Curselock

Chapter 153: One Step Forward

The group continued through the Archon Valley until exhaustion overtook Sybil and Leland. Even with Touch of Regeneration, a person could only walk so far before needing rest. They stopped at what they assumed to be nightfall, which just so happened to be the same daybreak, noon, and dusk. Quickly they learned that the whole of the Valley was an experiment, and it never truly swapped between day and night.

What that would do to the ecosystem, only the Archons could tell.

Before stopping for the night, the group came across many more oddities of note. A tree splintered apart like an explosion detonated inside of it, only to be put back together with gaps in between each piece. A lava stream made entirely of molten glass with massive budding flowers around its edge that perfumed the surroundings with the scent of roses. There was even a crystalline cactus with needles the length of a person.

Again, the group had no idea what these experiments were supposed to represent or test for, only that some were more subtle than others.

This was especially true when the group found the woods suddenly ended, replaced with a field of stone. From the ground to the trees and leaves, that section of the woods had turned entirely into rock. Isobel even punched through a tree trying to learn if there was wood under the stone or not.

The results were inconclusive.

That was when a second monster attacked the group. It was, of course, made of stone. Isobel identified the beast as a roc, a great bird known for taking prey alive back to its nest. Interestingly enough, being made of stone, the roc was still as agile as the stories said. It swooped through the air, diving between grainy trees, taking passing blows at the group.

After Leland’s Fracture curse failed to do anything to the monster, the Huntress finally grew tired of the charade and fired an arrow through its wing, sending it crumbling to the ground.

“Now kill it,” she told Leland, who gave her an unimpressed stare.

In the end, Leland did manage to kill the creature, but only after fully taking its soul with Circle of Souls. Being made of stone, the roc was able to fend off his crows as well, ultimately failing to escape the ring of purple flames.

With the monster’s soul in hand, Leland once again activated his summon tattoo for Lodestar. The weapon appeared as before, starting with the shaft and extending into a slick curved blade when he took it in hand. There were several things he wanted to test about the weapon, mostly how long he could keep it summoned.

Thirty one minutes, he calculated, six minutes longer than his estimate for Lodestar’s first summoning. Because the roc was stronger than the boar-monster, he concluded that its power and persistence were directly tied to the soul consumed.

From there the group continued through the stone woods, coming into contact with a few more monsters. Isobel deferred to Leland for each of their dispatches.

Luckily, with Lodestar in hand, both Fracture and his crows inflicted soul damage despite not actually causing any physical damage. No “bones” were broken, not that Leland thought the stone beasts had bones, and no surface cuts or puncture wounds appeared.

But when Leland held the souls of the monsters in his hands, he could feel the damage Lodestar had done to them. Just as his curses were meant to do, cuts and fractures caused damage directly to the soul.

When the group finally came to rest, Leland checked over his progress in his grimoire. It had been so long since he last did this, which nearly brought a tear to his eye. Gaining ranks in his Legacy was something he was supposed to be doing with Jude and Glenny.

You have assisted in killing multiple monsters. An appropriate reward has been added to your Legacy.

Fracture has increased to rank 12.

Crow Massacre has increased to rank 12.

Circle of Souls has increased to rank 12.

Fracture:

Type: Curse

Rank: 11 (C+)

Call upon the Lord of Bone to shatter those in your way.

For a single target, break a random bone in their body with a 60% chance to break a second.

Crow Massacre:

Type: Curse

Rank: 12 (B-)

Call upon the ethereal familiar of the Lord of Curses.

Summon a full murder of 15 ethereal crows to attack targets for up to 2 minutes.

When all crows are present and attacking the same target, their beaks and talons are enhanced.

All resultant damage dealt by the crows bleed the target for an additional amount over 20 seconds.

Circle of Souls:

Type: Curse

Rank: 12 (B+)

Call upon the souls of the Damned, channeling the power of the Lord of Souls into an area.

Encase the souls of those within 50 yards, siphoning their lifeforce while chaining them to this reality.

Fully consume a soul to increase your magical potency by 12% for 1 minute.

Held lost souls may now be given to a soul of the Damned as payment for a task.

Damage dealt to one target with the circle is duplicated onto all targets inside the circle for 12% effectiveness.

Somberly, Leland smiled at the pages. Each curse only changed slightly, adding an additional few percentages or a few additional seconds. It would be slow going, but if the future was going to be anything like the day so far, he figured he was going to become rank three sooner rather than later.

Leland glanced at Isobel. Especially if she threw him to the wolves every fight.

Sitting around eating whatever Isobel caught for dinner, the group mainly sat in silence. There had been a hint of animosity in the air, mainly between Leland and the Huntress. Kid-like attitude clashed with analytical theory, the latter of which was easily crushed under a strength far beyond the former.

There were only so many mocking comments Leland could take, especially after most of his sarcastic comebacks ended with physical harm. Isobel had no issue slapping him, breaking his jaw then forcing him to heal himself. At least she did it every hour or so, making the pain bearable.

