“I see you let Dariana live again,” Nyder says as he approaches the battlefield. He steps over the body of Delvin, which is already transforming back into a blue-skinned demon. “Is that a wise tactic? She is a champion after all.”
“She is my daughter and I am not a monster,” the Baron states while grabbing a towel to wipe black blood from his arm. “I fear I am getting soft and weak. There is a drop of sweat on my neck and I gave too much ground to the barbarian. Captivity is beginning to take its toll on me.”
“Or it could be that you weren’t using your full strength,” the gnome suggests while peering over the cliff. He can hear the sound of tearing flesh as a horde of demon spawn devour the fake Nyx’s remains. “You’re bored and want a challenge. It’s only natural to subconsciously hold back to give yourself a thrill. After all, you’re only human.”
“Clever rejoinder,” the warlord says, his eyes turning gold and falling on the box in Nyder’s hands. “There is mild magic in that package. What is it?”
“The reason Yola went crazy . . . crazier . . . This is what set her off.”
His curiosity peaked, the Baron opens the box with the expectation that something amazing will be inside. Instead, he sees a collection of toys in the form of his enemies, their allies, and a few of his agents. Picking up a Luke figurine, he runs his thumb along the strange material and crushes it in his hand. The simple mechanical insides fall to the ground, revealing parts of the griffin that the toy could have changed into.
“I am about to say something that I have not said in many centuries. Not with any truth behind it,” the Baron admits while examining the Trinity figurine. He drops it back into the box when he sets off the sparks and scowls when he causes the Fizzle doll to spurt mist. “I am genuinely confused. What are these and why are they important? Are they cursed to drive beings mad and that is why Yola acted so odd?”
“Incredible that you can tell when the Chaos Goddess is acting strange,” Nyder says as he takes the toys away. He holds up one of the Lich and makes its eyes glow, waving it around to prove it is harmless. “Apparently, a gnome in a flying city created these to make money and test out a few inventions. Trinity sent these to me from this Nevra Coil after having snuck in with the gypsy. Yola is angry that there isn’t a doll of her, so she wants to make an impact. They are awaiting orders, but I’m not sure what to tell them.”
“You come from such an ingenious and creative people, Lord Fortune,” the Baron says as he waves his hands over the broken Luke toy. It rises off the ground and is repaired before it falls back into the box. “How are people reacting to these things?”
“According to Trinity, the champions are developing a cult-like following and have found it difficult to enter the cities. To put it bluntly, they get mobbed,” the gnome answers while taking a seat on a warm rock. He stares out at the rumbling storms that cover the horizon of the Chaos Void, the voices of demons coming from every direction. “I want to say that these won’t create a problem for us, but there’s a scenario that we have to consider. These toys can turn the population of Ralian into an army that stands behind the champions. When you return and destroy your enemies, these things could force you to battle those who would otherwise become your citizens. It would make your rise to leadership bumpier and could result in more revolts than we originally predicted.”
“Crush a few rebellions and the rest will fade away,” the Baron casually says as he strokes his beard and eyes the toys. He is tempted to examine another, but decides it is best to leave them in the hands of the curious inventor. “Though you have a good point. I want an audience for my victory, but not one that I have to destroy. With such fervor, the champions would become martyrs and there’s nothing I hate more than someone who plagues me after they’re dead. Tell the ladies to destroy the factory and teach our enemies a lesson. If Yola wants to make an impression then she can have fun, but none of the champions shall be killed. I still have a need for them.”
“Yes, master,” Nyder replies with a low bow. “What should I do with these toys?”
“Incinerate them all.”
“It isn’t like we have a complete set anyway.”
“If you wish to keep them as a collection then feel free.”
“I’m missing a Nyx doll and I don’t have the time to go hunting. Strange that one wasn’t in the box.”
The Baron rubs his eyes, the rumble of thunder drawing closer. “You are interested in gathering replicas of my destined enemies. Why would you do such a thing?”
“To study the technology and create figurines of you that we can hand out to your citizens upon your victory,” Nyder replies with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “I will deliver your orders right away, master. By the way, I checked in on Stephen and he’s still asleep. Is that a good thing?”
With a tired sigh, the immortal warlord waves his hand and casts the gnome through a portal to the castle. He retrieves his sword from the dead demon and runs his hand along the blade to erase some notches. A burning rain falls from the incoming storm, but the Baron ignores the steaming drops that harmlessly pelt his skin. Feeling dirty and frustrated, he strips off the rest of his clothes and stands beneath the soothing deluge of acid. He slips into a relaxing trance as the rain wipes the worry and stress from his body.
6
The lounge is serene and soothing thanks to the small waterfall that flows down the middle of a glass inner wall. Couches and plush chairs are scattered about with a circular table in the middle to hold an array of drinks and snacks. Large windows give people a clear view of Nevra Coil, the shimmering towers reflecting the light. Unlike yesterday, the city floats among a sea of white clouds that remains unbroken for miles in every direction. Several relaxing gnomes are watching a Lizard travel in the distance, the midday sun making its scaly hide glistening. Only a few of the inventors and assistants pay attention to the champions who are resting in a corner after their factory tour. Luke and Nyx are fast asleep with Fizzle draped across their laps, all three exhausted from a late night of talking about Fritz. An occasional squawk slips from the forest tracker’s lips whenever the griffin tries in vain to shift him into a meditative trance. The other adventurers quietly sip at their drink as they watch the curious situation occurring by the snack table.
