Chapter 4 – Little White Lies
Early the next morning, only shortly after the sun had risen and more shortly after the swordswoman and her sorceress companion had eaten a generous breakfast served by Lord Bennet's servants, the two women were once more on the road. Lucia busily examined the map the nobleman had given them while Naga idly nibbled on a leftover roll she'd grabbed as they left the breakfast table.
"This map isn't very detailed.", Lucia commented as she and the sorceress walked down the winding path and deeper into the forest. "And don't you think it's a bit odd that both of these noblemen have their homes so deep in uninhabited forest?"
"They probably want their privacy. You saw Lord Bennet's mansion, it was surrounded by over an acre of well-maintained gardens. He probably wants a nice, out-of-the-way place to entertain guests." Naga replied.
"I guess." Lucia answered, still peering at the map. Naga had stated the day before that she was a regular guest of nobility, and her mannerisms were those of high society, so she was clearly more experienced in the motivations of the upper crust. She resigned herself to a shrug. "I'm really not looking forward to this."
"What, facing Mazoku? Relax. As long as you're teamed up with me, Naga the Serpent, we will be victorious!" the sorceress exclaimed with her usual haughty tone, punctuating it with her trademark laugh which Lucia couldn't help but giggle at in response, despite the knot in her stomach. "Though, with that sword, you might want to stay back and let me handle the Mazoku. Blades aren't too effective against them."
"I think I can manage.", Lucia replied, looking down at the silver and black hilt of her sword. Lucia's sword alone was worth more gold than any treasure she'd ever hunted. During an excursion into an old temple dated to before the War of the Monster's Fall, she had encountered an ancient golden dragon chained and shackled. The beast had been furious and, Lucia suspected, partially insane from centuries of imprisonment. Nevertheless, she took the risk of freeing the creature, and in return it had given her the sword, which had been kept as the temple's treasure. She wasn't sure of all of its properties, but she knew that the core of the blade contained orihalcon, and that the outer shell was enchanted for sharpness and durability.
"If you say so." Naga replied casually, taking a swig from one of the few bottles of booze she seemed to carry with her at all times. Lucia eyed her curiously for a moment.
"Why do you drink all the time, anyway?" Lucia asked, noticing that the sorceress was rarely completely sober and hadn't slept once since they'd met without alcohol inducing most of the slumber.
"I don't know, because it's relaxing I suppose. Granted, the stuff you get in these parts is very low quality, but it does get the job done." the sorceress replied, taking another swig before corking the bottle and letting it hang at her hip, letting out another long laugh. She glanced down at the smaller woman. Lina had never seemed to care why she drank, all she ever did was complain about it and call her names like 'drunken idiot' and 'lush'. Then again, she was learning that Lucia was nothing like Lina, and she found the constantly optimistic, always cheerful swordswoman an inviting change. Then she realized something. "My laugh doesn't intimidate you." The sorceress stated flatly.
"Huh?" Lucia inquired, looking up from the map again.
"Most people cringe or flee in awe at the magnificence of my well-developed laugh. You just sit there and giggle at it. Do I amuse you?" Naga asked, unsure of why it caught her as funny. Okay, so some people hated her laugh, but that was just because they couldn't grasp the sheer refinement it took to maintain it so well.
"I like your laugh." Lucia replied matter-of-factly, beaming a smile up at the sorceress before returning her gaze to the map. "I think it suits you." She added. Naga felt a blush in spite of herself at the compliment. Now that was something Lina never did.
"Well, you're pretty easygoing yourself, Lucia. Does anything ever get to you?" Naga asked, noticing that the swordswoman was often in high spirits.
"No way! You can't let things get to you. Every moment you spend feeling sad, or angry, or depressed is just one more moment wasted. Life is meant to be enjoyed! Savored!" Lucia explained optimistically. "Sure, bad things happen, but it's how you react to them that determines how your life unfolds." She added. For a brief moment, Naga felt reminded of her little sister's justice speeches.
"I like your philosophy, Lucia." Naga replied. "Grab life by the horns, and never let go!" the sorceress added, punctuating her statement with another laugh, which Lucia joined in on.
