Chương 46: Betrayal

Only a few minutes passed before the peacekeeper left, galloping east on his horse back to camp. Paige could barely sit still, she was shuffling and fidgeting as if resisting the urge to march in and start a fight. Despite the guard leaving, the lute still played, and Alex was still singing. Paige was furious. Aaron's hair was blown back as wind spirits erupted from her hands, circling around her fists like gloves.

"Paige, hang on a minute, let's think about this!" Aaron pleaded, but she stormed off to the front door. Aaron ran behind her but slowed down for a few seconds as she slammed the front door back in his face with the force of her fists. By the time he got inside, it was too late, Alex had been launched across the room and was lying on the floor with his back against the wall, pleading for his life.

"You treacherous bard, we warned you!" She stormed towards him with her wind-covered fist raised and ready to slam down into the defenceless man.

"Stop!" Tim shouted, "he just saved us!" Paige hesitated.

"He wasn't betraying us, he was manipulating the guard into leaving us alone and reporting to his commanding officer that this house was searched and safe," Tim said.

"Is this true?" Paige said to Godric.

"Yes," Godric replied.

"As soon as we saw the guard approach, he snuck out through the window and got his lute. He had every opportunity to betray us and walk back with the guards as a hero, but helped us instead."

"Why would you do that?" Paige snapped. The bard rubbed his head and dusted himself off as he stood up.

"Because, in spite of your poor hospitality and mockery, I have come to think of you as acquaintances. You wanted to kill me days ago when you found the tracking stones, yet you saved me from that creature last night. You could have left it to rip me to shreds and stabbed it in the back whilst it was distracted. That would have been the safest way out, but you knocked it out of the sky and fought it head-on! Besides, I've been in a bit of a rut recently, and I have never felt more inspired travelling with you.

I was just showing Tim my ideas!"

"Tim?" Aaron asked, turning to him with a severe look.

"I trust him, Aaron. If he wanted to betray us, he would have done it already. Besides, his music is helping me keep on top of this curse. There are times when I feel it overwhelming me again, and Alex is really helping to keep it at bay," Tim explained. Alex had every reason to betray them. He was originally hired to find them and bring Harrold's men to them. He just had the opportunity to fulfil his contract, and he refused.

And Aaron owed Tim some trust; he still felt guilty for lying to him in the city about Harrold.

"If you trust him, then I trust you," Aaron said to his brother. It was a leap of faith, but it was about time he held out an olive branch and tried to repair the rift between them. Tim smiled, and Aaron felt relieved. It had been a long while since feeling on the same page as his brother again. He was getting sick of the friction between them.

"We really need to get some answers from Giddeon about why the king's men are camping outside the city and why the Desolate Lands are not so desolate after all," Aaron said.

"It beats me," Godric said, shrugging, "I keep to myself, and they leave me alone, but I heard rumours of him shipping those creatures to the south."

"Why the south? There's nothing there," Aaron said.

"Maybe there's a facility or training ground or something. Maybe they are experimenting on them. I like to hope they are looking for a way to cure the land and get rid of them once and for all," Godric replied. Aaron shrugged. He doubted they were up to anything good. He'd lost faith in the king's guard. Especially after hearing they were on Harrold's payroll. Aaron scratched at his neck. His mana was almost unbearable at this point.

He'd left it for almost a full day now, and it was starting to feel painful, rather than just irritating. Aaron pulled his tome from his bag and opened it on the table. He needed to pick something.

"What are you doing?" Tim asked.

"I have mana to invest, I'm going to pick something to improve my curses," Aaron replied. There were a few remaining options in the Novice tier, which Aaron read aloud: "Manipulation Enhancement, Augmentation Enhancement and Amalgamation Enhancement improve their respective skills and increase the rate that they improve. I also have the option to increase the power of Animate Corpse or Lesser Curse of Rotting. There are also a few new options under the curses school.

Curse Lore, Curse Amplification and Lesser Curse of Misfortune." This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Aaron's eyes were drawn to Curse Lore. It improved his ability to detect and appraise cursed items as well as curses on people. It might help him learn more about Tim and cure him.

"You should take something to make you more powerful in combat. We need fighters to get down that mine," Paige insisted.

"I want to take Curse Lore. I might need it to cleanse the relic and cure Tim." Aaron argued.

"What's the point if we die getting to it? You can't cure him if we get captured on the way down. Besides, Giddeon said he would sort that out," Paige said.

"Giddeon can also protect us, so why do I need to fight?"

"So you trust him now, huh?" Paige said. She saw right through his comment. She was right about protecting himself. They almost certainly had a fight ahead of them. The peacekeepers could come back, or that bat creature could return. And they still had to get past the camp into the mine and get through whatever was lurking down there.

"You're right," Aaron said reluctantly.

"Aaron, don't worry about the curse. Giddeon said he can help. I'm sure he's got a plan." Tim said, reassuringly, although Aaron did not feel reassured. Tim was such a trusting person. Too trusting sometimes.

"Improve your Animate Corpse. It will help my training as well and benefit you in combat," Paige said.

