Sense: A Fantasy LitRPG Saga (A Touch of Power Book 3)

by Jay Boyce

  It was finally tea time.

  Chapter Thirty-Three – Rooland

  Coming around the hedge, Jade realized she’d never explored the inner gardens before, because she’d totally missed the gazebo-like structures there. Well, she said gazebo because that was the closest thing that first came to mind, but they were more like very elaborate outdoor pavilions. With flowering vines all along the outside trellises, tiny glow balls were tucked among the foliage to give light to the inner area.

  Throughout the main pavilion were low round tables with curved benches whose backs were also covered in climbing flowers, looking almost as if they were grown rather than carved. The middle of each table had a metal inset with a flat glass ball that looked more like an ember than the normal light balls. There were large sections of glass in the roof that she could guess would normally let in sunshine, but right now provided the pattering of rain against the roof, as the bubble was connected to it for convenience and ease.

  She figured her guess that the ember stone gave off more heat than light was correct when she saw several teapots being placed on them. The whole place was filled with people mingling or sitting and drinking from dainty teacups. Apparently ‘be there by two’ meant ‘arrive early because everyone else will already be there by then and that’s the latest you should show up.’ It would’ve been great if she’d gotten that subtext beforehand. At least it’d happened with the most chill delegation, and she could plan to arrive earlier for the other events.

  “Come on, Lochlann’s over here.” Camille tugged her towards one of the corners, where she now noticed the rest of the royal children seated around one table with Prince Lochlann and what looked like a few other nobles their age. She briefly noted that the king and queen were at the next table talking to what appeared to be Lochlann’s advisors before she focused entirely on the fact that the twins and Tisha each had a little rooda crawling all over them.

  Now that they were in a dry location, her own little ones took flight, much to the obvious amazement of most of the foreign delegation. She took a second to sparkle them, as they always enjoyed playing more with their pretty trails, and it did make them look even more impressive and beautiful. “Go ahead and play; no one here will hurt you, but be careful.” They called their mental acknowledgements back to her as she and Camille reached the table, Will trailing behind them.

  “Good afternoon, Prince Lochlann.” She nodded courteously to him as she unceremoniously plopped into the open seat next to Hunter, grinning and nodding at the rest of the royal family as Hunter immediately put the tiny rooda in her arms. She gave him a grateful nudge as he kept petting the little thing while she held it up, looking into its adorable little eyes and murmuring, “Well aren’t you a beauty.”

  Lochlann and his delegation began to stand when she sat down, and they looked a little confusedly at Victor, knowing that he usually stood up for things too, but he’d remained firmly sitting. He motioned Lochlann down as Will found his own place at the table, and Lochlann’s group returned to their seats as he replied, “Good afternoon, Lady Jade.” Smiling slightly, he nodded to the rooda. “I see you’ve met Baobao, but these are my cousins Duchess Kanundra Chatman and Duke Richard Hammil. We’ve also got Duke Tao Wen, his cousin Countess Katie Henno, Count Lars MachMannon, Count Ryan Debraun, Count Charles Drawn, and Count Apollos Thren.”

  He’d gone down the line, introducing everyone she didn’t already know, and she realized that they’d brought a good deal of high-ranking nobles on this visit. She activated her mana sight as she studied each one.

  They were all impeccably dressed, and Jade smiled and nodded back to them as they each greeted her. During the exchange, she studied them with her mana sight curiously. Kanundra possessed beautiful straight red hair and hazel green eyes. Her skin was pale, a sharp contrast to the bright patterns on her dress which reminded Jade of a parrot. She glowed with the dark green, blue, light pink, and neon blue of nature, water, contractual, and summoning magics. As summoning was something Jade hadn’t seen often and never learned to use, she silently promised herself that she would get the girl alone at some point and talk with her about it, to see if she could maybe get a demonstration. She wasn’t about to start experimenting on her own with a magic she considered so volatile.

