Chapter 82 Broken Shackles.

Those who take a life over insults,

are an insult to life itself.

They cannot be forgiven.

Yet, before you decide to take their lives.

Think of their loved ones, their hopes and dreams.

Each life has them. Each life is precious, even those.

Brigit, the Lady of Life.

Red Cedar City.

Managing a city of this scale isn’t easy, and the so-called “king” left a huge mess behind him. The guy couldn’t care less for his people. As long as he had his woman, magical books, and poor people to torment in his dungeon, the rest of the world could burn.

As for surrounding villages around the city like I used to have back at Nurio, these do not exist. After investigating, I find out that the last surviving village had disappeared ten years ago by a monster attack. While other villages had been wiped even earlier due to wars with other city states and kingdoms.

People flock to the city states on the Gray Islands. People who go out to construct villages are treated like suicidal madmen.

The roads are unsafe. Mainly due to monsters, but also a few large bands of brigands or wild orc tribes who brave the world outside and rob anything of value.

Yet, many people choose to use the roads anyway, braving the dangers by forming large caravans.

Red Cedar City can sustain itself without the roads at least.

It has a freshwater supply due to the wide Red River at the east. Olives, oranges, and lemons plantations, along with wheat fields at the north for food. A few animal herds graze the deforested area west of the city. And what the city can’t produce it imports through the river.

The Red River is the main traffic route on this side of the Gray Islands. Traders sail up and down its currents, along with passengers and odd travelers. Red Cedar City exports wood and woodwork throughout the year. The cedar forest surrounding the city from all direction is an endless supply. Carpenters and woodcutters are the most common jobs found throughout Red Cedar City.

*

"By Noxi's light! When I get my hands on Luard, I'll feed him to the demons!" Kolag bursts into the council room when we're about to finish.

"Kolag?"

"Inara, you've got to see this!" he shouts, losing all sense of decorum.

I sigh and turn to follow him. He leads me below the palace, to the wide dungeons. The pungent smells are unbearable even before I get close. I'm all too familiar with this type of stench, it brings back unpleasant memories from my time as a slave. Human misery have a special kind of odor to it.

I don't want to follow Kolag through this door, but I know I have to face it. At least I'm not the one in chains this time...

Dozens of people, male and female, young and old, are all freed from their chains. Many of them are mutilated and clearly endured unspeakable torment. The torture devices in these cells are something I had never imagined could even be dreamed up by sickened minds, let alone actually created and used.

Maids crowd the narrow hall, handing food and water to the people who just gained their newfound freedom.

"Can you heal them?" Kolag asks.

"I..." I swallow back the acid lurching up in my throat. "No. I still need to learn how to create healing potions or cast effective healing spells..."

He grunts. "They'll have their freedom! And they'll have medicine. Anything you can find on a short notice, Tasiya," he orders my Keyholder.

"Yes, Lord Sir Kolag." She curtsies and turns to order her maids around.

"And you!" He turns to the only man behind bars. Garion Gemhand, Luard's Lawmaker. "We'll hold your trial tomorrow. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Garion holds onto the bronze bars. "So you'll blame me for the King's actions?! That was..."

"Save it for your trial!" Kolag cuts him off.

The bald man swallows and looks at the freed prisoners. "Some of these people are guilty. That woman over there, the one without her left eye. Naura. Yes. She murdered her own infant child, threw him from the roof of her own house. The man with the red hair, Aridelo the Red, he’s a serial killer, if you let him loose, people will die. That..."

The red haired man gets up from his corner and runs toward the doors, and Kolag blocks his way with an angry stomp.

The red haired man grabs a shrieking maid and holds her by the neck. "He lies! He's a liar! I'm not the killer! The killer is still out there. I'm not going back to that cell!"

"If you want me to believe in a shred of your innocence, you'll let that girl go. Right. Now." Kolag's towers over him.

"Let me go, and I..." before he can finish his reply, three of the other prisoners pull him off the screaming maid.

The men drag him to the ground and beat him up relentlessly. "You killed my son! My son!!!" "This is for Garta! You piece of rot!" Two of them shouts their vengeance, while the third remains stoically silent as he kicks and stomp down the killer.

