by Logan Jacobs
It was certainly a meal fit for a king, as well as an Archduke, and I planned to eat every bite.
The pork was tender and juicy, the turkey legs were greasy and moist, and the vegetables had the perfect amount of seasoning stirred into them. Once I’d worked my way through all the main courses, I set my eyes on the dessert items. I chowed down on turnovers, tarts, and lemon squares, but I wasn’t the only one enjoying the food.
My entire entourage was mesmerized by the feast before us, and the large room was mostly silent as all the nobles invested their energy into eating more so than talking for a few moments. I went through a few chimes as my stomach filled up before I’d tried everything, but each time I respawned, I was able to eat even more. I was like a bottomless pit, and I packed away more calories than I could count, but I knew all that mattered was the final run through.
“We need ta git our new baker ta make some of these,” Jax mumbled as he happily munched on a lemon square. Crumbs covered the front of his frilly pink shirt, but he brushed them away absently while he reached for another desert.
“Careful,” I chuckled. “You’ll ruin your girlish figure.”
“Who ye callin’ a girl?” Jax raised one eyebrow, but then he shoved an entire lemon square into his mouth in one bite.
The entire table burst out in fits of laughter, and I took a moment to absorb the wholesome vibes among my followers. I was happy they were here, since the uptight nobles got boring quickly. It was like I brought Bastianville with me this time.
It was hard to focus on the meal with the thought of the upcoming magical performance fresh in my mind, but even though I was eager for time to move forward, I still enjoyed every morsel.
After the food, socializing, and dancing, we all returned to our seats for the entertainment portion of the evening. I dazzled my women and my entourage with my ability to foresee what performers would appear before us next, and I got almost as much applause as the sword jugglers when I predicted their final feat.
There was a brief moment of interlude before the king would announce the magical performances, so I took the time to check in with my followers to see how they were enjoying the evening so far.
My three women wore pleased expressions while they talked amongst themselves, Jaxtom was still picking at the leftover desserts, Bellona’s eyes were locked on a lady’s dress across the room, and Jeron was eyeing the same woman. Niconor, Kylor, and Riondale had their heads bent together, and Caelia met my gaze directly when my eyes fell upon her. The curly-haired store owner blushed as her eyelashes fluttered, but for once she didn’t look away.
“How are you enjoying the festivities so far?” I asked in a soft voice.
“It is all very overwhelming, Great One,” Caelia murmured as her gaze flicked to the crowded tables around us. “So many people in one place…”
“At least the food is good.” I grinned.
Before she could reply, the performers made their departure from the throne room while the king made his way into the center of the hall, and the nobles quieted once more as all eyes fell on His Majesty.
“The next part of the banquet will have you on the edge of your seats,” the king announced in a loud voice. “As part of the interview process for choosing the next court wizard of Arginold’s former holdings, there will be a display of magical prowess. I have sent out invitations to the four corners of the world, and many have traveled to Vallenwood for this opportunity. Prepare yourselves to witness the greatest example of magic ever seen!”
I made a new save point since I didn’t want to have to repeat the banquet again, but I wished I could reset to multiple points in time. It was sometimes hard to know if it was worth the risk of saving over the current timeline or not, and being able to skip back to any previous save point would make me feel like I really was a time traveler. I supposed it could get really confusing that way, though, so I brushed the thoughts from my mind and returned my focus to the presentation of magical prowess about to start.
“I have never seen a magic show before,” my wife observed in an eager tone as her emerald eyes scanned the room for any signs of wizard shenanigans. “I hope it’s not too scary…”
“They’re showing off to all the nobles in the land,” I reminded her. “It will probably be pretty vanilla at first, nothing scary or too dangerous. Same as the performers earlier.”
“Don’t you know what will happen already?” Elissa’s face turned to mine with a confused expression.
“Of course, I do.” I shrugged. “Just speaking in general terms.”
I would probably reset too many times to keep track of, so I wasn’t worried about Elissa thinking there was a crack in my ability to predict the future during this run through, but I made a mental note to be more careful in the future, especially during the final timeline.
