Sacrifice Mage

I didn’t know how I was supposed to help the fact that the Sea Cult’s leader was missing. I had no idea why I found myself walking over to the blue-robed cult’s neighbourhood of Ring Four.

Something about how distraught the cultist who had visited me was had tugged a little too strongly on my heartstrings. I was reminded of the time we had lost Escinca. If Favoile was gone for good, then his fellow cultists were in for a rough patch. I could empathize. Strongly.

Because yes, I was starting to suspect that something fatal had happened to Favoile.

The area of Ring Four overseen by the Sea Cult was pretty different from my neighbourhood, even though ours were next to each other. Even though the differences weren’t physical, I couldn’t help but feel things weren’t as… lively here.

There were fewer people in the streets. The few who strolled about looked wiry, gangly, destitute. And sad too. Had they heard the news of Favoile going missing? The buildings hadn’t been rebuilt after the Blight Swarm invasion as much as my neighbourhood had, and most of those being rebuilt were following the old schemes and materials, not the new ones I had installed in my area.

It wasn’t entirely decrepit, of course. This area of Ring Four had acquired their fair share of battle loot, had earned a decent amount of profit as well. Even if the new buildings were old-fashioned, they appeared to be sturdy and clean. That was something.

Still. It was a bit of a depressing reminder that I wasn’t magically making everything amazing everywhere. I had helped a lot of people, changed things for the better for many.

But I wasn’t magically turning Ring Four into a paradise all over. I hadn’t been here for even a year. It was crazy to think I could enact that sort of change in such a short time. Though… maybe I could. Maybe I could foster growth, not just for myself, for my cult, and for our immediate neighbourhood, but for all of Ring Four. I had enough power to do so now, didn’t I?

The mood was sombre in the Sea Cult temple. I hadn’t been there before. Their little chapel was no less dilapidated than mine, but their construction was definitely different.

It looked like the temple was made of sandstone, columns artfully decorated to look like sea waves at the top and the bottom. Pools of glimmering water shone like they had moonlight reflecting off them, despite the lack of a moon on Ephemeroth. Sadly, that beauty was undercut by the funereal atmosphere.

“When was the last time you saw him?” I asked as I watched the other blue-robed cultists gather mournfully around us. I wished I could give them some sort of encouragement, but I couldn’t find it in me to lie to them. “And where?”

“Cultist Favoile was at the temple six days ago,” said the youth who had brought me over. “He’s been missing ever since. The last we saw him was heading to go higher up the city, and then he… never returned.”

The youth swallowed, clearly trying to hold it together for the benefit of the rest of his cult.

“Any idea where he went?” I asked.

“I think he was going out to Ring Two,” one of the other cultists said.

We were all silent after that. My suspicions had been taking shape from the moment I had heard that Favoile had gone missing. He had been so insistent about finding out what sorts of conspiracies the lords of Ring Two were up to, especially since the Earth Cult seemed involved.

I didn’t want to immediately jump to the conclusion that Favoile had been disappeared, but…

“You truly think he was abducted?” Durica asked as he entered with a few Wind Cult followers. Looked like I wasn’t the only one who had been invited.

I raised a questioning eyebrow at my guide.

The youth nodded his head in slight embarrassment. “We asked all the cults Cultist Favoile favoured to come over.”

“If it’s only a kidnapping,” I said to Durica. “Then I’ll consider him getting off lucky.”

Because a kidnapping suggested that Favoile could still be freed. That he could still return. But it had been over six days and there had been no word. The chances of Favoile returning were looking slim to none.

Durica got what I meant and didn’t elaborate further, sparing the poor Wind cultists more heartache.

“It is clearly an abduction.” The Fire Cult was entering now, their leader looking no less fiery than the god they worshipped. “But you seem to be ignoring the most important matter—one of our own has been taken from his home, and he has not been spirited away by some diabolical force we can do nothing about. No, one of our own was responsible.”

More silence threatened to take over our little gathering, because that accusation was pretty bold. But I didn’t let it settle.

“Is that why you didn’t invite the Earth cult too?” I asked, turning to the youth.

He looked like I was asking him to admit murdering someone in cold blood.

When he didn’t answer, the Fire Cult leader stepped up. “Of course. Who else would betray their own in such fashion?”

“Now, now,” Durica said. “Let us not jump to conclusions without evidence.”

“And by the time you gather any evidence, we’ll find Favoile’s corpse in some ditch somewhere.”

Several of the Wind cultists gasped at that. Even I winced. They were going full scorched earth, which made sense since we were dealing with the Fire Cult here. But still. Durica wasn’t wrong. Much as I hadn’t had pleasant dealings with the Earth Cult, much as they had sold out to the nobles, we couldn’t just throw all our suspicions in their direction.

