::Chapter Nine::
The kitchen staff at the Royal Palace had gone to great lengths to humor their princesses' sudden interest in washing dishes. At any given time there were several dignitaries from each steading in the Alliance residing on the grounds, and by long tradition the evening meal was open to any diplomat or member of their staff who cared to attend.
This made for a tremendous amount of dirty dishes, but in any event there were more than enough servants around to handle anything less than a full state dinner. Rune had insisted, however, and rather than incur her wrath, they'd meekly reserved a sink for her at the entrance to the kitchens.
Londs admonished from behind, this really is unnecessary. They could attack at any moment, and I...
I will not cower in fear within the walls of my own palace, Rune told him sternly as she finished scrubbing a pot. Besides, what confidence can a people have in their leader if they never see her? We must all do what we can to show Roshtaria that it's rulers will not be intimidated. Surely you can see the value in that?
Hers was a voice that was clearly used to being obeyed, and Londs sighed wearily as he conceded the match. The House of Venus had demonstrated a pronounced stubbornness that Londs felt went far beyond genetics, and as valuable as it was in times of crisis it could also be painfully frustrating.
Of course, your highness, he said docilly. There were a few points that he'd refused to budge on, however, and he made himself take comfort in the guards that stood over every hatch, window, and door that led in or out of the kitchen.
Something caught his attention. A messenger was talking quickly with one of the guards by the main entrance, and as he watched the guard pointed out Londs amidst the crowd of cooks and servants. The messenger looked up, and hurried over to him.
Sir Londs! he began loudly, then stopped himself and looked around, as though he were afraid of being overheard.
Londs looked at him severely. Yes, what is it?
The messenger swallowed, then stepped in close to Londs and spoke into his ear in a low voice. A look of shock passed quickly over Londs's face, then he turned around and put his hand on Princess Rune's shoulder.
His voice was hollow as he spoke. Your highness, we must leave immediately. Erfon has fallen, and we have lost the southern stronghold.
So it begins. Dr. Stalubaugh's voice sounded as ancient as the stone walls of the War Room. His words echoed strangely in the open area where the map of El Hazard was displayed, with oddly-shaped force appreciation markers scattered across it. The lights of those markers were far more numerous than they had been during the last Bugrom War, but there were four that were larger than any, the symbols of the Four Strongholds. And one had already been extinguished.
We have reports that our positions were bombed in the same way that the Princess Fatora was attacked, from concealed ships in the sky! One of the military advisors, dressed in his preposterously high-collared overcoat, read the dispatch as though it were the most disasterous report he'd ever seen.
Alielle scowled from the balcony above the map. Oh, don't these guys ever have anything good to say?
Makoto walked up beside her, and rested his hands on the railing. If Jinnai follows the same pattern he did during the last war, he'll continue north to attack Laidae with his full force, then spread out to the east and west, and take Dorusland. God, they haven't even finished rebuilding the capital yet.
Londs grumbled beside him. All of our remaining troops were cut down when they tried to leave Erfon to report. We have no idea what kind of strength he posesses, nor can we guard our smaller positions against the Phantom Tribe.
But we know where he's likely to go next, right? Makoto asked. Can't we position troops to cut off his routes to the north?
Londs shook his head. The Bugrom do not use roads to move across the landscape. Any widthdrawls we made from our fortified positions would simply invite attack. Dorusland's defences have been heavily reinforced, and I have already prepositioned a squadron of our new warships there to cover against an air attack. If the Bugrom attempt to lay seige to the capital the way they did in the last war, they will fail.
Dr. Stalubaugh added, But there is nothing we can do for the innumberable smaller towns and cities that lie in their path. Many sought refuge in the countryside when it became clear that the larger cities were the focus of the last war's campaign. And, we can no longer scout the Bugrom positions, as it seems that the Phantom Tribe are hiding them from view between attacks.
You know, Alliele pondered, if the Phantom Tribe really is so good at making themselves invisible, and confusing people, how come they didn't help the Bugrom the last time? And why couldn't they have conquered El Hazard all on their own?
You know, Makoto replied thoughtfully, I never could figure that out. They've shown that they can pretty much get through our defenses at will. I just always assumed that they preferred subterfuge and assassination to outright fighting. Dr. Stalubaugh, just how long have the Phantom Tribe been in El Hazard?
Dr. Stalubaugh glared up at him. My boy, surely you remember? They were brought here when the Eye of God was last activated during the Holy Wars, more than three thousand years ago.
And where were they sent?
Legend states that they dwell in a region of underground caverns beneath El Hazard, possibly formed by the devestation of the Holy Wars, but we do not know for certain.
