Ch 21- Scarlet
Upon returning from his short excursion Glacé went to seek out Scarlet wanting to see where he stands on the concept of slavery. Glacé slowly made his way to Scarlet's personal lab and gently knocked on the door.
"Come in". Scarlet leaned back in his chair and massaged his sore eyes before looking over towards the door and seeing his guest.
"Ah Glacé! Do you have any questions for me?".
"I do, but maybe not on the subjects that you're thinking".
Scarlet quickly picked up on Glacé's serious and solemn tone and he focused on Glacé intently "Speak". Glacé stared bluntly and asked slowly "master. I would like to know, what is your personal stance on slavery; specifically regarding those whose races aren't human".
Scarlet furrowed his brows and his expression turned cold "why do you ask this?".
Glacé spoke bluntly and got straight to the point. "I think my hands will dabble in this field in the future. So I want to know your stance and opinion on the subject". Scarlet's nostrils flared hearing Glacés words and his eyes turned red at a visible rate. "If you try to own any slaves for any reason I will renounce your discipleship and physically beat you to nothing. Under no circumstance will I allow my disciple to have any dallying in the slave trade".
Seeing Scarlet's honest and fierce response Glacé showed a dazzling smile "that's the best answer I hoped for. To be honest I rescued two slaves last night and brought them here to heal. Once they have fully healed in a couple of days, I plan to escort them back to a proper village of their race". Glacé spoke in a soft voice and raised his head, and stared Scarlet right in the eyes "I want to save slaves and free them. As many as I can, this could potentially implicate you in the future so I wanted to test what your views were and see if I could trust you. Please forgive me for my rudeness".
"You…. Want to free slaves?".
Glacé nodded solemnly "if I can I really want to completely destroy the slave market". Scarlet stared at Glacé's beautiful face; moved. He slowly stood up and turned his back to him and undid the buttons on his shirt one at a time. Glacés face turned bright red and he held his hand before his eye "master why are you stripping?!?" Glacé listened to the rustling sound of clothes and after a moment no more sounds could be heard.
"Look at me". Glacé slightly spread his fingers apart and vaguely saw Scarlet's bare back, he took a quick peek before hiding behind his fingers again but then froze. He slowly moved his fingers again and saw an intricate burn pattern sitting on scarlet's left shoulder blade. Glacés hand slowly fell down and he stared at the branded skin. His eyelashes fluttered constantly in anxiety and he stared at the mark in silence and slowly took one step towards scarlet and gently raised his hand to trace the mark.
"Does it still hurt?" Glacé whispered in a hushed voice Scarlet whipped around and grabbed his hand. "No, the physical pain has long since disappeared. But the emotional damage will never go away". Glacé pursued his lips and tears were vaguely forming in his eyes "do you want this mark gone?". Scarlet showed a bitter expression "the only person that could make a magical brand like this vanish is someone with the holy power of the cardinal level and above. I'll probably never have a chance for it to fully disappear until the day I die".
"Maybe not". Glacé looked back at the wound and focused his healing magic on it but saw no change. He put all his mind and attention on the scar but the surface didn't change even a bit. The tears welling in his finally slipped out and one happened to fall onto Scarlet's exposed skin.
*Ding* 'New skill unlocked "Unicorns pity" (see skills tab for details)'
Glacé vaguely heard the notification however his attention was locked on Scarlet's back which was glowing gold around the brand; it slowly faded until it was completely gone. Both Glacé and Scarlet stayed still and Scarlet silently shed tears and looked at Glacé in bewilderment. "How? How can you heal it? That was put on me by the greatest archmage in recent history, this shouldn't be possible".
Glace hesitated for a moment and fidgeted before asking quietly, "can you make a magic pact with me that you'll keep all my secrets?" Glacé stared at Scarlet who paused in response and then watched quietly as he started to chant. Golden runes began to appear and fly around Scarlet they slowly condensed around scarlets arm, he raised his arm toward Glacé and finished the last line of the spell then grabbed Glacés hand. The gold runes twined around their arms and slowly faded into their bones.
