My companions and I followed Lord Dominic to a barren dirt yard near his workshop, located off to the side. I never noticed it before because it was a little out of the way and the workshop hid it from sight.
Shadows bathed the yard, since the workshop blocked the light from the setting sun. However, when we entered, several glowstone lamps situated around the area lit up, giving us a clear view of everything. A runic circle, one ant for containnt, surrounded the entire yard. Little craters and scorch marks marred the ground, making the place look like a war zone. A faint burning sll lingered in the air.
"This is my testing ground," Lord Dominic said, putting his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out. "This is where I test out all the enchanted items I make, including the ones ant to explode."
Lord Dominic's words implied that sotis, his creations exploded even when they weren't ant to. I already knew this about him, but why did he seem so proud of it? Were all artificers like this? Or was it just Lord Dominic?
Cally walked up to the runic circle.
"Did you make this?" she asked, frowning.
Lord Dominic scoffed.
"Of course," he said, his tone a tad condescending. "While I'm an artificer, I'm not just an artificer. I'm skilled in other areas too. In fact-"
"It's sloppy," Cally said, cutting him off. "I could create a better runic circle with my eyes closed."
Lord Dominic looked shocked by Cally's words. It took him a few monts to regain his composure.
"Excuse ?" he demanded. "Who do you think you are?"
Cally executed a perfect curtsy.
"Lady Cally Icefall of House Icefall," she said. "Healer, war wizard, expert on runic circles, and much more."
I never thought much about it, since I was used to Cally's skill, but from an objective point of view, she was amazing. Most wizards specialized in one aspect of magic. Runic circles, healing, artificing, etc. Cally, on the other hand, had quite the versatile skill set. Then again, considering what she endured in the First Tiline, maybe she needed all those skills in order to survive.
"This runic circle of yours has a flaw," Cally continued. "Every ti it absorbs shock, there's a chance that the entire circle might collapse. This chance is small, improbable bordering on impossible, but it still exists. Should this runic circle collapse at the wrong mont…"
Cally trailed off, but her implication was obvious. Lord Dominic, who had been so proud of himself earlier, deflated.
"I see," he said. "Um, do you mind showing this flaw and teaching how to correct it, Lady Cally?"
"Of course," Cally said. "Since there's a chance that we might work together in the future, I don't mind teaching you a thing or two."
As she spoke, Cally gave a aningful look. It took a mont to get it. Once I did, I wanted to slap myself silly for overlooking the obvious. Cally, and Kaylee for that matter, were experienced wizards. While they no longer wielded the power they once had, they still retained their skills and knowledge. They had forgotten more about magic than many wizards learned in their entire lives.
When I decided to recruit Lord Dominic to Clan Sturm, it never occurred to to ask Cally for help. I planned on half-coercing/half-convincing him. However, if Cally offered to teach Lord Dominic, then perhaps he would be more anable. I an, in order to make it work, we would have to either pass Cally off as an unparalleled genius or reveal the truth about her regression to him. Still, it was a much better plan than my previous one.
"Sorry," I mouthed to Cally. "Thank you."
She snorted, but I noticed a small smile on her lips.
"However, I'll teach you later," Cally said, focusing on Lord Dominic again. "First, show us how these Eyes of Truth work. I plan on getting one for myself, after all."
Lord Dominic nodded, before gesturing to the Eyes of Truth in my hands.
"I don't know if Lord Gabriel explained how the invisibility bracelets work, so I'll start there," he said, taking on a lecturing tone. "In simple terms, they hide a person from all forms of mundane perception. Sight, sound, sll, etc. I also believe they work against certain forms of magical perception, but I haven't tested it out yet."
I frowned.
"That wasn't what you told last ti," I said. "You said these invisibility bracelets wouldn't work against magical forms of perception, such as a hunger's ability to perceive living beings."
Lord Dominic nodded.
"That was before I gave these invisibility bracelets a closer look," he said. "When we first t, I just gave them a cursory glance." He raised a finger. "However, these bracelets only work against certain forms of magical perception. They won't be able to hide you from a hunger. However, if soone tried to search for you by using magic that let them see heat, the invisibility bracelets would work against that."
Okay, that gave the invisibility bracelets more utility. Not a lot, but still. Every little bit helped.
"But they still don't hide the effect you have on the rest of the world, correct?" I asked. "I could find soone using one of these invisibility bracelets with mist or smoke?"
Lord Dominic nodded.
"Correct," he said. "They still have their limitations. However, despite this, they are amazing. Whoever created these invisibility bracelets was a genius." He wore a wistful expression on his face. "I wish I could et them."
