Dark lords commands 2, p.23
Dark Lord's Commands 2, page 23
I glanced at her, in confusion, “You did?”
She smiled, gesturing towards the door. “Robert, if you would, could you step out into the hall for a second?”
Keeping a firm grip on my weapons, I stepped out into the hall, Gaspar’s magic rippling against my skin as I crossed the threshold.
I looked up and down the hall but saw or heard no signs of the Luminark. Turning around, I looked back into our hiding spot.
And I saw nothing.
The room appeared to be empty. Frowning, I concentrated on my other senses, but I couldn’t hear the sound of anyone breathing. I couldn’t smell anything either. Even more disorienting, I couldn’t sense Gaspar’s, Vexile’s, or Nichessa’s magic, which had been a constant, comforting presence at the back of my mind, a sign of the bond between us.
“What the hell?” I murmured. I waved my hand through the doorway, but still sensed nothing
And then, like a soap bubbling popping, my three wives and Augusta were back, still standing in the tiny room.
“Illusions!” Gaspar said proudly, “I’m still grasping the fundamental rules of my power, but it appears that if I hold an image in my mind, I can project it outwards, making it appear real to anyone observing from outside.”
“You figured that out in like thirty seconds?” Nichessa said exasperatedly. “Damn, it took me hours at the forge to figure out how to even access my magic.”
“It took me weeks,” Vexile frowned, appearing disappointed in herself.
“It’s more than that,” I told Gaspar, impressed she had figured out that much that quickly. “I couldn’t sense you at all, it was like you didn’t exist. It’s more than just fooling someone’s vision, it’s a complete illusion that affects all of your senses.”
“This requires further study,” the natural philosopher said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Well, I think you’ll get your chance,” I told her as we moved back out into the hall. “I imagine there’s a couple of hundred ghouls and slimes between us and the nearest exit, so we’ll be depending on you to save our hides.”
“I am so happy I married you,” she beamed, “the opportunities that have appeared before me are truly staggering!”
We moved quickly after that. Gaspar’s magic was so powerful that it could even mask the sounds of breaking stone we made when Nichessa hammered holes in the floors. We slunk from floor to floor, the ghouls and slimes moving around us unconsciously.
“So part of them knows we’re here,” I guessed as I watched a ghoul suddenly lurch out of its way to avoid bumping into me. “But Gaspar’s magic is directing them out of our way, so they don’t run into us.”
“It appears my power deceives everything but tactile contact,” Gaspar observed.
She looked drained, but she never let her power drop for a moment, knowing it was the only thing keeping the horde off us. Vexile and Nichessa took turns guiding her, their hands on her shoulders, feeding her divine energy so she could keep up her illusions.
Smashing through the last floor, I saw the palace’s entrance hall below us. There were no ghouls, though I could hear what sounded like an army moving outside.
Vexile went first, she then helped the rest of us climb down. Augusta simply blinked, disappearing and reappearing in an instant.
“I really must study how you are able to do that while carrying physical objects,” Gaspar said as she inspected the ghost. “I’ve never heard of spectral beings that can teleport objects with them when they use their paranormal abilities to change locations, but I’ve witnessed you doing so several times over the past two days.”
The knight shrugged, “I didn’t even notice, honestly. My own body feels insubstantial around me, though I feel more alive when I’m with the Dark Lord.”
“I think Revina is using me as an anchor, to keep you in the present,” I told her. “Remember, you drifted off and started to forget while exploring last night. If we get separated by too great a distance, you might lose your grip on reality again.”
“I shall stay by your side, no matter what,” Augusta pledged, raising the visor on her helm.
Her eyes almost twinkled inside her helmet, and I swore I saw her mouth quirk up in a smile.
Shaking away the thoughts suddenly crowding my mind, I inspected the room, “Is there a back door we can use to get out of here?”
