Fairy Opera Chapter 18: Death of a Good Man

 

Death of a Grand Man

We piled into the dinghy. Jastle cast an invisibility spell over us and we pulled away from the walls. The Grand Mahogany waited to accept us just out of sight from the castle.

When we got on board, everyone was silent. Tae looked like she was about to cry. I was about to cry as well. Ami hugged me.

“Rock.” Ami pulled back. “You saved me. But I know you also lost a friend.”

I shook my head. “He knew the dangers going in. There’s nothing else we could have done.”

Ami shuddered and sat down on the deck. “I … Malgor wasn’t that bad to me. He never hurt me. I can’t believe he’d do something like that.”

“He didn’t hurt you?”

Ami shook her head. “He was going to perform some sort of ceremony with me. I think he wanted to summon a devil through me.”

“Summon a …” I tapped Ami on the head. “Then you’d better be glad we came for you in time.” I paused, and then started staring of into space.

“Do you think he’s really dead?” Tae put her hands on my shoulders. “Do you think that would have actually killed him? He’s a super resilient person. That couldn’t have actually killed him.”

“I think he’s dead.” Jastle crossed his arms. He seemed to be holding back his emotions. “That blow would have killed anyone.” He shook his head. “In any case, we’re gathering in the command room. Rock, you’re going to be our captain from now on. I trust that you’ll make the best decisions.”

“I understand.”

We went into the captain’s quarters. Jastle leaned on the table in the middle of the room with both hands. “At this point, we have two choices. Either we find an island that is hospitable to people the Empire is hunting for, or we join the rebellion.”

“I say we join the rebellion.” I balled my hands into fists. “I don’t know much about them, but I do know that the Empire will hunt us down if we don’t protect ourselves somehow.”

“Right.” Jastle turned to Tae. “How about you?”

“I agree with Rock.”

Jastle looked at Muco and Burgon. “How about you? Do you think we can complete the quest your master gave you with help from the Rebellion?”

Muco crossed his arms. “We don’t know much. We’re willing to go with you as long as you’re still actively looking into the matter.”

Burgon nodded. “I agree with my comrade.”

Jastle took out a map. “Then we’re going to have to head east. That’s where the Rebellion was last time I checked.”

“How long will the journey take?” I peered over the map.

Jastle pointed to an island near the edge of the map. “From where we are now, it will take about a month. We’re going to need to resupply at Crackle Island.”

“Okay. Let’s get that done.”

The meeting ended. I left the captain’s quarters and walked onto the aft deck, staring out at the sky. Before I knew it, tears were flowing down my cheeks. Ruby flew over to me and landed on my shoulder.

“I know it’s sad. You didn’t know him for long, but he was a good friend to you.”

I gripped the railing. “He was better than I knew.”

“But you managed to save your sister.”

“I know.” I was silent for a long while.

Ami came up next to me and leaned against the railing. “Rock, are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I wiped my face. “I’m okay. I did everything to protect you, and now that you’re back, I can relax.”

Ami hugged me. “Thanks for coming for me.”

Jak clapped both of us on the shoulder. “The family is reunited!” He laughed. “In any case, who would have thought that we’d be joining the Rebellion?”

“I never wanted to, but I think the Empire has forced our hand.” I sighed. “In any case, we’ve got a bit of down time before anything happens.” I pulled away from the railing. “It smells like Tae is cooking something.”

Jak, Ami, and I went down to the mess hall, where a number of sailors had already gathered. Tae was in the kitchen baking a cake.

“I didn’t know this ship had an oven.” I leaned over the counter that separated the kitchen from the mess.

Tae grinned. “This is a relic ship, remember? It’s got a lot of things that a normal ship doesn’t have.”

Muco and Burgon climbed down to the mess. They stood on either side of me. “Your cook really does know how to make good food.” Muco clapped me on the back. “Come on, lad. Come sit with us.”

I sat down with Muco and Burgon. Muco leaned forwards. “So, technomage. Tell me what you know about Scode.”

“I really know nothing more than your average magician.” I shook my head. “Somehow or another my understanding of the language merged with my understanding of Common.”

Muco leaned back. “That’s surely interesting. I’ve heard of several technomages from the time before, but I’ve never met one in person.” He chuckled. “I’ve been alive a long, long time.”

Burgon stretched his arms. “What I want to know is how you’re able to cast spells without reading them from scrolls.”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I really don’t know.”

Ami sat down next to me. “Who are these people?”

“They’re generals of Hades. Servants of Baphomet. They’ve joined us in exchange for our help in figuring out how the Empire is stealing souls.”

Ami looked at them and bowed. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Muco and Burgon looked at each other and then at Ami. “It’s our pleasure.” Burgon bowed.

“Pie’s ready!” Tae pulled a steaming-hot pie out from the oven and placed it on the counter.

