I didn’t know what to do, or what to think, or what to feel. A lump formed in my throat and my fists trembled from how tightly they were wound up. A part of me wanted to hug them back. But the other part just wanted to kill them.
“Let go of me.”
Nuna pulled away and gave a puzzled look. I wasn’t sure of what face I made, but it was enough to make her heed my request without fuss; Sanvi’s hands slid away shortly after.
I turned my back to the women and the grand light spectacle. My heart surged, so much so that I had to take long, deep breaths to alleviate the rapid pulse. My focus came back gradually, and I realized I was staring into the tunnel of monsters, the stone carvings at my peripherals slithering until they got direct attention, like they were mocking me.
Everything’s gone.
As all these twisted feelings churned my guts into ground meat, I glared down the tunnel. The empty chill within was chased away as the dormant, smoldering anger became as red hot as the sun. Burning everything but that anger, I found my stone in this mad world.
I found it: Purpose.
Without looking away from the monstrous effigies, I said, “You want to help me? Then tell me everything about the Null. Everything.”
Chapter 11
Sleep came on and off throughout the night, and the lack of any direct light was discombobulating. I could’ve dozed off for five minutes or five hours, and I wouldn’t know. A shame I didn’t include a wristwatch for my uniform. Sanvi did greet me with a “good morning” when she came to fetch me.
Days seemed to pass when I requested to learn more about the Null and their situation last night. Nuna didn’t seem to process my words right away, and shortly after was strong objection. Attempting to deflect, Nuna said it was Nolala’s decision since she was of the highest authority and directly oversaw everything. I had the sneaking suspicion she wanted her mother to deny my request, but the Chieftain didn’t. It was frustrating having to wait until the morning, but at least she wasn’t trying to jerk me around and decide what is best for me like I’m a kid.
Sanvi didn’t bother with pleasantries during our stroll through the stone corridors and hallways, the only sounds being my feet padding and her snake-half slithering.
We crossed through the great space from yesterday, which must’ve been a sort of communal area with some of the stray lamia going about their own business. Some looked up from what appeared like arrow making if the shafts where any indication, and bid me a smile or respectful nod. They got nothing from me as we went through a portal on the other side of the room and into another stone corridor, which looked almost identical to the one we came from except that the rooms had lamia occupants.
The corridor wasn’t as infinitely long, and it ended at the entrance of a spacious room that featured the only furniture I’ve seen thus far. It must’ve been a storage room of some kind because the majority of the furniture was just shelves on either side of the space. Miscellaneous sacks and clay jugs crowded the perimeter, as well. In the center was a lone table of rough planks and legs made of logs with the bark still attached, the whole thing held together with rope. On top of the shabby table were a series of scrolls, papers, and other odds and ends.
Nolala was posed on the other side of the table facing the entrance. Nuna was on her left, and a new face was on her right. Another lamia, the only thing unique being her advanced age. Like all the other snake-women, she had black hair; however, grey was starting to appear in her roots, giving her hair a gradient appearance of white and grey. Even her scales of black with yellow bands didn’t carry the same sort of luster like the others. It was hard to peg her age due to the very youthful face and the human portion of her body looking perfectly taut. Those violet orbs of hers tracked me purposely and with avid focus.
Wren and a couple of other women sharing Sanvi’s robust form and demeanor circled around the table, but I didn’t get much else when Fell and I locked eyes. She matched my cold gaze and only managed the tiniest of nods before looking down at the table.
“Good morning,” the Chieftain said, pulling my attention from the fox-girl.
It took a minute of effort, but I managed an emotionless, “Morning.”
Sanvi and took position at the open portion of the table, and I did everything in my power to ignore Fell.
“Oliver,” Nolala started. “Before we discuss anything, allow me to introduce you to Luppa, the Isusi priestess.” She gestured to the older woman at her side.
