NOVEL NEXT Chapter 233: Dinner
Waiting for his girlfriend, Leland mulled over countless decisions. An idea hung in his mind, a way to gain more from his contracts. But first, he needed to organize. He opened his grimoire and got to reading.
Name: Leland Silver
Legacy: Curses
Archetype: Apprentice of the Curse Lord
Specialization: Pact
Overall Rank: 3
Fracture:
Type: Curse
Rank: 22 (B-)
Call upon the Lord of Bone to shatter those in your way.
For a single target, break a random bone and the bones it is connected to.
Crow Massacre:
Type: Curse
Rank: 23 (B)
Call upon the ethereal familiar of the Lord of Curses.
Summon a full murder of 15 ethereal crows to attack targets for up to 2 minutes.
When all crows are present and attacking the same target, their beaks and talons are enhanced.
All resultant damage dealt by the crows bleeds the target for an additional amount over 100 seconds.
Promote a single crow to lead the murder. The leader is larger, faster, stronger, and more real. If permitted, the leader can stay summoned for any given length of time.
Abuse of summons will not be permitted.
Curse of Collapse:
Type: Curse
Rank: 22 (B)
Pull the target towards the end, bringing them one step closer to the Lord of Death.
Exhaust the target for up to 3 minutes, decreasing their speed by 50%.
Targets under this curse deal 20% less damage to you.
The Lord of Death smiles on the cursed, increasing your damage to the cursed by 10%.
Harbinger Halo: Pact
Type: Curse (Self)
Rank: 24 (Specialization: S)
Strike a dark accord with a presiding Lord, calling their aid.
Contracts last up to 50 minutes. If ended early, the cool down period is decreased.
Up to 4 contracts may be acted upon at one time.
Contracts that produce direct spells, curses, abilities, incantations, and/or passive effects that deal with mana, may have lifeforce partially supplemented. Effects may vary.
The pact specialization allows the creation of pact-contracts, thus opening new routes of power once deemed unreachable.
Circle of Souls:
Type: Curse
Rank: 23 (A-)
Call upon the souls of the Damned, channeling the power of the Lord of Souls into an area.
Encase the souls of those within 75 yards, siphoning their lifeforce while chaining them to this reality.
Fully consume a soul to increase your magical potency by 15% for 1 minute.
Held lost souls may now be given to a soul of the Damned as payment for a task.
Damage dealt to one target within the circle is duplicated onto all targets inside the circle for 35% effectiveness.
Those trapped within the circle know the fear of those who dabble in soul magic.
Soul Fire:
Type: Curse
Rank: Max
Ignite a lost soul.
Soul Fire’s strength directly correlates to the strength of the soul used. You are the Calamity.
Completed Contracts:
Lord of Magic: For the duration of the contract, all magical abilities are increased by a factor of 5%. Only usable once per hour. Ends in 6 days.
Lord of Nature: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Touch of Regeneration, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of Water: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Shield of Water, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of Chameleon: For the duration of the contract, gain adaptive mage perception (sight, smell, or instinct). Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of Erupting Skies: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Erupting Steps, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of Space: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Spatial Bend, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of Pathways: The Lord of Pathways has augmented the parasitic tattoo, Lodestar, with a pathway.
Lord of the Void: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Void Slip, is available. Contract is usable once per year.
Lord of the Drowning: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Drowning Touch, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Ongoing Contracts:
Lord of Spirits: For the duration of the contract, all magical abilities take on a single intended spiritual effect. Only usable once per hour.
Lord of the Moonless: For the duration of the contract, all works of art shine with the light of the moon.
Lord of Endurance: For the duration of the contract, if used while completely exhausted, each running step provides a small addition to your base stamina. Contract is usable once per hour. Steps: 249
Lord of Crows: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Crow Wings, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of the Seraph: For the duration of the contract, access to the spell, Celestial Feather, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of the Draconic: For the duration of the contract, access to Draconic Revelation, is available. Contract is usable once per hour.
Lord of the Lexicon: As a passive effect, all known languages translate directly in your mind to your most fluent language.
