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Chapter 152: The Colour Of Evil
🕑 Added 2023-09-10 03:25:16 +0000 UTCDismay did not come easily to my heart.
Well, no. It did. Battling Coppelia for the last éclair only to find more air than whipped cream? Galling. A despair which shook so hard I could hear my ancestors crying in grief with me.
But as a princess, I was the star of my people. The only joy in their lightless lives of poverty. And that meant misery was a feeling they monopolised.
Usually.
Because once again, it fell to me to be doing what no other princess had to do. And the anguish I experienced was second only to my utter exasperation that there existed more than a single ladder aimed below the ground.
“Why am I climbing down a hole … again?!”
I was a princess, for goodness sake!
This … This had to stop! And not only because descending holes was highly inappropriate and would thus be stricken from all official records!
I was using a smuggler’s ladder. And for some reason, that simply had to mean complete shoddiness!
“The travesty!” I said, my hands pausing as the ladder creaked ominously. “Just because this ladder is used for illicit purposes doesn’t preclude it from being designed to specification! Criminal activity only exists because it’s profitable! Why, then, is a single misbegotten crown not used for ensuring it doesn’t … wobble?!”
Above me, Coppelia came to a standstill.
She balanced on a single foot, her hands behind her back as she tempted fate by teetering on the spot.
I wished she didn’t.
If she fell, then so would I. And despite her catching me multiple times by now, it still wasn’t an experience I’d quite refer to as comfortable.
“Probably so that C-rank adventurers can find them when their owners go missing,” she said, her wide smile unnecessarily lit up by Starlight Grace. “How would you know this is the correct illicit ladder if it wasn’t rusty and definitely missing at least half its nails?”
My lips parted to refute her point.
The idea that criminals were somehow so hapless that they also had the foresight to signpost a way to their own rescue when their schemes went awry seemed exceptionally ridiculous.
And that’s why … only a groan came out.
“Ugh … yet again, the criminal mind is a thing of terror I can never hope to unravel.”
“Well, I stand by my instincts. This ladder was put here for us. My impeccable flair for drama says so.”
“There won’t be any drama … hopefully.”
“Too late. I can already tell it’s going to snap halfway down, and then I’ll have to grab your hand at the last moment as you let your shiny sword fall into the abyss.”
“Impossible. The ladder may snap, but my grip will not. I refuse to allow my sword to fall. It’s been entrusted to me by my grandmother. Not losing Starlight Grace to a hole in the ground is the most basic of expectations.”
“... What if you do drop your sword, though?”
“If my sword falls, then you shall need to catch me … as I leap down to catch it.”
“I mean, I haven’t met your grandmother, but I feel like she’d prioritise a sword going dink, dink, dink instead of, you know, her granddaughter going splat.”
“True. You haven’t met my grandmother if that’s how you believe she’d prioritise things.”
“That’s one sweet grandmother.”
I nodded in agreement, then pointed Starlight Grace beneath me.
Sadly for Coppelia, her dreams of grasping me by the fingertips would have to wait for another dramatic moment.
At long last, something reflective met my sword.
Either a lost fruit slime or the ground. Both would suit my boots.
Relieved that this descent was nearing its end, I dared to hurry down, skipping a few rungs with a familiarity I wished I didn’t have.
Almost immediately, I felt the hardness of a roughly hewn tunnel beneath my feet, joined by a darkness as unwelcoming as the staleness in the air.
Fortunately, I didn’t intend on overstaying.
“Come, Coppelia!” I said as my loyal handmaiden landed behind me. “We have an unspecified evil to remove … and us along with it! I refuse to loiter in these mines longer than it takes to issue my complaints.”
“Okie~ do you know where to go, though?”
I nodded confidently.
“I absolutely do not.”
“Eh?”
“Why should I? I’m hardly the type of princess to traverse caves and mines.”
“Oh, okay. I guess that’s it, then.”
“Not yet. You’ve no need to worry. Our total lack of directions won’t prove an issue.”
“Those are the most ominous words I’ve ever heard you say.”
“Then you shall need to hear what I’ll say to the source of Stermondt’s darkness. And since our goal is to remove it, we already possess the finest guide available.”
I proudly held Starlight Grace further aloft, its light reflecting the veins of iron streaking across the tunnel walls.
“Indeed, I may not know the way … but my fabled, all-purpose sword does!”
“By any chance, is there anything your sword can’t do?”
“Yes. Fail me.”
Smiling with well-placed confidence, I strolled forwards, following where the light pierced the darkness the most.
Either side of me, unlit torches winding through the darkness served as our escort.
Slowly, we familiarised our steps with the uneven tunnels. Any semblance of uniformity was foreign, the tunnels hugging our shoulders or expansive enough to house the vast colonies of tunnel bats who made their homes here, their crimson eyes unblinking against unseen ceilings.
