Zectas Volume V: The Sequestered Seminary of Sawtorn

by John Nest

  "Right, right," said an edgy Jack. "I got this, don't worry about it."

  A nervous Smoke studied Jack, it looked like the boy knew what he was doing. Yet, he could not stop himself and give him some more reminders, as he truly wish to accompany them on their escape.

  "It took me almost two full weeks to finish that tunnel. So, it's going to be a very long walk," explained Smoke. "But don't worry. I lined the walls with light stones, and I also made several breathing holes, so all of you will have an unlimited supply of fresh air."

  "I am sure none of us would mine what condition the tunnel is in. As long as it will take us to freedom," pointed out Jack.

  Smoke took a deep breath and smiled at the boy. "And once all of you are out, don't forget to pull the earth-beam sticking out on the ceiling. It will collapse the entire tunnel, destroying all evidence of your escape."

  Jack made his usual imaginary cross over his heart. "I will not forget, promise."

  "Great! I wish you good luck, Jack, and I'll see you with Daniel soon," encouraged Smoke and left to join Cynar and Blaise.

  As Smoke was about to walk away, he caught a glimpse of Jack. The boy was slightly shaking. Smoke doubled back and placed the specialized gas-mask on the young boy. He patted Jack's shoulder before leaving the lair for good.

  * * * * * *

  After two days of travel, Smoke finally saw the pomegranate forest of Souer Settlement. He patted his dirus wolf's head.

  "Good job, Freifahrt, but we really should think of a new name for you soon," he said to his mount, as the dirus wolf would not recognize any other name.

  "Igniz, time to get back inside," he said to his symbiote.

  Reluctantly, Igniz returned to his metallic orb on Smoke's chest.

  When he entered the settlement proper, Smoke was immediately swarmed by OrkElves. Esper and Colere had lookouts stationed, and they prepared for his arrival.

  "Welcome back, Faux," greeted Colere, giving him a hug.

  After her husband, Esper hugged him as well.

  "Thanks, it's good to be back," replied Smoke. "Did Jack and the rest of children arrive, okay?"

  "Yeah. They're over there," answered a cheerful Esper, pointing to a group of six young aristocrats, next to a pile of assorted loot.

  As Smoke walked towards them, he was stopped by a young girl and boy.

  Daniel suddenly hugged him.

  "Thank you so much, Faux," said a grateful Daniel. "You really freed my sister and everyone else."

  Then, an updated Quest window popped up.

  + Completed Quest: Destroy Cynar's Orphanage

  You have safely liberated Cynar's captured children.

  Rewards:

  * Intimacy with Daniel Dickinson has increased to 90

  * Intimacy with Jacques Dawkins has increased to 90

  * 500,000 experience points

  Before Smoke could close the completed Quest window, Geisel hugged him tightly.

  "I really thought you were another scumbag Sonstwelter, just out to get rich," said Geisel.

  "Sorry for not sharing the plan with you," said Smoke. "I thought it best to just keep it between Jack and myself."

  Geisel let go of Smoke, and she casually shrugged. "That's alright, the important thing is you got us out."

  Suddenly, Jack called out Smoke. "So, what do you think, Faux?" said the smug aristocrat, pointing to the piled up treasure.

  "Jack? Where in the world did this come from?!" yelled out Smoke.

  "Relax, Faux, I was just following through with your plan," grinned Jack, giving him an all-knowing look.

  "I never told you to steal from Cynar," argued Smoke.

  "Right, but you told me to make it look like Orks did it," countered the young aristocrat. "And we all know that Orks love to pillage. It would be unnatural if they didn't loot the lair."

  An opened mouth Smoke stared at Jack with disbelief.

  "I tell you it is more convincing this way," assured Jack. "Besides, because of what I did, I got you these back."

  Jack took a familiar looking bag from the small mountain of valuables, and he threw it over to Smoke.

  When Smoke grabbed the bag and heard its content, he knew he had gotten his bag of gems back.

  "I think Cynar might have spent half of it. Sorry about that," apologized Jack.

  "It's alright," said Smoke, carefully hiding his bag of gems while looking at Jack.

  "So, what do you plan to do now?" Smoke ask Jack.

  "Well, Daniel, Geisel, and I have something to ask you." solemnly said Jack.

  "In behalf of the other nobles, we were hoping that you could take us to Votl City," said the three royal children in unison.

  "Ah, I see... Wait, what?" asked a stunned Smoke.

  Then, a Quest notification popped up.

  + Quest: Return of the Aristocrats

  Transport Quest

  Level: C

  Jack, Daniel, and Geisel asked you to return all of the kidnapped nobles back to Votl City.

  Accept the Quest? [YES/NO]

  "But why Votl City?" asked Smoke. "Isn't Vona City closer?"

  "For starters, Vona City is crawling with Cynar's spies," explained Jack. "Also, I have a powerful ally in Votl City."

  "Really? Who?" asked Smoke.

