Chapter 104 Interludes.
If you think death is bad,
then you only ran away, not truly lived.
If you think death is good,
then you’ve been in pain, and never lived at all.
Death is merely the destination of your journey.
The sea which the river of your life flows toward.
Tiyadi, the Silver Lord of Time.
Interlude 104.1
Salik.
Inara surprised him yet again. Salik haven't met many arcane casters who are this humane. Arcane casters often view themselves as better than the average person, but this one does not.
Instead of going back to her magic studies or whatnot, the girl is organizing the maids to brew magical potions of healings for the city. The potions aren’t perfect, they can’t heal broken bones or infections. The girl is still in her early stage of arcane studies after all. But using arcane magic to benefit others for free is nearly unheard of. Arcane casters are selfish creatures.
She even offered to try and heal his hand, but apologized, saying she can’t cast the spell yet because she can’t manage this many patterns yet. Whatever patterns mean. Salik knows that if he sticks with her and she survives long enough, his hand will get healed eventually, free of charge.
Across his long life, Salik had only met three more casters like her, and they’re all dead now, got backstabbed by other casters. The towers do not encourage kindness. Quite the opposite. But the kid has good chances, her backing is legit.
As for his hand, a hook will have to do for now. Salik had already ordered one from a blacksmith. It'll take time until it'll be ready, the smiths are all busy with the rebuilding efforts, but it will be there eventually.
Another fight breaks out in the queue, everyone wants a free magic potion. Salik had asked Inara to prioritize the soldiers who fought for the city, but instead she demanded that they’ll prioritize the children, that the soldiers would want their children healed first too. She wasn’t wrong.
But now that all the children are healed, there is no clear order to things. Salik’s manpower is stretched too thin to maintain order.
Some women demand to get potions earlier because they’re women and they’re the ones taking care of the children and cooking for the working force.
Some men demand to get potions earlier because they fought for the city, and they are the ones who are rebuilding everything.
Even the ones who did not fight make demands now, people are only good for demands and complaints once they’re safe.
Some of the elderly demand to get a potion earlier because they’re old, claiming it’s not actually for them but some young person who can’t even come here.
It’s a mess, and it’s impossible to tell who truly wants a potion to save a loved one, and who just plans to keep a magical potion for themselves and sell it later for a small fortune. War is a mess. Charity is a mess. People always find ways to turn a good thing into profit to fight over.
People push each other, and it soon turns into a brawl. Salik sighs. This won’t do.
“People of Red Cedar City!” The echoing voice halts Salik before he manages to reach the spot of the fight. The voice is so loud and dramatic that the fighting pauses. “There are potions for everyone. There is no limit. Queen Inara will keep making them as long as this city needs them. By fighting you are only slowing yourselves down, you are slowing your fellow men and women from receiving the help you all need. Do not fight. The next fight I’ll break with my sword, not my voice.”
Salik has to admit that the boy has a flare for drama. The towering adamantine armor and the claymore resting on his shoulder are quite intimidating. Even if Salik had his hand whole, he knows he wouldn’t win a fight with the boy. Yes, the boy lacks the lifetime of experience Salik has, but in terms of prowess, Salik knows a losing fight when he sees one. Salik would stand a chance with the blessings he used to have, but it has been years since he had them. He made his choice. He’s not regretting it.
And indeed, people go back to standing in line, murmuring to themselves and fighting quietly. The boy nods to Salik wordlessly, and walks back toward the construction area. Salik wonders if Kolag ever sleeps, or if that demon of his keeps him awake for the better part of the day. Salik doesn't remember seeing the boy sleep a wink, not even once.
“Uhhmm… Salik, right?”
Salik turns on his heel, surprised to see Anixa standing behind him. No. This is Zoe. Inara’s brat of an apprentice. He never noticed the similarity before, but he never saw the girl wearing this kind of painful expression before either. This girl used to be another happy blind fool who thinks the arcane is everything there is in the world. “What is it, Tulips?” The world is so much more than just magic and power.
“Uhhhhmm…” She fidgets awkwardly, clenching her skirt. “I’m sorry about your hand…”
Salik snorts. The girl never liked his presence, he can’t help but wonder what she wants. “Thank you, tulips, I didn’t realize you care.”
“I do! I mean… I do care. I don’t know. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t bother you… I just wanted to say thank you.” A tear leaves her brown eye, trickling down her pale cheek. She sniffs and turns to leave.
