Chapter 18: Restoration by War p.1
The next day, Jane and the others awaken from their slumber and their hearts renewed, they set off on a journey once more and leave their past behind themselves. Their sign of strength rejuvenated and refreshed as they are ready to face the true mastermind behind the conspiracy that befalls the kingdom.
"So, you still have not told us how to reverse the people of Kippernia Castle back to normal. Are you willing to share it now?" Jane asked, expecting a straight answer. Draugit simply stood by silently for a short time before answering.
"I suppose I should tell you all now. You see, Clarissa has an ability to manipulate the state of a human being. Unnatural to necromancers and wizards, she can change a person or an object to whatever she wishes under the condition that she cannot take their soul away. In other words, whatever form the victims are, their soul still stays in that form..unless the soul wishes to leave at their own accord or their soul is being forced into the afterlife." Draugit explained in such detail that Jester manage to absorb all that knowledge in his already turgid head. Jane, on the other hand, cannot understand a thing about it. Dragon, sarcastically, thinks of milk and cows at this time.
"So? What does this all mean then?" Jane asks right to the heart of the question.
"It means that if Clarissa stops the spell, she can turn all the residents of Kippernia Castle back to the way it was." Draugit said, with Jane feeling all the more excited to face Clarissa and Felicia. Draugit suspects this much, as her feelings are easily predicted. Jester just nodded silently, processing all the information for future reference.
"So, how will you sneak in the Gypsy borders?" Jester curiously asked.
"Easy. I know a route. As long as the gypsies did not renovate their forts, sneaking in should not be a threat." Draugit said. Everyone silence themselves for what is to come for them.
A few minutes after they reached Gypsy borders, Draugit ordered Dragon to land on the outskirts of the border. Specifically in a nearby forest; hoping that no attention shall be given to both Jane and Draugit before they leave for their confrontation.
"Dragon, Jester. Just hold on for at least a few hours. When Jane gives you the signal, then we can make our escape. Do not be a fool when you face those soldiers, you do not want to die a meaningless death. That would be..uncalled for." Draugit doubts for a second, trying to choose the most adequate word that he can think of.
Jester agreed. He knows better that even with his newfound powers, he is no match when it comes to facing hundreds of soldiers. Dragon himself, who have immeasurable strength, could not contend to battle much, as he fears for their lives as well.
"Alright. Let us head out to the battlefield, Dragon." Jester said in a flustering, nervous pace. Dragon just stood there calmly. He thinks "Whatever. No sword shall ever pierce my body. That shall never change. Besides, its only soldiers." He spit out a gob of spit as he said that.
"How hard can it be?"
Meanwhile..
"Sire?" the butler said.
"Yes?" the man said. He looks as if he lost all his spirit and fortitude.
"Raymond has arrived. He is waiting at the door, as we speak." the butler calmly said.
"Send him in." the man said, trying to keep his composure as much as he could.
Then, the butler quickly approaches the door and opened the door with immense coolness in his heart and his poise remains constant. When the door opens itself, revealed a young boy who is no more than his 20's and he is wearing a simple blue shirt that has buttons on. He is wearing long brown-wood pants with pockets in both sides. He wears a natural face of any normal people. Ironic enough, he doesn't seem to be sad in any way.
He then approaches the man and said...
"What is it that you want from me now? I told you already. My healing powers, my herbs and my research materials aren't your toys. Like your little butlers running around like happy servants who just follows your every command." he said, sarcastically.
"Raymond. This isn't about my issues regarding my health and all that stuff. I have news." the man said.
"What is it then?" Raymond asked.
"Its Draugit Drayden and Clarissa Chelle. They are finally playing their last stand right now in Kippernium and they will soon fight for their lives at the hands of the Gypsies." the man said menacingly and in a threatening tone to Raymond.
He stands his guard down and becomes silent for awhile before he answered "Draugit. Huh. He is back now? And Clarissa is still being manipulated by your little madwoman maid..right?"
"Yes." the man replied. It is essential for my appearance to begin. When I finally destroy Kippernium and take over that world for myself. My selfish self." the man said as he roars out his evil and menacing laugh.
"You know your "drama antiquities" don't impress me, right?" Raymond replied boringly.
"Don't you raise that tongue with me, young man" the man said, but Raymond doesn't seem to respond well.
"You're not my boss. You know that, right? And you KNOW you can't do a thing to stop me, after what happened a few months ago." Raymond said rather offensively that it strike a nerve to the man's pride.
"Right.." the man admits defeat as he says that.