  "I doubt that you would know of him, Faux," conceitedly stated Jack. "No offense, but there is no way a person of your caliber would know of Lord Avilo Dawkins."

  "Oh, Avilo? Isn't he the one who's always together with that old High Wizard... what was his name... Mouche, right?" asked Smoke.

  "You know Lord Avilo?" asked an astonished Jack. The young nobleman scuffed and laughed. "Well, as expected of Lord Avilo. His fame really does precede him."

  "How did you come to know of his name?" further inquired Jack.

  "Oh, he told me himself," answered Smoke. "Or was it Mouche who introduced him? I'm not sure. I was more focused on watching the eliminations of the Magi Gagnant Tournament in Vona City."

  "You sat next to Lord Avilo?" asked Jack in disbelief.

  Then, it hit the young nobleman. "Oh, right. You had that bag of gems. But I thought you were saving it for a more pertinent purpose. Who would have that you would squander it on watching a tournament in an arena."

  Smoke was about to argue with Jack, but he realized that he did indeed have a more important matter to solve, the debts of all the Avendre Mercenaries under them.

  "Well, that was for research, but you were right. It was wrong of me to spend those gems for only seeing the games," agreed Smoke. "That's why instead of watching from the stands, I'll be watching on the side of the ring instead."

  "You plan to spend even more money?" asked Jack.

  "No, I plan to participate in Votl's Magi Gagnant Championship," answered Smoke. "So, I guess that's a yes for me. I'll take all of you to Votl City."

  "Great! But first things first," warned Jack. "Your bag of gems is the only thing your getting from this loot. The rest of this belongs to Myself, Daniel, and the rest of us."

  Smoke raised both his hands in surrender and nodded with a grin.

  * * * * * *

  "Come on, Freifahrt, we're only five kilometers away til Votl City," Smoke said to his dirus wolf, trying to cheer him on.

  Attached to the mount was Colere's rickety cart. Smoke did some modifications to it, allowing him to carry all six royalties on it.

  When he was working on the cart, Smoke thought how easy it would have been if he only had his Transmutation ability. Sadly, it was taken away from him.

  "Are we there yet?" abruptly asked a young aristocrat for the nth time, on this lengthy journey of twelve days.

  In an attempt to shut Quengler up, Smoke shared a part of his story with them. About how he was in search for clues on the Magietrois, and how he needed to enter the Magi Gagnant Tournament to do it.

  However, even this did not stop the annoying aristocrat from asking the same question.

  "Shut it, Quengler, Faux is takin
g us there directly," reprimanded Jack. "You should at least remember how far Votl City is."

  "Quengler, you're welcome to walk if you think you will get there faster," suggested Daniel.

  Smoke quickly looked behind the cart and interjected, before another squabble between the royal pains broke out. "Don't worry, Quengler. According to my map, it should just take us twenty-minutes more."

  As Smoke faced front, he was greeted with an upward road. "I'm sure this will be the last hill, Freifahrt," he said to the dirus wolf.

  When they reached the top, Smoke saw a majestic vision. An amethyst city surrounded by three mountains with varying colors. One was brown, the other was red, and the last one was blue.

  "Why is Votl City, purple?" Smoke asked Jack.

  "Well, legend says that the Magietrois were doing a ritual," began Daniel, stealing Jack's opportunity to answer. "They supposedly filled those three mountains with their magic, and accidentally created the Amethyst City of Votl."

  Not to be outdone, Jack hurriedly shed more light on the city's history. "Votl also means violet in Felinese."

  "Felinese? What's that?" asked Smoke.

  "The original language of the Lioumereans!" quickly answered Jack, before Daniel could.

  "Really? Felinese, huh?" wondered Smoke out loud.

  As they got closer, Smoke noticed several tall spires. There were nine outside the city's main walls, while the three tallest towers were inside it.

  When they got to city gate, four Warriors asked them to stop.

  "Halt, what is your purpose in Votl City?" asked one of the Warriors.

  "I'm here to return these captured children," replied Smoke, pointing to Jack and the rest of the young aristocrats.

  The Warrior then turned to Jack. "What's your name, boy?"

  "Lord Jacques Dawkins, Twenty-fifth in line for the throne of Vitzytl," boldly answered Jack.

  "Dawkins? Lord Dawson's son?" asked the Warrior in disbelief. "But Lord Hautain claimed that all of you were killed."

  "And you people would believe someone like Hautain?" incredulously asked Jack. "Now, let us through before I have you punished."

  "I'm sorry, but I need to have you verified," insisted the Warrior. "Who can I call of nobility to ascertain your identities?"

  Jack looked pissed. "You really won't take my word for it?!"

  Daniel grabbed Jack's shoulder and forced him to back down.

  "Excuse him. You can contact Lord Avilo Dawkins," replied a calmer Daniel.

  "Very well," replied the Warrior. "Wait here while we call him."

  The Warrior went farther away, and called the Avilo.

  "I just hope he gets here fast," said an exasperated Jack. "He's only just excited for Gagnant Tournaments."

