Chapter 441: Chapter 438: A Warning

Chapter 438: A Warning

 

  “How do you know so much…? Why should we trust you…? We don’t even know who you are.” Elzri said with a wary expression.

  Holo smiled tiredly, “I am just an old woman who has walked through these lands and seen more than my shares of horrors. Believe me, I’ve made more mistakes than you ever will, but I’ve learned from my share of those tragedies. So, if you truly wish to save your House and this city from the battle that is at your doorstep, then you are going to need my help.”

  “But the wall will protect us, right?” Loh laughed anxiously, “You said the wall can keep Caligo out, right? …Right?”

  Holo pursed her lips. “The wall was built to protect the city’s people from gods and the mortals of the realm, it was never meant to stop the dragonbane.”

  “And what exactly are these dragonbane?” Elzri asked suspiciously.

  “Monsters from the Age of Titans, born from a dark being beyond our world.” Holo’s expression grew wary, “The dragonbane feed on magic itself. Casting spells on them will only make them stronger. I do not know if the wall’s shades will prove effective.”

  “Then we kill them with weapons of iron and steel,” Ismene said sternly.

  “It’s not that simple. The dragonbane did not gain their name for being creatures to be felled by ordinary weapons. If the stories are true, their hide is tougher than any plate mail or chainmail. Their fangs and claws can rend asunder even the toughest of armor. And they are said to be able to heal from practically any wound.”

  Loh threw her arms up in frustration. “So how the fuck are we supposed to kill them?”

  “I believe the dragonbane only answer to one master, their creator… Caligo,” Holo answered.

  Elzri raised his eyebrow, “So we somehow ‘kill’ a god and stop the dragonbane from destroying the wall?” 

  Holo chuckled dryly. “Nothing so ambitious. Our original plan was to— capture Caligo. Unalla was meant to lure Caligo to Undergrowth, where I had painstakingly set up a very intricate weave of spells to trap him.”

  “Unalla? How was my niece supposed to lure a god?” Elzri asked skeptically.

  “With this,” Unalla spoke up for the first time and patted Votum, the enormous sword hanging above her back. The glossy black blade was almost as large as her and it made the petite drow seem even smaller.

  “It is a weapon of orichalcum,” her mother, Una, explained. “An ancient weapon, believed to have once been wielded by the god of the deep earth himself.”

  “So you were going to lure Caligo out with his own weapon?” Elzri muttered.

  “Are you two insane?” Ismene asked in disbelief. She grabbed Una and shook her shoulders, “You could have gotten both of yourselves killed!”

  “Ismene… It was necess—” Una mumbled.

  “If it meant saving the realms, it would have been worth it,” Unalla answered in her mother’s stead.

  Ismene frowned, “You can’t be serious. There must have been another way—”

  “It didn’t work,” Holo interrupted. “Our plan. It didn't work. Caligo never came. No, instead, Undergrowth’s armies suddenly turned on all travelers within its borders and declared war on all the other cities. Many died that day.” She bowed her head and bit her lip in consternation, “I underestimated Caligo’s influence, he has even gotten to the Thorns. He must have realized it was a trap and ordered Lady Ophelia to attack everyone who might be complicit in our plans.”

  “So now what? What ingenious plan do you have now, Lady Holo?” Ismene asked derisively.

  Holo blew out a deep breath, “That’s the question, isn’t it? Caligo and the warlord Marek have a far larger army than we do, even before the loss of Veres and Glaz’s armies in the valley.”

  “How large are we talking?” Loh asked.

  “10 to 11,000 at most,” Elzri answered.

  Holo shook her head, “Your reports are wrong. Try more like 20,000 and growing.”

  “What?” Elzri frowned.

  “Caligo has many powers. His dominion stretches through darkness as well. He has concealed the truth of his army from many, including your scouts,” Holo said.

  “How many soldiers do we have, grandfather?” Loh mumbled.

  “If I manage to convince the remaining city lords to work together instead of killing each other, hm, perhaps we could field around 8 or 9,000,” Elzri answered.

  Loh laughed helplessly, “We’re supposed to win against an army twice our size?”

  “Open the recruitment lines,” Holo said sternly. “Draft from all the residential districts, the Villa, Bourge, and Commoner districts alike. We need to bolster our forces, even if it is only to serve as fodder.”

  “Fodder,” Ismene wrinkled her nose. “I understand we need soldiers, but we can’t just sacrifice our people needlessly. They need training, even the most basic of guard training would go a long way to helping us win this war. We need to give them a fighting chance, not just send them to their graves!”

  “I wish we had the time,” Holo said sympathetically. “But the enemy marches towards us as we speak.”

