1.7 KMAS: Fall of Vermithrex (Act I)

The play opened with a red haired, tall, slender, and suspiciously feminine Kyros Magnus standing on a balcony looking out at the rising Sun. The set design had a 'handcrafted' feel to it, and the costumes looked like they were made by someone's mum.

"What do you think of your husband, Liri?" Sera asked. "He looks pretty."

Liriel stared at the actress playing Kyros for a few moments. "It's an okay depiction," she said. "Kyros is much prettier than the girl. Also taller, and his shoulders are broader..."

The Queen stuck her tongue out and retched dramatically, to Esmeralda's great delight, as Liriel kept listing her husband's physical virtues.

Liriel pretended to ignore her best friend's antics and continued talking about Kyros. "His hair is a deeper shade of red. And his waist..."

"All right, all right, we don't want to hear any more, Liri," Sera said, interrupting Liriel. "Especially not about your husband's waistline. That's not a topic I ever want to discuss."

Liriel looked offended by Sera's insinuation. "I was just going to say," she said forcefully, "that the girl had a slender waist. What are you thinking, Sera? Do you think that my mind is as dirty as yours? Unlike you, I am a proper lady."

"Oh, I think it's much dirtier, Lady Liriel. I don't think you remain a lady for long within the master bedroom of the Magnus Estate."

"What happens in the master bedroom, my lady?" Esmeralda asked innocently.

"Oh, Kyros and I, we just play some games, that's all," Liriel quickly answered the child.

"Can I play them?"

"When you are older, my dear," Liriel said without skipping a beat.

Then the two older women laughed, and the little girl looked confused for a moment before joining in.

On stage, Kyros was soon joined by a black haired girl in royal robes, with a prop sword hanging from her belt.

"You seem a bit shorter," Liriel noted.

"At least they got one of the replica swords. It does look like mine from a distance."

Queen Seraphina on stage stood at a respectful distance from the Great Mage and stared longingly at his back.

"Kyros," the Queen said softly.

The Great Mage turned around at the sound of her voice and greeted her with a stoic smile and a polite bow. "My Queen, what orders do you have for me? Your loyal servant is ever ready to serve the crown."

The Queen looked like she was in pain. "Is that all you want, Kyros? To serve me?" she asked him, her voice thick with emotion.

"That is all I can do." Kyros did not meet her eyes but turned around and stared stoically out at the audience.

"Where are they standing?" asked Sera. "Is that my bedroom?"

"Yes. I think so," Liriel said. "Look at the dragons on the railing."

"I thought they were rats."

"It's not your bedroom, my Queen. It's the guest bedroom," Esmeralda said sagely.

Sera looked surprised. "How can you tell?" she asked the child.

"The vines. Your bedroom doesn't have vines around it, but the guest bedroom in the east wing does."

"How do you know all that, brat?"

"My mum and I have gone on the palace tour, and I pay attention," the little girl said smugly.

"So why exactly are they talking in the guest bedroom?" Sera asked.

"It's obvious. The Great Mage and Lady Liriel have been staying in the guest bedroom. Lady Liriel has just gone out, and you came in to discuss something important and stare at the Great Mage."

"You got all that for what we just saw?"

"Yes. My friends think I am very smart."

"What do your teachers think?"

"Be quiet, you two. I want to hear the dialogue." The bickering quickly stopped after Liriel shut them down.

Meanwhile, the stage-Queen had quickly composed herself after that indirect rejection. "So be it," she said. "I do have a mission for you, my lo...my Kyros."

Kyros knelt before the Queen like a loyal knight. "Your words are my command, my Queen."

"Him kneeling before me, that will be the day," Sera said, rolling her eyes. "Why is he never this polite with me in real life?"

"Shush..." Liriel silenced her friend.

The actress playing the Queen handed Kyros a scroll. The Great Mage dutifully opened it and began perusing it. "It's a report from one of our border garrisons in the East," she said. "There is a small village nearby called Wormwood, just an ordinary community of humans and dwarves. Most of them live off of trading forest resources and wood crafts. Some of the dwarves also do a little mining in the nearby mountains."

"The report mentions some kind of disturbances, my Queen. It appears that some of the local graves have been disturbed."

"That's correct. The people of Wormwood, and also a few of the nearby settlements, have experienced these desecrations. At first they thought that it might be the work of wild animals, or even some local malcontents, but neither the local sheriff nor the garrison commander has been able to solve the case."

"I assume you suspect it's the work of necromancers."

"The locals suspect it. The rumors of necromantic activity have spread like wildfire through the community, and the people are quite afraid."

Kyros closed the scroll after reading it. "Even if it were necromancers, my Queen, a contingent of combat mages from the garrison should be able to solve it. We can even send some support from the capital. Respectfully, I don't see why this situation needs me. I already have enough work here."

