Knight and Prodigal (4)
Kriel wasn't the only one baffled by why the curse clinging to Orishin refused to wash away completely. Alberik was just as stumped.
"What the hell is this? You been eating weird shit on the regular or something?"
[I only partake of dew of purity and the sparkle of the sun!]
"Heh, right. Miracles never cease. Both light and dark spirits take one look at you and go 'hiak!' What kind of spirit are you, anyway?"
[Ha! Greenhorn whelps like that couldn't even share a table with this Orishin!]
"Come to think of it, Father dear—y'know, the old man—called this guy 'Orishin the Earl.'
"Father dear? You use fancier words than most elves. Anyway, earl? Like, the 'earl' in earl?"
Alberik cocked his head, muttering to himself.
If even Dad knows him, this thing's gotta be ancient as dirt.
Kriel eyed Orishin with fresh surprise. Fair enough—he had claimed to have seen the founders of the Allied Kingdoms with his own eyes.
[See? Even elder elves from noble houses drop honorifics the second they hear my name. That's how noble I am. Treat me accordingly.]
"Nah. If my dad knows you, that just means you're old even by spirit standards."
[Krahk! You insolent...]
As Orishin twisted in outrage, ranting about manners, Kriel casually broached the absence of the high water spirit.
"Healing and purification usually fall under water's domain, no? Like the Chalice of Truth. But when diagnosing you, I didn't see any high water spirit around."
"Ah, that? She's around, but... it's complicated."
Before Kriel could press, Alberik waved it off. Sure, he'd contracted with a high water spirit, but she flat-out ignored him.
"World Tree elves inherit their spirits generation after generation to tend the garden."
"So, the one that served Lady Pand?"
"Yep. Succession hasn't fully taken yet, so she doesn't listen to me properly. Haven't seen her in ages myself. Vague memories from my World Tree days—she used to bully me rotten, calling me 'little contractor' and all."
A spirit with traits of water mirage and illusion, she'd impersonated Lady Pand multiple times to fool Alberik. Useless as a temporary contractor since she only obeyed her official master.
"Even tried contracting other high water spirits, but hers is so ancient and dominant, they all refused. 'Don't poach someone else's contractor.' The losses pile up."
[Hah, cheeky bitch. Time to lay down the law? What's her name?]
"Niamh or something. Not used to ancient fairy pronunciation, so my take might be off."
[......]
"What? Older than you? Doubt it. She's young among gardeners."
[Never heard of her... I knew all the World Tree kids. How'd we end up with such a generation gap?]
"Pfft—khahaha! Uhahahahaha!"
Alberik laughed like a maniac before desperately stifling it, adding one line.
"Elder, your teeth doing alright?"
Alberik's first use of honorifics. Orishin was not amused.
Day 1 of Diagnosis.
Cause of abyss curse: unknown.
Treatment methods attempted: as listed below, etc.
With the diagnosis complete, Alberik wrote up a report at Kriel's request. No idea where he'd gotten it, but he even stamped it with the Lir family signet ring. More than enough credibility for Western Army records.
[Meeeow! Even a spiritist rejects me! What did I ever do wrong?!]
"Chin up. It's only day one. A few more checks might turn up clues."
[No way. With Morgina and Armed, the first scan was the last. Damn it, Six Sovereigns! What sin have I committed against the heavens?!]
Orishin sighed like the world was ending, muttering, "There was that time I chewed on villagers' hair... Can't exactly deny it..." before retreating into the horn dagger.
It was rare for Orishin to hole up like that. As Kriel opened his mouth for some comfort, Tuon intervened.
"Leave it be, master. Sometimes they just need time alone to process emotions. She's burrowed deep—no point talking now. In an hour or two, she'll pop out babbling nonsense like always."
With that, Tuon reverted to sword form and returned to Kriel's hip.
Odd. For Tuon to shift without orders.
[A knight's formal wear includes his sword. Can't greet guests with a curved dagger on the hip.]
Guests? Alberik had already left—no chance of him doubling back. No one else from the Lir family knew Kriel personally.
So who?
Abyss? That made it weirder. Kriel couldn't miss abyss presence. Even with Tuškin Gabi, Morgina hadn't noticed until blood was drawn. But abyss outside his detection that only Tuon sensed? Impossible unless from the Demon King himself—creator of the Seven Great Demonic Weapons.
Squelch—
Something oozed through the door crack.
Kriel drew and swung Tuon on reflex.
Black slime, crudely. Upper half severed, but it slithered in unperturbed, reforming.
Not pure black—murky silhouette. Color of polluted sludge or flood-swollen river. Headless torso topped with a vague head shape. Dark water swirled inside.
[Rough greeting.]
Voice unlike the chimera from the Chalice of Deception. Deep cavern rumble. Gender, age indeterminate. Worse: no abyss aura. None.
Abyss I can't detect. A Demon King fragment for real?
Kriel moved to channel fighting spirit into Tuon. If physical useless, magic would do. Some abyss kin nullified entire attack types regardless of energy, but Tuon's chill should pierce even that.
'Won't take damage from metal weapons' conceptual defense would suck, though...
[Do you want the Chalice of Truth back?]
Kriel froze.
[Midnight approaches. To the sponsor's wing. Come alone. Tell no one.]
The silhouette collapsed. Feet burst first, filthy water pooling on the floor.
As stunned Kriel summoned blood qi and resentment to track it—
"Calm yourself, master."
Back in ashen girl form, Tuon had fetched cleaning tools from somewhere and held him back.
"It's detached from the water it was manipulating. Neither you nor I can find it now."
"Can't find it?"
"Unlike what you think, that's no abyss kin. It's a spirit."
A spirit? 'Niamh' flashed in Kriel's mind. The high water spirit that vanished.
"Simple reason I sensed it: Gratuon's memories include fighting World Tree elves' spirits. It dragged out murk to disguise, but it belongs to the World Tree gardeners."
***
As Tuon predicted, Orishin emerged after exactly one hour and six minutes.
[Today's me is stronger than yesterday's... Why the hell you guys look like that?]
"Too late. Vulgar, slow-eared curved blade. While you wallowed in self-pity in your coffin, our master faced a grave foe challenging his authority."
[Speak English?]
"'Want Chalice of Truth back? Midnight, sponsor's wing, alone.' Tuon's memory pegs it as a World Tree gardener."
[...? Yo, how much time till midnight?]
"Thirty minutes."
[No!]
Orishin threw a fit. Don't fall for the trap; round up the whole estate and play 'the culprit's in this room!'
Kriel shook his head.
[Then what? Crawl into the jaws of death?]
"Knights keep their word."
[You madman!]
"...Knew you'd say that?"
Kriel grinned.
Truth: impossible to pinpoint the traitor. Tuon insisted 'World Tree gardener,' but could be another filling the role, not vanished Niamh. Even if her, solo act or ordered by Lady Pand or Alberik? Unknown.
But.
"I'll go on time. You start raising hell around the house five minutes past—circle the whole place."
Can't ID culprit? Call everyone. Innocents will help. Math checked out. By the time Orishin yelled 'Hey folks, look here!!', Kriel could pin whatever-it-was.
"I'll grab it with Tuon and greatsword, hold 'em. Tell Nawiden Elder or whoever to rally the house. Anyone left behind while I'm talking to the perp? They're clean."
***
Ah, damn it.
"Tuon. How long since we left the room?"
[Over fifteen minutes.]
He was lost.