  Richard had short sandy brown hair and light blue eyes. He reminded her a bit of a college fratboy with his bright grin and spiky hair, plus the obvious muscles showing beneath his sleeves. He glowed with dark green, pink, and the orange of life magic. She was noticing a pattern here as she studied Tao next. She was surprised to see that he glowed not only with dark green and the gray of metal, but the bright purple of spatial and even an untapped element of gravity magic. His dark black hair and brown eyes were very different from his lighter companions, and she noted the two sword hilts peeking over his shoulders.

  Katie’s hair was a beautiful dark brown, not quite reaching the pure black of her cousin’s, though their eyes were nearly the same shade of brown. She glowed with dark green like the rest of them, but a large part of her aura was the dark violet of compulsion, followed by the black of dark magic, the light lavender of illusion, and even a tiny bit of light green spiritual magic, while her white light magic was untapped. The implications of her magic made Jade slightly warier of the girl, even though she seemed utterly friendly as she spoke animatedly with Tisha.

  Lars had light bluish gray eyes, and she couldn’t quite tell if the barely-there fuzz on his head was blonde or brown. Surprisingly, he didn’t have the dark green she identified on the others, but his magics were the light blue of wind, pink, orange, and dark violet. She caught herself just barely before she frowned. Two people with compulsion magic? She thought it was fairly rare…

  Deciding to move on, her eyes drifted up to the face of the next guy, Ryan. He was a full head taller than everyone else at the table, and that was sitting down. His hand rested casually on the sword at his waist, and she could tell it was well used. His aura was mostly black, with a tiny bit of lavender, and the browns of both earth and death magic, along with the tiniest shimmer of untapped white on the edges. The most surprising part to her was the pearly white bit that she now associated with special magic, or basically pure mana. While he was jovial in talking to those around him, she could see currents of mana being constantly circulated through his system. It was a little mesmerizing to watch, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it was he was doing with it.

  Charles was next, and the first thing she noticed about his eyes was that while they appeared blue, he, like Alanna, was covering them with illusion magic. Now that she knew what she was looking for, she could see the slightest tinges of red. Completely red eyes; not something she’d ever seen before. They perfectly matched the blood red embroidered robe he was wearing over a forest green shirt and pants. There were two wicked-looking axes sheathed on his back, and he glowed with an aura of dark red and lavender, blood and illusion magic. She really wasn’t sure what that said about the guy.

  Apollos was the last one she scanned, and he sported light brown hair and light hazel eyes. He and Katie also looked a lot younger than the rest, closer to their late teens than early twenties. With the customary dark green, his main colors were the light green of healing and the bright white of light, along with a smaller portion of orange and an even tinier section of the dark brown of death. The black lining showed that his dark magic was untapped. It seemed that the rest of the world agreed with the knowledge she’d originally been taught, that if you were talented in one, you couldn’t use the other, even though the exact opposite was actually true.

  Even though it felt like a long time, her perusal took less than half a minute to complete. Curiously, she asked, “Did you bring the most diverse group of mages on purpose?” Most of the conversations at the table came to a halt at her question. Lochlann was reaching forward with a teapot to pour into her cup and almost dropped it, only tightening his grip right before he lost it.

  Carefully,
Lochlann asked, “May I ask what prompted that question?” Nine gazes were scrutinizing her intensely. Pausing for a moment, he poured the tea into her cup as he tacked on, “By the way, this is Sailea Tea, brewed by some of our top alchemists.”

  Jade accepted the cup in front of her, holding it in her hands as she stared down at the concoction, her mana sense still active. It glowed with water and nature magic, but gave no indication more than that. With a sigh, she let her mana sense drop. She highly doubted it was poisoned, but her mana sense was of no use in detecting such things. For a second, she wondered if there was some way to train a poison detection skill, then gave it up for another time as she answered Lochlann. “I’m rather sensitive to magical auras.” She left her explanation at that, since he hadn’t even answered her question in the first place. Tentatively, she brought the cup to her mouth, taking a sip as she monitored her body with healing magic just in case.

