by Jason Kenyon
‘I think he’s hallucinating,’ Mellara said to Anjilo.
‘Silence,’ Archimegadon said. ‘I was… considering what our next step should be.’
‘Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,’ Mellara said. ‘Did you do anything other than shopping today, Anji?’
‘Sure did!’ Anjilo replied. ‘Didn’t get much new stuff, though. They’re putting the stands together for the tourney, and they doubled Valia’s bounty.’ Archimegadon got to thinking about relorans again, and floated away. ‘We got a general idea of the grounds, but not sure on where Salestis would start the attack yet. We’ll keep checking as they get more of the stuff set up.’
‘Nice,’ Mellara said. ‘Sounds like we’ve had a productive day! Speaking of which, I went and spoke to the Knights of Valanthas.’
‘How did that go?’ Anjilo asked.
‘They didn’t trust me because of my eyes, and nearly shot me down,’ Mellara replied. ‘Nice bunch.’
‘I know where to test my explosives!’ Anjilo said.
‘Me too,’ Mellara said, smiling back. ‘Aside from that, I did some rumour-hunting among a few of the gatherings outside the city. It’s a bit difficult when most people think I’m mad while I’m wearing those goggles - the knights made me take them off - but I did pick up a few things. For one, word of the Blade taking Stornis Hold is beginning to spread, and I’d bet my money that Lord Diojin is encouraging that. Apparently the Knights of Valanthas might have even sent some people to visit the hold, and you can imagine how that’s going to go down with Salestis if it’s true.’
‘Kinda sounds like Salestis could keep running things as they are now and still cause a disaster,’ Anjilo said. ‘Just not a very controlled one.’
‘That’s probably half of why she wants to create the illusion of this common enemy,’ Mellara said. ‘Turn a potential revolution into a fight to kick out cultists.’
‘Any sign of Valia?’ Anjilo asked.
‘Nothing yet,’ Mellara replied.
Anjilo and Mellara looked over at Archimegadon, who was clearly not paying attention.
‘You all there, Archie?’ Mellara asked.
‘I agree,’ Archimegadon replied. He blinked, and then his eyes focused. ‘Erm, I mean… yes, I’m here. What?’
Anjilo and Mellara just laughed at him before continuing with their conversation.
*
Later that evening, Archimegadon returned to his temporary home at the tavern called the Battle’s Reward. Situated on the edge of one of the busier roads, the tavern was a beautiful thatched building, but nonetheless seemed to attract a more unsavoury clientele. This suited Archimegadon just fine, since being the least crazy band around was not a familiar feeling for him these days.
He found Ithalna and Obdo still talking over a card game in the room he was sharing with the latter, so he tossed his belongings to the floor and settled down on his bed.
‘Evening, Sir Mage,’ Obdo said. ‘Had a nice time with the others?’
‘It was simply delightful,’ Archimegadon replied. He tried his best not to inspect Ithalna to find out where she had these fabled ten thousand relorans stored. Presumably, she was carrying mostly paper money, unless she was formidably strong.
‘So anything new?’ Ithalna asked.
Archimegadon went through his meeting with the others, though he took care not to share Mellara’s presumably secret knowledge of Ithalna’s riches. Obdo chuckled at the thought of Anjilo’s planned weaponry, and Archimegadon felt a stab of jealousy at giving others access to fiery explosives.
‘So Mellara said she would see if she could track down the ruins in the forest,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Hopefully she can find them quickly so we can be done with all this bother.’
‘Couldn’t Miss Cleric here just go public and denounce Salestis’s treachery?’ Obdo asked.
‘Salestis has had plenty of time to get her lie-mongering going,’ Ithalna replied. ‘Without any evidence to back me up, I would not have much chance. She would just discredit everything I say. Besides, Master Forseld here was hoping to solve the matter without getting the entire Order into trouble.’
‘Good luck with that,’ Obdo said.
