"Please come with me, sir and madam." He respectfully requests them to adjourn their accommodations. Soon he begins to walk down the hallway with the two in toe just behind him. They reach the end of the hallway; the servant opens the two doors and stands to the side allowing Orpheus and Susanna to exit first.
They continue through the vacant foyer, passing another set of doors and repeating the process. Coming to another hallway with a right turn at the end. Soon after they make their way to a fork. Following along they turn to the right into another hallway with several doors on the left and right space in long intervals.
They move a few metres forward until they reach the third door on the left. The servant pulls out a key and slides into the lock, turning it clockwise. Unlocked, he pushes the door open, turning Orpheus and handing him the key "Here you are sir and the key to your accommodations, anything else you require?" He asked with a slightly expectant tone.
Orpheus carefully grabs the key and then ponders his request. "Not as of this moment but thanks for the offer." He thanks the gentlemen, prompting the lad to turn and leave.
Orpheus and Susanna then enter the room, shutting the door behind them. Entering, they both stand in the doorway, side by side and examine the room's decor. Above is a metallic chandelier descending from the ceiling. A red velvet couch is stationed to the left, up against the wall and on the opposite side is a large wooden bed. The bed is yellow and has decorated covers draped down the sides. A wooden oval table in the centre with various parchment and quills arranged upon it. There is also a covered window obscuring the sunlight just opposite the doorway on the other side.
"Well, this will do." Orpheus said before walking into the room and turning left to place his staff against the wall. Susanna takes the opportunity to seat herself on the nearby couch.
"Comfortable, are we?" He asks.
"Yes, very." She replies before sinking further down.
He walks past her, directing her to shuffle over. She complies before he seats himself next to her. Resting his neck back against the couch he releases a sigh of relief.
"Hey, Orpheus can I ask you a question?" She chimed in, curiously gazing at her now a sloth-like companion.
"Sure." He nonchalantly answers with a relaxed and indifferent tone.
"That story about your parents. Was that true?" Turning her gaze to him she patiently awaits his reply. Concern on her face at the potential answer and its implications.
Her saviour and now companion ponders the question. Soon a sharp grin replaces that ponderous aura. "Not in the slightest." The answer was simple and to the point.
Her eyes widen from the response, she flashes a slight expression of shock. "Impressive... I will admit it was a very convincing story, but I'm curious, why tell it?" The query was left hanging for a moment.
"It was necessary because of a blunder I made when I killed Kencus... I let my emotions get the better of me and it exposed some of my true intentions." Replying honestly, Orpheus resigned himself to the truth of his failing.
Susanna turns her head, staring off into space, in quiet contemplation. "But why was it necessary to create such a narrative." She returns her gaze to him and after a brief pause, she delivers her query.
"Hmm... Well, the lie serves a dual purpose, such as constructing a narrative that they can believe. Thus, providing information on who I am and where I come from. Also, it provides a reason for my whole heroic crusade by garnering their sympathy to my little cause." He explains his reasoning to an intently listening Susanna, gesturing with flailing hands.
Understanding quickly dawned on her, only for a frown to replace it. "Ah, I see you're establishing a sympathetic hero in which people can rally behind whilst simultaneously establishing a false history and motivation... But there is a flaw." She stated while nodding as if she had come to some internal consensus.
"A flaw?" He asked, somewhat confused.
"Your lie can be easily discovered if they simply go to the town of Towershore and ask the locals." Making a valid point, she awaited his inevitable reply.
"Very true that is why I intend to take a short trip to Towershore and plant some false memories in the townspeople." Explaining his solution, he gives her a little wink
She looks back at him with her eyebrows furrowed and a curious expression. "You can manipulate people's memories?" She asked.
"To a certain extent yes, there are limitations to the spell but I doubt it will be a problem." He replied.
Looking back at Orpheus with a sigh of relief. "So, what's next?" She asks.
"First things first, this little coup intrigues me. It seems the relationship between the crown and the nobility is far more tenuous than I initially thought. Kencus was a fool for attempting such a public attack, but there may be other nobles who could be of use... Yes, they would make valuable chess pieces. Two conflicting factions within the monarchy, I could never have devised a more advantageous situation." He explains himself with a malevolent grin as she listens carefully to every word.
