Chapter 5-118: To Build Ever More Stuff... (1/2)
I hadn’t been idle in my primary areas of need, of course.
I was making a LOT of goldweight every day, to the tune of dozens at one point, spellcasters flocking in to get these great new spells. If they couldn’t resell them, they at least got assurances all such spells would be opened in five years for everyone to allow others to copy, but who wanted to wait long if they had that much money?
The problem was that a lot of the Gear that I wanted simply couldn’t be made, because few people were high enough Level.
Except, of course, for a certain Deva sitting around without much to do... and a noble Djinn who could give out Wishes.
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“You know my little brother?”
Windgraf Mochtal was astounded. Like all the members of his clan, the big blue djinn preferred to dress in formal tuxedos, complete with cummerbund, sash, pocket watch with chain, artful walrus mustache, and a fine bowler or top hat, with white gloves and very polished shoes when his legs were manifest. His cuff links were marvelously understated and exquisite.
He also sounded quite Prussian. I had done some looking, and there were actually some videos of him online. To say the Arabians were very, very wrong about djinn was not inaccurate at all, although I could recall stories his little brother, Graf Koshtal (who was also the biggest source of both Stormbound and Djinnbound Pacts on Luna-Terra) saying they had some rather barbaric cousins who fit the Disney tropes.
“Graf Koshtal is both Pact Grantor and representative of the Tal Clan on Luna-Terra, and by default is the primary conduit for interplanar trade there. He’s a fine credit to his family.”
Windgraf Mochtal took down his monocle, polished it, and studied me calmly. “He never mentioned me, did he...” he finally asked, suspecting.
I glanced at the Angelos, who also sighed. “That’s correct. And as I recall, you have sixteen other siblings...”
He closed his dark eyes for a long moment, fighting down the roiling emotions that defined so much of genie-kind. The Tals were notoriously formal in peace time... but when it came time for war, they were very happy to revert to that old tradition of hoisting a really big zweihander and going totally crazy on the enemy, a duality that fit djinn nature perfectly. Valus was one of their most lauded Patrons, and the Windgraf had two Champions among his brothers, out there on The Quest and opening up new trading opportunities for the clan.
“That is good news, and I am happy for little Koch. He was overlooked for a long time, and I am pleased he has found a place,” the Windgraf finally uttered, putting his monocle back in place. “That does beg the question as to how you know all this, young lady,” he said seriously.
“Well, two other people on the planet know this. One is Heavenbound, and the other is his Patron.” I gestured to the Angelos, who inclined his head. The Windgraf returned the solemn acknowledgement. If he was not so revered as the deva, his ability to grant Wishes meant he was actually more powerful in several ways, and they operated as partners and allies here, each with their own interests to pursue. The Tal family worked with Heaven’s rowdier reaches frequently, after all.
He listened to my tale of getting severed from Aelryinth, my meeting in astral space with a psychopomp who wasn’t, getting forcibly stuck into this girl, and my immediate history, including shredding what should have been two very powerful Bloodlines, being Shroudborn, having a Phoenix Bloodline, and still having the Death Curse about me, whose impact had been softened by energizing an echo of Aelryinth’s Heavenbound Pact upon me.
The Windgraf listened raptly, saying nothing, although he wanted to at several points. When I was finished, he regarded me intently.
“You say you were cloven from a Fifteen,” he stated seriously.
“Yes.”
“From a world that annihilated over six BILLION undead, gathered in full Dark Marches, and that has since cleared another world fallen to the undead.”
“Yes. It is how I got the echoes of the Death Curse you can still feel on me.”
“You can break the Shroud on this world...” His dark eyes were getting stormy.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
His huge gloved hands tightened, glancing at the Angelos, who nodded at him. “Well, then, what would you have of me?”
“Wishes, of course.” His lips turned up knowingly. “The first Wish, of course, is, ‘I Wish that Windgraf Mochtal be informed of the utterance of the last Wish by his rival, the Efreet Somebody-or-other, that has been prematurely Countered.’”
His eyes opened somewhat wider, narrowed in thought, widened again. “A most judicious Wish... Do you think you could rephrase that slightly? Say, by using the name of Bey Garar’Azzar?”
“Why, certainly, my lord Windgraf. I Wish that Windgraf Mochtal be informed of the last Wish by his rival, the Efreet Bey Garar’Azzar, that has been prematurely Countered.”
“Granted! Hah!” His dark eyes narrowed in thought. “I have been spending Wishes to Counter his for a long time. I am certain he still tries, but I had not thought of alerting myself to when the Wishes I have spent against him were used up!”
“Which frees you up to use the Wishes for other purposes on a daily basis,” I noted.
“It does.” He studied me intently. “I can see that you know the value of a Wish.” I nodded calmly. “You do not bring this subject up lightly.”
“I most definitely do not. Freaking Wishcraft playing with Reality sets off all the alarm bells, and there’s things that respond to it that we don’t like at all... and not to mention, you doing so would earn a censure from the overseeing Suzerains.”
My pause made him purse his lips slightly. “The Suzerains cannot see me here,” he noted.
“Nor can those entities who might be interested in who is warping Reality under this huge Reality-warping bubble of the Shroud.”
He took a very deep breath, looking at the Angelos, who was merely intrigued. “So, I am free to use Wishcraft, because I can’t possibly exceed the power of the Shroud...”
“Yes, the power of the Shroud is Legendary Level, cast at post-40. A mere Wish from a genie is just going to get eaten by it.”
“I see. I had tested it in the past, you see, and could only drive the Shroud away from a certain area until dusk.”
“Sounds about right,” I agreed. “If it was easy to take down, whole worlds wouldn’t have fallen to it in the silence of the void, where nobody knows.”
“So, you seek to take over and make some Wishes to hasten the turnaround of the situation?” His dark eyes glittered.
“I believe the Shroud itself will eat any attempt at warping Reality to act against it, or even pushing the limits of its power, making the spell collapse. So, I would like some nudges in small directions that only gather together when agglomerated.”
“Hmm.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “Well, I don’t want to be too abusive... but it’s not like the Suzerains will be able to see if I bend the rules a bit, and considering the circumstances, I’d love to bend the rules a lot and show this Shroud what for!” he declared grimly.
“First question... please confirm that you both and all extraplanars you know of have been unable to grow in power under the Shroud.”
Djinn and deva glanced at one another in consternation, and slowly nodded. “None of the Soulborn or Elemental natives have seen any form of growth that we can discern. This is doubtless an effect of the Shroud?” the Angelos asked.