Chapter 6 - Cursed Cemetery
Convincing Magdalena
Irisviel opted for a business first, pleasure later approach. She left the children in the care of her Einzbern Industries branch in London. There were plenty of guards, maids, and guest rooms so she felt like it would be safe to leave them there for a few days. In case she had to fight the Corpse King, it wouldn't be worth the risk having them with her.
So after another connecting flight, Irisviel arrived near Blackmore Cemetery. It was a bit difficult tracking down who she was looking for in this territory carefully monitored by the church, but eventually she found the right doorstep and knocked at the door. She'd made sure to stay hidden to the best of her abilities, she hoped she hadn't been detected.
"Hello there?" The kind looking woman with blond hair and green eyes noted. She probably didn't expect to be visited by complete strangers this afternoon.
"Greetings. I am Irisviel von Einzbern and I have a proposition for you. It involves preventing a certain ritual you likely know about, regarding your daughter. Interested?" She suggested.
The woman's face flashed through shock, confusion, wariness, and the tiniest bit of hope. "This is a conversation for closed-doors. Please come in, my name is Magdalena."
The now named Magdalena let them into their little cottage. It had a warm feel, and her daughter Gray could be seen playing with some toys. She's probably just a year old. "Let me put on some tea." She offered.
"That would be lovely, thank you." Irisviel nodded. She wondered how many people she'd had a life changing conversation with while drinking tea by now?
After they were settled in, Magdalena finally broke the silence. "Have you followed the rules of this village? Otherwise the gravekeeper will investigate."
"Sorry, what are these rules? I didn't know there was anything like that." Irisviel asked.
"Pray to the statue of Black Madonna when you enter, do not go outside at night, never go to the graveyard alone, and never go to the swamp. If you do not do these things, the gravekeeper will know someone has broken the rules. I doubt you want him investigating you." She cautioned.
"Okay, but no one needs to see me pray right?" Irisviel doubted.
"I do not believe so, no." Magdalena noted.
"I'll be right back." Irisviel noted, before turning invisible, inaudible, and inodorous. It was a mystic code that improved on what she'd studied from the Assassin class's Presence Concealment. Using it in conjunction with the class card made most methods magi used for detection fail.
The church was a simple one, and there were a few people milling about. Standing in front of the statue of Black Madonna, it felt like even concealed the figure was watching her, judging her. After praying and leaving behind the deeply unsettling statue, she returned to Magdalena's house. It had hardly been fifteen minutes since she'd left. As she sipped on her tea, which was still warm, Magdalena continued with her inquiries.
"Now that you've prevented the gravekeeper from digging his nose into this dangerous business, I'd like you to elaborate on what you meant. What do you know of the ritual, how did you find out about it, and why do you want to help? I don't think we can proceed until I understand what you want out of this, magus." She said the final word with a bit of vitriol.
"My my, it seems like you've had some bad experiences with magi. I doubt I can convince you just like that, but you have my word I'm not a cruel magus. To answer your first question though, my knowledge is a bit sparse. The currently accepted theory is that there are three components to a human being. Mind, body, and soul. Based on this theory, Morgan le Fay set up a ritual that would resurrect King Arthur. Why would she do this for her mortal enemy? I have suspicions but no answers yet. Either way, the body component would be one of your clansmen. You failed to become the vessel from what I understand? And Gray may be the next vessel candidate." She continued.
"How do you know that? Very few people know that I failed. Have you used some sort of mind reading sorcery?" Magdalena seemed alarmed.
"I could, but nothing that nefarious. I merely have glimpses sometimes. Of the past or the future." Irisviel tried reassuring.
"A Seer. That explains much. Okay, go on." Magdalena accepted, but her tone was still a bit wary.
"Anyways. The mind component would come from the Corpse King, who resides in the tunnels underneath the cemetery. The Corpse King is actually the mind of King Arthur recreated using a weapon from the Atlas Institute. And the final component would be the soul. Which would come from the upcoming Holy Grail War in a few years." Irisviel finished.
"What is the Holy Grail War?" Magdalena asked.
"The short version is that the Holy Grail War is a ritual wherein Heroic Spirits - famous figures in human history - are summoned to fight each other. The winning summoner-spirit pair gets a wish. Don't worry, I've taken measures that will hopefully prevent King Arthur from being summoned in this war. So my worries about preventing this ritual may be for naught." Irisviel answered.
Magdalena seemed to go deep into thought. "That would potentially explain why I failed to be the vessel, if the soul component was missing. Why do you want to help us? I still don't understand what's in it for you."
