V2 C4 - The Beginning of Despair

With Black Port retaken, Prince Julius was most pleased.

Only one thousand three hundred and fifty-three legion soldiers had died and only two thousand more had sustained minor injuries. Of the eight thousand paladins that fought, only twenty-four had died and sixty had been wounded.

It was a glorious victory over their undead foes.

The city had been heavily damaged, but people would be able to move back once the undead were all gone.

Prince Julius had sent a relief force to the Shadow Tombs five hours ago and had only just received word about the situation there.

“All lost?” He said solemnly. “May Themis bless their souls.” Loudly, he proclaimed, “Retrieve their bodies and treat them as if they were royalty and have five thousand Rhams sent to their next of kin!”

“By your command, your majesty!”

His men departed to the Shadow Tombs once more.

“General Pontus, I want your honest thoughts about this campaign.”

“My prince?”

“Speak freely, old friend. Tell me.”

“May I ask specifically-?”

“All of it.”

Startled, General Pontus surveyed the battlefield once more.

There’s no way Julius doesn’t consider this a great victory, so he must be searching for something else. But what?

“All I can say is that you achieved a great victory, my prince. I’m ashamed to admit I cannot see what you want me to.”

“You’re not wrong, today was a great victory - if anything, I’d call this too easy of a victory.”

“Too easy?”

Julius nodded. “Black Port’s destruction and the slaughter of its people was a horrific crime, one that could easily be understood as a natural disaster caused by liches that spawned from the Shadow Tombs, but there are several issues I have with that assumption.

“First, the horde itself. Thirty thousand is the largest number of undead ever recorded to descend from the Shadow Tombs in the history of the Holy Empire, but why didn’t they destroy everything in their path to Black Port? Why didn’t the people of Cliff’s Edge get consumed by the horde along with all the other villages and towns nearby? Why did the horde come only to Black Port and stop?

“My father ordered us to make camp ten miles from the city, because he quite rightly assumed that the undead horde would swarm the south-east and then try to move north, but they didn’t. They destroyed Black Port and stayed there. That’s been bothering me since we arrived in the south-east.

“Second, there’s the issue with the liches themselves. At most, only two liches have ever spawned at the same time at the Shadow Tombs, so how is it that twenty appeared at once?”

“How do you know all of this, your majesty?” General Pontus asked.

“The night before we left Themis, I went over what records on the Shadow Tombs I could find in the palace library and, when we made camp, I asked the adventurers what they knew. Even their records showed that only two liches could spawn at once and that it was a very rare occasion.”

“Perhaps it has something to do with this ‘Great Disaster’ we’ve been hearing rumours of?”

“That’s the other thing that’s bothered me about this incident. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a series of mass murders happen in Stonefall with vague words etched onto the walls. Then, as if it was meant to happen, all the criers and priests in the city seemed to speak of the Great Disaster and that a great darkness would befall the empire.

“If this undead horde is meant to be the Great Disaster, why was it so easy for us to deal with? Or, more to the point, what if this wasn’t the Great Disaster they speak of, but a prelude?”

“A prelude to what exactly, your majesty?”

“Perhaps there is someone manipulating the empire in the shadows and this was some form of test, either for us or them,” Julius said. “What if this undead horde was just a small part of a much greater horde that our enemy has? Or what if this was an elaborate plan set up by an enemy nation that wishes to invade us and they wanted to test our responses to crises.

“How quickly we take action, how many men we send, how many men and lords answer the call, how the commoners react, how strong our forces are. I also believe this to be the case because of the unusual absence of the Divine Caster and Paladin. They said that they were investigating something more important than this, right? Then maybe they too think that this is a prelude to something worse.”

“Did you only consider these things today, Prince Julius?”

Julius shook his head. “I’ve been considering this since we received news of the attack back at the capital. It’s only now after today’s battle that I am wholly confident that my brother is wrong and that there is something far greater happening within the empire. I just don’t know what it is.”

General Pontus was dumbstruck.

From a single battle and from his own research, the prince was trying to see a wider picture that Pontus hadn’t even vaguely considered, and he’d thought of so many possibilities as well.

The princes really do take after their father, Pontus thought proudly.

“Your majesty, if you’re right, then this means that what happened to Black Port will happen somewhere else. Should we try to investigate this matter further?”

“We should, but I have no doubt that our enemy will have covered most if not all of their tracks already,” Julius answered. “If they are more incompetent than I think, that would be a blessing from Themis herself, but I doubt that that is the case. Nonetheless, I shall raise the matter with my family. For now, keep this to yourself in case there are traitors in our midst. After all, there are some noble families we need to visit on the way home.”

Pontus bowed. “Of course.”

Julius’s gaze turned north, towards the capital hundreds of miles away and he frowned.

