Year 10, Day 66 / Research
"Hey Garret?"
"Yeah?"
"… Thanks for doing that… I'm glad my partner has some mercy left within him."
Sitting together at that familiar campfire, Annika rested her head on Garret's shoulder as he stared, forlornly into the flames.
"It's not much… you know the things I preach."
"But it's a start. And that's good enough for me."
She sounded like she was going to say more, but a distant knocking sounded through the forest. Looking up, Annika sighed and straightened herself.
"Take care, Garret… Someone's at the door."
Then she stood, and the dream faded.
The morning sun bathed Fort Estlev in a calming, orange light, but the ambience did little for Garret's mood. Marching through the snow, flanked on either side by guards, he approached the town's courthouse and stepped through its imposing, double doors.
"This whole affair is a sham! You do realize who we're talking about, right? This is Captain Fax! He's one of the most bloodthirsty commanders I've ever seen, he'd never have done this for a monster!"
And apparently right into the middle of an argument. In the spectator seating on the right, the commander of the city's guards was shouting across the court room at the city's high priest, who rebutted in a calmer, but still angry voice.
"You doubt my acolytes, Commander Hale? Need I remind you that our Goddess preaches honesty. I would not have accepted them if I thought them liars."
With the fall of her gavel, Fort Estlev's magistrate, seated on the elevated judges bench at the head of the room, called for silence. Then, she added her own comment to the mix.
"Well someone is lying. None of our citizens mentioned a wounded harpy, nor did any of them see her leaving the temple."
Noticing Garret's entrance, having been fetched by the guards she dispatched, the woman sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"We'll put it to a trial then. Blatant forgeries of orders cannot be ignored, but neither will I tolerate slanderous individuals. We have far greater things to be concerned with than tearing each other down…"
Once Garret had been led to his stand, she called for the doors to be sealed, and announced that the court was in session.
"Captain Fax. You stand accused of forging orders, of giving aid to the enemy, and of desecrating a temple with the presence of a monster. How do you plead?"
So it had come to this… Garret suspected as much when, a week after his little stunt, he was woken by guards pounding on his door. Fortunately, they wouldn't find the forged order in his room if they searched it… for some reason he couldn't bring himself to burn it, and had stashed it in his robe's pockets instead. Though he'd forgotten about it then, and had changed clothes several times in the days since, by some miracle, it had ended up being hidden within the garments he was currently wearing.
"Not guilty, your honour."
After steeling himself and preparing to be grilled, Garret replied in a confident voice. The priests scowled at this, and Commander Hale smiled slightly, but the legal battle had only just begun.
The next twenty minutes were filled with accusations, rebuttals, and alibis. Though Garret was barraged with questions that tried to twist his words, he refused to attack the credibility or conviction of the acolytes. Instead, countering their arguments as best as he could, he merely defended himself. This was his fight, and he knew they were totally in the right. No need to try and drag them down with him…
Eventually, though, things ran out of steam. After a particularly unconvincing argument, the magistrate, now leaning on one hand, voiced how unimpressed she was with the prosecution.
"Does the prosecution have any physical evidence to support their claims? The forged order? Soiled sheets? Anything at all?"
"No, your honour…" came the sheepish reply. "We… burned the bedding after the monster left."
"Then tell me, what possessed you to bring one of our finest officers to court, tarnishing his good name?"
"He… He brought a monster into our temple, your honour!"
Despite their whole-hearted conviction in their statements, the acolyte's eye-witness reports were all they could offer. Both the magistrate and their high priest looked more disappointed than anything else, when they heard this.
"Yes, that's what you said… The court has heard enough, and will issue its judgement."
Banging her gavel, the woman laid out the law.
"Captain Fax. You stand cleared of all charged. You are free to go."
Then she leveled a glare at the quartet of acolytes and their priest.
"Brothers Radshaw, Enoch, Swin and Kurtis. I find your testimony lacking, fouled with falsehoods and baseless accusation. I find you guilty of slandering an officer of The Order."
… So that was it. He'd go free, but the four acolytes would be punished instead. Glancing over at the men who, while clearly not the smartest to have brought this case up to begin with, were stuck in a state of disbelief as the magistrate announced their sentence. As members of the rank-and-file, they'd be subjected to lashes for discipline, would likely be discharged from their temple, and all-in-all, have a very hard road ahead of them.
… Was this what he was fighting for? One harpy at the cost of the livelihoods of four young men? After butchering monsters for the sake of mankind, was he now going to sacrifice humans too?
"Your Honour, I'd like to amend my plea."
The magistrate paused and raised an eyebrow, before granting permission.
"Go on."
"I plead guilty to all charges."
Hearing that, the woman smiled, but waved it away.
"That's very selfless of you, Captain Fax, but your intentions are transparent. I will not punish an innocent to shield the guilty, especially when there has been no evidence to lend credence to this."
… Was he really going to do this? Garret's eyes shifted to the priest, the acolytes, and the guard captain. All were equally perplexed at his actions. This was his last chance to avoid punishment, he could just let it slide…
Garret sighed, then mustered his courage. For the sake of mankind…
"Your Honour, I'd like to present new evidence to the court."
Now, even the magistrate was puzzled. Garret swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped towards the judge's bench. He produced his crumpled, forged order and handed it to the woman, for her to read. When she finished, the courtroom settled into stunned silence. Commander Hale was the first to grasp what had happened and, before the magistrate could continue, blurted out.
