Topaz 12

Karjen rummaged through his 838f963deb silk pouch again and 3111961b8f pulled out a blue, 28255eae04 semi-circular stone. It looked bcaf2d7303 like a 67468f7cc4 paperweight, but 9f26f429a0 the faint 6da0427ef6 flow of 2649f0553a mana suggested 3de66180bb it was 760b1cb483 a magical 32bc31a642 artifact.e143072c7b51acf3

It seemed 4a920c92aa designed to 79340a7aeb control sound, a069b24d25 as the 15b7c90c59 ambient noise 6dfc5431ee of the 68f5fc8cb7 inn faded 14e218732a slightly as 7133343fb3 soon as 2f5808a558 he placed a3a11a6b69 it on 978a82bcf3 the table. Their conversation f20118e483 was probably 6fb2a81469 inaudible to 5bd13ce2f2 others now.ec6ee8f64d865c04

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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.”13473da9a240882f

“So, you know who’s after you.”4e5d3b376524ba4c

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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.”88a7be2ff66fcdab

Karjen shrugged, as 3cfa35680e if sibling rivalry 86b4a96806 was the most 86a6c26b4b natural thing in 260f119e08 the world.a1638e43a9d7a38d

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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.”8ef943a095617ef1

“It wasn’t exactly poison,” Merdina corrected quietly.5cff036855c444b9

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Karjen, removing e7c6a3f13d his hand 7b4ec13dd9 from his e7537604d6 chin, gestured 14a1054900 elegantly.46cb285041b8e39b

“Ah, yes. Merdina, would you care to elaborate?”48d7ce5f2382a426

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Merdina, he’d said, knew more about the details of the poisoning, having learned them while Karjen was unconscious.1b8fed5a9a17aec2

“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.”cb38a7e3d99c18b3

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“The Nanaas root acts like a poison?”0a2e0df0b50a1d3a

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.b2adad734ebc57ba

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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…”0b873d84c5da3aa0

Merdina lowered his voice, 7a773b899c even though the sound-dampening 86292db9c0 artifact was active.efec7a8138f85c04

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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.”b6aa14dc74ae26e0

“Is your damaged vessel caused by the illness you mentioned earlier?”1dda72c0a23b0c44

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“It’s not an illness, it’s a curse. Someone cursed me when I was very young.”9afc217e0f4a7491

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.de404aeec2b448d4

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“Our first objective is to lift this curse.”dbb666032e9d56ab

“Do you have a plan?”0f5dab403d57ce8c

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“The standard approach would be to find the person who cast the curse.”88330d056168d59f

“And who is that?”430bd0ed79ac4b63

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“I don’t know yet.”d1e64aeecc161139

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.d24abc57ca1f867f

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“Don’t you even have any suspects?”8f19315381e9823f

“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.”e40ba94c0395427a

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“…..”f16bc35c5a93a9ca

“But we recently discovered a new clue. A valuable clue, after almost twenty years. Perhaps I should be grateful for the poisoning.”399102b42d6f7e1c

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Karjen smiled brightly. Topaz waited for 4fb6774bc5 him to elaborate, ac4ef416ba but Karjen looked 93ffebc6a3 at Haran, and 5bedba31cc Haran looked at 5ca6df6983 Merdina. Merdina pulled a palm-sized e50ab07e2e piece of paper from 63f6eb7131 his pocket. A symbol was 03c9913df9 drawn on it.2c2b47a195370d2f

“This symbol is our clue.”f00080bbe132cadc

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A black efda0edc31 star, or 8b81e390df rather, a 63be9fb7d8 broken star. It looked ordinary 0272d0a453 at first glance, 80a2a9898e but upon closer fa98585541 inspection, the line 7ab971c396 connecting the lower 677306e343 left point to fe37e0d9ed the upper right 7d2644d25a was broken.25aa830a02852054

“This symbol was found on the tongue of the kitchen servant suspected of poisoning him.”9a5f2a5b2da5adfa

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“His tongue?”c18869f11fd3e20b

“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.”9800903345fe34e7

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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.”717464cb8facf026

