I blew out the smoke from my created pipe again and grimaced a little at the file on the table before me. I looked up at Augustus and Theodore, both men had hard expressions. “I must admit I hadn’t imagined my tip would bring up this information.” I said tapping the file before me. When I had felt the death of my scavengers I hadn’t thought much of it at the time and thrown the emperor a bone with the information about it. Show him I was useful as soon as possible to solidify my safety in this empire as fast as possible.
Theodore and I had a strained relationship from the very start, I knew he hadn’t forgiven me for killing Elliot but what parent could forgive such a thing. However as I looked to the side were Morice, Alexander, Abhorash and prince Aldren were training together in how to move while in combat with more than one enemy, essentially it was a free for all.
On the other side was Andrew, Akasha and Selma of all people meditating on mana control and their internal mana. Andrew had seen the merit of my training after only a day and as such a grudging sort of cordiality was formed between me and Theodore. I’d given my word to help his remaining sons if I could in their training and betterment and I would keep it. I wasn’t Aona, I would manipulate and deceive if I had to but I wouldn’t break my word. My honour and my word were the only two things I had wholly to myself and I’d keep to my own beliefs.
Course my loophole was that if I gave my word with an assumed name it was deception, if I did with my true name of Vlad von Carstein, I’d keep it no matter what.
“Yes.” Theodore began in his deep baritone and cleared his throat as Bau entered the privacy barrier after staying there for a moment to be noticed. She moved to us and poured us tea prepared with a bit of the same leaves I was smoking into my tea. I’d found using medicinal plants like that in simple cuisine gave benefits as well. Kinda like how some food was good for cultivators in those wuxia novels I’d read the same could be said for mages in this world, some food had positive effects on them and were included in some aspects of their lives to help manage themselves and further their own powers.
“Thank you Miss Kirubel. I do hope little Gandas has taken to his studies?” I thanked and then asked smiling up at the elven woman. She was the single mother I’d offered a job to when I had lost my eye, such gratitude built easy loyalty from others. I could trust she wouldn’t leak anything she’d over hear but it was still better to be safe than sorry, hence the barrier.
She nodded and bowed slightly to me with a smile. “Thank you again Baron Aesir, my son has been progressing well in his studies.” She said with a grateful look before she excused herself and left the barrier with all proper etiquette and respect given to the emperor.
“Now where were you?” I asked then once the three of us were alone in the barrier once more.
“Right, right.” Theodore said after taking a sip of the delectable tea. “The information you provided allowed one of Quinn’s people to find a large chamber that the black market is using to hold a tournament in a weeks time.” He said as he placed the cup down onto its dish.
“I fear that they might be searching for a candidate to experiment on.” He then said sighing.
“Experiment?” I asked puzzled at the pretence of a tournament for such a purpose.
“Yes, the last fight of the tournament to decide the winner is the last contestant standing against a troll that they’ve brought in. I believe the experiment is to see the combat effectiveness of the troll equipped with something they’ve made.” Theodore explained.
I frowned as I thought for a bit, could this be where Trolgar had been taken to? I knew it was rather silly of me to want to free him but the troll had saved my life and even helped me. I owed Trolgar a debt of honour if nothing else. I’d try to get him out and if I saw that wasn’t an option I’d at least end his suffering.
“A troll? Could they be trying to find a way to weaponize monsters?” I muttered to myself and by the reactions of Augustus and Theodore made me think it might be a valid hypothesis. “I’ll make some small undead to spy on them to try and get more information, tell Quinn to call his man back. We shouldn’t risk the living when the dead can work better and quieter.” I then finally said before realizing what I’d said and looked towards the emperor. “If you don’t object that is...” I said with a slightly strained smile.
Augustus nodded his head. “I agree, lets not waste lives if there is no need to. However if they are trying to weaponize monsters should we seize the technology or destroy it?” He said ponderously and I frowned at him.
