by Ian Rodgers
“Now, let us enjoy the feast!” As soon as this was said, the doors on either side of the room quickly flew open, and dozens of servants poured forth, each carrying platters of food or jugs full of liquid refreshment. The feast was quickly put on, and I could not help but wish for the ability to salivate, if only to show my appreciation for the scents I could taste on the air. The first course was served!
Mounds of leafy green salad decorated the tables, looking more like bouquets of flowers than random piles of fruits and vegetables. Bowls of soup, both creamy and clear, were placed down in front of everyone. Loafs of crusty bread loom like delicious towers. All in all, it was a splendid spread!
“Here you go, Jelly!” Liliana cooed, offering me a piece of bread. I devoured it gratefully, the gnawing hunger lessening slightly. She took a bite of salad, then daintily slurped up some soup, and soaked up some juices with the bread. This action was repeated all over the dining hall, the clatter of cutlery mixing with loud conversation.
“This truly is a magnificent repast, Tiberius!” King Redarik praised loudly, a sentiment echoed by most everyone else.
“Indeed, but it is not over yet!” King Tiberius assured, to yet more cheers. I wiggled in joy, and happily took a piece of bread that was offered to me by the princess. As I digested it, I noticed something in the bread. A bit of herb had been mixed in. Cautiously I examined it. Though I did not recognize the plant matter, I quickly saw it was harmless, just a little bit of extra flavor for the normally bland product. Like basil, in terms of taste. I shook myself in disappointment. I felt as if I was too paranoid right then.
After the incident with the Poison Oozes in the cellar, nothing had happened to threaten my owner’s life. I felt as if this was just the calm before the storm, though. Still, no need to be utterly on guard all the time! Poison would not only be detected in food before serving it, but the numerous guards stationed around the room would be on guard for such foul play, especially for a feast like this one. I shouldn’t worry too much!
Soon enough the first course’s contents dwindled to little more than scraps, and the plates and serving containers were swapped out to be replaced by new, fresh food. If the initial round had had a fine fragrance, then this main course could only be described as aromatic! Meat, meat, and more meat, with some token fruits and vegetables here and there. This was the staple of a human feast! For the most part, such massive amounts of animal’s made into food would be rare. All sorts of carnivorous monsters stalked the lands and only large, well-protected ranches had any hope of producing large quantities of meat for sale. This was a luxury, and everyone here knew it, and appreciated it. I knew I was not going to let any of it go to waste!
Right now, I felt like I was in one of the Heavens! Tasty, succulent meat was being fed to me from so many different sources! Princess Liliana fed me a slice of glazed ham while King Redarik tossed me a chunk of sausage over from where he sat. Prince Julius shyly offered me a portion of his steak, Tomas Nierz flicked me a bit of chicken, and even Queen Amdora discreetly passed me a morsel of baked fish! This was the best night ever!
The seasoning on the meats was well made, though to my palate I felt it was odd that every single dish was using the same ingredient. Some sort of liquid? To the human tongue it was flavorless, but for one such as myself, who could detect even the faintest hints of other chemicals, I was able to tell that whatever this substance was it had been included in each meat dish. A niggling worry started to itch in the back of my mind, but again I pushed it aside. I was just being overly cautious.
“Careful not to feed it too much, my dear, or you’ll have a tub of lard in place of a tub of slime,” King Tiberius teased, earning an annoyed gurgle from myself and a snicker from his wife and daughter.
“He’ll be fine. Won’t you, Jelly? You’re a big boy, yes you are! Big boys needs lots of food!” Liliana playfully chattered to me, earning amused chortles from those nearby. I politely ignored their ribbing, content to snack on whatever was given to me.
Only a few of the guests seemed put off by my continued presence, the rest just seeing me as another novelty the princess showed off. Still, the most notable person who seemed displeased was Ambassador Roseknot. I was not sure why, but he’s been in a sour mood all evening. Work must be stressful. But he’d been focusing a lot on me ever since my dance debut, so I guessed he must not approve of Oozes as pets. Or in general. I decided to pay him no mind. No one else seemed to be focusing on the sour faced elf, so I assumed this was just his natural state.
