Kaelith cursed silently to himself when he felt that familiar, heavy numbness in his muscles. Even the purple cloak wrapping his body had stopped fluttering in the slightest breeze, turning almost into a stone statue. An immobilization spell... he thought to himself. Yet another presumptuous mage crosses my path.
When he forced his eyes to turn and look behind him, he expected to see a crowded cult faction or armored guards. However, only a young girl stood in the middle of the street. The pages of the thick, worn spellbook in her hands glowed faintly.
As Kaelith looked the girl up and down, Boran, beside him, spewed his anger with a roar that tore through the silence. "ENOUGH! I'M SICK OF THESE DAMN SPELLS! I CAN'T MOVE AGAIN!" The giant man pushed his muscles to their limits, trying to break the invisible bonds, but it was in vain.
The girl threw her golden blonde hair back and looked at them with disgust. "Don't bother, you brute," she said, her voice filled with icy determination. "If I don't want you to move, you won't move. Vile, savage barbarians like you don't deserve to possess such an ancient book."
Kaelith managed to plant a crooked smile on his stiff lips. Feeling the cold pressure of the necklace hanging around his neck against his skin, he muttered sarcastically, "Come on now... Don't you think I'm a bit too stylish for a savage barbarian?"
"You reek of blood everywhere," the girl hissed. "Even your smell disgusts me. You slaughter people, you insult life itself. Taking a life means absolutely nothing to creatures like you!"
Kaelith just chuckled. Sorry, little lady, he wanted to say, I'm not an ordinary killer like you think. Just as he was gathering his words, that familiar and poisonous whisper echoed from the depths of his mind. Kaelith's consciousness wavered; in his mind, he felt himself fall to one knee.
You are exactly that, whispered Görü, with that mocking voice that clawed at the inside of his brain. Admit it, the girl is right. This is exactly what you are. The only life you've ever truly cared about in your entire life has been your own.
Are you back again, you pain in the neck? Kaelith thought, gritting his teeth. Görü, after spilling its poison, faded into silence just as it had come. From the outside, Kaelith looked like a madman laughing to himself.
The look of disgust on the girl's face gave way to curiosity for a brief moment. "How could someone like you use blood magic?" she asked, her voice thinning with astonishment. "You don't even carry a sword or a staff. Shouldn't you have already died, drowning in your own blood, as a result of using those cursed spells without suffering their drawbacks?"
As the spell's effect gradually weakened, Kaelith stretched and stood up straight. He cracked his neck. "Die? If only it were that easy... But it just doesn't happen, I simply can't die." He looked into the girl's eyes defiantly. "So, what are you going to do to us? You immobilized us, you had your say. Are we going to stare at each other like this until morning?"
Boran grunted. "This little witch came just to mock us!"
"I am taking this book back to where it belongs, to the Grand Duke's Archive," the girl said, pressing the glowing book to her chest. "If left to mercenaries like you, this beautiful knowledge would be wasted." She turned her back and stepped into the dark street.
Kaelith called after her. "The Grand Duke's Archive, huh? You're an academic, eh? Maybe if you stay with us, you can convince me, what do you say?"
The girl looked back over her shoulder mockingly. "Stay with you?" she laughed, and quickened her pace, disappearing from sight.
Boran turned to Kaelith in anger. "The girl practically stole the book right from under our noses! How are we going to break this spell?"
"Two hours at most," Kaelith said, maintaining his calm. "That girl doesn't have the magical capacity to hold this immobilization for hours. We'll be free in an hour, then we'll go after her. I need to deliver that book."
Boran frowned. "If that's the case, why did you invite her to come with us? Why did you trust her so quickly?"
Kaelith shrugged. He adjusted the collar of his purple cloak. "I don't know, she didn't seem like a very bad person to me. But if she had tried to do something to you, I would have killed her without hesitation."
Boran burst into a booming laugh. "To me? And who said that scrawny girl could do anything to me, Kaelith?"
Just as Kaelith predicted, after an annoying wait of about an hour, the invisible chains broke. The duo dashed into the forest after the girl without wasting any time. As Kaelith almost glided through the trees, Boran was left panting behind him.
"My friend!" shouted Boran, tearing through the bushes with his massive body. "I'm not as fast as you! What's the reason for rushing so much for this girl?"
"Because she was my mission!" Kaelith shouted through the howling of the wind. "If I can't deliver her, very bad things will happen to us, Boran!"
As the trees gradually gave way to the cobblestones of the city's outskirts, a cold pit formed in Kaelith's stomach. Görü wasn't speaking, but his mind was overflowing with guilt. How did I get caught so off guard? How did I drop my guard? I should have cast a counter-spell... Damn it! The stupid girl is putting her own life in danger and she doesn't even know it!
When they arrived at the crowded city center, they stood still amidst the shouts of merchants and the noise of horse-drawn carriages. How were they going to find a blonde girl in this sea of people?
"Let's ask around," Boran said. He grabbed the arm of a tradesman passing right by them. "Excuse me, have you seen a young girl with blonde hair carrying a thick spellbook around here?"
As Kaelith watched Boran's desperate efforts, that familiar, disgusting chuckle echoed in his mind again.
Look, Görü said. You've failed again, Kaelith. If you were good enough at your job, you wouldn't be endangering that innocent girl's life right now, would you?
