Chapter 607 - Uncomfortable truths

After just a few meters, Sofia stopped the horse. “Wait for me here and keep the lamp turned on, I want to try to figure out the range.”

“Just stay in sight,” Alith said, turning her lamp on.

Sofia gave a nod and flew away while staying close to the ground. She was out of the light world almost immediately. And abruptly stopped.

That’s about three hundred meters? Less than I expected.

Now to see whether I can still see through Pareth’s eyes from here.

Huh. It’s not as clear as usual but that will do.

“That’s it?” Alith asked as Sofia came back.

“Yeah, it’s quite short, but that’s good news. Pareth, I got a job for you. You will follow us from just out of the light, try to get a good view of the manor’s interior when we get there. I’ll be checking your view basically all the time, that way I’ll know what’s going on in both worlds at once. Bookie, you’ll be staying with us in book form only, and get Crowie out to help watch Pareth’s back. You can also give your lamp to Pareth for now.”

“I have to come as a book?” Bookie asked dejectedly.

“It’s safer that way.”

“Alright…” he accepted, handing his lamp to Pareth and dispelling himself.

Sofia caressed the book at her side. I just don’t want you to be hurt alright? We both know how dangerous the Deep creatures can be.

Pareth grabbed the lamp, tried turning it on and off once, gave a thumbs up and ran away to the limit of the range.

“We’re good to go,” Sofia finally declared, prompting the horse to start strutting forth.

“If there are really people there… Do we introduce ourselves as Sorcerers?” Alith asked.

“I guess we could. We can try asking something about the village’s ritual. Throwing the name of Izzaro in there might get us some credibility also. Ideally, we should ask about the lords, considering that last comment from the old chief.”

“Well, that’s assuming there’s anyone to talk to.”

The horse stopped at the closed golden gates of the manor’s estate.

Sofia jumped off and grabbed one of the gate’s golden bars with her left hand and turned to Alith. “Turn off the light.”

She could see herself holding onto nothing from Pareth’s point of view but she wanted to try actively switching while holding it. The world shifted with the light as Alith’s lamp hid the fruit from view. Sofia was left holding nothing but air.

“So far so good,” Sofia said. She opened her hand and placed it to where the golden bar would exist through the inside of her palm. Let’s see what happens, were we right to worry about the tunnel’s collapsed section? “Turn it on.”

“You sure about this?” Alith asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m not responsible for pierced hands,” Alith said as she turned the lamp back on.

The golden gate reappeared and Sofia’s hand was stuck in the middle of one of the bars. It was painless, but she could not move her hand. “I’m stuck.”

Alith turned the lamp off. Sofia watched as a bloody mangled hole appeared in the middle of her hand out of nowhere. It had not existed until then, only starting to bleed when the reality switched.

“Curious how that works,” she commented, observing the hole in her hand as her skin worked to plug it back up.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Alith asked.

“Probably not more than when you bit off a chunk of your own arm,” Sofia answered, opening and closing her fist.

“Hands tend to be more sensitive, but fair.” 

My middle finger isn’t working. I don’t want to dispel my runes to heal that… With [Bone Dominus] she quickly rebuilt the broken bones, and patched up the missing tendon and muscle with tiny mechanical bone parts. Not the most comfortable thing but it’ll work for now.

Alith turned the lamp back on; Sofia’s hand still looked perfectly normal in the light world.

“What now though? Do we invite ourselves in?” Sofia asked.

“No clue, I’m about as knowledgeable as you are about human nobility, not much. If anything, you’re the baroness here, you should know.”

“Well I don’t…”

“Wait, someone’s coming!” Alith pointed out.

Sofia looked past the gates, and indeed, some two hundred meters away, the doors of the manor had opened, and a butler in a black suit was walking out.

Sofia switched to Pareth’s point of view, who was still currently moving around trying to find the best viewpoint on the manor. He stopped at her command and looked in the direction of the gardens.

“Fuck,” Sofia mumbled.

“Tethered?” Alith asked.

“Yes…”

“Shit. So we were in a village full of them…”

“Be glad we never shook hands with them.”

“God… What now, proceed as intended?”

“Yes, I’ll be on Pareth’s vision most of the time though, at the first sign of anything wrong, I bolt. Stay on the horse, you do the talking.”

“Aye captain,” Alith acknowledged, fixing her hair and her posture.

It was unnerving watching the Tethered slowly glide through the gardens, its tentacular extremities wriggling like worms, while it appeared as a well-dressed butler walking with perfect countenance in the light world.

Sofia had to really hold back not to cast an explosive bolt right away. She watched the squirming thing come so close in the real world, just five more ‘steps’ and its disgusting appendages would be close enough to touch her, but he stopped there, a few steps away from the gate.

The butler gave a simple nod to Sofia who was holding the horse’s reins, and addressed Alith instead, “Good day madam. May I inquire as to your name and the nature of your visit? The Count does not receive guests without prior notice, but I shall be happy to deliver your message if you so wish.”

“Good day. I understand this visit is unannounced, and I apologize for any inconvenience. Please inform the Count that a Sorcerer wishes to discuss a matter of some urgency on Sir Izzaro’s behalf,” Alith calmly announced in a polite but disinterested voice.

“On behalf of the chancellor? I understand, madam. Might I verify the royal seal, if you please?”

Shit.

Alith hesitated, glancing briefly at Sofia before pulling the fruit from the lamp. “Is this not sufficient proof of my identity?” she asked, her tone laced with disdain.

The butler seemed taken aback by this, his countenance faltered for a moment before he apologized with a deep bow. “My deepest apologies, madam. I shall inform the count without delay. Might I ask that you wait here while I make the necessary arrangements?”

“I shall wait.”

The butler bowed once more before walking back to the manor.

Alith watched him go, exhaling sharply. “I can’t believe that bluff with the fruit worked,” she said as soon as the butler was far enough to be out of earshot.

“Are you sure you weren’t a noble in your previous life?” Sofia asked in disbelief.

“Pretty sure yeah, unless you’ve ever known a noble who lives in a hut off of selling medicinal herbs and ointments to farmers. Nothing interesting on the dark side?”

“Not much, just the tethered in place of the butler… It was squirming like they normally do during almost the entire thing. It only briefly stopped when you brandished the fruit.”

“That could be useful later. Now I just need to make up some shit to explain why we’re here…” Alith said, lost in her thoughts.

“Our only option is pretty much to talk about the ritual,” Sofia suggested, “You could say there’s something wrong with the tower, the count lives close enough to the village, it’s probably in his territory.”

“So the village’s problems are his problems… Could work. But also maybe he didn’t actually buy the thing with the fruit. I guess we’ll know if he comes back with soldiers.”

“We’ll know soon enough. Pareth has a good point of view now, the manor really is in ruins so it’s relatively easy to see inside. There are about thirty tethered total… The ‘butler’ is flying up non-existent stairs at the moment. Like a puppet hanging by a string…”

Sofia and Alith nervously chatted for a few minutes, hoping to ease the tense atmosphere.

The butler came back, alone. He returned to the gate with measured steps, and stopped just short of the threshold, bowing respectfully before addressing Alith.

“Madam, I have conveyed your message to the Count. He has instructed me to extend his welcome and request your immediate audience. Please, allow me to escort you and your companion to the drawing room,” he said before unlocking the gate with a large golden key.

“If you would be so kind as to follow me, the Count awaits your arrival.”