Hastum
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18. Calm after the battle
🕑 Added 2025-08-29 21:57:08 +0000 UTCI approached the mana. It was slowly dissipating but was still present, floating over the smoldering corpse. I had to clear and adjust it before absorbing anything, as I was not interested in having a magical backlash from some corrupted mana, especially since I would be using it to lay foundations for my third circle.
I stretched my hand and put it into the energy before me. It was erratic and aggressive, and I could still feel a bloodlust radiating off it. I went through a procedure similar to attuning to the curse before. I stretched my magic into the middle of the blob and recreated the frequency of the mana, its song, as some called it. Once I got it right, recreating the nature of the magic, I started to adjust it, changing the frequency bit by bit, careful not to fall out of resonance.
Once the magic started to obey me, I began to pull it into myself. I could feel it arrive in my own soul, starting to rotate around the spark as an uncoordinated mist. I had to be careful not to let it form an orbit in its current state. Although now obedient to me, the magic was still not truly mine.
The bloodlust and aggressive nature were still there. It would take time for it to change its nature, under the influence of my soul. Once it had the same eerie feeling I gave off, I could use it to start ascension, assuming enough would be left for a full orbit. If not, I would have to absorb some from mana crystals.
With that part done, I looked at the rest of the corpse. As it was a projection of a body, it did not decay like normal biological matter. Instead, it slowly unraveled into ash. I poked at the corpse with my staff, but nothing unusual caught my attention. It was a reaper demon for sure. Nothing interesting here.
I went back into the labyrinth of corridors and made my way to the room where the demon first came into existence, thanking my good memory for leading me back without an issue. On my way, I passed by people running around, probably taking care of the aftermath.
After a short walk, I made it to Marco's room. The body was already taken, but as agreed, the doll was left there. I looked it over. It was dead, starting to decay a bit, its color changing into a sickening grey. I took the black cloth and rewrapped the creature, then ripped a piece of the sheets and did some more wrapping to block the smell.
Once I was done, I went back to the cat's room. He was back on the cat bed with his tail wrapped in bandages soaked with something giving off a strong herbal scent. His tail stretched out flat on the desk behind him, but I could see the tip swing a bit, so whatever was in the wrapping surely did its job.
“Got everything you need?” asked Eman with a tired voice, exhaustion catching up to him after the battle.
“Yes, aside from the obols and contact for a fortune teller, that is.”
“You’ll get those, don’t worry. But first,” He raised his head a bit. “What did you find out?”
I raised my eyebrows a bit. “From the corpse? Nothing new. As for the doll, I will have to properly examine it when I have some time.”
“Don’t play stupid,” growled the cat. “I mean, from the curse and whatever Marco mouthed to you when the demon attacked.”
“If you saw what it was, then you should have the answer yourself.” I retorted.
“I did not recognize the word, and I doubt you are a lip-reader yourself, so I assume it was a word you expected or recognized from the context of the situation. And I’m pretty sure no one got any context for whatever the fuck was going on at the time.”
Ah shit, he was good.
“I'm not stupid. That demon was there to kill anyone who found the doll. It probably would have come out some way even if Nathan did nothing, meaning someone went through a lot of work to keep it hidden. And you recognized something, something for you to be wary of. You know, I could argue that the doll should stay since it was found here.”
“Again with the politics,” I groaned. I could probably just walk away, but we did spill blood together and had a good fight. “Do you like history?” I asked suddenly.
“What?” The cat raised his head a bit.
“History, does it interest you? Do you have any church archives that survived the Inquisition?”
“Maybe.” Answered the cat, trying to figure out what I was getting at. “All members of the Frumentarii are students of history.”
I could see the tip of his tail start twitching from side to side more quickly.
“The period after peace negotiations broke down for the third time was surely interesting, wasn't it?”
The cat just locked eyes with me, as if searching for something in my gaze. Well, if I were right, he would make the same connection. Speaking in riddles to a member of the Frumentarii was a nice change of pace. The sides were reversed for once. I think I get why they do that.
“Anyway, I will be going now.”
He opened his mouth, but after some thought, just closed it again and sighed. He stretched his claws and used them to toss a pouch at me. As I caught it, a pleasant metallic sound brought a smile to my face.
“3000 obols in 100 obol nominals. How you're going to smuggle this through the border is up to you. Just a fair warning, gold has a tendency to go missing with the border control sometimes.”
“I’ll figure something out.” I was planning on smuggling a whole person back, so this should be a breeze.
“As for the fortune teller, she is currently in Europe with a traveling caravan. She should be in the USA in a month’s time. Just a fair warning, I would hold on to those obols. The old bat charges worse than a demon for her services.” The cat sighed.
“Are they worth the price?”
“Every coin.”