Eventually, a sharp din broke the quiet, joining our footsteps as we entered a tunnel streaked by more than flecks of iron. Rarer stones of vibrant colours could be found, the mines still clearly unexcavated.
And this meant rarer monsters as well.
Plink. Plink. Plink.
I stopped, my sword illuminating a sharp corner.
Around it, a bizarre cacophony of noise originated.
“Do you hear that? What is it?”
“Maybe someone else actually dropped their magic sword?”
“A magic sword would make a far prouder noise. This is the sound of magpies pecking at the pile outside my bedroom window.”
“The pile? What? You have a rubbish pile outside your window?”
“I do. The maids sweep it aside each morning, but the brooches and tiaras usually form a pile again by mid-afternoon.”
Coppelia paused.
“Why is there constantly a pile of jewellery outside your window, and out of curiosity, whereabouts in your Royal Villa do you live again?”
“I’ll be happy to show you when I make my grand return. But I live in the third tallest tower. Florella and Clarise are older, so they naturally have the tallest ones.”
“Just princess things. Got it. And the jewellery is … ?”
“Worthless. Which is why they’re there. Visiting dignitaries often gift items adorned with ill-fitting gemstones. A crime of ignorance as much as miserliness. Topaz and citrine are the worst culprits. Do bear that in mind should you purchase me any pendants or ornaments.”
“I give a Coppelia promise that I will never buy you extremely expensive but still not quite expensive enough pieces of jewellery for you to toss outside your window. Also, I’m pretty sure this isn’t the sound of magpies pecking away at gemstones. It’s pickaxes.”
I lowered my sword slightly, then frowned as darkness rushed in like the tide.
“The missing miners? It can’t be. Even the most dutiful cannot work without light.”
Coppelia shrugged.
“Maybe they don’t need light to work anymore?”
“Are you suggesting they’ve succumbed to some evil?”
“Eh, wouldn’t be the first time. In some parts of the world, zombie miners are positively in-vogue.”
I listened to the unnaturally rhythmic metronome of pickaxes striking against rock.
The banshee, it seemed, was unlikely to be the only undead I witnessed tonight.
“Not in my kingdom,” I declared, proceeding forth. “To fall prey to undeath is to serve a darker power. And my subjects are already sworn to me.”
“Eternal servitude is surprisingly flexible, you know?”
“Not while I’m princess … Come. It’s time we see what fate has befallen the miners of my kingdom.”
I rounded the corner, my sword stretching forward as light filled the awaiting chasm.
Or so I thought.
As I stepped forwards, the tiniest breeze imaginable met me. A curious sensation to find in the depths of the world.
I craned my neck up, up, and more up.
There, like a single star in the night sky, was a morsel of moonlight peeking from an unseen entrance at the peak of the chasm.
And then I realised where we were.
It was the fabled hole into the abyss.
Except that what was at the bottom wasn’t the entrance to the underworld.
It was mineral deposits glittering like dew in the morning. Precious gemstones winking amidst streaks of silver, copper and iron. A veritable find of riches. And one which demanded the presence of over a dozen miners to diligently carve away at the rocks they were embedded in.
Plink. Plink. Plink.
So diligently, in fact, that some continued to chip away even when nothing of their tools remained.
Pickaxes worn down to their shafts swung relentlessly against the rock, some already splintered like firewood. Then, as I sent my blade’s illuminating light across the faces of those present, I realised that the worst had come to pass.
“This … This is …”
My words remained unspoken.
Yet the grim sight said the rest.
Shambling, unnatural movements. Attire torn and frayed. Sunken cheeks. Peeling grey skin. Hollow eyes devoid of life.
The odour of rot and decay.
The miners were all present, and though their arms worked tirelessly, their souls had long departed their broken bodies.
I looked on in horror, my free hand covering my mouth … and then my nose.
Here was a visage so ghastly that even as I stood in shock, I knew this would forever be a memory I’d never extinguish. The most bleak image to ever be etched into my young, innocent eyes.
Yes … my people had been turned into the hideous, ravenous unde–
“Oh, they’re still alive.”
“They are?!?!”
I gawked at Coppelia in defiance of all etiquette, then turned my wide eyes towards the nearest miners.
The grey skin!
The bony cheeks!
The white eyes!
The rotting odour!
Were these not the hallmarks of wrights, ghouls and gheists?!
“Yep, definitely alive!” said Coppelia, cheerily skipping amongst the miners as they diligently ignored her. “Definitely not quite here in the head, but still here in soul!”
I pointed at the nearest miner. I could scarcely make out his face, such was the amount of grey sheen upon his face.
“This constitutes alive?!”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmm … he just looks like a normal miner to me.”
“How?!”
“This is what happens when you work underground. No sunlight, plus you’re permanently covered in dust. Look~”
Coppelia blew a puff of air at the closest miner.
