I somehow got a few hours of sleep after Lyra left, but my morning wake-up was not so pleasant.
"Wake up!" the guard barked, shaking my shoulder roughly.
"Uh… just one more minute, Grandma," I mumbled, still half-asleep and dreaming of my old world.
"Wake up, you son of a… I'm not your grandma, I'm Grek!"
My eyes shot open. Shit! How could I forget? I'm not home. I'm in a cursed town, sleeping in a villain's mansion. Grandma... I hope you're okay.
"Sorry, Mister Grek," I said, scrambling out of bed.
"Good, now wake up from the bed and let's go. Your friend is already with Mr. Cedric Thornwell at the hall, discussing your mission."
"Cedric who?"
"The adviser. Don't you know his name?"
"Oh, so Carl is with the adviser…"
…
…
"OH CARL IS WITH THE ADVISER?!?!" I shrieked.
"Uh, stop screaming in my face! God, you nearly made my ear bleed! Why do you scream like nails screeching on a board?" Grek grumbled, rubbing his ear.
"Sorry! Let's go! Can't keep the adviser waiting!" I shouted, panic overriding everything. Carl, I swear, if you've said anything to get our necks cut off, I'll kill you myself.
The guard led me down the grand staircase into the main hall. A fire crackled in the hearth, casting flickering shadows on the walls. Standing on either side of the adviser were two men who looked like they were carved from stone—bald, muscular, and utterly imposing.
I suppose they are his disciples? Um… both disciples look… not like a mage their master is. They look like… bodybuilders. What are they gonna cast? Fist? Muscle? Protein ray? And how are they so muscular? Is it natural? Are steroids their power? Boys, you are not natty.
And there, standing before them all, was Carl.
"Good morning, Mr. Adviser," I said, forcing a polite smile.
"Oh, great, look who's here," Thornwell sneered. "I thought you died because of fear."
"Haha, no, Mr. Adviser," I laughed, a bit too loudly. "I was just tired, and my body just refused to move until the guard came and said that you were waiting for me! How could I keep someone as great as you on hold? I hurried here the moment my body moved. In fact, I didn't even move,I forced my way here by sheer force of will, I forced my very soul to carry me!, just for you"
"Flattery will get you nowhere," he said dismissively. "I have already explained the details of the artifact to Mr. Zeiss, and I have no intention of repeating myself. Here," he thrust a rolled-up paper at me, "this contains all the relevant information.You both now eat, and don't forget to take necessary supplies for the journey, whether it is food or weapons.These two are my disciples who will also go with you both. Now, I will be taking my leave." The adviser left after saying that.
The two mountains of muscle stepped forward. "Hello, Mr. Darcy," the one on the left said with a surprisingly gentle voice. "I'm Joey, and this is Jack."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Darcy Sinclair." Damn, they're... polite? I was expecting creepy, soulless henchmen, but these guys seem like decent blokes.Those guys aren't as bad as I thought. I thought they would also be creepy-looking and bad like him, but no, they seem like a good example of… humans.
I sneaked to Carl without raising any suspicious looks and whispered, "Hey, what did you talk about with that old geezer?"
"Nothing," Carl replied calmly. "He just talked about how the artifact looked and how we are not supposed to handle it."
"And how does it look? And what does it do?"
"Well, from the way the adviser was talking," Carl began, his voice low, "it looks like it's an artifact that removes limits. There's usually a limit to how much spiritual power you can drain from someone with a curse. So, he's trying to use this to suck every last ounce of spiritual power from this town." As for its look, just take a look at the sketch on the paper he provided. It also has additional information of what not to do and where not to touch it if you want to live another day."
I pulled out the paper and took a look… unbelievable…
.
.
.
I can't read a single damn word. It looks like ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. What the hell?!
"Ah, Carl?"
"Yes?"
"What... what does this say? In my homeland, we, ah, write quite differently."
"But to my knowledge,it's the only way humans write," Carl replied, a slight frown on his face. "It's called Horwet."
.
.
.
Shit! This damn world made me understand the spoken language but not how to read and understand it in written form? What kind of joke is it?
I put on the most tragic face I could manage. "I was not taught how to write… and it's a painful and tragic story, so I would prefer it if we don't talk about my family and upbringing."
"Sounds weird, but I won't dig," Carl said, shrugging.
Carl peered at the paper. "It says there are a total of twelve buttons you are not supposed to touch any one of, as there is a sequence to activate it. And you are absolutely not to touch the two pipe-like extensions at the bottom, as these will suck every spiritual power from their— Wait, you can touch it. You're immune to it now that I think.You don't have any spiritual power to drain."
