Chapter 4: Chapter 4

I crept up to the small warehouse where the refined Soul Dust was stored. The streets were still full of patrols thanks to the fight in the sludge pits, but an explosion in the direction of the mine sent most of them rushing in that direction, making my trip to the warehouse easier. This left me with just one more problem, the two Fodders guarding the only entrance into the round, windowless warehouse.

Another explosion went off in the direction of the refinery.

It looked like at least one intruder had made it in and had already gotten to work on destroying the Soul Dust facilities. That meant this warehouse was a likely target, so I’d need to hurry and get some Soul Dust before they blew it up.

The two Fodder weren’t the poorly equipped Fodder I’d fought in the mines, both with comically large swords and shields, and a full set of plate armor. They two guarded one of the most important buildings in The Soul Well so it made sense. I wasn’t sure how much Soul Dust was worth, but considering what it was used for, it was probably a lot. 

I looked around the warehouse as there were usually two other Fodders patrolling the outside and found them. I had hoped they would run off to help find the intruders, but had instead taken position to best watch every way of approach.

I noticed movement near the building next to me, a warehouse filled with blasting supplies for use in the mines, and a moment later, it exploded.

This was the biggest explosion yet, as the ground rocked my feet, nearly making me fall flat on my butt. 

The Fodder now had their full attention on the burning remains of the building, but didn’t move to investigate.

A cloaked figure appeared on the Fodder’s back that was farthest away from the explosion and in an instant, shoved a weapon through the eye hole of the helmet he wore. Immediately chunks of flesh and crystal erupted from the helmet and the Fodder fell to his knees before collapsing face first onto the ground.

I immediately recognized the weapon. It was a hollow steel tube with a hole in the end, kind of like a large syringe, called a Fodder Killer. I recognized it because I myself had one on my tool belt. 

I hadn’t been allowed to use mine yet, because as I had seen first hand, it was almost guaranteed to kill a Fodder if you impaled it far enough in their eye socket and injected wind magic inside the cylinder, and, by the shards of Soul Gem and brain matter scattered in front of the now dead Fodder, I could see why I had been forbidden, but now… Now I could too if I needed to.

Before the Fodder had hit the ground, the attacker had already used their magic to disappear again.

Whoever this was, they were almost as good as my master. It took a lot of magic power to turn completely invisible. The best I could do was cloak myself in shadow, which was completely useless in a brightly lit area like this and also why I hadn’t been able to make a move yet.

Was there anything I could do to help the intruder? I could always distract them so they could…

The intruder appeared again on the back of the other Fodder on patrol, but just before they plunged the Fodder Killer through his helmet, he jumped off just in time to dodge a beam of light coming from the sky.

The light incinerated the top half of the Fodder, killing them instantly. 

I looked up to see where the attack had come from, and saw Ignatio himself floating a few hundred feet above, surveying the scene. 

This wasn’t the first time I had seen Ignatio. He was a somewhat handsome latino man, originally from Venezuela if the rumors were true. I couldn’t see his features from this distance in the dark, but I recalled his piercing dark eyes that seemed to hate everything, his somewhat round face, and dark skin.

He wore exquisite armor that gleamed from the light from the fire and streetlights below him.

Behind him were his two body guards that followed him everywhere. Since they always wore full plate armor, all I knew about them was that they were the only two level five Golems based off of full humans, which meant only Ignatio had stronger magic than them.

The intruder disappeared, but soon became visible again after a wave of Ignatio’s hand, which caused glowing dust to fill the area, sticking to everything, including the now glowing outline of the invisible intruder. 

The intruder became visible again, and took to the safety of the nearby buildings. As it was now impossible for him to hide thanks to the glowing dust, it looked like he had chosen to focus all his magic and speed and maneuverability as they expertly used the buildings and objects along the street as cover from Ignatio’s pursuit.

Thankfully, I was out of the range of the sparkling dust, and was still hidden from the remaining two Fodder. They had already gone back to surveying the area, so I still had to figure out how to get past them, but with the two patrolling Fodders dead, I could at least scout out around the rest of the building.

I made my way to the back where there wasn’t any glowing powder, staying in the shadows as best I could. I knew that if I stepped on any powder it would stick to my bare feet, making sneaking around that much harder.

It was when I looked around the Fodder Ignatio had killed, that I saw an opportunity. Ignatio’s attack had not only killed the Fodder, but damaged the building too. The warehouse was one of the most fortified buildings in The Soul Well, so it had managed to mostly survive the heat of the attack, but it had still melted some and there was a crack from where the brick had expanded from the heat.

I looked around and found some pieces of wood that had come from the exploding munitions warehouse and strapped them to my feet using some scraps of cloth I tore from my tattered chest wrap. If I was careful, the glowing powder would only stick to the wood and I could discard them when I finished stealing some Soul Dust.

I looked at the Fodder guards. They had moved away from the door enough to see a little behind the building, but not enough that I couldn’t get to the damaged part of the building unseen.

As I reached the damaged spot, I already had a plan in mind. My master had taught me a lot of ways to get inside buildings, so it had only taken me a little thought to come up with one.

