Heart of Darkness

by Cyricist001

Louise wanted a divine, beautiful, wise and powerful servant but many entities across the multiverse have those characteristics, and not all are benevolent. Meet the Necromancer.

8. Chapter 8

Present time, Halkegenia, Tristain, H.Q.

The kitchen was filed by the aroma of freshly baked bread as she poured herself some tea. Siesta savored its fragrance before taking a sip. A slight frown appeared on her face, she then reached for the honey to sweeten it a bit more.

It was already three days since Louise and Zanven left to visit the Vallière estate, leaving her alone with Aeron, but it wasn't that bad since she had very little contact with him. Ever since she became aware how deceptive the necromancer was she could not lower her guard around him.

Thankfully he was mostly spending time in that laboratory of his, or so she thought. Sometimes she saw him leave the estate and disappear in the nearby woods, she was curious where he was going but not enough to follow him. All in all her life was facing a definite improvement since she came here, now she could even visit her family more often because of the close proximity to Tarbas.

As expected, nobody was sad to hear Mott was no longer there to bully them around.

With a waive of her hand the door to the oven opened and the bread floated out and onto the table, where it was slowly left to cool down.

Returning back to her tea she thought how the area under Mott will now prospered. His guards were ensuring peace by patrolling the roads, his wealth was paying for the needed construction work (new roads, irrigation and bridges), the taxes were lowered and the increase of wealth also lured more merchants in. All things considered the lands belonging to Louise were quickly becoming one of the most commoner friendly regions in Halkeginia.

The maid used her power to lift up a knife from a nearby table and made it slice a piece from the freshly backed loaf of bread. That done the floating knife put some butter and honey on it before levitating the treat into her hand. She placed her breakfast and tea pot on the tray before going to the parlor. There she made herself comfortable on the couch and started to eat the bread while she read one of her favorite books.

Regrettably her time off was interrupted when a flash of light surprised her, almost causing her to drop her breakfast. Fortunately she caught it in time, though most of the honey and butter combo was now spread over her hand instead of the bread.

LouiseB instantly spotted the warlock wasting her time on the couch "Siesta" she nodded in greeting receiving one in return. The clone didn't miss the title of the book the perverted maid was reading and she was again assaulted by images she would rather bury somewhere deep inside her mind.

The maid looked down and spotted a blond man lying unconscious on the floor "Who's that?"

"Prince Wales of Albion" answered the clone and with a waive of her hand the prince levitated from the floor to the free couch opposing Siesta's.

The dark haired girl's eyes instantly started to sparkle seeing his good looks "I-its just like in the book!" drooled the ex-maid as she licked her lips.

"Don't get any ideas, he is Henrietta's property" Louise answered seriously. The maid didn't notice it but her personality has slowly changed from timid to assertive ever since she entered the demonic pact. The influx of infernal energy has slowly liberated her true personality normally suppressed by her false demeanor. She gradually lost any fear and respect towards mages and allowed her indecency to shine...though the clone had to admit that the warlock was a welcomed change from her two mentors. After her original spend years without any friends, having Siesta here to talk with was indeed a welcomed change...even if the girl mostly spend ranting about mages.

I wonder how Henrietta is doing? Wondered LouiseB. Though nothing more than a clone, she was still a copy of a sentient being and as such craved the emotional attachments that her original did.

The maid could only pout for being denied to get to know the prince a little bit better. But before she could say anything she was soon put on guard as with another flash of light Aeron appeared before them with his omnipresent smile. The warlock doubted the wizard had any other facial expression besides grins and smiles, he would probably find grains of sand funny.

"What took you so long?" LouiseB asked, irritated by her thoughts more than by anything Aeron did.

"Had to tie up my shoelaces" was his reply.

Siesta could only sweatdrop at the conversation since Louise obviously didn't care and Aeron only talked nonsense anyway.

"You don't have shoelaces on your boots" the pink haired girl deadpanned.

He blinked and looked at his boots "You're right! IT'S A MIRACLE!"

"Oh shut up!" the pinkette snapped "as soon as he's awake I will bring him to palace, you can stay with your beloved corpses in the lab."

The lab again? Don't really feel like going back there for now. There has to be something fun to do around this world. He nodded his head and again disappeared in a flash of light.

Siesta was instantly relived when he left, turning her focus back to Louise she fidgeted with her fingers before making puppy dog eyes "Please! I will give him back good as new, the princess will never know that I borowed him" she pleaded.

"No."

The dark haired maid started to pout again after being refused for the second time "How selfish."

"Deal with it" was the clones reply.

XXXX

Halkeginia, Tristain, village of Nimy

Matilda could not believe that she actually accepted this job.

Since she was liberated from Genoa prison her new partner gave her complete freedom how she will operate, as long as she did her part.

She had to make a spy network in Tristain – not that difficult for her – and ensure that vital resources reached their destination unnoticed.

Too bad that those resources were corpses.

Ohh, she expected to do some dirty business for the masked creep, but she never thought it would be so literal. Grave robing, I can't believe I'm grave robing! Thought the enraged thief.

At least the necromancer was honest with his promises, she received a good deal of gold for this. And he promised to send protection for Tiffania...

She adjusted her footing, since her boots were slowly sinking in the soft soil...Matilda wasn't sure what was worse, getting groped by the old pervert in the academy or working for Aeron.

Though to be fair, she wasn't doing any of the actual work...

She hired some thugs to do the actual physical labor for a few gold pieces...unfortunately the scum had the guts to demand more money from her as an insurance that they don't tell anything to the authorities.

She was not realy surprised by their greed or stupidity so ten minutes later she had to ship four new corpses and no grunts to do the actual work. It was starting to get irritating considering how many times this happened already. It didn't take long until nobody wanted to accept her jobs anymore since none of the other idiots returned.

That forced her to make a decision she will regret as long as she lived... she asked the necromancer to get her some reliable muscle if he wanted his precious filth delivered.

And he did, much to her frustration, he did. The bunch was a source of constant irritation, like one wouldn't believe possible.

The first time she saw her new workers she almost had a heart attack, but it answered what the creep needed the corpses for, and if he had more home delivery services like her own he will soon be swimming in rotten flesh.

She cursed when on of the zombies managed to slam his shovel in one of the grave stones, making so much noise that even his dead cousins could have awoken.

"Quiet!" she hissed. Even though she bribed the priest to look the other way, if they made too much of noise even he could get too curious for his own good.

The zombies managed to unearth another grave and were puling the coffin up when it's bottom broke and a skeleton fell back in the empty grave.

Fouquet growled in frustration and cursed for the thousand time her luck that got her in this rotten situation, it seems Brimir was doing his best to make her life as miserable as possible.

"Leave the casket and pick the corpse up" she commanded.

The zombies obeyed without question, they dropped the casket on the skeleton and picked it up again, then dropped it again and picked it up again...

Matilda facepalmed as she watched the brainless things endlessly repeat the same action because they couldn't think for themselves and drop the casket somewhere else instead on the corpse they were supposed to collect from the grave.

Why me...

XXXX

Albion - No GPS signal

Wardes flew as fast as he could to Londinium, but no matter how fast he approached his destination his thoughts were constantly on the events that transpired in the Newcatsle chapel.

That Louise was a Void mage was now certain...and it filed him with dread. She was supposed to be his tool not the other way around. He tried to fight the control that the bastard placed upon him but it was all in vain. So immersed in his own thoughts he didn't even notice when the griffin flew over the Londinium walls or as he was surrounded by guards when it landed in the courtyard.

"Hold! Identify yourself!" shouted a guard pointing his halberd at him.

"My name is Viscount Wardes, I have urgent business with his excellency Cromwell" the mage answered as he became aware of his surroundings.

One of the guards quickly ran into the palace to see if the rider was allowed to enter.

Looking around Wardes could see that the palace was surrendered without much resistance, probably like the entire city itself. It was understandable, the royalist armies were defeated time and again until they numbered only a few hundred. In any case too few to defend a city of this size, not to mention the possibility of sabotage or rebellion from its population made it practically impossible to defend properly.

The Viscount snorted. Cromwell didn't even need the Void to bring the commoners and nobility to his side, James Tudor managed to singlehandedly alienate a majority of Albion's people in a relatively short amount of time since he ascended the throne.

As the mage pondered about this the guard managed to return with a response "You are expected, please hand over your wand before entering" the commoner demanded extending his arm out.

Wardes couldn't keep the frown from appearing on his face, it was a great breach of trust and etiquette to demand a nobleman's wand, only Germanian courts with all their plots and intrigue practiced such barbarism.

