Chapter 221: The House’s Sword

Chapter 221: The House’s Sword

Tala and Thron shared a brief long look, both seemingly considering the implications of Tala being able to switch targets on her gravity alterations.

As they stared at where the stone block had been, Rob made a throat clearing sound. I bet that wouldnt harm me. Lets test.

Thron closed his eyes and shook his head as Tala held in a laugh. In both cases, they did their best to ignore the orb.

And the existential crisis it invokes

-Strength, Tala. Well find a way to help all the founts and vestiges, if and when were able.-

I know, but its stillodd.

-Oh, I know. Rob is very much like me, in a way. Im glad that youre still around, and that Im not alone with just our soul for company.-

ThatTala hadnt thought of it that way before, but Alat was right. I wonder if Rob is based on the person whose gate was stolen to make that vestige?

-We could ask at some point.-

When the time is right.

Finally, the dwarf broke the silence between them. How hard is it to maintain the augmentation?

Tala frowned. I dont maintain them, if they have a target. So long as the target and the modified object remain as I conceived of them, it should last forever.

Thron blinked at her a few times. Forever.

It should, yeah.

He opened his mouth to comment, then closed it, frowning. Finally, he shook his head. I dont want to argue with you. Can you do a working, and we test that theory? Youve said youve never tested how long it lasted, right?

She shrugged. No, Ive never specifically tested it, but I havent needed to. Even so, I dont mind verifying what I know.

She pulled out two more of the new spheres and began ramping up their gravitational attraction towards each other as two separate workings.

As she was doing that, Terry appeared on her shoulder. There you are. Ive

A startled cry rose from Throns pocket. It returns! The deep hunger has come for memake it eat me or leave me alone!

Thron patted his pocket. None of that. You promised me silence. Ive kept my promise. Have you kept yours?

There was a pregnant pause. Yes?

No. No you have not.

Ill do better! I promise. In fact, Ill startnow!

Silence fell over them.

Thron grunted. Fair enough.

Tala turned to Terry. The bird was eying the dwarfs pocket, but faced her when she began to speak, Well? Where were you?

He squawked with several descending notes then headbutted her and curled up.

Hunting?

He looked at her with one eye, imperiously.

Hunting. She grinned. Glad youre having fun, buddy.

Thron shook his head. You have emotionally bonded with that creature incredibly quickly. Are you sure you dont have any magics towards that end? Some of the descriptions of your abilities were unhelpfully vague. I have a hard time grasping some of it, even after our recent discussion.

Tala shrugged. Nope. Nothing to enhance bonding, emotionally or otherwise.

Terry had closed his eyes, but he let out a derisive trill.

Thats rude, Terry.

He cracked an eye open, giving her an incredulous look.

Fine. I dont actually know what you said.

He closed his eye once again, and she would have sworn he wore a smug look.

Thron huffed a laugh. You are an odd one.he paused for a moment, then shook his headBoth of you are, now that I consider it.

As Thron opened his mouth to ask something else, Tala held up her hand. Eskau Pallaun is here.

The obsidian skinned man walked out of the entrance bunker a moment later.

He wore black leather pants that somehow looked gray against his skin, and the bloodred of his protian gauntlet looked positively ruby at the end of his left arm.

As if a veil had been pulled back, memories from Tali came together with what Tala and Alat knew about conceptual magic and a realization struck her. Darkness. He wields the concept of darkness.

-OH! That makes so much sense.-

Tala! The mans voice boomed out.

Tala froze, her heart rate picking up.

Thron gave her an odd look.

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?

-Do what Tali would do.-

Tala cleared her throat and bowed, not having to fake the flush to her face. Its Tali, Eskau Pallaun.

The man stopped a few paces from her. Was it? Are you sure?

That is my name.

Not Talb, Talia, or Tala-b?

She frowned, genuinely confused. Eskau Pallaun?

He waved her off. Forgive an old man his jokes.

Does he want me to laugh? She chuckled nervously.

Thron was regarding her with consideration.

