On Earth, Kaz woke up in the morning and checked his scanner. He got nothing from his code self. He sighed as he put his scanner in his pocket and went to school. It was a bit awkward with Khybon by his side. He remembered the first time Tom saw the creature and he had to explain everything, to the annoyance of the creature.
Khybon grumbled, "No wonder you like going to Perim. This routine is boring," he cracked his bones as he noticed the best friend of his charge.
"We all think that," he adjusted his glasses. He noticed that his best friend seemed in a bit of distress, or something similar, "Hi Tom."
"Hi."
"Everything good? You seem a bit down? Or something else happened," Kaz asked.
"Yeah. I just can't say anything about it. You'll know when your code is back," his best friend replied regretfully.
The orange-haired boy got the feeling that it was something big, "Can you tell me at least something about it?"
Tom quickly glanced at Khybon and around, "No," he whispered, "We will be in huge trouble if I say more."
The creature wondered what the guide of the Overworld said. He knew he couldn't get an answer. He glanced at the many battlegears that rolled on the street of the city. It was strange to see so many battlegears that weren't made for battle or war.
Khybon avoided a smug to appear on his face. The battlegears were numerous, but less powerful than anything he made. His tribe had the power and the Cothica had the numbers. He crossed his arms and waited for the two humans to move on to the worse place of the Cothica for an Underworlder: School.
Chapter 9: Lord Van Bloot Hatred
In an unknown location of Perim, Kaz grumbled as he woke up. He saw Atrapol still watching him.
The creature looked a bit tire, but nothing else stood out. His eyes felt a bit heavy. He tapped on his kneecaps with his fingers, "My Lord will see you soon. You better be polite with him," he frowned.
"I know. Did you stay up all night?" Kaz asked.
"No," Atrapol replied with a grunt. He quietly meant that the human should expect a world of pain if he asked more on the matter.
"Okay," he didn't push any further.
The boy waited. He didn't know what the next meeting with Van Bloot would turn out to be. He crossed his fingers and waited.
"Still no answer about the deal?" the creature asked.
"I'm still not sure if you are actually going to hold up," the boy admitted. He adjusted his glasses. He was very worried for H'earring. He needed to know if his friend was safe or not. Still, the creature wouldn't give him reliable information. He was sure of it. He closed his eyes and thought more.
"Lord Van Bloot won't kill him. We know we will lose all chance of us helping my lord in any ways if he dies. Still, he can be left in a very bad shape," Atrapol went on.
That partially reassured the teenager. Still, it left his friend in pain, "Can be?" he knew what the Underworlder meant.
The sound of a door opening echoed in the room.
"Yes. Anyway, get ready," he stretched his limbs.
Lord Van Bloot appeared with a frown on his face. Something clearly didn't spell good news for the creature to be that way.
"What happened my lord?"
"Some of Chaor servant were way too close to here," the harpy replied as he glanced at Kaz, "Still, they didn't expect us to hide here, so they didn't investigate the place… Yet."
Atrapol nodded, "I will leave you with our prisoner."
"Catch a rest. Someone will replace you."
"Thank you, my lord," he turned around and left the room.
It was only the boy and the creature now.
"What do you want?" Kaz asked while trying to sound polite.
"I just came here to talk with you and get a little more out of you of course," Van Bloot smirked as he answered the obvious.
"I know nothing of this treasure of yours," the boy sighed a bit in annoyance. He crossed his arms and rested his back against the wall, trying to put as much distance from the creature as he could.
"I know about that. Still, there might be something that might clue you to something or not," the harpy put his hands on his back and walked left and right, "Sometimes, the little thing that you consider unimportant might be much more."
"No. There is nothing I learn from school or anything like that on the subject. I'm nothing great on Earth," Kaz countered as he tapped the ground with his feet a bit nervously.
"Nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt to try. We put so much at risk just to get you Kaz and I will make sure that this bargain will be a success."
The human didn't try to counter that. He knew it was pointless to ask anything in the matter, "The only thing different is that we have a cult that showed up not that long ago. I know nothing about them. They are just creeping me and my friends out."
"Cults," Van Bloot turned his back.
The boy was sure the creature would spin it in his head.
"Do not try to make me believe they had anything to do with the treasure that can be found in the Cothica. I won't fall for it," the harpy warned him.
"I'm not. I know they have nothing to do with it. I just guess it's because me and friends are…" Kaz was silent.
"You are the guide to the Cothica?" the creature smirked.
The Chaotic Player sighed. He said a bit too much it seemed, "Yeah."
"We are making a bit of progress here," Van Bloot sarcastically declared, "Let's change the subject then," he approached the jail and looked in the eyes of his prisoner, "You better talk about the Cothica. I need to know what it is and what secrets it contains. You are from there and you know more than you are letting me on. That part is sure."
"It's not the Cothica."
"Don't try this on me. I know you try that with Chaor himself."
"It's the true! Chaor believes that like the other tribes, but we are not."
