DISCLAIMERS AND SUCH….
"Dungeons & Dragons" and "Zero no Tsukaima" in all their forms are the intellectual property of their creators/owners with whom I have no affiliation.
Though I am confident in my use of it, my mother tongue is not English, so any corrections to mistakes that make it past me are welcome, I wish for my writing to be as enjoyable as possible and I know how distracting spelling errors in particular can be.
This is a fanfiction crossover of "Zero no Tsukaima" and "Dungeons & Dragons" (Ruleset 3.5 Ed).
Chapter 11: COMPLICATIONS
Darkness. All was an infinite sea of black emptiness… then a small point of white, like a flickering newborn star appeared. It elongated in a horizontal line, then grew wider, a rip in this great nothing through which light rushed in, washing everything in brilliant, blinding white. It took a few minutes for shapes to emerge and then some more for them to be covered in dim colors.
"What is this? Where am I?" A familiar, youthful voice sounded. "Wait! I'm... naked?!" she realized in distress that her twin rapiers, her armor, her provisions, even her undergarments, everything she was carrying on herself, were taken. Silently vowing revenge on anyone who so thoroughly fleeced her, she rose to her feet only to feel her head hit something hard. Long metal bars surrounded her, folded into a cage around her, a large piece of dark brown cloth overhead covering it almost entirely. With deft hands she tore two long strips fashioning them into an impromptu two-piece dress to regain a measure of modesty. Having dealt with one crisis, she now turned her attention to her surroundings, namely the metallic cage around her and specifically the lock on the door keeping her secured in her prison. She found it to be a fairly simple mechanism, unfit to keep contained any creature with more than very basic intelligence, although without her tools she couldn't pick the tiny lock. Testing the door with a push, the metal hinges groaned under the strain of the force, but held for the time being.
There was the sound of distant rumbling, like the crushing of waves on a far away cliff since the moment of her awakening, but suddenly, as she eased the stress on the cage's door, everything became deadly silent… then a voice full of pride boomed from every direction declaring:
"I am GANESHA!"
"Morradin's beard! What am I going to do with this girl?!" Furin cursed as Aeldroth's mystical tune grew silent, and with it, the vision his otherworldly music evoked dissipated in motes of light that slowly faded away. "Midas' ll 'ave to make do without any 'elp fer a while longer than we planned, we 'ave to save the foolish girl before she gets 'erself into more trouble". Aeldroth tapped a stack of parchments with arcane diagrams as he looked at the elderly dwarf.
"I'm goin' to ask Hurin to 'elp ye with the astral flow mapping." Obviously the prospect of including Furin's twin brother into their project was not a very appealing idea for either of them as they exchanged a meaningful look. "He'll surely jump at the opportunity to brag, but there be none better suited fer the task" he admitted in resignation.
Midas read the document he got from his inverted pendulum communication device:
"Dear nephew, I'm writing you to inform you of some not so brilliant developments. It seems my brother was at the cusp of sending you support yesterday evening, whether that would be material only or even a person, I was not told. Your love-stricken cow however rushed into the portal not wanting to let them choose another for the trip over, unfortunately before master Aeldroth had fully calibrated the portal array. It seems some god, for a reason I cannot fathom, was watching over that bovine catastrophe and she survived the transition and, once your father learned of that, he obviously abandoned his duty to the Clan and you, enacting a daring plan to save the girl. In his absence I was called to replace him and I assure you this project will no longer be lead astray by ineptitude. Of course, with my dear brother going gallivanting away, there will be delays on our schedule, but I will do my best to minimize them. Your Uncle Hurin, Wrath of Mithrillheart and Second at the Elder Council."
"Exactly at the communicator's 1.000 characters limit. If nothing else, his precision is unmatched among the living." he thought as he locked the letter away in a hidden compartment on the back wall of his study. He then turned around, looking appraisingly at his new prototype undecided of whether he should equip it not. The device was a golden trapezoid with rounded edges and a large oval opening on its wide topside and several small round openings on the narrow underside. Four golden metal yet flexible straps were attached on the trapezoid, with each of their edges ending in one quarter of what would make a circular lock.
"Lord Midas, the nobles have started gathering." With a soft knock on the door Siesta interrupted Midas' musings and he swung the contraption over his back securing the metallic straps on his chest with the clasp. "It should be easily concealed under my cloak and the added weight won't impede my movement in any meaningful way. I'd rather had carried out a few more tests, but it can still be utilized as a last resort." he reasoned, then he opened the door and left his laboratory.
