Noble Arcana

The measure of a King is how he treats the least of his people

King Olm the First

Solomon stood there for a few moments, looking at yet another god corpse. He hoped that they wouldn’t become a regular sight. He did a quick inventory on himself. He was tired and sore, but unharmed. He’d used all of his blood vials during the fight, most of his coins, and all of the null-metal he’d prepared. The gun at his side was empty and his clothes were torn and his hair a tangled mess.

He looked and saw that the misty figures of the former Lord of the Black Wood’s brides were shimmering. He watched as their white gowns faded from them, leaving naked young women standing in a circle around him. Very suddenly most of them rotted into bones that fell onto the ground, whatever magic that sustained them had died along with the dark spirit that had taken them. Three of them remained, standing and nude, but they collapsed on the ground.

Solomon quickly rushed to the nearest of them. She had a few scratches from her fall, but otherwise seemed okay. Her breathing was steady, as if she was sleeping. He checked the other two, finding them to be in a similar state. He removed his overcoat to cover one of them, then went over to the former mayor’s corpse and removed his coat as well. It was in tatters, but he was able to use it to cover another of them. For the last one he draped his regular coat over her. It wasn’t adequate coverage, but was better than nothing.

He moved to where Felicity had been left on the slab and found her sleeping as well. He left her there and returned to the corpse of the god. It had no lingering traces of mana from what he could tell, though that may have been because of the null-metal that was embedded across its body. He took the rifle from his side and laid it next to the corpse. He looked around, finding a number of large branches that had fallen and began dragging them to the dead god. He gradually covered it with branches, finding that it blended in very well with them, just as it had before.

Once that was done he went back to the former mayor’s corpse. Half of his face seemed to have been melted off, a clear sign of magic. He turned Neiman’s head so that the skeletal part of his face was showing. He then searched around until he found a large chunk of brick. He took the brick and slammed it as hard as he could into the burnt half of his face, shattering it. He examined what he’d done for a few moments, then hit it again, doing his best to make sure that there was no magical explanation for what had happened. Of course, that would largely depend on what the girls remembered.

He went back to check on Felicity and found her awakening. She shot up as she awoke looking around in fear until her eyes found Solomon.

He didn’t raise his hands up or do anything to reassure her, he thought it might make her more nervous and upset. Instead he gestured toward where the other girls were.

“Good, you’re awake. I’ve managed to kill Neiman, but it seems you aren’t the only girl he took into the woods. Can you help me with the others?”

“What?” She managed.

“I know you’re not in a good way, but there are other girls who are worse off. Can you help me with them? I don’t think they’re awake yet, and I doubt a strange man is the first thing they’ll wish to see upon waking. I doubt Neiman was gentle with them.”

“Oh- okay,” she said, standing up and looking for a moment at the sleeves of the white dress she was wearing. She was clearly terrified, but she managed to get one foot in front of the other and they moved to where the girls were laying. One of them was stirring.

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She looked around with horror, clutching Solomon’s jacket as her eyes darted left and right.

“It’s okay,” managed Felicity, kneeling over her. “You’re okay. We’re going to get you home.”

Solomon stayed back, just observing unless his assistance was requested. He anticipated that all of them would have some fear of male figures, and the brief flashes of terror in their eyes when they noticed him confirmed it. They didn’t seem consciously aware of what had happened to them, but they clearly had an impression of the horror they had been through.

After each of them awoke, Solomon retrieved his walking stick and began leading them out of the forest. Before he had even gone halfway, he saw Melissa and Barnabus pushing their way through the brush.

“Here!” He yelled, causing the girls with him to jump.

Melissa and Barnabus’s eyes snapped toward him and they pushed toward him, their eyes widening as they took in who was with him as well as his state.

“Are you okay, Solomon?” asked Melissa with concern.

“I’m okay, don’t worry about me. We need to get these girls out of the woods,” he gestured to them, noticing that Barnabus was already gently offering his coat to the one with the least coverage.

“What happened, Lord?” asked Melissa as she started moving toward the exit to the forest.

“It was Neiman. He set the fire to the manor and kidnapped Felicity. While I was searching the manor for anyone else inside I saw him running into the woods through the library window. I pursued him, we fought, and he died. I found the others near where I found him. They seem to be having difficulty recalling what happened to them, but they could also simply be frightened.”

She nodded. “First Watchman Vantus is already at the manor. He’ll want to hear about this immediately.”

Solomon nodded, putting his attention back on the path in front of him. He had to think and move quickly to make sure that any investigation wouldn’t reveal his ability as a mage. Eventually they reached the edge of the woods and pushed their way out.

He was almost surprised as the sun hit his face. The Black Wood was so dark that he’d forgotten it was still the middle of the day. He blinked as his eyes adjusted and looked back to make sure that everyone else was emerging safely. As they all did so a number of guards headed toward them.

Solomon took the lead.

“Bring me Vantus. I believe they are some of the girls that have gone missing from the town.”

The guards nodded, one of them actually saluting him as if he was a Watchman before turning and running toward the manor.

“The smoke seems to have cleared in the manor. Let’s get these girls inside and find them clothes.”

Melissa and Barnabus nodded.

The next several hours involved Solomon repeating his story over and over again, making sure the girls were fed and their families informed of where they were and determining the extent of the fire damage. By the evening almost every matter had been settled and Solomon requested solitude and silence in his library with a bottle of wine and a light meal. Understanding, the servants gave him a wide berth as he went inside and latched the door closed.

He let out a long exhale as he poured a single glass of wine, placing the food on the desk for later as he walked toward the empty suit of armor, activating it so that it would move to the side.

“Good to see you again,” he said with a nod to the hollow armor as he walked downstairs, twirling the glass of wine in his hand. He took a sip of it as he reached the bottom step, surveying the space.

The first thing he did was walk to where the homunculi had been arrayed. He found several piles of shattered, cut, and shredded clay figures, along with one still standing on a shattered leg with cuts across its body, missing an arm. It gave him a salute with its remaining arm as he approached.

Solomon carefully placed his wine glass down and saluted back.

“You and your brothers have served with honor and distinction,” he said seriously as he looked at how close to death he’d come.

He carefully gathered up the remains of the homunculi that had died and carefully placed them in an empty bowl. He felt that they deserved a proper burial in the garden for their sacrifice.

Once that was done he retrieved his wine glass and looked around more. He looked at the corpse of the god he’d stolen mana from, the secret entrance to the repository that had given him the means to fight, and the various remains of spells he’d practiced and reagents he’d gathered. Almost since he’d arrived he’d needed to focus on survival and investigation, but with Neiman and the Lord of the Black Wood dead he seemed to be out of enemies for the time being, at least those that weren’t blood related.

He reached for one of his uncle’s journals, feeling a chill settle over his shoulders as he did so.