Chapter 117: Specialization

Chapter 117: Specialization

“So, you made your decision.”

Leland’s eyes creaked open at the voice and before his brain caught up, his body went stiff. He saw before he thought, and what he saw was a far cry from what he was used to. Around was a crooked wood, one full of spindly trees and countless beady eyes. Hundreds, thousands even, of crows watched from the branches while a similar number of souls of the Damned peered past trunks through the thicket.

He had been here before, however, he realized once his brain cut his fear. Leland exhaled long and hard, his was back in his Lord’s domain... which meant the battle was over.

“Did I win?”

“Yes,” the Lord of Curses said, a hint of pride in her tone. “Admirable effort. One that paid dividends on countless avenues of success.”

“Success.’” Leland repeated.

“Yes. Think of it like this. That Harbinger you killed, if he had lived, countless pathways into the future would be secured. Nearly, if not all, would have led to many, many deaths. And brutal ones at that, the Toy Maker wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“That’s good, then.”

“Yes, child, that is very good.” The Lord hesitated as Leland sat up. “Although, it does bring dangers.”

“Dangers I’ve now seen firsthand.”

“Not quite. The image you faced was severely limited by several factors. One of which was the low amount of magic the host had available.”

“What do you mean?” Leland asked.

“The hand-arrow spell. An incredibly low-rank version of the Toy Maker’s ultimate creation. The Toy Maker literally did not have enough magic in that body to use the real thing. He’d have burned away the image instantly if he had even tried it.”

Leland scratched his cheek at that. “Thanks for the help, by the way. I didn’t think Lords were allowed to get involved directly like that.”

The Lord of Curses regarded him for a moment. “We have rules. Or rather, the rules have us. One Lord attacks a mortal directly, the other Lord may retaliate directly. The Toy Maker chose an image, which is, not strictly speaking, breaking a rule. A similar story to torture. As long as he didn’t harm you past a certain point, my hands would have been tied. The moment he tried to kill you, however...” her eyes went distant as she thought about the correct phrase.

A coldness overcame her gaze, one that had seen countless wars, more death than anyone, and enough horrors to incite nightmares for centuries.

“Let’s just say, the Toy Maker has already been dealt with. For good.”

Leland didn’t react. Sure, he raised an eyebrow, but the sheer simplicity of the statement didn’t hit its mark. The Lord of Curses was a Lord, yes, but there was a humanity to her that he had yet to see in any other Lord he’d met. In this moment, Leland’s reaction was the same as when his parents told him about a hardened criminal that was recently executed.

Whether he was trying to block out the torture and the subsequent fight to the death, he wasn’t sure. In fact, he wasn’t sure of many things right now. He just wanted to see Jude and Glenny again.

“Would you like to see?” the Lord of Curses asked. “His soul, I mean.”

Again, Leland sat in the dry dirt bed unsure. Did he want to see the remains of his assailant? No, not really. But why was that?

“No?” he spoke, the word fleeting.

“Hmm. Leland, are you perhaps in shock? Truthfully it has been some time since I dealt with such a mortal... affliction. So I may just be misreading the signs.”

Leland thought about that. Was he in shock? Truthfully he didn’t think so, at least not in the implied context. If anything, he was feeling positive, as weird as that was to admit to himself. His heart no longer felt chained, no longer felt weighted. He’d just survived a horrible encounter and he felt excited?

He thought about it a moment longer before answering. “Shock because of relief, maybe.”

The Lord of Curses quirked an eyebrow.

Leland continued, “I decided on how to deal with Soul Fire. As much as I don’t want to use the curse, it’s just unrealistic not to. Harbingers and their Lords are what I decided. Only on them.”

She graced him with a grandmotherly smile. “A wise choice. I hope you never have to use the curse again.”

Before he could respond, Leland’s hand tattoo pecked him. It wasn’t enough to draw blood, but enough to make him scowl. He frowned at the small inky crow. “What is—”

“Go on, child. Savor the fruits of your decision.”

