Published at 16th of February 2024 2:24 pm

Chapter 2.57 Brotherly Bonding

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“I’ve never done anything like this,” Louis commented as he and Nox wandered down the Round Table’s service hallway.

All oncoming and passing staff wove around them, never touching the pair. Nox felt like a moving pillar that everyone instinctively knew to avoid. No one acknowledged them or met their eye. Instead, everyone pretended as if the half-brothers didn’t exist.

“How does this work?” Nox asked. “Are we invisible?”

“Not quite. I can only turn myself invisible, not others. Instead, I surrounded us in an empathic barrier that tells everyone within my mana zone that we’re not here. The eyes still see us, but the brain doesn’t register our existence. The subconscious keeps them from walking into us.”

“That sounds like complicated spellwork. I imagine they’re mighty useful in dungeons and rifts.”

“Isolating the asura patrols is a breeze.” He grinned sheepishly. “I designed the spell to bypass the palace wards, too. I doubt whatever the Singhs have will detect us.”

“So you have had something like this before?” Nox chuckled, nudging his half-sibling. He felt glad for Louis’ presence and magic. His initial plan involved relying on Alexander’s squirrels, Otis, and Joey’s illusory Djinn Fire for invisibility. It was likely the Singh’s wards or employees would detect them.

“Sneaking around one’s own home and retrieving stolen work from our host aren’t the same. This is a lot more dangerous and thrilling.”

“You’re not the good little prince you like to portray, are you, Louis?” Nox chuckled.

“I feel bad complaining about this to you of all people, but princely life is boring. Tutors and combat drills take up most of the daytime hours. Servants track your every move, ensuring you don’t have to lift a finger. They do everything. Everything! You never get to do a thing for yourself, and it's blighted frustrating.” Louis paused. “It’s too weird discussing this with you.”

“It’s fine. We’re not here to discuss who had it worse. You can talk to me.”

“First, I used Fae Fire to trick the guards,” Louis continued. “When they caught on, I created illusory doubles and later invisibility. That didn’t fool the wards, though. So, I had to devise something that would. I’ve been studying them for three semesters now. The most advanced detection wards look out for empathic and telepathic presences. Otherwise, a breeze, a mouse, or some other critter might set them off. My spell let me sneak around the grounds and vaults without issue. But not around Mother, her personal quarters, or the secret treasury. I certainly hope they don’t use anything as powerful.”

“Mother is a mind mage,” Nox said. “When she says she knows everything that's happening on the Golden Isles, she isn’t lying. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has extra wards to protect against people like you and herself.”

“How do you know?” Louis asked, freezing mid-stride. “No one outsider her blood guard should be privy to that information.”

A servant carrying a basket of tablecloths froze, making Nox and Louis freeze midstride. She stared at where they stood, but her eyes looked through them at an empty spot behind them. Louis raised his right hand, and a pink arcane circle materialized over it. He manipulated it with his other hand, fingertips glowing with the same light. He added and removed runes. The servant’s eyes flashed pink for a moment, and she moved on. The pair sighed in relief after turning a corner and continued their conversation.

“Someone warned Lillin and Mou about your father’s assassins for years using squirrels, birds, and other critters. When Mother came to talk to me at the end of last semester, she got emotional. She temporarily lost control of her magic and silenced my test animals. It was for just a brief moment that she let her veil fall, and I sensed it. Mother used mind magic.”

“Who else knows?”

“Lillin and Professor Kris. Mou might have guessed it too.” Nox skipped telling Louis that Annabelle Oakheart and the Beauforts probably knew, too. He couldn’t recall if he had explicitly told them. A lot happened during their voyage to the Edelweiss barony and the following stay.

Louis kept silent as they ventured deeper into the Singh estate. Eventually, it wasn’t just guards they passed but armored guards, too. Nox didn’t know if someone had detected his intrusion during the last visit, but they had people guarding the doors connecting to the ballroom, courtyard, and entertainment spaces. Patrols marched along the branching corridors, too.

Nox couldn’t help but feel impressed by his half-brother’s arcane prowess. He didn’t just have a large mana zone, excellent mana sense, and control. The mass deception and ward avoidance spell proved Louis’ ability as an extraordinary mage and spell weaver. The young man walking next to Nox was not a spoiled prince like Edward Gedge. He didn’t need to suffer brutal trials and tribulations to find his strengths and become an extraordinary mage. Louis was born with talent, and despite every opportunity to do the bare minimum and fall back on his princely laurels, he had embraced his gifts and become someone worth noting.

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Despite all of their past exchanges, Nox saw someone worthy of respect and awe in Louis. He wasn’t ready to let his mother back into his life yet. However, he had room for his younger brother. In Nox’s opinion, the Mercer and Gedge houses didn’t have many decent people worth calling family. It was likely Louis lacked real connections or people who treated him well for any reason besides his status and future as head of the Golden Isles’ guard.

No one stood guard around the artificing workshop. Much to Nox’s relief, it was the same for the alchemy laboratory. The Singhs likely relied on their guards and wards to protect their assets. Given their political standing and financial strength, it wouldn’t surprise Nox if hubris made them think it was all they needed.