Guess I have no choice... mused the mage as he slowly removed his rapier-wand and placed it into the guard's hands, the man nodded and instructed another guard to escort him inside. Wardes could only roll with his eyes, it's not like he didn't have a spare wand hidden on him, making all this not only insulting but ineffective.

If Cromwell persisted in such antics he will lose trust with the mages very quickly.

Following the guard down the corridor he observed the interior of the Albion royal palace and noted that a lot of pictures were missing from the walls, probably those depicting royalty or were somehow connected to them. He focused his eyes on the guard in front of him. The commoner walked with confidence and skill, finding his way though the maze like interior of the building with little to no difficulty. As if he did this same thing hundreds of times already Probably one of the former king's guards that switched sides during the rebellion.

The soldier stopped in front of a large double door that soon swung open allowing them entry. His 'sheperon' entered the room first, bowing deeply to Cromwell. The man looked average even by commoner standards, still preferring to wear his priest robes even as he sat on the throne of Halkeginia's prime naval power and main producer and exporter of windstones.

"My Emperor" the guard said before exciting the throne room leaving Cromwell and Wardes alone, at least from what Wardes could see. In his opinion he allowed people to surprise him one time too many already, so he acted as if he was sill in hostile territory keeping his guard up just to be on the safe side.

"Ah Viscount, how good to see you. I trust everything went as planed?" inquired Cromwell.

He wanted to scream that it certainly did not, shout obscenities and stab a few people out of frustration, but whatever spell was placed on him made that a impossibility.

"Yes my lord" said Wardes as he pulled Henrietta's letter and handed it to Cromwell. He still didn't know what Louise planed with this. Allowing the marriage with Germania to be annulled certainly didn't improve her country's position, thought one thing is certain, with this Tristain stood alone.

Cromwell smiled "Most excellent!" he took the letter from Wardes hand and opened it, a small smile appeared on his face as he read the content "This will indeed help our cause" he said as he folded the letter and placed it on his desk. "What about the Tudors? Are James and Wales still among us?"

"James Tudor is no more, as for his son...it's unlikely. I inflicted a mortal wound on him before a group of Tristain mages came to his aid. If they didn't have some very good water mages then he is most certainly dead" he lied.

Cromwell didn't look too concerned by the uncertainty around Wales as he rose with that annoying little smile "Ah, it's a pity this happened but the Royal family strayed from the Founder's way. Be proud Viscount for you have done Brimir proud this day."

Wardes didn't know if he should be happy that he achieved his mission as Cromwell demanded or outraged that they both were now being manipulated by a brat half their size.

"With this the second stage of our glorious crusade against the elves is ready to begin. I know that I have already demanded a lot of you Lord Wardes but I hope that you will be able to accompany the Lexington and its escort as we bring Tristain into the fold."

An invasion so soon? It seems Cromwell wants to use the high moral from the recent victory "Is that wise? I would not advise to redirect troops from their patrols until some order is returned to Albion, if we leave the land in chaos, at the mercy of petty lords and bandits we could have a rebellion on our own hands very quickly."

"There's nothing to worry about, most of Albion's nobility saw the wisdom of supporting our cause so not much has changed. The lands taken from the royalists was already divided between the Founder's fateful so order is being enforced down to the last village" he explained simply.

Wardes nodded "Very well then, when is the invasion?" he asked

"In two months, Tristain will fall and you will be greatly rewarded Viscount" Cromwell placed a hand on Wardes' shoulder "Brimir rewards his fateful after all" said the priest before turning to the balcony door "now if that is all, I have to give the good news to our people."

Wardes watched as the irritating little man left to give some grandiose speech to the rabble occupying the streets of the city. The priest was a fool, but as long as Joseph found use in him he will be Albion's new ruler. The Viscount turned around and went to the door mentally raging at the compulsion that demanded that he finds a secure location and sends this new information back to his master. He hoped that if Joseph kills the brat the spell binding him will be broken, there was nothing that he wanted more now then to have his freedom back.

XXXX

Tristain, Mountains near the HQ

A flash of light illuminated the dark tunnels, after it dissipated it revealed a dark clad figure standing in the darkness.

Aeron started to walk down the corridor, deeper into the mine. The lack of illumination wasn't bothering him in any way, his darkvision made sure he could see excellently in even the darkest of places.

As the necromancer walked his leather armor morphed into a long, black wizards robe. In his hand the trademark vampiric dagger was replaced by a darksteel staff and in the end his very flesh morphed and reformed itself. Instead of a human, an elderly kobold skipped through the corridor, the tiny reptilian confidently moving deeper into the mountain.

Aeron heard the noise of picks hitting stone and soon started to encounter zombies as they moved the ore to the large cavern that stretched under the mountain. He also noticed a large pile of crushed zombies, some of them still holding the picks they used to dig out the iron ore.

Seems Zarken had some problems...it took the assassin ten minutes before the sound of pikes was replaced by that of hammers, and the cool darkness of the mine made way to the hot brightness of the central forge.

Entering the cavern he spotted his clockworkers tirelessly processing the ore and forging the weapons that will be needed very soon. Personally he held constructs in a far higher regard than most of the undead. He wasn't that willing to sacrifice his two hundred clockworkers for nothing, as soon as the war with Albion starts he will send them back to his pocketplane, there they will resume their normal duties...like making more weapons, torturing the merilith and other fun things.

Dwarves were perhaps the best smiths but they were too slow to run an efficient war industry...not that he would tell that to any dwarf in the face, the bunch had a long memory when it came to insults.

But however one looks at it constructs could perform complex tasks without the need for rest or any other weaknesses suffered by common mortals, the only down side was that they were rather expensive to make, hells, creating thousands of basic undead was easier then putting together even the simplest of constructs. And though it is far easier to get intelligent undead than intelligent or semi intelligent clockworkers, in the end a ghoul is a abysmal smith no matter how good he was in life.

In fact ghouls weren't even that good in handling simple weapons, if it's more complicated than a mace it was probably not a good choice for the undead.

Aeron then glanced at the runes on his hand, it wasn't hard to reveal what effect they had...or rather effects. First, it allows the user to handle any weapon, nice but trivial, he already knew how to use a multitude of weapons, the second was far more interesting.

An enchantment designed to bend his will...how cute. And then people call necromancers evil he snorted.

Sure a necromancer would bring the corpses of the deceased back as puppets to be used as soldiers or workers but that didn't harm anyone realy, zombies and skeletons that is, incorporeal undead were a completely different pair of shoes. And then you had enchanters who enslaved the minds of the living and used them as unwilling slaves.

Although he had to give some credit to the Brimir fellow, the spell was insidious. It slowly changed the familiar's emotions towards the summoner so that after a time it would consider him or her a friend and even fall in love.

Regrettably for Louise the spell could be easily broken by simply being aware of its meddling.

He occasionally enjoyed to push his corruptive shadow magic into the rune, oh how it fought back, and when it looked like it would be destroyed he stopped the assault so the rune could gain back the lost ground. It was a fun game for a time, but he grew bored with it rather quickly.

A cruel smile appeared on the necromancer's face as he walked alongside the scorching furnace. He already repaid Louise for this by placing an enchantment on Mott's manor. A simple illusion to make Louise see a false vision of her sister in the scrying pool...well the image was real, only it happened a few days before she tried to scry her sister. It shouldn't take long for her to give into temptation, Siesta and the Zerbst girl also added to her temptation unwittingly...

"Zarken!" called the wizard.

He waited for a minute before the Shaadee emerged from a nearby wall "Yes my lord?"

"I came only to inspect your progress" said Aeron "I saw you suffered some casualties in the corridors."

The Shaadee moved to float in front of Aeron "It seems that one of the corridors was filled with gas..." was all he said expecting Aeron to understand the implication.

"And a zombie pickaxe delivered the spark..." finished Aeron making the Shaadee nod.

"All in all we are slightly behind schedule, I had to redirect a few of the constructs to make a dozen new picks and animate a new band of workers."

Aeron frowned, although he always calculated in the possibility of delays and was more then prepared for such occurrences he still hated it when time was wasted, punctuality is important even if its only for appearances sake "Why didn't you simply buy new picks from Volkarion?"

"I have considered it but the djinni was busy, it seems that the humans here produc a large surplus of foodstuff that is in high demand on Toril."

Aeron nodded in understanding. Food was indeed a commodity that was always scarce in Faerun. You could twist and turn it however you wanted but city-states like those found on Toril suffered from lack of hinterland.

As soon as you leave a city you basically walk in to the untamed wilderness. Villages were rare and seldom had more than a few dozen people, that made food a rare necessity, something the people of Halkeginia had in abundance. If he knew Volkarion, and he did, the merchant will probably buy every available piece of foodstuff and resell it back on Toril for at least ten times its value.