An hour passed by, the time flying along as we all enjoy the food. It was delicious, without a doubt! The glaze used for the meats brought out the juices while the assortment of wines and ales brought the sobriety levels down. My owner sipped at her own cup slowly, much more so than the majority of adults. Her drink was just some watered down wine. She was not old enough for the strong, unfiltered stuff, but neither was she a child, like Julius, who was just drinking water. I dipped a pseudopod into a nearby mug and slurped up some of the booze within. It was not flavorful, and I could not become drunk as far as I knew, but it was refreshing none the less. Suddenly the hall started to quiet down, and I looked over to see why.
A giant cake, five whole layers and coated in sugary frosting. The icing was blue and gold with the royal coat of arms entwined with the Adventurer’s Guild sigil skillfully drawn on the surface. Ah. That’ll do it. Apparently it was time for dessert! The majestic beast of a baked good was slowly and carefully brought in on a trolley and set down before the king. It was his right to cut the cake and serve the first slice.
As I gazed longingly at the treat, something started to itch in the back of my mind. I tried to shake it off, but the feeling only grew more incessant. I grumbled, but then froze. This sensation was just like when the Poison Oozes appeared in the palace! I wildly began to scan the area, trying to pinpoint the source of the itching. Nothing in the shadows, nothing in the rafters, nothing beneath us, nothing behind us! The only thing my danger sense was reacting to was the… cake…
I focused all of my senses onto the approaching item. Nothing was out of place, though! No hidden weapons or monsters inside it, no toxins, no magic, not a thing that could set off my alarms like this. The servants were not the source, though I double checked to be sure. Over and over I stared into the cake with my assortment of senses, but still, nothing to tell me why I had reacted that badly to it! Oh, that was not ideal! The cake was now right in front of King Tiberius, and he was preparing to cut it! I had to do something, and soon!
My mind was starting to grow fuzzy from the incessant clamor that was my danger sense gnawing away at my thoughts. I started to quiver violently in Liliana’s lap, and she was quick to notice this, as well as a few other people. Before she could do anything, I let loose a warbling screech and hurled myself from her grasp, barreling into the cake and sending frosting and cake bits flying. I immediately did the first thing that came to mind; eat.
Eat. Eat. Never stop, don’t stop. It was a threat. Eat the threat, then it couldn’t hurt her. Eat eat eat! For her for her for her!
My thoughts started to become erratic, and for some reason my “vision” was fading. I could barely hear someone screaming, but I couldn’t tell if it was at me, or just a generic scream of surprise. I did not care. I ate. I ate. I had to. Save her…
The dining hall erupted into panic as the princess’s pet Ooze suddenly started to shake and then leapt at the cake as it was rolled in before the king. It slammed heavily into the massive baked good and started to devour it with gusto.
“Jelly, what are you doing?! Stop it!” Princess Liliana leapt to her feet, shouting at her companion to cease, but it did not. In fact, it seemed like it could not. And then the Ooze started to turn pitch black. It was slow at first, but it rapidly began to darken in color, almost as if it was suffering from sudden necrosis!
“Everyone stay back!” Sir Blaine roared, striding forward and snatching the slime out of the ruined cake,
all but throwing it back to the princess’s arms.
“It’s been poisoned!” Sir Renos, the representative of the Mages Academy shouted, and even more pandemonium set in.
“Impossible, I scanned the cake when it came it, there was nothing in it!” The Dire Sword commander argued.
“That thing was just a filthy animal, it probably just got sick gorging on the cake!” Ambassador Roseknot sneers, adding his own opinion.
“You take that back! He wouldn’t do such a thing!” Liliana shouted, glaring daggers at the elf before turning her attention back to Jelly.
“And what would you know, pampered little princess?” The elf retorted, which caused King Redarik to stand angrily. The effect was somewhat dampened by the fact that only his chin was above the table edge, but not by much.
“Hold your tongue! Or do you want me to slice it out for offending my god-daughter?!” the high lord of the dwarves demanded, brandishing a table knife at the elf.
