ULTRAMagic Shadowland - Chapter 18

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    Torunn, Weaver, Gabriella, and Aureolus were shown into the throne room. Dunja and Andelin were assisting a group of stewards to organize the cult’s former money, Albrecht and Folkvar were at a table playing some kind of tabletop game, and Barna and Claudius were speaking to Sten. Gabriella and Aureolus saw two new faces, Yngvild and Fyodor. The queen was incredibly beautiful. Her long hair was as fair as snow and her face was that of a gentle mother. Fyodor on the other hand was an older man with graying, receding hair. He had a full set of facial hair, a Slavic voice, and trained eyes that indicated a man who had been through a lot in his time.

    “... now to be fair, Sten, I would’ve smashed the church to pieces myself had it not been three stories, plus the towers and spires” Barna pointed out.

    Sten chuckled. “Really now? Well I will concede that there were plans all along to demolish and rebuild it due to structural degradation. I suppose this would resolve two problems with one attempt.”

    Fyodor stroked his beard. “I would comment on the possibility of making an example out of Milosh, but he is an outsider. What good is a message if no one is around to hear it?”

    “Infatti,” Claudius replied. “Honestly I think it would be ideal to spin this as a public service. That way we have justification outside of raining on the cult’s parade.”

    “Huh, I didn’t think of that one,” Barna remarked. He then noticed his son and the others. “There you guys are! What was holding you up?”

    “Sorry about that, dad,” Aureolus answered. “We got talking. Is everything all taken care of?”

    “For the most part. And since everyone’s finally here, Gabriella? Can you step over here for a second?”

    “Certainly.” She quickly brushed off her coat and straightened out her attire.

    “Everyone, this is Gabriella Pari, Valentina’s daughter. Gabriella, this is his majesty, King Sten, and his wife, Queen Yngvild.”

    Gabriella bowed in respect. “It is an honor to meet both of you.”

    “Likewise,” Sten replied. “You have my thanks and gratitude for the help you provided thus far”

    “Same” Yngvild continued. “Furthermore, I must compliment you on your beauty, my dear. You are quite the fine young lady.”

    “Thank you, your majesty,” Gabriella said with a giggle.

    Barna then indicated for Fyodor to approach. “And this old chap is Fyodor Aleksandrov, Sten’s royal advisor and former mentor.”

    “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Pari” he said as he shook her hand.

    “And of course, this boy right here is Aureolus,” Barna pointed out as he brought him over.”

    “Hello Queen Yngvild and Fyodor!”

    The queen chuckled. “Hello to you too, Aureolus.”

    “Dunja tells me you’re a void caller, Aureolus,” Fyodor stated. “Quite the rare type of mage in these parts.”

    He nodded. “Yes sir. I even figured out two spells…” First he conjured a fireball and bounced it a couple of times. “It’s bouncy and stretchy, but I haven’t had a chance to properly use it yet.”

    Fyodor asked to see it and Aureolus obliged him. It was fascinating to see it linger in his grasp. He gave it a few squeezes, causing it to heat up as he did. “What is the other spell?” he asked as he handed it back.

    Aureolus began creating the balloon orb. Once it was done, he inflated it with his breath. “I’m not sure what to do with this one.”

    “Juvenile, but open to imagination,” Fyodor assessed. “Is it capable of holding hot air?”

    That was certainly an idea Aureolus liked the sound of, as it seemed quite whimsical. “Hum, I don’t see why not. Do you mean like a hot air balloon?”

    “Are you against the idea?”

    “No… just how am I going to stay in the air?”

    “Surely Barna has taught you some Alchemy at this point, I presume.”

    “Well he has been learning it, but Kresimira and Corentin have handled that stuff so far” Barna answered.

    “Hey, Fyodor?” Dunja called out. “Since we’re talking about magic and whatnot, can you do me a favor and teach him some void magic? You’re older than me and I have no idea what I’m doing…”

    Fyodor laughed. “I don’t see why not.”

    “Wait, you’re a void caller?” Aureolus asked.

    “Indeed I am. Now before we go off on such involved matters, Sten; You wished to address something?”

    He nodded. “Barna, do you still bear ill will towards outsiders?”

    Barna sighed. “No. I’ve been thinking about it over these past couple of weeks and I realized I’ve been a bit harsh… They’re still going to have to earn my trust, no two ways about it.”

    “Was that so hard?” Dunja chided.

    Barna groaned. “And yes, I’ll admit that I was being hypocritical…”

    “Hey, don’t worry about it, Barna,” Weaver reassured. “Better to let in a man who trips than a man who… no wait, that’s not the saying… argh! I lost my train of thought.”

    He smiled and patted him on the back. “I get you, Weaver.”

    Gabriella then remembered that she had something to say on the matter. It had crossed her mind after the fact and was eating at her. “Barna? I have to confess that I was being a bit charitable before. Of course I suggested that you loosen up on outsiders… only to see first hand the kind of people Milosh courts. I stand by what I said, but at the same time, it doesn’t hurt to be firm and draw a line in the sand.”

    “Lass, don’t lose sight of that insight of yours. Even if you make a mistake, you’ve got the brains to fix it.”

    “Thank you, Barna.”

    Andelin, taking a quick break, walked over to them. “If I may provide an anecdote, the fall of Feuerland was hastened by outsiders, that heathenous Gudrun in particular…” Notably there was a growl in her voice when she said that name. “On the other hand, the royalty and nobles could have done a lot more to help the issue. It was a complicated state of affairs and the best we can do is learn from history so as to not repeat those mistakes.”