  Because she was so closely monitoring herself, she noticed the immediate effects that seemed to loosen her muscles, causing her to relax minutely. She concluded that it was basically a potent version of a calming tea, meant to make others more amiable. She set the tea down once more, petting the tiny rooda cub who curled up in her lap, oblivious to the heavy air at the table.

  She and Locklann had a bit of a staredown before he smiled ruefully, shaking his head. “Since you already seem to know, yes. Every time a delegation leaves, we hold a small competition. Those who rank the highest in the different categories are allowed to come. We do so to diversify our attendance and also to bring the best.” She could tell there was more that he wasn’t saying, but she was satisfied with that, for now. He seemed to realize she harbored no intention of finishing her tea, as she thoroughly ignored it after the first sip, and with a small frown as the rest of the table went back to their own conversations, he asked quietly, “Do you not like the tea?”

  Meeting his gaze, she held it as she said, “The taste is fine. However, I prefer not to be under any outside magical influences.”

  “Jade, what are you talking about? It’s just tea.” Hunter spoke from beside her, staring down at her tea, then double checking and nodding once he realized it was the same as his own. However, she was still staring right at Lochlann, who paled slightly.

  Still holding Lochlann’s gaze, she answered Hunter, “Do you really think a tea made by alchemists and nature mages would be so simple? Let me take a wild guess and say that they never sell this tea, but only bring it out for important meetings, touting it as a delicacy.” Lochlann’s fingers tightened slightly on the table, and she could tell that the rest of the table was turning their attention to her conversation once more. “This tea has magical properties that soothe, relax, and in general, make one more amiable. It’s no wonder that it would be used when trying to make deals or create good impressions. I believe it’s probably the entire reason the concept of this tea party was implemented in the first place.”

  The tick that Lochlann was unable to completely conceal confirmed that her guesses were spot on. He smiled a little stiffly as he spoke, “This tea is a sign of respect, and merely helps us keep the peace. We have no wish to quarrel with other kingdoms, and it helps maintain civility.” She mentally finished his words for him, and if you’d drunk it, you wouldn’t be bothering me about this because it would have worked.

  “Excuse me, I need to have a word with my parents.” Victor stood up without waiting for a response and left the table, walking to the next and bending over to whisper in his parent’s ears, who also excused themselves and walked out of sight to speak.

  Jade and Lochlann were still having a stare down as she replied to him. “Anything done in secret and without permission of the other party is trickery, simple as that. I have to say, I’m disappointed by whatever motives you had in serving this to us. I expected more from those who were already considered friends of people I trust.” Beneath the table, she felt Hunter’s hand reach for hers, covering it and giving her a gentle squeeze. She finally broke eye contact with Lochlann to look over at Hunter, giving him a small smile, even though he was scowling slightly. It was genuinely too bad. Given how tense he was, the tea probably was doing him some good after the weekend he’d experienced. If he’d been drinking it with the knowledge that it would help, it would’ve been an entirely different story.

  She took her time looking over those at the table, seeing the slight consternation on many of their faces, though a few of them hid it better. Or perhaps it was her enhanced eyesight that caught the tiny fidgets of what she took to be guilt. Before she could say much else, Victor, Derrick, and Ashanna came back into the pavilion, stormy expressions on the King and Queen’s faces. Alarm was flashing along the faces of Lochlann and the others as the monarchs returned to their own table, still looking angry and deliberately taking the tea in their cups and dumping it onto the plants beside them. One look at their parents doing it had every royal member of the family at her table doing the same. At the other tables, noting the actions of the royal family, not knowing what was going on, the attendees simply pushed the tea away from them and refused to drink.

  Glowers were being exchanged all across the pavillion, and Jade sighed. She hadn’t meant to cause such an upheaval, but she had stumbled across a darker secret. She legitimately thought this was the one delegation she hadn’t needed to put her guard up against…

  To her surprise, Katie spoke up softly, “Now please, there’s no need to cause a fuss. We can talk this over…” The others reacted to her voice, settling slightly.

