Chapter Thirty Nine

“So, back to my money. Hand it over.”

“Fine.”

Maryam grumbled, clearly unhappy but reaching for her money pouch all the same. She didn’t count her coins, instead opting to just pour gold out onto the desk until she felt like it was half. When she was satisfied with the amount, she closed the pouch back up and put it away.

“Is this half your gold?”

“Close enough, yeah.”

“I suppose it will have to do.”

Asheli took the money, placing the pouch into a drawer in her desk. She then turned back to Shuka and started speaking again.

“So, I heard from a very reliable source that you and your friends are out to summon demons. The only reason you three aren’t in a cell right now is because a semi-reliable source told me that information is wrong.”

Lor’gan looked slightly offended about being called a semi-reliable source, but he didn’t interrupt Asheli as she continued.

“I don’t like wasting time on serious matters, so I’ll ask this plainly. Are you trying to summon demons, devils, or any other sort of fiend?”

“No! I didn’t even know I was being accused of that.”

“Oh? And I suppose you had nothing to do with the kallium then too, right?”

“Kallium? I don’t know what that is.”

Asheli stopped for a moment, then tapped the privacy sphere a few times as if to check if it was working properly. She frowned, but then continued with the questions.

“What crimes have you committed, all of you, starting with Shuka.”

“Um… resisting arrest I suppose. And there was the small job I did for the Thieves Guild in Rockmarsh, but I didn’t actually do much, and I don’t know how much of that job was illegal anyway. Is sneaking in or out of a city illegal? Oh, and then there was that elf we broke out of prison, but I don’t think he was lawfully imprisoned, so I don’t know if that counts either. Oh, and possession of an outlawed book. Or at least possession of a copy of an outlawed book.”

“Was this a book you had in Lancrin?”

“Yes. It was only an illusion of the book though, so I don’t know how illegal that is.”

“It doesn’t matter either way, there are no books outlawed in Lancrin, although possession of certain books may be used as a reason to investigate you, for the casting of certain magics which are illegal.”

“Oh… great. I think that’s it then.”

“To be clear, use of any demonology, mind-altering enchantment spells such as charms, and unlicensed necromancy are all illegal.”

“You can get a license to use necromancy? But, uh… no, I haven’t cast spells from any of those schools before.”

“How about witchcraft?”

“I haven’t done that before either.”

“Right… fine, on to the next one. Quanso, you’re up.”

Xorvos hesitated for a moment, looking extremely guilty before responding.

“Resisting arrest.”

“That it? What about that elf you apparently broke out of prison.”

“The people imprisoning him had no legal authority to do so, therefore freeing him was not a crime.”

“All right, fine. Last one, and please give me something a little more exciting than resisting arrest.”

“You got it. Let’s see, a bunch of cases of assault, one case of smuggling, and oh, even just knowing about the specifics of bad spells is illegal in some places I’ve been to, so that too. And resisting arrest too I guess.”

“Have you ever cast a spell that would be illegal here, or in any of the other places you’ve been to?”

“Nope. Can’t even cast them if I wanted to, but mom gave me a pretty good education, so I know a bit more about necromancy and stuff than most people.”

With everyone’s confessions done Asheli gave a long sigh before burying her face in her hands.

“You all have the most boring criminal records I have ever seen. How are you the empire’s most wanted right now? What about the last person in your group, the mage? Why isn’t he with you?”

“Oh, that was Ralisdor.” Maryam answered. “We ditched him because he was lying to us about a bunch of stuff, including secretly being Archmage Sandrin in hiding.”

The name Sandrin immediately caught Asheli’s attention. Her casual, almost bored expression instantly turned serious as she slammed her hands on her desk and leaned forward.

“Sandrin is alive!? Where is he?”

“Err… I don’t know. We left him just outside Lancrin when we escaped over a month ago, and haven’t seen him since.”

“Hmm… if Sandrin is involved then there’s no way this is all just a misunderstanding. Tell me what happened, from the start.”

