Harry Potter In The Witcher [74]

"Ah, Asal," Francesca said, her voice a soft, melodious sound in the ancient Elven tongue, like the sweetest of bird melodies. "It is good to see you again. I trust, by you contacting me so soon, that you have had success?"

"I have, my Mistress," Asal responded, his own Elvish smooth and respectful, eagerly giving his information, desperate to please her.

"The Black Mage, or Harry Potter as he is apparently called here, has granted me full citizenship to his new kingdom. I already have permanent lodging, which I have, as you instructed, strategically picked to be both near his personal home and his primary place of work."

His queen, his mistress, smiled down at him, a radiant, approving smile. "Good," she said, her voice gentle. "I knew I was right to trust you with this delicate task. Now, what is your first report?"

"The city, my Queen," Asal began, trying to keep his voice steady, "is everything the rumors say, and so much more. It is more beautiful, more magnificent, than any other human settlement I have ever laid eyes upon. It is ordered and structured, with a clear, logical design, yet everything within it, from the simplest home to the grandest tower, looks as if it were made by a master artist. The people here, while not yet numerous, are… happy, my Queen. And kind. Equality is the absolute law here, and those who try to break it, who try to sow prejudice or discord, are swiftly and harshly punished. Not that it happens often, from what I have been able to hear. There are multiple races living here, side by side – humans, half-elves, dwarves, even a few gnomes. An update, though, a recent one. They do now have an official city guard system in place. I believe it is only made up of around fifty to seventy-five men at present, but I am quite sure it will continue to grow."

Asal finished, and stopped to momentarily take a ragged breath, his heart still pounding with excitement.

His Queen waited patiently for him to compose himself and continue. "I have met the one who you have said to be the Black Mage," Asal said, his voice dropping slightly.

"And I believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that it is him. He… he radiated no discernible power, my Queen. I could feel absolutely nothing coming from him, yet… his eyes… they were like twin, emerald storms, being held back by some impossible force, waiting to be unleashed, waiting to consume me. I am sure, with every fiber of my being, that he is the Black Mage of the legends."

"And what did he look like?" Francesca asked, her voice soft, her curiosity clearly piqued.

"He looked… un-humanly human, if that makes any sense, my Queen," Asal struggled to explain.

"He has no discernible characteristics of any blood but human in him, yet all of his physical traits seem almost… magnified, perfected, if that makes sense. His hair is blacker than the night sky itself, his skin, while not overly pale, still seems to reek of a kind of flawless perfection I have yet to see any human achieve. His eyes, though… his eyes were more emerald than their gem counterparts, and, as I said earlier, they simply… glowed with a hidden, immense power."

Asal finished with a slight, involuntary shutter, just thinking back to his unsettling, intense meeting with the man.

"And he did not seem suspicious of you when you arrived?" Enid an Gleanna asked, her voice tinged with a hint of almost disbelief.

"I believe he was, at first, my Queen," Asal admitted, not wanting to lie, but also not wanting to admit that he might have almost been caught so early on. "But he seemed to dismiss it, and he continued to let me settle here anyway."

"And what services did you offer him?"

"I told him that my own personal spellcraft was… lacking, but that I was an expert in the art of alchemy, which I would, of course, be sure to use to help aid his growing city, if at all possible," Asal answered quickly.

His Queen nodded in approval at that. "Wise," she said. "Finally… what of the dragons?" she asked, her voice now filled with a new, more intense interest.

Asal hesitated for a moment before answering, a flicker of shame passing through him. "I… I was able to confirm their existence, my Queen, through talking with the locals. But I have yet to have seen them myself. I have heard them, on occasion, their roars echoing from the mountains. It seems they possess a remarkable skill at stealth. I have yet to find out if it is a natural, inherent trait of their kind, or if it is something the Black Mage has somehow… given to them."

Asal told her, bowing his head a little in the shame he felt at not having managed to bring her more concrete information on one of his most important, and most intriguing, tasks.

His Queen, however, just waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal. "You have done well, Asal," she said, her voice kind.

"Do not doubt that. You have brought me valuable, crucial information that I will be able to use. For now, I shall take my leave, but I hope that you will continue to give me regular updates on yourself, and on your mission."

Asal nodded his head vigorously. "Of course, my Queen! I shall call as soon as I find something new, something important!" Asal said to her, which made her smile at him, that same, beautiful, heart-stopping smile.

"Excellent," she said. "Until our next chat, then, Asal." And with that, her shimmering, ethereal image faded out of existence in front of him.

Asal let out a long, shaky breath. He loved, more than anything, talking with his Mistress, but it certainly caused him a great deal of stress, in his constant, desperate effort to please her.

Not that he minded it too much, of course. His greatest wish, his entire purpose in life, after all, was to serve her. He turned away from his now-dark megascope and started to head downstairs to continue to unpack, totally, completely unaware of the small, silent, black crow that had been hiding in the shadowy rafters of his new house, a crow that had been watching him, and his entire secret meeting, the whole time.