Sunscorch (Rise To Omniscience Book 8)

by Aaron Oster

  23

  “What do you mean you haven’t killed her yet?” Shedra snapped, feeling anger threatening to overtake rational thought.

  He couldn’t exactly reach through space and strangle the gnome giving him the report, and anger clouded the mind. He was also in the presence of the other Council members, and if he showed his displeasure too often, they would begin to question his leadership.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” the other gnome replied, his ghostly form bowing at the waist. “The queen and her allies have dug themselves in. They have some sort of bunker out here that we were unaware of, and we haven’t been able to breach it, no matter how much we throw against it.”

  Shedra railed inwardly at this man’s incompetence and made sure to take note of his features so he could have him killed at a later date.

  “Have you managed to do anything at all?” he asked, fighting to keep his composure.

  “We do have them pinned down,” the gnome said quickly. “Whatever food they have will run out soon, and they have no way of escaping. We’ve locked down their spatial manipulator as well. So, it’s only a matter of time until we —”

  “Do you not realize how precarious our situation is?” Shera asked, cutting the man off. “If the elves, dwarves, or beastmen find out that the queen is still alive, our entire plan will fall apart! Clearly, you’re not competent enough to assure her demise, so I’m sending someone else over to take your place.”

  “But, sir!”

  Shedra cut off the communication and turned to one of the two guards standing by the door.

  “Get Magma for me!” he all but roared.

  The guards jumped and ran to obey their orders, leaving Shedra to face the council on his own.

  “My, my,” Tibsmith said, feigning surprise. “You really seem to be losing control of your forces. One has to wonder if you’re still qualified for your lofty position.”

  Shedra resisted the urge to strangle the Councilor and instead addressed him calmly.

  “What would you do, were you in my position?” he asked, putting the man on the spot.

  Tibsmith smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Well, as Speaker, that’s your job, isn’t it? We’re just here to offer counsel. I can’t just go giving you all the answers.”

  In other words, Tibsmith had nothing and was simply using the opportunity to strengthen his position on the Council. Despite knowing that, none of them would be so crass as to state so aloud. They were civilized people, after all.

  “I do have a solution,” Shedra said in response.

  “Sending Magma and his lunatics is hardly a solution,” Tibsmith said.

  “It is our best option, given the circumstances we face,” Eon said before Shedra could respond.

  As a respected member of the Council and one who’d won his place seven times, no one would dare argue with his logic. Shedra hid his smile as Tibsmith shut his mouth. He had to remember to send the other Councilor something nice once this meeting was over.

  There came a knock at the door, and it opened to reveal the two guards, who were leading a very unkempt and angry-looking dwarf between them.

  “Magma, you came,” Shedra said, motioning to the guards to step out of the room.

  “It’s not like your goons gave me much choice,” the dwarf grumbled, trying to straighten his wrinkled clothes.

  Shedra hid his disgust at the dwarf’s appearance and plastered a smile on instead. Magma was a mercenary, and he, along with his company, were some of the best in their line of work. Shedra truly detested having to work with these people, but they got results like no others, and right now, that was what he needed.

  “Well, we are paying you twice your normal going rate, so I figured it was time you earned your keep.”

  “You got a job for me?” Magma asked, suddenly seeming a lot more interested.

  “There are some people we need eliminated. They’re in the human lands. Think you can do that?”

  Now the dwarf seemed really interested. He stood up straighter, his eyes glittering.

  “I’m listening.”

  Shedra outlined the standoff, giving the dwarf explicit orders to kill everyone inside the bunker once it was busted open.

  “I want to see their heads as proof. Will that be a problem?” Shedra finished.

  “Not at all,” Magma said. “So long as you can provide us with a means of transportation to the human lands and a way to travel quickly to the location where your forces are located.”

  “We have our fastest ship ready and waiting,” Shedra said. “It can get you to the human lands in as little as five days. Once there, my forces will open their side of a Tunnel Gate.”

  Shedra removed a ring from his pocket and handed it over.

  “Your side of the script is inside that ring. Please try not to lose it, as making another would be expensive.”

  A Tunnel Gate was a form of transportation that the Arcane Kingdom had been working on for decades. It superseded any of the fixed gates they had in Faeland and made it so that people could travel between points, even places they had never been before, so long as there was another script powered up on the other side.

  They were still limited by distance at the moment, but according to their forces, the Tunnel Gate should reach just until they arrived in the human lands.

  “Alright then,” Magma said, turning to leave. “You’ll have a bunch of heads in less than a week.”

  “Oh, one last thing,” Shedra said as the doors opened. “When you arrive, would you do me a favor and relieve the commander of his head?”

  Magma grunted in the affirmative, then left, the guards moving to close the doors behind him.

  “Well, now that that’s taken care of,” Shedra said. “Let’s move on to other business…” he trailed off as a ripple appeared in the air before them, and a moment later, a woman with bright pink hair and a sword at her waist stepped through.

  “I see that you’re busy, so I’ll make this quick,” the goddess said as all of the Councilors – Shedra included – dropped to their knees.

