Cless woke up the next morning with three objectives. Get her updated deeds from the City Planner, visit the Steelhammer guild house and loot it as it was her right and deliver punishment on two trespassers. She looked around and saw the morning sun greeting her through her new crystal windows.
During the night she spent some time talking to Jason about the Ragnarok. It confirmed what he knew from the stories Auntie told him and cast a grim scenario. They were living in a world that ended once. A world of wonders and gods and flying metal birds, whatever they were.
A world tainted by lies and misdirection spread by the ruling class for their convenience. Crisscrossing the gnomes' lore, the book, and the church teachings, she could see the seams where lies were patched over the truth. It might also mean that her father was not an absolute evil. Maybe not a good person, but not the epitome of despair and despicableness.
After talking a lot she felt like working. Cless finished the dome above the great hall and crystallized it entirely. She placed some silver-lined crystal panes around the dome to reflect the dawn and dusk sunlight inside to prolong the length of daylight shining upon the room. She had to fight her dislike of mirrors to do that. After that Jason picked up the panes downstairs and they replaced all the windows in the house.
She finally had windows. Hooray for level one hundred ultimate spells.
She should finish the rooms of the expanded wings but right now she had two prisoners to interrogate and pass judgment as was her Royal right. They were invaders in her domain, weren't they?
Cless Blinked to the hidden staircase room noticing the stale air of the fully-enclosed room only because of the smell. She didn't need to breathe. The two balls were there in their notches, the ashes frantically twitching inside. After closing access to the staircase with a sheet of stone, she shaped the stone around the balls into tall tubes at chest height and dissolved the balls back in the stone floor. The ashes were slowly climbing up but the stone was slick.
"You two should stop climbing your prison. It is morning right now, we are aboveground and I'm an Earth mage. I can open up the walls and let the sun's light shine in. I don't think you will last more than a few moments in your weakened state."
The ashes kept creeping up. Cless momentarily opened a tiny hole and the whole room lit up for a few seconds. The ashes quickly retreated to the bottom of their tubes.
"I told you," She glared down the tubes. "And I know you vampires can understand what I am speaking in ash form. Now, I'm going to make you an offer. Rejecting it means death by sunshine. Swirl clockwise if you understand."
It took some time but both ash piles swirled clockwise along the tube walls.
"Good! It is good we understand each other. I am Queen Cless, pleased to meet you again. You are Uncle and Cousin by what Jason told me. Yes, he betrayed you big time and now he is mine. I freed him from Auntie's domination. Just as I could do to you. Imagine, being free to roam the world as your own person... vampire."
She had no intention to release them. But as long she didn't put "let you leave alive" on the table, she didn't have to. Jason was one thing and still had some morals and ethics. These two? The centuries of undeath turned them into murdering, parasitic monsters. They didn't deserve to live.
"Now, I am going to offer each one of you a goblet with my blood. It will restore your bodies and break you free of Auntie's domination. In exchange, I want your Skills and half of each of your Stats. Also, you are forbidden to attack anyone inside my domain ever again. If you try, you'll be paralyzed for one hour for each attempt."
She focused on her Skill and made the prompts appear before them.
> Offer accepted. Earl Harrison and Vernon Mays agree to not attack under penalty of paralysis for an hour and give you their Skills and half of each Stat to Cless in exchange for a goblet of Royal blood.
She created two goblets and a knife made of stone. Moments later she had a couple shots of blood on the goblets. Cless healed herself and shaped the tubes down back into the floor. The piles of dust crept up the goblets and greedily drank the blood. The two vampires from before reconstructed their bodies. It was interesting because there wasn't enough mass in the ashes plus the blood to make a full-grown adult body. Where did all that extra flesh come from? She could summon matter like with the crystal darts, but they lose consistency after a while.
> You gained the D-rank Skill [Beast Eyes]. See through the eyes of any creature you touched in the last day. You lose your own sense of sight while using this Skill.
>
> You gained the D-rank Skill [Minor Telekinesis]. Move an amount of matter equal to (Strength / 10) kilograms at a distance of (Intellect / 10) meters up to a walking speed. Precision of movement is dictated by your Agility. Duration of use is your Health Stat in minutes per day.
