“Simply put? Do not cure Lady Solara. Merely spend several idle days in Gama and wait for us to arrange her death. Afterwards, I will resume negotiation with you on my brother’s behalf.”
The unspoken addendum, Adam figured, was that Belmordo meant to assassinate Vasco while the latter was wracked with grief. Lord Talent or no, there was probably a way to kill him. Hell, Belmordo could do it before Vasco entered Gama again, which would bypass the Lord Talent entirely.
At which point – with Vasco and Solara dead – the Lord Talent would fall to Belmordo, if the odd transfer worked as he’d just mentioned. That sounded like it had a low probability of succeeding, though, so failing that, maybe Belmordo was hoping for Adam to steal Vasco’s power and give it to him somehow. The finer details were a little hazy, but the general idea was clear enough.
Shit...if I go along with this, Penumbria’s problems would be sorted out pretty much immediately. If not forever, then at least for the immediate future...but...
“There are two issues with that proposal,” Adam said, slowly. “First, you just went on and on about how Solara is practically unkillable once, let alone twice. If I don’t steal her Talent, what’s your plan for dealing with her? To just keep the possessed, powerful monster sealed inside a tower forever? Can’t be good for tourism.”
“No.” Belmordo’s wicked grin returned to his face. “Look here, my Lord.”
He threw out a sealed parchment and motioned for Adam to unpack it.
Gama requires aid. A Stained Monster has taken over noble blood, and must be put down. We request an Imperial Hangman.
“That’s a vague letter,” Adam remarked, upon reading it over. “Is it detailed enough to convince the Emperor to send someone over? Thought he was notoriously stingy with allocating manpower to this corner of the world.”
“It needs to be vague. What if the raven is intercepted? Can’t have a panic over who is possessed by the monster. There are rumors right now, but the commoners don’t actually know who is locked in that tower, or why. If they did know, there would be riots.”
“And the Emperor is okay with ambiguity?” Adam insisted, not bothering to hide his skepticism.
Belmordo grinned. “What is unspoken rings louder than any words ever could. We are requesting an Imperial Hangman, and we also mention noble blood. That carries a strong implication of how impossibly hard to kill this possessed monster is. Furthermore, it is in the Empire’s interest to keep the Rot from spreading.”
Spreading the Rot? So if someone powerful gets possessed by it, they can spread the Rot further inland?
Adam couldn’t just let that slide. It seemed like an important detail. He wanted to prod for more, but showing the depths of his ignorance about this world would paint a target on his back. If anyone knew how little he was aware of, they’d have almost no trouble concocting some sort of plan to get rid of him.
Which meant he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Where the rock was an important need to find out more about this world, and the hard place was his continued attempts to obscure his own ignorance.
Maybe it would be easier if Adam just...picked someone to trust. That way he could explain his situation properly, and they could help him understand everything about this world, bit by bit. Tenver would be a good candidate for that, wouldn’t he? He seemed trustworthy enough. Maybe that was the logical route to take.
However...
NOTES ON THE PAINTED WORLD
— Rot can spread through possessed people. Noble blood might make it worse.
— Remember that Aspreay wanted to have me executed for interacting with a Stained Monster.
After a moment of thought, Adam steadfastly rejected that idea.
He’d much rather do it the hard way. Read books wherever he could, infer things from context, then piece together what he knew. It would take longer, but it would also give other people as few openings as possible to exploit him.
Tenver ‘seems’ trustworthy? The hell does that matter? Rainbows might seem nice too, but they fade if you get too close. He’s a psychopath who killed three noblemen to supposedly show his loyalty. Why the hell would I trust him?
Adam knew this wasn’t entirely fair. It didn’t matter. Better to assume everyone was going to betray him, than to be reckless and call it optimism.
He drew a deep breath. “If you’re gonna go on about what’s ‘unspoken’ in that letter, then how about I say the quiet part out loud?” Adam narrowed his eyes, a touch of anger glinting within them. “Or would you rather say it yourself?”
“I have no idea what you speak of, Lord Adam.”
