God Rising: Cult of Ainz
Written by: AtheistBasementDragon
Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots
Chapter 134:
...Crossroads…
Rascal went to his room and removed his wet clothing. He went to a window at the back of the room and opened up the shutters, there, outside, a line ran between two rods jutting out crudely from the building. He draped his clothing over it, letting them hang under cover in the outdoor air to dry. With nothing else to wear, he went over to the nearest empty bed. The Owl and Moira were already asleep.
He was glad about that, his little venture had taken longer than he'd thought. He sighed with happiness as he got beneath the grimy old blanket and quickly nodded off, satisfied that the day had been, all things considered, a good one.
He woke the next morning to Moira standing over him with one hand on her hip and the little sack of silver coins in her hand. He blinked the sleep away until her frown of displeasure was clear.
"Care to explain this?" She asked.
Owl was standing up and stretching, but he looked similarly concerned.
"Not really." Rascal said as he stretched out in the bed.
"Will you anyway?" She asked in a tone that said she wasn't really asking.
"If I must. Call it… payment due for services rendered." He said as he swung his legs over the side of the termite-riddled bed and stood up.
Moira immediately turned away as she realized he was naked, hiding her blush as he strode purposefully to the window and opened it up. "Why are you naked?!" She exclaimed.
"You're full of questions, aren't you?" He asked wryly as the cheap half fallen off shutters swung open and he reached out to take his clothes off the line. "How did you dry your clothes after our little rendezvous yesterday evening?" He asked archly.
Turned away as she was, she saw Owl's salacious grin. "Don't put it like that!" She snapped out. "I swear… and Owl, don't you say a thing."
"Lips are sealed." Owl said, sliding two fingers over his lips for good measure before cracking a childish laugh.
"There was a line out there?" She asked as she looked over her shoulder and saw him putting on his pants, and the shirt still hanging free.
"Yes of course, even in dumps like this people need to dry their clothing." He explained as if it were obvious, before he reached out and took his shirt off the line and put it on as well.
"Damn it." Moira said with annoyance.
Rascal shrugged, "As far as the money goes, it was always mine, I just had to retrieve it, look…" he began to rub the back of his head and didn't meet Moira's eyes when she turned to look at him, holding the pouch of coins close to her body, "I once lived in the Theocracy, I was born here, not just in this country, but in this city. I still have family here… at least I think I might." He said unhappily. "I don't want to get into the details, but I have a history here in Crossroads that made me happy to come and take the damn place."
"And the money?" She pressed as her eyes narrowed with his explanation.
He folded his arms over his chest defensively after he tied the top of his shirt. "No. As I said, it is nothing more than payment long past due."
"Will its collection cause us any problem?" Moira asked doubtfully.
"None." He answered and held out one hand. "Now hand it over."
"This conversation isn't over." She said, and casually tossed it over to him.
"Maybe not, but that's all I'm saying for now. We've got a lot to do." He said in turn.
"Yes, we do." Nagi said as he and the others came through the door.
"I suppose you heard all that?" Rascal said with an amused smirk.
"Standing at the door and listening helped out quite a bit with that, if it matters." Nagi said with equal amusement, "Look, I don't care how you got here, you went on a suicide mission with us, and we all survived, to me, that lends you some credibility. If you know something of this city, then you can help us undermine it more effectively, that makes you an asset, not a danger."
"Fair enough." Rascal replied evenly as they took their places in the room. "We still need you all to get jobs to provide a cover in paying for these rooms, however you won't have to work as hard. Our first strike will be this evening, anyone good at stealing, lock picking, and so on?"
A few moments of silence filled the room before Nagi reluctantly raised his hand. "I'm… experienced." He said uncomfortably.
Romare was the next to speak up, but as he did so, he kept one eye turned towards Rascal. "We're in fairly dire straits here, we can't afford to hold back any of our skills out of embarrassment at how we got them. I've some skill at stealth from my time as a hunter, that should be sufficient to at least help with whatever Rascal has in mind."
"What 'do' you have in mind?" Moira asked curiously.
"Doing what we can to blunt some defenses. But the catch is, we can't kill anyone while we're at it. This requires a great deal of stealth and some thief skills." Rascal replied.
Owl spoke up, evidently moved by the words, if not the sour expression of Romare.
"I used to do a lot of work at night that required stealth, I can probably help. Not much use at a locked door, but I can manage simple work in that vein." Owl said supportively.
"How did you two acquire those skills, just out of idle curiosity?" Moira said with an intrigued and invitingly feminine smile.
"Well, if nobody cares, I used to be a thief, and a damn good one." Nagi said with some degree of pride.
"I had… some military training." Rascal said and abruptly closed his mouth.
"I was a hunter for a little hill tribe of people in the hinterlands of Re-Estize, you either caught your prey by stealth or you didn't eat." Romare said with a sour face and a flat tone of voice.
Moira looked at Owl, "So how about you?" She looked at the silent young man.
"Who?" He asked and looked around as if mystified as to whom she was speaking to.
"Damn it, no wonder you call yourself 'Owl'." She sighed, "Never mind, it doesn't matter now I guess. So, you four will handle whatever you have in mind, while Petyr, Mananak and I will go do some work for the day, we'll see you back here tonight."
"That's the plan." Rascal said, and his three companions followed him out.
