Chapter 20: Loyalty

Ace's eyes remained on the direction Sister Leila had gone, "This is the first I'm hearing about it," he answered.

"I'm sure I heard something like that. Apparently, she did something to lose the Emperor's favour. She was sent away from the capital in disgrace." Bird recounted.

"Then what is she doing in here now?" Ace asked. It wasn't that he thought Bird was lying, but the story seemed hard to believe.

"I guess if she became a sister of the healer's order, not even the Emperor could send her away," Bird shrugged, "Well what does it matter? Either way, you're lucky. I've seen her some times around the tower but I've never had the courage to talk to her. Will you introduce me some time?" he flashed an artful grin.

"If you want," Ace chuckled, "Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you,"

"Ask. Ask!" Bird chimed.

"Well, I want to study more on my own, but the books that I need aren't in the main library. I saw the ones that I need in the wizard's office. I would ask him but..."

Bird gave a knowing smile, "I got you! He's too prickly to ask, right? Hmm, I would help but he's very fussy about who can go in his office. If he found out, he'd probably go crazy..."

"Well, I only need a quick look. I won't even take the books. I can just make a note and go,"

Bird deliberated for a moment before saying, "Well, since it's you Ace, I might be able to pull it off. But I won't be able to give you long,"

"I swear, it won't take long," Ace promised.

"Okay then," Bird smiled, "Then we'll have to go after hours, maybe in a few days. The wizard has a meeting with the Emperor, he'll be out of his office,"

Ace nodded enthusiastically. He was glad Bird didn't ask him what books he wanted. He almost felt guilty about involving him, but there was no other way to get a hold of the books on demons. Ace had read the one the wizard had given him, front to back.

However, it didn't contain any way of getting into contact with a demon. And that was what Ace wanted. The main library, as full of books as it was, didn't contain anything substantive on demons.

The opportunity Bird spoke of came a few days after as he had promised. The wizard left his office as scheduled and hurried towards the Emperor's court. He wore a particularly venomous expression as he passed Ace and Bird in the hallway, giving them little more than a nod of acknowledgement.

"His face always looked like that when he goes to see the Emperor," Ace thought to himself as they passed him. The pair waited a moment in the hallway. It was late evening. The rest of the students were already back in the halls. They took the staircase up to the office. It was dark and pallidly lit by candles.

Bird took the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He leant against the window a step or two down.

"I'll call you if I see him coming back," Bird said.

Ace nodded gratefully and hurried inside. Once there, he found the room in a state of disrepair. Documents and scrolls were sprawled across the floor. The desk was untidily mounted with books and ink stains. Ace observed many of the scrolls were of the same kind he and Bird had seen in the temple ruins. They were written in Elven and had pictures of various items.

Ace couldn't give them much attention as he had his own errand to run. He swiftly walked towards the bookshelf and scanned for anything that might offer the information he seeked. It would take some time to examine various old tombs.

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Meanwhile, the Grand wizard arrived outside the Emperor's courtroom. He paused in front of the door. It was a habitat he had yet to overcome. He took a moment to compose himself before entering.

The royal court was a long hall which mounted a few steps to the throne. It was decorated in the imperial style, extravagant and yet different from the subtle tasteful fixture throughout the rest of the palace. It, either by atmosphere or artfulness, has a solemn, almost mournful appearance.

Since the late Empress' death, the Emperor himself had worn nothing but black. In truth, it suited him well enough. His raven hair was swept back, leaving no defense against his cold blue eyes. He was a similar age to the wizard, but he had the dark circles under his eyes that aged him. Still, one wouldn't have thought it from his razor-sharp appraisal of any one who came under his eyes.

These same eyes fell on the wizard calmly and apathetically as he found his way to the throne. The wizard gave a bow, though not quite as low as he might have given if the court were in session. The two men locked eyes, neither with much fondness for the other. The wizard spoke first.

"Your Majesty, please forgive the late hour," he said, though his voice betrayed a lack of sincerity; attesting to the appropriate etiquette over genuine concern.

