Duke Cedric stared at his hands, wondering if it was a trick. He could see himself sitting down on the opposite corner — where he was just a few moments ago.

“Are you sure this is safe?”

“Pretty sure,” the wizard in front of him answered. “Maybe eighty percent safe? I don’t know — it’s the first time I used the spell. I just finished it last night.”

“Wha—“

He found himself back in his own body, sitting on the chair as if nothing happened.

“Tsk,” the Scourge frowned. “I should have warned you that strong emotions would break the connection and send you back to your body.”

The wizard started to inspect the summoning circle where he appeared from just a moment ago, completely forgetting about his presence. Cedric wanted to ask him if he could grab a bite to eat since the wizard’s arrival disturbed his morning schedule.

“Such a waste,” the Scourge shook his head. “A single casting requires 2,000 gold worth of ruby dust. I’m charging you the cost, by the way.”

The duke could only nod. Did his cousin go through similar hardships with the Blackstaff? Surely, Lord Elswind wouldn’t expose the king to spells with unknown effects that could possibly end in his death — even if the chances were minuscule. Or would he?

Was this the reason why his cousin seemed so stressed and irritated whenever the topic of the Blackstaff was mentioned? Was he also subject to strange spells and the risks that came with them? He has more than enough subjects for the Blackstaff to test his spells — most of them willing to give their lives for their king.

No, his cousin would not subject his people to something he was not willing to face on his own. That was one of the traits that made him a beloved leader.

At least he had rich coffers to pay for his expenses. 2,000 gold was not a small sum — even for a duke like him.

“Should we try again?” the Scourge asked. “We need to figure out the workings of the summoning, as well as its limitations.”

Cedric nodded. Perhaps he should ask his cousin to raise his allowance — or at least cover the cost of today’s preparations.

The Scourge started the summoning.

It was a strange sensation — like something was tugging at his soul. He needed to allow the feeling to take over — even follow it to its source.

Cedric felt his soul leave his body. It seemed like he was crossing planes — either the astral or ethereal before ending up in the wizard’s circle.

He opened his eyes and saw the Scourge smiling at him. He threw him a piece of cloth that he quickly used to cover his nudity.

“How do you feel?” the wizard asked. “Better? Worse? Can you check how much mana you have? That should give us a baseline on how much of your former strength you retain in this form.”

Cedric gathered power to cast a basic illumination spell. It was no different from casting in his original body — but he did notice a significant drop in his mana. It was understandable, considering this wasn’t even his real body. It was just a simulacrum created by the wizard through summoning.

The potential for its use was mind-boggling. He was practically immortal in this form. His real body could be somewhere safe while the simulacrum performed more dangerous activities.

“Diminished but strangely whole,” he answered. “The amount of mana in this body is probably half of my own. Is this how the King remains safe when he leaves the castle?”

“I don’t know about the king,” the Scourge smirked as if puzzled. “I think it’s how demons do it when they get summoned here. It’s why killing them here just banishes them to their own plane. They weren’t really here in the first place.”

Cedric frowned. The Scourge was likely forbidden to reveal the king’s secrets — but why did he have to compare him to a summoned demon?

His outrage was cut short by a strange sensation. It was as if a hungry entity was enveloping him — threatening him with its presence. His pulsed raced but he tried to keep his emotions in check. Another 2,000 gold was no laughing matter.

“Jer— Scourge,” he alerted the wizard. “There’s a presence around me. It seems hungry. Is this dangerous?”

“Hmm,” the wizard frowned. “It’s probably your body telling you it needs food. You’re no demon, so you probably need to eat and perform other bodily functions while you’re in your summoned form.”

Cedric sighed, glad that it was no big deal. He was also glad he relieved himself before the wizard came or else there might be a hard-to-explain stain on his favorite chair.

“Let’s try walking,” the wizard urged. “Come on, out of the circle. Try not to disturb the lines. They’re drawn in ruby and sapphire dust. Quite expensive for daily use.”

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He took a step outside the circle. Immediately, he could feel his mana dropping as it tried to sustain his body away from the circle. He could probably last a mere ten or fifteen minutes outside of the circle.

He stepped back into the circle to prevent his body from dissipating.

“Leaving the circle drains a lot of mana,” Cedric explained. “This body won’t last long outside the circle. Not long enough for what you’re planning.”

“Not to worry,” the Scourge smiles as he takes out three small rods the size of a finger. “We have bat trees. These should provide at least an hour of power.”