He could not but chuckle at the thought. A longsword in almost any city on the Sword Coast was around fifteen gold pieces, but a warm meal would cost you one gold piece. At the same time a meal in Tristain would cost you ten coppers and buying a normal longsword under two hundred gold pieces is considered cheap.

Not that surprising, while farmers were rare, merchants and craftsman were plentiful on Toril. And since living there was a never ending battle, practically everyone created weapons making them very cheap in contrast to Halkeginia where threats were rare and mostly came from the neighboring human nations. That allowed the peasants to live in a relatively safe environment where a few patrols were enough to maintain peace in the countryside.

That on the other hand also made food plentiful, plummeting their prices and forcing the serfs to produce even more. Lucky for them the increase in food also tied into the increase of population so the demand and supply was mostly covered...with the exceptions of natural disasters or wars, that could cause famines and revolutions very quickly.

The thing that made him actually shake his head was that the nobles here created gold...sure the spellcasters on Toril did it also, in even greater quantities in fact. But there was a slight difference...Toril had a constant drain on all kind of ores. Be it crafting, transmutation, experiments, dragons hording it, kings hording it, it sinking with ships, or simply being lost in the pockets of an adventurer that died somewhere in the wilderness. All these things could ruin the economy if mages and mines didn't deliver new gold, silver, platinum and copper to produce new coins.

On the other hand in Halkeginia most of the gold ended in the treasuries of one noble or another, where it stayed and collected dust. From what he learned about the local nobility they based all of their wealth on owning land, in contrast the nobility of Albion dabbled largely in trade. The gold they gained, they invested for even more gain.

You could easily see how Halkeginia developed as it did. Albion, where the aristocracy traded, Tristain that like Galia remained deeply entrenched in their tradition of landowning nobility, Romalia where the Church had absolute authority and filled its coffer's from believers from every other nation, and then there was Germania... certainly the most amusing out of the bunch. The only nation in Halkeginia where commoners could become nobles through wealth, ironically it was because the old nobles refused to dabble in trade that they were forced to allow rich commoners into their families when their lands failed to produce enough revenue to keep up.

A smile spread across his face "And the army?"

"We are reaching twenty thousand" he answered.

Aeron grinned "You're slow, it took you what? Almost half a week to animate a few thousand undead?" he had no doubt that the Shaadee was killing him in some brutal way inside its mind.

"My apologies lord, not everyone can be as skilled in the art of necromancy as you are" it said evenly.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, why the hell am I paying you useless carcass, I should reduce your next paycheck by half for the sloppy work" Aeron almost shouted.

Zarken as dead as he was almost sighed He lost it again...at first he was truly thinking that the Shade cared for the slow progress, but now it was obvious that the man was simply bored and tried to irritate him into oblivion "Apologies my lord, I will try to be punctual next time."

The Shaadee almost smiled when he saw the disappointed look on Aeron, if he acted on any of his buffoonery this farce would have no end, no...when dealing with him better be as bland as possible, he loses interest faster that way.

"Have I ever told you how boring you are?"

"You do remind me from time to time."

Aeron sighed "Perhaps I shouldn't have killed off all the vampires, they were a constant nuisance with all their nagging and plotting but at least they reacted in some way when we talked."

"The reason you killed them all was because they reacted when you talked. If I remember correctly the last attacked you in rage when you badgered him for two days about drinking tomato juice. Not to mention burying him and his coffin under half a ton of tomatoes one time."

Aeron frowned "...are you sure? I thought the last died when I instigated the little riot in their lair."

"...no, that was when we had a full group of them. Since we are already taking about the lair incident, why did you do it? The group was loyal as far as I know."

The necromancer shrugged "Seemed like a good idea at the time" satisfied with the inspection he stopped "Well, all is in order. Would you come with me to Tristania for a walk?"

Zarken could honestly say he hated Aeron's guts "I'm afraid that an undead in the middle of a city, especially in daylight isn't a wise course of action. So I will have to decline."

"I'll buy you icecream..." the necromancer whispered making the undead wish he could strangulate him this instant.

"No."

Aeron sighted "Spoilsport" and without another word disappeared with a flash of light.

Zarken was instantly relieved when the Shade left, the madman could drive a person to irritation with very few words...then again it was often his goal to be a nuisance with all the childish antics he did.

The undead sure hoped that this new recruit was worth it...

XXXX

Tristain - No GPS signal

Louise stared out of the carriage window as it passed empty fields. Normally she would be happy about visiting her home, especially now that she could use magic, but her clone's memories of Wardes evaporated any joy she might have felt.

If not for her magic, for the coincidence that she was curious enough to peek into the mind of her 'fiance' how much worse could this have ended? And once again Aeron's words proved correct, trust is for fools. On who can she realy depend? Aeron? She almost laughed out loud, he already stole her soul. Zanven?...now that she thought about it, she actually didn't know that much about him. All she knew was that he's an elven bard who had the misfortune of crossing paths with her familiar, she will have to ask him about that.

She shifted her eyes from the field to Zanven who was siting across her seat. It was so strange, so much has changed since the familiar summoning ritual, the world that she perceived as beautiful though unfair to her is now a much more hostile place...but it did not make it any less alluring, quite the contrary, it was like one of those books about palace intrigues, secret plots and epic battles where a mageknight on a unicorn saves the princess and they live happily ever after.

That made her actually laugh. She imagined Aeron riding on a dead horse to save a princes and then heroically stab her in the back.

"Finally! I was afraid you would turn into Eris if you frowned any more" Zanven commented as he looked up from the book he was holding.

"Eris?" Louise asked, might as well get some information now rather then later.

"Yes, she is the leader of the Assassins' guild in Moonreef. I don't remember seeing her smile a single time. Too serious by far if you ask me."

A guild for assassins? The idea was strange "Why would assassins need a guild? Its not like they have to protect their merchandise on the market, or?"

"Hmm, there is a rather big difference in your normal guilds and assassin guilds. Assassin guild are largely autonomous but get a lot of their contracts from the authorities. Its guild-master accepts or declines contracts and selects professionals to complete them for money. When a contract is completed the guild takes 10% of the money and gives 90% to the assassin or assassins that completed it."

"Is that even profitable?"

"It is actually. There's always someone that people need killed, spied upon, stolen or sabotaged. Especially the government depends heavily on them to bring back valuable information about enemy economy or military. Many assassins in fact also 'work' on the side as merchants, diplomats, authors and so one. I'm surprised Aeron didn't tell you that, he always preaches how knowledge is power" Zanven explained.

"I guess now is the time that you will tell me that Aeron is a member or something right?"

The bard laughed "It would be in his character, wouldn't it, but no, he is not a member of any guild" though the necromancer was very good at killing, most people considered him an awful assassin. When one hires people of his profession they are expected to kill the target and get gold...Aeron doesn't care for money and murderers that killed for fun were usually horrible working as professionals. It's the same with Aeron, the kill depended more on his mood than anything else...he could kill cleanly or massacre the whole town...or even worse if the target amused him he could simply forfeit the kill, sometimes even offering to murder the one who payed him for the deed.

"I'm actually surprised that you travel together, you two seem rather...different" was her observation.

Zanven shrugged "Truth be told it wasn't easy at first, but over the years I learned how to go with the flow. Aeron is like fire, it can be used for good or bad, as long as he is amused he is easily persuaded to kill the people that everyone else wants dead like tyrants and others who prey on the weak...on the other hand he doesn't care about collateral damage so me and Frost often serve as a moral compass he lacks. Someone has to keep his bloodlust in check..."

"Frost?"

"His adoptive daughter" answered Zanven "she's an elf like me."

Louise hmmmed as she glanced at his ears...or where they would be pointing out if he didn't use magic to appear human "Aeron never mentioned her, he only told me he has a lot of brothers."

The bard raised an eyebrow "Aeron has no brothers."

Louise blinked "What?"

"Aeron is an only child, he has no siblings" was the elf's reply "he lied to you, nothing strange there."

"But to lie on such a trivial mater..." said Louise with a frown "why even bother?"

Zanven shrugged "Simply another one of his quirks."

The elf's expression soon change "Since we are talking about Aeron, I need to warn you not to trust him."

It was Louise who now raised an eyebrow "That warning came a bit late don't you think?"

The bard looked sheepishly at the seventeen year old girl "I...kinda got sidetracked with all the books...my apologies, but there is still hope."

"You mean that Aeron will return my soul?"

Zanven nodded "Aeron is completely amoral, the sole reason why he does anything is for his own amusement. He will return your soul, the tricky part is getting there. Did he tell you that he is a cyricist?"