An hour and a half later they were listening to the first evidence of a siege as the sound of rocks hammering at the thick high walls of Crossroads resounded throughout the city. "General Enri does not waste time." Rascal said approvingly.
"No, she clearly does not." Romare replied. "Now where are we going?" He asked glumly.
"I can't 'point' to it obviously, we don't want to attract attention, but I want you to see where we're going to be tonight." Rascal said patiently, and before long he made it clear with a long look, just what area he was taking them to.
"That large wooden building there." He said grimly, "It's a resupply area for archers, has arrows, bowstrings, and replacement bows."
"We're going to burn it down?" Owl asked with an equally grim voice.
"Oh goodness, no." Rascal said with a mock expression of distress on his face. "We're going to be a little more discreet than that."
"Discreet, how?" Nagi asked, intrigued.
Rascal took out two silver coins and handed them to Nagi. "Go buy a lathe, a whetstone, a few packs to keep them in, and a good razor for each of you, then meet us over at that cafe." He said with a broad and boyish smile on his face.
Nagi looked uncertain, but bolstered by Rascal's confidence, he obeyed and walked towards a nearby shop while Rascal and the others went in to a small cafe and took a table outside.
They were drinking tea and eating biscuits when Nagi returned a short while later and laid the items down beside the table.
"Well?" He asked as he flopped himself down in the seat, "Now what?"
"We wait." Rascal said, "Cafes like this one are known to have customers who linger for long periods of time, even all day, and since the siege is going on, a lot of people who aren't involved in the defense are suddenly free and willing to spend money, and no new entries are coming into the city."
"So?" Romare asked, mystified.
"So it'll have local customers to this area, including people who work there." Owl said appreciatively, giving Rascal a look of new respect.
"Precisely." Rascal said, "So just listen and take note of times, complaints, anything from anyone."
They did exactly that, ordering and drinking and idly talking as people came and went, by the end of the day they'd heard people complaining about their shifts, the extra hours, and more importantly, how understaffed they were in the warehouse now that so many had been called to the wall. The bombardments were frequent, but most of the city seemed to be relatively calm and confident, certain their walls would not be breached.
Finally Rascal was satisfied. He listened carefully, certain nobody was within easy hearing range, he looked at his comrades, "We're not going to burn anything, we're not going to destroy anything, we're going to 'damage'. We're going to break into the warehouse, and you're going to shave down the strings for the bows, shave down the bending points for the bows, pull feathers loose but not 'off' from the arrows themselves."
"Ah, so the strings will snap, the bows buckle and crack, the arrows fly wildly and hit anything but their target… yes, yes I see." Owl said cunningly.
"So we're going to wreak merry havoc over their supply and resupply, I get it. We spend hours at this, then lock back up as we leave and let 'nature' take its course when they try to use these things against our friends outside." Nagi said with a broad smile on his face.
"You got it." Rascal said and made a clicking noise with his tongue, pointing confidently at Nagi as he sat back in his chair.
Nagi frowned.
"Something wrong?" Rascal asked.
"Yes, how'd you come up with this?" Owl asked, guessing the cause of Nagi's frown.
"What do you mean?" Rascal asked innocently.
"Who?" Owl asked with a cheeky grin, "I'll be blunt, this is a cut above the normal sort of action, its clever, it's subtle but direct, most people would jump straight to burning shit down, but you didn't. You'll hurt the effort just as much without exposing that you're engaged in counter operations, this is unwholesomely clever."
Rascal shrugged and put on a calm expression, "So I'm unwholesomely clever, leave it at that, I could ask you just how you can make a comparison like that with such confidence."
"You could ask who that?" Owl said, looking around as if to say he had no idea who Rascal was talking to, it was disarmingly charming, and Rascal's expression turned similarly clever.
Nagi looked between the two and his expression went grave, "Guys, we're on the same side here, I don't think it matters what brings out these skills, only that we use them to common cause, now I'm in, how about the rest of you?"
Romare's face, always sour, went dark and he scratched his bald head. "I agree with Nagi, there isn't time to worry about this kind of thing now, after it's all over and the city falls, we can work the rest out and go from there, for now, there is work to be done."
"Agreed." Rascal said and folded his arms across his chest. "When the sun goes down, head this way, Nagi, break them in and the rest of you get to work. I want hundreds of these done per night, I don't know how long this siege is going to be, but I'll wager that the men on the walls will be replacing their strings on a regular basis."
"And what will you be doing exactly?" Owl asked.
"Staying busy." Rascal said in a tone that shut down further inquiry. "Just don't get caught, kill yourselves if you have to, if you are captured, the Theocracy 'will' break you to find out how many more of us there were. Fight to the death if that is what it takes. But trust me, you do not want to get caught."
The other three traded serious expressions, Rascal's face was grim, he spoke with absolute confidence, no hint of humor to be found.
"Fine by me, I didn't volunteer for a suicide mission out of a wish for long life." Romare said in a tranquil, accepting tone of voice, like one who considered himself already dead. They looked over at the face they expected to have the same sour expression it always did, but instead he looked content, even 'happy' with a small grin forming at his mouth.
Rascal clenched his fists, "Don't seek to die, seek to make your life matter, and if that means dying, then be comfortable learning to live with that until the end."
It was a somber note and it hung in the air for a long time until Rascal stood up, "Take up your equipment and hide yourselves somewhere, if you're not back at the inn two fingers after sunrise, I'll assume you're dead or captured and we're moving our base of operations. If you 'are' caught, try to hold out for that long at least."
