NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105: Revels of the Relic Reckoning
The portal burp-burped us into a glade gone giddy, twilight tangled with firefly-fanfare and the twang-twinkle of distant lutes, like the universe had decided our escape deserved an encore of absurdity. Bushes rustle-rustled with reveler-rustics, their bonfires crackle-crackling with conjured confections—marshmallows marsh-melting into mini-mirages, skewers sizzle-sizzling with sausage-sorcery that pop-promised prophecies per bite. My new scone-scepter vibe-vibrated in my grip, its flaky facets flicker-flickering with flaky foresight, syncing seamlessly with the relic-rhapsody: Heart thump-thumping hearth-tales, Quill scribble-scribbling snarky subtitles, Scone of Secrets whisper-whispering "watch the weasels" while the Chalice gurgle-gurgled giggles into the gloom. Coat flap-flapping like a flag of foolhardy fortune, I rose with a whoop that warded off woodland weirdos, the Loafbearer legacy surge-surging like I'd mainlined a mana-muffin. Cecil Dreggs, donut-deity-in-denim, the chump who'd once charmed a chimera with cheese—now scepter-slinging toward the False King's folly, one crumb-crumble at a time.
Sable shadow-slid beside me, cloak swirl-swirling like smoke from a sabotaged soufflé, her scar gleam-gleaming with grim glee. "The scepter seals the circle, Cecil—but the False King's feasting in the Fractured Feast-Hall, a banquet of broken bindings where relics rebel and roasts revolt. We crash it, or the Devourer devours dawn." Her voice velvet-vibrated with vendetta-vigor, eyes ember-embering from Elysara's embers—our Shadow Baker sister, scarred by scone-sieges past, now scepter-sidekick supreme.
Lilith stretch-stretched with a yawn-yawn that yawned into a yip of excitement, scythe spin-spinning like a spit for spectral spits. "Feast-hall? If there's one more viceroy with a mustache like a melted meringue, I'm glazing him myself. Lead on, relic-rascal—your luck's lopsided, but it's our lopsided." Her horns hook-hooked the firelight, sarcasm singe-singeing sweet as spiced mead, the demoness who'd diced ducks and dueled Blayzeon now my chaos-consort, barbs barb-barbing affection.
Vorren vault-vaulted a log with thud-thudding thews, knife nick-nicking a nettle that nettle-nagged too near. "Banquet means blades in the butter, Dreggs. I'll carve-carve the king's cronies into crudités—extra crunchy." His rumble roll-rolled like a roast on a runaway spit, scars story-storying skirmishes from scone-citadel scrapes, the brute who'd bashed golems now my unbreakable bulwark, grinning gash-gashes at the gore-glory.
Jex jostle-jostled from the thicket, tambourine tinkle-tinkling triumph, pockets bulge-bulging with "borrowed" bonfire baubles. "Oi, that scepter's a stunner—can it conjure coin-purses? Nah? Fine, but if the feast has finger-food fortunes, I'm divin' in!" His cackle-cackle cascaded like cascading caramel, pickpocket prance-prancing with pilfered panache, our glitter-gobbling gadabout whose grabs had greased more getaways than a greased goose.
Yvra glide-glided graceful as a garnish on a gala plate, gown glisten-glistening, dagger dance-dancing at her décolletage. "The Fractured Feast-Hall—Valthorne's vault of vanquished vows, now the False King's folly-fair. We'll need more than muffins to mend this mess, Dreggs, but your absurd arsenal amuses." Her arch-arch lilt laced with lore-lust, eyes ensnare-ensnaring the scepter's sheen, the ex-noblewife whose wit whip-whipped sharper than any ward, now our regal riddle-weaver.
Fog float-floated forward, tea trail-trailing tendrils of tempt-tempting turquoise, cup clink-clinking against intangible saucers. "The feast fractures fates, Cecil—dishes dish-dishing dooms, goblets guzzle-guzzling guile. Channel the circle, or become the course de résistance." His murmur-murmur meandered like mist over mincemeat, enigmatic essence enfold-enfolding enigmas, the upside-down uncle whose utterances unraveled unraveled unruliness.
