Year 2: The Heroes Descend - Chapter 14

Under the cover of darkness, the newly assembled Demon Fleet slowly sailed towards the seaside city of Calthe.

Nestled safely between the sea and the near-impassable stony cliffs of the Green Mountains, it had been turned into the makeshift capital of the self-proclaimed Free Cities where the remaining resistance of the north-eastern counties dwelled.

With less than fifteen thousand fighting men and sailors left, they were quickly running out of manpower, supplies and morale.

The constant attacks on the Gateway, the lack of reinforcements or good word coming from the west, and the rumours that had reached them that the Scarlett Skulls had joined hands with the Demon Emperor had shaken them almost to their breaking point.

However.

“You all remember what happened to Jaeda,” Admiral Jeddah told his officers when they started to lose hope. “You know what it is we fight for, what it is that awaits us even if we surrendered - all we can do is fight, fight and prove to the world that the Demon Emperor can be defied! That he can be defeated in battle!”

It wasn’t the most hopeful of prospects, but it was enough to keep the men going just that little bit longer.

Tonight, the air in Calthe was tense, as a cold wind drifted through the bay, bringing with it the accursed sails of pirates and demons.

***

The Demon Fleet, under Mímir and Lord Admiral Charledd’s command was only eighty ships strong to face a force of a hundred and eleven warships. The rest of the fleet was kept in the south, patrolling the coastlines or docked in the city of Themis, to protect the Demon Empire from attacks whilst the assault in the north commenced.

Normally, that duty would have fallen to the Twins.

However.

“My ladies, we’re less than five minutes away from Calthe.”

“Good. Tell the fleet to play the drums.”

The Raven left with a swift bow and, moments later, the war drums beat in the night.

Charybdis hummed and smiled beautifully. “What a pleasant sound.”

Sat lazily upon the boat’s edge were Scylla and Charybdis, relaxed and carefree as the pirates, Machai and skeletons sailed the fleet towards the Free Cities. Bored, Scylla was kicking her legs off over the side whilst Charybdis gently swayed with the sounds of the drums.

“You’re up.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Scylla.”

“I don’t wanna!” Her sister complained, kicking her feet angrily. “Why do I have to do it?!”

“Because when we attacked Jaeda, you got to stay in this cute form. It’s only fair that you return the favour now.”

“But…”

With a soft touch, Charybdis hugged her sister with one arm and rested her head on her shoulder. “I know you don’t want to, but Master has ordered us to take the city tonight. If we do, he’ll give us a big reward.”

Scylla’s ears pricked up and she smiled bashfully. “Well, if Master ordered it, then there’s no helping it.”

Scylla leapt back onto the boat and a jagged black dagger emerged from her wrist which was coated in a purple poison. In its hilt, there was a serpent’s eye.

Scylla took a deep breath and positioned the dagger over her heart. Wincing, she stabbed herself in her heart and her entire body felt like it was on fire. Her veins began to pulse rapidly and her aura began to expand.

“Have a good trip,” Charybdis wished her, promptly kicking her sister overboard.

***

Bells rang out in Calthe.

“Combat stations!”

Admiral Jeddah steeled himself and walked to the bow of the ship where the captain was.

“Report.”

“Sir, we’ve identified roughly eighty enemy ships. They’re in attack formation and approaching at speed.”

Disheartened, Jeddah looked at the ship’s sails. “They have the wind.”

This will make firing our artillery and arrows more difficult.

“Doesn’t matter if we can sink them, sir. Everyone’s a sitting duck when swimming unaided in the ocean.” The captain grunted. “Even if they did break through us, the men on shore would handle the rest.”

“…I hope so, lad.”

“Cap’n, Admiral, sirs!”

“What is it, lad?”

“The enemy fleet has stopped moving!”

“What?”

The captain pulled out his spy glass and confirmed that the Demon Fleet had stopped.

“Why’d they drop anchor?”

“Trying to lure us out to fight?”

“Or-? Wait, everyone, abandon-!”

The boat began to rock.

Confused, some sailors looked overboard and saw vast amounts of water being carried in the waves. Jeddah leant over the edge and narrowed his eyes, praying internally that his worst nightmare wasn’t about to come true.

From the depths of the emerald green waters, emerged the gigantic sea monster they knew as Scylla.

Six snake-like heads, unbelievably long necks stretching far from its gigantic body, and a bone chilling screech from each of its deadly mouths. The waves were so large and powerful that they shook several ships strongly enough to knock some sailors overboard.

It was the Demon Emperor’s prized pet that kept his marine borders safe.

With a shaking voice, Admiral Jeddah gave out his last command.

“Attack!”

Arrows, boulders, magic and ballista bolts bounced off the beast’s thick green hide and it glanced down at the ships attacking it, hissing with glee.