Amidst the turmoil, Tomas Nierz leapt out of his seat, vaulting over the table and swiftly approached the remains of the cake. He swiped a finger through the frosting and sampled it, swishing it around in his mouth, face screwed up in concentration. His eyes widened and he spat it out violently onto the floor, grabbing a glass of water and rinsing his mouth out before spitting that out onto the floor as well. That set of actions stunned the room into a degree of silence.
“Oracle’s root, blended with sugar to hide the bitterness,” the World Paladin announced, shocking the room even further into silence. He then looked around the room, magical runes and markings swirling about in his eyes as he examined the remains of the feast. He snatched up a chicken drum stick, peering at it, before dropping it to the floor.
“Raven’s milk, diluted with water and added to the seasonings and glazes that were put on the meat.” Tomas then picked up a scrap of bread from the ground, peering at it before saying, “Pink dragon leaf, ground up and mixed in with the flour.”
His words stirred fear in the hearts of everyone present.
“Oracle’s root: a bitter tasting golden hued tuber that possesses hallucinogenic properties if eaten after it had been soaked in water for a long time,” Sir Renos started, listing off the ingredients and their effects in a wavering voice. “Raven’s milk: a pale white alchemical substance used to increase the effects of healing potions, and utterly flavorless. Pink dragon leaf: a magical pinkish-purple flower that tastes a lot like basil and bestows a temporarily immunity to intense heat and cold.”
“Alone, they are simple plants, useful for certain arcane practices. But when consumed together, the magic and chemicals within the three plants react violently, producing a chain effect not dissimilar to ingesting several hundred grams of cyanide and hydrochloric acid at once. The lucky victims died after a few minutes of searing agony. The unlucky ones had to watch as their own stomachs melted away and their liquefying entrails poured out on the floor all while screaming due to the pain,” Tomas Nierz growled, glaring at the repast.
As soon as the ingredients and deadly effect were revealed, the other guards around the room leapt to attention, and started examining the food around them as well.
“He’s correct. All three of those substances have been mixed in with the food. If the slime hadn’t tackled the cake, we’d all be on the floor writhing and screaming.” The lilted, accented voice of Ambassador Roseknot’s bodyguard was soft and low, but it cut through the hushed chatter and was soon confirmed by the other knights and guardians in the dining hall.
“Seal off the kitchens and the surrounding areas! Round up all of the servants and chefs and anyone who went in or out of the kitchens today! NOW!” King Tiberius roared, his voice sending the Dire Swords into action.
“Daddy, Jelly isn’t moving!” Liliana cried suddenly. Indeed, the Ooze was immobile. Worse yet he was slowly dripping onto the floor, dissolving bit by bit as the toxins tore him apart from the inside out. Tomas Nierz did not pause and pulled out a tiny vial of glowing purple liquid from a hidden pouch on his person. An Elixir, one of the most potent medicines known to exist! It was capable of curing even the most virulent of diseases and toxins, regenerate entire lost limbs, and remove curses.
Without hesitation the adventurer uncorked the vial and shoved it into Jelly, letting the healing liquid restore it. Slowly, the black color began to recede, and he stopped dissolving as well. But he remained unmoving, and where he was once blue, only pale, sickly white remained.
“The potion should have stopped the chain reaction for now, but I do not know if he’ll fully recover,” the World Paladin admitted sadly. Seeing Princess Liliana’s devastated face, he quickly explained.
“Even after being cured from the Triarch Effect, as the combination of oracle’s root, raven’s milk, and pink dragon leaf is known, most people who survive fall into a coma. I’m sorry, but I just do not know if he can bounce back from this.”
“Everyone, I ask that you all calmly return to your dwellings for the evening. For information will be provided as soon as it is available,” King Tiberius cut in, his words carrying over the entire room. The guests all nodded and began to leave, some eagerly, some with curiosity, but all of them afraid.
“The Triach Effect?” Liliana asked, wiping tears from her face.