Two hours later, both women stood in front of a small castle keep buried in the forest. Unlike Lord Bennet's rich, luxurious mansion, Korto's Keep was a fortified, though aging, structure built more for defense and its ominous presence than for entertaining guests.
"Well, I guess that blows my theory of private luxury out of the water, doesn't it?" Naga said with a smirk. "Why is it the bad guys always have such lousy groundskeepers?"
"Maybe his food is better?" Lucia asked jokingly, getting an amused 'hmph' from Naga as the two of them entered the main gate and approached the large double-doors. The keep was devoid of any courtyard, instead only possessing a small walk-up path leading to the stairs that entered the front of the keep itself. The building was large and square-shaped, smaller than either of them had expected but still large enough to house a considerable force if necessary, making both women a bit uneasy. However, to the relief of both, they found the sparsely decorated main hall of the keep empty. "Wow, he sure doesn't like to decorate, does he?"
"That's because this is a military structure, my dear lady." A voice echoed from above them. Both women dropped into defensive postures as they looked up the staircase in front of them, seeing a man in his early 40s standing above them. He was dressed in darkened steel armor and holding a sword, and his neatly-trimmed hair and beard, just beginning to gray with age, screamed military discipline.
"I take it you are Lord Korto." Naga said after a moment, standing tall and placing her hands on her hips. Lucia also seemed to relax a bit, but given that the man was armed and that he supposedly had a Mazoku working for him, she kept her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Indeed I am, dear woman. Who are you two?" the man asked in return, his scrutinizing gaze moving back and forth between them.
"Need you ask? I am the great Naga the White Serpent, and this is my sidekick and traveling companion, Lucia Moore." The sorceress announced. Korto's gaze seemed more or less indifferent, and it was clear he'd never heard of either of them. He sheathed his sword, but remained at the top step, clearly defensive.
"And would you mind explaining why you're in my keep? Why you've barged into my home uninvited?" the man asked, his tone growing indignant.
"Yeah, we're here for your Mazoku!" Lucia exclaimed.
"I see. So, Lord Bennet has sent a pair of lackeys to do what he cannot. Pathetic." The man said, cracking his knuckles in a theatrical manner. "Very well, then. If that's why you're here, then there's only one option." Korto said firmly before pointing a hand at the floor between the women. "Fireball!"
"Damn!" Lucia yelled, diving to the side just in time to avoid the blast wave from the spell as it impacted the floor, sending roaring flames and flakes of stone flying about the room. She tucked into a roll and came up on her feet, looking back frantically to see that Naga had anticipated the attack and also dodged the brunt of the spell. Lucia quickly drew her sword.
"Freeze arrow!" Naga shouted, nocking an arrow-shaped shaft of ice and firing it at Korto, who ducked behind the railing of the thick stone staircase just in time to avoid being frozen solid. Lucia was about to charge up the stairs when she remembered the Mazoku, suddenly realizing that Korto could be trying to lure one of them into a trap.
"You're both fools! Pawns of that ridiculous Bennet and his schemes!" Korto cried before standing up and firing off a Burst Rondo volley at Naga, who was forced to take cover behind a pillar.
"Lucia! See if you can get behind him!" Naga said in a hushed tone too low for the lord to hear. Lucia nodded to the sorceress, still wondering when the Mazoku would make its appearance. She decided that dealing with the more apparent threat was more important, and started looking for a way up to the second floor. Meanwhile, Korto lined up another fireball and sent it at the wall beside Naga, nearly leveling the sorceress in the process. Naga dove out from behind the pillar, her cape smoking from the flames.
"Vibration Blast!" Naga chanted, firing bolts of sonic energy at Korto, missing him but striking the stone banister beside him, showering him in stone chunks and forcing him to move towards the right side of Naga's view. She followed this spell up with two more Vibration Blasts, shattering more stone and further driving the man across the balcony. This in turn opened up a route for Lucia, who immediately began climbing one of the long draperies that hung on either side of the balcony.