"It's done, with this spell I cannot reveal any secrets of yours unless you specifically say it's okay". Glacé nodded in satisfaction and took a couple of steps back, "please don't freak out he he". Glacé sheepishly scratched his hair and transformed before Scarlet's eyes.
Scarlet's mouth opened wide enough to stuff an egg in " A unicorn…. But how? They've been extinct for hundreds of years".
Glacé rolled his eyes "obviously not. Just laying low is all, but that's about to change". Glacé flashed a cheeky grin. The tension from before melted and they both laughed together, feeling rather at ease.
"I plan to leave and travel in a few days… I know you have a lot on your plate. But would you like to come with us?".
Scarlet looked conflicted "I wish I could, but there are many things I'd have to complete and wrap up first before I could go freely. You go and do what you want first, I'll try to have everything wrapped up within the next half a year. Then I'll go see the world with you".
Scarlet showed a slight smile and brushed his fingers through Glacé's silky mane. "Shall we get ready for breakfast?". The two walked out of the lab one after another and the dining room table was quite lively today. When scarlet and Glacé arrived Mole, Bai, Tera, the elf named Blue, and dwarf Dek were all eating and chatting noisily together.
Glacé felt his eye twitch 'maybe we don't even need to wait a few days, everyone is already so lively. The players will be able to log in in a few hours so now may be the best time to head out and take these two to new villages first'. Glacé started to ponder the effects that players would have on the game. Thinking of his current quest he was willing to bet there will be players who will receive quests that fight against slavery, like his, he shifted his eyes to Scarlet. "Scarlet I'm sorry, I think I'll take everyone to leave today. I need you to do me a favor if possible". Scarlet looked up from his meal and gave a slight frown "So soon? What can I help you with?".
"Mole".
Glacé stretched his hand out and Mole hurriedly came and sat on it. "I need you to look after Mole, I want to leave him here to keep an eye out for organizations that are against slavery. Can you keep him by your side and protect him while he's gathering intel?". Glacé then turned his eyes down to his pixie and gave him a light kiss on the head "and can you stay here obediently with Scarlet and gather all the information on slaves that you can?". Mole swooned at Glacés kiss but showed a hesitant expression when he heard he was being left behind; however, he still wanted to grant Glacés every wish so he sadly nodded and flew to sit on Scarlets shoulder. Mole stared at Glacé with the same kind of eyes as that of a puppy that had been abandoned by its master.
Glacé felt a bit bad but he just gave Mole some verbal encouragement before turning his eyes to the rest of his party "as for everyone else, once you're done eating we'll pack up and quickly head out. The longer the stay the worse it'll be for us". Everyone nodded in understanding and met in the villa's lobby at 9 am.
In all reality, Glacé was the only one who actually had to prep and pack for their journey; thankfully Scarlet came and helped provide him with many basic tools and food they might need. Glacè stared at Scarlet solemnly "I think many things are about to change and many new people will be around. Be on guard and even if people more talented than me appear you can't forget about your first disciple okay?".
Scarlet felt a bit funny hearing Glacés words but spoke cheerfully "even if they are talented they cannot compare to a single feather from your wings". Scarlet shows a triumphant smile and patted Glacès shoulder. "Stay safe out there, this is my communication code. Reach out if there's ever anything". Glacé said a quick thanks, cast invisibility magic on all his party, and set out.
'Only one hour left before the official launch'. Glacé gave a soft sigh and started to make his way out of the kingdom. 'I originally liked MMORPGs because of interacting and cooperating with other players, but now I'd rather just not see them at all and be with the NPCs; how ironic'. Glacé showed a sarcastic smile thinking about how dangerous it would be if players found out his race compared to NPCs and somewhat dreaded the official release.