Fairy Opera: The Last Chapter

 

Party

I sat on the dock, watching the sun rise over the horizon. The skyfloor, far below the island, rippled with waves of green. The attack was coming. Activity around me displayed the tension of the moment. Sailors ran past me. Sails unfurled. Skysteel engines came to life.

Jak came up to me. “We’ve spotted the Ultimar coming towards us. We’re making the move to intercept. The plan should go as decided.”

“Right.” It was my mission to take down the Ultimar with the boon of the God Emperor. With my new magic ability, I had the power to bring the whole ship down. I developed a spell specifically for this purpose, programmed to hit both skysteel engines within the ship at once. I pulled out the scroll, checking over it one more time. I stood up. “Let’s get going.”

Our fleet of relic ships and captured Imperial vessels headed out from the docks. We sailed straight for the Imperial navy’s location. About an hour after leaving, we spotted the Ultimar, as well as two dozen support ships. Their formation was conservative in comparison to how they had attacked the previous time. A ring of protective ships floated around the Ultimar. It would be very difficult to get aboard this time. I needed to get to the upper deck skysteel engine to unleash my spell. Then I needed to be able to ditch the ship before it hit the skyfloor. These two things would prove to be very difficult, I knew.

Our ships engaged. Broadside cannons exploded as the Rebellion ships and Imperial ships came up to each other. The sky filled with smoke and cannon fire tore the air apart. Several ships went down within the first ten minutes, both sides taking equal losses.

Our ship, the Grand Mahogany, attempted to thread the line and slip through the ring of defending ships. We almost made it through the line of defense, but were caught at the last minute by an Imperial ship. We prepared to take boarding action. Two dozen Imperial marines leaped across the gap on ropes. We stood our ground and engaged.

Two marines faced up against me. I stepped forward with lightning speed and knocked one of them off the ship. He tumbled, screaming, down to the skyfloor. The second marine backed away from me. He held out his cutlass, taking up a defensive stance.

We traded a few blows. I feinted and ran him through with my blade. The marine staggered, clutched his wound, and fell backwards.

I wiped the blood off my sword and looked at the status of the battle. It looked like we had repelled the boarders. Our cannons opened fire and tore the attacking ship to pieces.

We broke through the line of defense and headed straight for the Ultimar. We were able to dodge a barrage of fire from the ship’s frontal cannons. When we were close enough to board, I turned to Jak and Tae. “Let’s do this.”

We leaped aboard the Ultimar, using ropes to carry our momentum. When we landed on the deck, dozens of marines were waiting for us. The battle on the deck devolved into a massive brawl. Jak, Tae, and myself slipped through the chaos and retreated down a hatch. I looked at a map of the ship and pointed in the direction that we were supposed to go.

About two minutes later we made it to the skysteel engine.

“I knew you would be coming.” A familiar face stepped out from the shadow. It was Malgor. He slashed his sword through the air, and then held out his hand. “Null skret.”

“Apropos!” I shouted out a counterspell.

Malgor snapped his fingers. “Precut.” His entire body lit up with energy. Tae and Jak froze next to me. Malgor approached me. “We’ve got a score to settle, don’t we?”

I held my sword out as well. “Indeed we do.” I stepped towards him. Then we both attacked. Our flurry of blocks and parries sent sparks flying. Even with my boon of the God Emperor, I was unable to find a chink in his impeccable armor. I wondered how I was able to defeat him the first time. I knew that, even if I did defeat him here, he would return just like before, through his arcane magic phylactery. But I still needed to get past him.

We exchanged more blows. Malgor’s attack cause me to slip. I hit the floor, holding up my arms.

Ruby flew out from my pocket and punched Malgor in the face. Even though it didn’t do much damage, it caused him to stagger for a moment and lose his concentration.

I recovered. Malgor lowered his sword. “You have grown much since we last fought.”

I shook my head. “I’ve been practicing for this moment.”

Malgor laughed. “It’s great, having a rival who you can see progress.” He held out his hand. “But you will see that you’re not the only one who has progressed.” He leaped for me, flipping over my head, attempting to strike me from above.

I performed a backflip at the same time. Our eyes locked as we flew past each other. I twisted and faced Malgor again. Malgor began jumping around, off the walls, kicking at me from every direction.

I blocked several attacks from above and behind. Malgor’s superior agility kept me from being a real threat.

I improvised a spell at that moment. “Null speed: degenerate!” The world shimmered and Malgor’s body slowed down. He fell to the floor, rolled, and got up.

“That’s nasty.” He sniffed, rubbing his chin. “Using magic without a spell. No fair.” He held out his sword. “Well, I guess we’ll have to settle this the old-fashioned way.”

We clashed again, our swords striking each other, as we parried, fainted, and attacked. Because of my boon from the God Emperor, I was tiring much slower than I would have. But Malgor didn’t seem to be tiring either. We continued to exchange blows.

“Ruby!” I leaped back, yelling out her name.

“Right on!” She flew straight for Malgor. Malgor swatted her away, but that left a tiny hole in his defenses, which I used to break through is guard and stab him in the side.

Malgor lifted his chin. “You’ve got me this time, child.” He staggered backwards. “But I will be back. And I will see this through.” Again, his body turned to dust, collapsing to the ground in a puff.

Tae and Jak unfroze. Both of them fell to the ground.

“What the?” Tae got up. “What happened? Where’s Malgor?”

“I defeated him. Not forever, but he’s gone for now.” I put my hand against the skysteel engine. “Null extra Bravos! Let my end be known! Target variable nine, let things come through!” I turned to Tae. “Let’s ditch this place.” I cast a fire spell to blast open the walls and leaped out into the open sky, followed by Tae and Jak. I cast a float spell, and we sat on a current of air as the Ultimar’s two skysteel engines exploded. The ship reared, and then plummeted to the skyfloor.

The zombies on board that ship would never have a chance to rampage through the Rebellion’s island. We had won a major victory here.

The remaining Imperial ships turned around and retreated. I could hear the cheers coming from our ships. I pushed our float spell back towards the Grand Mahogany. We got back on board and were greeted with smiles from our crew.

I pumped my arm in the air. “We’ve done it! We’ve won!”

Jak shook his head. “For now, that is.” He sighed. “But in any case, we’ve got to get back to the island and report our victory.”

About two hours later the surviving members of our fleet were docked at Gagna. Andrew hugged me when I stepped off the ship.

“You did it, lad. You saved us all.”

“The war isn’t over yet.” I looked up. “In fact, it’s just started. There are a lot of battles that we’re going to have to fight.”

Andrew bowed. “Yes. I understand that. But with you on our side, I doubt that we’ll ever fail.”

I grinned. “Thanks for believing in me.” I turned towards Jak and Tae. “And thank you two as well.”

About a day later, I stood at the courtyard of the castle keep, in front of a large crowd. Tae and Jak stood next to me. A knight in full armor stepped towards us, bearing medals, while a band played pompous music. The three of us were awarded medals, and Andrew held up his hand.

“The battle is not over yet!” He lowered his hand. “But with people like this on our side, how can we ever lose?”

The crowd cheered.

Fairy Opera Chapter 38: Bid

 

Bid

Tae, Jak and I sat at our table, eating, without displaying our nervousness. The constables started fanning through the dining room. One of them came up to us, holding a paper in his hands. Just as he was about to speak, the door to the inn opened and Rist walked in. He saw the constables and approached them.

“What are you doing?”

One of the constables bowed. “Sir Rist. We’re just looking for the alleged fugitives who have taken up hiding in this inn.”

Rist shook his head. “Those are no fugitives, Mr. Bandy. They’re my guests. I will not have them treated poorly.”

Mr. Bandy bowed again. “Very well then. I will bring this matter to my superior. In the meantime, have a nice day.” He gathered his men and left the inn.

Rist sat down at our table. “I had a hard time getting here unnoticed.” He took out a scroll. “I’ll make sure that we aren’t overheard.” He cast a spell that, basically, blocked our voices from going anywhere outside the table. Rist leaned forward. “The fracture is deepening. The establishment party plans to gather its army and pull off a coup. Their mission is to absorb the power of the God Emperor and utilize it for themselves. They’ve nearly succeeded.” He tapped on the table. “Only the Rebellion can tip the balance. I’ve decided that the disestablishment party will back the Rebellion as much as we can.” He spread some documents onto the table. “I’ve been looking for the assassins who killed some of your leadership. I’ve found that they’re working for the Wright Assassin Guild. If we can get together a negotiation with them, we may be able to put a stop to the assassination attempts.”

I nodded. “Okay. Then bring us there now.”

Rist stood up. “Let’s go. It’s getting dark out, and the capitol is dangerous after dark.”

“I think I can handle myself.”

“While I don’t doubt that you can, at the very least I insist you be cautious.”

We exited the inn and came out to find a group of masked men waiting for us.

I held up my hand. “Excuse me, gentlemen. What can I help you with this fine evening?”

“We’ve been paid to kill you.” The guy who looked most important pointed at me.

I cracked my knuckles. “I haven’t had a chance to test out the boon of the God Emperor.” I held up my hand. “Stay back, everyone. I’ll handle this.”