“I just hope that no matter what happens next, we’ll be ready to deal with it.”

***

David’s council had gathered in the Dread Keep’s war room.

His generals, Rebecca, Eva and Jorōgumo, the newest member of his forces. Rebecca and Mania sat closest to David and behind the succubus was one of the masked adventurers from the Shadow Tombs, Jessica.

“A thirty to one ratio?! How is that possible?”

“Organisation, experience, equipment, clear planning and an ability to not lose their cool even when being swarmed by tens of thousands of undead,” Mímir answered Abaddon.

“The Holy Legion is clearly a highly skilled and organised force, one not to be taken lightly,” David said.

“It’s as you predicted, Master - we made the right call staying in the shadows.”

“Agreed. If we had tried to make our move when our force consisted primarily of unarmed undead, we wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

“Perhaps that is part of the reason the Holy Legion was able to fend off the undead horde, your majesty,” Mímir said.

“That and about half of the undead they fought were spawned from nothing, not from corpses, meaning that they would be weaker than normal,” Mania added.

“Do not just try to justify our loss like that,” David cautioned. “Ultimately, the horde lost because our enemy’s army was just that much stronger. A kill ratio of thirty to one cannot solely be explained by our men being weaker.”

“It is as you say, your majesty. When the undead horde originally sacked Black Port, they managed to overwhelm the city watch within an hour. Not only did the Holy Legion hold out for longer against a much larger horde, but they also inflicted heavy casualties upon the undead as well.”

“Abaddon, how many Machai do we have now?”

“One thousand, Lord Emperor. Nowhere near enough.”

So, we’ve spawned, on average, five hundred Machai a month, David pondered. That means if I waited until as close to the end of the year as possible to launch my attack, we would have about six thousand Machai. I know they’re fairly strong, but so were those adventurers at the Shadow Tombs.

David bit his lip hard. Six thousand Machai and a hundred thousand skeletons…that could be enough. But, if we’re discovered before raising that army, then it could turn into a complete disaster. It took twenty liches a month of nonstop work to make thirty thousand undead.

How the hell am I going to be able to raise those kinds of numbers again?!

“Lord Emperor?” Abaddon's nervous voice made Mania giggle. “Have we done something to displease you?”

“I think you mean ‘Have I?’ done something to displease you.”

“Rich coming from you, Mania.”

“What was that?”

“You heard me. What have you done to please the Demon Emperor lately?”

Mania sneered. “The Awoken.”

“Awoken?”

“Ah? Weren’t you aware of them?” Mania asked with a wide grin on her face. “I thought that everyone on the council had been informed about them, but I guess only the useful people were informed. After all, even Rebecca and Eva knew about Jessica and her friends.”

Abaddon leapt up from his chair and slammed his palm on the table. “How dare you?!”

“…Lord Abaddon, Lady Mania, you are derailing the meeting,” Rebecca said quietly.

Instantly, both generals went to glare at her, but David dropped his hand onto the table, cutting through the tension like a knife.

The two generals lowered their heads and apologised for their actions.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Lord Allaric.”

“On the contrary, I appreciate you silencing those two. Abaddon, I’ve told you to not let your anger get the best of you before. Mania, do not bait Abaddon to aggression.”

Both generals apologised again.

“However, Mania, I must admit, your Awoken have impressed me greatly.”

Both Mania and Jessica beamed happily at his words.

“Thank you, Master! I’m pleased they lived up to your expectations. Aren’t you happy, Jessica?”

The adventurer bowed deeply to David. “Dark Lord, thank you for your kind words.” Her eyes became a deep purple colour. “I’m happy that we could be of service.”

Well, not like it was my idea to begin with.

Shortly after David’s previous scolding, Mania approached him with an idea on how to increase their strength: the Awoken.

Using a mixture of torture and her succubus magic, Mania warped the minds of Jessica’s party, manipulating them into loyal servants of the Demon Emperor.

“I broke them down and made them realise how inferior their old selves were,” Mania explained. “Their old personalities are gone, but their memories will survive the process, a constant reminder of their weaker selves. They use their old memories as motivation to drive them to be better, to be what you need them to be.”

However, Mania wasn’t able to turn just anyone into an Awoken.

The process put a great deal of strain on the subject’s minds and bodies, meaning Mania needed strong test subjects to create the Awoken. The adventurers in Stonefall had been the perfect test subjects for her experiments, so she took initiative and kidnapped them while providing fake bodies to cover up their disappearance.

With David’s blessing, Mania started the awakening process, but only three survived.

Roland, Jessica’s former lover, had died but Jessica was rather indifferent towards the news.

“It’s a shame, but that’s just how it is,” she’d said. “Only the strong may serve the Dark Lord, after all.”

