Chapter 54 Revenge Pt.1
The storm got stronger, the winds were raging around the baron's mansion. The horses that were kept in stalls outside started to panic, banging their heavy bodies against the unstable walls of the stable. The groom for the horses was trying to calm them down, but his efforts were in vain. The occasional lightning bolt dashed all his work in a matter of seconds.
All the other residents were hiding inside, no one wanted to go outside. At this point only the guards were outside, they had been given an umbrella to shelter from the hail, but against this tempest, it didn't do much. Sadly, they didn't get to leave, they merely had to endure it.
Even Robert was happy that he met the guards before the storm became this chaotic. He was standing next to his father in one of the dining rooms. Looking outside was quite the spectacle, "We don't normally get this kind of weather very often."
Havi was mesmerized by the destructive beauty of nature's wrath. "This doesn't seem to be a natural phenomenon, I can feel chaotic magic in the air.", Venion was sharply inspecting the disturbance.
"Chaotic magic? Do you mean like the Scarlet Moon?", Liam was wondering what he meant by chaotic magic. The only other time that Venion mentioned something similar was during the previous Scarlet Moon. Liam still wasn't trusted, but since there wasn't any other person capable of decently protecting the baron, he was allowed to follow him. The mage could protect the baron, but he was a hire that didn't have any loyalty, what would outsiders say if they found out that the bodyguards of the lord were the equivalent of mercenaries?
"No, not entirely, the turbulent magic is but a side effect of the Scarlet Moon. In this case, it looks like someone was forcefully making the magic in the air unstable."
'It's probably him, but creating a storm like this would require a specific set of runes he doesn't have, so how did he do this? Does he actually have a mage as an ally? No, there wouldn't be any reason to create this playing field if they were stronger than me.'
All the while Venion was conjuring possibilities, Liam was thinking of two things. One was the conversation between him and Venion and the other was that he agreed with Venion that Lucas had to be the one creating this weather. He didn't know what it took to create such a storm, in his eyes any mage could have done so.
"Just a side effect? What's the real goal of the Scarlet Moon then? Making monsters rampage?"
"Yes and no, there are multiple theories about the Scarlet Moon. Some say it's the retribution for our sins, others say it's nature's wrath. There are even theories that the moon is alive and wants to kill us."
Venion couldn't help but scoff at that idea. There were a lot of mysterious things in the world of Aurora, but some things were just too farfetched. Havi and Robert were also listening closely to what Venion was saying. Any conversation between the four of them was a rare occasion, Venion would rather not eat dinner with the rest. While Liam loved to be with his family and Havi simply didn't want to eat with people below his rank.
Robert didn't have a lot to say, even if he was interested in the unknown, he was preoccupied with figuring out what Lucas was about to do. Even he felt that something was off.
"You know, there is a theory that says that the Scarlet Moon is meant to create stronger monsters, just look at the previous one. Didn't we have to deal with the Crimson Wolf that basically destroyed the entire south?", Havi clearly wanted to show off his intelligence and knowledge of historic events. Not that it fooled anyone in the room. Venion had always thought lowly about the mansion's master, recently Robert and Liam had added themselves to that list.
Robert didn't hate his father or anything, but looking back at what Havi did, he found his dad to be somewhat incompetent. He learned how economics worked yet his own father didn't follow the same principles. 'Apparently, he found a new way to do business that requires going into debt, genius idea. Even with the mines, it'll take years to pay it all off if we don't hold anything back for ourselves.'
After figuring out what his father had done, Robert knew that he would have to leave the mansion at some point, but as long as there was some money, they could live luxuriously.
Robert was waiting for his father to let him manage a bit of the business, then he could fix the mess his father left behind.
'That theory is completely unfounded and ridiculous, if the Scarlet Moon is meant to create powerful creatures, why are there multiple occurrences where the moon didn't create anything?', was what Venion was thinking, but he wouldn't openly insult the baron. That could cost him future investments, he wouldn't waste such a chance.
The rain kept going, making little puddles that turned into small rivers on the ground, there was no sewer system below the mansion. An irrigation system would be even more unexpected from this baron, the water could only be absorbed by the ground or flow to the lowest point. Since the clouds blocked the sun, it seemed to be very dark, yet it was still midday. The guards had to hold out in the hail, they looked up when they heard the distinct sound of feet stepping on wet ground. A lone shadow came out of the woods, drenched and with torn clothes. With such an appearance he looked like a hobo, the guards were planning on sending him away.
The lone figure stepped slowly towards the mansion, lightning stuck, revealing his brightly colored hair, revealing his identity. No one in the mansion didn't know who he was. The talented mage that beat their young master in magic and their knight in martial combat. To the guards, he was a once-in-a-lifetime genius. His capacity for learning was off the charts.
Right now he didn't look like the genius figure they had inside of their minds. He looked disheveled, his clothes soaked and shoes torn. His clothes still had many bloodstains that didn't wash out with the rain. He didn't bother addressing the guards, he looked at the mansion with fierce eyes.
'It's time.'
'Finally!'