Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai-Chapter 42 - One With The Nets

To become one with the nets didn't encapsulate how horrible of a punishment it could actually be.

In fact, in a way, it almost sounded peaceful.

It wasn’t, I soon discovered. To become one with the nets was to be literally torn apart, bit by bit, as the nets of the community pulled at the convicted. Every step a person took, every tug on a ladder or rope, every single motion passing along the paths of Tetherfall, all contributed.

And so, to become one with the nets, was to be punished by the community.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a death penalty. Not for most. They’d been doing it for a long time. The netmasters had it down to an art. There were different degrees of tightness. Different amounts of tension.

And different lengths of time.

Grivis's people had never become one with the nets. Except one.

Selvi explained all of this as she was supported by Calbern, leading the way outside. The chasm was bright, despite the starless night overhead. I hadn’t paid it much attention on our way down, but now I noted how several vines gave off a warm orange light. They weren’t as bright as the ones from Perth’s home, yet the light itself was more comfortable, like that from a forge or campfire.

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It stood as a stark contrast to my impromptu lesson on Tetherfall’s justice system. The first thing we did was retrieve the netmaster.

She was an old woman, with greying hair, thin, but not frail. Definitely not frail. Her arms were corded muscle, and when she threw open her door, the fierceness of her gaze nailed us all to the walkway where we stood. Finally, her eyes landed on Selvi.

“So, you survived his attentions then. And only a little frayed for your troubles,” she said, her voice sharp as she stepped forward to take Selvi’s chin, turning her head back and forth. “A little scuffing, but you’ll live.” Then the netmaster’s gaze shifted to the rest of us. “And you… you’re new. The uninvited guests our dear master Grivis is so worried about, I take it?”

“This is our new Magus Dominus, Myris,” Selvi said, rubbing at her jaw with one hand while gesturing to me with the other. “He wants to free Tanis from the nets.”

“Ah. And for that, of course you need your netmaster,” Myris said, nodding along. Then she turned away, slamming the door in our faces.

For a second, I simply stared at the door. Then I looked towards Selvi, who was grinning.

“Should we-“ I started to ask, when the door swung open once more.

Myris was standing there, fully kitted out. She had a pair of long sticks strapped to her back and a set of oversized goggles on her head that made it seem twice as large. Without a word, she stepped past me, using the hanging nets as a combination ladder-staircase.

“C’mon,” Selvi said, gesturing to a broader path. One that didn’t require us to swing our way along.

By the time we arrived, Myris was already at work, humming in place at the edge of the net. A spot we’d missed on our way down, each of us focused on the guards, not a bundle of tied ropes away from most of the buildings. Tanis was hanging there, his oversized muscles straining against his bindings as we approached.

"Hey! Was wondering when you'd get here, boss lady. Gave the little master your message, just like you asked," Tanis said, a smile on his face despite the strain in his voice. "Don't suppose you could do a fellow a favor, and cut him down?"

"That's why we're here," I replied, motioning towards Myris. “And I’m not-“

“Ah. Was wondering what brought Myris’s delightful company this evening,” Tanis interrupted, stretching his arms slightly only to receive an instant rebuke from the netmaster.

“And you’ll continue to enjoy my company, if you don’t hold still, you overgrown buffoon.”

It wasn’t a simple process, and Myris demanded complete silence as she worked. The sticks she’d strapped to her back were used to draw another set of ropes behind tighter. Only once Myris had bound those ropes, did she start setting Tanis free.

First she undid his wrists, though the moment Tanis started reaching for the rope around his neck, she smacked him.

Then she was back in the rigging again, hanging upside down as she leveraged the giant poles to change the tension behind around them. After another couple minutes of work, she slid down and undid the ropes around his ankles.

“Uh, miss Myris, shouldn’t you have started with my neck?” Tanis asked, his hands twitching as if wanting to reach up to grab said rope.

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“Only if I wanted to snap it. Grivis always coming around, messing with the nets. Incompetent cave-toads, the lot of them, fooling around with what they don’t understand,” Myris snapped, reaching over to slap a hand that hadn’t actually moved.

Thankfully, it was less than a minute later when Myris finally released his neck from the ropes.

"Thanks, boss lady," Tanis said, rubbing his wrists once he was back on solid ground as he looked at Myris. There were visible red marks along his wrists and neck, all from a few hours of exposure. "And you too, other boss lady. Knew I bet on the right horse."

"Tanis, you wouldn't know a horse if it came up and bit you," Selvi said, slapping the big man on the shoulder, eliciting a wince from both of them. “And he’s a man.”

"Ha, too true, little Selvi, too true," Tanis agreed, pulling her into a one armed hug. Selvi winced again, but she still leaned into the big man’s side. "Good to see you survived the little master." Then he squinted at me. “You sure the new boss isn’t a lady? Those are the same robes the old boss lady always wore.”

“Balthum wasn’t a woman either," Selvi said, shaking her head. “How do you not know that?” With one last shake she finally pushed him away, turning away with a blush trying to make itself known on her scarred cheeks. She swayed and Calbern stepped forward to support her once more.

