Chapter 5: The Painted King

Chapter 5: The Painted King

The world was painted in crimson when Valdemar reached the Institutes ground floor.

The Potion of Insight he had drunk was meant to prepare his body for a genuine Elixir of True Sight by enhancing his sensitivity to magic. Valdemar had read that the effects could get stronger with some people, but he hadnt expected this. He noticed vibrant crimson lines coursing through the Institutes walls and floor, like the veins of a living body. He suspected that these lines represented the wards set around the Dark Lords citadel and the complex network of spells meant to protect it from intruders.

Valdemar would have considered the ability to see them without focusing on his psychic sight a boon, if it wasnt so distracting. He suffered from headaches, and he found himself distracted whenever one of the illusory stone veins glowed with magical energy. It would take him days to get used to it.

As he had suspected, most of the bloody leylines gathered into the Black Pillar at the fortress center, but other areas showed a great concentration of these veins: the Cathedral of the Light; the water well; the Hall of Rituals where that sadist of a lich had made Valdemar fight multiple monsters in a row; and the greenhouse.

Speaking of the Institutes greenhouse, Valdemar had to admit that it was the most well-stocked he had seen in his life. The smell of a hundred different plants reached his nose the moment he took a step past the glass doors, as miraculous herbs and subtle poisonous flowers both grew on trellises. Unique flowers infested isolated alcoves illuminated by magical crystals, and Valdemar couldnt recognize half of them. Vines and squirming foliage grew on the glass walls, tended by golem gardeners. Valdemar even noticed a few farming plots allocated to crops and mushrooms.

Come to think of it, the place was much, much larger on the inside than the outside. Valdemar wondered if the red lines were the cause. They probably fueled space-alteration spells to increase the interior size. He promised himself to learn more once he had finished his current projects.

As she had told him yesterday, Liliane indeed managed the greenhouse on behalf of the Institute. Valdemar found her drying herbs on racks in the middle of the building in the company of a handsome gentleman of her own age.

Or was it a gentlewoman? Valdemar had to admit he struggled to identify the persons gender. Their face was graceful and androgynous, with long silver hair falling down on their shoulders and they had beautiful purple eyes. Valdemar immediately recognized the coloration as a weak illusion spell, the purple blurring to reveal green irises underneath.

Valdy! Liliane greeted him with a smile, while the gentleperson examined the newcomer from head to toe. They dressed quite like a rogue, with a black coat and travel cloak. Iren, Valdy.

Hi, sweetheart, Iren said with a masculine, baritone voice. So youre the new one? I heard of you, but youre more dashing than I imagined.

Uh, thanks, Valdemar replied, not sure how he should take the compliment. So youre the famous Iren. Liliane mentioned you.

In a bad way, I hope, he replied with a chuckle. I do have a reputation to keep up. I prefer to be known as mad and dangerous to know. Its better for my line of business.

Pff, right, Liliane rolled her eyes. Dont listen to him, Valdy. Hes adorable and hell get you anything.

Valdemar started to regret allowing her to give him nicknames. Anything? the sorcerer asked with a raised eyebrow.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Well, if youre asking for a dragons egg, Ill tell you to fetch it yourself, Iren replied. But otherwise, just tell me what you need and Ill see what I can do. You fancy something in particular?

I came here to find some ingredients for a potion, Valdemar admitted. But if youre really that talented, Ill need rare mechanical pieces. Im also looking for Hermann, if you know where he is.

Valdemar had tried to knock on the troglodytes workshop, only to be met with silence. Lord Och had all but ordered his new apprentice to help the reptilian scholar on his secret project, and even though Valdemar would rather focus entirely on his work, he wasnt mad enough to disobey the lich.

Youll find Hermann in the greenhouses back, Liliane said. He has been painting a tree for a while now. As for ingredients, youve knocked on the right door!

Potion-making is more of dear Lilys expertise, Iren said with a raised eyebrow. As for your other request, Ill need more info on these pieces.

Theyre Derro technology, Valdemar warned. Youll need to have contacts in the Midnight Market to get them.

To his frustration, Valdemar faced some hurdles in trying to rebuild his ecto-catcher. A few components had been made with Derroan Steel, a special alloy created through a metalworking process that the Derros kept secret. Azlantean alchemists had tried and failed for years to reverse-engineer it. Valdemar had heard rumors that the production method needed specific crystals only found in a very specific location in Underland, but he could never confirm them.

