Yes, my lord."
"And all of this was…?" Ferrus paused, looking around at the blood-stained snow.
"Mostly her doing, my lord." Julius affirmed.
"You said you had engaged her in combat. Does that mean she is the enemy?"
"We are unsure, my lord. She had previously refused to converse, she had only done so after she had resurrected."
"A heretic perhaps?" Ferrus theorized.
"Her body bears no markings of such nature, my lord."
"I see… A divine intervention then?" He continued thinking.
"What shall we do, my lord?"
"I will ask her myself. If she poses a threat then I will execute her where she stands. You all did well to hold out. Continue your duties brothers."
"Thank you, my lord!" Julius and his knights shouted in unison.
"Julius, one more thing." Ferrus followed, almost forgetting.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Find out who this cloak's owner is and return it- Can you… also tell me where to find women's clothing…" Ferrus leaned in close, whispering the latter to him.
"Pardon, my lord?" Julius was perplexed, looking at his lord with a raised eyebrow.
"The… WhIte haired woman needs clothes…" Ferrus corrected his words, knowing Julius' thoughts.
"Ah- Immediately, my lord. I will bring them for you." Julius acknowledges, finally understanding, but still can't remove the intrusive thought in his head.
Julius and his knights leave, Ferrus mentally kicking himself at the misunderstanding, standing there awkwardly. After regaining his composure, he went around the camp, asking others to recount recent events.
"She gut punched me!" Said a mage.
"She broke my leg and arm." An orcish man retold.
"She threw my arrow back at me!" An archer said.
The expeditioners shared their experience. Ferrus taking a mental note.
…
Julius returned with spare clothing, kneeling, he held it up whilst facing the floor, unable to look up at the paladin. Ferrus hastily took the clothes, turning, preparing to leave.
"Ahem… I will return with my judgement." Ferrus coughed, and declared before leaving.
…
He returns to the sitting white haired woman, her companion seated beside her, legs crossed.
"That took you a while, had a nice talk?" The saintess said, giggling.
"Minah, we're on duty." Ferrus said in a stern voice.
"Yeah, yeah~ It's not like there's anything nearby." Minah said dismissively.
"Why are you like this?" Ferrus turned his head, disappointment in his voice.
Ferrus and Minah are part of the same knight order, "Ferrum Aquila", an order closely related to the church. The two have been "partnered" for some time now, taking on countless tasks and deployments, completing them all together.
Ferrus is a towering behemoth of a man, sporting a height of 7'3". Most paladins are around 7 feet tall, Divinity contributing a lot to their heights. Ferrus, being the leader of this order, has a reputation to uphold, often forgoing image if it meant completing the directive given to him flawlessly. He is stern and prefers using few words during conversation.
Minah, on the other hand, is nearly the antithesis to Ferrus. She prides herself in her image, a reputation of none. She features a short, wavy, black bob that complements her delicately defined face. She had gleaming almond-shaped, deep emerald eyes, framed by long lashes. These features were highlighted by her contrasting porcelain skin. She is playful and unserious, but always has an air of grace and elegance.
"Back to the agenda." Ferrus asserted, sitting in front of the white haired girl, her wide scarlet eyes gazed into his, as if piercing through his helmet.
"So… What's with her? Care to fill me in?" Minah asked with great curiosity.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. You. Speak your purpose here in the Frostlands." Ferrus said with a pressure enough to stop a man's heart.
"I… I don't know…" The white haired woman replied with empty eyes.
"Then how did you get here?" Ferrus asked, raising another question.
"I- I can't remember…" Again, the woman replied with a blank face.
Minah glances at Ferrus with a concerned face.
They have both interrogated many people. Criminals, Cultists, and Heretics alike. They would know if someone was lying. She was not.
"Alright. Can you answer this for me, how did you resurrect? I was told that the upper part of your head was destroyed in combat with the expeditioners."
"Ressurect?" Minah's brow rose.
"Yes, resurrect." Ferrus confirmed.
"That's not possible… This expedition doesn't have that kind of ability." Minah said, still confused, puzzled by the thought.
They both looked towards the woman who had stayed silent. They glanced at each other before moving on.
"Then how did you kill all of these demons? Did the church send you?"
It was a stupid question. Any information that the church had was available to them, and they would be notified before deployment if there was someone from the church strong enough to kill thousands of demons alone overnight, in which case, they would not have been sent out in the first place. He still humored the thought, holding his hand in front of Minah's face knowing she'd call it out.
"No… I'm… I'm alone…" Her eyes finally showed emotion, tears welling up.
She coiled up, knees to her chest, holding her head in misery, tears dropping. She began crying, looking nothing like her previous state.
"Estelle…" The woman mumbled, sobbing.
Minah, seeing her pain, rushed to her side, and embraced her.
"Hey, hey. It's okay… It's okay…" Minah began comforting her.
Ferrus saw the scene before him. Ferrus is a man who wasted no time when possible, but for someone called, "The Iron Hammer", he had a soft heart. Reading the room, he stopped the questioning for now and solemnly waited.
…
The woman began to calm down, still gasping for air. Minah rested her head on her lap, stroking her hair. Minah looked at Ferrus, and shook her head, a sign that they should conduct the questioning another time. Ferrus nodded, finally kneeling back down, asking one last question in a soft spoken voice. Despite the helmet causing it to sound rough, the change in his tone was apparent.
"Young lady, may I have the courtesy of knowing your name."
"O- Ophelia…"