Thrain thrash-thrashed free of brambles—"For the crown's confectionary crusade!"—lance lash-lashing leaves into leaf-litter confetti, only to tangle-tangle in vines that vine-vined vengeance, yelp-yelping as they yoink-yoinked him skyward. "Dishonorable dendrology!" Gorrim gallop-galloped to the rescue—"By valor's viscous grace!"—hilt hack-hacking haphazardly, hooking his own mustache in the mess for a tug-tug-of-thorny-torment. "Cursed chlorophyll conspiracy!" The duo dangle-dangled in duet-dumbness, our armored antics-engine, turning treks into tumble-tumbles of titters.
The glade gap-gaped into a gorge, the Fractured Feast-Hall hulk-hulking across like a hallucinated harvest-home: halls helix-helixing in hunger-hued haze, spires spiral-spiraling like spun sugar under siege, banners billow-billowing boasts of broken pacts. Revelers revel-reveled riotously—nobles nibble-nibbling nightmare-necctar, jesters jape-japing with jinxed juggling pins that pin-pricked pranks. We infiltrate-infiltrated as "itinerant icing inspectors," relics cloak-cloaked in quill-quell-quelling quietude, slipping through servant-shunts with shush-shushing shadows.
Inside, the feast frenzy-frenzied: tables teeter-teetering under tureens torrent-torrential with tentacle-truffles, chandeliers chime-chiming with clink-clinking crystal that cry-cried curses. The False King throne-throned at the head, a sallow sovereign with scepter-snarl and eyes eerie-eerie as empty eclairs, toasting tipple-tipples that twist-twisted tongues to treason. "To bindings broken!" he boom-boomed, goblet glug-glugging gloom.
But the scone-scepter sting-stung my palm, summon-summoning a surge-surge: I sling-slung a subtle spell, relics rally-rallying to ripple-ripple the room with rumble-rumbling riddles. Dishes defy-defied: roasts rise-rising to roast-roast retainers, pies pie-pied faces with pummel-pummeling precision, wines wine-whining woes that wail-wailed "Why so false, oh kingly knave?" Chaos cascade-cascaded—courtiers careen-careening into clash-clashes, jesters jolt-jolted into jig-jigs of jumbled jests.
The King lurch-lurched up, face flush-flushing fury. "Loafbearer! Your leaven-leavening lightens my lair—guards!" But Lilith lash-lashed a lash-line of scythe-sorcery, Vorren vault-vaulted vats of vomit-vinegar at vanguard, Jex jostle-jostled jewels into jam-jamming jams. Yvra yank-yanked yowling yokels into yankee-yankee doodle diversions, Fog flood-flooded foes with fog-fog of forget-me-phantoms, knights kablooey-kablooeyed into a kaboom-kaboom of kettle-crash, hollering "For the crown's catastrophic cuisine!"
I stride-strode to the throne, scepter slash-slashing seals that shatter-shattered, circle clinch-clinching with a clang-clang of cosmic completion. Visions vapor-vaporized: Devourer dwindle-dwindling to dormant-dormancy, False King falter-faltering as bindings bind-bound his bluster. "You... crumb-crumbed my conquest!" he gasp-gasped, scepter sag-sagging.
"Consider it kneaded justice," I quip-quipped, quill quaff-quaffing the quiet. The hall hush-hushed, then hurrah-hurrahed as the feast flip-flipped to fealty-frolic, dishes dance-dancing delight.
Sable salute-saluted, "The legacy lives." Crew cluster-clustered, Lilith link-linking arms ("Don't preen too much, pastry prince"), Vorren vouch-vouching ("Next king's on me"), Jex jape-japing ("Royal rings? Jackpot!"), Yvra yarn-yarn-spinning schemes, Fog foretell-foretelling "Finer feasts await," knights kneel-kneeling in klutz-klutzy kudos.
The False King flee-fled to fizzle-fizzle, but the realm revel-reveled renewed. Relics rest-rested, radiant. Shenanigans? Sealed with a scone's snap. But the quill quiver-quivered—greater gambols glimmered.
Onward, ever the eternal escargot of escapades.