I cast a silence spell on the wall. It would only last a few seconds with the amount of magic I put into it, but I didn’t need more than that. Next, I filled my right hand and arm with magic that reinforced my muscles and bones, then hit the still hot damaged spot with the palm of my hand.

The blow caused a small section of damaged part of the wall to collapse inwards silently, and to my relief, there wasn’t any reaction from the Fodder guards from what I could tell.

I quickly squeezed through the hole, having to pull some bricks free to make it so I could fit through. Once inside I looked around, and saw several crates stacked inside. On the opposite, was another Fodder, intently watching the door. If he so much as looked behind him, he would easily see the hole. I considered making an illusion to cover the hole, but the shattered bricks on the floor would still give it away.

My best option was to be fast. 

I crept up to the crates and saw all of them were open. Most were empty, but I soon found one filled with cloth bags the size of large grapes. I opened one and found it filled with enough Soul Dust to make a new Golem or raise my Soul Gem by one level. I took four bags, enough to get me to level six, and return to being a living being if I wanted.

I slipped out undetected, kicking the wooden planks off my feet as soon as I left the area of glowing dust, and slipped into the shadows.

I had done it! I had gotten some Soul Dust! Now all I needed to do was escape The Soul Well. With Ignatio and his goons flying around, it would be even harder, even with them chasing who knows how many intruders. I guessed I could always try and hide until things settled down, but with patrols searching every nook and cranny of the place, I was probably safer if I kept moving.

There was a flash of light as Ignatio or someone else fired off a magic attack, which was then followed by what seemed like a counter attack as several dozen balls of fire flew into the sky.

Now that I knew where Ignatio was I also knew the best part of the wall to head to. There was only one Neery flying overhead now, and he seemed focused on the area I presumed Ignatio was currently fighting.

Something unexpected happened as I neared the wall, “Get them! Someone broke their curse! They’re trying to escape!”

I didn’t stop moving, but looked towards the commotion and saw several Fodder attacking several Grounders and an Avree. Had the intruders used their powers to free more slaves? If they had, I should help them escape too.

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A Fodder crushed a Grounder’s skull, probably crushing their Soul Gem, while his… no, her partner cleaved the Avree’s stomach in half, causing her to fall to the ground in two pieces, before being finished off with a stomp to the head. 

All thought of me helping them escape ended when one of Ignatio’s bodyguards joined the killing. It looked like my best choice was to use them as a distraction as I moved over the wall. There was no way I would survive if Ignatio’s bodyguard found me. I felt bad for the other freed slaves, but now that the bodyguard was there, they were doomed.

I made it to the wall before the freed Grounders made it to the gate having managed to slip past the two Fodder. This gave me some time to plan my next move. The guards nearest the gate were watching the fleeing Grounders, with one ready to jump down on top of them. The other guards near the gate watched in distracted interest, with the ones further away ignoring the fight, and watching both sides of the wall intently.

I spotted two Fodders on the wall laughing as they watched the other Fodder kill the fleeing Grounders and felt it would be easy enough to sneak past them as long as the guards further down the wall didn’t look over at the wrong time.

Sure enough, I was soon over the wall and on the other side. Now all I needed to do was cross the sludge pits and I’d be out of the worst of it.

As Ignatio’s bodyguard moved to follow the fleeing Grounders, I saw him jerk in the air, and soon he began fighting an invisible opponent. I also heard the Fodders shout something, with the ones on the walls jumping down.

It looked like the intruders hadn’t planned on abandoning the Grounders they had freed. I reconsidered helping, but felt I’d only get in the way and now was my best chance to slip away while everyone was distracted.

So I ran. No one stopped me so I kept running. I wouldn’t run out of stamina, so once I made it across the sludge pits, there wasn’t anything to slow me down.

Once I crossed over a hill and out of sight of all but Ignatio’s fortress, I slowed to a jog and thought about my next course of action. The Soul Well was located on the northern third of a long peninsula that ran hundreds of miles from the center of the main continent, called Armalor, to the north along its east coast creating a large gulf until passing farther north from the continent and into the ocean. The peninsula itself had a spine of tall hills, almost mountains, that bisected its entire length, with the eastern side dominated by wetlands and the west by forests.

The easiest way to the mainland and to safety would be to follow the road leading from The Soul Well down the west side through the forests, but this would mean hiding often as supply convoys and patrols often used the road. I would also have to pass through several depopulated villages that Ignatio used as checkpoints. 

On the other hand, if I went down the east side of the peninsula I would have to walk through hundreds of miles of wetland. I could use my water walking to cross deep parts, but most of the time I’d have to wade through chest deep water filled with plants, crocodiles, and sludge. I didn’t have to breathe and wouldn’t have to worry about sleep or exhaustion so this actually wasn’t a problem other than the crocodiles. I had actually already taken several trips into the one next to The Soul Well looking for poisonous plants, so I already had an idea of how to best move through one and I doubted crocodiles liked the taste of Golems.

The only problem I could think of was a certain section of the wetlands. Apparently they were the resting place for a cursed soul from the time when the original civilization split. From what I recalled it was a spirit like the Sirens that would lure men into the marshlands, where they would then succumb to the dangerous environment and diseases inside.