It was a lot to take in, but Leland was happy to grow his collection. Not every contract he made had been worthwhile, he recognized. Some just weren’t worth the cost. Others, very much were. What did this mean for the future? He smirked to himself. He’d just have to be more picky.
Eventually the doors to the queen’s chamber opened and slowly but surely, the Queen exited.
Her steps, measured and elegant, pulled the hems of a long, bounding teal gown. Masterfully stitched, the dress’ embroidered seams meshed with enchanted fabric and expensive silks. It flowed across her shoulders and waterfalled down her legs, the motion of movement ruffling the color like ripples of a pond.
Leland didn’t notice the glamorous gem stones laced around her neck. Even such a beauty as the rocks were, it was Sybil’s shifting smile that truly caught his attention. Masked in scarring and childish glee, her lips parted and stilled, flickering from grinning to perfectly neutral and back to grinning.
As the young lady walked through the stone and marble hallway, she jumped from eager girlfriend ready for a proper date to Queen of a nation. Which was she supposed to be now, she wondered? Which was more important at this very moment?
Now standing, Leland mentally chided himself. He had dressed nicely, but his “nice” was far lower than that of the royal family. He should have known, he’d been around the castle since he was a kid. An adventurer at heart, he wore clothes that allowed freedom of movement and weren’t too expensive to replace if they were shredded, burnt, stabbed, torn, melted…
Leland sighed. There were a lot of hazards, he realized, that could befall clothing. Most of which were—
He shook his head. Now was not the time to be distracted.
“My Queen,” he called, his hand out and his back angled downward in a bow.
“Oh gosh, Leland. Don’t do that. Not now, please.”
He looked up, finding Sybil bright red despite her dark skin. He smiled to himself. “You look divine.”
At his words, the girl turned even redder, if that was possible. “I uh.” She looked off into the distance, the voices of her family no doubt mocking her for such a greeting. She snapped out of it, blinking rapidly and finding her date’s devilish smile. “I think I should return to my room. I need to gather myself—”
Leland took her hand in his. “Don’t be absurd. This is supposed to be fun. I’m having fun, aren’t you?”
She pursed her lips, the embarrassment fading as her fingers squirmed in his. She straightened her back, raised her chin, looked him in the eyes, and said, “Of course.”
“Perfect. Now then. Shall we?”
Together they strolled the castle, visiting all of the places Leland had yet to see. As it turned out, while Leland thought he had seen most of the castle as a kid, he, in fact, had not. There were wings he didn’t even know existed. Sitting rooms furnished and dusted every day that he hadn’t a clue existed. It was like the castle’s hallways were twisting snakes, coiled together and thrown into the Void.
“Everything connects,” he muttered to himself after Sybil showed him a fireplace that doubled as a doorway to a different room.
“What was that?” she asked.
He quickly shook his head. “I’m just in disbelief. Who needs a fireplace-door.”
She giggled. “I will have you know, when I was a mischievous kid, I hid from my nannies by using these fireplace-doors. I thought it was a game, to run around the castle while they tried to find me… In actuality, they set the castle in lockdown and I never saw those nannies again...”
She trailed off.
Leland looked from her to the hidden door. “You got those nannies fired.”
“I guess I did.”
They both stared at the contraption, a second of silence passing before Leland snorted. “Who’d have thought you would have been the problem child. I always figured it would be your brother.”
“Devin or Peter?” Sybil asked, gladly changing the conversation.
“Devin. Eldest Prince.”
“He always did like to flaunt his title.” She sighed. “He left the castle the moment he could. The second I was crowned, actually. Him and that stupid tail.”
“Tail?”
“He has a Draconic tail. It looked ridiculous.”
A shiver went down Leland’s spine. “You know… I have Draconic wings. And you know what they say when two Draconics meet, right?”
Sybil’s eyes went round. “Oh no. You two can never be in the same place otherwise you’ll have to fight to the death.”
He held up his hands. “Oh I don’t think it's that bad. We would just have to fight each other for dominance.”
“You’d kick his ass,” the Queen said leaning into him.
“Heh, best not to, however,” he said, leaning into her as well.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
They stood like that for a long, long moment, staring into the cold fireplace. Soon the date continued, dinner, drinks, a midnight waltz under the moonlight… Not once were they bothered by Aunty P or an attendant. Tonight was their night.
