by Sarah Lin
"I don't like the sound of that. What kind?"
"Involuntary." As Belkarin spoke, reality rippled around them and an illusion fell away. Even as it did so, several spells flew at Bloodwraith from multiple sides, but he let out a roar and the shockwave of force canceled them.
He was surprised to find that several pierced his counterattack, but not unprepared. Even as Bloodwraith ducked and spun, dodging the attacks, he plunged his hand into his Extra-dimensional Bag and got ready.
There were Fellsilvered creatures all around the hill now. Three other Aesidh, the shardwings, the dragon, multiple adventurers, and more. While Bloodwraith was staring at them, Elleane rushed toward him with surprising speed for someone wearing so much armor. She grabbed his upper arms, binding them in place and keeping him from drawing his greatsword.
Her eyes were pure silver. That explained her strange behavior, but he marveled that the Aesidh had held back the fact that they could use their infection this way. They seemed careless, but they played a long game.
"Don't worry, this will be over soon." Belkarin walked up nearby and touched Elleane's shoulder, imparting some power to her. "I was thinking of keeping you as a puppet, like her, but on second thought that might be more dangerous. If you are a mad brute, better to simply throw you at our opponent."
Silver liquid began to slide from Elleane's hands onto his armor, but the enchantments repelled it. He knew they wouldn't last forever, not against Outsider magic. If the silver did reach his skin, he wasn't sure if he would have resistance as Gharavi did. And even if he had "immunity", that was only another type of magic that could eventually be overcome.
But none of that really mattered, because Bloodwraith had the Scepter of Annihilation pointed at Elleane's chest.
The beam of pure destructive light tore through her, annihilating everything but her arms. Just as he'd planned, the beam was aiming at Belkarin as well as the majority of the Fellsilvered creatures leading up to the dragon. In an instant it tore through them, vaporizing a large portion of the Aesidh forces until it hit the dragon.
Though the beam tore into part of the dragon's shoulder and one wing, it fizzled out before the dragon could even receive a serious injury. Either the beam's power had been reduced by burning through so many opponents, or the dragon had simply been too strong for it to overcome.
Still, Bloodwraith looked over the destruction with a sense of satisfaction. Belkarin and one of the three Aesidh had been caught in the beam, while the other two were on the ground, stunned. Several of the Fellsilvered adventurers had been caught, along with multiple monsters and one of the shardwings.
Another Fellsilvered creature attacked him from behind, but that was where Khassfhit's weapon came in. Bloodwraith caught the beast with one arm and shoved the flask into its mouth, then hurled it into the others. Once it hit, it exploded, sticky flames spreading over many of them. It was nowhere near as potent as the Scepter of Annihilation, but it burned away many of the Fellsilvered pieces and it spread chaos everywhere, which gave him enough time to invoke Herena's spell...
Except something was shifting beside him. Bloodwraith threw himself back barely in time to avoid a flashing saber that had aimed at his neck.
He landed some distance away, his greatsword in one hand and the spell invocation in the other. If his greatest concern was security he should have retreated then, before any of the other creatures could attack him, but he found himself hesitating so that he could watch.
The air rippled and Belkarin appeared where he had been standing earlier - his approach must have been an illusion. Though there was an amused smile on his face, his eyes were very hard.
"An amusing stroke of luck."
"It wasn't luck," Bloodwraith said. "The thing about us malicious villain types is that the double-crosses become very easy to predict."
"You fool. You will never leave here alive."
Bloodwraith said nothing, shifting the position of the invocation for easier use.
"Even if you do, we will tear Cresthaven apart looking for you. This struggling is foolish. Submit to us and you will reduce your world's suffering."
"You think I care if you slaughter everyone in Cresthaven? Go ahead. You'll just be wasting your strength and weakening yourself for the fight with the Earthians."
"Bah!" Belkarin jabbed a hand and stepped forward carelessly. Almost carelessly enough that Bloodwraith considered taking a swing at him, but he held back. "We can simply infect everyone in the city and our army will grow!"