“Playing dumb, huh? Fine.” Adam allowed his disgust to show on both his face and his voice. “I’m just saying it doesn’t add up. Vasco is so desperate to save his daughter that he’d commit borderline treason and allow a commoner who can steal souls and Talents into his domain...and he allowed this letter to be sent? Bullshit.”
“Ah, I see your point.” If Belmordo was upset at Adam’s reaction, he didn’t show it. “I meant no deceit – only good manners. In high society, we do not say plainly that which we find unsavory.”
“Forgive me. My rank might be higher, but I was not raised as a noble. Thus, allow me to speak like a commoner, and cut through your bullshit. You, Belmordo, are going behind your brother’s back to get his daughter legally assassinated so you can maneuver your way to stealing his title. The letter is vague because Vasco probably intercepted a couple of them, and you wanted some deniability, even if he’s suspicious of you.”
“And what of it?” Belmordo laughed. “Surely, you, my Lord Adam, cannot protest that without confessing to hypocrisy.”
Well, he supposed that was what it looks like to the guy, didn’t it? Maybe that’s what it is. But hypocrisy or otherwise, Adam didn’t intend on letting himself bend and break under that argument. He responded with a steady tone, playing the part of a calm, cunning lord in order to hide his real objections. “Let’s say that the Emperor really does send someone here. Would they be capable of killing the woman who can die twice?”
“Ah, I knew you’d be uninformed about this. You’re a Lord, but you grew up in Penumbria, didn’t you?”
That was fantastically wrong, but it was probably a fair assumption to make. Although Tenver and a few others knew he was a foreigner, it would be a little unreasonable to expect someone to find out everything about a nascent Lord in just a few days.
Adam was more than happy to let the misconception stand. “What if I did?” he spat back. Does that sound defensive enough for him to think he hit bullseye? “Do you dare to look down on those who grew up in Penumbria?”
“No, my lord! Far from me to ever imply such a thing!” Belmordo lowered his head in an exaggerated bow that looked even sillier because he was still sitting down. Despite his subservient attitude, however, Adam saw a measure of satisfaction on the man’s face. “But it does mean you haven’t seen a Hangman in action.”
“And what if I haven’t?” Adam worsened his tone, making himself sound downright insecure. If he had a read on Belmordo’s personality, the guy would take pleasure in exposing a Lord’s ignorance – and not think twice of it, since Adam was supposedly born in the Dumpster of the Empire.
He was right. Belmordo stood up and glanced outside the window, suddenly showing a glimmer of surprise. “My lord, come with me. The carriage has stopped for the night, and it just so happens that we’re in the perfect spot for me to make my point.” He opened the door and extended a hand to help the lord out of the carriage. “Please, Lord Adam. Accompany me.”
I smell bullshit. But even so, Adam took the hand and followed him outside.
Adam couldn’t help but wonder at the world around him as he stepped out of the carriage. It was sights like these that reminded him that he’d come into this world through a painting. The colors were vibrant, the light breeze felt gentle, and there was a strange blue hue around everything, like a photoshop filter superimposed over reality.
Back on Earth, he’d seen this kind of blue hue applied to paintings and movies to show how cold a place was. Actually seeing it in person was much weirder. It was slight, almost unnoticeable...but it was there. And it was stronger here than in Penumbria.
Commenting on that would draw attention, though, so he defaulted to a different sight. “We have a lot of guards,” Adam muttered. More than the two dozen mounted and armored men were surrounding them. They stood at attention, ready to do battle at a moment’s notice.
“Your men and my brother’s both,” Belmordo replied. “It’s to be expected, isn’t it?”
Maybe for someone who grew up in this world. For Adam, even after living in Penumbria for six months, the sight of those medieval soldiers still seemed surreal. He’d learned to live with it, but that didn’t mean he’d fully wrapped his mind around it – especially now that half of those soldiers were his.
He was about to make an idle remark to pass the time when something caught his eye. In the center of the clearing, illuminated by only the moonlight and the stars above, was a large rectangular object. The lighting made it hard to discern the object’s shape. Under most circumstances, Adam probably would’ve glossed over it entirely.