Her gaze ran from my face, down, and up again. “Ah, good to see the stone works. None here have an aptitude in the spiritual principle, and it was all we had, so take good care of it.” Before I could even ask what the hell she was talking about, she disappeared below the table. Coming back up, she set my missing gear on the table. My folded pants had a noticeable stitch in the leg, my boots looked cleaned, my belt was neatly coiled, my knife was in its sheath, and my Beretta was safely in its holster. “I believe these belong to you.”
Wasting no time, I snatched up my things and started feeding my belt through my pants and got my knife and pistol in their proper places at my hip. With so many crashing thoughts, having my gear accounted for was a small relief for my mind.
Meeting Luppa’s eyes respectfully, I said, “Thanks.”
“Joining us also,” Nolala went on, “is Tes and Rabea. Together with Sanvi, they lead any excursions to gather supplies and monitor the immediate area.” Her gaze flickered to Fell, and Nolala braced her hands on the table. “Given Fell’s position and duty, she has the same right to be briefed on our state of affairs as you do.”
“First things first, location,” I said, not giving the statement any more attention. “Where are we, where are the other friendlies, and where is the… Null?”
The Chieftain nodded to the lamia known as Rabea, who pushed forward a scroll by her side. Taking some stones to keep the yellowed paper’s edges in place, Nolala smoothed out a highly detailed, hand-drawn map.
“We are here, currently,” she said, resting her finger over a section of mountains.
Staring, I took in the geographical features. If I was reading the map correctly, we were in a small portion of crisscrossing mountain chains.
“What exactly is the scale here?” I asked. There wasn’t a legend or anything for bearing or distance.
Sanvi picked up a piece of charcoal from the side and pointed to a series of blue squiggles that all joined together. “Around here on the far edge is where you had set camp on the river’s edge.” Sanvi made an inch and a half long line along the depiction of the river. “And here is where we… had our little misunderstanding.”
Nuna exhaled sharply through her nostrils at the mention, but it was easy to ignore when I tried to figure out a rough estimate for distance from the camp to where I blacked out. One mile seemed like a solid educational guess, but I couldn’t quite believe what that meant. Even just eyeballing Sanvi’s line for reference, that would put the mountain chain well over one hundred and miles long and about sixty miles at its widest.
Focusing on where Nolala indicated, that would put us in the center of the mountain range where it forms a small crescent for the forest.
“You mentioned help,” I started, “where’s that?”
Sanvi pressed her finger to a red circle that had a strange character written inside of it. “This is Elesrora, the capital city of our world. The bulk of the Arms are stationed there. Outposts exist further out here, here and here,” she said, pointing to different portions on the map, each featuring a character that looked vaguely like Chinese. “We’re unsure if the souls stationed there survived the initial invasion since it originated from the far east.”
I looked at Sanvi with a quirked brow. “Arms as in weapons?”
“The Arms of Earus,” Fell interjected, keeping her unwavering eyes of orange-hazel on mine. “They are a far-reaching guild of conscripted soldiers and mages in charge of engaging with the Null. Meriel and I serve under them.”
Taking her words at face value, I looked back to mocha lamia. “And their size?”
She stared hard at the map, drumming her nails along the table. “Assuming the nearest cities and towns were able to coordinate with Elesrora, and including potential aid from other worlds, maybe five hundred thousand strong in this region.”
I assumed the white and blue squares peppered around Elesrora were the other towns. The outposts Sanvi pointed to were in the east, so that would make the capital directly north from us. Making a rough estimate, that would mean Elesrora was about seventy-ish miles away. A thin sliver of mountain stood in the way, so going around would be easier, which would make the journey on foot maybe a week’s travel.
“If such a massive force is near, why aren’t you going to them?” I asked.
Sanvi sighed through her nostrils. “Rabea?”
The lamia known as Rabea looked a lot like Sanvi with the more pronounced muscles on her stomach and arms, but she had a slightly creamier tone in her coffee skin and long black hair set into a braid. She shuffled through a few papers and pushed forward another map that loosely resembled the one before me. The features were identical, albeit less detailed and a little sloppier. The only significant difference being the right portion of the map was mostly blacked out. A section of the black mass spilled over on the opposite side of the ridge separating us from Elesrora, and the black slash carried on for a great distance further west. Essentially, everything east of the mountain was pitch-black.
