26. Captain Morgana Silversword
Chapter 26
Captain Morgana Silversword
T aking refuge at the Bards College had been a stroke of genius on Yorick’s part. Not only was Clover able to get the party there fairly easily – all they’d had to do was hide in barrels and pose as a shipment of wine – but they also suddenly had access to a vast library of knowledge.
It was there that Thrormir and Morgana’s teamwork began to shine. Within days, they’d uncovered almost everything they might need to know about the Supremacy Sphere. It had been forged by a lich, an ultra-powerful undead wizard, seeking – of course – world domination. If activated, which required sacrificing an unwilling creature under a full moon, the Sphere would release an aura that would bend the will of anyone nearby to the wielder. It required a very complex attunement ritual to wield, but once it was activated, it would remain in effect indefinitely.
“Well shit,” Calamity said as Morgana relayed this knowledge to the group in their chambers one night. “Human sacrifice and mind control? Kinky.”
“Delightful,” Yorick said, rolling his eyes. “And how do we destroy this apocalyptically dangerous artefact?”
“That’s the catch,” Thrormir said, exchanging glances with Morgana.
“An unwilling sacrifice activates it,” Morgana said. “But a willing sacrifice destroys it.”
The group blinked back at her.
Calamity sighed. “Can’t we just bury it?”
“That’s what they tried to do before,” Gorlag said. “That’s why we spent days wandering around those catacombs.”
“Then let’s have someone good wield it! Someone who won’t do evil shit with it!”
Thrormir shook his head. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“And besides,” Morgana said, “good or not, people would still be under their control. They’d have no agency in the situation. That’s still wrong.”
“Well fuck that,” Calamity said. “I don’t intend to lose my life for this thing. And if that makes me a bad person, so be it.”
“Well, you are half demon,” Yorick muttered, and Calamity slapped him on the back of the head. “Hey!”
“Enough,” Thrormir said firmly. “Helpfully, there are a lot of people wiser and more equipped to handle this decision than we are.”
Morgana turned to frown at him. “Do you really think that’s wise? Giving this to people in power?”
“It’s not our decision to make,” he said softly back to her. “Your Queen asked for this, remember?”
Morgana did remember. She had never disobeyed a direct order in her life, and she didn’t intend to start now. But it also didn’t sit well with her that she would be handing over power over everyone she knew – including, maybe, herself – to someone else.
“Fine,” she said. “Let’s go home.”