Salik stops her, he knows a girl in distress when he sees one. He wipes away her tear with his handkerchief, looking into her eyes. “Thank you for what, Tulips?”
“For saving my sister and her baby. And for…” She takes a deep breath. “And for avenging my family. Thank you. I’m sorry for the way I treated you, I was awful to you. I…” She breaks into tears.
Awful to him? She thinks words can hurt someone like him? He stopped caring long ago. “Oh don’t mind that. If you were half as harsh as some of the people I’ve dealt with I might’ve felt a tiny sting, Tulips. I don’t remember saving a baby, I think you’ve got the wrong guy.”
“My sister said it was you. And that you lost your hand at the doorknob for saving her? I mean… She described you perfectly.”
For the first time Salik is speechless. “A doorknob. Yeah… Look, kiddo, I was just passing through while fighting. Your sister got lucky. War is messy.” He probably shouldn’t be saying anything. He should probably give her a hug. But he can’t, she looks too much like Anixa, bad memories.
“Thank you! That’s all I wanted to say.” The girl turns on her heel, and runs down the streets, in the general direction of her house.
*~*~*
Interlude 104.2
Zoe.
Zoe paces toward her house. She hugs the book to her chest, and wipes the tears from her face. They’re not coming back. None of them are. Mina, her husband, and the baby are the only ones left. And none of them are the same.
Mina stares at the wall all day long. Aside from asking her to thank the tall soldier who lost his hand on the door knob, she doesn’t talk. At least she eats when someone brings food to her hands.
Korr, her husband, has lost both of his legs. He spends most of his time holding onto their crying son and taking care of him. At least Zoe got a potion from her master in time for Korr to survive. Zoe saved him, but he cursed her for it. He told her she should’ve left him to die. Zoe knows he didn’t mean that, he’s simply in pain, but it still hurts.
And the baby. Little Olsan no longer cries.
Zoe cries for all of them now. She regrets not visiting home more often, not seeing her family more often. She had to go out and chase her dreams, and now everyone is gone. Or changed beyond recognition.
The gods and sorcerers do as they please, and it has to be accepted. You cannot berate a sorcerer or a god. But this sorceress Phoebe? Well… Zoe is a sorceress now too, or she’s going to be soon. Phoebe will get what’s coming for her! Zoe can only be glad that her master had killed Luard. If Master Inara had kept him alive, Zoe would’ve killed him herself, consequences be damned.
“I’m home!” Zoe declares, her voice fragile.
No one answers. Her sister and brother in law sit and stare at each other silently, little Olsan in Korr’s hands.
“Mina… I found the soldier who saved you.”
A reaction, Mina looks at her with a pair of dead brown eyes.
“I thanked him… it’s General Salik.”
“Thank you,” Mina replies with her hoarse voice. The first words she said in days.
“Can I get you anything?” Zoe tries.
Mina shakes her head and focuses on her nails.
Zoe turns and leave. She can’t be here anymore, there’s no point! They don’t need her. They don’t really need anyone. They’re already dead, they just don’t look like that yet.
She closes the door and comes face to face with Jerro. The last person she wants to see right now, a priest to the God of Death of all people. Why does Master Inara keeps someone like him around? Death cultists are the worst!
“What do you want?” she demands to know.
“To prolong your life,” the tanned priest answers quietly.
“Excuse me?” Zoe doesn't have time for this. She strides forward, hugging her book. She still got magic, for whatever good that’ll do now. She can still become a sorceress, and once she does she can kill that Phoebe harpy by herself…
“If you head that way, you’ll cry by yourself, and you will decide that life and revenge are pointless. Too painful, too lonely. You will find yourself a quiet spot behind a clothing store that's now crumbling. The same place you hid at as a young girl. You will slit your own wrists, ending your life prematurely. I am here to prolong your life.”
Zoe stops. The cold way this man speaks makes her shudder, the idea of suicide have vaguely been on her mind, but she never actually planned to… and how does he know about Juahni Tailor? She loved looking at the dresses when she was little. Does the place even stand after all this fighting? Did he say crumbling?
He’s a priest, a powerful cleric to Tiyadi God of Time and Death. Maybe even a chosen one. Zoe always dreamed of becoming a chosen one to Jalier. But Jalier isn’t Tiyadi, Jalier is not the God of Death. Who in their right mind would follow the God of Death when you can follow the God of Magic?
