But this was the beginning of the civil war for the realm. I wanted to send a message.
“Just driving the Imperials out of Homehold and Silverton isn’t enough,” I said. “We need to show the Emperor that we’re not going to back down. In fact, I want to scare the shit out of that evil motherfucker.”
“And how are you going to do that?” Layla asked.
I grinned. “By charging his forces with an army of orcs along with us,” I said, because no, I hadn’t for one moment forgotten about Gorrok and his pals. “A very influential orc promised to join us against the Empire. With an orcish army at our side, we won’t just drive the Imperials out of the south. No, we’ll send them running back north with a pile of shit in their pants.”
“That’s quite a bold plan,” Pandora said, but I could tell by her smile that she agreed with it completely.
“Though I must ask a question,” Hingar said. “Gamelord, in smashing the Imperials in such a way, might that not cause the Emperor to unleash the full fury of his armed forces upon your rebellion?”
“Almost certainly,” I said. “But if we really crush them in our first real engagement, the other cities around the Empire will take notice. Rebels-in-hiding will rise up. Even as we speak, the Mananymph named Bella is spreading the word of the Emperor’s alliance with the Necromancer. Once the truth of that spreads, we might even see people who would otherwise be Imperial loyalists join our side.”
Layla smiled at me, her amber-golden eyes shining bright. “Kehlya might have been right,” she said. “Perhaps you would make a great general.”
“Oh, quiet now, sister,” Pandora said, laughing. “As Sephara says, the Earthman’s head is big enough. If it gets any bigger, it’ll go tumbling off his shoulders.”
Chapter Eleven
Successful as the quest had been, returning to Corvus Gavrus’ cottage was a reward in and of itself.
Though I’d had Layla and Pandora along to accompany me, it wasn’t until we finally teleported back to the cottage that I’d realize how badly I’d been missing the rest.
The moment when the mysticism magic dissipated and we stood outside of the cabin, Sephara came shooting down the stairs and hurled herself into my arms, as if she’d been waiting all morning for us.
Esmerelda approached me, that seductive smirk ever-present on her gorgeous face, with her twin curved horns looking spectacularly sexy in the morning daylight. When she kissed me, I tasted the faintest hint of red wine on her lips, and enjoyed every last second of her sweetness.
Then there was Bella. She was tired, and I soon learned that she’d hardly taken a rest since we’d been gone. Instead, she was working double-time spreading the word about the Empire’s dark alliance with the Necromancer.
She yawned adorably when I hugged her, and she pressed her lips against mine and grinned. “Word spreads, Earthman,” she said. “More and more, the Imperials are grumbling quietly about their Emperor.”
“How many citizens do you think are becoming sympathetic to the rebellion?” I asked.
“Lots,” she answered. Then her smile grew wider. “With a matching number of legionnaires, as well. Here, I have visions to share with you. While you’ve been gone, much has happened.”
Bella pulled up visions from her eagles from around the Empire. Though they were older visions, they were still crystal clear, just as crisp as any expensive camera from back on Earth.
“This first vision…it’s not easy to watch,” Bella said.
I braced myself for what she was about to show me. She pulled up the vision from one of her eagles in Homehold. It was perched atop a building directly across from the castle steps. Outside, the Imperial legionnaires were forming up, but I noticed a strange division between the soldiers.
Many were wearing the same scowl I’d normally seen among the Imperial troops, as if they held everything in the world in contempt, just like their Emperor. But for every two or three Imperials who looked hatefully at their surroundings, I noticed one who looked markedly different.
Some of these men looked doubtful, or even like they’d been betrayed. Others had a slightly panicked look about them. Whatever might have been going through their heads, they certainly didn’t look like fascist little Imperial dogs.
“I’ve been using the eagles to listen to the Imperial troops,” Bella said. “Gamelord, word has spread about how you showed mercy to the legionnaires you found in the Darkwood Forest.”
Yes, just a few days ago. Before we set out for Woodhaven, we’d happened upon Captain Pernicus, the war mage named Erhoff, and all their men. It had been a gamble to show them mercy, but according to Bella, it was beginning to pay off.
