The first sip of the hot stew drained all the tension with it as it ran down Ronald’s throat. The broth was tangy, and had a deep rich brown to it. The beef was tender, the carrots warm, the beans soft and it all had a good salty taste that revived him. Never in his years had Bano’s food worked so well at restoring his vitality. He must have hired a new cook, or perhaps the old one had come back from studying under a master. Whichever it was, Ronald found himself melting over each succulent spoonful. It almost made him forget there was an army of kobolds holed up in the merchant guild’s warehouse. Pests, all of them. This whole mess was a farce, and the sooner they could get the election over with, the sooner he’d hopefully see the last of Jevrick La Kill.

  He shook the thoughts from his head and took another pleasant sip of stew, enjoying the company of his fellow guardsmen, and confident that in two days time this chapter of horrors would be finished.

  ***

  ===

  Jevrick’s Main Quest: Restore Maplebrook

  

  
• Deal with Nightfire weeds before they destroy the town.


  

  

  
• Win Election.


  
• Earn Maplebrook’s trust.


  
• Bring back the town’s dead.


  
• Rebuild houses.


  
• Restore population.


  

  Side Quests:

  

  
• Cure Molly’s Nightfire infection.


  

  

  
• Find out who burned down the chapel.


  
• Fulfill obligation to Atan.


  

  ===

  “She is almost out of time,” Lysa explained.

  I examined Molly’s infected wound, which had become dark black with green veins that ran up her leg. Her completion had lost a lot of its color, and her breaths were incredibly shallow.

  “Is it too late?” I asked.

  Fern spread a paste that he’d made from various plants across the wound. “It may be. I have never seen a non-druid perform this ritual successfully, even when the subject was in a far more suitable state.”

  I shrugged. “Nothing gained by doing nothing.” I reached into my satchel and pulled out the Soul Mirror.

  Green Thumb sat cross-legged and hunched over, resting his head on a chin. He perked up as he saw me. “Finally. You know that I’m trapped in this single space, right? I can’t even lay down, watch.” He attempted to spread his legs and arms out, but they were suppressed by invisible barriers. “Can we get this over with so I might leave this eternal hell?”

  Well, that wasn’t the most unreasonable request I’d been given in recent times. I nodded. “Once these matters regarding the weeds are resolved, I will release your soul. Your efforts are most graciously appreciated.”

  He waved a hand dismissively. “Bah. Enough of that, just turn me around so I can see the problem.”

  I flipped the mirror to face Molly’s wound.

  “Hmm. . . I see. It’ll be tough. Turn me back around so I can see your freakish face.”

  I’d roll my eyes if I had my visage form donned. Regardless, I flipped him back to me.

  Green Thumb stroked his beard. “Here’s the rub. The poison needs to be drained from her. There are some ways to go about it, though fewer that a novice elementalist might be capable of.”

  I chose to ignore the novice comment. I liked to think of myself more of an abstainer, if anything. But I swallowed my pride and allowed the druid to continue.

  “First,” continued the druid, “we will need to think of the blood. Draining it is possible, but she will need something to replace what she loses or she’ll die. If you have a paladin, they might could purify her blood as well.”

  And where indeed was Atan in this time I needed him?

  “Second, you’ll need to be able to get rid of any spores that have mixed with her body. They get in deep. That is what the ritual is for. You drek that up, and it’ll get messy.”

  Wonderful. “Very well, what else, Master Druid?”

  “Lastly. . .” he sighed. “Get some firewood or a furnace going. You fail to finish off the infection, then she’ll mutate, and then you’ll have to go through the trouble of killing her all over.”

  I nodded. “Thank you. I suppose there is no time to waste. We have not a paladin in our midst, however, I again possess the conduit I need for blood magic. I wager to think that the ritual will be the hardest endeavor here.”

  Green Thumb gave a smug smile. “Yeh, about that. You’ll need to bring her to a patch of Nightfire, and should the ritual be interrupted, then I hope you have a change of clothes.”

  ***

  Old Lady Maribel eased a spoon of water into Von Jakoby’s mouth. Some driblets ran down his cheek, but she wiped it away with her apron. Then she took a wet cloth and dabbed his forehead.

  “There, there, Von. You’ll be up and standing again in no time at all.” She smiled at the gentlemen. Being with him now reminded her of when they used to spend time together in their youth. That had been what seemed ages ago, far before the war. Much had changed since then. Von used to smile, for one. She hoped she’d get to see those hopelessly crooked teeth grinning again some day. She, unlike most other folk, believed he would recover yet. Though, how pitiful it was that that nasty wizard had to come and harm such a beautiful soul.

  She gave Von a gentle kiss on his forehead, and turned to put the water bucket back in the kitchen.

  Thump-thump. Someone was at the door.

  Maribel cleared her throat. “Ah, hello?”

  “Morning,” said a rough voice. “Would you mind?”

  Maribel wiped her hands on her apron and shuffled to open the door. Her eyes widened when she saw a rather large looking woman had been the one to come by.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “Maribel?” the woman asked. She wore the clothing that many of the woodsmen wore.

  She blinked herself back to the present. “Ah, yes. Is something wrong?”

  The woman cleared her throat. “Uhem, no.” She proceeded to read from a piece of parchment. “Dear, uh, ma’m. Were you aware of the coming election on tomorrow’s eve?”

  “Oh,” Maribel said. “Oh, yes. . . Wait, hadn’t that daemon of a wizard already claimed it?”

  The woman squinted up at Maribel, seemed like she might answer, but then resigned to continue reading from the parchment. . . in a very droning tone. “Well, I would like to tell you about Maplebrook’s best hope, in Jervick La Kell. . .”