David decided to test Mania’s claims and sent Jessica’s party, in disguise, to Prince Julius’s war camp. When David attacked the survivors at the tombs, the three Awoken helped him finish them off without hesitation.

David leant back on his throne. “Putting the Awoken to one side, we confirmed that, at present, we aren’t strong enough to destroy the Holy Empire. The battle at Black Port proves that. I want an overwhelming victory, not a pyrrhic one.”

“Why is that, Master?” Jorōgumo asked.

“If we only won the war by the skin of our teeth, the citizens of my new empire might get the dumb idea that we aren’t strong and rebel. If they rebelled whilst we were trying to hold off the armies from neighbouring countries, we’d be slaughtered. However, if we defeat the Holy Empire so completely and utterly without room for them to think of standing up against me, then they’d become docile and submissive, which is what I need them to be.”

“Then, we would need more men or allies, would we not, Lord Allaric?”

David nodded. “As it stands, we don’t have anywhere near the numbers or tactical advantage for an overwhelming victory. Do we have any more leads on that?”

“I have no other leads right now, your majesty.”

“What about the Sons of Tartarus?” Rebecca asked. “As I understand it, one of their leaders has defected to our side, hasn’t he?”

Our side? David smiled.

“A spymaster whose network Mímir has systematically destroyed isn’t worth much.”

“It is as you say, your majesty. Because of my efforts, his network is all but gone. He has no fighting men, only a handful of spies and assassins, nothing that could help us win this war.”

“It pains me to admit, Master, that I and my brood are not strong enough to bring you victory.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jorōgumo. Both your brood and the giants will be invaluable to us in the long run. For now, we must accept the reality that the victory I want is currently unobtainable. Therefore, we shall wait until we have more allies.”

“I shall investigate every lead I can in the empire at once, your majesty.”

“And we’ll continue to spread rumours of the Great Disaster in Stonefall,” Mania added.

“Not just that. I want to know about every single powerful monster, myth and legend that the Holy Empire has ever had,” David ordered. “I want to know what kinds of monsters there are, where they’re said to have been, when the last sighting of one was, and I want to know when and where I can speak with them. Jorōgumo, do you have any small spiders ready yet that could be used for information gathering at all?”

“I do, Master. Where shall I dispatch them to?”

“I’ll leave the finer details to Mímir, but I want to have as many eyes and ears across the empire as we can possibly manage. That means using whatever is left of this Sylvan’s information network and connections with the Sons of Tartarus as well.” Then, David paused and had a sudden hit of inspiration. “Find out what Sylvan knows of the slave auctions. See when they’re taking place, how much their slaves cost and what their security is like.”

Rebecca sharply inhaled and looked at David.

“I wonder how many slaves we could reasonably liberate from their cells to come and assist us here at the Dread Keep,” David said, putting some of Rebecca’s concerns to rest. “My council, obey your orders and continue to serve me well as we lurk in the shadows. When we are in a position of overwhelming strength, the Holy Empire will fall.

“However, as I have some other business to attend to, let’s end the meeting there.”

***

“I’m sorry for your loss. The death certificates and letters of compensation for your brother and his party are inside, including the extra donation from Prince Julius. If you have any questions or needs, please feel free to reach out to any member of the guild whenever.”

Kella said nothing, took the envelopes and slowly stumbled into the streets.

The three large envelopes felt like boulders in her arms.

Her vision was blurry.

Her thoughts were in disarray.

Her heart felt cold and empty.

It took all Kella had to keep walking.

She could see images of her brother’s smiling face.

Of the girl she looked up to like an older sister.

Of the good friend she’d made as an adventurer.

Connor, Alisa, Tiergan…did you leave me behind because you knew you’d die?

If you did…Tears formed in her eyes. What was the point?

Kella’s knees started to give out.

Just as they did, someone held her up.

“…I heard about what happened at Black Port.” The cloaked masked man helped her onto her feet, handing her a handkerchief. “I’m so sorry.”

“…Allaric.”

“…Yeah?”

“…Walk me home.”

***

Kella’s tears had dried by the time they’d reached her home, a small bungalow in the eastern part of the city.

It had no interior walls, four beds, a kitchen, wardrobes, a table and chair set, and treasured belongings hanging on the walls, from paintings and spare equipment, to what David guessed were mementoes from their adventurers.

“Want something to eat or drink?”

David awkwardly took a seat at the table. “Water, thank you.”

Kella got out two glasses, then placed them one at a time beneath a pump, dispensing water into them. She handed one to David and sat beside him, her eyes on her hands.

I did this to her and yet I’m the one here comforting her, David thought, trying his best not to let his anguish show.

…How fucked up can someone get?

“…Who did you lose?”

“…My brother, Connor, the girl he loved, Alisa, and a good friend, Tiergan.”

Even now she’s still trying to stay positive.