The queen looked down at Kyros, and in an almost venomous tone, she said, "You just don't want to leave, Her."

"And you have no right to interfere," he said, still kneeling.

"Ugh, seriously? What's the Queen's deal? He is not your man. Get over it," Sera yelled from the crowd. The pronouncement was met by some clapping and some booing from the audience.

"Sera, be quiet," Liriel whispered. "She is just trying her best to balance her work and her unrequited feelings. She is not the villain here, okay?"

"Yeah, it's the ancient Lich," Esmeralda added.

"I...I am sorry, you are right," the Queen in the play said. "But the decision was not made with any ulterior motives. How much do you know of the history of that region?"

"I know that it was once part of the empire of the Lich Lord Vermithrex," Kyros said. "But that was nearly two thousand years ago. The Lich was defeated by a consortium of archmages and his phylactery was destroyed."

"No, not destroyed."

"What?!"

"Recently, a researcher at the Dark Elven Academy discovered that a part of Vermithrex's soul still remained in an amulet recovered after the battle. And the amulet disappeared soon after."

Kyros looked furious. "How is this possible? Why was no one informed of this?" He said angrily. As his voice got louder, the bedroom seemed to get darker. The Queen fearful of the Great Mage's wrath, took a few steps back.

"Did that really happen?" Liriel asked Sera.

"Yes. But it was in open court, as you know. And the throne room did get darker. Your husband can be scary sometimes."

The stage-Queen gathered her courage and stepped closer to the kneeling and angry Great Mage and gently placed a hand on his shoulders. The touch did not linger for long. She quickly let go as soon as their eyes met.

"We only learned of this a week ago, Kyros," she said in a soothing tone. "The Dark Elven King and I are both of the opinion that this matter must be kept quiet for now in order to avoid any needless panic."

"But if the Lich is really back, panic will be the least of your worries."

"I know," said the Queen. "I am aware of what is at stake here. The matter at Wormwood might have nothing to do with the missing amulet, but I don't want to take any chances on this matter. So, I want you to investigate this case personally and report directly to me."

"I will do this, my Queen. I will protect yo...Stormhaven from this threat. You have my word."

"Rise, Sir Kyros," the Queen said. "May the gods and ancestors bring you luck and success in your quest."

Kyros stood up and once again bowed to Queen Seraphina.

"I will make sure you have all the necessary equipment and support. Will you come see me before you leave?" The Queen asked longingly.

"I...I will," Kyros replied.

The Queen turned around and walked away, but she stopped before reaching the door. "Kyros, why her?" she asked.

Kyros looked into the Queen's eyes, but his own were unreadable. He said nothing but simply turned away to watch the sunrise.

When the Queen opened the fake door to the room, standing just outside was a tall woman in a blonde wig and pointy prop ears. The Queen seemed a bit shocked upon seeing her. But the woman smiled without skipping a beat.

"Good casting choice," Sera noted. "She is quite pretty."

"That's Bonnie," Esmeralda said, pointing at the actress playing Lady Magnus.

"You know her?" Liriel asked the little girl on her lap.

"Yeah, she is my friend Bertie's sister. She has been trying to get into the Meridian Theatre Company."

"Did she make it?"

"No, she failed three times. She's trying for a fourth time now."

When stage-Liriel spoke up, her smile never faltered, but her tone carried a completely different message for the Queen. "You are early, my Queen," she said. "Did you have something important to discuss with, My husband?"

"Ahh, yes...yes, I did."

"I hope you had a productive talk. Now if you will excuse me, I need to check what, My Kyros, will have for breakfast today."

The Queen glared at Liriel, who glared back just as effectively.

Shouting, hollering, and calls of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" rang out through the crowd. But the glare off did not last long as the Queen turned away from Lady Magnus and exited the room.

Once the Queen was gone, Lady Liriel closed the door and approached her husband. Kyros still stood facing the sunrise and did not turn around to greet his wife. Lady Liriel hugged him from behind and rested her head against his back. "Is it another mission, darling?" she asked the Great Mage.

"Yes," Kyros replied.

"Will you be away for long?"

"I am not sure. It might be a while," he said, still stoically staring away from his wife.

"I will miss you."

"I know."

Sera couldn't take it any more and started heckling from the audience. "My god, why is he so emotionally constipated? Tell your wife you'll miss her, you idiot." This got a few enthusiastic claps from some of the older women.

"Sera. Quiet," Liriel chided her friend once more.

"Come on, Liri. Why can't he just say it?"

"He is wrestling with his feelings for both these women. You can't expect him to just give in right at the beginning. He needs to go on the journey and realize whom he really loves."

"Then why the hell did he marry her? Couldn't he have decided that before marrying her?"

