Kornea is a big place. It has a lot of problems, wonders, and things most people would rather forget… sort of like any city. Even the more suburban ones where there were those areas that you knew of that might even be close to you… but you just did your best to ignore them because the rest of the area was pretty good.
So long as you avoided that one street or block.
That is what the Eldritch were in Kronea. They were the unwanted blocks that most people tried not to notice. It wasn’t that they were evil… but simply… unwanted for a better term.
I would be the first to admit that some non-human entities should be shot on sight, gutted, and then have their entrails sold to the highest bidding chop shop… Keep in mind that some of them saw humanity as nothing more than walking treats that walked on two feet.
The bigger ones like Nyte were… well… Nyte was a horrifically large and absurdly powerful entity that might not even operate on the same rules of reality as everyone else. If the ones that ate humans were the ‘bad parts’ of a city… well…
Nyte was the equivalent of Triad, Mafia, or whatever large criminal organization that could easily crush a regular person without even trying too hard.
The type were just simply being noticed was a threat in itself.
First rule of dealing with the vastly absurdly powerful thing that could crush you without even blinking… try your best to not be afraid… I know it sounds absurd, but if they haven’t immediately erased you from existence then they wanted something from you.
They wanted you alive until you figured out a way out of the mess.
“I’m sorry…” I took a deep breath and tried to smile “Could you clarify what you mean by that?”
Nyte seemed caught off guard for a moment as the one advantage I had over most people… what that I had actually read up on my opponents… or really large dangerous eldritch nightmares that had an active presence in the area.
Unlike Triads, Mafias, and most large criminal empires… Eldritch entities like Nyte had their own books held within the public library. You could actually look up information to get a better idea on how to deal with them.
I still wasn’t sure if the books were made to either lure people into their service or to warn people on how to avoid them. Still it was better than what most unlucky characters dealt with in these situations.
“You are not… afraid?” Nyte spoke almost embarrassed.
“No.” I lied “You just happened to schedule an appointment at a… very inconvenient time.”
“You had an opening… and a line open.” Nyte slowly replied “It was not my fault another clientele simply sped up the arrangement.”
Translation… Nyte kept an eye on the situation when the Orb became active, but he in fact did not send whoever tried to kill me to… well… kill me.
The good news was that I was probably still alive as Nyte wouldn’t want me dead before he finished giving me his offer… The bad news was that Nyte was keeping me alive and could kill me should I refuse his offer… or do something worse.
Things could always get worse after all.
“What do you want?” I asked once again “Because as I’ve already said before…”
“I need… perspective.” Nyte spoke, trying to piece together the words as a cold chill ran down my stomach. “I need… a contractor.”
To everyone else it would have been really good news as certain eldritch entities required… let’s call it ‘help’ in being able to utilize their power. Maybe it was due to their powers, how they operated with reality…
Or some of the Crusaders were right thinking that God with the Big G from the bible slapped a few restrictions on them.
Nobody figured out the answer yet, but Nyte fell in both the restrictive category and requiring aid bit. As essentially his ‘power’ required someone to make sense of it and to mold it into a useable form. That gave a lot of leeway to the contractor… and generally it came along with side benefits.
The flaws of course was that it fell outside the normal limits of human understanding, safety, and you were quite liable to die a painful death just by using it for a certain amount of time. Oh sure your body would adapt (or the eldritch would modify your body) after you survived the ‘contracted work’...
“I want to go inside the city.” Nyte spoke finally, piecing together the words “And I need a vessel. You are not… under… contract with others.”
“As I had retired.” I quickly replied trying to keep the frozen block of fear from twisting my stomach into a black hole “I left Kornea due to… contracting… by law difficulties.”
To be more precise I left The Spire because of just how dangerous it had become. I left because somebody needed to get rid of that stupid orb. I left because I wanted to live without Eldritch Threats lurking over my head.
“Someone has broken The Laws, Magician of Red.” Nyte spoke as I could hear the anger in his voice “And I need Perspective on how to best rain down judgement upon the guilty.”
I gulped as this was bad. I mean it was bad enough with the small army outside the city limits just setting up camp… but this meant that their complaints and just reached the higher ups who were pissed.
Nyte was the sort of eldritch being who took those laws seriously. The type who would burn and salt the earth to leave a clear warning to everyone else on what would happen if they tried to repeat the transgression.
If I was a more noble sort of person this would have been the moment where I shouted some heroic line like ‘I would never join you’ or ‘You shall not pass!’ as this place was my home…
A jolt of pain shot through my head as even here the unwanted memories assaulted my head as I tried to force them away.
“I wasn’t born in Willow's Hill.” I reminded myself “Ash and Salt. I haven’t even been here for a solid month!”
“Is there something wrong?” Nyte spoke as his presence started to shift about. “Is something... interfering with your thoughts?”
The fast night sky I had been trapped in started to change shape as dark night blue sand filled the void. The stars shifted from their orbit as a crude image of a human body without any features formed in front of me.