Louise nodded "Yes."

"And did he tell you who Cyric is?"

She nodded again "An evil deity of murder, lies and deception...yes, I know. Having someone like that as an ally doesn't realy inspire confidence" smiled the girl.

"Agreed, but the problem with Aeron is that he and Cyric are more alike than people think. They both are self-centered madman that don't just kill people, but primarily enjoy misleading individuals of all inclinations so that they perform acts that ruin their lives or so that they make fatal mistakes. The power you obtained from him is most likely just another of his little games."

"How does me becoming powerful accomplish that?" asked the confused girl.

"Easier than you think" replied the elf "I heard once that he saw children playing knights and wizards in a small village and for some reason he gave the children magic wands...one of the boys killed the other two when he accidentally released a Lightning Bolt."

Louise paled "W-why would he do something like that?!"

"Sadistic entertainment" answered the elf somberly "and that is the catch in many of his cruel games, one thing is to have power, another thing is having the wisdom to use it. A mature person would know that playing with a wand is dangerous, but for mature people his traps are often much more insidious."

"So he wants me to fail" growled Louise.

"No Louise, I want to see what you will do" came a voice from outside.

Both Zanven and Louise instantly turned their heads to the window and saw Aeron's upside-down face looking at them. The necromancer was lounging on the chariot's roof, the charioteer and the horses nowhere to be seen.

"Aeron!" hissed Louise "what are you doing here?!" she asked suspiciously.

"I was bored so I came to see what you are doing" smiled the wizard as the chariot started to move slower and slower until it finally stopped.

"Zanven..." asked Louise nervously.

"Don't worry, he won't directly harm you" said the bard "remember he is here to see what you will do, what options you will take...avoid making mistakes, stay alert and keep you wits sharp and everything's going to be fine" said the elf as he exited the chariot.

Louise followed him outside with a frown.

"Where is my driver?" asked the girl in frustration "...and the horses."

Aeron scratched his cheek "I believe he is still hanging on a branch further back...ahh, the dangers of having your whip entangled in a tree..." chuckled the necromancer "the horses on the other hand I released to run freely, the day is too nice to be slaving around."

"We can still summon a Phantom Steed to bring us to your estate on time" reassured the bard.

"Oh nononono" said Aeron as he disappeared and reappeared behind the two, embracing them with his arms "why the hurry? It's a wonderful sunny day outside, why don't we use the opportunity to enjoy mother nature and stretch our legs for a bit?"

Both Louise and Zanven looked at each other before they focused on Aeron "How about no, plus we can't leave the carriage in the middle of the road."

Aeron pointed his finger at the carriage.

"I don't see a problem with that" was his reply as the thing exploded via fireball.

Zanven sighed "Let's do as he says Louise, it's not a bad suggestion and I have a feeling that if we don't entertain him he will do more damage somewhere else."

"Fine" grumbled the pink haired child.

XXXX

HQ

Wales slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings, the room was unfamiliar to him...what happened...the last I remember was Viscount Wardes stabbing me...was that a dream?

"I see you are finally awake" said a familiar voice.

He turned his head and saw Louise de La Vallière siting in the corner, a thick book in her hands.

"Where am I? What happened?" asked the prince as he tried to sit up in the bed, his hand moving to the spot he was supposedly stabbed.

"You are in Tristain" explained LouiseB as she placed the spellbook on a nearby table "Albion has fallen and we barely escaped the Reconquista trap. W-Wardes' betrayal was unexpected as it was damaging" said the clone in a heavy voice, a single tear falling down her face "I-I'm sorry this is still too sudden for me."

Wales nodded, the sorrow of betrayal was still too fresh for her. He could only wonder how much pain the Viscount's actions brought to such an innocent girl...having her fiance, the one who she loved and wanted to marry hurt her so badly...it was unforgivable...

"I see..." said the prince as he checked his wound and concluded that the healers did a good job, not even a scratch was visible. Then his mind came to a stop...he lost. His family is dead, his kingdom usurped...the nobles that supported him were most likely dead...but even with all that he didn't despair, there was still Henrietta.

No, she is out of my reach...she will marry the Germanian Emperor...I have nothing to live for...

LouiseB scowled as she gazed into his thoughts, he gave up so easily...that won't do. She rose from her seat and walked to the door "You should get dressed so we can depart for the palace, the letter Wardes stole is probably already in Cromwell's hands, and with that the alliance with Germania is as good as dead...we need to warn the princess and prepare for the worst."

Wales looked at the girl as she opened the door and allowed a maid to stumble inside, but none of that was of any importance, the only thing that mattered was that he still had hope...

XXXX

Tristain - No GPS signal

Two days have passed since Aeron 'persuaded' them on this little hiking trip through the wilderness. In all honestly it wasn't as bad as she thought it will be. The forest was in full leaf out, and birds sang their songs to celebrate the coming of spring, occasionally even Aeron and Zanven joined them as they whistled a cheerful tune.

Louise balanced with her arms as she crossed the stream by skipping over some rather slippery stones, following her two 'guides' through the forest.

She walked to the duo who stopped and were looking at a small, pristine waterfall. The sunshine reflecting from the clear water.

"Just what we needed" smiled Aeron as he started to undress, Zanven placed his harp and rapier on the ground before starting to unbutton his cloths.

Louise immediately went red like a tomato, closing her eyes with her hands...though she still took a peek as the two men entered the water "W-What do you two think you're doing?!"

"Relaxing" was the bard's reply.

"Are you coming?" asked the necromancer.

She was about to open her mouth but stopped herself...he, or rather they both saw her in the nude, multiple times even, mostly thanks to her habit of sleeping naked. And after her clone went through Wardes' mind...

But the real reason she gave in was that her muscles were aching and she realy needed a good bath.

Ah, what the heck...thought the pinkette as she started to disrobe as well.

Louise carefully placed her right foot in the water and was surprised that it wasn't cold "Why is the water warm?" she asked.

"There is a hot-spring whose water mixes with the stream making it just about right" said the necromancer as he placed his head under the waterfall and washed his hair.

"You knew about this?" asked Zanven.

"Of course" smiled the wizard as he pushed his hand into the air, through the fabric of reality and grabbed a bottle of his scentless shampoo from the pocket-plane. It was not rare for him to have his shadow scout areas ahead of him, so it managed to find the gem.

After the trio was cleaned from the sweat and dust, they sat in the warm water and enjoyed their surroundings as day made way to dusk.

Louise watched as the stars appeared on the sky, the song of birds being replaced with owls hooting and the rustling of the leaves in a gentle breeze.

This trip was certainly far more interesting than the carriage ride. After thinking about Aeron's words and deeds she concluded that the obstacles he threw in her way were more like training than anything else. If she couldn't deal with minor setbacks and keep a cool head under pressure then how was she supposed to accomplish anything...throwing a fit never helped anyone.

"Aeron you are bound to me as my familiar" she said "but you made your position clear when you said that I can't expect any significant help from you. That puts me in a bit of a disadvantage so I would like you to help me select another familiar."

The Shade nodded "Done, when we return back to your place we will find something that suits you the best. So how do you feel about the homecoming?"

Louise frowned as she though over the question...on one hand she was looking forward to it, she could use magic after all. On the other hand the thought of her mother wanting to see how good she is made her shiver.

Both the elf and the Shade were able to see her discomfort.

"What's wrong Louise?" asked the bard.

"I...mother will probably wish to see how good I can use magic."

"I fail to see the problem" mused Aeron "you are more than good enough both in battle magic and magical theory."

"You don't know my mother" whined the pinkette "her training is even harder than your own!"

The necromancer raised an eyebrow "What would be the point of it? Forcing you through a very strict training regiment even when you didn't master the easier one is foolish. In the end it is of no consequence, you have made great progress and there is no need to fear her anymore."

"I'm not as brave as you are" grumbled the girl dejectedly.

The assassin could only shake his head "You give yourself too little credit Louise. Between us, you are the one who possesses true courage. To be brave you need to overcome your fears, I never had to do that...I'm incapable of feeling fear and because of that I'm never brave."

She looked at him in puzzlement "What do you mean? You don't feel fear?"

The wizard could only shrug "I'm a bit emotionally stunted. What in others causes a raging inferno of emotions in me manages only a small spark...but that spark...there is nothing as precious as that single, fleeting moment when the dark void is illuminated and the monotony is broken."

Louise shuddered at the expression Aeron displayed, it was a maniacal grin so unlike his normal ones...

But as soon as the insanity came, so did it disperse making the necromancer smile and return back to his favorite pastime...tormenting Zanven.