“Oh, ok.” Elissa grinned and tossed her fiery curls over her shoulder before she returned her focus to the center of the room.
Fortunately, a line of people wearing colorful robes and cloaks began to file into the throne room, and they took up positions against the walls around the edges of the room. A hushed gasp swept through the crowd of nobles as the wizards in their brightly-patterned outfits made their appearances, and by the time the parade of people stopped coming into the room, the audience was completely quiet.
“They certainly look odd,” Mahini observed in a hushed voice.
“Gotta stand out,” I replied quietly. “Especially when you’re trying to get a job working for a duke.”
“There’s so many of them,” Eva pointed out “This is going to take hours.”
The duke’s daughter had a point. There had to be just as many magical performers in the room as nobles, and then I spotted a pair of familiar faces among the wizards. Kane, the Duke of Bullard’s court wizard, stood proudly beside Burnyolf, the enchanter from Castle Bullard, and Kane’s eyes widened when we made contact across the room. One of the last times we’d come face-to-face was when I’d battled him to prove to the duke that I was who I said I was, but Kane didn’t remember the hours upon hours we spent together in his workshop while he taught me all about the basic spells he knew.
Kane stood on one end of the room with a handful of normal-looking people, but on the other side of the room, the wizards looked a little bit more interesting. Some bore tattoos all over their faces, much like the first magic user I’d ever met in this realm, Raijin Thornheart. Others had colorful hair, odd-looking skin, and everyone on the far side of the room wore clothes in styles I’d never seen before.
It looked like there was a great big world out there, and I wanted to explore all of it until I had one-hundred percent map completion. The king had definitely done me a huge favor by arranging to have all the magic wielders in Vallenwood at the same time I would be there. I was getting excited about all the things I could learn, and the performances hadn’t even started yet.
Just then, an older man in a rich blue robe stepped forward into the middle of the room. Thinning, white hair hung loose past his shoulders and framed his face, and there were deep bags underneath his eyes like he hadn’t slept in years. He limped forward slowly like he was on his deathbed, and I resisted the urge to rush forward to offer him my arm.
“Greetings,” he intoned loudly. “I am Viceroy, the Royal Mage of His Majesty King Frederick von Vallenwood, but tonight I am merely your Master of Ceremonies. We have a grand display of power prepared for your viewing pleasure with mages from all over the world making an appearance in tonight’s performance. First, though, we start closer to home with the magic of Sorreyal.”
Viceroy bowed slowly before he turned to make his way to his chair beside the king, and I realized suddenly why he seemed so ill. He’d just been recently poisoned and was probably still recovering from the effects.
I was left with more questions than answers after Viceroy stepped away from the center of the room, but then a tall, lithe woman with salt and pepper hair stepped forward to take his place. She w
ore a blood-red robe cinched at the waist with a thick black tie like a karate master, and in her hands she carried a small crate full of rattling glass vials and jars.
“Oh, yay, that’s my mage! Yoohoo! Go, Zorya!” The Duchess of Mistvale clapped enthusiastically as the lady magic user set down her crate and cracked her knuckles.
“Yes. I am Zorya.” The woman gave a stiff-armed bow, and then her eyes scanned over the crowd of faces. “I need a volunteer.”
“Oh, me!” Eva shouted as her arm shot into the air.
“You sure?” Elissa asked as she narrowed her eyes at the mage in the center of the room. “She doesn’t seem to be the friendliest person.”
“I’m not scared.” The duke’s daughter shrugged. “Plus, it will be fun. Don’t worry so much, Bash.”
“Alright,” I chuckled, but I watched with growing trepidation as my lover made her way to the center of the room.
“Have you ever wanted to completely disappear?” Zorya asked the crowd as she put Eva into a standing position near her crate of jars. “I have discovered the secret recipe to unlock the limitations of sight.”
