Chapter 129: Garden Of Eden II
"Amazing." Cooed Archibald as he watched the Egoi clean the deepest parts of the manor, even the ones that have been mired and mucked by malevolent magical energy. "And we just have to pay him $10 an hour?"
"The wonders of capitalism." Irwin remarked.
"Truly the best invention of humanity." Archibald was of the same mind, apparently.
Egoi pretended not to hear them muttering about him as he vacuumed the dust and soot that stained the windows and walls outside of the manor. Irwin was more than glad to buy a brand new mattress, a television set, and a mini-fridge for the pagan god as part of their deal.
Apparently, his time in France and with the kid had accustomed him to some of humanity's latest inventions. In fact, when he heard of the internet, Irwin swore he could see a hint of exuberance entering the personification of the southern wind's form.
'I'll tell the priest to knock before going into the basement,' He vowed inwardly, shuddering at the thought.
"Anyway, how is the Garden?" Asked Archibald. "I heard that Ella is taking it much more naturally than you."
"God, don't remind me. It's going well with Ella taking charge. We only need to plant the Seed of Eden and ward off the park before seeding the whole garden." Irwin sighed.
He had already prepared the ingredients for The Ward Of Obviation by enumerating Lady Anastasia's menagerie one last time. Thankfully, his ploy worked, as she was too happy about Dagon's battery to care about him rifling through her components.
He still had three million dollars' worth of moon rock, which was more than enough to obscure the acre-large park. If that still didn't work, then Irwin would just buy a totem or permanent mystical item to cover what he was short of.
Patting Archibald in the back, he drove out of the estate and onto the docks, where Ella, Andy, and Gordon were waiting for him. Unlike the other two, Ella was wearing gardening clothes and was stained knee to arms with dirt and leaves.
He had told them to wait for him as he finished instructing the Egoi on its duties and responsibilities. He also had to meet with the Greene's and inform them that further construction of the garden park will be paid for and organized by the manor.
"How's the junkyard?" He asked Gordon as he boarded the boat.
"Everything's set up. We just need the sigils you were talking about." The hunter replied.
"I'll have it ready tomorrow or the next day. God, I have so many things to do!" Irwin rubbed his hands over his face.
"Then why are you procrastinating?" Asked Andy as he finished his second bottle of seltzer. "You could've done the Garden yesterday."
"We all know why." Gordon's smirk widened as he silently nudged Any and pointed towards Ella. "Keeping busy."
Ella drew a hand from the handle and flipped him off, "Fuck you."
"I don't need to. He already is." Gordon contested.
Andy tiled his head, "Wait–Irwin's fucking you?"
"What? No. Oh, you're–Stupid ass. " Gordon smacked Andy's head when he realized the man was joking, too.
"Shut up. We're here." Irwin steadied himself as the boat parked onto the makeshift dock, reeling from the waves caused by its sudden lurching. "Here's the deal. Ella and I will plant the seed while you guys prepare the ritual site around the marked areas. Did you tell them where?"
Ella nodded as she jumped off the boat and tied a rope around a post.
"Good." Three bags suddenly appeared on the ground before Irwin spread it amongst the two of them. "Make sure to follow the instructions within the bag. I don't need the power of Natural Order exploding in my face. Everybody clear?"
"Crystal."
"Yep."
The two made their way inwards as Irwin scratched the back of his neck.
"They're not even gonna ask how I did that?" He muttered under his breath.
Ella chuckled, "They're used to your freaky shit by now."
The two made their way to the center of the proposed garden with a shovel and a diamond-studded watering pot in tow. Ella had already studied and marked about two-thirds of the garden with her spare time, which included the spots where a river that supplies Willintel's water ran north to Lake Elsinore.
With his credits, Irwin brought three other things from the Trade Store. The diamond-studded watering pot–named Tears Of Vestia in the Trade Store–converts mineral water into enchanted water in sixty seconds. The ten liters of enchanted water not only reduces the risk of soil exhaustion and increase cultivation of plants and trees.
The second was the Soil Enriching Recipe, which, as the name stated, enriches the soil and increases cultivation, as well as reduces the consumption of fertilizers and minerals. Irwin thought this to be reductive, but both Lady Anastasia and Ella had brought to his attention that the second effect was convenient to the gardeners.