The rest stood up as well, and took the packs that Nagi handed over to them. "We'll come back, don't worry about it." Nagi said confidently.
"I will worry about it, but I believe you, don't give me cause to start doubting." Rascal said, then he reached out and shook their hands one by one before he walked away.
When darkness fell, breaking in proved easy, Nagi worked the tumblers of the door lock like a master musician worked an instrument and they crept within, guards proved easy enough to distract with Owl playing a loud drunkard they had to shoo away, and when he'd 'gone' he went to the other side and climbed in through a window his comrades inside opened for him. They set to work without interruption for hours.
Apart from them, Rascal ventured into the warrens of the city, thugs, criminals, the poor and destitute, these were the dregs of the theocracy, humans that even humanity did not want. Clean streets became filthy, good construction became bad, good sewer drainage became washed up and clogged drains that were still flooded from the last rain. He knew this area very well, though many of the faces he saw now were unfamiliar, he felt confident about a few he'd see if he went deep enough.
He went down an alley with the confidence of a man who knew he wouldn't be disturbed. Confidence. That was the key to moving safely in the Warrens. Anyone who looked like they could handle themselves was generally avoided unless someone felt they had a particular advantage.
He stepped through puddles of muddy water, heedless of the filth. Bad as it was, the people here were worse. Worse… but useful. He went into a familiar alley, a large man who appeared quite drunk was leaning against a wall. He wasn't drunk, Rascal knew that much for sure. The face was unfamiliar, that wasn't surprising, life was hard in this part of the city.
"Hey, I'm here to see Kirak." Rascal said as he approached. As the large looking fellow turned towards him, Rascal got a better look, thick muscles under a tight shirt meant to show off his arm strength, square jaw, bald head, and his eyes were keen ones. 'An employed predator.' Rascal thought, it didn't matter, not to him.
"Ain't no Kirak here." The man responded, or rather 'grunted' out.
'Ah, an idiot, well he won't last then.' Rascal thought indifferently. In the Warrens of Crossroads, the weak died quick, the strong and stupid died slower, the smart lived longer, and only the strong and smart lived to the old age of forty or better.
"And I ain't taking no for an answer." Rascal said as he got closer, "I know you're guarding the entrance, and I'm going in whether you announce me or not. If it matters, he'll see me, just tell him Rascos is here and he'll call me in. Or don't, I'll pay for any damages I do to you and get in anyway." Rascal shrugged passively.
The large man looked angry, challenges in the Warrens, suggestions of weakness, those didn't fly. "You think you'cn get past me, little man?" The behemoth asked and folded his arms over his chest as he took out a large truncheon with a metal strip wrapped around it.
"No, I know I can. Now go get your boss or he gets to replace you." Rascal ordered bluntly as he came within reach. The lunkhead looked like he wanted a fight. "Your funeral," Rascal said then quietly added, [Confused Eyes] as he used a martial art.
The lunkhead grabbed at him, and looked confused as he grabbed a full foot away from where Rascal was actually standing. Rascal folded his arms and didn't move, the lunkhead tried twice more, and grabbed wide or high each time, Rascal didn't need to move.
"You could do this all day and never touch me." Rascal said to the confused oaf, "But I'm only going to let you try twice more before you either open that door or I put you down and go through anyway."
That made him angry, the truncheon swung several inches over Rascal's head, and then again right beside him, where it thudded into the ground.
"That's two." Rascal said and threw a punch to the side of the meat shield's head, sending him staggering into the wall of the building next to him, and then sagging down to the ground.
Rascal looked at his victim and observed the rise and fall of his chest. "Huh, alive, well I guess today is your lucky day, sort of, you're tough enough that if you grow some brains you might live another two years." He spoke to the unconscious meathead and walked over to the wall where the thug had been leaning.
He knocked on the stone several times, "It's Rascos, I'm here to see Kirak. I took care of the meat shield you stationed at the door, he's alive, but unless you want to hire a replacement, you'll probably need to treat him. Open up."
There wasn't a sound. "Look, I already know about the illusion, just tell Kirak it's me or I break the damn thing, I put it up in the first place, now let me in or I let myself in."
A moment later the 'wall' swung inwards and Rascal stepped in. He looked around, a crude bar on the left, a few tables with dangerous looking people playing games of chance with dice. In front of him stood a bald dark tanned figure with a permanent scowl on his face. "You know Kirak?" He asked gruffly.
"I set him up here, now quit wasting my time and take me to him." Rascal said as if he were bored. That got the fellow's attention, his eyes widened and he turned around. "This way." He said, suddenly respectful.
Rascal walked past a number of tables towards a back room concealed by a cheap dark blue curtain. No sooner than he'd walked past as the younger thug opened the way than a dagger came sailing towards his face.
Rascal tilted his head to the left and let it sail past. "Didn't think it was me?" He asked in an almost warm tone of voice as he straightened up.
A deep and hearty laugh greeted him as his eyes beheld the man he'd come to see. A very average looking man with a very average looking face and very average eyes with very average hair sat in a booth at the back.
"Yeah, had to be sure." He said in a very boring tone of voice. At his side there was a slender brunette dressed in whore's clothing.
She looked up at Rascal, "Rascos, as I live and breathe." She said in a dusky voice, "It's good to see you again, but if you want a twofer it'll still cost you." She winked at him and both men rolled their eyes.