“…What about their bodies?”

“They’re being sent home for a funeral at the cemetery here in the city. Prince Julius himself is apparently going to attend.”

“…I see.”

He was the one that gathered and led the army to Black Port. He sprang into action as soon as he could and sent extra money to the families of the dead adventurers…sounds like a great guy.

For many minutes, neither of them spoke and sat uncomfortably in silence.

Once she was done with her drink, Kella stood up and moved over to a weapon’s rack near one of the beds. She picked up a wooden training sword and held it lovingly in her hands.

“My father bought this for Connor when he was four.” Kella traced it gently with her fingers. “When Connor said he wanted to be an adventurer when he grew up, my dad roared with laughter and said if he trained with this sword for two hours a day, he’d allow it. Connor did three hours a day just to show off. His muscles hurt so much every time but that never stopped him.”

Kella put the weapon back in the rack and then moved to a painting of Kella’s family.

“This was the last birthday gift my mum got me before we left home to become adventurers,” Kella said, touching her brother’s face. “I was sixteen when I took the exam and we both managed to pass with flying colours. The examiner said we might be two of the best adventurers he’d ever seen.” Kella laughed bitterly. “If only that was true.”

David’s face went ghost white.

He recognised the faces of the people in the picture.

…They’re the ones I killed. The world began to spin and time slowed to a crawl. I…I did this…I killed them.

I did it myself.

Beneath the picture on a bedside table was a small, fancy blue box which Kella didn’t touch.

She just looked at it and her body began to shake.

“…Connor told me that he was going to confess to her this year at New Years,” Kella whispered. “He said that he wanted to make it special, so he was going to wait for the right moment to do it. I said “It’s so far away, why bother? You missed the last one, so just do it on her birthday or something”. Connor said he’d think about it, but Tiergan said he should just man up and do it, before it’s…too late…before she’s taken by someone else.

“We told him that weeks ago and he still didn’t have the courage to do it.”

As Kella had bitterly gone through her treasured memories, David could only sit back and watch in agony.

Every time she told him more about someone he’d killed, David shivered.

The great weight in his chest grew heavier with Kella’s every word.

It was far more painful than even what Eris had done to him.

If I had just told Kella back in Themis not to let her brother go or maybe if I hadn’t attacked Black Port, or maybe if…if I had just done this outside of the Empire, they’d still be alive.

…I did the same thing that Eris did.

She took me from my family and I took Kella’s from her.

David wanted to throw up, but he couldn’t.

He had to swallow it every time it crawled up his throat.

He had to ignore it every time his heart whispered in his ear.

He had to endure it.

What’s done is done. I have to keep this from Kella, no matter what.

David stood up, forcing every other thought but Kella from his mind and hugged her from behind.

“…I don’t know what I can do to help, but I’m here for you. If you need to cry, I’ll hold you. If you need someone to comfort you, I’ll do my best. If you need anything, I’ll get it for you.”

Kella began to weep and relaxed against David, tears streaming down her face. She turned around and buried herself into David’s chest and cried loudly. She tried to say something to David, but he didn’t hear what she said; he just kept his eyes and ears closed as he embraced her.

“…Allaric.”

“…Yeah?”

“Stay here with me. Please.” She looked up at him with a fragile expression. “Don’t leave me alone.”

David swallowed hard. “I won’t.”

Kella forced a small smile on her face, then brought her lips to David’s.

When David didn’t reject her advances, Kella continued kissing him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

David didn’t try to stop Kella as she pulled them over onto her bed. She laid down and began pulling her shirt off as she kissed him.

…I-I…I’m so sorry, Kella.

***

Long before night had fallen, Kella had fallen asleep in David’s arms.

He lay by her side and stroked her hair whenever she stirred in her sleep.

Kella, the kind, sweet woman David had met in the capital, who told him he wasn’t a monster, now looked so frail and weak lying beside David.

With his own two hands, David had destroyed Kella’s life.

Then, he’d been the one to comfort her.

To save my life, and my family, I killed hers.

It was the most heart wrenching and distressing feeling in the world.

He had sentenced others to death, ordered them tortured and destroyed a city to keep his family safe and, in doing so, he had hurt the person he treasured most in this world.

“…It’s selfish of me to even say this, but please don’t hate me when you find out.”

The next day, David left Kella’s home after she told him she was going to be with her family at Pilgrim’s Post.

***

In her darkness, Eris watched on bemused, an evil sneer on her face.

“I wonder what kind of face she’d make if she ever found out who killed her precious family,” she giggled.

Her sneer grew into a vile grin, one that she hadn’t shown David yet and one so terrifying, so sadistic and so evil that even other Gods that saw it trembled in her presence.

“I wonder, David Athelward, how much longer can you lie to yourself?”