Hero Is Now Villain

Chapter Seventeen: Court Mage

"It is truly a miracle that she is still alive."

Ophidia muttered disbelievingly as she ran her healing hands over the horrifically burned body of Garbiel. Behind them stood Ryzen, worried and serious, his arms bandaged to treat the burn he had gotten from carrying Garbiel out of the Mage Chamber.

"What happened, Ophidia?" demanded Ryzen angrily.

Ophidia glanced back at Ryzen and shook her head in dismay.

"I know you are angry, my king, and it is without doubt that I am responsible for letting this happen within the castle—"

"What happened? Do you or do you not know?" repeated Ryzen coldly.

Ophidia bit her lips but continued to treat Garbiel calmly.

"This is beyond me. I am sorry, Your Majesty, but I have no clue how this happened... Perhaps Garbiel was experimenting recklessly—"

"I am not blaming you for this, and neither should you blame the person lying on the bed... in such a state," said Ryzen, swallowing sadness at the sight in front of him.

"Of course, my king, pardon me for saying in such manner."

At that moment, a door barged open and Kisha ran inside. She looked around wildly and found the grotesque body lying on the bed, the once youthful, pretty face almost unrecognizable and the rich blonde hair all gone from the head.

"Is she...?" said Kisha with a shaky voice.

"She is alive, yet," said Ophidia.

Kisha let out a sigh of relief and came closer to look down at Garbiel.

"This is brutal. And I thought I had it worse," said Kisha, her left hand reflexively reaching for the remaining arm on the other side.

Feeling guilty for everything, Ryzen stood up with aimless anger and walked over to the window. The cold air from the outside helped a little. Just a little.

"But all of this, it is treatable, right? She will have her plump, shiny skin back in no time?" asked Kisha hopefully, only to close her mouth tightly at Ophidia's sad look and shake on the head.

"Some Elder Druid you are," spat Kisha as she stormed out of the room.

"I tried, Your Majesty," said Ophidia as she turned to the silent Ryzen by the window.

"I know."

"If it were any burn, a natural burn, the power of nature would have healed it."

"I understand. You did your best," said Ryzen while still looking outside the window.

The room fell silent for a while, with only the sound of Ophidia's sleeves rustling with each determined movement filling the room.

"Laab," said Ryzen abruptly, making Ophidia glance back in surprise.

Ryzen's face was pained and furious.

"Answer me, Daemon!" growled Ryzen, and Ophidia was watching him with fear and pity.

Then came a knock on the door, and entered a guard, sweating and breathing heavily.

"Pardon me for coming in without permission, Your Majesty, my lady," said the Frostmarch City Guard as he bowed quickly towards Ryzen and Ophidia.

"We have found a mage," said the guard.

"So quickly? We sent a horse to Sappling only an hour ago," gasped Ophidia, standing up from her seat and looking surprised, but glad.

"There was a suspicious man loitering about the gate. The resident have told me that he has been there since the lockout."

"How do you know this suspicious man is a mage?" asked Ophidia incredulously.

The guard blinked.

"He was wearing a robe. And he told me that he was one?" said the guard naively.

"Bring him in. Where is he now?" pressed Ryzen.

"I have brought him with me," said the guard as he opened the door behind him and beckoned to someone behind.

Entered a man, slightly balding and seemed to be in his thirties, with a naturally arrogant smile on his face and intellectually curious eyes.

"Stranger, you have professed to be a mage?" asked Ophidia authoritatively.

"I know it is strange to find a mage in this area, let alone skulking around the city to find a way to get in—"

"Your name?" Ryzen cut him off impatiently.

If the sight of a well-built man with a shiny black armor intimidated him, the alleged mage did not show it.

"Melton. No last name, obviously, exchanged that with the knowledge of magick upon entering the Academy."

"And your vocation?"

"Frostmage. And would you look at that? I knew something smelled like burned meat in this place!" exclaimed Melton as he finally took a good look at the patient on bed, his vision blocked blocked by Ophidia until now.

"Watch your mouth, frostmage."

Melton turned to Ryzen and looked between him and Ophidia.

"I know this beauty is the famous Elder Druid. Nice to meet you, my lady. But who is this mysterious, gloomy guy in black armor? Wait, I think I got it. You are the new King in the rumors. The rumors were true then, I mean, having an entire city in lockout for weeks kind of gave it away at some point," said Melton, pointing his finger bravely at Ryzen.