"But how can you find this noble faction, you were barred from the investigation?" She asks the question plaguing her mind.
"I know that is precisely what I wanted." Smiling mischievously, he alluded to his plans with a single sentence. Susanna becomes confounded and so sits, eagerly listening to his next statement. "If I was accepted easily into the investigation and subsequently nobles started dropping like flies. It wouldn't take much for people to figure it out. So, I purposefully distanced myself from it, so we can both work from the shadows." Nodding a few times during his explanation he gazes back at her. She nods in agreement with his plan. "Well, I'd say a division of labour is best. I'll deal with the noble faction by interrogating some of the surviving conspirators, who are most likely on route to the prison. I would like you to get close to the royal faction, I would suggest that queen Lysia is a good opening." Explaining the plan, he delivered her part with expectant eyes.
Tilting her head, she sends an inquisitive glance. "So, you would like me to become friends with them, gain their confidence and gather any useful information?" She turns to Orpheus, concerned.
Smiling wryly, a moment of hesitation could be seen. "Is that going to be a problem?" He asks, feeling somewhat sheepish about her answer.
She drops her gaze to the ground for only a moment. Holding in her contemplation, she quickly returns her gaze. "No of course not." She states with finality, nodding in affirmation.
Orpheus still sceptical further questions her resolve. "Are you sure... The methods were are going to employ, are going to be quite unsavoury. Perhaps cruel, are you sure you're truly comfortable with that?" Leaving that query hanging, he awaited with bated breath.
"Yes, I am." She answered immediately and with no indication of second thoughts or nervousness.
Nodding with a smile, he turns his gaze to the chandelier. Delighting his senses with the sight. "Good so I'll mock up a plan to get into that prison, while you will cosy up to the queen, they should be done with their little meeting by now." He gestures to the door, signifying her to commence an action. She nods and then turns to the doorway, proceeding to walk towards but is stopped by his voice. "Wait a minute." He abruptly interrupts her trek. Turning around she noticed him opening his belt bag and withdrawing a pouch filled with coins. "Here take this, you may need to purchase some supplies from the market, such as clothes." He pours around ten gold pieces into his right hand and offers them to her.
"That's a lot of money, I can't accept this." Quickly she denies the charity, as if by reflex.
Instead, he pours the money into her cupped hands and places the pouch back into his bag. "Take it, you need some clothes we may be staying here for a while." He insists with a soft smile meant to put her at ease. Susanna cups her hands together, placing the coins in her waist pouch. She smiles for a fraction of a second and then turns to leave, exiting the room.
He continues sitting for a few moments before attempting to stand up but stopping halfway. He is seized by a soft voice emanating from his bag. Tilting his head downwards to inspect, a light emerges from the slight opening. Opening the bag, rummaging through it for a few moments, extracting a shining crystal.
"Orpheus, Orpheus are you there?" A voice emanates from the glowing crystal.
Recognising it, he moves the crystal to his mouth, speaking softly. "Hello, Aria how are you?" Delivering a simple greeting, he couldn't stop the smile from gracing his previously cold façade.
Soon an excited voice frantically speaks. "I am well; I mean as well as I can be in this incredible place. I have only been here a little while and I have seen incredible things!" The voice of a young girl named Aria speaks excitedly with a consistent and rapid pace, with very few pauses.
"Hey slow down there, before you give yourself apoplexia." He states sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, it's just this place is amazing, there is magic everywhere, there is even a crystal device on each floor and when you turn it to a specific rune, it opens a portal to that floor!" She begins recounting her experiences with sheer glee and amazement.
"Ah yes, the floor gates... Truly an incredible feat of magical ingenuity. I once theorised an entire network of portal's stretching out across the entire country, but such a thing would require more power than I possessed." Sighing at his old plans, his head dipped before chuckling at the absurdity.
In response to his bold plan, Aria became even more excited. "So, everyone could see each other at any time, wow that's amazing!" She exclaimed as if he had graced her with some blessing.
He smirked at her light-hearted statement. "Yes... That's what I'd use it for.” He stated before trailing off, not wanting to reveal too much. “So how are you settling in, made any friends, have you got a dorm room yet?" Quickly changing the subject, he queried her current boarding situation.