"If you could do that, you would have already done so. No, I think your infection is vulnerable to the Earthian's control, so you need to use it carefully. You won't do a damn thing because you can't do anything. If this is a game to you, you're losing badly."
Belkarin hissed and then shouted a word in another language. The other Aesidh and all the Fellsilvered creatures began to rush forward, so Bloodwraith didn't take any more risks: he poured mana into the spell invocation and let it take over him.
In a spinning rush, he abruptly found himself standing in the gardens of a Cresthaven manor. Several nearby nobles jumped in shock, as if no one had warned them about the agreement with Herena. Perhaps they actually hadn't known, but that was no longer his concern. What mattered was that his plan, improvised as it was, had been successful.
Moments later, he got a wonderful confirmation of that.
[Victory! You received 633,937 EXP.]
The power tasted sweet, but even sweeter was eliminating such a large percentage of Belkarin's army. Maybe he could infect more people, but Bloodwraith doubted that he could replace Elleane, an Aesidh, a shardwing, and high Level adventurers so easily. Though the Scepter of Annihilation now hung useless in his hand, it had been worth it.
It wasn't long before Herena came rushing out of the manor, wearing robes instead of her armor. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she came to stand at his side. "Is... is everything alright?"
"Not as good as it could be." Bloodwraith rolled his shoulders, trying to cast off some of the tension. "I killed many of our opponent's monsters and injured his dragon, but I failed to kill the man himself. I don't think he'll retaliate, but we should prepare Cresthaven just in case."
"At this time of night? I suppose it wouldn't stop him..." Herena bit her lip and nodded. "My family can prepare to some degree, but we'll need Governor Andinn's permission for anything more serious. The most I could do there is get you another audience - unless you can convince him yourself, this isn't going to work."
"I'll see what I can do." Bloodwraith nodded to her and sat down in the garden, taking a moment to collect his thoughts.
He had been expecting betrayal of some kind, but not exactly that. Making his decisions so quickly, particularly committing his most powerful weapon, had left him slightly disoriented. Still, he thought it had gone acceptably well. Not only had he eliminated some of his opponent's most powerful assets, he'd learned of two of his opponent's secret weapons.
Would Belkarin attack Cresthaven just to get at him? Though the Aesidh seemed nonchalant in his cruelty, he was no fool. While he certainly had no moral qualms against slaughtering civilians, Bloodwraith thought that Belkarin was too aware of the Earthian threat to allow his emotions to gain control.
Unfortunately, Bloodwraith had to admit that he had been bluffing. Though he wouldn't hesitate to make necessary sacrifices, or to save Danniah's life instead of a citizen of Cresthaven, he couldn't stand by and let them be slaughtered. As much as they annoyed him sometimes, they were part of his world. He might not be their protector, but he wasn't so cold as to simply write them off.
As he tried to decide how he felt about that, Bloodwraith was surprised by a box he hadn't even vaguely expected:
[Undead Companion "Izilthor" wants to spend Necromancy Points on the following trait:
Hello, Da!
Cost: 1 NP
Meara says I can talk to you like this but I don't really get it. Danniah and everybody found me and now we're coming t
o find you! What else should I say? Oh, Gharavi got a bunch of the magic you wanted! Meara says we can use it to counteract some other big magic.
I miss you a lot. There were tasty things to eat here but it's better to eat with everybody.
I'm not sure what else to say and I'm not sure how to stop the message. Danniah, you say something to Da too! Oh, she can't? That's too bad.
Anyway, Da, we're coming to find you but it's still a long way. See you soon! Meara, how do I st-
NOTE: This trait appears to be fundamentally broken and will not provide any benefit.]
Bloodwraith stared at the trait turned message, wrestling with emotions he wasn't sure how to name. It was easier to focus on the important confirmations: all his allies had gathered, they had acquired more Outsider magic, and they were coming to join him. Those were all good things, so it was only logical to feel glad.
Before that point, he hadn't been sure about how exactly he was going to play the situation with the Governor. Hearing from Izzy put him in a new frame of mind. He'd already believed that they needed to win the conflict no matter what, but he hadn't thought through what that really meant. In this case, it would mean swallowing his pride.