But this? No, he would never forget this.
“That – that’s a vending machine?” Adam cried out. “Again?!” He found himself unable to pretend that he wasn’t disgusted by the repulsive contraption. “What the hell? Why are we stopping here?”
If there was one thing in this painted world Adam hated more than Aspreay, it was that goddamn machine. His first encounter with that thing had been a crash course in painful disappointment, informing him that this world was somehow more ruled by money than Earth had ever been.
Before he even knew why, Adam felt Vines of Stained Ink swirling beneath his sleeves. A second later, his thoughts caught up with his fury. I wonder if I can break it. If people here can only survive traveling by being rich, then I’d rather no one survived at all. Maybe I could sharpen the Ink into a blade and–
His rage stalled as Belmordo approached the object, causing a luminescent menu to display in front of it.
— Shelter (Monster-Immunity guaranteed!) : 13000 Orbs
— Food (Two-meals!) : 4000 Orbs
— Water (Enough for three days if you ration!): 2350 Orbs
“We already have enough supplies,” Belmordo muttered, studying the vending machine as if it were a common sight. “But we could also use shelter to prevent later issues. Very well.”
At that, Belmordo nodded to himself and pulled out...a quill from his pocket, which he proceeded to use to write on the vending machine. Adam’s mouth hung open for a moment before he shook his head and remembered to make note of this.
NOTES ON THE PAINTED WORLD
— Rot can spread through possessed people. Noble blood might make it worse.
— Remember that Aspreay wanted to have me executed for interacting with the Stained Monster.
— The vending machine looks like something else to them. No idea what.
When Belmordo was finished, a faint red vapor began emanating from both his body and the machine. They fluctuated and shook, as if spending a violent effort to retain their shapes, then linked themselves to each other with a bright beam of light. Orbs shot out from within Belmordo and into the machine, a continuous, pulsating stream that no one but Adam seemed to pay much attention to.
After he was done, a large dome flickered into existence, high up above the trees and going as far as the entire clearing. The dome was visible for a moment, and then disappeared again. Adam could tell it was still there; an invisible barrier, just like the Wall he could conjure up as a Lord.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I want to break it.
“Lord Adam,” Belmordo said, bowing deeply. “If I may direct your attention toward the mountain...”
Turning away from the wretched machine, Adam’s gaze landed on a sight that snatched the breath right from his lungs. The mountain contained a tunnel built into its side. He’d seen both before, figuring that it was probably something made with a Talent to shorten travel time between cities. Except now he saw that his assumption wasn’t quite right.
It wasn’t a tunnel.
It was simply a hole.
An enormous hole had pierced through the mountain, cleaving through solid rock like scissors through paper. It wasn’t a carefully constructed tunnel. The height was too high, the horizontal reach too uneven. Instead, it was like an electric drill had spun out of control and dug from side to side before returning to its original straight – if shaky – line.
“It’s like the mountain was impaled,” Adam exhaled, the words leaving his mouth against his will. He didn’t want to look impressed, but that was just...something else. “This is what you wanted to show me?”
Belmordo stepped up beside Adam and joined him in looking at the cavernous hole. “The last time a Hangman came here was when the Dragon Puppets left their caves and attempted to invade us. In just one blow, the Hangman destroyed their mountain city and sent them crawling back underground.”
“One blow?” Adam cried out. “That hole goes all the way to the other side! That’s gotta be at least a few kilometers – one blow? Are you serious?”
“Aye, my lord. They do not have the supreme control that a Lord possesses over his domain, but when it comes to single combat, none can best an Imperial Hangman.”
“I...see.” Adam couldn’t tear his gaze away from the sheer destruction laid out before his eyes. How long ago had this happened? Did those calamities disguised as men just walk the world, leaving behind destruction as proof they had been there? “If an Imperial Hangman can do that much...”
“It is why I believe that the amount of times Lady Solara can come back to life matters very little. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. I understand.” Adam nodded slowly. “I understand...that you’re still playing games with me, Belmordo.”
“My, my lord?”