Ryzen frowned in annoyance just as Ophidia stepped out of the way and gestured Melton to take a closer look at Garbiel.

"It is no natural burn," said Ophidia.

"I can see that. Nasty fire magick, from a very powerful pyromage, I can only assume. Did you catch who did this to her? Must have been a lot of work," whistled Melton as he rolled up his sleeves and conjured frosty ice magick in his hands.

"There is no culprit. She was inflicted with the damage when she was alone in a chamber."

Melton stared at Ophidia with a raised eyebrow.

"Was she using the Mana Cloud?"

"I—maybe. That was her job."

"Her job? What happened to High Mage Dustein—no, wait, do not tell me. Of course, he has already been taken care of. Silly me. And that is just fine by me. We met once, or twice, twice on my account but he would not have remembered me. A c.o.c.ky bastard, as opposed to a man of humility like myself. We never got along. Like fire and ice, you know how it is."

"Why did you ask me whether she used the Mana Cloud?" asked Ophidia sharply.

"Because that is the only way she could have gotten this much of a damage without a direct contact with another mage. Mana Cloud is capable of sending down any magickal power through the connected minds. A message is just a magickal signal, you see, and theoretically you can teleport a part of your soul from here to the Continental Edge, but that would be extremely dangerous. By the way, we have got a smart girl in this room. She sensed something was coming her way and put on a magick shield before the fire took over her. That is why she is still alive... barely," Melton grimaced at the last word as he busily moved his icy hands above Garbiel's body.

Ophidia, whose face was pale now, turned to Ryzen with a grim face.

"My king, if Cypitol did this on purpose that means they are suspicious, or worse—"

"They know by now," said Ryzen gravely.

"This is too soon. Cypitol could march its army up here anytime now, and we have barely organized enough druid to form a squadron," murmured Ophidia painfully.

"The Cypitol agenda moves slowly. We still have time," said Ryzen reassuringly.

Metlon was turned his head and blinked curiously between the two gloomy individuals before figuring out what was going on.

"Oh, is that what this is? What can I say? Those politicians at Cypitol know their information. I can see you really tried to up them in your little intelligence war. The rumors were certainly confusing, I will give you that. But really, I wonder who came up the idea because it really is a clever way to verify an impostor, because if it were Dustein, there would be no damage as he is—was— practically a Living Fire himself. Just like how I am a Walking Blizzard. A lot of people call me that, actually. "

"You talk too much. You remind me of my lieutenant," growled Ryzen, his head hurting from Melton's nonstop dialogues among other things.

"A charming man like myself, I assume?"

"He put a sword through my back."

"Okay. Not so charming then, I see."

That shut Melton's mouth for the next few minutes.

Despite Ryzen's frustration with Melton's personality, it was clear that Melton knew what he was doing. Garbiel's skin looked considerably better with Melton's frosty touches, although it still looked far from being normal.

At one point, Melton straightened his back and put out the ice magick in his hands.

"Why did you stop?" asked Ryzen, who was hoping that Garbiel would heal completely with Melton's healing powers.

"I did all I could. She will live."

"She will live? Look at her!" yelled Ryzen.

"By Xon, what is your deal? It is not my fault that she looks like a desiccated spotted leopard, and redder."

"You do not value your tongue too greatly, do you, frostmage?" said Ryzen, drawing his morbidly beautiful Bloodrink from the sheath.

Melton drew his hands up as he hid behind Ophidia like a coward.

"Help me, druid lady, your king is going to kill me."

"Just the tongue, then?" asked Ophidia, much to Melton's look of horror on his face.

"I will try," said Ryzen.

"Please tell me you are joking," croaked Melton.

"Your Majesty, if anything, this man deserves a reward," sighed Ophidia with forced calmness even though she looked just as annoyed as Ryzen.

Ryzen swallowed and sheathed Bloodrink reluctantly.

"I guess you are right."

"Money. I want money, a lot," said Melton as he walked out in front triumphantly.

"What were you doing lolling about the city gate again?" Ryzen narrowed his eyes, displeased and disapproving.

"I told you. I wanted to come inside the city."

"What for?"

