Alkela looked at the building, surrounded by crowds. She at once knew this was Zigildrazia's work. The blood painted on the wall was a specific style used by her priests. It was mainly utilized against heretics—usually, people who betrayed her cults.
Alkela told Sahshir as much with her hands, and he nodded but said nothing for the mont. That was the thing about Sahshir; his mind was always turning over more than he said.
Sahshir and Sen observed the crowds as soldiers ford a line before the doors. They were Knights of the Coin, judging from the coin symbol on their white tabards. They wore heavy chainmail. Spears were in their hands, and they were forcing them back with shields, forcing them to make way.
"There are a lot of people," noted Sahshir.
"Get these people out of here, we need space," said Sen.
"They're panicking," noted Sahshir.
"The Fish King is rising!" said a man in obvious hysteria. "The Fish King is rising!"
Idiots.
The Fish King didn't do this kind of blood rite. However, there were one or two slight alterations to the symbols on the windows. Alkela considered what they ant.
"Calm yourself, all of you!" said Sahshir in sudden fury. "You'll face this matter with forbearance and dignity! This is neither the ti nor the place. Disperse, or suffer the consequences."
Several hundred people stopped at his tone and looked at one another. Faced with Sahshir, they found nurous better things to do. So they dispersed. The Sword of Order stopped glowing. It was valuable, wasn't it?
The door was opened for them by a guard, and they entered the room beyond. Serna went through first, followed by Sen and Sahshir. Alkela waited until everyone else was through, then glanced outside and walked in.
Within, Serna was kneeling by several summoning circles, all intersecting. They were seven in number, with nurous decorations. Each circle represented a Demonic Archon, which Alkela found odd. Nobody had made symbols calling on all seven Demonic Archons since Baltoth beca a god. She caught Sahshir by the shoulder and motioned as much to him.
Sahshir nodded, and then they looked and saw a shape at the center of the central circle. It was blackened and strange. Then Alkela realized it was a corpse.
Serna seed to realize the sa thing and shrieked before backing away. Clutching her mouth, she fled from the scene as Sen watched her run. Glancing at Nagos, he scoffed.
Alkela kneeled by the circle and examined the corpse. Well, that wasn't Zigildrazian at all. Her Radiance didn't like corpses, at least not disfigured ones.
"I take it she has little combat experience," said Sen.
"Serna wasn't involved in the fighting in the War of Power," said Nagos. "I'll go talk to her." He turned and made his way out after her.
Silence fell over everyone as they waited. Alkela quickly conveyed what she'd noticed to Sahshir, who nodded. He was far sharper than most people. Then he turned to Sen.
"Sen," said Sahshir. "how did you learn to read these texts? And shouldn't there already be an expert here who reads these things?"
"The man who usually investigates these sites has a breakdown. He is on leave until he recovers," said Sen. "The recent killings have gotten to him. I expect I'll have to replace him eventually.
"Though I'm interested in where you got soone capable of reading the language, Nagos."
"Serna's family has a history of education," said Nagos, coming back. "She's fine."
Serna ca back at that mont, wiping her mouth and looking sick. "Not all the docunts are written in the language that drives you insane. I learned when I was young. My great grandfather once wrote down the language's details in a book."
Sahshir nodded and knelt by the circles while Alkela began to examine the runes. Definitely not Zigildrazian; she hadn't read anything like these. There were two sets of runes, actually. So were similar to Zigildrazian but had the letters in the wrong place. Still, she could almost make so of them out.
The other letters Alkela was wholly unfamiliar with. Were they dating back to before the Diabolus rebellion? Or the days of Amysta?
Still, given the corpse, it could have been the work of Amysta. She used the sa runes as Zigildrazia once and was all for corpses.
"This is..." mused Sahshir.
At the center of every circle was the image of an imnse, many-tentacled monstrosity. Looking at it too closely was difficult, however. The tentacles were not coming from anywhere. You realized it was not whenever you got to sothing that seed like a head or body. Their eyes ached, and soon Alkela had a headache.
"A symbol, written in blood," said Serna.
"Yes. This symbol often appears within these ceremonies," said Sen. "My expert, Aeon, hasn't been able to work it out."
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"Nagos and I have traveled through many native tribes," said Serna. "so of them worshipped the Fish King. That is the symbol of Ryas, once the lizardfolk's ancient capital. It was a legendary place where all the sea races dwelled in ignorant harmony."
"Ignorant harmony?" asked Sahshir.
"The races of the Fish King have a firm belief that there are so things that were not ant to be known," said Serna. "Then, chaos entered the universe. Creatures began to seek to understand things that were not their concern. In Ryas, however, all creatures knew only as much as they were ant to and no more."
"Ryas? Yes, I rember reading about that city. And I may know where it is," said Sen.
"How?" asked Sahshir.
"I knew it was south of the Islands of Power," said Sen. "I hired fishern to help .
They carried crystal balls and lowered them into the sea by a rope. Once there, I had sorcerers from Magicora observe the entire surrounding area. It took a few years and a great deal of money. However, I was able to find several major structures deep underwater.
