Tower of Ancients

by Jaeger Mitchells

  “Please, Lord Raziel!” the crowd cried. Women and men threw themselves at the ground, pleading for their lives.

  “Rennes, who else is problematic?” I asked, turning towards the woman. I spoke loud enough so that everyone could hear me. To my surprise, most of my people weren’t even shocked by what just happened. They were used to much worse being done to troublemakers.

  “Those three,” she replied, pointing at two men and a woman sitting next to the old guy. “They’re family and have been stirring up trouble ever since I can remember.”

  I nodded.

  “Dimas?”

  “Sure,” he replied, appearing next to me. Two of his children fell from the treetops snapped their necks, killing them without spilling any blood. I grinned. What a great way to go out.

  “That’s as clean as it can be,” I whispered. He nodded.

  “Why spill blood? We’ll feed on them before the Basilisk gets their corpses.”

  “Take them to the Basilisk,” I ordered, even though I knew they had their orders from Dimas. It was only for the crowd’s benefit after all. I waited until they were gone and continued. “I’m genuinely sad that this had to happen, but there is no room for people who want to sow discord. You will see in time that I’m not as bad as they thought. Unfortunately for him, he will never know.”

  “Now, are there any other questions?” Rennes asked. “Questions that matter for the community!”

  Everyone remained silent. It was only to be expected after what just happened. Still, I wasn’t giving up so easily. I needed a base and people to work for me. Sure, we had a decent-sized population even without these people, but it would take twenty years until babies were born and grew enough to become useful.

  “Let’s put it like this. Is there anything the community that was here before we arrived needs but wasn’t able to make or get themselves?”

  “We need someone to fix the mill. Those damn sea creatures keep on breaking the cogs!” a young woman yelled. “We spend hours and hours a day on grinding wheat into flour.”

  “What else?” I asked, looking over at our smith. He shrugged and got up, followed by his entire family and joined us.

  “We need someone to fix the water supply! Dirty water is coming out of the wells. We can’t wash our clothes or drink it that way,” another woman said.

  “Anything else? You come to this man and his family. We’ll be fixing everything, but please bear with us, we just arrived after weeks on the road.”

  How simple-minded creatures Humans were. It never ceased to amaze me. Give them a little bit to look forward to and they will forgive everything. After all, they are a very materialistic race. They. It’s funny how one can so easily forget he used to be part of something. Still, it was a lifetime ago when you looked at it. Tens of lifetimes ago at least.

  “So, what now?” Sylvana asked as the crowd started dispersing.

  “I have no idea. Maybe rest for a couple of days, then we need to take up the search for the tower again and send some trusted people to check Celonia. I doubt Lefrand will just let us go like that.”

  “I can go,” Helena said as she swirled her dress around.

  “No!” her sister snapped, grabbed her arm, and squeezed hard. “Don’t you even think about doing something stupid now that we’re finally free!”

  “Shit, it was just a joke! What’s wrong with you?”

  “What’s wrong with me? You! You’re too carefree! You need to start thinking with that damn head of yours and make good decisions, not bad ones!”

  “Come on, not here,” I said, stopping them. “Let’s go back into the house. You can fight all you want in there.”

  “There’s no need. She’s right,” Helena hissed. “But I can’t stand the fact to be around so many Humans and Vampires. It keeps me on edge!”

  “We’re not your enemies here, Helena. I already told you and don’t appreciate having to tell you more than once. I’m not him, and neither is Dimas. I’ll protect you from anyone and anything for as long as I take breath. Isn’t that enough of a promise?”

  She stared down at the ground and shuffled her feet around.

  “Sorry. I’ll try and keep myself busy with helping these people if that’s alright?”

  I nodded.

  “Of course it is. You’re not a prisoner, but please, don’t do anything we’ll all regret later. You’re younger and more impulsive than Sylvana. Alright?”

  “Fine, fine. I’ll go help take care of the well for now. I’ll be back later.”