‘Now, I was also thinking that I could try to contact Antagules for help,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Sorry, contact who?’ Ithalna asked.
‘She is another mage I know,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘I may be able to contact her through… erm… magic.’
‘And there you said you only knew flamebolt,’ Ithalna said.
‘These other spells are more experimental than “known”, shall we say,’ Archimegadon said. ‘In any case, she is wise, or at least has more experience than myself. Perhaps she will be able to shed some light on what we are to do.’
‘Do not let me stop you,’ Ithalna said. ‘Carry on.’
Archimegadon cast his thoughts back to speaking with Antagules in the past. He was relatively confident that he’d be able to contact her again now, but it was usually quite difficult to get it started without the Staff of Antagules. Once he managed to notify her, though, she would usually use her magic to speak with him instead, as she was a fair bit more talented in that area.
The attempt proceeded pretty much as Archimegadon had expected, and a couple of minutes later he heard Antagules speaking in his head.
Is that you, Ardon?
Greetings, madam, Archimegadon replied.
You haven’t spoken to me for ages. I thought you had forgotten me!
I had, Archimegadon thought back. However, I remembered you as I now have a use for you.
This is not the right way to get my help, you insolent old fool! Antagules said. But fine… go ahead. We do not have long, though – I don’t want to risk any Marr-types noticing this link to Constella.
Constella was the strange magic realm in which Antagules lived. Archimegadon knew little about what the place was, but he was aware that it was inhabited by mysterious spirits, and seemed to prevent aging in humans who lived there. Despite this apparent attractive immortality, only Antagules had chosen to live there, in guardianship of the cursed Mage Academy that had been transported there through powerful magic.
The deranged god Marr had sought to reach Constella, apparently seeking some great power from the mysterious world. While Antagules hadn’t gone into much detail on that, she had made sure to use magic to conceal Archimegadon’s knowledge of the realm, which had nearly backfired as he steadily found it harder to understand or deal with the holes that left in his memory.
In any case, she was still not eager to let any unsavoury sorts find out about the realm, and Archimegadon could understand why. Even without knowing why Marr wanted to travel there, Archimegadon remembered that Sen Delarian, formerly a mage hero, had uncovered dark secrets from the cursed Mage Academy, and changed into the villain who’d helped Bartell in his ambitions.
Bringing himself back to the present, Archimegadon outlined his current challenges to Antagules, who patiently listened without interruption until he’d finished. She then gave out a long sigh.
I don’t like all this, old man. Paladins and mages, dark cults… it’s all happened before, and it never goes well. We used to be good friends with paladins, you know. They helped us leave the old empire and found Valanthas, after all, and then…
And then? Archimegadon asked.
Things turned sour, Antagules replied. Never you mind that. Just people being people. The point is, this isn’t the same as dealing with someone like Marr. You can’t just storm into the palace and kill Salestis like you did with him.
That was hardly easy in any case, Archimegadon said.
You know what I mean, Antagules said. Meddling in politics is apt to get you killed, and making the wrong choice can rebound on the entire kingdom. Back off.
Excuse me, do you not trust me? Archimegadon asked, glaring into space. What nonsense!
Obdo and Ithalna gave each other looks – they couldn’t hear any of the c
onversation, so it just seemed as though Archimegadon was making weird expressions by himself.
You’ve not got a very delicate touch for this sort of matter, Antagules replied. Randomly murdering leaders isn’t going to earn you any friends.
I don’t even plan to kill Salestis! Archimegadon said. I just wish to stop her from releasing the Syrakh on Arenfel.
That’s all well and good, but you’re going to make plenty of enemies doing that too, and not the nice easy-to-spot demon variety either, Antagules said. This Shield of Lut’yis… that inner circle still existed in my day, and if they’re anything like they were, then you’re going to have real trouble on your hands. They had their own private list of ethics and morals, and let us just say that there are neither ethics nor morals present on it.
I am not afraid of them, Archimegadon said. Valia sent their leader running scared – what chance will he have against me?