The man in charge looked a bit impressed. “There are twelve of us. How are you going to—”

I rushed forward and smashed his chin apart with an uppercut that sent him flying backwards. Two more of the men charged me, one on each side. I pulled out two fires scrolls.

“Null Bravos! Explode!”

Both men caught fireballs to the face and collapsed. Four more of the men charged me. I knocked one out with a spinning kick, slammed my palm into another one’s stomach, elbowed the teeth out of the third, and snapped the arm of the fourth with my wrists. All four men lay on the ground.

The remaining five men surrounded me. I cracked my neck. “Come at me.” They charged as one. I performed a spinning kick that took out all five men at once. I stood, victorious, over a pile of unconscious bodies.

Tae started clapping. “Wow.”

Rist came up to me. “Praise the God Emperor.” He looked down at the unconscious assassins. “We’ll take care of these thugs.”

I bowed. “Thank you.”

Rist pulled out a communication scroll. “Yeah, this is Rist. I’ve got a cleanup near the inn, Frist street. Yeah, they’re thugs. No, don’t bother. Thanks.” He let his hand fall. “Very well. Let’s go.”

Rist led us across the city, to a large mansion against the cliff that formed the island’s east side. The mansion looked old, but well-managed. Rist knocked on the door.

A man opened a small slit and looked through. “Eh? What do you want?”

“We’ve come to negotiate with the Wright Guild.”

“Very well.” Several metallic clicks later, the door opened. We stepped through, passing by the doorman, who was a buff man wearing a suit.

We entered the mansion proper. A pale, vampiric man came to greet us. He bowed.

“My name is Apple.” He returned to standing straight. “What can I help you with?”

“We’ve come to outbid a hit that was placed with your organization.”

“Ah, of course.” Apple rubbed his hands together. “There’s nothing more profitable than a bidding war.” He motioned to a long desk against the east side of the room. “Sit.”

We sat. Apple put on some spectacles and started sorting through papers. “Which hit would you like to outbid?”

“The hit on the leaders of the Rebellion.” I leaned forward.

Apple sighed. “That was a very expensive hit. Over two hundred gold pieces were paid in advance.”

I clenched my fist. “I have more money than that right here.” I pulled out the scroll that would let me access my item box. Once I cast it, a small portal appeared in the air. I reached into it and pulled out a small, but heavy, chest.

Apple lifted his spectacles. “It’s not everyday that you see something like this.” He lifted his chin. “I can use you. Perhaps we can make a deal that does not involve gold.”

“Okay. What do you need?”

“We have been working on a certain magical spell that will allow us to do a certain kind of job with more ease.” Apple rubbed his hands together. “Since you are obviously proficient with magic, I would like you to assist in the creation of such a spell.”

“How do you know I’m proficient? I just used a spell.”

“I am a good judge of people.” Apple stood up. “Follow me. I have not yet heard your names. I know sir Rist here, but not you three.”

“Rock.” I started walking.

“Tae.” She crossed her arms.

“Jak.” Jak lifted his chin.

We followed Apple through a series of hallways and into a small room that was filled with scroll paper. I looked around and noticed that there were a number of burn marks along the walls.

Apple handed me a scroll. “This is what we have created so far.”

I took a quick look. It was primitive at best. “Do you know how to use libraries?”

“Libraries?” Apple appeared puzzled. “I do not know what those are.”

“Then you’re really bad at this.” I sighed. “Well, give me a day in here, and I’ll have your invisibility scroll up and running.”

Apple sat down. “I want to watch. Explain everything you’re doing, step by step.”

“Okay.” I began an explanation of libraries, or Scode, and of hierarchies and such. Tae and Jak stepped aside and started playing Mako. Rist watched intently as I told Apple what I was doing.

“Oh!” Rist watched as I synthesized a library. “That is what you were talking about! I did not even know you could do that!”

Apple appeared impressed as well. “You have a knack for this sort of thing.”

“That’s because I am a technomage.” I wrote down a few more lines of Scode, then picked up the scroll and handed it to Apple. “There you have it. Now call off the assassination of my people.”

Apple’s eyes turned hard. “Five hundred gold.”

“Excuse me?” I tiled my head.

Apple lifted his chin. “That’s what I consider this to be worth in the bidding war. Five hundred gold.”

“Okay.” I handed Apple the chest as well. “That contains about three hundred. So the total is eight hundred.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I am not a poor man.”

“You’re really young to be throwing around this much money,” Apple paused, “But, seeing what you can do with magic, I don’t think it’s so strange.” He stood up. “I will go consult with my people. I’ll send an escort with you back to where you are staying.”

I stood up and bowed. “Thank you very much.”

Apple smirked. “If you ever want a job as an assassin, you know who to contact.” He handed me a small business card. I placed it in my pocket.

We left the mansion and returned to the docks. I bowed. “Rist, thank you for helping us. We’ll repay you in kind.”

“Let me tell you now. The Empire is preparing for a full-scale assault on the headquarters of the Rebellion. You have one month before the Ultimar is well enough to strike.” Rist bowed. “I thank you for your help. God speed, Rock.”

We got aboard our ship and left the dock. It took us two weeks to sail back to Gagna, and when we arrived, Andrew was there to greet us at the docks. We shook hands.

“Did you get everything handled?”

“We outbid the assassins.”

“I see.” Andrew sighed. “How much?”

“We paid three hundred gold.”

“Good. That’s not an unreasonable price.” He turned away. “Our Syndicate spies have found that the Empire intends to invade us soon. This time, they’re bringing their undead army.” He started walking towards the castle. “Come with me. We need to coordinate our defenses.”

We followed Andrew to the castle, and then to the meeting room, where the leaders of the Rebellion were standing around a large war table.

We discussed the attack, and how we were going to fortify the island. The last attack had almost resulted in our loss. Now that we knew they were coming, we could prepare fortifications on the island, like cannon and mines. We spent several hours going over the various defensive measures that we were planning to utilize.

After the meeting was over, I came with Jak, Tae, Ami, and Amber to the Green Dagon for dinner. We ordered our food.

Ami turned to me. “Rock, you look a lot stronger than before.”

“That’s because I acquired the God Emperor’s blessing.”

“But we’re fighting against the God Emperor, right?”

“The God Emperor, from what I saw, doesn’t really care about what’s going on in the realm. He’s a bit of an anarchic type.”

“Oh.” Ami lowered her chin. “I see.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything stupid.” I turned to Amber. “Are you doing all right?”

Amber bowed. “Yes. I am. Thank you for being so kind to me. You and Ami.”

Ami hugged Amber. “She can sing really well. She’s a wonderful musician.”

Amber blushed. “It’s nothing.”

Jak leaned back in his chair and laughed. “It’s great that we’re all here together. Before the final battle, before the night falls.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to defeat the Empire when they come?” I turned to Jak.

Jak put his fist into his palm. “Yes. Without a doubt, we will send those imperial scumbags to the skyfloor.”

Tae looked at me. “About the zombies. We know they’re coming. Do you think you can pull the same trick you did at Billerstrang?”

“Maybe. It really depends on how prepared the Empire is. If they heard about what happened in Billerstrang, then they’ll probably have prepared a countermeasure against such a thing. But we can’t know for sure. Like I discussed at the table, we may be able to deploy my cure as a mas weapon, but that is an unknown variable.”

Tae nodded. “Great. At the very least it will give them something to think about.” She clapped her hands together. “In any case, I’m hungry.”

The barmaid came with our food and placed it on the table. We started digging in. It was really good, fowl meat, pork, eggs. A great dinner. A great last celebration of what had passed, and what was to come.

When the meal was over, I left the table and, alone, returned to the room, where I climbed onto the windowsill and sat. I watched the night fall, my mind clear, thinking of things to come.

 

39

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Fairy Opera Chapter 37: Entry

 

Entry

I turned to Rabar. “Are you a member of the disestablishment party?”

Rabar nodded. “I’m just a lowly priest. If you wish to speak with our leadership, I’m not the one for you.”

I took the letter I was about to take out and returned it to my pocket. “Okay. Can you get us a meeting with the leadership?”

Rabar shook his head. “No. We’re on a no-contact order right now. The tension within the church of the God Emperor has grown recently.”

“So you can’t get us a meeting with your leaders.”

Rabar sighed, lifting up his hands. “If I could, I would. I know you have something valuable to give to our leader.”

I looked at Elco and Cliss. “Do either of you have a way into the cathedral?”

Elco shook his head. “The cathedral is locked down tight at all times.”

“A while back I spoke with the grand cardinal Rist. He used a teleport spell to get me into the cathedral itself.”

Rabar’s eyebrows went up. “You met with the grand cardinal?”

“I did. I also spoke with the God Emperor. He gave me a boon.”

“A boon?” Rabar bowed. “Then you have more influence in the church than I can ever hope to have.”

“But that won’t help us, because I’m supposedly on the run. If the establishment party knew where I was, they’d hunt me down. In fact, I believe they’ve been doing it for a while now. I’ve already fought off one group of assassins.”

Rabar sighed. “Very well, then. We shall attempt to find you a method of entering the cathedral.” He turned to Cliss. “Do you Syndicate men have any ideas?”

“We do not.” Elco shook his head. “But we know someone who may, just maybe, have a map of the ancient church the cathedral was built on. If we can locate that map, then we’ll know of any secret tunnels that go into the place.”