  She walked off toward the three large wells and busied herself with looking deep down into each one of them. That was one sister. What about the second now? How to get her off my back so I could have a minute to myself?

  “Why don’t you settle in with Rennes?” I whispered, placing my hand on Sylvana’s shoulder. I pushed her toward the house gently, but she didn’t seem to be quick on the uptake, or she wasn’t interested in going anywhere without me.

  “How about you let me join you in whatever you want to do? I’ll be invisible if need be.”

  “I was thinking about scouting the area and bathe in the river. You sure you want to come?”

  She smirked and winked at me when Rennes turned and walked off toward her house.

  “You sure know how to get rid of your competition,” I chuckled. “One might think you’re jealous or something.”

  “Oh, that’s no secret. I can’t do much about it even if I want to. The call of your blood is too strong and all.”

  “If you say so. I thought it was my good looks. After all, I’ve got the body of a God, don’t I? And what about that possessiveness your sister mentioned?”

  “Pfft!” she laughed heartily, slapping me lightly on the chest. “To the eyes of these mortals you are, but so am I, or am I wrong?”

  I chuckled and shook my head slightly. The Elf was cheeky and unlike anything I’d ever expected to be. Still, many things made me doubt her honesty. She was Lefrand’s slave for so many years and had gone through decades of torture and suffering. It wasn’t easy to just shut everything down and become someone else. At least Helena was more open about that part with how she acted around me. Sylvana on the other hand was a mystery to me. At least for now.

  “You couldn’t be more right. Well then, what are we waiting for? How about we have it over with so we can check each other out?”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sylvana and I mostly kept to the treetops, scouring the land directly around the camp. The wind blew extremely strong up top so she had to cast a magic spell, Infuse Wind, to protect us from being blown off course as we jumped. The first round was a small circle around the camp, only a mile out in all directions. Once done, we took a small break and studied the approaches to the base.

  “The North is quite open, especially after that monster tore down hundreds of trees up there to move around more freely,” I said, commenting on the situation.

  “You’re right, but with it around there’s no real danger. The South, however, is totally different. Look at those two slopes,” she said pointing at the approach some half a mile South of where we arrived earlier. “Those are as clear as can be.”

  “They are, but they also allow us to see the enemy's approach. If it’s up to me, I’d cut the trees down around the base in diameter of three miles.”

  “It will look unnatural, Raziel. A dense forest right at the center of a clearing?”

  “Not necessarily. We push the forest outward and clear land inside for wheat. We can use the northern part for grazing and let the grass and weeds grow at the southern part, cutting it when needed.”

  She pulled me in closer and placed her head against my shoulder.

  “Why are you trying so hard? You could use these people as a blood camp and live off them for a long time.”

  “That’s what Lefrand would do, but not me. I’m looking at the bigger picture here, and don’t misinterpret all of this. They are a means to an end.”

&
nbsp; “Means to an end? So they’re just cattle after all then?”

  “No, they’re not, Sylvana. Are you cattle? If anything, your blood tastes much better than theirs.”

  “I’m not,” she mumbled. “Or do you know something I don’t?”

  I shrugged and placed my arm around her.

  “What fun is ruling over a desolate wasteland? I want people to rule over, not empty soil.”

  “So you want a kingdom of your own then? I thought you had enough of that life.”

  “I had before I met the two of you and we stumbled upon this place. There are stone and ore in abundance everywhere around us. We can make an impenetrable city here and start our own country or kingdom, or whatever you desire.”

  She looked up at me as if asking herself ‘is this Vampire mad?’, but decided on staying quiet, at least for a while. Her face grew red and she looked away as if becoming embarrassed about something.

  “Is this because of us?”

  I chuckled.

  “How did you guess?”

  “Something told me. This strange gut feeling.”

  Her innocent act only served to get my blood boiling even further. But it wasn’t the time for that, no, we could do as much once we chose a spot in the river. For now, I wanted to check the mines and the quarry.