*

As it turned out, Shuka’s little adventure took some time to tell. Or at least it did when she spared no detail. Asheli asked a lot of questions and the truth spell made sure she answered them all. There was a long moment of silence after Shuka finished her story. It was Asheli who broke it.

“Well, first of all, I think we need to deal with that curse. I don’t know what Sandrin is planning, but that curse is part of it.”

“You can remove it?”

“Of course not, what do I look like, a priestess? I do know someone who might be able to help though.”

That’s what I meant. Not that she would believe me if I said it now.

“Why are you helping me? Do I need to pay you for this?”

“Of course you do, but you don’t have the option of saying no. Whatever Sandrin is planning you are a part of it. That makes you excellent bait, so, as payment, you will help me catch him.”

Asheli got up from her desk and moved towards the door, stopping only for a moment to tell Shuka where she was going.

“I’ll go get the person who can help you now. Stay here, and if you look through my things you will regret it. And believe me, I’ll know if you do.”

Shuka believed her, so she sat perfectly still in her chair and didn’t even get up to stretch. Not like Maryam who got up to stretch like there was no tomorrow as soon as Asheli was gone. Whoever Asheli was looking for must have already been in the Thieves Guild because she was back just a few minutes later, causing Maryam to quickly rush back to her chair. Following behind the large gnoll woman was a much smaller human woman. She was shorter even than Shuka, who wasn’t tall to start with, and was wearing a baggy brown robe with several black rings at the bottom and large pockets all over it. What drew Shuka’s attention the most though, was her hat. It was a brown hat, like her robe, with a wide brim and a point that extended upwards in a cone shape half a foot before it started to lean backwards. The cone also had black stripes ringing it, similar to the bottom of her robe, and it reminded Shuka, of all things, of a raccoon’s tail. Raccoon tail or not though, it was unmistakably a witch’s hat. She climbed onto one of the chairs, perching herself onto it like a gargoyle, with her feet resting on the chair, and her knees near her chin. Shuka had never seen anyone sit like that before, and to see a witch do it only made it all the more surreal. The little witch turned in her chair and stuck her hand out to Shuka. Now that she was facing Shuka directly, she could also see that she had black face paint covering her eyes, almost like a mask. She looked young too, younger than a full adult at least. Seventeen or eighteen maybe, but Shuka would be surprised if she was in her twenties.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Hi, I’m Melia.”

“Oh, I’m Shuka.”

Shuka went to shake Melia’s hand, but the moment they touched Shuka felt something wet and very cold on the palm of her hand. She immediately pulled her hand away and saw a small ice cube fall out of Melia’s hand onto the ground.

When did an ice cube get in her hand? I didn’t see anything like that.

Melia was giggling, obviously finding a bit of humour in the situation.

“Sorry, but you were scowling at my hat so much I just had to prank you.”

“Oh, uh sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”

Shuka immediately averted her eyes, but the hat was so big, and with Melia being shorter than her, the brim of the hat covered most of the witch’s body, from Shuka’s perspective at least.

I can’t even see her face, what else am I supposed to look at? Her feet? Besides, considering my last experience with a witch I feel like I’m a bit justified in noticing when another one enters the room.

Melia just huffed and tilted her hat up so the brim of it was above the sightline between the two girls’ faces. Now with no excuse, Shuka made sure to stare at Melia’s face and nowhere else, even if it made her feel self-conscious. The problem was, Melia seemed to decide this was the perfect opportunity to not say anything else, and start an impromptu staring contest. Shuka didn’t know if she was even meant to be playing, but there was something about the witch’s eyes that she couldn’t put her finger on. It was almost like her brown irises were shifting slightly. Swirling in some imperceptible pattern. It was subtle, so she didn’t catch it at first, but the more she looked the more she saw it. It must have been magic, but a spell didn’t move so unpredictably. Or, at least a wizard’s spells didn’t, but this was a witch.