Three heads flew towards Jeddah’s ship, smashing through the deck and piercing the bottom, destroying it.

It withdrew its heads and spewed purple flames from its mouths which burnt brightly in the night, sinking more than ten ships at once.

Scylla looked down at them and felt angry.

Her body told her that she was.

Screaming from all of her heads, she dove into another ship, surfaced through a second and then dove through another, sinking all three. She swam furiously through the line centre line of ships and, when she surfaced, she spat fire to her left and right, lighting the ships in the front and rear ablaze.

***

The vagabonds and soldiers on the Demon Fleet’s ships cried out in reverence.

Charledd, with laughter that turned from nervous to gleeful, watched on, grinning wickedly in joy upon seeing the destructive force of Scylla.

Good job, sis, Charybdis thought.

“Charledd?”

“Yes, milady?”

“Full speed ahead.”

“Gladly!”

***

Within a few days, the last remnants of rebellion beyond the Green Mountains had fallen.

For their service to the emperor, the Scarlett Skulls were officially welcomed into the Demon Empire as citizens, all their previous bounties and crimes were forgiven, and Charledd Kraken’s-bane was officially introduced as the Lord Admiral of the Empire in a massive parade held for him in Themis.

The Sack of Calthe had been the finishing blow to demoralise and route the remanning rebels and most were captured. The lucky ones were simply executed in town squares; the unfortunate ones, as they would become known, were shipped to the Dread Keep to be part of some dark magic experiment concocted by the Demon Emperor’s court wizard, Hermes Trismegistus.

***

Few in the Dread Keep treaded in the tall tower on the north-western face of the castle.

The servants, both out of fear and law, were not permitted to set foot anywhere near the rooms in that tower. The Machai, Hysminai and other monsters under David’s command choose to stay away as the foul stenches of concoctions, herbs, potions and rot displeased them greatly.

The generals ventured there when they needed to, but most preferred not to spend their time close to the tower.

David himself did not particularly enjoy visiting the Court Wizard’s Tower, but, today he had been invited by Hermes to view the progress of a project they discussed a few weeks back.

Hermes Trismegistus was the newest of David’s summoned generals.

With an ibis-helmet on his head, a feather cloaked and ten spell tomes strapped to belts across his body, varying greatly in size and colour, Hermes certainly fit the description the stone tablet Eris presented him with said he was.

Hermes Trismegistus - God Wizard of Knowledge.

“Lord majesty.”

“Hermes. I hope you bring me good news today.”

The mage laughed quietly. “But of course, lord majesty. I would not dream of spoiling your mood following your masterful conquest of the Green Mountains.”

“Excellent. Then, tell me the results of your research.”

“But of course.” With a small bow, Hermes raised his left hand and a blue-coloured tome rose from his belts and hovered before his palm. The book opened in the centre as three aqua coloured portals opened beside him. “It took a great deal of tinkering to reach this point, lord majesty, but I strongly believe you’ll be satisfied with the results.

“Now, if you would watch closely.”

Magic flowed out of the spell book and across Hermes’s fingers, wrapping softly around them, before drifting towards the portals. Each turned to a different colour as they touched the swirling portals, dyeing them red, grey and black respectively.

After a minute passed, a figure emerged from each portal.

From the red portal, a Machai.

From the grey, a skeleton knight.

From the black, a Hysminai.

“Remarkable.”

“Isn’t it so, lord majesty?” Hermes shut his spell book, closing the portals behind the figures, and the tome drifted back down to its place along his belts. “Initially, the six green portals I could conjure could only spawn unarmed undead. However, thanks to the assistance of the Twins and Abaddon, I have managed to expand their capabilities to summoned more useful soldiers for your army.”

“This is most excellent news, Hermes!” David bellowed, applauding his general lightly. “Tell me, how long do you think it would take to create stable portals like those you have open in the cellar?”

“That remains difficult to say, lord majesty. As I am now, it takes all I have to keep those six portals open and spawning new undead for your army; if I can perfect this spell and make it less of a burden, then it should be possible to keep nine portals open at once, including the three you saw a moment ago.”

“Devote yourself to this task, Hermes. Until then, spawn at least two soldiers from those three portals a day, whilst keeping the other six open.”

“…As you command, lord majesty.”

Thanks to Eris’s rules, I can only summon a new general every six months now. She let me pick you after the 100 Days War ended, but I don’t know what sort of gap you’ll fill in the end.

I’d hoped for a powerful offensive mage, but you seem to be more interested in research and supporting my efforts, rather than standing on the frontlines yourself. Maybe I should get Abaddon to test him, see if he can handle himself in a fight.

The last thing I need in my ranks is a liability, now that I have thirty summoned heroes after my life.

Don’t make me regret my pick, Hermes Trismegistus.