[Melas] Chapter 116: A Witch's Offer (Patreon)

It wasn’t easy to contact the Dark Crusaders currently; they had their hands tied up with Saintess Lilith and the Holy Knights. My supply of magical tomes were cut off because of this. However, with Lisa’s help, I was able set up a quick meeting with them tonight.

The young woman couldn’t come with me. She was too busy dealing with Jack who was in a depressive state. He seemed to have gotten over a lot of his past issues after confronting Didar, but it also did reignite old problems he had. So, he was now a recluse. And Lisa couldn’t just leave him alone.

I did have a replacement. A particularly noisy replacement whom I wasn’t sure if I should have brought along. Gennady came with me, dressed in some ragged factory-outfit and a hood. His beard was dyed gray, and he walked with a hunched back to pretend he was older than he really was.

We entered the inner city of Jahar’taw by train as we usually did, before splitting off and reuniting when we were dressed in our individual disguises. I was, of course, Aria the Hunter. Or the Half Goblin, Aria. Either one worked. It didn’t matter what others thought of me, as long as I was not recognized as Melas, daughter of Valeria.

Gennady, on the other hand, was supposed to be Gen. He was a factory worker who discovered his innate talent for magic only recently, which drove him to quit his job and become a Hunter. Apparently, this was a real persona which the Dwarf had prepared with the Hunters Guild. When he first told me about it, I was in shock.

But he laughed at me and said, “What, lassie? Didn’t think I actually knew my way around the underworld, eh? I know that I may seem incompetent just cuz I like to goof off, but I’m pretty damned important around here!”

Regardless, I was now supposed to be helping Gen in honing his magical abilities. Gennady knew magic. He had demonstrated his abilities to me once before.

Lisa arranged for us to meet the Dark Crusaders in the same location as last time. The very same factory in a more… run-down part of the city. It was populated by Goblins; sure, there were plenty of Dwarves lurking the street corners too. But the proportion of Goblin to Dwarf here was at its highest, at roughly 40:60.

We were just arriving within the premises of the factory when I felt a tingling coming from behind me. It was the feeling of magic being used. I narrowed my eyes and spun around. I saw a familiar Goblin appear from behind a shadowed alleyway. He pointed a glowing finger at me as other Goblins surrounded us from all sides.

“Aria, you bring an uninvited guest. Who is this Dwarf intruder?”

I took a step forward, almost shielding Gennady with an arm. “This is not an intruder, Mahir. This is a… friend.” I licked my lips nervously as I said the last part. How would they treat him? As an enemy? No— they needed proof. I nudged the Dwarf on the shoulder. “Show them your magic, Gen.”

Gennady, to his credit, played the part of a scared, old man. He blinked, looking at me with wide eyes. “Wha—” he started.

I grunted, cutting him off. “I said, show them a Light spell.”

He flailed his hands around and nearly fell over. I caught him, propping him up so that he would stand straight. Murmuring an apology, he quickly raised a hand and focused on a spot in the air just above him. “T-this is a basic Light spell M-Ms Aria taught me.” With a flash, a spell circle appeared on the palm of his hands. A ball of light hovered over his head as Mahir narrowed his eyes.

“Is that enough proof for you, Mahir?” I faced him with crossed arms.

The Dark Acolyte didn’t give an immediate response. He turned around to consult with the other Dark Crusaders waiting with him. There really were a lot of them lying in wait for us. I stared around suspiciously. I have never been greeted by such a large number of them before. And they all seemed more wary than usual.

Is something going on? I paused and considered a very real but unsettling possibility. Is Lilith here? Were the Holy Knights spotted within the vicinity? But no— my concerns were misplaced.

“Humph, we weren’t expecting anyone else accompanying you buth the two Humans,” Mahir finally said. “However, since they told us that they weren’t showing up today, we thought you would be alone. You should have informed us that a Dwarf was joining us.”

“Well, he is a… recent addition.” I glared at Gennady with a sidelong glance. It was the truth. Only until I elaborated. “This is Gen, a factory worker from the southern section of the inner city. I only met him a few days ago. Just after I had Lisa arrange our meeting.” Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to Mahir. “He explained his situation to me, and I thought it would be best to at least bring him to speak with the Dark Crusaders since I have heard that you were willing to care for any spellcaster, regardless of species. Or am I wrong?”