"You can't hit what you can't see, Korto!" Naga taunted, laughing haughtily as her attacks sent up a thick cloud of stone dust, obscuring Korto's view. Her laugh was cut short as Korto fired off a flare arrow that slammed into the ground in front of her, sending her reeling.
"You've got a big mouth, woman!" Korto replied. He then prepared to fire another arrow at Naga before suddenly turning just as Lucia landed on the balcony and started towards him. "Ah, very sneaky!" he said with a sneer, then turned his spell on the swordswoman instead. "Flare Arrow!"
"Try again!" Lucia countered, bringing her sword to bear just as the spell reached her. She caught the arrow with her sword, the spell reflecting off of the blade and up harmlessly, slamming into the ceiling and doing little more than scorching the stone above. Korto smirked.
"Ah, so there is more to that fancy sword of yours than just fine craftsmanship!" Korto said. "But how many can you block?" he taunted, firing another arrow at her. Lucia brought up the sword to deflect the second arrow, sending it flying across the room and out a nearby window. Lucia knew she couldn't keep blocking his arrows forever, but she also knew she couldn't actually deflect the arrows directly back at Korto. Naga levitated up to the level of the second floor just in time to narrowly avoid being struck by the second arrow.
"Hey! Watch it!" the sorceress cried as she reeled in the air.
"Sorry! I can't exactly control where they go!" Lucia replied as Korto sent yet another arrow at her. This time, the deflected arrow went back at a sharper angle, the rebound causing Lucia to stagger. The sharper the angle she deflected the spells at, the more painful the recourse. As the arrow sailed back, Korto suddenly shouted out.
"No!" the armored man cried, diving in front of the arrow and taking a solid hit to the breastplate, the impact sending him into a nearby wall and leaving a smoking dent on his armor. Lucia blinked, looking completely confused.
"What the…?" the swordswoman muttered, trying to figure out what had happened. Naga, however, had a better vantage point from where she was, and was able to see what Lucia could not. Korto had dove in front of the arrow, which had been on a collision course for a nearby tapestry. Behind that tapestry, Naga could see what appeared to be an ornately decorated ceramic vase. A grin suddenly made its way across her lips.
"The pledge stone…" Naga murmured under her breath. While Korto regained his footing, Naga took aim and fired another Vibration Blast at the vase. Korto spun to face Lucia just as the alcove behind him exploded from the force of the spell's impact.
"No!" he cried again, the vase shattering into a cloud of black smoke.
"Hah! So much for your pledge of immortality now, eh Lord Korto?" Naga said, her laugh echoing off of the stone of the great hall.
"Pledge? You fools! That wasn't a pledge stone! I am not the one with the pledge of immortality!" Korto screamed at the two women as the black smoke cloud started to solidify. Naga lowered herself onto the balcony as the two of them stared dumbfounded at the cloud and Korto.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Lucia asked, though she was beginning to realize that they'd both been played.
"Lord Bennet is the one that has taken a pledge of immortality! I found a way to entrap the Mazoku he summoned inside of that enchanted vase! Now it is free!" Korto explained hastily as he moved away from the cloud, which by now had formed into a vaguely humanoid shape. Naga and Lucia looked at one another, both wearing sheepish expressions. Suddenly, a shard looking like it was carved of pure obsidian shot from the cloud, impaling Lord Korto through the chest, the projectile lodging itself firmly in his breastplate and sending him against the far wall. He made one last gasp for breath, then collapsed to the floor, leaving both women staring incredulously at the shadowy form.
"That was for keeping me cooped up in that filthy little vessel." A sinister, low-pitched voice resounded from the humanoid figure. The creature was featureless save for a pair of deep violet eyes which now stared at the two remaining humans. "I want to thank you for freeing me from that vase. Normally, I would not be so generous, but I will grant the two of you your lives. You may leave."
"Ha! Do you really think I'm going to just walk out of here?" Naga asked, placing her hands on her hips. "If word got out that Naga the Serpent simply allowed a Mazoku to roam free, my reputation would be ruined!" the sorceress said. "So, I hope you're ready to face oblivion."
"It seems Korto was right about one thing." The Mazoku said darkly. "You two really are fools!" it added, raising a hand and firing another razor-sharp shadow shard.