It was one thing to take money from potentially negative quarters. Wholly another to abduct or even kill one of our fellow cultists.

“Please,” the youthful Wind cultist said. “We gathered the nearby cults to decide on the proper course of action. Not to get at each other’s throats.”

The Fire Cult, not just their leader but the other devotees too, looked like they were about to continue arguing. But I cleared my throat since productive conversation here wasn’t going to happen easily.

“I’ve possibly got a way of determining where Favoile is,” I said.

They all looked at me with some variation of widening eyes.

“How?” Durica asked. “Do you know where he might be?”

I shook my head, then explained about Thefris. “I’m not sure if it will work, but it’s worth a shot.” My eyes hardened. “And then, if we find something concrete, we can be properly angry together.”

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Of course, no one was going to be that satisfied at the fact that we were pushing things off, so to speak. But it was probably a mark of how far I had come that no one really argued against my suggestion. It made me wonder how much they knew about Thefris from the last trial.

I decided to swing by my temple when I left the Sea Cult neighbourhood for Ring Three. It was only after relaying the news about Favoile to Aqrea and some of the others at the Sun Cult that I left. Vandre was a little shocked. Poor guy was thinking I had gone over there to get another Ritual idea, not to find out that one of our very own was gone.

“We should help them,” Lujean said as I exited the temple, their conversation fading as the distance grew.

It made me smile. My fellow cultists were fine folk.

I was supposed to locate Thefris on Ring Three. Hamsik had mentioned that her apartment wasn’t far from the Mage Guild premises. He had desperately tried to cajole her into buying a property on Ring Two, since Hamsik had more than enough money to spare, but she had declined.

According to Thefris, it was nicer to remain closer to the beating heart of Zairgon than anywhere else.

Huh. I hadn’t considered Ring Three would be the location characterized as Zairgon’s heart, but maybe that was just my bias talking. If I had my way, I’d turn Ring Four into the most indisputably important region of the city.

I would have sent Thefris a Pipe Missive first, but I hadn’t gotten around to registering her on mine.

Ring Three was busy. Most people were at work at this time, so the streets shouldn’t have been too crowded. But there was a different sort of work afoot. Soldiers were carrying supplies, artificers were assembling contraptions, healers were stocking up on potions. While many were afoot, some used the self-driving carriages like trucks. They were all headed for the Nether Vein.

The next expedition wasn’t far off now.

My journey towards the Mage Guild neighbourhood went past the main street that led to Nether Vein gate. I slowed down at the intersection, eventually coming to a stop. Not because the street was busy.

But because someone else was coming down the other end, slowing to a stop as well.

“My, my,” the woman—the Vaunted—said. “We meet again.”

I was caught a little off guard because she had appeared a little too suddenly. Her appearance was a lot more muted compared to how she had looked at the magic festival. Instead of white robes and shining armour, she had donned a simple cloak, her trinkets missing and hairdo reduced to a simple bun.

If it hadn’t been for those striking violet eyes, I might not have recognized her at all. In fact, if she hadn’t called out, I might have just considered it a strange case of déjà vu and kept going.

“Enjoying your little tour of the city, I hope,” I said, trying not to let my view of Claderov get tainted by my fight against Yulien. “Vaunted.”

“I am indeed.” Her accented New Zair somehow reminded me of wind chimes, words tinkling in a way that was enchantingly distracting. “I admit, I’m getting quite familiar with Zairgon. Just as you seem to be familiar with me, Mage Moreland…”

“Not at all. I just decided to look into the Vaunted of Claderov when I had some time, Vaunted Auriam.”

Her eyes widened briefly at the use of her name. “Is that so? And what did you learn?”

“Not a whole lot. My sources of information were second-hand at best, sadly. But I heard that whenever the Vaunted set out from Claderov, they risk losing their status as Vaunted if they don’t return to Claderov without succeeding in their endeavour. It’s… definitely an interesting way to have a title maintain active relevance.”

“It’s the risk those who seek to work towards the betterment of Claderov always bear, unfortunately,” Auriam said. She looked around, taking in the people hurrying towards the Nether Vein. “Isn’t it exciting, Mage Moreland? Seeing so many people working towards one goal in such a manner? Doesn’t it fill you with a burning desire to join in on the efforts?”

I held back a frown. That was a strange tangent. A terrible distraction from what she had implicitly admitted—that she was here on a mission.

Se-Vigilance’s warnings about Claderov replayed over and over in my mind.

“It would help us a great deal if you joined in those efforts too, Vaunted,” I said.

Vaunted Auriam smiled at me. “Oh, I doubt you’d need someone like me when there’s someone like you to handle things.” She held out her palm, like she wanted a handshake. “Mage Moreland, I have a proposal.”

