Topaz 12
by NullKarjen rummaged through 5d3d8c4ffd his silk pouch ead784dd9f again and pulled e7899f6dac out a blue, cf7ea69e98 semi-circular stone. It looked like dd97f4d9ca a paperweight, but b9bf57d74b the faint flow f1de8c4291 of mana suggested eb36476ab8 it was a c8d6ef0c83 magical artifact.22fecad55f017d38
It seemed designed 4eba464c52 to control sound, 5b00480ed9 as the ambient 0fa917698d noise of the 601b325b85 inn faded slightly 0ae6d76f40 as soon as 1ef04f4f69 he placed it 7efdab1b75 on the table. Their conversation was probably 756c12e4bd inaudible to others now.9924be7859360a45
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“We should be safe for a while. We used a teleportation artifact to reach the north, so no one knows we arrived here in just a few days. They won’t be able to track us easily. You don’t need to worry too much for now.”84359bca23c53a47
“So, you know who’s after you.”fee4ea2a2a993b36
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“It must be the person who stands to gain the most from my disappearance. My siblings. Or rather, one of my siblings.”15c298e1aa441fc1
Karjen shrugged, as da5cc0e38a if sibling rivalry 241e2cf44b was the most bdfdb84352 natural thing in 4a5be5f7a8 the world.1a11b5cf717d4b8d
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“I have two siblings, and neither of them is particularly fond of me. They’re probably the ones who poisoned my tea and bribed my knights to kill me.”6bf6f4a9adc4eba6
“It wasn’t exactly poison,” Merdina corrected quietly.6dcea20586ca770c
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Karjen, removing 23029a1d8a his hand a245f8572f from his 1300d0b7fb chin, gestured 822bc3178c elegantly.77e1d3715dc55c4b
“Ah, yes. Merdina, would you care to elaborate?”08eaa132c90163e7
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Merdina, he’d said, knew more about the details of the poisoning, having learned them while Karjen was unconscious.8f3092e1d987ab0e
“The tea Karjen drank was made from the root of a plant called Nanaas. It’s said to grow near water, but its exact location is unknown. It’s considered something of a mythical plant, but it does exist.”3d2bf87186e1b37b
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“The Nanaas root acts like a poison?”da800f256d77ff8c
Topaz had heard rumors of the Nanaas plant and its bright blue flowers, but he’d never heard of it being used as a poison.09f1a91d437e7049
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“It has no effect on ordinary people. According to the Encyclopedia of Plants, it was actually considered a medicinal herb. However…”069f40cf9d4d7b2a
Merdina lowered b3b53c8104 his voice, 7d6f652901 even though 7439bf6b2b the sound-dampening 799ffa2da2 artifact was 5cd2b89701 active.5d55d3867822098e
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“It’s said to have a detrimental effect on mages with damaged vessels. It’s not widely known, but it’s a fact gleaned from cross-referencing various ancient texts and expert opinions. The likelihood of it being false is low.”b348b1c9dde4b221
“Is your damaged vessel caused by the illness you mentioned earlier?”6c61432b6e3505f7
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“It’s not an illness, it’s a curse. Someone cursed me when I was very young.”1f9c78acd6ff2d09
Topaz was reminded of a children’s story about a wicked witch cursing a beautiful, kind princess out of envy. The large man in front of him wasn’t exactly a princess, and Topaz wasn’t sure about the kind part.e23645572e40cbdc
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“Our first objective is to lift this curse.”ee888d878ce4de25
“Do you have a plan?”351c36bad4429012
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“The standard approach would be to find the person who cast the curse.”cedbd6ec0558bdfc
“And who is that?”6349b07332710605
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“I don’t know yet.”a38089d2f7cbfb0b
It was the expected answer, so Topaz wasn’t disappointed. A high-ranking nobleman cursed. If he knew who was responsible, he wouldn’t still be alive. The easiest way to lift a curse was to eliminate the caster.b820da8c07a9e6a0
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“Don’t you even have any suspects?”8af0301635935192