Makoto's enthusiam for this line of questioning seemed to be growing in spite of the Doctor's distracted tone. So it's possible that the reason that their science is so much more advanced than your own is that they've been living in an underground vault of ruined technologies! That's how they were able to learn how to control the Eye of God!
My boy, Dr. Stalubaugh said impatiently, I fail to see your point, if there is one.
Makoto looked genuinely surprised. I'm sorry, Doctor, I was just speculating. Maybe there's a reason that they've stayed hidden all these years, something that was holding them back from taking revenge. If there was, it might help us to know what.
The Doctor sighed. Yes, I'm sorry. Events are already beginning to spiral out of control, and I do not wish for this to be a repeat of what happened the last time the Bugrom attacked.
Makoto walked over and put his hand on the man's shoulder. I know, Doctor, I know. But this time around, I just feel like we're missing a very important peice of the puzzle. There's something about the Phantom Tribe, why they're doing this, that we don't yet understand.
****
Yeah, I hope we get to smash a few bugs along the way. It's been too long since I had a truly worthy opponent. Shayla had her lamp lit, and was sitting in the middle of the deck making tiny shapes with the flame. John was on his stomach, head propped up in his palms and eyes watching Shayla's antics with passive disinterest. Qawoor was next to him, silently perusing an archaic-looking book.
Afura's requisite sigh of exaggerated patience came from her position at the helm. It was a thin veil for her own anxiety. Shayla, we're supposed to remain hidden, remember? I doubt that the Bugrom would fail to notice when their scouting forces didn't return. That might make them suspicious of what we were doing out here, which could lead in turn to their discovery of the very thing we're seeking.
Shayla looked up from her dancing flames. And what is it we're seeking, exactly?
Afura paused. I, I'm not even sure myself. All the Headmistress said is that she's suspected the Phantom Tribe of working in this area for some time. We'll be the first ones to determine just what exactly is going on, and, if there's anything we can do to stop them. And besides, the last time we went out like this, we found Kalia, and she kicked your high and mighty butt all over the hidden temple.
Shayla answered, well as I recall, you got the same treatment, despite your obvious superiority. Her last two words dripped with acid contempt, and Afura began to rise to the bait when something stopped her. The sound of light footsteps came from behind them, and Cerin emereged out of the hold onto the deck.
She didn't say a word, but she glanced quickly at Afura and, seeing the priestesses' obvious distress, stalked quietly around the engine bank to the other side of the deck where she couldn't be seen.
Afura, after struggling mightily with herself for a few moments, let out a frustrated breath and walked quickly below decks.
Shayla said after the other two were safely out of earshot, she's never been that easy to upset. Something must really be bothering her.
From what I hear, John said, she got a real earful from the Headmistress. She's probably still just pissed off about the whole incident at the Temple.
Qawoor shook her head gently. I think it's more than that. The Seminary has always been tough on it's trainees, so that only the strongest women make it through the training. Unless it was unusually severe, Afura should have been able to handle her punishment better than this. There's something else, something that's somehow more important to her than just her pride.
She turned to look at John. Shayla turned to look at John.
John turned a very bright shade of red.
The cutter touched down in the closest thing to a clearing that Cerin had been able to find for miles. It was a clear night, and not even the wind stirred as they eased their way through the thick branches and set down silently. Then, the cutter and it's crew emerged from their hiding as though appearing out of thin air, and the priestesses went to work immediately covering it with a camoflauge netting that blended itself, chameleon-like, with the surrounding foliage. When they were done with this, John took it upon himself to ask the obvious question.
Now what?
Afura and Cerin closed their eyes in response, and for a few moments no one moved as the pair scoured the area for signs of the enemy.
There doesn't seem to be anyone around us, Afura said at length, but I can hear something in the distance, coming this way. It sounds like, almost like an earthquake.
Her eyes popped open. Cerin, what do you see five miles to the south of us?
Cerin turned around to face in that direction, and the schooled look of concentration on her face abruptly shifted to something much more akin to surprise.
Garble blarble farble, Groucho said.
Jinnai responded calmly, giving no outward thought to the tidal wave of flowing and ebbing bugs around him. Well, Groucho, do you think you'll be able to handle yourself this time?
Jinnai sighed. You'd better, because if I have to bail your shiny butt out again, I'll demote you to Hatchling Security. Now, let me see. He pulled a large map from one of the storage bins on his dais and unrolled it. The borders for more than two dozen separate countries and steadings were drawn on it, with every major city marked in red. Except, of course, for his first conquest Erfon, which now had a cartoonish black ladybug crudely drawn over it.
Next stop, Laidae!
Shayla's grin was wide enough to split her face. All-RIGHT! Fianlly, some action! She punched John on the arm hard enough to leave a mark, then turned to Afura. How many are there?
