We hunt monsters 14, p.21
We Hunt Monsters 14, page 21
“Holy poop on a sunburned stick!” Bob exclaimed, his breath hissing out in a hushed whisper.
“I didn’t know sticks could get a sunburn,” Tac said.
“And I wonder if one of those light beams will slam into Keith to make you more tolerable,” Bob shot back.
Keith could see that some of the arcs were much shorter, several of them driving down into the city itself, though they disappeared from view, seeing as he didn’t have the greatest vantage point.
Speaking of…
Keith turned and dashed down the alleyway, exiting into the street on the opposite side as his armor reappeared, cloaking him in its protection once again. It was crowded with people staring up at the book, from which thousands of lines of red gold blasted off in all directions. Because all eyes were on the sky, it was easy enough for him to take off, rocketing up into the air, his armor helping camouflage him against the darker sky to get a better vantage point on where the light beams were traveling. And, with Tac’s help, he’d hopefully discover which had the best chance of belonging to the ones they were after.
***
“Are you sure we’ll be protected?” Starsorn asked, pacing nervously as he compulsively smoothed the front of his robes repeatedly, each time he stopped to look in Giani’s direction.
He’d been at this since their arrival in the secret bunker, one that the two of them had had built decades ago in case of a life-or-death emergency. It had been upgraded through the decades, dug deeper into the ground, reinforced with spells, metals, and wards, the cost of which would have bankrupted several smaller cities. To them, it was a small part of protecting their legacy – and their money, much of which was stashed in various vaults that lined the walls around them.
“Starsorn, even if we hadn’t been assured protection by our new allies, no one knows about this place,” Giani said in exasperation.
He, unlike his lifelong business partner and political ally, was lounging back in a plush couch, eating from a bowl of peeled grapes while reading the latest reports from above ground. The network of spies, allies, friends, and subordinates they’d cobbled together over the years was truly impressive. It was why Astrid couldn’t murder them when they spoke out, though he was sure she’d wanted to do so on several occasions.
However, there were things that were a step too far, and freeing one of the world’s most dangerous prisoners was definitely one of them. Making the discovery of what Astrid had been hiding out in the middle of nowhere had been a challenge, but with the correct spies and leaked information, they were able to pull it all together. Then, through some illicit contacts, they’d reached out to the one person who might be interested in such information. Because, unlike what many believed, even those in the underworld would tremble at the idea of the emperor’s return.
He and Starsorn were more practical, however. As eunuchs, they had no children, no family to protect, and no world they cared about. All they’d ever cared for were their self-interests and bettering their own lives and personal wealth. Despite their ages, they still had many years left in this world, and with Astrid’s erratic movements and rash decisions, she was undermining decades of hard work. They needed a change. Something that would rid them of Keith’s influence and their wayward faction head. When all was said and done, they’d been promised the ability to install a puppet leader in Astrid’s stead and riches and land beyond compare.
Their new ally was very well connected indeed and had resources that would make Astrid pale in terror if she were to find out. The operation had been as flawless as expected, especially with all the inside information – or so they’d been informed. They’d gone into hiding a day before, making sure to spread rumors that they were away on a business trip and wouldn’t be back for some time. In reality, they were only a few miles outside the Alchemist Capital. Far enough away not to be discovered but still close enough to receive messages and updates through a clever system of tunnels and chutes.
There was also only a single person who knew where the chute access point was, which made all the difference in keeping their location a secret.
“I don’t like how long it’s been since our last communication,” Starsorn said, his eyes flicking toward the chute entrance set into a nook in the far wall.
“Communications are supposed to be irregular,” Giani sighed. “We have known associates, and if anyone suspects we’re behind this, they’ll be closely monitored. If they keep disappearing outside the city while all this is going on, someone’s going to become suspicious, and we wouldn’t want that, would…” Giani trailed off as he caught a flicker of something on their one aboveground monitor set into the wall above where Starsorn had been pacing.
Installing too many viewing points would have been risky. After all, there wasn’t supposed to be anything down here to begin with, but not having anything at all would have been the height of stupidity.
“What’s that?” Giani asked, pushing himself upright, his eyes locked onto the screen.
“Is someone coming?” Starsorn asked, whirling around to look at the display as well.
The display was rated to show both daytime and nighttime images, though those that appeared at night were washed out and normally monotone in color. Giani wasn’t sure why, and their middleman’s explanations had only hurt his head. Suffice it to say that when nighttime came, only a single color should be showing up on the display.
If that was the case, then why was he seeing full color and at such intensity?
Giani didn’t even realize what he was doing as he stood, walking dreamily over to get a better look with Starsorn right at his side.
“What in the world?” Starsorn muttered as the color began to fade, leaving twinkling stars in the distance – ones that appeared to be moving.
“You think there’s been some kind of attack on the city? Are they making a move?” Giani muttered.
