After Jack and Joey left, it was already near midnight, and we had to leave early for our next destination.
I was exhausted, so I slept like a baby. Until I was woken up early by a man that I didn't even know.
At nearly half past four in the morning, a voice reached my ear.
"Hey. Hey, young man, wake up," a voice whispered.
I opened my eyes to the sound of his voice and the vigorous shaking of my shoulder. My vision was blurry at first, but as it cleared, slowly a silhouette took a shape: an old man in a black robe with a long, half-white, half-black beard.
"....What the fuck?! Who are you ? What are you doing in my room ?" I blurted out, reaching for the pistol on the beside drawer.
"Shh–shh! Calm down," the man hissed as I aimed the barrel straight at his head.
"You better state your business before I blow your goddamn brains all over that wall!!" I threatened, keeping my grip tight.
"I'm only here to ask for help!" The old man held up both hands in surrender.
"And who the hell breaks directly into someone's room to ask for help?!"
"Listen, listen! just put your…weapon down. I'm not here to harm you. In fact, I was planning to hire you… I will pay you. Let's say, 2 million lochu each for every member of the party you have here."'he said, as he took a slow step backward without turning his back on me.
I lowered the pistol slightly. "You will pay us what ?"
"Can we talk now ?" He asked, slowly lowering hands.
I motioned towards the chairs. By then, I had already reasoned that if he wanted to kill me, he would have done it while I was sound asleep.
"So, what do you want ?" I asked, keeping my hand firmly on the grip of my gun.
"First of all, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Zabulon Skuwënzêr Delæric. I'm a spell master… So I believe you might have a rough idea who I am," Zabulon said, clenching his hands together.
"... Wait a minute… Are you the guy who turned the Duke bald?!" I asked in shock.
"It was an accident, okay? I didn't turn him bald knowingly–"
"How does an accident like that even happen?!"
"Ahh… So I was casting the spell, we were in his garden, and his horse happened to be nearby. The Duke was seated, sipping his tea, when out of nowhere, the damn horse decided to kick me straight in the groin! I misspelled a single word, causing a single codon in the spritamino to be replaced with a random codon whose outcome even I couldn't predict! Since spells are spoken in a continuous sequence, the entire output mutated from that codon onwards." The spell master explained, looking flushed and deeply embarrassed.
I stared at him. "I'm not a spell master. What the heck is a codon ? and how is that different from a spell ?" I asked curiously.
"A codon is the fundamental spiritual form that an incanted syllable draws from your internal spiritual energy or the surrounding environment when spoken aloud. Master practitioners can even arrange them non-verbally if their conceptual grasp of the codons is refined enough," the Spell Master explained.
"I still don't under–"
"It's magic! I'm not explaining any further, it gets ridiculously complicated," the spell master snapped, cutting me off mid sentence.
" Alright, fine. What do you need from me?"
" I want you to smuggle me outside of city,"
".... Say what ? How am I supposed to do that ? And why do you need me in the first place ? You are a spell master– can't you just sneak out on your own ?"
"I can't !" He slammed both hands on the table, leaning in. "There is a high grade detection barrier all over the city. Anyone leaving without permission would be reported to the Duke and his guards!"
He took his seat again and forced himself to calm down. "It's easy. I can shapeshift into an animal. If you claim that I'm your pet or with you, the guards will register me under your party permit and let us through without an issue."
" If you can turn into an animal, why don't you just do it and leave? Like, being a bird or a mouse…or a cat etc.?" I countered his reasoning.
"I can't !! Every animal in the city is spiritually tagged. The moment they go out, they realise they have left. So if me, a non-tag animal, were to leave, they would know something is wrong."
"Okay, but they didn't tag any animals when I came in with–wait." Suddenly a realization struck me. "I have two giant rodents registered under my carriage permit."
"Exactly!!" Zabulon grinned.
"How do you even know about that ?" I asked suspiciously.
"Oh, I have been tailing your party since you arrived in Raymonford. You were escorted like VIPs, so my curiosity was piqued. Then I discovered you were the renowned hero who saved Dunford, and it seems the rumour are true, your face really was horribly cursed when you executed the culprit–"
"It's not a curse. It's my original, real, authentic face. and it's perfectly average."
"...My condolences."
"Shut up!"
"So, I just need to release one of the rodents inside the city, and you take his place?"
"precisely! Don't worry, I can mind-control animals. I will make sure the released rodent stays inside the city limits so no untagged animal crosses the border to raise suspicion," Zabulon reassured me.
"Fine, so come to the Carriage stop when we leave, and I will switch you with one of the rodents. I will not inform my other companions about you yet, as it will be hard to explain," I explained.
"Good, but I don't think I need to leave. I can just turn into a mouse and stay in your pocket," the spell master explained.
"I found them uncomfortable, so no."
"I'm paying you 2 million lochu, I might give more if I feel like."
"Alright, deal. Get in the pocket. Actually, wait for a while. They must be coming. It's time for us to leave now, it's nearly five fifteen in the morning. The boys must be coming."
" I'm taking a huge risk here. The Duke is scary as fuck. Let's hope he won't catch us."
Zabulon faintly smiled. "Don't worry. As far as I can see, I don't think he can hurt you even if we even get caught,"
"Why ?"
"Because the Human Emperor himself invited you, if I remember correctly. Someone from Dunford who came here was saying it," he explained.
"Oh, yeah, I'm invited."
Haven't read the letter yet though, 'cause I'm illiterate here.
"So, what does it have to do with me being safe ?"
"It means that if something happened to you, he would have to answer to the Human Emperor himself. I'm sure he doesn't want that to happen."
"...So, no one can touch me even if I help a criminal or commit a crime?"
"First of all, I'm not a criminal. And second, it only guarantees your life, so he can still imprison you–"
Knock knock
"Mr. Darcy, it's time to head out!" one of the bros said from outside the door, knocking.
"Shit! turn into a mouse quickly and get in my pocket," I said as I stood up from the chair and shouted toward the door. "Coming ! wait a few minutes"