  It rankled the gnome’s pride to have to bow and scrape to this human-looking thing. But she was a divine being and one who could end all of their plans right here and now. In that sense, showing a little respect really wasn’t all that difficult. Still, Shera swore to himself that one day, this supposed goddess would be the one bowing to him!

  “Start gathering your armies and prepare for the invasion of the Five Kingdoms. The humans have been allowed to live for far too long, and it is now up to you to make sure to end them. I want their race to be nothing but a memory, and not a single human is to be left alive. I will be back to check on your progress soon. Do not fail me.”

  That said, she stepped back, vanishing into thin air.

  “The nerve of that woman,” Shedra muttered, getting back to his feet and dusting off his robes. “Coming in here and treating us like children. Telling us to do what we’re already doing.”

  For once, none of the Councilors argued with him, not even Tibsmith. None of them liked being ordered around by someone who was more powerful. But it was only thanks to the combination of the gods’ strength and Strangler’s Cultists that they’d been able to eliminate a powerful enemy and trap their remaining opposition. Once they were done, though, and the war was over, the Arcane Kingdom would begin making plans to eliminate them all.

  Having gods interfering with their plans would undermine the entire purpose of their war, and once they’d taken over all of Faeland, a World Beast like Strangler would need to be killed. After all, they couldn’t have her rise and destroy vast swaths of their newly claimed lands. In fact, all of the World Beasts needed to be destroyed, and Shedra was confident in their ability to do so, given enough time.

  “How are we doing with the preparations for the upcoming meeting?” Shedra asked, changing the topic.

  “The Convergence point is being outfitted as we speak,” Nava, the oldest member of the Counc
il, said. “We’re taking every precaution against treachery on the part of the beastmen, though from what our spies report, we have nothing to worry about.”

  “I agree with Councilor Nava,” Eon said, nodding to the old woman. “The beastman brute knows he’s outnumbered here. His demands of meeting in person are just an attempt to save face.”

  “Well, whether it’s merely bluster or not, no one was ever hurt by an abundance of caution,” Shedra said. “Despite his appearance, that beastman had managed to rule over a race that is naturally opposed to being commanded, and he has done so quite well over his reign. For all we know, he is planning something but keeping it to himself or within his inner circle. We cannot take the chance of underestimating him.”

  The other Councilors nodded in agreement, and they changed the topic once again. Only once they had exhausted everything on the agenda was Shedra finally allowed to leave, fighting off a growing headache and wishing the other Councilors didn’t need to be consulted and kept up to date on everything he did daily.

  It took up more than half his day, and he pretty much reported the same things each time. Still, despite the urge to eliminate the Council altogether, Shedra knew that he didn’t yet have the power or influence to do so. That was why, right now, he was on his way to discuss plans with the heads of Tibsmith’s faction.

  Each of the Councilors represented a certain faction within the Arcane Kingdom, and Tibsmith’s dealt in trade. If Shedra could strike a bargain with Tibsmith’s greatest and richest supporters, then when the time came to eliminate the Council, it would make his transition to the ruler of the entire Faeland all that much easier.

  The thought put a spring in his step, banishing all of the unpleasantness he’d been forced to put up with that morning. So long as everything fell into place, all of Faeland would soon be worshiping him as the supreme leader.

  24

  Even from the air, Morgan could see that Spirit Town was nothing like the last town he’d visited. This town was much larger, and instead of a wooden base keeping the town out of the water, Spirit Town’s was made entirely of stone. More than that, the town’s layout and overall structure were far sounder and looked more like a proper city than its namesake would suggest.

  There was even a wall that stretched around its perimeter and kept both the mists and wandering beasts at bay. Just by looking, Morgan could see that teleporting or flying in would set off all sorts of alarms, which left him with only one option — tunneling.

  Despite being able to pass as a beastman as long as no one looked too closely, he had no doubt that the guards at the gates would do exactly that. It was still quite dark out, which meant that sneaking in would be relatively easy so long as he picked an ideal spot. It didn’t take him long to find an abandoned alleyway from his vantage point, and Morgan dropped out of the sky.

  He held his breath as he encountered the mists. It wasn’t that they were particularly dangerous, otherwise no one would be able to travel safely between towns. But he didn’t enjoy the uneasy feeling it gave him, just as any other sane person wouldn’t. He was glad the trolls had ways to keep it out of their town as well, as he didn’t think infiltration would go so well if he were constantly looking over his shoulder.

  The ground parted as he dropped, Morgan using his Earthen Shift to keep himself dry by building a small wall around the murky swamp water and keeping it at bay. He sank down ten feet below the ground before sealing the hole and beginning to move sideways.

  However, he ran into a small problem when he reached the city. He’d figured the stone wouldn’t go more than ten feet deep, which was why he’d chosen this depth. However, when he found himself facing a solid stone block, he realized he’d need to go deeper. It wasn’t that he had any problems with tunneling through solid stone, but if the foundations were this deep, he couldn’t risk traveling through them for fear of destabilizing some part of the city and giving away his presence.