It doesn’t take a genius to know where the Null was.
“That answers that,” I murmured while glaring at the void.
“The lamia of the Isusi uphold our roots and live a mostly nomadic life in the forests,” Nolala said, waving her hand over a wide portion of the map. “Our settlement was spared from the concentrated onslaught that wiped away several towns and villages between here and Elesrora. We pride ourselves in our strength, but attempting to engage a Null army of that size would have accomplished nothing. It’s shameful, but we gathered what we could and retreated into the Temple of the Great Serpent, which Luppa guards and maintains with a handful of other disciples.”
“It’s not shameful. It’s smart,” I said, giving the Chieftain a look. “You would’ve gained nothing dying out there. Pride doesn’t mean jack when you’re dead.
“How secure is this… temple?”
“At the moment, very secured,” Luppa answered. “As soon as my sisters were in, I caved in the main entrance. Great stones block the way. The Null remains oblivious of our whereabouts, but if they found out, it wouldn’t take them long to claw their way in.”
“Then how the hell did you guys get out?” I asked, looking to Sanvi and Nuna.
“Hidden tunnels,” Nuna replied. “Some we made for emergencies, and the mountain naturally formed others. They span great lengths and aren’t easily accessible from the outside. Our ancestors tapped into the underground streams, providing our water supply. We still go out every couple of days to gather additional food, wood, medicine, and to monitor the Null’s progress.”
“I take these are all your provisions?” I asked, gesturing to the other sacks and clay pots.
Nuna nodded. “We’ve managed a few hundred pounds of grains, flour, and spices from our settlement. The temple had its own light food stores; altogether, if we gather nothing else and ration it evenly across everyone, we have about a three and a half month supply.”
So they’re cut off and have limited resources, but they’re hidden in a mostly secure location with access to water — not the greatest of circumstances, but not the worst.
That’s that, but now to what I want. All the ligaments and muscles in my body hummed from the tension.
“The Null,” I all but growled. “How do they operate?”
“Operate?” Nuna parroted.
“Operate!” I shouted, my voice echoing down the corridor to my back. “You’re the ones fucking fighting them. How do they fight; what are their tactics; how do they move; what are their numbers; what are their weapons; are they all just monsters and white-faced ghouls; what is their goal?”
Nuna’s slacked face of shock slowly twisted into a scowl. Breathing heavily, I matched her harsh stare. At least until I felt a hand over my forearm. Looking over, I saw Sanvi watching me, her head tilted to the side, and her brows lowered. I jerked my arm away and snuffed that apoplectic wave with a forceful breath.
“Knowing more about what’s trying to kill me will keep me from suffering an early dirt nap.” Each woman got a cold look, my eyes lingering on Fell. “Ignorance is death, after all.”
The fox-woman didn’t react.
Nuna’s face dulled. Her gaze broke away, taking a moment to gather herself. “We’re unsure of their exact numbers,” she admitted.
“That lies beside your other inquiry,” Nolala chimed in. “The beings with ivory visages are the Null’s children—their soldiers. They bear a loose resemblance to humans, as well as having similar abilities. Though they are known to be very proficient agents of war. Casters are unique in regard to their use of black magic, but they are very dangerous. Casters are responsible for creating the corrupted monsters you’ve witnessed, typically through the use of cursed instruments.
“This is what muddles our knowledge regarding their numbers. The Null typically invade worlds with a limited force, less than one hundred thousand; however, they bolster their forces with Corruptions.” The Chieftain closed her eyes and crossed her arms under her bold chest. “Making the grim assumption that at least half of all the souls on the other side of the mountains survived to be turned, that would make the Null over nine hundred thousand strong. Their tactic is to overwhelm and siege through sheer numbers. Infiltrate, destroy, rebuild; that is their method.”
Son. Of. A. Whore.
The bleak news forced a disgruntled sigh from me.
Rubbing my temples, I asked, “And how did they get here? More importantly, what’s stopping more of them from just coming in?”