"I don't get anything out of it except moral satisfaction, I suppose. If you had a lot of power to help, and you could prevent something bad from happening to a child, wouldn't you do so? I reiterate, please don't think of me in terms of standard magi. I'm perhaps the most charitable magus in the world. Maybe you've heard of me? Your TV was manufactured by my company after all." Irisviel said.
Magdalena seemed to finally connect the dots. "I knew that name sounded familiar!" She pointed accusingly.
Irisviel shrugged. "In the flesh. For now."
Ignoring those ominous sounding last two words, Magdalena took a deep breath. "I see, then if you would be so kind, I would greatly appreciate your help in saving my daughter."
Irisviel beamed.
Curse Cutting
The first step in her diagnosis was to see if she could find anything off about the bodies of Magdalena and Gray. Her scans showed nothing, not even a soul dive bore fruit. It was only when she used the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception that she managed to spot it. A dark curse permeated the cemetery, lines of death connected from the land to the mother-daughter pair. And likely to all the other members of the clan as well. The curse itself was purely in their bodies, their souls unaffected.
It figures. Morgan was an expert at black magic and curses, so a necromantic ritual she crafted would be most likely to incorporate those schools of magecraft. She made a note to improve her sensor technology to be able to find things like this without using those eyes. Curses were pretty dreadful things after all, and she wasn't always on hand to diagnose people.
Stabbing through the lines connecting the pair to the curse, it didn't seem to be regenerating. "I think you two are free now. I disconnected you from your curse? At least I believe I have. Neither of you should be chosen for the ritual, but I'm uncertain about any future children you have if they are born on this land." Irisviel informed Magdalena.
"It might be for the best for us to leave this village. If the villagers ever found out what we did, it could end very badly." Magdalena nodded.
"Why don't you come work for me in the States? I doubt they'll come looking for you there, and even if they do I'm still a magus. I have plenty of defenses back home." Irisviel offered.
Magdalena tilted her head curiously. "Work for you? As you may be able to guess, I don't exactly have some sort of college degree or a talent for magecraft. I don't really see what I could help you with."
"You have experience in motherhood, and I have five children needing a caretaker. You'll get paid well, I can arrange for any traveling documents, and you're allowed to hire on as much extra help as you need on my dime. Plus, Gray will grow up with many siblings or friends, depending on how you approach it. What do you say?" Irisviel said, holding the woman's hands and staring earnestly into her eyes.
Perhaps not used to such a passionate gaze, Magdalena awkwardly looked away. Her gaze turned eerily sharp as she stared Irisviel down. "I suppose that would be a good way to repay you for the help you have given me. I think I finally understand. You always had this in mind, from the moment you approached me didn't you? Magi are a cutthroat bunch, even if you claim to be different from the rest. Finding someone you trust would prove difficult. But I did something that made you think I was trustworthy, in those visions of yours. Trustworthy enough to take care of children in your charge. Am I correct?"
Irisviel was impressed, just goes to show you should never underestimate anyone's intelligence. "You're quite clever. Indeed, that is the case. I would have helped you regardless, but the primary motivating factor in coming today instead of later was that I needed a caretaker now."
Magdalena smirked. "I suppose that I'm flattered. It's far less nefarious a purpose than I had initially been imagining. I will take on this job. Still, five children? How did you end up with so many?"
Irisviel rubbed her head sheepishly. "Some were in unfortunate circumstances, others just wound up being my responsibility. But they're sweet kids really." Explaining that she adopted children by killing their father and holding the rest of their family at gunpoint would not help her case one bit. Neither would explaining that she bought one kid for a briefcase of jewels. These things need to be broken in slowly and with heavy doses of proof that she was not an evil person.
"Speaking of children, I've been meaning to ask. You've saved us, but does that not mean that some other poor child, may end up bearing this curse in our stead?" Magdalena wondered.
"Indeed. I was considering trying to dismantle the ritual itself. Those who desire this fate are a different story. But not everyone is willing to make such a sacrifice, and the ritual does not give you any choice." Irisviel noted.
"Rather than doing that straight up, I suggest you talk to Bersac Blackmore. He is the keeper of the graveyard, and has a great deal of insight regarding such matters. I would not want you to inadvertently anger Morgan le Fay. Witches are capable of all sorts of things, even while they are dead. At least, that's what Grandmother had told me." Magdalena advised.
"I suppose I will pay him a visit." Irisviel accepted.
"Wait till tomorrow. You mustn't go out in the dark. You can rest here for the night, is the couch acceptable?" Magdalena suggested.
"Very well, tomorrow then. Thank you for your hospitality." She said, then after receiving some directions she snuck off towards the gravekeeper's residence the next afternoon.
