Curselock

Chapter 23: Devil is in the Details

Leland was the first on guard duty after the boys reached their inn. They didn’t believe thieves would be so bold as to attack them in their room but who knew at this point. With all the absurd things that had happened lately, Leland decided they couldn’t be too careful.

While the others were sleeping, it gave him plenty of time to see how his spells progressed after the lion-toad battle. Grimoire in hand, Leland read through the new entry and its accompanying spells.

You have assisted in killing a Mutated Mana Lion.

An appropriate reward has been added to your Legacy.

Fracture has increased to rank 6.

80% chance to break a random bone in a single target.

Curse of Collapse has increased to rank 4.

Harbinger Halo has increased to rank 2.

Contract lasts for 120 seconds.

Leland’s eyes widened at how long Harbinger Halo could be activated. With a single upgrade the contract duration doubled. There was no guarantee that that pattern would be maintained but the potential still brought a flutter to his heart.

At some point Glenny woke up, thus allowing Leland to fall asleep.

In the morning, the first thing the group did was purchase a greater mana potion and head towards the nearest Lord of Magic shrine. Leland was purposely cryptic about why he needed to do such a thing but he also promised to tell them once he was sure they weren’t being watched. The threat of thieves spreading unearned information was decently high, especially since Glenny found two separate parties following them.

“Do we need to take them out again?” Jude asked, cracking his knuckles.

“I do not believe so. They are staying back, likely only scouts for the more powerful.”

Leland frowned at that. “Then shouldn’t we beat them up? If they are scouts then we don’t want whatever they learned getting back to their bosses.”

Glenny only shook his head. “No. Think of it like this: I can see these scouts and am only a low ranked rogue. If the boss deems it necessary to send someone with better ability, then I will have no clue if we are being followed.”

“Ah, keep your enemies close,” Jude filled in.

“Exactly. We should deal with the Magic Lord shrine and spend the rest of the day in the inn. It will be boring but it’s the safest option until Alkin is ready to leave.”

The others agreed and eventually they entered a small magic shop on the edge of the magic district. Leland stepped up to the counter and rang a small bell. The shopkeeper came out from behind a curtain, wiping mana residue off his hands with a dirty towel.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

Leland answered. “Yes, although it may be a strange request. I’m looking for a shrine to the Lord of Magic. Do you have one here I might be able to rent for a few minutes?”

The shopkeeper gave him an odd eye. “What do you want to rent it for?”

“Just to pay my respects. Not many mages around the town, no public shrines as far as I could find.”

Eventually the man nodded and said, “No payment needed. Follow me, the other two will have to wait here though. Not much room in the back.”

Leland was led through a tinkerer’s workshop. Tools and magical reagents sat on shelves or took up workbenches. Wands, staves, gem embossed gloves, and even enchanted scrolls. Just a month ago Leland would have been so excited to visit a shop such as this. Now? With his Legacy not within the realm of actual magic, he only saw it as a remembrance of his parents.

Still, some of the stuff was neat.

“Here we are,” the shopkeeper said, pointing to a small stone chiseled statue.

It wasn’t of a person or god but rather the symbol of magic. The stone took the form of a runic circle with a triplet of chained circles in the center. It represented the three main branches of magic. Mana and mind were the obvious two but the third was still a hotly debated topic.

Some scholars said the third ring was Lords and legacies while others argued that it was more personal than that. It was something yet to be fully realized, something that every mage did subconsciously. Leland always believed the latter of the two and that the outer runic circle represented the Lords – not that it mattered to him anymore.

Heh, he thought. I wonder if I could create a contract with the Lord of Magic where he’d just tell me.

That line of thought brought on more questions about Harbinger Halo and just what was possible with contracts. The simple fact that he could make contracts with Lords, and have some degree of negotiations, was simply so overwhelming.

Leland eventually kneeled before the statue and made sure the shopkeeper had given him some privacy. He placed the greater mana potion on the small pedestal then waited. And waited.