"You gave aid to a monster?!"
Garret steeled himself, straightened his posture, and incriminated himself with as confident a voice as he could muster.
"Yes Sir, I did."
Looking from the shocked officer, back to the judge, Garret explained himself, for all to hear. Maybe he could make it sound… less bad.
"The induction of harpies into The Order was a mistake, your honour. They, like every other monster, are our mortal enemies, and I do not trust them in the slightest… However."
He paused for emphasis, trying to make it sound like his decision was made from ruthless calculus, rather than sympathy.
"Given that I'm forced to work with them, I want to pick the lesser of the evils. One, particular harpy has distinguished herself with continuous reliability. She has come as close to trustworthy as a monster can, and is the only harpy I will work with. … but my students, blinded by their rage at losing a comrade, tried to kill her. She required the services of a priest to survive, so I forged and order to provide her with that."
Garret glanced at the guard commander, who's perplexion had twisted into a scowl of disapproval.
"I want to emphasis: the sole reason for this was to maintain communications."
Still not quite sure what to make of the situation, the magistrate took a moment to think. In the end, though, Garret knew there was only one way this could play out.
"… I see. The court reverses its judgment."
From there, he had the wonderful experience of listening to his career being torn apart. For blatantly forging an order, he'd be stripped of his rank and discharged from The Order's military. He would be allowed to keep his position as the head of his school, and in times of combat, would be called upon to lead his students, but would not be granted the privileges of an officer or soldier.
In practice, significant pay-cut and loss of status aside, nothing had really changed. Garret suspected the magistrate was being lenient on him, perhaps because of his reputation, but the punishment still stung. At least she omitted the lashes. Garret was grateful for that.
After one of the guards sliced the threads of his rank insignia and ripped it from his robes, the court adjoined, and everyone was allowed to leave. Sometime around noon, Garret slowly made his way home.
"Captain!"
As he fumbled with unlocking his door, a voice from behind, a gust of wind, and the flap of wings signaled the arrival of a messenger bird. Technically he'd still retain access to those too. Turning around, he spotted vermillion wings, green eyes, and a newly cleaned, white coat. It was Loria. The same bird he'd threatened, cursed, insulted, and now, rescued.
"Not 'Captain' anymore. You can call me 'Instructor'. Or just 'Mr. Fax'."
Correcting this, Garret glanced down at the tear where his rank used to be.
"O-Oh… What happened?"
The cheerful harpy was taken by surprise and, her race not having the reputation of being particularly quick thinkers, took a minute before she put two and two together.
"Was it because of-"
He quickly cut her off.
"No, it was because of me…"
Glancing back at his school, Garret paused a moment, then elaborated.
"Made a bunch of mistakes long ago, and they finally came to a head here."
"I see… and you were demoted?"
"Actually, I got stripped of my rank entirely. Now I'm just a teacher, in command of only my students."
It was better than what would have happened to those acolytes, though.
"Oh…"
Garret would have thought a monster would be pleased to hear this – a member of the faction currently enslaving them had fallen on hard times. Were he in her position, he'd likely have thought it a good 'serves you right' moment, but puzzlingly, the harpy's mood seemed to fall instead. Brushing it aside, he moved the conversation to the reason for her arrival.
"I take it you have a package for me?"
"Yes! A letter!"
Immediately perking back up, Loria tugged on the strap to slide the bag around to her front, then grabbed it and presented it to Garret.
"It's in pouch two."
Then it was Garret's turn to fiddle with the tiny latch and retrieve the tightly wound scroll.
Captain Fax. By the authority of Lord Tilst, Exalt of the nation of Tilia, you are hereby summoned to an audience. The court sorcerer, Lady le Blanc, will provide transportation through the portal network, and will arrive on the date of…
"Damn it!"
Garret nearly threw the letter in frustration, only thinking better of it at the last moment. They hadn't even had two weeks, now of all times they were calling him?! … Probably wanted him to drag his school on another one of their missions too…
Loria jumped, startled at his outburst, and remarked in a cautious voice.
"I… I take it the message wasn't good…"
"No, it wasn't… I need a drink."
Abandoning his plans, Garret began to trudge towards the local tavern. Following closely and occasionally glancing up at him, like a lost puppy, the harpy trailed behind.
"Something went wrong?"
"Sort of… just some noble who thinks my school is his personal army."
"Oh… What does he want?"
Garret shrugged.
"Probably my students for a mission again… wonder how many we'll lose this time."
Hearing the mention of his dead pupil, Loria tried to offer her condolences, but Garret dismissed them and kept walking.
"I'm sorry…"
"Not your fault. You work for The Order, you didn't kill my student…"
When they reached their destination, Garret paused outside the tavern. Though conversation had ceased somewhere around the half-way point, Loria had kept following him. He stared at her for a moment before nodding and dismissing her.
"Thanks for accompanying me, Loria. I'll let you get back to your work."
The woman didn't budge though, and looked like she was about to follow him in when Garret opened the door. With a stonier expression and stern voice, he repeated his words.
"I'll let you get back to your work."
She got the hint this time and, though her mood was dampened by being told to leave, took off without complaint. That left Garret alone with his thoughts. After securing himself a strong mug of ale and an isolated table, he brooded over the coming audience. As a commoner, the nobility could effectively walk all over him. Even if he protested, his students would likely be forced to partake in an operation, regardless.