“They… weren’t? But everyone always called them…” Tanis glanced at me, then spoke in a not-whisper that was somehow louder than his regular voice, “Madame Domini.”

“That… Mag-us Domini,” Selvi said, shaking her head. “You know, like magic?”

“Ohhh,” Tanis said, nodding as he rubbed his wrists. Then he puffed out his chest as he turned to me. “Excellent start, boss, saving the two strongest warriors on the whole net in the same night. Can't wait to see what boss’ll do next."

“I don’t know what he’ll do, but I’ll tell you what you should do,” Myris interjected, sticking a long bony finger into his cheek. “You’ll go and rest, let that skin heal up proper. I’d say use some of the wort-root, but that’s in short supply these days.” Then her gaze shifted to Selvi. “Goes for you too.”

“Actually, I need them for a little longer,” I admitted, glancing between the three. “You might be able to help too.”

"Ha, boss is… what's that word? Not pushy. Bah, nevermind. Boss is fast on the reave."

"Weave, you idiot," Selvi corrected, slugging him in the shoulder, causing Calbern to pull her back as she almost fell again. "Fast on the weave."

"No… no, I don't think so," Tanis said, shaking his head while rubbing his shoulder with a smile. "What'd you need, boss?"

I almost told him I needed him to stop calling me boss. But from the way he kinda steamrolled corrections, I had a nagging feeling that I was stuck with that one. Least he wasn't calling me boss lady anymore. Deciding to prioritize more important matters, I said, "I need you to supervise the trials of the other guards. Including Grivis. Then I need you to punish them.” Though, I was having some doubts about whether Tanis was the right man for either task.

“Trials for them knot-lickers, is it?” Myris asked, leaning forward and squinting up at me. Which was the first time I noticed she was at least a head shorter than me. “Count me in. Always messing with the nets, never a thought for what they might damage. Almost sent that poor Wood Rat plummeting to her death when they strung up Alven. Bout time they got theirs.”

“So, you’re really going to put them to the nets?” Selvi asked, pulling on one of the ropes that had recently held Tanis in place. “Until they’re so frayed they can’t be restrung?”

"Ha, told you it was reave!" Tanis proclaimed, slapping Selvi hard enough that it sent both her and Calbern a step forward. "But no can do boss. Need three guards to Weigh the Nets proper."

"Oh?" I said, turning to look at Selvi.

It took her a moment to recover from Tanis’ blow, but when she did, she shrugged. "He’s not wrong. But you’re Magus Dominus. You can appoint whoever you want to be a guard. Even Myris, if you wanted.” That earned a snort from the old lady, who’d returned to hanging on the net instead of standing with the rest of us. Selvi ignored her, taking another deep breath. “Just need to swear them in.”

"That doesn't seem right," Tanis said, crossing his massive arms as he leaned back against a rope I wasn't sure would hold him. We all just stared for a second as the rope creaked ominously behind him.

When neither he nor the rope broke, I asked, "Why not?"

"Well, cause you're supposed to have been on the guard for at least a year before you stand over another, boss. That’s tradition."

"I don't suppose a Magus Dominus could be the third?" I asked, trying not to let out a sigh. This wasn't the part I expected to be difficult. We were supposed to quickly grab Tanis then go back and have him judge Grivis.

"Well, sure. Everyone knows our Magus Dominus has the right to just overrule us anyway. You wanna do that though boss? Put yourself… on our level?" Tanis looked almost hurt, kinda slinking in on himself, setting his feet together as he stared at the walkway.

Nodding almost felt like kicking a puppy.

Myris spoke up, “Good. Best you show these frayed brats that even a Magus ain’t better than us. Definitely ain’t no guards who are.”

No guards... I glanced upwards. We hadn't dealt with the other guards. “Speaking of guarding, we should get back to Tresla. Don't want to leave her alone with Grivis for too long,” I said, motioning towards the galleon-turned-office.

"Tresla shall endure, master Perth," Calbern reassured me. "Grivis's capacity for violence is insufficient to overwhelm her."

"It's not Grivis I'm worried about," I replied, throwing a look over my shoulder towards the upper lip of the chasm. "It's suddenly come to mind that there are five guards who we never nabbed."

Calbern's eyebrows rose, then he let go of Selvi's arm to grab hold of a nearby rope and swing away.

"Ha, that one looks like he was born to the nets. You should make him a guard, boss!" Tanis said as he stepped up beside me, still rubbing his wrists.

"An excellent suggestion Tanis. I might just consider it," I replied even as I hurried my own steps.

"No problem, boss. Tanis has lots of great suggestions."

Their voices fell behind as I heard Selvi ask, "Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

"No. I'd never do something like that. Clearly you hit your head too hard," Tanis denied, earning a snort from Myris who was keeping pace overhead.

Which was the last I heard from them, cause I'd gotten close enough to see the broken door where we'd left Tresla and Grivis. And sure enough, when I got there, Calbern was standing over a dazed Tresla, with Grivis nowhere to be seen.

"Oh. That's no good, boss."

"No Tanis. That's no good at all."