"I swear Shanda, you never change." Rascos said with an almost affectionate annoyance.
"It's why I'm still alive." She said with a passive shrug.
"Ah, no it isn't, I'm why you're still alive, but maybe you had a 'little' to do with it." he said and held his thumb and forefinger close together in front of him to show what he meant.
"Uh huh, back atcha." She said as she got up and went to embrace him. "Did you go see your dad?"
"Yeah, I did, how could I come back to Crossroads and not?" Rascal asked.
"Any witnesses?" She asked happily.
"None. I learned better than that." He replied, almost offended at the question.
"I don't doubt that." Kirak said offhandedly, "But what brings you back here Rascos?"
"I need some help." He said with mild annoyance.
"You? Need help?" Kirak asked in disbelief. "Sit down, I want to hear this."
Shanda broke the embrace and returned to her seat, allowing Rascal to sit in turn. "I'll fill you in on what's happened since last we spoke…" He said in a serious tone of voice, and they sat in rapt attention as he relayed the events of the last few years.
Four hours later he'd said it all, and they were staring at him with disbelief. "So… what do you want from me?" Kirak asked.
"Between you and Shanda you have a handle on everything that goes on everywhere in this city outside the military command, I want to make sure this city falls, General Enri has four camps outside the walls by now and she is going to do her damndest to get in, and I am sure she will succeed, and what is more, I'm going to do my part to make sure she does. I want your help, and you're going to give it."
Kirak and Shanda traded a look. Her long brown hair was clean, unusual for the Warrens, but so was the rest of her body, and given that he could see most of it, there wasn't a question that she'd probably kept the rest immaculate too.
"I'm no fan of the Theocracy either, not after everything." Shanda said in a disgusted tone of voice, "But you're talking about taking treason to a whole other level."
"The Theocracy doesn't do degrees, you know that." Rascal said bluntly, "You abandoned everything the same as I did, that alone would be worth hanging just to keep you quiet."
Kirak frowned, "Look I'm grateful for all the help you gave getting me set up but…"
"But nothing," Rascal said, "I'm calling in the debt, your guild got its start because I helped you out, I gave you the rules that would keep you out of the eyes of the more important authorities and I set up your little hidey hole here, and there's one more thing you need to keep in mind." He said, letting his words hang in the air.
"Yes?" Kirak asked tentatively.
"When General Enri takes this city, and she will absolutely take this city, everything will change, and you can take my word on two things. First that you don't want to be on the wrong side of the Hard Eyes, the second is that even more importantly, you don't want to be on the wrong side of her master. You can't beat him, nobody can beat him. And if I'm telling you that, you can take that to the money changers and get unlimited credit."
His lips pursed tight as he spoke and he let the pair think it over.
"What are you offering?" Shanda asked tentatively.
"I'll write a letter, my entire team will sign it, after the city falls, you give that letter to General Enri detailing how you helped her from within, tell her I asked for a pardon for everybody who works with you and a chance to start their lives over with land, coin, education, whatever they need, and she will see it done." Rascal said confidently.
The pair of criminals shared a questioning look.
"Full pardons? For everything?" They asked.
"Everything. And no Shanda, I don't think they'll hold back just because you were a scripture member, their newest general was formerly a high placed Theocracy agent of some sort. I don't have the details, but they made a big deal around the cook fires about her being on our side now." Rascal said, keeping his voice upbeat and confident.
"What kind of help do you want for that?" Kirak asked.
"I want information, I want to arrange distractions, I want help breaking in places, I want honest work for my comrades to cover for their lives here. If any are captured alive, I want them rescued if possible and killed if it isn't. I'll want supplies, and possibly personnel for everybody. In short, full operational support. In exchange, you get your old lives, well something like them anyway, back. No more crime guild, no more information brokering, you both might even pull some noble titles out of this and enough to retire on. Yeah, it is a risk, but it is a much bigger risk to be on the wrong side of General Enri or the Sorcerer King." Rascal said persuasively, placing emphasis on the last two words.
"Deliver the letter tomorrow, and I'll help you." Kirak said resolutely.
"I'm in." Shanda said, "I'll have all my girls informed that they're to take special note of everything they learn, anything useful, I'll get it to you."
"Is there any way to get outside the walls?" Rascal asked hopefully, only to feel his face fall when the pair grimly shook their heads.
"I did have a way, but that got shut down." Kirak said unhappily.
"Damn! I guess you can't have everything you want. It's fine, I'll have the letter for you tomorrow, whether we survive or not, this'll get you a future other than… well, this." Rascal said and gestured to the area beyond the curtain behind him.
"Good luck out there." Shanda said sweetly.
"I could sure use some, thanks." Rascal said and stood up, "See you tomorrow."
He waved politely to his old colleagues and walked back out the way he'd come.
...Southern Holy Kingdom…
Reaching Yanana had been a welcome thing, the thick high walls were a great relief, not only to the soldiers and surviving scripture members, but also to the leaders, Yuri and Suchala. They shared a look of optimism as they drew ever closer. This didn't change when they got to the gate and announced themselves, the gates opened slowly and they began to ride through with their army, thousands of stomping feet marching together made the city silent in awe.