… But the meeting was tomorrow, and he'd only been demoted today… His set of 'formal' robes still had his rank sewn on. Lord Tilst didn't have to know he wasn't a captain anymore…
Day 67
"Captain Fax! Good morning!"
Lord Tilst's boisterous greeting marked the start of their audience, and again, Garret was invited to their table at mealtime. The eating part, at least, he was ok with. The quality of his own food would be taking a significant hit, given his change of status, so Garret made sure to take advantage of the most pleasant part of the meeting. Breakfast for a lord was far better anything an officer or commoner could afford.
When they'd finished eating the, as usual, excellently prepared meal, Lord Tilst got straight to business, not bothering to wait for le Blanc's arrival.
"My magician told me the operation was a success. Your school did good work, Captain."
"Thank you, excellency."
"As you know, though, we need to make a second mission to properly retrieve our salvage. Your school could prove useful once more. What do you say?"
This time, Garret stood his ground.
"We can't. Not this time, Excellency."
The flat rejection resulted in an arched eyebrow, and Garret was forced to justify himself.
"Oh? Why not?"
"A student was killed in the last mission, Excellency, and we nearly lost many more. The survivors are still reporting nightmares. They witnessed one of the most… traumatic transformations I've seen. None of them are in shape to redeploy so soon."
Lord Tilst pondered this, but didn't let him go so easily.
"I see… But you've already cleared the path once. There should be less danger now, and there still is that… financial issue."
"… Excellency, most of my students are still children. The few I brought last time had barely turned eighteen. They need time to recover. Otherwise we'll just lose more, and soon, I won't have a school at all."
As stood his ground, the noble stared hard at Garret, who met his gaze. Maybe he'd catch more punishments, refusing a lord like this, but at least his students would be safe. Eventually, though, Lord Tilst acquiesced and shifted to a request his favoured teacher would be more likely to accept.
"Can I at least convince you to go? Mrs. le Blanc asked for you by name."
That comment took Garret by surprise, and his face showed it.
"Really? She asked for me, specifically?"
"Yes. She said you were one of the best officers she'd worked with."
Lord Tilst nodded, speaking with confidence, but Garret wasn't stupid. He knew the praises were likely meaningless flattery,… but if it was just him, assigned as a partner to le Blanc, his students would be safe. And he'd limit the damage to his relationship with Tilia. Playing along, Garret pretended that'd convinced him.
"Well, I'd hate to let her down. I'll go, Excellency, but my school stays behind."
An accord reached, the noble's cheerful mood returned, and he clapped his hands together.
"Excellent!"
As if on cue, that was when Lady le Blanc decided to make her appearance, and Lord Tilst announced the result of their negotiations.
"He said yes, Mrs. le Blanc."
A faint smile graced the magician's face, as she took her seat at the table.
"Good. Thank you, Captain."
"Mr. Fax, the salvage teams will be passing through Fort Estlev in a week. You can link up with us there. With luck, our travel will be quicker this time."
After the meeting was finished, le Blanc escorted him back to the teleportation node, briefing him as they walked.
"Understood. Is there anything I should bring for this salvage mission?"
"Only your usual kit. We'll be well supplied with everything we need."
"Well that simplifies things… but what do you need me for? Like His Excellency said, we've cleared the route already, it should be less dangerous now."
Le Blanc's disapproving glance indicated she'd caught his final attempt to extricate himself from the situation.
"Mr. Fax, you know that 'less dangerous' still implies the existence of a danger. I won't risk myself without someone watching over me, and you've acquitted yourself admirably before."
"Sure."
With that, they arrived at their destination, ready to be transported… Though as he stepped into the circle, a thought tugged at Garret's mind. Le Blanc had been leaving his rank out when addressing him. Did she already know he'd been demoted?
Day 74
Like before, the convoy stopped in Fort Estlev's city center, but with no unit of mages to organize, and plenty of light left in the day, it kept moving. In the town square, Garret stood, pack in hand, waiting for the wagon train and, when it arrived, quickly strode over to board le Blanc's wagon. Taking a seat beside her, she voiced her approval… and concern.
"Mr. Fax, it's good of you to join us… What happened to your robes?"
Evidently, she hadn't known, but with a sharp eye, she picked out the patched segment where his rank insignia used to be, and directed her question towards it.
"I was discharged from the military, Mrs. le Blanc. I'm no longer a Captain."
As the words left his mouth, Garret realized, too late, that she had the privileges of a noble too. Now that she knew he was a 'commoner', she could overrule him and-
"Do not worry, Mr. Fax… I shan't use my authority to force your students to come. The operation will proceed as planned."
Sensing his anxiety, she preempted it, much to Garret's relief. As he settled in for the long trip beside her, he gladly gave her his thanks.
Day 78
With the trail having already been blazed, and without Garret's students slowing them down, they arrived at the ruins much quicker than before. Thankfully, their journey went without incident, and after they'd set up camp, they stepped into the buried structure once more.
During the initial descent, Garret was quickly put to work. As they moved, he helped le Blanc mark safe paths for the dozens of other, non-magical workers to follow, but that only lasted a short time. Once they'd reached their objective, Garret was stuck as a glorified guard dog, pacing the room, on the look-out for anything dangerous.