“They can’t be,” Starsorn said. “They left the continent the second they had what they wanted. There’s no way they’d risk sticking around after something like that.”
The stars seemed to be moving closer, the tiny pinpricks of light growing ever brighter as they spread across the night sky. The display began taking on a red-gold hue, and the pair of them leaned a bit closer, both extremely confused as the display began brightening once more, color flooding back in as the surrounding landscape was illuminated once more.
Giani realized what was happening an instant before Starsorn, his eyes going wide in terror as he stumbled back from the display. The only reason color would be returning was if there was a light source bright enough to trick the sensors into thinking it was daytime and displaying the full range of colors that came along with it.
“They’re attacking us!” Giani yelled, scrambling for the back wall, where one of their escape tunnels was located. “They’re attacking—!”
Giani never got to finish his sentence as a blinding light suddenly filled their bunker.
The last thing he heard before the burning heat slammed into him, incinerating his body to ash, was Starsorn’s blood-curdling screams of agony.
30
“I know you probably saved a lot of time by activating that World Item,” Bob said as wind whipped through his fur. “But how are you going to pull together all those who were affected? This item works much like A Song to Humanity. Whatever enemies you had are now your staunchest of allies, but that doesn’t mean they know where you are or how to even go about finding you.”
“Right now, all we need to do is locate our original targets,” Keith said, banking left as he blasted out over the city walls, the space deserted as guards rushed into the city proper, likely trying to figure out the source of the fireworks.
He was shocked Astrid hadn’t reached out to him yet, though, seeing as how she was probably in her secret underground prison, she was likely out of the loop.
“Once we find them, we’ll get all the answers we’re after. Then we can leave rounding the people up to them and a few others.”
“A few others?” Bob asked.
“Not sure who yet,” Keith replied, following the arc of the highlighted lines of light Tac had him following.
They were moving much faster than he was, but so long as he could see where they touched down, Tac was confident he could guide him right to it.
“Oh, I already know where they’re going to land,” Tac said, cutting into his thoughts. “You can slow down if you want to.”
Keith didn’t slow down. He was on a time crunch. He needed to sort everything out there before returning to Monstros, ideally with some kind of advantage or a new powerful enemy-turned-ally. Right now, though, the best he was hoping for was fixing this mess with the emperor and discovering who was responsible. Having an idea and knowing for sure were two different things.
The distant streaks of light began descending, finally disappearing as they hit the ground in the far distance. To his right and left, several more streaks flew, flashing through the air high above him. It seemed there was still some distance for them to travel, and he was curious where they would ultimately end up.
“Any idea how they’ll act once we track them down?” Keith asked, having to shout as he picked up the pace, tearing through the air like a comet of metal and bone.
“No idea!” Bob yelled back. “But be prepared for them to be very friendly!”
Keith narrowed his eyes as they drew closer to the impact sight, Discerning Eye picking up telltale traces of passage through the stretch of wilderness spreading out below them. If this really was where Starsorn and Giani were hiding out, it would be a smart play on their part. No one would suspect them of being so close by, especially when they might be the prime suspects of the most dangerous prison break in the modern history of this world.
“There,” Tac said, highlighting an area just up ahead, lines of light tracing a faint passage through the forest and showing him a small clearing.
Keith stopped, hovering a hundred feet above the space and looking down at the small patch of bare earth covered by grass and appearing as part of the forest. He could see the signs, though, the faint outlines of passage and the implications of what they meant.
“A bunker,” Keith said, staring down, as though trying to look through the earth and to the structure underneath. “I’m surprised the space isn’t a burning wreck, considering the effects of the Sunlit Tome.”
“It only affects living, intelligent creatures,” Bob said. “It won’t burn houses to the ground, only the people inside it.”
“So, should we knock?” Tac asked, snickering in anticipation.
“No need,” Keith replied, slowly dropping from the sky. “If they’re as loyal as the Sunlit Tome says they are, they’ll come running out the moment they see me.”
He had no doubt that there was some form of surveillance going on there. The moment he came into range, his two former enemies would come running out to greet him. There was no need to destroy a subordinate’s hidden bunker, after all. Sure enough, as he dropped within fifty feet, a small ring of light appeared on the ground, several feet away from where the actual bunker was located, revealing a set of spiraling stairs, illuminated for those who couldn’t see in the pitch blackness.
As he touched down, the first of the two men came stumbling out. He was shorter than expected, wearing long robes and smiling from ear to ear.
“Keith, my Lord! How have you been?” the man asked, throwing himself to the ground, his forehead pressed into the dirt.
A second man, this one slightly younger and nearly two heads taller, stumbled out next, a beaming grin stretching across his wrinkled face.
“My liege!” he exclaimed, throwing himself at Keith’s feet. “It is the greatest of honors to be in your presence.”