The words pierced his mind like a poisoned arrow. Kaelith suddenly made his decision. "Boran!" he called out. The giant man turned to him from the crowd. "There's somewhere I need to go."
"Kaelith, stop! Where are you going?" Boran tried to catch up behind him, but Kaelith had already disappeared, blending into the crowd. He was running out of breath, as if he were racing against the Grim Reaper himself.
Black Lotus... Black Lotus... Black Lotus... These words were coming down like a hammer in his mind. I've hated this name since the first day I walked through that door.
When he turned into a narrow, damp, dead-end street, he saw the man in rags sitting on a broken barrel in the corner. The man didn't react in the slightest to Kaelith's arrival; he didn't even lift his head.
Kaelith paused and, trying to steady his breathing, asked, "May I enter?"
The man didn't say a single word. He gently touched his muddy hand to the wet stone wall next to him. At that moment, the texture of the wall rippled; the hard stone gave way to a dark and silent rift, seemingly made of ink. The door was like the mouth of a monster waiting to swallow Kaelith.
Kaelith stepped into the darkness without hesitation. He proceeded silently down the cold, mysterious, and dingy corridor. Towards the end of the path, the pitch blackness gave way to a dim, sickly green light. In the wide and humid room, five silhouettes awaited him. In the middle of the shadows, with two standing on the right and two on the left, was an old man sitting on a carved wooden throne. The upper-echelon members of the Black Lotus had gathered to pass judgment on Kaelith.
As Kaelith reached the center of the room, the old man's cracked voice broke the silence. "Welcome, Kaelith."
Kaelith settled for slightly bowing his head.
"Your failures have now crossed acceptable limits," the old man continued, his voice echoing off the walls. "Your behavior taints our guild's name. You, who used to be flawless in your missions, have been nothing but a disappointment in recent years. You were supposed to keep the captain on the ship alive! What were you aiming for by freeing the captives? Do you think you're some kind of hero? We didn't raise you to have such a weak heart." The old man leaned forward. "We are sick of your incompetence. I am personally initiating your trial. But do not think we are unjust; you may defend yourself against the five of us representing the Black Lotus."
"Let's see what your verdict on me will be," Kaelith said in an icy voice.
His eyes wandered among the shadows. The judge in the middle had to be Aluga, one of the upper Lotus stewards. Then his eyes caught the silhouette on the right. Lower Lotus Number Six, Viper. He used to be a rankless pawn like Kaelith, but he had risen rapidly thanks to his sycophancy towards Silas. The one next to him was probably his steward.
Am I this insignificant? Kaelith thought. Does a parasite like Viper see himself high enough to decide my fate?
The silence was broken by Viper's steward. "Master Aluga, I know you are here to represent Master Guyan. My proposal for Kaelith's fate is quite simple: Death." The steward looked at Kaelith with a sly smile. "If it weren't for Master Viper, that ancient book would have already been smuggled to the Grand Duke's Archive."
Kaelith's eyes opened wide. "Smuggled? What do you mean... Did you capture her? Where is the girl? Did you kill her?"
Viper's steward snapped his fingers mockingly. From out of the shadows, the blonde girl, tightly bound with magical purple ropes and her face covered in bruises, was thrown to the ground. The spellbook rested right beside her. Kaelith's breath caught in his throat.
"As you can see, Master Aluga," the steward continued. "This simple mission that a loser like Kaelith completely botched was handled by Master Viper in seconds. You show Kaelith too much tolerance; he does nothing but slow down our operations. Great Master Silas has no time to spare for rotten apples like him."
Kaelith swallowed hard, looking at the girl lying unconscious on the ground. "Did you kill her?" he whispered.
Stepping out from the shadows, Viper had a sickening smile of victory on his face. "What happened, Kaelith? Do you care so much about this miserable thief who caused you to ruin your mission and stole your book? Six years ago, when we went on missions shoulder to shoulder, you weren't such a weak and pathetic person."
Kaelith didn't answer. His jaw was twitching.
"SILENCE!" roared Aluga. He struck the armrest of his throne hard. "Stop talking among yourselves unless I permit it! Kaelith... Do you wish to defend yourself? To what do we owe this insubordination and your successive failures?"
Answer them, Kaelith, whispered Görü in his mind. They are asking you why you are so weak. Aren't you going to tell them the truth?
Kaelith's lips parted, but no sound came out. What could he even say? Looking at the ground, he maintained his silence.
"Son," Aluga said with a cold sigh. "If you are not going to answer, I will announce my verdict."
Kaelith took a deep breath and let his shoulders drop. "You are right," he said, his voice clear enough to fill the room. "I am a failure. I was caught off guard. I let the book be stolen, and I freed the captives of my own free will."
This defiant, careless attitude caused the council members to let out angry murmurs.
Aluga raised his hand into the air, silencing them. There was not a shred of pity in his eyes. "Kaelith... As the ultimate consequence of your dysfunction and insubordination, I have decreed your death. I authorize Viper and his steward to carry out your execution."
Aluga and the other two members vanished from the room in seconds, leaving a trail of black smoke in the air. The light dimmed even further. Only the captive girl, Viper, his steward, and Kaelith were left in the room.
Viper slowly drew the dagger at his waist. The cold sound of metal echoed off the stone walls. "Ah, Kaelith, Kaelith, Kaelith..." he murmured with fake sorrow. "Tell me, was it worth it? Now I'll have to kill you like a dog in this filthy dungeon."