Chapter 17: 17 – X’s Plan

Two nights back, after X finished his daily duties, Lord Derreick came to his cell to speak with him. The Lord found the elf out of himself but a fresh bucket of water brought him back from wherever his mind had wandered to.

“You’re awake now?”

“Yeah. I’m here... Lord.”

“I came to see how this slave is doing, we do need you alive until the duel.”

“Of course sir...”

“I’m going to be blunt. I don’t think you can even scratch Mitchell.”

“Me neither.”

“So it was all talk.”

“Lord... Your honorable Lordship.” Every time X tried to speak with correct terms and a respectful tone it ended sounding sardonic. “A more pressing matter has come to my attention. Equally- no, more important.”

“What is it?”

“You recognize this?” X produced a relic, the one humans used to cross the barrier. The Lord’s eyes opened wide.

“A relic!?”

“Calm down my nice Lord. It’s a copy of a relic. A copy. It’s fake.”

Lord Derreick’s blood flowed again and thinking things trough calmed himself. X handed him the fake relic. “Look at it. I’ve never seen an original one, so I don’t know how convincing it is, but I’ve been told it’s pretty well done.”

Now on his hands, the Lord inspected it. He couldn’t believe his eyes. “It’s uncanny, a masterful job. Being a fake, I don’t think it works but... we need to know for certain.”

“I don’t see the need, they told me they’ve had it for months. Of course, it being a fake, they cannot use it. But they also told me the time had come. And to convince me to join their plan, they gave me this fake relic, which I have to return.”

Several words got Lord Derreick full attention, the most pressing being “Plan?”

“And this is the pressing matter. The slaves are planning to escape.”

The Lord chuckled, followed by a sober semblance. “How?”

“I don’t exactly know how, they didn’t tell me all the details, but I can tell you the day.”

“When?”

“The day of my duel.”

Lord Derreick looked at the fake on his hands. It all began with it; it all would end with it. “If this is true, why are you telling me this? Won’t you escape with them?”

“The thing is Lord... it will be right when I’m dueling the bug man. It will be then and... well, I don’t see me surviving it, not that Ruianne cares about me in any capacity but as a mean to an end. She’s a smart one.”

“Wait, is Ruianne involved in this? Who else?”

“I know at least Ruianne and Head Slave-Butler Gnome are on it. But by how it sounded... at least half the slaves of this city, if not all, know they need to be prepared on that day. But Ruianne, not only is she beautiful, what a cunning lady... female.”

“You expect me to believe most of Saint Jaulea’s slaves are planning a rebellion and by the sounds of it, all slaves of this house are on it?”

“Not a rebellion. An escape. And there lies the crux of the matter. By how they explained it to me, they have people outside, a squad, regiment or something like it, waiting. They'll hit the gatekeepers first, to keep the barrier from being raised, then they’ll come to the arena, collar suppressors in their midst.”

It sounded more outlandish as X kept talking, but a sliver of doubt began eating at him, deep inside.

“And those outside, how will they know when to attack?”

“This is the best part Lord.” X produced a stone, one of the portends he had asked Ruianne.

“A portend?”

“And there’s loads more where they came from. Why would slaves have them? As I understand, with the collar slaves can’t use magik and other arts. So why have dozens of these stacked somewhere?”

“The suppressors! If they manage to come through, they’ll be able to use them.”

“Exactly sir. And you know? Ruianne’s giving them away like candy to her most trusted slaves. And this is not the worst of it.”

“There’s more...?”

“The thing is... I saw Ruianne cast magik, she used one of this.”

“No, no no, she has the collar!”

“Well Lord, sometimes things malfunction, or maybe it was sabotage, who knows, but remember something did happen to my collar. The point is, her collar, as mine, doesn’t work.”

This was the worst revelation of the night. If true, his whole family had been in danger for a long time.

“But do know Lord, that her magik’s as good as a party trick. She casted some of it on me and didn’t even tickle me... a magikless elf. I felt pity for her, at least I have an excuse, what’s hers?”

Lord Derreick’s sober demeanor reflected his thoughtful nature. While everything sounded outlandish, the fantasy of a corroded mind, caution was his best friend. Both ways, caution of this elf’s words and caution with what the slaves could be planning.

X interrupted his inner dissertation.

“Lord, they’ll give me the last instruction on the morning of my duel. The last piece of the puzzle, I think. For me... What I want is to live and to be free.”

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“You want a deal in exchange for information?”

“I already told you all the information I’ve got, except the final most important piece of the puzzle. That piece of information will have to wait until my fated day’s morning. In exchange for it, my life and freedom.”

Lost in thought, Lord Derreick stood quiet before him. X proceeded.

“If the things I say sound outrageous, slanderous... and make you think I’m lying through my teeth, do nothing, take this as... the last ramblings of a soon to be death soul. But if something clicks, simple preparations in place will land you the hero of the day. You could have them all under your grasp in one fell swing, and I’m not only talking about slaves, nor their regiment outside. Just you my Lord and your trusted individuals, don’t alert the whole city if you fear my words could be false. Only your inner circle, those who would understand if it comes down to violence or not. You have one, don’t you?”