Van Bloot dropped the subject. He turned around and avoided looking at the boy. He knew enough about humans to find ways to get what he wanted. He knew that he wouldn't get anything by brute force. He was the guide of the Underworld and also himself, as he was one of the Underworlders. He let out a small smirk. It quickly disappeared as he turned around, "Speaking of Chaor. What do you know about this wretched creature?"
The teenager knew that he shouldn't publicly say that they were friends. He was Chaor after all, "That he is the ruler of the Underworld and he summoned me when he needs my contribution."
The inorganic eye seemed to shine a bit as the harpy chuckled, "Contribution? I know he sees you as a friend. It is obvious from his attitude and how brutal he got when you were… coded," he didn't explain how he knew that.
Kaz knew that the creature had eyes around Chaor. Still, the creature didn't give any clue in the matter.
"He values you greatly and needs you more than just contribution."
He didn't forget the surprise hug from the ruler of the Underworld. It only happened that time, even in private, "Maybe."
"And you should know that he can be as cruel and ruthless than his father. Although-"
"I know. Agitos told me about him," Kaz interrupted him.
"So, you know about it. Did you know that my father died at his hands?" he let out a smug on his face.
The teenager wasn't sure if the Lord didn't care for his father or hid his pain behind that smug. He was a very deceptive Underworlder, "No."
Van Bloot turned his back at the boy. His voice was suddenly emotionless, "My father took a stand against this monster and paid the price. His head and his heart were sent back to me with a warning message on the heart: 'Try anything and you will meet a worse fate'. Chaor came later and proposed an alliance. I accepted and we killed that bastard. After this, I waited in my tower for the moment to eliminate Chaor."
"Why did you ally with him in the first place?" Kaz couldn't help but ask. He was curious now.
"Because it is in Chaor blood to turn out like his father eventually. Sooner or later, he will be bloodthirsty. It might strike the Cothica, now that he can go there."
"Chaor would never do something like that! He rules the Underworld with an iron fist, but he is not bloodthirsty like that!"
"Chaor has no right to rule the Underworld!" Van Bloot turned around and punched the bars with his right hand. He winced in pain as he let his arm dropped on the side. He painfully grunted. He coughed a few times in a bit of embarrassment, "I lost my calm here. As I said, he has no right to rule the Underworld and never will be. How can a creature who came from the Overworld has the right to rule the Underworld?"
Kaz remembered Chaor ancestor, Kiru. He met him and he clearly was an Overworlder. He never asked himself too much in the matter.
"Kiru came to the Underworld and took the throne at the place of my ancestors! We were the rulers of the Underworld until that Overworlder thief took everything that belonged to us!" he yelled furiously in pure raw emotion.
For the Chaotic Player, he could only see true in those words. True that he believed that.
Van Bloot panted after his outburst. He calmed down a bit. He shook his hand that bled a little, "He is a thief. His ancestors were thief and Chaor son will still be a thief. Kiru took the throne after his bloodthirst was satiated with the death of many of my ancestors. He forced the Underworlders to return to the Underworld like cowards and weaklings! He humiliated our tribe! Chaor thinks we will forget that. That I will forget that," he put his forehead against the bar and declared with so much venom, "NEVER."
Kaz had nothing to reply or counter. He knew little of Perim history. He was seriously lacking when it came to the past. He never asked himself more about Kiru. If this was true, it didn't change much. It was so long ago and Chaor was a real Underworlder. It seemed that Van Bloot family never let that go. His family never recovered from that humiliation. It seemed like it was pass down from parents to children and would go on. A thought came, "Why did Chaor spared you when you betrayed him?" he was there when it came to one of his plans. He had no idea if it was the first time or not that he acted in the matter.
"I am but a trophy for him," he grunted. He took a step back, "A trophy that he kept alive. A trophy that his ancestor took everything that belonged to us. We were the strongest Underworlders. My ancestors reigned supreme and spread terror to the Overworld before Kiru killed him!"
Kaz didn't dare to say anything. If what the harpy said was true, then it would explain why he tried to overthrow Chaor. He was a prisoner and wouldn't take any risk. He made no comments in the matter. What Van Bloot spoke about was long ago and Chaor had nothing to do with that. He wasn't like his father and he knew Chaor wouldn't follow the footsteps from his father. Still, he bit his reply in and quietly nodded.
"Nothing to say?"
"You are the Lord of Treachery. How can I know you are telling me the true?" Kaz replied.
The creature grumbled a bit before he put his hands on the bars, "Right. You can ask Chaor or Agitos in the matter. Although, they wouldn't tell you the true."
"I know Kiru was an Overworlder," the boy admitted.
"Yes. The Dranakis Threshold. You went through it," Van Bloot replied. He walked away, "Anyway, I wasted too much time talking about myself. Still, think about it. Chaor is the illegitimate ruler of the Underworld," he left the prison.
Kaz sighed as he took off his classes. He heard the large footsteps of that replaced Atrapol. He cleaned his glasses and put them back on. It was true that he had a lot to think about and not only about what the creature told him.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: A Way For Revenge.
An Elementalist wanted to take revenge on the creatures as they went to the Cothica.