Midas was lead to the courtyard where a large scarlet, open tent emblazoned with the royal crest in golden threat was erected, providing shade to a series of luxurious seats for the V.I.P.s, most of whom were already waiting at their appointed positions. On either side of the tent there were chairs placed in rows to accommodate the rest of the nobles and other distinguished guests while a length of thick rope hung loosely behind them, suspended on evenly placed, short poles, delimiting the area set aside for the rest of the audience. Midas was offered one of the two most lavish chairs, veritable thrones made of ivory lined with gold and silver designs, the headmaster sitting in his slightly more moderate seat between the automaton and the princess' chair. Princess Henrietta made her appearance shortly after, followed by Wardes, Agnes and a few other members of her security detail. She walked elegantly in her white ball gown approaching Midas and stood in front of him as for a brief moment they locked eyes, Wardes behind the princess staring at the automaton like a hawk for even the slightest move. While the princess was informed about the automaton's unusual appearance, she was still surprised seeing him for the first time, wondering how he might look under the golden helmet.
"Your highness, Princess Henrietta, it is an honor to finally make your acquaintance" Midas uttered before the moment became any more awkward and offered a shallow, polite bow.
"The honor is mine, your highness, prince Midas" Henrietta responded in kind and curtsied. "Please accept my sincerest apologies for the manner our... invitation to Tristain was carried out" she added.
"Trying to change the past is a fool's errant. Instead of wallowing on mistakes, let us work together for a better future". Midas' unique nature made him the ideal candidate to make first contact with other cultures and his people recognized that trait, often entrusting him with that responsibility.
"It would bring me great pleasure if, after the student's demonstration, we could have a more private meeting Lord Midas" Princess Henrietta asked as she took her place on the other side of the headmaster and sat on her throne.
"Of course Your Highness, I expect we have a lot to discuss" With this Midas took his own seat and everybody's attention was directed to the center stage.
One after another, the students went on stage presenting their familiars with a short demonstration of their abilities and, while there were many impressive creatures, none came even close to the show Tabitha and her blue dragon provided, leaving even the famed griffon riders with their mouths agape. Soon all the students, with the exception of Louise, had finished showing off their familiars and Midas, shadowed by his young apprentice, moved to the podium at the center of the stage where he stood there for a few moments as he received a warning from his passive scan sensors:
system: !DetectionWarning!
Spot check successful
Concealed entity spotted
Identity: Illithid, no further data available
Concealment method: Invisibility
Status: in-flight, inactive
system: !Detection Warning!
"Your highness princess Henrietta, esteemed guests, honorable headmaster, employees and students of the Academy..." The automaton started his planned speech so as to not raise any suspicion from the abberation. "I am Midas, son of Furin of the Mithrillheart clan and I stand here before you thanks to one of the brightest students of the Academy, lady Louise le Blanc, the youngest daughter of the Valliere family. When she sought a familiar of her own, she managed to reach further than any of her peers and bridged your world with mine, Toril, if but for a moment, a feat of immense magic potency, even though there are a few things to be said about her control over the spell." All eyes were directed to the pinkette who stood by Midas' side and although a few chuckles could be heard most people seemed shocked by what they heard. Before any of the nobles present would ask the obvious question, Midas raised a hand and continued:
"Within the Mithrillheart Clan, I hold a commission equivalent to the crown prince and I have decided to exercise my authority such as it is, to establish a diplomatic presence for my people on Halkeginia. Many of you may also know that I have accepted the position of provisional instructor in this prestigious Academy. And, before you ask it, my position and responsibilities forbid me from serving as lady Valliere's familiar" A round of chuckles followed Midas' statement. "I understand the importance familiars have for mages in your culture however and I have promised lady Valliere my aid in acquiring a familiar worthy of her" the professor looked straight at Karin as he announced this last part.
"I hold no ill feelings for my abrupt transition to Tristain, on the contrary, I am deeply grateful to Lady Valliere for what some of you may call meddling, unintented as it was… or perhaps because it was so." Midas paused a bit to allow another slight bout of laughter from his audience. "I feel blessed to have made your acquaintance and hope we can work together for the benefit of both our people."
"He's quite the orator" Henrietta spoke to Old Osman as people all around them stood up clapping their hands vigorously at Midas' introduction.
Just as Midas was leaving the podium, a shadow passed through the crowd, drawing their attention to the skies. Amidst a cacophony of screams, several arms pointed at the same place high up as a huge piece of rock was fast approaching the gathering guided by inertia and gravity. Wardes was the first to take action, positioning himself in front of the princess and casting his most powerful wind spell at the falling boulder; Old Osman and Karin followed suit but to little effect.
