143 The Marquises

'Known Information Regarding Marquis Rank Contractbounds.'

"Now that's something we definitely need to know. This way, we can be more prepared in fighting against unknown enemies and also prepare for our future advancement. Although, it's still in the distant future, Val. I've just barely entered the rank of President recently," said Graham with a tone of self-ridicule. He was using Christian Barnhart's high-pitched voice, which made it even more ridiculous.

Graham began reading the text on the page that seemed to have been written very long ago. The ink had begun to wear off and the messy handwriting made it even more difficult to read. He had to read the passage very carefully not to miss anything while leaning back against the rocking chair. The warm ball of fire was still floating beside him.

'A Marquis Rank Contractbound is much more powerful than their President counterpart. Besides an upgrade in all physical abilities, the Contractbound's lifespan is also lengthened, making them able to live a little longer than normal humans. Their abilities also start to affect a large area instead of a small group or individuals. If they so wish, the could destroy a small town on their own-- granted there was no one to stop them.'

'However, one thing that someone must notice before entering a Marquis rank. The contract ritual no longer only requires sacrificial materials that can be substituted with a Contractbound's remain, but also a living sacrifice. Each Deity will ask for a different sacrifice that will be revealed to the person reading their respective scroll,"

Graham stopped at that passage. He wrinkled his forehead.

"Living sacrifices? I hope they don't mean human, Val. If that were the case, it would certainly make things more complicated. If not, then I'm sure the living sacrifice would be something difficult to find," he said with a deep, thinking voice. However, the deepest voice that Christian Barnhart could speak in was still rather higher-pitched than his original voice. He then continued reading the next paragraph.

'So far, there have been fourteen Deities of Marquis rank recorded in history, and each Contractbound can only form a contract with a maximum of two of them if they want to retain their sanity. The Deities are as follow:'

'The Deity of Necromancy and Sin; the Deity of Foresight and Propitiation; the Deity of Great Battles and Decay; the Deity of Lost Dignity and Honors; the Deity of Allure and Distortion; the Deity of Domination and Order; the Deity of Poetry and Rebirth; the Deity of Conflict and Putrefaction; the Deity of Deceit and Purloin; the Deity of the Stars and Virtue; the Deity of Discord and Mistrust; the Deity of Geometry and Alteration; the Deity of Retrieval and Prosperity; and lastly, the Deity of Melody and the Skies.'

'The first known one is Sinners. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Necromancy and Sin. Most Sinners have the ability to summon supernatural creatures using rituals that mostly require human sacrifice. They are also more adept at curses than a Demise, in that their curses are more potent and have more varying and horrifying effects. There are more abilities belonging to a Sinner, but the details remain a mystery, but one thing I know for sure is that the method of pleasing this Deity is usually by summoning powerful supernatural creatures-- with great sacrifices.'

Graham paused for a second and thought about the information he had just read.

"The style of writing has gotten more casual, Val, instead of just listing facts. It seems the writer of this book also had a change in style the more he wrote. Now about the Sinners, these Contractbounds are the ones we have happened to learn about one way or another. The first one was the cursed dolls in the Bauwens' House where we saw our first wraith," Graham spoke analytically.

"Now, judging from the description, it seems that the one summoning all those ghouls is a Sinner-- or was. It means we must be very careful since they can do curses. Until now I still don't understand how curses work, Val, but if we remember the dolls, I don't really want to experience it first hand," he said with a slight hesitation in his tone, "Now if we look at the last piece of information there, do you think those Pale Society members are just trying to please this Deity, Val? And the 'Pale Lord' is but a facade?"

Graham then turned his attention back to the book that was resting on his lap and continued reading.

'The second one is Sagitarrs. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Great Battles and Decay. They are bestowed with great precision and are very proficient with ranged weapons, no matter what it is. The wound they cause can also be lethal even though it's just a graze. The way to please their Deity seems to be related to a large scale battle or a war, so it is difficult to please this Deity in times of peace. I'm sure there are more to know about these Contractbounds, but so far that's all I managed to gather.'

'The third one is Plague Cavalries. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Conflict and Putrefaction. Plague Cavalries have the grotesque ability to move from one corpse to another as long as they are still within the range of their abilities, which makes fighting them in a place where there are many deaths difficult. The extent of their abilities is unknown, but their abilities seem to be related to corpses and diseases. The way to please their Deity appears to have something to do with human sacrifices.'

Graham stopped again at the passage and recalled his memory of the past.

"Val, we've seen the ritual of a Plague Cavalry in the basement of the Bauwens' House! One of them, at least. We are still not sure until now if all the rituals of pleasing the same Deity for different people are the same or not," he said thoughtfully.