She must be looking at my curse. I didn’t know witch magic was so subtle, I didn’t see anything to indicate she was casting a spell.

As Shuka finally figured it out, she blinked and Melia exclaimed in triumph as she pumped her arm into the air.

“Yes, I win! Take that curse girl, you can’t beat me in a staring contest.”

“Wait, so it was a staring contest? I thought you were checking to see if I had a curse or not.”

“Well yeah, I was doing that too, but the staring contest was more important. Oh, and you are totally cursed by the way, and it’s a nasty one too. Makes you real unlikeable, like chase you off with a broom unlikeable.”

“Can it be removed?” Asheli interjected. “If not by you, then someone you know?”

Melia took a moment to think on that, putting a finger to her chin in an almost comical gesture.

“Hmm… I dunno. The curse is attached pretty deeply to her soul, so if you just try to pump a bunch of mana into a remove curse spell, half her soul would come off with the curse, so that ain’t an option. You definitely need someone who actually knows curses and souls for this.”

“So who do we have left as candidates? Fredrick? Mervil? Do you think the High Priest of Corvis could do it?”

“Definitely not Fredrick. Archmage or not he sucks at anything that isn’t conjuration. Maybe Mervil? I mean, he’s the Grand Priest, so he’s got the power for it, but I don’t really know what kind of magic he knows. As for the Corvis guy, I dunno. He’s a priest of the god of life and death, so he’s probably got a good idea how to handle a soul, but I’ve never met the guy. Is he one of the stronger high priests?”

“No… but he is still a high priest.”

“That ain’t good enough. You gotta be a big shot for this spell, it was done by a pro. I’m not powerful enough for it, that’s for sure.”

The lack of good options was a bit discouraging. It was also a bit scary how causally they were name dropping some big figures and saying they weren’t good enough.

Fredrick is the Archmage of Conjuration and he’s not even being considered? He’s the only archmage the Celestial Empire has, if you don’t count Sandrin. And the Grand Priest is only a maybe? There have got to be more options than this.

“What about some other witches?” Shuka asked. “I mean, there has to be at least one both powerful enough and skilled enough to help me, right?”

Melia didn’t seem so optimistic.

“I mean, sure they are probably out there somewhere, but how are we supposed to find them? Witches like to stay hidden, or at least isolated, unless they’re in a coven. I could call for a great gathering, but… ehh. This isn’t important enough for that.”

“So is the Grand Priest our only option then?”

“Hmm… ah! I got an idea. Instead of removing your curse, we can just protect against it. Even I can do that.”

“Protect against it? Oh yeah, I think Visia did something like that whenever she met with me. Wouldn’t that just be a temporary spell though?”

“Well not if I put it into a talisman. I can’t give you one, since the full force of the curse would just overpower whatever I could make, but give ‘em to your buddies and the curse won’t affect them.”

For the first time in a long while, Shuka felt hope.

This is actual progress, not just another ‘oh maybe this person might be able to help maybe but probably not.’ Even if the Grand Priest can’t help me I will still have those talismans to lessen the burden. Well, the Grand Priest might not even want to help me if he decides to listen to Validus over Asheli. Actually, now that I think about it, if Melia could make a talisman that can suppress the curse, couldn’t Maryam’s mother make an item that could suppress it completely? She is the Archmage of Artifice after all. That’s only if she shows up though.

“So how long will these talismans take to make?”

Melia just shrugged.

“Who knows, I haven’t even gotten the parts yet. If we get lucky, then today, but it could also be never.”

Asheli decided to insert herself into the conversation again.

“If you are going ingredient hunting, take Shuka with you. Keep an eye on her, but also make sure you keep her out of sight.”

“Hey, what about us?” Maryam asked. “If only Shuka is going then what are we meant to be doing?”

“Staying here as collateral. We wouldn’t want dear Shuka here to run off on her own the moment she is out of this building now, would we? Don’t worry, you won’t be thrown into cells, but leaving is out of the question.”

