Revenge of the Sorcerer King 2 - 7

Hey Everyone! I hope the week is treating everyone alright. Tomorrow the sales tax starts so it will be interesting how much we're all affected. Since I don't have any physical products, I'm not sure we'll even be bothered by it, but you know how governments work. Apperantly its based on where you guys live individually, so it will be based on your local tax laws. 

First part of this is actually part of chapter 6

Alessa

Oberon told me to practice but there wasn’t much for me to work on in the middle of the castle. I was getting better at basic magic daily, nowhere near Oberon’s level but better than a lot of the mages I’d seen in towns. 

Moving through the castle, I made it to the wing the women were staying in. Poking my head in a few doorways, I finally found who I was looking for. Jade sat with another woman and was helping her relax during her monthly time. That was something I wouldn’t miss. 

“Jade are you busy?”

Jade hopped up and moved to the entrance. I noticed the girl she was helping gave me a worried look, but I guess that was understandable if you were bleeding in any sort of way around a vampire. “Lady Alessa. What can I do you for you?” 

“I was hoping to bother you for a while,” I said rubbing the back of my head. I had come to see Jade as a sort of friend over the weeks we’d travel her. She was the only one that didn’t look at me in fear. When even your mother was having a hard time looking at you it was nice to have someone to talk to.

“Of course.” She turned to the girl. “Just stay off your feet. The worst of it usually passes after a day or two.”

We left the room and headed for the gardens. It was becoming my favorite place to relax in the castle. I didn’t have to worry about the annoyance of the sun, as the fairies had created a dome of darkness over the gardens. I might be immune to the sun, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed it.

“You’re the only I feel I can talk to right now,” I said with a sigh that I didn’t realize I was holding back.

“I am sure that’s not true,” Jade said with a snicker.

“Oberon is busy with the castle. My mother can’t decide if she hates me. I don’t know if you know, but the undead make lousy conversational partners. I can never find Helena unless she wants me to find her.”

Jade gently took my hand and patted it carefully. “It sounds like you have something you are not sure about deciding for yourself.”

“I don’t know, maybe. I was so… sure of my decision before I reunited with my mother. Now. I almost wish we hadn’t found her. One minute I’m acting like the person I had become since we separated. The next I’m a child wanting her approval.”

“Approval is one of the most dangerous things to seek. If we start doubting our decision because this or that person might not approve. You soon find it very hard to move forward with life. I doubt your mother truly cares all of this. The fact you are alive. Alive and striking back at the people that wronged your family for so many years will eventually reach her heart.”

I looked into Jade’s eyes. What she said made so much sense that I was embarrassed that I hadn’t even considered thinking of it like that. My mother and I were separate people. We had been apart for over seven years. She might not like what I was changing into, but… but I did. I wouldn’t fight it anymore. 

“Thanks. Talking to you really helped. Its hard to imagine you’re the same age as I am.”

“We all have our secrets. My life was rough, just in a different fashion then yours.”

“Care to share?”

Jade shook her head but gave me a smile. “Not at the moment. But I’m sure that decision will be taken from me shortly.” 

I looked away not sure I could look her in the eyes given what Oberon and I discussed earlier. I planned to make the women into servants and Vampires. I knew some would reject the offer but Oberon wasn’t going to allow mortals in his castle that could cause us trouble later down the road. 

I turned back to Jade with a playful smile. “Is it big?” I asked poking her side.

She laughed and swatted my hand but returned my smile. “Not quite as big as ‘my ancestor is the world’s curse’ but decently large enough.” 

Chapter 7

Alessa

Jade and I chatted for a while longer before Oberon called for me. I grimaced as I wasn’t sure what was planned. I knew it wasn’t time for any of our lessons. I found Oberon with Helena when I entered the throne room. 

They appeared to be in the middle of a discussion. Helena wanted Oberon to turn Haven into a place for the evil races to gather without fear of being hunted to death. The fact that goblins, vampires, and undead already called this place home was a good start. I would need to asked if she planned to move her family here.

“You wanted me?” I asked once stood in front of the throne. Oberon always had an aura of power, but sitting on his throne seemed to amplify it immensely.