Having already spend several hours in water the trio went on land and dried themselves with a simple Prestidigitation spell.

They then started a small campfire and Zanven conjured up a feast with all kinds of delicacies for them to indulge their taste buds...and like always song and wine should never be absent from their presence.

As Aeron was siting beside the fire he first started to hum, then sing Blind Guardian's - Bard's Song...

Having heard the song once before Zanven took his harp and followed the wizard's lead, adding his voice to the shadovar's own. Louise watched with fascination as the necromancer shifted his form into that of a child and offered her his hand, as if inviting her for a dance. She smiled and placed her hand in his.

Step by step they increased their pace as they danced around the campfire.

Aeron then bowed down to her and motioned Zanven to switch, the elf nodded and like the wizard asked for her hand in the dance. Louise accepted the request with a curtsy and took his hand in turn.

As they danced Louise joined in the song as she added her voice to their own. There was nothing else here, nothing she did was wrong...and for the first time she could see the duo as more than associates, they were companions...friends.

XXXX

Halkeginia, Tristain, City of Tristania

The carriage moved slowly through Tristania's busy streets as the driver made his way towards the royal palace. LouiseB sat opposite the prince, keeping an eye on him as well as the street. The young royal was dressed in much the same attire Viscount Wardes would wear, with a small fake beard to conceal his appearance at least until they made it to their destination.

As they came closer to the palace gates so did the carriage slow down, until it finally came to a halt and armed guards approached them. Louise doubted that the Reconquista sympathizers didn't have their spies monitoring the gates, so there was a high chance that the enemy would discover that not only Wales survived but was also harbored by the Tristain crown...a rather easy excuse for war.

"My lady" said one of the guards.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, I'm here to see the princess."

The guard nodded and reported it to his superior who then ordered him to notify the princes about her presence here. The clone knew that it couldn't be helped, unannounced visitors were always made to wait, and so wait in silence they did.

It actually didn't take long until the carriage started to move again and entered the large courtyard, a person already standing there waiting for them. It seemed like Henrietta skipped a lot of the protocol usually applied to visiting nobles this time.

The carriage stopped for the second time, and allowed both LouiseB and Wales to exit it.

"Miss Valliere" said the blond woman "I'm Agnès Chevalier de Milan, captain of the musketeer corps. Her highness has ordered me to escort you to her room."

LouiseB nodded and followed the woman, the disguised Wales following behind her.

After a few turns and a few more climbed staircases they finally arrived in front of a door which promptly opened and revealed the princess herself.

"Louise!"

The copy went to her knee and bowed to the girl, Wales mimicked her actions even though he was a royal himself.

"Your highness" they both said in unison.

Henrietta smiled sadly, no matter how many time she asked that Louise called her by name her childhood friend simply couldn't do it...perhaps she was fated to be alone...

"You have returned faster then I have anticipated" said the princess, her eyes going from Louise to the man beside her, at first she thought it was Viscount Wardes but that proved to be a misconception.

She was instantly worried, the mission she send Louise on was secret and sharing the knowledge with more people was very dangerous...

Seeing how the princess was focused on him, Wales rose to his feat and removed his fake beard.

Henrietta's eyes instantly widened as she saw her lover "Wales!"

"Henrietta" he smiled back.

"Why are you here?"

Louise also rose to her feet "The Reconquista managed to get the better of us and defeated the royalist forces. We barely managed to flee Newcastle but lost the letters when Viscount Wardes revealed himself a traitor."

"The Viscount was a traitor!" gasped the shocked princess, then it hit her that she send an enemy spy with her friend...it was a miracle that she lost only the letters. Though that in itself was a hard blow...with this the marriage to the Germanian Emperor was all but gone.

She had to sit down as the reality hit her...Wales was here, that alone made her incredibly happy, but on the other hand her people, her country...without someone backing them they will lose any confrontation and be occupied.

Wales hurried to her side, Louise close behind to give her support.

XXXX

Zanven opened his eyes as he exited his reverie. Louise was still sleeping on the ground, having spend most of the night listening to many of the stories that he collected traveling across Faerun.

She seemed especially taken by those concerning Elué Dualen, or as humans called her lady Alustriel Silverhand. The elf smiled as he watched the child sleep, the girl was stubborn but had a good heart.

He then looked at Aeron who had conjured a large table with their breakfast already on it.

The bard stood up and walked towards the shadovar, he then grabbed a piece of toast and poured himself some tea that was placed on the table.

Aeron raised an eyebrow as the elf took the bottle closest to him and poured himself a glassful.

Zanven immediately spat out the liquid after tasting it "By the Nine Hells Aeron, this is the worst tea you ever made!"

The necromancer shrugged "Truth be told, not many people willingly drink my poisons, so I never got any complaints" not receiving a reply, he pushed the elf a bit and the paralyzed bard fell down.

"Don't worry though, It was diluted since I needed it as a component for another poison...so its effect should stop in half an hour" explained the necromancer as he left the paralyzed elf helplessly on the ground.

Soon after that Louise awoke from her slumber and proceeded to get some breakfast, as she ate she listened to Zanven berate Aeron for mixing poisons on the same table people dined.

Naturally the elf's words fell on deaf ears...

After they ate the trio packed their belongings, made sure the fire was extinguished properly and resumed their walk through the forest.

By midday they started to see traces of civilization, a dirt trail here, cut down trees there...

They followed the trail until the forest made way to fields and an occasional watermill, she was sure that it won't be long until they reached whatever village was located here.

Aeron decided to change his appearance again and with a hand gesture his leather armor turned into plain attire, something a merchant or a relatively prosperous commoner would ware.

To complete the disguise he also turned his eye and hair color brown.

XXXX

Tristain, village of Boekt

Louise watched as the commoners rushed from one side of the road to the other, all of them looked extremely busy.

There were decorations placed on trees and houses, and a long table was made from many smaller ones. The village looked like any other, houses with barns with apple orchards and such scattered around the area.

...and for some strange reason one of the chickens continued to stare at her...

"Excuse me, what's happening here?" she asked the first peasant that walked nearby.

The commoner looked at Louise and the two men who were standing behind her, then his eyes widened when he saw the pentagram brooch that identified her as a student at a magic academy...that identified her as a noble.

"M-my apologies my lady I wasn't aware we had a noble coming today" stuttered the man...no boy, a boy hardly older than she was, though his appearance seemed far more mature than one might presume at first glance.

"No need to apologize, I'm only passing through" she explained "though you still didn't tell me what's all the commotion about."

The boy looked nervously at the faces of the trio "T-today is Piere's and Annet's weeding day, we are preparing a feast for them" said the boy "...ahh...you are welcomed to join us in the feast if you so desire."

"Not a bad suggestion" said Aeron with a smile "I think we will accept your gracious invitation."

It was apparent that wasn't what the boy wanted to hear as he seemed lost with this whole situation "Y-yes, as you wish...please follow me."

"What's his problem?" whispered Louise.

"He is afraid that we will be insulted by someone or something and ruin the wedding" answered Aeron telepathically "also he is a son of a local merchant and they had...less than stellar experience with nobles when visiting Tristania."

"We are not in Tristania, these are my family's lands. We always pride ourselves on taking good care of our commoners."

"The boy has no idea that you are a Valliere, he has no idea even how your mother looks like, the only thing he knows is that a noble brat is in the village and that could cause problems."

Louise felt her eye twitch at the comment but willed herself to forget it...for now at least.

When they reached the table she noted that all eyes were fixated more on them than on the newly weds.

"Pardon the interruption my lady" said an elderly man as he approached them, his eyes fixated on Louise "but would you be related to the Vallière family?"

"Yes, I'm Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, third daughter of the Vallière family."

The man smiled "Ahh, I thought so, you resemble the duchess."

"You know my mother?"

"I saw her a few times when I still delivered food to the estate" said the elderly man "but where are my manners, my name is Anton and it is a great honor for us to have you here."

"Thank you Anton" said the girl as she watched the stranger excuse himself and walk away to talk with the bride, probably informing them that they shouldn't be concerned about her presence here.

The trio took the seats that were the closest to them and watched the festivities. People danced, ate and laughed like there was no tomorrow. The bride and groom received gifts from the people of the village, tokens mostly since the dowry like livestock and land has already changed hands. Not to be just there, Louise had Aeron discretely fabricate her gold coins and a few other items she had at hand into a delicate golden necklace with a precious stone in the middle - a beautifully crafted peridot. When she gave the necklace to the couple, many were awed and envious at the gift received.

If the trio was the center of attention before, now they were even more.