… But how would he know something was dangerous ahead of time? The ruins were devoid of life, so nothing was going to barge in and attack them, and he didn't understand anything about the machines le Blanc and the other workers were tinkering with. He kept a close eye on the metal women as the automata were carefully retrieved from their casings and brought up to the surface, but that went smoothly as well. With nothing to do, Garret was left to ponder the surroundings.
Examining the, powered-down glowstones in the wall, and running a hand along the ancient pipes leading to silent machinery, Garret began to draw parallels to what he'd seen in Hafe. The technologies here looked, at least superficially, similar to those of Aleksy's mageworks. Had they been a source of inspiration? Or had he come up with his solution independently? These ruins were likely far older than… wait, just how old was his system? Or this one? The only thing he had for hints were the exaggerated dates the matango had given him, in a hallucinatory dream of all things.
"Mrs. le Blanc, what would it cost to commission you for spell research? There's something I'd like to see…"
When there was a break in the work, Garret asked that, prompting a musical laugh from his temporary partner.
"You would commission a court magician with the wages of a commoner? Mr. Fax, surely you must be joking. Even with a Captain's salary, you could not afford me by far."
Well so much for that. Garret started another lap of the room, expecting the matter to be settled, but after a time, le Blanc spoke up.
"Your question is curious, though... Mr. Fax, what exactly did you have in mind?"
"You mentioned there might be a rough way to date artifacts with one of your spells."
"Not one of my current spells, but perhaps, the same principles, with the right modifications."
Maybe it wouldn't be too expensive, then… Garret paused, then thumped one of the walls with his fist.
"I want to know how old this structure is. Or at least the stuff we're looting from it."
A strange request to be sure, but perhaps that strangeness was what caused le Blanc to mull it over.
"Hmm… and what could you possibly offer me to make it worth my while?"
"How 'bout a trade? Knowledge for knowledge."
Le Blanc looked up from her work and squinted at him. It seemed he'd made the right offer.
"You have my interest, Mr. Fax. What 'knowledge' do you speak of?"
"Well… I might know of a ruined city full of magical machinery that Naton hasn't gotten around to investigating. It's all severely damaged, but you might be able to find something."
The mention of unexplored ruins caused le Blanc to immediately perk up.
"Oh? Well then, I might be able to help you, Mr. Fax."
"It's a deal, then?"
She smiled and shook his hand when he walked over.
"It's a deal."
But she didn't let go. After they shook, she held her grip and looked into his eyes, her expression falling to an unmistakably serious one.
"But Mr. Fax… If this information proves insufficient, and you waste a court magician's time, there will be consequences."
He gulped, but there was no going back now.
"I understand."
At his agreement, le Blanc released him, donning her usual, calm and refined demeanor.
"Then it is done. I'll reach out to you once I've prepared an appropriate spell."
Day 101
Warm rains, sunlight, and plant growth. A few weeks later, spring had finally sprung. With the snows of winter melting away, Fort Estlev was becoming more lively, and its residents began preparing for the upcoming festivals. Two segments of the population were not particularly happy about the changing of the season, though.
The first, were the harpies. With breeding season only a short time away, they were dreading the coming weeks, where they'd be locked in their houses by The Order's soldiers. This was, of course, for their and the population's own safety.
Monsters in heat were not tolerated on the streets, but for the harpies at least, the urges would pass with time. Once the season was over, and they weren't in danger of rabidly attacking men, they'd be allowed out to resume their deliveries. That didn't make the thought of being locked indoors with the worst case of blue-balls imaginable (or whatever the monster equivalent was) any more appealing, though.
The second, displeased group, were Garret's students. With the arrival of warmer weather, he's stepped up their mock crusade training, sending them out week after week for short excursions. The spring rains meant they were trudging through and fighting in deep muck during these events, but Garret spared them no mercy. In war, they wouldn't always have the luxury of operating under fair weather. There was no reason to coddle them here.
Unbeknownst to them, purpose of the training was twofold. On one hand, his students would be better soldiers for it, but on the other, it kept them out of trouble. Exhausted magicians were less likely to cause mischief, and a certain group of students, praised by Garret for their 'exceptional zeal and devotion to The Order's cause', were singled out for even more instruction on top of that.
Having already shown their willingness to harm 'friendly' monsters, Garret made sure the group who'd attacked the harpy never had anything on their minds by the end of the day, besides finding the quickest way to their beds to collapse. If they barely had the energy to stand, they wouldn't have the energy to form a lynch mob.
"Good morning, Garret!"
With a cheerful call, Loria dove out of the sky and presented her bag with a flourish.
"Yooou've got mail! Pouch four."
As he fiddled with the clasp, Garret commented on her demeanour.
"You're in a good mood…"
"Of course I am! We're finally getting warm weather, flying is fun again!"
"It wasn't in the winter?"
"Not with the storms or the wind… the jackets help, but it's still cold. So! How have you been?"
Suddenly switching topics, she referenced his previous trip with Lady le Blanc.
"I heard you got back from a mission a week ago. Did it go well?"
"Yeah, it went smoothly."
"I thought so! None of your students tried to kill me this time.~"
She'd certainly gotten over that fast…
"Actually, they were left behind. I went alone with the convoy for this mission."