“Yes. I was talking to Helena here about the Wandering Dungeon. As you should remember Siateth claims that Mercy, an artifact of no small amount of power resides in its depths.”

“Yeah. I also remember that Lord Siateth said that it ate a Goddess.”

“I remember. That’s why this is going to be complicated. The difference is that the Goddess was trying to destroy the dungeon. I plan on recruiting it.”

“Recruiting it? A dungeon? Is that possible?” I asked trying my hardest to hide my specitism. Given Oberon’s raised eyebrow. I failed.

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be Oberon DarkPhoenix if I didn’t attempt the impossible. I just hope its memory isn’t very good.”

“Why?” 

“I may have defeated it in the past. If I recall correctly. I think it was a matter national security back then. I defeated it and forced it to change its path.”

“I see. Maybe that will make it easier for you.”

Oberon laughed. “Maybe. But that is part of the reason I called you. Helena knows the location and some of the information of the layout. Depending on what we hear, I might be changing our lessons going forward.”

“Got it.”

We both looked to the vampire with expectant gazes. “To the east. In the Wenio Lordship. Basically, at the center of the continent. It hasn’t moved in a few months according to the last report I got and has been quite the boon for the lordship.”

“How hard would it be for us to get there?” I asked. If I remember the last map I saw correctly, there was a mountain chain that would block our path straight east. 

“There are a few passes but as you can imagine they are well protected. The Kalia and Wenio lordships haven’t been on the best of terms the last few years. Especially so given the Wandering Dungeon being about the same distance from either of the lordships’ capitals.”

That sounds like it was going to be a hassle. We would either have to travel through the Kalia lordship capital or take a diversion around it. Either presented its own dangers and troubles. 

Oberon leaned forward putting his chin in his hand. “Sounds like another trip. This time though, I want us to travel with a bit more muscle. The undead are still out of the question, but I am considering the goblins.”

“Goblins!? Are you serious?” Helena asked with shock in her tone.

“Yep. Don’t worry. It won’t be the goblins you know.”

I widen my eyes as I realized what he planned to do. He was going to pull the curse off them. I had asked him why he didn’t pull it from me but he said the human and thus vampire curse was a tad more complicated and he wanted to level a bit more before he attempted it. When he explained it I thought it made a lot of sense. 

Unlike the other races that only have one sin to deal with. The humans had a bit of everything. While it allowed us a bit more room to operate as a race, we also have to deal with more temptations. Thus, the curse was much more of a hassle for us.

Helena covered her mouth with her hand much like she didn’t want to smell something nasty. “If you say so.”

“Speaking of dungeons. You mentioned creating one, but all this talk of dungeons brought a few memories to the fore. There should be a dungeon near my city. It certainly has been a thousand years, but it was a fledgling of only a year or so when I was killed.”

Helena tapper her foot while she thought. “It’s going to be rather high level then.”

Oberon made an evil grin. His face only looking more wicked with the skin. “It is a good thing we have some undead that we can send in to test the waters.”

Oberon

With the discussion over, I decided to strike while the iron was hot. I needed levels. I hoped that when I reached level eighty I could select another improvement. While I wasn’t set on mind, that was what I planned to go with. My memories were worth Alessa’s weight in gold.

I left Helena and Alessa to do their own thing. Helena had been trying to talk Alessa through her problem with transforming but it wasn’t going well. According to the senior vampire, Alessa might be a rare case that has trouble without a life or death situation to prompt the use of the power.

Walking through my city that was slowly coming back to life much like the undead that ruled it, I was happy for the first time in a few weeks. This was my seat of power after all. If it was decimated, then what would the other races think. While just the castle was almost back to its glanderous state, the rest of the castle city was slower to recover.

After a few minutes, I made it to the new goblin section. Khaar had used some mana to make it an actual district but the goblins had turned it into a mud pit. The buildings that had been repaired via the magic were reduced to tribal caves from how the goblins treated them. 

Walking in, there were a few goblins that stood guard at the entrance to the district. They smartly didn’t attempt to block my path. I looked around but wanted to start with Gobluke as I knew him and felt he earned it.