An irrational surge of panic filled my body as I tried to change the subject “Why not Akara? You know his personal issues with me…”
“He tried to outsource work… his contract is… tangled.” Nyte spoke trying to convey his meaning “The quality of his services has been found… lacking. Your contracts are over and… office hours have yet to be set up. You have no prior… engagements to hinder a new contract.”
Translation?
Akara screwed up his ritual and pissed off Nyte. Apparently his actions during that day had been enough to have Nyte cut off all connections and have him looking around for a new permanent contractor.
Since I was a free agent I was on his list… since I was also inside the city he wanted to rain biblical fire down upon as he hunted down someone who broke a Contract and someone who broke the second law… I was prime real estate.
“I’m not sure my record is exactly… sufficient for one of your services.” I spoke as I felt a bump… I felt something within this void “As I remember you required a certain level of… quality for more…” I snapped my fingers trying to find the right word “Personal touch projects.”
Nyte didn’t respond as the eldritch entity tried to figure out exactly what I was saying. Right now I could get a small feeling of life… it hurt and my lungs felt a pained labored breathing, but it was breathing nonetheless.
The stars around me flared as Nyte seemed to have come to a decision before I could figure out a way to escape.
“Your services for the other three… up class clientele have proven… sufficient.” Nyte spoke trying to ease my concerns of being possessed by a malevolent eldritch entity “The level of… cost from personal funds can be… alleviated in exchange for… funds renewed after services.”
Translation… he freaking knew about the other pacts I made with eldritch entities. More to the point he knew exactly what I did to Akara. He knew about that gamble! The stupid Pact I had made with Necera!
Something brushed against my skin as it felt like being rubbed by sandpaper. Sharp sandpaper that cut my flesh leaving a dark inky cut instead of blood red… blood. This was bad. This was very bad as it meant there was enough of Nyte to make my body react like this!
“I am sorry, but prior… obligations have left me to… negotiate my contracts and rates.” I tried to explain tripping over the words “They would find outside services during their contract to be… troublesome.”
The eyes stared at me as I decided to break from Nyte’s preferred terminology and speech to make it clear and simple as… my head ached in pain as for some reason nearly committing sucide sounded like a good idea.
Why did committing sucide sound like a good idea!?
“You have two choices.” Nyte spoke in a clear and dreadful precise tone “This city of wretched Fae tries to infest your mind. Practitioners of Pact Breakers dance freely and insult the agreement of the contract.”
The stars flared like supernovas as I could feel their heat radiating in a barely contained rage. My eyes couldn’t break from the two red stars that had formed as his eyes as this was less of a ‘contract’ and more of him informing me of what my job would be.
“If you stay within this Fae infested hovel then those memories will claw at your mind. They shall… eat at your memories… infest your thoughts.” Nyte paused as he struggled with the words “They deny choice!”
“And you would deny my life.” I spoke in an unnaturally calm tone “You would continue until this city is, but dust and ash if that is what it took before the time of my ‘services’ runs out.”
This wasn’t me… a small part screamed as my body seemed to try to commit suicide as if standing up to an eldritch eninty like Nyte was a smart idea! You buy time! Try to lessen the fallout! You do not piss off the thing that can crush you like an ant!
“Better to die by choice than to be erased by innaction.” Nyte spoke in a slightly vicious tone “Besides if by choice one could survive. One would be compensated for their services.”
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“Seriously what is that thing!” Averia shouted as she struggled with the bandages “That… that abomination against reality!”
I could feel tears on my face as Nadel shook her head “You didn’t abandon him.”
“I nearly did!” Averia shouted in anger at herself “If it wasn’t for the Accord I would have dropped him and ran. I would have screwed up royally a second time!”
Nadel looked back down at me and said…
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Pain shot through my body as more blackened blood stained my body. Nyte’s supernova flares had died out leaving a bunch of tiny white stars and two normal suns for his eyes.
The feeling in my body had died down… but I couldn’t feel the jagged black hooks sinking into my skin. Whatever had happened nearly had me slip from this realm and Nyte pulled hard on my body.
Memories flickered through my head as I now felt more ‘whole’ than I had since I left Kornea… which was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it cleared the fog and confusion from the unwanted false memories.
Bad because it meant Nyte had sunk more hooks in me… and these were more literal than metaphorical.
“The one the Fae Lovers call… The Taker… was the one who has slain you.” Nyte informed me in a methodical tone “The Dreamer failed to hold her bubble as The Taker slipped in during her nightmare.”
I held up my hand as this was important “Wait? Dreamer? Taker… Was Agatha Willow actually there?”
Nyte just stared at me for a few moments “Agatha Willow has not broken the second law. The Dreamer has merely borrowed her name. She lacks the grace of the Spire to create anything other than the fragile bubble she has crafted.”
My brain struggled to realize that the person who I thought was Agatha Willow… was an imposter.
“How?” I hissed before realizing my mistake.