I looked at her vision again. The castle doors swung open and a dozen knights marched out. Therena walked in front of them, haughty and proud as ever. Her face was twisted in pure hatred.
“Loyal men of the Empire,” Therena began. “Recently, whispers have been spreading through your ranks about the supposedly merciful nature of the Gamelord and his Mananymphs. These are lies and nothing more. Gamelord is a rebel, seeking to overthrow our peaceful Empire. The Mananymphs are even worse, vile little beings that bring wicked magic upon our people.”
Among the soldiers gathered out front of the castle, some nodded in agreement, true believers in the Emperor.
But many others were harboring doubts.
“To prove that these whispers are nothing but lies and rebel propaganda, I’ve got our newly minted Sir Pernicus to set the matter straight,” Therena said, then gestured toward the castle doors.
I grit my teeth. This bastard again.
Bella put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t rush to judgment, Earthman,” she said sadly. “Not yet.”
Oh, that was going to be a tall order, because my blood began to boil when I saw Pernicus marching out with the other knights. He wore a beautiful set of Imperial knight’s armor. Unlike the mismatched, poorly fitting armor he’d been wearing the last time I saw him, this set of shimmering silver plates fit him perfectly.
Yet, there was something different about that insufferable Imperial. There was a look of darkness in his eyes…figuratively and literally. When he took off his silver helm, I saw that his face was terribly bruised, blooming purple like plump eggplants in some spots.
“Sir Pernicus,” Therena said, grinning her artificial grin. “Please tell these men how Gamelord and the Mananymphs tortured and brutalized you when they ambushed you and your men in Darkwood Forest.”
“He didn’t have a scratch on him when we found him in the woods,” I said at a whisper, slowly realizing what I was seeing.
As Sir Pernicus joined Therena on the castle steps, she turned back to the men gathered in front of the castle once more. “I have personally healed many of Sir Pernicus’ wounds,” she said. “There’s not an inch of his body that hasn’t been cut up or terribly bruised. Gamelord and the Mananymphs tortured him for some time before he finally managed to escape. Brave men of the Empire, this is what the United Rebel Front stands for.”
Sir Pernicus stood quietly next to Therena, with his silver helm tucked into his arm. There was a strange, yet intense look in his eyes.
“Sir Pernicus, you’ve shown your bravery while enduring the rebels’ torture,” Therena went on. “If you would be so kind, please remove your breastplate so that the men can see the scars you now bare.”
“Lady Therena, may I first address the men?” Pernicus asked. “I have things I’d like to share with them about the rebels.”
Therena’s wicked smile grew wider. “Of course you can, Sir Pernicus.”
Pernicus cleared his throat, then looked down at the legionnaires assembled before him. “Men, you’ve known me as a loyal Imperial,” he began, though his voice was cracking. “For better or worse. Given my behavior in the past, sometimes very much for worse. But in the Darkwood Forest, I believe I’ve learned what it means to be a true soldier.”
The men were hanging on his every word. Therena
continued to smile her wicked smile.
“I’ve endured torture, aye,” Pernicus went on. “I’ve been bashed, cut, and burnt.” He turned back to Therena. A sudden hardness overtook his eyes, and when he spoke again, his voice wasn’t cracking at all. “Aye, and all that torture was brought upon me by Lady Therena, at the behest of the Emperor! The rebels showed me mercy! They showed mercy to me and all the men under my command! It was Lady Therena who—”
That was when the knights fell upon him. Therena shouted for them to punish him as they kicked his legs out from under him and bashed his face with their armored fists until he looked like a slab of ground beef.
“So, this one’s a rebel as well!” Therena shouted, but if she’d hoped to keep the men gathered about the castle on her side, it didn’t seem to be working.
Many were grumbling amongst themselves as they watched the brutal display. The knights finished bashing Pernicus’ face. Then they dumped him roughly onto the castle steps. Therena turned to the ranking knight standing next to her. “You, loyal knight of the Empire,” she said. She gestured to Pernicus. “Take this traitor’s sword hand and dump him in the dungeon.”