“Where can I find this person?” I stood up.

Elco shrugged. “I do not know. He is a very reclusive person, never accepting visitors.” He lifted up his palms. “You’re going to have to look for him yourself.”

“How do I look for him if I don’t even know his name?”

Elco sighed. “Look. I wish I could help you more, but at this point there’s really nothing we can do. The church must sort out its own beef without us.”

“Okay. I’m going to figure out a way into the cathedral anyways. With or without this mystery person.” I pulled out the same tracking spell that I had used to see the assassins that had killed Jerimiah. I cast it, changing a few of the variables so that I could draw upon the knowledge of the people in the room.

I saw the person I needed, in a shop at the other side of the capitol. He was wearing a long cloak and had two swords by his side. I shut down the spell and then turned to Tae and Jak. “We’re going. I know where this person is now.”

Rabar stood up. “What kind of magic did you just use?”

“A custom spell. Nothing for you to worry about.” I shrugged. “If you want to come, you can. You might be of help.”

Rabar shook his head. “No. I don’t want to go out in the open right now. The church is in turmoil and priests are being attacked in the streets.”

I turned to Elco and Cliss. Both of them shook their heads. I nodded. Jak, Tae, and I left the underground room and crossed the city to the place where I had seen the man we were searching for. We reached the shop, just as the man in the hood was leaving. I stepped in front of him and stopped him.

The man appeared annoyed. “What do you want?”

“You have a map of the old church, right?”

The man looked both ways. “Who told you that?”

“I heard it from the Syndicate.”

The man groaned. “Ah, you’re with them. I don’t deal with the Syndicate anymore.”

“No, we’re not with the Syndicate. We just happened to get their help.”

“So who are you, then? Who are you with?”

“The Rebellion.”

The man’s eyes lit up. “Goodness.” He turned. “Then follow me.”

We followed him through the city until we came to a short tenement building. We entered, going to the third floor. The man opened a door and we stepped into his apartment. It was cluttered, with papers everywhere, as well as pieces of machinery and glass objects.

The man sat down in the only clear chair in the room. “Sit, sit.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere.” The man shrugged.

I brushed newspapers off of a crate and sat down on it. Tae and Jak did the same, finding seats where they could.

The man leaned forward. “My name is Crystal. What’s yours?”

“Tae.” Tae bowed.

“Jak.” Jak crossed his arms.

“Rock.” I nodded.

Crystal lifted his chin. “Very well then. You are with the Rebellion and you wish to take advantage of the current turmoil within the church leadership.”

“That’s about right.”

“And to do that you need entry into the cathedral.”

“Correct.”

Crystal sighed, picking up a pipe and lighting it. He puffed. “Very well then. If you allow me to plumb your memories, I will give you my map.”

“Plumb our memories? Why?”

Crystal puffed his pipe. “You see, I am a memory collector. One of the very few left in this world. I collect memories and store them, study them, and make use of them. So, in exchange for me giving you that map, you allow me to harvest your memories.”

I lifted my chin. “Then go ahead.”

Crystal put his pipe down. He walked up to me and placed his hands on my temples. He then looked me straight in the eyes. He pressed his forehead to mine.

A shock ran through my entire body. From my earliest memories, all my experiences played through my mind at lightning speed. I felt as if a funnel were sucking away everything in my head. This feeling lasted for about a minute, until Crystal pulled away. He sat down, resting his chin on his palm.

“You are an interesting fellow. Speaking with the God Emperor mano a mano is something that very few people have done. I shall treasure these memories. Next!” Crystal repeated the process with Tae and Jak.

“Tae. You have been strong your whole life, especially for Rock. You are a good person at heart but sometimes you have trouble expressing that. While your experiences have been somewhat normal, there are a few interesting things about you.” Crystal turned to Jak. “You were an adventurer. One of the best in the world. You decided to settle down in order to raise the children of your late brother.” Crystal held up his hands. “You are quite the honorable person.” He grabbed his pipe again and puffed it. “Very well. I shall give you the map that you seek.” He got up and started searching through the pile of papers on his desk. “No, no, this isn’t it. Where did I place that thing? Here, no here?” He shuffled through the papers. “Ah, here we are.” He pulled a large scroll out from underneath a pile of papers. He then took the scroll to the table in the middle of the room. Brushing off everything else, he set the scroll on its surface.

I leaned closer to take a look at it. It was a map of the old church that the cathedral had been built on. The map itself was probably hundreds of years old. I could see several passageways into the church that were probably forgotten.

Crystal pointed to one of those passages. It was a small tunnel that went underneath the former graveyard and came up in a cloister for one of the monks. If we could find the entrance to this tunnel, we would have a clear pathway to entry.

I took the map off the table and rolled it up. “Thank you.”

Crystal grinned. “Let me come with you.”

I blinked a few times in surprise. “Why would you want to come with us? You’re just going to endanger your life for no reason.”

“I’ve seen who you are.” Crystal stood up. “I want to see what happens to you. Do this as a favor to me.”

I sighed. “Okay. You get to stay with us. Just don’t drag us down.”

“I used to be an adventurer myself.” Crystal pointed to his chest. “I can hold my own in a battle.”

I nodded. “Then welcome aboard.”

We left the tenement and exited onto the street. The streets were packed, so we blended in well, without arousing any suspicion. We reached the small clearing behind the cathedral where the tunnel’s entrance supposedly existed. I cast a detection spell, a simple one, and located the tunnel’s entrance. It was behind a hastily-constructed brick wall. I pulled away the bricks with ease, their mortar having crumbled long ago. When I did, I came across the entrance to the tunnel. The tunnel was damp and dark. Dripping water echoed along its length.

We entered. I cast a light spell and held the ball of light above my head. The tunnel was tall, but narrow, only allowing us to travel single-file.

We traveled for about fifteen minutes until we came to the exit location, which was a monk’s cloister. We entered the cloister. It was abandoned.

Crystal began to search the room.

“What are you looking for?”

Crystal picked up a small red gem, about the size of a fingernail. “All monks possess one of these.” He closed his eyes. “Ah, yes. The memories. I know exactly where to head now.” He returned the gem to its original location.

We followed Crystal through the hallways outside the cloister. It was abandoned. No one had used it for ages. We did not meet a single person—which was quite lucky in my book.

Then we came to a small balcony overlooking one of the minor church rooms. There were a few monks praying in front of the small altar. We retreated back into the hallway to search for a different route.

Crystal led us to the office area. We snuck around, hiding behind planters and statues, until we came to Rists’s office. Or at least, Crystal was sure of it.

I knocked.

“Come in.”

We entered. Rist was sitting at his desk, writing in a scroll. He looked up and then did a double take. “By the God Emperor. It’s Rock.” He set down his pen. “How in hell did you get in here?”

“I’ve got no time.” I handed Rist Andrew’s letter. “We’re in trouble. We need your help to stop the assassination attempts on our leadership.”

Rist took the letter. “I know I said that I would support you and all, but this really isn’t the right time. The church is experiencing a fracture and we need everyone on deck to keep it from happening.” Rist opened the letter and read it. “Okay. I see now. You’re asking us to help you.” He set the letter down. “I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, please leave the cathedral. It’s far too dangerous for you to be here. I will meet you at the Orange Tower Inn at nightfall. God speed.”

I nodded. “Okay.” We left the office and returned to the tunnel without any incident. When we came out into the small clearing, Crystal looked up. “I can hear the rain.”

By the time we made it to the Orange Tower Inn, it was pouring. We ducked inside. The inn was normal, with a few patrons scattered across the tables. We took a table and sat down, ordering food once the barmaid came up to us. When the food came, we dug in.

Just then, the doors burst open and a number of Imperial constables entered. “We’re looking for the fugitives!”

I eyed Tae. “Stay calm.”

Tae nodded. “Okay.”

 

38

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Fairy Opera Chapter 36: Separation

 

Separation

A desk shattered as Jak flew backwards. He hit the wall and collapsed onto the ground. After a few moments, Jak got up, rubbing his back. “My god that was powerful.” He chuckled. “I feel like I’ve been kicked by a horse.” He cracked his neck.

I made an awkward smile. “I did my best to hold back.”

“If that was you holding back,” Jak held out his hand, “Then you really have been given an amazing boon by the God Emperor.”

We shook hands. Jak turned to look at the desk he had destroyed.

“Um, sorry about that.”

“No, no worries. It wasn’t a very nice desk anyways.” I bent down. “But, uh, now I need a new desk.”

“We’ll get you one.” Jak crossed his arms.

“I kind of need one to write my new spell.” I sighed. “Well, we can go search for a desk in the castle that I can borrow. I’m sure there are extras all over the place.” I stood up, brushing off my hands. “You want to help?”

“Right.” Jak, Tae, Ami, and Amber followed me out of the room. Ami and Tae went one direction, while Jak, Amber, and I went in another direction. We searched high and low for another desk. Eventually we found one in an unused side room.

Jak looked at it. “This is a nice piece of furniture.” He crossed his arms. “But it looks heavy. We may have some trouble getting it to your office.” He bent over and looked at its underside.

I laughed. “Did you forget that I’m a mage?” I pulled out a float spell—the same one I had used to float the crates during the attack on the Ultimar.

