The early morning light was filtering through the blinds, signalling that a new day had begun. The light was dim and red, of course, but it was still there.
Calen and his companions were already up, preparing to depart. They were eating breakfast in silence when Cassian spoke up:
"The regular food we have will last us a month, maybe two if we ration it properly. Sooner or later we’ll have to find an alternative."
Calen nodded in agreent; the als they could eat were nice, but they won’t last forever.
It wasn’t too bad, though; Koravel survived half a millennium in this desolate world. There had to be sothing edible out there; they just had to find it.
They decided to reinforce the wards and seal the entrance before leaving – it was a good location, and it would be a sha to let it go to waste.
Ard with the sa camouflage and illusion spell as yesterday, they started making their way south once more.
***
"Isn’t it kind of weird that we’ve seen only three types of monsters?" Isara asked.
"Yeah, it is. "What’s even stranger is that all of those monsters stick to this general area." Calen agreed.
"Are you suggesting sothing is keeping them in one place?" Cassian questioned.
"It’s a possibility we have to consider."
The longer they observed weird inhabitants of the ashen plain, the surer they were that sothing was off.
The reptilian wolves and the grey imps were dangerous to each other, so why were they staying here instead of running away in search of an easier prey?
They didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Soon after climbing the hill at the edge of the plains, they noticed a black silhouette standing still so distance away from them.
The figure had mostly human proportions, but even from a distance one could tell it was a bit too tall and slightly too thin to be a regular person.
It was clad in an elaborate black leather armour and had two curved swords attached to its lower back. Its skin was greyish-blue, and it had pointed ears, visible even through its long, grey hair.
What’s even worse, the creature was mounted on a great beast – one that looked almost familiar.
It resembled the wolf monster but was larger, and its scales were black instead of the usual brown.
The raider and its steed were led by another recognisable creature; the imps were darker, twice as big, had an additional pair of hands, and spotted a thick mane on their backs.
It seed like the dangerous beast they were avoiding all this ti was, in fact, just a whelp.
The figure quietly observed the field below; it sat motionless on its great mount for a while before turning around and riding off into the horizon.
After the group were sure the raider was gone, they resud their journey south.
***
Tharosk hated doing the livestock check; it was entirely beneath him.
He was a great ravager! He should be leading troops in their eternal conquest, not be stuck on a backwater world conquered centuries ago.
However, the Blight Queen herself ordered the relocation of his battalion here, and he wasn’t stupid enough to question the Undying Matron.
The breeding grounds he was ordered to check were mostly in order; a stray Mycotross appeared, but a single one wasn’t a problem.
All that was left to do was to check the state of the plane.
He pulled out a stone tablet from a sash attached to his steed and placed his hand on it.
’The bug died, huh? Pity, it was great at culling the weak.’
After putting the tablet away, he observed the ashen grounds below for a while. As much as he hated the job, the farms were important for the empire, and he should do his work properly.
Everything was in order, so he shouldn’t linger here; there are many creatures below, and his Chirrix were getting restless.
He spurred the mighty Dravharn and steered it east, back towards the fortress.
Many hours later, he finally reached the giant structure, its many towers and high walls just as domineering as when he left. A guard clad in heavy plate armour stopped him in front of the gate.
"Halt! Identify yourself!"
"Tharosk, a Ravager of the seventh imperial army in charge of the blood battalion."
The guard eyed him for a mont, then nodded and said:
"Report to Lady Nethur; don’t keep her waiting." The guard put his left hand on his right shoulder. "In her na."
Tharosk repeated the gesture.
"In her na."
He quickly guided his steed to the stables – the guard was right; he shouldn’t test the Blightwarden’s patience.
A minute later he was standing in front of a large door at the top of the highest tower. He knocked, and a voice ca from behind the door:
"Enter."
He found his superior standing with her back turned to him, gazing out the window.
"Lady Blightwarden." He saluted.
"Report, soldier." Her voice was cold and firm.