"But you know that you can't do anything to stop them now, right?" the man tries to counter his pain with those words. It doesn't seem to pierce well..
"I guess. But regardless, I do want to see them again." Raymond sighed as he said that.
"You will. In time." the man said calmly now. His bottled pride recovered slightly and he feels a little better.
"So, is that all? If that's the case, I need to get to work on that new plant you gave me." Raymond hesitates for a second before he continues "The Queen of Salmari, right?"
"Y-Yes. Just get on with it. I have other matters I need to attend right now. Please." the man said. Raymond then leaves the room.
The butler slowly approaches the man, who is now slightly flustered.
"Ugh..I don't know how to install fear and anger to that young lad. He's one hard tree to crack." the man said.
"Sire, if he does oppose you, why is he still in your care?" the butler asked, filled with curiosity.
The man remains still for awhile before answering, "He is special. His powers of healing; It's not only unsurpassed, but unparalleled. I need him to cure me of this so called "poison ivy" I have brought a few months ago."
"Is it something to do with that Queen of Salmari he mentioned?" the butler asked. The man begins to show a grimly, sick face.
"Yes. You are listening well. That flower is nothing but dead, sickening poison. It acts as a toxic poison that exposes minimal, but deadly levels of acid gas that could be deadly to anyone who exposes too much of its contents. It affects internal organs as soon as it enters the body, and it acts like a ticking death bomb just waiting to happen." the man said. The butler silently close his eyes and started thinking. Then he remembered something very, very important.
"Sire, Is that Lady Hawthorne trustable? She seems unstable." the butler asked to the man. The man seems to be curious on the butler's process of thoughts.
"What made you to ask that sort of question?" the man asked back.
"Sire, she was the one who gave you that flower, didn't she? She wished to kill you as well." the butler said with immense calm levity.
With silence the man is surprised by the butler's accusation. He then nodded before giving and said "Your wits are sharp. You are indeed, as talented as your friends say."
"Yes, sire. It is just the simple truth. That is all." the butler said politely.
"You are scary though..but I will not complain. I shall have to make my own trip then. Do you know where we are going?" the man puzzled the butler.
The butler gives a vague answer "Yes, judging by the facts. I can at least hazard a guess to your intended location."
"Then where is it?" the man answered, hoping for a straight answer.
"Hollow Cave"
The butler and the man stays silent before the man said "Good deduction. Then we shall not wait. Let us make our leave now."
"Sire, your condition?" the butler showed some concerns now.
"It will be fine. It is a short trip. Let us leave" the man said.
And with that, the butler used a magical force that immediately vanished them and the pair left.
Raymond, in the other room, is researching on the Queen of Salmari. The room itself is very, very large. It is so large that it is enough to contain 2 large dragons. In that space, lies a table containing different chemicals and herbs lying around the place.
"This plant sure is something else. To think that it produced this much toxin..even I am a bit tired with it. I suppose my immunity helps out on this though. That's why Felicia didn't bother trying to warp my mind just like how she did to Clarissa. Now let me see.. this thing harms the circulation..hence the symptom progression. Plus, my blood tests confirm as negative. My body can not counter the poison." he said.
"Blood..that's it. Let me test it out.." his mood begins to brighten up the empty, silent room. He brought out different blood samples from Felicia, the butler and the man. How he manages to gain it is simply by asking for the blood, which is extremely hard because Felicia is one who wouldn't give her blood out for a reason. All results yields negative tests except Felicia's, which is positive.
"I knew it. That woman who gave that poison out to Rudolph guy; She does not seem that ill when she give it to him. Her exposure from birth must be minimal, which explains her unnatural abilities as well." Raymond continued to move over to the case files from the drawer on the corner of the room and takes out the "F-files" papers into the workplace.
"If this is true and her blood is immune. She should be the cure for Rudolph's illness. The cause is definitely the Queen of Salmari and she was the one who gave that flower to him..the exposure must have triggered some of the early symptoms." Raymond slowly deduced as he takes a pause to catch a breather.
"I suppose he'll be fine now. I can make an antidote for this as soon as possible. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid to advance the stages of his illness, he should be fine now." Raymond says that in his thoughts as he continued to use Felicia's blood to find the cure for the illness that the man, now revealed as Rudolph, had inflicted due to Felicia's cursed flowers.
As Jane continues to walk with Draugit, she begins showing signs of exhaustion. From excessive breathing to sweating, she definitely is at her limit.
"Here." Draugit touches Jane and she instantly gets up on her feet. She feels so much better from Draugit's spell.