>
> You gained +68 Strength, +59 Agility, +42 Health, +33 Intellect, +20 Magic. Excess Stats deferred. Daily threshold applied.
>
> You gained +15 Strength, Agility, Health, Intellect and Magic. Next allocation at dawn.
They reformed their bodies, without any clothing or equipment. She knew they would either try to mesmerize her or ask to be let go. She had one more use for them. She needed them for an experiment. So before she got too embarrassed at the sight of the two naked vampires or they started to try something she used a spell.
"Crystallize."
She focused on the entire walls and roof of the secret room. The stone turned to crystal and the two vampires started to burn. Hissing they attempted to strike her and became immobile. They didn't stop burning and flaking into ashes. They burned entirely for one minute.
These vampires killed at least one person each day for centuries. At over five thousand people per century, that's a hell of mass murder. She wasn't going to let anyone alive except Jason.
Cless used House magic to cleanse herself and broke down the crystallized stone into slabs that she put in her Deeppockets. Afterward, she demolished the staircase and restored the walls. She could teleport short distances, why did she put the stairs there in the first place?
She also found that the secret room was a waste of space. Unless she wanted to rip off more vampires. Cless removed the wall separating the room and her bedchamber and immediately regretted the choice. The stale air mixed in her room and the stench of burnt vampire and death got everywhere.
Slights and oversights. Cless shook her head and clicked her tongue at her impulsiveness. The door opened, Heimdall and Vic barged into her room as CLess used Cleanse on the air to remove the stench.
"Cless? We heard muffled screams coming from your room," Heimdall looked around and was surprised to see Cless in her pajamas. He seemed to find a particularly interesting spot on the ceiling.
"It is fine. I was just testing a way to get rid of the vampire infestation on the basement. You are dismissed. Let me change clothes!"
They quickly escaped and closed the door. Yes. Door. It was the same as Jason's room, a very thin sheet of lead pewter sandwiched between two slabs of crystallized stone. She did work half the night with the vampire boy's help.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
She changed into one of the fancy dresses she made with the haberdasher's silks. Cless never went to that seamstress shop to get training but she studied the fashion trends in the shops. The Hellshadow cougar bodysuit went underneath, compressing her body and accentuating her curves. Too bad the skin was not smooth. That thought drained all her happiness. She could dress up as much as she liked. One glance at her face and all the allure was gone.
That's why she used a hooded cloak all the time along with long white gloves and knee socks. Maybe she should put on an opera mask. Fuck the world. She wasn't ashamed of her body even though it was painful to look at herself. Seeing the burn marks reminded her of the nightmare of crawling on a burning floor as a baby. The loss of her mother. She didn't mind exposing herself, she minded the reaction and the looks people gave her. Nobody liked being looked at with disgust. She was envious of maidens with fair skin but again everyone felt some degree of jealousy toward more beautiful people.
And she knew there was no magic spell to restore her skin. If there was one, Josefine would have suggested it. Maybe there was one in divine magic buried somewhere. They could raise the recently-deceased, why not erase scars? She didn't find any though. Maybe for a lack of looking, she didn't search too hard for it. She wasn't even sure if she would do it. The scars were part of her identity, something she considered twisted in her mind. But she had them forever. Besides the dream of her with her mother in the crib, she had no memory of her skin without them.
Brooding would get her nowhere. She had a meeting to attend. Cless finished the last touches, shifting the decorations on her dress. One plus of having a deformed face, she didn't need to bother with makeup. She also didn't have a mirror in her room.
She went to the kitchen and found nobody. The sound of people eating and talking came from a door... oh, the dining room. She entered and found her guild, at least the living part of eating their fill.
"Maybe I am too worn out and need a vacation. Things are too hectic and stuff pops up all the time," Cless mumbled to herself.
She moved into the dining room and found a crystal table and twelve crystal chairs. She shook her head and didn't remember doing them. But she did, obviously. Last night with Jason was a blur now.
"Hey, Cless. Love the new ceiling of the great hall!" Venaris greeted her. The others nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it is marvelous. The way it catches the early sun and brings it down on the floor is amazing!" Kurt added.
"Thanks a lot. I had an awesome idea for something I wanted to test," Cless replied.