"Obviously he realized that the Queen had feelings for him after the marriage. Now he needs to decide whether to be faithful to his wife or to give in to his feelings for his childhood friend."

"He sounds like a total ass."

"He does," agreed Esmeralda.

"You two know nothing about how romance stories work," said an annoyed Liriel.

Rather than pressing her point, Sera decided to pivot. "What was he really like on that day?"

"On the day he left for Wormwood?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, he followed me around all day. At first it was sweet; later it got annoying. He even followed me into my meetings. Can you imagine trying to figure out a trade agreement when the most powerful man in the world is just sitting there, on a chair, next to you?"

"So, what did you do?"

"Well, in the afternoon I took him to our bedroom..."

"Alright, alright, I don't need more details," Sera said, while covering Esmeralda's ears.

Liriel smiled mischievously. "What?! I was going to say that we played a couple of games of chess and then cuddled for a bit."

The scene on stage shifted from the guest bedroom to some secluded corner of the palace.

"You have finished your preparations?" The Queen asked Kyros.

"I have, my Queen," the Great Mage said.

"Come back safe to me, Kyros," the Queen said, her voice and expression full of longing.

"I...I will."

"I have something for you."

"My Queen, no..."

"Please don't refuse me this."

The Queen took off her golden necklace and handed it to Kyros. "When you are away, think of me, Kyros."

Kyros tightly held on to the necklace and looked into the Queen's eyes. Then, without saying another word, he walked away, leaving the Queen all alone.

He did not reach very far before he was accosted by Lady Liriel.

"I thought I would find you here, my love," his wife said happily.

The Great Mage looked almost annoyed to see his wife. "Why are you here, Liriel?" he asked.

"I...I wanted to give you something before you left."

"You too?"

"Did, did the queen give you something as well?"

Kyros said nothing.

Lady Liriel took off her silver necklace and handed it to Kyros. "Be safe, my love. I will be praying for your safe return."

The real Sera was utterly disgusted by stage Liriel's behavior. "Ugh, she has no backbone. He treats her like crap, and she still runs after him." She turned to Esmeralda and said, "Brat, don't be like the Liriel on stage; be like the real Liriel. Don't chase after disrespectful men."

"Okay," the little one said cheerfully.

The entire exchange made the real Lady Magnus smile.

What followed on stage was a montage of Kyros' journey from Meridian to Wormwood. On the way, he rescued a family from bandits (the biggest men in the Appreciation Society), fought off and slew the Chimera (three people in a costume) terrorizing a village, and saved a group of suspiciously small and adorable dwarf nuns (who were promised ice cream after the play).

Once in Wormwood, he met the local sheriff and the garrison commander, talked to many of the settlers, and investigated the recently disturbed graves.

"Why didn't he just teleport?" Sera asked Liriel. "That's what our Kyros did anyway."

"You need to show the hero doing some heroic things before he fights the big bad," Liriel said.

"And he can only teleport to places he has been to before," Esmeralda corrected the Queen.

"Nope. That's not true. I have personally seen him teleport to places he hasn't been."

Esmeralda seemed surprised by this revelation that contradicted the comic book lore. "But...but that can't be true. Everyone knows it."

"Well, then everyone is wrong," Sera said, giving her little opponent a condescending smirk.

The Queen and the little girl both looked at the real Kyros authority in the room.

"You are both wrong and right," Liriel said.

"That's not an answer, Liri."

"Well, it's the one you are getting. As Esme said, Kyros can't teleport to any random location. For example, he didn't directly teleport to Wormwood but to a nearby city he had been to before."

"But Liri, you remember that time we were negotiating with one of the orc tribes? He teleported directly inside the chieftain's tent. I am absolutely certain he had never been there before."

"That's right."

"Then how did he do it?"

"He could do it because he had a connection to the place."

"What connection?"

Liriel looked smugly at the Queen and little Esmeralda and proudly said, "Me."

The Queen rolled her eyes. "Ugh, this is too much sugar. Are you saying that he can teleport to wherever you are?"

"That's correct."

"Is it like a tracking spell? Because Liri, that would be a bit creepy."

"No. It's nothing like that. If he really misses me, I can sense it. It's like an invisible link connecting us both. I give a mental tug at my end, and he can follow that signal back to me."

"And if you miss him?"

"Then he can sense that I am missing him, and if we both wish it, he can be next to me in an instant."

"I don't know if I should be appalled or envious," said Sera. "This totally destroyed my image of Kyros as a slightly weird but cool guy. He is a complete simp for his wife."

Liriel chucked and said, "I think it's very sweet."

"Me too," said a wide-eyed Esmeralda.

Liriel turned Esmeralda around to face the stage. "Enough chatter," she said. "Let's focus on the play. Look, they are going inside the mines."