At least one, possibly two thousand, Afura replied stoically.
That's all? Shayla said derisively, I was hoping for a real fight.
They're coming right for us, aren't they? Qawoor asked miserably.
They'll overrun our position in less than ten minutes, Cerin told her. I'll alert the Temple.
Right, John and I will go out and head them off, Shayla said, then grabbed John by the wrist. You ready to go?
John gulped loudly, then said in a high-pitched voice, What, you expect me to actually run towards them?
she responded with a slightly twisted smile, I expect you to fly us towards the. Up over the trees so that I can have a clear shot. We're wasting time! Let's go!
A jittery scout bug hovered in front of Jinnai's face, spouting a mangled message that took all of two seconds to completely infuriate the Bugrom leader.
WHAT!?! What are those damnable harpies doing out here in the middle of a stupid forest!? How did they know where we would be? Wait, never mind. Tell the periphary forces to spread out and outflank them! Order the supply transports to hold their positions and await further instructions! And get me my helmet!
Can you see them? John had his eyes shut tight against the piercing wind, and his voice seemed distant and indistinct.
Yeah, I got them, Shayla shouted back to him, reinforcing his hold around her waist with one arm and sheilding her eyes with the other, hang on just one more minute.
John grunted in response. Despite her clear enthusiasm for the coming battle, he felt like a tugboat sent out to kill a battleship. They waited for what seemed an eternity, with the steady rumbling of the approaching Bugrom army growing louder and louder, the knot in John's stomach growing tighter and tighter, until finally the sound was so great the he was sure they must be right over the Bugrom.
Then, with a joyous war whoop Shayla cried out and John sent them hurtling across the treetops towards the very center of the advancing guard. Shayla's aura formed around them and struck out against the ground, sending plumes of flame towering over the trees and casting eerie shadows across her vision. One fireball after another erupted upon the Bugrom formations, augmented by John's powers, and their strange high-pitched screeching cries were barely audible against the thunder of flame and smoke that Shayla was producing.
But before they had made it a hundred meters, the Bugrom troops abruptly vanished.
Jinnai swallowed what felt like a baseball. They were hovering almost directly over him, and that red-haired priestess of violence seemed to be staring straight at him. The American kid was holding her by the waist, and as Jinnai watched they seemed to power up for their final attack.
Let me try something, John shouted enthusiastically.
Shayla responded, Oh no, not while you've got me this far off the ground. Take us back to the cutter.
This'll just take a sec, John insisted, then placed his right hand over his lamp. A brief flash eminated from it, and then, as though he'd sucked all the air out from under them, they began to lose altitude.
Shayla screamed, What are you doing! I told you to wait, dammit!
The wind began to whip them around like a storm-tossed sea, and John cried out in frustration, I, I don't understand, what's happening...
Finally, his concentration completely broken, they dropped out of the sky like a pair of stones.
The muscles that controlled Jinnai's mandibles didn't seem to be functioning properly. Two seconds ago he had been bracing himself for a fiery death, and now his executioners had practically fallen into his lap!
Well, a very large bed of sponge moss, really, and a good thing too; his hostages would be much more valuable if they were undamaged. Most of the Bugrom in the immediate area were too scattered (or too dead) to be paying much attention, but Groucho had the presence of mind to order what few there were to converge on the intruders. Just as they had begun to move, though, the red-haired woman sat up and cursed.
Shit! See, I told you to head back. Dammit, where'd they all go?
If this was some kind of trick, she was a damned good actress. The priestess looked around in genuine confusion, as if what she were looking for was behind the Bugrom that surrounded her.
I'll bet that rotten little turd's got the Phantom Tribe working for him again! Hey John, wake up! We need your lamp, quick!
The American kid rose much more slowly than the priestess had, obviously favoring his right side, and his only response was a dull moan.
The insult snapped Jinnai out of his trance. ROTTEN LITTLE TURD?! How dare you mock me to my face, when you're completely surrounded by my invincible troops and totally at my mercy?
She's right, you know, said Nahato from just behind Jinnai's shoulder.
Jinnai screamed in response. Wha, what the hell are you doing here? And just what do mean by that blasphemous remark?
Nahato appeared to congeal into being from a mist of black vapors, and smiled thinly. That we are working for you again. She's right; their whole party can't see you right now. But we're having great difficulty maintaining it in the presence of that bitch priestess, so I'd suggest you hurry on your way before the effect wears off.
Jinnai regarded the phantom for a moment, then nodded to Groucho. The general bug blew his whistle, and the remaining troops darted away into the forest at top speed. Jinnai's dais began to move, but he held up his hand to pause his advance.