But the tranquility of the mixed forces was short lived, as they moved through the streets Yuri noticed the distinct lack of admirers, in the past, an army of the faithful of the six gods would have been an impromptu parade. Instead she beheld dislike on many faces, some were full of contempt, some were outright hate, others were just plain indifference.
"Your people are a dour lot." Suchala said to her in a passing criticism.
"This isn't how they normally are, or normally were… something is wrong here." Yuri said with concern filling her voice.
"What?" Suchala asked anxiously.
"I don't know, we aren't about to be attacked, we just aren't welcome, but they let us in. We'd better find out what's going on and fast, no soldiers go drinking tonight, are we agreed?" She asked in such a way that she was 'barely' asking.
"Yes." He said, he needed no prompting, this was all wrong.
They made their way to the billeting center of the main city, an official was already waiting for them there and the ranks began to form up. "Got this one?" Suchala asked.
"Sure thing." Yuri responded and as companies formed up, she quickly gave them instructions. "Follow the directions of city officials for your billeting, training will take place at one finger past sunrise, chow will follow after that, absolutely no alcohol and no leaving the billeting zone until after we've given clearance." She shouted her instructions, it took several hours and numerous sessions of such instructions to get the entire force into the hands of the local bureaucracy, when it was done, Yuri approached the senior official standing by.
"OK, spill it." She said as she dismounted from her horse and stalked over to him, her burning eyes filled with wrath and bloodlust that made him shrink in fear.
He was a quivering little toad of a man, a pock marked face and a pencil thin mustache that went just past his thin wormlike lips. He looked like a stiff breeze might blow him over, and he wore rich robes with deep blues and bright reds in swirling patterns that frankly didn't look like they were meant for people like him.
"Ah, wh-what do you mean?" He asked nervously as he looked around for help.
Yuri was not a massive woman like that ox, Gagaran that she'd fought before. But she was a solid woman with a deadly aura and ample experience who had no scruples whatsoever.
Suchala remained on his horse and rode up behind her. "I'd answer her if I were you. She's not as gentle as I am, we saw how the people regarded us, and I have no doubt that even if you weren't there you can guess what we mean. Answer her question or I'll ride away and leave you to her." The old general put on his most grandfatherly expression and used his most gentle tone of voice. It contrasted starkly with the furious looking Yuri.
Her armor was battle damaged and showed ample use. She was in a word, the worst nightmare for a weak kneed quill pushing desk manager.
"Ah, well… ah… it is hard to explain, about a year ago, 'she' passed through here." He said anxiously, looking around briefly, fearing that she might still be present.
"She?" Suchala asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh." Yuri said succinctly and looked over her shoulder. "He means Neia."
Suchala's face became twisted with hatred.
"Y-Yes, she railed against the temples, the priests, our practices of faith, her warriors, her hundred, they went to the adventurers guild and put on a display of their prowess, but we arrested Neia for her blasphemy, her heresy…" He bit his lip when Yuri's face looked even angrier.
"You had her… and you let her go?" She asked in angry disbelief. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" She asked in hushed anger.
"Well, sort of but… this was before the war and… well the trial didn't go how we thought it would." He said with an unhappy expression on his face.
"Explain." She said, tapping her hand on the hilt of her sword impatiently.
"We had her chained up to beat her, but after she'd spoken in her own defense, the crowd…" He touched his face with his hand, pressing hard as if he still couldn't believe what he was remembering.
"She won them over, didn't she?" Suchala asked grimly.
He nodded in small, rapid motion. "I swear I will cut out that bitch's tongue myself." He said angrily.
"What she said turned them on us, we tried to punish her anyway, but we had to arrest the people who were going to chain her up, they refused to do their jobs, then we tried to punish her and we failed, as if she were using some form of protection magic, the whips we tried to use just broke and did nothing to her, we couldn't touch her, we couldn't silence her, after one of the judges was injured, we…" The waif like man shook his head in annoyance.
"Well, we let her go, but while all that was happening, her own priests were out healing people left and right for nothing, her hundred stomped the pride of the adventurers guild into mush, among the poor laborers and the powerful fighters alike, her faith spread like a brushfire in a dry summer, they even got themselves a martyr when a priest used his own life force to keep healing the sick and injured until he collapsed and died. We've had trouble containing the problem ever since." He said with exasperation.
"This… is going to be a real problem." Yuri said as she looked over her shoulder at Suchala.
"Yes… it is." He said grimly.
...Outside of Crossroads…
Enri had been pleased by the efficiency of the siege establishment, and she said as much to her bodyguard and best friend when they completed the circuit and returned to the main encampment. "Those are some tough walls though." Enri remarked in a thoughtful tone. "I've never seen so much work put into establishing a secure city before, even E-Rantel didn't have that, unless you count the Death Knights, and that place was the central assembly point for the Kingdom's armies for over a hundred years."
Lupusregina looked over to her companion, "I can't argue that, but it won't matter in the end. We want to drain the Theocracy, we want them 'empty' after all, the fewer adults willing to fight, the better. If they send an army to reinforce this city, I'm sure you've got a plan." She gave her very wolfish grin to General Enri.
Enri smiled back in turn, the gentle eyes that Lupusregina remembered from their first meeting were gone, and a hard edged stare met hers, "I do." She said.
