Deotra carried Monaco and I back to the Imperial Palace as fast as she could, and I spent the trip rehearsing what I would say to Alverd and the others along the way.
The cat, or rather the fox in this instance, was already out of the proverbial bag when it came to Monaco. She already knew about Deotra's transformation and her role in repelling the cult attack on the Gold-in-Hand District and, with less difficulty than I'd anticipated, I convinced her to keep that information to herself for the time being. It was incredibly suspicious that the wolf woman was willing to go along with it, but I had more important things to worry about than if she was playing an angle; knowing her it was safer to assume she was always doing that already.
Something about Deotra's singlemindedness was helping to keep me steady in spite of all the chaos going on. She stopped once long enough for us to deal with a horde of cultists attempting to drag people out of a building they'd set on fire. I told the civilians to make their way to the Gold-in-Hand and inform any mercenaries along the way that they'd been officially deputized to fight by the Emperor.
Drache was walking me through her plan as Deotra barreled through the streets, doing her best to avoid further groups of roving Swords when she could. "Burundus will still be able to perceive me even if I have no body of my own. He'll sense my attachment to you and the vixen. If he gets close enough, he'll even be able to hear my voice." There was a wave of something that felt almost like concern coming from her. "That does mean you'll be able to hear him, as well. You should steel your mind, as he will try to influence you through that link."
"Got it. So how do you intend to get him to chase us all the way to the Valley of the Last Sunrise?" I asked.
"His hatred of my mother is intense enough that in his madness he might not be able to tell the difference between her and me. With the right words, I can drive him into a rage. Just remember that they are my mother's, not mine." A fresh feeling of hatred flowed through her and into me, and I had to block it out before it suffocated me.
"Someday you're going to have to tell me a lot more than you have, Drache. Every time you've answered one of my questions, you've left me with a dozen more." Hopefully after what we've been through, she might actually start trusting me with that full picture.
There was some hesitation before she responded. "If we survive what is to come, then I will do my best to answer your questions." She made a sound like clearing her throat, which felt weird given she didn't even have a body. "Tell me what you will say to your friends. You are about to ask them to aid you in striking down what amounts to a demi-god, after all."
"Given we've done nothing but fight things that were clearly out of our league up until now, I don't think they're ready to accept defeat a third time. People are stubborn like that, and my friends are as stubborn as they come. So after bloodthirsty royalty, traitorous nobles, fire-breathing dragons, and gigantic war constructs I can assure you a demi-god is probably just the next logical step in the chain." I tried to exude as much of my characteristic sarcasm as I could, but even the voice in my head had a quaver in it.
"You don't have to put on a brave face," Deotra chimed in. "It's okay to be scared. A very wise person once taught me bravery isn't the absence of fear, it's doing what you know has to be done even if you're afraid." I gave her the mental equivalent of a scratch behind her ears.
"Who taught you that?"
"You did." She conjured up the mental image of me stumbling through the cave in Algrustos, the word "MINE" scrawled across every surface, my trembling hands holding a lantern and the Staff of Farewells.
I sighed, then reached down and held onto her tighter. "That goes for you, too. No borderline suicidal heroics from you today."
"As you wish." She said with incredible satisfaction. "Now enough stalling. What exactly are you going to tell your friends?"
"As much of the truth as I can without saying anything of substance," I said. "Evil demi-god, desperate plan, making it up as I go, the usual. The rest depends on what exactly Drache has in mind to transport us all the way to the Valley."
Hearing her name being mentioned, she joined the conversation. "Assuming we are only taking your friends and the wolf woman, it should be simple enough for me to acquire a means to get you all to the Valley. However, you are going to have to remind behind, Kuro." I jerked my head, not realizing that it was unnecessary to react that way to a conversation that was taking place entirely in my head.
"What? I have to stay behind?"
"I can only act as the lure for this trap so long as I remain close to Burundus. Were I to disappear from his sight, I cannot guarantee he won't succumb to his base instincts and destroy everything around him until he finds me again. You, Deotra, and I will have to bait him all the way to the Valley. That's why I'm concerned for you, boy."
"His voice will be in your ear the entire time. Can you withstand him?
"We'll find out," I said, not entirely confident in myself. "What's going on with the Encroacher now? Is it almost back at full strength?"
I chanced a look at the Repository where the massive lump of slime was starting to encompass the top of the spire. The Ishmarian dragonriders were giving it a wide berth, and small tendrils of the Encroacher's body were seemingly reaching towards where they were flying around the remaining spire. The guards at the Repository had either been killed or fled their post, as no further attacks were coming out of the bunker. The four riders flew in a circle around the spire, and I didn't know if they were monitoring the situation or just morbidly curious about the monster that had just eaten Guunzel's mount like comfort food at a tavern.