Soon after, Herena returned to the garden. "Raigar, I've gotten you an audience with the Governor, but it's going to be tense. Are y-"
"Tell me, Herena, does Governor Andinn have any particular foods or gifts he likes?"
"Uh..." She stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "He's extremely fond of certain types of cheese."
"Do you think he would like a hundred individual gifts of it?"
Chapter 31
There were several days of uncomfortable peace, during which Bloodwraith did his worst. After that followed several days of skirmishing, for which he was fully prepared. Not due to any great power or tactical genius on his part, but mostly because of one simple box:
[Cresthaven Reputation: 1000/1000 (Glorious)]
Some of the arbitrary numbers became more difficult as they neared key levels, but not Reputation. It had been a minor skirmish with Fellsilvered bandits and then he'd hit 1000 and people had suddenly begun treating him with even more respect. He wasn't sure if he could command people to kill themselves, but sometimes he wondered.
"Blade of Rage, sir?" The soldier approached him and Bloodwraith realized they wouldn't do one thing: call him by a different name. It was stuck enough that now he didn't want to risk ruining the effect. He turned to scowl down at the soldier who had interrupted his planning.
"What is it?"
"Your squad of adventurers has been pinned outside the city and they are requesting backup."
"My squad of adventurers?" Bloodwraith nearly shouted at the soldier before remembering that the man wasn't responsible. It couldn't be his allies, could it? No, Izzy would have sent him a message directly. "I never authorized such a thing. Just who is that?"
Though the soldier looked shocked, he rushed on. "But, he said... the two of you had been companions for a long time..."
"Never mind. Give me the location and I'll take care of this."
Bloodwraith received the details from the soldier and then stalked away, turning the issue over in his mind angrily. Just when he thought the boxes had a grip on everyone, this happened and some fool adventurer ruined his plans. The fact that it had been a man was another sign that it couldn't possibly be his real allies, though Bloodwraith hoped they would arrive soon.
Instead of going to the front, Bloodwraith instead stalked his way to the tower nearest the gates. It was secure except in the event of a dragon attack, and nowhere was safe if the dragon attacked, so that was where the city's commanders and nobles stayed to plan. Bloodwraith preferred to avoid them, but they still controlled many valuable forces.
As he entered, the leaders turned to look at him. First among them was the Governor, and the box that came along with him displayed the second reason Bloodwraith had been able to manipulate the city so effectively:
[Governor Andinn Affection: 100/100 (Loyalty)]
It turned out that "Affection" was just as easily earned with political leaders as with random bar wenches. A few compliments and gifts of fine cheeses and Governor Andinn was willing to do almost anything for him. Since it allowed him to accomplish his plans, Bloodwraith should have been happy, yet...
He possessed the strength to lift boulders, powerful necromancy, and the system of the box gods themselves... and he was spending his time seducing random officials with gifts. If Meara ever learned of this, she would never let him hear the end of it.
"A group of adventurers has engaged the enemy and become trapped," Bloodwraith said. "I am going to assist them personally, but we can assume the enemy will target me. Ready the ballistas to fire, use the magically-enhanced bolts, and turn them toward the locations I give you..."
Leading the fights himself was risky, but had proved the most effective strategy so far. For one, it had improved his reputation rapidly with both the people and the commanders. For another, it allowed him to reduce Belkarin's forces over time and keep him focused on Bloodwraith personally instead of the city or the Forest of Beginnings. It was a delaying action, but it had worked so far.
Since he wasn't asking them to commit troops, all the commanders rapidly agreed to his plan. With that, Bloodwraith strode out of the tower and through the gate, headed to find this new source of conflict. Whatever fool adventurer had started another skirmish without his permission would pay for such idiocy.
It took him some time to wind through the defenses set up around the city walls, ignoring the cheers from the defenders. Gods, they were so annoying. Did the box gods truly want the praise of such mindless sycophants? Then again, thinking of Raigar, perhaps they did.