“Good,” I nodded. “Well, it was unexpectedly fun meeting you. I think I will be seeing you around more than you think.” I smiled at him. “Oh, and if we ever meet, bring the kid around. He has potential.”
“You have a weird idea of fun, but sure, we will work on Nathan. He will make a good priest.”
I nodded and stretched my hand to shake his paw.
“Well, good luck on rebuilding that altar.”
“Will need that, it will cost.” The cat placed his paw in my hand. “Oh, and Samuel, Sarah, the policewoman you were meeting. Watch out around her.”
I raised my eyebrows and nodded.
“See you around.” With that, I turned my back and started walking out of the office.
Probably more than you expect, I thought.
It was approaching nighttime when I was back on the street. The fresh breeze was a pleasant change from the damp and stale air of the underground. I took a last look at the small church with its hidden underground and smiled. This was unexpectedly fruitful. The demon's mana was now slowly rotating in my soul, and the doll should hold a piece of the demon's soul or an artifact hidden somewhere in the pudgy flesh for the demon to inhabit.
This was good news. If there were a piece of demonic soul in it, I should be able to gain some benefits from my patron. If it weren’t for the ominous happenings that I suspected were behind all of this, then it would have been almost a perfect afternoon.
I slowly returned to my hotel, choosing to walk to rid myself of the lingering stench of sulfur still in my nose. It was a warm, pleasant night. The city slowly switched to night mode, with open shops being replaced by clubs and restaurants filled with people on dates. There was a pleasant atmosphere all around.
I chose to stop for some food. Now that the battle was over, my body switched its priority from survival to sustenance. I went into a food stall and ordered some chicken in the form of a cutlet.
To my surprise, the man running the stand, an older Brazilian gentleman with short hair and an impressive moustache, started a conversation with me, which didn’t happen often. I guess that my vibe was less unnerving with a mix of relaxation and tiredness added to it.
“Rough night?” He asked.
I nodded my head at that. “Yep, how can you tell?”
He pointed at my chest with amusement on his face. Right, I was still covered in dust and debris from the fight. My previously black trousers were now almost white, and my shirt was soaked in sweat. And I was still wearing sunglasses at night, although I wasn’t the only one, apparently, it was some sort of fashion choice. Looking at the other people with that style I almost took them off, not to be associated.
“Right, I do look a bit rough.” I nodded in acknowledgment. “So, how about your night?” I asked after a couple of seconds, which came out a bit awkward. How do you do small talk again?
“Busy,” answered the man, starting to fry my order. “Not many customers looking like they came from a demolition site, though. Are they removing some buildings around here?”
“No, nothing like that. Just a bit of an exploding rock kind of a situation.”
“Ooh, if the rock starts exploding, I need to watch out for them. Don't want to walk around like I'm on a construction site. Who would buy my food then?” He said with a smile.
I chuckled. Then a bit of an awkward silence descended. Was it time for me to ask something, or was it the end of the conversation? I chose to just wait for my order in silence.
Was the silence awkward?
Finally, the man handed me my food, and I gave him money, leaving a tip, which earned me his thanks.
This was a strange interaction, but not unpleasant. I sat on the side of the road, enjoying the food and the warm night. Some music reached my ears from a door to a club being opened, as some drunk people left the dance floor to light a cigarette. Someone was playing guitar, and some other people were arguing behind me.
It was weirdly relaxing.
Would this city continue like this? I read descriptions of society from back when magic was around, with mages and the entire arcane world in the open. It was glorious and monumental in the descriptions, but as it was with people in power, the normal everyday men and women got the short end of the stick with a class of super-powered individuals running the show.
Would the world go back to that? Or would they bring back the burning of witches and try to mob us and kill us on sight? There were so many possibilities for where it would go from here once magic revealed itself.
The lives of local people looked mundane and calm. I would probably lose my mind if I tried to live like that, but I could respect a wish for a normal life. I never understood it, but it was their choice. They should enjoy it while it lasts.
Change was coming after all, but no one cared about it here. No one suspected a devious plot or had a perspective of confrontation with a mafia-run brothel tomorrow.
But those were tomorrow's problems. For now, food and the calm night were on my mind.
I finished my meal and got up to start on my way back, waving at the seller, who waved back and wished me well.
Once in my hotel, I added the money and the doll to my luggage and went into meditation. There was a strain on my spiritual world, the casting taking a toll on it. Slowly soothing my own soul and rotating the new mana to attune it faster, I spent the night and most of the next day not moving from my spot, my mood somewhat melancholic, helping soothe my inner self.
Finally, once it was go time, I opened my eyes and got moving.
I prepared my gear, this time adding a curse anchor for spiritual bodies at the cost of one of my usual curses, to the symbols on my hands.
I need a better ink. Three curses max is pathetic.
Finally done, I went to the meeting place, keeping my eyes peeled as the cat suggested.