“Why does death even happen?!” She lets her frustration out.
“Because when the body no longer functions, it cannot contain a soul,” The nonchalant reply comes crashing like the hard reality.
“Yeah, but why? Why did the gods create the world this way?! Why are they so cruel to us?”
He doesn’t answer right away, he reaches for her leg instead. Zoe watches wide eyed as he grabs it, too shocked to react. Doesn’t he love Sharla?
Jerro moves her leg, pushing Zoe back a bit, and points at the ground. “Why are you so cruel to these ants? They worked so hard on gathering food for their hive, and you just walk and stomp them to death every single day when you leave your home. You and your family. They hate you. They curse you with their dying breath. They wanted revenge and they finally got some of your family killed. Now they’re celebrating. They share alcohol at the long table of the ants deep beneath the ground, and eat some of their hard earned and gathered stockpile.” This insane story is all delivered without an expression on his face.
What? What does that even mean? Zoe stares at the dead ants near her feet. She kills them every day and she doesn’t even notice… “The gods don’t even see us, do they?” The understanding dawns on her.
“They do. Unlike mortals, the gods can focus on many things at once,” comes the apathetic reply. “But they focus more on fighting one another than any mortal. They’ll only focus on a mortal relevant to their fight or those they favor. Death just happens on the way, and my lord is there to collect his due. Everyone dies, one way or another. Even the gods die eventually. It just takes them thousands of years to get themselves killed. No one is immortal, and death is the end to all living beings, it’s only a matter of time. The death of one, nourishes another, until that life ends as well and feeds the next with its death. It is not a cycle like many think. It is an endless state of hunger and devouring. New life feeds on the old in order to feed their hunger. In order to live.”
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“Did my family die to feed a hunger then? Who’s hunger?!”
“Ruphus son of Melor. Kariel son of Kornik. Your family died to feed their hunger for blood. To feed their desperation for something meaningful in their life. To feed their belief that the word of a sorceress is the word of a god. The rival, the sorceress who falsely calls herself Phoebe, had ordered the slaughtering of every man woman and child in this city if it gets her to our queen.” He states all of it as if he's stating that the sky is blue and the grass is green.
Zoe stares at him, tears in her eyes.
He continues. “They too, died at the hands of the man I call the General. The Blood Hound of Esmira and his soldiers. They fed his desire for saving a young girl in need. They fed his need to live a life by the blade and die by the blade. They fed his need to have someone who loves and cares for him, for he is alone for many years. Everyone he knows keeps dying on him, he no longer cares. He finds love in the comradery of his soldiers instead.”
“Death is an endless stage of hunger and satisfying the needs of the living. Not a cycle. Death is the end of all living beings, and it’s only a matter of time until death comes to collect. Accept this fact, and accept that you still have time. Don’t spend it idling in misery, and don’t end it prematurely. Do not throw away the time you have left on a mere whim.”
Zoe stares at him. How is this supposed to make her feel better? To know that her family died to feed some bloodlust of a pair of thugs?! That their death meant nothing at all. At least Salik killed those thugs. She’s glad she thanked him before she’s gone. And they fed his desire for love by dying, how does that even work?
Jerro turns to leave, striding down the muddy street.
“Hey wait!” Zoe tries to grab his arm.
“I’m needed else-where,” He says slowly, but doesn’t slow his pace.
*~*~*
Interlude 104.3
Jerro.
"The Apprentice will no longer kill herself. She will now make sure the General finds love, and the General needs love in order to help the Queen. Everything is as it should be. Now, make sure the Hunter does not die. Collect his favor when its needed."
The faint whispers of Tiyadi vibrates in Jerro's skull. Jerro receives a swift vision as he hurries his step. Jerro has to make sure the Hunter does not die by an unfortunate accident. The Hunter is important for the Queen’s survival, the Hunter is important for the survival of the love of his life.
He’s right on time. He always is, and always will be. Right on time. There are no mistakes, his lord makes sure of it. He’ll even die right on time.
A tall wooden beam snaps, the half destroyed building collapses entirely. Jerro jumps forward and tugs the Hunter’s shirt back. The house collapses, and a wooden splinter leaves a scratch on the Hunter’s cheek, but he is alive. A few people groan under the collapsed structure.