"Of course, I have refrained from sending anyone down there.
"I do not an to disturb whatever is down there until I am ready."
"I rember that!" said Nagos suddenly. "Serna and I were one of those fishern! That's when I got pulled down and...
"Never mind."
"What were you going to say?" asked Sen.
"Oh, nothing," said Nagos. "I fell into the water and nearly drowned. I had a close call with so things that live beneath the waves.
"We caught a lot of fish that day."
"I wasn't aware you ever worked for ," said Sen, sounding annoyed.
"You probably should have been," said Nagos. "You've got to know the people working for you; otherwise, they might not act like you think they will. The War of Power might have been less unpleasant if we had known each other.
"You might have even won."
Sahshir, anwhile, had been examining the circle further. "This blood is recent.
"Was there any sign of a break-in?"
"The windows and doors are unbroken, and the sacrifice lived alone," said Sen with a shrug. "Or so my subordinate told . It seems likely they were allowed in of their own accord. Or, perhaps, passed through without breaking and entering."
Alkela made hand signs. Nagos looked at her. "Sorry, um, I don't speak hand signs. Sahshir, what is she saying?"
"She says that these are symbols often used by Zigildrazia in her blood rites," said Sahshir. "However, these symbols are not ant to be used for adults. They were ant for children."
"Children?" asked Sen.
"Yes, Zigildrazia accepts the sacrifice of unwanted children. They are to be reincarnated as demons," said Sahshir, mirroring Alkela's version.
"Then why set it up for adults?" asked Sen.
No one had a chance to answer.
There was an imnse wind. It howled through the streets, and they could hear it through the streets. With it ca a great mist that covered the entire streets.
"Get your heads down; dark magic is at work," said Sahshir.
Suddenly, the windows burst open, and mists poured into the room. Alkela put a hand to her mace, but Sahshir drew the Sword of Order. It flared to life brightly, and the mist was driven back. A presence could be sensed, and they rushed out into the street. As they did, Alkela saw an imnse shadow leaning over them. Innurable limbs seed to co from it, and it was very near and infinitely far away.
And there was breathing.
The sll of death surrounded them, and cries of dismay could be heard from the houses. Shadows moved in the streets. Sothing burst out of nearby doors and raced into the mist. Alkela moved to pursue, but Sahshir caught her by the shoulder.
"Stay close!" said Sahshir. "We must not get separated!"
Then they heard sothing, a guttural shrieking. As one, they bolted toward it, following the light of the Sword of Order. As they did, they saw more monsters moving in the mist. Soon, there was the sound of a scuffle, with snarling and a scream.
Then the mist cleared, just in ti for Alkela to nearly fall off the edge of a pier. The clouds fled back into the sea. But the air above them was cold. Whatever the shadow had been, it was not here now.
Sahshir halted and looked back.
"Sahshir!" said Princess Oresa, rushing toward them.
"Oresa, what did you see?" asked Sahshir. "Did you find the enemy?"
"We went out to the pier for a eting with Tuor. Well, actually, Isamu was the only one talking with Tuor; we just tagged along. Then we saw figures in the mist," said Oresa. "But they fled from us. There wasn't any fighting or anything."
"I have one!" called Urus.
Alkela looked up and saw that Urus had separated his staff into four points. Lightning was surging out of it, trapping a comatose creature in place. It seed like a man, yet it was scaly and had the head of a lizard and claws. Yet it was wearing what seed to be the remnants of a skirt and shirt.
"Urus, how did you find them?" asked Sahshir.
"Cadas and I caught one coming out of one of the houses while we were here," said Urus.
"This thing is wearing the clothing of a human," noted Sahshir.
"Why would one of the lizardfolk wear human clothes?" asked Serna, catching up. "And how did they get in here?"
"Probably masquerading as humans," said Sen, who had been silent. "Serna, can you find out who these people were? Were they immigrants?"
"Why does that matter?" asked Serna.
"Depending on how long they have been here, a great many things change," said Sen. "We must know. There are records of them changing skins. Though how could they have infiltrated us so well?" He glanced at several of his guards. "You an, search the house it ca from."
"What of the creature?" asked Urus.
"Take it to my prison," said Sen. "We'll see about learning what we can from it when we have the chance."
"Your prison?" asked Sahshir.
"Sorn runs prisons for profit," said Sen. "And I own most of them."
"Why are you sending them to prison?" asked Oresa.
"What do you an?" asked Sen.
"What have these creatures done other than trying to flee the city?" asked Oresa.
"I don't have ti for this," said Sen, then walked off.
"Sen has been investigating a series of murders. He believes these creatures are responsible," clarified Sahshir.
"What is he basing that assumption off of?" asked Urus.
Alkela considered the question. Yes, there had been writings of the Fish King. But thanks to Sen, many more people knew how to write those runes.
"...Very little," said Sahshir, apparently having had the sa thought process. "Keep a watch on the sea. Where is Nagos? We have to try reign in Sen. I don't fully understand this situation, but neither does he. And if we act rashly, we may make this situation far worse."
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