“Then what’s to stop you from developing it further to be used on humans?” I asked and both men’s eyes went wide with realization. “Yes, if this is to weaponize a monster they also need to be able to control it, then it is logical to assume this will then be further made to be used on the other races such as humans. It might be tempting but magic or technology like this will never give off any good fruit. Its too easy to be tempted to further its development and those consequences can be disastrous.” I finished and seeing their expressions I felt they came to the same conclusion.
“I think the best option is to not only kill those involved and know of it but also to destroy the research and all notes related to it we can find.” I said and the two men nodded, it really was the only way to try and stop such a thing from further developing at least for now.
“Oh right I wanted to ask you, your highness.” I started as I pointed down to my cupped hand were I made a small shade appear with mana and shadow manipulation. “Is it all right if I place a few of these around your family, Nafir’s and Theodore’s for protection?” I asked.
“Hmm? What are they?” Augustus asked curiously, Theodore’s look was one of distaste.
“Shades, ghost types that can stay invisible and are hard to deal with. They can also work as excellent information gatherers.” I said with a smile, feeling a bit excited to get to talk about the products of my experiments with my abilities.
Theodore sniffed disdainfully. “Why surround his highness and his family with these? What if you use them against him?” He asked dubious of my intentions.
“I swore on my true name not to bring harm to his highness, his family nor his empire. Have I not shown I’m a man of my word?” I asked right back and Theodore looked annoyed he didn’t have anything to shoot back at me with.
“Secondly I want to stay here to heal and further my own knowledge for my eventual reckoning of Wolfsgard. I have no interest in any other empire so given the rather helpful and good reception I’ve had in this empire what makes me possibly want to bring harm to it?” I then asked with a smirk.
“You did lose your eye here the second day did you not?” Augustus responded with a smirk of his own. Touché Augustus.
“True but that only means my ire is aimed at the Melivica brat that did that. You must understand if it had only been me that had been treated like that then only those involved would face my ire but Aona did something you just don’t do against me.” I said with a predatory smile.
“And that is?” Theodore asked cautiously, seeing the glint in my eye.
“You don’t go after family after your done with me, she did after Voidstrider.” I answered feeling my anger at the goddess flair before I stamped it down.
“Anyway I’m thinking of participating in this tournament to try and prevent this from getting any more widespread.” I said then after blowing out another drag of my pipe while tapping the document.
“You can’t.” Theodore said with annoyance. “You have to be between levels forty or eighty to participate, You are at thirty seven right now right? It won’t be easy to get three levels in a week.” He then said and I had to agree with him.
I leaned back and thoughtfully took another drag of the pipe. “I know that your highness allowed me to have Selma in a training to raise her levels but I fear I’ll have to go out myself to hunt.” I said as I thought things through. “I still intend to create an adventuring party with her and the others I’m teaching to help them gain experience while still under my protection as their leader…. But if I’m to gain three levels quickly I’ll need to find something suitable nearby.” I grumbled at the end, I noticed that Augustus was looking at me with a smirk of his own now.
Augustus looked to Theodore and the two nodded to one another before Theodore pulled out two more files and a map from his storage ring and placed them on the table. “I feel bad directing a necromancer to this but if we are to actually get this technology and destroy it I guess we have no choice. We have no one with the sheer amount of combat experience that you do at a close enough level to be able to win this tournament but you. Knights and those that could from the empire would be too easy to notice and that… armour of yours definitely won’t link you to the empire.” Augustus said as he pushed the files towards me.
I raised an eyebrow and took them and began to read. I continued to read before looking up at the emperor wide eyed and took the other file to read through. “A Baluchitherium and a small warband of Maftet? These are creatures I’ve never heard of before.” I said puzzling out the information on the files. The Baluchitherium was apparently a fortieth level creature resembling a hornless rino with thick plate like fur and longer legs than a rhino should have. It had been rampaging around a few villages without going into them at the bottom of one of the mountains that made the large swath of land that Veta was built in the middle of.
A bit farther to the east in the desert one of the outposts there had reported on the war band of Maftets running amok. Using their wings to fly from secure grounded sandseaports and trade towns dotting the sparse land Alocia had in the dessert sea.