Jak tapped his forehead. “I’m an idiot for not thinking of that.”

“Yeah.” I cast the spell and the desk rose up and floated about half a foot off the ground. We carried the desk through the halls and back to my office, where Ami and Tae were already standing. They turned to face us as we came through the door.

“You found a desk.”

I set the desk down by cancelling the spell. The desk thumped as it hit the floor. I moved my chair up to it.

Jak, Ami, Tae, and Amber watched me as I took out a mage’s pen and started writing the spell. This was going to be a complicated spell that would draw upon at least three sets of libraries. I worked on that spell for the rest of the day. Amber and Ami began to play a game of cards. Jak lit up a pipe and smoked, staring out the window. Tae played with a couple of paperclips. When the spell was done, I lifted up the scroll and the committed it to my scroll storage pocket. I stood up.

“We’re good. I have what we need.”

Ami and Amber looked at me. Jak stood up. Tae lifted her chin.

We left the room and returned to Andrew’s office. He was inside, working on paperwork. When I entered he looked up.

“Did you finish creating the spell?”
“I did.” I put my hand on Andrew’s desk. “We should hurry, though. The longer we wait after the incident, the less accurate my spell will be.”

Andrew put down his pen and stood up. “Then let us proceed.” We left the office, left the castle, and returned to the spot where Jerimiah had been murdered. I knelt next to the remaining bloodstains and pulled out my scroll.

“Null Sensory. Supplication, assign variables to all individuals. Initiate function: where have the people gone. Exert.” The spell in my hand glowed, shooting beams of light over the area. A holographic projection appeared above the spot, showing Jerimiah just as he was being murdered. With a handwave, I paused the motion. Two masked men with swords had snuck up behind him and skewered him. I waved my hand in a specific motion and time began to go backwards. The masked men walked, backwards, away from Jerimiah. I followed them. Down the street. Across the castle grounds. To a small warehouse at the edge of town. The assassins had come from in there. We entered the warehouse. The place was deserted, but dust patterns told that someone had been there recently.

I watched as my spell expanded its scope. The masked men met with two people whose faces were indistinct, probably because they were so far from the spell’s casting location.

I held up my hand. We were just able to make out their words.

“You cannot fail us. The Rebellion must be crippled if we are to succeed. The Empire cannot fracture again. We must destroy all that come in between us and our goal of consuming the God Emperor.”

“Consuming?” The spell faltered, and then ended. The holographic forms disappeared. I turned to Andrew. “They want to consume him?”

Andrew shook his head. “It is as I feared. When you spoke of a fracture in the leadership of the Empire, I did not think that it would be this serious.” He put his fist into his palm. “But we can make use of this. The Rebellion set out to stop the tyranny of the God Emperor, but from your experience it seems like he really isn’t the core problem in this situation.”

“Right.” I thought for a moment. “We need to bring this information to the disestablishment party of the church.”

“That may be easier said than done.” Andrew shook his head. “I doubt they’ll listen.”

I rubbed my neck. “We can try. I think I can call up Rist, my contact with the disestablishment party.” I pulled out a communications scroll. However, when I cast it, the spell fizzled. “That’s strange. This should contact him.” I tried it again, and the spell fizzled again.

“It’s probably because there’s a barrier around the capital.” Andrew sighed. “We’re going to have to go there in person.”

I gritted my teeth. “Then let’s get there. If we can make an ally out of the disestablishment party, then we may be able to push our win conditions.”

Andrew lifted his chin. “Then go. Bring who you need, and take our fastest ship. We’re going to negotiate an alliance with the part of the church that is against these people. We may be able to sunder the entire church into pieces.”

I turned to Jak. “Will you come with me?”

“Of course.” Jak grinned. “I’m always willing to go on an adventure with you.”

We left the warehouse. Andrew called up some of his people to search the place and see if there was anything we could use. We returned to the castle and Andrew wrote a letter, which he handed to me.

“Keep that sealed. Hand it to the person in charge of the disestablishment party.” Andrew took my hand in his. “And don’t die. We need your power to fight the final battle.”

“I understand.” I took the letter. “I won’t fail the Rebellion.”

Andrew nodded. “I’ll negotiate with the Syndicate to give you a contact in the capital.”

I nodded. “Thanks. We’ll need all the help we can get.”

Jak, Tae, and I returned to the docks, where we boarded the Titch, the fastest ship currently in port. About thirty sailors came with us. We cast off from the docks and headed out into open sky.

The capital was three week’s sail away, past numerous heavily-populated islands, as well as through many well-traveled merchant routes. We hoisted a flag of a merchant trading company, so hopefully we wouldn’t be too suspicious, but there was always a possibility that some Imperial vessel would stop us and then see through our ruse. We sailed for about one week before it happened.

An Imperial guard frigate approached us and ordered us to stop. We stopped. The ship pulled up next to us and a boarding dinghy was dropped. Five Imperial men, including an Imperial officer, boarded the Titch. The officer tapped his cane on the deck.

“Can I speak to your captain?”

Jak, who was acting as the captain in this capacity, stepped forward. “What can we help you with, sir?”

The officer grimaced. “My name is Officer Maldo. I’m with the Imperial anti-smuggling brigade. I’d like to take a look at your cargo.”

We had filled the ship with fleece to prepare for this exact situation. Fleece was a very low-danger trade good. Officer Maldo went belowdecks and examined our storage.

“Your fleece has not been sectioned by the grand office.” Officer Maldo wrote something on a piece of paper. “We’re going to have to impound these goods and bring you and your ship to port Denithan.”

We couldn’t do that. We didn’t have enough time. Going off track by so much would derail our entire plan.

I motioned to Jak. He nodded. The crew members in the room, as one, tackled the officer and his men. Without much effort, we managed to tie them up with ropes. I pulled out a scroll with a memory wipe spell on it. When I cast it, Officer Maldo and his men became very suggestable.

“You’ve found nothing of note on this ship.”

Maldo’s eyes were glazed over. “I have found nothing of note on this ship.”

I nodded. “You are going to let us go.”

“I am going to let you go.”

“Good. You will forget everything except what I have told you.”

“I will forget.” Maldo’s eyes flickered.

We untied them and dragged them up to the deck, where I ended the spell. Maldo looked around, a questioning expression on his face. “Oh. Right, right. I forgot to give you the goods pass.” He stood up. “My head hurts.” He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Jak. “You’re good to go. Sorry for bothering you. You see, there have been a lot of smuggling attempts recently. Something about problems brewing in the church. But don’t tell anyone I told you that.”

“We won’t.” Jak pocketed the paper. “Have a good day.”

Officer Maldo and his men got back into the boat and floated across to the Imperial frigate.

Jak leaned over and whispered to me. “You did a banger job, Rock. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“Right. I just did my part.”

We sailed away from the ship, heading towards the capital. We passed by numerous merchant ships, but didn’t encounter another guard ship. Two weeks later we arrived at the capital. It was a gigantic island, about ten times the size of Gagna, covered in buildings. We headed for the eastern dock complex and moored our ship there. We chose a few of our more savvy sailors to deal with the fleece. In order to not draw attention we needed to act like we were a merchant ship, and that meant unloading and selling our fleece.

Jak, Tae and I got off the ship and headed for our Syndicate contact. He approached us at the edge of the dock, wearing a hood.

“You’re the people?” He pulled back his hood to reveal that he was an elf. “I can smell the power of you.” He pointed to me. “Yeah, that’s right. You’re the one’s I’m looking for.” He brought his hood back up. “Follow me.”

We followed him into a small alleyway, where he opened a side door. We came to a stairwell, which we climbed to the third floor of the building. There was a small number of rooms. We entered the last room along the hallway.

Two people were already sitting there. One of them was clearly a member of the church. The other was a member of the Syndicate. The elf sat down.

“My name is Elco.” The elf pointed to the church member. “That is Rabar.” He pointed to the other Syndicate member. “And Cliss.”

Both Rabar and Cliss bowed.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

 

37

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Fairy Opera Chapter 35: Boon

 

Boon

The doors swung open. I stepped onto the roof of a massive industrial-gothic complex, complete with towering pillars, gothic flairs, and stained-glass windows. At the end of the walkway stretching out from the doors, a skeleton sat on a throne. Dozens of hoses and pipes were attached to the skeleton, glowing deep red. This was him. The God Emperor. Twelve priests on either side of the walkway bowed. I stepped forward.

The God Emperor’s eyes looked straight into mine. Unlike the skeleton-like form of his main body, the God Emperor’s eyes were brilliant. We locked gazes. I could feel the immense energy flowing through me, energy that would have caused a normal person to lose their mind.

“What are you doing?” Rist grabbed me.

I pushed him aside. The priests on either side of me stepped back and did not stop me.

I came to the bottom of the God Emperor’s throne. Kneeling down, I began to speak in Scode.

“Oh holy one. I must ask you a question regarding your followers.”

The God Emperor spoke. His voice came through several layers of mechanical synthesis, sounding robotic yet magnanimous. He spoke in clear Scode.

“Little one.” The God Emperor’s eyes trained themselves on me. “My followers do what they do. I came, I saw, I conquered. New ages come and old ages go. Who are you to put yourself within the deep complexities of time? Ask your question and go.”