Midas jumped directly on the air blast the combined spells of the three mages created and extended his golden cloak like some combination of glider and parachute to ride the airflow, the subsequent sonic boom attesting to his near-instant acceleration past the sound barrier. Just before he made contact with the boulder, he turned his body and loosed a double kick right at the center of his target, decorating it with a spiderweb of cracks from the point of impact and, for a moment, both the automaton and the flying rock seemed to remain suspended in the air. A ring of dust expanded to all directions as the shockwave collided with the ground forcing the people below to avert their eyes, shielding themselves with their arms and the next instance they saw the boulder fall on the courtyard at a safe distance from what seemed to be its intended target with Midas landing softly on it shortly after.
"Lord Midas, are you alright?!" A distressed Louise rushed to her teacher.
"Stand where you are miss Valiere!" Midas stopped her in her tracks. "The danger has not yet passed"
"A trebuchet?" Wardes asked looking at the automaton.
"I don't think so. Could a siege engine of such size be covertly set under your griffon riders' notice?" Midas' gaze was fixed at the side tower behind which the rock seemed to have started its airborne trip.
"There seems to be some truth to the rumors about you after all" two voices echoed together, one being clearly female though heavily distorted by the other, which sounded weird… alien.
A feminine figure showed herself standing on the shoulder of an earth golem, wrapped in her dark green, hooded overcoat, but this time, the golem coming from behind the tower, standing at 20 meters high, was made entirely of stone and far better defined than the vaguely humanoid mud golems Fouguet used to make. Glowing runes adorned the giant magic construct's body, their meaning unknown to all except Midas.
"I thought you were nothing more than a petty thief Fouguet! I'll add attempted regicide and high treason to your crimes!" Agnes jumped forth, her musket trained on the cloaked woman's head.
"You think too much of your princess. Her death would make for a welcome gift to Master, but her time is running out either way." She responded with both voices. "My quarry today is the guest of honor and I'm not leaving without his head" A chill ran down Agnes and Henrietta's spines as Fouguet lingered in her last word with unhidden desire and licked her lips. On the other hand, Midas was scanning the skies from atop the slab of rock, disregarding Fouguet, as if her threats didn't concern him.
"I feel inclined to meet this master you speak of, but I am also quite attached to my head" The automaton said looking at empty space above Fouguet as he stepped down from his perch and placed his hand on Agnes' weapon, lowering its barrel. "I don't suppose I could convince you to bring me in my entirety before your master, could I?"
"You have no idea the forces you are dealing with dwarf! Do not take me for one of those oh so gullible sheep down below. I-"
"Gloat all you want mind-flayer, but you cannot deny you are nothing but a thrall to this master of yours." Midas cut short Fouguet's "evil-guy monologue".
"HOW DARE YOU!" The voices wailed as Fouguet was flailing her arms in blind rage. "I will subject you to such suffering no living being has any right to-" Midas exploited the opening to procure his phoenix halberd and summarily threw it, piercing the stone giant's chest. The impact staggered the golem, causing Fouguet to nearly loose her footing as the entire bladed part of the polearm disappeared inside its target, leaving only the handle protruding from the golem's torso. Midas charged against the larger construct, skillfully avoiding its attempts to strike at him and once he got close enough, he jumped to grab the long handle of his weapon. With the halberd still firmly lodged inside the stone, the golden automaton performed two rotations like a gymnast, while at the same time activating the blue flames on his gauntlets that quickly spread over the length of the shaft. Just as the golem's huge hand was clasping around him like a trap, Midas released his hold launching himself into a bodyslam against the caped thief, taking Fouguet's breath off and carrying her away. While Midas landed a few meters further away with his quarry unconscious and secured on his shoulder, the flames on his halberd seemed to rekindle, covering the entire stone giant like a swarm of ravenous insects.
"The fool!" Wardes quipped. "Doesn't he know fire can't burn through stone?"
"That can't be right" Colbert followed. "Just the other day he was giving a lecture about the conditions required to have fire!"
"Perhaps then he does not mean to burn the golem" Old Osmand ran his hand the length of his white beard. "Is this a diversion… or something more?".
The golem didn't let them wonder for long as, in spite its immense weight, it jumped into the air intent on crushing both Midas and its mistress beneath its feet.
"Phoenix Charging, AWAKEN!" The automaton demanded without even turning around to face the great mass of rock falling towards him.
While most of the flames had been extinguished from the golem, they still kept dancing along the handle of the automaton's weapon and, the moment Midas uttered his command, they raged leading to a deafening explosion that obscured everything around the golem with a giant cloud of dark-red cinders. As the cinders died out into fine ash that was blown by the breeze, all that remained was the proud form of a phoenix bird with its flaming, fan-shaped tail absorbing the last remaining embers.
