As Isabelle held her staff of undead in preparation to resurrect the Cloud Reach guard for a second time, she had a thought. Maybe she ought to resurrect someone else. After all, the guy she’d resurrected last time hadn’t even known Oglo’s name, Isabelle had had to guess it for him. With that in mind, Isabelle pointed her staff at another dead kobold guard and thought, ‘Cast Raise Dead.’
[Mana 96%]
Purple smoke swirled around the guard and covered them in a light hue. The guard clambered to his feet. He was quite literally on his last leg, as his left leg fell off as he was standing up.
“Hello, Isabelle,” said the guard. “How can I help you?” Some of his teeth fell to the ground as he spoke.
“I need you to know where Oglo is,” said Isabelle.
“Who’s that?” asked the guard.
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Were these guards as stupid as they seemed? “Oglo is the guy who casted all the anti-magic field spells on you and the other guards. You know, the anti-magic fields that expired in time for me to kill you all with electricity.”
“Oh, that guy,” said the guard. “Huh. I’m not sure where he went. He might have just gone home.”
“Gone home?” Isabelle asked.
“Yea. I mean, he may train folks at the Citadel, and he may cast spells for the city when asked, but generally other than that he’s just a normal guy, you know?” the zombified guard looked over to see the Citadel had been leveled by a dragon. “Ah, shit. Looks like he’s out of that Citadel job, after all. Poor guy. You aren’t planning on doing anything bad to him, are you?”
Isabelle refused to feel guilty about this. Oglo was a menace, and what’s more he had helped these guards try and kill her and her party. This was not a time for mercy. “Will you just tell me where he lives?” asked Isabelle.
“Very well,” said the guard. “Oglo lives in East Cloud Reach, near the riverside, in a big stone house. He’s usually flying the flag of Thres outside his front door.”
“Thank you,” said Isabelle.”
“Please, I beg you to show mercy,” said the guard. “He was only doing his job.”
Isabelle was sick of being guilted by this zombie who’d moments ago been aiming to slaughter her. Isabelle thought, ‘Cancel Raise Dead’ and the kobold immediately dropped to the ground, lifeless.
“Tahsi, Jingles, are you two about ready to go?” asked Isabelle.
“About as ready as I’ll ever be,” said Tahsi with bread in his mouth.
“Likewise,” said Jingles as he hacked up a hairball.
“Excellent,” said Isabelle. She thought ‘Come here, horses,’ and all three horses ran up from random directions to greet them. Isabelle smiled. It was finally time for revenge.
----------------------------------------
Riding horses through Cloud Reach was a surreal affair. Of course, it was always kind of surreal for Isabelle seeing how homes in the Protectorate of Ozi shut down during the daylight due to the nocturnal nature of kobolds, but this was different. It felt… off. It felt… dead, instead of just asleep. Rubble and ashes were spread across the cobblestone streets, and as their horses passed down each block they’d kick more up as they went, leaving a billowing fog trailing behind the party wherever they strode. It looked quite ominous, almost apocalyptic. Tahsi spent half the time complaining about how tired he was, and the other half of the time reacting at length to the dead kobolds around them. With each passing moment he seemed to grow more anxious and disturbed, and his bread eating mirrored that.
“Be careful, Tahsi,” said Isabelle. “I wouldn’t want you to run out of your bread or anything.”
“Pfft,” said Tahsi. “I’ve got more bread than even I can eat in a day.” His tone was humorous, but looking at his face Isabelle could see the pain.
The further they went, the more Isabelle started to feel a slight apprehension.
“You know, Isabelle, I was thinking about something,” said Sir Jingles.
“What? About licking your butt?” asked Isabelle.
“Well, yes, but that’s not what I meant,” said Jingles. “More along the lines of, are we ever going to get any of our impounded loot back now that the Citadel’s been leveled? I can’t imagine the Cloud Reach prison has faired much better. Is that whole quest a bust?”
Isabelle said she wasn’t sure. Then, she thought to check with the system.
[Checking quest status]
[…]
[You have two active quests: Save Frimri, and Get Revenge on Oglo]
[You have one deactivated quest, Talk to the Flock, which was previously linked to quest Get Revenge on Oglo. This is becuase you did not manage to break back into the Cloud Reach prison. You may have a chance to reactivate this quest if you complete the quest Get Revenge on Oglo.]
Well, shit.
“I honestly can’t say, Jingles,” said Isabelle. “But it looks like I might not get to talk to the Flock after all.”
