Chapter 8 – An Unexpected Invitation
Edric's POV
"EDRIC!"
I woke up scared, almost falling out of my bed with Eupherbia's scream, the little fairy was floating in front of my helmet and looking at me scared.
"What's the matter Eupherbia?"
"Look!" Eupherbia said as she pointed to our bedroom window at the inn.
I walked towards the window, as I approached I heard muffled noises coming from outside. They sound like screams? What was going on out there? I pulled the window curtain aside and opened it, only to be attacked by a deafeningly screaming mob.
"THERE IS!" A man pointed at me.
"PLEASE HEAL MY SON!" A woman screamed as she lifted a child up.
"HE IS A SAINT SENT BY THE INTONERS!" A man shouted as he prayed.
I closed the window and curtain immediately.
"Eupherbia, what is it?" I asked the fairy as I pointed to the window.
"I'm the one asking you! What are these people doing here?! Why are they screaming your name?!"
"Well, I may have healed a blind man some time ago, and word spread, more and more people came to me for healing."
"You healed a blind man! How strong are your spells?"
"Miracles, spells are one thing, and miracles are another."
"Does not matter! How much money did you make healing these people?"
"Nothing."
"NOTHING?! YOU WENT OUT THERE HEALING EVERYONE, NOTHING CHARGED?!" Eupherbia demanded as she stopped in front of my helm and did her best to try and sway me.
"And why would I charge? I can cast miracles easily and I will never run out of magic as I have a ring that constantly regenerates my magic."
"Oh Edric! You still have a lot to learn in running a business, but don't worry, I'll teach you."
*KNOC*
*KNOC*
*KNOC*
We were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"It is me, Mister Edric!" A voice answered, I recognized the voice, it was the owner of the inn.
I walked towards the door and opened it.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Mister Edric, I'm sorry if I seem rude, I respect you for being a loyal customer, not causing trouble and always keeping your payments on time. But could you get rid of the crowd screaming your name in front of my inn?! This is bothering the other guests." The innkeeper asked.
"Give me a minute."
I left the inn with Eupherbia following me, as soon as I walked through the door I was surrounded by the crowd.
"PLEASE HELP ME!"
"HEAL ME!"
"HELP MY FAMILY!"
Eupherbia flew forward and spoke to the crowd.
"ATTENTION EVERYONE PLEASE CALM DOWN!" Eupherbia screamed.
The crowd was silent.
"EDRIC WILL HEAL YOU ALL!"
The crowd glowed with happiness.
"FOR THE RIGHT PRICE, OF COURSE!"
The crowd looked down at the floor in silence, doubt and hesitation in their eyes.
I flicked the back of Eupherbia's head.
"Ignore what she said, I won't charge you anything for the cure."
The crowd cheered and roared again.
I pointed my catalyst upwards and casted Flame Throw, the fireball flew until it exploded harmlessly in the sky. That silenced the crowd; everyone looked at me in awe.
"Please calm down, I'll heal you all, but I can't do that with you screaming like crazy. Line up and everyone will be healed."
And the crowd did just that, forming a large line in front of me, one by one they were healed by my miracles.
TIMESKIP
"May the Intoners bless you." An old woman said when I finished healing her back.
I muttered under my helmet, I'd rather not become a religious symbol, let alone one related to the Intoners.
"That was a waste, you should have charged something to heal these people." Eupherbia said as she sat on my shoulder and crossed her arms.
"As I said before, there was no need."
"Even so. Don't you humans do your trade that way? You offer a service and interested people pay for it?"
"Yes, but there is also doing things out of good will, charity."
"Charity? Good will? That's something hard to find in Midgard, and it's something strange for us faeries."
"Why you say that?"
"Fairies are selfish, we only care about ourselves, and others when our lives are in danger. It did not give us a good reputation."
"And why don't you try to change that reputation?"
"ME? HA! I'm not that kind of fairy, I prefer to live my life the way I want instead of pleasing others."
"It's not about pleasing others, it's about being a better person, maybe if you're kinder and friendlier to others, people will like you more."
"Be a better person huh?"
"Think about it."
"Give me some time."
"Take your time, you don't have to do what I say, but I'd like to hear your answer later."
I was pulled out of my conversation by an approaching knight, he didn't look like an adventurer.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Are you the adventurer known as Edric?" The knight asked.
"Yes. Why the question?" I said as I slowly brought my hand towards my bottomless bag.
The knight held out an envelope to me.
"Lady One invites you to Cathedral City." The knight said.
Accepting the envelope, breaking the wax seal, I read the contents of the letter.