“Do you support the zombification of your nation’s people? Do you support the heinous suppression of freedom and prosperity that your followers implement?”

“I could care less about the actions of mortals.” The God Emperor’s seat hissed as steam flowed through it. “You do what you do. I have passed my prime and I sit upon this throne, alone. All I wanted, I received.”

“So you say you aren’t taking sides.”

The god Emperor laughed, a sound which caused the priests surrounding me to cringe and fall to the ground. “Sides! As if the people who worship me actually want to hear me!” He chuckled. “You are a strange one. Your knowledge of the ancient language is fluent. I shall gift you a boon. Ask for whatever you want and I shall grant your wish.”

“Okay. I want freedom for my people and the ability to self-govern for the Rebellion.”

The God Emperor was silent. Then he spoke again. “That is a complicated request you have given me.” His chair hissed with steam again. “Very well. I shall give you a weapon that will allow you to forge your own destiny.”

Ruby flew out from my pocket.

I shouted at her. “No!”

Ruby flew up to the God Emperor’s face and pointed her arm straight at him. She put her other hand on her hips. “Hm. You’re a lot skinnier than I thought you would be.”

Surprisingly, the God Emperor spoke to Ruby with audible respect. “Old one.” The God Emperor’s tone was almost deferential. “I see you have chosen to pair yourself with this young man.”

“Ah, so the underclassman knows his place.” Ruby grinned, putting both her hands on her hips. “Very well. I accept your offer of assistance. What are you going to give my ward? And what do you want in return?”

The God Emperor laughed again. “Good, good. Technomage, I have chosen my boon to you. You shall receive the strength and magical power of a hundred men. You shall receive the ability to forge the destiny of your people. I cannot see the future far enough to know where you will end up.” The God Emperor’s chair hissed. Golden energy flowed out from the pipes and surrounded me. I lifted up into the sky, my entire body tingling. My vision doubled in power. I could see the individual tiles on a building half a mile away. My breathing deepened. My hearing increased to the point where I could hear blood pumping in the priests’ veins. My entire body felt stiffer, more powerful.

The God Emperor’s chair hissed again. “Now that we have decided that, I shall ask my priest here what he wanted from me and why he woke me from my sleep.”

Rist approached the God Emperor, never looking him in the eyes. Speaking in Scode, he bowed. “God Emperor. Your people have been fighting. I wish for your wise guidance.”

“Pah.” The God Emperor shook his head. “Sort that out yourselves. Petty rivalries do not interest me.”

Rist held his nose to the ground. “Then please tell me why you treated my friend here with so much grace.”

“Because he has power, peon.” The God Emperor sounded annoyed. “Get out of my presence so that I may take my rest.”

Rist grabbed me and pulled me back along the walkway and through the doors, back down the staircase and into the chapel. He sat down on a gilded chair, breathing heavily.

“You’ve got balls, kid.” He rubbed his hair. “You’re lucky the God Emperor was in a good mood.”

Ruby flew out from my pocket. “I think he just knew his place.”

Rist looked at Ruby while tilting his head. “I’m sorry, but who are you? Are you a fairy?”

“I am!” Ruby landed on my shoulder, her arms crossed. “Well, I understand why you worship someone like that. He certainly has the presentation part down.”

Rist sighed, leaning back in the chair. “I just cannot believe that you would speak directly with his holiness.”

“I, ah, well, did you get most of the conversation?”

“Right. He promised you a boon. And he gave it to you.” Rist rubbed his temples. “This complicates things. As you are now a scion of the God Emperor, you should be immune to inquisitorial investigation. However, I do not know how the establishment side of the chuch will interpret these signs.”

“Does the God Emperor give out boons often?”

“You are the first person I have ever seen him bless in such a manner.” Rist sighed. “Well, I appreciate everything you’ve done for us. I can’t help that the God Emperor is uninterested in our struggle, but I have learned a lot.” He pulled out a scroll. “I’ll send you home now.”

“Thanks.”

Rist pulled out a scroll and cast a teleportation spell. There was a single piece of Sode tech in that spell that I did not understand—which was why I hadn’t been able to form a teleport spell on my own. The church wasn’t totally backwards when it came to their magic.

A portal opened up beneath me and I lowered into it. I then came up in the same room I had been kidnapped from. It was empty. Blood stained the ground. With my new, enhanced vision, I could see several things that I was unable to see before. For example, there were fingerprints on the silverware left on the table. I could hear the street outside, which told me that things were operating as normal.

I left the room and returned to the street. I needed to find Tae and Jak and tell them that I was okay. I also needed to find the assassin who killed the member of the council. Unless they had solved the mystery already, which I doubted.

Tae came running towards me from the market area. “Rock!” She ran up to me and hugged me. “I was so worried about you! I thought you had been assassinated!”

“I talked with the God Emperor.” I did my best to smile. “The Imperial Church has some inner stuff going on in it. We’re not alone in our fight right now.”

Tae grabbed me and started pulling me towards the castle. “We need your help, then.”

I allowed myself to be dragged through the street, entering the castle, where we came into Andrew’s office.

Andrew turned around as soon as we entered. “By the God Emperor. You’re alive.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“You seem different. Like, your density has increased or something.”

“The God Emperor gave me his blessing.” I held my hands up. “It seems that he really isn’t the bad guy in the equation.”

Andrew shook his head. “I never would have believed it. You spoke to the God Emperor himself?”

“Yes. He was really impressive. I can tell why people worship him so fervently.”

“You saw him.” Tae crossed her arms.

“I saw him.” I grinned.

Tae sighed. “You’re always getting yourself into trouble like this.” She let her arms fall. “But you’re alive, and that’s all that matters.”

Andrew sat down in his desk chair. “Now that we have this figured out, we still need to find out who murdered Jerimiah.”

“Probably the same people who tried to kill me.” I held up my fist. “With my new magic power, I think I’ll be able to sort this out.”

“Do you have a spell that can track them down?”

“I do. Well, I don’t at the moment, but it will take less than a day to create one.” I shrugged. “Give me a day to myself and I’ll have the tracking function solved.”

Andrew nodded. “Then let’s do that. We must find these assassins before they kill any more of our leadership. Jerimiah was one of our best tacticians. Without him, we stand much less of a chance against the forces of the Empire.”

I bowed. “Okay. I’ll go work on that spell.” I turned to Tae. “Do you want to watch?”

“I know nothing about Scode, but sure.”

Tae and I retreated to my room in the castle. I sat down at my desk. “Okay. So I first have to figure out which branch of magic this falls under. I don’t think I can use Null Canus. Maybe Null Canus Blue?”

Tae sat down next to me. “I don’t understand a word of what you’re saying, but I support you.”

The door burst open and Jak rushed in, followed by Ami and Amber. They surrounded me. “You made it back and didn’t tell us?” Ami hugged me. “Rock, you’re an idiot.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think being gone for like half a day was that big of a deal.”

“We thought you were dead!” Ami gripped me hard. “You should have at least told us that you were back!”

I smiled. “I thought it was trivial. But thanks for caring about me. I have work to do, but if you want to you can watch.”

Ami sat down next to me. “What are you working on?”

“A spell that will track down Jerimiah’s murderer.” I started writing on an empty scroll.

Ami watched as I wrote. “You really have changed. You’re more shiny, too, for some reason. It’s like you’ve got some sort of gemstone under your skin. I don’t know if that makes sense.”

I shrugged. “I got a boon from the God Emperor, that’s all.”

“The God Emperor.” Jak crossed his arms. “You got a boon from him.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s not much. He just increased my senses, my strength, and my magical ability. Not much at all.”

“Not much?” Jak grabbed me by my shoulders. “Get out here so I can test that. You can do that stuffy scroll work after I figure out what “boon of the God Emperor” means.”

Jak dragged me out of the room, followed by everyone. He brought me to the training field right outside the keep. He held up his sword.

I held my sword. “I, ah, I really don’t want to do this.”

“Why not? Why not use that boon that you received?”

“I get the feeling that you really don’t believe me.”

Jak attacked. I stepped aside with uncommon ease, surprising even myself. I then tapped him on the back. He flew several feet and sprawled out onto the ground.

“Whoops.” I knelt beside him. “I’m sorry.”

 

36

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Fairy Opera Chapter 34: Church

 

Church

A man lay dead on the ground. He was one of the members of the Rebellion’s council, a former noble named Jerimiah. It looked to have been about an hour since he was killed.

It was evening, and the sun touched the horizon, casting orange shadows over the houses above. A group of the city’s constables surrounded the body.

Andrew pushed his way through the crowd and knelt down beside Jerimiah’s body. He sighed, and then turned to me. “When you were attacked by assassins, I made sure that all of us walked around with at least one bodyguard.”

One of the constables motioned to Andrew. “We found his guard’s body in the nearby alleyway. It looks like he’d been tortured before being killed.”

Andrew stood up. “We have to stop this. We need to figure out who is sending these assassins after us and put a stop to it.”

“If it’s the Empire, I don’t think we’ll be able to.” I watched as the constables put a blanket over Jerimiah’s body. “Their reach is too far.”

“We …” Andrew pulled me into an alleyway, then looked both ways. “We have the Syndicate on our side. Put your connections to use and ask them to help us out.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’ll call a meeting with the Syndicate bosses.”