Maftet are apparently a monstrous humanoid type creature with the upper body of tanned or bronze skinned humanoids with hawk wings on their back and a tawny bipedal lion body for their lower half. The war band was reported to be around a dozen or so with most in the upper thirties in levels from the few reports on them that got back.
I frowned a little as I looked at the map with the markings of where they were. “I don’t think I’ll make this on horseback… I’d have to use a wyvern to make this trip in just a week.” I said frowning before I looked up and saw an expectant gaze from Augustus and quietly curious one from Theodore.
“Oh Right, I’ve been experimenting on trying to create a version of the shadow wolf just as a wyvern to ride when I need quick travel on my own.” I explained and both looked rather curious now, when it came to necromancy I could see they were curious about what an actual necromancer was capable of without wanting to learn necromancy themselves.
Well if they hadn’t killed them all off then perhaps they might have had a few necromancers as their staff, I internally grumbled.
“I’ll have to try during the middle of the night and fly out then. No sense in causing a panic until it can at least look like its alive like Garmur and the others.” I said to them and I noted that Augustus seemed slightly deflated, perhaps he wanted to see me work?
Shaking my head I smiled and placed the two files down with the map and to the side.
“Either way I’ll be back within a week. Could I trouble your highness for the protection of my children while I’m away?” I asked politely and he graciously nodded his head.
“There is but one mater left now that I wish to tell you of, Felix.” Augustus said with a wry smirk at using the fake name I’d go by. “The mundane teachers you asked for as well as the instructors have been found and will be instated with yourself during the next opening of the academy in three months. I’m rather curious to see how this sect type teaching method you’ve come up with will work. Of course I’ve had letters sent to the foreign nobility and students coming next semester to explain the changes happening as well as had a few of my more trusted mages go out into the empire to find talented commoners in magic as per your request.” He said and I graciously bowed my head to him.
“Thank you Emperor Augustus. I hope that my changes won’t lead to a riot.” I answered with a slightly worried smile. I knew that the next semester in the royal magical academy would be strange. Thankfully their previous and rather strange teaching method was to accept students every five years and taught them fully until graduation as a single class. Now more would be allowed to enrol as large dorms were being built and I’d yet to have a good conference with the teachers already working there, something I hoped to happen before I’d be revealed as the vice-headmaster.
A position I had adamantly refused until the emperor had to quite frankly order me to take once I’d gone through the changes and teaching methods I’d like to try and introduce into the academy.
I had a feeling he’d wanted to change the academy for a long time and was using me as an excuse to do it. Then again making me vice-headmaster would also put all the blame on my head if things blew up in our faces. Shrewd bastard.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“I have to admit the knightly admissions and what you wanted to have them learn as basics is rather interesting to me.” Theodore then said piping up as he noted my lips souring just a little at my thoughts most likely.
“Of course, a knight should learn to care for their own equipment after all. Not to mention when they see it isn’t as simple as it seems they’ll respect the craftsmen that make their equipment all the more. Not to mention that if they gain magical equipment the upkeep of such equipment will have to be known if they want to use it properly.” I answered but then narrowed my eye at the emperor.
“Though I did mention I wanted to learn at the academy as well. Me being the vice-headmaster won’t be very conducive to that now will it?”
“I’m sure a resourceful man like yourself will figure it out.” Augustus said with a wide innocent smile.
“Right….” I drawled back before sighing and leaning back into the chair I sat in.
Both Knight commander and Emperor looked at one another and then at me when I simply went quiet for a while looking at the four-way fight happening in my back yard. “Is something wrong?” Theodore asked curiously.
“Not really, just things are happening rather fast and suddenly for me at the moment. Still… digesting it all I guess.” I sighed and rubbed the side of my head while taking another drag of the pipe. When I blew it out I used small amount of mana to perform a feat I’d seen in lord of the rings, creating a smoke ship that sailed away from me.
“I guess I’m also worried I won’t have the influence to actually manage all of this.” I then said as I looked to the emperor who had silently begun to sip his tea.