  “We still have several weeks until their arrival. Ismene is right. We should train the recruits, teach them how to at least properly hold a spear,” Elzri said.

  “There is no time. As I said, Caligo has blinded your scouts with tricks of darkness and illusions of the mind. We don’t have weeks, we have days,” Holo said forebodingly.

  Elzri clenched his eyes shut and bowed his head. “Dammit…”

  “What do we do…?” Loh whispered.

  Holo turned to the guard tower. “Whatever we can.”

  A giant cloaked figure stepped out from the tower's doorway and onto the wall’s parapet. Dozens of armored figures followed behind him. Their armor was made of thin plates of steel, enough to block a glancing arrow, but not much more. It was light armor, designed for one particular kind of warrior; mageborns.

  As the retinue of battle-mages drew near, Loh could make out the intricate arcane sigils etched into the steel and the magestones embedded in the armor, enhancing its durability.

  Elzri silently stepped in front of his family, his open hands at the ready. Ismene joined him, tendrils of lightning cracking at her fingertips.

  Una glanced at them and held back an amused smile. “They are not our enemies.”

  “Their armor is not of Hollow Shade,” Elzri answered.

  “Rude, I designed them myself,” Holo smirked. 

  “You two know these people?” Elzri asked.

  “They are my warriors, my friends, our allies in our time of need. They have come from all over the realms to defend our city,” Holo said.

  “Some of them are the ones I traveled with all these years,” Una added. “I’ve learned many of my skills from them. You will not find a more expert group of mages in all the Ebon Realm.”

  “Is that so…?” Elzri asked skeptically.

  The leader of the battle-mages, a hulking drow with rippling muscles that showed underneath his armor, stepped forward and bowed his head to Holo. “My lady, I have finished inspecting the city’s defensive perimeter as you instructed.”

  “What’s the verdict, Atlas?” Holo asked.

  “Worse than we expected. The city’s defenses have waned over the last few decades,” Atlas answered in a stoic voice. 

  “Of course, they have,” Holo sighed. “You’ll need to assign some of your men to bring our defenses back to an acceptable standard. Speak to Commander Stonehand and the other three Bulwark Commanders. They’ll get you whatever you need.”

  “As you wish, my lady,” Atlas bowed. He glanced at Una and bowed his head once more, “I heard what happened in Undergrowth. I am glad you are safe, Lady Noir.”

  “As am I of you, Captain Atlas,” Una bowed politely.

  Unalla dropped Votum unceremoniously, pushed past her mother, and ran over and hugged the giant drow tightly. “Father!”

  Atlas hugged his daughter and smiled warmly, “I’ve missed you too, sweetheart.”

  Elzri stumbled and almost fell over. “Father…?” he mumbled in shock.

  “I am,” Atlas nodded, relaxed.

  Elzri turned stiffly to his little sister, “Then you and he—?”

  “Yes, Riri. If you must know, Captain Atlas and I are married,” Una smiled amusedly.

  “Ha!” Ismene laughed at the pain in Elzri’s eyes. She limped over to Atlas and looked him up and down, “After having met your wonderful daughter I imagine you’ve been a good father to her, hm?”

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  “I haven’t been there as often as I’d like, but I try, Lady Ismene,” Atlas bowed his head.

  “You know of me?”

  “My wife has told me many stories.” Atlas glanced at Elzri, “Fewer of him.”

  “I do love family reunions and seeing little Elzri freaking out, really, I do, but we have more pressing matters at the moment,” Holo said.

  “Of course, my lady,” Atlas nodded. “I’ll go see to the Bulwark Commanders.”

  “Hold on a minute, who exactly are you?” Elzri asked coldly.

  “I am Atlas, Captain of Lady Holo’s personal guard. That is all you need to know,” he answered calmly.

  “I am quite certain it is not,” Elzri scowled.

  Holo grabbed his shoulder, “Elzri, save your mental strength. Tomorrow at first light you will convene the city council and convince the rest of them to name Krall Katag the city’s War Master. Once that is done, make sure he instills a city-wide draft and assembles the rest of the city’s soldiers.”

  “...Very well, but later I will speak to you regarding all of this.”

  “Of course,” Holo smiled. “After all, I still need you to gather mages of the academy.”

  Elzri frowned. “You seem to have a plan for everyone. But what of the dragonbane? How do we stop them?”

  “I have contacted many allies in hopes of aiding us against this threat, many of them already have answered,” Holo glanced at Atlas and the mages behind him. “Others… Well, I’m still waiting.”

  “What others?” Elzri asked.

  “The dragons of the realm,” Holo said.

  “Dragons? You think the dragons will help us? They haven’t been seen for centuries, except by the random stray backwater villager. What makes you think they’d ever help us?”