  “SHUT YOUR MOUTH.” Jade’s violent reaction was laced with compulsion and hypnotism as Katie snapped her teeth shut, looking in alarm at Jade. Lochlann looked like he was about to object to her when Jade snapped at him as she stood, “I’ve had enough. First, you serve us tea meant to relax us and make us more amenable to suggestions, then you flat out try to compel us to calm down when we find out?” She had not kept her voice down, and she was sure everyone in the pavilion heard exactly what she’d just said, but she didn’t care.

  “Jade, please…” Lochlann spoke up, glancing around nervously as she set the poor little rooda on the table.

  “No.” Her voice was firm as she gave them disparaging looks. “You’ve insulted me enough for one day.” She paused, looking out over the assembled group before pointing as she spoke. “Katie, Lars, you, you, you, and you. All of them have compulsion magic. Watch them closely. I’m leaving.” There were growls of anger and shock at her pronouncement, but she turned, walking away from the gathering as her little ones flocked to her, landing in her hair.

  As she walked away, she heard King Derrick’s voice. “Well, I think this party is over.”

  Lochlann’s voice responded, “Your Majesty, I can explain…”

  “I think Lady Jade has done quite enough explaining for you. I’m afraid we’ll need to have the six of your delegates that Lady Jade pointed out separated from my people. You will be treated with respect, but it seems we cannot leave you to your own devices. You will stay in your suites for the remainder of the stay, and you are not welcome to return. Prince Lochlann, Advisors He and Sallen, it seems we’re going to need to take a closer look at our trade agreements. Until then, this party is dismissed. Leave.” King Derrick’s voice sounded tired as he finished, followed by the noise of everyone standing.

  Jade paused at the barrier to the outside, waiting. She was right to guess that the royal family would be the first to leave, and she stayed there until they caught up with her. With a nod for her to follow them, they stepped out of the bubble, a new one forming above their heads as they made their way to the castle. Once they were halfway there, Jade spoke softly, “I’m sorry for causing a ruckus.”

  Ashanna moved over, patting her on the shoulders. “It wasn’t ideal, but it’s better to know the truth. To think, for all these years, we’ve treated them as our greatest allies…” Her voice drifted off in thought.

  Jade sighed. If even the tea party was this bad, s
he wasn’t looking forward to dinner tonight.

  Chapter Thirty-Four – Advocate

  As they reached the castle and the water bubble dropped around them, Jade glanced around in slight awe. Where there had been an empty ballroom before, preparations for the great ball were now underway. Tables along the side were decked out in beautiful golden tablecloths, with banners and flowers being placed around the room. It was obviously not finished, but the sight was impressive nonetheless.

  She was forced to redouble her pace as she lagged behind momentarily. No one really spoke much, save for the murmured greetings and bows from the servants they passed. Several hallways and several staircases later, Jade found herself in the first room she’d visited in the castle. All guards were left outside while everyone gathered in the center of the room, in various states of flopping onto the couches. Jade made herself comfortable in one corner of a couch, drawing her knees up and hugging them as she looked at the royal family and asked, “So, what now?”

  There were several sighs from around the room as Derrick responded, “I’m not sure. We’ll have to have a long conversation with the Tearces, since all of our relations with them are now suspect.” Everyone was silent, contemplating the fact that their allies might not be so great after all.

  Still…Jade couldn’t help but interject. “So, I hate to play devil’s advocate here, because I was kinda the one who just caused so many problems, but…” She paused a moment as she saw them mouthing the world devil confusedly, then decided vocab lessons could wait. “I’m not sure it was done maliciously. Sure, I’m not a fan of it, but while the tea made you more relaxed and amiable, it wasn’t some seriously mind altering substance or I’d have been healing you guys by now. And granted, I wasn’t there long, but the only time I saw anyone try to use compulsion magic was to try and calm us down so we would listen to them.”