Mahir scowled. “Don’t mistake our caution for apathy, Aria.” He gestured for us to follow, leading with a grunt. “We simply have had an eventful few days. You will see what I mean when you are inside.”

I exchanged glances with Gennady. He shrugged, as puzzled as I was.

We were led into the factory escorted by an unusually conspicuous group of Goblins. If there was ever a need to remain discreet— the Dark Crusaders placed it at the very bottom of their priority list. I raised a brow at this, not feeling the need to comment on it.

But Gennady had other ideas. “S-so,” he started in a small voice, “are ye guys always so… guarded? I was told that tha Dark Crusaders were far more secretive than this.”

I winced as he asked the question. Although he did play the part of the bumbling fool well, that was a bit too forward for me. The Dark Crusaders might not appreciate the question. But instead of snapping at Gennady like I expected, Mahir just sighed.

“We’d prefer to keep an air of secrecy, Dwarf. However, with the Church hounding us, we have to make some compromise.”

Compromise? I narrowed my eyes. What was he talking about? Again, Gennady thought to ask the question for me, rather than staying quiet.

“What, uh, kinda compromise are we talkin’ about?”

“The kind that ensures we aren’t all killed,” Mahir said, casting his gaze to the side. The factory was mostly empty— the assembly lines were no longer being operated. The Goblin workers that had once been here were not currently present. Only the Dark Crusaders were here, and they were here in full force. “Reinforcements, as you can clearly see.”

I nodded slowly, understanding. “You’re hoping to fend off the Church with your numbers, aren’t you?” Pausing, I placed a hand on the tip of my mask. “But with someone like a Saintess, I don’t think that’ll be enough.”

Ginah’s Crew were elite fighters. And even with myself and Gennady against only Lilith, we nearly lost to her. If there were Holy Knights there too— we would have surely been slaughtered. I didn’t doubt that Mahir was an experienced spellcaster. He wouldn’t be a Disciple otherwise. However, the other Goblins here… many of them seemed like they would be able to cast simple, basic spells at most.

This was not enough. Not even close. And Mahir agreed.

“We are not fools, Aria. We are aware that simple Disciples alone would not be enough to deal with a Saintess. That is why we have other help here.”

I wanted to prod further, but we finally arrived at our destination. We entered a storage room. One that wasn’t full of wooden boxes full of industrial goods, but with weapons and books stacked on top of each other.

“Now that is enough questions from your end.” Mahir came to a stop. He spun around, facing us with a furrowed brow. The door closed behind us as he peered at me. “What did you need of us this time, Aria? The Dark Crusaders may be willing to work and assist other spellcasters, but only to a certain extent. And since we have had business dealings in the past, we are willing to be amenable. However, that does not mean we will or can give you what you want.”

“We simply want information,” I said, my eyes glazing over the room. There were a lot of bows and arrows prepared. Many of them were glowing with different kinds of enchantments. Passive enchantments. The same kind I had on the dagger at my side. Although— what I had was more unique. The spellwork was basic at best, but it was not done using the blueprint of another enchantment. It was the ingenuity of an ambitious amateur. Someone who was trying to learn how to innovate rather than copy the work of others.

“Information can mean a lot of things.” The Goblin shook his head.

“It isn’t anything complicated.” With a deep breath, I ask my question as vaguely as I could. “I have heard about… things. Certain kinds of special tomes. Books that can teach you magic just like that.” I snapped as I said the last word. Mahir frowned as I fixed him with a look. “It sounds almost too good to be true, doesn’t it?”

“It does, doesn’t it?” His voice was neutral. He kept his face cool. Calm.

“And yet, I have heard about it from a reputable source.”

“So what?”

I sighed. “There’s no use beating around the bush, is there?” I pointed at Mahir, producing a bag of coins. Gold stuck out of its top, clear for him to see. I didn’t actually have that much gold on me. The bottom was loaded with bronze and silver. “I want one of those.” I put the offer out. Now all he had to do was take the bait.

But Mahir was silent. He didn’t bat an eye. He stared at me with a blank face. “I apologize, Aria, but I truly do not know what you’re talking about.”

