Chapter 14: Living Artifact

  Garfield, Yttria, the Emperor’s advisor, and the five guards all walked down stone stairs into the dark bastille. The five guards hopped from cell to cell releasing fox-people from their bindings. They varied in age from young to old, male and female, healthy and near death. Garfield applied some helpful magic to the weakest of the released prisoners. The advisor then led Garfield and Yttria to a separate cell block where they stopped in front of a door.

  “I don’t know all the details myself, but the daughter of a previous Emperor was imprisoned here,” the advisor explained. “The current Emperor probably knows little more than I do. In fact, the key has literally been thrown away, so I cannot open this door. We’ve always assumed opening this door would be horribly dangerous since we’d be releasing an aged vampire into the world.”

  “What other restraints are in use?” Garfield asked. “I can’t imagine this door by itself is enough to stop a vampire worth fearing like that.”

  “I don’t know. Probably, there are chains and the like in use.”

  “I’ll take the risk,” Garfield decided. He was still holding the Swordbreaker Sword, which could break more than just swords. He swung it down on the door, which shattered to dust.

  “?F. G. H. O. L. D. L.?.” After reciting a cheat code, the entire cell block lit up bright as a desert at noon. Garfield staggered due to the brightness for a moment, then proceeded into the opened cell. The other two reluctantly followed.

  In the deepest place, Garfield found an iron maiden. He frowned, but continued on. Yttria covered her mouth with a hand when she saw it. The advisor simply closed his eyes for a moment.

  “You two, go stand in that corner.”

  They did as they were told.

  “?Enclose Space: One-way Mirror?.”

  The pair could not be seen anymore. The mirror was also magically fortified to deflect most attacks, so they would be safe. Garfield stepped over to the iron maiden, then he struck it with his sword. The entire iron maiden turned to dust. A naked girl fell to the ground with a thud. After a few moments, she began to stir.

  “Take it slow… You’ve been locked up for a long time, by the looks of it.” Garfield was on guard, but he suspected the girl wasn’t going to be a threat.

  She slowly turned to look at Garfield with her red eyes, small fangs just barely visible. She appeared to be in the 12-14 year old range, but one feature in particular stood out about her. Her hair was translucent. Not white; it was like flexible glass. Other than that, she looked pretty normal… healthy even, save for the pigment-free skin.

  She tried to move her mouth, but had some difficulty. After giving up on that, she attempted to stand. Garfield got down on one knee to match her height better. As she lifted herself most of the way up, she stumbled forward forcing Garfield to catch her.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Can you understand me?”

  The girl nodded slowly.

  “That puts you ahead of like half the people I talk to normally, you know.”

  The girl tilted her head slightly. The pair of onlookers couldn’t blame her.

  “Here, let me make you some clothing.” Garfield went to work producing clothing in the same style as his own. By this point, he was fairly practiced, so it went quickly. The girl watched wide-eyed, sitting across from him, as Garfield synthesized the material magically and shaped it into simple but comfortable garments.

  Yttria and the Emperor’s advisor were equally surprised, despite all the spells Garfield had previously demonstrated. Although Garfield couldn’t hear it, the advisor whispered to Yttria.

  “…Just what is he?”

  “He’s… a Gold-ranked adventurer.”

  The advisor laughed at the absurdity of it all. Meanwhile, Garfield handed the garments to the girl one at a time. She struggled a bit, but eventually put on all the clothing.

  “I have two friends nearby. Is it okay for me to bring them over?”

  The girl nodded once again. Garfield released the spell maintaining the one-way mirror. The pair cautiously walked over to join Garfield and the vampire girl.

  “If you’re able to talk now… what is your name?”

  “…Hannah.”

  “I’m Garfield. My friend here is named Yttria. The gentleman is… not important. Would you like to leave here with us?”

  Hannah nodded vigorously.

  “Are you able to walk? Do you need help?”

  Hannah thought for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Garfield’s neck.

  “Oof. I was going to make that old man carry you, but this works too…”

  The group walked out of the prison and returned to the throne room, where the Emperor remained on his throne.

  “She is…! What have you done!?”

  “Oh, is there something I need to know?” Garfield asked the Emperor.

  “She was sealed away three Emperors before me! She is dangerous, and you are a fool to remove her from her restraints.”

  “What makes her so dangerous?”

  “Is it not obvious? She’s a vampire!”

  “And?” Garfield wondered.

  “Huh?”

  “Are all vampires necessarily dangerous?”

  “Uh…” The Emperor was at a loss for words.

  Hannah squeezed Garfield’s neck a little tighter.

  “I doubt she wants to stay in your crappy Empire, so I’ll take her to the kingdom with me. Is that satisfactory?”

  “Take her! As far as you can! I have no desire to have anything to do with your kingdom anymore…”

  “Very well.”

  The group left the castle and met up with the fox-people right outside. After some discussion, Garfield and the others learned that they had previously been collected from various places including the Empire, the Kingdom, and several other surrounding nations. Only a few of them specifically desired to return to their hometowns. Garfield made the five guards from earlier swear that they will safely deliver the fox-people to their destinations. The rest of the fox-people simply asked to come to the Kingdom with Garfield’s party.

  “I don’t mind if you all join us, but I don’t exactly have a place to put you up—“

  Then, Garfield remembered the unresolved issue regarding the northern district manor he’d been offered. Depending on the revised proposal he was due to receive from the Kingdom, he might even become a great noble entitled to a larger property with more capacity for guests or residents.

  “Yttria, I think we need to have that talk about the Kingdom’s offer of nobility sooner rather than later.”

  As it turned out, Yttria was suddenly much more amenable to the King’s offer than before. First, her family’s name had to be cleared, though.

  “Sir Garfield, how do you intend for us to get to the Kingdom?” the advisor asked, concerned.

  True, his party had grown to over thirty people. There were many ways Garfield could get them there, but few of them would be accepted as normal for this world. Before he could respond, Garfield received a telepathic communication from Kelvar.

  “Master, I have an urgent report.”

  ‘Oh, what now?’ he thought privately. “Yes?” he responded via magic telegram.

  “A strange man targeted Gaia Zygós with a magical item of some type. It seems to have granted the man control over Gaia Zygós. We were not able to prevent the man from escaping with the hydra avatar towards the capital city. At the speed it walks, it will likely be there within the hour.”

  Garfield: “Shit.”