And what about my first question? Just what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?
Nahato allowed a slight look of pity to cross his face; pity for the fool who had trusted him to be the savior of this mad desire to control the world, when the only real option was to destroy it. But then his features hardened. You have your own secret' assets, and we have ours.
The priestess of violence turned abruptly towards them and shouted Who's there? Show yourselves, you cowards! Shayla fired a random burst of flame into an unfortunate few of the Bugrom.
Nahato continued. It is already becoming difficult to hide your movements. Leave. Now. Those final words could have been hammered out of iron, but Jinnai refused to budge.
If we're discovered, then you will be too. Tell me what I want to know, and then we'll leave.
You still don't understand, do you? Nahato replied. We've no ties to each other, except when it's convinient. You will leave, now, and you may consider this the last time you will be rescued.
With that, the phantom faded from view, and Jinnai pounded his clenched fists on the arms of his chair, then pointed in the direction of his fleeing troops and moved on.
I've, I've almost, got it... The strain in Cerin's voice was almost enough to make Afura feel tired, but after another few seconds of gritting her teeth together hard enough to break them, Cerin gave up and slumped to the ground, exhausted.
I almost, got it, she panted, I almost broke through their illusion. Afura raised her hands and erected a cyclone-like barrier of wind around them and the cutter.
I hope John's allright, Afura commented gravely.
What about Shayla-Shayla? Qawoor asked.
Afura bared her teeth in a humorless grin. She can take care of herself.
As though to prove the point, one minute later a bright orange glow appeared at the edge of Afura's barrier and Shayla stepped through it, trailing flames and holding John up by her shoulder.
Would someone please tell wonderboy here that he shouldn't go messing around with his lamp when he's flying someone else around? Shayla yelled as she moved towards the center of Afura's shield. This idiot nearly got us both killed!
Afura ran over to John and took his other arm over her shoulder. What happened? she asked. John was holding one hand protectively over his right side, and was taking in sharp breaths between his teeth. He made no effort to respond, but instead slumped gingerly against the base of a tree and hugged his legs up against his chest.
I tried to... he began slowly, but was soon drowned out by the advancing tide of Bugrom, despite Afura's barrier. The ground beneath them was quaking as though to give way, and an eerie wail was being carried on the wind as the hundreds of soldiers were scrambling across the ground. They made what sounded like a war cry.
Many of them tried to get through the barrier, but they were thrown back against the trees with a sickening crunch. The thunder continued for a few minutes, then subsided, and Afura flew up above the barrier.
They've gone, she said when she touched back down, then walked over and crouched in front of John. Now, tell me what happened.
I already told you what happened! Shayla shouted indignantly from behind her. Or doesn't it matter to you that I almost died?
Of course it matters! Afura shot back. But without John's lamp we might as well go home. Cerin can't peirce the Phantom Tribe barrier by herself.
She turned back to John. Well? What did you hurt? Can you still help us?
His teeth were grinding together as he fought to keep the pain at bay, but he managed a choppy nod. Sure. Just a few broken ribs. We gotta try.
Cerin walked up and knelt next to John. Then let's not waste any more time, she said, and she placed her hands on his lamp. John's eyes were already shut, and Cerin closed hers to concentrate. Their lamps began to glow feircely, and after a few seconds, the air around them seemed to twist and distort.
Afura brought her hands together, then thrust them aside as if to open a shuttered window, and her wind barrier folded itself away, leaving small clouds of dirt and debris to settle on the floor of the forest. Everything in the forest, from the ground they were standing on to the trees that surrounded the small clearing, was shimmering as though they were seeing it from the other end of a vast expanse of desert.
Then, abruptly, a red laser-like beam shot in front of them through the dust clouds, then another, then five more, until a tight-woven web of focused light criss crossed it's way around a small patch of forest in front of them. Their vision stabilized again, and John glanced up.
he said.
The other priestesses - except Cerin, who was still concentrating mightily - were staring dumbly at the whisker-thin lines of red light, and Afura turned her head towards John.
she asked.
Beams of focused light, John answered through sharp breaths. We used something similar back home for security devices. As soon as you interrupt the beam, they can detect it. Seems like a lot of work to guard something that's already invisible.
Could you and Cerin get through them? Afura asked.
John chose that moment to groan painfully and double over, and Afura glanced at Cerin. She seemed about ready to collapse herself, so Afura put a hand on her shoulder.
That's enough, Cerin. We have to leave now so we can stop the Bugrom before the get to Laidae.
Cerin let go of John's lamp, and let out a long-held breath. Abruptly the red lasers disappeared, covered again by the illusion, and Shayla and Afura lifted John off the ground and carried him back to the cutter as gently as they could manage.