Thron! Good to see you.

Its Thorn, Eskau Pallaun. His words were a telling echo of Talas own.

Pallaun cocked an eyebrow. Sticking with that disgrace?

He was my master, and I owe him much.Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

The larger man shrugged. Its your choice, I suppose. But it is time for you to leave.

Eskau?

I want a private word with the new Eskau.

Thron bowed. With all due respect. This is Eskau Talis sanctum, and I am her attendant. I will not depart without her leave.

The man smiled, his perfectly white teeth somehow looking black for a moment.

That makes no sense. Her mind was having trouble grasping the weight of his magical concept as conveyed by her mage-sight when overlaying her normal vision.

The two turned to regard Tala. She swallowed, then shook her head. Thorn has duties, here. We can walk the sanctum, out of earshot, if privacy is a concern. I will not have him dismissed.

Pallaun arched an eyebrow. Well, that is a pleasant surprise.

Thron bowed to Tala and to Pallaun. Eskau. I will attend to my duties.

The dwarf turned and went into the common building to the north of the dais.

Pallaun grinned. Id have killed him if he obeyed my order while in your sanctum.

-Someone we dont want to crossever.-

And someone likely to be sent after us, if we simply try to run.

He regarded her for a long moment. Our association to the same House will not be a shield for you. Dont cross City Lords. I wont interfere.

Her voice was small as she replied, Noted. And I wont, if I can help it.

-Worse case? Make them hit you so you travel a long way from the backlash.-

Solid plan. Lets never use it.

Alat laughed in her head, and there was only the smallest bit of mania in the mental sound.

Eskau Pallaun?

Tali?

Why do you serve Sanguis?

He cocked his head to the side, regarding her. Do you seek to master all you might be able to slay in battle?

No

Can you accurately assess my abilities, and that of Revered Sanguis?

No.

Then do not ask foolish questions. He shook his head and continued walking. The fourth duty expected of Eskau within a city is again fulfilled on a rotation, Eskau are sent after suspected dens of magical creatures in the surrounding countryside. The man had a hard look in his eyes.

Why would...? Oh.

-Yeah, a magical creature would be using up power that the arcanes want. Magical creatures are the natural means of cleaning up leaks through the barrier between worlds, and so they need to be suppressed, otherwise this will become a non-magical world, given enough time.-

And if all the gated humans are killed.

-That too, assuming the founts cant be coaxed into lasting forever. We really have no idea if they ever end for any reason except poor management during a gate-breaking attempt.-

Finally, once again on rotation, we are asked to deal with untamed holds.

Tala perked up at that. Untamed holds?

Yes. When a hold is no longer under the control of free-willed beings of flesh and blood, it must be destroyed or recovered. Such loss of control can happen if the owners are too exuberant in their defensive measures, but those are generally not too difficult to recover, especially because the owners usually have a way of bypassing many of the defenses. Those are boring. He gave her a meaningful look.

Meaning I will be handling those, if they are assigned to our House.

Well reasoned. Slightly harder for most Eskau are those that need to be dealt with when a house falls and no one is left who can work around the defenses to enter the hold. Those must be breached in truth. The look on his face spoke of amusement.

So, he likes that part of the job.

Wouldnt that be the same as assaulting an enemy hold, but easier, because there wouldnt be defenders?

He shrugged noncommittally. I suppose it can be, but usually, there are stronger countermeasures put in place for when the last defender falls, or if the hold has to be abandoned for a time. Most want their holds to be held inviolate until it can be recovered. Those defenses can be undone if a scion of the house returns, but if not? He shrugged. It becomes a deathtrap for most.

I suppose I can see that. And the city doesnt want a deathtrap simply sitting there, taking up space. She felt herself relaxing around him once again. The man was an odd combination of geniality and certain death.

Precisely.

That doesnt sound too bad.

-Oh, yes. Its not too bad to wander through a place designed to kill off hostile arcanes by the hundred. We should be fine.-

Tala ignored her.