I ignore the poetic justice to my right and turn to the raven haired woman who supposedly killed her own child. She attempts to hide behind the others, without much success. I won't ask if she did it... she might just admit her own guilt if I ask why... "Why did you do it?"

"It... it was a mistake. Shilo was crying too much and I couldn't take it anymore... are you going to kill me?" Her single brown eye actually looks hopeful in the face of death. With the torture devices around, I can see why.

I shouldn't infringe on Kolag's authority, I gave him the job, I'll let him do it without interference... "It's not up to me. It's up to Kolag who's the new Lawmaker. But I'll have to ask you to go back to your cell until your trial. I'm sorry."

She nods and slowly steps into an empty dirty cell.

I turn to Tasiya. "I want those cells cleaned. And these things..." I point at the section with the torture device. "Give them away to a smith. Forge them into some tools people can actually use."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The maids are already carrying the mobile torture devices on their way out.

In the meantime the serial killer is beaten bloody. A few of the other prisoners take their chance to hurt him. One could think these people didn't go through torture themselves yesterday, and now they vent their pain by inflicting suffering on others, justified or not. Mob justice... I know all too well how easily a mob can be created by lies...

"Do we know if he's actually guilty?" I ask Kolag.

"Your Majesty," Tasiya interjects. "There were witnesses. He was caught in the act. The murders also stopped once he was arrested."

"I see. Thank you, Tasiya." And sometimes it's well deserved. I can't judge them too harshly, I doubt they had an easy time in these cells...

She nods.

"That's enough." Kolag stops the angry crowd. "You three. Put him back in his cell. We'll hold his trial tomorrow." Two of the three men drags the killer into the cell, while Kolag turns to Garion. "Anyone else who's guilty here?"

The former Lawmaker frowns. "The blond woman over there is a thief, and..."

"Ya and yar King are thieves!" The middle aged woman roars. "I took what's mine, you rotten pea brain!"

"...And the man over there is also a thief, yeah, the one that's trying to hide. I also don't see Gulsar, but also a thief."

"Yar King executed him." The chubby woman spits on the former Lawmaker.

Kolag nods. "Fine. All thefts are pardoned. Any murders? Rape?"

The Lawmaker shakes his head.

"He's the rapist." The blond woman spits on the former Lawmaker again. "Led them soldier up to rape ma daughter, he did. Before the King executed her."

"Save it for his trail tomorrow, my fair lady."

“Aisha, not me fair lady,” she replies.

Kolag pats on her shoulder and turns to the men who stopped the serial killer. "You three. What are your names?"

"Simor, sir!" The tanned man salutes with a fist on his chest.

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"Name's Yalvin." The middle aged man nods at the third one on his right. "This is Sharr. By Jalier's grace, King Luard removed his tongue."

By Jalier's grace?! These people are crazy!

Kolag nods. "I'm Kolag. I'm your new Lawmaker and I'll be responsible for the order in this city from this day onward. The current guard are corrupt. I want to make my own PeaceKeepers Knights. You three are my first recruits should you agree to join. The wages are fair, and our laws are just. Unlike Luard's folly. Anyone else who wishes to join is welcome. Even if you are injured, we could use people who watch the streets at night. We could use people to deliver messages, and people to receive them. Women are welcome too, should any of you fair ladies want to join?"

A middle-aged woman snorts. She limps near Kolag, pats his pauldron, and moves ahead to talk with Tasiya in low voices.

"Me name's Martin, sir! I wish to join as well!" A young man jumps forward.

"Good. Welcome to the PeaceKeepers Knights, Martin. Folks!" He turns to the rest of the freed people. "We carry trials for these three tomorrow. Spread the word. If anyone wishes to testify against them, the trial will be carried in the city's square."

He definitely stepped into his role. I can go back to managing things...

*

After the council session I go back to my room and teach Zoe her first meditation method, starting with the gravity pool.

Once she gets past her giddiness, I explain to her that it might take a while until she can feel mana. I make it clear that she might never awaken her magic at all, but if she wants to try so badly, who am I to deny her that?

After I get her situated, I delve into my own magical studies. Since the need for medicine and healing potion became urgent, I decide to go over the alchemy book. Besides, in less than half a year, Salik will run out of glitter. If I don’t learn how to make glitter by that time, I’ll have to watch him die. It's better to start early.