"The state of the breeding grounds is good – the bug keeping the population strong died, but an adult Mycotross ca in his stead."
"Did you check why the insect died?"
Tharosk stiffened imdiately.
"N... No, my lady."
She turned her head slightly; her reflection in the glass was now staring directly at him.
"Why not?"
Tharosk was now sweating.
"W... Well, we should not concern ourselves with the lives of lesser beings, my lady."
Nethur turned around to face him, her storm-grey eyes drilling into him.
"That is what the codex says, true. However, a death of an unchallenged predator is an abnormality, and an abnormality ans potential danger. And what do we do to potential dangers, soldier?"
Tharosk was looking at his boots.
"We destroy them, my lady."
The Blightwarden walked up to him and grabbed his chin, forcing him to lock eyes with her.
"So grab your second-in-command, go to the insect’s lair, find whatever killed him, and destroy it. Don’t co back until you’ve fulfilled your task. Understood?"
"Yes, my lady."
She finally let him go.
"Dismissed."
Tharosk bowed and bolted out of the office. He went straight to the ss hall, where mbers of the blood battalion would be at this hour.
He found his underlings sat in a tight circle, screaming and cheering at sothing they were observing. Among the crowd he spotted the head of the person he was looking for.
Tharosk ca closer to his second-in-command to inspect what the fuss was all about.
"What’s the commotion, Kaerith?" He asked.
"Commander!" The young mindcarver saluted.
"At ease, just tell what’s going on."
"Nothing important, sir; the plagueshaper modified a young Chirrix, and the boys are making it fight any large bugs they can find."
Tharosk observed the small creature – it was indeed very young, maybe a week old. The only noticeable difference from a regular specin was its ghostly white skin.
"What did he do to it?"
"The only thing we understood is that it will grow indefinitely; apparently more mutations will occur as it gets bigger, sir."
"Interesting. "Anyway, pack your bags; we have an assignnt."
"Should I tell the rest to get ready, sir?"
"No, this ti it will be only the two of us."
Kaerith looked a bit confused.
"If I may, sir, what is our mission?"
For the first ti since leaving the fortress this morning, a vicious smile spread on Tharosk’s lips.
"We’re going hunting, my boy."
***
It turns out that travelling in a group is significantly slower than doing so alone, especially when they have to stick closely together.
The road to Koravel’s hideout was long and gruelling, but they’ve made it. The dilapidated storage was still there, and it looked exactly like it did yesterday.
They still had a couple of hours of sunlight left, so they decided to go through Drithen’s journals and discuss their plans.
"First of all, we can all agree that it was one of them, right? The invaders, I an." Calen asked.
"Unless another sentient race attacked us in the anti, I don’t see any other option." Cassian agreed.
Calen then rembered sothing:
"Speaking of attacking – Elira, there’s a weapon rack next to the door, if you want one."
The young alchemist nodded and moved to inspect the selection. Soon enough, she was back, wielding a long quarterstaff.
"I didn’t know you could use that; where did you learn?" Cassian asked.
Elira’s cheeks reddened, and she looked at her shoes.
"Um, back when I was studying druidic arts, I saw one of my teachers use one of those to defend himself and... and... I thought it looked really cool, s-so I learnt it."
"That’s as good a reason as any other; I picked up the sword to beat the shit out of Cass." Calen admitted.
Cassian only rolled his eyes.
A few minutes later, they were seated in a semi-circle on the floor, with the journal lying between them.
"Soooo... how are we going to do it? "Do we take turns reading or appoint soone to do it?" Calen asked.
Everyone else pointed at him.
"Why ?"
"Well, you already read his alchemy books, so it seems like a natural choice." Isara shrugged.
"Fine with , I guess. I think we should start from the beginning, the day of the invasion, perhaps."
They all nodded in agreent, so he started reading:
12/09/897
My contacts in the capital send an ergency beacon, so kind of invasion. Frankly, it’s not my problem; the crown has a lot of resources, and my help wouldn’t change much. Besides, my house is safe; why should I worry?