Andrew looked over his shoulder. “I’m coming too. I have a few things I want to talk about with them.”

Two hours later, in the underground Syndicate meeting room I had been in before, Andrew and I faced Lightning and Clack across a table piled high with delicacies. Clack took a piece of bird and shoved the meat into his mouth, chewing while smacking his lips.

Lightning leaned forward. “I heard that a member of the Rebellion council was assassinated. Is that what you’re here to talk to us about?”

“Yes. It is.” Andrew folded his hands. “We need to chase down whoever is attacking our members.”

Lightning leaned back. “We can help. But we’re not doing it for free.”

“What do you want?” Andrew was gritting his teeth. He clearly did not care for the two Syndicate bosses in front of us.

Lightning shrugged. “Just a few rights. Agree to remove tariffs on some of the good we move, and we’ll find those assassins for you.”

Andrew sighed. “Okay.”

The whole building started shaking. Lighting and Clack both hit the floor, leaping off their chairs. I felt the distinctive feel of a spell being activated. A portal opened on the ground. Five ninjas rose from the portal, fully equipped, wielding knives. I knew the moment I saw them that there was no fighting them and winning. I stood up and held up my hands.

Clack got up and tried to run. One of the ninjas threw a shuriken at his back. The blades lodged in his back and he toppled to the ground.

One of the ninjas pointed to me. “You are the one our master wants.”

I stepped forward. “Who are you working for?”

“We are not obligated to tell you. Come with us or this entire island will be cleansed.” The speaking ninja motioned with his hand.

Ruby, still in gem form in my shirt, whispered to me. “You should go with him.”

I lowered my chin. “I’ll go with you.”

I stepped towards the ninjas and a portal opened beneath me. I lowered into it, as if the bottom was an elevator. The ninjas lowered along with me.

I turned to them. “If you had this technology the whole time, why didn’t you use it?”

The middle ninja scoffed and did not respond. The portal closed above me and I stood in the middle of a dark room.

The lights flicked on with a thump. I stood in front of a single table, with two chairs. One of the chairs, facing me, was occupied by an Imperial inquisitor. He took a book of documents out from beneath the table and placed it on the surface. Then he beckoned me to sit.

I sat. The inquisitor shuffled the documents.

“My name is Rist.” The inquisitor slid the documents over to me. “I am part of the disestablishment faction within the church of the God Emperor. I have a quest for you, if you are willing to accept it.”

“Where am I? What is this? Why did you kidnap me with a bunch of scary-looking ninjas?”

Rist tapped a pen on the table. “You can ask as many questions as you want. That does not, however, guarantee I’ll answer them. Well, maybe we should start from the beginning. You see, we’ve been watching your little Rebellion for some time now. And for a while, we thought your threat to the Empire to be too trivial for us to concern ourselves.” Rist put the pen down. “But you have one thing that may prove us wrong on that front.” He pointed straight at the fairy gem in my pocket. “Your fairy.”

Ruby transformed and flew out of my pocket. “What about me?” She hovered above the table, her hands on her hips.

“You do not know your own importance?” Rist tilted his head.

“I do not.”

“It is said that every fairy in existence has access to the Panharmonicon. Is that correct?”

“Uh, what’s that?”

“The Panharmonicon. The device that our God Emperor sits beneath, the device that gives him his divinity.”

Ruby landed on my shoulder. “I mean, if I did, why would I tell you?”

“Would you tell me to protect your master?”

At that moment the ninjas who had kidnapped me appeared out of nowhere. Rist held his hands up.

Ruby sighed. “I’ll talk. Yeah, I have access to something like that. But I’ve never used it before and I don’t even know what it’s for.”

Rist picked his pen back up and started tapping the table with it. “Very good. We need you, Ruby, and her master, Rock, to speak with the God Emperor himself.”

I was shocked. Even though I no longer believed in his absolute divinity, I knew that meeting him in person was going to be a big deal.

Rist pointed his pen at me. “You, and you alone, as a technmage, have the understanding of the magical language known as Scode to converse with the God Emperor. With your fairy’s help, we can speak directly to him instead of going through his mouthpiece.”

“Who I assume is not on your side.” I sighed. “Okay. I’ll do it as long as you promise to help the Rebellion.”

“It is a deal.” Rist stood up. “We shall prepare you for your meeting with the Emperor. Be warned, the purification rituals are complex and mandatory.”

We walked into another room, which was much larger than the previous one. Gothic pillars stretched out along the walls, rising into fenestrated arches. Stained-glass windows let in sunlight—which was strange, because I had been kidnapped at sunset. Statues depicting important church figures and martyrs looked at me from alcoves. A gigantic shrine stood at the end of the temple, which was comprised of a golden table, clothed in fine silk, bordered by golden candelabras. The floor was comprised of a mosaic depicting the birth of the God Emperor. The ceiling was covered by a fresco of the first brother touching the hand of the God Emperor. Candles were lit along the edges of the wall, letting off a sallow light. The place smelled of incense.

We approached the altar. Two priests came from side doors holding incense burners, which they swung from side to side as they moved towards the altar.

Rist stopped at the altar. He held up his hand and began chanting in Scode.

“Oh God of mankind, the God Emperor, send your graces to me and prevent my ineptitude. For you are the unicorn one, and you shall be forever embankment-ed.”

I blinked a few times, wondering why Rist had used such strange language, especially since this ritual looked like it was important. Then I realized that Rist’s knowledge of Scode was limited. I chuckled to myself, even though it wasn’t really the place for it.

“Why do you laugh, technomage?”

“The word isn’t Relicalrus (Unicorn). It’s Relialbun (Holy.)” I did my best to smile.

“Did I make any other mistakes?” Rist appeared genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, it’s not “embankment” (Cuppot) but “encapsulated” (Curpon).”

Rist sighed. “Then my training has been incomplete.” He put his palm to his face. “To think that, after studying the liturgy for as long as I have, that I have been making such fundamental mistakes as this.” He sighed again. “But in any case, we must proceed with the ritual. One may not enter the chamber of the God Emperor without being purified.” Rist turned back to the altar and continued speaking in Scode. He made a few more obvious mistakes, but in general I understood what he was trying to say. He basically just prayed to the God Emperor for various things I’d need.

Rist stopped chanting. He looked down at me. “Bring forth the vessel of containment.”

Four monks wearing white robes came through a side door, with a large tub on their shoulders. It was filled with red water, about the concentration of wine. In fact, it was wine.

The bath was placed right in front of the altar. The monks bowed, took a step back, and knelt.

Rist pointed to the bath. “Step in, my child. I shall have you recite the predigation.”

I stepped into the bath. The wine felt strange and cold against my skin. Rist came up to me. He pulled out a scroll.

It was a long spell. Apparently the priests of the God Emperor did not know how to use libraries properly. The spell barely worked and was full of inefficiencies. But, it worked, and it caused the wine tot turn clear. The “essence” of the wine was “sacrificed.” In other words, I was used as a conduit through which the nutrition and alcohol of the wine was transferred to the aether. It was a pointless spell, but it did make everything around me very shiny, so I could see why they had gone to so much trouble to do it.

I was beginning to understand why I was such a special case. The whole firmament of the church of the God Emperor was based on improper knowledge of magic and Scode. I wondered what kind of misconception surrounded the God Emperor himself as well.

The ceremony ended, and the bath was taken away, now full of clean, pure water. Rist waved an incense burner over my head a few more times, then presented me with a new set of clothes. The clothing had a crude enchantment embedded in it that made it shimmer with each motion I made. I had to admit, it was pretty. Then Rist prayed over me one more time, in Scode, and we walked to the back of the altar. The stone slab behind the altar table slid aside, revealing a long tunnel. We stepped into the tunnel. Rist pulled out a scroll and cast a spell that lit all the torches along the passage’s walls.

“We are underneath the holy city right now.” Rist began walking. “We will come up in the middle of the throne room. I must warn you, that looking upon the God Emperor himself will cause immense psychological pain. I suggest that you avert your gaze as much as possible to preserve your sanity.”

“I understand.” At that moment I decided that, no matter what, I’d look straight into the God Emperor’s eyes. That would show these people what they really believed in.

We came to a staircase that went up and up and up. Then we arrived at a large wooden door with intricate carvings. The doors opened and we stepped through.

 

35

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Fairy Opera Chapter 33: Sabotage

 

Sabotage

The basement was simply furnished. A short bar stretched across one corner and held a couple of bottles of liquor. Weapons hung on the walls, some of them appearing ancient.

Hammer motioned for us to sit. There wasn’t enough room for everyone. Lator, one of the dark elves who had come with us, bowed. “We shall stand, sir.” He and the rest of the elves stayed standing.

Tae, Jak, and I sat down around the basement table. Hammer sat across from us while Glaston stood with his arms crossed.

Hammer leaned forward. “The Ultimar receives food shipments every two days. We’ve managed to hide a large payload of gunpowder inside two of the shipment crates for the next delivery.” Hammer held up his hands. “I heard that you can use magic. Your mission will be to bring the two crates to the Ultimar’s two skysteel engines. Use magic to lift the crates.”