"As the saying goes, a great man always has multiple purposes to his actions," Melton cleared his throat readily.

"Shit. Please do not start," g.r.o.a.n.e.d Ryzen.

"You see, I was a gifted mage from birth. And you can ask my neighbors still living at Riveredge. That is correct, I am a big city boy, but that is not why I was drawn to another big city up here in north, although if you ask me, Riveredge is more peaceful, climate and whatnot, but it is hard to deny there is an unparalleled beauty in the snow and aurora—"

"You kind of asked the question yourself, my king," said Ophidia with a frown.

"—a gifted prodigy of magickal arts, but also destined to be a great tycoon. Business ideas and passions like none other, and the penchant for the rich and money, it truly is a rare hybrid among mages as most of us do not care about money. Well, money as a goal, but when it comes to means, I heard the Grand Mage at Kingston is one sore miser since his Headmaster days in Magisle. I did not get the privilege of receiving his tutelage, sadly—"

"What do you want, Melton?" shouted Ryzen exasperatedly.

"A business deal."

"I see. Money will be ready right away, and you may leave now," said Ryzen hurriedly, shuddering and dreading to hear another word from Melton's mouth.

"You are not curious what kind of business I am planning?"

"No, not in the slightest."

"Are you sure? What if I am planning to smuggle dangerous psychedelics into the city?"

"What are you planning?" asked Ryzen sharply.

"Glad you asked, Your Majesty, but before I present to you my idea, you may want to know how I came to have such an idea—"

"Damn it," cursed Ryzen as he palmed his face in fatigue.

"I was five, a promising student of magick and, of course, trade—"

"Ophidia, get him the money. And then come to my room and help me make preparations for the 'trip,'" said Ryzen, heading to the door.

"Hey, I am not finished," protested Melton.

"You are finished, or I will finish you," said Ryzen with his hand on the hilt of Bloodrink.

"Good talk, Your Majesty," smiled Melton awkwardly.

Ryzen stopped at the door way and threw one last pained, worrying glance at Garbiel, and Ophidia was staring at Ryzen equally worriedly.

"Mineta is at least a five-day ride back and forth," said Ophidia.

"I will be back as soon as possible," said Ryzen reassuringly.

"Oh, someone is going to Mineta? A cozy place, nice gambling places, because what else do you do when you are surrounded by mountains and big burly men who smell like breathe dust and smell like sulfur—" jabbered Metlon.

"Why are you still here?" sighed Ryzen.

"You are excused Melton. We will talk of your reward soon," said Ophidia, leading Melton towards the door.

"That reminds me. Mineta has some of the greatest medicine for skin burns. You know, they kind of had to after getting all those explosive accidents," said Metlon as he was halfway out of the door, mouthing the sound of explosion nonchalantly at the end.

"Wait, what did you say?" Ryzen stopped Melton from leaving.

"I said, 'poof,' like how the mining-purpose magick-packed explosives sound—"

"No, not that part. You said Mineta has medicine to treat burned wounds?"

"Yes. Right, that is why that came up in my mind. I was looking at the leopard lady on bed as I heard the word 'Mineta' and the thoughts just mixed up with themselves. Human minds, are they not wonderful?"

"You think that medicine will heal Garbiel completely?"

"Her name is Garbiel? Such a great name, probably named after the great archmage Garbiella in the past—"

"Just answer the damn qustion."

"Yes. I mean, not completely, but it should help."

Ryzen approached Melton—who flinched and took a step back warily—and grabbed him by the hands.

"Thank you, Melton," said Ryzen earnestly.

"Sure," blinked Melton awkwardly.

Ophidia had been watching Melton intently before she opened her lips.

"You are quite knowledgeable, Melton. Despite all the side-tracking, you have impressed me greatly."

"Knowledge is power, my lady, and the adage has never been truer to us mages. In fact, the great philosopher who is known to have left the saying—"

"One question, Metlon," said Ophidia, cutting Melton's words off fluidly, "are you as good liar as a 'locquacious' talker?"

"What a weird question. Why?" frowned Melton, his mouth shutting in a cautious manner for the first time.

Ophidia glanced at Ryzen meaningfully before turning to Melton again with a cryptic smile.

"I may a have a job for you," said Ophidia, and Ryzen thought he had heard the words before, in fact from the same, beautiful and scheming mouth.