If she was completely honest, the dome with the mirrors to catch the sunlight and the burning vampires through crystallized walls was a test for how she was going to cleanse the world of Auntie's taint. But she wasn't going to alarm them with an ancient millennia-old vampire trapped under tons of water pressure in the catacombs. At least not now.
Cless sat next to Kurt and ate her breakfast. She noticed that Tina, Gracie, and Hope were all smiles.
"Did something good happen?" Cless asked her maids.
"Besides earning our freedom, receiving the gift of magic, and working for a Queen?" Hope beamed at Cless and giggled. "Not much."
"Hope! We already discussed it," Helga came from the Kitchen with freshly grilled bacon and eggs. "Don't mention that even if there are no outsiders around."
"I'm sorry," The sheep-kin girl deflated.
"Just don't do that again and it is fine. My life would become a living hell if people knew. I already have too many enemies, I don't need social climbers trying to better their lives by brown-nosing me."
"Yes, I will. You have my eternal loyalty, you..." Hope fidgetted, fishing for the right words to address her. She was clearly afraid.
"You can all call me by my given name. If there is some formal situation, you can call me guild master. And Hope, I appreciate your vows. You will always have a place here with us. I'm not one to throw away someone I can be friends with. I've even shown a vampire mercy, for crying out loud."
She started eating and Venaris moved to sit next to her, "Are you going to the City Planner now?"
"Yes, that or the Steelhammer guild house. I own that place, it came with the charter and the unfortunate demise of the guild when they ran away from a group of undead."
She wasn't lying, just keeping a large part out.
"We are all going with you," Venaris announced. "We don't want to let you alone out there. And after today, you are taking a week off. No building, no delving, no politics, no hunting. You'll be under house arrest."
Cless sagged in her chair. She thought she needed to do the upholstery. But she gave up. "Yes, that is a deal. One week vacation, starting the day after tomorrow. Its Spring and even though it hadn't rained in a few days it doesn't mean it won't rain in the next week. I'll finish the house tomorrow and then vacation. Okay?"
"Okay," The gnome agreed, with inhuman heads nodding across the table. "But everyone is going to help."
Staus:
Name: Queen Cless Hreidmar of Myrkheim and Infernal Realm (in exile)
Race: Human.
Level: 110 ( 6,027,320 / 6,105,000) [Experience Threshold > level 50]
Class (tier) level (Experience):
— Dabbler (1) 25 — Beast Tamer (2) 25 — Vicar (3) 25 — Wizard Princess (4+1) 25 — Hirdmaster (5) 10 (545,000 / 621,000 Exp)
Professions — Veteran Warmaster 25 — Master Instructor 25 — Lady Thaumaturge 5 (279,323 / 315,000 Exp)
— Crafter 25 (*) — Farmer 25 (*) — Herbalist 25 (*) — Alchemist 25 (*) — Diplomat 25 (*) — Administrator 25 (*)
Base Stats — Strength: 139 [361] — Agility: 164 [426 / 738 (1) ] — Health: 186 [483]
— — — — Intellect: 326 [727] — Wisdom: 400 — Charisma: 324 — Magic: 376 [827]
(1) 738 When [Shadow Eminence] is active.