I nodded. “Okay. I also have invisibility magic, so we’ll be able to get past the guards.”

“Indeed.” Hammer stood up. “We’ll lodge you here until the crates are loaded.”

For the next twenty or so hours, we remained in the basement, which was stocked with everything we needed. About ten hours into the wait, Tae kicked up her feet on the table while sitting next to me.

“You remember back when we stole the geese from Mother Den?” She looked at her fingernails.

“Yeah.” I leaned my head back. “It was kind of like this. We were in and out without being seen.”

“Every time I think about that, I realize that we could have gotten into big trouble if we had been caught.”

“I know.”

Tae let her hand fall. “And I thank the stars that we ended up as well as we did. We really did tear up the streets back then.”

“Yup.” I put my arms behind my head. “Those were the days.”

Tae looked at one of the dark elves, who was sitting and meditating. “It’s funny that we’ve come full circle. This time we’re fighting for our freedom. This time we’ve got big shoes to fill.”

“I wonder what Orion would have thought about all this.”

“He probably would have dived into it just like we did.” Tae shrugged. “I’m sure he’s up there, watching us, making sure that we don’t make any stupid mistakes.”

I chuckled. “I wish he were still here with us, but we have to work with the cards we’re dealt.”

Tae looked up at the ceiling. “Yep.”

Ten hours later we gathered our equipment. Hammer and Glaston entered the basement.

“We’re ready.”

I nodded, pulling out a scroll. Two of the dark elves pulled out scrolls as well. We cast the invisibility spell in tandem. They were worded slightly differently, but they worked. We left the basement without being seen, leaving the inn, traveling the dark streets to the docks where the Ultimar was docked for repairs. The place was industrial in appearance, with a number of cranes and pieces of heavy equipment placed along the walkway. Catwalks stretched between towers.

There were a large number of guards doing their patrol. But since it was night, and since we were invisible, we were able to sneak past them with no trouble.

We boarded the Ultimar. Right on deck, two crates marked with the code symbol were stacked. I whispered the command to lift. Lator cast the float spell on the first crate, while I cast the spell on the second crate. Casting two spells at once drained my mana much faster than just one, so we turned off our invisibility. We wouldn’t need it anyways, as our intel said that there would be no guards inside the ship, as the entire crew was ashore. According to the map of the ship, the first skysteel engine was on the seventh deck, right above one of the coal storage rooms. Which made since as a skysteel engine of that magnitude had to be a hungry beast.

We traveled without incident to the sixth deck. Just as we passed one of the empty bunk rooms, a siren went off. We stopped. The two crates hovered next to us.

“We’ve got to get moving.” We rushed down to the seventh deck and headed for the skysteel engine room.

A white portal opened right in the middle of the doorway. Two beings made from wood and trees, dryads, stepped through.

I put my hand out. “Stop.” The crate I was handling clunked to the ground. “They know we’re here.”

Lator held out his sword. “Should we run? Or should we press onward?”

“Let’s fight.” I rushed at the dryads. The one on the right swiped at me with a fist, which extended far past human limits. The fist went right over my shoulder. I grabbed the vines holding it up and yanked them. The dryad that had aimed at me staggered. One of the dark elves stabbed it in the neck, causing a spray of sap-like blood.

“We have to hurry!”

I turned to Tae. “Take Lator and get to the second skysteel engine. I’ll hold off anyone who tries to come after you.”

Tae gripped my hand. “Let’s meet up at the second tower.”

I nodded. Tae looked at me, then turned and ran with four of the dark elves, including Lator.

Jak and I faced the remaining dryad, along with two dark elves. The dryad shot its arm forward at one of the dark elves. Its arm was twisted into a sword-like point. The dark elf dodged, but was caught in the shoulder, spraying blood everywhere. The dryad latched onto the elf. As it did, its arm began to pulsate. The dark elf’s life essence was being siphoned, traveling through the arm as a deep purple substance.

I hacked at the extended arm. The arm was tough, like the root of a tree, but on the third strike I severed the connection. The injured dark elf pulled back. The other dark elf dragged him away from the fight.

Jak and I faced the dryad. The dryad tried the same trick with its other arm, but I blocked the attack with my sword. I closed in on the dryad and hacked its leg off. More of that sap-like blood spilled onto the floor. The dryad collapsed. I finished it off with a quick stroke.

I turned back to the crate we were hauling. Using another lift spell, I brought it up to the skysteel apparatus. It was a large, metallic behemoth, with pipes flowing everywhere, at the center of which sat a gigantic cube of skysteel.

Skysteel, when heated, allowed for the floatation of skyships. If this thing was destroyed, the Ultimar would sink straight to the skyfloor.

I let the crate down right next to the coal chute. There was a small detonator on the side of the crate, which I set for twenty minutes. Then I backed away.

“You sure are persistent.” Someone spoke from behind me.

I turned around and came face to face with Malgor. Malgor grinned.

I swept my sword through the air. “I knew that didn’t kill you.”

“You made me use my phylactery.” Malgor’s lips curled up. “That hurt. But you won’t beat me this time.” About a dozen Imperial marines came up behind Malgor.

I sighed. “Okay. You got me.” I held up my hands. “Null Bravos. Fire. Backwards. Include Fresco.”

Malgor’s face twisted. Just as he lunged towards me, the crate behind us exploded with force. A shield formed behind myself and Jak, which acted like a pressurized surface, shooting us towards the bulkhead. The explosion tore through the wood, sending us out into the skyfloor. My ears were ringing, but my body had not much more than a singe. We started falling, so I cast a float spell, and our descent stopped.

I turned to the Ultimar, which was listing at port. The entire front portion was falling apart.

“Tae, I good luck.”

Jak stood up and put his fingers to his mouth. A long, loud whistle emanated.

Ruby came out from my pocket. “I’ll rescue her.” She darted away, back towards the Ultimar.

Secondary explosions began rippling through the Ultimar’s hull. Just then, several small figures leaped out from a cannon port. It was Lator, Tae, and several other dark elves.

However, there was no second explosion. While the Ultimar began to tilt at a precarious angle, it was not sinking. We had failed to destroy the second skysteel engine.

I used a wind spell to push us back towards the shore. We turned around the island and landed on a small, hidden alcove. About ten minutes later Tae, Lator, and the other dark elves landed.

Tae collapsed to the ground. “Mission failed.” She sighed. “And we almost died to boot.”

Jak shook his head. “You’ve put the ship out of commission for quiet some time.” He held up his hands. “There’s no way the Ultimar is flying anytime soon.”

“So we bought ourselves time.” I helped Tae back up to her feet. “That’s good enough. We’ll have to figure out another way to defeat the ship.”

“Malgor.” Jak shook his head. “I thought you killed him.”

“Did I not tell you?” I looked at Jak. “I noticed that he was smiling when his body decomposed. I knew he was coming back.”

“Is it even possible to kill a cardinal inquisitor?”

“Probably not without destroying his phylactery.” I sighed. “But in any case, let’s get back to Gagna before we’re caught.” We traveled around the outskirts of the island before we came to where our ship was berthed. We got on board and left, the darkness concealing us. The Ultimar was in flames on the other side of the island, which painted the night sky with a red hue.

About a week later we docked at Gagna. Andrew came up to greet us.

“Did you do it?”

I shook my head. “We didn’t. They caught us with a magical alarm. Plus, the skysteel engines were defended.”

Andrew gritted his teeth. “So we’re doomed.”

“No. We managed to destroy one of the engines. The Ultimar is out of commission for at least four months.”

Andrew sighed in relief. “Good. That’s about how much time it will take to assemble our forces.”

My stomach grumbled. I turned to Tae. “I’m tired of ship’s food. Do you want to go eat something?”

Tae nodded. Her, Jak, and I returned to the Green Dagon, where we ordered a large plate of pork and several bowls of stew. The fare was as delicious as ever.

Lator came into the diner, with several dark elves behind him. He bowed. “I thank you for saving my fellow.”

The dark elf next to him, which was the one I had cut off from the dryad’s siphon. The elf bowed. “My name is Hex. You saved me, so I shall repay you in kind.”

I waved my hand. “You don’t have to go that far. I only did what anyone would have.”

Hex looked up. “I shall pay my debt.”

Lator lifted his head. “We shall be awaiting your command.” He turned on his heels and left the room, followed by his retinue.

I turned to Jak. “I guess I did the right thing.”

“You fought those two dryads like a warrior.” Jak lifted his chin. “Be proud of yourself.”

We continued to eat and talk about normal, everyday things, which was a nice break from all of the dark topics around us. When we were done eating, Tae motioned to me. “We haven’t gone shopping in quite a while. Do you want to go see what the market has to offer?”

I nodded. “Let’s go.” Tae and I left the inn and walked across town to the market. Tae dragged me in between shops, while I carried all the things she bought.

I was happy, though. I wasn’t dead and I had bought the Rebellion time to recoup. And that was the best thing I could hope for.

 

 

34

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Fairy Opera Chapter 32: Boarding Party

 

Boarding Party

The Grand Mahogany flew straight towards the Ultimar. Through the chaos of a skyship battle, we managed to thread our way up to the Ultimar. Holding onto a rope, myself, Tae, Jak, and a dozen of our best fighters waited for the perfect moment to cross the gap. When the moment came, I gave a signal. Yelling out a battle cry, we flew across the gap, depositing ourselves onto the deck of the Ultimar. A dozen Imperial sailors surrounded us.