Not a problem, Iren replied, confirming Valdemars suspicions. Truthfully, the markets head honchos asked me to keep an eye on you. You and a few other clients ended up arrested, but youre the only one who got out. Its suspicious.

Its my former supplier, Armand de Mantebois, who sold out everyone for a lighter sentence, Valdemar replied. My jailers said as much and Marianne will confirm it. I didnt betray the Markets secrets.

Iren shrugged. I wont bother Miss Reynard, and I will take you at your word. Even if you were behind the leak, youre under a Dark Lords protection now and out of reach. As for Armand, the Market put a bounty on his head. Well find him.

Midnight Market? Liliane asked, completely sold. What are you talking about?

The Midnight Market is a, shall we say, secret association of underground merchants, fencers, and smugglers specialized in distributing illegal goods, Valdemar explained. Especially forbidden Derro technology or foreign magical items. Sometimes youll find fenced goods too.

What? Liliane choked, before glaring at Iren. Dont tell me some of the ingredients you gave me were stolen?

I dont ask my suppliers where they get their stuff, Iren replied with a laugh, causing Liliane to punch him in the arm. Besides, its not illegal if a Dark Lord does it. Lord Och and the Midnight Market have something of an agreement. They dont cause problems in his Domain and let me purchase stuff from them, and in exchange, he looks the other way.

Valdemar had figured as much. His new lich teacher didnt seem particularly concerned about imperial regulations. How much would your service cost? he asked Iren.

Since its your first time, Ill do it for free if the pieces arent too expensive, Iren replied while smiling. Next time well see. If youre up for it, you could also pay me with work. I have a bounty hunting business on the side, and I need tough guys who can keep their mouths shut.

Im forbidden to leave the Institute for now, Valdemar replied, though he wouldnt have accepted even if he could. Hunting people down for money didnt interest him. And Lord Och gave me enough work on top of my own research.

Is it true then? Liliane asked with wide, sparkly eyes. That Lord Och took you as his apprentice?

Valdemar blushed. Who told her that? It doesnt really matter.

Are you kidding? Iren asked with a chuckle. The last two people who survived his tutoring became Dark Lords in their own right.

Valdemar squinted. Those who survived?

Iren responded with a wink, while Liliane looked happy enough for the two of them. Hes pulling your leg, Valdy, she reassured him. I never heard of Lord Och killing any apprentice. In fact, I think he only took Lord Bethor and Lord Phaleg under his wing, no one else.

Thats because he erases any information about those who disappointed him, Iren said mirthfully.

Pff, youre just trying to frighten Valdy.

Honestly, it wouldnt surprise me, Valdemar admitted. He still shuddered upon remembering his entrance exam. Lord Och is as ruthless as you would expect a Dark Lord to be.

But no more than he has to, Liliane countered with optimism. Lord Och is just putting up a front so he doesnt look weak before the other Dark Lords, but hes not as bad as you think.

Valdemar raised an eyebrow in skepticism. Do you try to think the best of everyone?

Would you rather think the worst? Liliane replied with a kind smile.

At least I wouldnt feel disappointed.

And Iren agreed with him. Spoken like a wise man, the rogue praised him. Forgive Liliane, she arrived only a short while before you did and under the kindest mentor of the lot. Give her a few months and shell see the big lich upstairs doesnt have a single good bone in his body.

He probably had a point. Liliane had only seen the smiling old man disguise so far, not the cruel lich underneath. Valdemar hoped that she would take the truth well enough.

Anyway, that apprenticeship opportunity is amazing! Liliane said, trying to change the subject. Youre going to do great things, I just know it! Oh, and is that potion a secret project on behalf of the Dark Lord himself? You can tell me anything, you know that? Ill never tell anyone else.

That didnt inspire confidence. Im just looking for dreamshade leaves, fleshroot powder, a bottle of elemental flux, and some night fruit for a potion, Valdemar replied. Nothing unusual.

Lilianes joy turned to worry. Valdy, what potion are you making?

An Elixir of True Sight.

What? Liliane all but choked. Are you mad? Do you know how dangerous that stuff is?

Isnt that the potion that drives half the spellcasters who drink it mad? Iren asked, recognizing the elixirs name.

Because they didnt prepare properly, Valdemar replied, having done his research. One must first acclimate their brains to the higher truths of the world. I had to brew a Potion of Insight this morning to strengthen my mind, and Lord Och gave me multiple exercises.