“Considering your story, I’m sure you’ll figure it out somehow.” Augustus said cryptically, also with a cryptic smile on his lips.
I could only smile in a slightly defeated manner before I looked back down on the map in quiet study.
“I feel I might have stayed a bit too long and shall take my leave now. Baron Aesir please do try your best in resolving the earlier mater for me.” Augustus said and I bowed respectfully to him as he and Theodore left.
I stood leaning against the door frame of the front door watching the guards surrounding the emperor leave through my gates. Pipe still in hand before I left to go back inside.
Things were moving fast right now and I needed to build an information network that could give me some info to work with before hand. I made my way to the backyard were I saw Selma still here talking with Camille, Morice and Akasha. Abhorash had gone off to his own room where I had a few treaties on war, army management, tactics and martial manuals for him to study along with court type etiquette and the like he’d require to know in his new role as a vampire bloodline patriarch.
I stood on the patio smoking and watching them as I thought. “You know it’s rather creepy if you just stand and watch like that.” A voice from behind me said and I chuckled as I turned my head to look at Freya as she came up behind me.
“Am I going to have to lock up my son to keep you from breaking into my home?” I asked teasingly and the flush she got made me smile. I’d noticed she’d grown fond of Morice and I’d noticed the looks she gave him every so often.
Freya took a few moments to calm down and not let me get to her before she looked at Camille and gestured with her chin at her. “That her?”
“Yebb, you remember not to mention I’m one of you right?” I asked as I looked at her from the corner of my eye only to see her nod.
“Is it because you don’t trust her?” She asked and looked at me.
“No, it’s more that I know I can trust her. Problem is none of you should follow my path and when I leave the empire I don’t want to be remembered much.” I answered and took a drag of the pipe.
“Not remembered? Considering I know your going to be the vice-headmaster of the royal magical academy despite being at the same level as the genius students of the academy are at, you are still placed that high. Whether you want to or not Felix, you will be remembered here.” She replied to me and gave me a hard look which would most likely make her future husband wither under.
I sighed and rolled my head to the side. “Fine, fine. Then I’ll leave it to you and Selma to at least help me be remembered in a good way.”
“You’re not Dracula you know.” Freya said teasingly as she poked me in the side.
I didn’t have the heart to tell her I suspected I’d be worse in the future. Hopefully she’d have forgotten me by then. Freya spoke again once we had taken a seat on the patio in the same seats as Augustus and Theodore had been with me at. “So is the party all set now? When will we be going to adventure around?” She asked with child like enthusiasm.
“Not for a while. The Emperor has tasked me with eliminating a few problems so the next week at least will require me to leave the city. Can I trust you to keep an eye on Markus and Aurabella in the meantime?” At her nod I smiled.
“Tell me did you manage to finish your business?” I then asked her curiously.
She nodded and pulled out a small pouch from the bag attached to her hip. “Yeah here it is.” She said as she opened the pouch to reveal the same drug I had warned the emperor about earlier in the week. The one that corroded a persons soul till the body was simply an empty shell before dying of starvation. She wrinkled her nose at it. “Still don’t get why you asked me to get this stuff, you a druggie or something?”
I grimaced a little and closed the pouch. “No I wanted to ask the alchemy teacher at the academy to study this with me to find out its full effects. I have a feeling this might be just the tip of a rather large and annoying iceberg.” I said as I made the pouch disappear into one of my storage rings.
“Thinking criminal conspiracy?” Freya asked, I’d found out early she’d been a fan of the Sherlock Holmes books and other detective media back on earth.
I shook my head. “There isn’t enough to be certain yet but… I guess it’s a gut feeling.” I replied before I found my pipe was all smoked out and deposited the ashes into a small tray on the table and made it disperse.
“Can you make anything like that?” Freya suddenly asked me and I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “I mean like can you make a sword and fight with it? Or something like a gun?” She asked and I smirked at her.