Nyte simply grinned as his teeth were made out of countless stars. He had me hooked as I needed to know what he had… and that gave him leverage over me.
“The city fears Agatha and they dream of what she might be should she return… The Dreamer only brought the dream of what they expected.” Nyte tauntingly replied giving me just enough information to want more… but not enough to answer any questions “The Taker slipped into the dream when she failed to maintain hold of it… Agatha Willow wouldn’t have lost her grip.”
My mind was still busy trying to go over the information as something cold pressed itself against my skin, but I didn’t care. Someone played me for a fool… they used a trick to pretend they were a lot more dangerous than what they really were.
Salt and Ash… the supernatural grace, unlimited power, I was fighting a damn illusion the entire time until someone slipped in and popped the bubble!
“Fae Lovers can’t be trusted.” Nyte whispered against my ears “They lie, cheat, and bend the meaning of an agreement as far as possible. They twist the letter of a Pact until it no longer resembles it.”
I could feel Nyte’s anger slipping in… the eldritch was doing something as I could feel the fog of my mind dissipate. Memories started returning as I started to realize the mistakes the person had made.
The cheesy vampires, failing to get the right Heir as her accomplice, or even getting the number of people wrong… failing to realize that I was one of the freaking Heirs when I sat in a car full of them!
“Your business negotiations with the city have been fulfilled.” Nyte reminded me “The contracts and ownership of the lump of dirt had been stolen by The Dreamer since you failed to uphold your challenge due to The Taker gutting you.”
Anger flowed through my body as Nyte brought the memories of the Imposter doing her little speeches… as I realized that her ‘dream show’ was an attempt to con me. That she had already made a second attempt without even bothering to state the terms of the challenge!
“She tried to cheat the dance of three.” He whispered “The Dreamer stole the orb. The Taker stole the rights. The Council no longer has a need to inquire about your services, but the Spire… my office doors are open.”
My mouth opened as I was about to say ‘yes’ as it would be simple. Just let Nyte offer me a bit of power to thoroughly exterminate the little pest before pulling back on the reins. It would be easy as we’d both get a feeling for how much of his power could be safely pumped through me.
I could work on terms to make the process more efficient while Nyte picked out the targets as his Reaniamtors ensured that I wouldn’t be torn apart by eldritch powers. Anyone who broke the Laws would die and nobody left alive would be trying to kill me...
Yet something held me back from accepting the agreement.
“You have made similar transactions and services with Necera, Para’dax, and the outsider supplier who has extended her unwanted contract with my former supplier.” Nyte spoke in mild reluctance “Payment for services rendered would be… tons. Tons of ink. Tons of money. Lots of various items humans find enjoyable.”
The words became less concise. The connection he had that allowed him to figure out exactly what to say seemed to have been chipped at. There was an almost low audible growl from around me as someone was trying to interfere.
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Glass shattered as I could hear Mr Hawkings curse “Endless Night! How did they smuggle a thrice damned bazooka into the city!”
Mr Knight threw out a pair of knives “They are playing by the rules… no obvious magic… just obvious threats.”
Nadel pointed out the broken window “They are blocking off that street… They are trying to prevent us from reaching the church!”
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Pain torn through my body as I was once again dragged back in once again.
“And why not?” Nyte spoke in biting anger as he tried to reassert the connection to have an easier time convincing me “Akara was a threat. Necera made an offer. You made a bet. The Fae Lovers are a problem. I’m making an offer. You should take the Pact!”
“I made a bet!” I snapped “A stupid one at that!”
“So why not make one with me?” Nyte asked out loud “Set the rules. Set the guidelines. We can even mark down a prize if you win the bet! You know you can trust my word. It is one of my biggest selling points after all!”
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My head started to ache as he started loosening his grip. The surge of unwanted memories started to assault my head. It grew harder to think as the false memories recoiled at Nyte’s mere presence.
“You can feel it? How they gnaw away at you?” Nyte spoke in a bitter filled tone as hatred bit into his voice “I will call off my attempts to obtain your services if you tell me your real name. If you tell me which state you were born in.”
I blinked as I could feel him offering out the Pact. A simple bet of his own against a simple question.
Nyte continued to lay it all out“There will be no retributions, no calls, no threats from me or my underlings to you or this city even. So long as you say which state you were born in… or how about the nation? Telling me what nation you were born in would also suffice.”
I opened my mouth and tried to say it, but… no words came out of my mouth. My mind struggled to remember as… it was… No it wasn’t Lynch. It was a stupid name. Nation was easy as It was… that one… the one with the… the thingy...
“You were driving there. You already had the location mapped out. You avoided which city, but kept the state known.” Nyte spoke as my own failing memories haunted me more than his voice “It is eating up inside of you. Slowly picking apart each memory… each event that made you who you are.”
Fear gripped my heart as I struggled to remember. My name should have been obvious. I mean… it was my name. My name started with… it had a Q… no that was one of my fake names. As the Nation started with a… was it a Z?