"Not full strength, but enough to destroy this entire city and consume every living soul in it," Drache said, a bit of fear seeping into her voice. "Thankfully for him to return to his full power he'd have to devour something of far greater substance than the artifacts in the Repository, or even a fully grown dragon. Unfortunately, one such object is currently within his reach."
The Staff of Farewells, I thought with a sudden shudder. Given how much raw magical power the Staff possesses, it would be his first target. Now I know why Drache was so certain she could lure him away from the city. "So we're the bait, the Staff is the lure, and the Valley is the trap. Give me the really, really short version: how bad will it be if he gets the Staff?"
"Even if he uses the Staff to restore himself, the Hand of the Usurper can still kill him. It will be significantly harder to do so, as he'll have access to many of the powers that made him a threat worthy of divine intervention. His mere presence will cause anything nearby to deteriorate, living or not. Plants and animals will wither away and die of disease. Metal will corrode and crumble into dust. Creatures capable of higher reasoning will go insane as the voices he projects tear their psyches apart, then be driven to acts of depraved violence before succumbing to their physical limits." Drache recounted this with a mix of anger and wistfulness, as if merely describing it was enough to invoke memories of the distant past.
"What about weakening or slowing him down?" Deotra asked. "If he's not back to his old self, then are there any ways we could get an advantage over him?" It's a good question. Even if we can't hurt the Encroacher, we could buy time for the Steadfast to reach the Valley or for the mercs and Pillars to regain control of Blossom City.
Drache was quiet for a moment, then let out a sound of triumph. "Fire! When Burundus first became the King of Earth, a wildfire devastated part of his capitol city and the surrounding farmland. He insisted on aiding in the relief efforts personally and nearly died when a resurgent brushfire cut him off from his retinue." Shame infiltrated her tone when she spoke again. "My mother used to mock him with conjurations of fire after that. The mere sight of fire is enough to provoke a visceral response in him, and I can't imagine being set on fire will be any better."
"The way you describe him, he sounds very human," I said. "Like you regret more what your mother did to him than what he did as the Encroacher."
"He was a good man once. A bit of a prissy, self-important prude but still a good man. All of the Kings were good people, even my mother. Then the lure of power turned her into what she became, and in turn she made them all into monsters. Had she never reached for what she was never meant to grasp, none of them would've gone down the path that led to the War of the Five Kings." She sighed heavily. "It is ancient history now. Better to concern ourselves with whom we can save."
"Alright. Last question." I flicked my head back in the direction of Monaco, who was riding behind me. She had her arms around me, and was holding on for dear life. Deotra had initially disapproved of the situation, but Drache had shut her down instantly. For now it was a necessary evil, but I wasn't a fan of having the untrustworthy wolf in a prime position to shove a knife in my back, especially in a literal sense. "What about her? Are we going to drag her into this too?"
Drache's voice was a mixture of contempt and dismissal. "She's already involved. Better to keep her where you can see her than leave her out of your line of sight. Her skills might come in handy. If she tries anything, rest assured I will not allow her to jeopardize what we're trying to do."
When we at least arrived at the statues of Sir Sirius and Lady Brunswick, we dismounted. Deotra didn't morph back into her humanoid form, however. "Drache and I will delay the Encroacher. She'll have the means for your friends to get to the Valley provided shortly. Be safe, Kuro." She pushed her face against my chin, nuzzling me with her soft furry ears. "I'll be back for you, I promise." Then she took to the sky, bounding across empty air on flashes of blue fire, making a beeline for where the Encroacher was still seated on his makeshift throne.
Monaco opened her mouth to say something, but then cringed and snarled a curse, shaking her hand as if it had caught fire. "Damnation! Fine. Have it your way," she barked out loud. I looked at her quizzically.
"Who are you talking to? What's wrong with your hand?" I asked.
"Never mind that. It's just a slight inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. Let's just get this over with." She sprinted up the stairs to the gates of the Palace gardens, her slender long legs pumping furiously as she went.
"Wait, slow down! Gahhh, curse Eternity for never giving me a growth spurt!" I ran after her as best I could, but by the time I made it halfway up she had already disappeared through the open gates at the top.