"Vosif son of Kitsk will die in two minutes. Girsak son of no one will die in three minutes. Sholyr son of Ulmar will be saved today, he will drink a potion of healing, and die tomorrow when he falls from his bed and his broken rib will puncture his heart. All in due time, all of no true consequence to the Queen." The whispers of Tiyadi flaps in Jerro's mind like the silent wings of an owl. Jerro knows that the rest of the people here will be saved. Ten in total. Jerro doesn’t know their names yet. His lord did not mark them for death, which leaves their names unknown, but they do not matter. The Hunter needed his intervention, or he would’ve died.
“Thank you…” The Hunter seems shaken. Most mortals are shaken when coming so close to death. Save for a precious few. The Queen is one of them. In the face of death she’ll be determined to live. Determination, fury, or cold logic.
“It was no trouble,” Jerro replies. He has to maintain cordial relationships with this group, by the decree of his Lord.
“If there’s anything I can do to repay…” The Hunter mumbles.
“You have already done enough for me. Saving Sharlafyn is the only thing I care about. She is the one I love, my soul mate, and you saved her life. I owe you a life, I merely repaid a debt.” Jerro hears Tiyadi's annoyed murmurs of protest in his mind. The god would've preferred for him to save this debt and collect it on a later date. But Jerro cares about Sharlafyn, and the Hunter had saved her life.
Yes. Sharlafyn is the only thing that makes Jerro feel anything, the only thing that makes him hunger. A soulmate, one who truly understands him and the way the world is. Yet, he cannot understand her. He has to understand her, he has to understand why she doesn’t love him back. Why she doesn’t even look at him that way, after saving her life time and time again.
He saw their future together. He saw how happy they’ll be together. He even knows the names of their combined children. Yet. He never saw how he gained her heart, for some reason he cannot see that.
Why my SilverLord? Why do I love her? Why doesn’t she love me? Why can’t I see what to do?
The whispering reply is swift. "It is only a matter of time, my dear nephew. You have to be patient."
Jerro nods. It's always a matter of time, he has to wait patiently.
*~*~*
Interlude 104.4
Berthold.
Berthold takes a deep breath, eyeing the back of Jerro. That was a close one. The guy may be a creepy death cultist, but then he saves your life like this, and you can’t help but to be thankful for his existence. Then again, Berthold will never forgive the cultists of Tiyadi! He still has to repay them for the curse they've put on his mother. If not for his sister's life on the line, he'd put this Jerro down weeks ago!
He sighs and helps lift the broken beam and debris. His arms protest against the weight, but there are lives at stake, and he can rest later. Some people manage to crawl out, and Kolag rushes here with a box of fresh potions for everyone.
Two dead. Two deaths over such a stupid accident. As if the war hadn’t taken enough lives. Over what? Berthold doesn’t even know what this war was about. He asked, but he was only told that some other sorceress named Phoebe sieged them. Mages. Power hungry maniacs, all of them.
Oh Inara may craft potions for these people, true. But he still can’t forget the way she killed that man at Numila, the ease she did it with. Berthold can't wipe the image from his mind. This short seemingly harmless woman, with a blood splatter on her face and a vicious smile. Gods help him, he doesn't know why he finds that attractive.
Berthold shakes his head. He's with a real fairy now, and Inara isn't a good person. Inara is a cold blooded killer. Berthold had killed before, but always in a battle, always to protect his brothers in arms. Not like that. Not with a sick smile and a blood stain on his cheek. Killing isn’t something to take joy in, and Inara… she basks in killing.
Inara isn’t even the worse of them. There are those like Phoebe or Luard. “Power hungry maniacs, all of them,” Berthold murmurs under his breath.
“I couldn’t agree more.” Kolag’s voice echoes behind him.
Berthold is surprised. “But you love her anyway?”
The knight ceases from his work and looks at Berthold. “She’s nothing like the rest of them. She cares. She does some good. She tries to do good whenever she can.”
The height difference between them makes Berthold take a step back. “She doesn’t. On my first job with her, she killed a defenseless man with a smile on her face… Berthold finds himself retelling the story, including the private moments at the inn. He doesn’t know what drives him to tell this unpleasant story. Maybe it’s jealousy, a part of him is still attracted to that terrible woman. Maybe it’s honor, this man should know who the woman he loves is. And maybe he just wants her punished, to have the man she loves turn on her.