The grip tightened around my shoulders as the voice whispered in my ears “If a man is made from the sum of his experiences then what happens if those experiences are erased?”
Nyte simply let go as he let the surge of False Memories try to consume me. My mind struggled to fight them off as they started picking at my very being. A false mother trying to teach me. Conflicts of memory where I knew nothing about magic after leaving Willow’s Hill… despite never being born in finding out that magic was real.
Each memory fought each other as it became harder to keep track of it all. Nyte wasn’t trying to interfere, but simply allowed me to realize how many Pacts I had bound myself to in order to keep the blasted things at bay… and yet they were still managing to slip through the cracks.
The night blue tendrils rested on my shoulder as if it was a friend trying to comfort me “We could even give you help. I could allow safe passage for your friends. They could come… try and stop me. Save as many innocent people as possible.”
The head tilted a little “That would be better wouldn’t it? Better to risk taking a chance and relying on your real friends than never being able to remember them? That a small shot at success if infinitely better than having your mind slowly devoured by this curse?”
Nyte spoke in both a mocking and comforting tone. It was trying to convince me to take up the Pact… make a sort of ‘Bet’ like I had against Necera. Nyte seemed to have even approved of me trying to find some way to challenge him or to settle it all down on some insane bet or coin toss.
Because it would be fair… because it would give him a large enough chance to do whatever he wanted.
And I would be safe.
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I opened my eyes as pained breathing came out of my lungs. Gun shots could be heard as I could hear them cursing.
Nadel looked out the broken window as a thin line of blood dripped from her forehead “I told you! They are trying to prevent us from reaching the church! We need to go there!”
Averia kept her hands pressed on my chest as I could feel her trying to pour as much magic as possible “You're not allowed to die. You still owe me that date, remember!”
Tears fell from her eyes as Nadel cursed trying to use her staff to grab something...
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“No.” I spoke out loud and even surprised myself.
Nyte froze, unsure of what to say. More of his body pressed up against my skin trying to shove out all of the unwanted memories trying to mess with my mind, but I could feel anger from his reaction.
“Think again. Clearly.” Nyte repeated in a rasping bitter tone “These false memories are clouding your mind. Affecting your judgement and robbing you of your choice! Just take a few moments to breathe and think about my offer with a clear mind!”
Anyone else would have called Nyte a fool for doing so, but even he operated on certain rules. Buying more time was the smart move… not saying anything and hoping that whatever the people outside were doing was going to work.
But I was human and I was emotional.
“What threat do they have to cause you harm?” I snapped “Why not tell them to pull over? To bargain? To trade?”
My thoughts became clearer, but not to the degree that Nyte had wanted. He didn’t understand humans completely as he still thought that the false memories were the issue… instead of me.
“They bargained with the Fae.” Nyte spoke in a clear cut tone “So they burn.”
I took a deep breath as I tried to sort out my own confused feelings from the better words racing to the tip of my tongue. You couldn’t shout at an eldritch being of his power… especially if you wanted to live. Nyte preferred contracts, agreements, understandings… and deals.
“Nadel promised to help me even before these unwanted memories started interfering.” I muttered against the dull ache in the back of my head “Averia is trying to do better… she knows that I’m not Kravos… I mean…”
I took another deep breath as I tried to fight through the pain “She was willing to stand up and take my place when something obviously bad happened to me. She hasn’t tried pulling any ‘Fae Trickery’ as she has been honest about her intentions.”
Nyte didn’t attack me or lash out in anger. Oh there was a bitter simmering rage that he was holding back, but he was listening… this was a contract, negotiations… trying to set out ground rules.
“Mr Hawkings? Well he has a family with no outside support.” I spoke unsure if that was true “He is trying to keep his family safe. Agatha Willow kidnapped people. Your people kicked down doors and shot people. He wants this over to keep his family safe.”
The pressure died down.
“And the last one?” Nyte almost whispered.
I shrugged “No clue. I have no idea because I haven’t talked to him before he thought that Agatha Willow might steal my body and try her tricks again. So it’s hard to say.”
I will admit it wasn’t the most satisfying line to use to convince an eldritch entity to stop hunting everyone inside the car… but it was better than nothing.
All that was left was to finish the opening speech… and then try making a Pact. He wouldn’t stop and if his people captured me… then I would be left trying to set up terms until Nyte found a second way into the city.
Holding out my hand I looked up at his face “You wish to make a Pact? A bargain… how about I work as a negotiator and let you try working out an agreement with them?”
It was stupid… foolish… and slightly sucidial.
A better person would have found a better solution… but I was just a red shirt who managed to keep himself from getting killed.
“Redemption is one of those leading tenets after all...” I spoke trying to sound a lot more confident than I actually was “And it would be easier to narrow down the search grid. Especially since the Fae haven’t actually bargained with anyone for the last sixty or so years.”
There was a long pause as Nyte could always reject my offer. I didn’t even know the Fae existed and Nyte seemed to have a personal grudge considering he was planning on killing everyone in the car because they might have bargained with the Fae.