His grimoire appeared in his hands a moment later. He manually flipped the pages to the last entry, that of Soul Fire.

Acolyte of the Curse Lord: Versatile – A generalist’s take to mastery. A boon to all primary spells with a focus on learned cantrips and rituals. Acolyte of the Curse Lord: Immobilization – A substantial boon to the curses Fracture and Curse of Collapse with a focus on empowering both to limit the opposition’s options. Acolyte of the Curse Lord: Summoning – A substantial boon to the curses Crow Massacre and Circle of Souls with a focus on creation, empowerment, and longevity.Acolyte of the Curse Lord: Binding – A substantial boon to the curse Harbinger’s Halo with a focus on multiple contracts, longevity, and discretion. Fifth option expunged.

“Leals... we were so scared. You just— You can’t fight alone like that,” Jude said, engulfing the two in his mighty wingspan.

“Yeah,” Leland muttered into someone’s shirt. “I was ambushed by a Harbinger of the Toy Maker. He controlled human puppets. An old man stabbed—”

Leland pushed the other off, quickly flipping up his coat and shirt. He found his gut unscarred and woundless. “How am I healed?”

“The Huntress,” Glenny said before rolling his eyes. “You ‘owe’ her the gold for the potion she used.”

Snorting, Leland said, “Like I’m going to pay her anything... speaking of which, where is she? For that matter, where are we?”

Jude answered. “She’s dealing with the fallout from the attack. Inquisitors take Harbingers seriously, especially when their Lord comes to this realm.”

“We don’t have to worry about him. The Toy Maker I mean. My Lord took care of him for good.”

The others’ eyes went wide.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” Leland asked.

“W-what do you mean ‘for good?’”

“She killed him. She asked if I wanted to see his soul, so I think that’s what she implied.”

“Your Lord killed another. Just like that?” Glenny asked.

“I guess. I don’t know. I’m just happy to be here and alive and stuff.”

“Leals, I think you are in shock, man. You were pretty much dead on your feet when the fog disappeared.” Jude shuddered. “I mean, you had to face that thing alone. I almost puked from just looking at it.”

“’It?’”

“The Lord that was inhabiting that mangled body,” Glenny supplied. “The power leaking from it... unlike anything I’ve seen, and I’ve had the Sightless King in my head.”

“Well,” Leland said, “to answer your question, I’m not in shock. If anything, I’m pretty good right now. I ranked up, actually.”

“Really?” Jude asked. “I thought you were having a problem with—”

“All settled,” Leland interrupted. “For now, at least. The curse is still a lot. But it’s now at max rank, so I don’t have to worry about casting it to progress.”

“That’s really great,” Glenny laughed. “What did you specialize in? Generalist like me and Jude?”

“I specialized in my contracts. So, in a way, a generalist, yes.”

They talked for a few more minutes about his rank-up and specializations. Leland didn’t know the answer to many of their questions. But he had a simple way to check. His grimoire appeared and flipped to the first page.

“Before I go over this, are you sure the Huntress isn’t around? I don’t want to accidentally tell her my secrets.”

“Nah, you’re good,” Jude said plainly. “She’s in trouble or something.”

“What do you mean?”

Glenny answered. “She’s trying to hide us from the fallout. She told the other Inquisitors that she killed the Harbinger and defeated the image.”

“Why’d she do that?” Leland asked before answering himself. “Because a rank one just doesn’t do what I did. I would be investigated and my identity as Harbinger would be found out.”

“Exactly, so she put us in the ‘one safe place’ she knows of.” Glenny gestured to their surroundings. “This is the cabin she kidnapped me to while we were in Shoutwell. She teleported us here with an item.”

Leland looked through the burnt wooden husk of a building. “ Why does it look like it exploded from the inside out?”

Glenny sighed. “Because she’s crazy and didn’t want me to sleep in warmth.”

“Sounds about right.”