Shocking everyone around him in the process, Forian told Sadil in detail about all the adventures the group had been through since the moment they left the academy. The list included their encounter with the bandits, his death, his resurrection, Tailyn’s mission, and the part he was playing in it.
“So, you’re already a priest.” A tinge of respect crept into Sadil’s voice. “Impressive... Okay, you aren’t going to give up the boy, right? Relax, I get it. But things are bad here, Grandson. The logs Tailyn sent me were wiped—the nameless put some good work in before we could take him out. The bastard read how Tailyn sent me the logs, hacked me, and had a nice dig through my properties. Ronan disappeared that night only to pop up in his father’s residence, and the provost can’t do anything with him there. The kid hasn’t stepped foot outside their gates. And with all that, I’m up to my ears in crap—only your old student can help. If he gives us Ronan’s logs one more time, the viceroy will have no choice but to turn his son over. We may even get to the bottom of the explosion. I turned the academy upside down without finding the portal, though it has to be here somewhere. It’s the only way the nameless could have gotten in. Oh, and that would explain the bombs, too—they were brought in the same way. So basically, I’m not looking to turn Tailyn over to the emperor. I just need the logs.”
“What about a trade?” Forian said without taking much time to think. “Your man will give me the coins, and I’ll give him the logs. In the process, you’ll give me your word that I’ll be allowed to leave the empire without anyone from the academy following me. The meeting will be a month from now in Culmart—that’s enough time to sell everything. If something happens, you can call this number to reach me.”
“No, Forian, the logs are pointless without Tailyn. He has to swear he gave me what he got from Ronin without editing them himself. And it has to be a personal meeting with me present. If we try anything else, the viceroy will cut us to pieces, saying we’re just making things up. I won’t let that happen to the academy. Bring the boy to the capital—that’s the only way. And just to make sure you’re properly motivated, I’m vetoing any sale of your property in the empire. You didn’t buy the house; you have no right to sell it. Try to pull a fast one, and you’ll be left with nothing. Both the academy and the empire will be closed to you forever.”
“You leave me no choice, Grandfather.” The look on Forian’s face would have frozen the sun. “I, Forian Tarn, being in right mind, renounce the Tarn clan. I renounce the privileges that come with it, though I also renounce the restrictions it entails. While I may not be able to sell my home, you don’t have the right to keep me from disposing of my property as I will. Goodbye, Sadil Tarn. This call was a mistake.”
The shimmering field disappeared, severing once and for all Forian’s ties with the past. The second-class investigator and favorite of the magic card dean was dead. In his place, the treasurer of Mean Truk had been born.
“Head, I still need that sixty thousand,” Forian said as if nothing had happened. “We have to develop the master plan.”
Tailyn was in such shock at what had just transpired that he quickly handed over the sum.
Coins –60000 (21845).
“Assignment accepted, beginning scan,” the architect said. Soaring into the air, it froze a good fifty meters above the city, though nobody could tell how it was holding itself up there. The green ray that pierced the gathering darkness sent an eerie shiver through the crowd. As it scanned both the city as well as the nearby mountains and nearby area, the ray furrowed into every last nook and cranny. The process didn’t take long, however, and the machine soon settled back down into place.
“City remains detected. They must be scanned for structural integrity and potential use. That will cost five thousand coins, the scan duration depending on how clear the area is. Without the scan, the master plan cannot be completed. If you decline, your advance will be returned with the exception of three thousand coins that went toward the initial scan.”
The machine froze expectantly.
“It sounds to me like those two little devices are going to bleed us dry,” Valanil said as she continued to stroke the guard’s tentacles. Tailyn couldn’t have agreed more, though Forian’s inner spender had awoken.
“It all depends on what we want. We’ll have either a powerful, well-protected city capable of withstanding a horde of lixes and crystal fences or a village just enough to meet the god’s requirements. If it’s the latter, there’s no reason to even start—I don’t want to be part of something useless and idiotic. But we do need to make that decision and stick to it no matter what happens. Tailyn, Valia, you’re the heads of what’s currently Mean Truk, so the decision is yours.”
I’d like to build the city, Tailyn thought. Sure, it looks like it’s going to be incredibly expensive, but it’s not the kind of thing you turn down. We have help, so it should work. And I’ve never worked on anything this big! I’d really rather not say no.
I like the idea, too, only Mean Truk is so far away from the rest of the world. A portal will fix part of the problem, but you still can’t send big caravans through them. They’ll have to spend at least two weeks making their way through the Gray Lands, lixes and bandits attacking them the whole way. We’ll have to protect them. And because of that, what you can buy in the capital for one gold will cost five or ten here. Do we really need that? Honestly, I’m not even sure why the ancients built a city here in the first place.
Valia’s last comment reminded Tailyn of something he’d read in one of his ancient books. Literature certainly came in handy.
“Architect, did you find any soil suitable for farming when you scanned the area? What about minerals in the mountains that could be mined?”
Forian stared in surprise at the city head, not having expected anything of the sort from a twelve-year-old boy. The device thought for a few seconds before replying.
