Thankfully, the dark lull caused by my quick exposé on genetics and hereditary disorders is dispelled by an annoyance of an entirely different kind. Marquis de Brege in person, namely. He is ushered in by the majordomo, and for once, does not fail to notice the king, mainly so because he makes a beeline towards Abe as soon as he is in the room. Does not seem to notice anyone else here, though.
"Your highness, many thanks for heeding my distress so quickly!" - he huffs - "I have been deeply wronged! Lady Gillespie had invaded my manor, mistreated my son and abducted his alchemy tutor!"
Abe quirks his brow, tilting his head in my direction. "Really. And when did this happen, pray tell?" - he drawls sarcastically.
"This morning, your highness! Barely a few hours ago. I implore of you to send the knights to apprehend the ruffian most urgently, lest she flees Parsee! I have no doubt she is already racing towards the city gates." - de Brege continues to astound with his lack of observational skills.
Abraham huffs with suppressed laughter. "Hear this, lady Gillespie?" - he quips to me sardonically - "Apparently, you're racing towards city gates right now. With alchemy tutor in tow, no less."
De Brege whirls around, staring at the other people present. "Iii... Ah! What?... How?" - he stammers.
"Well now, this is very interesting." - I retort thoughtfully - "Apparently, I also somehow managed to assault marquises' household while having an audience with you, your highness. Truly, I must be the most devious villainess to ever darken the city to manage this astounding feat of being in two places at once."
Me and Abe exchange knowing glances. He, unlike de Brege, is quite aware I actually CAN do that, but seems to find the assertion that I would openly attack marquis and his household to obtain an alchemist to be most amusing.
"Out of morbid curiosity, marquis." - I continue - "Would you kindly explain what could I possibly need an alchemist for, considering that I am fairly well known as an apt alchemist myself? Between inventing the cure for cold and writing a textbook on mineral alchemy just recently, I would presume my credentials as an alchemist are fairly convincing."
He flabs his mouth wordlessly, purpling and shaking as he tries to force something coherent out.
Abe finally takes mercy on him. "I believe it is amply evident lady Gillespie is not involved in any kind of attack on your household this fine morning, marquis." - he proffers ominously - "However, given your unfounded accusations just now, I would not be surprised if she elects to call a blood feud on de Breges... and I am seriously contemplating the merits of giving her permission to do so. Your conduct lately has been most aggravating, I must note."
Well, his self-preservation seems to be working, at least. De Brege promptly drops on his knees and pleads - "Mercy, your highness! I beg for mercy! I am at my wits' end! I have seen lady Gillespie leaving my manor with my own eyes, with some oijan thugs in tow! I do not understand how that might have happened if she was with you this morning!"
O-ho. That's... curious.
"And those thugs were dragging your alchemy tutor, I take it?" - Abraham drawls slowly. This is... getting pretty interesting.
"...Ah. No? Not that I could see, your highness." - marquis bleats in confusion.
"Then why do you think he was kidnapped by this mysterious impostor?" - Abe nails him to the floor with a simple observation.
"He's missing, your highness!" - de Brege responds promptly - "I have been paying the man handsomely, I can hardly see why he would leave if not taken by force. Furthermore, my son's precious project had been stolen!"
"And what kind of alchemy was your son dabbling with?" - I quip.
"OOh, he is brilliant, he is, my darling Julien." - marquis crows, promptly forgetting his regrettable situation - "Why, I challenge you to find another scion to concoct an invisibility potion at such a tender age! You won't, mark my words. My Julien is an alchemical prodigy!"
"Really? And how long was he studying alchemy?" - Abe eggs him on - "I daresay this is the first time I hear of Julien having an interest in the alchemy of all crafts." Left unsaid is the notion that de Breges in general have not been heard of being apt at any craft whatsoever for generations by now.
"Why, he had just taken up the tutelage, your highness, just the last week." - marquis continues to dig himself deeper - "Herr Nokhmakhn had just discovered his astounding aptitude, to be honest."
Krauts. And... My yiddish is very rudimentary, but if I'm not mistaken, it should correspond to german 'nachmashen'... Herr Fake? Good grief. So it's Klaus. Put the "alchemy tutor" in, discover "prodigy", produce potions just in time for hashishins to nab those for the cloaks. Probably leaked the information to them too, crafty bastard. Of course, with the tutor long gone, there is no proving it... and de Brege is left holding the bag as the guy who provided the hashishins with invisibility cloaks. Inspired nasty.
Abe is clearly thinking along the same lines, if not suspecting Klaus, I would imagine, giving his rapidly darkening face.
"Well, marquis, I believe I know where the invisibility potions went, at least." - he begins ominously - "They were used by hashishins to sneak into my palace in their attempt to murder lady Gillespie."