“I’m sure you can find a way, Isabelle,” said Jingles. “You’ll just need to be able to offer them something other than the prison map. You’ll need to have something to offer them that they can’t rightly refuse.”
[Head towards Oglo’s home]
“Ah, shit,” said Isabelle. “Looking at my quest status now has the system giving me quest updates, Jingles. It’s telling me to go to Oglo’s home. As if I wasn’t already doing that!”
“Well, don’t throw me under the horsedrawn carriage over it,” said Sir Jingles.
“Truly, the system is a fickle mistress,” said Tahsi. “Anybody want some bread?”
“No thanks,” said Isabelle and Sir Jingles in unison.
----------------------------------------
The three party members reached East Cloud Reach while the sun was just heading towards the horizon. Which meant soon enough the township would be waking up, at least as up as it could wake after the carnage that had rocked it to pieces. Of course East Cloud Reach, being furthest from the courtyard where Isabelle and the Overlord had done battle, looked charming and safe, but in the distance the signs of smashed buildings still lingered, and a haze that was surely ash and rubble but could’ve almost been mistaken for normal clouds hung in the sky.
Isabelle looked around the calm streets of East Cloud Reach, smelling the slightly sour tinge of the river running beside the edge of the district. She saw lots of houses with the yellow and red flag of Thres hanging from them, but only one made almost entirely out of lovely stone masonry. It was, truly, a beautiful house. Too beautiful, in fact.
“So, that’s his house, huh?” asked Tahsi through a mouthful of bread.
“I think so,” said Isabelle.
If this was indeed Oglo’s house, it was the nicest one on the block! Clearly, his gig with the Citadel, as well as his apparent moonlighting as a wizard, paid quite well. Then again, if he always took things from any prisoners he trained, he probably didn’t need to be paid at all. He probably just stole all his money. Oh, how Isabelle hated Oglo to the core. But she couldn’t dwell on that now. She needed to focus, and to enact her revenge.
“Isabelle, why do you keep scowling so much?” asked Sir Jingles.
“I’m scowling?” asked Isabelle.
“Like a motherfucker,” said Tahsi.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“Sorry,” said Isabelle. “I just really hate this guy.”
Tahsi and Sir Jingles shared an uneasy look.
“Um, Isabelle?” asked Tahsi. “Are you sure this is a good use of our time?”
“What do you mean?” asked Isabelle. “He sent those guards after us, didn’t he?”
“I don’t know if he sent them after us,” said Tahsi. “He just cast that spell on them that made them resistant to magic is all. Really, I don’t see why this guy makes you so angry. Of course, I am your party member, so I’m kind of ‘along for the ride,’ if you will, and essentially have only a mere semblance of what my free will was before getting added to your party, but seriously, Isabelle. You should consider not doing this. Maybe this is a quest best left uncompleted.”
“Seriously?” Isabelle asked. “I mean, we just rode through the whole district to get here! We agreed to go after this guy before we even got ambushed at the palace, Tahsi! Plus, I mean, doesn’t Jingles want to see if Oglo can get anything for the Flock? Don’t you, Jingles?”
“Meh,” said Jingles with a shrug. “Ah shit! My character sheet popped up. Go away! Away!” He batted his paws at the air.
“This is ridiculous!” said Isabelle. “I’ve literally been daydreaming about doing this since I met this guy. And here I am, finally at the moment. I’ve slayed fucking dragons. I’ve beaten the damned Overlord! How many days has it even been since I got reincarnated, again?”
“I don’t know, like, three or four or something?” said Tahsi with a shrug. “Fuck! My character sheet popped up, too!”
“So annoying, right?” said Jingles.
“I just can’t believe you guys don’t really think I ought to do this!” said Isabelle. “I mean, come on!”
“Isabelle, you do whatever you want to do,” said Tahsi. “I’m just saying, I don’t know if this is the most prudent move. I think we should drop this quest and go further east, to the Horns. Remember the Horns, Isabelle? It’s where I wanted to take you way back when we first met.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. “Yes, Tahsi, I remember the Horns. But, like, can’t we go there after I do this? It’s not like the Horns are just going to disappear!”
“You say that now,” said Tahsi. “But what if, like, a dragon pops up and eats the guy I was going to take you to see? Then I can never talk to you about the prophecy!”
“The prophecy?” asked Isabelle. “I’m sorry, Tahsi, but you’ve completely fucking lost me.”
“Wait, wait, wait a fucking second. She still doesn’t know about the prophecy?” asked Jingles.
“You know about the prophecy?” asked Isabelle.