  “You should listen to that gut feeling more often then. See, you made the right choice when you went back on Crozan. Speaking of which, we still have a lot to talk about.”

  “Heh, it was only a question of time when you would approach the subject.”

  I let go of her and turned to face her fully. Her cheeks were still flushed red, but she held her ground and stood there, looking right up at me as her chest rose and fell. It wasn’t an easy thing for her to talk about, but neither was it for me to call her out on.

  “How can you make me trust you with my life? Or at least not mistrust you.”

  She remained silent for a long moment and then let out a deep sigh.

  “We can bind ourselves to someone. It’s like what the Basilisk thinks we did with him. If I ever harm you in any way the magic will kill me. If I have any ill intent, the magic will cause me great pain. Would that suffice for a start?”

  “You’d really be willing to go so far?” I asked, not quite able to believe her. Sure, she sounded very honest, but that didn’t mean much when it came to promises. After all, how would I know if it worked or not. But feeling my doubts, she nodded.

  “I would. And I’m willing to demonstrate as much, but you need to make a promise in turn. That will be part of the punishment as well.”

  I laughed, not able to contain myself. She sure knew how to play on one’s weakness only to blindside them moments later.

  “What is it?”

  “The same will count for you. You can’t hurt me on purpose and if I’m ever taken captive or harmed by anyone, you need to do whatever you can to free me or take revenge.”

  It sounded relatively harmless and what I would do in any case.

  “I can agree to that. Now tell me, how do we do this—thing?”

  She smirked.

  “Bound by blood no matter how you look at it. Come, give me your hand and let me do the rest.”

  I offered her my hand and observed her. With a deft move, she pulled out a dagger from her side and sliced across my palm, then placed the sharp blade against her chest, carving a small X just over her heart. Next, she cut her own palm and did the same to my chest as she chanted something unintelligible. At least for my ears.

  An excruciating pain shot through me and passed into Sylvana. I could see her body shudder and shake. I pulled her in close, pressing my body against hers and it seemed to soothe her slightly before she let out a shrill scream and collapsed in my arms. The shaking stopped almost instantly and she returned to normal a long heartbeat later.

  “S-see?” she stuttered. “This is w-what will happen t-to me if I ever t-think of hurting y-you,” she stuttered, barely able to speak.

  “I felt it as well,” I murmured, “but not nearly hard as you did. Fuck, what the hell is it with you Elves and self-harm?” I cursed, putting my arms around her again and hugging her.

  “Y-your fault this t-time,” she wheezed, obviously still hurting. I felt sorry for the woman. She did it to please me and then it backfired somehow hurting her.

  “Yeah, whatever. I’ll make it up to you once we’re done. I promise.”

  She smiled weakly and snuggled into my body. We stood there for a couple of minutes without saying a single word until she finally stopped shaking and could breathe normally again.

  “Can you carry me around for a while?” she asked weakly.

  I leaned in and picked her up in my arms, then jumped toward the next treetop leading east. From what I could see, the mine and the quarry should be around three miles out. It wasn’t a big distance, what’s more, it would only take the human labor half an hour on foot using the clearing and the woods.

  I stopped at the forest’s edge and looked down on the quarry which was closest. Truth be told, it was far from a quarry, but there were granite, marble, and sediment rock from what I could see. Everything was fine and dandy except for one thing: a large pack of monsters roamed the place. They were dog-like creatures with razor-sharp backs and armored hide. Right in their midst stood a similarly-looking dog creature that was three times their size. From what I could guess I’d give him ten-foot in height, fifteen from head to tail, and six in the shoulders.

  “What the fuck are those?” I asked. Never in my life had I seen anything like them, but then again, that creature lived in a pack which probably meant they could have easily moved here from the Beastmen lands. Maybe they were also part of the problem that there wasn’t any smaller game around.

