The Foolhardies 54 A Soldier's Oath

At least, that's how I justified it. In all truthfulness, I just didn't want to share her with anyone. Besides, Qwipps wasn't a bad fairy to contract. sure, he had lots of unpleasant quirks, but he was a fun guy to have around. Plus, he was loyal. One couldn't ask for more in a contractor. At the very least, they were guaranteed Qwipps wouldn't be as abusive as whoever they had before him. I hoped.

The ritual they would undergo to create a new contract with Qwipps was similar to the one I performed with Aura back in that time I first summoned her to Mudgard. The one difference was that instead of the Elfwood Forest Circle Stones, the twins had to make do with makeshift boulders Shaqs and Edo lugged into position far away from where we parked the wagons.

Luca and Donar came over to watch after they'd followed my orders and secured the other prisoners inside their wagon so that they couldn't sneak a peek at what was transpiring. I even had Donar cast a silence spell over the wagon to block out any sound from reaching prying ears.  It was the best way to ensure the anonymity of my newly acquired spies.

"Alright... let's get this mud show over with," Qwipps said dejectedly.

I once remembered him saying that he only wanted to contract beautiful Mudgardian women. The two sweaty, dirt-streaked teenage boys were definitely a far cry from his requirement. Nonetheless, he faithfully accepted my request—in exchange for a few hundred gold Leprechauns, of course.

The twins looked just as dejected as Qwipps with their fate. Connor even asked one last time, "You sure we can't get her, instead?"

The fact that he didn't say the P-word in front of the gathering crowd meant that he and his brother might just make good spies after all.

Under the light of the golden moon, the twins pricked their thumbs with a needle Qwipps gave them and sprinkled a few drops of blood on the golden Leprechauns I gave them to use for the ritual. As they didn't have anything to offer their contractor, the incentive of blood would make it so the gold was now theirs to give.

In exchange for the gold coins, Qwipps clipped off all the excess fingernails on his left hand and dropped the clippings on Connor's open palm. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed the horrified look plastered on Connor's face.

Qwipps dropped the clippings from his right hand onto Collin's open palm next, and the look of revulsion in Collin's eyes was hilarious to me. Southie's were such prudes. It was just fingernails.

Now, while Qwipps gave the Mccord boys their disgusting gifts, he gave them each a similar spiel to the one Aura granted me.

"I give you a piece of me as proof of our bond," Qwipps said while repressing his own laughter at the sight of both boys holding onto his nail clippings. "Do you accept?"

It was hard not to feel pity for the Southside rich kids but I managed it somewhat. Beside me, Luca was trying very hard not to grin.

His rivalry with the Southside Basketball Team was almost legendary. Luca debuted to a highlight of twenty-three points, fifteen assists, seven steals, and five rebounds during his first game against them. It goes without saying that they considered him the devil over there.

"Do we really have to?" Collin asked depressedly.

"Unless you prefer Edo slice and dice you," I answered from the sidelines.

Both of the Mccords sighed.

Seeing the two southside boys tough it out must have been cathartic for my little brother. You could see it in the twinkle in his eyes. And I was glad he was so entertained.

Meanwhile, Varda, standing on the other side of Luca, looked like she was getting ready to reprimand Qwipps for not taking this ritual seriously.

After both Collin and Connor accepted the gift, Qwipps raised the two coins to his chest and said, "And I accept your gift, even if it's a few hundred gold short," at this, Qwipps sent me a raised eyebrow as if to remind me what I promised, "as proof that you are now viseres of the Trickster Pavilion."

What happened next was a little unexpected.

You see, I never experienced any sort of arcane effect after Aura and I made our pact. There wasn't a veil that had finally lifted and given me the knowledge of the universe or anything like that. Nope. The only weird thing about that night was flying up into the sky and getting tossed into the Fayne. So you could imagine my surprise when the air above Connor and Collin flared suddenly with a crimson light.

Like twins beacons from a lighthouse, a red blaze shot out of the space at the top of their heads and formed into the unmistakable vision of two red moons with each sitting atop two grey clouds. It was unmistakably the symbol for the Scarlet Moon Clan.

All gazes were turned on these glowing crowns atop the heads of the two clueless boys who couldn't look up to see what we all could.

The red glow began to dim and we saw the symbol form cracks and shatter like ice which dissipated in the wind like they were nothing.

Both the Mccord boys fell to their knees, their faces reddening. They were obviously in pain but no one could come close to them as none of us were sure if any interference would make things worse.

The waiting was agonizing. I didn't know them well but they were humans like me and Luca and they'd accepted my bargain with the promise that I would keep them alive. I wasn't sure I could do that now. I wasn't sure the arcane powers governing the Fayne would let me. Then I remembered The Rule of Equivalent Trade .

My hand reached out for Aura's as she stood beside me watching with bated breath. I felt her hand grasp mine.

"Aura... how does equivalent trade play out in this scenario? Are we breaking any rules?" I asked.