Almost immediately, Loria's expression shifted to one of concern.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"No it's… if it was safe, we wouldn't need to carry weapons, but I can handle myself. Plus, there were other guards, and it wasn't like we were seeking out trouble this time."
Hearing this, Loria relaxed, her relief obvious.
"Ah... Well I'm glad in any case."
Garret chatted with the cheerful harpy for a little while longer, but eventually, she was forced to resume her deliveries. Before she went, Garret quickly clarified if she was going to be in the town for the rest of the day – there was a letter he wanted to send that evening.
… but what was he supposed to write for it?
Once again, stricken by writer's block, Garret sat at his desk and stared at the blank sheet as the sun drooped ever lower in the sky. Le Blanc's deal had him on edge with worry and anticipation. Every day her research took set a higher bar for the value of his knowledge. Though it had only been three weeks since they'd finished their mission together, Garret was itching to know how things were going… but how to ask without sounding desperate, irritating, or worst of all, using up more of le Blanc's precious time.
Eventually, he reached the point where apathy outweighed his indecision, and he hastily scribbled the note. After stamping and rolling it up, Garret tucked the letter into his pocket and made his way to the harpy ghetto.
Dinner was well underway by the time he showed up, but the guards at the gate didn't care and let him in anyway. Inspecting the nameplates on the handful of rundown shacks, Garret eventually found Loria's and knocked gently on the door. The wood of the tiny house was in such poor shape, he didn't want to risk punching a hole in it…
"Coming!~"
A cheerful voice, at odds with the drab ambience of the slum, came from inside, and a minute later, Garret heard the tapping of clawed feet on the floor as Loria moved to open the door.
"Ah, Garret! What can I do for you?"
He quickly produced his message and handed it to her.
"I need this delivered to Lady le Blanc, in Tilia."
In response, the harpy bobbed her head enthusiastically.
"Sure, I can do that!... but…"
She glanced over her shoulder at the dented cauldron boiling over a pitiful fire pit.
"I was just in the middle of cooking… Can I go after I've eaten?"
It took a moment for Garret to answer. He'd followed her gaze, and caught glimpses of her home's interior. The single-room house, if you could even call it that, had been built solidly enough to avoid blowing over in the wind, but besides that, almost no care had been given to its construction or furnishing.
The floor was uneven, and a pair of old pots were positioned under leaks in the roof. The mountings on the walls for hanging cooking equipment seemed usable enough, but everything racked there looked like third or fourth-hand junk. The firepit wasn't properly ventilated, limiting its usefulness, and behind her, he spotted a pile of straw under a blanket. The poor girl didn't even have a mattress to stuff it into.
This was how they were treating their temporary 'allies'?
"Garret?"
Loria's voice called him back to the topic at hand, and he quickly answered.
"No- I mean, yes. Of course. There's no rush, you can wait until tomorrow if you want."
"Thank you, Garret…"
Reaching for her bag, hung by the door, she handed it over to him.
"You can put it in pouch number one."
After he'd wrestled with the buckle and stored his letter, Garret bid her a good night and turned to leave. Before he made it too far, though, Loria called out to him, one last time.
"Um, Mr. Fax, before you go… Could you help me with this?"
'This' turned out to be a jar with a stuck lid, and seeing it, Garret couldn't help but chuckle. Indeed, her prehensile wingtips likely had trouble gripping, and her clawed feet, probably had similar issues. In the world of winged women, it was humanity's job to open the pickle jars. He gladly obliged.
Day 103
Two days later, likely prompted by his letter, an apprentice mage appeared at Garret's door with a summons from Lady le Blanc. When he arrived, he'd expected to find her waiting for him in the hall, but instead, was led to her quarters. There, he found her sitting at her desk, frazzled, irritated, and looking like she hadn't slept for days.
"Mr. Fax, I'm at my wits end trying to solve this, and am in danger of abandoning the whole thing."
"What's wrong?"
"The spell is wrong. I've checked my formulae a multitude of times, and everything should be sound, but the values keep going out of range! Here, let me show you."
She pointed at his sword, then chanted a short spell and shot a blue spark into it. Where the magic landed, script materialized in the air, eventually forming a pair of numbers. 15. Indeed it matched the number of years that had passed since Garret was first issued it, back in North Reach.
"See, for young objects, it works, but for older stuff…"
She grabbed a random artifact off her shelf. As she cast her spell, Garret noted it was the rosary he'd found in the ruins during their first expedition.
"The numbers just run away! Look at this! 2300! How could there be ruins from over two thousand years ago? And how could they be fighting monsters? Even if our history is off and we double it, at most, At Most, we're looking at them first appearing 600 years ago. It just doesn't make any sense…"
The frazzled and sleep deprived wizard collapsed against her desk, head in her hands.
"And I can't. figure. out. why it's doing this…"
"Have you tried intermediate objects? Maybe stuff from when Tilia was first settled?"
Le Blanc slumped back into her chair and sighed.
"Of course I've tried. The spell works well enough on artifacts from back then, but the minute we get past something who's age we already know, it goes haywire."
"I see…"
Garret took a seat and thought about it for a moment. He already had a date, unreliable though it was, for the infrastructure in Hafe.
"That might still be good enough. We can test it again in the ruins I mentioned."
"Yes… I suppose that would be for the best. I shan't lose more sanity without knowing this exchange will be worth something. When shall we depart?"
