Location: The Blushing Lotus Bathhouse, Mystara.
Mission Objective: Evade Capture. Lower Core Temperature.
Curse Status: [SCARRED AUTHORITY FIGURES] | 3 Days, 7 Hours Remaining.
Evading academy security required a tactical disappearance.
Unfortunately, the only place in Mystara that didn't ask questions was The Blushing Lotus.
It was an expensive bathhouse designed almost entirely around the concept of couples' retreats. The air smelled of jasmine, the lighting never seemed to progress beyond a permanent romantic dusk, and somewhere in the background, enchanted instruments played soft acoustic guitar.
For most people, it was probably relaxing.
For Kaelen, it was a battlefield disguised as a spa.
"I cannot remain here."
He sat rigidly on a velvet bench in the locker room, his heavy armor stripped away and stacked neatly beside him. Without the steel plating, the sheer size of him was even more apparent. His dark sleeveless combat tunic exposed arms covered in pale, jagged scars, each one a reminder of battles he would much rather remember than the last few days.
He glared at the wooden floor.
"This environment is hostile. The humidity is compromising my tactical focus."
"We have to lay low, Commander."
Elara peeked through the bamboo blinds covering the doorway.
"Curator Vespera has the campus guards searching for a 'seductive giant.' If we walk outside, they'll arrest you."
She pointed toward the steam room.
"Go in there. Sweat out the stress. Wait for Faelan to secure transport."
Kaelen stared at her.
"That is your tactical solution?"
"Yes."
"Steam."
"Steam."
"To combat a magical curse."
"Exactly."
Kaelen sighed.
Ignis stood beside the door, holding a stack of fluffy pink towels in his enormous stone hands.
"I will maintain security."
His blue runes pulsed.
"If an unauthorized entity approaches, I will weaponize the bath salts."
Kaelen rubbed his temples.
His heart rate had finally fallen from the ridiculous 130 beats per minute it had reached inside the Archives.
"Fine."
He stood.
"Ten minutes. Do not let anyone in."
Ignis nodded.
"Understood."
Kaelen pushed through the heavy wooden door.
The steam room swallowed him.
White mist rolled across the chamber, carrying the sharp scent of eucalyptus. Heat pressed against his skin immediately. He climbed onto the highest cedar bench and leaned his head back.
For the first time in hours, nobody was chasing him.
Nobody was yelling.
Nobody was wearing an eyepatch.
Nobody had a scar.
Kaelen closed his eyes.
Military breathing exercise.
Inhale for four seconds.
Hold.
Exhale for four.
Visualize a clean decapitation.
His shoulders finally relaxed.
'Peace.'
The wooden door clicked shut.
Kaelen's eyes opened.
A lock turned.
His hand immediately went toward where his sword should have been.
Nothing.
He slowly stood.
The steam shifted.
A silhouette emerged through the mist.
"You're a difficult man to track, Ironclad."
The voice was smooth.
Calm.
Dangerously confident.
A woman stepped into view.
She wasn't wearing an academy uniform.
Instead, she wore the dark leather armor of a Bastion Inquisitor. Her hair was cut into a severe military bob, and a curved dagger rested comfortably in her hand.
But Kaelen barely noticed the weapon.
His attention had already locked onto the silver scar running from her collarbone and disappearing beneath the neckline of her tactical vest.
His stomach dropped.
"Inquisitor Thorne."
The name escaped him before he could stop it.
She was a notorious bounty hunter, famous for extracting confessions through sheer intimidation.
DING!
The tavern bell exploded inside Kaelen's skull.
The peaceful white steam suddenly looked pink.
[ SYSTEM ALERT: HOSTILE TARGET ACQUIRED ]
[ CRITERIA: SCARRED AUTHORITY FIGURES ]
[ MATCH RATING: 100% ]
[ ADDITIONAL MATCH: TARGET POSSESSES RESTRAINT EQUIPMENT ]
"No."
Kaelen backed into the cedar wall.
His body temperature climbed.
"Inquisitor..."
He swallowed.
"You are breaching my perimeter. Step back."
Thorne smiled.
"I don't take orders from deserters."
She moved closer.
"I've been looking for you."
She raised the dagger and placed the flat of the blade against his chest.
"Guildmaster Vance put a considerable bounty on your head."
Her eyes narrowed.
"She wants you brought back for intense questioning."
The dagger pressed lightly against his tunic.
"Put your hands behind your back."
Kaelen's HUD flashed.
[ INITIATE INTERROGATION FLIRTATION PROTOCOL ]
> Option A: Submit to her authority.