"Do you think you won? This changes nothing, I will simply select another thrall to do my bidding, one more capable this time" The alien voice now continued alone. "You simply prolong the inevitable, surrender to me now and I promise you a swift, painless death, refuse and you will come to regret your decision countless times before your eventual demise!"
"You have so misread the situation, then again it is not my duty to educate you of your folly." Midas said as he carefully laid the sleeping thief on the soft grass while keeping his stare at the same empty point in the sky. Then with a swift move he flung a small, yellow glass orb in the air and, to everybody's surprise, the glass shattered where there was nothing to collide with.
"Now Miss Valiere!" The automaton bellowed as the yellow liquid spread free from the smashed container and stuck on something vaguely resembling an impossibly emaciated humanoid figure.
"What is this… My invisibility..." The floating figure began protesting-
"EXPLOSION!" Louise didn't lose any time as she cast her own spell on her, now partially visible, target causing many of the audience to ghasp in surprise by the destruction unleashed. The intense flash of light was followed by a rapidly expanding dark cloud of smoke that reached all the way down to the ground. The smog was promptly swept away by the lingering aftereffects of the triple wind magic cast earlier, revealing an extremely thin, gray skinned creature with long arms and tendrils slithering from the lower portion of its bald head. It was clutching one of its shoulders with its other arm where its intricate robe, similarly colored in gray undertones, was blotched by a dark stain of deep green-blue while a larger patch of bright yellow at its chest was running down all the way to its knees.
"Melf's Acid Arrow!" the creature extended its good arm, performing some unfamiliar gestures to invoke the acid projectile into existence... but nothing happened. "What is this… spell failure!?" it recoiled in disbelief.
"Took you some time to notice" the automaton responded, having closed the distance, his metal-reinforced fists ready to become intimately acquainted with his opponent's physiology.
"Do you think I need magic to defeat you? I will FEAST on your brain!" the creature screamed and stormed Midas with its head-tendrils. The automaton pounded the creature in the gut at the same time that Midas' head was engulfed in the slimy, quivering flesh of its tentacles and both combatants stood still.
"Impossible! There is no mind… there is… void…" With these last words, the creature collapsed on the ground.
Henrietta's guards sprang into action and surrounded Midas and his downed opponent forming a nigh-impenetrable wall, while at the same time dispersing civilians coming too close to the area.
"What is that thing?" Colbert was poking the creature from as much distance as the length of his staff allowed.
"This is an Illithid, a being from my homeworld, twisted both physically and mentally, reviled by all the peoples of Toril." Midas said while tying its arms behind its back, he then took two pieces of fabric to muffle its mouth and cover its eyes. "Lock it away in the deepest cell there is, but don't place any guards at or near the door, Illithids posses a set of mind-affecting abilities, psionics, and at worst case, it could dominate the will of a person nearby to set itself free. Under no circumstances should its bonds be undone, not even in its cell." Two of Henriettas' honor guard looked at Wardes, who in turn nodded affirmatively, before they grabbed the still unconscious Illithid and disappeared inside the main tower dragging the creature by its armpits.
"This thing… this Illithid, it can dominate another's own mind? Is this what happened to Fouguet?" Colbert was kneeling besides the unmoving, cloaked figure, prying the hood away.
"I doubt the Illithid chose Fouguet- Miss Longueville for this task by mere chance, I would like an opportunity to question her once she recovers" The automaton requested just as Fouguet's real identity was revealed shocking every human that knew the young secretary.
A short time later, inside a conference room, a gathering of people were sitting around a long table. At one end there was princess Henrietta with her confidants and guard around her and at the other end Midas with Louise by his side.
"Lord Midas" Agnes started. "You seem to be familiar with this… thing that attacked us. Can you tell us more about what we are facing? How to ensure the princess' safety?"
"As I said earlier, it is an Illithid, a vile being native to Toril..."
"Then why is such a creature here? And why did it target you?" Wardes aggressively questioned.
"The creature's presence here may imply that our worlds are not as isolated as we may think, an implication I intend to pursue further" Colbert said.
"I can only assume this Master feels threatened by my presence, perhaps viewing me as an unaccounted variable in whatever plans it has. And let me remind you that the Illithid issued an indirect but quite clear threat to the princess and by extension Tristain." Midas responded. "As you can imagine, I too am keen on discovering the process that allowed the Illithid to enter your world as it would expedite my endeavor to physically connect our two worlds".
"Is there anything else we should be aware about these Illithids?" Agnes insisted turning to Midas.