Muco and Burgon cheered. “We love your pie, Ms. Tae!” Muco gulped down a flagon of beer and slammed it on the table before getting up and grabbing a piece of pie. Burgon followed afterwards.

Everyone got a piece. It was peach pie, made from preserved peaches that we had loaded aboard at Anerville. We hadn’t even known what we were loading in the chaos, so it was lucky that we managed to score something like this.

The mess hallway was filled with boisterous voices. The sailors seemed to be having a great time. We had food, we had a mission, and we were ready to get started.

The next morning, Jak approached me. “I know Orion was the one teaching you sword skills, but now that he’s gone, someone has to teach you how to fight.” Jak cracked his knuckles. “Now, I used to be an adventurer. I had the name Crimson Blade.” He shrugged. “Sorry I never told you.”

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t have believed you anyways.”

“Cheeky boy.” Jak then sighed. “But I’ll teach you what Orion no longer can. You need to learn how to handle a sword if you’re ever going to have a chance at survival.” He took out one training sword and tossed me another. We began sparring practice for that day.

The next two weeks were uneventful. Jastle taught me magic, Jak taught me swordsmanship. The ship headed inexorably towards Crackle Island.

Occasionally, Jastle would retreat back to his quarters for a while to work on his experiments. One day I asked if I could follow him.

“Sure, sure.” Jastle waved his hand. “I’ll let you see what I’m doing. You’re the one who’s paying me for it, after all.”

We entered Jatsle’s quarters, which were the quarters of the former first mate. It wasn’t a large room, but it was sizable enough for a ship. The whole room was covered in glass bottles, mixers, pipes, and other paraphernalia. Greenish and reddish liquids bubbled in containers. Smoke billowed from cones. Something hissed.

Jastle sat down in the chair facing one of the glass assemblies.

“What are you doing?” I leaned over Jastle’s shoulder.

Jastle lifted up a bottle of blue liquid. “I’m attempting to improve upon the health potion.”

“Health potion?”

“They’re very rare right now because of how difficult they are to produce. If you take one, your injuries will heal much faster. If I manage to find a way to easily create them, I could become rich.”

“So you’re not doing this for the greater good?”

“Why would I? That doesn’t benefit me.”

I sighed. “Okay. Yeah.” I looked at the glass bottles full of liquid that were on the table. “Hey, you messed up your ratios on that one?”

“Really? I did?” Jastle looked at me. “Okay then. Tell me the actual ratio.”

“You need a three to one ratio. The substrate needs an abundance of reactant. Also, you need to heat the mixture to about ten degrees hotter.”

“Where did you learn that, kid?” Jastle appeared a bit surprised.

“I don’t know. I just feel that this is the right way to go.”

Jastle nodded. “Okay then. I’ll try it.” He mixed the chemicals in the way I told him to. The resultant product was a dark purple, cloudy liquid. Jastle swirled the liquid in its container. “I think this is it. This is the right mixture.” He turned to me. “Kid, you’ve done great. Why don’t you help me out from now on?”

“Okay.”

For the next two weeks, we continued to sail, with my new place as Jastle’s lab assistant. Jak continued to teach me swordsmanship.

We arrived at Crackle Island about three weeks out from Grand Castle. The island was bustling.

Jastle approached me. “I’ve been forging some documents that will allow us to dock at the regular docking yard. Be sure to keep the real name of the ship hidden. The ship is right now known as the Guardian Angel.”

“Got it.”

“And if anyone asks, Jak is the captain.” Jastle lowered his chin. “You got that?”

“I got that.”

We brought a small party ashore. Jak, myself, Tae, Ruby in her gem form, and Muco. Dwarves were actually not that uncommon in the Empire, and were treated almost exactly like humans. We went down to the market.

Just as we were about to buy something, I heard a scream coming from the direction of the castle. The whole market started surging away from the castle.

A single Imperial inquisitor walked down from the castle area, holding a large white orb in his hand.

I pulled out a scroll. I had, in my free time, prepared for something like this after what I had heard at Anerville. The white orb. I had devised a way to defeat it.

“Null Orb. Retain soul, defend against black.” A small shield grew around us. I grabbed Tae and Jak and hugged them close to me.

The people in the market started collapsing to the ground. The orb radiated an energy that turned the eyes of its victims back into their heads. Then, a few moments later, they rose from the ground as zombies and started attacking the surviving people. The whole market was being turned undead. The inquisitor, a man in a black robe that covered his face, continued to walk along the market path. More and more people were converted into undead.

Several of the stall owners hid behind their merchandise. One of them looked at us and waved his hand.

I pulled Tae and Jak down next to him. Muco followed. We hunkered down beneath a crate of apples while the entire market was changed into zombies.

“Those damn Imperials.” Jak gritted his teeth. “They just don’t know when to stop.”

Muco grumbled. “So this is how my master’s souls are being stolen.” He rubbed his hands together. “I think I have a solution to this.” He stood up and pulled a scroll out. “Here goes!”

 

19

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