She paused for a moment, peering at her surroundings. Grasping the crystal in her left near her chest. She is in a small dorm room seated at a desk with a stack of blank parchments, quill and ink, neatly arranged. A window is half-covered with a white curtain as sunlight cascades through the glass, partially illuminating the room. To her left is a single size bed with two white pillows and a blanket neatly tucked into the sides. To her right, a wooden wardrobe standing almost a metre high with two drawers at the bottom and a cabinet at the top. Directly behind her is a wooden door painted white with a gold doorknob and small curved decorations on each corner similar to the letter "s" written in calligraphy.
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"Orpheus it's just my first day I haven't made any friends yet!" She speaks with an obvious nervous tone, at the end of her statement.
"I'm sorry." He sincerely apologises, leaning back on the couch with his arm stretched out against the wall, resting on the couch.
"It's okay... " She replies, shrugging.
"So, what room did they give you, does it have a view?" Changing the subject, he asks a question.
"Yes, it has a wonderful view of the garden... It's so amazing that I can see it almost every day.” Replying with a high note of glee, a wide smile traces across her face. “Actually, this room was strangely selected for me, apparently, after I gave the receptionist the letter of recommendation, I spoke to a man named Evirus." Titling her head to the side, she recalled the memory.
Orpheus sighs loudly, tilting his head as if afraid of the mere mention of the man's name. Lifting his head up he responds. "What did he say?" He asked with a downcast expression.
Aria's gaze drops to the floor, becoming very nervous with her next response. "Well... He kind of gave me your old room." Answering his question barely above a whisper, she awaits his reply.
At the mere mention of that, he lifts his head, leaning further back with a smirk. "That prick!" He spoke followed by a short chuckling fit.
She was slightly stunned by the statement soon she quickly regained her composure. "He also wanted me to give you a message, but I don't think I should say." She related nervously, not wanting to speak up.
Curious at this supposed message, his eyes widen and his head slightly tilted to the left. "It's okay you can tell me." Chiming in with a soft tone, to put her at ease.
"Well okay... He said to tell you that you should drag your ass back here, finish your final subjects and graduate. He also said that genius is no excuse for laziness and then a few words that I'd rather not repeat." She nervously recounts the message. His face began to light up with glee, ultimately leading to uncontrolled laughter.
Bellowing with amusement, he tries to stamp down his fit of joy, long enough to speak. "Wow, I'm glad to hear Evirus hasn't changed a bit." Reclaiming his composure after a few moments, he turned his smiling face to a blank slate. His expression acted as if all of his emotions blinked out of existence. "Well, he gave you my old room huh that's so... " Before Orpheus can finish, a faint knock at the door can be heard, three consecutive taps against the wood.
"What's that?" She asks curiously.
"Someone appears to be at the door. I guess we will have to cut this short, goodbye Aria, have fun at the academy, I know I did." Saying his goodbyes, he politely waited for hers.
"Sure, goodbye Orpheus." She replies with a slight tone of sadness, soon the crystal fades, ceasing the magical connection. This leaves her seated at her desk, unsure of what to do next.
He places the crystal back into his belt bag. Standing up he walks towards the door. The knocking continues with faster intervals of three. Once he reaches the door, he tilts his head to the right with his left ear facing. "Who is it?" His voice is sarcastic with a decent impression of an elderly woman.
"It's Leila, open the door Orpheus, I've got something to tell you." Leila's annoyed voice rings out as if impatience personified was ferociously knocking.
"What do you want?" He replies calmly, reticent to open the door.
"Open the door, I won't ask again!" Her voice exudes greater impatience, with every syllable as her tone rises even higher.
Narrowing his gaze, his thoughts churn. "Ah, I don't want to let her in, but knowing her she'll make it a thing... Dammit!" He secretly thinks, reaching for the doorknob. Turning it, he opens it revealing an angry woman. Her arms were crossed and her head tilted to the left.
"What took you so long? I need to speak with you." She queries, abruptly barging past him, falling back on the couch and seating herself comfortably.
