NOVEL NEXT Book 5, Chapter 15
Getting the Wood Elves- rather, Clan Darenthus- onto the Fire Breath was tricky, and involved Wizardry of the sort that would earn me a doctorate and a harem of busty half-elves.
That wasn't an exaggeration. Allow me to explain.
Anzerath Wyrmwood's network of teleportation gates had been an unsolved problem for two thousand years, and the Order of the Silver Maiden had posted a bounty on a solution to the problem, promising ten million dollars in cash as well as the hands of seven of their number in marriage for whichever up-and-coming archmage managed to finally find and publish a solution.
And here I was, building a pair of linked portals in my living room, using a slightly innovative application of my mother's theoretical model for pocket dimensions. By creating a constant and stable link through space between these two portals, making it such that stepping into one is separated from stepping out of the other one by only an inch of subjective distance, I was able to create a stable and permanent means of near-instantaneous travel from one place to another, without any of the obscene magicka costs that would make a network of actual automated teleporters too impractical to build.
"We will, of course, be keeping this a secret," I said firmly; Elder Clover hadn't yet stepped through the portal to join the rest of his clan yet, and clearly wanted to stay out here through the whole journey to keep talking to me, so he could more firmly establish himself as a trusted vizier to the High King. "I've invented a lot of world-changing techniques and magics, and in every case so far, I've kept those techniques under my hat; I like being the only one with these options, because it means I get to decide the ways in which they inevitably change the world... as long as I decide fast enough, anyhow; eventually, someone else will figure all these out, and I'll lose my first mover advantage."
"What, you don't want to give our mortal enemies a tremendous logistical advantage in exchange for a pile of money and some contractually-obligated elven blowjobs?" Elder Clover asked. "Trust me, we know it's important to keep this secret. We won't tell anyone, I promise. I understand that High Elves don't usually think of us as reliable, but when it comes to managing information and keeping secrets? We're better at it than you are."
"Well, fair enough," I said, mildly. "Still, I do have work that needs doing, and which does not benefit from an audience. Go, Elder. Be with your people, and help them settle in. We'll be there tomorrow."
"I will."
"And please keep them from breaking anything, that ship was incredibly expensive, and it's already gonna need a fuckload of repairs as it stands."
Clover chuckled, nodding wordlessly to me as he finally stepped through the doorway, which I locked behind him and put away, before heading upstairs to my room. I wanted a nap, because the mild euphoria and energy had worn off like Frederick predicted, but alas, Volex was gonna keep me up a little bit longer, once we had some privacy. I might not be in the mood for it myself, but hey, I'm nothing if I'm unwilling to indulge a lady.
---
I walked into my room to find my bed stowed, looking like a plain, built-in cabinet, and Volex drawing a complex circle of sigils in the center of my bedroom floor with plain white chalk.
"We're really doin' it, huh?" I asked, once again glad I'd opted for lacquered hardwood flooring over carpet- sure, a carpeted bedroom was easier on the feet, but that's what house slippers are for, and hardwood was way easier to clean than carpet.
'We have to," Volex said, finally finishing the circle. Looking at it, I fully believed it had taken her a whole hour to plan out and draw this whole thing; even intuitively knowing what each individual piece wasn't enough to keep it from being a confusing jumble to me. "I know you don't care too much about trying to un-brainwash Karthrynax, on account she's a deeply unpleasant person who hates you and wants you dead, but I feel like I owe it to her to at least try housebreaking her. She's... We were friends, back in the day. We took comfort in each other, when everything else was grinding us down. I feel... I feel bad for her. Like I really did betray her, by not trying to free her after I joined Terpsichore and Artorias."
I sighed, closing my eyes. "Yeah, I... I get it. I'm not enthusiastic, but... It's important to you, and that's enough for me. Hardly fair if I get to drag you on my flights of fancy if you can't return the favor. What do you need me to do?"
"Well, remember what Frederick told you earlier about putting on the mantle?" Volex asked. "I need you to put on a different mantle, here- the Mantle of Usurpation, that you could've taken from Paimon. It's core to her identity that she's the loyal servant of Paimon, and if we can enforce upon her the idea that you are Paimon, or at least, close enough for government work, then we can use her identity to compel her obedience, and get some valuable information out of her."
"Wait, we're interrogating her?" I asked, blinking.
"She mentioned she was in league with Tenpenny," Volex said. "Who, incidentally, is a high-ranking Thieves' Guild operator who also wants you dead. Anything Karthrynax can tell us about Tenpenny's plans is going to be better than nothing, because right now, 'nothing' is about all we know about Tenpenny's plans."
"Got it," I said. "I am... The Usurper... Anything that isn't mine... has yet to be convinced."
I felt a deep red glow flare up around me, as the Mantle settled upon my shoulders. 'Plausible' was the watchword for Occultists- for a Wizard, "almost" only counts with darts and dynamite, but Occult magic was the magic of arguing with reality, and as it so happened, it was plausible that I could inherit the Mantle of Usurpation. That's not what really happened, what really happened was that I used The Father's Aspect of Death against Paimon and destroyed his Mantle utterly...