Tac was howling with laughter in Keith’s mind as Bob stood straighter, smoothing his fur and looking pleased. The monkey enjoyed getting both compliments and attention, and even though they were clearly bowing to Keith, Bob liked to think they were showing their admiration for him as well.
“Starsorn and Giani, I take it,” Keith said, examining the two men.
Name: Starsorn the Co-Chair Pharmacist
Race: Human
Class: Lead Alchemist
Level: 70
Name: Giani the Co-Chair Pharmacist
Race: Human
Class: Lead Alchemist
Level: 70
It was strange to see a pair containing the same rare Title and Class. They seemed to be cut from the same cloth, and if not for appearances, he might have thought them the same person.
“Oh, yes, my lord,” Starsorn said, lifting his head and gazing up at him adoringly.
Keith had to suppress a shudder. It was not a pretty sight.
“Yes, that is us,” Giani said a moment later, dirt smearing his cheek as he looked up.
Keith sighed.
“You can get up and escort me down into your bunker.”
The way they shot to their feet and dashed to show him the way was like a pair of children who had been promised some candy if they only performed a simple task. He half-expected the two of them to start bickering and fighting as they reached the entrance, but Starsorn was quicker and reached the stairs first, Giani right on his tail.
“Talk about weird, am I right?” Tac howled. “I bet Papa would’ve loved to get his hands on something like this. He’d have been running the county with how many enemies he made.”
“You ever gonna tell us who he was?” Bob asked as they followed the scrambling fossils underground.
“Ey, nobody goes against the family,” Tac said. “Not if you don’t wanna be swimming with the sea snails.”
Keith ignored the conversation as he walked down into the bunker. It was an impressive space, he had to admit, as it was buried deeper underground than he’d realized. The walls were all reinforced, and he could see no small amount of circuitry running through the space, keeping it wired for any intrusion or invasion.
Starsorn and Giani had pulled up the plushest chair they could find, both rubbing their hands and standing to either side of it. Giani was practically vibrating with giddiness, while Starsorn looked ready to cry.
“Alright,” Keith said, taking the proffered chair. “What do the two of you remember?”
“I remember everything,” Starsorn said quickly.
“As do I,” Giani jumped in.
“I guess I should be speaking specifics,” Keith said, seeing that this might be a long meeting. “What I meant to ask was what you remembered of your time immediately before and after the activation of the Sunlit Tome.”
“I knew it!” Giani said. “Can I be so bold as to assume that the Sunlit Tome is a World Item?”
“You can,” Keith replied, interested to see how it had worked.
The Song to Humanity hadn’t wiped anyone’s memory nor altered their perceptions of him. Not directly, anyway. From what he understood – as explained by many others he’d met – it was hearing the song itself that changed them. The reason they were so friendly toward him after was because he had been the one to give it to them. They credited him with the song and were eternally grateful that he’d shared it. This was an entirely different item altogether, and he was curious how it implemented its effects.
“I can remember everything clearly,” Starsorn jumped in, eager to tell his tale as Giani paused. “I can remember everything leading up to it. I was standing down here, in hiding after the heinous crime against you and Astrid – I’m deeply ashamed of my actions, I should say – when Giani noticed our window into the outside world change to its daytime setting.
“We were watching the display grow brighter, and the next thing I knew, I was engulfed in it. The pain was unlike anything I’d felt before, like being burned alive from the inside out, only far more intense. I feared I would die. I honestly think I did.
“My consciousness faded, and for a moment, all I saw was pure blackness. Then, in the darkness, I saw a hand. Your hand. You pulled me back from the abyss. Dragged me back into this world with a warmth I have never felt.”
The man trailed off, a dreamy expression spreading across his face.
“Did you have a similar experience?” Keith asked, turning to Giani.
“Oh, quite,” Giani said, nodding quickly.
“And you’re not disturbed by the knowledge that I’m the one who activated the World Item? That the warmth and loyalty you now feel is only due to a mind-altering effect?”
“No,” Giani said with a shrug. “The experience was enlightening. To fight for a cause other than my own is a foreign concept. But in the light, I saw more. I saw eternity.”
A wide, almost creepy, smile spread across the man’s face as his eyes unfocused.
“Do you think he’s going to start drooling?” Tac asked. “Because if he is, I want to preserve this memory. Blackmail material is always a good thing to have in your back pocket.”
“You don’t have any pockets,” Keith said as he snapped his fingers in front of the man’s face.
Both Starsorn and Giani jumped at that, snapped from whatever they were seeing.
“I have a lot of questions for the two of you,” Keith said as they focused back on him, their expressions of adoration not wavering in the slightest. “I sincerely hope you have all the answers I’m looking for.”
31
“…and that’s everything we know about the operation,” Starsorn finished. “Our jobs now are to simply lay low and await the all-clear.”
The story had been a long one due to how many people were involved in this entire deception and operation. Though the largest problem was that while they knew The Glutton was the one pulling the strings, neither of them knew where he was nor who his accomplices were.