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow. Then it shall be done. I hope your ruined city is worth it, Mr. Fax… for your sake, as well as my own."
Day 105
Garret had been expecting to have to teleport home and pack his gear for another (albeit, shorter) journey, but le Blanc was kind enough to requisition left-over supplies from their latest caravan. She allowed him to spend the night in Tilia's castle, and the next morning, after a lovely breakfast, the two headed off.
After hopping through the teleportation network, it would only be a few days walk to get to the burning ruins of Hafe… but that distance was one le Blanc refused to cover by foot. Seeing hiking as beneath her, the court magician opted to hire a carriage instead. At least it got them there faster. On the morning of the second day, they arrived at the burning city's gates.
The area around the town had been charred, with the grass and trees burnt to ash. Of the fortifications, only the stone of the city walls remained, their wooden battlements long-since consumed by flame. Indeed, in the ten years since Garret had last been here, everything flammable had been burnt, leaving only stone, metal, and (hopefully) warded magical objects. Fortunately, this would apply to the matango and their spores as well.
Though the wooden gates of the city had long-since been burnt, the metal portcullis remained, necessitating another trip over the city's walls. One grappling hook later, Garret managed to secure a rope and traversed the fortification, going first to preserve the modesty of his dress-wearing companion.
"I don't suppose you have a method of dealing with this heat, Mr. Fax?"
Garret shook his head. Atop the wall, the sweltering drafts of hot air, fed by a thousand ever-burning fires, washed over them. Glancing at le Blanc, he noticed her face was already dripping with sweat. They'd need to move quickly, to prevent the less-hardy amongst them from succumbing to heat stroke.
"I might be able to bend the flames, but the heat is here to stay. We'll have to avoid the hotter areas until we reach the port."
"And where is that?"
"On the other side of the city."
"Goddess…"
Fanning herself, le Blanc made no secret of her opinion on the situation while Garret tied off another rope to get down. Descending, and taking a swig from his waterskin while he waited for his 'partner', he mentally plotted their route. They'd want to check the mage's guild, the ruins of Aleksy's manner, and any intact pieces of the mageworks they could find. They had a lot of work ahead of them today, and very little time to do it.
Moving through the burning streets, Garret lead Morgan into the city, avoiding the streams of fire spewing from damaged pipes. Occasionally they'd find squares built without fountains or magical infrastructure. These provided enough open space to give respite from the heat, and allowed them to take breaks. It was in one of these, relatively cooler areas, that Garret ticked an item off his list.
One of the ruined buildings emitted a distinct lack of fire and, when Garret broke off to investigate, found that the explosions from other parts of the street had bent the pipes. With the flow of magic cut off before the inferno could reach the building, maybe the focusing crystals would still be intact.
"It looks like there might be some salvageable stuff in here… are you feeling alright, my lady?"
As he gestured to the structure, Garret looked back and saw a flush-faced Morgan le Blanc, fanning herself, and taking large gulps of water while she sat on a larger piece of rubble.
"I'll be ok. I'm just very… very hot."
"Want to leave? Get some wizard with spells to shield us from the heat?"
Pushing herself up, though it evidently took a bit of willpower, Morgan shook her head.
"No. Let's see what we have."
With Morgan's spells, it took no time at all to find the focusing crystals, though they still had to excavate the buried ones. After carefully removing the rock, the royal magician winced. She, like the wizards Garret worked with long ago, was mentally blinded by the complexities of the enchantments and the sheer amount of energy within.
Once she'd shook he head, massaged her temples, and cleared the pain, le Blanc reached for the stone. Almost immediately, Garret grabbed her arm, having learned from experience just how painful that mistake would be.
"Stop! … The stones are dangerous. When I touched one, it threw me a good six feet from the shock."
Le Blanc, initially annoyed by his interruption, listened to his words, then nodded in understanding.
"I see. Thank you, Mr. Fax."
When she reached for it a second time, a shimmering, white field cloaked her hand and surrounded the crystal upon her touch. Then she plucked it from its fixture and sealed it in a lead-lined specimen box. It seemed it wasn't the first time she'd worked with dangerous artifacts.
The mage's guild, sadly, proved to be of little value to them. When they arrived, Garret was disheartened to find that the wards protecting different artifacts or books had long-since failed, leaving their objects to burn. Without wasting time, they moved on towards the harbour, now full of sunken ships and ruined piers that were, thankfully, matango-free.
There they took another break, with Garret, letting the sea breeze cool him, and le Blanc, ignoring the potential damage to her dress, to wade straight into the icy surf. When she returned, Garret smirked a little.
"Feel better?"
"Much. Now, Mr. Fax, if you would…"
Predicting the request, Garret turned away to give her privacy. After the sounds of rustling fabric and drenched clothes being wrung out had ceased, le Blanc stated she was decent, and sat down beside him.
"This city is dangerous… I can scarce believe people used to live here."
"I'm sure it was less dangerous before the fire… and the monsters."
"No, that's not what I meant…"
Le Blanc glanced around, gesturing to the terrain.
"As a location, it seems near perfect for a city, but there's so much magical energy in the air. That's not good for the health of the citizenry."
"Oh?"
"We had problems with that in Tilia. In the quarters with the most magical machinery, there were noticeable increases in birth defects. Deformities, tumors, hunchbacks… all manner of horrible things. Originally, we thought it was something in the water, but the problems persisted after we closed the wells."
