Lady Morwen climbed the spiral stairs out of the underground prison and passed through the guard-held corridor. The living soldiers gave her their highest salute, their chests filled with pride.
The bedchamber maids opened the doors with dainty hands shaped by magic, their cold, bright eyes lifelessly watching their mistress.
The bedchamber was magnificent, its lights bright. The duchess's footsteps were like stones dropped into black water, making no echo.
At that moment, an old woman in a nightgown sat before the dressing table. She looked exactly like the duchess.
She gazed at herself in the mirror and murmured, "Is this me? I truly have grown old. How did time pass so quickly? Tempus, Lord of Battles, you teach us to face death without fear. But please tell your follower how one is supposed to face old age. In a few more years, I fear I won't even be able to lift a sword. How will I defend this troubled land then?"
"Morwen" stepped forward and whispered in the old woman's ear, her voice twisting the heart. "Noble Duchess, I will use virgin blood to extend your life. You will regain your youth, and you will be even more beautiful than you were before."
The exhaustion and confusion in the old woman's eyes were like chains binding her mind. She hesitated, then shook her head and said, "No. We cannot start down that road. The duchess of Daggerford may die, but she must never be spat upon by her people."
"Morwen" licked her aged lips. Her tongue was vivid red as she leaned close to the old woman's ear and whispered, "Don't worry. Your subjects will not slander the duchess of Daggerford. They will all become your loyal servants, undying servants."
The old woman frowned. Her face remained blank as she murmured, "Why? You look exactly like me. Who are you?"
"Morwen" waved a hand and told the old woman, "Go back to sleep. You're tired too."
The old woman nodded and said sadly, "I've forgotten so many things."
She walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, and climbed inside. Then there was no more sound. The pretty maid guarding the wardrobe seemed to let out a dry snicker. She gently turned a magic key, and a complex seal appeared on the wardrobe door.
"Morwen" sat beside the dressing table and cast a spell at the ancient silver mirror. The mirror absorbed the spell, slowly began to glow, and flickered faintly for a few moments before the light stabilized. That proved the great lich Szass Tam had turned his gaze toward her.
The ancient mirror was like a deep, dark well. A terrifying shadow appeared in its depths, and it let out a hoarse voice, like a cold wind blowing through the throat of a corpse in a coffin. "Pencheska."
"Great master, a strange warlock has come to Daggerford. He claims to belong to an organization called the Tower of Tomes. Perhaps you know the truth behind it."
"Your mission is to hide in Daggerford. Do not do anything unnecessary. Do not forget how you failed last time."
The schemes and plots of the succubus Pencheska had once been ruined by a group of adventurers. Since then, she had kept her distance from adventurers.
"I have already banished him, but…"
The figure in the ancient mirror lit up with eerie green eyes. The lich's icy gaze made Pencheska's heart tremble.
"Master, that man may be carrying an artifact."
The ancient mirror went silent for a while. Then Szass Tam gave a low, cold laugh. "How can you be certain?"
The succubus knew the old lich had been tempted. No one could remain unmoved by an artifact, because it represented supreme power beyond the mundane world.
Pencheska brought out a crystal ball and gently stroked it. The crystal ball projected a clear image.
The image showed Skyl activating the magic array and summoning the Infinity Scepter through a blue portal.
The sensor created by the [Eagle-Eye Charm] could not transmit sound and visual signals at the same time, so this image was silent. Szass Tam asked coldly, "What did they say? What is that scepter called?"
"Master, please watch patiently." Pencheska gently rubbed the crystal ball, and the picture shifted to the next scene.
The second image showed Mia's interrogation in the dungeon's torture chamber. It was taken from the succubus's memories.
"Little lady, how much do you know about that warlock?" Pencheska asked in the duchess's voice. It should have been a voice that made the people of Daggerford feel safe, yet it made the girl tremble.
Mia's bloodless face was bound to a bloodstained wooden chair, and a camping pack lay by her feet. She probably had not expected her adventure to fail just after it had begun.