Just be wary, old man, Antagules said. I’ll let you know if I can think anything up, but in the meantime tread carefully. From the sounds of things, Salestis has the entire kingdom riled up – push things in the wrong direction and the whole mountainside could collapse.
Antagules was fortunately not able to see Archimegadon’s petulant look.
I have to go and tend to my garden now, so I’ll think it over a bit more, Antagules went on. Contact me again if you find anything else out, but I strongly recommend that you get out of this business before you and your friends all pay the price.
‘Well, that was bloody useless,’ Archimegadon said once the magical link had disappeared completely.
‘No good?’ Obdo asked. ‘You were making all sorts of funny faces.’
‘She told me to ignore the matter entirely!’ Archimegadon replied. ‘How ridiculous. As though I am not qualified to save the world, with my track record.’
‘You poor little mage hero, you,’ Obdo said.
‘Silence, imbecile.’
‘Ah well, are you going to ignore her advice, then?’ Ithalna asked.
‘Of course I am!’ Archimegadon replied. ‘I am a hero! I shall deliver this kingdom from the vile grasp of Salestis myself, and all shall admire me.’
‘Naturally,’ Ithalna said. ‘The hero’s life has suited me quite well too, I must say. Living on the run has not all been bad.’
Archimegadon glared at her.
‘Hear me out!’ Ithalna said. ‘I have not had so many companions over the years. At best, I miss the Six. There was a shy little woman in their number called Kasai actually – I was good friends with her, I would like to think. But… but as far as I heard, the Six went into hiding around the time that my husband was murdered and everything else went wrong. So that left me alone, again.’
Archimegadon felt slightly bad for her in spite of his best efforts.
‘You all seem such good friends with each other,’ Ithalna said. ‘I have been jealous of the bonds you all share. I never had many friends as the daughter of one of the leading mages – and later the archmage – and I especially had none while I was the Queen. The Six treated me with suspicion, and it was only Kasai who opened up to me.’
‘Sorry to hear it,’ Obdo said. ‘Not sorry about this, though – that’s the game!’
He triumphantly placed one last card, which Archimegadon presumed had won him the game of cards they’d been playing during all this, as Ithalna gave a small laugh and set down her hand.
‘I… it is difficult for me,’ Ithalna said a moment later, and she looked off to one side. ‘But… but thank you all. For trusting me, and for helping me. I am not given to relying on others, so it has been a new and difficult sensation.’
‘Oh, that’s fine! Obdo said. ‘Sir Mage here is friendly with evil people all the time! There’s Valia, and Akarith, and Mellara, and now that Lyssina lady…’
Archimegadon aimed a kick at Obdo’s chair. ‘For the love of all that is holy, and all that is not for that matter, shut up, Obdo.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Scene of the Crime
‘I particularly dislike this place,’ Archimegadon said, as he gazed up at the entrance of the royal palace.
Obdo stood at his side, scratching his hair. Ithalna was nowhere to be seen, but this was to be expected; they’d arranged to return here today, a week after their first visit, but as Archimegadon and Obdo were going to check around the palace proper to get an idea of how things ran there, Ithalna had opted to enter through the secret tunnel again. Archimegadon had let her in at the garden – not without some struggles to work the right magic – and then circled back with Obdo to the opulent front entrance, which was wide open today.
It was the day for petitions, which meant that the Central Council would have representatives at the palace to listen to the imbecilic moaning of these tedious asses who were in Archimegadon’s way. He’d already had to fight through crowds and queue up twice just to get this far, and the discussions taking place around him filled him with little hope that anything productive would result of these petitions. From what he had heard, most people seemed to be here to complain about noisy neighbours. In any case, this was the best time for him to get a look around the inside of the palace, which was why he’d managed to delay the return visit for such a long time.
‘You dislike everywhere,’ Obdo said. ‘Now me, I’m excited to get a look inside a real palace.’