The knight nodded. A silence fell over the men in front of the castle. Pernicus didn’t scream, he didn’t resist, he merely lay there, bloody but defiant, and didn’t make a peep until that knight brought his longsword down and severed Pernicus’ right hand at the wrist.
Only then did he scream.
Bella ended that vision. “From what I gather, they burned Pernicus’ wound so that he would not bleed to death, but otherwise have not treated him at all. They allow the wound to fester. They allow him to wallow in terrible pain in the dungeon.” She shivered. “At night, close to the castle, you can hear him screaming in anguish as he slowly succumbs to his festering injuries.”
I grimaced at this. While I couldn’t say that I’d been fond of Pernicus, when the time came, the man showed his true colors. “Therena’s a fucking psychopath,” I said.
“Aye, she is,” Bella said. “But she only follows the Emperor’s orders. But don’t despair, Gamelord.” Bella smiled. “Word is spreading about this brutality.”
“Among the legionnaires?” I asked.
She nodded, grinning wider. “And from certain eagles.”
Bella showed me more visions, dozens of them that she’d saved over the last few days. As the word spread about what had happened to Pernicus, the grumblings among the legionnaires grew louder.
In Silverton, there was a small skirmish between concerned legionnaires and those who remained blindly loyal to the Emperor.
A patrol in the Silverhome Woods was reprimanded for spreading ‘rebel propaganda’ when their ranking officer heard them speaking about the mercy I showed Pernicus.
All around the Empire, in the cities and small towns and even roadside taverns, citizens and legionnaires alike were arrested for scrawling little red hands onto walls, onto road signs…even on the ubiquitous Imperial flags.
“The Imperial officers have begun to crackdown on so-called ‘Red-Hand Legionnaires,” Bella said. “Of course, since they’ve begun the crackdown, the movement only seems to spread faster. Here, Earthman, look at this…from the Imperial City itself, just this morning!”
I gasped when I saw it. The huge, towering silver doors of the Imperial Castle itself had been defaced with bloody hand smears. The Red-Hand Legionnaires, or their sympathizers, must have cut open the palms in their right hands before smearing the bloody handprints across the towering silver doors. At the moment, Imperial knights were overseeing starving prisoners who were being forced to scrub the doors clean.
“Has there been any outright rebellion among the legionnaires so far?” I asked.
Bella shrugged. “There could have been, though I haven’t seen any yet,” she said. “Alas, my eagles can’t be everywhere. If the time comes when the Red-Hand Legionnaires have an open revolt, I’ll let you know, Earthman.”
So, already, the tiny sparks of rebellion within the Imperial citizenry were starting to smolder. Before long, I hoped it would turn into a roaring flame.
But the good news didn’t end there.
“Earthman!” Corvus shouted as he came running outside to greet us. “Come here at once, someone wants to speak with you!”
He led me inside, where he’d pulled up the view from the illusion eagle he’d sent to the Southern Mountains. It must have been a two-way vision portal, because the moment I stepped in front of it, a familiar face greeted me with a smile.
“Ah, there he is!” Gorrok shouted.
I couldn’t help but respond with a wide, almost painful smile. It had felt like years since I’d last seen my orc friend, since he helped me and Pandora sneak into Lord Necromorph’s citadel. “Gorrok, it’s an honor to see you again,” I said.
“No, Gamelord, the honor is all mine,” he answered. “I trust my old war axe is serving you well in combat?”
His face lit up when I showed him the weapon, now rippling with magic since I’d enchanted it. “It’s sharp as ever, old friend,” I said.
Gorrok explained how there were some monsters leftover in the Frozen Wastes, goblins and demon knights that had been milling about the Necromancer’s old stomping grounds. “Yet the looming threat of the Dark King is gone now,” Gorrok said. “And our tribes have never been more prosperous.”
“And that’s why I’m sorry to have to call on you like this,” I said to him. “Because Gorrok, we’re going to need your help.”