He drew a deep breath and grit his teeth. With every second that passed, Adam felt the world shifting beneath his feet. This was a land where the impossible was merely a part of the scenery, where magic was as real as the moonlight filtering through the leafy canopy above.
That didn’t mean he was going to let it overwhelm him.
“So we happened to reach this place just as our discussion brought up Lady Solara and the Hangman? Please. You waited until you were here to make your point as dramatically as possible.”
Belmordo’s smile faded a little. “My lord, I only wished to make the truth plainer for you. At no point did I ever tell you even one lie.”
“But neither did you ever tell me the full truth,” Adam said, with a sharp tone. “You’d much rather if I didn’t catch on to all your ‘unspoken truths’ and just went along with your bullshit.”
“Lord Adam,” Belmordo began, in a careful tone, “I am but a man without a royal title. If your opinion of me is low, then so be it. My point stands above emotion, however – if you go along with my brother’s plan, you run the very likely risk of dying in a vain effort to save his cursed daughter. Meanwhile, if you go along with my plan, Penumbria will receive much better economical and political support than it would otherwise. Do you disagree?”
“No,” Adam stated. “If I’m looking at everything logically, siding with you would be more beneficial to me.”
“Then–”
“And I steadfastly reject that idea.”
Adam knew he was blindly following his emotions right then. Belmordo’s proposal made sense. He didn’t owe anything to Vasco or a daughter he’d never met. Conversely, he owed it to Penumbria to make them as prosperous as possible after usurping their lord. Sacrificing one person he’d never met in exchange was simply a matter of pragmatism. Few in this world would condemn him for it.
He tried to come up with rationalizations for his rejection. Maybe Belmordo couldn’t be trusted to keep his word. Even if he did, the man would be a bad trade partner to have, especially since he would hold so much power over Penumbria. Adam tried to convince himself that if the Emperor was to deliberate on what to do about Adam, Belmordo would betray him without missing a beat. There was a good measure of logic in those assumptions.
Yet they weren’t his real reason for refusing. To be honest, he just couldn’t stomach the idea of working with someone who’d talk of backstabbing others so readily, especially their own family. Allying with Belmordo would be a betrayal of the values Adam held dear.
And more than anything else, he’d decided that he was going to live in this world according to his wants. No one else's.
I already lost everything once. I refuse to lose a single thing more.
“Is that so?” Belmordo sighed. “It is expected – albeit disheartening – that you would do so. Very well. I wish you luck in your valiant fight against that monster of a daughter.”
“You’re still going to allow me into the city?” Adam raised an eyebrow. I was half expecting him to try and kill me right here. He knows I’m gonna tell Vasco about this as soon as I can, right?
“I may lack a title, but you should question neither my blood nor my upbringing. My sense of duty will not falter, regardless of our...difference in opinion.” Belmordo laughed. “Your cooperation will be needed before we proceed, however.”
Adam really wanted to punch this guy. Or at least trap him inside a painting. The second thought forced him to take a mental step back – he didn’t want that to become his first reaction to anyone who annoyed him. “Figured as much. What do you want from me?”
“Lord Adam, please understand that you will need to agree to a Curse before I allow you into the city.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“But I am.”
At first Adam wanted to laugh, but Belmordo’s expression cut his mirth short. The man was serious. “Your brother won’t stand for that, you know? If I send him a raven, in a couple days he’ll come here himself and take your head.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Belmordo acknowledged. “But by then the Hangman will have arrived and killed Lady Solara. At that point, my brother will do his damndest to separate my head from my shoulders – and alas, he might even succeed! But more importantly...”
Belmordo’s face turned dark. “With Lady Solara dead, you will have no leverage at all to negotiate for Penumbria’s sake.”
Well, shit.
That was a good point.
"Gotta admit," Adam said, "it's pretty ballsy to suggest this around a procession of Vasco's guards. What happens if I stick my head outside the carriage and tell them you're planning treason?"
Belmordo merely smiled. "You underestimate the situation in Gama. There are many who would be willing to turn a blind eye to certain indiscretions if it meant the Lady Solara's demise. And as for these guards?"