“Yes!” the Duchess of Mistvale cheered, and the fat of her upper arm jiggled as she waved her hands in the air. “Show them, Zorya!”
Someone was excited, but I kind of wished she would just stay quiet so I could pay attention.
I had a save point ready just in case, but I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Evangeline. This could be a ploy to get to my vulnerabilities, namely the people I cared about. I knew it was unlikely for an attempt to be made on the duke’s daughter’s life here in the middle of the crowd of nobles, but I couldn’t help feeling paranoid after recent events.
“Please, calm yourself,” Zorya instructed her mistress in a brusque voice. “This requires a level of concentration.”
Eva flashed me an excited smile from her stance in the middle of the room, and Zorya busied herself with her crate for a moment, so an anxious murmur swept through the gathered nobles as the suspense built. The court wizard of Mistvale Keep finally withdrew an opaque white bottle, and she flourished it before the crowd.
“This little vial contains wonders the likes of which you have never seen before,” Zorya informed us in a mysterious voice. “Watch closely when it is drunk by my volunteer.”
“Is it safe?” Mahini asked with a frown of concern.
“Good question,” the Duke of Bullard called out. “How do we know it will not harm Evangeline?”
“No harm shall come from my potion,” Zorya assured us, but she gave me a look that said she was definitely offended by the question.
“It’s okay, Father, Bash,” Eva said, and she gave us a reassuring smile. “Just another adventure!”
With that said, she took the proffered bottle from Zorya, and the duke’s daughter downed the shimmery liquid in one gulp. We all watched closely, but for a long moment, nothing happened. Then Evangeline’s limbs slowly disappeared from view starting at her toes and slowly inching its way up.
I was surprised her clothes disappeared as well, but then again, there was a lot about this world and its magic I had yet to learn.
I planned to rectify that soon, though.
A startled gasp echoed through the audience, and Zorya gestured at the translucent Evangeline with a proud smirk upon her face. There was a shimmer in the air where the duke’s daughter stood, but other than the faint hint of something in the air, it was impossible to tell a person was standing beside the mage.
“How long will the effects last?” a voice asked from the audience.
I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the spot where I knew Evangeline was, but there was still nothing more than a shimmer in the air. It was a truly incredible potion, and I wondered what ingredients were used to make it. They had to be super rare and expensive with the kind of dramatic results I saw before me, and I ached to get my hands on some.
I could do some serious sleuthing with a potion like that.
“It depends on how much is consumed,” Zorya explained. “I only gave her a small dose, so my volunteer should be visible again shortly.”
“We’re just going to stand here and look at nothing, then?” another voice grumbled. “Get out of the way and let the more entertaining wizards come forward.”
“I need another volunteer,” Zorya announced, and she shot the complainer a hot look. “I still have a few more examples to show.”
“I’ll do it!” Jax shouted from down the table from me, and I gave the blacksmith a sideways smile.
I was surprised the gruff man would willingly volunteer to be a magical guinea pig, but our journey here had revealed new sides to the blacksmith, so I leaned forward with an eager expression.
The burly man strode forward with his head held high, and I got to enjoy the full view of his outfit. The frilly pink lace flicked from side to side with each step he took, but Jax didn’t seem to notice as he took up a position beside Mistvale’s wizard.
Zorya nodded in approval of her volunteer, and then she squatted down beside her crate without a word. Jax bowed to the audience, and I whistled my appreciation loudly, which made him let out one of his big belly laughs. Then the wizard of Mistvale lifted one of the vials from her box and showed it to the gathered nobles in the audience.
“What does that one do?” the voice of the complainer from earlier asked.
“With one sip of this potion,” Zorya explained in an ominous tone, “the drinker will instantly begin to sprout enormous amounts of hair!”
“Hair?” Jax growled, and concern creased his brow. “Not sure I like the sound of that…”
“The effects are temporary,” Zorya murmured with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I created these potions for example purposes only, so they aren’t designed to be lasting.”