“Ah… emotional obligation to the city is denying your services.” Nyte spoke slightly disappointed
I bit my lip “Also rules… I promised not to kill everyone in exchange for them not trying to kill me. If the ruling officials are okay with me being used as a Vessel for the duration of your services for the… cleansing the heretical and unwanted elements within the city. Then I will accept their judgement call.”
The eyes flared as Nyte wore a grin that would have put the Grinch to shame. I felt him grabbing my hand and the burning power course through my body. It was one heck of a bet… the idea that the city wouldn’t sell itself out… and Nyte took up the challenge.
“They are Fae Lovers.” Nyte spoke in a sadistically taunting tone “It will be all the sweeter when I have them sign their own death warrant.”
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I gasped for air as I could hear panicked shouting. Something large was dangling over my body before it was shoved into a jar by magic. My own body was practically bleeding ink for goodness sake!
The shard of Nyte was sealed shut as the dancing starlight turned into a crude image of an eye… before a chester the cat grin as I could feel Nyte successfully seal the glass jar thinking she was trapping the shard instead of letting her capture him.
Nyte was inside the city.
A shard of an eldritch monster was inside the city and ready to take up my challenge.
Something cold was pressed up against my side as I could feel someone holding my hand. Averia stared at me with bloodshot eyes. Her expression was mixed between fear and joy… though mostly exhausted.
Nadel coughed as somebody handed her a color liquid that she drank… she looked as if she had gone a few days without rest. There were shadows underneath her eyes and her breathing was a bit harsh.
Mr Hawkings on the other hand looked mostly okay… just talking to his wife on his cellphone while Mr Knight sat in a nearby chair still wearing his armor though he had started turning anything large and made out of metal into barricades to seal up the windows.
“How much did I miss?” I asked as my throat felt raw.
Nadel stared at me in shock and surprise “Uh… a lot… and not much… it’s… complicated.”
She glanced at the jar as I could feel Nyte trying to adjust to the new measures of his container… I saw the ink stained bits of his limbs moving about trying to improve the glass jar to allow him an easier time communicating with us.
It was his temporary vessel for now… a ‘dwarf in a jar’ so to speak.
“It’s… complicated.” I replied as they stared at me “Everyone… Nyte…” I motioned towards the jar “Nyte… everyone here who probably doesn’t want the city to turn to ash.”
Mr Knight pulled out his sword as there was an immediate level of urgency as they stared at the shard. I held up a hand as they stared at me both in fear and unease.
“I have agreed to help set up… talks with the council.” I informed them all “He gets to say his piece to everyone. All you have to do is not agree to let him go around the city. In exchange all of his… employees will not attack, harm, or hinder any of you until twenty four hours after the business deal is over.”
As soon as I finished that line everyone could hear the cars pulling away. There was a look of disbelief as more people came into view. Panicked people wearing regular clothing… people wearing robes… and a priest.
I realized we were inside a church… one of the very few buildings most people from Kornea wouldn’t attack. Half of them would be due to fear of god and religion… the other half from Crusaders who would most certainly take offense.
Still the real reason why they had left instead of setting up camp and shouting demands was because Nyte had informed them of the Pact. So long as they didn’t break the spirit of the agreement then he could try convincing the city to doom itself.
If they broke the Pact… I rubbed my neck not even wanting to think about the dire consequences it could have. The bare minimum would involve more eldritch beings getting involved and Nyte was already too much for me to deal with.
Mr Hawkings closed his cell phone and looked at me with unease “So… this is Nyte? The… thing that had been threatening our city?”
“Just a shard.” I informed everyone “They take offense to those breaking the Second Law… and…” I took a deep breath “I convinced him to speak with you all. To… bargain for his access to the city.”
Averia took one long hard look at me as I fully expected her to be angry at me. In fact I was expecting a small mob of people to start shouting or demanding answers to why I would do such a foolish…
“You tried to limit casualties.” The Half-elf spoke in a tired tone “He gets to see if anyone ‘broke a law’ and if we haven’t… we are safe if he actually managed to convince everyone to let him run free?”
Now a few looks of relief fell across their eyes. While it wasn’t ideal… it meant that some of them could avoid the chopping block… which is why Nyte’s cartoonish smile worried me. Those who obviously were going on the chopping block would refuse of course.
Those who were safe… those who could be promised ‘benefits’ should the vote swing his way?
“Go by Spire rules… Agreement by spirit of the contract as…” I gulped glancing at the jar “He’s old enough to know why the Eldritch have a grudge with the Fae.”
Everything seemed to settle as much as I could hope for. Nobody was screaming in anger, trying to kill me, or running out of the building and trying to find the closest airport to flee the country.
All that was left was the dull dread of having to talk to an eldritch being and let it not convince you that it was a good idea to let it run amok within their city. Oh it sounded simple… but again… the sheer confidence and ease Nyte had actually accepted the deal made me worry.