This treatment was especially prevalent during an after-combat action report. Isobel did not mince her words, often straight up insulting the young mage. Even Sybil became annoyed at this, telling off the former Inquisitor with a slurry of slurs and curse words.

The aftermath of this was a wide-eyed Leland and Isobel, both shocked silent. The stunt did help somewhat, culling Isobel’s temper the next time Leland failed to kill whatever monster instantly.

Leland thanked the Princess when he had a moment alone with her, despite knowing the Huntress could hear.

“So, Sybil,” Leland asked, taking a bite of overly charred… hen? He didn’t honestly know, mainly because it was so incredibly stretched, like a winged snake. “The Boneforged Monarch, do you have and idea about what sort of archetype her Legacy is?”

Sybil perked up at the question, smiling. While she didn’t care for the spice-less hen, she was still proud to be out in the wild. Not wearing her mask was a plus as well, although she didn’t quite understand what that meant. She could feel the Boneforged Monarch in her, hiding within the marrow of her bones.

It was a presence she didn’t mind, although Sybil knew something was wrong with the Monarch. Like two pieces of a whole, the Monarch felt distinct, like her other half was worlds away, locked behind a curtain of reality. The situation was strange, Sybil knew, specifically that Lords don’t just live in the mortal realm. She wished she knew more about the Monarch, and her grand role in the Palemarrow prophecy.

But that was her secret to share, if she was going to share it.

“I’ve only seen my mother use her Legacy once,” Sybil finally said. “It was a spell unlike anything I’ve ever known. She… well, rose from the dead.”

Isobel took a sip of a flask that smelled like mead. “The Great Massacre.”

Leland’s eyebrows stitched together. “The Queen died in the Great Massacre?”

“Officially? No,” Sybil said, putting her hands out toward the fire, “Unofficially? She and a few dozen nobles.”

“And sixteen civilians,” Isobel quickly added, a bit of malice in her words.

“Yes of course, them too.” Sybil tried to hide her mistake, reddening slightly. “It was the bedmaker who poisoned them, we later found out. But she is still at large.”

“The greatest assassination attempt— Scratch that, the greatest assassination, in Palemarrow history.”

Leland frowned at Isobel’s words. “But the Queen?” he asked Sybil.

“Yes,” she said. “Choked to death on vomit, only to resurrect moments later… They didn’t serve me what the others were having, I needed ‘more protein’ since I was going through a growth spurt at the time.”

“T-that’s horrible.”

“That’s politics,” Isobel muttered, glaring at the sky. “The entire staff was executed for ‘working with’ a terrorist. Like those poor souls had any idea one of them was a traitor.”

“Yes…” Sybil said, her voice trailing off like a faint infant’s cry. Isobel held out her flask, gesturing to take it. The Princess did, drinking her fair share.

“What about you, kid?” Isobel then asked Leland. “Your contracts, how do they work?”

“We’ve been over this—”

“Yeah, yeah. I don’t care about your secrets. Hold them close and don’t tell anyone. But you need to grow stronger, we both know that. Not just your magic, but everything about you.”

“Then what are you asking?”

“Back in Ruinsforth, you were running as hard as you could outside the city. What was that about?”

“A contract,” Leland admitted. “The Lord of Endurance. The more I run while exhausted, the more stamina the contract gives me.”

Isobel laughed. “Sounds like a scam.”

“W-what?”

“When you run, your stamina goes up regardless of the contract.”

“Well no… err… Wait. No, it’s different.”

“Uh huh.”

“It is, I already noticed a difference from before I got the contract.”

“Were you running the mornings when you didn’t have the contract?”

“No…”

Sybil then laughed.

“Sounds like you got scammed,” Isobel added.

Leland copied her words, saying them in a mocking tone.

After a moment of silence, Isobel then said, “You need a movement ability or spell. Something to adjust your positioning on the fly in battle. Stronger enemies will kill you quicker than you can blink.”

Thinking on the comment, Leland had to agree. Seeing how fast Jude’s mom and Glenny’s father moved in battle was something of an eye-opener. Could his crows even keep up if they were slowed with Curse of Collapse? He didn’t think so.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked.

They talked for an hour about potential contracts, ultimately deciding on a list of Lords. If one didn’t have what he wanted, he was to go straight to the next one. Begrudgingly, Leland explained how he would contact such Lords, making note that his body would be completely defenseless while his mind is elsewhere.

Isobel actually argued with him about that, telling him that made no sense. She questioned why a Lord wouldn’t just teleport his whole body over, stating that mental-teleportation wasn’t a thing. Leland conceded that he just didn’t know, which promptly shut her up with a smug smile.

“You just like to argue,” he muttered, removing a pillow and blanket from his inventory ring. He really wished he stocked it better.

“Oh, shut up and get on with it,” Isobel said with a sigh. “The faster you do this, the faster I don’t have to baby you.”

Leland almost decided not to make any more contracts. Almost. He laid down, gave Sybil a reassuring smile, then said,

“Lord of Erupting Skies, I humbly wish to create a contract with you.”