My companions and I shared a look. That was the last thing we needed. There was a good chance that whoever created these invisibility bracelets was either a demon worshiper, or had ties to demon worshipers.
"To get to my main point," Lord Dominic continued. "I created the Eyes of Truth with these invisibility bracelets as inspiration. If an enchanted item could hide soone from all forms of mundane perception, barring certain circumstances, then why couldn't another enchanted item see through all forms of magical concealnt? Thus, I created the Eyes of Truth."
I blinked at Lord Dominic in surprise. What kind of leap in logic was that? More importantly…
"Wait a mont," I said. "Are you saying that the Eyes of Truth can see through all forms of magical concealnt?"
"Yes!" Lord Dominic said. "Or at least, most of them. That's why I consider the Eyes of Truth my greatest creation to date."
My jaw dropped. If Lord Dominic's claim was true, and there was a chance it was, then that changed everything.
When it ca to magical forms of concealnt, you needed to use counter-asures specific to each one. That was why Cally needed to study the succubi's concealnt first before creating a spell to see through it. By using the Eyes of Truth, one could skip all that.
I looked at my companions to gauge their reactions. Anna and Leroy both looked impressed. However, Cally seed more skeptical.
"How is that possible?" she asked. "I thought Gabriel asked you for enchanted items that could see through the invisibility bracelets."
"Well, yes," Lord Dominic said. "The invisibility bracelets are the most amazing invisibility enchanted items I have ever seen. If the Eyes of Truth can see through them, then why wouldn't they be able to see through lesser invisibility enchanted items? It would be like a weapon being able to pierce through a sheet of steel, but not a sheet of wood."
That… made a certain kind of sense.
"We need to test this out," I said, before turning to Anna. "Do you have your…?"
Anna nodded, before she turned invisible. I put on the Eyes of Truth and activate them. The world remained the sa, except now I could see Anna. A faint shimr seed to cover her entire body, but she otherwise looked normal.
"By the gods," I said. "They work. Lord Dominic speaks the truth."
Anna gave a mischievous, before lifting her top and flashing . I stared for a few monts, before I took off the Eyes of Truth. Otherwise, I would've started drooling.
A few monts later, Anna reappeared with her top back on. She acted as if nothing untoward happened. Minx.
"See?" Lord Dominic said with a proud smile on his face. "I told you."
I deactivated the Eyes of Truth and took them off.
"We need to test these out more," I said. "I trust your word, Lord Dominic, but it wouldn't hurt to be thorough."
Lord Dominic and pulled out several enchanted items.
"I made these invisibility enchanted items so ti ago," he said. "They aren't anything special, but they should suffice for today's test."
I looked at the items in Lord Dominic's hands. Invisibility enchanted were supposed to be rare and difficult to make. Yet, Lord Dominic was able to pull out a handful of them as if they were nothing.
It seed that Lord Dominic was more talented in artificing than I realized. This made want to recruit him even more. I glanced at Cally, who was studying the invisibility enchanted items like a housewife eyeing groceries in a market. The two of us needed to have a talk, and soon.
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I also looked at Kiki, who stood still like a statue and hadn't said a word since we ca out here. If I was going to convince Lord Dominic of anything, I needed her help. He depended on her for… Well, everything. If she objected to my plan, it wouldn't succeed, no matter how hard I tried.
I shook my head. All of that could wait until later. Right now, I wanted to test out the Eyes of Truth with everyone else.
And so that was how we spent the rest of the day, until the sun dipped below the horizon and we retired for the night.
The next morning, I decided to talk with Kiki while everyone else focused on moving our luggage into Lord Dominic's mansion. They needed to be careful, since we didn't know who was watching the inn and we didn't want to let our enemies know that we had relocated.
I offered to help, but Anna told to focus on the bigger picture and talk to Kiki first. As for Leroy, he went along to help Anna and Cally. However, he made promise not to leave the mansion.
Since they were going out anyway, I gave Anna two letters to send out. One was for Grand Priest Darius, informing him of the situation here in Eastwatch. While I was still reluctant to get the Church of the Sun involved, for many reasons, I needed to prepare for the worst.
The other letter was for Kaylee, which contained many of the sa details. However, I also inford her of my plan to recruit Lord Dominic and asked her to smooth over any problems that ca up with House Ironward as a result.
After everyone left, I went to find Kiki. I found her in the garden, watching over Lord Dominic as he napped. The past few days had taken a toll on him, which was entirely his own doing, and he needed a lot of rest.