“Markers,” Fell answered.
I hated how I needed her knowledge.
Taking my silence as permission, the fox-woman continued. “On worlds we reclaimed from past campaigns, great monuments of dark stone were erected, each radiating a sickening aura of black magic. Our understanding of the Markers is vague, but we do know they are what allow the Null to invade our worlds. Once a Marker is constructed and charged with dark energy, it can rip open a temporary portal, allowing a small army to funnel into a world.”
Fell’s tail ceased its swishing, and her ears drooped as she went quiet. She looked down to the side, looking like she was weighing things in her head. An impatient pang started to flair within me, but Fell found her nerve and returned her gaze.
“From there…the Null scour densely populated regions and corrupt as much of the native life, as well as having Casters search for artifacts. All the destruction they reap is to offset the balance of the One’s driving force. When the balance tilts in their favor, they can draw upon the power from the void to create another Marker, connecting one world to another they claimed. Once a stable portal is formed, the Null floods into the world like a black tide, washing everything away.”
“So, that’s what happened in my cheery neck of the cosmic woods?” I asked rhetorically in a quiet, ireful tone. “Boned because we weren’t good enough for the big ol’ club. Tell me. You guys can tell when they’re coming?” Fell nodded slowly. “If that’s the case, why not have a welcoming party of hellfire and scorch wherever the hell they come from?”
“One can’t see the storm until it’s on the horizon,” Luppa answered cryptically.
My head throbbed from hearing that bullshit, fortune-cookie proverb.
Wren broke her silence. “Seers aren’t omniscient.”
Exhaling loudly through my nose, I rolled my eyes at her.
She rolled her own raccoon-like eyes. “Right, right, I forgot. Seers are mages capable of monitoring subtle disturbances in the
cosmos. In case it’s not obvious, there’s more space then there are Seers. Even if you look up into the stars on a clear night, there’s only so much you can see at once, and there’s everything on the other side of the world you can’t see. Understand?” she asked with a condescending nip.
“Clear as mud,” I replied in a thorny voice.
Wren frowned but did nothing more. It looked like she lacked the energy even to bother.
Shaking my head, I stared back down at the maps. Based on the scaling, hundreds of square miles east of the mountains were under those bastard’s control. Thinking of the logical flow of movement, monsters or not, the Null would start to spill around the mountains in the south, eventually flooding into the forest. The same applied to the small front they set up north that divided us from civilization.
Then again, there was no telling how accurate this new map is; the same applied to the detailed one. These snake-women huddle around fires, dress like jungle people, and use spears and arrows. I doubt they’re master cartographers. Even so, they must know marching out into the wilderness to outrun the evil scourge would be too risky.
I’m basically getting split-roasted by getting screwed on both ends.
I burned holes into the maps while drumming my fingers along the table. One thing that caught my attention on the rough map was a white triangle within the mountain chain. Using the detailed map for topographical reference, I saw that the symbol was within a valley separating us from the neighboring mountain.
“Is there anything else you desire to know?” Nolala asked once my silence had begun to drag.
“Three things,” I started, then turned a hard gaze on the fox-woman. “You came to my world, and then we came here through some bizarre way. How?”
Fell reached into her pocket and pulled out the cracked crystal Meriel pulled from the dead wizard. “This is a special tool that allows raiding teams like us to be sent to any world within the One’s domain. The crystal is tied back to Bridges—grand monuments of power that allows us to travel to and from other worlds. Worlds like yours lacked another Bridge to join worlds, so each team is armed with a Beacon,” she said, raising the crystal for emphasis. “Beacons are supposed to deliver us back after a set period of time. If they remain undamaged.” She stopped and stared down at the crystal, then wrapped her fist around it. “My friend and comrade, Jorn, was the Beacon bearer. When the Caster’s lightning killed him, it also damaged the crystal. The network of magic ingrained within the beacon is complex and delicate. If anything disrupts the crystal, it could send those within its range anywhere. It’s nothing short of a miracle being delivered to an allied world.”
Heart of the Resonant- the Soldier's Tale Page 15