Available Status Points: 68
Skills:
S-rank: [Absolute Contract]
B-rank: [Fear Aura] — [Perfect Might] — [Succubus’ Kiss]
C-rank: [Appraise Immunity] — [Craftsmen] — [Dangersense] — [Dragon Skin] — [Earth Magic] — [Eat Anything]
— [Elven Longevity] — [Master Miner] — [Monster Wrangler] — [Perfect Accounting] — [Pyromancer]
— [Seductress' Charm] — [Shadow Eminence] — [Sharpshooter] — [Shrinking] — [Sword & Board]
— [Underdog] — [Will of the Mage]
D-Rank: [Acute Smell] — [Alchemical Tolerance] — [Alchemist] — [Architectural Ingenuity] — [Beast Eyes] — [Breathless]
— [Curmudgeon crafter] — [Dancer’s Grace] — [Darkness Resistance] — [Diplomat] — [Druidwalk] — [Eagle Sight]
— [Farmer] — [Gemsense] — [Giant's Stamina] — [Great Leap] — [Grounding] — [Herbalism] — [Intimidating Authority]
— [Ladykiller] — [Merchant sense] — [Metal Mender] — [Miasma Sight] — [Minor Telekinesis] — [Ore sense]
— [Poison Resistance] — [Runner's Dash] — [Sharp Mind] — [Shield Mastery] — [Singers’ Talent] — [Snakes' Flexibilty]
— [Spell Resistance] — [Sundering Magic] — [Tinker] — [Tremorsense] — [Woodworking]
E-Rank: [Air sailing] — [Boxer] — [Burrower Bond] — [Cat User] — [Chick Magnet] — [Coin Sense] — [Enhanced touch]
— [Food Conservation] — [Hearth’s warmth] — [Heavy Lifter] — [Howl] — [Lady’s Countenance] — [Pack Rat]
— [Pathfinder] — [Pickpocket] — [Seamstress Talent] — [Silk Hair] — [Splinters] — [Sword User] — [Virility]
— [Wanderlust] — [Water Sprite] — [Weavertouch]
F-rank: [Florist’s Wonder] — [Gardener’s touch] — [Inner Compass]
Techniques:
Beast Tamer: — [Beast Taming VI] — [Beast Status] — [Share Skills *]
Vicar: — [Sanctuary *]
Princess: — [Stronghold II] — [Demesne] — [Knight *]
Hirdmaster — [Recruitment VII] — [Bolster II] — [Locate Hird] — [Share Skills]
Knight Skill assigned: [Spellslinger]
Hird Skills Asssigned: [Survivor's Mettle]
Spells (Master Instructor: +6 to all. Spells without a number are at the cap / * denotes a level 25th ultimate):
Divine: — Mending — Detoxify — Light — Turn Undead — Blessing — Holy Bolt — Purify — Protection
— — — Hallow — Flametongue — Cure — Uncurse — Banish — Heal — Warding — Revivify*
— — — Censure — Bulwark — Mass Mending — Sacred Dance — Judgement — Song of the Accord*
— — — Water Breathing — Shield of Faith
Arcane: — Detect Magic — Mage Bolt — Armor — Firebolt — Icebolt — Lightning Grasp — Shield
— — — Fireball — Resistance — Shockwave — Magic Missiles — Wind Blade — Deeppockets* — Blink*
— — — Soften — Earth Armor — Spike — Stone Shape — Earthen Maw — Earthwave — Terrakinesis — Golem*
— — — Earth to Stone — Grasping Hand — Spike Wall — Construct* — Crystal Dart — Gem Amulet
— — — Crystal Messenger — Gemcutter — Gembomb — Gemward — Crystallize *
House: — Detect Dust — Doorwatch — Prestidigitation — Never Overdone! — Touch Up — Dry — Repair
— — — Clean — Bloom — Hearth Recall*
Wiz.Princess: — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — 24: ????
Proficiencies (Master Instructor: +6 to all. Values under 10 hidden / {A} = Automatic Proficiency: Soft Cap +5):
Appraise: Status: 80
General: Prayer — Reading: 70
Academic: Magic Theory: 60 — Spellcraft: 60 — Architecture: {A}
Crafting (+9 Profession): Tailor: {A} — Embroidery: {A} — Knitting: {A} — Glassblowing: 85 — Mythic Blacksmithing: 4 — Carpentry: 85 — Pottery: 67
Farming, plants (+38 Profession): Foraging: 30 — Forestry: 30 — Gardening: 40
Farming, livestock (+13 Profession): Dismantling: 30
Production (+9 Profession): Mining: {A} — Weaving: {A} — Quarrying: 35
Social (+25 profession): Negotiation — Persuasion — Bluff — Flirting: {A} — Sexual Technique: {A}
— — Etiquette: {A} — Dancing: {A} — Singing: {A} — Gambling: {A}
Movement: Running: {A} — Athletics: {A} — Balance: {A} — Jumping: {A}
Martial (+18 profession): Leadership — Intimidation: 80 — Tactics
Weapon (+18 profession): Long Blades — Unarmed: 80 — Archery — Maces: 60 — Pickaxe: {A}