“Are you sure you had them?” Catarina asks Sari, who is frantically looking through her skirt pockets. “I never made dolls that can do what you described. To be honest, I don’t even know how I would copy your immovability. The floating is possible, but I never designed such a thing. This isn’t to say one of my assistants didn’t make them. We had a light-emitting Aedyn go out once without my knowledge.”
“That would explain it and I wish I knew where they went. I’ll check my room later,” Sari replies as she gives up on the search. “So what do we do now? Not that I didn’t love touring a building full of loud machines and horrible smells. I’m really more of a nature, outdoors, magic girl.”
Delvin clears his throat to get the grinning gypsy’s attention. “Really? Nature, outdoors, magic girl?”
“Very well, Cunningham. I’m more of a tavern dancing, road untraveled, you’re buying the next two rounds type of girl.”
“It’s a shame you never got to meet my father,” Catarina says while making a large cup of coffee. She puts several scoops of sugar into the brew before carefully adding a single drop of milk. “He would have loved you, Sari. Not only because you’re attractive, but you’re very honest and funny. No wonder Luke is with you.”
“That’s not going on any more. Sort of,” the blue-haired woman mutters with an awkward smile. She can see the curiosity on her companion’s face and decides to give a brief answer since Luke is not awake to get in her way. “We’re friends and it might become something more depending on how this prophecy ends. The two of us are stuck with each other, so it’s just an awkward situation that is steadily improving as we mature. So did you think of anything to help with our real problem?”
&nbs
p; Catarina stares at the sleeping forest tracker while slowly stirring her drink, the metal spoon vibrating as it moves. “Shame that cutie got himself into so much trouble. This news is going to make my idea of packaging figurines together rather difficult. Maybe I can do threes instead of twos. Now you said he can turn into his dog and a snake fiend?” The ambitious inventor takes a sip of her coffee and scowls before dumping more sugar into the brew. “If I find the idiot who made this batch, I’ll dump the entire kettle over his or her head. A travesty upon our people. This is why I only trust my personal collection. Some gnomes wouldn’t know a good drink if you gave them detailed instructions.”
Sari grabs a few cookies and returns to her friends, flopping onto a soft chair that molds to her body. The young woman sighs in contentment while kicking off her enchanted boots and wiggling her sore toes, a few of the joints popping. Leaving her undrinkable coffee behind, Catarina drags a stool to the group and grabs a handle hidden beneath the dark red carpet. With a grunt, she pulls a low table out of the floor and kicks the metal flaps closed. The conscious champions move closer, all of them being careful not to wake their sleeping friends. They are about to put their drinks and snacks down when their host clears their throat.
One by one, Catarina draws large cards out of her satchel until the tabletop is covered. Each of the thick pages has pictures and writing with a figurine’s name at the top. She waves a yellow rod over her creations, revealing a dormant illusion that changes the language to whatever the reader is most comfortable with. Most of the champions fail to notice the difference since they use Tradespeak most of all, but Dariana has to choose one of the many alphabets that she has learned in her lifetime. The final item that the inventor reveals is a hand-sized rectangle of polished, silver metal. A detailed etching of Nyx hurling a fireball is on the front and the other side is blank.
“I can’t do anything about the shipment that’s about to go out,” Catarina admits while spinning the card in her hand. She stops with the picture facing the others and rubs her thumb against the smooth design. “It will take a little time to get a printing and painting machine for these cards, but I think they’ll make everyone happy. The idea is that one side will have a colored picture of the associated figurine. We’ll have different poses for each of the dolls and maybe a few limited editions that go out on your birthdays. There’s a master etching artist named Jason who specializes in this kind of work.”
“How will pretty pictures solve things?” Dariana asks while picking up the page with her name at the top. “Why is this here? I’m not part of this.”
“Almost forgot about something.”
Dariana watches the inventor rummage through the satchel and pull out a simple replica of the champion. The head is that of Sari with black lines to show where alterations will be made to get the proper appearance. A mop of silver hair has been delicately connected to the waterstone scalp and the rough tresses have been shaped to resemble the telepath’s shoulder-length style. She is impressed with the clothing that includes her black pants, crimson slippers, and a white tunic with silver buttons along the side. Leaning forward to examine the hands, she can see notes that imply the final product can make fists and the arms will be more flexible than those of the other figurines.
“The prototype is very crude, but I’ll perfect it now that I’ve met you,” Catarina promises while handing the figurine to the curious woman. “I’ll be talking to you more about this once I’ve worked more on the other side of the cards. You see, the engraving is simply to get people’s attention and make sure kids hold onto them. I’m going to make it a game too, but the rules are still being created. Under the current design, it’s far too easy to cheat once you get a Hellfire Elf.”
“I am lost on your reasoning,” Timoran politely admits. He notices that Delvin is quietly examining his page, a pensive expression on his face. “You appear to be lost in thought, my friend. Do not hesitate to share your concerns.”