"Edric, I believe we started on the wrong foot, I would like to invite you to Cathedral City to talk, not as enemies, but as civilized people."
"I would like to discuss the information you gave in Cathedral City, and recent events. I hope you accept my invitation."
— Intoner One
I kept the letter inside my bag.
"Tell One I'm on my way." Said to the knight.
"Don't keep our lady waiting!" The knight said and went on his way.
Hump! Your lady, not mine.
"I wonder what that uptight Intoner wants?" Eupherbia asked.
"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out."
TIMESKIP
"I've met fool people before, but you are exceeding my expectations." The black dragon said as he carried me.
"It's not that bad." I replied.
"You broke into Cathedral City, fought all the Intoners, and broke the backs of two of them. And now you are being invited by the same Intoner to visit her city. Your enemy is inviting you to visit her territory, it's clearly a trap, and you've accepted."
"She said she wanted to talk."
"And you believe that? Any rational being can lie, and Intoners are no exceptions."
"We're almost there, there's no point in going back now."
"If it's a trap, don't wait for my help."
"If I waited for your help, I would already be dead."
"HAHAHA! At least you know." The dragon said with a laugh.
We approached the cathedral city, flew over the place until we landed in front of the great cathedral, and in the courtyard there were hundreds of soldiers waiting for us, and next to these soldiers there was the great dragon wearing the iron mask.
"Don't try anything funny." one of the knights said as I approached.
"I think I should be the one to tell you that." I replied to the knight.
"We are hundreds and we have a dragon." The knight said.
"Almost a fair fight, you'll need more if you want to kill me. Some demons maybe? Oh! Hang on! You have one, and it is waiting for me in the cathedral."
"How dare you speak of our lady that way." The knight said as he brought his hand towards the sword.
"Enough!" A serious, feminine voice said.
"Lady One!"
Immediately all the knights knelt in front of the Intoner who was leaving the cathedral.
"Come, we have a lot to talk about." One said to me.
"Don't cause any trouble." I said to the black dragon that snarled at Gabriel.
"I won't cause trouble if that pathetic excuse of a dragon doesn't try anything."
"If you are going to fight, do it outside the city." I said as I walked towards the cathedral.
"I don't like this!" Eupherbia said as she hid behind my shoulder.
"Neither do I, but I am prepared to fight my way out of here."
I went up the stairs of the cathedral and followed One, we walked through several corridors of the cathedral until we entered a room with a balcony, on the balcony there was a table, two chairs, a tea set and a chessboard with all the pieces in place.
"Please sit down." One said as she sat down on a chair and extended her hand towards the other.
"Tea?" One said as she poured herself a cup of tea and offered me another.
I stared at the cup.
"It is not poisoned, I repudiate this type of tactic." One said.
"Then you are wasting a useful resource." I said as I accepted the cup and brought it to my mouth.
"Aren't you going to take off your helmet?"
"No." I said as I sipped the tea.
One stared at me confused.
"I see you've made interesting allies since we last saw each other."
"More like they followed me around."
"Serious? It's a sign that you're someone worth following."
"I wish that was it. The black dragon tried to devour me and Eupherbia hid inside my pouch without me knowing."
"Eupherbia?"
"The fairy."
"Unusual circumstances, for sure." One replied while drinking her tea.
"Can we get straight to the point? Why did you call me here?"
"I'm just being a good hostess, but I think I wasn't clear with what I wanted. Is not it?"
"You said you wanted to discuss the information I gave and recent events, but that's too vague."
"Would you mind if we discussed it while we played a little chess? It's been awhile since I've had a good match."
"Can't you ask one of your knights to do this?"
"They would let me win and I pride myself on my chess skills, I prefer to play against someone who gives me a challenge."
"And why do you think I would give you a challenge?"
"It's just a feeling I have."
"Okay, I'll play with you."
"Could you remove your helmet?" One said to me.
"Why the request?"
"I like to look my opponent in the eye." One replied with a small smile.
"I believe you enjoy showing your superiority to your opponents, and watching their desperate reactions as they are defeated."
"Perhaps." One said with amusement in her voice.
"But I will have to refuse, the helmet stays."
"You seem concerned about your appearance, I promise not to judge, I'm not that kind of person. For what it's worth, I've ordered us to be left alone, this section of the cathedral is empty."
"If I remove my helmet, can we start the game and our conversation right away?"
"Yes."
"Okay, but you promise not to tell anyone what you see."
"You have my word as ruler of Cathedral City." One said as she placed one hand over her heart and raised the other.