“There are multiple entrances and exits to the palace,” the ghost answered as she snapped her visor back down. “We purposefully blocked or destroyed most of them during the invasion, but a few of the hidden ones were left as emergency escape routes. One of them must still be standing.”
“Robert,” Vexile called from the entrance, “You need to see this.”
The tone of her voice had me worried. Moving over to join her, I stepped over the fallen door and looked outside.
An entire army of ghouls and slimes was mustered outside. Most of them were preoccupied with digging, excavating the old trenches and defensive formations that encircled the palace. Some were using shovels and tools, but most were digging with their hands, throwing up dirt like burrowing animals.
Archangels paced up and down the rows, their bodies sludging and sliding over the ashen soil. The ghouls paused as they passed, saluting them in a pathetic mimicry of respect and adoration.
I saw that the Luminark siege weapons had reached the front. The spheres were cracked and dun, but that didn’t seem to bother the ghouls. They exerted themselves to get the weapons in position, not knowing that they’d never fire again.
“That must be every cursed Luminark soldier and archangel in Nightbound,” Nichessa said with a scowl.
“Way too many to fight through,” I agreed.
I glanced over at Gaspar. She was leaning against a shattered pillar, taking a moment to rest. I hated the idea of pushing her again so soon after awakening to her powers, but I didn’t see any alternatives unless we found a path that completely concealed us from the ghouls.
Looking back outside, I saw the besieging army suddenly part. Marching through their ranks came a company of ghouls, each of them carrying tattered banners and pennants, acting as some kind of twisted honor guard.
In the middle of their group walked Jasquez, like some conquering king. The right side of his body was twisted and burned, the skin raw, blistered, and blackened. His white stole and silver armor had been scorched and melted, but he had supplemented his gear with bones, which were lashed around his chest and limbs.
In his hands he carried a Spear of Subjugation; the amulet relic he had used during our encounter in the Courts was wrapped around the haft. It shone with brilliant, uncompromising light.
The inquisitor had a crazy, lopsided grin on his face, and his eyes shone with fiery madness.
“Brothers and sisters!” he called, his voice scratchy and rough. “Come and hear the truth, come and listen to the words revealed to me by Alruna!”
Several of the honor guard ghouls practically fell over themselves hauling the battered remains of a wagon forward so the inquisitor could use it as a platform.
He stepped up and raised his hands like he was some kind of mad street preacher. The ghouls and slimes abandoned their work and gathered around him, bowing their deformed heads.
“Once, I was a sinner, clothed in the armor of righteousness,” he began, “I was a womanizer, a con-artist, a murderer!”
“Hearing him admit it doesn’t make me feel any better,” Gaspar huffed from her spot.
“It appears that whatever revelations he received from his goddess, it was far too much for his mind to accept,” Vexile observed. “He’s no ascendant or champion, he’s just a lunatic.”
“But Alruna came to me, in my darkest hour,” Jasquez continued, his voice thundering with uncontrolled magic. “I was running through the streets of this cursed city, with the forces of damnation on my heels!”
The crowd went silent.
He gestured towards one of the broken siege engines with his burned arm. “I found one of these magnificent weapons, and I tried to use it to summon Alruna’s divine light to smite my foes!”
Jasquez grinned madly. “Instead, She appeared to me in a pillar of holy light! The Goddess herself descended from heaven and opened my eyes. She showed me who the real monsters were!”
He jabbed the Spear of Subjugation at the palace. Instinctually, Vexile lifted LIberation and unfurled its power. The bright light of the Spear gleamed, but my First Queen shrouded us from its rays.
“The Goddess of Light tore the blinders from my eyes!” The inquisitor’s voice was raw with anger. “She showed me the terrible curse that lingers over you, the darkness choking your noble, valiant hearts!”
The monsters cheered hoarsely.
I lined up a shot with my crossbow, but the inquisitor was too far away to get a clean shot. I glanced at Vexile, and she shook her head; Liberation gave her spells increased range, but the man was simply too far away for us to assassinate at that time.