“Actually, I think this is a great idea if I’m understanding it correctly,” the warrior replies, placing the thick piece of paper back on the table. “The problem isn’t that these toys exist, but that they make people curious about us. These cards can be the way around that issue without shutting down the factory. On the other side of the picture will be information about us. Nothing too detailed, but the general description of our role within the group and our history. We can make up a few stories to replace anything that involves the prophecy. For example, our adventure in Bor’daruk can involve summoned demons instead of monsters unleashed from an ancient scepter.”
“Basically, we hide everything about Dariana,” Sari chimes in while playfully poking the other woman in the ribs. Noticing the worried look on her friend’s face, she gives her a tight hug of apology. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll sit down with you tonight and we can work together on this. Best that we know our own stories in case somebody asks. I have a question, Catarina. There are seven Sari dolls, so I’ve no idea what I’m going to do.”
“That is where adventure cards are going to be used. They’ll talk about your journeys instead of your personal histories,” Catarina explains with a proud smile. She draws a pointer out of her shirt pocket and taps at one of the pages that has Sari’s name at the top. “At some point everyone will have more than one figurine, so we have to vary the information to convince people to buy them all. We’ll also need to have new cards when new versions come out and possible have special ones sold separately. That sounds a lot more money-grubbing than I intended. Anyway, these cards will reveal your adventures with the severe alterations that all of us will go over before you leave Nevra Coil. Your loving fans will get your entire story and not become curious about hidden temples, ancient destinies, and an approaching darkness. They might still have questions if they meet you in person, but the dangerous tales remain obscured by our carefully crafted lies.”
“Half-truths will be better,” Sari interjects as she helps Catarina gather the pages. “That means anyone who is still curious can confirm part of the tales. The rest can be chalked up to the inventor embellishing reality.”
Timoran takes a deep drink from a decanter of wine, the sweet taste relaxing him. “I worry that other problems will occur. Many people already own these toys. It is unlikely that they will buy the same ones for the benefit of a card. By the time you finish designing the game to entice purchases, the damage might already be done.”
“I didn’t say the plan was perfect or finished,” the tired gnome replies while rubbing her eyes. “We have two weeks before the next shipment. That’s plenty of time to get almost everything right.”
Nyx leaps to her feet, knocking Fizzle to the floor and waking Luke who violently shakes the slumber from his head. The channeler’s eyes are blazing flames and she anxiously licks her lips, a bead of sweat trickling down her cheek. Lightning runs along her arms, which causes the startled gnomes to move away from the young woman. Many of the citizens rush out of the lounge before an explosion from above rocks the building. Screams can be heard and several bodies plummet past the window, the workers’ tools and inventions still in hand. A plume of fire erupts in the hallway, searing the flesh of those who thought they were escaping. Catarina is about to run for the other exit when she is struck by a void that locks her in place. The moment fades and she huddles in her chair, the foreign sounds of battle and death driving her senses into a panic. She barely notices when the champions draw their weapons and follow Nyx out the door, the half-elf’s body covered in raw aura.
“I’m sorry, daddy, but I might have made a really big mess,” Catarina whimpers, hugging the picture of her family.
*****
The factory is in chaos as fire spreads along the rafters and several machines have been cracked open like metallic eggs. The remaining gnomes hurry to move the finished products through several sets of bay doors that sit on a wide platform. Every step they take causes the loading dock to crack and crumble. The wooden
crates have been stacked in the exits, trapping the workers who are using large pipes as rams and sledgehammers. A bubbling sea of melted waterstone covers the floor and the buzzing of a defensive barrier ripples through the dangerous liquid. Another explosion powderizes one of the outer walls and a heavy press tumbles out of the building, the machine nearly hitting a passing pedal-powered vehicle. A playful laugh bounces throughout the factory and freezes the blood of the gnomes who fearfully look up at the dancing form of Yola Biggs.
“This is so much fun!” the goddess screams as she transforms a workbench into a roaring lion. The beast bounds after the workers and tackles one into the waterstone, both of them screaming in agony as they sink. “We’re running out of toys. Why aren’t you doing anything, Trinity?”
“Because I have bigger prey coming,” the chaos elf replies as she stands on a suspended walkway. Her heart races as she keeps her eyes on the door to the stairwell. “I can practically taste Nyx in the air. She’s become stronger like me. You get the rest of them.”
“Nyder said we can’t kill the champions,” Yola hisses, drifting down to her friend. The goddess bites her lip and her green hair coils tightly around her. “You’ll get us in trouble if you kill them. I don’t want to get in trouble. I’m a good girl and the Baron will give me a pet demon if I behave.”
“You’re the one who caused this mess in the first place,” Trinity snaps, her voice filled with anger. She squints through the thick smoke that is gathering, her wind magic unable to dispel the enchanted fumes. “Besides, I’m not going to kill her. There are plenty of things I can do that she’ll survive. Nyx might not have all of her parts when I’m done, but I promise the precious thing will be breathing.”
The Merchant of Nevra Coil (Legends of Windemere Book 8) Page 15