“No, nothing like that. At my level my constructs are rather fragile really a sword would break after the first defence and would hardly be able to break the skin. Not to mention I still have to use actual spells to cause any meaningful harm with mana.” I said showing her by conjuring a ball above my finger and shooting it as hard and fast as I could at her shoulder, she acted like I’d just roughly pushed at the spot with my hand.
“That’s about as much force as I can project with mana but it does make for quite the bluff don’t you think?” I then said with a smirk as I made one of the black bladed swords I’d threatened Nafir with back at the palace appear and then dissipate.
Freya smirked at me and nodded. “Yeah I can see that. You’re devious.” She said with a widening smile.
“Really? And here I thought the mob boss before me was the devious one.” I replied teasingly.
“It-its a gang not the mob.” Freya harrumphed at me and I could only laugh at her antics as the rest came up to us and took a seat around the table.
With tea served by miss Kirubel along with a few tasty snacks I began to take a pinch of the mana medicine tobacco and put it into a newly made pipe. With an effort of will I managed the little I could in aspecting mana, making it into a flame just useful enough to start a small fire, or light a pipe in this case.
“Don’t you think you’re going a bit overboard with that?” Selma asked me as she found the tea had a bit of the same plant used to brew the tea she drank. “I know that overuse of mana can cause the need for heavy consumption of this stuff but I haven’t seen you go an hour before you’ve lit a pipe or had this tea.”
I looked at her and chewed my lower lip a little as I noted that the others around the table were looking at me like I’d turned addicted. I sighed and pulled out a femur from my storage ring and placed it on the table. Freya, Selma and Morice grimaced at the sight while Camille and Akasha looked a bit horrified. “Break it open.” I said with a dismissive tone as I turned my chair a bit to the side so my smoke wouldn’t be taken second hand by them.
Morice was the first to pick the bone up and as he began to strain to break the bone he looked from it to me with narrowed eyes. “I didn’t reinforce it with more, that's the original.” I replied to him with a smirk as he continued before he got tired and placed it on the ground to stomp on its middle to break it. The people around the table gasped at seeing the glittering crystal filling up the space where marrow should be in the bone.
“What is this?” Morice asked as he picked it up and examined the parts. I’d found myself and Morice were really the only ones jaded enough to have rational and constructive conversations when covered in parts of our experiments or like now when only one bone was involved.
“You remember the wyvern skeletons you gave me?” I asked in return with a smile as Morices face dawned in realization.
“Is that what you’ve been doing this week and that’s why your smoking so much?” He then asked almost excited and nearly vibrating in his seat.
“What are you talking about?” Freya asked with annoyance, she liked the theoretical part of some of the necromancy discussions I and Morice got into at times but she didn’t want anything to do with putting it into practice.
Selma looked like she got it first after Morice. “You’re telling us that you’ve been pouring your mana into creating an inner lining of mana crystals inside the bones of an entire wyvern skeleton?” She asked shocked.
I smiled. “Just about, I still have the skull left and I’m thinking of making the horns a spiritual and mana crystal mix that I’ve also been working on trying to create.” I responded and then I noted the fearful expression on Camille’s face and gently placed my hand on hers on the table.
“Camille you have nothing to fear from me nor anyone here at this table. Myself and Markus are necromancers yes, but I’m here and will act as Vice-headmaster of the royal magical academy to try and create a better type of necromancer. A spirit doctor.” I explained and she seemed to understand what I was trying to convey, though she was clearly nervous about it.
To my surprise it was Bau who placed a hand on Camille’s shoulder and smiled at her. “Master Felix might have a cursed class but he is a good man.” She said with a gentle smile before aiming an amused one at me. “Despite him being among the most eccentric men I’ve ever met.”
I raised a finger at her as if in warning before I thought better of it. “Can’t argue with that and thanks for putting it kindly.” I answered with a smile. If it wasn’t for the soul oath I’d extracted from her for mutual protection when I hired her she wouldn’t know what she did now.
