Rebirth of the Undead King: Book 2

by Ink Bamboo

  The apple seemed to share his thoughts as it reflected Amro’s devious smile back to himself.

  I don’t need to steal from the mage, I just need someone else to do so.

  Chapter 13

  Hidden.

  Knowledge was often forgotten in the endless river of time. Mortals’ life expectancy didn’t allow them to hold value over too many things at once. They often spent their lives working to survive or enjoying the efforts of their ancestors. Rarely were they interested in preserving or procuring the wisdom of those before them.

  Unbeknownst to them, that knowledge could be another source of entertainment. A few individuals still preserved that belief. Scholars, bards, and mages were just a few examples.

  One much more extreme, however, was Amro. His knowledge of poisons was second to none, rivalled perhaps only by those gods with domains close to nature. The feeling of using poisons to wipe a whole civilization, however, was something only he could boast about.

  Amro skillfully sliced an entire pile of apples in half, expertly removing all of their seeds. They were the foundation of the concoction he was about to prepare. Combined with a few grams of different herbs, he knew that he had everything he needed.

  With a pouch full of sweet smelling seeds, he soon made his way back to the barracks. The remaining apples had no use for him, so he disposed of them on the feeders. The horses would devour them with abundant joy.

  “I guess I need to check on him,” muttered Amro, looking at his own tent.

  Lying on his bed, he prepared for a long night of well deserved sleep. After all, he had to check on his host’s progress. The boy might be young and naïve, but that was also the perfect stage for him to learn and grow.

  The other rebels partied for long, returning to their places of rest only once the sunrise fell on them. Even their drunk-selves knew the consequences of getting no sleep at all. Arkus’s surprise training sessions were often a grim reminder of what would happen in those situations.

  Yet fortunately for the partygoers, even Arkus had decided to spend the night intoxicated. Being a commander didn’t exempt him from feeling the same joy as his subordinates. The joy of victory was universal.

  The next day brought a morning of peace and quiet for all. The silence was embraced by the rebels as an omen of their victory to come. Enjoying the sensation, Amro got up from his bed, bathing in the light of the sun that got through the fabric of his tent.

  Zaros is making progress.

  There were many quirks in need of a fix, but he wasn’t stagnating inside the torturous task placed onto his shoulders. At the very least, he had stopped cursing Amro’s name and had started focusing on his mission instead — not that Zaros was fully aware of what the mission consisted of to begin with.

  “Since the boy is making an effort, I guess it’s time for me to get serious.”

  Amro readied himself for the second part of his plan to recover his old divine artifact. He understood it was still in the hands of the mage working for the Church of Light. While he was ignorant on how the close-minded church of Alexandra, the Goddess of Light, had ended up with a wizard on their ranks, he could tell that both that man and the girl behind him were the key to accelerating his plans.

  Amro exited his tent. As expected, very few people were awake after the celebration. The fallen god smirked as he realized how much more simple that made his plans. Moving quickly, he headed for the inner area of the rebel camp, hopping from roof to roof until he arrived to the quarters where the church members were staying.

  This was his initial goal — observation.

  “It would be reckless to go in without evaluating their routine first.”

  Amro laid prone on the roof of the nearest building as he waited for both of his victims to exit. Learning their behavioral patterns was the key to retrieving the object in their hands. He couldn’t afford a direct confrontation at the moment, not with Zaros inside his soul realm.

  Maintaining the constructs and time dilation within his soul took a significant amount of his concentration and energy. Fighting under those conditions wasn’t a smart idea.

  Not with that young girl around the church’s camp.

  She was an important variable in Amro’s plans. The girl had in her means one of the few things that could threaten to kill him — the power of a god. If an avatar of Alexandra descended with her help, he would be placed in a perilous situation.

  Killing a god’s avatar wasn’t impossible. Their power was often limited by the compatibility they had with their host. That, however, didn’t mean it was an easy task.

  Not that I need to try.

  Zaros’s current state couldn’t sustain Amro’s full power. While the same could probably be said about the girl, Alexandra wasn’t bound to take care about her host like he was. Unlike her, he depended on his host to continue with his plans.

  After nearly an hour of waiting, a group of men in white robes exited the building. Leading them was a young girl. Her blonde hair waved from side to side as her gaze focused unwaveringly upon the book in her hands. It was a miracle she didn’t stumble on her way out.

  “I’m tired of dealing with these heathens,” said one of the white-robed men. He was one of the initiate paladins in Magnus’s party. “They tried to get me drunk yesterday more than once. I got tired of explaining to them the importance of being sober so I could fulfill the duty of protecting my lady.”

  “You’re already too patient for trying to explain,” said another one. “It was troublesome enough to keep the members of the council company. They insisted on ‘celebrating’ our alliance, those fools.”

  A third one took a deep breath before joining in, “True, I can’t believe Magnus threw that burden our way and retreated to sleep. He is getting too old. Haven’t you noticed how often he is going to sleep early? I’m sure he’s nearing his death. The cardinal should’ve assigned someone else to the mission.”

