A/N- This Chapter features characters from Orc Empire I and is very much linked to it.
Chapter 6- The Shadow Behind The Curtain (2)
"Samgon?" Gromgor said shocked.
"Of course my old friend, it's me. I've changed my appearance again so you won't be able to recognise me when we see each other again." Samgon replied in a reassuring manner.
Gromgor had a thought strike his head and realised what Samgon's plan was. "You're not returning to Outer Heaven, are you?" Gromgor asked in a matter of fact tone that held sad undercurrents.
"Not anytime soon. Probably not for a couple of thousand years at least. Could be longer though, I mean I am also travelling across different realities at the moment. I'm undergoing a massive project to protect my new empire." Samgon replied in an even sadder tone.
"May I know the details?"
"I'll tell you this much, okay? I'm going to have my very own group of followers with the power of the enemy."
"A bunch of Harry Potters who serve only you? How very interesting." Gromgor replied in satisfaction.
"I always knew you'd figure out the answer, My Friend." Samgon said in a pleased tone of voice. He then changed the subject, "The world fractures more and more, now that they don't have one person to direct their attention towards. Ally turns on ally, enemies become friends and others turn on all. I sense you have a number of enemies directing their attention towards you."
"Potter and his WSF, Renegades and their followers and resistance cells are all after me. I expected it; however, my contacts have informed me of a new threat to our empires." Gromgor replied in a wary manner.
"What is it? I will need to determine if this 'threat' is actually a threat." Samgon pressed, wondering if he should be concerned.
"It's Lily Potter, my friend. She has formed a new resistance group that is being dubbed 'Red Lightning'. I believe she's going after anyone that may know what happened to her son a year ago."
"Ah yes, from what I've been able to hear from my enclave back in the old world, I may have inadvertently framed him and the WSF for a massacre on an island."
"What do you mean inadvertently? How do you inadvertently frame someone?" Gromgor said incredulously.
"You see, I sent agents to that island to set up illusions in order to distract the WSF fleet that was pursuing me. I thought that they'd pause to do a pointless investigation, not blow the shit out of the island." Samgon said, still surprised that Harry's WSF was normally more caring of people except in that instance.
"Well it certainly held them up for long enough, although I would've said that it was more accidental manipulation than a frame-up. But that's neither here or there, I can say though that WSF are definitely are on the verge of being at war with the allies." Gromgor said confidently.
"HA. Hahahaha, hehehehe." Samgon laughed as though he thought it was the best joke someone had told him.
"What about Lily Potter?" Gromgor asked again as Samgon couldn't stop laughing.
It took Samgon several moments to stop laughing and then replied to Gromgor. "Okay, I've stopped laughing. Right...Lily Potter. My continued survival must remain absolutely secret, therefore anything that links me to what happened with Harry must be silenced, destroyed, ostracized or otherwise buried. If you don't go after her, she'll come after you eventually. Let her sap the strength of the renegades and then destroy them all."
Gromgor stared into space thoughtfully before his mind turned to the allied powers, "What if the allies come after me and attack my territory? I could fend off the WSF, the renegades and the many various resistance cells without too much difficulty but the allies will have superior manpower and industrial capacity and will be able to grind me down."
Samgon responded to Gromgor in a reassuring tone of voice, "Do not worry about that. I have some gifts waiting for you when we finish this call. You are among a select number of legitimate warlords I have selected to break away from Outer Heaven to continue the fight against the allies. After my regeneration, I became aware that there was a need for my followers to not only be able to replace losses but to become major powers in their own right. As a result, all of those I spoke to before my 'disappearance' will receive mobile shipyards that will be able to build any ship up to the size of dreadnoughts as well as the locations of armouries that contain all kinds of weaponry and other equipment."
"Sounds like a pretty cool gift." Gromgor replied happily. For a moment no one spoke until Samgon remarked on an issue
"I understand that one of my acolytes is helping provide you with soldiers and arms."
"You are correct Samgon. He is indeed using his network of legal and illegal businesses to aid me. His political connections, especially in the wizarding world, are blinding the allies to the true threat to their existence." Gromgor said with lots of pleasure in his voice.
"You plan a campaign against them?" Samgon questioned, knowing the answer already but was eager for details.
"Of course. The Wizarding World arrogantly believes themselves secure against attack from 'non-wizarding' attacks. I plan to show them that this belief is false." Gromgor said confidently.
"Do not let yourself become overconfident Gromgor." Samgon said warningly. "Once you commence your attack, they'll be able to slip away and begin attacking your forces at will. You will have no guarantee of victory; especially if the allies arrive and reinforce them."
"It matters not if I lose or win. My aim is to psychologically damage the allies...and the wizarding world in particular. As far as I'm concerned, any psychological blow to any of the allies will be a psychological triumph for all parts of Outer Heaven and our allies." Gromgor replied, still very confident in his aims.
"So you're going with the terror approach then?" Samgon asked rhetorically. "I like it. Even in defeat, you would win."
"That's the idea." Gromgor said smugly.
"I'll leave you to your current campaign then." Samgon said with a sense of finality. He then sounded as though he had thought of something, "Before I go though, I have a proposition for you."
"Go on." Gromgor replied in an interested tone of voice.