    Fyodor chuckled to himself as he recalled something that was not going to thrill Barna. While not directly related to the current topic, it was worth mentioning. “Well said, Andelin. Now Barna, it’s funny that we have this conversation, with the main culprit being Milosh. During my travels, I encountered an alternate version of him…”

    “I beg your pardon?”

    “You know that baffling thunderstorm to the south, ravaging the Storm Plateau? I may have been to the universe it hails from. And in that universe, I encountered one Archmage Proch. Evidently he cursed himself with immortality and caused several calamities for his homeworld.”

    Barna paused, then gave a hearty, sympathetic laugh. “He can’t keep himself out of trouble, can he?”

    “Apparently not. And while not the most upstanding individual, he is leagues above the one we’ve encountered.”

    “By the Source… I’ll have to buy him an ale if I ever run into him,” Barna declared.

    The rest of the meeting was a bit uneventful. Everyone was brought up to speed and Andelin elucidated them on how she wanted to address The Fear of Old. The money reclamation went into the late hours, with Andelin requesting that they hold off on redistribution until The Eternal Church was destroyed. Hinting towards Gratiana’s allegiance, she put forth that a demoralized cult would be less likely to steal the money back. Sten thought it over and agreed. These actions could even push the stragglers over the edge, surrendering outright.

    With everyone retired for the night, Andelin was restless. Had things been peaceful, she would have indulged in a bit of pleasure. Alas, something was bothering her. She needed to know how Milosh was going to respond. Once she was in the clear, she got out a card and emptied a metallic blob onto the ground. She then picked it up and dropped it over her, with it quickly becoming a metallic film that covered her entire body. This was followed by it vanishing, rendering her invisible.

    Andelin quietly snuck her way into Warehouse Lambda. Like most of the other warehouses, it had a secret basement. This led to the true compound underground. Lambda was special as it was Milosh’s base of operations and his living quarters. At the moment he was holding a meeting with what remained of the higher ups. He was not happy as screaming, yelling, and thrown objects echoed throughout the halls. Andelin had to do her best not to laugh as she crept through the dingy, dirty hallways.

    “Morons! MORONS! I’M SURROUNDED BY MORONS!” Milosh hollered.

    “Your greatness, please! We’re doing our best…”

    “THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!” He screeched back at the cultist.

    “Well gee, It’s kind of hard to get anything done without any money…”

    “NO MONEY!? WE HAVE NO MONEY!?!”

    “No, we don’t. It’s all gone you half wit, conman!” The disgruntled man barked back.

    Andelin silently giggled. “Oops, did I do that?” She whispered under her breath. She took a pleasurable joy in watching Milosh squirm.

    “Well, Mr. Wheeler, maybe we should turn you into a gold statue and sell you off!!” Milosh laughed maniacally as he took out a gold medallion and pressed it against him…

    Mr. Wheeler, not amused, snatched the piece and shoved Milosh back. “This is a chocolate coin, you blithering imbecile! Andelin clearly swiped that stupid cursed medallion some time ago!” He then unwrapped it and ate it out of spite. The chocolate had gone bad and he would probably have the runs later, but Mr. Wheeler was at his wit’s end and did not care.

    “NO! THAT’S THE MEDALLION! YOU JUST ATE IT! TREASON! TREASON!”

    Gritting his teeth, Mr. Wheeler gave Milosh a good thump to the head. “If I wanted to join a circus, I would’ve gone and joined the actual circus! Wolfgang had the right idea: I’m turning myself in. Have fun wasting the rest of your lives, you sodding ingrates!”

    Andelin secretly followed him out as Milosh began psychotically ranting about how the beast's blood would solve everything. She was trying so hard not to laugh until she was in a safe spot. Making her way to Gummi’s house, she let out a few snickers here and there. The light was on on the top floor, meaning someone was there. Andelin went upstairs to Gummi’s room, nearly forgetting to take her stealth film off. Gummi and Gratiana were startled when she randomly appeared out of nowhere.

    “Andelin, Is something the matter?” Gratiana questioned.

    She finally lost it, banging a table near the doorway as she laughed uncontrollably. “Milosh is losing his warped little mind!”

    Gummi snickered and giggled. “It was the money, wasn’t it?” Andelin nodded and then told them about the chocolate coin… now it was their turn to laugh.

    “What!?” Gratiana was baffled. “He actually fell for that?” She had noticed the sleight of hand when it happened, but never said anything as she felt Milosh should not have that much power. “When did you do that again? Last year was it?” Andelin nodded once more.

    “Oh good lord, how is that man even my father?” Gummi wondered.

    “Well let’s be frank, dear; You inherited your intelligence from me” Graitana pointed out. She then poured Andelin some tea to help her calm down.

    “Are things still clear around here?” She asked after a sip.

    “Yes. My men have cleared out all cultists from this sector, are ready to provide assistance when the demolition occurs, and will turn themselves in when everything is said and done,” Gratiana answered.

    “Good. Gummi, how’s The Fear doing?”

    “Well he still thinks Milosh is his friend, but he’s baffled as to why I’m showing up… still won’t talk to me though.”

    Andelin ate her biscuit and thought for a second. “Yeah, we’re going to need Maximus and The Beast.” She then looked over at his desk, noticing a vial with a red substance in it. “Gummi, is that…?”

    “Heh, it’s a decoy vial. I’m not wasting that blood. Something’s telling me to save it. Don't study it, save it.”

    Gratiana slightly tilted her head. “What do you have in mind, son?”

    “No idea, mom. My dreams keep telling me to bide my time for something great that’s going to happen. It’s like some kind of guild or gathering that’s going to take place…” Andelin made a note of that comment as a certain mage she knew might be interested in Gummi.


Next: Chapter 19

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

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