"But... but... but!" - de Brege stammers - "Why would she want to murder herself! Ooh, I knew there was something off about her this morning! Your highness, lady Gillespie must be in the grip of lunacy, there is no other explanation!"
Everyone, including the servants, facepalms. There is simply no other way to respond to that. Abe turns to me. "Do you have better ideas, lady Gillespie?" - he inquires, barely holding himself from a bout of snide laughter.
"Well... Let me begin by stating I have no need for invisibility potions." - I begin, and toss an invisibility spell over myself, eliciting a number of gasps as I simply vanish from sight - "I believe that marquis de Brege was thoroughly duped. One of the hashishins had posed as an alchemist in order to, ahem..."
I reappear and do the air quotes with fingers as I continue - "To 'discover' Julien's 'prodigious alchemy skills', so that marquis would purchase the rare and expensive ingredients for the invisibility potion. Once they were prepared, no doubt under the guise of alchemist showing Julien how to do it, hashishins had staged the 'assault' and simply walked out with potions, alchemist shedding the illusion of Kraut gentleman in favor of donning my own image as a guise. Then they put the potions on the cloaks and carried out their infiltration. The outcome you already know."
Abraham nods thoughtfully - "That sounds plausible. And leaves us with the unfortunate fact that marquis de Brege had, however unwittingly, supplied our enemy with the means of entering my palace unnoticed. Roland, there is no way for me not to address your part in this."
He pauses, and sighs. "Baron de Brege, you may leave. Documents for your new title will be delivered this evening." - he then proclaims - "I do hope that you will take this rebuke as an inspiration for improvement on your diligence as a noble of Champagne kingdom. I also recommend you retire to your domain for now and devote some time and effort towards managing it. I find you as a courtier to be severely lacking and would enjoy a respite from your haphazard blundering."
De Brege swallows. Pales. Purples. Chokes on air. Falls over in a dead faint, much to the alarm of everyone present.
___
"One thing bothers me." - Abraham muttered as me, him, father, Jerome the lieutenant and sir Malachi trooped down to the dungeons to have a look at the hashishin - "Why would the fake alchemist don your image?"
"To avoid making you think that de Breges were knowingly conspiring, most likely." - I retort - "I suspect, though I have no good proof for it, that alchemist was not actually a hashishin himself but rather someone who orchestrated the availability of invisibility potion to hashishins for their own agenda. If not for that, former marquis would have probably been executed for this, or stripped of his noble status altogether, and being part to such a loud crime would cause a lot of scrutiny to be placed on his acquaintances. I hardly think de Brege would allow a random alchemist from the street to tutor his precious offspring. Someone sufficiently noble had to introduce them in order for de Brege to actually hire the man."
"You suspect some of our own nobles aided hashishins covertly?" - Malachi mused - "I wouldn't be surprised, if so. Your achievements make you a thorn in the side to many of our esteemed highborn. As it is, even if we find out who made the introduction, they have a ready excuse that they had no idea the alchemist they recommended turned out to be an assassin in disguise."
"Unfortunately believable." - Abe grouses - "What are the chances our guest here would know anything about this scheme that we already don't know?"
Malachi snorts. "Two, your highness. Slim and fat." - he jests - "Jokes aside, I would presume someone who was there to be the bait knows as little as possible about the case. Still, there is no harm in asking."
Come to think of it, this is the first time I'm getting to see the palace dungeons. Extensive is one word for it, but it does seem that most of the area is used as storage, rather than jail. The actual holding area is pretty modest by the kingdom standards - only six cells. I guess this place is not really used as a jail much. Further credence is lent by the fact that only one cell is occupied... and it is one closest to the entrance.
Actual interrogation kinda... does not happen. The guy in question is manacled to the wall, his knee is definitely not up to the task of being used for anything, and the only thing he does is mutter something quietly in oijan, ignoring our questions entirely. Well, right until the part when I enter the cell, because the moment I'm in, the guy lunges for me. I'm not sure what he expected to do, the manacle chain is far too short to reach, and he is not exactly in shape to stand. The huge hematoma covering most of his face shows where he caught my backhand. I guess he was under body reinforcement magic in time, I'd have outright snapped his neck otherwise with that much force applied.
Stepping back, I shake my head. "I... find it dubious there is actually any point in asking anything." - I suggest - "This man already considers himself dead, as far as I can tell." Then I step to the side to dodge the well-aimed loogie. Irritating.
Abraham considers the situation critically. Looks at Malachi. "What do you think?" - he asks shortly.
"She's right." - Malachi admits gruffly - "We might get more spit for our troubles, that's pretty much it."