He spread his arms wide. "They are Vasco's men...in name, true. Yet, alas, each one has run afoul of trouble at one point or another. Debts, crimes, and such. I rescued them from their woes – for a price. Curses bind them to my will. Not always, they live their meager lives as normal, but they cannot go against me. If I am in need of assistance, they have no choice but to come to my aid, regardless of circumstances."
The noble chuckled. "Furthermore, if I am slain in combat, they shall be compelled to cut down my assailant, fighting to avenge me until their last breaths. Except for one, whom I have instructed to return to Gama and warn the people of Lord Adam's shocking betrayal. You can see why I handpicked them for this very trip."
Perhaps it was hypocritical coming from someone who literally stole souls, but Adam thought that was one of the most vile things he'd heard since coming to this world.
Without skipping a beat, he opened the carriage door and hung half his body outside. "Hey, everyone? Belmordo is talking treason in here. Wants to kill Vasco and his daughter. How do you guys feel about that?"
The guards didn't even turn to face him. Some grimaced, some lowered their gaze, but they all simply kept walking forward.
Adam closed the carriage and sat back down in front of a very pleased Belmordo. "That's messed up," the painter directly stated.
"Don't shed any tears over them. They sealed their own fates, and they will be well-rewarded when my regime comes to pass."
For a long moment, Adam considered revealing his Stained Ink and strangling the life out of the noble prick seated before him. Unfortunately, he couldn't envision a scenario where that ended well for him. He wasn't confident he could take on a full contingent of guards, and killing people who were essentially being mind-controlled would leave an ill taste in his mouth. Still, he couldn’t just agree to be cursed...unless, if there was a loophole or three...
“What would the terms of the curse be?” Adam asked. "Because if it's a bind of servitude, then you can fuck right off."
“Nothing so drastic. For starters, you will not be able to speak to my brother about the things we discussed. In addition, as long as you live, you will not be able to raise a hand against me. You will not be able to kill me.” He laughed. “I can imagine what you are thinking, Lord Adam. Mayhap this is not a bad deal after all, correct? After all, even if you cannot kill me, you surely can do to me what you did to Aspreay.”
Adam stood still. That had been his plan.
“In other words, the curse will also have you unable to ever take anything away from me. This includes my Talent or my soul. Get it?”
That was more than a little troublesome. “Mind if I take a moment to consider?”
“By all means.”
Adam withdrew his tablet and wrote out his possibilities. It had always been easier for him to make decisions after writing out what his options were. Something about that made it all feel more real than just having the words in his head.
What to do?
1) I can refuse being cursed and keep going. If I try to force my way into the city, I’d probably be killed. If I stay and wait for Vasco to do something, the Hangman will kill Solara and I’ll lose my leverage.
2) I can refuse being cursed – and kill Belmordo right here. The man doesn't seem to have a Combat Talent, so it probably wouldn't be hard. The guards are a different matter. No guarantee I survive against them.
3) I can accept being cursed, and go into the city to save Vasco’s daughter. If I succeed, there’s no guarantee Vasco will remain in power, and I will still be cursed. At that point Belmordo could become one of my most powerful enemies and also become immune to my paintings.
4) I can just go along with Belmordo’s plan. That way I can be allowed into the city, not be cursed, and get everything I need for Penumbria.
5) I can pretend to go along with Belmordo, then betray him and steal the woman’s talent in secret. Probably wouldn’t work, as from the looks of it, he’d get me to agree to a curse for that too.
6) I can just leave and go back to Penumbria. Belmordo's designs will be revealed to Vasco...which won't help me at all, as the Hangman will arrive and slay his daughter regardless. Penumbria loses the only city willing to be its trading partner. The city suffers with little recourse of a solution.
If he was being frank, Adam didn’t like any of the options. Number four was the only one that seemed semi-reasonable. It was probably what he should pick.
Naturally, he decided to improvise with an option number seven.
“Fine,” Adam grinned, a plan coalescing in his mind. “I’ll agree to your curse. Let’s get going, shall we?”