“Four hundred years ago, hundreds of nobles, rulers, rich merchants and powerful warriors perished in a wave of assassinations carried out by this very same technique. These actions drove the entire world in a massive, global conflict as no one could find a culprit and everyone blamed everybody else. The gods themselves fell silent, prayers going unanswered and their spells fading. Eleven years of bloody, vicious fighting then erupted, devastating the lands in tides of blood, steel, and spells.” The World Paladin’s words stirred shock from the royal children.
“The War of Fallen Gods!” Julius exclaimed from the other side of the table. Tomas Nierz nodded solemnly.
“Only thanks to a team of adventurer’s was the truth uncovered; the entire war had been orchestrated by the World Rebellion, a legion of insane cultists whose only desire was to resurrect the ancient, primeval god of destruction and oblivion, Zard. By the time the cultists were completely hunted down four more years passed, half of a continent was consumed and destroyed by the emergence of a summoned fragment of the Dweller in the Void, and two whole gods were slain and a half dozen more maimed. The War of Fallen Gods, as it came to be known, was the single most devastating war since the Great Calamity that shattered Val’Narash and sundered the ancient Grand Elfish Domain three thousand years ago.”
Uncomfortable silence fell on the dining hall, only a handful of people remaining within, waiting for news.
“Your majesty, we found a delivery manifest one of the chefs who tried to flee had in his possession,” a Dire Sword called out, breaking the tense silence. He handed the parchment which was torn and stained with a bit of blood to the king.
“All the ingredients for the meal this evening came from the Edelstein territory, or passed through it on the way here,” the royal guard summarized. Shock ran through the entire room and muted conversations were carried out by few individuals left.
Amidst the sea of worried and concerned faces, two stand out more than any other. One was that of King Tiberius, his face dark like a thundercloud, promising pain and retribution on the one who’d done this. A single name slips through his clenched teeth.
“Darpel!”
And the final face belonged to the most famous adventurer alive. Tomas Nierz’s expression was coolly neutral, but within his eyes a violent tempest raged, as years of repressed hatred for the cultists of the World Rebellion simmered and stewed, eager to be unleashed.
One way or another there will be a reckoning. One way or another blood will be spilled!
Chapter 15: A shadow stained interlude
“You claimed that your plans would work! Yet they’re still alive and now Tiberius is marching an army to my doorsteps!” A fist slammed down heavily
onto a large wooden desk, papers and knick-knacks jumping from the impact. Behind the finely crafted piece of furniture a thin, sallow man sat with unbridled fury boiling in his brown eyes.
He wore dark blue clothes, all richly made and incredibly decedent. Streaks of grey cut through his dark hair, though few wrinkles decorated his face. Count Marik Yenfold Darpel, lord of the Edelstein region of Varia, and brother-in-law to King Tiberius Augustine Roan. A powerful man with an even temper, yet now hatred burned his soul.
“I have spent years waiting for my chance to strike! YEARS! I managed to hide my involvement with my wife’s attempts at a coup, but it cost me time and resources! And now everything had gone to waste! All because of a single, worthless little monster!”
“It should have worked. The fact that the Ooze foiled yet another of our schemes means that you should have taken care of the animal when I first told you to do so.” A second voice calmly spoke up, pointing out the reason for the failure of the various plans.
The voice was neither deep and booming, nor soft and whispery. There was no trace of an accent, or any sort of verbal, audible tick to give away identity. Even gender, race, and age were hard to identify, and only the fact that Count Darpel could see the speaker let him know that the person was a human male around middle age. The voice was utterly empty. A true, neutral voice that gave nothing away.
That emptiness worked in tandem with the man’s appearance. All of his body was shrouded in a pure white hooded cloak with a golden mask, polished to a mirror sheen, covering the upper part of the face leaving only his mouth visible. Silver gloves made of silk covered the hands and bleached white leather boots encased his feet. Golden amulets hung around his neck and waist, held together by chains of platinum. Thick golden rings set with precious stones all but hid his gloved fingers. The jewelry radiated magic, creating an invisible heat and pressure that was at odds with the calm, collected man wearing them.