  ***

  ===

  Inventory:

  

  
1. Gold: 0


  
2. Items: Robe, Flint and Tinder, Vials, Glass Mirror.


  
3. Magic Items: Scythe, Soul Mirror, Soul Gem, Protection Charm, Spellbook, Gold Triangle Binding Cap


  
4. Base materials: Vials of Blood, Pouches of Bonemeal, *Various Aether-Infused Plants, Sack of Soil.


  
5. Special Items: Vial of green dust and blood


  
6. Main Components:


  


  
1. Assorted Kobold Components


  
2. Cat Eyes


  
3. Flattened Tin


  
4. Glass Bulbs


  
5. Human Faces


  
6. Human Hearts


  
7. Human Hands


  
8. Spider Silk


  
9. Sprite Dust


  
10. Various Slivers of Metal


  


  

  ===

  Spells:

  Cantrips:

  

  
1. Create Fire (Arcane)


  
2. Decaying Tendrils (Blood)


  
3. Siphon Soul (Blood)


  
4. Spectral Hand (Blood + Arcane)


  
5. True Sight (Blood + Arcane)


  

  Prepared:

  

  
1. Aether Harvest (Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Slivers of Metal.


  


  
2. Animate Object (Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Sprite Dust.


  


  
3. Chains of Erabos (Blood+Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Chains+Severed Hands


  


  
4. Force Darts (Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Glass Bulbs.


  


  
5. Levitate Object (Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Flattened Tin.


  


  
6. Message (Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Two Mirrors+A Silver Wire


  


  
7. Mirror Image (Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Glass Mirror+Three Faces.


  


  
8. Portal (Arcane)


  


  
1. Main Component: Polished Iron Ingot.


  


  
9. Raise Thrall (Blood)


  


  
1. Main Component: Equivalent Mortal’s Heart


  


  
10. Sleep (Blood)


  


  
1. Main Component: Spider Silk


  


  

  ===

  Undead Servants: 10 Greenfolk Thralls (Timmins, George, Lana), 9 Intact Townsfolk Corpses

  ===

  Time Until Election: 1 Day, 13 Hours, 45 Minutes

  ===

  Time Until Nightfire Arrival: 1 Day, 1-15 Hours

  ===

  As I had feared, the Nightfire had spread a decent way while the sun was down, slithered up to the edge of the brook. At this rate, it seemed certain that it would reach Maplebrook before the election. I had to work fast.

  I journeyed down the hill with Molly floating alongside me. I had also brought with me eight thralls, leaving behind Timmins and Lana to watch over the town hall should anything require my attention. Strapped to my chest was the Soul Mirror so that Green Thumb could keep a running tab on how things were transpiring, while also allowing me to maintain use of hands for conducting the ritual. I would not be able to utilize my scythe should any beasts emerge from the woods, though I would be able to cast instant spells while maintaining my concentration. However, if I sustained as much as a single wound, I ran the risk of losing complete control over the ritual and botching it entirely. My protection charm would offer some prevention, but quick successive attacks could potentially bypass its effectiveness. Thus, I needed my thralls to help form a barricade around me while I worked to ensure I didn’t get swarmed. According to Green Thumb, this magic would lure all sorts of infected beasts out, so it was not to be a trivial thing.

  Now, you might ask, why was I putting so much effort into saving this one woman while I had both the election and greater Nightfire threat on the horizon? Well, in pragmatic terms, this ritual would serve as an opportunity to ease myself into the elemental magic. That would be important to make sure I was prepared for the greater ritual I would need to perform in order to destroy the infestation entirely.

  But, in truth, my real motivation was much simpler. Molly was a citizen of Maplebrook, and I swore to protect the town and all who lived within it. Buildings could be replaced, and bodies could be repurposed, but the soul of mortals was a singular thing. I sought to give her the chance to continue on, as I hoped to create prosperity for all under my charge. That was the mark of a leader, a true mayor. That was what I would do anything to achieve; in this case, I’d even risk my own election.

  The toes of my shoes met the line of slow creeping weeds. I used Create Fire to burn myself a path forward. The flames snapped into existence, parting the vines in a sudden and violent torrent. Green spores flickered into embers as the magic consumed them.

  My thralls followed behind me as I cleared the path, twitching and shambling, a line of ants.

  “Here should be good enough,” Green Thumb said.

  I dispelled the flames. A scorched path lay behind me, and thankfully the sunlight above prevented them from closing back in.

  I instructed my eight thralls to stand around me in a circle, facing outward, as I floated Molly down upon a patch of the Nightfire. The plants did something I had not yet seen. They curled in upon her, as if it was a soft cushion she’d laid upon.

  Fascinating.

  Green Thumb hmphed. “Nightfire in this state forms a sort of hivemind, you might say. A network of sensory spores that recognizes its own, and rejects those who are not. Be quick, necromancer, its defenders will be here soon. We may have the grace that the sun will hold them to the tree line.”

  I did as he advised, and sat beside the woman. The plants pulsed with her each breath, which was more stable now, as if the plants were acting as her lungs.

  “First, the blood,” the druid instructed.

  I now had the hardened anima needed to perform blood magic, and so I began my work using Siphon Soul in gentle spurts to tug the blood from her system. The glowing ichor oozed from her leg wound with each wave of my hand, but I was careful not to use the full intensity of the spell as that would simply kill her. As I did this, I had one of my thralls pull a skin of juice from my satchel. He pressed the head of it to Molly’s lips and squeezed. This would encourage her body to create fresher blood, while I extracted the old. This process would take some time. It was a tedious, un-orthodox way to conduct such a procedure, but I was no doctor nor paladin. So, the long process began. Not too fast, not too slow. And while I worked, the glow of corrupted eyes began to dot the forest.