Realm Lord
Chapter 93: Dollmaker

Chapter 93: Dollmaker

Arthur and Aziel talked for a bit whilst Lara and her group studied the pages. The blue candlelight flickered across their faces as they spoke, casting elongated shadows against the stone walls that seemed to dance with each word exchanged.

Eventually, as their conversation lulled, Arthur’s restless curiosity pulled him back to exploring the laboratory. He wandered among the tables and shelves, trailing his fingers carefully over ancient equipment, feeling the grit of centuries-old dust beneath his fingertips. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment, dried herbs, and something metallic that tickled the back of his throat.

In the far corner of the room, partially hidden behind a large alembic with copper tubing that had turned green with age, Arthur spotted a rather large wooden square chest. It was plainly made compared to the ornate furniture they’d encountered elsewhere in the castle, but something about it drew him closer. Perhaps it was the way it sat apart from everything else, or the heavy iron lock that hung broken from its hasp.

Curiosity took over, and he knelt before the chest. Grasping the worn wooden lid, he creaked open the box, the ancient hinges protesting with a sound that echoed in the quiet room. A musty odor wafted out, the scent of things long forgotten.

Inside, Arthur found piles and piles of... dolls?

Arthur’s brows furrowed as he picked up one of the dolls, confusion replacing his initial excitement. These weren’t the treasures or magical artifacts he’d been hoping for. He lifted the small cloth doll up to his face to observe it more closely in the dim light. It was crudely made, with button eyes and stitched mouth, dressed in what might have once been fine fabric but was now faded and worn. The doll’s stuffing bulged in odd places, giving it a misshapen appearance that was somewhat unsettling.

’Odd, did the man who worked here like playing with dolls?’ Arthur giggled a bit at his own joke as he turned the doll around in his hands, examining it from all angles. Suddenly, his giggling ceased upon seeing what was on the doll’s back.

’...a-a magic circle.’

The laughter died in his throat, replaced by a sharp intake of breath. On the back of the doll, drawn in some red substance that Arthur desperately hoped wasn’t blood, was what looked to be a spell circle.

A chill ran down Arthur’s spine despite the warmth of the room. He looked at the circle closer, tracing the pattern with his eyes, trying to make sense of it. But after a moment, he realized that staring at it was no use if he had no idea what he was looking at, so he decided to take it to Lara.

He turned around and began to walk back to the wooden desk where she and her team crowded, their heads bent close together over the ancient papers, muttering in low voices. The doll felt oddly heavy in his hands, as if the magic circle on its back carried a physical weight. As he got closer, the tension in Lara’s voice became apparent.

"Damn it!" she suddenly exclaimed, slamming her hand against the table with enough force to make the papers jump. She pulled her head back in a haste, running her fingers through her hair in frustration, her face contorted in disappointment.

Arthur got close enough and asked, voice crested with concern. "What is it?"

Lara sighed heavily, the sound full of crushed hopes, and looked up to see Arthur approaching with the doll. Her eyes fixed on it momentarily before she addressed him.

"These papers have nothing to do with the spell on the castle," she said, the defeat evident in her voice. The blue candlelight caught the sheen of sweat on her forehead as she gestured toward the documents spread before her. "They’re all about those dolls. Whoever worked here seemed to be obsessed with giving inanimate things sentience. From the look of his papers and the very obviously not-alive doll in your hand, I doubt he succeeded."

Arthur tilted his head thoughtfully, turning the doll over in his hands once more, feeling the rough texture of the spell circle under his fingertips. A wild idea began to form in his mind.

"Is it possible that these dolls could be the totems?" he ventured, his voice hesitant but hopeful.

Lara laughed lightly before wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. The sound wasn’t mocking, just tired and a little sad.

"I doubt it, but I guess it’s possible," she conceded, her eyes moving to the chest in the corner where the other dolls still lay. "They do emanate slight amounts of magic due to those spell circles on their backs..." She paused, considering. "I guess it wouldn’t hurt to destroy them and see what happens, but don’t get your hopes up."

Arthur nodded with a determined face, a new sense of purpose filling him. Even the slimmest chance was better than the crushing certainty of failure. He turned his head to look for Aziel, spotting him across the room where he appeared to be daydreaming, his back against a bookshelf and a silly grin on his face as he giggled like an idiot at some private joke.

"Aziel!" Arthur called, his voice sharp with urgency.

Aziel’s head launched forward as if he’d been physically struck, and he coughed on his own words, caught off guard by the sudden summons. "W-what?" he sputtered, his eyes wide and alert despite his previous distraction.

Arthur walked up to him, the doll still clutched in one hand, and quickly explained what they needed him to do. As he spoke, Aziel’s confusion morphed into understanding, and then into a wild smile.

"Got it," Aziel said with a nod, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. He walked over to the chest with all the dolls in it, that grin still capturing his face as he stretched his arm out before him.

In a flash of light that momentarily outshone the blue candles, Aziel summoned his spear. He lifted it high in the air, the tip glowing with power, before bringing it down in the center of the chest, stabbing it into the wood below with a resounding crack.

Everyone in the room went still, watching intently as Aziel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Electricity began to coil around his body and spear, small arcs jumping between his fingers and the metal shaft, casting wild shadows across the laboratory. The hair on Arthur’s arms stood on end from the building charge in the air.

Suddenly, Aziel’s eyes shot open, glowing with the same electric blue as the energy he commanded. He grunted with effort, and a bolt of lightning surged from his body directly into the chest, the sound of thunder confined to the small room deafening them all momentarily. The smell of ozone and burning cloth filled the air as the contents of the chest were charred, smoke rising in thin tendrils from the blackened container.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. The lightning ceased as Aziel’s spear disappeared in another flash of light, and he wiped the sweat off his brow with a satisfied exhale. "Done," he announced, looking back at the group with a mixture of pride and exhaustion.

Arthur gulped loudly, the sound audible in the sudden silence that followed the destruction. Lara and her group came up beside him, their faces illuminated by the fading glow of scorched wood and fabric.

"One more," she said quietly, looking at the doll still clutched in Arthur’s hands.

Arthur nodded solemnly before dropping the doll, letting it fall to the ground with a soft thud that seemed somehow final. He stretched out his hand and summoned his sword.

In a swift, powerful motion, he brought the tip of his sword down onto the spell circle on the doll’s back. The blade pierced through the fabric and into the stone floor beneath with a metallic ring, pinning the doll like a butterfly to a collection board, severing the magic circle neatly in two.

Arthur took a deep breath, letting his sword disappear in a shower of darkness, and looked up to Lara, his eyes wide with anticipation and a hint of fear. "Did we do it?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She let a small grin appear on her face before patting Arthur’s back reassuringly, her hand warm and solid against his shoulder blade. "Let’s find out."

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