B4 – Chapter 12: Report to authority

“I had an idea,” Felicity said as they began to set up camp in a corner of a caravanserai along the main road.

Tristan finished hammering in the first stake and looked back at her. “About?”

She sat back on her hind haunches and brought a paw-claw up to her chin, as if some great thinker pondering questions about existence. “What if the place the Feather Scourge came from, what if they had some prominent bloodlines ruined, and just did not have our amazing information gathering? They just determined that the assassins came from the Demon Realm, and chose to try and infect the whole place?”

“Could be,” Tristan replied as he extended the first flap of the tent and tied it to the stake, before moving to the next. “Using a place with access to other Realms as the testing ground makes some sense, but is also really risky. It could infect other Realms, or even kill off everyone who could open the portals.”

“Just a thought,” Felicity said as she opened her storage dimension and grabbed Tristan’s camp supplies, including a small, Adamant Wood stove which she ignited using some tinder and charcoal. “What do you want to eat? I think we deserve a hot meal after our work.”

“Cooked up starberries sound good to me,” Tristan replied as he continued to set up the tent.

Sleep came easily to Tristan, but his dreams were plagued with visions of the maimed and injured populace of Demonkin that he had cleansed. He woke up in a panicked sweat, clutching at the sword laying on the ground next to him, his heart racing, as the vivid memory of a bone extending from a pustule-covered stumped was dredged back up.

Felicity was outside, on watch, and Tristan could see her small silhouette sitting in front of the tent flap. He took some deep breaths to calm his fast-beating heart, and laid back down, shutting his eyes. But the visions of the talons and feathers still stuck with him, and sleep eluded him. Sighing, he sat up and opened the flap.

Felicity looked back at him with droopy eyes, “What’s wrong?” she asked, suppressing a yawn.

Tristan got out of the tent and stood, stretching and taking in the dark, deep blue night skies which had no stars. Only the fingers of night shone overhead, bathing the space in a slight, grey hue. “Nightmares,” he said softly. “The plagued people…I can’t get the images out of my head.”

Felicity nodded, “Well…if you’re going to be awake, I’m going to bed.” She trotted into the tent and closed the flap.

Tristan sat down, sword across his legs, and stared up at the moons high overhead. He could not shake the feeling that there was something more to this disease he had uncovered and helped to stop. Some secret intent behind it. The clues he helped to gather and put together only pointed to another Realm’s influence, but he had no clue why that Realm did what they did. Perhaps Felicity is right, he thought. Someone in the Undying Realm could be upset at the death of a bloodline they had a stake in. And, instead of investigating like I am doing, they instead chose to damn the whole Realm by sending a plague through. For all I know, the capital has already been infected. No saying how long the experiments in Lockwood were going on. Travelers could have absolutely infected other parts of the Realm.

He set his sword to his side and curled his knees up to his chest, That would be bad, he continued in his thoughts. An entire Realm, infected by a plague that is almost undetectable until symptoms appear. It’s…evil. If that was the intent, and the more I think on it, I do think that’s what is going on. Someone making a move against the whole of the Demon Realm. Closing his eyes, he pictured the map of the Demon Realm he had seen, and judged where they had traveled thus far. I could use Otherrealm Retreat and get back to the Citadel of Essence with Felicity. Talk to some of the faculty and tell them about my suspicion. They could probably send students who can use Cleanse and help to cure the plague if it should become an issue. The downside, of course, is that doing so would set back my plans. And my goal is revenge. A destabilized Realm helps my plans.

He sighed, The question is, do I care about the citizens of this Realm being injured? Sure, they can be Cleansed even in the later stages of the disease, but deformed and I doubt Regeneration could be used on all of them. He weighed his two options. Either return to the Citadel and tell them about the spreading plague – which could save thousands if not hundreds of thousands by putting together an inter-Realm response plan. Or, continue on his journey, and let the disease take hold.

I’m making a lot of assumptions, Tristan thought as he nudged some dirt with his foot and made a little pile in front of him. This all assumes that the disease spread beyond Lockwood. Which it probably did, since disease cat creatures were what I had already dealt with…Where’s grandfather when I need to talk to him? I could use his advice here.

Tristan sighed, If I did retreat to the Citadel, I could pop over to the Fey Realm and ask grandfather for advice. I could ask the Headmaster as well. Get multiple perspectives on the issue. Then, coming back to the capital through the inter-Realm market, I’d just be adding a few days to my travel, compared to continuing where I am now.