She then called for a soldier's attention and had him hand her an egg, she took it in the palm of her hand, then rode on with a curious Lupusregina beside her. "Something I remembered from a book, the terrain not far from here will work well for it, I've sent scouts out far and wide. If they try to bring an army to us, we'll know about it with plenty of time to break the surrounding camps and draw back into a body, after that we'll start a fighting retreat at the center, reinforce the wings, and then…" She closed her palm around the egg as if to represent what she was describing, her fingers wrapped around it, and she squeezed. The egg shattered in her hand, the messy innards dripped down as she held her hand out beside her horse, letting the image burn into Lupusregina's mind.
The werewolf queen's grin got wider. "The Sorcerer King was wise to keep you alive."
"Ah thanks, Lupu." Enri said pleasantly as Lupusregina reached into her own saddle bag and pulled out a cloth and handed it over to the human general.
Enri wiped her hand clean and gave the cloth back, overhead a large rock sailed and struck the wall, "Right on time." She said contentedly, "I wonder how long General Boabdil can hold out without relief."
"Well, if they really did expel nonessential noncombatants, probably for a few weeks." Lupusregina postulated thoughtfully, "But Sun might have a better idea than me, I'm a simple happy sadist, not a strategist."
"I can't argue that, I'll talk to him this morning, did you see to the dispatch of prisoners already?" Enri asked.
"Yes, they're going overland the long way, that way they get to actually 'see' the way things work in the Sorcerous Kingdom and aren't stuck with nothing but rumors." Lupusregina said with a firm nod. "I'll never forgive those bastards for lying about His Majesty."
"Me neither." Enri said angrily, "Had they only told the truth, fewer people would be marching to their deaths, well in the end they're just going to weaken themselves. In my last correspondence with the Sorcerer King, he indicated he'd be having the captives 're-educated' until the war ended, so maybe that will do some good."
"That'll be something at least. Well, if you don't need anything, I'll go talk with Olasird'arc Haylilal, he was saying something about wanting to propose a new use for him and his family when it came time for him to play his part, and I said I'd hear him out before he brings it to you." Lupusregina said as she casually scratched her back.
"That'll be fine." Enri said as a large boulder sailed overhead again, "I'm going to get breakfast and talk to Sun, if the dragons have an idea on how to better use them, I'm happy to listen." She smiled radiantly and her eyes danced like they did when she'd had a more peaceful, happy life. Lupusregina couldn't help but notice the difference between that and her earlier hard expression, and while she had to admit that this was beautiful, she much preferred 'Hard Eyes Enri'.
...Great Western Road…
General Zaryusu Sasha and Shalltear Bloodfallen had come to a most amicable working relationship as they continued the way south towards the last remaining Theocracy puppet state of Re-Lobell. Every night, Shalltear absorbed knowledge like a sponge as the lizardman chief-turned lizardman general taught her everything he had learned of administration under the aegis of the Sorcerer King.
She didn't much care for it, but her pride pushed her through her boredom, and he didn't fault her the sense of boredom, nobody sang songs of the glorious paper pushing or the battle against the desk, but without logistics and reports, armies died.
"I'm truly impressed, Lady Shalltear, you've mastered almost everything, I have no doubt that His Majesty will be truly proud of you for all the growth you've undergone on this journey for his glory." Zaryusu said, genuinely meaning every word.
"Nightly, you have made me eat my own words and my own thoughts with your diligent efforts." He said ruefully.
She smiled sweetly and put the back of her right hand to her left cheek and smiled a superior looking smile, "Of course, frankly while killing you for your insulting thoughts might have been entirely justifiable, this turned out to be far more satisfying, I never knew how good it felt to make other people realize they were wrong about me."
"Being underestimated and proving someone wrong does have its own satisfaction." Zaryusu conceded, politely ignoring the part about killing him, though he had little doubt she could have and under slightly different circumstances, would have, her loyalty to her master gave her a sense of predictability that made him more comfortable with more horrifying statements.
"How long till we reach Re-Lobell?" She asked disinterestedly as they got back on their horses after sending off the previous night's work before undertaking the march.
"A few hours at most, with the capital fallen, they'll probably surrender in exchange for their lives, the capital might even have sent word already telling them to do so, but even if they did, we still have to make it official, then we go south to the mountains. With any luck, they'll not pose a problem to speak of." Zaryusu replied.
"And if they do?" Shalltear asked, baring her fangs.
Zaryusu shrugged, "I've had enough of the obstinate stupidity of some of the rebels, we've negotiated peaceful surrender before, but those who remain have to know all is lost, if they attempt to extort a deal by holding the city hostage, I say kill them."
Shalltear looked at him with new respect. "All of them?" She asked in surprise and delight.
"Yes. Anyone bearing indications of a noble title, this isn't going to be negotiated, they get one chance to surrender without conditions, if they refuse, wipe them out." Zaryusu said with annoyance. "I realize you wanted to do that the whole time, and I don't blame you, sparing was more expedient than butchering however, but now that situation has changed. Not one more minute will be spent on haggling with idiots."
"Oh, how delightful." She chirped happily.
"Just make it quick, any time spent on slaughter is time not spent moving to our next objective." He pointed out impatiently.
Shalltear pouted, "True, but still…" She perked up a moment later, "Well, if it is for Lord Ainz, anything is acceptable."
As anticipated, several hours later they arrived at the gates of Re-Lobell. The gates were shut and guards were on the walls. Zaryusu was less than pleased. Thousands of feet stomping in unison shook the ground behind him. The soldiers atop the city walls were clearly less than happy about their circumstances.