Taking a look at my own wounds I tried not to flinch at the rather large amount of black stained bandages that they had gone through. My own body ached not wanting to get up… but they had a wheelchair ready incase I wasn’t able to walk on my own two feet.
After a slight humiliating assistance in dumping my groaning body into the wheelchair I prepared to deal with the bad news. Since after all… I practically got gutted without a second notice… again.
They wheeled me out of the room and into a small office before Mr Hawkings cleared his throat “Good news is that things… could have gone worse.”
“That isn’t good…” I muttered as I could feel their gazes fall upon me “I lost the duel didn’t I?”
“It’s… complicated.” Averia slowly replied “Technically the duel was with Agatha. The rules had been defined, but… the thing masquerading as an Heir…”
“It wasn’t Agatha.” I cut in keeping hold of the memory “Nyte might have bargained with her before, but we have an imposter pretending to be her. The second heir? That one was… The Taker. Apparently she slipped in when the imposter messed up.”
That caught everyone's attention before I could hear Mr Knight swearing in what sounded like Gaelic… or something close to it. They went in trying to bargain with Agatha Willow… just to realize they had been conned.
“Doesn’t matter… It was an invald fight.” The knight practically swore “False pretense, third parties interfering…”
“And the ‘imposter’ stealing the orb while the…” Mr Hawkings stared at me “Are you sure that… that… thing is a real heir?”
I nodded my head “Nyte practically dangled it in front of my eyes. He wanted me to bargain for it in exchange for his services.”
I’ll admit that I still felt infuriated at being conned… it was Fae trickery as I didn’t know any magic that did… somehow turning a dream like illusion into a reality. It sounded like fairy book nonsense, but… this city apparently ran on it.
“Good news then…” Mr Hawkings muttered “We are not fighting a demon… just another heir turning a mass of ectoplasm into a solid nightmare. The problem is that we still don’t know how that witch did it or who she is!”
“So…” I bit my lip “How bad is it?”
“It’s… complicated.” Mr Hawkings replied “In general the… The Taker has managed to steal the right to the hill even if her actions have caused a Fisher King effect. I wouldn’t advise living in the house even if she wasn’t trying to kill you.”
I nodded my head as that sounded bad. Still wasn’t the full fallout from this botched operation.
Averia dug into her bag before pulling out the magical rock “Aga… The imposter stole the Orb and we stole the Witch’s Legacy. So long as that demon doesn’t get the orb… we might have pulled out ahead.”
I shook my head “We lost the orb and the hill… how is this a good thing?”
“It isn’t… but we can set out people to ensure nobody sets foot into the Willow Estate.” Mr Knight spoke in a bitter tone “If The Taker tries to solidify her claim we can, and will attack her in mass. Without her solidifying the claim the ownership is meaningless.”
Small mercies then as the Council would be out for blood… and unlike me or Averia… they wouldn’t care what would happen to this heir as they could try pulling out the rest of their curses or ‘Death to Agatha’ magical contracts to force her to sign.
Not exactly the best solution… but no immediate fallout that threatened to kill us all.
“The Imposter… whatever that cursed orb is linked to isn’t happy.” Averia slowly replied “She lost her connection, face, and one of the Witch’s Legacy… So she won’t be as much of a threat as the demon until one of them kills the other.”
I blinked as something didn’t make sense “Why would they be after one another instead of going after me… or the other Witch Legacy things?”
The Half-elf chuckled “Because if she wasn’t Agatha she doesn’t know where the others are… and the demon… We can’t let it grab that cursed orb again.”
Her hands shivered as everyone looked uneasy. Metal grinded against metal from the knight as I could almost swear his knuckles were getting white underneath the armor. Mr Hawkings just looked ill… he kept trying to stare at anything to avoid remembering what had happened.
Nadel on the other hand had simply fallen asleep on a couch as she was simply too exhausted to care.
Mr Hawkings coughed trying to get back on track “The orb is far more dangerous than we had expected. Honestly I’m willing to see if we could charter a helicopter ride to the nearest volcano if you get it back.”
Now this was a major change as before they viewed it as a dangerous magical artifact. One they didn’t understand as there was a bit of unease… but nothing that made them want to immediately toss it into the fires of Mount Doom.
“How bad was it?” I asked as they all looked at me uneasily “If I know what it is… then… I might be able to make some sort of protection against it.”
There was a heavy sigh as the Knight stepped forward. His body was tense as he seemed to be struggling to admit that he needed… no wanted help against whatever had happened to him. That he would have to admit that they had no protection against whatever struck them.
“She tried to erase us from existence.” He spoke in self-loathing and disdain for himself “We… we were helpless. It felt like she was just trying to will us into non-existence until the imposter stole it from that… The Taker.”
He shook his head “We grabbed your body and ran. We ran as the two of them were left trying to kill one another before… before the outsiders came. They made their orders very clear.”