“Sorry, I already attended one wedding more than I was planning to in my life.”

She blinked at me, then chuckled. “I merely want an amicable partnership…” She grinned at me mischievously. “If you are averse to anything more, that is. There is nothing wrong in being friends, is there? An extension of the same cooperation that now binds your home to mine.”

This time, I didn’t hold back my frown. Nevertheless, I realized I was kind of being rude, so I stretched out my hand.

And froze just as our hands were about to meet.

The Vaunted’s aura had flared to life. It was like standing in front of a fountain spewing lava from the heart of a volcano, a storm of liquid energy intense enough to melt through metal pouring out of her with ceaseless fury. The air turned rigid, the ground threatened to crack, and my whole body was starting to go numb under the assault of all the sensory stimuli.

“No?” she asked with seemingly guileless eyes, like she was asking an innocent question. “We can’t be friends?”

I withdrew my hand. “What do you want?”

Auriam tutted, looking disappointed for the first time. “I wasn’t expecting to meet you here all of a sudden, but since I have… I decided to extend an invitation.”

“For?”

“For a closer relationship between us. For a stronger association. You help me and I render you my assistance in turn. Come now, Ross Moreland. You couldn’t have risen as high as you have in such a short time if you failed to recognize and seize the opportunities you found.”

That just made me even warier, alarm bells ringing like a dozen air raid sirens. “I also couldn’t have risen as high as I did without a keen sense for danger.”

“Fair enough.” She withdrew her hand too, her aura falling until it was gone once again. “Perhaps I overplayed my hand.” She observed me with a critical eye. “I was merely trying to show you the difference between us. Impressive as your aura is, we stand at very different peaks.”

Preventing my surprise from showing was hard. I was too busy working on my Attributes, Augmentations, Affixes, Aspects, and now my Icon as well, to worry about auras too.

“You dodged my question,” I said.

Another disapproving shake of Auriam’s head. “Tell me, what is it that you want?”

“You can’t just answer a question with another question.”

“I’m not. I’m insinuating that we want the same thing in the end.”

“What? Are you telling me you came all the way to Zairgon to help some silly little cults and the people of Ring Four they’re associated with?”

“Yes.”

The answer came so suddenly, I was taken aback. “What?”

“You and I want the same thing—progress. Transformation. Change for the better. That’s why I offered my hand to you, because I knew you sought the same betterment that I did. The difference is that your circumstance narrows your circle of care to Ring Four of Zairgon. I, however, must look at the greater picture of the entirety of both our cities.”

A part of me immediately wanted to clap back that it all sounded pretty arrogant to me. But at the same time, I had felt her aura. I knew her power now. With that sort of strength, it was a tremendously awesome thing that she was using it for the betterment of others and not for selfish reasons.

And yet, I hesitated. I got the feeling I wasn’t seeing the big picture, that it was being hidden on purpose.

“Sorry, but I’ll pass,” I said with as much finality and conviction I could muster. “I don’t want to look at things from such a broad view only. Otherwise, I’ll miss the viewpoint from the ground up.” I thought about the Scarthralls, about Aurier and Sreketh and Aqrea, about Gutran and Silhatsa. “Something I think you might be lacking.”

The Vaunted stared at me for a good while, her eyes critical again. Then she smiled. “I see the sort of man you are, Ross Moreland. Ambition curtailed by circumstance. A soaring hawk devolved into a worm due to a sad state of affairs. Ah, well.”

I thought about replying properly to her, but all I could say was, “You have hawks in Claderov?”

Vaunted Auriam laughed again, and this time, I sensed genuine amusement. A carefree pleasure, almost.

“You and I would have made good friends, I think,” she said, before turning away. “Alas.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to contest that statement or not. Auriam was… an interesting character, for sure. Maybe if she hadn’t been a Vaunted from a rival city with plans of their own, potentially involved in subterfuge they weren’t being open about, things might have been different.

As it was, I still felt a relief and continued wariness flooding me at the same time. Even after she had left.

I needed to talk to Se-Vigilance about this.

Pushing the strange meeting with the Vaunted out of my head, I eventually made my way to Thefris’s apartment. Getting lost a few times was par for the course, and it was kind of unsatisfying when I found she wasn’t home.

Thankfully, she returned less than ten minutes after I reached her door and received no answer from knocking.

“Oh, Ross,” Thefris said, greeting me with a smile. “I was looking for you.”

The other was Thefris arriving at the temple.

“You got news?” I asked. “Already?”

“Yes,” she said. “Guard Captain Revayne was right. Uralivanth has a very direct hand in messing with your Starlamp business, Ross.”