‘You’ve seen inside several,’ Archimegadon said. ‘This is hardly going to be any more interesting. Ignoring the presence of Marr, Thorn’argen did at least have the benefit of no people to wait behind.’
‘Come on, Sir Mage,’ Obdo said. ‘I’m tempted to have a word with the Central Council m’self! It’s a great opportunity for us.’
‘Obdo, we are not discussing the Syrakh with the councillors,’ Archimegadon said, glancing at the people nearby suspiciously. Everyone looked busy, so with any luck nobody was listening in.
‘Nah, not that,’ Obdo said. ‘I could secure permission to build a brewery on my farm! Think about it.’
‘You don’t even have the deed for your farm here,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Oh… damn it.’ Obdo kicked at the dust. ‘Well, my day’s ruined.’
The queue continued to move at a feeble pace, and Archimegadon watched with resentment as a snail nearby overtook them on its journey towards one of the pillars that decorated the palace grounds. Feeling somewhat reckless in his boredom, Archimegadon focused his concentration and powers on the air around the snail, and then muttered ‘wind’ under his breath. To his delight, a very slight gust of air brushed over the snail, causing it to withdraw into its shell. He gave the hiding snail a superior smirk as the queue moved again and he left it behind.
‘This has to be the very worst part of all my adventures,’ Archimegadon said half an hour later, as they reached the entrance doors and prepared to actually cross the threshold.
‘Everyone loves queuing,’ Obdo said.
‘Don’t be so stupid,’ Archimegadon said.
‘But look how many people are doing it!’ Obdo said, gesturing at the horrendous line stretching back behind them to the gates.
‘I would rather have Marr as company in this queue than you,’ Archimegadon said. ‘At the very least, I assume that this is the end of this blasted queue – I only see a handful of people ahead of us.’
A couple of minutes later the queue shifted again, and Archimegadon stepped past the doorway to behold the queue leading off to one side and down an endless corridor for a considerable distance. His shoulders slumped as Obdo chuckled at his side.
‘Whose idea was it to come in this way anyway?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘Yours.’
‘It was a rhetorical question,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Kindly keep the truth to yourself.’
It was a long and painful wait before they found an opportunity to escape their predicament. As the queue turned a corner, a large crowd of babbling people – Archimegadon wasn’t quite sure who they were, but they looked official – for
ced their way through, and Archimegadon slipped into their midst with Obdo, following them until they were a nice distance away from where they had been.
‘Sorry, who are you?’ one of the men asked after a couple of minutes.
Archimegadon stared back at the man, realising that he should have come up with an excuse of some sort. ‘Ah… who are you?’
‘Torberg,’ the man replied.
‘Oh, my goodness, I must have followed the wrong people,’ Archimegadon said with feigned surprise. ‘Where on earth have the others gone?’
Torberg just sniffed at the stupidity of this common fellow and left with his cohorts, which, while convenient, left an extremely indignant Archimegadon behind with Obdo.
‘That solves that,’ Obdo said. ‘Think we can get around without being noticed?’
Archimegadon had almost no confidence in this plan, but decided to go with it anyway. ‘Of course, for I am Archimegadon.’ He noticed to his disappointment that the phrase sounded terrible when it was spoken quietly.
‘Where next, then?’
‘Ithalna gave me a general idea of where to find the royal chambers,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘On the way, let us see what we can observe about the fellows who work here. We need to find out where this secret Syrakh holdout is so that we can out-perform Anjilo’s bunch, and Mellara too while we’re at it.’
‘You sure have a lot of faith in us,’ Obdo said.
‘I have faith in me, Obdo,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Now let us be off!’
They made their way along the quietest corridors they could find, and Archimegadon found that so long as he looked like he needed to be somewhere, nobody questioned their movements. The usual sinister paladin guards appeared every now and then, but they seemed to only be on the look-out for armed people, as not one of them questioned the presence of Archimegadon or even the slovenly Obdo.