Sacrifice Mage-Chapter 66: Invited

Escinca further detailed that the vampires of Kalnislaw wanted a more public meeting with us all. Something almost like the fete we had performed, which had turned rather disastrous due to the Scarthrall attacks.
“Why are they insisting on a more public meeting?” Aurier asked. He didn’t look very sure about it.
“They want to reassure the people of Ring Four that they have nothing to do with the Scarthralls,” Escinca said. “They want to make sure everyone is well aware that House Kalnislaw isn’t a threat. Plus, they have other things they want to announce, such as investments and donations into Ring Four.”
I frowned. “Investments and donations.” I was reminded of the money that the Earth Cult had been so happy about. The supposed donation that came from House Drihawk. Coincidentally, another Scarseeker House just like Kalnislaw. “What’s gotten them into such a generous mood?”
Escinca tried for a positive smile. “Perhaps it was Hamsik and your efforts that day that moved them?”
“Hmm.”
I didn’t feel so sure about that. These were literally Scarseekers we were talking about, people who could be responsible for the main threat we were currently dealing with.
At the same time, I understood how discriminatory it would be if we obstructed them just because one or more members of their race were being evil.
Also, we couldn’t just say
no
to free money. At least, not if they were going to announce it so publicly. Which might have been part of the ploy. Present it in such a way that no one could easily oppose, like we had done so against the Cult of the Earth, since that was more behind closed doors.
“Speaking of Hamsik,” I said. “Where is he? Shouldn’t he be here right now?”
Escinca looked down at the letter. “I have informed him that we received the letter, but he hasn’t replied yet. I assume he is busy.”
“With what?”
“What are
you
busy with every day, Ross?”
The reversal of the question stumped me. What was I busy with? I trained, I explored what I was capable of doing, I adventured in dungeons and visited my Guilds and—
And I realized it was likely Hamsik had similar priorities like that too. I was just in the dark about it, in the same way Hamsik probably didn’t know the finer details about what I got up to. But the thing was, I didn’t obfuscate. If anyone asked, I was ready to answer, and I was pretty sure Escinca could either tell or make reasonable guesses about my experiences.
I just had no clue about Hamsik. But I supposed that was no reason to assume that whatever he was doing just could be pushed aside to come to the cult immediately.
If I started thinking that way, then I had no right to be mad at Guildmaster Kudva for drawing me into her little shenanigans without informing me about it.
At least we had another day or so before the meeting itself to get together and prepare. Escinca looked a little concerned about the preparations themselves, but I said I would take care of it. I was starting to get a few ideas that should work out.
Of course, that meant the day I was going to spend on training ended up being spent more on said preparations. I also received a letter from Revayne where she mentioned that they were going to carry out a full-on assault on the Scarthralls in the dungeon soon, which didn’t help my suspicion that we were being distracted. Still, I managed to get
some
stuff done.
That included trying out some of the Spirit Injectors.
The potions worked just as Mage Privant had explained. I had tested a mana potion before, and when I had drunk the contents, it had felt like my internal sense of energy was blowing up, the thrumming and buzzing sensation of new mana coursing through me like I was turning into a wasp’s nest.
This was pretty different. The feeling of vibrating energy was a lot more muted, somehow even more internal and integral than a pure mana potion.
When I finished drinking the shining blue liquid down, the buzzing started out from all over my body. It was everywhere, on every piece of skin, on every hair and every cell. Then it all sank
inwards
. The sensation wasn’t something I could properly understand, much less express.
It was just a strange tingle of power growing deeper, magical energy settling on some kind of spiritual barrier halfway between my mana core and my physical body.
I wasn’t sure how exactly it was supposed to help my Spirit. Silly of me not to have asked more specific questions at the academy, although I was pretty certain they weren’t exactly going to hold my hand through the process.
So, I just used my Aspects and experimented, more or less. The sensation of energy sinking deeper within me didn’t change no matter how much Gravity I used. That made sense. This was all mana heading straight to my core. It would be processed through my core before I could even touch it.
With all that said, the shattered-glass cracks did grow stronger in my chest, like I was somehow driving my core closer to mana implosion. Not fun.
I checked my status and found that wasn’t really the case. Or at least, it hadn’t gone below the four days I still had remaining after I had checked earlier today. The only reason it hadn’t decreased was because I had remembered to use Sacrifice on my Gravity casts as I walked about and manipulated my weight, although Sacrificing the health potion at the Guild had helped a decent amount too.
Speaking of Sacrificing potions…
I took up another of the Spirit Injectors. “I wonder what you’ll give.”
As I sent Sacrifice mana into the potion, threads of white crushed into the Injector and burned it away into soft, snow-coloured sparks.