“Or maybe I’m just that good?” Louis whispered.

“What? Can you read my mind?”

“No. But I guessed what you’re wondering. Mother’s vaults and the palace appear to use nothing but guards and wards. If I can avoid those, why would this be any different? It's not too easy, and there’s probably no one lying in wait to ambush us. I’m just that good.”

The pair waited until the next patrol passed before Nox used Mage Hand to unlock the door from the inside. Not much had changed since the last visit. He smelled different concoctions brewing and saw no one. However, Nox and Louis heard activity as they approached the door against the rear wall. There were two voices, and he didn’t care what they had to say.

First, they tested the door. It was unlocked. Nox cracked it open and rolled two spheres through the crack. The essence glass dissolved when Nox willed it, and a gaseous sleeping draught burst free. He had Louis down a tincture so the concoction wouldn't knock him out. They waited five minutes before sneaking in.

“Thank Yggdrasil, they didn't have your sigil,” Louis said.

“Rare and expensive,” Nox commented, poking one of the two unconscious bodies with his foot. “Ordinary alchemists can't afford them. I don't think I can get one without the Trade Empire's assistance.”

“Given how your business is going, I'm sure you can afford a hundred gold.”

“The issue isn't paying for a sigil, it's finding them. Living in the Golden Isles skews your perception of how much things cost and their rarity. The items in the tournament vault are far more valuable than we think. Or, Mother had the contents changed for our benefit.” Nox checked the second unconscious alchemist before studying his surroundings. He checked the shelves of flasks and vials and the recipe books. “Check the other doors, please. We need to be quick about this.”

“It would help if I knew what I'm looking for,” Louis said.

“Myconid corpses or flasks of luminous orange fluid.”

“Hold on a moment.” Louis frowned. He almost growled his following words. “That's what the Singhs stole? The blighted flame slime concoction? That’s your creation! Everyone in the city knows that! We need to burn this place down.”

“Too suspicious, traceable, and dangerous,” Nox said. “Find the myconid samples, and I'll do something better.”

They found the fungus and corpses behind another door. Three workstations bubbled away. Diagrams, formulae, and spell scripts littered the research room. Artisan's Library helped Nox memorize all the information he encountered. They weren't far behind him. The alchemist running the project hadn't yet come upon his most recent breakthrough. Nox guessed they were too focused on one problem and ignoring the larger picture. Artisans often struggle to see the faults in their work. Nox only made the connection because he was an outsider and not stuck in their mental loop.

The Singhs’ researchers hadn't bothered chaining their myconid corpses. Nox guessed they didn't expect guards or panicked refugees to come poking around or find out about their work. As he finished analyzing the flasks of fire slime and the accompanying annotations, Nox smiled so hard and wide that his cheeks hurt.

“What is it?” Louis asked. “Did you find something good?”

“I know who I'm firing tomorrow,” Nox answered.

Louis appeared confused but didn't offer further questions. Instead, he explored, poked, and prodded as Nox finished stealing and confirming all the necessary knowledge. Once done, he fished a rolled stack of papers out of his pocket. They all bore his shop’down crest. Nox added them to the folder the mole had stolen from Ratra’s Knightly Brews.

“Let's go,” he said.

“That's it?” Louis asked. “You only wanted to find out who's feeding them information? The Singhs aren't going to pay for what they’ve done?”

“Oh, they will.” Nox grinned, showing off three marble-sized pellets. He destabilized the outer casing with Essence Master before rolling them along the floor. Two ended up by the samples of treated fungal flesh, while the last stopped by the foot of a myconid corpse. Each sphere turned into a luminous silver and orange puddle. The liquid slowly began to evaporate despite the room’s cool temperature. “We have fifteen minutes to get back to the party before all hell breaks loose.”

“Give me a minute to cast my spell. It takes a moment to activate.”

“Alright. I might as well get a look at what else the Singhs are working on. It's probably stolen from another alchemist anyway.”

“So much for their warrior code of honor, right?”

Both men froze on hearing the question. Their eyes darted to the research laboratory's entrance, but they saw no one. Then, movement drew their eyes to the ceiling above it. Swati's torso hung through the ceiling, wearing a new outfit.

“I knew you were up to no good, Nox Ratra,” she continued, grinning. Swati appeared to merge with the stone around her waist, and ripples spread across the ceiling from where she had breached it. It looked like a spell that let one pass through stone like it was water. “I knew you changed your tune too swiftly to be genuine.”

“Where did I screw up?” Nox asked, his mind racing. He needed to find a swift, violence-free solution to the predicament.

“You're not the casanova type, Nox.” Swati fell free from the ceiling, rotated a hundred-and-righty degrees, and landed noiselessly on her elegant high-heel slippers. “Let's save the conversation for later. Singh alchemists might not have Sigils of Immunity, but they regularly undergo resistance training. I'll bet the buffoons wake up before your fifteen minutes are up.”

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