  Another seven feet down found the edge of the stone blocks, and Morgan continued traveling to his chosen spot. Tunneling up through the stone was a slower process, as he wanted to make as little noise as possible. That was why, when he finally reached the surface fifteen minutes later and found himself face to face with a sleepy-eyed troll who’d apparently made this alley his home, he killed without hesitation.

  Morgan dumped the body into the hole, then sealed it shut, leaving no signs that anyone had ever been there.

  He took a few moments to orient himself, remembering the layout of the city and the location of the temple. It had been quite obvious by its grandness and decorations, even from the air. It stuck out from the rest like a sore thumb, giving Morgan an easy path to the Great Shaman and hopefully the location of the next Well.

  Heading to the mouth of the alleyway, Morgan peered out, looking both ways to make sure no guards were approaching. Once again, he was reminded of his time in City Four, when he’d need to sneak around just to be able to visit Sarah. Back then, his motivations had been more about the food she could offer, although he had enjoyed her company. She had been his only friend, after all.

  In fact, it was in an alley much like this one where Morgan had first awoken his power and discovered he was a supermage.

  He moved quickly down the street, ducking into another alley as he heard approaching footsteps. Being caught out at this time of night would definitely be suspicious, whether he was a troll or not, and remaining hidden was his best chance of succeeding in his mission.

  It took him well over an hour to make his way to the temple, and once he reached it, he was met with yet another problem. Luckily, getting past the guards was as easy as causing a small distraction. Using his Earthen Shift, Morgan created several small noises, drawing a couple of them away.

  Then, it was just a matter of getting the other two to look away from the entrance for him to make it inside using his Maximum Increase. The only sign of his passing was the light breeze that ruffled the guards’ tunics as he passed, and when they turned back, Morgan was already inside.

  He crouched in the entrance, his eyes flicking around the dim confines of the temple. To his surprise, it only consisted of a single room, all made of polished marble. Several pillars lined the walls, accompanying dozens of torches.

  Most of the room was in a shallow depression with a set of three short stairs lining all four sides.

  To his surprise, there was actually someone there, sitting on the far side of the room. It was a troll, though by how ancient and shriveled he was, Morgan wouldn’t have been shocked if he’d been told it was a gigantic green-brown raisin. The troll’s head was adorned with a gigantic headpiece, and the metallic skull of some type of beast sat perched above his brow.

  Morgan approached with care, wondering if the old troll was asleep or dead. This was clearly the Great Shaman the other troll had been talking about. Either that or this troll was just some crazy old guy hanging around a temple at three in the morning. Still, he wasn’t sure, so he approached with caution.

  However, as he came within five yards of the troll, still sticking to the shadows near the walls, the old prune spoke.

  “To what do I owe the honor of such a distinguished visitor?”

  His voice was old and cracked, yet it didn’t contain even a hint of the same gravelly accent as the others of his kind. Morgan froze, wondering how the troll could possibly have known he was here, but seeing as the troll didn’t raise the alarm, he stepped forward and approached.

  “How did you know I was here?” he asked, stopping before the old shaman.

  “The presence of the King of Beasts is one that makes the very air tremble, and the Spirits flee,” the old man said. “But to answer your question honestly, I saw you sneak in.”

  He extended a bony hand, and when Morgan followed the line of his finger, he saw a large set of mirrors on the opposite wall, in which he was clearly reflected.

  “If you know who I am, why aren’t you afraid?” Morgan asked, more puzzled than anythin
g else.

  “Should I be?” the old troll asked.

  “Well, no,” Morgan said, now really confused. “But aren’t we supposed to be enemies?”

  “I have no quarrels with you, and unless I have somehow offended you, I do not believe you have any with me either.”

  “What about your people? Aren’t they going to war with the humans?”

  “That they are, but wars are of no concern to me, nor are the differences of race. I am a spiritual guide, and my place is here, serving all who come before me, regardless of race or affiliation.”

  When he’d snuck in here, Morgan had been expecting to have to drag the shaman out of bed and threaten him until he gave up all of the information he wanted. However, the way the old troll was acting was completely unexpected, and the most incredible part of it all was that Morgan could tell he was being one-hundred percent truthful.

  “So, if you’re all spiritual and know everything, am I right to assume that you already know why I’m here?” Morgan asked.

  “How in the world would I know that?” the shaman asked, but Morgan could see a twinkle in his eye as he spoke. “One cannot simply know things. I can guess as to your reasons for coming here, but, like all who are yet mortal, I can always be wrong.”

  “Well, then, what can you tell me about the three Eternity Wells?” Morgan asked, taking a seat before the old troll.

  “Hmm…Well, that’s definitely not a question I receive all that often,” the shaman said. “Although, seeing as I can already sense the presence of the Well of Souls upon you, I’d already guessed that was why you were here.”

  “Really?” Morgan asked, wondering just what game this old troll was playing.

  “No,” the shaman said, cracking a smile. “But since you came here asking, I’d have to assume you’ve been to the Soul Well, as it’s in the Glimmerlands.”