"No," Aura shook her head. "Unless... unless there's something specific that they promised their contractor besides promising to work for him or her."

"Like you and me, you mean? Our promise to claim the iron throne and claim a wish for Luca..."

"Yes..."

"If they don't have anything like that?"

"Then they'll be fine... the pain is just a reminder of breaking their oath... but if the oath they offered Qwipps is similar, there is a chance their new pledge will cancel out the old one..." 

"That doesn't make sense..."

"I know... that's why it's risky. You're asking the fates to consider their oath to us more important than the one they previously swore to the Scarlet Moon..."

I looked worriedly at Aura.

"What happens if they promised something more?"

Aura shook her head.

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My mind reeled. I'd forgotten one of the most important principles in the Fayne—the stupid law that Aura and I debated that night we met. I couldn't believe she didn't take it into account either. She was always so adamant about following it. But maybe there was a way to save the twins.

I let go of Aura's hand and dashed toward the writhing forms of the Mccord brothers.

I heard Aura and Luca yell my name but I didn't stop. This was my snafu. I needed to fix it or I sacrificed two lives for nothing.

"What do I do..." I pondered as I stood over them. "Think, Dean... think."

"Muddamit! What are you up to, Dean?" Qwipps asked from his spot in front of the twins.

I ignored him and continued pondering the situation.

If their new oath was stronger than the one previously made, then the arcane powers that dictate the laws of the Fayne could accept this new pact. If that was really the case, then I just had to make their oath more powerful, and if I was right, then all I needed to do was add an oath of my own—a strengthening of bonds between them and the Foolhardies.

I pulled out my dagger and cut my palm on it. Then I dabbed each of their backs with the blood from my palm. I may not be a fairy magician, but I do recall reading that blood magic was very powerful.

"These two viseres now serve me and in exchange for the service they provide, I will ensure that mine will be the hands that end the Scarlet Moon clan... so please, give them a shot..." I pleaded.

There was no greater promise I could give than the demise of one of the most bloody, traitorous clans of the Fayne. Also, it tied into the brothers' old oaths, so I was hoping my declaration was enough.

Apparently, whoever was listening to these oaths liked the exchange I offered because the Mccord twins stopped convulsing in pain. In return, I felt a huge weight suddenly drag my bloody hand down as if iron manacles had clamped onto my wrist and some invisible hand had pulled on it. The feeling lasted only a moment, but I knew I'd somehow locked myself into an agreement with something I couldn't begin to fathom. 

There was no time to think about it, however, as my thoughts were interrupted by the burst of blue light shining atop the heads of the brothers who both sat up at the same time. The Fool symbol of the Trickster Pavilion, the same one I saw in my mind's eye whenever I called on the power of Fool's Insight, appeared above their heads. They had been accepted.

After the ordeal was done, I reminded the brothers that once they returned to Mudgard they would tell no one of their new allegiance to the Trickster Pavilion.

"No one's going to know unless you guys act too suspiciously," I said.

Both brothers nodded. They looked at me differently now than when we first met and I could swear there was a little more respect in their eyes than before. Maybe it had something to do with me risking my own butt to save them.

"You'll report to me every Friday afternoon at Edward's Chocolate Bar on 5th Avenue unless I send a sprite to you immediate info," I instructed.

"That's in Midtown... why can't we meet somewhere in Southside?" Connor asked.

"Yeah... it'll be suspicious if two Southies dropped by midtown territory," Collin added.

"I don't care. Try to act inconspicuously," I answered heatedly. I had enough of them for one night.

After Edo took the twins back to their wagon to be embedded with the other blindfolded prisoners, Luca spent a full ten minutes lecturing me for doing something irrational again.

"Blood magic?! Seriously? What if it backfired and you'd gotten yourself killed?" he asked for the nth time. "How do you even know it would work?"

I didn't. I hoped it would. I'd read enough confidential tomes in Fort Darah to know that blood was a powerful conduit in the arcane arts. I just didn't want to admit that to Luca and extend the lecture by another ten minutes.

"Dean... this was my fault..." Aura approached us after Luca's ranting died down. She had the fingers of her right hand holding onto her left arm while she spoke. In body language terms that was a sign of distress. "I didn't even consider that they might have made different oaths... I didn't... think..."

I patted her shoulder with one arm and sent the other one to Luca's shoulder.

"Guys, I'm fine..." I lied. I didn't really feel fine. Just more tired and responsible for even more lives now. "That new promise I made... it's the same thing I promised you, Aura. It just means we'll need to deal with the Scarlet Moon ourselves and not have another clan attack them like I planned."

A grin played on my face despite the trouble seeping into my heart. It was the first time I saw Aura do something to make me doubt her. And I wondered if the possibility of two spies inside the nest of her hated enemies was more important to her than the two human lives we almost sacrificed.

Despite this feeling of unease, I decided now was not the time to ask. I wasn't sure I wanted the answers anyway.

"Alright... let's pack up and head back," I ordered. "We've got a war to fight."

Chapter end