The first time Pulcha had heard what had happened in Tenignum was in the form of a letter. Well, the city of Pulcha would find out by word of mouth days later, but the Pulcha family found out via Audrey’s letter.
“Dear, oh dear, this is a disaster.” Nox said, having received the letter first. “Alista is not going to take this well.”
"But that’s for another time", she concluded to herself. The immediate issue was that of getting Charles 300 miles away to Tenignum within days, at most.
“Hm, the Sub-Saltu is the way to go. Charles will be able to utilise it well.” Getting up from her metallic chair of gothic design, Nox left the library, out into the hallway. Just around the corner of what split off from the long hall, laid some stairs that went up to the next floor, where the aviary room was.
In there, was a family of celavis', a breed of falcon. The newly arrived celavis that had just come from Tenignum rested on a branch upside down, fast asleep. Nox headed to another, one that was fully awake.
“Can you get Charles, my lovely?” She asked, rubbing the bird’s crest, an act that returned a loving rub. It gave a squawk and flapped its wings, with each gaining more purchase between the thrusts. Just after a few seconds, the gusts of wind were so powerful, it would have knocked books off from the bookshelves if they were in the library, and it did in fact blow all of Nox’s hair back, unwinding it all the way back to the staircase.
Within a second, the celavis was gone, and in its place a loud sonic boom.
“Ough, I will never get used to that. Atleast Alista wasn’t around to hear that.”
Nox headed down from the 5th floor of the manor to the ground floor, where the waiting lounge was. It didn’t take long for the celavis to find Charles, and not that much longer for him to arrive.
“Lady Noxentia? I was expecting Lord Morgan.” A lie, as he knew Morgan wouldn’t return for several months.
“Oh, he’s still at sea. I’ll send a celavis once they’ve rested up.” She gestured for him to sit opposite her on a chair he would have found greatly uncomfortable. While high in quality, Charles was more used to sitting on barrels, and sleeping on haystacks.
“Oh, uh, may I stand?”
Nox gave a slight chuckle. “I was only offering, no need to worry yourself. And you’ll have your answers soon enough, once you return.”
“Return?” He was visibly interested. “Where are you sending me?”
“Tenignum. Your assistance is required there. There’s been a great disruption.”
She explained everything the letter had contained; everything that had happened, including the new group being formed.
“Gail and Ergo? They…well, you know how they feel about me, right?”
“Yes, but few understand your condition. I’m sure Audrey and Everett will explain it to them in due time; or leave it for them to figure it out. It will not cause any major issues, I assure you.”
“...and who is Jacob?”
“I do not know. Audrey failed to give any other details. He’s potentially a victim of all this, though if he is, I doubt he wants revenge.”
“Why do you think that, Lady Noxentia?”
“Audrey would not have gotten him involved if he was.” She said, confidently. “But you’ll find out more about him when you arrive.”
Nox crossed her legs, and hunched over them, grinning. “So tell me, when was the last time you ventured to the Sub-Saltu?”
“There? Er…not recently.”
“Really? I heard a ‘new’ entrance was uncovered, but it was found the crystal had already been farmed.”
“Well, hopefully whoever took them knows how to take care of them.”
“Indeed. I expect to hear of an increase of crystals in the market in the near future.”
Charles simply nodded.
“Well, until then, you’ll have to return down there. I’ll get the details of someone whose soul was trapped down there, and you’ll need to hex them to reach Tenignum.”
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“That’ll work?”
“According to our research, yes, it should. Play your cards right, and you might even help them achieve peace.”
Charles' eyes perked up at that. “Truly?”
Nox giggled. “I’ll assume you’ll want to leave as soon as possible. Give me a few hours. It’ll give you time to prepare as well.”
It did not take Charles even an hour to prepare, which gave him time to think. No matter how he cut it, he couldn’t figure out why the two Lords wanted him to be part of a team that would try to stop a lupen attack, or if it came down to it, protect it.
“I’m the worst possible person for this. It’s not exactly like I could hex a lupen mid fight. Nothing goes into their ears when they have blood on their mind.”
His words were powerful, but his body was small and frail. If he were to take all his clothes off, his bones would be slightly visible underneath his pale skin. Most people couldn’t withstand a hit from a lupen, but Charles would likely die upon a weak punch from one.
“And what help would I be if the best did happen? Certainly can’t help there.”
“You look troubled.”
“And then there’s Ergo and Gail, who don’t trust me in the slightest. Last thing you want when the whole city is on the line is someone you can’t trust.”
Noxentia slammed the door, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Oh, Lady Noxentia!” Charles exclaimed, jumping out of his skin. “Did you say something?”
“You look troubled.” She repeated. “It doesn’t make sense why they want you there, does it?”
“...” Noxentia took his silence as the truth.
“Well, don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll all make sense in due time.”
“Do you understand?”
“Do I know the exact reason? No. But I have no issues with you going.”
“...”
In response to his silence, Nox offered a gentle smile. “Let me tell you about that lost soul. His name was Lycin, part of a group of adventurers.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell.” He said with a straight face.
“Oh, really?” Noxentia responded suspiciously, playfully of course. “They were the first to uncover the Sub-Saltu. Only one of their group survived, and they’re currently helping me in uncovering its secrets.”
“Rose? She’s here?” Charles thought. “Is she the one who told you hexes work on the souls?”
“Somewhat. Rose came to me with a theory that I could back up with knowledge. Now, all we need is for it to happen. You’ll be the first to do this, I expect.”
“Will she be accompanying me?”
“No, but you might come across her while down there. After all, if you do succeed, we’ll know why.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You’ll be able to give us a better idea why, if failure does come to pass.”
“Right…can you explain then how this is going to work?”
“Casting a hex on a corrupted soul shouldn’t result in a way to warp somewhere far away.” He thought, “It’s true that it will result in a large influx of mana which can be used to warp, but how would we direct that all the way to Tenignum?”
“Well, I’m sure you’re questioning how we could warp specifically to Tenignum, instead of just generally warping somewhere. To answer that question, we believe all the Sub-Saltu is connected. Think of it like veins passing through blood, but instead of blood, mana. Hypothetically, enough mana should be generated to reach beneath Tenignum for a crystal to be used.”
“So it’s like a tunnel. Makes sense.”
“Okay, say I achieve that, -and forgetting the fact this will somehow uncurse the soul for a moment-, how will I dig myself out?” He asked.
“Oh, that’s the easy bit.” From underneath her librarian robes, Noxentia pulled out a crystal full of energy.
“A warp crystal? It’s weak, but should be enough to reach the surface.”
With enough mana, even a weak crystal can travel far, and alone the Sub-Saltu offered enough.”
“This is linked to the town centre. You’ll reach, don’t worry. That’s if you don’t manage to reach the cave systems underneath the city. There’s a good chance you’ll find yourself there, actually.”
“Okay…now about this corrupted soul.”
“Oh, you’ll figure that out once you find them. There is a way, I assure you.”
“Mh-hm, well if you say so.”
“Oh come now, when have I ever given you false hope? Have faith, you’ll set them free, I’m sure.”
He simply nodded. “Is that everything?”
“Yes. You may go. By the time you arrive, I’ll have heard back from Morgan.”
“Actually, there is one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“...do you hope my curse will be raised by the time I am actually needed?”
“No, it is not like that.” Nox reassured. “If you don’t mind me saying, but I think your curse will be a gift here. I know you will doubt that, but you will see. If there’s anyone who can turn your curse into a gift, it’s those two.”