“Here we go!” I pulled out a fire scroll and blasted away a handful of enemy sailors. Several of them tipped over the edge of the ship and fell screaming to the skyfloor.

The real battle began. I slipped underneath an attack from one sailor, stabbed another sailor through the arm, twisted, sliced the leg of another sailor, and rolled to dodge an attack. My back slammed against a mast. I staggered, got up, and just in time I blocked a strike aimed at my neck. I engaged with my assailant. He wore a tricorn hat and held a cutlass in his right hand. He appeared to be a very important person on this ship.

We exchanged blows. My sword was better-suited to the situation than his cutlass. I caught his blade in mine and tore it out of the man’s hands. The sailor backed up a few paces, turned, and ran away. I swept my blade through the air.

Tae came up next to me. “We’re getting there. I think we’ve distracted enough of the crew to give our friends a chance.”

“Time to go down and disable some cannons.” I looked at Tae. “Are you ready for this? I can’t guarantee you’ll survive.”

“I never expected to.” Tae wiped her mouth. “Let’s go.” We grabbed about six of our warriors and headed down the hatch to the second floor, where the top row of cannons were housed. We rushed through the room and engaged with anyone we saw. There were dozens of sailors in there, but only a quarter of them were equipped with weapons. We tore through them. The cannons on the top deck were disabled. The remaining sailors retreated back down to the next level.

We received some reinforcements from a different ship that had sent boarders onto the Ultimar. They were some of Baphomet’s troops, dark elves with scary-looking swords.

We charged through the room and leaped through the hatch at the room’s back to enter the third deck. The sailors were waiting for us, at least two dozen of them.

We engaged. Swords clashed, blood flowed, and I caught the tip of a blade with my shoulder. Blood ran down my arm. We continued to fight.

The dark elves proved to be adept at close-quarters fighting. They gave no quarter and shredded through the defenders. We managed to break through the block of defending sailors and attack the men manning the second floor cannons. At this point, I was surprised that both myself and Tae were still alive. Injured, but alive.

We pressed forward. There were ten decks on the Ultimar. I wasn’t sure if we could go through them all with our forces dwindling after each encounter.

“Secure this level.”

The sailors manning the cannons ran away and hid on the next level down. We secured every entrance and exit.

“Ruby.”

Ruby came out from my pocket.

“Fly over to a nearby ship and request reinforcements.”

Ruby flew up. “Sir!” She left through a cannon port.

We gathered our strength and bided our time on the deck.

About five minutes after Ruby left, the sailors of the Ultimar attempted a counterattack. They poured through the hatch below and the door to the bunks. We faced them, swords drawn. Our forces clashed. Swords clanged against each other. People screamed. Blood flew through the air.

The enemy soldiers and sailors pushed us back to the entrance to deck two. We were losing ground and manpower.

The wall to the second deck burst open and two dozen dark elf sailors leaped through the breach. Ruby flew over their heads.

“I’ve returned, Rock!”

Our enemies were taken by surprise and retreated after a quick, brutal skirmish. They went back through the doors from which they came.

We took the time to treat our wounded. I used a few healing spells to treat the minor injuries, but I didn’t have enough magic skill or power to heal the major injuries. We did the best we could to care for those sailors.

When everything was secured, we turned to the next deck. We would need to be more careful, as they were expecting us. Also, there could be a number of inquisitors on this ship, and even one of those would give us a hard time.

Just as we finished securing the area, just as I had thought, two inquisitors entered the deck. They split up.

Five of our dark elf soldiers rushed the inquisitors. The inquisitors, in a flurry of blades and magic, pushed them back, killing two of the elves.

We faced off, neither side closing in. I held up my hand. “Null Slick. Produce oil!”

A massive puddle of oil spread between us. I took a match out of my pocket. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this.” I dropped the match into the oil. The oil burst into flames, which quickly spread to the rest of the deck.

The two inquisitors looked at each other. They nodded and then pulled out scrolls of their own.

“Apropos! Apropos!” I countered their magic. The inquisitors leaped over the flaming pit of oil and landed right in front of me. As the flames started devouring the walls, the inquisitors fought. We traded blow for blow. Even though the inqusitiors were outnumbered, they managed to hold their own against our advances. The fire turned massive. I held up my hand. “Let’s get out of here!”

At that moment something exploded. The deck ripped upwards, throwing myself, Tae, and several other elves out of the ship through the breach in the wall. The entirety of the Ultimar was flaming. It made a sharp turn away from the battle.

I knew that this wasn’t enough to put an end to the megaship. It was merely wounded.

But I was falling towards the skyfloor. I needed to fix that. I pulled out a scroll and cast a group float spell. Myself, Tae, and the five elves who had fallen out with us stopped descending. I sat on the current of air holding us up and breathed deeply.

“That’s not enough to bring the Ultimar down.” Tae gritted her teeth.

“But they’re withdrawing.”

They were. The fleet that had attacked Gagna was disengaging and retreating from the battle. The skyfloor was littered with sunken ships, but the Ultimar and the majority of the Imperial force was removing itself from battle. About ten minutes later the battle was over. Our forces did not pursue. The Ultimar, its deck still flaming, was covered in sailors attempting to mitigate the damage. They were doing a good job of it, too.

“They’re coming back.” I shook my head. “With even more firepower. We’ve got only a small amount of time to prepare.”

“I’d suggest that it will take about three months to repair that ship.”

I sighed. “Sure.” I used a spell to push us towards the island. When we arrived on shore, the dock was in an uproar. Injured sailors were being brought to the hospital. The ships that were most damaged were receiving immediate triage. Some of our ships had barely made it back from the fight. Members of the Rebellion council raced in between the dock buildings.

Andrew came up to me. “You did it. You saved the Rebellion with your actions. We’re going to give you an award as soon as possible.”

“Give awards to the men and women who fought with me as well.”

Ami rushed through the crowd and hugged me tight. “Rock, you’re an idiot. You almost got yourself killed.”

Amber, coming behind Ami, stopped a few feet away from us, her hands held behind her back.

Amber rocked from one foot to the other. “You’re strong, Rock. You saved me and now you’ve saved everyone else.”

Ami pulled away. “Don’t do anything stupid like that ever again.”

“I can’t promise that.” I turned away. “We’re fighting a war now, and everyone knows that. There’s no way that I’ll avoid going into battle many more times.”

Ami sighed. “Then bring strong people with you. I don’t want you to die.”

Andrew motioned towards us. “We’ve got things to do. Come with me.”

Tae and I followed Andrew. Jak returned to assist with the ships that were still coming in damaged.

Andrew brought us to the castle. He took us into the war room, where a number of Rebellion leaders and generals were discussing something. They all turned to look at us when we entered.

Nalko waved me over. “We’re tracking the Empire’s fleet. They’re headed towards Richmak. There’s a significant port there where they’ll probably repair the Ultimar.”

“We’re planning to strike them while they’re down. You’ve demonstrated your prowess. We want you to lead the mission to sabotage the Ultimar and prevent its repair.”

“Okay.”

“We’ve gathered the fastest ship in our inventory, the Blink.” Nalko turned to his comrades. “You’ll take a small strike force and do as much damage as you can to the megaship.”

I nodded. “Okay. Can I choose who comes with me?”

Nalko nodded. “You’ll have full control over who comes with you. However, this mission is a volunteer mission, and they have the right to refuse you.”

I held out my hands. “There’s just two people I want to ask and they’ll both say yes for sure.”

“Okay. We’ve gathered the best warriors we have, as well as some of the elves from the Lord of Darkness’s army.” Nalko grimaced. “And I hate to say this, but the Syndicate has agreed to assist us with agents at your destination.”

“Okay. When do we depart?”

“As soon as possible. We want to give them as little time as we can.” Nalko turned back to the war table. “God speed.”

Two hours later we were on board the Blink, heading out in the direction that the Ultimar had gone. We followed their trail for about a week. Tae and Jak were on board, as well as a dozen dark elves and a dozen of the best warriors the Rebellion had to offer.

We came to the island of Richmak and waited until nightfall to approach the docks. Using our Syndicate information, we slipped into a small, hidden dock.

Two Syndicate men greeted us at the dock. They bowed.

“Hammer, at your service.”

“Glaston, at your service.”

Both men were dressed in ordinary clothing, and appeared utterly benign in every way. They turned around.

“We’ve already got the explosives you’ll need to blow that ship sky high.” Hammer led us out of the dock and into town. “We’re going to hole you up for a day in a secret room at the town inn. The Ultimar is still under surveillance. Once they relax their guard, we’ll move in.”

We came to a dilapidated inn. Hammer and Glaston led us through the door and into the common room. The place was sparse, with everything covered in smoke stains. A simple chandelier hung over the room’s center. A single barmaid was cleaning the table. She looked up when we entered.

“We don’t have enough rooms for you all.”

Glaston put a card onto the table. “Some fine wine, please.”

The barmaid lifted her eyebrow. “Certainly.” She pulled a lever underneath the table and a door to the basement opened.

Glaston motioned to us. “After you.”