Abraham considers the prisoner carefully, dodges his own portion of spit, and waves his hand abruptly. "Damnation. Jerome, give him what he desires." - he grouses. Lieutenant bows, pulls out the sword and steps up to the hashishin, thrusting the blade through his solar plexus without much ado. The effects are... interesting, as the assassin immediately begins to scream and thrash about. Jerome clearly did not expect this much, because he yanks the sword out with a curse and jumps back. We all stare as the man in front of us dies in very odd manner, blood foaming out of all his orifices, both natural and freshly made.
"...Oh gods, what just happened?" - Jerome finally manages after a lengthy pause, as we all stare at the body that apparently expired with most of his blood boiling out. He stares at the pristinely clean sword, then turns to me with a crooked smile - "...Cleaning enchantment, lady Gillespie?"
"...Contagion effect, I surmise." - I offer after a bit of consideration - "Pain is a sort of sacrifice, and blood definitely qualifies as something to clean off... Well, you can't dispute the fact it did clean the sword off rather promptly."
"That it did." - he agrees with a sage nod, and cautiously returns the sword into the sheath - "I believe I will be exercising extra caution, lady Gillespie, you seem to have produced a fearsome weapon."
"Quite." - Malachi rasps - "Any chances I might get the formulae, lady Gillespie? That enchantment does seem to have quite an effect. I wonder what this kind of blade would do to a ghoul."
"I'll write it down once we reach the place with writing utensils, sir Malachi." - I agree. Curious. I didn't really expect that much. It should've just boiled the blood off the blade, not off the body entirely... On the other hand, Malachi is right. This should be quite a nasty surprise to any of the creatures Inquisition normally deals with.
I live a sad life of pointing out the misuse of "then".
used as storage, rather then jail
I'm pleased to note that this chapter is not very sad, however.
Also: holy swords get?
Even better i would say. Holy swords are strong and have an advantage against evil alignment enemies. This sword has an advantage against anything that has blood.
The only downside is that you cant gather the blood for any rituals as it quite literally boils it away!!
And now I am imagining her enchanting all her bullets. one hit one kill bullets from a mass produced ranged agent of destruction would be the epitome of "f you" to everything that exists.
@Aloreal Funny thing. Blood isn`t really necessary. Anything that qualifies as "needs to be cleaned off the sword" fits the bill. Which basically covers pretty much any kind of liquid and dust that might ostensibly coat the sword. If you thought boiling blood was bad... If you use this to strike a rock golem, it will be literally torn apart by dust detonation.
Unfortunately, the formulae requires a lot of real estate, so anything less then a sizeable dagger is not gonna cut it.
@Cytotoxin Awww. no bullets of sure death?
So a "simple" enchantment makes a sword quite literally a reapers blade on anything that might be considered as a "need to be cleaned." Thats... so overpowered I cant even... I would assume gas poison and anything else harmful airborn can be cleaned just by holding the sword?
Can the users mind affect what "needs to be cleaned?"
@Cytotoxin but I don't think the enchantment would necessarily work on a golem like this without the pain for the sacrifice to kickstart it, would it?
@Aloreal well.... The "mind" would have to be on the sword. Also it wouldn't draw in poison gas I would think only what directly touches it and you'd still need some kind of sacrifice to kickstart the enchantment.
@BOOKW0RM True true. The limit is the sacrifice. In the case of a golem I would assume the latent energy from the golem can kickstart the process? If its a golem its magical by existing
@BOOKW0RM @Aloreal
Ok, so...
1) Pain is also not necessary. Any act of intentional destruction with the sword counts as sacrifice. The only limitation on this is the need to actually damage the object that is being struck, even a little. Furthermore, the sword itself has only it`s own durability, so if you break it, that`s it.
Damaging things that don`t release much in the way of liquid or particulate will have less of an effect. For example, if one were to slice a rope with this sword, nothing particularly noteworthy would happen. Maybe the rope ends singe a little, that`s about it.
2) In order to activate enchantment sword has to be explicitly wielded with an intent. While accidentally striking an enemy wielder does not perceive qualifies, simply bumping against someone with sheathed sword does not. Alyssa did not want the sword to spontaneously self-clean when Jerome is doing maintenance like oiling or whetting it.
3) While it is ostensibly possible to "stab" a cloud of poisonous gas, it is very hazardous to do so, because the result will go off like an air-fuel bomb.
@Cytotoxin
3) While it is ostensibly possible to "stab" a cloud of poisonous gas, it is very hazardous to do so, because the result will go off like an air-fuel bomb.
Yes.
that sounds so wrong, just putting that enchantment on a big enough spear and loading it up as ammunition on a ballistae would pretty much make nukes if you fire it off at pre-stockpiled, at the cost of basically nothing? or am i not getting something right
@ThatLurkerInTheCorner Not really. Putting it on a spear or ballista bolt is an option, but it will still only affect the object it strikes, and structures do not qualify. If you put it on ballista bolt and shoot it at the wall, it will crack a couple of stones and set off a dust explosion roughly equivalent to a pound of flour going off, more or less.
