RFC-Mini Arc 2: Elven Garde-12 (Patreon)

It wouldn’t be the first time a powerful noble family had bullied a woman into marriage. The thrall. Lucius had done research into her, wondering what part the strange woman played.

He didn’t know how they originally met. Perhaps Kierra was a traveler who wandered across the wrong noble. A noble who lured her into marriage and secured it with the help of foul magic.

There was no other way to describe how the gentle healer and powerful caster who be entangled with someone so brutish and casually cruel. Horror struck him as he wondered if Elven Garde was a product of the mental poisoning, engendering a love for violence in the elf.

It was a leap in logic but far more believable than the two had fallen in love. His confusion drained away, replaced by cold anger and disgust. “Despicable.”

“Hah? You say something?”

“I said, forgive me.” He straightened up. “I came here to speak with Kierra, yes. I am…fond of her. Something I cannot hide before your…servant.”

The thrall waggled her fingers at him. Lou snorted. “Yeah, she’s pretty perceptive. So, knowing that you’re trying to cuckold me, why, by the saints’ grace, would I let you work for me?”

“Because no one will be as dedicated.”

“Oh, I bet. It’s the source of your dedication that’s the problem.” She sighed. “Again, what can you do besides spruce up the dining table?”

“I can do what is needed.”

Lou paused, before leaning forward. “Oh hoh? That wasn’t an empty boast, was it? You’re a proper thug in the making.” She snickered at his frown. “No, too proper for that. Sorry, can’t think of an elegant name for it.”

“Myrmidon,” the thrall provided.

“Thank you. See, that is useful. Can you do that? Not to mention she’d be better at, what do you think you’re going to be doing? Breaking legs? Yeah, a whole lot better. Everyone in this house would be better for that. You’re pretty useless, kid.”

Callan took a deep breath, fighting his annoyance. “I know the Grand Market well and have many connections. Even those one might find unscrupulous.” A black market that sold questionable products existed in the shadow of every center of commerce. The Hall was no exception. “I can help you obtain anything you desire.”

“Hmm. And if there’s nothing I particularly desire?”

“Many curious things come through. If you hear about them before anyone else, you can take your pick.”

“I see.” Lou turned to the thrall, the two having a silent conversation as they stared into one another’s eyes. Callan’s gaze drifted to Kierra. She hadn’t moved, eyes still firmly shut as her hands idly played with Lou’s hair. Listless, like a doll. His stomach turned at the blatant display of mental domination. A part of him didn’t understand how the Hall could allow such an atrocity to take place, but a bigger, more cynical part, understood that the powerful cared little for rules.

Heroes lived in songs, not in reality. If he wanted to help her, he’d have to do it himself. That meant getting close enough to divine Lou’s secrets.

She was underestimating him, same as everyone else. And when she wasn’t looking, he’d drive his fangs into her as well.

“Alright, kid.” Lou turned to him with a smile. “I’m convinced. On the slight chance you may find something interesting, you’re hired. As my errand boy.” She grinned maliciously. “I expect you to be here first thing in the morning to pass along any of these interesting tips you think you can get. If there’s work, I expect it to be done quickly and properly. As for pay…let’s see. I pay you based on the information you bring back. So, do your best.”

“Thank you for the opportunity…my lady.”

“And remember to control yourself.” Her hand pushed up Kierra’s nightgown, smile growing at Callan’s narrowed eyes. “Servants that don’t know their place don’t last long.”

“I will remember.”

“Geo, show the kid out. Bye, Atty.”

He flinched at the nickname but kept his comments to himself, following the thrall out the front door.

“Callan.”

He turned back at the bottom of the steps. “What?”

The thrall’s endless grin collapsed, tail drooping. Her gaze met his with frightful intensity. “The road you’re treading will only lead to your despair. You can’t beat her. Not while I’m here.”

“…why are you telling me this?”

“Lourianne Tome…is not a good person. She hides it well because she doesn’t want to draw attention but if she is allowed to go unchecked…” Geo shook her head. “I am afraid of what she will do to this place. No, to the kingdom!

“You know. These people underestimate her too much but as someone who is weak, you won’t make that same mistake. More importantly, you won’t hesitate to use her same tricks against her, the only way to help Kierra.”