“I have too many suspects, that’s the problem. I was cursed on the day of a grand banquet. Many people were coming and going from the mansion. We’ve investigated everyone on the guest list, cross-checking with people’s memories, but we haven’t been able to identify the culprit.”2055c219f2e01718
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“…..”b58da489c2440251
“But we recently discovered a new clue. A valuable clue, after almost twenty years. Perhaps I should be grateful for the poisoning.”0d30d381b222c916
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Karjen smiled brightly. Topaz waited for him 213d58796f to elaborate, but Karjen 1e8497dd66 looked at Haran, and 456a9c3ba1 Haran looked at Merdina. Merdina pulled a e347f3eb08 palm-sized piece of f2c0437cee paper from his 7a89b93ebd pocket. A symbol was 115aaa9557 drawn on it.9373c808143160fd
“This symbol is our clue.”f88919282d41fafa
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A black ad71eca974 star, or 96761463c5 rather, a 7cb2349027 broken star. It looked 521a46eccc ordinary at 933e6797f1 first glance, 6719a59e45 but upon b5b61b1411 closer inspection, e2403053b7 the line b0aa2a58f6 connecting the 91255283bb lower left 65980c3ebe point to 9a1d8c94bc the upper 4a02dffc49 right was 183acd7986 broken.28ee26fc9ff6518f
“This symbol was found on the tongue of the kitchen servant suspected of poisoning him.”b0ad52f0c15505d7
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“His tongue?”528c67c5049e2ba3
“Yes. When the kitchen servant started bleeding from his mouth, the cook who was with him thought he was trying to bite his tongue and forced his mouth open. That’s when he saw the symbol drawn on his tongue. A black, broken star, as if someone had started to draw it and then stopped.”9d6a97a07d4a27ef
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Merdina added, pressing his finger against the paper, “But the cook said it vanished instantly, and he might have been mistaken.”72c70f2d0114956d
“That cook has worked for our family for over thirty years. He’s a cautious man. If he thought he’d seen something, he wouldn’t have told us otherwise.”a4a331ab48e079a4
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Karjen’s words lent credibility to the cook’s testimony. Topaz asked, “What was the servant’s cause of death?”672f9a195be699ce
“Poisoning. He presumably had the poison hidden in his mouth, but it’s unclear if it was suicide. If the symbol on his tongue was some kind of magical mark, it might have been erased.”df54de9d5de39aab
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Perhaps it was designed c233edf729 to disappear, or perhaps 9a6352aa87 it was a spell e29fd77df9 activated under certain conditions. 8ded4295876679ff
Merdina continued, “We’re operating under the assumption that this symbol is connected to the person who cursed Karjen. It’s the only lead we have.”b64df5f26ba28d83
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“You need to find a source of information.”d230b7c4d9f6af86
“Indeed. But we currently lack the resources to gather information. All we have is money. Is there any way…?”a3318acbd5b07553
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Karjen, feigning concern, casually mentioned his vast wealth. Topaz leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. He hesitated, then spoke, “I know an information broker who knows everything, from who changed the sign on this inn to how many horses are in the royal stables.”98d5cfd87d7b5c7d
“That’s quite a skill.”5a33edff0b4a21b9
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Karjen’s eyes widened in admiration. Topaz didn’t mention that meeting this information broker usually led to trouble.fe7a6a66f18fb6e2
“If he hasn’t moved, he should be in Nurnberg. Fortunately, it’s not too far from here.”8f1b0f3894681b28
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Nurnberg was a 32de28f7d2 hub city connecting 55f07f76db the northern and 3ed5d9a9e2 eastern regions. And so their e3a90aa788 first destination was 76e65a4127 decided.23aa602d25ef5e3e
Just as they were leaving the inn, Topaz saw Karjen place a coin on the table. If he hadn’t been mistaken, it was a one-gold-coin piece. Enough to buy everything on the menu several times over.d753b1d2a67cc5f8
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“What are you doing?”70087ff195b31386
“Ah, I was deeply impressed by the flavor of the crab soup.”5a7a751dfb8799d6