"But then I could animate something too powerful and lose control," Aaron replied. Paige rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Aaron! We are on the edge of an extremely deadly mine full of corrupted creatures guarded by a hundred armed men. We are not going to make it anywhere without taking any risks."

"Then Augmentation Enhancement is better, surely? I can heal us better with it, and I think with some practice, I can also increase our strength," Aaron said, "Or I can take Amalgamation Enhancement to make more weapons, like my dagger."

"We have enough weapons!" Paige argued.

"But strength and healing I can believe in." Aaron looked at his brother for guidance.

"Do what you think is best for us," Tim said.

"Augmentation then," Aaron said. The room went quiet and no one seemed to disagree. Although his choice of skills is not a democratic decision, he still valued their advice. Even if he chose one, there was a chance that his spirit would lock into a different one, like Curse of Rotting back in the Umber mansion. He had to believe in his decision, otherwise he would risk losing the ability to choose. A notification swirled up in his mind's eye.

[Teratogenesis talent unlocked] Augmentation Enhancement: Rank 1 Acts of Augmentation are more powerful, cost less mana and Augmentation Mastery increases at a faster rate. Its cap is now increased to rank fifteen. Cap, Aaron thought. His Dominion Over Undead was rank ten, and he hadn't seen any Undead enhancement or similar. Maybe he couldn't increase it until he got past Novice Necromancy. Or perhaps it was covered by Manipulation Enhancement.

Aaron pulled his dagger out of his belt and placed it on the table in front of him. He turned his tome to Osteokinesis and drew the series of runes in his mind. He didn't need the book for most of the spell, but got the impression that he would forget one or two runes if he didn't check. He focused on the hilt of his dagger at first, where the rat's ribcage had been compacted. The ribs shifted and moved, creating natural, smooth indents where his palm would go.

This should make the dagger easier to hold and harder to drop. Moving onto the blade itself, Aaron could sense its dullness. The claw was not as sharp as it once would have been. That made sense, though, as animals' claws constantly grow and sharpen over time by walking and scratching trees. Focusing on one side of the blade, Aaron willed it to mould into shape. The long side flattened and formed into a sharp edge, like a knife. The tip solidified and honed into a razor-sharp point.

Forming the knife felt easier than before and drew much less mana from him. He also felt the structure of the bone harden throughout the entire weapon. The bone grew and became more dense and durable, if only by a bit. The knife had changed shape and looked brand new. Where before it was a claw with a hilt, it now resembled a weapon of significant craftsmanship. The handle was smooth and shaped to his palm, although you could still see where the ribs interlaced like fingers.

The blade was no longer just a curved claw. It was a real knife with a sharp edge and a point. But it did still curve over slightly, as many knives did. The tail was still wrapped around the top of the hilt where it met the blade, creating a decorative pattern of vertebrae. It was now partially melded into the structure of the bone rather than simply stuck on the surface.

"Freaky," Alex muttered while staring at the knife moulding before his eyes.

The cold night air stung Aaron's nose as he breathed in.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked.

"Yes, it will be fine. The grain stores are solid metal and designed to keep out thieves and bears. If any corrupted creatures show up, we will be safe. Not even those claws are getting through," Paige insisted. Aaron stabbed his dagger into the metal silo for good measure. It made a loud clang, but not a scratch or dent was made on the surface. Although he was pleased to note that the dagger kept its form and the point was no less sharp than before.

Metallurgy was a difficult school of magic, traditionally performed by elemental mages who specialised in pyromancy. The objects they created were known to be particularly sturdy, and the grain silo was clearly no exception. Trusting Paige, Aaron stood by the open door of the silo; a sheet of green metal with a large metal bolt on the inside. Paige dumped the dead bat out of the potato sack in front of Aaron. It was stiff and curled up in a ball with its wings shielded around its body.

Its eyes were still open, but the pupils were dilated and fixed dead ahead. Cuthbert, who was perched up high on top of the silo, cawed as he saw the bat as if he was afraid, or he was warning them. Crows were intelligent birds and Cuthbert even more so than most. Aaron suspected this was intentional communication.

"Animate it and have it fly around the silo so I can practise shooting light spirits at it," Paige said.

"And what's the plan if I lose control?" Aaron said, cautiously.

"We took out five of these things last night, it's not going to be a big deal. Just have your knife ready," she replied. Aaron's knife was tucked into his belt precariously. He made a note to himself to buy a holder at the next leatherworker he visited. With his tome open, Aaron got to work stitching his mana through the bat's bones. He made a point to try to cast the spell from memory and thankfully succeeded, but it took a lot of focus to ensure every single rune was recalled accurately and in the correct order.

Aaron reached the wing and realised the bone was broken, and there were significant rips and holes in the leathery flesh making up its bulk. It wouldn't be able to fly well in this state. From his mind's eye, Aaron's Augmentation abilities tickled. He had a sense for repair and modification that had never been there previously. He knew what to do with the bat's wing. It wasn't just going to become flight-worthy; he knew how to make it faster and stronger.