That caught Callan’s attention. “What do you mean?”

“Do you know what summoning is?”

“Yes. Binding creatures from other realms to do your bidding.”

“My summoner is not a talented caster. However, the weakest caster in the world can fight on the level of the saints with the right contracted elemental. She borrows her strength from others. Something you can do as well.”

“…you’re telling me to become a summoner as well.”

“It’s the only way.”

“No matter how bad a caster she is, I’m worse. Magic is a contest I’ll lose every time.”

“Ah, but summoning isn’t a traditional form of magic. It does not involve the building of spells. Summoning circles only contain two variables. Truly, it is more of an art, something you excel at.”

Callan’s interest was piqued. Magic that didn’t require a strong grasp of numbers and calculations, but artistry? “Why isn’t this well-known? It sounds like something anyone can do.”

“Precisely. Would the strong nobles allow any threat to their power to exist? Summoning is too powerful an art, its practitioners shunned and degraded to the point of becoming jokes of the magic community. All so they can wield its power for themselves.”

“This sounds…too good. Unbelievably convenient. So why are you telling me this? Why should I trust you?”

The thrall hung her head. A hand came up to touch the leather collar around her neck, her tail wrapping around herself. The teasing devil disappeared, replaced by a sad figure that pulled at Callan’s heart. “She tricked me into a contract of unquestionable obedience. I am nothing more than a slave to that…deviant and I cannot do anything against her.” Her shoulders hunched as she took a shuddering breath. “I may not be human but I deserve my freedom.”

She raises her head, brilliant pink eyes wet with tears. “I can only speak to you like this because she thinks nothing of you. You’re my only hope. Everyone’s hope, even if they don’t know it.”

Callan hesitated. Could he trust her? Should he? If he didn’t, what else could he do? He decided to take Lourianne Tome down but he had no idea how to go about it.

“I know I can’t expect you to care about me.” She laughed self-depreciatingly, wiping her eyes with the back of hand. “But someone you do care about is involved. If I were to be freed from my contract, I could reverse any manipulation on another’s mind.”

And with that, Callan was convinced. He couldn’t afford not to be. “What do I need to do to become a summoner?”

“Deeper in the Hall, there is a building called the Summoning Hall where all the preeminent summoners of the kingdom gather. You aren’t an acolyte so you can’t ask for instruction but if you were to obtain a job as an assistant, you could gleam information from the masters. I will also do my best to aide you but we will not have much time. Find me during Elven Garde. Lou humors Kierra by letting her have her projects so she won’t be paying attention then.”

“Right.”

“Go now. We’ve already spent too long speaking.”

Before he could utter a goodbye, the thrall turned around, darting back into the house and closing the door softly.

Callan continued on his way, thoughts racing. Summoning sounded like the perfect solution to his problems. If there existed a creature like Geo, there should undoubtedly be a creature strong enough to coerce Lou into releasing her immoral hold on Kierra.

The creature made a convincing argument but by her own admission, she was entirely loyal to Lou. The possibility that she was acting existed, no matter how touching the performance. Though, for the life of him, he couldn’t understand what Lourianne Tome gained from sharing her secrets.

Was what the thrall said true? Did she think so little of him that she didn’t bother to defend against him? Or was she that confident in her abilities as a summoner that she didn’t believe he could do anything with the knowledge? Arrogance made for a silent companion, going unnoticed until it brought trouble. He had fallen prey to its whisperings himself and he felt his mood sour at the memory of his last defeat.

Well, maybe she was right, but he was used to fighting with a disadvantage. If summoning evened the field just a little bit, he’d use it. That information was easy enough to verify, moving deeper in the Hall difficult but not impossible for someone who’d spent a lifetime building connections on the floating rock. Soon, he’d have the power to rival the acolytes. Show the world they were wrong to deem him talentless and worthless.

His excitement mounted as he thought it didn’t have to stop at his own growth. If one summoner was a threat to the kingdom, what could a group of summoners accomplish? In Elven Garde, the common men and women used their numbers to their advantage.

No reason for that not to continue.

Callan grinned to himself, breaking into a run as he hurried home. There was work to be done.