“The cost of a complete local scan—”
“Is included in the cost of the master plan,” the treasurer replied sharply, drowning out the sum the device read off. “Or was the Architect planning on delivering an inefficient master plan? Without city production? Without an idea for the two kinds of residents we have? After all, the city will be populated by both humans and lixes.”
“Those requirements were not included in the pricing assessment.” The Architect was looking to hold its line, but there was no getting around Forian. The mage replied with his typical tranquility.
“We were quoted a total for a master plan, and we paid the advance. The fact that the contractor failed to clarify the requirements before accepting the advance is the contractor’s fault, not the client’s. And therefore, we demand a complete scan of the maximum city area that includes exploitation of minable minerals and arable land. It’s our right to have it.”
A white light fell on the treasurer. It certainly was helpful to have the city’s head financier also be its main connection with the higher power.
“Assignment accepted. The requirements have been set—please read over and confirm them.” Tailyn could have sworn there was sadness in the machine’s otherwise emotionless voice.
Forian dug through the description. There was nothing to argue with.
“Looks good to me,” the mage said, and the Architect flew off into the air once more. The green ray that time moved far slower. With a satisfied grunt, Forian turned to the group.
“Let’s go. This won’t be done until morning—Mean Truk held sway over an enormous area about thirty kilometers in diameter, and the Architect is going to scan everything. Tailyn...well done. That timely question will do wonders for the city’s finances. Keep it up.”
Tailyn’s ears turned bright red. He hadn’t been prepared for the praise, especially coming from someone so loath to give it.
“What’s everyone waiting for?” Pulling herself away from the caresses of the guard, Valanil stared at Tailyn and the lixes. “You three, get some rest. You’re off to loot a vil
lage tomorrow, so you need a good night’s sleep. Valia, where are you going? You and I, sister dear, have a long and painful meeting scheduled with a pot, a fire, and the remains of whatever you burned away to nothing. Forian, give me some money—Valia needs a new skill and a couple recipes. I’m going to turn her into a chef.”
Chapter 6
A MEETING WITH FORIAN kicked off the next morning for Tailyn. The treasurer barged into the tent and shook the boy unceremoniously.
“Pull out everything we have—it’s time to inventory it all. Valia, shouldn’t you be making breakfast? Why are you still in bed?”
“Are you kidding me?!” the girl screeched, completely awake all of a sudden. “I’m no cookery maid; I’m a city head! An aristocrat! You can bet I won’t be doing your dirty work.”
That jerked Tailyn awake, the boy stunned by both the intrusion and his betrothed’s explosion.
“Oh, you will, Valia. You certainly will.” Forian was taking the city head’s emotional outburst in stride the way he always did. “Tailyn, pull up the store and find the tiramisu recipe. Show it to our loud young friend here.”
Tiramisu. Description: an epic culinary recipe that boosts all parameters by 400% and reduced all damage done for 40% over a duration of 24 hours. Ingredients required: . Requirements: Cooking (150), Agility (150). Probability of successful preparation: 35%. Prepared dishes can be sold at the store for 3000 gold each. Recipe cost: 2 million coins.
“Everything you need for one dish costs two thousand three hundred,” a stunned Tailyn said once he’d gone over the list. “But two million coins. That’s incredible!”
“At twelve years of age, you should have already realized that nothing is impossible,” Forian said before looking back over at Valia. “Valanil didn’t unlock cooking for you yesterday, but we’ll take care of that. Thirty or so recipes should be enough to get the skill up to where it needs to be, and from there it’s just practice, practice, practice. As the city treasurer, I can’t have anyone just sitting around while everyone else is working.”
“I make cards!” Valia was turning red with rage. Having never seen his betrothed looking like that, Tailyn was horrified. She looked like she was about to burst.
“Is that right?” There was no getting through Forian’s implacable tone. “Maybe, you used to, sure. But our young city head seems to have forgotten that she was resurrected clean as a whistle—everything you used to be means nothing now. You’re not a creator. You’re a cook. And it’s past time you accepted that as fact.”
“Never!” Valia’s voice cracked. “I’ll show you who I am. I can make cards! Tailyn, meet me in the mountains. I need you!”
The rage the girl had worked up needed an outlet. Reaching out to the space around her as she ran, Valia summoned everything she could: cold, lightning, the flames from the forge, earth, and even the water from a pitcher. Five shimmering spheres appeared in front of her, and Tailyn took an involuntary step backward when he saw the power his betrothed had gathered. It wasn’t just the smithy that was in danger; the mountains themselves were under threat. The tension needed to be let out of the situation. Enveloping each of the spheres with the green peace of healing, Tailyn felt harmony settle in for a few moments. But only for a few moments.
“I’ll show them what kind of cook I am!” Valia muttered angrily as she brought her palms together. All five spheres rushed toward each other to merge into something dark, and a shiver ran down Tailyn’s spine. He stepped up the pressure on his end. But instead of enveloping the five spheres in green, it was an enormous blotch growing larger by the second. The girl’s rage had found expression in the gloomy substance, feeding its size and will. Suddenly, fangs flashed, followed by claws, though everything was so chaotic it was hard to catch what was going on.