  “Lord Kaliedrog is a wise, albeit obstinate dragon, and the only one in the Realm capable of facing Caligo on equal footing,” Holo admitted. 

  “Is he willing to fight for us?” Elzri asked.

  “The dragon lord has yet to answer my requests, though he hasn’t outright rejected them either. If he does answer, he could very well bring the might of his whole dragon brood with him.”

  Elzri chuckled incredulously. “And if the dragons don’t answer? What then? Any other mystical allies we should be hoping for?”

  “There are some. A few powerful enough to rival even the dragons.”

  “And what of them?” Elzri asked with a trace of genuine hope in his voice.

  “...None have yet to answer. And honestly?” Holo sighed, “I doubt they will. They aren’t very caring to the plights of others.”

  Elzri pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned quietly.

  “So we’re fucked?” Loh blanched.

  “No. There is one,” Holo said softly. “Someone besides Kaleidrog who could turn the tide of this battle.”

  “And who might that be? Another dragon lord?” Elzri asked.

  Holo looked at him with a steady gaze. “A friend.”

  “And where is this friend?”

  “I do not know, but I have sent out the call, it echoes through the Dreamscape. No matter where they are in the Null Realms, they will hear it.”

  “And what makes you so certain this friend of yours will be any different than the rest? How do you even know if they will come?”

  “A promise. No matter where, no matter when. My friend will come.”

  “You really believe that?”

  “I am sorry you have spent the majority of your life alone, unable to truly rely on anyone, but Elzri, the world isn’t as untrustworthy as you think. I believe in my friend.”

  “And what if your friend doesn’t arrive on time? What then?” Elzri asked.

  Holo kept her gaze on him and stretched out her hand to the side. “Heed my call— Lyrae.”

  A black blotch burst from a building in the far-off Bourge District and flew through the air in a spinning arc straight towards them. The orichalcum staff landed in Holo’s palm in a crash of howling wind and hummed happily in its master grip. The sleek dark metal seemed to almost glow with an internal power, as if waiting to burst open.

  Elzri took a step back and looked up at the staff that towered over them and realized it was no staff but a scythe, its glass-like blade, almost transparent, stretching above him.

  Holo slammed Lyrae into the ground, its power reverberating through the shade wall. “If no one else arrives to our aid, if we are alone when the armies of the valley siege our city, then we will follow in the footsteps of your ancestors; we will face Caligo and we will fight.” 

  Elzri met Holo’s gaze and finally looked away. “...Very well.”

  “You should all get some rest, we will speak more in the morning,” Holo advised.

  The group nodded and muttered in agreement before shuffling away. Elzri opened his mouth to say more, but he thought better of it and followed the others.

  “Um, Lady Holo?” Loh called out hesitantly.

  Holo cocked her head to the side. “You’re still here? What is it, Elohnoir?”

  Loh glanced about with uncertainty and made sure they were alone. “The thing is, w-well, two years ago, I traveled to Mortis Grove, the homeland of House Mora, for the birthday celebration of their Lord.”

  “Two years ago?” Holo looked up in thought. “Wait, wasn’t that the incident where—?”

  “We were attacked. Ambushed, really. The castle was burned down, most didn’t make it out alive. I almost didn’t make it out alive. But I was saved… by an enemy.”

  Holo raised her eyebrow in curiosity. “Go on.”

  “He was powerful, an archmage. A drow with purple eyes.”

  “Vaughn. One of the twins serving directly under Caligo himself,” Holo noted. “He is incredibly loyal to his god… Why would he save you?”

  “To be honest, to this day I’m not quite certain. He healed my wounds and told me to find you.”

  “Me?”

  Loh nodded. “And to give you a message.”

  Holo narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “What message?”

  “A warning. He told me to tell you that the Monster knows where the key is hidden.” Loh bit her lip, “At the time I didn’t know what he meant. I can only assume now that he was referring to Caligo and Selyndra’s Key, but that can’t be correct. You said you destroyed the key, right…?” Loh swallowed hard, “Because if this key really did cause the Schism and if it’s still somewhere out there, then… Please, tell me you destroyed the key.”

  Holo smiled reassuringly, “Of course. Selyndra’s Key was destroyed centuries ago. You have nothing to worry about. Vaughn is the Monster’s servant, you cannot trust any words that come out of his mouth.”

  “Oh… okay,” Loh nodded hesitantly.

  “Goodnight, Elohnoir.”

  “...Goodnight.” Loh turned reluctantly and shuffled away.

  Holo watched her leave with a warm smile, yet the moment Loh disappeared her smile fell. Holo glanced back at her city and gripped Lyrae’s hilt with a trembling hand, whether it was out of fear or anger she wasn’t certain.

 

 

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