“Kill them all. Reclaim the Magician of Red.” Averia spoke in a bitter tone “The sanctity of the duel was betrayed. The one who broke it escaped. As we hid inside a church to avoid the cultist who managed to keep to the letter of the masquerade while practically breaking the law.”
“We were outplayed by all of them.” Mr Hawkings admitted in annoyance “Every single damn one of them… because we thought it would be easy to just sit back and watch two heirs fight one another… without even bothering to remember that the outsiders don’t give a damn.”
There was a long and heavy silence that prevented anyone from talking. I was still trying to process the knowledge, while everyone else was frustrated at their… lack of everything.
To make it all worse… Agatha Willow hadn’t even been involved with this. That implied that they would have really lost it all if she had come. This minor ‘test trial’ resulted in losing two dangerous magical things… in exchange for a magical rock.
A rare and powerful magical rock… but it fell short to something that could draw the attention, influence, and power of eldritch monsters that wanted to reduce this city to ash.
All the while we had ‘The Dreamer’ who was apparently one of the leftovers who failed to kill/kidnap a heir… and The Taker who promptly decided to murder me and apparently also know how to use the freaking orb.
That meant she had ties to Kornea… and control of the hill.
If she got to the hill and turned off the magical barrier then the army outside the city limits could just waltz back inside the city and finish off the remaining magical residents. Because everybody seemed to be fighting for the stupid thing as he could do crazy magical nonsense!
I closed my eyes “How long have I been out?”
“Less than three hours.” Averia spoke with a long sigh “I… they… we managed to get you out of there. Nadel was busy trying to remove whatever… that… thing from you. We only managed to get it out just to find out that it stopped struggling.”
A bitter pained chuckle escaped her lips “That it allowed itself to be caught.”
Another failure on their part. The closest thing to a win had suddenly tasted like ash realizing that the eldritch nightmare had let them win… because it already won.
“Your turn… how bad is it?” Mr Hawkings asked, keeping the fear out of his voice “The… deal you made with that… thing? I mean we can’t just toss it in an incinerator can we?”
I shook my head. “It would have the same effect as cutting off a lock of your hair and asking why you haven’t died.” I looked down at my hands trying to figure out what to say “On one hand Nyte is possibly one of the… nicer entities that could have tried crossing over. He actually cares for humans and has experience making Pacts and Agreements with humanity as he actually keeps his word.”
On paper he sounded good… one of the better eldritch entities to bargain with “The problem is that he tends to attract those with… less moral restraints.”
“You mean… Letting someone try to erase everyone from existence.” The Knight spoke in a bitter tone “We all felt that unholy power being granted to her. Tell me I’m wrong!”
I could hear the anger in his voice… and the twisted hope. The faint twisted hope that it was the orb that had nearly killed them. Because if they could simply keep the orb away from her… then she couldn’t do it again.
“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Nyte wasn’t the only dangerous entity lurking out there “The real question is what are you going to do with Nyte’s offer.””
“I mean it should be easy.” Averia spoke with a shake of her head “Just refuse. Hear the demon out and just say no.”
“First of all he isn’t a demon. Holy water isn’t going to cut it.” I muttered almost feeling offended by that remark.
Yes I wasn’t born in Kornea, but I still sort of felt a kind of… nationalistic pride towards it. Having someone simply write off the non-human residents as ‘demons’ was still kind of insulting.
Letting the minor insult pass by I tried to regain my composure “Second of all he… he has trouble communicating with people. When he leaves long pauses in his sentences then it's a good sign as he is having trouble trying to adapt to talking to you.”
Nyte was kind of a static being… which was why he tended to invest so heavily in humanity. They provided the insight and perspective needed to allow him to adapt more quickly. He in return gave them ‘gifts and power’ which tended to motivate them to make more long standing arrangements with him.
The deeper you got the easier it became for him to name your exact price and know the exact limits or lines you would cross for it… and what lines you wouldn’t cross.
“When he isn’t… when his words become more precise it means he knows what to say.” I licked my lips trying to get the right words “He can make very convincing arguments which is made worse because you know he will keep his side of the bargain.”
Kind of like making a deal with the devil only with the clause that screws you over. In some ways that was even worse because it meant people would keep returning to make new bargains.
“What can he offer?” Mr Hawkings spoke not willing to leave it to chance
I shrugged “Lots of stuff. Money, ink, magical artifacts… power.” They looked a little bit confused as I tried to figure out how to explain it better “He can’t just ‘magick up a golden castle’ for you to live in, but he can offer tangible rewards.”
Even the Eldritch followed rules. Nyte was absurdly dangerous, but it required guiding with a fair hand… there were limitations to it… and even his power fell short of Averia's ability to craft a chair out of nothing.
Yet they were still dangerous. “He could offer to make you biologically immortal by preventing you from physically aging as your body adapts to diseases far faster than normal… heck he could probably make you immune to any disease the moment you catch it.”
Now the looks of unease were setting in as immortality was always one of those very tempting offers that people reached for in stories, but could never obtain. Funny how that seemed to be just the starting offer when it came to being like Nyte.