Why would I try to leave, she’s helping me. I guess to get out of helping her with Sandrin, but I want to learn what’s going on with him too.

“Now, any questions before you get to work?”

“Yeah, I got one.” Maryam answered. “Do you have any idea if my mom’s around? If not in Sidus, then at least in the empire?”

“Servianna? I haven’t even heard about her leaving her home, although my information on that might be on a bit of a delay. I have better uses for my spies than to have them infiltrate Dragon Crater Valley.”

Maryam didn’t seem very happy about that news, but now it was Shuka’s turn to ask a question.

“What did Sandrin do? I know that the Celestial Order raided his home and he faked his death, but I don’t know why.”

“What did he do? Luckily nothing, we stopped him before he could finish. What he was trying to do however, was summon a demon. The Archdemon of Magic to be specific.”

Shuka didn’t know a lot about demons, but she did know what an archdemon was. Any child born and raised in the Celestial Empire would. Eight hundred years ago an archdemon was summoned, and brought ruin to the kingdoms that came before the Celestial Empire.

If I remember my history right, before the Celestial Empire there were two kingdoms that were at war with each other; one in the north and one in the south. To finish the war, the southern kingdom summoned an archdemon in the capital city of the northern kingdom. In response, the northern kingdom summoned a meteor to strike at the capital of the southern kingdom, leaving both capitals in ruins. The Celestial Empire was founded by the survivors of the two kingdoms joining together to kill the archdemon. Or at least that’s the simplified version. And I’m pretty sure it took decades to kill the archdemon, even with two kingdoms and a fair bit of foreign aid fighting against it. Would Ralisdor really want to do that? I can see him hiding a secret or two, but this is going too far.

“Now, if that’s all, get going. I don’t know when Sandrin is going to act next, but I want to be ready for it when he does.”

*

Shuka loved her long hair, she really did. But sometimes she wished braiding and unbraiding it was less of a pain. It was her own fault really, she could have just kept her hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way, but the braid just looked so much nicer. So here she was, slowly unbraiding her hair as Melia waited impatiently by the Thieves Guild’s exit. And as slow as it was, Shuka knew it would be much slower braiding it again. Changing her hairstyle was necessary though, or at least worth more than the effort it would take to re-braid it all. She was going out into the city after all, and she didn’t want to be recognized. When the last of her hair was finally free from the tyranny of her usual, practical hairstyle, Shuka wasted no time in casting her disguise spell. Slowly, her skin tone changed from a tanned brown to a pale white, her now unbraided black hair turned a fair blonde, and her plain brown eyes were now a bright blue. This was a spell she had used a few times in the last few months, and Shuka felt it was becoming a lot more natural to cast. So she added one more addition to the still rather simple spell. Inspired by the duel-coloured cloaks that the Ashfire tribe had, Shuka changed the colour of her own cloak from forest green to dazzling blue.

Is this too flashy? Even if I look different, I don’t want to draw attention to myself. Well, even if it’s blue, it’s still a pretty plain cloak. I saw plenty of fancier outfits in Lancrin, and I bet Sidus will be no different. And besides, if I do stand out too much, I can always change the colour.

Melia, who looked quite annoyed by this point, saw that Shuka was done, and promptly moved for the door.

“Are you finally done? Great, now let’s go.”

The young witch swung the door open, letting the bright daylight and the sounds of the city in. Surprisingly enough it looked like the door led to a busy street and not some back alley, because there were people walking past as casual as could be. Across the street, she could even see what looked like busy stores and local businesses. Stepping outside, Shuka glanced back at the building she’d emerged from, thinking to find it to be a front, for it to be so public. Instead, what she saw was a prominent sign hanging above the door that clearly stated ‘Thieves Guild’ in bold letters. Not a person on the street even glanced their way. Melia just turned and grinned at Shuka, clearly delighted at Shuka’s reaction.

“Welcome to Sidus, and welcome to the Thieves Guild.”