“Of course I know about the prophecy!” said Jingles. “Every Beaubintian I’ve ever met in my long life of drifting knows the damned prophecy, Isabelle. Come on, are you living under a rock or something?”
“Can somebody please just tell me the prophecy? Also, I swear to god that we’ve already had this conversation,” said Isabelle. “Either that, or I’m losing it with frustration because I’m so anxious to go in and kill Oglo and you two assholes keep discouraging me!”
“Wow,” said Tahsi. “That was mean, Isabelle.”
“Yea,” said Jingles.
Isabelle sighed. “Will one of you please tell me the prophecy?” asked Isabelle.
Sir Jingles and Tahsi looked at Isabelle, and then at one another, and then back at Isabelle. Then, they recited the prophecy in unison:
“Upon this world a doom ephemeral
Weaves its wicked web eternal
Darkness baiting o’er every way
Never will Beaubinte see light of day
Lest valour true strike high and bright
And drive the Mage of Shadows out the night
Once this mage is vanquished the world will be freed
And the darkness in the land shall encroach us no more
Instead shining light will bathe us in glory
Until then under the Mage of Shadow’s grasp it shall always remain
And all our days will end with pain.”
“Wow,” said Isabelle. “That’s the prophecy?”
“Yup,” said Tahsi.
“Really runs out of steam there after the first couple lines, huh?” asked Isabelle.
“That’s been said before, yes,” said Tahsi.
“Also, there’s nothing in there about dragons, is there?” asked Isabelle.
“Oh my, no,” said Tahsi. “No mention of dragons at all.”
“That’s fairly confusing,” said Isabelle. “Considering the fact that all these dragons popping up seems to be rather ominous.”
“Yup,” said Tahsi.
“So what the hell does it even mean?” asked Isabelle. “Like, obviously the prophecy is damn near irrelevant. Where’s this shadow over the land? The Red Serpent? They’re already gone, or at least under new management. And who’s the damned mage of shadows? What is it even talking about?”
“You know, Isabelle, the thing about prophecies is, they’re often quite vague and meandering,” said Tahsi. “However, um, a lot of Beaubintians spent a large amount of time, most of us our whole lives in fact, thinking that the Overlord was the mage of shadows.”
“Okay,” said Isabelle. “Great, so what, I’m the ‘valour true’ striking ‘high and bright’? Whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean?”
Tahsi and Sir Jingles looked at one another nervously.
“What?” asked Isabelle. “Seriously, what the fuck is you two’s deal? Why do you keep looking at each other like that? What am I missing here?”
“Okay, so, here’s the thing,” said Tahsi. “Since the Overlord isn’t really a huge issue any more, there are a couple of options. One, is that—”
“Yes, I get it, I’m the valour, I saved Beaubinte, you’re welcome,” said Isabelle.
“Yea, that’s an option, I guess,” said Tahsi. “Except of course traditionally the closing of this prophecy is supposed to begin a golden age of prosperity in Beaubinte.”
“Okay?” said Isabelle.
“And, well, the problem is, Isabelle, is that this isn’t necessarily the start of a Golden Age. I mean, Thres is totally trashed. And dragons are popping up everywhere and killing everbody,” said Tahsi. “No offense to Frimri, of course, and by the gods may I rescue her! But still, the point stands, many of the dragons are quite aggressively murderous.”
“Okay. Still not getting the point. It’s not like I made all the dragons come here, it’s not my fault,” said Isabelle.
“Yes, but—okay, so, about the prophecy, Isabelle,” said Tahsi with a cough. “So, it generally implies that before the good thing happens, a lot of bad things happen. All this ‘darkness over the land’ or what have you, you know?”
“Yea, I noticed that,” said Isabelle.
“Don’t you get it?” asked Tahsi.
“No,” said Isabelle.
“Isabelle, there is literally a cloud of carnage following you around!” said Tahsi.
“That’s just dust, ashes, and maybe some ground up bones, though!” said Isabelle. “Most of it was done by the dragon I slayed, anyway. Which, I don’t believe anybody ever thanked me for. Which is quite rude.”
“Rude or not, Isabelle, you need to seriously consider the fact that there’s a chance that… well… I mean, Isabelle, you took your party here to slaughter a guy because he took some money from you. I mean, that’s what it boils down to, right?” asked Tahsi.
“Also because he’s an obnoxious jerk!” said Isabelle.
“I think what Tahsi’s getting at, Isabelle—” said Jingles, “—is that maybe you’re not really coming from a ‘valor high and bright’ mindset right now. You’re coming from more of a, well, a ‘I want to slaughter people’ mindset.”