Well, to be precise, the lich had given his new protegee a scroll full of exercises and expected him to master them on his own. According to the text, the essence of the Blood coursed through seven locks or chakras inside a humans body. Bodily wastes and emotional debris clogged them, greatly restricting a magicians full potential unless cleaned.

Valdemar had heard of the theory, but it served as a fertile ground for all kinds of hogus-bogus magical enhancement rituals, frauds, or sometimes just as a front to promote questionable dietary regimes. Lord Ochs scroll, however, limited itself to breathing exercises and using the Blood to cycle magical energy through his body to eliminate the accumulated wastes. Nothing too hard, though Valdemar had to practice every day.

I dont believe you about the potion part, Liliane said with a frown. If you had really taken that stuff, you would be sick in bed right now.

Valdemar shrugged. Truthfully, he had expected something like this to happen. My body filters out that kind of stuff quicker than most. I cant even get drunk.

A fair warning, pal," Iren said. "If you take that Elixir, dont drink it without supervision. I heard the first hours are harrowing. I know a guy who knew a guy who ended up walking through his window thinking it was a door to another world.

I investigated all of these cases to the best of my ability, Hermann said. This man was found... in 451 After Empire forty-five years ago in the tunnels near the Domain of Sabaoth.

The same year of his grandfathers arrival.

He wasnt alone, Valdemar realized, his heart skipping a beat in his chest. He wasnt alone.

He didnt know whether to feel relieved, or scared.

Nobody could understand him and he turned violent, Hermann explained. The authorities couldnt identify him or any relatives couldnt understand his gibberish.

So they mistook him for yet another mad vagrant and shipped him to the first asylum that would accept him. In fact, that man had probably been simply disoriented and unable to speak the local language. Is he alive? Hermann, if this man is still alive, then he can prove Earth exists!

Unfortunately Hermann shook his head, to Valdemars horror. Asylums when nobody can pay for a patient that they cannot cure

They often make them available for biomancers and spellcasters as guinea pigs, Valdemar shuddered in horror, but he refused to let that chance go. Maybe we can still track the corpse! If theres anything left, we can gather information from it!

I could not find where it went. Some mage bought the corpse anonymously. The paper trail it goes cold.

Valdemar let out a groan of frustration. He had found his first lead in years, decades, and it led nowhere.

Hermann glanced at the frescos picture, and at the words at the bottom. They could never decipher the text. Thought it meant nothing. I agreed with them until Lord Och approached me with a with a book in a language he didnt didnt understand.

My grandfathers journal, Valdemar guessed, squinting. Normally he would have been mad at Lord Och for showing his journal to everyone, but not this time. You saw the illustrations, and connected the dots.

Yes I recognized the picture and the words but not what they meant. Do you understand them?

I learned the language, Valdemar admitted. The French tongue. It reads La Dame de Fer, or the iron lady. Its a nickname for a building called the Eiffel Tower.

Hermann had gone completely silent, and Valdemar knew he had the troglodytes full attention. Finally, an intellectual who took him seriously!

My grandfather spoke of this tower, Valdemar explained. He said it ruined the landscape of his hometown, but he missed the sight.

Hermann nodded to himself, taking his words at face value. Valdemar found the experience incredibly rewarding. And and he might have finally found a clue about how his grandfather ended up in Underland! He could finally prove his grandsires story as the truth, the absolute truth!

You think there is a connection between my tale and this Silent King, Valdemar guessed.

Hermann scratched the back of his left horn, removing an insect that managed to climb its way there. I have tried to to study the Silent Kings pattern. Saying that out loud would have caught the deadly attention of inquisitors in any other place, but clearly, the Institute was laxer about these things. Do you know... the primary colors?

Weird change of subject. Red, yellow and blue?

They were the best basic colors for painting pigments.

Yes... Hermann replied, before nonchalantly swallowing the bug with a swipe of his forked tongue. Valdemar did his best not to show his disgust. I tried with cyan, magenta, and yellow too

Was that the reason for your strange art style and color choice in your workshop? his fellow scholar asked. You wanted to check if specific associations of colors or forms would make the Silent King appear?

The troglodyte nodded. But it doesnt change anything. I have narrowed down the rules. The Silent King only appears in paintings or drawings... that include thresholds... doors... rifts... murder or death and only those that include blood among the pigments. It is why it has a bad reputation with the Church.