Option B: Turn the tables.
'Disarm her.'
His tactical mind supplied the obvious solution.
Break the wrist.
Sweep the legs.
Retrieve the weapon.
Escape.
Instead, his cursed body stepped forward.
Thorne's eyes widened slightly as Kaelen closed the distance.
His hands moved.
He didn't strike her.
He caught her by the waist, lifted her cleanly off the floor, and pinned her against the warm tiled wall.
Her dagger slipped from her fingers.
Clatter.
"What are you doing?"
"You wanted to interrogate me, Inquisitor?"
Kaelen's voice dropped into that deep, resonant tone the curse seemed particularly fond of.
The cramped room suddenly felt even smaller.
He leaned closer, his hands braced against the wall on either side of her.
Thorne stared up at him.
"Ironclad."
Her usual confidence had slipped.
"Back off."
Kaelen's mind screamed at him.
His body ignored it.
"I confess."
He leaned closer.
"I am entirely guilty."
His breath brushed past her ear.
"But you're going to have to work very hard to extract the details."
[ CRITICAL HIT! TARGET HEART RATE ELEVATED ]
Thorne's expression flickered.
Kaelen's gaze drifted toward the silver scar on her collarbone.
"Your heart is racing."
He sounded almost amused.
"Is that standard interrogation procedure?"
He tilted his head.
"Or are we going off the record?"
"You're under arrest."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Kaelen smiled.
"Then arrest me."
His hand settled at her waist.
"Bind my wrists, Inquisitor. Show me how strictly you enforce the law."
Thorne's face flushed.
Her hand moved instinctively toward her belt.
The metal of her handcuffs rattled.
Inside Kaelen's head, absolute panic was spreading.
'I am a decorated veteran.'
'I have commanded soldiers.'
'I have planned sieges.'
'I have survived Orc incursions.'
'Why am I flirting with a bounty hunter in a bathhouse?'
'Ignis!'
'Where is the Golem?'
Kaelen's body leaned closer.
Thorne looked up at him.
For one horrifying moment, it seemed the system was about to force another catastrophic decision.
Then...
CRASH!
The cedar door was ripped completely from its hinges.
It flew across the room and smashed against the opposite wall.
Steam erupted into the hallway.
A towering silhouette stepped through the ruined doorway.
Obsidian armor.
Glowing blue runes.
Seven feet of completely emotionless stone.
"Commander Kaelen."
Ignis's voice cut through the tension like a battlefield alarm.
"Your vitals indicated a critical breach of protocol."
His left arm rose.
"Deploying anti-thirst countermeasures."
Kaelen's eyes widened.
"No, wait!"
FWOOSH!
A blast of freezing water erupted from the Golem's arm.
The 400 PSI jet tore through the steam room.
It struck both Kaelen and Thorne at once.
Kaelen was thrown backward and slammed against the opposite wall.
Thorne was knocked sideways, landing hard on the wet floor.
The pink HUD shattered into static.
The romantic atmosphere vanished.
The acoustic guitar music outside suddenly sounded ridiculous.
Kaelen peeled himself off the tiles.
Water streamed from his hair, his tunic, and the end of his nose.
Across the room, Thorne sat soaked to the bone, staring at him in stunned silence.
Her hair clung to her face.
Her dagger had floated several feet away.
She looked less like a legendary Inquisitor and more like someone who had just been personally betrayed by the concept of plumbing.
Kaelen slowly turned toward Ignis.
The Golem lowered his arm.
"Threat neutralized."
A pause.
"Shall I apply the bath salts?"
Kaelen stared at him.
Then he covered his face with both hands.
"No."
His voice was exhausted.
"Just get my armor."
He sighed.
"We're leaving."
From the doorway, Elara's voice called out.
"Are you alive?"
Kaelen closed his eyes.
"Unfortunately."
"Good."
A pause.
"Faelan found transport."
Kaelen lowered his hands.
"Excellent."
He looked at the destroyed door.
Then at Thorne.
Then at Ignis.
"Let's leave before anything else with a scar walks through that door."
Ignis nodded.
"Agreed."
Behind them, Thorne finally found her voice.
"You can't just leave!"
Kaelen froze.
The system gave a faint, ominous chime.
He slowly turned his head.
[ WARNING: AUTHORITY FIGURE HAS SPOKEN ]
Kaelen's face went pale.
"Nobody move."
Ignis immediately raised his hose.
Elara shouted from the hallway.
"IGNIS, BLAST HIM!"
"Already preparing."
"NO!"
Kaelen bolted for the exit.