'I might be over prepared.' He thought, "Am I over prepared?"
Ella huffed in exhaustion. "No, you're just being an idiot. Now help me, please!"
"Oh, my bad." Irwin grabbed his shovel and took over Ella's work.
To plant the Seed Of Eden, one would need to plant it where the Seed could hear the whispers of the dead, which meant that he needed to dig six feet under. The seed itself was quite large, about one square foot in volume and size.
Once planted, the Seed would grow innumerable roots that could reach as far as a thousand square yards and as deep as the bedrock before curving upwards. Those roots would then suck all the soil's nutrients, depriving the current plant and geological creatures within the immediate area of its sources.
That, of course, would take place in the span of days which, if disrupted, would stunt the growth of the first tree that would bloom from the Seed.
That was why Irwin and Lady Anastasia had taken all morning to enchant two hundred square yards of soil.
"How do you know all this?" Asked Ella as Irwin finished informing her of what he had done yesterday and this morning.
"I have been doing my fair share of research ever since I came to this world. It's actually one of the first items I acquired and it's been in the pocket ever since," Irwin said.
"I see. That's why you took in Greene's debt from the Russian mob." She nodded her head in realization.
"That and I don't want the mob mocking up our town. Greene is too close to our family that the mob might target us," Irwin reasoned out.
He clapped his palms, dusting off the dirt. Having dug six feet around the hundred feet that surround the spot the Seed would be placed, Irwin motioned for Ella to ready herself.
He turned his ring and out came packed dirt glowing with a dull purple light, quickly filling the hole with its enchanted soil. Although the seed would dig past the enchanted soil, the enchantment would prevent the Seed from exhausting and, quite possibly, completely depriving the nutrients of the soil within its root's range.
"So, it's a barrier?" Asked Ella.
"More or less. It won't stop the Seed from sucking the outer soil, but it would mostly take its fill from the enchanted soil." Irwin said. "You ready? I don't actually know what it looks like. All the pictures I've seen were made before they figured out how to do perspective."
He snapped his fingers and there in the space between his hands, once empty, appeared a seed like no other. It writhed with energy, forming tendrils that wriggled around its hard nut-like surface.
The shape of the Seed reminded Irwin of that of the heart of a Banana tree, yet in the same vein, it was unnatural in Irwin's eyes. It should not exist in this form nor in this timeline, but it was and such abnormal existence was an affront to the universe itself.
As such, the moment it appeared, the world shook with great intensity. As if the world was tearing itself apart, causing untold natural disaster unto the world. The skies above Lisbon Valley and even that of the entire west coast cried upon the sight of such invaluable seed.
"Fuck me." Irwin gritted his teeth as he felt the Seed's energy emitting an unnatural wave of vitality that his body was being healed too much.
So much energy was being poured into him that it's causing his magical reserves to overflow and blow up like a balloon.
Irwin grabbed a hold of the Seed and pushed it into the pre-made hole before it could destroy him. He covered the hole with what had remained of the enchanted soil in his ring before chanting the invocation Lady Anastasia created from her Druidic Grimoire.
Irwin felt his energy being devoured the longer the chant went on, but thanks to the energy revitalized by the Seed, there was no shortage of magik coming from his body.
"... Christo!" He clapped his hands together, finishing the mixture of Latin and Gaelic prayer-cum-invocation.
The skies turned normal, and the earthquake slowly subsided as the land beneath his feet glowed with an unnatural green light. Roots sometimes burst through the ground as it writhed the forest ground with its magical energy.
Before Irwin could celebrate the planting of the Seed of Eden, a clap of thunder rang beside him. A familiar gust of wind pushed against his body.
"Sebastian Archibald Richard Greythorne! By the order of the Host Of Heaven and under the command of the Archangel Raphael and Archangel Michael, cease your operations!"
Irwin turned around to see a hundred figures surrounding his form, all of whom were emitting a heavenly light.
Irwin grinned as he held out his hands in mock surrender. "Don't shoot!"
...
Last one for the day. Thank you fo being patient with me in these trying times!
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