“Alruna blessed me with a second truth,” he called, his voice cracking. “The Dark Lord lives, his shadow once again tainting this world!”
The ghouls and slimes grew more agitated, their hate for me and my bloodline burning brightly in their deformed hearts.
“The Goddess armed me with this sacred weapon,” Jasquez waved the Spear like it was a baton, “and gave me a sacred mission, to finish the work you began so long ago! We will take this palace and tear its corrupt stones to the ground. We will drag out the Dark Lord and his twisted brides, and show them the price of defying this world’s true Goddess!”
The monsters slammed their weapons and fists against the ground, causing the earth to tremble.
Jasquez kept rambling, his arms waving wildly in the air as he continued to expound upon my evil nature, my devilish brides, and the holy retribution that we would soon suffer.
I turned to Gaspar. “You know, when you said the Primevals manipulate events to achieve their desired outcomes, I was thinking it would be a little more subtle than this.”
Nichessa laughed, “Did you forget that Revina sent a dragon to save us in Sanderson’s camp?”
Gaspar scowled and huffed, “Of all the Primevals, Alruna was always regarded as the most brash and bold of her siblings. I suspect her behavior has only become more brazen as her followers declined into zealotry and paranoia.”
“If nothing else, it gives us a chance to escape,” Nichessa said. “I don’t know how much control Jasquez really has over those monsters, they still seem to be stuck in the past, but he’ll eventually talk them into storming this building. Let’s be long gone by then.”
Augusta led us back through the bowels of the palace, through the kitchens, stables, kennels, and storerooms, and down into the basement levels.
“There’s a passage ahead that exits a few blocks past the palace,” Augusta told us, “it’s the same route I wanted to use to smuggle Dark Lord Vanessa out of the city.”
“How far from the exit to the Royal Crypts?” I asked her.
The view from the top of the palace had made it seem like a short trip, but even moving a few kilometers would be difficult if Jasquez realized we had fled and then sent his monsters out into the city.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Gaspar hadn’t recovered her strength yet either; her shoulders drooped and her eyes looked glassy. I imagined using too much magic at once, especially when you weren’t familiar with your abilities, would leave you drained and mentally exhausted.
Augusta pondered over my question, realizing my concerns, then nodded. “Normally we could make the trip in less than an hour, but the roads are likely to be blocked, requiring us to detour.”
“And killing or tricking any ghouls or slimes we encounter will only take longer,” Nichessa reasoned.
“Let’s get out of here, find somewhere to rest, and plan our next steps,” I told them. “Once we have the Eye of Night, we can focus on taking out Jasquez. After he dies, I imagine the ghouls and slimes will fall back into their mindless habits and we can escape the city.”
“And just how are you thinking of taking out a madman in the middle of a horde of corrupt Luminark soldiers?” Nichessa asked.
“Jasquez being struck mad will probably make it easier,” I countered. “We just need to wait till he does something stupid and then take him out.”
“If he doesn’t burn out first,” Gaspar noted. “His body is being consumed by the divine power channeling through it. I doubt a mere mortal was meant to wield that kind of magic.”
I reached out and took Nichessa’s hand. “He has a Spear of Subjugation on him, and I bet you're itching to yank it from his cold, dead hands so you can take it back to your workshop and turn it into a proper weapon for Revina.”
She blushed a bit. “Damnit, you really do know me too well.”
I kissed her, I then turned back towards Augusta, “Please, show us the way.”
Chapter 22
The escape passage was hidden behind a series of false walls, each of them trapped with deadly devices and artifacts that were still ready to spring and kill unaware intruders. Augusta drifted amongst them, deactivating them by hitting concealed switches and levers.
“This is some nasty stuff,” Nichessa commented, looking at a sealed vessel full of caustic powder. “I’m surprised there’s enough magic left in them to work.”
“Indeed, the spellcraft is divine,” Gaspar said, before adding, “no pun intended.”
