5
After Karla left, Deedlit eased herself into the now-empty seat. She took a glass and poured herself some wine. Behind her, she heard Etoh let out a long, relieved sigh. With Karla gone, the mood was significantly lighter, but the encounter with her had been such a shock that no one had regained their composure yet.
Parn was conflicted. After what happened, he couldn’t trust the old man—he seemed just as bad as Karla. Wort seemed unconcerned about Parn’s wary attitude. He took a glass of wine and a piece of meat from the platter and began to eat.
“I don’t blame you for distrusting me,” Wort began, his mouth stuffed with food. “All I can say is—I’m the one and only Wort, and I’m not Karla’s ally.” He raised his glass to Parn in a mocking toast; in response, Parn’s glare grew even angrier. The old man kept speaking, not responding to his change in mood. “There’s some truth to what she says—I did once fight at her side. But so did Fahn, Beld, and Neese. We fought our way through the Deepest Labyrinth. Though back then, Karla didn’t look like the beautiful woman she is now—she was a warrior in a clunky mask and armor…” Wort paused to look around the room, and grinned.
“What?! How?!” Parn exclaimed. “I know the saga of the Six Heroes…the last of them, the unnamed warrior-mage. That was Karla?! She was really one of the heroes of the Demon Wars…?!”
“The demons definitely changed the balance of the world,” Slayn said calmly, but his wide eyes betrayed his astonishment.
“Wait, what do you mean?” Woodchuck asked, confused.
“Like the young man here said, Karla was the warrior-mage, one of the Six Heroes.” Wort laughed and raised his glass to his lips. “You might have assumed that she’s lived for the past five hundred years looking exactly as she does now, but that’s a mistake. That kind of magic has never existed, not even in the ancient kingdom. She is powerful, but even the greatest ancient wizards could only extend their lives for two hundred years at most. But Karla came up with a way around that limit.”
“Is it to control someone else’s body?” Ghim mumbled, sinking into his chair.
“Ghim!” Slayn was surprised at Ghim’s insight, but it also made a strange kind of sense, considering some of the dwarf’s behavior. “Does this mean you’re ready to tell us what you’re looking for?”
“Yes,” the dwarf said with a deliberate nod. “It’s time.”
“I didn’t expect a dwarf would be the one to figure this out!” Wort said with a gleeful laugh. “Have you researched ancient magic?”
“Of course not. My kind have nothing to do with magic.”
“And yet you’re the one who first arrived at the truth. Good for you,” Wort replied. “Like this highly intelligent wine barrel of a dwarf says, Karla transferred her consciousness into an object and has kept existing all these years by controlling the mind of anyone who wears it. Did you see the circlet on her forehead? That it Karla’s true form, though whether or not she is truly alive is up for debate. Her consciousness has stayed unchanged for the past five hundred years—since she abandoned her original body. I wouldn’t consider her human; she’s a ghost.”
“So the woman we’re seeing is Karla’s victim,” Parn said. He was slowly beginning to believe the old man, at least a little. He reached for the food and accepted a glass of wine when Deedlit offered it.
“Exactly. When Karla’s latest body is destroyed, the circlet casts a spell to take over the mind of whoever destroyed it. The magic is so powerful that nobody can escape. That’s why Karla can never be defeated—even when someone succeeds, they just turn into the next Karla.”
“I don’t want her defeated. I promised I’d bring that girl back home,” Ghim said glumly.
“You mean the woman Karla is controlling?” Slayn asked.
“Yeah. I know who she is. I couldn’t believe it when I first saw her portrait, and even after we met her, I still had my doubts. But when she cast a holy spell of Marfa, I knew it was true. Her name is Leylia, and she’s the daughter of Neese, Marfa’s high priestess—and one of the Six Heroes. Neese is a friend of mine; I told her that I’d bring her missing child back to her if I could.” Ghim sighed. “This also explains the riddle she told me—that her daughter is alive, but doesn’t exist. That really does describe Leylia in her current state. After all, Karla isn’t alive, but she certainly does exist.”
“So that’s your story,” Slayn sighed, struck with admiration.
“Hold on…so we can’t beat Karla? But we can’t just let that witch get away with this!” Parn shouted in frustration.
“Were you listening?” Deedlit huffed in exasperation. “We can’t fight her! Even if we win, the magic of the circlet will take over our minds!”
“Then how do we rescue the girl?!” Ghim shouted, looking at all of them for help.
“There may be a way,” said Wort, glancing at each of them in turn. “It’s very dangerous…but not impossible if you have the courage.” Wort stood up, strode to a stone wall, and tapped it. The wall shuddered and opened, revealing a small room full of what looked like useless clutter. He disappeared into the room but kept shouting back to them. “The magic of the circlet activates when the body is destroyed, so all you have to do is tear it off her while she’s still alive.”
“Easier said than done,” Etoh chimed in, calling out in Wort’s general direction. “I’m sure you know how difficult that would be. The witch uses powerful ancient magic. Capturing her will be far more difficult than killing her.”
“Obviously,” Wort replied. They could hear him rummaging through something. “Ah, finally!” he exclaimed, sounding delighted. He emerged from the room, holding a small stick. “Like the priest said, you have no chance of beating her head-on. And, no offence, but you lot aren’t heroes like Beld or Fahn—even your wizard here isn’t as well versed in the ancient language as I am.” Wort casually tossed the stick onto the table. “So I’ll give you this magic wand—it’s a relic of the ancient kingdom. Cast the spell correctly, and its magic will be released.”
“What does it do?” Slayn asked, picking up the stick with great interest. It wasn’t made of any metal or wood he recognized, and it had ancient runes carved into its surface. “Te-u-ra? Is that the spell?”
“Yes. I think you’ll find it quite useful—it nullifies all magic around it. Of course, that means you won’t be able to use your own magic, either.”
“So we can use it to keep her from casting any spells and capture her alive!” Parn said excitedly.
“I’ll be useful at that point, I bet,” Woodchuck declared. “I can sneak up behind her and snatch that thing off her forehead.” He’d gotten bored listening to them, but he knew it was finally his time to shine. “But what will we do with this circlet?” he said. “Destroy it? Sell it? It looks like a valuable piece of jewelry.”
“It would be wise to destroy it while the wand’s magic is in effect. Leave it and who knows when it’ll find another victim.”
“But isn’t there a way to resist its control? You know, take her magic powers but leave your own consciousness intact? Maybe there’s a way to defeat the spell that takes you over if you know what’s coming. Then you could bring back some of this lost ancient magic.”
“Are you out of your mind, thief?” Wort glared at Woodchuck. “If you could resist the spell, then yes, you would obtain all of Karla’s knowledge and memories. And that would be priceless. But it’s impossible. Think about it. Many of the people who Karla has dominated over the years must have been powerful—they had to defeat her, after all. But they all fell to the circlet’s spell. You shouldn’t entertain such foolish thoughts.”
“I guess,” Woodchuck said with a shrug.
“That’s all I have to say to you. Return to Fahn and tell him all of this. And make sure he knows—I will not pick a side, and Karla will no longer assist Beld, either. You all, however, can fight to your hearts’ content.”
“Can you tell us one more thing?” Parn asked, leaning forward.
“What is it?”
“Tell us where to find Karla.”