The carnage I beheld in the gardens was a step above what I was expecting. The bodies of several Talionis lay crumpled in bony heaps. General Guunzel lay face down in a large pool of blood with his face frozen into a hideous snarl while his bulging eyes stared into nothingness. Erring on the side of caution, I put a few extra feet between me and his corpse as I passed. I wasn't sure if the rogue Ishmarian would've been willing to use necromancy on himself, but I didn't feel like taking chances with him. Thankfully I got past with no trouble. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I went over to the Palace entrance, where Monaco was waiting for me impatiently.
The Palace steps were a bloodbath as well. Scores of cultists had fallen in their attempt to storm the gate, many of them still clutching their weapons as they lay on the stone steps. More than a few corpses were that of the Imperial Guard. The men and women who had given their lives to protect their Emperor had sustained many grievous wounds, as though the cultists had struck them even after death. This is hard even for me to take. I thought the Ishmarians were bad, but these cult maniacs are in their own category of crazy.
The doors were made of metal and stretched well over my head. An ornate gold knocker depicting a fox's head holding a paper lantern in its jaws loomed a half foot above my head. Reaching up, I grabbed the lantern and bashed it against the door. It was a solid metal ball, so the response was a warbling metallic ring that I could hear echoing in the room behind the door. We waited for a few moments, but nothing happened.
No way for them to know that it's safe out here. Luckily for me, I have a way around that. Alverd and I had a code, a "secret knock" of sorts, we'd developed early on in our mercenary careers. He'd groaned when I forced him to learn it, but I had insisted it might come in handy someday. As luck would have it, it saved us multiple times over the years when he had no idea who was on the other side of a door. Hefting the knocker, I drummed out a deliberate rhythm with long pauses between seven separate strikes.
Alverd has to be alright. If Guunzel is out in the courtyard doing his impression of a fish out of water, then my buddy has to be alive. A full ten seconds passed before the heavy door opened just enough for a familiar face to appear in the crack. "If I didn't say it before, I'll say it now. You were right about the secret knock. And that's the only time I'll admit it in the company of witnesses, Kuro." My best friend pushed the door open enough for Monaco and I to squeeze through, and he gave me a surprise hug once I was on the other side.
"Oof," I grunted. "Did things go so badly that we're at the hugging stage?" I looked him in the eye. "Who died? Did someone die? You have to tell me if someone died." He let me go and gave me a light punch in the shoulder.
"No, everyone is alive. Alicia is recovering from a wound she took from Gunnzel, but Sheena is with her. She'll have it sorted out in no time." He looked weary, and the smile he gave me didn't reach his eyes. He's withholding. It must've been worse than he's letting on.
Then he noticed Monaco, and his eyes narrowed. "It's a good thing I'm not a betting man. You coming back was not something I would've put money on, Monaco." His voice was neutral enough, but it was probably because he was too tired to put any malice into it at this point. "Perhaps it's a case of guilty conscience?"
She smirked at him, baring her sharp canine teeth. "Maybe I just wanted to see your handsome face one more time, sweetness. Lord knows I can't get enough of it." She smacked her palm on my shoulder making me wince. "Anyhow, your boy here has a plan for how to get the big slime monster out of the city before it turns it into an all-you-can-eat buffet. Tell him, Kuro." She slapped me in the back between the shoulder blades, pushing me forward.
I grunted in protest. "I managed to get word to Standing Stone about the attack here. If we can lure the demon to the Valley of the Last Sunrise, the Steadfast will bring an army and the means to neutralize our enemy and meet us there." As I laid out the details, Alverd guided us past a few ranks of dug-in Imperial Guard to where Alicia and Sheena were. "So, I may have gone and done something a little rash in regards to pulling this all off. About all the mercenary guilds that will soon be mobilizing across Blossom City…"
He waved at me. "Hah, ahead of you there. I asked the Emperor if he would give his authorization. The young man was very eager when he realized there was something he could do to help save the city." He pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment and handed it to me. "This writ bears his official seal. But since you've already informed the mercenaries of their new assignment, I guess we sort of cut out the middleman there." Winking at me, I saw some of the worry fade from his face. I don't know why I was worried. This man knows me through and through. Thank Eternity.
The Imperial Guard had turned the entry hall into a bastion. Much like the mercs had done at the Gold-in-Hand District, the Guard had stacked furniture and whatever was sturdy enough to get hit with a sword and created several barricades. The ones at the back of the hall were staffed with crossbowmen, and the ones up front had spearmen with shields. I was impressed to see that the front barricades were also stocked with several barrels of lamp oil to cover a retreat with a fiery explosion. Damn. Gotta hand it to them, they were ready for a last stand. Hopefully that won't be necessary.