She stopped to inspect another trap. “Most of the artifacts in the empire long ago ran out of Alruna's blessing, leaving them as little more than deadweight. As far as I know, nobody even knows how to recharge them anymore, the rites and rituals having long since been abandoned or forgotten.”
“So it’s just the Spears of Subjugation left?” I surmised.
She nodded. “Mostly. From what I understand, they are relatively easy to recharge, a lesser ascendant just needs to hold them and channel divine magic into them.”
“Make sense, they’re weapons,” Nichessa nodded. “It’d be stupid to create a frontline weapon that took more than a few minutes to recharge.”
“Liberation practically drinks in my power,” Vexile held out her swordspear. “And it flows out of it just as easily.”
“For some of the larger devices, like the warships and siege engines, it could take weeks or even months to fully charge them,” Gaspar said. “I’m still surprised Jasquez wasn’t outright killed when he tried to reactivate one, even if he had that relic to provide a burst of divine power.”
“How did he become that way?” Nichessa looked confused. “I’m not the most studious or religious person here, but I’ve overheard Robert and Vexile talking enough to know something isn’t right. I thought the Primevals weren’t allowed to meddle with mortals like that anymore, not since the Godsfall.”
“I don’t know the exact accords and pledges that bind the Primevals, but I suspect that Alruna found and exploited a loophole,” Gaspar mused. “Supposedly, only willing conduits, like the Dark Lord or Light Lord, should be able to bestow divine power. But remember, the Light Lord or her ascendants can create artifacts bestowed with Alruna’s power.”
“Like the war machines, Jasquez’s relic, and his Spear,” I nodded, following her logic.
“When Jasquez willingly used his relic to jumpstart the war machine, both divine artifacts, he must have created a condition where Alruna could redirect their power into him, thus turning him into some kind of empowered being.”
“A false ascendant,” Vexile spat in agitation.
“That’s a troubling thought,” I admitted.
“So Alruna found a way to break the rules?” Nichessa frowned. “I can totally see how this is going to be a problem for us in the future.”
“I’m also wondering where he found a Spear,” I tapped my chin. Though we had seen dozens of fallen archangels, we hadn’t seen a single one of their crippling weapons.
“We can ask him before we knock his head off,” Nichessa said with finality.
We left the palace proper, following a series of booby-trapped tunnels. It was slow going since Augusta needed to deactivate the traps as we passed, then reactivate them behind us in case Jasquez’s monsters caught wind of our trail.
By the time we reached the exit, the tumbled remains of a shopping arcade, we were all on edge and tired.
“Let’s find somewhere to rest for an hour or two,” I told the others.
Augusta went above to scout the area, ensuring the coast was clear. Vexile and Nichessa both looked worn, and Gaspar appeared to be dead on her feet. I didn’t feel much better.
The ghostly knight returned and confirmed there were no ghouls nearby. We clambered out the exit before Augusta sealed it shut behind us. For good measure Nichessa knocked down a nearby wall, burying the concealed hatch under a mound of rubble.
The shopping arcade was a vast, hollow space, with the skeletal remains of a glass ceiling far overhead. It almost put me in mind of a modern shopping mall from Earth.
Vexile always said that the old kingdom was a shining jewel of science, magic, and learning, but this quest has truly struck that home. Look what the Dark Lords and ascendants of old were able to do with the power of Revina behind them.
Can we reach these heights again under our rule?
I swore to myself that we would see it come to pass. Our people might have been living as farmers and laborers, but I pledged that we would build a civilization that would exceed the accomplishments of my ancestors.
The shopping arcade was a bit too open for our comfort, so we set down the street to look for a more secure shelter.
We were on the move for only a few minutes before we heard the distant cries of battle. Turning around, we saw huge clouds of dirt and ash were being kicked up around the palace.
“They must have begun their assault,” I surmised.
“Took them long enough,” Nichessa growled.