That sounded an awful lot like what had been happening here… at least according to Aleksy's 'play'.
"And you figure it was related to magic?"
"It was! It took an exhaustive amount of research, since no one thought it possible. Everyone interacts with magic occasionally, after all. What we found, though, indicates that prolonged exposure over a period of years can interfere with fertility and the development of feti."
Garret thought about that for a minute, but quickly raised an objection.
"My lady, that can't be right. If it was, no magician would have healthy children."
"It's a matter of degree, Mr. Fax. Wizards, even with houses full of enchanted artifacts, aren't exposed to enough to matter – it has to be something massive like the magical infrastructure we had in Tilia… or whatever is going on in this city."
Well that made a bit more sense…
"I see… how'd you deal with it?"
"We zoned the towns and forcibly relocated large numbers of the population. Now, living quarters have limited infrastructure, and our forge districts are where the most powerful machinery is located – away from the common folk."
"Hmm… It's probably even worse here, then. There's some sort of magical source, buried beneath it. Aleksy called it a 'leyline'."
Le Blanc looked just as puzzled as he had been, hearing the unfamiliar word. When he explained what it was, though, she nodded in understanding.
"I see… So they do exist. A researcher I worked with years ago hypothesized their existence, but had never been able to find one to prove it. Last I heard, she was working on prospecting magic to try and detect them… to think there'd been one hidden next-door all these years…"
After staring into the horizon for a few minutes more, deep in thought, le Blanc suddenly snapped out of her reverie and stood up.
"Your city is shining light upon a wealth of secrets, Mr. Fax. I thank you for sharing it with me."
"I told you I'd hold up my end of the bargain."
"Indeed, you have. Shall we proceed?"
"Yes, my lady."
Things were starting to make more sense… the birth defects were caused by the overwhelming magic of the leyline and the city mageworks. As they walked along the harbour, Garret's mind drifted back to the conversation he'd had with Aleksy and his dreams with the matango.
There had been another way. The city was doomed from the start, with its location. The mageworks, though it protected them from polluted air or poisoned water, exacerbated the chronic issue of the malformed births. The only option they had would be to try and leave and resettle a short distance away… but that was easier said than done. And it relied on the city magicians discovering what had apparently taken Tilia's wizards years, on their own.
As he thought about the unenviable situation, Garret felt a twinge of something that almost felt like sympathy… Could he really blame the man for his 'solution' if it was the only one he had? No, Garret, what are you thinking… He took away the freedom of the healthy humans, to help the infirm. He was a traitor.
… But if he left things as they were, he'd be responsible for the continued, horrible suffering of thousands… Was that 'good'? Torture one thousand for the rest of their lives to protect ten thousand? The math said 'yes', but Garret had long since grown jaded with such ruthless calculus… He was glad he wasn't in a position to make those choices.
Visions of monsters, of children, of everyone he'd killed for the salvation of mankind, flicked through his mind.
… Or was he?
Trying to ignore the creeping feelings of doubt, he stepped up his pace to catch le Blanc, who'd gone ahead of him. He'd think about it later. Maybe.
When the two arrived at Aleksy's ruined manor, they picked their way through the rubble, to the sinkhole that had opened in its center. Surveying its walls and not finding an easy way down, Garret was about to suggest they turn back, when le Blanc addressed him.
"Mr. Fax, is that the leyline?"
As she pointed to the pillar of flame, still billowing from the crevice in its center, Garret nodded.
"Yes… or at least, it was."
"Was?"
"Yeah, I… blew it up."
Morgan glanced at him with a look that mixed intrigue with disbelief, but didn't press the matter immediately.
"You'll have to tell me that story sometime, Mr. Fax."
Then she worked a spell, and slowly, the rubble around them arranged itself into stairs leading downwards. It seemed they'd be making the descent after all.
The machines around the leyline were just the way Garret had left them – in numerous pieces. Though she investigated the damaged harvesting equipment, and even found a few shards of the main, focusing crystal, of greater interest to le Blanc was the pillar of flame. Ignoring the scorching temperatures the fire brought, she risked the danger to get closer, and used her spells to gather as much data as she could.
While she was working on that, though he kept and eye on her in case she fell to heat stroke, Garret was left to explore on his own. He didn't think he'd ever be coming back to this place again… There wasn't much to see but, after making his way through a small maze of machinery, he found himself standing in front of an ash-covered clearing. The piles and streaks of it, blown about by backdrafts and gusts of hot air, would merely be an oddity to anyone else, but Garret knew better. He'd been here when the city burnt, and there was only one, flammable thing present, that was large enough to generate this much ash.
Aleksy…
Staring at the pile, Garret's mind wandered back to his time with the matango and their 'play'. Could he really bla-
He abruptly turned, and strode away from the pile, cutting off the thought. But despite burying his sympathy, the memories didn't cease. In particular, one comment, barely noticeable at the time, kept coming back to him. A matango had said something to him. Something he'd disregarded as a lie for the longest time, but something he could now verify.
"We've kept our paradise safe for half a millennium."
Snatching a piece of metal off the ground, he worked his way back to the magician who, by now, was looking very faint. He called out to her, but she was stuck in the middle a particularly elaborate spell.
"Lady le Blanc!"