Or maybe it considers death as a door, Valdemar pointed out. So all paintings include a door or pathway of some kind.

I reached the same conclusion, Hermann replied with a nod. The paintings all represent doors. Except this fresco. Or so I thought.

At first glance, it didnt make sense indeed. The Eiffel Tower appeared inside a circle, not a window or a gate. Unless...

That man was drawing a portal, Valdemar guessed, his fingers shuddering with excitement. A gate to Earth, the one he used to get to Underland. And since the Silent King only appears in pictures with a threshold inside, it means it can detect them.

This entity might know the portals location, or at least have information on it.

This could change everything.

I believe that the Silent Kings visits and visions are instructions for a ritual, Hermann explained. Showing the way to to its realm. The blood is the key.

Youre trying to use pictomancy to create a portal between worlds, Valdemar guessed, amazed by his audacity. A pathway between the Empire of Azlant and this Silent Kings realm.

A Painted Door between worlds.

No wonder Lord Och supported the project, and thought Valdemar would do the same. If Hermann was correct, and that a painting could work as an interdimensional portal and if the Silent King could detect conceptual thresholds maybe it could show the way to whatever portal to Earth this madman had seen. Maybe even create one.

This might have been the same phenomenon that summoned his grandfather to Underland.

Okay. Valdemar gathered his breath. Okay, I see how our goals align.

Hermann nodded. I thought we that we could learn from each other. Cooperate to to create a portal.

Gladly, Valdemar replied. Do you have any experience with summoning? If youre trying to contact an entity from outside our reality, youll need it.

I I struggle, the reptilian painter admitted. I can make the Silent King appear reliably but I couldnt create a true gateway so far. Pictomancy alone may not be enough to create the portal.

Maybe we could combine your pictomancy with my summoning expertise. However, Valdemar could see the danger inherent to this plan. I hope you realize that if we create a door between our worlds and his, it might gain the ability to transfer to ours. What if he is dangerous, or plainly malevolent?

What if it is misunderstood? Hermann countered. What if it is only trying to communicate but struggles with our minds?

It drove some painters mad.

Not all for one bad case, there are ten where nothing went wrong. Hermann coughed, and Valdemar had to wait a few seconds for the troglodyte to recover his breath. That the Silent King is dangerous is a possibility. But we cannot let unproved fear stop us we cannot understand the secrets of the world by running away from them.

A line of thoughts Valdemar agreed with. And truthfully, the possibility of finally proving Earths existence made taking the risk all the more worthwhile. If this creature follows specific laws, it means it can be studied, countered, and maybe even communicated with. The fact that we dont understand it now, doesnt mean that we cant.

Yes it is frightening because of the unknown. If we know and understand we wont be afraid anymore.

Alright, Im in, the summoner said. I will still focus on my ecto-catcher first and foremost, but Ill help you as much as I can. However, if we progress far enough to create a functioning portal, we will only finish this Painted Door with Lord Ochs assent and presence.

However powerful this Silent King might be, a Dark Lord would be more than enough to deal with it.

Agreed, Hermann said. There is another thing to consider. A portrait worthy of a godlike being... needs rare and potent pigments. The three primary colors at least.

Well, our blood is red and will be needed for the painting anyway, Valdemar pointed out. That leaves only the blue and yellow pigments. I think I could help with it, but I need to learn more about how pictomancy works first.

Yes, yes of course. I will teach you my art and you will teach me yours. The troglodytes tail wavered, and Hermanns facial expression turned into what could pass for a reptilian smile. I am I am glad that we met. My project many wouldnt understand.

Many dont understand mine either, Valdemar admitted, having found a kindred spirit in the troglodyte. l do wonder why youre going down this path though. I mean, I have a very strong personal reason to prove Earths existence, but why do you seek to contact this Silent King so much?

Hermanns smile faltered, and he became as still as a statue. Its not not about me. Its for my people. I...

You dont need to say it if you dont want to, Valdemar replied, sensing his unease. Ill respect your privacy.

Alright Hermann didnt hide his relief. His fellow scholar could tell that whatever pushed him on, it was something eminently personal. Thank you.

I have one last question. An idea had crossed Valdemars mind. You mentioned that you could use pictomancy to capture a soul?

Yes what of it?

Valdemar thought of the day of his arrest, and of his grandfathers ectoplasm struggling to manifest before dissipating into the ether. Does it work with ghosts too?