"They are also known as mind-flayers for their habit of eating the brain while their victim is still alive..." the automaton paused appraising his audience's reaction "...including those of sentient beings. They believe that such practice increases their own intellect relative to the intelligence of the brain consumed". Everybody was stricken with a feeling of disgust and some even felt nauseated at the revelation. "While physically fragile, they can make use of psionics, mind-affecting abilities with which they can project sounds and images, create elaborate hallucinations, access another's memories or even take control of a person. They are also adept at casting conventional magic spells. They are bred with a superiority complex, viewing other life forms, sentient or not, only as cattle, fit only to be used for labor or food."
"And you exposed Louise to such danger after your promise to keep her safe?!" The silence was broken by Karin's outburst.
"Miss Valliere's safety was never compromised, I assure you" Midas replied and nodded to Louise who stood up and raised her hand. An engraved silver ring encircled her pointer finger, unassuming except for the slight glow that surrounded it.
"A magic ring?!" The headmaster immediately realized the ring possessed great power begetting a gasp of wonder from professor Colbert.
"Indeed" Midas confirmed. "It was a precaution my squad took before departing for our most recent adventure on Toril, just in case we faced one of those things. It is a Ring of Psionic Immunity, an extremely rare artifact capable of warding one's mind against the Illithids' influence. Before the students' demonstration began, I had valid suspicions about the presence of a psionic-user, so, as a part of a contingency plan, I allowed miss Valliere to use the ring."
"I would appreciate more information next time professor. 'Be ready to cast another golem-crumbling explosion on my mark' is not what I'd call a contingency plan. I almost did so when I first glimpsed Fouguet's giant golem" Louise complained to her instructor.
"Would you be willing to sell some of those rings lord Midas? These psionic abilities could pose a threat, especially for high-ranking state officials" Henrietta proposed.
"As I said, this is an exceedingly rare artifact, so much in fact that among the four members of my squad, we possessed only one of them, so it's not up for sale. While my companions all had their ways of resisting the mind-flayers influence, I was charged with carrying the ring because I was the only one truly immune to psionics, without making use of the ring that is. The plan was that, should any of my companions fell under the Illithids' sway, I would force the ring on them."
"You do understand ownership of that ring could be considered a matter of national security-" Wardes began to concoct his plan.
"That's enough! In Tristain we do NOT rob our guests!" the princess didn't let the young captain finish. Though many wished to support Wardes' notion, none dared object Henrietta's firm declaration.
"On another note, how was Fouguet able to generate a golem of such size?" Colbert looked to the headmaster as he asked his question "No triangle mage should be able to create anything close to that size, it would be an impossible challenge even for the best of square mages".
"Hysteric ability" Midas replied drawing all eyes on him again. "Humans are capable of feats far greater than they think possible, but using those abilities causes great stress to the body and risk of serious, even life-threatening self-injury. So the mind allows access to said abilities only in times where death is imminent and any kind of injury may be preferable. Fouguet's use of hysteric ability is proof that her mind was under the illithid's control, a mind control so thorough that it was able to circumvent even those mental restraints."
"There are stories of heroes overcoming impossible odds, but also of mere herders that fend of packs of wolves, traveling merchants who lift entire carts to save their families" professor Colbert muttered. "Could these all be cases of hysteric ability?"
"Still, that does not absolve Fouguet of her crimes!" Agnes interjected. "Willingly or not, she placed the princess in mortal danger and she has to answer for that!"
"For the time she spend under the Illithid's command, she was naught but an instrument at the creature's disposal. Would you blame the knife for one's murder or the person wielding it?" The automaton turned to the princess instead of Agnes. "Besides, she may know something about this Master and his grudge against us both, I doubt the creature will be forthcoming with information".
"Very well Lord Midas, you will be allowed to interrogate either of the prisoners. Agnes will head the investigation on our part and we will share all the findings between us." Henrietta agreed with the automaton.
"One last thing lord Midas" Wardes once more questioned "If I may be so bold, the Illithid called you 'dwarf' during your verbal exchange..."
Henrietta threw a murderous look at Wardes who once again cast a wrench on her efforts to cultivate a friendly atmosphere with the automaton and the Mithrillheart Clan. Midas for his part paused and examined each and every person present analyzing even the slightest facial expression.
"The continent of Faerun alone is populated by over a dozen sentient races and, while humans are the predominant people, there are also great numbers of dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings and many other people. Out of my three companions on my last adventure, Vulna was a minotaur and Aeldroth an Extraplanar Outsider, a name we use for beings that come from other planes of existence. As for the Mithrillhearts, we are a dwarven Clan."
Afterword
It's been such a long time since I updated this and I have no excuse for it. On the plus side, I have almost completed the first chapters for Vulna's and Furin's isekai adventures.