The misty shroud that had been covering Valia’s eyes fell away. Horror filled her as she saw all of herself being drained—not only her anger, but also her strength, her emotions, her very life. The beast was sucking away at its master, its only desire to fill itself with every last drop of her energy. A subordination bar popped up and showed the value already in the red zone. The system had recognized the black clump as a living creature and had activated functionality anyone used to summoning knew all about, only the girl didn’t know what was going on. And she definitely didn’t know what to do. Nobody had ever taught her. Right next to the new bar, a timer started ticking down from forty seconds. That was how long it was going to take for the new creature to drain its mistress. With just one more move left, Valia yelled hysterically for a lifeline.
“Tailyn, it’s too strong! Help! I have less than a minute!”
Valia had no idea what Tailyn could do to help. She wasn’t seeing the being she’d created throwing off everything the boy cast at it, didn’t notice it sucking in all the cold and healing the boy was sending its way. All that did was make it stronger. But Valia believed Tailyn could save her—he was her only hope. The girl’s eyes glazed over, and she collapsed to her knees, fighting her hardest just to keep her arms outstretched. The moment they dropped, the beast was going to reach her body and finish the job it had started.
Cold didn’t work. Healing didn’t work. Fire didn’t work. Tailyn tried everything he knew how to use, but it was all in vain. His betrothed fell to her knees, her face white as snow, and pangs of fear clutched at his heart. The madness was just growing stronger as it swallowed up his energy. Growing more powerful with each new portion, all it wanted was more.
And then, it occurred to Tailyn. He couldn’t attack the creature; he had to divide it, make it weaker. Then, Valia would be able to hold her own. Looking around frantically, he couldn’t see anything capable of holding even part of the dark substance. It needed to be hermetically sealed, sturdy, and inert, capable of standing up to the all-consuming damage.
Alchemical flasks.
Blood dripped from Tailyn’s nose and unpleasant circles appeared in his vision as his consciousness split yet again. Suddenly, there were three of him. One stayed in the mountains, another was out in the real world, and the third showed up in the alchemical workshop to buy three hundred empty flasks for just one hundred coins. The alembic flashed as if telling him what to do, and the boy went right along with the System’s hint. He would have believed anything in that moment. Grabbing the receptacle, he handed it to the Tailyn in the mountains.
“Connect and suck it in!”
The black being saw a new source of energy and activated, reaching out happily toward the tube-like device. But while it was looking to consume and devour it, becoming stronger and overcoming its mistress’ resistance, something was wrong. The tube began pulling in air with such force that a few chunks of the creature peeled off and flew into it. The creature even stopped growing, stunned by the novel effect—it could no longer feel its appendage. Really, it was like it had been pulled off into a different universe.
“Take this! I can’t keep it here!” The Tailyn in the alchemical workshop turned into a windmill as the alembic pounded away, corking the black being into flasks. But there were so many of the receptacles that they began filling up the whole space. That meant they had to be handed off to the Tailyn in reality—there was nowhere else for them to go.
“Give me a hand!” Tailyn barked at Forian and Valanil, the latter having appeared out of nowhere. Surprisingly, neither of them put up a fight. Forian even yelled for a few numericals to run over, quickly setting up a kind of bucket brigade. The elixirs the alembic was pumping out full of black liquid were handed off and cleared out of the tent.
Tailyn had no idea how long he fought the black creature to get Valia back. Those three hundred empty flasks were long gone, as were the next three hundred. As the chain of numericals traded in and out, Valanil and Forian said something, though the boy didn’t have the strength to listen. All he could do was suck in the darkness and hand off the next elixir. Splitting his consciousness three ways was taking a toll on him, the Tailyn in reality even lying on h
is back as he continued to hand off the flasks.
“That’s enough—I can take it from here!” Valia called over. With each passing second Tailyn spent breaking down the nightmare she’d spawned, it grew weaker and weaker. Finally, she was able to pull herself back up onto her feet. The anger and hatred she’d felt toward the world was gone, leaving nothing but the subordination bar creeping gradually toward the green area. As soon as it got to the point where Valia was back in control, she stopped her betrothed. There was no sense leaving her work too weakened—the card needed to be a powerful one.
“I’m structuring it!” the girl called over as she usually did, all the while forcing the creature to recognize her as its mistress. For a while, it fought back, struggling to grab just one more fleck of energy, but the girl held onto her creation tightly. The energy in it had to be exactly right for her to create a card. As her mana level dropped precipitously, the substance pouring into the beast to form an impenetrable shell, the Valia out in the real world had to polish off three elixirs to keep her blue bar high enough. Finally, the shell was in place, and it was only then that the symbol appeared in front of the girl. She’d never seen anything that complex. But regardless, she quickly ordered the form to settle onto the sphere, sealing it and completing its submission. A notification appeared in front of her when she finished:
Isr Kale's Journal (The Alchemist Book #4): LitRPG Series Page 9