"So, what did you need to talk about?" He asks before crossing his arms in a show of defiance.
Noticing his defiant posture, she smirks as if his actions meant nothing. "What I need is you." She chimed in, ignoring the man who was making her life harder.
Orpheus squints his eyes with confusion only for a moment. Uncrossing his arms, he leans back on his right foot. "What do you need me for?" Resigning himself to acceptance he squeezes out a question.
"I need you to come with me, the royal court wizard wishes to meet with you." She answers with a slight tone of contempt in her voice.
"Meet me, huh." He comments with a curious tone before he lowers his head in thought. "The court wizard wants to see me... This person could be useful." Lifting his head to spot Leila eagerly awaiting his response. "Sure." He nonchalantly replies, feigning an expression of disinterest.
Rolling her eyes, she turns to face the door. "Good, now come with me." She turns back akin to a dog owner waiting for their pet to come. Orpheus chuckles at the sight, promptly complying like a good dog. Leaving the room, they exit the doorway.
Orpheus quickly returns and grabs his staff, exiting once more before locking the door behind him. "Don't want to forget this." He exits, with staff in hand, muttering to himself.
Leila witnesses his slight mishap and adjusts her gaze to him before turning back and continuing on. They both turn to the left and walk down the hallway side by side. Walking with an even pace, they traverse the short distance towards the end. Coming to a double doorway, they stop just in front of it. She then proceeds to lightly knock on the door.
"Come in, its open!" A voice is heard from behind, with an elderly tone and a slight note of impatience.
In response, she opens the two doors and directs Orpheus inside. Complying instantly, he steps through to greet a large study. The room is much larger than his room but substantially more cluttered. On the left and right are long bookshelves stretching across the wall. They are filled with many arcane grimoires and spell books. In the left corner on the other side is a small circular desk with various potions and alchemic paraphernalia. On the right side is another small table with various precious stones littered upon it. They surround a runic symbol carved into the centre.
In the centre of the room is a large desk with various parchments and cluttering books, littered across it. Standing just in front is an elderly man reading a book clutched in both of his hands. "Orpheus, this is Arnas Ekron the court wizard of his majesty." Leila shuts the door behind them and introduces the man.
Arnas lifts his gaze from his book and turns revealing his face. The elderly man has greyish short hair with a long beard stretching down to the middle of his chest. Wearing a fine grey wizard's robe encompassing his entire body dragging down behind him. He has light green eyes, and slightly dark skin and is around five feet tall with a slight hunch in his back, reducing his overall height.
"Ah, the man I wish to see... Thank you, Leila, you may go." Arnas chimes in with a smile before narrowing a sharp glare at Leila.
She flashes mild contempt before begrudgingly leaving. Just before she can Orpheus turns to her. "I prefer she stays." He says obviously directed towards Arnas, whilst looking at a confused Leila.
"Hmm... As you wish!" Arnas replies with a note of annoyance.
"So, court wizard Arnas, why am I here?" Orpheus shifts his gaze to him as Leila remains there, no longer attempting to leave.
"Well, I wished to meet the heroic sorcerer himself... I have heard a few stories about your exploits, defeating an entire goblin army single-handedly. I wanted to see for myself." He explained before gently placing the book on his desk.
"Ah, I see... But that can't be all you desire to know, what is it you truly want?" Orpheus asks with a slight smile, with a now more relaxed posture.
"You're a sharp one, yes, your right I care little for the heroic tales of how you defeated an army of goblins, what I'm interested in, is that staff you're holding." Arnas replies with an equal smile. His gaze turned sharply towards the staff he wields.
"My staff?" Feigning surprised, he questions.
"Yes, may I take a look at it?" He asks with an eager glint in his eyes.
Orpheus shifts his gaze to the staff, grasped firmly in his right hand. Returning his gaze, he notices several stones and a few jewelled rings on the table to the right. "Alright how about we make a deal. I'll let you take a look at my staff and tell you everything I know about it if you let me have some of those pyrite stones over there." Directing his chin to the table to the right, he extends an offer to the elderly wizard.
Arnas flashes a confused expression, turning his gaze to the table in question. "Pyrite stones... But they're not very valuable, even for enchanting?" Perplexed, the wizard queries the odd request.