In all honesty staying here was perhaps a bad idea thought the pinkette, all the staring made her a bit too self conscious...though her two companions didn't seem to mind the constant staring from the commoners.

Then there were the meals...

Louise wasn't particularly hungry and though the food was good, it was also very fatty...not too surprising since peasants needed more energy than nobles to labor on the fields. People over thirty looked far older than they actually were, a consequence of harsh working conditions.

Personally she could understand why many young girls dreamed of a noble or royal to spirit them away from this...even if they became nothing more than a mistress to some sleazeball like Mott.

"Seems you have an admirer" said Aeron snapping her out of her thoughts.

The mage followed his eyes to a boy that occasionally glanced in their direction "So?" she answered, though had to admit the boy was somewhat cute...

The necromancer grinned "Why not dance with him? I know he likes you, and you are not completely disinterested...you have been rather high strung since yesterday."

"Get – out – of – my – head" hissed the girl, regretting that she had her copy take the ring of mind shielding.

Aeron shrugged and stopped probing her thoughts.

It wasn't that strange, she was a woman with suppressed urges and honestly the things one could do with ones free time were limited. Most male nobles spend their times hunting and visiting brothels, noblewoman on the other hand either take up reading romance novels or organize balls and tea parties. Commoners were even worse, the only things they did for fun was fornication...well that was generalization on his part but largely true. Rare were the nations where peasants could find entertainment like battle arenas or theaters. Coin was too scarce to be wasted on such things.

"Besides I don't know this dance, it's not something we are taught" added Louise.

"Well then its perfect for you to learn" said Aeron as he poked her cheek with his finger...much to her frustration.

"Stop it" she deadpanned, but relented and with a sigh she stood up and walked to the boy no older than fourteen. Though he was more muscular, he was not a lot taller than she was.

The duo walked to the clearing where the other people were dancing and he explained the movements as they danced.

"You don't need to be so pushy with her" admonished Zanven "give her time."

Zanven shrugged "Oh she is interested in him that is for sure, but again she doesn't want to give her desires free reign...why can't she grasp that when you want something, you simply take it."

The elf snorted "That is a lesson I wouldn't want her to learn. Since we are at the topic, have you had anyone who you even found interesting?"

Aeron looked perplexed "I find everyone interesting."

Zanven sighed "No you bird brain, I mean have you had someone who you like intimately?"

Aeron crossed his arms as he though about the question "K'yorl from House Oblodra was interesting" said the necromancer with a smile "ahh that woman could handle a whip..."

The bard almost gagged "Usually when people have intercourse with a five hundred year old drow matron the whipping isn't the thing they remember fondly."

The necromancer shrugged again "Different people different preferences, besides the whipping the rest was rather boring, no matter how experienced the old bat was. The only reason we had sex anyway was because she had an item I wanted and pleasing her was part of the bargain."

"Forget I asked anything."

"Since we are on the topic, it seems that Louise isn't the only one who attracted lustful eyes here tonight" said the wizard with a smirk.

The bard looked around himself and spotted a group of woman...or rather girls that were standing and ogling the duo.

When they saw that Zanven noticed them, they giggled and started to approach the two men.

"Ahh, my fork fell on the ground" said the necromancer as he ducked under the table to look for the utensil.

Zanven watched as the wizard disappeared under the tablecloth, he quickly peeked down and saw a black cat leaving the area.

"Aeron!" hissed the elf at the traitorous ingrate.

The cat instantly bolted, leaving the elf to fend for himself.

...well, I am a bard...mused the blond elf as he prepared himself for what was to come.

"Hello" said a blushing girl, and she was not alone a whole group came tagging along with her.

Zanven resigned himself to be the sole target for the infatuated young human females...he already dreaded the conversations that would follow the introductions.

XXXX

Tristain, Vallière estate

A tall pink haired woman sat on the veranda, one of her hands holding a cup of tea and another a letter from Osmond, the old headmaster of the Tristain Magic Academy.

The old pervert was like always making sure to keep her updated on Louise's progress...or lack of it as she came to expect with every new report.

She started to read the message already knowing what it would contain, they all were the same in the end, a long list of failures and a lot of empty promises on the part of the academy.

Karin had already completely given up hope that her youngest daughter will amount to much as a mage, the best she could do at this point was to cement the marriage to Viscount Wardes and make sure he takes good care of her.

So when the content of the letter took a self flattering tone she assumed that some sort of breakthrough was accomplished.

She raised one of her eyebrows when the headmaster explained that Louise has finally managed to gain control over her magic thanks to their hard work and teaching dedication. Louise now not only excelled in written exams but also in practical applications of magic on the level rivaling some of the best students in her class.

If this is true then the Academy has lived up to its expectations, such progress would certainly warrant a generous donation...still I will have to see it for myself to believe it.

She was about to order the servants to get her familiar ready when one of the guards entered the veranda.

"Duchess" said the man as he bowed before her "Lady Louise has just been spotted at the gates."

Though she didn't show it the woman was surprised by the guard's words...Louise didn't say anything about returning home. What a peculiar coincidence...

"I see, you are dismissed" said the pinkette and the guard bowed again before he returned to his duties.

Karin carefully folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope, that done she stood up and moved to the stairway that lead from the veranda to the gardens below.

She didn't need to wait long to see her daughter's familiar form walking down the road, though she was not alone.

The woman behind her daughter had long blond hair and a rather colorful outfit, though not without some appeal.

"Mother" said Louise as she stopped in front of her.

The duchess looked down on her daughter without sparing another glance at her companion.

Karin held her daughter's gaze and noted that there was something that her daughter never showed before...pride. It was strange to see it in her, the last time she saw her only shame could be found inside her heart no matter how much she tried to hide it...

It was certainly a surprising switch considering her self-worth was in pieces ever since she failed her first spell "I wasn't expecting you coming home at this time, did something happen?"

Louise nodded and stepped aside, allowing her companion to bow before her "Mother, this is Zanven Silverleaf I brought him here to heal sister Cattleya."

Him?! Wondered the duchess, though now that Louise identified him as male she could see some features that revealed his gender...or at least made you wonder if the person is truly a man or a woman.

"Your Grace" said the blond with a charm that many a younger woman would find irresistible.

Karin nodded "Mister Silverleaf...you are a healer by profession?"

"I have some skill in the healing arts though I'm not a full time healer" he explained "I'm primarily a musician and traveler."

Karin wasn't pleased with the answer though she didn't allow any of that to show on her face "I see...very well, I will have a servant arrange some accommodations for you while we wait."

"Where is Cattleya?" asked her daughter "I wish to cure her as fast as possible."

"She went to bring Éléonore back home, the fiasco with the Count de Burgundy has left her a little frustrated" said Karin as she walked to the mansion entrance, it was about time for lunch and they might as well dine together "they should arrive before nightfall."

"I'm guessing that the engagement between them is not proceeding as she planed" mused Louise with little interest.

Karin raised an eyebrow at her daughters words "It has been canceled. Not that surprising, her temper does often get out of hand, a man without backbone or willpower can't keep up with her personality."

That's an understatement thought the girl as she followed her mother inside.

The dinning room was elegantly decorated with a large table in the middle. Numerous servants stood on the side ready to jump into action as fast as possible.

The Duke was already there, waiting for them, his face turning into a smile the moment he saw his daughter.

"Louise!" said the man as he hugged the petite girl "I haven't seen you in a year, its been like an eternity."

Louise returned the hug and smiled at her father, though restrained herself from pointing out that he could have visited her in the academy. Once that was out of the way, the present Vallière family members seated themselves around the table. Zanven was left to stand with the servants as the family dined, though it didn't bother him at all.

"I received a letter from the academy today, Osmond writes that they have finally solved your magic problem and that your grades have improved" said Karin as she elegantly cut her food into small pieces.

Louise raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when suddenly she closed it and shrugged "My magic has been improving ever since the familiar summoning ritual."

Karin's eyes shifted from her daughter to the black serpent lounging around her neck, it wasn't a griffin or a manticore but at least it was something. Though if a familiar's main task is to protect the mage the snake wasn't going to fulfill that duty very well "I take it you are a earth mage then."

Her daughter looked thoughtful "Actually wind is the easiest to use for me personally, but yes if going by familiar I would be an earth mage." She expected something like this to happen so she only picked spells that could be explained by Halkeginian magic like Levitation, Fly, Lightning Bolt etc...and because they would impress her mother. However one twists and turns it she still wanted her mother's praise and acknowledgement. Though when she returns to her mansion she will have to better optimize her spell selection. Aeron's suggestion to focus either on Transmutation and/or Conjuration was a good one and she will probably go with it.