It was a perfect goodbye before a new adventure.
The morning of the boys’ departure, Leland and Glenny were doing some last minute shopping. Money, at this point, was no obstacle unless they were purchasing custom enchanted gear, artifacts, or some other type of money sink. Food, camping supplies? Those were nothing in the grand scheme of things, so they stocked up until their inventory rings were full.
With the markets in the capital of the kingdom, many, many, merchants sold their wares. This led to bickering stall owners, sketchy selling practices, and underhanded criminal pursuit. Especially when it came to people like Leland and Glenny – shoppers with near limitless funds and inventory rings to boot.
One such pursuit was the ever popular pickpocket. Glenny swatted away all hands before they even came near. Another was the age-old scam. Goods too cheap to believe! Ancient legendary weapons wielded by the most famous of personnel! Potions that will make anyone fall in love with you! Jewelry hand mined from some obscure mountain no one has ever heard of…
Well actually, Leland bought a dazzling bracelet for Sybil from that vendor. There was no doubt he over paid for it, but he didn’t care. It was perfect.
And finally, there was the pursuit of intimidation. The idea of making potential buyers feel unsafe or uneasy while the seller charged outrageous prices. Nine out of ten times, the buyer would pay just to leave unmolested.
“We’re being followed,” Glenny said calmly to Leland. “One man. Looks a little rough for wear.”
“This again?” Leland sighed, looking over his shoulder. He didn’t find the man, the crowd of faces acting as a dense forest. “You’d think they would have learned last time.”
“You break a few hands the first time. The next,” Glenny popped his knuckles, “you break their faces.”
“You’ve been hanging out with Jude too much.”
“Well sometimes, he’s right.”
“That he is. That he is. What’s the plan?”
Glenny nodded to an alleyway. “After you.”
Leland practically skipped into the dampness, the shadows and dank smell oddly nostalgic. It had been a while since they’d participated in a good thug-beating. Well, if you forget about the last time someone tried to intimidate them into buying something… which may or may not have been just fifteen minutes ago.
“Maybe it will be a mugging,” Leland said. “Then we can really—”
“Gah,” Glenny murmured. “No. You just stand there and look pretty. Your magic is too scary. We don’t want the market to evacuate because you want to take the man’s soul. Let me handle this.”
Giving his friend a look, the Legacy of Curses said, “I wouldn’t take his soul for just this. If he tried to kill us, then it's fair game as far as I’m concerned.”
Rolling his eyes, the Legacy of the Chameleon suddenly turned invisible.
“Oh great. You’re doing it like this,” Leland muttered to himself. “Leave me alone as bait. Don’t worry Glenny! I’ll just stand here like an idiot—”
A shadow ended his sentence. A figure appeared at the edge of the market, a man. He stepped into the alley, his boots now slick with puddle water. He stopped after a few steps, his bare hand showing off a Legacy tattoo of a scroll bound in a double knotted bow.
“You are a difficult man to track down, Mr Silver,” the man said, his voice tired. “I feel as though you have been avoiding me.”
Leland frowned, eying the man. Disheveled, nice but dirty clothing, lack of muscle or weapons. One thing was for sure, this man wasn’t here for a fight. Although that was possibly more dangerous.
“Do I know you?”
“No, no you do not. Despite the multitude of attempts I’ve made to set a meeting date, that crone of a Princess always seems to block my actions. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ambassador Liam from the Gru Triumvirate.”
And just like that, the tension in Leland’s posture relaxed. The Gru Triumvirate was a neighboring kingdom to the Palemarrows and a pensive ally at best. As Aunty P described them, they were not good people. Backstabbers and corrupt politicians, the type of place a criminal might live since they could get away with plenty of things so long as they had the coin. At least, those were the stories. The whole country couldn’t be like that, could it?
“And just to make sure,” Leland said, “you are not here to attack me? You just want to talk.”
“That is correct,” Liam answered. “I was—”
“Glenny you can come out, this guy’s not a threat. He’s just desperate.”
The rogue appeared one step behind the Ambassador, a pocket knife in hand. He hmphed when the man flinched, stepping around to stand beside his friend.