"One moment, I'm just… guh… there."
A rainbow-coloured splinter of magic, coalesced into a shard, was pulled from the inferno via telepathy. Her spell complete, like the crystals before, Morgan stashed it in another one of her lead containers.
"Some kind of sample?"
"Yes, it's… it's, uh…"
Le Blanc's sentence trailed off as the symptoms of heat exhaustion began to manifest, and she staggered a little, dizzy.
"It can wait, you won't last much longer. Let's get out of here."
"Yes, that would… probably be for the best."
By now, Garret himself had stopped sweating, but he seemingly had enough of a tolerance to persevere through that, ordinarily, severe indicator. Helping Morgan along, whenever she stumbled, the two of them made their way out of that scalding pit, and back towards the ocean. There, they both wasted no time, rushing into the waves.
"Thanks for the water, my lady."
Having purified some of the salt water, rendering it drinkable, le Blanc had replenished their waterskins. Once again, fighting off the effects of overheating, the two sat on the shore, taking large gulps from the skins. After they'd caught their breaths, though, neither of them were interested in immediately moving. Instead, they sat there for a while, enjoying the ocean breeze. Now that they had some time on their hands, Garret took the opportunity to ask about 'his' spell.
"Are you satisfied with our findings, my lady?"
Morgan, halfway through a drink, took a moment to reply, but when she did, she gave a slight nod.
"Yes. This expedition, and the things that we've found, will generate a wealth of new research for Tilia's mages guild."
"Good… Then can we take a moment to test the dating spell?"
"Of course, though I doubt we'll like the results…"
Pushing through the defeatism, Garret produced the bit of pipe he'd retrieved, for her to work her magic on. One incantation later, a blue dart of magic embedded itself in the steel, and after a moment, shimmering numbers appeared in the air. Morgan frowned upon seeing this.
"It's just like before…"
While le Blanc was cursing the 'failure', Garret was watching the numbers with interest. 600. 550. 600. 500. 550. Maybe because of interference from all the magic in the air, the spell didn't lock on to a specific time period, but… five hundred to six hundred years old… as much as he hated to say it, that lined up with what the matango said…
"Actually, my lady, I think that's correct…"
Hearing that, Morgan perked up, an intrigued expression upon her face.
"Oh? By all means, if you have a theory, Mr. Fax, do tell."
And tell he did. Reaching deep into his memory, Garret recounted what he could from that doomed infiltration, ten years ago. How they'd snuck into the city, the state it was in, and how he'd found Aleksy, with his harem, beside the leyline fissure. He spoke of their duel, his capture, and his induced dreams. Of Aleksy's story, and what he had planned to do. Of how he'd woken up, attacked once more, and triumphed in the end, albeit at the cost of burning the entire city.
Though she looked bored at the start, Lady le Blanc's interest visibly increased as Garret got to the relevant bits. When he finished his tale and explained how, if a monster and her spell were giving the same dates, they might want to take them seriously, she looked thoughtful for a moment.
"That's true… the odds of a lie and my spell corresponding are incredibly low… but not low enough to take the coincidence at face value."
Thinking on it again, she pondered the situation.
"You've given me an interesting question, Mr. Fax… This will require much more research."
Then she glanced over at him – a glance that became a stare as Morgan sized him up.
"From what you've said, you've survived a matango infestation, spoken with a traitor magician here, and have single handedly destroyed the entire city… I would scarce believe that, if not for your prior exploits, Mr. Fax. You seem to have a knack for unexpected success, and possess a perspective on this matter I lack. I'd like you to join me in my research."
Ten years ago, he might have been game, but Garret had other responsibilities now… and the amount of politicking and negotiations he had to do whenever he visited Tilia left him uneager to tighten their relationship… even if they did fund his school.
"My lady, I still have my duties to my students. I can't ditch them to play 'scholar'… or an assistant to one."
"Hmm… True…"
Le Blanc considered that for a moment, before dusting herself off and, seemingly deciding it was time to get moving, standing up. Before Garret could follow her lead, though, she turned to him with a mischievous smile.
"But I would not need your constant presence… and you no longer have your duties or privileges as a Captain, am I correct?"
Her question elicited a sigh. Garret had been around nobles long enough to know what was coming next.
"… Yes, my lady..."
"Then, Mr. Fax, by the treaties between nations of The Order, I am invoking aristocratic privilege. You will report to myself, as your new, direct superior, and will follow my instructions, so long as they do not contradict the laws of Naton, Northreach, or Tilia. In exchange for this, I will provide you a stipend in addition to your standard wages, and will work to keep your school out of unnecessary Tilian deployments. Do we have an accord?"
Finishing her declaration, le Blanc extended a hand down, offering to help Garret up. He grudgingly took it, and nodded. With her position, he wasn't going to get a choice in the matter.
Author's Notes: Not much to write here because I'm at a loss for how to discuss this chapter without spoiling things... its main point is a continuation of something foreshadowed, multiple times prior.
Sorry 'bout the slow pace, I know there's a lot of people here for the battles, but I need to set some stuff up. Can't build a story upon shaky foundation, after all. There's probably going to be at least two more 'slow' chapters before we get back into the thick of things, but I'm hoping the build up makes the story better. ... at least it should be, once fully written, for the people reading it in the future.
Thanks again for reading and...
Until next time, Sayonara!