It could an I will have to accelerate my plan, and that’s no good – quick work is sloppy work.
Calen paused.
"It seems like the invaders didn’t venture beyond the capital on the first day. Do you think his ’plan’ was to turn himself into a half-spider?" He asked.
"Most likely. I must admit, it’s a bit suspicious that he didn’t respond to an ergency beacon from his associates." Cassian said.
Calen shook his head and said:
"I don’t think it’s a conspiracy, Cass. So people are just arseholes."
Cassian didn’t respond, so he continued:
30/10/897
The Sun Kingdom has fallen. There are so stragglers from the royal army that claim otherwise, but the king is gone, and the army itself was decimated.
What’s the point of loyalty in the face of overwhelming strength? Ignorant fools.
The plan is progressing well, but I realised I will have to improve the ritual; the results of the regular version were... unsatisfactory.
"It sounds like Mister Alchemist wasn’t new to human experints," Calen comnted in a grim voice.
"I told you he was infamous among the practitioners of our craft." Elira said quietly.
"Let’s continue."
23/2/898
I’ve t the invaders; they’re fascinating. The translation matrix I had in the basent had so issues, but we’ve managed to communicate.
They were quite interested in my research; it turns out that they practise an art sowhat similar to alchemy, and they offered an exchange of knowledge.
Recently, I’ve noticed that the malignant force the visitors brought with them was starting to affect .
The ritual is missing a crucial part that I can’t figure out; perhaps the exchange will offer so insights.
"So, he wanted to use the corruption to save himself from corruption? "What kind of twisted logic is that?" Calen questioned.
"Fighting fire with fire, I guess. Not that it makes sense, mind you, but I’ve heard of alchemists doing much dumber things. No offence, Ellie." Isara said.
"None taken; I agree that so of us do stupid things; even my grandfather had so questionable experints."
They all stared at her, and she quickly added:
"N-not like ethically questionable... j-just things that weren’t particularly useful."
That made more sense; the old potioner was a bit... eccentric, but no one would ever suspect him of doing morally dubious things.
"Let’s read one more and then summarise what we’ve learnt," Calen said.
27/3/898
The Serakhiin are geniuses! It was so simple; how could I not see it before? I was so foolish!
The Blight is... beautiful. It’s the answer to everything; trying to stop it is to defy the natural order!
Ard with this knowledge, I finally succeeded. My body transford, and I am more than any mortal could ever hope to be.
I... ascended.
"Well, that escalated quickly." Isara quipped.
"We know what the invaders are called now and that they are actually sapient." Stated Cassian.
Calen scratched his chin and asked:
"Did anyone see the translation matrix in the basent?"
All his companions shook their heads.
"Good to know I’m not blind, at least. But this begs a question: what did he do with it? Matrices like that are really bulky, so we would’ve noticed if he hid it sowhere else in the house."
"Isn’t it obvious?" Isara asked. "He gave them to the visitors, maybe as a gift or as a part of that exchange he ntioned."
"I suppose it doesn’t matter now; if they got their hands on equipnt like that this early into their conquest, they’re all speaking fluent common by now."
That was bad news – the enemy could understand them, but they couldn’t understand the enemy.
"As fun as it was to read the perspective of a man descending into insanity, I think it’s ti to call it a night." Calen announced.
The dim red light seeping through the circular window was slowly fading, which ant the night was about to begin.
"This place has warding inside the walls; we only have to seal the door to be completely safe."
He and Isara took out their knives and worked in tandem to scribble the necessary runes into the wooden surface. A few minutes later the only remaining source of light in the room was the glowing circle of symbols they created.
After they were all settled in their respective sleeping bags, Calen said:
"Tomorrow we will go into truly uncharted territory; if we are to survive, we will have to fully rely on each other. Now that we know our enemies are intelligent, we can’t rely solely on a disguise; we must be prepared to fight."
There was a collective hum of agreent; it seems his companions were a bit too tired for epic speeches, but that was fine.
They were in this together, for better or for worse.
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