Another look into the Thrjterna Jarkatzzka.

A loud noise, the door swings open and Uklag enters. “What a beautiful day to be alive…you are still sleeping are you, Catherine?” the witch slowly rises from the sheets. Her black hair is completely dishevelled, her black lipstick has faded and a drowsy look is on her face. “I hate mornings.” She says and falls back into the bed. “Wow. I had time to make a whole set of items and you are still not able to wake up. Shame I was hoping to show you my tome today.”

Catherine shoots back up. “That black book on the stand over there? Which you won’t even let me touch? That tome?” she asks with greed, suddenly completely awake. “Yes. Of course only when Aelana and Analea are done with Droy’s ‘binding ceremony’.” He sighs, “Until then, here are the mentioned items.” He throws a bag at Catherine, who catches it while still sitting in bed.

She looks inside and finds a new robe. “I thought you should look like my apprentice as well.” Uklag says. It’s a mostly black robe with red decorations, the biggest of which are the three eyes on the back. It looks a lot like the one Uklag is wearing. “You also find some of your lipstick in that amongst other stuff you could need.” He says as Catherine puts on the robe.

“It suits her, not as much as being naked does but that is a pretty high bar anyway.” Aelana says when she returns, her sister gives an affirmative nod. “You two just continuously tease everybody by walking around naked.” Uklag says. “Do I want to know what you made Droy do?”

“Nothing that we hadn’t informed him about in advance, Master Uklag.” Analea says and steps closer. “Okay then. Next, Catherine I will now reveal to you what the circle in front of my door is for.” As he does the witches eyes grow wider and wider in disbelief. “That is insane. You are insane.” She says at the end. “I tell him that every day.” Aelana says and shakes her head, “It’s a lost cause.”

Uklag smiles, “I will so enjoy to prove all of you wrong. So, I need to have four women willingly offer their souls, you will fill a spot.” Catherine doesn’t like particularly pleased. “You tell me it won’t actually be taken, but…” “Think about this.” Uklag interrupts her, “If I fail, you lose nothing, if I do it your Master will be so much more. Think about the things I could teach you.” The witch licks her lips, as if she could literally taste the knowledge, “The thought is tempting, but…” “The things I could create, Catherine. Who knows, maybe I can make you immortal one day as well.” Desire fills her face. “Okay, let’s do it.”

“Great, now we have two of them.” Aelana sighs in the background. “You can have Celine as well.” Analea explains. That surprises the warlock, “How come?” he asks, he had planned to persuade them so this came as pleasant news. “”You aren’t giving in so we might as well support you, we had a lot of fun during our time here already.”” The twins say. “That makes two, Alratha is number three and Tienal four. And like that the first condition is cleared.” Uklag opens the book and smiles as Catherine lets out a disappointed, “Eh? What is that language?” “My native tongue written down as the Estarian language. Have fun trying to decipher it when I am not around.” He says and takes his pen, “Sentimental object. Check. 4 of other sex. Check. Rats. Check. Finding somebody else to chant for three hours.” He looks at Catherine, “Check. Candles. Check. And like that the conditions are cleared.”

He sighs, “Or like the easiest part is done.” His apprentice looks confused, “What else is there to do, you can summon him now, or not?” “Right, you don’t have knowledge of advanced Transmutation.” Uklag sighs again, “To put a future lesson short, because the Demon Lord is a creature of extreme might the Transmutation runes have to be out of incredibly strong magical materials. Sadly these tend to be exceptionally rare and in our case.” He sighs a third time as he turns a few pages, Catherine takes a sharp breath as she sees the illustrations.

“Yes, you see that right. A whole Zethyla, Orichalcum-ore, a ludicrious amount of blessed clay and my personal favourite.” He tips at the picture. “Powder made from dragon bone. Greatest thing is that I can transmute all of these physically but am unable to replicate the magical matrix.” Catherine raises and eyebrow, “I though inorganic matter had no magical matrix.” “Exceptions exists everywhere, even in magic.” Uklag says, “Zethyla only grows in the forests to the north. Orichalcum-ore can be found around here but we will have to search a ludicrous amount of caves. Blessed clay is probably the easiest thing to get, all we have to do is take out the guards at one of the mines. The Dragon bone however is a real problem. To my knowledge there is only one still intact and it lies in the treasury of Lydia VII. To put it short we have to get into the capital, enter the palace and break into one of the most well-guarded places on earth.”

Uklag lets out a final sigh. “I don’t want to go into the forest. That many trees in one place are unnatural.” The women all laugh at him. “THAT is your problem?” Catherine asks. “Not the whole, breaking into the treasury part?” Uklag shakes his head and smiles again. “I can deal with people and maybe I will die trying to get in there but at least everything around me isn’t plastered in trees. Especially the weird ones you have up here, where I am from the few trees that DO grow look completely different.”

Catherine continues to laugh at his expense for a while until she calms down. “Okay, so what do we go for first?” she asks, “A good question.”