Cedric takes one of the rods the wizard offered. The thing was filled with power — enough power to sustain three war wizards for an hour in battle.

“Bat trees?”

The name seemed strange. While the metal rods vaguely resembled tree trunks — what did they have to do with bats?

“I know, right?” the wizard smiled. “Sebas just gives random names to things. It’s one of his funnier quirks.”

Cedric stared at the bat tree in his hand. With it, the Scourge’s plan should work.

“You should probably put on more clothes,” the Scourge suggested. “Otherwise, there’s no place to hide these things. Well, you could —“

“No,” he cut off the wizard before he went any further. Did he think he was some run-of-the-mill adventurer who would stoop so low as to stick something up their —

“I was going to say — you could just swallow it,” the Scourge clarified. “That way the efficiency should improve since the bat trees will be inside your body.”

Cedric shook his head. The wizard was getting to him. He could feel himself dwindling down a spiral of frustration and insanity with every minute of conversation with the wizard.

“That should be it,” the Scourge proclaimed. “Clarence would want to time his attack for maximum exposure — probably before midday. You can return to your body for now.”

The duke turned towards his sitting form. The brief experiment cost him another 2,000 gold. He briefly entertained the notion of waiting in the simulacrum until the attack commenced — but concerns over his bodily functions made him change his mind.

“You’ll kill this body in front of the summoner, right?” he asked. “Can’t you do it now? It would be a waste to miss out on practicing what would happen.”

“That’s a great idea,” the Scourge agreed.

The wizard approached the circle and poked him on the head with a finger.

Cedric once again found himself sitting down on his favorite chair. He stood up to leave the room, understanding that his conversation with the wizard was over. He was also eager to have his long-delayed breakfast.

“So that’s it?” he turned to the Scourge before opening the door. “No fancy death thing in front of Clarence?”

“I’ll probably make it more dramatic to suit the mood,” the Scourge answered. “Do you want to practice some more?”

Cedric shook his head. He was already down 4,000 gold — there was no way he was spending more just to practice dying.

“I think I got it,” he assured the wizard before opening the door and closing it behind him.

***

“It’s not the same without Staffany.”

Shelby nodded at the Rikki, letting him know that she felt the same.

The boys’ game with the ball was a simple one — complete the objective while being opposed by another side.

The presence of Staffany added a predator into their midst — one that attacked indiscriminately. They would have to either avoid him or come up with ways to deal with him. The golem was a good reminder that danger was ever-present.

The smaller snails were just ever-changing obstacles that made maneuvering across the field more difficult. They would hinder movement by putting up earthen walls or making everyone in range heavier. The snails enjoyed it and they got to practice for their nighttime routine.

It was good training for the boys. Shelby wanted them to be useful to her master. Teaching them how to avoid danger would allow them to stay alive in most situations — which would come in handy if they wanted to serve the master properly.

It was also good practice for Staffany — and it kept him busy. Every time he was on the field were precious moments of silence for the snail.

She was beginning to understand why her master would shut him out and not listen to him. He was too eager and self-important — incessant in his ramblings about the power of pain.

Still, she would not give up on the stupid staff. It would probably take a decade or so to completely reform the silly thing — but she had the time, and so did her master.

She watched the Boot catch one of the boys, lifting him off the ground. Her former prisoner was completely reformed. He was cooperative and quite docile — the perfect worker for her master.

He did lack a few traits like creativity and independent thinking — but his tendency not to complain about anything more than made up for them.

Should she make more like him? She wasn’t sure how it happened — but it might have something to do with her mushroom farm. Her master didn’t lack enemies either, so she wouldn’t be lacking in subjects to reform. Even now he was off to battle someone in the city. He even took the Siege and his soft-shelled friends with him.

She felt left out, but she understood why she needed to stay and protect their home. Ever since his master brought back the stupid turtle — there were snakes swimming in the earth trying to get to it when the sun came down.

She and her snails were more than enough to deal with them. They were more of an irritation than anything. She now had a large number of dead snakes in her home — but there were more just lying underneath the fields.

She wondered if she could ask her master to teach her the thing he does that turns dead things into little stones. It seemed quite useful — especially for cleaning clutter.

“Dylan got caught again,” the Rikki pointed.

Shelby crooked one of her tentacle flails in puzzlement. She seemed to recall that it was the Dylan who got caught by the Boot just a few weeks ago. She even came to his rescue. The Dylan needed more training if he wanted to be a proper worker for his master.

It seemed like she would have to instruct him properly.