At a glance, the standard bearer raised the flag and with two steps in place, the army halted in its tracks. Zaryusu traded a look with Shalltear and he rode forward until he was within reach of the walls, they were large and thick, obviously whoever was in charge was counting on the evident strength of the city's defenses to give them negotiating leverage.
Zaryusu knew how pointless those defenses really were.
He called out to the walls. "I am General Zaryusu Sasha of the Sorcerous Kingdom, I come with Lady Shalltear Bloodfallen of the Sorcerous Kingdom, we come together to support King Zanac and restore his kingdom to his rule, yours is the last pebble in the path of success. I command you in the name of those authorities, to surrender unconditionally and immediately. If you do not, everyone holding a weapon in hand will die, every noble will die, and you will have no second chance at giving way."
He took a deep breath and all but roared at them, drawing out his guttural voice, "Kneel now, or lie down forever!"
Shalltear looked over at him, "Nicely done, for a mortal."
He inclined his head politely, "Thank you, Lady Shalltear."
"How long do I wait before I start killing?" She asked in a more interested voice.
"Give it five minutes, enough time for them to get word that we're not negotiating and to make a decision. If they don't respond, you are... unleashed on them. Just remember the Sorcerer King's rules, combatants and leadership, spare the rest." General Zaryusu Shasha said pointedly.
"As if I would ever forget my Lord's commands." Shalltear said, somewhat offended.
"Of course not, Lady Shalltear, I didn't mean to imply that you'd forget his will."
"Good." She said, then looked back up at the top of the walls.
"Can you tell what they're doing?" he asked curiously.
"They're carrying word to the city officials in charge, lots of shouting farther away, there's a lot of fear beyond that stone." Shalltear said hungrily.
"They're right to be afraid." Zaryusu said coldly.
"Yes, yes they are." Shalltear replied happily.
"Time's up!" Zaryusu shouted, "What is your answer?" He asked.
Silence, and the gate didn't move. "OK, Lady Shalltear, please, be my guest, just open the gates after you're finished."
Shalltear cackled and rose into the air, arrows flew at her and did nothing, she raced along the walls with such speed that none saw their killer, she moved so fast that the spurting blood did not so much as grace her skin as her claws severed heads from bodies, when the gate side wall was cleared and bodies tumbled onto the stone walkway or down to the street and ground below, she dropped down and kicked the gate hard enough that it flew open and broke the hinges, falling down to the ground and sliding several feet away and opening the path to Zaryusu's army.
She wheeled about and rushed to the city interior, the homes and shops were of relatively poor quality in the standard way expected of what passed for the Kingdom's 'architecture' that no nobleman lived there was a given. Instead she raced inward, past the inner wall, which she paused at only to shatter the gate and send it flying into a building built to close and smash it to pieces. It wasn't long before she reached the manor that had to belong to the leader of the government of Re-Lobell.
The population scattered like a flock of birds on the beach avoiding a predator running towards them. They screamed in terror as the vampire scream shattered the relative tranquility of the people. She flew overhead until she reached the manor, and did not pause to even kick down a door, instead she followed the scent of life and smashed straight through the wall to where she'd find it. She howled happily as her terrifying monstrous face was put on full display, could hear, in the distance, the army of Zaryusu marching through the main street and taking control in a firm, uncompromising manner. Whether human or dwarf, no matter what was under his order, there was no compromise to be had, anyone who held a weapon after the first command to drop it, was put down like a mad dog.
Shalltear swept over the manner, seeking living flesh to rend apart, and before Zaryusu had made it one mile within the city, she seated herself on the throne, satisfied that there was no noble left alive within. She propped her feet up on a corpse and folded her hands over her lap, then hummed patiently until Zaryusu arrived and sent his command out to gather any other citizens of importance.
Within a few hours everyone dressed in any way that suggested wealth, authority, or importance, was dragged bodily to the manor of the city government and confronted with the unleashed carnage of Shalltear Bloodfallen. The rolling heads with horrified expressions and dead pale eyes caused more than one leading citizen to vomit on the floor and add to the stink of death and less than dignified bodily fluids. When they were dragged into the throne room, Zaryusu joined Shalltear at the throne, she sat looking at them with a mix of hunger an impatience, while the lizardman general beheld them with contempt. He looked to the guards that had dragged these men and women in to the cornucopia of carnage that had been the throne room, and they forced these wealthy pampered figures to kneel with the ease of putting the tip of a weapon to the base of their necks and pressing down firmly enough to get their 'point' across.
"I told your leaders I would not be negotiating, they thought I was bluffing. As you can see, I was not bluffing. Your city is fallen, your army is surrendering and every man still alive in armor is confiscated and will be joining us. You who still live will form a council to temporarily run this city until King Zanac sends a new leader, if the gates are not opened and they are not welcomed whole heartedly and with open arms, then your existence will be erased. There is no point in keeping the stupid alive. Am I understood?" Zaryusu asked, gently tapping his fingers on Frost Pain to illustrate his point.
Trembling bodies and terrified nods were given in response. "I didn't hear that, say it again." Zaryusu said.
"You are… understood, my lord." The defeated figures said anxiously.