“If yer sure…” Jax shrugged, but then his eyes turned to rove over the spot where the invisible Evangeline was standing. “That one seems to be lastin’ quite a while.”
“I’m still here,” Eva’s disembodied voice said, and the room was filled with startled gasps. The shimmery spot moved around the space at the center of the room, and if I squinted, I could make out the faint outline of her form. “I think it’s beginning to wear off, too.”
“Fine.” Jax nodded decisively. “If Eva says it’s okay, then I’ll do it.”
The muscular blacksmith accepted the vial offered by Zorya, and then he squeezed his nose shut between his two fingers before he gulped down the greenish liquid. Jax made a disgusted face, and I thought for a moment he might barf, but he regained his composure a few seconds later.
“That tastes gross,” the blacksmith informed the wizard. “Ye should work on that.”
“I will keep that in mind.” Zorya began to pace around Jax while analyzing him closely for any signs of hair growth, and the odd court wizard made me think of a mad scientist with the way she circled my friend.
Jax stood proudly in the center of the room as we all watched with bated breaths, but for a long moment it didn’t appear as though anything was happening. Then the blacksmith began to squirm and itch at his arms, and an instant later, curly brown hairs sprang up from every inch of his body. He was covered in a downy fur within seconds like he was suddenly a teddy bear, and he eyed his own limbs with awe as the room filled with the sounds of startled gasps.
“I don’t understand,” Mahini murmured from my left side as she stared thoughtfully at Jaxtom. “Why would anyone want to cover themselves in hair? It seems like a fruitless endeavor.”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe it’s meant as a less than fatal attack on your enemies. Or maybe it would help you survive longer in cold regions. It could even be as simple as it’s entertaining. Whatever its purpose, it is some powerful magic.”
“I do not trust these magicians,” the desert goddess admitted. “They fight with underhanded means.”
Just then, Evangeline sputtered into appearance, and an appreciative ooh filled the room. The duk
e’s daughter realized she was no longer invisible, and she curtsied to the crowd before she headed back to her seat by my side. She cast a sideways glance at the furry Jax before she departed the center of the room, though, and her nose wrinkled in amusement.
Zorya ran through a few more sample potions, but she had a hard time getting anyone else to volunteer after Jax’s hairy incident. The Mistvale court wizard seemed slightly disappointed as she turned away from the audience, but her mistress wore a pleased smile nonetheless.
I didn’t know much about Zorya, or the other duke’s court wizard, Dumas, but I had a feeling that would all change very soon.
I’d use my time in Vallenwood to learn as much as I could about the kingdom’s power structure, the lands beyond Sorreyal, and the world of magic. All while uncovering proof of a plot to overthrow the king.
I was a busy god, but I would make time to investigate the other court wizards.
When Zorya the potion master was finally finished with her presentation, she packed up her crate and bowed stiffly once more. Jax’s hairy pelt was slowly beginning to recede, and he bowed to the audience before he brought his patchy fur back to the table. I resisted the urge to laugh at the random bits of curls growing from his face, but I had a feeling that compulsion would not end well.
Viceroy returned to the center of the room, bowed to the king, tucked his hands inside his sleeves, and eyed his audience for a long, silent moment, but then the royal mage finally nodded his approval.
“Like the previous presenter, you may already be familiar with our next guest.” Viceroy gestured to the wall behind him where the line of wizards stood waiting for their turn to perform for the nobles. “Kane of Castle Bullard, please join me in the center of the room.”
A round of applause echoed through the chamber, and judging from the reception he received from the nobles, it seemed as though Kane was well-liked. He’d been a diligent, but shrewd, mentor when I’d first begun to learn magic, but I’d quickly mastered the few basic battle spells Bullard’s court wizard knew.
The Duke of Bullard clapped extra loudly as his personal mage took center stage, and Eva also showed her appreciation with a shouted cheer. Viceroy stayed next to Kane, and I wondered what the two old wizards were up to. I didn’t know what kind of magic the king’s royal mage knew, so I leaned forward in my seat with eager anticipation.