With a sigh I removed my helmet and placed it on the table, One's eyes widened and she flinched a little at the sight of my face.
"Can we start now?" I asked.
"Edric, are you sick?" One asked worriedly.
"No, this is the result of a little adventure I had before I left for Midgard."
"Would you mind telling me?"
"Perhaps another time."
"So, enough wasting time, let's get started." One said as she made the first move.
"About what you want to talk?" I asked as I made my move.
"First I would like to talk about you, Edric."
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
"Why?"
"You must know why, you appeared out of nowhere in my city during Zero's attack, fought Zero and my sisters as equals, and even showed the ability to use powerful magic that prevented my sisters from using their powers. So I ask you, who are you Edric?"
"Not much to say, I'm just a humble knight."
"You are modest at least, but that still doesn't answer my question, no 'humble knight' could do what you did." One said as she made another move.
"Fine, I think I can give you a little information. I am called Edric Wilheard Germund Ceolbeald, a knight of the Kingdom of Boletaria and Slayer of Demons."
"Boletaria? Never heard of it." One said confused.
"I'd be surprised if you knew, no one in Midgard seems to know where Boletaria is."
"It must be a distant kingdom. Tell me, how is Boletaria?"
"It used to be a great prosperous and developed kingdom, with a wise king, loyal and honorable knights."
"Used to?" One asked while raising an eyebrow.
"The Kingdom of Boletaria and neighboring kingdoms have been devastated."
"By what?"
"Demons."
"Demons? The kind quoted in religious books?"
"I don't know what demons the people of Midgard believe in, but demons are real and closer to humanity than you might think." I made my move.
"And how did these demons end up in Boletaria?"
"By the king's fault, the king was not as fair and wise as everyone thought, in search of more power the king messed with forces that should be left alone, this brought the second scourge to Boletaria, a colorless fog took over the kingdom and with it came a legion of demons that devoured the souls of living beings to strengthen themselves."
"Second scourge? Do you mean there was another?"
"Yes, and the world was almost destroyed during the first one."
"And this second scourge is now occurring in Boletaria?" One made her move.
"No, I stopped the scourge."
"I take it this is how you got the title of demon slayer?"
"Yes, I killed several demons, killed the king and stopped the scourge."
"And how did you end up in Midgard?"
"Magic, I couldn't get out of Boletaria by normal means, so a friend used magic to get me out, but something went wrong and I came to Midgard."
"Interesting, speaking of magic, could you tell me more about yours? There are several books on magic in Cathedral City, but I have never seen anything like yours."
I made my move "Not much to say, magic is part of the history of Boletaria and Latria, but the church doesn't like it. Spells are used via studies and a catalyst, whereas miracles are used through faith and a talisman."
"Miracles? Faith? I find it difficult that having faith in something helps you use magic."
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true, clergy could use many healing miracles to help the sick. I learned spells from wizards and miracles from clerics, and it's thanks to my teachers that I can do what I did during our fight."
"But that doesn't explain how you're so strong." One made her move.
"Let's say there's a way to become stronger in Boletaria, all you need is to bring a specific material to a specific person."
"And what material is that?"
"I cannot say." I made my move.
"I see, you already gave me a lot of information, you have the right to keep secrets, but there is something else I would like to discuss with you."
"What exactly?"
"About what happened at Five's party."
"I do not know what you're talking about."
"You might have managed to fool Five, but not me; it was just a matter of connecting the dots." One made her move.
"I have to work harder on my disguises."
"I agree. First, I would like to thank you for being Five's bodyguard and helping her during the attack." One said while smiling.
"Don't thank me yet, we'll be enemies in the future."
"We'll talk about that later. Second, what were those things? Those red beings? They suddenly appeared all over the Land of Seas, Five's forces were taken by surprise." One asked seriously.
"Those were invaders, some of them are spirits of dead people who refuse to leave, and others are people who invade other worlds looking to kill the host so they can get stronger."
"Other worlds?"
"Imagine a world similar to ours but different, Midgard is the same but someone else rules Cathedral City, another example would be Boletaria, the kingdom is the same but someone else stopped the scourge. There are an unlimited number of worlds, similar but different to the world we live in, worlds where we make different decisions, live different lives. And the invaders come from these different worlds."
One looked down at the table and grabbed her head with both hands.
"This… This is a lot to think about."
"I had the same reaction when I learned about the existence of other worlds, you'll probably wonder if your decisions really matter, but don't worry, you'll find the answer eventually."
"Give me a minute." One said as she sipped her tea to calm down.
"Take as much time as you need." I made my move.