  Ten minutes passed and still no Avilo in sight.

  Then, a HighElf girl of about eleven years old walked past them. She was carrying a basket full of flowers, and was headed into the city as well. She stopped and stared at Smoke and the young aristocrats riding in his rickety cart.

  "Oi, beggar, did you kidnap these children?" asked the little girl. "Votl City is really harsh to the likes of you."

  "Hey, Faux, isn't like that," defended Geisel. "Sure, his clothes are tattered, his mount is messed up, and this cart is clearly about to break apart, but Faux is a nice guy. In fact, he's the one who rescued us from our kidnappers."

  The little flower girl clicked her tongue. "Listen, Kid, you don't know how tricky the world is. Who knows? Maybe, he was in cahoots with your kidnappers from the beginning, and now he's just out to get the reward your rich parents are going to give him."

  "Who are you calling little girl? You're not much older than I am," interjected Geisel. "And like I said, Faux isn't like that at all."

  "Suit yourself, Kid, but don't say I didn't warn you," said the little HighElf, as she walked past the Warriors and into the city.

  Smoke didn't bother to join in the squabbles between children. He felt his ears had already bled out from hearing all of the mundane arguments children could fight over.

  Finally, after thirty-minutes of waiting outside the gate, Avilo and Mouche arrived. Avilo went past the Warriors and ran up to Jack.

  "Jack? Is that really you?" asked Avilo.

  "Yeah, it's really me, Av," replied Jack.

  "You really haven't grown at all," said Avilo and hugged Jack.

  "Mouche, look, it's little Jackie," Avilo said to his High Wizard steward.

  "Welcome home, Lord Jacques," said Mouche and gave him a small bow.

  "What happened to you? How did you get here?" Avilo began asking a series of questions, all of which Jack could not answer quickly enough.

  "It's a long story, but first I want you to help out Faux," said Jack, pointing to Smoke. "He says that he's registered in the Magi Gagnant Tournament."

  "Faux?" asked Avilo. He then turned to Smoke. "Wait a minute, you're the one who traded seats with us in Vona City's Arena."

  "Yeah, that's right," said Smoke, offering his hand to Avilo.

  "Jack said that you're in the Gagnant?" queried Avilo. "How can that be? I haven't seen your name in the tournament roster."

  "Oh, I'm a late entrant. Maybe, my name will appear after I register?" reasoned out Smoke.

  "Here, have a look at my document," he said to Avilo, handing him Cynar's doctored paper.

  Avilo scrutinized the parchment. He brought it close to his eye, and examined it from all sides. Next, he took a whiff of its scent, and even tried to measure its thickness with his fingers.

  "I'm sorry, Faux, but this is a fake," said Avilo flatly.

  "I don't know who gave this to you, but none of the arbiters would be fooled by such a cheap imitation," explained Avilo.

  "What? Are you sure?" asked a surprised Smoke.

  "I am as sure as this city is purple," replied Avilo with all sincerity.

  Chapter Four:

  The Sequestered Seminary of Sawtorn

  "So, this document won't allow me to participate in the Magi Gagnant Tournament?" questioned Smoke again.

  "I'm sorry, Faux, no matter how many times you ask me, the answer will be the same," replied Avilo.

  "But, Lord Avilo, surely you could do something for Faux?" begged Jack.

  Daniel also came rushing to Smoke's support. "If it was not for him, who knows what would have happened to us under Cynar?"

  Smoke was doubtful that Cynar would actually hurt them, but keeping them hostage and working as thieves was still wrong of him to do.

  "Lord Avilo, I have already insulted this most trustworthy man before," added Geisel. "Please help him, my Lord."

  Shortly after, all the rescued nobles chimed in with pleas for Smoke to participate in the tournament.

  Avilo turned to Smoke. "You truly are something else, Faux. To have earned all of their trust."

  "Surely, as ninth in line to the throne, you have some sway in this matter," said Jack, playing on Avilo's hubris.

  "Jack, you should know that I do not abuse my rank," answered Avilo. "However, there was an unfortunate tragedy that happened just recently."

  "What happened? And how is that related to Faux being in the tournament?" asked Daniel.

  Smoke remained silent as he only observed the conversation between the nobles. He decided to do so, as it was going favorably well for him.

  "I don't know if you've heard, but the Ork tribes have greatly increased in power," began Avilo. "Due to this, the King ordered for the strongest Magicians, Wizards, and all other variants to attack them."

  "How many of them were assembled?" asked Jack.

  "The Kingdom gathered fifty-thousand Wizard variants and twenty-thousand Warrior variants," answered Avilo.

  "Wow, that's a lot!" said Jack. "You don't usually see that many. I bet it must have been quite a sight!"

  "It certainly was," replied a smiling Avilo.

  'I guess fifty-thousand Wizards is sort of amazing,' silent agreed Smoke to himself.

  "Can you
imagine? Twenty-thousand Warriors!" Jack said to Daniel.

  "I know! They must have sent all of the Warriors the other cities could spare," said Daniel.