  The group of paladin candidates laughed for a few seconds until one of them interrupted the rest. “Still, you can’t deny his virtue in battle. There is no one better than him to guard our lady.”

  “You’re right. He would be willing to go to unspeakable lengths to ensure her safety.”

  The paladin who initiated the conversation was hinting to an unspoken secret spoken within the church’s walls. Hearing his words, everyone nodded in agreement — they all knew what he was talking about.

  Suddenly, they stopped. Erin had stopped moving, raising her eyes from the scriptures she often read.

  One of the paladins walked close to her, kneeling to ask, “Is there something wrong, my lady?” He could feel a chill crawling up his spine. Is she aware of the secret behind what we were talking about?

  They often forgot about Erin’s presence as she kept herself immersed in reading the scriptures. However, when she came to a stop, she had drawn all their attention to herself. The coincidence drove the paladins to build a world of excessive conclusions in their minds.

  Erin looked upwards and then shook her head side to side. I must be tired after last night, she thought. She had instinctively turned to look because of a familiar feeling in the surroundings.

  “It’s okay,” said Erin. “I must be seeing things. I’m just a little tired after the noise from last night kept me awake.”

  The paladin candidates closed their fists, their faces warping in anger. This damned rebels, they thought. Interrupting our lady’s sleep? They won’t be celebrating when the church is done with them.

  After a few seconds of mumbled hatred, they continued on their way. They were heading to the rebels’ canteen to get something to eat. Meanwhile, Amro was still on the roof of the building with a smile on his face.

  Interesting girl, he thought. Her sensitivity to souls is quite impressive.

  Such a talent was rare. It explained how his previous divinations led to such a conclusion.

  Amro couldn’t help but wonder, Are you going to let her live, Alexandra?

>   The Goddess of Light had always been a jealous woman, vanity and pride were only a few of the evils residing in her heart. For a Chosen with affinity to the light to have a talent rivaling hers, Alexandra would make one of two choices. The first would be to engrave absolute loyalty into her, perhaps even branding it into her soul. The second, which was more likely to happen, was to get rid of her entirely.

  Amro decided to keep lying in wait. It wouldn’t be too long before the wizard exited the building. Humans had basic needs they couldn’t hide from. Food was one of them.

  Just as he expected, Magnus walked out a few minutes later. He seemed to be in a hurry, probably trying to catch after the group that went ahead of him. His late night experiments on Erin’s behalf had taken away his night of rest.

  Amro could hear him mutter something along the lines of “accursed church dogs,” and how he would one day show them their place.

  “As expected, a mage will never be at ease within the Church of Light.”

  The Goddess of Light was too fond of her own authority to let mortals delve into knowledge of the arcane on their own terms.

  It’s time.

  Once Magnus left the surroundings, Amro jumped towards the roof of his building. A small sheet of aura covered his feet as he landed, dulling the sound of his landing. Amro closed his eyes for a moment, sensing the surrounding mana. Ley lines of energy streamed along the building.

  “As I suspected, it’s part of a mage’s nature to be cautious.”

  Despite being a temporary abode, Magnus had planted ways to warn him of intrusions into their residence.

  Taking note of his surroundings, Amro drew a mental map of the magical arrays planted by the mage. Magical measures were useful only against those who were unaware of them. They presented no threat to someone who understood the intricacies and theory behind their construction.

  Amro jumped inside the building, navigating with ease thanks to his mental map. He had to find the mage’s room in order to uncover some clues that could be of use. A conjecture of its location soon came to his mind.

  “His room must be where the core of the formation is placed.”

  His reasoning prove to be correct. The mage’s room was at the center of the magical array. Amro’s experience and knowledge about human nature proved to be of use once again.

  The fallen god came to the door of the room, opening it by emulating the mana pattern he had sensed from the mage. He had used this trick once before to release one of Zaros’s subordinates back in Sol. It was nothing special to him.

  The door then opened, revealing the contents of the room.

  *Creak*

  There was nothing impressive about it. Aside from the walls of stone, there was only a bed, a chair, and a table with a half-melted candle on top. However, that wasn’t enough to dissuade Amro. He could smell the scent of the void in the air.

  Looks like he keeps his things stored in a pocket space.

  He came close to the table, waving his hand above it. A trail of black light formed in the air, leaving him pleasantly surprised.

  “So that’s where he hides it,” he said to himself. “I shouldn’t be surprised. I just hoped it would be a little easier.”

  Amro stopped talking to himself, pondering instead what to do. He now knew where the mage kept the stolen divine artifact.

  Should I take it or keep going with plan A?

  He could try to lock onto the mage’s domain, opening a spatial rift to steal the artifact. That, however, might prove to be troublesome as it could end up exposing his identity to the mage and his entourage. It would then force him to engage both him and the young Chosen on his team.

  No, thought Amro. I’ll stick with my original plan. He took a small pouch from his belt, carefully pouring its contents over Magnus’s bed.

  A small layer of dust soon covered the mage’s place of rest. It seemed no different from the sand that normally covered everything in the arid northern territories. Amro smiled realizing the simplicity of his plan.