"Now, the writer of the previous journal, the one that can't be picked up, was a Plague Cavalry. Since this one doesn't know a great deal about it, it's safe to assume that the writers are different people-- or he is just toying with the readers," he concluded.

Graham flipped the page and read the paragraph on the next page.

'The last one I've managed to get information about is Balladeers. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Melody and the Skies. They are Contractbounds with strange abilities related to music. Instead of chanting, they can just play a musical instrument to achieve a wide range of effects. They are also able to fly, at least from what I've seen. Their ritual for pleasing this Deity seems to be about grand performances.'

'The next two are Deities I was in a contract with, so I could write in more detail about the abilities they grant.'

'The first one is Defalcators. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Deceit and Purloin. Their main ability is to use 'Deceit' to trick the enemy into thinking something is real although it is actually not. The moment the enemy believes in the fraud, it will become as real as it can be, for a duration. The downside is that unless the enemy is truly stupid or is under manipulation, it is difficult to get them to believe in the fraud. They are also able to 'Copy' the enemy's ability to use as their own, for a limited number of uses. The number of abilities they can Copy is also limited. The way to please this Deity is to commit a 'grand fraud'.

Graham stopped again and touched the pale leather belt that he was wearing.

"Val, this belt's effect seems similar to this Contractbound's abilty. I think it must have been made using the remain of said Contractbound," he muttered, and then continued reading.

'The second one is Burghers. They are those in a contract with the Deity of Retrieval and Prosperity. They are among the richest of Contractbounds since their abilities allow them to detect and 'Retrieve' valuables even from a distance, as long as they know what it looks like. It is a very useful ability but also difficult to use since it requires real gold coins for every use depending on the value of items that are to be 'retrieved'. However, Burghers have an insane amount of luck when it comes to money making, so most Burghers become either gamblers or investors. Although, after a while, they will be struck by the same amount of bad luck to 'recharge' their luck. This Deity will be pleased by a huge amount of gold coins as offering.'

'That's all I managed to gather about Marquis rank Contractbound. Please notice that there is a lot more information that I might have not included since it will take too long to write and I am not in the mood right now. Discover the rest yourself. After all, I am sure you got this book for free.'

Graham scratched the back of his head.

"This author has become too comfortable in writing it seems, Val. Since we have to discover the rest on our own, let's just do some guessing then. The ones we don't know yet are the Deities of Foresight and Propitiation; Lost Dignity and Honors; Allure and Distortion; Domination and Order; Poetry and Rebirth; the Stars and Virtue; Discord and Mistrust; Geometry and Alteration. That's a lot," he said weakly and then started rubbing his chin.

"Now let's see. Foresight and Propitiation sound divination related. Maybe seeing the future? Lost Dignity and Honors sound like a criminal. I can't think of any ability related to it. Allure and Distortion is most likely another manipulation path, but is it related to sex just like a Romancer? Domination and Order sound like something a Police officer would become. Maybe the abilities are related to maintaining order," he paused and took a deep breath.

"Next is Poetry and Rebirth. It sounds like the Contractbound will be a poet and will be immortal. Would be nice if it were true. The Stars and Virtue sound like a direct advancement of an Astrologer, but I don't get the Virtue part. Discord and Mistrust is surely a direct advancement of a Contention. Now, Geometry and Alteration sound different. Do the Deities also teach Maths? Are the abilities related to space manipulation?"

Graham finished his analysis and then turned to the next page, but it was still blank. He turned to the page after that and it was also blank.

"It seems I am not qualified enough to read the rest. Well, now let's check the supernatural creatures section. I hope there will be new things there," he said with expectation.

He flipped the pages over and went to the second half of the book where it was about supernatural creatures. He skipped the parts about the things he already knew and tried to find texts that just appeared.

"This one is about Umm Ghulah, Val. It was mentioned before in the ghoul section and also when we were fighting with one that was close to evolving into one. Let's read about it since I have a feeling we might encounter one in the future,"

'Umm Ghulah is the final evolution of a ghoul. Her main characteristic is her bloated, bloody belly with teeth protruding from it. Her body is usually twice the size of a normal human but she possesses a terrifying speed despite her size. Her elongated arms with sharp claws are riddled with deadly bacteria. She possesses some of human intelligence and is able to 'give birth' to more ghouls. Her bite is also fatal, in that the victim will turn into a zombie if they are not strong enough to resist the viral infection that she causes. She is very resilient to both physical and mental attacks and the only way to hurt her is by using blood-related attacks.'

Graham raised his eyebrows.

"Val, that sounds like an enemy we don't want to fight. And letting it loose in the city with a lot of people is also a very bad idea. No wonder the Pale Society summoned a ghoul in the concrete. Once it evolves into an Umm Ghulah, she will create a zombie army easily," he spoke with a heavy tone.