“It doesn’t sound like she did anything wrong. Her kill was lawful. A guard should never raise his hand against a noblewoman – on any woman, with the intention to kill. That’s what an executioner is for. They had no right to arrest her over demands or threat she made to another noblewoman. Noblewomen threaten each other all the time, most of it is veiled by honeyed words. I cannot condemn her for a lawful justified kill done in self-defense.”
“It wasn’t self-defense! She goaded them into attacking her! And she was smiling!”
“And? Were they children? Being goaded into murdering someone isn’t an excuse. She doesn’t enjoy killing if that’s what you’re thinking about. She’s fast to kill, yes, but she doesn’t enjoy it. It’s all about practicality to her… The smiles to other noblewomen should be a practicality too. Thank you for telling me this.” The knight nods and turns to leave.
"And what about the slaves her savage orcs keep, huh?!"
The knight ignores his words and walks away.
Berthold eyes the knight’s back, a sickening feel in the pit of his stomach. The guy is blinded by love, Berthold was too, but not anymore. He knows too well who Inara is, he won’t ever forget. He’ll serve by her side to save his family, but that’s it, that’s the only reason he’s here.
*~*~*
Interlude 104.5
Kolag.
When Kolag goes back to the castle, it’s already night. Berthold’s words don’t leave his mind. He defended Inara’s name, this has to be defended and can’t be questioned, but he can’t help but wonder if Berthold was correct or not. Kolag shouldn’t doubt his love, but what if he’s wrong? What if she’s a monster? What kind of person smiles when they take a life?!
No. She can’t be. If she was a monster, she wouldn’t ask him if it was right or wrong to consume that soul, would she.
He shouldn’t have told her it was ok, but the desire for justice burns within him. That king doesn’t deserve an afterlife, and he knows Inara has to get stronger in order to survive.
Kolag hates himself, he just crossed a line he should’ve never crossed. Why does he keep compromising his virtues when it comes to Inara? Why can’t he stand up for what he thinks around her? Isn’t that what she loves about him to begin with? Didn't she say that his virtues and conscience are the reasons she chose him in the first place? Shouldn’t he be her moral light?
Kolag is restless in his metallic shell, he paces loudly around the blue corridors of Red Cedar Palace. Unable to calm down, unable to think. The demon inside him rages, it’s hungry, unbearable hunger. Kolag needs to feed… no. no feeding! Not that monster! Kolag should pray to his god. Yes.
Kolag goes to his room, kneels in front of the Noxi figurine on his table. He prays from the bottom of his heart. “Please, father of justice. Help me uphold justice in your way, the way of truth! I’m blinded by love. I’ve never been blinded before, and I’m lost without your guidance! Please help me see the way!”
“Hush my son, for your prayers have been answered.”
Kolag stares wide-eyed as the small figurine of his god grows bigger until it reaches a full-sized humanoid. The wooden colorless figurine gets off the table, and the statue slowly gains colors.
Noxi’s short hair turns blond, his eyes turn into a pair of warm golden lights. His skin fair, and the sheathed longsword in his hand radiates sunlight even in its scabbard. His armor shimmers in the sunlight from his sword. The golden lion remains seated at Noxi’s feet, it yawns with a mouth full of jagged teeth.
Kolag heard about people who had their prayers answered, but this is the first time it has happened to him in person. Any doubts he ever had about Noxi are gone in an instant. “Thank you. Noxi! I’m yours, now and forever!” Kolag can barely find his words as excitement bursts out of his chest and awe washes his body with goosebumps, the presence of the god he worshiped since childhood is overwhelming.
“Hush my son, you’ll bring my light into this dark world. I shall give you my light, and it shall guide your way.” The living statue places his hand on Kolag’s metallic helmet, and a wave of pleasure and ecstasy goes through Kolag’s body. Kolag can feel the demon fighting the new light that forms inside him.
“There’s a demon plaguing my body,” Kolag notes, but feels ridiculous a moment later. He’s speaking to a living god, of course Noxi knows that already.
“Yes. Follow me faithfully, my son, and I’ll cleanse your body from this evil.” The god unsheathes his sword and a blinding light washes the room. Kolag closes his eyes and the booming words of his god vibrate in his head.