Past the rearmost barricades was a doorway that opened into the inner reception area for diplomatic visitors. It had been converted into a field hospital. Wounded men and women lay on cushions that had been meant for foreign dignitaries. Handmaidens had rolled up the sleeves of their once beautiful dresses, now stained with blood, to assist in applying bandages, keep pressure on wounds, or remove armor so that medics could focus on their patients. Fine china teapots were pouring boiling water over surgical implements for sterilization. Everywhere I looked, people and objects were repurposing themselves to treat the Guards as best they could.
Never ask a Kierhaian to tell you the difference between pragmatism and paranoia, I thought. Past a row of Guards, I saw Alicia lying on the ground, her head propped up on a fancy-looking silk pillow. Someone had laid a rug or tapestry under her for some extra comfort. She had a stony look on her face, staring up at the ceiling as she grit her teeth. Sheena was kneeling beside her, hands pressed on the berserker's midriff, her eyes closed in deep concentration with her hat by her side. Even from twenty feet away I could feel the essence of healing magic coalescing around the half-elf like water circling a drain.
When the last of the energy found its way into Alicia's body, Sheena opened her eyes and let out a heavy breath. With one last exertion, she bade the magic to knit the wound back together, skin and muscle reconnecting until the only sign of any injury was a line of discolored scar tissue on Alicia's stomach. Sheena looked absolutely drained; her posture, face, and breathing all told me she was reaching the limits of her ability to maintain her composure.
"Hard day, huh?" I asked as I took a seat next to Alicia on the opposite side from Sheena.
Without moving, the young blonde scowled up at me. "You even have to ask? It's not all gloom and doom, though. Guunzel's dead." She tried to twist her body to test whether she would feel pain, and then tried to sit up.
"Yeah, I saw your handiwork. He's still dead, too. Given the shit he was playing with, I was afraid he might have some last trick up his sleeve but I guess even he had to draw the line at using necromancy on himself." Alicia had a little difficulty sitting up, so I gave her my hand and pulled her upright all the way. She winced as she rotated her waist, but then she cracked her neck left and right and let out a snort.
"A zealot like Guunzel would never consider an act like that. Even though he was willing to put his soldiers through that, he was too much of a coward to lead by example." Her words were as sharp as a blade, her voice trembling with simmering anger. "For more than two decades that old relic sat on our border and sent other people to die in his place. He has just as much Ishmarian blood on his hands as Algrustian."
Sheena took a deep breath in before rising to her feet. "It's hard to believe he was just as much of a scourge to his own country as he was to mine. But after we learned of the scale of the mage hunts, there was no way to ignore the harm he inflicted on everyone around him." She put her hat back onto her head, adjusting the fit with her right hand. "Sadly, the Magisters only saw an opportunity to weaken our enemy instead of trying to aid his victims. So as bad as Guunzel was, it's not like we did anything to stop him." Her heterochromatic eyes darkened behind her spectacles and she pulled the rim of her hat down to hide her look of shame.
"Pffft, we finally got the rat bastard and instead of celebrating you lot are throwing a pity party," said Monaco who folded her arms and leaned against the wall. "So he was a right proper piece of shit. So you guys didn't do enough to tighten his leash or put him down like the rabid dog he was. He's dead now, and it doesn't bring back anyone he killed. So instead of wallowing about all the people he murdered, let's think about all the people who're gonna live because this arsehole isn't gonna live to see tomorrow." She scowled at us. "I know it's not the best sentiment, but sometimes when you're given a victory you gotta appreciate it while you've got it."
Oddly enough, she's right. Given how hard we've messed up over the past few months, it's easy to see how just killing one man doesn't make up for whole cities full of people being destroyed. Guunzel isn't just a man, he was the commander of the Black Scale Legionnaires and one of Ishmar's most effective military officers. With him gone, we just drove a massive spike through the heart of the biggest mass murderers in Selarune. "Monaco's got a point. It might not feel like much now, but when the Legion starts eating each other alive to see who gets to step into Guunzel's shoes, a lot of innocent people might catch a break they sorely need."
"Well what are we standing around for?" Alicia motioned to a nearby soldier who nervously handed her maul over. "What's the next step?" She fastened her weapon securely on her back, trying not to extend her arm too far and risk stretching the skin around her newest scar.
"The Steadfast is bringing an army and the Hand of the Usurper to the Valley of the Last Sunrise. Somehow, we've got to make sure that giant blob of demonic bad juju follows us all the way there. That's the part I'm still stuck on." I sincerely hope Drache comes through for me. After all that work I put into acting like I knew what to do, it would be pretty stupid if I walked outside and suddenly had no more of a clue how to get to the Valley than I did when I came in.