[ Sacrifice
You have Sacrificed 1 [Minor] Spirit Injector. Windfall bonus activated.
Reward
: Spirit ranking hastened by 5x for 1 hour
]
Hmm. Instead of just giving me the rank straight up, I had received a strong boost to my ranking capabilities. In addition to that, the sensation of energy driving through me and into my core grew even more powerful, turning almost harsh. It was now a constant series of livewires shooting through me. Sparking, electrifying, untameable.
It was almost a little frightening. I felt fractured.
Vulnerable
. Like if I moved too much, I’d end up making my chest shatter like it was pottery. Deciding against pushing the effect further so I could reserve some Spirit Injectors, I started using my Aspects as much as I could.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. the violation.
To that end, as I went about preparing for the vampires’ arrival, I made sure I was constantly casting Gravity and Sacrificing the casts as well to boost my next casts.
Normally, I was a little afraid of doing that because I didn’t want to make my own weight unmanageable. But for one, I had greater Power and Vitality now, so I could handle myself better. For another, I could send the really high-effectiveness threads straight into the ground and still reap the benefits.
By the time evening rolled around, I had gained another rank in Spirit.
[ Rank Up!
Your Spirit Attribute has risen by one Rank.
Spirit
: Iron X
]
Perfect. Now all I needed was some sort of breakthrough that would get my Spirit to Silver, and then I’d be set.
The day after, I made sure to check that I still had three whole days left till my core’s mana implosion. I didn’t want to have to worry about it when I had the Scarseekers coming in.
Everything was ready. The preparations were complete. Escinca had even managed to gather a modest collection of Ring Four residents with the lure of good food, courtesy of me. Still, we hadn’t exactly done anything fancy or decorated or anything like that. This wasn’t a cult-sponsored celebration. Just a meeting with people who were supposedly intent on helping.
House Kalnislaw appeared in not one but
two
self-driven carriages. They were different from the one that I had messed with back on my first day here. So that one that had probably belonged to the Rakshasa lordling from House Brasvay.
These ones were painted black with red enamel and the House coat of arms that displayed that strange, bloodied nail behind two crossed torches.
Glonek emerged from the rear carriage, while Lady Kalnislaw and her son, Zoltan, came out of the other. Huh. I remembered how Hamsik had insulted Glonek with the fact that he hadn’t been with House Kalnislaw for long, and this was more evidence of just that.
For all that Lady Kalnislaw
appeared
to favour Glonek to some degree, there was still a strong, hierarchical separation between them.
Needless to say, a lot of people simply stared. Scarseekers were a rare sight, and Lady Kalnislaw was striking. Also, freaking tall to boot.
The aura I had felt at the Kalnislaw Estate was a lot more muted now. I could still sense it coming from Lady Kalnislaw, but I had to actually look for it, in a manner of speaking. Most people here wouldn’t even be able to tell she had a way of reaching into their psyche, though the effect shouldn’t be
too
bad. Escinca knew about it too and had Blessed everyone ahead of time.
At least Hamsik had finally decided to join us. He spared a frosty glare for his half-brother, who only looked back scathingly.
“Greetings, Young Lord and Lady Kalnislaw,” Escinca said. “I welcome you to our humble temple.”
Lady Kalnislaw dipped her head graciously. “Thank you, Elder.”
The rest of us tried to be as welcoming as we could. I did my best to ignore how they, especially Zoltan, looked at the temple like they couldn’t believe they were stepping inside a building that was missing a few walls and windows. And the front door.
Well, I supposed I’d judge my destination to be a little off for such a state too.
Still, the whole thing felt a tad awkward to me. None of the Scarseekers either looked or acted like they belonged. Everyone else was pretty stiff and formal around them.
Just as with Hamsik, the regular people were almost glaring at all House Kalnislaw members, clearly restraining their baser, more aggressive intentions. Actually, it was worse than Hamsik because these people were full-blooded Scarseekers. One of their kind—there was the minute chance that one of
them
—was responsible for the whole Scarthrall mess in Ring Four.
Escinca, however, was an excellent social facilitator. Honestly, I ought to take lessons from him. Or maybe that just came with experience, considering how old he was.
He introduced the Scarseekers in a way that the people of Ring Four could understand and appreciate, while also making sure they weren’t lessened in any way.
“We have invited these esteemed guests here to the Cult of the Sun for a lot of reasons,” Escinca said. “Not least of which is the fact that, ultimately, we
all
wish to get along. We all want to be safe, to be happy, to be free to pursue our hopes and dreams. Scarseeker or Human, noble or commoner, we all share that same, integral ideal.”