I flip pages in the alchemy book, looking for the glitter recipe, curious of what it entails.

Alchemy. This is a mix of chemical processes and magical infusions. Most alchemical potions require wood mana to be infused at specific times, but all the other basic elements are there too, and oftentimes advanced elements that I don't understand yet.

After a while of skimming through the book, I find the recipe for glitter. A bottle of human ectoplasm, and a human heart from the same human. Five wolf’s teeth, wolf’s liver, two wolf eyes, all from the same wolf. Two eyes from the same cat. Two guran leaves. Three poppy flowers, Five basil leaves. A single bellflower. A single onion root, honey. The following describes the process of making the potion, which is a whole lot complicated than I imagined.

But I can’t make myself read it.

I skip and find the part that explains that the human’s ectoplasm and heart can come from a magical beast, and only then I relax. I grit my teeth at the note that says that this magical beast has to weigh at least 150 kg.

The hag did this on purpose… she could’ve given Salik glitter for two years or more. She’s forcing me to learn alchemy, and she wants me to take the easier way and use humans as ingredients for the potions… That bitch…

Am I really surprised? She did way worse already… I’ll hunt magical animals for these potions… I’ll have Salik hunt them. This potion is complicated, there’s no telling if I succeed on the first try… If I need to kill a magical beast for each attempt at creating this potion, I’ll need to work very hard in order to keep Salik alive… At least Salik is no stranger to killing these magical beasts…

But I might lose men in the process… and I’ll need to come with him to fill up the ectoplasm bottles… all while managing a city… not to mention, I need ectoplasm and beasts’ meat for my own advancement…

This is a headache… I’m so glad I looked at this glitter recipe early so I can prepare ahead of time… For now I should focus on learning basic alchemy. I need to learn this craft, so let’s find something simpler to make…

Like the Lesser Healing Potion. it's not so simple, but it's easier than glitter. I'll skip the sleeping potion and brew something that's actually useful… I like the challenge, and the glitter is way harder than a Lesser Healing Potion.

I look at the recipe. A drop of blood from the alchemist, lavender, a single lizard scale of any kind, a pair of fish scales and eyes of any kind.

It also require some magic, but the chants, patterns, and gestures are all in the book.

That’s it… it should take about half an hour to make… looks pretty simple… I can also get most of the materials, though I’m unsure where I can find lizard scales…

I leave my room for the library and find my gnome advisor near her desk, writing. “Jolla, was it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” She takes the strange glass device off her face, staring at me with her strange white eyes.

“Mind telling me what that device on your face is for?” I ask curiously.

“Ah, this, Your Majesty?” She lifts the device, showing it to me. “It’s called glasses. I’m getting old, my eyesight has weakened. These glasses simply help me see better.”

Definitely not a mage… glasses… you’re lucky you live in such a remote place. Mages would kill you for possessing glass elsewhere. But those eyes aren’t natural. “Why do you wear glass when you possess magical eyes?”

“Magical eyes, Your Majesty? Pah, you mean my eye color? Some gnomes have white eyes, although a bit uncommon, it is natural. It has the same rarity ratio of green eyes for a human.”

“I see… good to know. Do you know where I can find some lizard scales?”

Her response is to fish out a small purse from her drawer and drop it on her desk.

I open it, the purse is filled with thin almost transparent scales. “Are you sure it’s coming from a lizard?”

“Bah what do you take me for? A dwarf? I'm not here to cheat you. You’re not the first sorcerer who asks for this ingredient,” she answers as puts her glasses back on, and jots down in her open book. “I’ll keep acquiring it and pay the cost from your treasury.”

“You’re very competent.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. You can find lavender in the gardens and fish in the kitchen.” She answers distractingly, still writing in her book.

*~*~*

Interlude 82.1

Berthold.

Berthold huffs, holding the fragile fairy in his arms. Not many men can say that their first time had been with a fairy. Now he's glad about all those women who rejected him, a fairy likes him! A fairy! Their last hour together still makes him doubt reality.

"Ever heard about the fae monarchs?" Sharla asks, tracing her long fingers across his shoulders.

Is being with a woman always feels so amazing? Or is it just being with a fairy? He wants her again, but it's clear she's had enough, and he can't push it. "No. Never."