To my shock, I needn't have worried. After coming back the way we came and exiting out the Palace's door, we found four dragons seated on the broken marble floor. They stirred when we approached, but none of them were hostile. Instead, the four dragons bowed their heads, inviting each of my friends to mount up.
"Do I detect a bit of doubt in your mind, boy?" Drache's voice echoed in my head, a familiar tone of haughty amusement attached to it. "When I say I'll get you where you need to go, believe it." Her mind was tethered to each dragon, using a combination of magical power and years of draconic study to influence them into being docile. "Alas, today will not be the day I get to fulfill my dream, but at least I will put an end to one of my nightmares."
Alverd's hand reached down and in front of my face, and her voice faded. "Come on, Kuro. I'll help you up." He was ready to hoist me up into the saddle with him, and I knew this was going to be the hard part. Bracing myself, I stepped back. Looking around, I saw that everyone else was securely in their saddles, ready to go.
"Someone has to lure the Encroacher out of the city. That's my job. You're just gonna have to trust me, old friend." Alverd's face scrunched up in confusion.
"No, just take my hand. We can do this together. I'm not going to let you shoulder the risk by yourself. Remember what happened back in Ishmar. I won't let you endanger yourself like that again."
Chuckling wearily, I planted my feet. "Sorry, Alverd. Fate dealt us a shit hand and we all know by now that we have to make the best of it." The dragons lifted off the ground, four separate sets of wingbeats throwing up gusts of wind that would've thrown me off balance had I not been ready for them. The girls hadn't anticipated the sudden movement and they grabbed hold of their saddles, holding on for dear life as their mounts took off into the sky.
"Damn it, Kuro!" Alverd glared at me as the dragon soared upwards. If he had anything else to say, I wasn't able to hear it over the sound of beating wings. Within seconds the dragons were carrying them away, flying off to the west and giving plenty of space to the battle still raging at the western gate.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Deotra came up behind me and bumped her snout into my back. "Gah! I need to put a bell on you." Nevertheless, I reached my hand under her chin to give her a scratch. She ruffled her fur and made a pleased sound.
"Drache says that your friends will make it to the Valley before we do so long as they fly straight there. Are you sure you're going to be alright? I can run for days without rest, but I'm worried about you."
I cupped her head in my hands. "If need be I'll borrow some of your strength. Either way it'll be up to Alverd and the rest once we get to the Valley anyway, since my magic won't work on the Encroacher." A heavy presence like a weighted shroud settled over us both. "You did well, Drache. I certainly wasn't expecting you to bring us dragons."
Self-satisfaction oozed out of Drache's tone. "I studied for a long time what it would take to claim a dragon mount for myself. Those dragons had already been trained so finding the right means to get them to obey wasn't difficult, although compelling four of them at once to accept new riders was a bit tricky." Before my eyes, she manifested herself in ghostly form next to me, her nearly translucent feet hovering several inches off the ground. Her eyes were fixed on the bloated mass of the Encroacher, the bulk of its body still lodged in the hole at the top of the Repository. "We should probably get ready. Once the chase is on, we'll need to move quickly."
A sound like snapping bone caused me to whirl around, my staff already raised. Deotra let out a growl, the fur on her back standing straight up as her lips revealed twin rows of sharp teeth. Even Drache put up her hand in a warding gesture, more likely out of instinct than any actual ability to help. Behind me, something was happening to the corpse of General Guunzel.
A dollop of glistening blue slime had managed to make the journey all the way from the top of the Repository to here, and it was in the process of entering Guunzel's body. The entire blob slid into his mouth, bones cracking, and the body jerking uncontrollably as it did. To my horror, the corpse lifted itself, standing up on legs that were becoming more and more sturdy. The arms and then fingers moved and flexed with enough fine control to look like he was still alive.
The sclera of his eyes turned from white to the same glittering black-blue as the skin of the Encroacher, giving his face a near demonic appearance as labyrinthine blue veins appeared on his cheeks and forehead. His mouth opened and I saw that most of his teeth were already dissolving from the touch of the slime. The thing that had once been Guunzel worked its jaw a few times, then tried to speak, a few ruined teeth tumbling out of his mouth. "On the contrary, my dear," Guunzel said in a voice I recognized from Drache's vision.
Burundus twisted his new puppet's face into a nightmarish smile. "You're not going anywhere."