Ritual Tampering
The door to the gravekeeper's residence opened before she could even knock, and she was face-to-face with a tall middle-aged man. His long, messy hair was graying, his beard was long. He wore a green hat, and a dapper feathered coat. His shirt parted to reveal his well-built musculature, he cut quite an imposing and memorable figure.
"Who are you and why are you scurrying about this town secretly? You're pretty stealthy, but I have authority over this territory. Might want to improve on that next time. Why'd Magdalena send you?" He demanded.
To think he'd known she was here all along, and even knew that Magdalena had sent her. Authority, he had called it? It seems she needed to improve her stealth. Well, that would probably take a very long while and she still hadn't answered his question.
"My apologies. I am Irisviel von Einzbern. I um, was thinking about dismantling the ritual. The one that revives King Arthur. But then Magdalena said I should ask you for advice before I do so." She explained.
"Bersac. Bersac Blackmore. And that's some dangerous territory you're treading there. I'm pretty sure this land will curse you if you find a way to stop that ritual." He explained.
Her odds of surviving such a curse were high, she felt, but not 100%. "Do you have a better idea?"
"I think it would be great to see King Arthur return in the flesh. But I don't think the time is right for that. This village has been rotting for centuries. It's all because of that damn Grandmother cult. Sacrificing children? I draw the line there. Can you make it happen later, or only target adults?" He asked.
"Well, I haven't even seen the ritual. So I couldn't tell you what I can change." She noted.
"I'll take you there. But you need to agree to my conditions, under Geis." He explained.
She could probably make it there without his help, but was it really worth the risk of getting cursed? They cooperated on the exact wording of the Geis and signed. Truth be told, she was fairly certain she could break any Geis by killing it with Shiki's powers. So she'd been a bit reckless about signing them. She had no intent on going back on her word in this case though.
She followed him through the creepy underground tunnels, watching as he periodically slashed through the undead that appeared with his ax. He'd help the spirits pass on afterwards. Such a cursed land this was. Eventually they reached an underground temple. It had all kinds of magecraft woven into its defenses that even Irisviel was not confident in getting through the bounded field unscathed.
Bersac seemed to have the permission to go through, and he dragged her by the hand into the temple. What awaited her inside the temple was something that looked completely out of place for a cemetery. Gorgeous green fields, blue sky, and a singular hill with a large flat stone at its peak.
The stone platform served as the basis of the ritual she was here to alter. She didn't feel safe tampering with the circle at all. This place was dangerously close to the Reverse Side of the World, her intuition screamed at her that any changes to the carved magical circle would be equivalent to courting death.
She analyzed it for a few hours, but Bersac waited patiently the whole time, not saying a word. Still, it seemed like there was hope yet. She could not change the existing circle, but she could add more layers directly outside of it. She could see the mechanisms by which the ritual chose the next body of King Arthur, as well as how the ritual chose the next soul.
She added a condition, the next vessel should be grown and willing. That would prevent anyone who didn't want this fate from taking part in the ritual. She added another condition, the soul must be whole and not limited. Servant containers didn't represent the true soul of King Arthur. They were degraded copies. She hoped that by adding this constraint Arthur's soul could not be acquired by means of summoning him as a Servant. Between these two limits, this ritual shouldn't trigger anytime soon. "It's done." She told Bersac, explaining to him in detail what exactly she'd done.
"Aye, that'll do it. Back to Magdalena's then?" He asked.
"Yes, back to her place. We'll be leaving the town tonight. I hope you'll keep quiet about us?" She requested.
"This village hasn't been good to her. I don't blame her for leaving. I'll just say she left willingly, no more." Bersac nodded.
It was night again, tweaking the ritual had been quite the time-consuming process. She guessed traveling at night was alright if Bersac was the one doing it. After they arrived at Magdalena's house, she waved Bersac goodbye. "Thanks for all the help!"
He just kept walking silently with his back turned to her and waving an arm.
Knocking at the door, Magdalena looked a bit tired, but her stuff seemed to be packed as best as she was able.
"How did it go?" Magdalena inquired.
"You don't have to worry about anyone being forced into this anymore. Ready to go?" Irisviel asked.
"Yes, I've tried packing my stuff as best as I was able. You told me not to worry about transport, and to just pack it all. Do you have a truck or something?" Magdalena wondered.
Irisviel stored away everything into her Imaginary Numbers space. "Nah, just magecraft. Let's go, as long as we're holding hands you won't be detected." She instructed, and the pair snuck off into the night into the outskirts where she'd parked her rental car.
The trio drove off to the nearest airport, and returned to London.
As they departed the town, the eyes of the Black Madonna statue glowed ominously.