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...but, well. Karthrynax didn't know that, and that was enough of a foothold for my magic, my will, to grab onto the idea of the Mantle, and draw it about my shoulders.
It was important that it be a mantle, not a mask. A mask was a replacement for your own identity; a man who wears a mask is a man who hides his true face, but a mantle goes on your shoulders, and simply communicates who you really are. The Mantle of Usurpation was augmenting my identity, not replacing it, not even temporarily.
Volex nodded, and tapped a corner of the reliquary to the perimeter of the circle, setting it to glowing with sickly purple light, smoke rising off the lines and slowly drifting towards the center of the circle as it rose. The smoke coalesced slowly; if Volex's transition from smoke to Succubus was like water filling a glass, then Karthrynax's manifestation was like trying to fill said glass with honey.
The slowness was important, though. Karthrynax was a Hellknight, and allowing her to control her manifestation, while speeding the process along, would also let her manifest with armor and a sword, ready for Round 2. The bindings on that reliquary might be good, but nothing was foolproof, and it never paid to be sloppy with diabolism.
"...Oh. It's you," Karthrynax said, once her new body had fully manifested, and her eyes snapped open. Rather than her armor, she was dressed in an unremarkable set of padded arming clothes in blue, with little cords and laces hanging free from key points to anchor armor. "What do you want? What, one treacherous Succubus to suck your dick isn't enough for you?"
"Be silent," I commanded, wielding the stolen authority of her dead master. "I am quite disappointed in you, Karthrynax. Such devastation and desecration, wielded inexpertly, in a childish temper tantrum." She cringed inwardly on herself, shrinking down to seem pitiful, and unworthy of the effort of punishing. "You will answer to me, now. I have questions, and when I ask one of you, you are expected to speak the full, unvarnished truth, withholding nothing, regardless of how poorly it reflects upon you. I assure you, your esteem in my eyes has not fallen as low as it possibly can. Do I make myself clear?"
Karthrynax nodded, wordlessly.
"How did you get onto the mortal plane?" I asked.
"I was summoned, by Antoinette Tenpenny, the new Queen of Thieves, just two months ago," Karthrynax said, trembling. "She told me very little, save that she sought revenge on... on Catherine Ironheart. On you, my liege."
I nodded. "This, I already knew, but it is important to be thorough. What can you tell me about Tenpenny's plan?"
"She intended for me to be a distraction," Karthrynax said. "To summon up what little remained of your retainers in Hell, and use them to conquer and capture a hidden grove of Wood Elves, and bait you into a trap with them. While you engaged with me, she would come in, and... and stab you in the back, my liege. Please, my liege, I didn't understand, I didn't know, I'm so sorry, I-"
"Shhhh, shhh," I hissed. "Calm yourself, Karthrynax. I have had a... change in perspective, recently. It profits me little to be so heartlessly cruel to those who would loyally serve me. I may be upset with you, but that is my problem, not yours. When we are done here, the full extent of your punishment shall be remanding you to the custody of our darling Volex, who will... acquaint you, with the behaviors I now expect from you. And she will not be heartlessly cruel to you either," I added, turning to address Volex.
"...Well, if you insist," Volex said.
"I do," I said firmly. "Now. Karthrynax. I encountered Tenpenny this morning, and spoiled a plan of hers, spooking her and flushing her out onto the run. What do you think she would be doing right this moment?"
"I... Honestly, I do not know, my liege," Karthrynax said. "She seemed fond of capturing things you care about, and baiting traps with them. Perhaps she is finding another source of bait at the moment?"
I grimaced, looking away. "That would be... deeply inconvenient if she was. Very well. You've done me a great service by answering these questions, Karthrynax. I thank you for your loyalty; you will need to return to your reliquary, for the time being, but I will call on you again before long. Sleep well."
Volex lifted the reliquary from the circle, and Karthrynax disappeared instantly into a cloud of purple smoke, which all flowed back into the reliquary in a second-long whirlwind. It was now just me and Volex in the room, and both of us knew that this Mantle of Usurpation...
...was a bold-faced lie.
I shed the mantle of Paimon the Usurper, shuddering in disgust at the way Karthrynax had been trained to bow and scrape obsequiously before me, always craving my approval and fearing my wrath.
"Paimon was an awful piece of shit," Volex said, noticing the look on my face, and wrapping me in a hug with both arms. "I can't thank you enough for putting him out of our misery."
"I don't like feeling merciful in comparison to that," I muttered. "I can't..."
"Honey, please, you are nothing like him," Volex assured me. "It's been five centuries since I got out from under his thumb; I have had plenty of time with Artorias, Elana, and Terpsichore to learn what it's like to live with nice people who don't express their displeasure through domestic violence, and adjust my expectations accordingly. And I still think you treat me like a princess and love you dearly for it."
I sighed, closing my eyes. "...Alright," I said, quietly. "Let's just... I need some sleep, okay? Wake me if something big happens, please."
"Of course. Sleep well, Catherine. I love you."
"...I love you too."