"Then I guess it's a good deal." He replies with a slight smile, combined with a cheeky demeanour.
"Alright then." Arnas agrees and thrust his hands forward, both palms facing up, ready to receive the staff.
Orpheus's gaze turns to his hands, moves forward a few paces and gently places his staff within the wizard's grasp. Once relinquished, he quickly moves towards the stones scattered across the table.
Grabbing one with his left, between his thumb and index finger. The stone is silverish in colour with a slight faint of gold in the texture. The circular stone is roughly a few centimetres in size, similar to a small gemstone with slightly faded indentations scattered throughout. Inspecting the stone with fascination, a wide grin on his face. Behind him, Arnas inspects the staff with a similar expression.
"Hmm, fascinating craftsmanship looks to be tenth, maybe eleventh century." Arnas muses out loud.
"I'd say the twelfth century and based on those runes it looks like the Hagavard dynasty." Leila chimes in, inspecting the staff.
"Yes... I was just about to say that... The runes uh very good." He fumbles over his words attempting to exude confidence but ultimately failing.
"Correct you are Leila very good." Orpheus states while gathering a group of stones and placing them in his belt bag. Turning around he walks back and situates himself next to Leila facing Arnas.
"Yes, Hagavard dynasty... Leila can you hold this for a second I must document this magnificent staff." He pushes the staff onto Leila, who quickly grabs it with both hands. Placing the hilt to the ground standing it upwards. Arnas turns back to his desk, and grabs a blank parchment, placing it in front of him. With a quill in his right hand, he dips it into ink and begins writing. "Hagavard staff... Twelfth century from the runes and craftsmanship." Arnas trails off with incoherent mumbling as he continues writing.
"Well, I best be going I have something to tend to, it was a pleasure to meet you Arnas." Orpheus politely states before gesturing his left hand, requesting the staff from Leila. She complies and places it gently in his.
"You're leaving but I haven't been able to study it properly." Arnas resounds as he turns his head and places the quill down.
"My apologies, but I have a pressing engagement to which I must attend to. I will allow you to examine it further, at another time." Orpheus states with finality before turning towards the door with Leila behind him.
"But... Ah well fine then." Arnas replies passive-aggressively, watching them leave.
"How did you obtain the staff, the Hagavard dynasty collapsed centuries ago with the defeat of Hagavard, the last Magus King, most of those relics were lost?" Leila questioned as they both walked down the hallway.
"I got it from Hagavard himself, before I dispatched that decrepit undead to the afterlife." He replied with a malevolent grin.
Leila turns her gaze to him with complete disbelief. "No way... Not only are you telling me that the great Magus king was still around as an undead... But you killed him?" She queries sarcastically.
"Exactly." He replies with a single word.
"I never know if you telling the truth or spouting nonsense... But I'm glad to see you again, you drop out punk." Leila states sincerely with a slight note of relief in her voice before flashing a slight smile.
"I'm glad as well, so I guess I'll see you later." Orpheus nods to her, turns to his door, pulls out a key and unlocks the door to enter. Walking forward a few paces he places his staff back against the wall and seats himself on the couch. "Interesting man... Smart but not as smart as he thinks he is, I love people like that, there the easiest to manipulate." He monologues internally, pondering on current events. "Never thought I'd get this many Pyrite stones." Reaching for his belt bag, he opens it and pulls out one of the stones for inspection.
"What that fool wizard said was true, these stones aren't very valuable and their enchanting capabilities are somewhat mediocre. Essentially it can only handle low-level spells and has clear limits to how much mana can be fed into it, but a little-known fact is that its longevity of enchantment is far superior." He smiles, turning the stone clockwise between his thumb and index finger.
"Basically, this little commonly found but substantially underrated resource virtually has no limit to its mana flow. You can enchant it with a useful low-level spell and as long as the amount of mana passing through doesn't exceed its limits, the spell can function almost indefinitely." His thoughts on the subject end as he places the stone back into his bag.
"I guess I will have to think of the perfect spell. But I will save that for a later date, what I need to do now is plan a little prison break." His hand rises to his chin, rubbing it softly as he ponders his next move.