Cell of Unseen Walls.
A faint shimr, almost invisible, boxed in the space around Alaric. The terrified noble imdiately scrambled forward, only to slam his hands against a solid, invisible barrier. He pounded on it, his shouts completely absorbed by the new cell walls. He was trapped, a prisoner in his own lavish study.
"Don’t worry," Riku said to the frantic, silently screaming noble. "It will hold for a few days. Plenty of ti for to attend your little eting."
With that, he snapped his fingers. Alaric and the cell box completely disappeared from sight, and it was unclear if Alaric could see what was happening in the room.\
With Alaric taken care of, Riku once again used his spell.
Disguise
The familiar magic enveloped him, reshaping his form. He grew slightly taller, his features sharpening into Alaric’s hawkish profile, his robes transforming into the man’s fine silk attire.
"A bit more arrogance, Riku," Clara’s voice comnted dryly in his mind. "Puff out your chest. He gives off a feeling where the entire world is beneath him, and he wants everyone to know it."
Riku adjusted his posture, adopting a look of sullen arrogance. He practiced a sneer in a nearby silver mirror until it looked just right. Now, he was ready. He dispelled the Silence Ward, revived the guards, and strode out of the study, leaving the real Alaric to his invisible, soundless prison.
He found Lady Vayne in her private parlor, stroking her black cat by the fireplace. She looked up as he entered, her cold eyes appraising him.
"You look a lot more composed now, Alaric," she comnted, her voice silken. "It seems like soothing your nerves alone helped you, huh? Earlier, you were quite agitated with the growing popularity of the Humrs."
"We cannot have any more hiccups," Riku-as-Alaric grumbled, perfecting the sullen tone. "Gregor is now alive and kicking. Everything that we did has been for naught. But I trust your plan. I hope that our eting later can give birth to a new plan."
"Aww, my son. You beca so mature suddenly. Co, let mother hug you for a second," Lady Vayne extended her arms, amused at her son’s way of talking.
"Mom!" Riku gave a petulant cry, the one a teenager would give when they were teased by their parent.
"Haha, dear Alaric. It is so much fun to tease you." Lady Vayne laughed heartily and then continued.
"It is ok. Fleeting victories an nothing. Ultimately, the winner of the war will be the one who will have the last laugh."
"I must warn you, though. Do not ask things in the eting that you should not, and do not make a scene there. Lord Malakor is not soone you want to anger. All you have to do is speak about your experience with that commoner, and then leave."
"Got it, Mother. However, I always had a question. Can you satisfy my curiosity?"
"Hmm, what is it?" Lady Vayne asked, a flicker of amusent in her cold eyes as she regarded her "son."
Riku, maintaining Alaric’s sullen posture, took a hesitant step forward. "Mother," he began, feigning a mixture of curiosity and unease, "this eting with Lord Malakor... it seems incredibly important. What if an enemy tried to infiltrate? Say, soone using a disguise... perhaps even pretending to be you?"
Lady Vayne let out a low, silken chuckle, the sound utterly devoid of warmth. She gave the purring cat in her lap a slow, rhythmic stroke with her tallic fingers.
"Oh, Alaric," she said with pitying condescension. "You still think in such simple terms. Deception? Disguises?" She looked up, her gaze sharp enough to cut glass. "Lord Malakor is a master of arts you cannot begin to comprehend. His power does not lie in guards or gates, but in the very essence of a person."
She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Let enlighten you. My loyalty to the Society is not a matter of choice or allegiance. It is an immutable fact, bound to my very spirit. My soul," she said, tapping her own chest lightly, "bears Lord Malakor’s brand. It is a seal of absolute fidelity. Anyone who approaches him is not rely seen; their soul is... read."
Her lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. "If an impostor, no matter how skilled, were to stand before him wearing my face, Lord Malakor would know instantly. The soul would not match the vessel. And the consequences for such an audacious trick," she paused, letting the threat hang in the air, "would be... exquisitely painful and regrettably short."
"I see.." Riku said softly and fell silent. However, he was already in action inside his mind.
"Clara, can you sense any such thing in her soul? Using my magic now might be a bit inconvenient."
"Yes, I think she is right, Riku. I sense two presences inside her body." Clara replied softly.
Hmm. Looks like disguising myself as this woman might not work. Well, not that this disguise is bad. It is a good thing that Alaric’s soul was not branded, otherwise, he would have told about it.
"Then, mother, and what of Father? The Grand Luminar. Does he know of Malakor and the Society? I have not seen him for months now."
At the ntion of her husband, Lady Vayne laughed.
"Your father," she said, her eyes glinting as she looked into the fire, "is a man of great... piety. He understands, better than most, where true power lies." She gave Riku a sly, knowing look. "Don’t you worry your head about him. He is very much... a part of the grand design."
"Now," Lady Vayne said, her tone shifting back to business, "enough questions. Your part is simple. Go, and rest for the next couple of days. Rember, we leave at 12 midnight two days from now, so ensure that you are available accordingly. Do not screw this up."
"I understand, Mom. Have a good night then."
"Good night, my dear son."
Riku left the room, slowly going back into the manor gardens.
"Sigh, looks like a major conspiracy is about to unfold," Riku lanted.
"You okay?" Clara spoke in Riku’s mind.
"Yeah. It is just that I never expected this thing to be so rooted. Even the head of the Church of Light is involved in this ss. Who knows about the others, such as the Fla Matron, or even the king himself?"
"I don’t know. How about we scrap this plan? Perhaps we are not strong enough to take on all of them?"
Riku shook his head. It was not that he was scared of those he was facing.
He was just... disappointed.
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