  “I think those are Razorbacks if I’m not mistaken. They’re pack creatures that usually breed and stay in a spot for longer periods of time before moving on.”

  “How do you know?”

  She shrugged and tucked a loose strand behind her ear as she leaned in closer to the edge.

  “I’ve seen them around when I was on a mission for the—you know. They wreaked havoc on a place somewhere so I took care of them for the natives.”

  “Want to do it again?” I asked, itching for a fight myself. Killing that old man earlier left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. “Or can they be domesticated?”

  “Hah, domesticated? No way. Those things are pack hunters, they can’t be domesticated, but their meat is tasty once cooked. Especially stew.”

  A grin crept up to my face as I nodded. There were roughly thirty of them down there and the big guy. Thirty wasn’t much when there were four-thousand people to feed, but we’d have to make it last, especially if it was stew. I reckoned we could go for a month with these in combination with Vampire blood. It was the second time the same day that I realized how good we had it back in the capital. Food was there in abundance no matter what one wanted.

  “We’re going to have a problem when it comes to food. We need ways to make things last, but there’s no way they can work and live off plants or our blood alone.”

  Sylvana grinned and pressed her long finger against my chin, leaning in closer for a kiss.

  “I’m glad you’re asking for my help, Lord Raziel,” she whispered. “After all, we’re all in this together now, aren’t we?”

  I didn’t contradict her. Sure, I was prideful, all of us Vampires were, but if she had a way to help, I wasn’t going to say no to that.

  “Right. So what can Lady Sylvana do for us?”

  “More than you think, but let’s start with what Helena is doing. She’ll be cleaning the water supplies so fresh water is once again available. Her affinity with it is much higher than mine. I, on the other hand, have an affinity for ice and earth. That said, let me ask you a question. What would it mean for the Humans if I could create ice?”

  It was an easy one. I knew as much that the Dwarves and the Northern Kingdoms used ice to preserve food
for longer periods of time. But what did she mean with earth magic?

  “We can keep food on ice, especially meat.”

  “Correct. Now, what if I could make the soil very fertile using some magic and ingredients? And what if I could make the crops grow faster?”

  “Wait, that’s Elder Magic, isn’t it?”

  She nodded.

  “It is, but don’t ask me how I know. As I said, many spells are created through necessity and accident, and so was the rapid growth of plants and vegetables. A single seed can grow into a full—whatever it is over the course of seven days if I don’t strain myself.”

  “Which means there’s backlash when you use it?”

  “There is, and depending on how, it can hurt pretty badly, but with you by my side and with your blood, I won’t die.”

  “But Helena will protest, I’m sure of it. No, there’s got to be—.”

  “If you know of a better way, tell me. But as I said, I won’t be overexerting myself. I’ll be helping the vegetables, not taking over for them as I did back home.”

  I sighed and sat down on a thick branch. Wasn’t this too easy? It almost felt as if someone had steered her in my direction. Sure, she did this—thing, but I still couldn’t fully trust her. Sylvana explained it by blaming blood infatuation, but there was more to her. For now, however, I could play her game, whatever it was.

  “I don’t, unfortunately. But how about you show me the way you took care of the Razorbacks back then?”

  “Umm, I don’t think you’ll like it, Raziel. Things got pretty messy back then and a lot of the meat was wasted. It’s best to rip their heads off or something.”

  “Or something, huh?” I chuckled. “Are those daggers and bow for show? Or do you know how to use them?”

  “Ugh! That was a low blow!”

  “Hey, I haven’t really seen you fight, so please forgive me for being skeptical.”

  “Hmpf. Let’s see who can kill them cleaner and faster. On five. Four. Three. Two. One. Go!”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I jumped off the treetop and landed at the quarry’s edge with Sylvana in my arms. She pushed off and landed on her feet only to start running right away. Her hands shot down to her sides and curled around the curved daggers. I had to give her that, she was both quick and elegant.