“So then, Mr Ambassador, what do you want?”
The man cursed to himself. “Did that woman not relay any of my requests? Ifigured she surely would have—”
Leland held up a hand. “I assume you are referring to Aunty P, er, the Eldest Princess. Yes, she informed me of the Tear on Gru soil and your request for my help.”
Liam stared with a difficult expression. Anger? Resentment? Humiliation? He bit down the wave of emotions and spoke in a strained tone, “If you understand the situation with my homeland, why is our first meeting in an alley?”
“I’m not sure what you mean?”
“You—” The man clinched his knuckles. “A war is coming, Mr Leland. A war from a different world. And a Lord has expressed that you could help! So help!”
Leland and Glenny both recoiled at the tone. They looked at each other.
The man returned to himself after a few long breaths. Speaking through his teeth, the man continued, “I don’t think you are quite understanding. The Lord of the Lexicon expressed to us, the Gru Triumvirate, that you would be able to help our unique situation. Why he said a kid could help, I don’t know. But he did. So, please, if you would kindly come with me, I have a Legacy of Space ready to teleport us to—”
“Yeah I’m not going,” Leland interrupted. “I understand the situation quite well, but I was forbidden to go by the Eldest Princess and possibly an even more terrifying woman.”
The man raised his chin, breathing out a puff of hot air. “The Queen forbid you from assisting us? Because if that is the case—”
“Oh, no. The Queen didn’t. I was referring to my mom.”
“Your… mother… forbid you from assisting?”
Leland shrugged. “She said the Gru Triumvirate wasn’t safe.”
“Not safe!?” the Ambassador screeched. “Not safe! The Gru Triumvirate is not safe!? Of course it’s not! We have two otherworldly races about to go to war on our soil! Of course it’s not safe! People are going to die! Mr Silver! Die! By the thousands! Maybe even tens of thousands if the war starts!”
A pang of guilt washed over Leland. Still, he steeled himself. “If it starts?”
Liam rolled his head around his neck, his veins and bones jutting from his skin. “The Shellbearers estimate that the sudden appearance of Tears may slow the war effort. A few months until it starts back up.”
“And the Shellbearers, are they the turtle people?”
“Yes,” he seethed.
Leland looked at Glenny who mouthed “Floe comes first.”
And it wasn’t just that. They had been given a quest. And the Palemarrow Kingdom came first, not just Floe and Gelo. They were to investigate and deal with a few Tears until reinforcements could arrive and properly set up. There just wasn’t enough time to head into the Gru Triumvirate as well… as much as it might be the right thing to do.
Eventually Leland sighed. “Look. I have promises to keep and a job to do. I’d like to help, even if the people around me tell me not to. Your citizens don’t deserve to be displaced by a war, trust me, I know what that’s like first hand.”
The Ambassador looked as though he wanted to interrupt, but he remained silent.
“I don’t fully understand why the Lexicon Lord suggested me—” well, he did, but that would reveal things about himself he didn’t want the general population to know, “—but I also can’t ignore such a desperate plea for help… Speaking of which, what is it that you actually want me to do?”
“Speak with the Shellbearers for one. Then the leaders of the warring races. End the war before it starts, or at the very least, keep it from coming into our world.”
“Tall order,” Leland said, as he looked at Glenny who gave a subtle nod of the head. He continued, “How powerful is your Legacy of Space?”
“She can teleport you anywhere on the continent,” the Ambassador replied.
“Here’s what I can do. I have a responsibility to my friends and nation, but after I complete my job, I will help.”
The last word came out tentative at best. He groaned and tried again. “I will help. Okay? I will.”
A spring of surprise popped across the man’s face. “And how long will your job take?”
“Two months. Maybe less.”
“That’s cutting it close, Mr Silver…”
“Take it or leave it. It’s the best I can do.”
“Fine… if you answer a question of mine?”
Leland almost rebutted that that’s not how questions work in scenarios such as this, but simply chose to nod along to get it over with.
The Gru Ambassador spoke clearly with a hint of genuine curiosity, “Why you? Why did the Lord of the Lexicon recommend you?”
“Because I have connections with powerful people.”