  The dust was the result of extracting cyanide from the apple seeds. Combined with a few herbs and imbuing it with his mana had further increased its strength. The poison should be easily assimilated upon contact, causing trouble even to someone of Magnus’s strength.

  The old mage might have strengthened his body but that wouldn’t be enough to make him immune to its effects.

  Once the old man slept on his bed, he would slowly grow weak. His condition would only show as fatigue at first, which wouldn’t raise any red flags. What’s more, this poison was the result of alchemical research, not magical in nature. Healing spells and holy water would only have the effect of recovering his vitality and boosting his metabolism, failing to get rid of the cause behind it.

  Once they smell his weakness, they will try to strike.

  Chapter 14

  Weakness.

  The sun shone over the mountain range, causing a ray of sunlight to enter through Magnus’s room. Feeling the light on his face, the old mage turned to his side, moving his hand in an effort to stop it from reaching his eyes.

  “Ugh…”

  Pain. A headache stronger than he had felt in years took control of Magnus’s senses. Despite his superior constitution, the past few days had left him feeling like a mere commoner.

  Is this because of the divinations? he wondered. No, it shouldn’t be. I’ve done them for years now and the only price has been the loss of my sight. Perhaps… I might be reaching the end of my life.

  Magnus felt frustrated. Not because of the price of his divinations, but by his lack of results. He knew the subject of his prophecies was in Nyx, waiting to be found. If only he had more time.

  Alas, the rebels were close to being done with their preparations. The council had convened a meeting which ended in a single declaration — war. Not one of attrition like they had done for the past years, but a full out attack.

  Magnus knew what came after that. After all, it was his mission. Once the rebels eroded the power of the kingdom sufficiently with their attacks, the church would intervene and massacre them to their last member. Only that way would they stop the spreading of rumors.

  Weakened and vulnerable, the Kingdom of Nyx would be left with no alternative but to become a vassal state to the theocracy the Kingdom of Ionia had become. History would then repeat itself. Like poison, faith would spread until every citizen in the kingdom became a loyal member of the church.

  “I still don’t understand what is so important in this land.”

  Getting off his bed, Magnus took a basin and filled it with water using a simple spell. At this point in time, he didn’t care what reactions the initiate paladins would have regarding his use of magic. He was too old and too tired to give a damn.

  As he cleaned his face, Magnus saw his own reflection in the water.

  I guess it is taking a toll, thought Magnus. His eyes were bloodshot and the color of his pupils was slowly starting to change into a dull white. Constantly peering into the stream of fate had a price.

  Nevermind, it is worth it.

  Magnus recalled the progress he had been able to achieve in the past few days. Perhaps under the influence of war that person would be drawn out. Deep inside, he hoped that was the case.

  Magnus submerged his face in the water, using the cold sensation to recollect himself. Richard, the rebels’ nominal leader, had requested an audience the day before. It was very likely that they wanted to discuss the terms of their alliance or something about the divine weapon. Uncertainty might have crept up on them as the war came closer.

  A smile surfaced on Magnus’s face imagining the results. He held no personal animosity towards Richard, but he could still remember the time when Nyx was at war with his Kingdom. It was a time before the church took control. A time where he and his comrades had fought against them.

  Feeling the exhaustion over his body, Magnus took a deep breath. It made him realize that stench was still stuck in his nose. Almonds. A smell
that should have been sweet had now turned into a bothersome scent that followed him everywhere.

  “I need some fresh air,” he said to himself. It wouldn’t be long until his meeting with the rebel’s leader. With no other option, Magnus cast a spell to ventilate his room, clearing the stagnating air within. He then used a wet cloth to clean his body before wearing his usual robes. As their alliance had already been established, Magnus knew he could afford to be more casual.

  The old mage then stepped outside the building, looking at the sun above. After staring at it for a few seconds, he spat at the ground.

  Curse you, Alexandra.

  Despite working for her indirectly, he held no appreciation towards the Goddess of Light. That presence that inspired faith in so many inspired nothing but hate from himself.

  Soon after, Magnus arrived at the canteen, finding both Erin and the initiate paladins having a supple breakfast. The rebels’ had offered to provide for their meals, which he had initially rejected. Alas, the convenience made the rest of his party take them up on the offer which left Magnus feeling slightly resentful over the stolen opportunities to cook with his granddaughter.

  “Good morning, men,” he said, taking a seat with the rest of his party.

  The initiate paladins looked at him and nodded, continuing their meal. Their obedience and deference was only superficial, limited to the duration of their mission. He couldn’t really blame them for not wanting to talk to him. The feeling was mutual.

  “Good morning, child,” he added, placing a hand over Erin’s head.

  The girl turned up to look at him, questioning why he had distracted her from her morning reading. Even when having breakfast she wouldn’t drop her book.

  “Good morning, Guardian,” she said, reluctantly placing her book down.

  Erin knew that offering no answer would only trap her in the old man’s pestering. For some reason unknown to her, Magnus was often more obsessed over gaining her attention than the rest of the church’s zealots.