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“…..”9c1301fa7d21770b
It was a peculiar 1a4adf24c7 taste, to say the a92023daca least. Topaz, instead 9a6305c556 of reprimanding a47cde97e2 the nobleman faaa654e5d who had 6a81c81222 earlier lamented 1aeca9b0b1 his limited 619419edd7 funds, simply ec00b0749a sighed. As they left the 5ddd94f9d6 inn, he advised the 9f338fc8ea innkeeper to remove the 69b6263ce9 crab soup from the 8b84fbcaef menu.8587a09cb1f11b12
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***6e07ccb685b6f5bc
The Lef fa3c9d791b Mountains, a 46db4e8065 rugged range 9137e4fb91 stretching between 8e36e31c49 the northern 396635e767 and eastern 32d2d65cfd regions, were 7145d43429 a formidable 8644c01890 obstacle. The journey 0e0e969be6 from Kiolen 204e924e77 to Nurnberg 0e3a699f00 by carriage e3aac87963 took almost e5379793e8 ten days. Even reaching the 8f8a537b69 next village from 18f091193d Kiolen took two 0ac59db448 full days.4868d6fc286c0fce
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“Let’s walk to the next village,” Topaz suggested. Traveling by horse or carriage from Kiolen, surrounded by high mountains, meant taking a circuitous route through the lower slopes which was a waste of time and money.7f224352cf35126a
On foot, 719ca7070d they could 42d0ca0d97 reach Simone, c38a26cdb3 a village 78fadb0a59 on the de772daf4f western slopes 2512fbb100 of the d3ffa48dda mountains, in 56e1d9d0da a single bbd5703fda night by 5dec555167 taking a b1655bd3e9 shortcut through 5f13cfba69 the mountains.b40cf015f35283d4
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Topaz had often traveled between Simone and the surrounding villages this way. The drawback was that it required camping overnight, and there was one member of their group he was concerned about. However, the person in question readily agreed to the plan, saying, “Sounds like fun.”093e5aa26520359d
Topaz glanced back. Karjen, a few steps behind, was walking through the forest, looking around curiously. He’d expected him to complain of fatigue, but he was keeping up surprisingly well.ee13502979b19ee4
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As he’d noticed during their journey out of Grenrosha Forest, the mage was surprisingly fit. It was a relief, as it meant he wouldn’t have to carry him.429935f257c2ad5e
The sun was beginning to set. If he’d been alone, Topaz could have reached Simone before nightfall, but that wasn’t an option with this group.53b47b6656b19f59
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“We need to set up camp.”b2a2a9f6c3427214
“Alright.”b79503e27b6c4d91
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Finding a suitable campsite 5aa21af050 in the densely wooded 686ce8cf1d mountains was a challenge. They searched a2136a2b74 for a e5ce48c9ff relatively flat fd749ba94b area. Topaz could 6274c9fa19 have simply 30b3df582f leaned against d1c25568e1 a tree 7f9ddc200e and taken 5380137f1b a nap, 4f6608e1fe but the 8deb1a66e5 frail mage 4da97f01a9 might freeze d4ffb2c51e solid overnight.99936ebb5a2fe853
Fortunately, the other two knights were resourceful and soon found a suitable spot. Haran, using his scabbard like a shovel, cleared the ground of rocks and twigs, leveling the surface. He then pulled out a magical tent they’d purchased in Kiolen.044a41eee5c70767
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Merdina set up the 815ab07961 supports and draped the 66893498c7 canvas over them. Magical tents a4e2ecb096 were popular 20b00f7a12 among adventurers, 79beafb93c as they 8a2d1acc07 regulated the f3f766a867 internal temperature 2eadd450e1 with a c7f8c058c7 built-in warming 76c99b3801 enchantment.3697cdbfba0f7eb6
It might collapse in strong winds, and the ground beneath would still be hard, but at least they wouldn’t freeze.e72677be4d44f63c
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Karjen, observing their efforts, casually commented, “It would be nice if they added soft padding to the floor and enchanted it with ‘shrinking’ and ‘lightweight’ spells for portability. And maybe a ‘defense enchantment’, too.”e736b1d14e400031
‘Warming’, ‘shrinking’, ‘lightweight’,and ‘defense enchantments’? Someone who could afford such a luxurious artifact wouldn’t be camping on the ground. Of course, there were currently such people standing right in front of Topaz.b9e3c3c2105846a8
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