Chapter 3-83: Tomes in Tombs (2/2)

“Aye, there’s something on the desk...” he began, and I slapped Clavus down on his shoulder.

“Did you mean to take a step?” I asked him, very seriously.

He looked at me, opened his mouth, and closed it, before stepping back.

Master Fred’s eyes turned on the desk, and what was laying open upon it.

“A scroll?” The Mick asked, and I slapped Clavus down on his shoulder again. He looked down at his feet, swore openly, and stepped back. Then he took two more steps and backed out of the room. “The fuck?” he asked from the previous room.

“Curse on it. It’s calling to Powered, I think. Guess what might happen to you and your Tome-Tainted self if you go read it.”

There was a choked sound from the other room. “How the fuck did you know that?” he called out, as Master Fred raised an eyebrow.

“Vivic flame doesn’t hurt Tomb-Tainted, but it lingers on them,” I replied. “Tomb-Tainted are instinctively afraid of vivic fire, as it burns the undead, looks like white-hot fire to them. You not only weren’t afraid of it, you’ve seen it before.”

He swore again in Gaelic, while Master Fred looked intrigued. “So, what’s the scroll?” The Mick changed the subject promptly.

“Master Fred, I’d like you to Devour Magic on that thing thirty times, please.” He gave me a look, I nodded confirmation that he’d heard right, and the Light in his eyes winked out as he brought a rather hellfire-heavier Wrath up on his hand, and sent it coursing on out to the scroll.

I pushed The Mick back into the other room as he started to step out, and he swore and stepped back, his face a mask of annoyance. “How are you resisting it?” he asked, slapping his head.

“Put up a Protection from Evil on yourself, and you’ll be fine,” I told him.

He looked at me, I looked at him, and he rolled his glowing red eyes. With quick and practiced motions, he got the spell off, and flinched as something popped in his head after being severed.

“Fuck me running!” he exclaimed promptly.

“Let us know when the pressure on your Protection ends, if it does,” I said, crossing my arms and waiting patiently.

He nodded in irritation, brow furrowing as he concentrated. “I didn’t think anyone could slip an enchantment in on me so easily,” he cursed softly.

“It’s a Curse, not an Enchantment. You using The Blood or The Lore?” I asked him calmly.

“The Lore,” he admitted after a breath. “There’s dangers involved in me using The Blood...”

I nodded, staring at the bridge of his nose. “Were you going to Baltimore after this?”

He gave me an odd look. “Aye, the Elder that turned the renegade I staked and burned ran there. They’ve a strong temple to Aru there; figured I’d stop there, grab an eager vampire-killer, and send my senior off to its final end.”

My smile was odd, and he noticed it. “What?” he asked suspiciously.

“Do you know what a Forsaken Source is?” I asked calmly.

His scarlet eyes flashed and darkened in surprise. I just nodded. “Commander Briggs is at the First Light of Dawn. He is probably the most powerful Source alive. Right now, his Source Oath is to link up with Sama Rantha.”

He caught his falling jaw a little late. I didn’t wait for him to say anything as I continued, “They don’t teach the Flowing Waters swordplay in the Ocean and River style here, and Way of Water II makes you one of the best pure swordsmen alive. That warsaber you’re carrying is also at QL 32, and was forged by a Forsaken. The Milk-and-Crimson color scheme is a famous pattern called Heart’s Blood, as it was the original source of the Blooding enchantment you’ve got on there; the color schema appears if it is the first non-Tier enhancement on an edged Weapon. It is also not in the lexicon of options I can find anywhere, even on the Freemasons or Magi sites, despite being a low-Slot, basic enchantment option.

“I also notice that there’s a dash of magic between your eyes, that someone who wasn’t aware of what a Mark is would think is coming from them.” His eyes got very big and dark suddenly in shock. “Right now you are being caught up in a Source-generated wave of coincidence designed to get Sama and Briggs together, Lord Mick. Briggs would have noticed your swordplay and Sword as quickly as I had, and would have been very impressed that you have learned Tome-Tainted, which I believe is completely unknown among the other pseudo-vampire Familia.”

“Great Fucking Hell.” He was staring at me like I’d just walked out a burning hole in the ground. “Where in Hurn’s name did you learn all that shit?”

“Shroudborn. Do you have direct telepathic contact to Sama via that Mark in your nasal cavity?”

His jaw worked, stunned, and he nodded slowly. “I can reach her,” he admitted carefully, eyes narrowing and measuring my reaction.

“Contact her and say, Oh Sage of Swords, Grandmistress of The Sword Is A Shitty Weapon, and Tip of the Spear, Commander Briggs is in Baltimore, and asking you to get your ass out of Coralost and go visit him.”

I didn’t smile, promise.