"They're like gods to the fae... hmmm, not exactly gods. But they watch over us. They're ancient, and powerful. You can make a pact with one, they do accept humans and other mortals. You'll have to ditch that dragon you call a goddess though. She used to be a fae monarch too, a very long time ago..."

"Who? Tonisha?" The Lady of Venture. The Mother of all Dragons. Goddess of Survival and Monsters. He had been worshiping her since his early teens. Back when becoming an adventurer from the bard tales and earning enough money to keep his mother and sister alive was just an idea in its infancy. Back when he was running across the streets of Axero for coppers just so they could eat.

A slender finger crosses his lip in a shushing motion. "Shhhhh don't say her name. The Lady of Venture, yes. We'll speak of this another time, once her attention is away. When I bring the subject up again, don't say her name, ok?"

"Ok... do you... do you want to go again?"

Sharla chuckles. "Don't ask me that, Sunayaknash! If you want to go again, just kiss me. If I don't want to go again, I'll avoid you and you should be able to tell I'm not into it. Unless you're with an inexperienced girl, then it's best to ask everything. Hmmmm, yeah."

"I have no other girl, and I will never have anyone else but you," Berthold declares. It's true. She's the first woman to ever let him into her bed, and probably the last.

"Never is such a long time, Sunayaknash. You do remember I'm immortal, hmm?"

"So... are you avoiding me now?" He needs to make sure, he can't just assume things.

"Yup. Because you asked."

*

Morning. The road crosses the vast green forest. Berthold follows King Luard's tracks, last night still replaying in his mind. He doesn't need his full attention, these tracks are still easy as ever. The death cultist writes a letter and hands it to one of Berthold's five men, a report to carry back to Inara.

The other four are looking at Berthold with knowing glances. Yesterday he thought he'd want to talk and brag all about it, today he'd rather keep the details to himself, and he can't even bring himself to tell a fake version. Any fake version would be less than the real deal, the reason for making up a story is to make it more, not less.

He watches the death worshiper. Berthold hopes the man will hate him for last night, it'd be a small revenge on the followers of Tiyadi. But the the death priest doesn't even glance in Berthold's direction. Instead, Jerro leads Inara's stallion toward the thick forest. What is he doing?

Jerro slaps the horse's side, and the horse bolts into the forest without its rider. "What are you doing?!" Berthold yells. "That's Inara's horse! She'll kill you!"

The death worshiper glares coldly and doesn't respond. He then turns his head to Sharla and the rest of the men. "Let's go."

*~*~*

Power level: 3rd stage apprentice.

Mana pools status:

Crown-knot: Affinity 10: formed: 1 gem replenished per five minutes.

Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66

Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 6 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1

Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems

Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems

Light: Affinity 3: formed: 14 gems

Water: Affinity 6: formed: 27 gems

Earth: Affinity 1: formed: 4 gems

Wood: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems

Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 40/41 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.

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.

Earth: Alice’s Oil Summoning, Reiko’s Acid Spray.

Wood: Arigor’s Lesser Vines. Kolosu’s Vegetable Summoning.

Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s lesser shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body.

Spells known:

Gravity: Alino’s Weightless Bodyb.

Life: Brigit’s Lesser Cure Poison.

Focus capability: 13 patterns

Social status: The Queen of Red Cedar City. Inara, Daughter of Mysteries. Apprentice to the Maven of Mysteries. Sorceress.

Wealth: 1496 Magic Gems. 1421 Golden Peas, 17 Silver Scales, 12 Copper Bits.

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.

An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keeps the pouches’ content fresh.

Fresh rose petals, 22g

10 empty soul bottles. Glass with a diamond stopper, put in scaled leather wrapping.

The Great White Egret grimoire. Dedicated by the Maven of mysteries to Inara. 11/100

Companions:

Kolag of house Befar

Salik

Zoe

Ryon

Languages:

Toml’a Fluent

Sinteo Fluent

Myrsha 7/10

Felul 1/10

Injuries and scars:

-

Kingdom’s treasury: 305 gems. 41,682 gold coins.

Kingdom’s citizen: 6,021 humans, 2,251 human children.

Notables at Court:

Tasiya Keyholder

Jolla SilverQuill

Talbot Bookkeeper