A huge bloom of dust was immediately swept away. I was appalled. Not only because it made no visible dent in the amount of grime present, but also because I hadn’t retreated sufficiently enough.
“Are you saying miners always look so … dead?”
“Yup~”
I gasped.
All this time, my people had been toiling away under such unremitting conditions, devoid of both gratitude and fair remuneration … and they didn’t even pretend to have regular baths afterwards?!
The lack of standards was abysmal!
At least farmers would be doused in the rain or fall into a river in a drunken haze!
Truly, my efforts to populate Soap Island could not come to fruition soon enough! Only vast amounts of high quality bathing products stamped with my kingdom’s export seal could erase the grime which caked these peasants!
“Very well! These miners clearly require rescuing. And not merely from their hygiene deficiencies. What’s wrong with them, exactly? This cannot be natural.”
Indeed, their lack of reaction was clearly unordinary!
Why, even with their sights hampered, my royal aura was one where they should immediately abandon their tools just to begin prostrating themselves.
Coppelia waved her hand in front of one.
“Hmm … it’s not any [Charm] effect. That only makes them do the mermaid thing. You know what I mean.”
“I ... I have no idea what you’re referring to … but if I did, I make no apologies!”
“Well, this one’s something different. They’re mining, so they’re following commands. But it’s not any mind control, or the person that’s controlling would be reacting to us. It’s actually pretty rare to have something in between. Too much of a halfway house. That means some kind of enthrallment.”
Light went spiralling in every direction as I stamped a boot.
Enthrallment!
How dare anyone seek to make thralls of my subjects! They were already prisoners to their duty! Nobody had the right to release them, add to it, and certainly not to commandeer it!
“Unacceptable,” I declared. “To benefit from the appalling toil of my peasants is a grave slight against the very sovereignty of my kingdom. We must break this enthrallment at once.”
“Ooh, ooh, I can do that! Leave it to me~”
Coppelia leaned forwards.
And then–
“[Coppelia Slap]!”
Crack.
The miner’s head twisted at a highly concerning angle.
My mouth widened in horror. Coppelia blinked at him.
Then, she slowly reached forwards and twisted his head back into place.
“He’s fine,” she said.
The miner didn’t even flinch before resuming his duties.
I was horrified.
Impressed, yes … but horrified!
“Curious. Not even your highly discerning touch could break the enthrallment.”
“Yep, I definitely didn’t just [Coppelia Slap] for fun.”
I waited, allowing Coppelia to amend her statement.
“Okay, fine. It was fun … but it was also to wake your peasants up! I’m shocked it didn’t work. My slap usually does. This must be a really strong enthrallment. Maybe it’s not even magic. That’d explain why it’s like this.”
“Are there many forms of enthrallment that’s not magic?”
“No. But some creatures possess the intrinsic ability to enthral. Or at least something similar to it. This is definitely the type of thing the Mage’s Guild would send a specialist team and several weeks figuring out before deciding who’s responsible and how to safely undo it.”
“... And so you immediately slapped one?”
“Yep!” Coppelia beamed unashamedly. “You wanna give your poke of life a try?”
I couldn’t recoil at the idea far enough.
Literally. Back to the wall I went.
“W-Wha … I most certainly do not!”
“Eh? Aren’t these your peasants?”
“Yes, but my poke is the massage of a thousand goddesses! It is not something to be used as some common bandage to be wrapped around every minor niggle!”
“... Did I mention this is a really strong enthrallment? Emphasis on the really. My slap is no joke. I woke up the big guy with my slap once, and he sleeps like a troll on a bridge.”
“Excuse me? The big who?”
“The big guy. The library’s custodian. The one with the big voice. Speaks like this.”
Coppelia’s voice echoed for a moment. A few pieces of stones were disturbed.
I was impressed. Each day, my loyal handmaiden was showing me more skills that I would eventually take full advantage of to earn back her salary.
Whatever her salary was, that is.
“Oh, him. Well, I’ve no doubt my poke of life would work. But even so, there’s a far simpler method to break the shackles on these miners. One which doesn’t involve my royal finger coming into contact with … whatever is on these peasants’ cheeks.”
“Ooookay~ I think I understand now.”
“Good. Then you know they don’t require a princess’s touch. Only the removal of Stermondt’s problems. We’re at the bottom of the hole. The source can’t be far.”
“The source of all the evil tingling in the air, you mean?”
“Yes. It’s like an invisible miasma. Highly discomforting.”
“Well, I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it likes the colour yellow.”
“Excuse me?”
Smiling enthusiastically, Coppelia pointed to a corner of the chasm.
I sent Starlight Grace’s illuminating light over it. A small slope was present, revealing what appeared to be a tiny valley dug out from the ground.
My sword aloft, I proceeded over and peeked further into the gap.
And then I looked at Coppelia in utter bewilderment.
“... Why is there a tent here?!”