Statements like that could be argued against simply by pointing out the great disparity between the state of Rings Four and Two. Hell, I had literally seen Khagnio eating ice cream while everyone here was reduced to mushrooms and insects and meagre variations thereof.
Escinca knew this, of course, which was probably why he quickly moved on to the next bit. The one that would truly allow things to simmer down into something closer to a proper…
meeting
sounded so formal, but it certainly wasn’t a
celebration
by any means.
“For now,” Escinca said. “I will step back and allow House Kalnislaw to tell you all just why they’re really here.”
He ceded his position. I was curious who would step up and was a bit disappointed when it turned out to be Glonek rather than Lady Kalnislaw herself.
“Greetings, all,” he said. Maybe he was a better choice, considering how engaging he was starting to sound. He hadn’t been like that back at the mansion. “I know we’re all in a rather tense time over here.” His expression turned graver. “I have heard of your sufferings and regret greatly that my own kind is the cause of all this.”
“Then why don’t you do something about it?” someone asked from the back.
The man was speaking out of turn—if nothing else, no one could deny that the people of Ring Four had guts—but Glonek took it in stride.
“That is exactly why we are here, good fellow.” Glonek smiled again, but in a way that was fortifying. Almost encouraging. I realized he was actually
good
at this when he wanted to be. “House Kalnislaw has come here to personally announce our investments into Ring Four!”
A few whispers and murmurs broke out, several people looking at each other like they couldn’t believe what they had heard. Like them, I was still in the dark about what exactly these investments were supposed to be, and hadn’t Escinca mentioned donations too? What had happened to those?
It was finally time for Lady Kalnislaw to step up. She wasn’t able to turn off her noble-switch and pretend to be as personable as Glonek, but that was alright. Her Aura flared up just a bit more, and that worked enough to entrance people.
“Greetings,” she said. “I am the Lady of House Kalnislaw. As our great accountant stated, we regret the tragedies and horror that Ring Four has suffered. To redress that, to aid in the recovery, we will be providing funds for various necessities. These range from both direct funding for food and healthcare, to infrastructure, to even supplies for necessary institutions.”
She went on a little speech about the things House Kalnislaw would be helping with, and even I was enraptured for a bit. The Scarseekers promised to fix the roads and drains, to secure a fund that would help establish a Ration House right here on Ring Four, and even provide new furniture and the like for the school and the hospital.
That was kind of getting close to what
I
had been going for, but I wasn’t too annoyed. As long as the people who needed got it, it didn’t really matter where it came from.
But it was the part about the investments that made me pause.
“House Kalnislaw will also be seeking new employees for our operations,” she said. “Both our House and our business require a great deal of help and assistance, and should you be willing to step up, we will provide a greater deal of assistance in return.”
A quid pro quo. Of course. I wanted to clarify that, and even Hamsik looked like he was going to speak, but Escinca was already giving us both a look. Right, right. We weren’t supposed to cause issues. Only make sure everything ran smoothly.
To be fair, the people looked pleased at the idea of new employment. They had been warming up all the while the extra funds and everything had been mentioned. Now, at the news of job opportunities, with the potential for gaining new Paths, they were completely invested in the Scarseekers.
Which signalled the moment Escinca needed to start the little feast we had prepared.
He tinkled a spoon against a glass filled to the brim with dark red liquid. “Thank you to our guests for their generosity. In celebration, we’ve prepared a small reception with some excellent food.” Escinca turned to me with a smile. “Courtesy of one of our newest members, Ross.”
Almost all eyes turned to me too. Some were appreciative, like the other cultists and Ring Four people, and a few were disdainful, like Zoltan Kalnislaw. His mother was curious, however.
As the formality of the event broke up and people gathered food on their own, Lady Kalnislaw approached me directly. She was alone. Her son had gone towards the tables, an expression of minor surprise on his face as he realized the food
wasn’t
insects and fungi.
“Ross, wasn’t it?” she said, approaching with a small plate in hand. I hadn’t even seen her pick up the slice of grilled Brillwyrm meat. This close, her crystalline scarlet eyes were mesmerizing, even to me. Damn vampires. “Mind telling me the story of how you got such… interesting cuisine?”
She left the rest out, but it was easy to guess. Someone from Ring Four coming across Greater Brillwyrm meat? That didn’t happen every day.
I crossed my arms as I ended up having to look up at her. “Sure. As long as you tell me what you know about our rogue Scarseeker running around and making Thralls all over the place.”
Lady Kalnislaw wasn’t surprised one bit that I was insinuating she
had
to know something. She took a dainty bite of the Brillwyrm meat. “Deal.”