Pallaun shrugged. True enough. It can be fun, but its rarely that difficult. Now, the final kind is where things can get tricky. It is also where the real fun is had.

Oh?

Untamed ether holds.

Tala frowned. What?

Come now, Tali. You have to have heard stories, even in an outlying village.

Tala checked Talis memories, and no. There was no mention of Ether Holds. She frowned. Maybe Do you mean false holds?

Ahh, yes. Thats what they are often called in folktales. The more widely used name for a false hold is an ether hold. What do you know of them?

She considered. I dont know much, honestly. Ive heard stories about monsters under your bed, make sure your closet door looks right before you open it. That sort of thing.

Pallaun laughed. Well, thats not wrong, but that doesnt really happen very often, not any more.

That is in no way comforting. Please explain.

He glanced her way, then huffed a laugh. Fine. Basically, sometimes something attaches itself to our world from the ether. Some theorize they are ancient holds that were unmoored from reality and have only now found their way back. Others believe that ether holds are creatures in their own right, powerful beings seeking to grow stronger. Some have claimed deep knowledge and tried to dub ether holds Daughters of the Consumer. But most consider that blather.

He bent to examine a plant for a moment before continuing.

Regardless, ether holds are simply holds that we did not craft appearing in places we did not place them. They can be as simple and wonderful as a forest glade where a fairy lord will grant you one wish before returning you to our world. In those cases, that hold then vanishes. Such things are so rare as to be widely assumed as a myth.

Are they, though?

The very idea is boring. Literal fairytales for commoners. An attempt to imagine some good to outweigh the bad that such things normally bring.

And whats that?

Horrors. The worst ether holds spill creatures out that snatch the helpless and drag them back to beused. He seemed to be watching her closely. Others are simply evil places, filled with malicious magic and death.

So why not get rid of them from the outside?

That would be ideal for most, though again that is the boring path to take. Blessedly, ether holds tend to have more secure anchors than created holds. No one wants a breach in reality within a city, that would be worse than any ether hold. So, we go in and destroy the core, often finding fascinating magics along the way, facing and slaying unique creatures of power. The Eskau who destroys the core is then ejected back into reality where they entered the ether hold, and the ether hold vanishes. Unfortunately, it is a one time source of entertainment.

Thatwas a lot to take in. Thats a lot to take in.

-Why havent we heard about these things before? Do they not appear in human lands?-

Any idea what causes them to appear?

Its theorized that they are drawn to the power in the air. Thats one reason why our cities have their ambient power as low as we do. Its also why the ascension rooms, which help us achieve higher magic density, are so small. Less area for ether holds to grab onto.

That sounds rather terrible.

Pallaun grimaced. That is a common view. The way he said common made it clear what he thought of the way of thinking.

Tala felt some of his geniality slip away.

While at a societal level, it is one of the little evils that must be handled. We should know better. It is a training ground, proving ground, and place to harvest unique experiences and magics.

He waved one hand absently.

The common populace knows some small amount about ether holds through tales and stories, but the reality is hidden for the commoners sanity.

I have to agree. I cant imagine the average person being comfortable with the idea of a doorway to some sort of evil mini-world popping into being under their bed.

He snorted. Children wouldnt be, no. I would welcome the fight, personally. I hope you would as well.

Tala suppressed a shudder, turning away. I assume youre telling me this now, because one of these duties will be required of me, soon. Is that correct?

He smiled. Quite correct. You have a hold to tame, and I am not willing to cover for you this time.

Tala stopped. I dont suppose its a nice, simple kind?

No. An ether hold was found in a nook of the town square. We have until tomorrow morning to send in an Eskau.

An ether hold? Dont you want to handle it?

And deprive you of a learning experience? There was a dark glint in his eyes.

Whats wrong with this one. It wasnt a question so much as an accusation.

He grinned. If the entrance is any indication, it will be a place of rot and filth. Some of those areentertaining, but it is too good an opportunity for you to learn. I will, regrettably, have to wait until the next one to have my fun.

Tala glowered, unable to think of anything to say in response.