"This is impressive. I never thought you would be capable of sorcery as well. And to heal at that!" Jane is quite impressed by Draugit's healing.
"Its not as good as my friend, Raymond. But its at least enough to get you back up on your feet." Draugit said before they continue walking.
"How did you manage to learn healing sorcery? The wizard at my castle can only do simple trickery stuff. It seems like your skills might be more helpful in combat." Jane asked.
"Its Raymond. His gift is divine. Not only is he gifted with great intelligence, but he can share me the basics of healing magic. I just followed his instructions and the rest is history." he explained. Jane seems to get the point of which he just spoke.
"Alright" is all Jane said before they continue further, until they are at the Gypsy border.
In another scene, Dragon and Jester are ready to face the soldiers from the front gate, creating a distraction.
"Okay..you remember our plan, Dragon?" Jester asked, trying to verify if Dragon is ready for this.
"Sure, sure, floppy ears. Now run along. I'll be roaring down in a minute." Dragon replied with a relaxing pace which Jester seems to find "refreshing" ironically. Jester then runs over to the soldiers and scream as loud as he could "Help! There is a dragon! There is a dragon!"
One of the soldiers takes attention to Jester's call.
"What is it, Jester?" the soldier seems to call him by class instead of name, coincidentally.
"T-The dragon! It is attacking the nearby borders. It will reach your kingdom very soon!" Jester said.
"What?! The last dragon was supposed to be at Kippernians..how could he be here?" the guard asked to which none knows the answer.
"I-I don't know. In any case, you and your soldiers should come quick! This way!" Jester tried to run to the direction Dragon was stationed. Dragon is still breathing fire all over the place, causing a ruckus and caused the soldiers to back down a step. Instantly, Jester hides from the soldiers, hoping to make the soldiers assume he was running away, scared.
"Speak, Dragon! What is your purpose in our esteemed land?!" one of the soldiers muster up the courage to say that. Dragon just pity them.
"You lot have been a thorn on my side for too long, fiends! You and your little country is an enemy of my old friend and it still has! I am here to warn you all. You cannot stop me." Dragon said with pure might. The soldiers began to boil their rage and lash out their sword at Dragon, but his sheer body prevents it from ever being slashed or scratched.
"What are you all doing to me? Trying to rub my body with that useless sword of yours, heh. Pitiful." Dragon said with immense pride. Jester cross his fingers, hoping that he will have enough time for Jane to end Clarissa's reign and defeat whatever enemy is at hand.
As Jane and Draugit enters the Gypsies' territory, they hide themselves in robes with cloths that seems to be found nearby, both to cover Jane's armor and to avoid the attention of other villagers.
After a short walk around town, Draugit runs to the nearest intersection and hides in a nearby gap between the buildings. Jane followed.
"Jane, I should be able to sense Clarissa's location." Draugit said.
"Really? That's amazing!" Jane said.
The armored hero closed his eyes and oddly enough, he used his nose. He is able to track her scent down, like a dog.
"This way." Draugit goes towards the Gypsies' castle, where her scent grows stronger at every passing turn.
"Jane, I can sense her. She's down. Not up. She must be in the basement." Draugit said.
"I see. But how do we sneak in. I doubt they will just let us pass inside the castle without an appointment." Jane said.
Draugit gives himself a small smirk on his face. His helmet prevents it from being seen to Jane, however.
"Heh..leave that to me." Draugit said. Then he used his nose again, and they directed to a nearby sewer.
"What is this?" Jane said and as she noticed the foul scent, she instantly closed her noses and mouth by instinct.
"A passageway. Seems like this is used quite frequently.." Draugit said "We should be able to enter." he added.
"Alright. Let's just go inside already." Jane then enters the passageway first, with Draugit following her afterwards.
To be continued
-Part 1 DONE! Part 2! Part 3 and Part 4, which will be named as women's prejudice, will be part-by-part perspective. Part 2 will be Raymond's perspective (which is short). Part 3 will be Dragon's Perspective (which is also short) and Part 4 will be Jane's perspective (the longest) and it will be the turning point of the story. All will be in 3rd person perspective. So, it won't be a diary like it was in Ch. 14.
I also keep in mind about Jane and Dragon and Jester's personality and keep in track of trying to make this as sensible as possible. If there are any mistakes or some flaws, review and/or PM me for anything, kay? I enjoy constructive criticism. (Try not to be insensitive though.) I think I might be able to fix it, but I don't think it will affect much on the story itself. Regardless, I've tried to spellcheck everything. I just hope I won't make too many mistakes.