Of course, he tried to get back to work right away. However, the rest of us forbade him from entering his workshop until he recovered his health. That was one of the reasons why we were in his mansion, after all. Since he agreed to this in the first place, there wasn't much Lord Dominic could say. Of course, that didn't stop him from complaining and grumbling under his breath.
As usual for Eastwatch, it was a bright and sunny day out. A sweet, floral scent lingered in the air. A peaceful quiet settled over the garden, giving it a serene atmosphere. Magical constructs tended to flowers and plants. Sohow, they blended in with the garden's serene atmosphere instead of intruding upon it.
I saw Lord Dominic laying in a hammock tied between a pair of short but leafy trees. I wasn't sure what kind they were. However, they provided a lot of shade, which made them a perfect place to nap underneath.
Kiki stood nearby, gazing at Lord Dominic. She couldn't make any expressions, but if she could, I imagined she would be wearing one full of tenderness right about now. It was obvious that she loved Lord Dominic. The question was, what kind of love? Was it platonic love? A romantic one? I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was a different kind of love, one unique to spirits. While there were similarities between spirits and humans, there were many differences as well.
I walked over the pair, but stopped so distance away to avoid disturbing Lord Dominic.
"Kiki," I called out, keeping my voice soft.
She looked in my direction.
"Yes, Lord Gabriel?" she asked.
"May we talk in private?" I asked.
Kiki glanced at Lord Dominic.
"Don't worry," I said. "We won't go far. If you want, we can even keep Lord Dominic in sight."
Kiki studied Lord Dominic for a few more monts, before she faced and nodded. The two of us walked to the far end of the garden. As long as we kept our voices quiet, we could talk here without disturbing Lord Dominic.
"What did you wish to speak with about, Lord Gabriel?" she asked.
I took a mont to think about how I should convince her to help , before I decided to be blunt and just go with the truth.
"I want to recruit Lord Dominic," I said. "And I'd like your help."
"No," Kiki said right away, her voice quiet but firm.
I blinked in surprise. While I expected so resistance, I hadn't expected such a blunt refusal.
"May I ask why?"
Kiki sighed.
"Do you know why Master Dominic lives in Eastwatch?" she asked. "He was born into House Ironward's main family, but chose to branch off on his own and form a collateral family."
I shook my head.
"No, but I imagine there's a good reason for it."
Kiki nodded.
"Master Dominic's talent for artificing beca apparent from a young age," she began. "Ever since then, everyone around him has wanted to exploit him because of it. His family, other House scions, and so on. Everyone." She shook her head. "No one cares about Master Dominic as a person. All they see is the genius artificer they can use for their own ends. You're no different, Lord Gabriel."
Fair point. I wanted to recruit Lord Dominic for his talent, not because of who he was as a person.
"Yes," I said. "However, I don't want to exploit Lord Dominic. I would provide fair compensation for his services. Not only that, but I care about his wellbeing."
Kiki mulled it over for a mont, before nodding.
"True," she said. "You are better than most. However, my point still stands. From a young age, Lord Dominic has had no one to depend upon, no one to trust. Even his servants were sent over by his family to spy on him and manipulate him."
"Is that why Lord Dominic prefers the company of magical constructs over people?" I asked.
Kiki nodded.
"That's half of it, yes," she said. "The other half is that Master Dominic is solitary by nature."
Well, fuck. After everything he endured, no wonder Lord Dominic preferred to live on his own. In his shoes, I would too.
Learning about Lord Dominic's past also made my actions yesterday more reprehensible in hindsight. Blinded by greed, I tried to manipulate him just like everyone else in his life had done. Granted, I had good reasons for it, but still.
"I need to apologize to Lord Dominic for my actions yesterday," I said.
Kiki shook her head.
"I don't think so," she said. "Yes, you acted out of selfishness. However, you also looked after Lord Dominic's wellbeing. As I said earlier, you're better than most people. That was also why I played along with your little act. At the end of the day, Lord Dominic needs soone to look after him." She paused. "Soone other than . I am bound to obey his word, which restricts many of my actions."
I studied Kiki for a mont.
"Why is that?" I asked. "Is it because of the contract you two made?"
"Yes," Kiki said. "Master Dominic couldn't trust anyone, not even his own servants. Out of desperation, he summoned a being who would be on his side no matter what, soone who would obey him rather than his family." She gestured to herself. "."
I tilted my head and gave her a curious look.
"That makes sense," I said. "At least from Lord Dominic's perspective. However, what do you get out of it?"
Lord Dominic must've paid a steep price in exchange for this level of obedience from Kiki.