“He could offer to grant you power. Infuse your bones with a magical enhancer or keep a revenue of reanimators to serve you so that if you die they could bring you back to life.” I thought about the other offers “He could offer you a chance to become his vessel… I mean it's dangerous and it has a good chance at killing you, but… if you survived you’d have a lot of power and he could tune your body up… make you able to handle more of his power.”
“And why isn’t he already ruling everything then?” Mr Hawkings spoke trying to find a flaw “I mean if it really is that obvious…”
“Most things… most people simply don’t reach Nyte’s attention. There are other beings that offer power. Some Crusaders simply go by faith and do what is right instead of bargaining for power.” I counted down the basic reasons “Some just simply don’t reach a moment to catch his attention… or simply dislike the company that he keeps.”
Mr Hawkings didn’t seem to get it, but Knight in rusted armor made a firm nod as tonight’s actions had been enough for him. It didn’t matter what the other side offered as even people had their limits on what they would accept.
A bitter chuckle escaped my lips “I had signed up under Davin for research purposes since their work also intersected mine. I left despite the generous offers specifically because of their lack of work ethics and morals wasn’t worth it.”
“Something which Davin hasn’t forgiven you for.” Averia spoke in a soft voice “He sounded very insistent on capturing you.”
“The only one to be captured.” The Knight replied “Everyone else listed as dead with two rounds to the head.”
I closed my eyes as Akara was still after me… but not with Nyte’s employment anymore. That meant Davin was gunning for my head not just for my knowledge… but to secure himself in the nice new open position that Akara had vacated.
So he now had even more incentive to hunt me now. As long as he stayed outside of the city then… he could be filed away as a future problem… if I survived that long.
“So…” Mr Hawkings cleared his throat trying to sort out his thoughts “What happens if one person agrees to this… offer?”
I rolled my eyes as they would be safe so long as they played by Spire Rules “Not much. One person versus a council vote? Worthless. The agreement was to run it by the people running the show so unless most of you agree to nuke your own city then it is not going to happen.”
The Council was still short of members and considering The Stitch Witch wanting me on the first plane out of here… I was pretty sure she could bully her faction into voting No to something as dangerous as Nyte being given free access to their city.
“The price?” Averia spoke as she knew something was wrong. “What was the price for this agreement Kravos?”
I gulped as now the other shoe dropped “Me…” all eyes fell on me as I shook my head “ I get stuck as the contractor… the vessel unless someone else wants to put their neck on the line.”
There were a few odd looks as they didn’t understand “Nyte needs a vessel to channel his power and… most vessels tend to… burn out. I might survive, but my goal was to limit the damage. Even if you kill me he has a few dozen people outside willing to line up and be spent until the job is done.”
It wouldn’t be as fast or efficient… but it wouldn’t be safer for the city either. Davin would probably step up to the plate and gladly accept the power to craft a horde of nightmares that would convince most governments to simply nuke the city just to be safe.
Mr. Hawkings looked far more tired “Okay we will need a copy of these… laws and a shotgun.”
“Shotgun?” Mr Knight spoke in disbelief “What are you planning brother?”
The person currently in charge of the council gave the knight a cold look “What else do you think? If we haven’t broken any of these… laws… then we are safe. If someone did then we simply take them behind a shed and shoot them.”
The sentence was simple. Harsh, and maybe a little bit cruel… but he was looking after the safety of his city. The safety of his family… if he thought the damage could be limited to acceptable levels then he’d accept the deal.
There was a rough grunt from the knight before Averia glanced at me “Would that include me… or… any of the Fae?”
I bit my lip as Nyte had planned on killing everyone within the car because they might have bargained with the Fae… I mean technically he was willing to let the half-elf go free if she hadn’t broken the Laws… but it was one of those fine lines.
“I don’t know.” I muttered out loud “Maybe? Maybe not? If you haven't broken any laws he will not harm you even if he personally strongly dislikes you.”
This was really out of my realm of knowledge as most who broke the main laws… well the city kind of issued hunting parties to kill the offending party especially if they broke one of the laws closer to the top.
Nobody had really survived long enough for anyone to guess if there was a statute of limitations since most cases didn’t have the offending criminal living longer than a year.
All eldritch services were cut off so if you died nobody would bring you back to life. Every nutjob with ties to one of the major eldritch powers would be hunting you down. If you were on the bottom rungs it was for the reward. If you were higher up and one of your underlings killed the person then you were given a personal reward by your eldritch patreon… who generally gave out better rewards than the city.
“So… what is the plan?” I asked everyone
There was a long silence before Mr Hawkings shook his head “I’ll let you know in the morning. For tonight… I just want to go home to my family and think about it.”
Everyone slowly left the room caught up in their own thoughts. Nyte was going to be making offers to them... two lunitics were running around with deadly magical artifacts... and the army camping outside of the city suddenly became a more immediate threat.
This day really sucked.