"Skip the formalities," the Emperor replied coolly in turn, "What was so important it could neither be discussed in court, nor communicated in the report?"

"It concerns the findings in Northern temples," the wizard rejoined.

"What of it?" the Emperor said indifferently.

"It took some time to confirm, but I have reason to believe all the items stolen are connected in some way," the wizard put forth.

"And what way would that be?"

"They are all from the old era as I said in the first report. However, at the time I was only referencing the records we have in the Empire. At the temples we also found some Elven inscriptions which suggested they might be older than first thought. Daelven artifacts outdate elven society by a millennium; Long before the Empire was even..."

"Get...to the point," The Emperor interrupted. If his voice told of his impatience, it didn't show on his face at all. The wizard's jaw clenched and sharply inhaled before continuing.

"They are magical vessels," he concluded.

The Emperor tapped a finger against the arm rest. For a while he didn't say anything, adding to the wizard's discomfort. When he did speak, it was more abrasive this time.

"And you are only reporting this now? It's been months,"

"Not without reason!" the wizard interjected, "Until now, we had no reason to believe they were of any worth. We housed them in the mountain temples because they had no practical use. This means the demons got what they wanted, they won't attack any of the other temples,"

"Of that I have no doubt," the Emperor snapped, "They will come to attack us directly and they will have the artillery to do so! Therefore, instead of wasting my time, go and prepare the tower. This is what it is for. Have you even located the source of their entry?"

"There was a demonic portal to the north," the wizard answered stiffly, "but I have already sealed it,"

"I will send the royal knights to search for any demons that might have escaped. You just focus on the war effort. If you had said this before, I wouldn't have relieved the Sword Saint from service. We will have to call on him again,"

"That won't be necessary, your Majesty," the wizard gave a restrained smile, "I specifically waited for the Sword Saint to leave because I believe he cannot be impartial in these matters,"

"Those are strong words. I hope you have something to back them up,"

"As you know, only Demon Lord's can open the portal to this world. There can only be one person responsible."

"Yes, the same demon has eluded you until now. What difference does it make?"

The wizard gritted his teeth. "Thanks to my study of these items, I have found a solution to that problem."

The Emperor tilted his head back and stared down, a flicker of emotion stirred in his disinterested eyes.

"What's more, I believe that we will soon have the culprit in captivity. Let me capture the Demon for you. Then you will be able to judge for yourself where the Sword saint's loyalty lies," the wizard went on, "All I ask now is that you delay in the formal announcement of these matters. I will soon have the matter in hand resolved once and for all,"

"Very well. I shall hold off in relaying this information to the court," the Emperor leant on hand, with his piercing stare temporarily abated. The wizard extended the customary bow and turned to leave. As he did, the Emperor said in a sharp, low voice:

"But Michael, let me remind you, I have allowed you time and reasonable independence to pursue these matters. Now, there is even more at stake. In the past, I shielded you from criticism because your methods thus far have achieved what was promised. However, if that ceases to be the case, I will hand you to the court and wash my hands of you. I will not tolerate failure and If I learn that you have impeded proceedings by making claims you cannot support, the punishment will fit the crime. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly," the wizard nodded and he departed briskly from the court.

In the tower, Ace had continued his search as fast as he could, skimming the pages for anything useful. It took some time before he came to a book that mentioned summoning. He knew from experience that Demons used contracts with humans to gain passage from the demon world.

In the old days, demons had used such methods to entice ignorant humans into granting them access to the human world. However, in time humans had become aware of such tricks and the practice was strictly forbidden.

Nevertheless, the book detailed how a demon might be summoned. Ace found the page that held the ritual and quickly noted it. He hadn't the time to read any further when he heard Bird's voice call to him.

Ace promptly returned the books where he had found them. He darted out of the office and Bird locked the door behind. They met the wizard coming down the stairs. This time, he appeared too absorbed in his own thoughts to even notice them.

He went straight towards the office, closing it with a slam. Just below, still ascending the staircase, Ace triumphed in his victory. The moment he was alone, he relieved the notes he had taken from his rucksack and studied them intensively.

Finally, he had the means to be reunited with his master.