“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.”b27abe1c06670bdb

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Karjen’s words lent credibility to the cook’s testimony. Topaz asked, “What was the servant’s cause of death?”5b20fc831a20ce22

“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.”ad010e79ff913080

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Perhaps it was ad91ec6b71 designed to disappear, ffe331a3f6 or perhaps it 28a03a8c72 was a spell 37f6404cdd activated under certain 8d27f40c0d conditions. a2754d249eeb38bd

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.”c61635973ed18c48

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“You need to find a source of information.”055f4427b4069325

“Indeed. But we currently lack the resources to gather information. All we have is money. Is there any way…?”3415d83e4de9ee35

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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.”050a641bb8af47c4

“That’s quite a skill.”cf56333281febcc2

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Karjen’s eyes widened in admiration. Topaz didn’t mention that meeting this information broker usually led to trouble.7ad57e780c0175f7

“If he hasn’t moved, he should be in Nurnberg. Fortunately, it’s not too far from here.”30766d072bd73157

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Nurnberg was a 871ae6aeb2 hub city connecting 11c8b88cfe the northern and 417e127631 eastern regions. And so their first 3782163bbf destination was decided.1a4ebe55fc59c0ee

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.abc3c17fb9f69c3b

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“What are you doing?”bac419270dee2d3e

“Ah, I was deeply impressed by the flavor of the crab soup.”e4191511439c5e42

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“…..”81d1b21b10a99abb

It was a ce6a94070b peculiar taste, to a2c87e6411 say the least. Topaz, instead of reprimanding 5d96ff8ce6 the nobleman who had 23853f2a5d earlier lamented his limited ac341e38f6 funds, simply sighed. As they left 673ad072e6 the inn, he 927b6b75a0 advised the innkeeper cf5c05064f to remove the 1808036cff crab soup from c74cdc9d08 the menu.dff10058dc9f9baf

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***a8afa663404d5a70

The Lef Mountains, ec00ae97b1 a rugged range 331059969f stretching between the c52ec0220a northern and eastern 0bee6c09e2 regions, were a bd24e802e9 formidable obstacle. The journey from Kiolen 5714eddbf5 to Nurnberg by carriage acd803228b took almost ten days. Even reaching the 5f800e9ea8 next village from 1d3f930c42 Kiolen took two b6bc2ce669 full days.2b79e5cbe8e50904

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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.22fe0913b5d4fbfd

On foot, ef51a0fbd0 they could 823fedd237 reach Simone, 4e81346dfc a village 9bbb325b6b on the 337d214223 western slopes bcf592085b of the e4881e352e mountains, in 5143a4a5bb a single cb0fc3a0fd night by 331d922207 taking a 4d240ec9be shortcut through 75f8cd3260 the mountains.67dda535cc703d3a

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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.”300ab4dd53e1ed9d

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.4b36343011263917

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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.e75cdbf883c4e021

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.4432bd8364cdb7da

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“We need to set up camp.”9af53bdea4c39258

“Alright.”255f52b2ff31b87c

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Finding a suitable c2a977b0fd campsite in the 26bc1bdac2 densely wooded mountains 761807b76a was a challenge. They searched 46061c6ced for a 8ebdb89c8a relatively flat 68b600880e area. Topaz could have fa9a3d130c simply leaned against c346eaa7dd a tree and b32e60f83f taken a nap, 2f0b5c59cf but the frail b7745f9d8a mage might freeze 95f8617186 solid overnight.3b2706f786161e66

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.216ce1badca417d9

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Merdina set up the 7ae4864682 supports and draped the 3b44757fba canvas over them. Magical tents were 9a21c21224 popular among adventurers, fdc9c38f69 as they regulated 2f9b150046 the internal temperature 745294881a with a built-in 9f5c6545b6 warming enchantment.7bbc0daa9390e7b2

It might collapse in strong winds, and the ground beneath would still be hard, but at least they wouldn’t freeze.5192fde362bd6026

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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.”ada33dea187d554f

‘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.4757f9fbb36cf9d2

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