Published at 16th of February 2024 2:22 pm

Chapter 46. The Beaufort Family Secret

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“Certain arcane disciplines are better off buried and forgotten. We’ve had plenty of horrors with weaponized healing causing cancerous growths and fathers merging their daughters with family pets. The Imperian Mages Guild exists to help draw the line. Yes. We are at war with the gods, but that doesn’t mean we can stoop to their level and create the same horrors as them, which is why the Guild has the emperor’s backing to train Inquisitors. All practitioners of forbidden magic will be tracked down, arrested, and put on trial. The severity of their crimes will determine their punishment. Some might say our actions will deter arcane research and development. So be it. We will do what we must for our children and our future.” - Archmage Alfonso der Waffen, Imperian Inquisition, Vice Leader of the Imperian Mages Guild.

Instead of taking the stairs down into the Department of Dungeon Studies, Ernest led the party in the opposite direction. He had a steady gait but occasionally stumbled like a drunk man, wobbling and relying on Ygg’s trunk for support. Groups training on neighboring terraces shot them curious glances but said nothing.

The group passed Ernest’s former party, too. Caitlin had replaced him. However, they appeared to lack harmony. The party’s movements were awkward and uncoordinated. Professor Wolfhammer had also upgraded their opponents. Caitlin faced the hammer wielder and a wolf alone. Meanwhile, two mages dealt with one canine on one end of the terrace. The final party fought the last wolf on the opposite side.

Hammer swings cracked Caitlin’s armor. The blows broke and splintered the wood. Fragments of bark flew free of her enlarged frame as she got knocked around. Young, green tendrils stitched the damage closed before darkening into a rough brown and reinforcing the damaged sections. Meanwhile, the wolf inflicted no harm on her at all.

Caitlin swung at her opponent and rarely landed blows. Her armor limited her speed and mobility far too much. She occasionally threw her whole body at the creature and grappled with it. Unfortunately, without party support, she failed to hold on to her opponent for more than a handful of seconds at a time. Then Caitlin would return to taking blows and missing swings. Her form and technique suggested she had hand-to-hand combat training. Most strikes on her armor were glancing blows or grazed her. Nox couldn’t help but feel impressed by her performance despite the incompetent team.

Nox’s desire to get Caitlin on his team was no secret. There were vanguard mages and aspiring aether warriors with better magic and skills than her, but he liked the woman best. He adored Alexander, too. Unfortunately, the younger of the Woodson siblings lacked the strength in a delving party. Annabelle did the same as him but had more to contribute. Alexander needed to improve his capabilities before Nox would consider inviting him. However, if Caitlin agreed to join him on the condition her brother could come along, Nox wouldn’t turn him away.

Instead of taking the usual stairs, Ernest led them down a flight connected to the research department. Nox only visited the section of the ring-shaped building for his mandatory theory lectures and his class with Diya. Besides visiting the three classrooms, he hadn’t explored the department—except when he got lost on his first day.

On their way down through the building, the party passed menageries, gardens lit by sun lamps, laboratories that made no sense to Nox, and rooms where rune scripts covered every visible surface. Some sections and the people occupying them made Nox think of a madhouse with no medical staff or guards.

Ernest didn’t stop until they were in the basement. They ended up in what looked like a small infirmary. A combination of medical equipment, brewing setups, and artificing gear stood neatly arranged around a giant cot with reinforcements for someone Ernest’s size and weight. In the middle of it all stood a familiar woman. It was the same healer who stood waiting next to their terrace. She had the classic look of a woman from the North-Western edge of the Imperium—blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Unlike Lord Gedge’s children, Victor and Annabelle, her features were softer and more rounded. She almost looked like a milkmaid from the farmlands surrounding the grand empire.

“I thought you wanted to talk to us privately,” Annabelle said.

“We did,” the healer said. Suddenly, Ernest’s tendency to refer to himself in the plural made sense. Even though the woman wore a coat almost exclusively worn by the research department’s students, she had an adept delving license on her lapel. “I’m Michelle Beaufort. Ernest is my brother.”

“I’m not sure what’s going on here.” Nox looked between the siblings, brows furrowed. Ernest stood next to the reinforced cot, stiff as a statue. “We’re just looking for a vanguard, not a healer. Things will get too hectic if our rearguard needs to split her attention between too many people.”

“No. Only Ernest will be delving with you. However, you’ll be working with both of us. So, I thought you’d want to meet and be aware of the details. It’s important you’re comfortable with Ernest’s condition and the circumstances surrounding us.”

“Please elaborate, Michelle,” Lillin said, leaning on the cot. She scanned the equipment surrounding them. It was clear to Nox that she sensed something strange from Ernest. However, he couldn’t ask about what Lillin’s mimic senses detected in the open.

“Are you not human?” Annabelle asked, looking the giant man up and down. “My spells give me differing readings when analyzing humans and beasts. They’re beyond confused with you.”

“My family used to specialize in magic most mage societies considered taboo. We were persecuted by the Imperium for it, even though we were their most effective tool against the dungeon-born scourge plaguing their lands." Michelle stood next to her brother and placed a hand on his back. “Most of our family died fleeing the Imperium. Our parents sacrificed themselves to ensure we made it to this city where we won’t be hunted and our skills are valued.”

“You’re necromancers!” Annabelle exclaimed, retreating a couple of steps.