“And? So what if I want to slaughter him? He’s an asshole! He cast that spell on the guards to make them resistant to our magic attacks!” said Isabelle.
“Isabelle, look, clearly you’re not going to come to the conclusion on your own no matter how much we try to insinuate it, so I’m just going to say it outright,” said Tahsi. “We think you’re the mage of shadows.”
“What?” asked Isabelle.
“Yea,” said Jingles. “We kind of think you might be the great evil sent to bring the whole world into gloom and darkness and whatever. It would kind of explain the dragons, wouldn’t it?”
“You two have got to be fucking kidding me,” said Isabelle.
“Actually, I could see that,” said Stelas’ severed head. “Makes a lot of sense, actually.”
“Shut the fuck up, Stelas!” said Isabelle. She punched the burlap sack dangling off her saddle that contained Stelas’ head.
“Ouch!” said Stelas.
Isabelle looked back to Tahsi and Jingles. “I can’t fucking believe you two. I mean, I seriously can’t fucking believe you. You really think I’m the mage of shadows?”
“Uh, duh,” said Jingles.
“This is… this is just insulting!” said Isabelle. “I just saved the world from the Overlord!”
“More like you saved yourself,” said Tahsi. “Plus, I can’t really imagine that Maviel and Sylfir are going to rule with a less-iron fist than he did. If anything, they might even be more evil together than he was alone, because neither of them seem as stupid as he did.”
Isabelle sighed. “I really can’t believe that’s what you guys think of me.”
“Well, believe it, shadow lady,” said Jingles.
Isabelle sat there on her horse. She could feel anger bubbling within her, but she didn’t want to have an outburst like the Overlord always seemed to. She didn’t want to do anything that would make these two think any less of her, because it just felt insulting. Isabelle felt like she deserved to feel proud and successful in this moment, triumphant even. She’d finally made it to Oglo’s house, she’d defeated the Overlord, she’d slain an adult golden dragon… but it almost felt like all those accomplishments just ran out of her head like a burst balloon. Like it was all just hot air. So she was just an evil villain to them? She was going to cover the whole land of Beaubinte in darkness and evil and torment? She was the mage of shadows?
“Isabelle? Hey, Isabelle, are you going to go slaughter that guy now?” asked Tahsi.
“If I kick you from my party, will you keep traveling with me?” Isabelle asked suddenly.
Tahsi didn’t respond. Neither did Sir Jingles.
“Both of you, answer me. If I kick you from my party, will you keep traveling with me?” Isabelle asked again.
No response, save for the wide eyes of her party members.
“That’s it,” said Isabelle. “I can’t fucking believe you two think I’m the mage of shadows.”
“It’s not really that we think it,” said Tahsi. “Just that it seems… more than likely. Like, an educated hunch, I would say. A inference, really.”
Isabelle rolled her eyes. Tahsi was completely avoiding the question she really wanted the answer to. Isabelle thought, ‘Kick Tahsi and Jingles from party.’
[Notice: You have prompted the system to kick party member Tahsi and party member Sir Jingles from the party. Are you sure you want to do this?]
[Y/N]
Isabelle looked at Tahsi and Jingles again. They didn’t necessarily seem to be even paying that much attention to her. It made her angry, and it also made her a little sad.
[Y/N]
Isabelle thought yes.
[Kicking Tahsi from party]
[…]
[Kicking Sir Jingles from party]
[…]
[Successfully kicked Tahsi and Sir Jingles from party]
“What the shit just happened?” asked Tahsi. He started walking around. “Holy shit! You kicked us out of your party!”
“Thank the gods,” said Jingles. “I was only in it for the residual power I’d get once she took over the world, but honestly I’d much rather be a powerless nobody.”
“I can’t believe you two,” said Isabelle.
“I can’t believe this!” said Tahsi. “Thank you, Isabelle! Thank you so much! Can I keep my horse?”
“…Yea. Whatever,” said Isabelle.
Tahsi rode off into the distance. He cried out, “I’m coming for you, Frimri.”
“That idiot’s going to get himself killed,” said Isabelle to Sir Jingles.
He did not respond.
Isabelle looked in Sir Jingles space to realize that he’d already left with his horse. “Seriously?” she asked. “What an asshole.”
And so Isabelle stood there, mounted on Lugano, the best horse of the three, with Stelas’ severed head as her only companion. She stared at Oglo’s house. Was it even worth going in and killing Oglo now? Or would that just be her living up to ‘mage of shadows’ stereotypes?