Meanwhile:
“How was your outing, your highness?” the guard at the side gate of the palace asked as I rushed back to the palace,
“It was interesting” I said as I fixed the wool shawl I had around my shoulders, “I…met the most intriguing sell-sword.”
“A sell-sword?”
“Some…ruffians were trying to take my money and she happened to have been close enough to hear.” I said as I snuck back into the palace walls. Rushing through the halls of polished marble, granite and similar stone, all in white, golds and similar stone, the walls covered in paintings and things. I quickly went to the library as I looked through records ad things of Sigian sell-swords in the city, I did find the book eventually, but in all of my looking and researching, I didn’t find anything about a Sigian sell-sword with necromantic magics, nothing. There also no records of a Sigian sell-sword named Aram. I set the book down as I then went to record books of the guards for a Sigian with necromantic magic, nothing. What…is happening? There is no possible way for someone to be invisible in this city.
As I pondered over the books, I flicked my hand and took a large crystal sphere from the light that followed, I focused as I moved my hands around, preparing a scrying spell, the less you know about the person the more they have to prevent it, the more you know the less able they are to block it, having a picture or likeness makes it harder, a possession or garment is even harder than that, but if you have an actual piece of them like hair or something, it makes extremely difficult to block. It takes about ten minutes to get the spell ready, but as I pushed my hands forward sending my magical sensor out, it was instantly snuffed and my vision was filled with darkness as I heard what sounded like a dragon roar before I saw huge claws rip through the darkness and I gasped as I grabbed the back of the chair I had been leaning again.
“How is she hiding?” I asked, quietly, it’s extremely difficult to completely block out someone scrying on you. I tried a few other divination spells I knew, not my focus of magic, I’m a healer for the most part, but I know one or two divination spells, but nothing…worked. It was like she was completely invisible to any kind of divination magic, I even used a talisman we have commonly in the library for tracking or locating objects, I thought of that sword of hers and used it, nothing…we have similar talismans for creatures, including people, tried that as well, nothing. There was…nothing I could do to get a glimpse as to where Aram is, who she is or anything of that sort.
I ordered for a guard to try to find her as I went through everything in my books about Sigia, I did see a drawing though on one page far in the back of one book, it looked weirdly familiar, it was…that great-sword Aram was using, the text of the book said that that sword is known as Aegis, it was a near legendary weapon of Sigia, said to have been wielded by the most powerful and deadly general of the Sigian military, the second born princess of Sigia, but there was…nothing about the princess in the book, just that she used that sword. My brother was married to the elder princess of Sigia, I had never heard of their being a younger princess, I only ever heard of there being one princess. How was there a second that was kept secret. There was one other little quip, the title that the princess/general used, Deathblooded. They called her that because death followed her in excessive power.
“…sir” A guard said,
“Yes?” I asked as the guard walked back into the library,
“The guard that you asked to…find this woman you asked us to find, Aram…did she give you a surname?” he asked, I sighed,
“No, but…a Sigian woman that tall…with those abilities cannot hide.”
“Why do you wish us to find her?”
“I…think she may know something…about this assassin that’s been going across Lodor…the one that’s been killing all of the nobles and destroying all of the barracks in the other cities.”
“The one that scrawls DB across the wall in blood.”
“D…B” I said quietly as I tapped the book where it talked about the second princess of Sigia being known as Deathblooded in the military. “Have…you ever heard of a second Sigian princess?”
“No, sir. From everything I know of that…wasteland of magic was that there was one princess, the one your brother married.” He said, I sighed deeply as I softly hit my forehead against my hands as I sat down at the table, “Did you find something, sir, about…there being a second princess?”
“Yeah, in this book…there is a powerful…powerful artifact of Sigia, something they called a Spellplague sword, notably wielded by the most powerful and deadly general of the Sigian military.”
“A…spellplague sword?”
“It’s a solid black great-sword, said to cause decay in its waste and steal the souls of those it kills.” I said, “I…I think I saw that sword today.”
“Sir?” he asked,
“That sell-sword that saved me from the muggers…used a massive solid black great-sword that turned the muggers into ashes.” I said drumming my finger, “According to this book, the sword was wielded by the second born princess of Sigia, a sorcerer who was an embodiment of death, decay and darkness. Everything in here talks about her like…she’s a myth or something. There’s nothing that is…real by the way its worded.”
“And…you think this sell-sword you met…was using the sword that according to that book…was the personal armament of a princess general who could wield death itself as a weapon.”
“Basically”
“Sir, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but…don’t you find that…quite hard to believe?” he asked,
“A bit…I’ve never heard of someone really knowing or using necromancy openly in Lodor, but…I think that sell-sword may know something about this assassin going about Lodor.” I said,
“And you wish for us to…bring her here?”
“No, she’s kill all of you without batting an eye” I said, “She killed three muggers right in front of me.”
“Sir, don’t you think that if this woman, Aram, was the name you gave, was both the Sigian second princess and this…grim reaper general who is also an assassin hellbent on killing any and all nobility of Lodor and destroying our military…why would she save you? Don’t you think if she had any…hint or idea of you being a noble of Lodor she…would have killed you?” he asked, I sighed deeply,
“I don’t know. I think I was able to keep myself not…thought of as nobility or something, but…if she had any idea…I don’t know.”
“What…what would you like us to do then, sir?”
“Just…get me her address, if she’s been here for long, she must be staying somewhere. There has to be some kind of location tied to her.”
“You’re going to go…yourself?”
“Possibly.”
“And do what, sir? Confront her? You said so yourself, she’s kill all of us without batting an eye, imagine what she’d do to you knowing you are a prince of the kingdom that destroyed hers, and you were alone with her.”
“She’s…probably flay my flesh from my bones or something.”
“Exactly.”
“All I know…we cannot let her out of the city.”
“Yes, your highness.”
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