“I’m a necromancer,” Michelle corrected her. “What we do is nothing like the slug plague from two centuries ago, though. My family never raised hordes of undead or reaped the souls of unsuspecting villages. We specialized in reanimating dungeon-born creatures and using them against the gods.”

“I’m aware of Beaufort family history. The Imperium tied several blights to your estate.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Those were lies to excuse their actions and rally the local villages against us. Farms on Beaufort land had no traces of the blight.” Michelle looked up at her brother. “Ernest never wanted to practice the family trade.”

“I was training to be an Aether Warrior,” Ernest said, continuing to sound like his throat was made of gravel.

“So he could rearguard for me.”

“There was a rift breach. Ernest didn’t make it. Fortunately, I saved a Beaufort phylactery. It trapped his soul, and then I remade him.”

“So you’re a walking corpse?” Nox asked.

Ernest removed his helmet. Scars and stitching crisscrossed his face. Whatever similarities he had with Michelle had long disappeared. Not a strand of his hair grew out of his head. Scales with the same color as grey rotting meat covered the top left quadrant of his face. It housed the golden-yellow eye.

“Corpses rot,” Michelle stated.

“And stink,” Ernest added. “I do neither.”

The mana lamps at the back of the room flickered on. Several glass tubes lined the wall. They housed organs, eyeballs, limbs, and more that Nox didn’t recognize.

“Necromancy and healing are two sides of the same coin,” Michelle said. “My family specialized in keeping the dying alive instead of reviving the dead. I hear you take Advanced Alchemy. Are you familiar with Sorlin Stasis Solution?”

“I need to brew it to pass the class,” Nox replied.

“Sorlin Beaufort was my grandfather. My family delved, harvested beasts while they were still warm, stored them in stasis fluid, and then used them to construct war beasts and chimeras.” The leather armor covering Ernest’s arms parted, and finger-thick tentacles peeked out of them. They writhed and wriggled. Michelle continued to speak after the grotesque display. “I failed to keep Ernie’s body alive. His mind and memories stayed safe in the phylactery, but it had nowhere to go. So, I rebuilt him from scratch.”

“I’m a chimera,” Ernest said. “Not undead.”

“Professor Kris said you were open minded, discrete and would take an interest in my alchemical endeavors,” Michelle added. “Ernest is a strong fighter, and I can adapt him for whatever dungeon you’re targeting. We only ask you to give him time to harvest limbs, organs, or whatever we need.”

“It will take no effort on your part. I excel at skinning and butchering. The bits will do just fine in the stasis fluid, and I can carry them safely with Minimize.”

“What about you, Michelle?” Nox asked. “Will you delve, too?”

“That depends on the length of the expedition. If it's just a rift or a couple of floors of a dungeon, I’ll wait outside. However, if it's a longer journey, I’ll accompany you to conduct repairs, substitute parts, or whatever Ernest requires. I won’t be fighting, though. I’m ill-suited for the battlefield.

“Then how in Yggdrasil’s name do you have an adept license?” Annabelle asked. She turned to Nox. “I don’t know about this. Taking a noncombatant on an expedition is a recipe for disaster.”

“That was before Ernest’s incident.” Michelle fidgeted, eyes moving to the floor. “I’ve attempted a few delves since but froze up, and people got hurt. That can’t happen again. The other students don’t know, but all the professors and the relevant authorities know about our condition. Unlike the Imperium, the university, city, and neighboring states don’t mind. Ernest technically doesn’t have the same rights as an ordinary person, but he’s treated as an extension of me. So, taking him along would count as an adept delver. You don’t have to worry about me. As long as Ernest is fine, I’ll be okay and well out of your way.”

“Will you take over all butchering duties and pay for your own stasis fluid and relevant containment?” Nox asked.

Michelle nodded.

“I think this is a good idea,” Nox told Annabelle. “It will take us a while to get used to one another, but I reckon we’ll work well together.”

“As long it's just a trial, I’m willing to give it a shot,” Annabelle said. “I’m sorry, Michelle. The Imperium might’ve painted your family in a negative light, but it's hard to just shrug off those concerns. But if the professors are fine with it, we might as well give this a shot.”

“If we ever find another vanguard, could you take on a more fighter role?” Nox asked.

“If Shelly reduces my bulk and size, I’d be happy to sacrifice defense for more speed and power,” Ernest replied. “I’d much rather serve as a close-ranged damage dealer than the party’s shield.” He rolled his shoulders. “This form is uncomfortable. It’s what gets the most parties, though.”

“I’d rather not make major changes until the party can function well,” Michelle said. “The bulk exists to protect critical organs and the phylactery. As long as the latter survives, I can rebuild my brother from nothing, but I’d rather not put it at risk just yet.”

“That’s alright.” Nox offered Michelle his hand, and she shook it. “Your work is fascinating. I’d like to pick your brain sometime. For now, could you put in a good word with Kris? I won’t get my delving license back without your good work.”

“Consider it done.” Michelle smiled. She retreated to her brother and took his hand. “I can’t promise she’ll clear you so easily, though. She’ll probably want you to spend a while longer training together. Personally, I think that’s for the best. For the time being, could you keep all of this a secret from other students? There is a lot of prejudice surrounding necromancy and my family.”

“The university is crawling with Imperian students, too. They might make a fuss if they discover my condition.”

“Of course,” Annabelle said. “We’re good at keeping secrets and being discreet.”

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