When he finally spotted a group of Fellsilvered wolves ahead, Bloodwraith unhooked his greatsword and began to sprint. There weren't so many, so unless the adventurers were completely incompetent, they should have been able to extract themselves. Fully destroying Fellsilvered creatures was one thing, but disabling them enough to retreat wasn't difficult.
He arrived and cut through two of the wolves in a single swipe, yet his focus wavered as he saw the adventurers he was supposed to assist. Herena and Khassfhit were there, which didn't speak well of their judgment, but they weren't the ones responsible for this.
No, that was Rhil'lahan. The tall elf danced around the enemies, his twin curved blades flashing. It was graceful, elegant... and not very effective, since such superficial cuts were next to useless against Fellsilvered enemies. Bloodwraith saw that his box listed him as Level 9, so he hadn't even advanced very much.
Cutting down the wolves was simple enough, but Bloodwraith was more concerned about the secondary attack. Keeping one eye on the sky, he angrily turned to the group.
[Victory! You received 4286 EXP and eight Fellsilvered Corpses.]
Mentally shoving the box aside, he focused on the three adventurers. "These body parts can still fight, so we should step away from them. Then you can explain yourselves."
"What is there to explain?" Rhil'lahan ran a hand through his long, shiny hair as they moved to higher ground. "We wanted to help protect Cresthaven against the enemy, so we headed out to strike a blow against them. The fact that you came to help us just means that the old group's back together, eh?"
Abruptly Bloodwraith realized that even if they had been ineffective, they also hadn't been in very much danger. That was most likely fully intentional, so he began to suspect their ploy. He glowered at the other two, and Herena blushed while Khassfhit had the decency to look guilty. Rhil'lahan, on the other hand, just kept smiling.
"What do you say, Raigar? Should we slay some more of the enemy, or return to the city?"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Bloodwraith folded his arms as he realized the plan: Rhil'lahan wanted to unite them in the eyes of the citizens, to bask in Raigar's glory. Idiot. "You don't think I see what you're doing?"
"Maybe you do, but does it matter?"
Rhil'lahan leaned closer and smiled smugly. "You can't keep fighting alone like this. The fact that we'll be the ones to support you is no skin off your back."
"And can you help me against that?" Bloodwraith stabbed one finger to the side, where the Fellsilvered dragon was advancing toward them, the beats of its wings impacting the ground with gusts of wind. Though Rhil'lahan paled slightly, he didn't back down.
The remaining shardwing flew ahead of the dragon and there were several Fellsilvered horses running underneath it as well. Though the shardwing was a serious threat and the horses were fast, overall their only purpose was to delay him until the dragon could arrive. One of the ballistas on the city wall tried to fire at the group, coming far short. Hopefully the others would actually obey his orders and wait until they were in range.
Yet despite all that, Rhil'lahan managed to smile again. "I guess we're outmatched this time... old comrade. I suppose we should retreat to Cresthaven together, then?"
"Fine then. Let's go." It irritated him, but Bloodwraith decided that he didn't ultimately care. Glory or reputation in Cresthaven was utterly irrelevant to him - this was merely a good way to use his time while waiting for the opportunity to truly strike.
As they headed back, the group stayed close to him, which was only sensible. Rhil'lahan gave a low laugh and spoke with forced casualness. "Despite the circumstances, it's almost like old times, yes? The whole group is back together."
"Danniah isn't here."
"Ah, yes... but I think you can more than fill her role, so there's little difference."
Before they could say any more, the ground shook as two trolls stepped into their path. They didn't roar, didn't pound their chests, didn't do anything except advance with their silver eyes locked on him. Bloodwraith cursed as he realized that they must have been lying in wait, letting him pass them before blocking his main path back to the city. Belkarin was growing used to his patterns and had planned for it.
"Stun them, then break through!" He gave the order as he drew his sword and prepared to Enrage a slash. Some Fellsilvered creatures had received little Aesidh magic, just serving as distractions, but he doubted these trolls were among them. With such powerful bodies, even severed arms could prove a threat...