"That is between and Master Dominic," Kiki said, shaking her head.
Her tone told not to delve into this further.
"Very well," I said. "However, to get back to my main point, I would still like your help in recruiting Lord Dominic."
Kiki took a step forward.
"Lord Gabriel," she said, a dangerous edge to her voice. "Despite the way I've treated you thus far, I am not a patient woman. If you insist on this foolishness, I will show you just what I'm capable of. Consider this your final warning."
In that mont, I realized that I didn't know much about Kiki, or how powerful she was. My intuition warned that if I wasn't careful, I'd end up facing a dangerous enemy.
"While it appears that I am being selfish, and I am, this is also for Lord Dominic's sake," I said.
"What do you an, Lord Gabriel?" Kiki asked.
I considered how to word my next sentence, before giving up.
"Before I continue," I said. "I ask that you keep what I'm about to say a secret, unless I specify. This includes from Lord Dominic."
"In that case, I don't see why I should entertain you any further, Lord Gabriel."
I gave Kiki a serious look.
"Because it involves the fate of the world," I said.
Kiki scrutinized for several monts.
"Fine," she said. "You appear to be speaking the truth. I promise." She raised a finger. "However, if I find out you're lying to or being frivolous, I will be displeased with you."
I nodded.
"Do you know what regression is?" I asked.
As soon as I finished speaking, Kiki grabbed by my clothes and pulled closer, until our faces were less than an inch apart. It happened so fast that I didn't have ti to react.
"Are you a regressor?" she demanded.
I blinked at her.
"I'll take that as yes," I said.
"Answer my question!"
I shook my head.
"No, I am not a regressor," I said. "I am a transmigrator who arrived on Lumina after the regression happened."
Kiki's stone eyes looked into mine. It felt as if her gaze was boring into my soul.
"You speak the truth," she said. "You weren't exaggerating when you said this involved the fate of the world. That's the only reason why the gods would turn back ti."
Kiki let go of . I was curious about how Kiki knew about regression. More than that, I was curious about who, and what, she really was. However, I kept my questions to myself. Given the speed she just demonstrated, I didn't want to provoke her.
"Yes," I said, straightening out my clothes. "In the First Tiline, as I call it, demons from the Infernal Lands invaded Lumina and destroyed it."
Kiki made a disgusted sound.
"Of course it was demons," she said. "It's always demons. Filthy creatures."
The venom in her voice caught off guard. I hated demons too. However, from her tone, it sounded like she had a personal reason to hate demons. My curiosity about Kiki deepened.
"My companions and I are working to change the future," I said. "For that we need powerful and skilled allies." I gestured to her. "That's why I want to recruit Lord Dominic. He made the Eyes of Truth, an enchanted item capable of seeing through most forms of magical concealnt, in less than a week. With soone like that on our side, our chances of victory go up by a significant margin."
Kiki didn't respond right away.
"In the… First Tiline, as you call it," she said. "What happened to Master Dominic?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know," I said. "As I ntioned earlier, I never experienced the First Tiline myself. However, I know that Eastwatch gets destroyed a few years from now. That's why my companions and I are here now, to prevent that from happening." I gestured to Lord Dominic's napping form. "Even if Lord Dominic escaped and survived, he still would've died when Lumina was destroyed."
Kiki nodded.
"Yes, that makes sense," she said. "Given the current situation, it's almost impossible for anyone to leave this realm."
I blinked at Kiki in surprise. This was the second ti that I heard soone ntion sothing like this. Back in the Icefall region, when I encountered Blood Demon, he said sothing similar.
"Why is that?" I asked. "Do you know? Transmigration into Lumina is possible. I've experienced it myself. Why is it impossible to leave?"
I kept the fact that I transmigrated out of Lumina to myself. My intuition warned that I should be careful about who I revealed this information to.
"There's no point in telling you," Kiki said, shaking her head. "It wouldn't change anything even if I did."
I opened my mouth to retort, but decided against it in the end.
"Yes," Kiki continued. "I'll help convince Lord Dominic to work with you." She pointed a finger at . "With. Not for. With. And I want everything written down. If we're going to do this, then I want to do it right. I want a proper contract, and all that entails."
I nodded.
"Of course," I said. "I planned on doing that anyway."
"Good." Kiki nodded. "Now then. Tell everything you know about this 'First Tiline'. If I'm going to help you, then I need more information."
I raised an eyebrow. While I started this conversation with the intention of recruiting Lord Dominic, my intuition told that I gained far more than I realized. There was far more to Kiki than t the eye.
What had I gotten myself into?
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