Great! My magical uselessness is a
superpower again!
After packing rations and a few weapons, it was time for our departure. The town hall clock read 5:40 AM. The few townsfolk shuffling through the streets looked miserable, their faces hollow with pain. Even Joey and Jack looked down, their expressions full of regret.
"So, where is this tomb?" Joey asked.
"First, we must enter the Forest of Broken Vows," I announced confidently. "And after that..." (I have no idea! I'll... wing it!) "...I will guide you."
We marched out of the town gates and toward the ominous treeline.
"Carl," I whispered, "can you handle any monsters we run into?"
"I suppose I can," Carl said with a stoic look on his face.
I looked at the disciples walking beside us. They had humanity in their eyes, unlike their master. It was worth a shot.
"You two," I said quietly. "You're not really his disciples, are you?"
They both froze, exchanging a panicked look. "H-how did you know?" Jack stammered.
Wait, really?! I was just guessing! "That was just an instinct of an advanced adventurer like me…" I boasted.
It makes sense, though. Thornwell can't do everything himself; he needs some healthy servants to run the house. So he spares a few. But why would they obey him? Is he threatening their families? Do they think they're simply at his mercy? Promising them something in return? Or do they still foolishly believe they're following the Baron's real orders?
Carl gave me a little smirk that clearly said, You little shit. You got no powers, and look at you, lying like some big shot.
"Well, you're right," Joey admitted, looking a bit relieved. "We're not. We were actually out on a hunting trip in the Forest of Vows when the curse hit the town. When we returned, he captured us immediately. He said we were among the strongest people left, and he figured we might have some use. He just kept us locked up in the prison until now; he never put the curse on us."
"Now tell me, what is your business with him?" Carl pressed, his eyes fixed on Joey and Jack.
"We… we both are just trying to save the people of our town," Joey explained. "He said he will leave the town after we accompany you both and bring the artifact that he wants."
"Sure, he will leave the town when he gets his hands on it," Carl interjected, his voice flat. "But the town will be a dead town, as every being in it will die."
"What?" Joey and Jack said in unison, their faces paling.
"He needs the artifact to suck out every bit of spiritual power from the townspeople," Carl continued. "And I'm sure you know what happens to a person whose every spiritual power is drained out…"
"But he promised!" Jack insisted, his voice cracking.
"You innocent fool," Carl said, his voice sharp. "He promised to leave the town. He never said he'd leave the people unharmed."
"So what do we do?" Joey asked, his face pale.
"We find the very artifact he is searching for," Carl declared. "And we give it to him."
"Why?!" Joey, Jack, and I all exclaimed in unison.
"He will have to lift the curse from his control to pass it on to the artifact and use it as a medium," Carl explained, his voice low and serious. "At that moment of curse lift, it will be our chance to kill him and save the people."
I whispered to Carl, "So why didn't you use your blood enchantment on him and let him do it?"
"It was too risky," Carl replied, equally quietly. "He already has too much spiritual power, as he has been sucking people's power for nearly one month already, so my enchantment wouldn't work on him in his current state."
"Wait," I pressed. "If we're going to kill him when he lifts the curse anyway, why don't we just do it now, while we have the element of surprise? What difference does it make?"
Carl looked at me, his red eyes deadly serious. "All the difference in the world, Darcy. If we kill him while the curse is still fully under his control, the curse won't die with him. It will become an untethered parasite. The townspeople's spiritual power will continue to be drained, but instead of going to a caster, it will simply vanish into an endless void. Everyone in Dunford would be dead within days.
He let that sink in for a moment before continuing.
"But, when he transfers the curse from himself to the artifact, there is a single, brief moment where the curse is in transit—no longer fully bound to him, and not yet anchored to the device. If we kill him in that exact instant, the curse will have no master and no source. It will collapse on itself and dissipate. It is the only way to kill the man and the curse at the same time
"So that will be our only chance to save the people—when he is about to lift the curse from his control to the artifact?" I confirmed.
"Yes," Carl said.
"Alright, so you both, Joey and Jack, understand what we are trying to do to save people."
"You both really are something else," Joey said, awe in his eyes for the noble job we were about to do without caring for our own safety. "To go such lengths to help others that you don't know…"
"Well, it's the only right thing to do, so let's go!" I declared, trying to look as heroic as possible.
Well, my own survival was my first priority, but after looking at the town, I might give it my all. After all, I have Carl, a vampire… but wait, he doesn't drink blood, so how is he going to kill him? Is he strong enough?… Wait… we never encountered that tomb, so what artifact are we going to bring? And from where?