Chapter 16: Chapter 15 – A Convenient Excuse

"Many abroad thought of the master as a tyrant, a horrifying, cruel monster who ruled through fear. It shamed me to admit that I too, once thought so, and had dreaded it when my family sought refuge here to escape famine when I was a child. The rumors we heard in Elmaiya were lies, and the master had been the kindest ruler I had ever known in my life.

 

Kindness does not mean soft, however, and should the master be angered, there would be hell to pay. As the saying goes, not even a saint possesses infinite patience. His holiness' patience, flowed away like water once one crosses a line. " - Myrddin deVreys, current Captain of the Death's Hand, former Elmaiyan refugee.

"Aideen, child, are you all right?" Asked Aoife with evident concern on her face once they gathered before the Bone Lord's throne. "You're bleeding still."

 

"Huh," exclaimed Aideen in surprise as she rechecked the wound on her chest. To her surprise, it had not closed properly despite her constant mending of it with her magic, as if something hindered her from properly fixing it. "It's not healing properly… though I should have it fixed in another hour at most."

 

"Show me the blade, child," asked the Bone Lord, the assassin from before kept suspended in mid air by his magic without being able to budge in the slightest. "It might have enchantments or poisons that interacted with your magic and caused this."

 

Aideen brought the wicked, barbed bone blade out of her storage, and gave it to the Bone Lord, who kept the blade aloft with pure magic without even touching it. He inspected it for a minute or so, before Aideen thought she saw his skeletal visage frown somehow.

 

"Corpse's Bane, and an enchantment that'd make life affinity healing magic fail to take hold on top," he commented after a while. Aideen was familiar with the poison grandpa Aarin named, a poison specifically concocted for use against necromancers, that reacted violently with death affinity mana inside one's body. Father had several vials with him at all times even, supplied by grandpa Aarin himself.

 

The combination of the poison and the enchanted blade - which was new, as she was certain this was the same soul puppet that murdered her back then, and it didn't have that enchantment two years ago - was clearly meant for murdering a necromancer, and given how the puppet had originally aimed for her mother…

 

Aideen suppressed an involuntary shiver as she thought at what might have been had she not noticed the assassin by accident.

 

"Your magic still functioned, just slowed, child?" Queried the Bone Lord when he saw Aideen lost in thought. Despite the lack of expression on his skeletal visage, she somehow felt his concern for her, and it warmed her unbeating heart.

 

"Yes, grandpa. It knits, but much slower… I'm just glad it hit me and not my mother, or brother," she replied while she checked the wound again. Each time she sent a surge of magic to get it closed, a counterforce dispersed a good bit of her magic, but some still got through and slowly knit the wound shut. "I don't want to imagine what it would do to them, much less with the poison…"

 

"It would have been terrible yes, and had it struck somewhere vital I doubt anyone could have saved them," said the Bone Lord as he affirmed Aideen's worries. "You did well, child. You and I were probably the only ones there that could have taken that blade without lasting harm."

 

"Do we know who, or why this assassin came for mother?" She asked in return. "I'm almost certain this is the same assassin that… killed me two years ago."

 

"We do not… yet," said the Bone Lord. "But we will know, soon."

 

What followed was a demonstration of the Bone Lord's mastery over death magic, as he extracted the controller's soul from within the soul puppet's ragged form. Aideen watched mesmerized as the transparent visage of a screaming old woman was pulled out of the puppet, apparently with great agony involved.

 

"Well… that answered both of Aideen's questions already, master," said Aoife shortly after she studied the soul's tormented looks. "I know this woman."

 

"Oh, do tell us then," replied the Bone Lord.

 

"Her name was… Berah? Vera? Something like that. She was originally the lord over an area that's now part of Vitalica," explained Aoife. "I might have also killed three of her offspring during the uprising. They were amongst those that stood in the way."

 

Aideen felt a little chill at the way her mother nonchalantly said that she had killed people as if she were disposing of trash, but reminded herself that during the uprising there had been no time for niceties, or mercy.