"Good, normally I'd take more time to bring things to order, but everyone stupid enough to cause problems is probably dead, so we're going to round up your remaining soldiers and depart, do not force a return." He said, and Shalltear kicked the corpses over that she'd been propping her feet on, and the casual dismissal of the meat that had once been a man, sent fresh shudders down the spines of the kneeling leaders.
Zaryusu was confident of one thing at least, they'd been cowed enough that he would not have to come back again.
...Inside Crossroads…
General Boabdil was less than pleased. Boulders were striking his walls, his city, his country. And all he could do was sit and take it. The long range weapons of General Enri were better than his, though he'd tried to strike back, few shots had hit, and in the end he'd called a halt to it as he was just wasting shots he couldn't replenish. Still, the walls held, his soldiers held, and he was proud of them.
He walked along the top of the wall that morning talking to his people, praising their efforts and their bravery, and sending out his other aids to do likewise. But he always kept an eye to the sky as he thought about the dragons that might come sweeping down from anywhere to wreak havoc. He clapped a young man on the shoulder, "Have faith in the gods, they will give us victory, you know this, don't you?" He asked the shaking, beardless youth.
"Y-Yes my lord." The young man said in a voice full of false bravado. "The gods love humanity, and th-they will protect us now just as they did in the old times. We are their chosen ch-children."
'So young…' General Boabdil thought regretfully as the youngster repeated a phrase every youth learned in the Theocracy temples.
"That's right." General Boabdil said with a confident grin, "Only bear true faith, and our faith will give us victory."
He moved on to the next person, and so it went. It was good for morale, he wondered if General Enri had done something similar already, probably so, his impression of her was a positive one and the prisoners he'd gotten back from her all reported being well treated, even having seen her holding their dying so that they would not slip into death alone and afraid. He had a sense of admiration for her rise to power and the responsible way in which she handled it.
"If we had twenty such commanders, we would already rule the world." He said under his breath a hundred times before breakfast had ended. A boulder sailed over his head and smashed a building, most didn't make it over the walls, but every now and then… it happened. He listened carefully, there were no screams, either the occupants died immediately or there were no occupants within.
He looked farther away, his engineers were constructing mangonels of their own to strike back, they were working double time, when they were done, he'd have the means to hit back at his opposite number, and he'd use their own ammunition to do it. He walked the wall for another hour, before at last he withdrew and headed for his own office.
On arrival, he was greeted by an aide already waiting outside his door.
"Come in, what do you have for me?" The old general asked.
"My Lord, the latest reports are that we've killed two of the escapees and the remainder, save one, are all in custody." The young aide said, pleased.
"Oh?" General Boabdil asked as he moved behind his desk and sat down. "Why do I get the feeling that there is more to this?" He asked.
"Well my lord, all those we've captured insist that they're not only 'not' our prisoners, but all told the same story, that they were knocked out and woke up dressed the way they did. It's just… it seems unlikely that this would be the case, they all come up with the same story, all do the same thing, they all smelled of alcohol when they were caught, so I…" he looked uncomfortable giving an opinion of this nature to his senior, so Boabdil chose to step in.
"Relax man, I've never punished a messenger or a soldier for speaking his mind, I get where you're going with this, so let's do some checking then. Have them brought to the bar, ask if anyone recognizes them, if they're a regular and not a prisoner, they'll be known to the other patrons or the employees. If they can identify family or neighbors, they live here, if not, well hold them for further questioning. If we do have some loose ends in the city, we need to find them."
"My Lord, I'll have it done at once." He said, his face was not a mask 'yet', more experienced aides hid their thoughts and feelings. He hadn't yet learned how to do that, so he registered an impressed look as General Boabdil promptly proposed a means of exposing the truth.
"Oh, on your way out, send Ira and Heikeren to me, I don't plan on just huddling behind the walls and getting pounded, so we need to prepare for action immediately." General Boabdil added with an aggressive expression on his face.
"Of course, my lord!" The aide said eagerly as he departed the room, leaving the old warrior alone.
AN: Had some great suggestions by some of you, nicely done. I'll create a character appendix, and there actually already is a 'timeline' document available on the discord showing what takes place when if you're worried about what stories to read at what point, but honestly I don't consider that to be necessary, because so many of these take place concurrently, it is a big world, and people are working at the same time as other people, the world doesn't stop in Kami Miyako because of what is happening in Kedyn or Wenmark, etc. :) So you can read them in any order and rest assured that if something comes as a complete surprise, it will make more sense when you read something else, it's written in such a way that it just 'snaps into place' sotospeak, when you read everything. For example, Zesshi's joining the Sorcerer King will come to a complete surprise to anyone who hasn't read 'Enemy Mine' because it starts at one point of God Rising, then intersects again with it at the end, taking place as world events do. So you can view the timeline on the discord if you want, but you don't have to in order to appreciate the material.
Just one more thing, I will be slowing down a bit on God Rising updates because I got two new commissions for Overlord stories, not huge works, but since I won't even put my pseudonym on garbage, well I'm going to do a solid job of it. Also, I'll be starting my own original work soon, so I'll keep you informed on that one. LOTS of creative projects in the offing, I know, I know... some of you really want me to just focus on one thing until it is done, but bear in mind... when the entire God Rising Saga is done, I don't plan to write more Overlord, so be careful what you wish for. I 'might' pick up a new Overlord Project with a tentative sequel, but don't count on it. It depends on what happens with this one, plus I have the audio project and illustrated ebook work to do with this one, it is a LOT to do.