Bau smiled and bowed her head before she left us once more. Little did she know that because of her nature and I guessed a part of myself wishing to be a decent person she hardly had any cleaning work to do in this large manor. After all with around six shades working through the night to clean and trim the place she was able to manage such a large manor by herself.
“Back to the topic at hand.” Selma said then clapping her hands once to get our attention. “What could possibly make you spend such a large amount of time enhancing a skeleton instead of just raising it right away?” At her question both myself and Morice looked at one another with knowing smirks. That seemed to just annoy Selma and she growled her next word. “What?”
“The more care and time you spend preparing something the more powerful it can be initially and the further it can grow. While granted, I can continue to spend time and resources on already raised minions there is a correlation between initially making the minions better to be able to further their growth. Though apparently my bloodline thins that distinction rather significantly given that its directly tied to death itself in a way.” I explained and Selma’s eyes went slightly wide before narrowing ever so slightly.
“Wait you're a descendant of the Voidstrider, a man from earth that turned into the god of death in this one right?” At my nod of accent she continued. “Then how is it that you share his bloodline if he didn’t come back to earth to put his godly bloodline down?”
I raised a finger and conjured up a globe of earth with the landmass black to add a bit of colour to it. Then I raised another with the globe of this world in the other. “There is a distinct connection between Earth and Astarune as this world is called. While granted the Voidstrided didn’t leave this world after becoming a god the information and potential to become a god was still left in his descendants on earth. This bloodline then manifests more openly and takes on the traits he’d leave behind when those same descendants come to this world. Something about divine mandates between either plane’s creator gods. So while a descendant on earth is nothing special if brought here it’ll be a whole different matter. Sort of like a strange divine placebo effect occurring to descendants of the Voidstrider which causes them to be much like descendants from Voidstrider as the god he was instead of the plain mortal he used to be.” I explained and at seeing Akasha’s vague stare into the distance and just plain confused look on Freya, Selma and Camille’s expressions I couldn’t help but sigh.
“At least that’s how Németh explained it to me.” I then said shrugging a little.
“Anyway I’ll have to ask you to continue to train and work on yourselves along with helping Camille get situated over the coming week.” I said gesturing to Camille who shrank a bit back from the stares she was given.
“The emperor has kindly asked me to deal with a matter and I’ll need to leave for about a week or so and as such I’ll require Markus’s assistance here in the backyard to prep the Wyvern for me to raise. You are welcome to help or watch but I suggest that you do not shirk your training just because I’m gone. I’ll be leaving tonight so I’ll be rather focused on finishing my work.” I said and the nods I got from around the table made me smile a little before I looked at Freya teasingly.
“Now don’t go pulling my son into anything untoward miss Welcer.” I then said with a teasing smile on my lips and I enjoyed the look of embarrassment on Freya’s face.
Thankfully Morice looked clueless about what I was referencing so that just doubled my enjoyment. Soon after our topics turned mundane and then I took the time to whip up a pizza for them to enjoy while I began my work in the backyard after dinner. Thankfully I could see rather well in the little light available to me as night had fallen, I was soon joined by Morice who took to the work with gusto.
We wrapped the wings in thin but durable leather imbued with mana and I ended up creating spirit stones from the soul energy that was ambient all around in the city for the wyverns two horns. The skeleton fully imbued with mana crystals was then layered with tough hide and then covered again in small hardened bone scales infused with shadows simply for colours sake. It wouldn’t do for it to be bone white while I flew it out of the city in the middle of the night.
The lower corners of the Wyverns jaws was infused with two rather strong and large mana stones to be later aspected to hopefully give it a breath weapon.
It was something I’d learned when placing a shadow infused mana crystal, a non aspected mana crystal and a spiritual crystal into the raven’s chests. They’d gained the ability to dive into shadows and travel to another along with the ability to split themselves into three shadow versions of themselves which allowed them to cover much more ground when seeking information or their side hunting as well.
The image of a wyvern minion capable of splitting into several of the same strength as it was a tantalizing one. I just hoped it wouldn’t explode due to the mana crystal infusion of the bone marrow in the skeleton.