"Perfect, I'm anxious to see how good the academy is teaching these days."

"So Louise, who is your friend?" asked her father, even as a servant poured him more wine.

"Zanven Silverleaf, a bard by trade. I brought him here so he can heal Cattleya" was her reply.

"And how much does he ask for his services?" asked the duchess, she could already imagine the outrages sum he would demand...now she only had to show her daughter what a charlatan he was. Her husband on the other hand started to choke on his meal when she said the blond was a 'he', the servants hurrying to his side.

"Nothing" said Louise with a straight face.

"Nothing?" asked her parents in unison, though her fathers voice was a bit strained.

"Nothing" she repeated.

"That is rather unusual..." mused the duke as he focused on the...man standing behind his daughter. I was sure that was a woman...and the more he though about it the greater his unease became, the stranger was handsome, inhumanly so. No, no no my daughter has a fiance, she wouldn't...by Brimir I hope she wouldn't...he mentally cried.

"That is very noble of you Mister Zanven" mused the duchess as she continued her meal in silence.

"It is only natural to help people" answered the disguised elf.

Kain said nothing but for a second it looked like the snake was rolling its eyes.

Curious... mused the woman.

XXXX

Vallière estate balcony

Zanven watched the two pink haired woman talk even as he enjoyed his wine. It became quickly apparent to the duchess that her daughter showed too many combat spells for her taste, the Lightning Bolt being the most obvious offender since it was not something a dot or even a line mage should know...the large Earth Elemental only made things worse since it made the child look like a triangle level mage.

Thanks to being around Aeron so much the girl did manage to somehow lie her way out, saying that it depleted almost all of her willpower and that the combat practices with other mages were the reason why she focused so much on offensive magic instead utility spells.

I wonder how powerful the duchess really is, she seems to instill fear even in her own husband with only a glance Mused the elf even as he watched a carriage enter through the gates. Though it was already dusk his low-light vision made sure that he was not blind to his surroundings unlike the other humans here...with the exception of Aeron naturally...bloody shadovar.

He was already on his feet when a servant arrived to inform the duchess that her two elder daughters have returned.

"So Zanven what spell will you use?" asked Louise as she turned towards him, her mother doing the same.

"The spell Heroes' Feast should do the trick" said the bard "the feast will take one hour and shouldn't be interrupted under no circumstances."

Karin frowned "I didn't order the cooks to prepare a feast, nor do I see how that would help."

Zanven shook his head "Everything is under control, all I ask is a place where the people dining won't be disturbed for one hour."

The duchess scowled, to say she was skeptical about the blond man's words would be an understatement "Then the dining hall is the best option" she then turned to the servant and instructed him to bring her daughters there.

"We should wait for them in the dinning hall" suggested Louise.

When her mother nodded in consent they made their way inside the building.

XXXX

The dinning hall was to Karin's surprise immediately emptied by Zanven. There was not a single servant left in the room, even the table and chairs were removed...what in Brimir's name is he doing? wondered the older woman as she watched the bard standing in the middle of the room with his hand crossed behind his back.

Then the doors opened and two more people entered.

"Louise!"

"Cattleya!"

Karin watched as her two daughters hugged each other...it was nothing new to her, Louise and Cattleya were always close to each other.

"What are you doing here little Louise?" asked Éléonore "shouldn't you be in the academy?"

"Apparently Louise has found someone who can heal your sister" said Karin as she walked towards her daughters, her husband right by her side.

"Mother, father" curtsied the two woman as their parents came close.

"And who is this healer?" asked Éléonore suspiciously.

Zanven approached the now gathered Vallière family and bowed "My name is Zanven Silverleaf and it is my task to heal miss Cattleya."

"He is a bard, but apparently his magic can do what countless water mages have failed to do" said the duchess her words betraying her mistrust in this stranger. She also expected her eldest to be the most skeptical...and vocal about the absurdity of the claim.

She was wrong.

Éléonore's eyes were fixated on the blond man standing in front of her...

Louise actually smirked when she saw her speechless sister stare at Zanven, her face blushing so much on could mistake her for a ripe strawberry.

"Now since we are all gathered..." the bard turned around and started to chant. In his hand he held one of Aeron's many items, in this case a Wand of Fear to give the appearance that he was using it to cast the spell.

The spell was unfamiliar to the gathered crowd, even to Louise who spend a lot of time going through Aeron's books...and that was no small feat, a copy of his own spellbook had over a thousand spells written on its pages.

"Heroes' Feast!" said Zanven as his chant was completed and the spell took effect.

To say the Vallière were surprised would be a understatement...it's safe to say that their collective jaws dropped almost simultaneously.

A table appeared in the middle of the room, chairs and servants as well...even food and drink!

"T-that's impossible!" gasped Éléonore "no spell can do that!"

Both of her parents were about to agree when Louise grabbed Catleya's hand and dragged her to the table "Let's go" smiled the child even as the summoned servants pulled the chairs for the two girls.

"You have to partake in the feast for one hour, the ambrosial food that is consumed will make sure that any and all illnesses are cured" said the bard as he motioned the Vallière to the table.

"How is this even possible!?" demanded Karin even as she sat down on an empty chair. He actually created people, food and drink from thin air!

As her thoughts were running in circles one of the summoned servants already started to fill her glass with drink and another her plate with food "I have never seen magic like this."

"Not surprising" said Louise as she took a sip from her glass "He came from Rub Al'khali in the east, his magic is not like our own."

Her family almost instantaneously looked at Zanven, expecting to see something like long pointy ears sticking out of his long, blond mane.

Zanven tilzed his head "Is something wrong with my hair" said the apparently confused elf and went with his delicate fingers through his hair, intentionally showing his human ears to the others.

"No...only surprised" said the duke as he coughed in his hand...perhaps even to hide the small blush from his wife...the bard looked too much like a gorgeous woman for his taste "we simply never encountered a person from beyond the elven lands."

Thanks to his time spend in the Academy library he had a rather good idea what the elven lands and the territory further east looked like...he will simply spice up his stories with what he knew about Kara-Tur to make it more believable.

"Zanven, perhaps some music with the meal would be good " instructed Louise as she chatted away with her sister.

"As you wish" responded the bard as he took his harp and started to play. His music as was his magic seemed out of this world, never did they hear something so beautiful before...

"Mmmm this is delicious" said Cattleya as she took her first bite. Both Éléonore and her parents had to agree...they didn't know what magic the bard used to create actual food and drink, but it was the best they have ever tasted.

In their wonder nobody noticed that a certain black snake was absent from the feast.

XXXX

Albion, Londinium, Royal palace

The guards wisely moved out of the way as Wardes marched down the corridor to his room. He was in a very bad mood and it wouldn't surprise him if he killed the first person that gave him any sort of excuse to do so.

With one swift motion he entered the room, slamming the door behind him with full force.

"Please don't break the door" said an annoyingly familiar voice "it was rather expensive."

The Viscount stopped in surprise when he saw that this wasn't his room...in fact as far as he knew, there was no room like this one in the whole palace. His eyes then landed on the man responsible for all his problems...the familiar of the little harlot was siting in a rather comfortable chair, a small table with liqueur in front of him "where the hell am I?" asked the irate mage.

"Not in Hell, that I can assure you" said Aeron with a soft laugh as he poured some beverage into two empty glasses on the table "please take a seat, we have to discus the message you send us."

The mage didn't move, only glared at the white haired man.

"Stubborn aren't you..." smiled Aeron as he took his glass "you said that the invasion will start in two months...that is a little too soon for my taste" said the necromancer as he took a sip of his drink "I haven't finished teaching Louise most of the basics she needs." In fact he was teaching her simply the basics of most skills, she can easily build upon them herself later...not to mention what he considers basics on Toril are considered expert skill sets on this world.

"That's not my problem" retorted Wardes.

"That is true I guess" mused the Shade "but it would be better for me if you could delay the invasion by at least a month...sabotage a few things here and there. It shouldn't be a big problem for a man of your skill."

Wardes scowled at the other man...the guy was far to civil "Why don't you simply order me to do it?" spat the Viscount venomously.

"Because people work far better when it's from their own free will" said the necromancer "I can order you to make the necessary sabotages but you would do them not with the best of your abilities, probably sloppy work that would be too easily discovered."

"Possibly" said Wardes...he truly didn't like the white haired bastard.

"Then how about I convince you to help us willingly?" grinned Aeron "If you perform all your tasks exceptionally I will...hmmmm, ah yes! I'll bring your dear mother back to life."

The Viscount's eyes widened at the wizard's words "You are lying, people can't be brought back from the dead."