A few minutes passed while One muttered to herself, until she adjusted her posture and went back to her chess game.
"Better?" I asked.
"Yes, but now I'm going to have to think a little bit about the implications of what you told me."
"Be prepared for a long headache."
"Back to the subject. Will these invaders be a problem in the future?"
"Hard to say, invaders don't come in abundance, what happened at the party was unexpected, something called them here."
"Do you know what that something is?"
"No, I once knew someone who could summon invaders in abundance, but that person is dead, I don't know what called invaders to the party."
"I will warn my forces and my sisters to be aware of this, this ability that invaders have to appear out of nowhere, it is a dangerous thing, and we need to find the summoner before the invaders become a problem."
"I agree, but I believe it is now my turn to ask questions."
"Fair enough, ask your questions."
"Why would Zero want to kill you and your sisters?" I made my move.
"Really I don't know, Zero was a loving sister who took care of us, but one day she tried to kill us out of nowhere. I assumed she had gone mad."
"Next question. Why you and your sisters are considered goddesses, you obviously are not."
"The people of Midgard were oppressed by their previous rulers, when my sisters and I defeated the lords people assumed we were some kind of godlike being due to our powers."
"And why didn't you try to correct this misunderstanding?"
"The faith that we were goddesses had already spread, even if we tried, the people would not accept the truth, so I decided to allow us to be worshiped to give the people hope, hope that there was a god who cared about them." One made her move.
"God is not that merciful."
"That is a pessimistic view." One said while frowning.
"But it's the truth. Next question, why didn't you stop your sisters?"
"What do you mean by that?" One asked confused.
"Five doesn't rule her lands properly, Four commits massacres and justifies her actions with the excuse of doing justice, Three caused the disappearance of several people, and Two hasn't been seen in months. Why do you allow this to happen? Why don't you go against your sisters? I can see you're not a fool, you know what's going on."
One looked away with embarrassment on her face, she swallowed hard and replied.
"Because I love my sisters and I don't have the will to hurt them."
"Love? That's the reason?"
"Yes."
"I understand." I made my move.
"You understand?"
"Yes, you are sisters and you love them very much, don't you? I understand why you don't go against them."
"Do you have any more questions?" One asked.
"No."
"Do you mind if I make one more?"
"Ask."
"When we fought in Cathedral City, you said there was a dark power within me and my sisters. What do you mean by that?" One made her move.
"I fought several demons in Boletaria, you could say I learned to feel the power of a demon, I felt something similar but different within you and your sisters. According to the black dragon, this is something called 'The Flower', I won't lie to you, this power that you call song is something evil and this power is growing along with the flower. As a Slayer of Demons, it is my duty to end this power."
One was silent as she thought.
"I'll tell you the truth, I had my doubts."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, there is no record of Intoners or the song in any books in Cathedral City, I also noticed small but noticeable changes in my sisters' personality and attitude. I ignored it at first, people change over time, don't they? But now that you mention this flower, this dark power, I believe there is much more to it."
"And what will you do now?"
"I don't know, I need time."
"Better make a decision soon, the more time passes the stronger the flower becomes."
"I see what you mean, but could you fulfill my request?"
"Say it."
"Give my sisters a chance; let them show you that they are not as bad as you think."
"If you had made that request a few months ago, I would have refused, but as I talk to you and the people of Midgard about what this land was like in the past, and the prosperity you brought… I will give your sisters a chance."
"Thanks."
"But I will act if I see they are going too far."
"I understand."
"By the way, checkmate!" I said as I made my final move.
"HOW!" One screamed.
"Luck." Said with a laugh.
"Let's play again!"
And for the rest of the day One and I played chess, I won every game. Who knew that increasing my luck to get pure Bladestone would have another use?
TIMESKIP
Cathedral City
One watched Edric and the black dragon flying away, suddenly the door of the room where she was opened and her brother entered, but there was something strange about him, his eyes seemed empty and it could be an optical illusion, but wings made of mist seemed to come out of his back.
"Brother? What are you doing here?" One asked.
Brothers One's response was to shot towards One as his hand flashed.
Brother One grabbed his sister by the head, One tried to fight back, but her strength was fading, when One was dropped to the ground, the last thing she saw was her brother holding a black sword.
END OF THE CHAPTER
Well, in today's chapter Edric managed to get on good terms with One, give her an existential crisis and beat her at chess, I'd say that's a good start.
I know it took me a long time, but I finally managed to write another chapter of this story, I know it felt like it, but this story is not dead and I don't intend to stop.
Leave your comments on what you think of the story and until the next chapter.