“Never be sorry to call on me, friend!” Gorrok said, and he pounded his fist against his chest. “You helped free me and my people. Now, me and my fighters will be honored to help do the same for you. Today, our army rides for Homehold!”
Now we were talking.
Chapter Twelve
I instructed Gorrok to link up with us at the Southern Pass in the Gray Wolf Mountains. From there, his army, as well as the Woodhaven forces, could march north with us to retake Homehold. Then, once we were in sight of the city, I would call upon Greenbeard and his spriggans. They’d cut off any reinforcements from Silverton while also helping with our siege.
After taking blow after blow, it was nice to feel confident about our chances. Plus, I had the Spirit Stone in my possession, which was one less Gaia Stone for the Emperor to get his hands on.
However, I soon realized that the short time I’d wielded the Spirit Stone back in Woodhaven had given me an unexpected perk.
I was up in the guest bedroom, inspecting my equipment when I saw it. I pulled up my Second Sight to check my stats, when I saw a new gauge bar under my mana.
GAIA STRENGTH: 100/100
My attention perked up when I saw it. What the hell was Gaia strength?
I focused on the new stat, then nearly stumbled backward in shock. It was almost like an enchantment charge, but in reverse.
GAIA STRENGTH: USER CAN WIELD GAIA STONES/GEMS FOR DURATION OF CHARGE.
Holy shit.
Though wielding the Storm Gem and the Spirit Stone had nearly killed me, in doing so, I must have given myself this new latent ability. True, the strange reverse charge wasn’t all that high, but I was sure that I could expand it with further use.
Now, I wouldn’t have to bulk up my stats to a god-tier level to wield a stone or a gem. Though I was sure I still wouldn’t be able to wield one without consequences, and that 100/100 charge would only give me a few moments to use one, this meant that I could, at least for a short time, use the items without draining all my energy to the point of passing out.
I had time before we were going to move out. The Mananymphs were downstairs, getting supplies together. I was just about to head out into the woods. Out there, I’d be able to safely handle the Spirit Stone, just to get acquainted with how my new ability would work.
However, before I could go, I felt a familiar sensation. That feeling as though I was being pulled in all directions at once. I grinned, because I knew what that meant: Ciara was trying to contact
me.
I sat down on the bed and prepared for her to reach out to me. Though it had only been a few days, it felt like months since I’d last spoken to her, and I was eager to see her again.
I closed my eyes as my consciousness bled away, from this realm into that watery void…and that was when I saw him.
The Emperor.
As I rose up to my feet, standing before the vision of him, I saw that he had Ciara down on her knees. Her eyes were glazed and she seemed unresponsive, and I knew at once that he’d been messing with her mind to use her telepathic abilities to reach out to me.
I scowled when I saw him.
The Emperor looked nothing like I thought he would. He was on the shorter side, wearing a seemingly permanent grin, warmer than your grandfather’s. His hair was long and white, as immaculately white as his royal attire. He wore an almost angelic white robe with a cross stitched into the chest. The hand he held upon Ciara’s head was bare, with his fingers long and brittle, almost weak-looking.
But his left hand was clad in a thick, seraph-inspired armored gauntlet. Just looking at it gave me a bad feeling, especially when I saw the groove just below the knuckles.
It was a copy of the Soulguard.
The Emperor’s warm smile endured, and he bowed his head gracefully as he greeted me. “You honor me with your presence, Champion,” the Emperor said in a grandfatherly tone.
“I can’t quite say the same,” I countered.
His smile grew warmer, making the abundant wrinkles on his weathered, friendly face grow more pronounced. “I trust you were able to retrieve my Spirit Stone from the Fairy Mother,” he said. He sighed sadly. “That poor creature knew not the powers she was toying with.”
“Yeah, I got the stone,” I said. “And it isn’t yours. Now tell me what you want.”
He laughed softly, as if we were old friends. “That should be obvious, Champion,” he said. “I want a peaceful end to this coming war. Surely, you realize how much death and destruction awaits both sides.”
Monstergirl Quest Book Three Page 9