"A proposition. I'll give you the details behind it." Samgon then cleared his throat away from the phone, which was barely heard by Gromgor. "About three or four years ago, I conquered a land that was mishmash of different climates. In the ice, there was a hill with a cave at the top. Over the course of several weeks, I built a fortress on top of the cave. However the cave was the most important part. Inside the cave, I found this rock which I identified as a locus. A locus is magical gateway to many possibilities. I entered the locus and became disembodied while in there. In there, I fought two parallel versions of myself but afterwards it got me thinking. I got the idea that it was possible to travel between universes that were impossible to reach by our devices."
"Interesting." Gromgor replied simply, intrigued by the story.
"My proposal is this... I would like you to, at some point, try and open a locus somewhere where you can find one. I want you to see if it's possible to physically transport entire legions to these other realities via one of them."
"Why me?" Gromgor asked with evident interest in the scheme.
"Because not only are you my best friend and extremely loyal, you're the best at what you do. I reckon you'll be able to achieve with technology what others will fail to do with magic."
"I'm in. One question though." Gromgor said, agreeing to Samgon's proposal.
"Ask away." Samgon replied, happy that his best friend agreed to take part.
"How would I find one of these... locuses?" Gromgor asked, never having heard of such an object before today, let alone having come in contact with one.
"If you have shamans or other magic users in proximity to one, you may find that they'll start going crazy and mad with power." Samgon informed him. Gromgor was about to say something but Samgon beat him to the punch, "Before you say anything about them being on mad cap mushrooms or having drunk Dwarven ale, they'll go through a different kind of crazy. It is giving them the ability to speak dead languages in some cases or decipher coded reports without any reference whatsoever...sometimes."
"I'll see if there are any shamans or other magic users within my army. Alternatively, I could approach your acolyte and see if he can find some willing wizards or witches to assist me."
"I knew you'd be thinking about how to go about this task. I will contact you later. After I hang up, Drageck and Charlie with give you all the information that we have written down. They're part of my high command in my new empire so if you need anything or need to ask about something, liaise with them." Samgon didn't speak for a moment after he said that before he resumed speaking, "I will chat with you again, my friend. Until then, goodbye my dear friend. Goodbye Gromgor."
"Goodbye Samgon." Gromgor replied, feeling slightly emotional. The call then ended, the dial tone ringing in Gromgor's ear. Gromgor place the phone back in its receiver and turned to Drageck and Charlie.
"The papers in this folder will tell you everything we have found out about locuses through research and Samgon's own experiences. We have also compiled a range of theories about them as there is also a lot that we don't know about them." Charlie explained to Gromgor, handing him a folder.
"Any information we discover from here on out will be passed on to you. Like Samgon presumably said during the call, you should keep any information that references his survival hidden at all costs." Drageck added.
Gromgor considered their words carefully then thought of one more thing that struck his mind, "Did Samgon mention to either of you two about the two parallel versions of himself he fought in that magical realm?"
"Not to me." Drageck responded dryly.
"He spoke to me and Skak a short while after having gone through that experience. He spoke about it briefly on his command ship at the time but didn't give many details. I get the feeling that he regarded both as traitors in some way but I'm not sure exactly why." Charlie responded honestly. "Sorry I can't give you more than that."
Gromgor looked non-plussed at Charlie's words. He knew that Samgon would choose to keep some details close to his chest. If Samgon had spoken to him directly, he might know more but the problem with phone, visual, written and coded communication is that at some point, the enemy will begin to listen in and they could get all the information they need that way.
Drageck pressed a few fingers to his ear, receiving a direct communication and moved away from Charlie and Gromgor for a moment. "Understood." He replied to the person on the other end of the line. He then returned to the pair and spoke directly to Charlie, "We need to go. An uprising has broken out in Großes Königreich des Jägers. The Governor has requested urgent assistance."
"Does he know how this came about?" Charlie asked neutrally.
"A group of Orc and Goblin commanders have decided to seize power from the ones we put in charge." Drageck replied.
"Perhaps they need a reminder of why they're just commanders and why they're not in charge of the place."
"That's why we're going. We'll be able to sort out the rebels within days and make powerful examples of them."
Drageck and Charlie began making moves to depart. Charlie turned to Gromgor, "I apologise for our sudden departure but as you can probably tell, a number of junior commanders in our new empire have started a coup. We have to put them down."
Gromgor waved him off, "I completely understand. I remember when I had to go and put down more than a few rebellions when I fought alongside him."
"Thank you for being very understanding of our... abrupt departure." Charlie said apologetically.
Gromgor nodded and he witnessed the departure of Drageck and Charlie. An Orc Commander entered the headquarters and began seeking new orders, "What are our orderz, my lord?"
Gromgor thought about his plan to strike at the heart of the wizarding world and the proposal from Samgon. He then registered the question from the Orc Commander and responded to it emphatically.
"We have lots of work to do!"
A/N- So this chapter was basically one long phone conversation with some other stuff happening. The chapter links to Chapter 2.5 of Orc Empire I: The Colony Builders and sets up a future story in the Orc Empire II series. This story will also set up Lily's path to the story Fighting a Phantom Menace.
Please Review and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.