"They can, I can, I did, I will" laughed the shadovar "your understanding of my magical power is too limited to tell me what I can and cannot do Viscount. Also I will release you from the spell that binds you to Louise, you have my word. Hell, might as well offer you lands and gold as a bonus."

Wardes didn't budge, he stared at the siting wizard with nothing but hatred "I don't believe you, if you wish for my cooperation then remove the spell from me now."

Aeron placed the glass down on the table... "Oh very well, if it realy means that much to you."

With a snap of his fingers Aeron dispelled the compulsion, and in a blink of an eye Wardes pulled out his rapier and released an electric bolt into the seated necromancer.

His eyes widened when the spell fizzled out even before it came close to touching the man who only smiled at his attempt.

He was about to cast the spell again when a hit to his head knocked him prone on the ground. The Viscount glared at whoever attacked him from behind and almost released his bowels when he saw the two ghouls standing over his prone form.

He tried to crawl away from the monsters, but the two undead grabbed him from the floor and dragged him to the free seat.

Aeron watched as the undead pushed the mage into the empty chair.

"I'm afraid you still don't understand your situation" said the shadovar "you have a choice, be our ally and reap the rewards, or be our enemy and suffer the consequences."

Slowly Wardes turned away from the grotesque monstrosities that were standing beside him "Or you will do what? Kill me?"

"Ohhh nooo, nothing so mundane" chided Aeron "if you fail to meet our expectations or turn against us I will nave to be more imaginative with your punishment."

If Wardes though the ghouls were frightening, he was quickly corrected when an insane grin spread across Aeron's face "How about this...I will resurrect your mother, make her immortal and imprison her in an inescapable prison for all eternity suffering from hunger, thirst and cold but without the possibility of death."

Wardes opened his mouth but before he could say anything Aeron continued "But that is a bit mild wouldn't you say...how about I turn you into a ghoul like these two gentlemen here" said the necromancer "you would also live forever, feasting on your mother in the same prison for all eternity...imagine tearing her flesh to satisfy your hunger until the end of time, her screaming in pain as your teeth crush her bones day in and day out...ahh yes, that is a far better punishment" laughed the insane wizard as he disappeared an appeared behind one of the ghouls "now that's a face only a mother can love!"

Wardes heard many threats issued from people...but never such a sadistic one...most of the punishment wouldn't even be directed at him. Who in Brimir's name is this sick fuck?!

"Only if you win, and Tristain doesn't have either the army nor the allies to fight the power that Albion can muster."

"I assure you Albion isn't a force you think it is, but even if by some miracle we lost the conflict that still wouldn't stop me from making my threat into your reality."

Wardes sat there in silence as he watched the madman...in the end he resigned himself that he had little choice. The maniac had him trapped even without any magic bindings... "Fine, I will delay the invasion for one month."

Aeron nodded before he once more raised his summoned glass in the air "Cheers!"

The next moment Wardes found himself standing alone in his room.

Was that a dream? Asked the confused Viscount...then he glanced at his nigh table.

An untouched drink was standing there, and the glass was the same as the one Aeron was using not a moment ago.

"What have I gotten myself entangled with" mused the man as he picked up the drink, and dumped it out of the window.

Now what is the simplest thing to sabotage first...

XXXX

Tristain, Vallière estate

As the feast neared its end, so did Louise start to feel a bit anxious...she truly hoped this spell would help Catleya.

Karin was also having similar thoughts, but even as she hoped that the bard's magic will work she doubted that the man is anything but a fraud, impressive tricks aside. Too many times through the years were her hopes dashed when the water mages failed one after another after making all kinds of promises.

Then the moment came, the time was up and the feast finished. Placing her utensils on her empty plate Catleya looked at the people staring at her.

"It was a very good meal" she said with a smile.

That wasn't the response the people wanted to hear...

"How are you feeling?" asked Louise.

"I feel fine" she answered.

Karin huffed "This is getting us nowhere, Catleya cast a spell and we will know if you are cured or not."

Her daughter nodded and took her wand, and a short chant later two small earth golems appeared in front of them.

Catleya looked confused for a second...usually at this point she would be too fatigued to maintain the spell, but she felt perfectly fine.

Karin noted from her daughter's expression that something was different so she repeated her earlier question "How do you feel now?"

The girl looked at her mother "I..feel fine...normally after a spell like this I would feel sick and weak, but I don't feel any worse then before casting it."

I-It worked! Though Louise as she rushed to hug her sister, ignoring the shocked expression's on her family.

They still couldn't believe it...

"By the Founder!" gasped the duke as he to stood up and walked to his daughter "this is a miracle! Brimir be praised!"

Karin had a hard time believing this was real herself...could it be that Brimir has finally blessed her family? No, it was still too early to judge, she will need to observe how this unfolds...but if it is indeed true that this man has truly healed her daughter, then she will see that he is rewarded handsomely...perhaps even allowing him to marry into the family, especially now that her eldest is again unbound by any possible marriages. The bard's strange magic certainly would be a worthwhile asset.

Certainly worth thinking about...

XXXX

Louise smiled as she changed into her nightclothes.

It had worked! Zanven's spell has actually managed to heal her sister, where hundreds of water mages failed the elf has succeeded.

She managed to help the person who was always there for her! She was so happy at this moment that she grabbed her pillow and started to roll up and down the bed.

The strange behavior was observed by Aeron, who now in his snake form was relaxing in front of the closed window.

After finishing his little talk with the Viscount he returned back to the Vallière estate just in time to cast a Wish spell on the sick woman. Normally Zanven's spell would have been up to the task, but this wasn't a simple disease, it was a genetic defect that required a somewhat different approach in handling it.

Fortunately for her his understanding of human cor-bodies was a bit better than the bard's.

Her rolling around was stopped when someone started to frenetically knock on her door.

Louise stood up and walked to the door, she didn't even reach it when Zanven burst inside and slammed the door shut behind himself.

"What are you doing?" asked the girl with a raised eyebrow.

The elf ignored her as he rushed towards the window.

Both Aeron and Louise watched the elf's behavior with curiosity.

Having opened the window the elf rushed to stand in the closest corner "I'm not here!" he hissed and used the spell Invisibility on himself.

"What was that about?" asked Louise, getting only what could be interpreted as a shrug from the snake.

It was in that moment that Éléonore rushed into her room "Where is he!" she shouted.

Aeron and Louise didn't even need mind reading to know what the blond woman was talking about.

"He flew through the window" said Louise.

Éléonore didn't lose any time and rushed out through the opened window, her magic letting her fly of in the distance looking for the hidden elf.

"Is she gone?" asked Zanven, not daring to even move an inch.

Once Louise was certain that her older sibling was far enough she nodded "Yes, what's this all about?"

"Thank the Coronal of Arvandor" sighed the elf as he became visible gain. "As you know after the feast I started to converse with your elder sibling, her work at the magical institute was fascinating...then all or a sudden your sister went insane trying to persuade me to marry her! Even when I politely refused the offer and returned to the room your mother provided me with still she persisted, to the point that she tried to do it by force!"

Louise was about to speak but though better of it, her sister might be emotionally unhinged enough at the moment to realy do something like that.

"So you ran away here?" inquired the girl.

"Actually, I already tried to lose her in the gardens...didn't last long enough though" grimaced the blond "you humans are too stubborn for your own good."

The discussion was of some interest to Aeron so he made himself comfortable in front of the window, enjoying the cold, nigh air.

And it was at that moment that an owl swooped past, grabbing the snake with its talons before flying of with its meal.

Louise stood there shocked at what she saw "Aeron! Zanven what should we do?!"

The elf shrugged "Get some tea, and leave before your sister returns."

"But what about Aeron? He could die!" gasped the girl at how the elf ignored what just happened.

"If only it was that easy" said Zanven in a bored voice, and not a moment later a familiar person appeared from the shadows.

"That was fun" smiled the wizard, making the girl jump in surprise.

Louise blinked twice before she sighed, of course no simple bird could kill such a mage...bastard giving me a scare like that...

"Sorry to interrupt your thrilling conversation, but we should lea-" at that moment Aeron coughed and a few feathers flew out of his mouth.

Both Zanven and Louise only raised a eyebrow at the bizarre sight.

The necromancer shrugged "They always tickle on the way down. But back on the main topic, since our bussines here is concluded and we have rather limited time before the Albion invasion beggins we should imediately return back to HQ. We have to make you actually battle ready...replace some of your outdated spells and prepare the battlefield."

Louise nodded, it made sense...as much as she wanted to stay in her home there was a lot she still had to do At least now I finally feel like a part of the family instead being a burden and disgrace.

"Let me just say goodbye to Cattleya."

XXXX