With a very convincing fake relic in his hands, a strange elf speaking like the devil to his ear and his mind spinning wild he gave serious thought to all of it.

“You think they’ll make it work?” X asked.

“In ideal conditions, maybe. But not in a moment's notice, no chance.”

“They gave it to me, along with the portend, to convince me to play along. What a plan! And it’s all hers. Ruianne is a cunning one.”

“And you?”

“She doesn’t like me one bit and would gladly sacrifice me to whatever is it she devotes herself to. And I like living. This is all I ask. A coward’s way out.”

Lord Derreick looked down at the desperate, fallen slave. If everything X said turned out to be correct then he’d be willing to sell his kin for his own skin

“Maybe they’re going to exchange it with a working one?” X asked.

“Perhaps.”

“But as I understand, only one person can go through with it.”

“If they are linked, let’s say, by holding hands, many people could get out with only one relic. It’s a limit of the system.”

“Lord. Why are you freely telling me this?”

“It’s no secret.” His eyes nailed to X. “If they get their hands on one they’d intend to use it like this.”

“Maybe that’s the final puzzle piece. I won’t know until my fateful morning comes. Play their game Lord. Like a little ignorant fool dancing to their every song but... a tiger in disguise.” X wondered if tigers were tigers on this bizarre world. “Or not. Come duel day, I’m either correct or merely delirious, all this a figment of my imagination. In any circumstance the correct answer is simple. Preparedness.”

Decisions are always hard when they are life changing. And there’ll always remain a thorn in our minds. What if? The fake relic was convincing enough to give partial credence to this elf’s words, he couldn't had produced it alone. His other claims sounded more than outlandish, but the piece on Lord Derreick’s hands instilled the right amount of doubt he needed. He returned it back.

“Don’t let them suspect anything. And of course, if you're lying-”

“I have death to expect sir or worst, I understand this better than you think. But if I’m not and things do transpire as I say, help me live through the duel.”

Lord Derreick stared at X trying to decipher such a being but desisted. He turned around and walked towards the stairs.

“Keep your eyes open sir, wide open, you’ll see the truth had always been right before you. Right on this mansion.”

X teeth shined through the darkness, a smile to himself. His heartbeat raced non-stop and he struggled to contain it from bursting. For the fake relic, wasn’t fake at all. He had taken it from Leandro’s chambers. All his hoops and jumps paid in full. It had been a wild bet, a long shot amongst long shots. To steal it under Leandro’s nose turned out to be easy. The hard part came the day after, when he had to supplant it with a fake one he made with one of the portends Ruianne gave him. He had then, in his hands, the most important chess piece of his plan, the relic stone. It had cost him a great deal and a whole morning to take it from the locket it was in and replace it with a fake. On top of that he had to paint it resembling the original as much as possible and return it to Leandro’s box. Not his best work but he only needed it to work once.

That was the first step of his plan and his prey caught the bait. Lord Derreick’s thoughts tipped towards glory and wealth. He would become a hero, accolades and political positions not far behind. X left no downside for him to hold on to, no doubt running amok, no opportunity to back out. The Lord used his Jetual Corps’ membership, a tight association, to hatch a plan of his own and lead them to power. They understood the stakes involved and they would also stand to gain if things proceeded as expected, if not, they wouldn't talk of it to anyone and done deal. Gain as far as his mind could think. Lord Derreick’s eyes shined bright with ambition while he made the necessary preparations.

The second part of his plan came together when the young Lady came to visit him the last night before his duel. That night he stole her locket, the one she always wore, tailor made for her, with their House emblem and her name engraved in gold. After a joyful, passionate night he left her sleeping and locked in a cozy dungeon cell. With her kind of personality, this proved not difficult to achieve.

And X’s last puzzle piece came about the morning of his duel. If it worked he’d be a living free elf, if not, no one could say he didn’t try.

Lord Derreick personally took him to the combatants' gate where he asked for the promised last puzzle piece to which X replied.

“Look at my hands when I shout to you, I’ll be holding what you yearn after. Really look at them and think carefully. That’s the final puzzle piece.”

He used Ariana’s locket as his lifeline. X knew the Lord would let him die, same as the fantastical beasts who wanted to escape slavery. He had to force Lord Derreick’s hand to intervene and for family he’d do anything, the Lord was that kind of man, and X used it to his advantage.

*

And what kind of man wouldn’t help his troubled brethren and save countless others? What kind of man wouldn’t choose to redeem himself given a second chance?

Whoever that kind of man was, X wasn’t him.

To be fair X was no longer a man, but a wild creature. Too wild for civilization and the masses’ concerns. Same as before, a wild force of nature treading its own path till a violent death took him, once and for all.

 

 

 

-- END OF VOLUME 1 --

 

 

 

Author note: There’ll be a pause in the story because I haven’t finished editing the first chapters of volume 2 but as soon as I’m done I’ll begin uploading them. See you all then and thanks for reading this far. Hope you liked it!

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