“Your godless woman has been punished for her sinful act. The arcane corrupts, and the souls of mortal kind should not be consumed! Should she attempt to engage in cannibalism to escape her punishment, you’ll kill her where she stands.”
Kill Inara? Kolag isn't sure he could ever do that, but what if Inara were to eat human flesh? Wait, what does it mean have been punished? What happened to her?! “Punished, My Lord?”
“Yes, she’ll be tested. For the upcoming weeks, she will want to engage in cannibalism. Should she fail her test, you’ll kill her in my name. Should you fail to kill her, I’ll cut off my light to you and you’ll remain forever in darkness.”
“I won’t fail you, My Lord! If Inara engages in cannibalism, I’ll end her life, even if it breaks my heart!”
The god sheaths his sword like a well-trained knight. “You shall serve me faithfully and uphold my honor as my paladin. I have spoken!” The wooden statue loses all life to it, the color fades and it no longer radiates life. However, it remains a human-sized statue, it doesn’t shrink back to a small figurine.
Kolag attempts to move the statue to the corner of the room, build a small temple. Only to discover that the statue’s feet are merged with the stone floor. Wood merged with stone, only the gods are capable of such miracles. Kolag spends the next hour building a small temple around the statue before he finally remembers. Inara! What happened to her?
*~*~*
Power level: 3rd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: connected: 1 gem replenished per minute.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 73
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 11 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 22 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 11 gems
Light: Affinity 3: formed: 16/17 gems
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 33 gems
Earth: Affinity 1: formed: 5 gems
Wood: Affinity 2: formed: 11 gems
Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 46/50 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing. Aria’s Sonic Scream.
Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating. Nuriss’ Ignite. Oniga's Soap Creation.
Light: Noxi’s Light. Lako’s Blinding Light. Rika’s energy hand.
Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet. Ayla’s instant freeze. Ayla's Flowing Shield. Ayla’s Freezing Vapors.
Earth: Alice’s Oil Summoning, Reiko’s Acid Spray. Alf's Copper Bolt
Wood: Arigor’s Lesser Vines. Kolosu’s Vegetable Summoning.
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s Lesser Shield II. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body. Alino's Orbiter.
Transmutation: Oniga's Laundry.
Spells known:
Light: Rika's Electric Channelb1
Gravity: Alino’s Weightless Bodyb1x2. Imari’s Lesser Flightb2.
Life: Brigit’s Lesser Cure Poison.
Focus capability: 17 patterns.
Social status: The Queen of Red Cedar City. Shaman of the Twin Moon Tribe. Inara, Daughter of Mysteries. Apprentice to the Maven of Mysteries. Sorceress.
Personal Wealth: 1465 Magic Gems. 1420 Golden Peas, 45 Silver Scales, 32 Copper Bits.
Personal Items:
Magical necklace. Contains 100 gems of general mana, can be drained like a mana pool. It’ll recharge by itself at the rate of five gems an hour.
1 potion of lightning body.
1 potion of mana, medium grade.
5 potions of Lesser Healing.
5 potions of Pain Tolerance.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keeps the pouches’ content fresh. Each pouch may contain 10g of petals or six potion flasks.
Fresh rose petals, 6g
Fresh lavender petals, 10g
King Luard's fresh heart.
5 empty soul bottles. 5 bottles of King Luard's soul. Glass with a diamond stopper, put in scaled leather wrapping.
The Great White Egret grimoire. Dedicated by the Maven of mysteries to Inara. 27/100
Present Companions:
Salik
Kolag of House Befar
Sharlafyn Nettledew
Jerro
Berthold
Loyal
Ryon
Zoe
Languages:
Toml’a
Sinteo
Myrsha
Felul
A'arkalu 1/10
Injuries and scars: Melted skin; face, upper chest, chain scar. Left wrist broken. Broken ribs.
Curses: ???
-
Kingdom’s treasury: 923 gold coins. 136 diamonds. 200 magical gems.
Kingdom’s citizen: 3,877 humans, 1,840 human children. Twin Moon Tribe: 1,157 orcs. 294 orc children. 532 sheep-slaves.
Kingdom's army: 1,157 Orc Warriors. 347 Footmen. 12 Peacekeeper Knights.
Notables at Court:
Tasiya Keyholder
Jolla SilverQuill
Talbot Bookkeeper
Marasi Chef extraordinaire (spymaster.)
Old Gardner Tiom
Balgrum Orc Chieftain.