I almost deflated. But it could be a ruse— and yet, what reason would he have for pretending? The only one who would benefit from lying was Elara. Still, I pressed him a bit more. “A grimoire. The same kind that we use to learn and master spells. Written by spellcasters of old. Except, it is imbued with powerful magic. One that can impart the knowledge within it into your mind in mere days. Such a thing should exist, no?”

Mahir placed a hand on his chin. His intrigue was evident now. “Certainly, that sounds like something that could exist.” He pursed his lips, murmuring to himself. “Although, that sounds like something that is incredibly rare. If it exists, I would never be told about it. And even if I did, I apologize, but a few hundred gold coins would not suffice for its sale.”

Gritting my teeth, I cursed internally, with enough passion that a pirate would be jealous of me. Why can’t things ever be easy? Ugh. If I wanted more information on that scroll Elara gave me, I would have to ask someone who was more informed about these things.

“Is that all you came to ask us about?” The Goblin eyed me with a raised brow. “Because if so, then I will have to ask you to leave now.”

“That isn’t all.” I glanced over at Gennady. He was acting scared. He was trembling slightly, back hunched, giving me a small nod. “My friend here has recently discovered an… aptitude towards magic. While he has no intentions of joining the Dark Crusaders right now— no offense.”

“There is none taken,” Mahir said with a grunt. “There are many spellcasters who are averse to joining our cause because of the connotations that come with. However, I can assure you, those are false and drastically over exaggerated by the Church.”

“Right…” I remembered a young man’s face. The sadistic smile he had as a woman screamed in the background. It was a fuzzy memory. I tried to forget the exact events, even if I made sure to remember what happened. Especially how I had been tricked and manipulated for so long. I wasn’t going to assume that Mahir was as despicable as Victor was, but it was better to err on the side of caution. “Again, my friend here, Gen, is simply undecided. It is all so new to him. However, he has one request.” I stepped aside to let him speak.

Gennady lowered his head nervously. “Y-yes. Y’see, I am but a h-humble, uh, worker in Jahar’taw. I am a family man. I stick to myself. But recently, things have been stirring up in tha city, y'know?” It was a backstory. One entirely made up, but plausible. “Bastard Humans have been causing a mess all around— they say they’re from the Puer Kingdom. And they broke into my home. Stole all me gold.”

“Hurry it up, Dwarf.” Mahir glared his way.

“I want to get it back,” Gennady finally said. “And I wanna make those bastards pay for stealing from me.”

“I’ll be helping him,” I added, standing to his side. “We simply want information.”

“Information, information, information,” Mahir sighed. “That is all you want, isn’t it? I don’t know much about the Puer Kingdom, Aria. Just like I know nothing about those grimoires you’re searching for.”

I drew my lips into a thin line. “Are you sure you know nothing at all? They’re the ones responsible for bringing the Holy Xan Empire into the kingdom.”

“Everything I know is what everyone else knows— unless your two Human friends suddenly went deaf, I’m sure they can tell you everything I can tell you about them.”

“We have gold,” I insisted. “Please, we just need some help.”

“I told you—” Mahir paused. He tilted his head back, as if remembering something. “Perhaps we have someone more… qualified to answer this question for you, Dwarf.” Mahir gestured for us to follow.

I glanced over at Gennady, apprehensive. He shook his head, taking a step forward. I followed after, not sure where this came from.

Mahir brought us to another room. He knocked on the door and took a step back, waiting for it to slide open. “I have guests. Do not be alarmed.”

I narrowed my eyes as I sensed enchantments on the door flickering out. Powerful, I thought.

“Come in,” he said as he entered first. “You are about to meet with an Apostle. Ensure that you are respectful.”

I blinked. Apostle? I felt my nervousness building up as I went into the room. There was no way that was good news, right? I stopped mid-step as a figure got to their feet. I thought they were shadowed, wearing a cloak at first. But no— their skin was pure black. The very same figure I saw a few nights ago. Except… they had only a single horn.

A Demon.

And behind that Demon was— I stared at the smaller figure. The Goblin who looked so familiar. His face was twisted into a permanent scowl. Hands dug into his pockets, standing silently to the side.

Karna.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late chapter. My mum was admitted to the ER last night and was tested positive for COVID. So far, she is fine, which is a good sign. But I'm still worried.