The more he thought on it, the more he made up his mind. “Felicity,” he said as he stood up and began taking down the tent.

“Fwah?” she asked as she yawned from inside the tent.

“Pack up. We’re going to head to the Citadel.” He spent the next few minutes of packing up the camp supplies explaining his thoughts on the Feather Scourge, and Felicity assisted him while listening intently.

She spoke when he finished and was tying the last rope in place around the canvas for the tent. “I think it’s the right thing to do. Maybe not the best for our personal goals, but you’re showing that good heart again.”

Tristan smiled and held up the tent as she opened her storage dimension, and he tossed the object in. “Okay, hop on my head. We’re going back.”

She flew over and landed on his head. Tristan spun his crucible and pushed the essence into one of the two amethyst amulets on his belt, activating Otherrealm Retreat. The world compressed around them, turning black as energy danced along the outside of their bodies, and Tristan could feel a deep, tickling sensation.

They both appeared a moment later in the infirmary in the Citadel’s grounds. Immediately, Tristan used another amulet with Mark the Breach stored within, resetting the return point for the paired spell that had just brought them there.

A Citadel Student, Human and female, dressed in a white cloak, turned to face them in the main waiting room. “Oh! Sorry, didn’t hear you come up behind me.”

Tristan spoke, “I learned of a plague. I need to tell someone with some diplomatic weight. Can you direct me to someone like that?”

The woman nodded, “I suppose the head professor of the rejuvenation spell classes…begging your pardon, but you don’t have a Citadel Pin, do you? I don’t see it on you.”

Tristan shook his head, “Felicity, let Alter Form fade.” Felicity tapped his head, and the woman in white gasped as Tristan’s appearance reverted to his usual Winterbloom self. “I should have had my pin left here by a rift warden. I’m Tristan Winterbloom.”

The woman gulped and nodded, looking quite frazzled. “I’ll- I’ll check the back.” She stepped over to a wooden door, opened it, and departed. Tristan took a seat on the chair in the clean, almost-bare room. Felicity kept making her paw-claw biscuits, and her tail swished just behind Tristan’s head, flicking his ears slightly. The woman came back a moment later, looking relieved. “I did see a note back there and your pins are here.” She held it out to him.

Tristan grabbed it and dipped his head in thanks, “Excellent. Thank you.” He handed Felicity hers, “We’ll see the Headmaster immediately. See you there,” he said to Felicity as he spun his crucible and poured the power into the pin. The world warped around him and he was standing in the hallway before the Headmaster’s office. Reaching out, he grabbed the iron knocker and banged it several times.

Felicity popped into existence next to him, and then hopped back up to his head. “We inform him, then go home, take a nice long nap, and return to the Demon Realm?”

“That’s the plan,” Tristan replied as he took a step back from the door to show polite distance. It opened after a few minutes, and a young, Angelblood half-breed answered the door. “Hi there, tell the Headmaster that Tristan Winterbloom is here to see him.”

The young man shut the door gently, and then a few seconds later, opened it again. “He will see you now.”

Tristan walked into the front part of the office, past the assistant desks, and into the larger, main office, where Headmaster Markus Vrilz sat behind his desk. The middle-aged human waved his hand. “Lord Tristan! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“I have one heck of a story to tell,” Tristan replied. He went into detail about the Feather Scourge, his theories – to which Felicity interrupted a few times and added her own opinions. Tristan ended with, “…And I need your advice on how best to go about this.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The whole time, the Headmaster had a stern look on his face. When Tristan finished, the man frowned. “Well…that’s not good. A plague that is as insidious as you describe needs to be resolved. I will reach out through diplomatic channels to the Demon Realm and lie just a little bit – something about one of our students versed in medicine noting a weird disease. That should broach the topic from an innocuous angle.”

Felicity made shallow paw-claw biscuits on Tristan’s skull. “It might be good to close off access to the Demon Realm for a bit. Keep people from coming and going.”

“I am in agreement,” the Headmaster replied. “Once you return to that place, I will have the rift warden notify me. Can’t very well have you sealed out.” He tented his hands, “And Eloise?”

“She’s traveling to a Demon House called the Parslile.”

“Ah…” The Headmaster’s visage noticeably soured, “She…may have some ulterior motives then. Her home village was in their territory, if memory serves. I’ll double check her personnel file, but she might have another motive.”

Tristan nodded, “Well, if that’s all-”