Buying travel supplies had been easy, tense, and still fresh in her memory. Every settlement on the continent of Faerûn had shops opened for adventurers. Flint, tents, camp pots, daggers, rope, bedrolls, and the like could all be gathered without effort.
Back then, the merchant in Daggerford had smiled and asked, "Little Mia, where are you off to? Don't tell me you're about to start doing business. You'd better make your first deal a good one, and not come back with a few shiny fish scales."
Mia had hidden it from her parents and secretly left Daggerford. Although she wore a hood, the militia at the town gate still recognized her and asked with a laugh, "Little Mia, when are you coming back?"
She ran off in a panic, and only then did she throw back, "I'm not coming back!"
Once she walked out of a society where everyone knew everyone, the vastness of the world was frightening. Every adventurer had an original reason for leaving home. Some left for survival, others for power, wealth, knowledge, or a mission. Mia simply wanted to follow someone's footsteps. She did not want to become a brief passerby in his life. A human lifetime could hardly bear many farewells.
For one instant, Mia knew that the first sixteen years of her life had not been worth living. Daggerford was just as Skyl had said. It could not hold a young soul.
But it had roughly kept hold of a young body. Mia was brought to the castle by the guards. Her parents scolded her for a few moments in the hall, and then the duchess locked her in the underground prison. The bloody sight inside the torture chamber terrified the girl.
Mia remembered the conversation she had overheard the previous night. Skyl had said the duchess was suspicious.
"I don't know Mr. Skyl very well. He didn't talk to us much."
Pencheska used the duchess's aging face to make the alluring expression of a young woman. The intense wrongness of it hit Mia, making her even more afraid.
"You're not Lady Morwen. Who are you?"
"So you really do know something. Little lady, the greatest virtue of mortals is remaining ignorant. You should not have eavesdropped."
In the image projected by the crystal ball, Mia's young and lovely face wailed under the torment of spells.
"What is the scepter in his hand called?"
"I, I don't know." Mia bit through her lip, and blood flowed out steadily. The duchess delightedly took out a silver cup to collect it, then smeared the blood across her cheeks. The blood seemed to meet loose sand, slowly seeping into her skin without leaving any trace behind.
Pencheska sighed in satisfaction. "It has been so long since I enjoyed virgin blood. You like that warlock. I can smell the sweet fragrance of a soul in love from your blood. It has not yet been made bitter by life. This is when it tastes best."
The succubus cut open Mia's wrist and placed the silver cup on the floor, letting the blood drip into it drop by drop. The cup seemed as if it would never fill. Virgin blood was richer than Daggerford's blended wine. Skyl had spent four days here, yet he had not even gotten to drink a single cup of blended wine.
"Tell me, little lady, what is that scepter called? What does it do? You must know. That warlock always answers whatever he's asked, and you love him. How wonderful. Humans all like stories like this."
"I… I really don't know." Mia began to cry. "I wanted to go to Candlekeep to find him…"
She lifted her face and wailed in grief. The tears of a sixteen-year-old were like strings of pearls, and she cried until her voice was hoarse.
Pencheska nodded excitedly. "That's right. You love him, so you won't speak. You'd rather die for him, wouldn't you?"
"Mr. Skyl… where are you… Skyl…"
Mia's blood was almost drained. The light gradually faded from her eyes, yet she was still murmuring the warlock's name, hoping someone would descend from the sky and save her. But he would not come. This was only an image. Everything had already happened.
The succubus watched the girl approach shock, then used charm magic. The mental defenses that had been stubbornly resisting collapsed in an instant. A mortal's resistance had never mattered. Pencheska had only wanted to torture her and draw out more sweet blood.
Mia blankly spoke of the Infinity Scepter's power. "Mr. Skyl said that with this artifact, he wouldn't be restricted by the Weave."
Szass Tam was very interested in this artifact.
"I will obtain it. You have done well."
The succubus smiled and nodded, speaking with the utmost respect. "For the sake of your greatness."
Just then, there came a knock, knock from the window.
Pencheska turned her head toward the window. This was the third floor, dozens of feet above the ground, and through the glass, she could see Skyl's face.
Calm, without the slightest trace of killing intent.
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