Besides, for Alyssa, this is a non-issue, she can quite literally nuke something on her own power. For everyone else, well... Large scale combat spells do exist, but they are cumbersome to enact, consume literal fields of flowers for power and generally are put in action by a coven of mages, not a singular person.
@Cytotoxin Maybe not bullets but a good long ballistic bolt will still do the trick for any golem or fortress.
@BrokenLord321 Golem, maybe yes. Fortress, no. At most, it will cause localized explosion. I already pointed out that using it on ballista bolt will just crack a couple stones and set off a little dust explosion.
@Cytotoxin Still deadly regardless!
@BrokenLord321 A lot of things are. Magical or not.
@Cytotoxin It is still worth it to place the 'cleaning' enchantment on ballistae bolts because the enchantment is powered based on sacrifice rather than flowers. The secondary dust explosion is essentially free extra chip damage against the wall that a mundane bolt wouldn't do on its own. You get more bang for your buck and the flowers in your war budget you didn't spend on ballistae bolt enchantments can be put to use elsewhere in the siege.
@0xFFF1 On one hand, yes. On other, Alyssa believes doing some research into magical properties of picric acid and trinitrotoluene would serve the purposes of "f*ck you and your fortifications with extreme prejudice" much more expeditiously.
@Cytotoxin Hurray for TNT
@Cytotoxin So long throwing knifes
@Season It would have to be something comparable in length and heft to a dirk or gladius. Not exactly a good throwing option.
I suppose you could enchant some kind of mambele with that, but it would be rather... lackluster as a weapon.
@Cytotoxin Maybe a disk with bladed edge not whole way round of some kind I was referring to handal poison cloud and stuff if it would explode I figured people would want distance between them and the fog and well had said bit longer then a dagger I could be misremembering that bit
Or something like a hand bomb shape if it would be big enough if hose all around it instead of up a blade
To check rooms before entering chuck though door or window if exploded the was a build up of gas or was unluck and if land in something
If a enchant is unpowered can it be repowered or dose it have to be redone same with powerful enchants do they break if not powered or just go dormiamt
@Season Not really worth the effort on it`s own. As a part of incorporated scheme, sure, magical engineering is gonna be a big thing.
@Cytotoxin So for the last bit ?
And had meant as a back up weapon/tool for scouting or stuff find the poison with spell get rid of with disk or rock if get some way to enchant on the go like a mild or stamp
Disk just came to mind as a object that has good amount of surface space and flys easier
@Season There are many different options out there. More common in the east, as the western cultures ended up developing something called "honorable conduct of hostilities".
@Cytotoxin I was partly thinking magic world swamps or rainforest with lots of poison plants and animals or traps
Are dungeons a thing I don’t think so but feel like asking I can see a few being possible like fallen empire vaults be in broken into or old tomb
Has she checked the volcano that damage ashvalle
@Season Dungeons as in potentially self-aware self-regenerating permutating monster habitats with replenishing treasure? Nope, not a thing here.
Actual dungeons, both in use and abandoned? That`s a thing that exists, yes.
And yes, I did mention her poking around to figure out the best way to put new tract recently.
@Cytotoxin I meant check to make sure it is unlikely to go off again in a 100 years or what ever and have safeguards because I can she her being unhappy if has to rebuild the city/national multiple times over the years
@Season Considering she told dwarves they`re good to go trying to retake the Ashenvale for some use? I`ll let you guess what this means.
@Cytotoxin Probably but not really sure the reference for use of a volcano other than as a heat source for forges or such stuff
@Season first off: other "THAN" as a heat source.
Second: stop necroing a year-old comment thread. Thx.
@Angry_Clown Isn't it only necro the first time and won't the newer threads be way off topic
Other then this replie I will stop on this thread because you asked nicely thanks
@Angry_Clown It`s fine. So long as people have legitimate questions or comments, not just "lol necro", I`m cool with old threads being replied to.
@Cytotoxin With the cleaning enchantment reacting to pain as a sacrifice: What would happen if someone were to accidentally cut themselves? Or a child somehow got their hands on it and accidentally injured one of their peers while playing with the blade?
@Tek Basically, intent matters. Enchantment does make provisions not to treat oiling as dirtying, same consideration applies to blood from self-inflicted wound. In order to make enchantment get rid of it, it would have to be intentionally triggered by wielder, and that would sever the contagion link. Metaphysics are such metaphysics.
Children wouldn`t have the oomph to activate the enchantment to begin with, so even a child gets their hands on the sword, it would only be as dangerous as a sword in hands of a child. That is, middlingly dangerous to other children, as swords are wont to be.
@Cytotoxin I see.
Thanks for explaining.