Chapter Forty-Four: In the Investigation

“Ahem!” Though this silent warmth wasn’t exactly romantic, Lando still found it hard to swallow, so he broke the moment with a cough. The three, startled from their thoughts, turned their eyes to him, waiting for him to speak.

“I understand your situation,” Lando said. “Rest assured, I’ll help you—after all, that’s one of the reasons I came here.” As he spoke, he produced a vial of alchemical potion.

This alchemical potion, of course, could do nothing for Hannah’s missing soul, but it could replenish her vitality. Her growing frailty was due to her body constantly depleting its life force to compensate for the absence of her soul; this potion would at least buy her more time.

Lando was no saint—while the potion was not especially valuable to him, it was certainly not to be given away for nothing. His real purpose in prolonging Hannah’s life was to use her as a test subject.

Jamie accepted the potion with some apprehension, but Hannah did not hesitate—she drank it down in one gulp. The effects were almost immediate: her complexion visibly improved, a healthy flush returning to her cheeks.

As much as he longed to storm the royal palace and reclaim the remnant of Hannah’s fated soul, Lando thought better of it. Considering Grid’s strange soul-rending ability, he feared the possibility of other bizarre tricks rendering his efforts futile. Better to proceed with caution.

All the information Lando had gathered indicated that the world’s power structure was exceedingly simple—purely a knightly system, with not even a native magic tradition. The Four Kings of Destiny were a gift from the world itself, outside the standard order. Then there were the arcane necromancer remnants discovered by the Brasso family; presumably, the Grid family had found a similar laboratory.

Whether by expertise or by luck, the Brasso family had chosen to be forthright with Lando from the start, leaving him no chance for sly subterfuge. By official protocol, such discoveries should be reported to the world’s governing order, which would then send inspectors to review the Brasso family’s find. If an academic tradition claimed the legacy, the entire family would be taken under its wing; if not, the Silver Tower would be free to dispose of the matter as it wished.

Usually, of course, a claimant would emerge—it was rarely much trouble.

Why the necromancer tradition had suddenly vanished, leaving so many abandoned laboratories scattered across the world, Lando did not know. For him, though, it was a golden opportunity: acquiring knowledge from another order while “unaware” was a windfall, an act of force majeure, absolving him of major responsibility.

Thus, combining the matter of Destiny with the lure of new knowledge, this place was even more important than the Brasso family’s ongoing auction. Lando had every reason to proceed with care and cunning.

“This place is no longer safe. You’d best move elsewhere,” he said, producing a metallic mask and handing it to them. “This is a Morphic Mask. Put it on, and you can change your facial appearance—hair, eye color, bone structure, even your Adam’s apple.”

In a world of intrigue, who could do without a false identity? Lando had been captivated by the mask the moment he saw it, though he’d rarely had occasion to use it here. Now, though, he lent it to Hannah and her companions to save their lives.

After a brief discussion, they decided to let Hannah, wearing the Morphic Mask, leave with Little Dick under Lando’s escort, while Jamie would remain in hiding. Hannah explained that although she was not officially wanted, every patrol squad would have her likeness on record. Lando was indifferent to the risk.

The three left the slums. Lando first took the pair to get new clothes. When they reemerged, he was trailed by two young attendants—a perfectly inconspicuous way to enter his luxurious inn.

Once he had settled them in and made the necessary arrangements, dusk was approaching. Lando spent some time reviewing the movements of the king and prince; after a cursory investigation, he found nothing especially suspicious. According to Hannah, when she was led to the altar chamber, she had been blindfolded, but the journey was not long, so it was likely within the palace itself.

Consulting the palace maps and records of the guard rotations, he identified two suspicious locations: a small hill behind the palace, the ancestral shrine of the Grid family; and a heavily guarded warehouse, notable for the density of its sentries—more even than the king’s quarters.

Having settled on a second clandestine foray into the Earth Palace, Lando began planning his approach.

...

After midnight, Lando slipped once more into the palace. He had considered waiting until just before dawn—commonly said to be when vigilance was lowest—but realized that would apply to him as well.

He first visited a study with few guards, searching for secret chambers. He found none, nor did a sweep of the bookshelves yield a palace map or anything similar.

With a resigned shrug, he headed for the rear hill to investigate the ancestral shrine. Using optical camouflage, he avoided the guards and reached the foot of the hill. He produced his scanner—the same device used for quickly recording books—and, after a few adjustments, sent a beam of faint light sweeping through the hill. No chamber was hidden within.

As he withdrew, he kept an eye on the guards. None seemed alarmed; if they noticed anything, they must have dismissed it as a trick of the eye.

He next approached the warehouse with its formidable guard detail. A quick scan revealed an underground chamber beneath. Now two choices presented themselves: with such security, sneaking in was impossible—at least for him.

“To alarm them, or act with patience?”

Though causing a stir might gain him nothing, simply waiting seemed foolish.

After laying a few traps, he returned to the warehouse and waited.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The palace was rocked by tremendous explosions as elemental bombs detonated in succession, plunging the once-silent halls into chaos.

What surprised Lando was that, despite the commotion, the warehouse guards did not abandon their posts; in fact, surveillance showed more guards converging on their position.

“This isn’t like the movies,” Lando muttered to himself.

No time to dwell on it—the more determined the defense, the greater the prize.

Drawing his twin wind-and-fire swords, he stepped from the shadows.

A guard spotted him at once and raised the alarm, only to be cut down by a single swing of Lando’s blade.