I pointed at one of the guards. “You. Find me Gobluke.” The tiny creature nodded then took off. The other gate guards jeering at him as he ran. They stopped when I gave them a glare. 

Of the races, the goblins fell particularly hard. Their race was good at calculations and all things related to gold but unlike dragons, they weren’t overall attached to it. They just didn’t like other people having it. Thus, I suppose it was fitting their race fell to Envy. 

It didn’t take long before the guard came back with Gobluke. Gobrin was also tailing along. They came to a stop in front of me breathing heavily. 

“What does master need?”

“Soldiers but I need to test something first. Lead me to a private location in this… hovel.”

Gobluke starred at me for a moment before he nodded quickly while turning on his heel. The two goblins led me deeper into the goblin district. Glancing around, I could see that most of the goblins ranged from level thirty to level seventy. The higher their level the more in control they were of themselves. 

Gobluke led me to a house that looked remarkably unchanged. Only a crest of some sort decorated the wall next to the door. A goblin skull with a sword driven through the top and out the mouth. I noticed it was the small as the crest tattooed on Gobluke’s back. 

“This your home?”

“Yes, master.”

I gestured back to the rest of the district. “It appears to be lacking compared to the rest of your clan.”

“Know master, I do. Rather not upset him I thoughts.” 

“Good thought.”

The inside of the house was much different, not that I could blame him. The plain house didn’t come with furniture after all. The goblins had brought in a mountain of furs and hides to decorate the rest of the room. Bones and a few weapons were prominently displayed for all to see. There were two females in the room that rushed up to attend to Gobluke when he came through the door.

“Later! Go find foods!” Gobluke said quickly pushing them out of the room.

“Aren’t you the ladykiller,” I said with a chuckle.

“I kill no females. Females warm bed and make food. Why would kill females?” Gobluke said tilting his head to the side like I was crazy.

“Nevermind.” I constructed a spell and cast it over the house. The last time I did this without knowing what I was really doing the person had screamed bloody murder. I would rather keep the noise contained. “Gobluke. I want to remove you curse and eventually the curse of your people.”

The goblin just starred at me. I worried he didn’t understand what I was meaning. “You already spare Gobluke once. Gobluke not worried.”

“Very well. I’d say grit your teeth but…” I placed my hand on his head and dove into his aura much like I had Zriq almost two months ago. I made note of his magical aura so I could work on the rest of his people with greater ease. It was similar to making a map, making marks for landmarks and the paths that mana would follow.

I took my time as I didn’t want to kill the goblin. He was more useful to me right now as a living creature. Undeath might come to him in the future, but for now he was safe for my own nature. After a good five minutes, I felt I was ready to remove the curse without killing him.

“Here comes the fun part.” I called the mana of the curse back attempting to force it along only a single path. The curse did as I bid but it cared little for the goblin. It followed the path I chose for it, but quite forcibly. The goblin screamed as his heart had to feel like it was burning. 

Finally, the curse finished exiting his body via his mouth. The black mist floated in the air in front of him until I placed my hand in it and absorbed the mana. The goblin was on his hands and knees as his body changed. 

The molted yellow skin turned to a sun dyed golden brown. He grew nearly fifteen centimeters making him look like a short human. His ears stayed the same, the large flaps of skin coming in around ten or fifteen centimeters. When all the popping and cracking finished, a much different Gobluke stood before us.

“How do you feel?”

“Incredible. My mind is clearer than it has ever been before.” 

“Did your level drop?” I was impressed with how clear his speech had come but I needed combat prowess more than fluent speech. Well, either way, I had plans to raise the levels of the ones I chose as my guard. 

Gobluke glanced at something then shook his head. “Still level fifty-two, master.”

“Excellent. What position do you hold in your clan?”

“I am close to chief but several steps away. Bringing my clan here helped my position.”

I nodded my understanding. It would mean quite a few of the goblins would likely have to die to make him the actual leader of the clan. I’d prefer another method then killing off good soldiers. My main concern was the goblins not accepting the change, but if Gobluke and Gobrin were high enough in the ranks then it should only have a minor backlash.

  “Your turn Gobrin.” I motioned for the goblin to come forward.