Asher hadn't bothered blindfolding his would be assassin when they brought him to a private location to dispose of him in a secluded cabin his minions had found in the woods. The man wouldn't be leaving alive anyway. On top of that, Asher wasn't in a pleasant mood. An attempt had just been made on his life, and he felt the need to get some frustration out. That was why as soon as Leah and Asher had finished dragging the man somewhere no one would hear him, Asher explained the gravity of the situation to him. "I'm going to be completely honest with you, whoever you actually are. You tried to kill me. I don't take kindly to that. I am not a hero like some of the members of the guild, you're not going to be turned over to the guards. I am going to get my frustrations out and then dispose of you."
The man gulped as he stared into Asher's steely gaze. "I'll talk," the man stuttered quickly. Asher said, "She wants to know the details, I don't really care," as he pointed at Leah. Leah argued with Asher's statement with, "If he talks, we could at least make it quick."
"Fine. Do what you need to do," Asher muttered. It was clear to Leah that he was leaning more towards torturing the man after what had happened and she couldn't really blame him. They had attacked him in broad daylight with no hesitation. At the same time though, Leah was at least trying to show that Asher wasn't an evil man like they had told her, but he wasn't making it easy on her to prove it.
Leah asked the man who she had tied to a chair directly, "Why are you after Asher? What is the point?"
"I'm not going to tell you anything," he defiantly answered. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "There's no one that knows where you are, we could kill you right now and there's not a soul that would be the wiser. On the other hand, that also means there's nothing we can't do to you," she explained with irritation in her voice.
The man just stared at her silently in pure defiance. Leah shook her head and told Asher, "He's not saying anything, do what you want. There's no point in trying to talk to him." Asher cracked his knuckles and stated, "With pleasure."
After a couple of hours had passed, the man was barely recognizable anymore after Asher had brutally beaten him. The man was still silent as ever, not saying a word. Leah finally stopped Asher and said, "There's no point in trying anymore. End it, this has gone on long enough."
Asher nodded his agreement. Before that though, he swung his hand into the man's arm like a hammer and snapped it. After that, Asher poured flames over top of the man, charring him down to burnt flesh. Leah had an appalled look on her face at first from the brutality of the action, but she recovered quickly and stated, "Let's get rid of him now. We don't want any evidence of us having been here with these people tracking you."
Asher shrugged at her and replied, "I'd be surprised if they found him in the first place with how remote the location is, but I'll deal with it." He dragged the man out of the cabin and into the woods, there was a ravine that his minions had spotted for him and he proceeded to roll the body into the crevice. Asher nodded with satisfaction at Leah and began to walk back towards the city.
"That really wasn't necessary," Leah stated.
"What part? Them attempting to kill me or giving that man what he deserved for trying it and failing?"
Leah sighed deeply. "There was no need for you to cause as much pain as you did before ending his life. At the least you could have made it quick."
"Then why did you let me beat him? You could have just as easily told me not to, or even finished him off yourself. Why did you not? I will not be lectured about something you not only allowed, but earlier encouraged me to do when you wanted information," Asher retorted.
"I thought he would have said something, anything to let us know why they are actually after you. Why are they so afraid of your power, Asher? There are too many questions to ask that seemingly have no answer." She paused for a moment before she said, "It's already done anyway. There's no point in arguing about what had already happened. We'll just deal with the consequences later."
Asher nodded his agreement. "I have something to show you," he said. At that moment, a group of monsters showed up and Leah drew her sword. Asher scolded her, "No, they're mine."
Leah looked towards him in confusion. "Your's?"
Asher stared at her, waiting for another response, anything. He began to explain when the silence got to him, "I've been meaning to show you for a while, right after we dealt with the giants actually. The one I had before died, I used it to distract the giants and it was killed. These are not normal monsters of their level. They share a part of my power, they are a lot stronger than the average monsters in this area. I've been using them to recharge my energy passively by hunting others of their kind in the area, because they benefit from a portion of the power they absorb, the same as I do. I'm not sure exactly what this power is, Leah, but I can understand the fear behind the men hunting me." Asher bit his lip nervously before he continued speaking.
"These beasts could hunt in Winterhaven with little issue. I have actually been using them to scout the land for potentially useful monsters for me to fight. If I defeat a creature with special abilities, I will in turn gain those same powers from absorbing whatever I take from them. I don't know whether it's life essence, a soul, just raw energy, I don't know what this power actually is, but it's how I gained fire and frost magic. I have more abilities than that, but I can't demonstrate them. They are passive, like precognition, which allowed me to fight the man in the tournament who used lightning to speed up his movements."
Asher once again stared at Leah, waiting for any kind of response whatsoever. She closed the distance towards Asher within a couple of steps and hugged him tightly. "Why would you think I would judge you after everything we have been through? You have been my one and only true friend in all of this. I will always support you, no matter what may come."
They heard a rustling sound and saw movement in the brush. "Is that another one of your followers?" Leah asked suspiciously.
"It is not," Asher stated. They were about to rush in when a mop of wheat blonde hair appeared. It was Willow. "The two of you have some explaining to do," she stated confidently.
Asher gave Leah look telling her to stand down. He wasn't sure what all she had heard yet and he had ordered his minions to hide as soon as he heard a sound. He didn't know if she had seen them or not.
"About what?" Leah asked with spite.
"About that body you dumped and the monsters. I saw everything, I've been following you since you left the city. What is going on here?" Willow inquired.
Asher sighed. "Did anyone else come with you?"
"Not a soul, but I informed Killian I was going to follow you, in case I turned up missing from this encounter. I know your best friend here isn't exactly fond of me," Willow remarked.
Leah didn't say a word, but her eyes did narrow at the comment. She knew that they were cornered if Willow had someone that knew where she went. They couldn't deal with her like the would be assassin they had murdered.
"I guess it's time I come clean with you as well," Asher said. He went into detail about what they had learned of his power. He proceeded to explain that a group of assassins had made an attempt on his life and that was where the man he had killed came from. Willow's expression didn't change much as she listened closely to the explanation.
When Asher finished, Willow asked him, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"To be honest, I didn't trust you. I still don't, but I have two choices as of right now and I prefer the one I'm currently running with. Don't force me to change my mind. You stand to gain a lot of money standing at my side."
Willow scoffed and asked, "Do you really not understand that I don't actually need the money? I am the daughter of a baron. The power I possess has been passed down for generations. The Thorn family has no need for coin."
"Then why were you so upset about losing all your money on a bet? I'd almost wager you're either disowned or you aren't on good terms with your family in order to access that money," Asher remarked. He noted the twitch in Willow's eye and that confirmed his suspicions.
Asher stated, "Look, you know what is going on now. I'd much rather not have to fight you. Both Leah and I are not bad people, we just had to deal with this in the only way we knew wouldn't leave a trail. Even if it does, it's a message for those who would hunt me down. I will not tolerate anyone coming after me."
"You once persuaded me to join the guild. In the end, that is why we're here now. I can't change that now, not would I want to, as these past months have been the change I needed in order to leave what was ultimately a life of crime until this point. So what do you say, Willow Thorn? Are you with us? Or against us?"