He whispered, “Uh… Lord of Magic? I brought the potion we agreed on as payment for our contract.” Then the mana potion disappeared, simply faded from existence. “Well okay then. See you in a year.”

With that Leland walked back into the lobby and found the shopkeeper and Jude playing harmonicas together. A gloomy Glenny was silently brooding in the corner but perked up when he saw his friend enter.

“Finally, let's get going. I can’t handle this any longer.”

“You are just jealous you can’t play an instrument like us.”

The shopkeeper chimed in. “You know, I sell a magical variant of these things. Want to take a look?”

Ten minutes later, the boys stepped out of the magic shop, Jude with a magical harmonica in one pocket and thirty five gold less in another. They walked through the streets back to their inn, Glenny plugging his ears the entire way.

Once situated back in their room, Leland spoke up. “Okay, so. I have a spell that allows me to gain something from other Lords.”

“Uh, what?”

“Yeah I know. Pretty crazy right. But it's real, five percent spell potency from the Lord of Magic real.”

“At the cost of a mana potion?” Glenny asked.

Leland nodded. “It’s not always going to be that simple. The Lord of Magic was doing a favor for my Lord. It was an example of what is possible with this sort of thing.”

Jude and Glenny sat back. “What Lord are you going for next?”

“I’m thinking of the Lord of Spirits.”

“Not something cool or dangerous? I’m in favor of you taking from the Lord of Berserkers,” Jude waved off.

“Maybe later,” Leland answered. “I need something to bargain with, but I figured that saving Alkin brought me more favor than not.”

Glenny slowly understood. “So it's like a contract? One you can negotiate.”

“Exactly.”

“Well what are you going to ask for?”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know.”

For the next hour, the boys talked about different things Leland could contract from different Lords. When it came down to it, until Leland found out more about what was possible, they went with simple things. A fire spell from the Lord of Flame, a water one from any of the Water Lords, a healing spell would be important. If spells were off the table for now, maybe a passive regeneration ring or lifeforce regeneration ring.

In the end, they spent the entire evening in their room discussing. With a late dinner in their bellies, they fell asleep while taking lookout shifts.

The next morning came with a surprisingly easy escape. It only took a few hours to find Alkin, purchase mounts, and ready themselves for two weeks of travel. They were set back a decent chunk of coin but a quest was a quest. It was still profitable and frankly the boys wanted to leave Liontrunk. Too many eyes, not enough worthwhile investments.

“Did you find the lawyer?” Leland asked.

Alkin’s shoulders slumped. “No. Not even my Guild posting helped. She’s a ghost.”

“What exactly is the issue again? I know you said your mother was in debt but what kind exactly?”

The young Master Onryo deliberated for a minute, deciding exactly how much he could share. “My House paid a large lump sum to the Royals to have their Inquisitors investigate House Icewillow. Their findings, while fruitful, also left a large void in the economy of Shoutwell. We are slowly taking their place but we needed more capital.

“So, my mother took out many loans, all of which we could pay back. The issue arose when my eldest brother, the heir to the House name, started getting into trouble. He decided the best way to launch House Onryo into future prosperity wasn’t financial means but instead magical. He spent most of my family’s reserves on items, potions, tonics, even a miracle elixir or two in hopes that it progressed his magic more than what was standard for our family.”

“And I take it he failed?” Leland asked.

“He was killed drinking an experimental potion, but yes.” Alkin paused for a moment. “A lawyer would help clear his debts now tacked on to my mother.”

Glenny spoke up, “Was your brother on to something? Would his plan have worked?”

“Evidence points to yes, but we’ll never know at this point.”

Jude leaned back, pulling out his harmonica as they stepped out of Liontrunk and onto the dry path. Before playing he said, “If only there was a way to talk to your Lord. You could just ask him yourself.”

As two separately pitched versions of the same note came out of the magical harmonica, Leland couldn’t help but thinkthat sometimes Jude was a genius.