 

"So you think this might be a case of personal vengeance?" Asked the Bone Lord skeptically.

 

"Perhaps, or maybe she went here hoping to create a ruckus to draw attention, and coincidentally saw us today," replied Aoife. "My husband did report that Junora was supposedly mobilizing towards the border, and that he might sally out to meet them as well."

 

"I have received reports to the same conclusion, yes," said the Bone Lord. "Either way, they gave us a convenient excuse."

 

"Drietven!" Yelled the Bone Lord, which summoned the elven butler from where he waited outside the room. "Get Adalbert, Kestera, Myrddin, and Llewelyn for me. Also bring me a lava crystal."

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"As you willed, master," said the elf butler as he bowed and left to fetch the people and items mentioned.

 

"Let us wait until they arrive, children. In the meantime, relax yourselves. You all have been rather tense since that assassination attempt."

 

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Half an hour later, Drietven returned to the throne room with four individuals behind him, and a crystal that seemed to contain molten lava inside its facets in his hand.

 

"We are here as requested, holiness," said Myrddin for the group as they collectively knelt and bowed their heads. "Please pardon our tardiness."

 

"Rise, there is nothing to be pardoned about," said the Bone Lord as he waved a hand. His left hand still contained the soul with magic, simultaneously keeping the soul from dispersing, while also keeping it from escaping. "The crystal, Drietven."

 

The elven butler bowed and presented the crystal in both hands, as Nec Aarin plucked it with one skeletal hand and worked some enchantments to its facets. Then he pushed the soul inside the gem.

 

Aideen saw how the soul seemed to scream hysterically as it was pushed inside the gem. Later on she would learn that what grandpa Aarin did was to enchant the gem to act as a container, and a prison for the soul, from which it could not escape, while the innate lava within the crystal would constantly burn and torment the soul trapped within. For all eternity.

 

Or until the soul naturally dispersed when its lifespan ended, at least.

 

"Now to business," the Bone Lord said, as he nonchalantly tossed the crystal to Drietven for safekeeping. "Most of you aren't aware, but earlier today an assassination attempt had been made on little Aoife here. The assassin was from Junora."

 

Aideen had to suppress a laugh when she saw how her mother blushed at her grandpa calling her the same way as when she was a child under his tutelage.

 

"Pertaining to that, we will make our displeasure known to them in a way that even those senile idiots with a possession fetish cannot miss it," continued the Bone Lord. "Myrddin, have the Death's Hand readied and assembled for departure before the end of the week."

 

"I will have everyone ready by tomorrow, holiness."

 

"Excellent," complimented the Bone Lord, to which the large therian man almost purred. "Adalbert, have a thousand troops and two cadres readied for departure as soon as possible, by week's end at the latest. Provisions for one month."

 

"It shall be done, holiness," replied Adalbert. The man was also a full blooded therian, but where Myrddin was massive and bulky, and resembled a black panther, Adalbert was lanky and slim, and reminded Aideen of an otter instead. "I shall endeavor to have them ready by fourthday."

 

"Very good," praised the Bone Lord, satisfied with the answer. "Kestera, Llewelyn, both of you are to gather your undead hordes, as you will have your first taste of battle with this. Do not disappoint me."

 

"Your wish will be done, holiness," said both as they bowed. Llewelyn was actually someone Aideen already met. He was a young, freckled, rather effeminate human boy, who was the necromancer that owned the skeleton the children played with during their trip to Tohrmutgent.

 

Meanwhile, Kestera was a young elf - probably a hundred or so, just fresh out into her adulthood - with pale skin and lithe build, like most of her race. She did have atypical black hair, which she wore long in three braids that fell to her waist. Aideen smirked a little bit when she caught Diarmuid giving looks to the young elf.

 

"Aoife, you will personally lead the expedition," said the Bone Lord next, to which their mother bowed as she accepted the command. "Make our displeasure known to them in no uncertain terms, and show support to your husband as well. Bring your children along, I am sure they have missed their father."

 

"As you wish, master."

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