Maledictus Terra Book 3: Vetitum Nemus Part 75
Hello readers
Today I decided to post Vetitum Nemus first instead of Fell Dragon, so please enjoy. Be sure to follow up on @zakludick's update before getting stuck in mine!
Mary couldn’t help but allow a small smirk to creep on her face.
“I always pictured you to be taller.”
Silence echoed in the hall before Gorma snorted, unable to hide her mirth.
“Oh, har har!” snapped the head.
Even Adiran had a hard time containing his mirth, especially as the head slowly started to rotate on its hair strands. It seemed to shudder a little as if trying to move itself to face the queen once more.
With a sigh that wasn’t anatomically possible, Barakus looked at Adiran and said, “Face me toward the queen, please.”
Adiran gripped the back of the skull, allowing his thumb and fingers to grip either side of where the shrivelled ears were.
Now that Barakus was staring at the queen, Mary was able to see that he wasn’t exactly a skull but seemed shrunken. She didn’t like what she saw, not with what she knew about this powerful mage. She stole a glance at her son from the future and wondered what sort of power he truly wielded.
“Were you not banned from these lands?” asked Mary, trying to establish the kind of self-awareness this creature had or if he was under some sort of spell.
“I was, by Johnathan’s grandfather and father. There was some potent magic that managed to prevent me from seeing what had been occurring through these lands. It is the reason that I needed dear Letulah.
Mary was sure that the head was trying to diminish trust in the rogue, and he would have succeeded if Letulah hadn’t been honest about who she had been bound to.
“We are already well informed about your link to Letulah. If you think you can undermine her, you are sorely mistaken.”
The wrinkled face seemed to split open and reveal miniature teeth. For a second, Mary thought that she was wrong in her assumption, but then the head spoke.
“She was but one of my trump cards, your Majesty. Perhaps you should be asking how we can help each other.”
“I was personally thinking of tying a stone to his hair and dropping him down a well.” Whispered Gorma to Adrian, who could barely contain a small chuckle.
Ignoring the orc, Mary then asked, “And how do you think you could assist me?”
“You think the assassination attempt on Letulah was a once-off attack? No. Someone has linked her to me, and now that it is known…well, she’s marked.”
Mary hadn’t heard about the attack, and before she could glare at her son, Derrick stepped close to her and whispered an abridged version of what had happened. She listened and nodded. Once the princeling was done with his tale, she whispered.
“Ensure that she is seen by a physician, and please, we’ve had this conversation. A shirt for when you are within the castle. I know you can. There is no one to try and impress here, young man.”
“Who says I wasn’t trying to impress you?”
Wiping at her face in both irritation and to hide the sudden blush that appeared, she waved the boy off. Who seemed to materialise a shirt in mid-step as he left the room. His blue eyes flashed coldly at the skull as he left the room.
“AH! A decedent of Loghaven. I didn’t think any of them had managed to survive. Their transformative abilities had so much untapped potential!” breathed Barakus.
“So, tell me how you seek to assist me?’ said Mary.
She wasn’t prepared to barrel into a conversation with Barakus without having some sort of understanding as to why he had come out of hiding. It had been decades since he was ousted, and to come out for Letulah made no sense.
“I will give you the 17 on a platter.” He growled.
Mary seemed to consider this; allowing the thought to roam her mind for a few heart beats before asking.
“What makes you think we seek them?”
This seemed to throw the skull off, and he genuinely seemed confused by the question.
“For the destruction of Loghaven. For the growing Undead cult. For the whispers that turn kings mad. For those hunting the faces of Kai. For the death of your husband.”
It then seemed to grin and turned its eyes to Gorma.
“For the sealing of the Grand Green Skins.”
Adrian instinctively placed an arm out to prevent the orc from reaching her axe, but instead managed to grip her hand to keep it steady.
Mary considered what she had heard and looked beyond the skull at Adiran.
“He speaks the truth?”
“Barakus was a man of many things, but he wasn’t known to be a liar. At least not as blatant as this.”
“That remains to be seen. Let’s start with something simple then. Why are you here?”
Back to you Zak~
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library
Mortis Custos
Sanguifex
Vetitum Nemus
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Thank you so much!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 We have taken one of our biggest bads and turned him into quite the comical situation!
For now. Wait till the time comes for him to be used.
I am looking forward to it!