Thankfully, this wasn’t an issue for me, so I decided on going through the wetlands. I just hoped the leeches and clouds of mosquitoes ignored me since I didn’t have blood.

The real trouble would be once I left the marshlands. Where would I go? What should I do? 

I recalled what my master had taught me about the powers in the region, all ruled by golems. As I would be doing most of my ‘jobs’ in these territories he had taught me a lot.

The most important territory was directly west of Ignatio’s territory. That being Aniket Khanna’s land. As he was the original owner of the land Ignatio now owned, he was probably closely watching who came in and out and was probably the one most likely to try and sniff out Golems considering how much Ignatio depended on us, so his territory probably wasn’t the best place to stay for longer than I needed to.

To the south of Aniket’s territory was Alam’s territory, or perhaps more accurately, Alam’s Caliphate. My master hadn’t exactly named Alam’s religion as islam, but after some of the descriptions of him and his customs he enforced on his people, I was pretty certain he was Muslim and was currently trying to spread it judging from the fact he was currently at war with Aniket and the territory to his northwest.

That territory being Shen Laying’s territory. The name alone told me that she was probably Chinese and from what I could tell from my master’s description, she was trying to recreate Chinese culture, although my master couldn’t say how well it was working since it had been a while since he had been there and it wasn’t exactly the kind of news that made it to The Soul Well.

Other than these three nearby territories, there were several city states ruled by powerful golems. Of these, only one stood out in my mind, and that was the city Ellunot located to the north of Aniket’s territory, not far from Ignatio’s, on a large island in the middle of the river that flowed north and into the ocean from the large lake that Aniket’s capitol city, New Mumbai, sat. Apparently it had recently been taken over by a human golem by the name of Calvin Hansen. My master thought that he had been able to accomplish this thanks to most of Aniket’s slave armies being preoccupied with Ignatio and Alam. I couldn’t even imagine how big of a blow it was for Aniket to lose a city which controlled access to the ocean.

As I thought about my options I immediately ruled out Aniket and Alam’s territories. This left Shen Laying’s territory and Ellunot. I was definitely going to at least pass by Ellunot and give it a look over, but as it was in the middle of Aniket’s territory it probably wasn’t smart to stay too long, because it was probably only a matter of time until Aniket or Ignatio tried to take it. This Calvin guy also seemed like he could be American so there might be a chance he could help me out if I could meet him.

After that, I’d go to Shen Laying’s territory and then decide what to do after that. 

The only bright thing about my situation was that I didn’t have to worry about food or sleep. This meant I wouldn’t need money unless I wanted to buy new equipment.

I looked at my tattered and acid burned clothes that barely covered my skin and hidden weapons. Getting new clothes would need to come first once I got to civilization. Preferably something dark, but also allowed me to blend into crowds. A cloak with a hood was cliche, but would probably work well for what I needed. 

Next, I looked at my weapons. They were beat up, but sharp and would still do their jobs. I’d need to look into getting a whet stone and oil to maintain them, but for now, they were good to go, and maybe later I could look into upgrading them with weapons with permanent enchantments.

I nodded at myself again. Yeah, everything was going to be okay.

As I glanced at my reflection in a nearby pool of murky water, I was reminded of another problem I needed to solve.

I stared at the now acid damaged stone mask covering my face. Did I want to remove it now that I could and see what no one wanted to see?

I lifted my hand to my face, and hesitated for a moment. Maybe it would be better if I didn’t know? I shook my head, and yanked it off. It couldn’t be too bad, could it?

It was bad. Apparently my original had been born with a terrible birth mark that covered the right side of her face from her upper lip through her nose, and spread somewhat to the left side to cover most of her forehead. The darkened skin looked somewhat scaly and thicker than usual, causing part of the lip and right eyebrow to look slightly swollen. To add to this, there were several scars running through the birthmark, as if someone had done it deliberately rather than through fighting as the normal skin didn’t have any. 

I tried to imagine my face without the birthmark and I didn’t see myself being attractive even without the birthmark. My master hadn’t been the most attractive man, and it seemed like his granddaughter hadn’t fared much better.

I sighed as I put the mask back on. If they could use magic to make bodies from dirt and magic dust, they could fix a face, right? It was pretty vain, but if I was going to be stuck in this body no one would blame me for… prettying myself up, right?

I added this to my list of goals in my mind as I turned away from my reflection. 

Now, just a few hundred miles of wetland, a haunted swamp, patrols, some fortresses, a heavily guarded border, a trip through more hostile territory, and I’d be home free.

I took one last look behind me at Ignatio’s fortress and the glows of fire coming from below it. I hoped I wouldn’t ever see it again, but if I could become strong enough, shouldn’t I come back and free everyone else? I didn’t want to, but… My master had taught me better than that. If someone else didn’t take out Ignatio first, I’d come back. I’d come back, and do whatever I could to take him out. Until then… Well, I needed to survive. I needed to get stronger. And… my stomach turned at the thought. I’d have to get help. 

I'm going to try to get one chapter a week out, but I have less time than I did for Starship Reincarnator.

I thought about rewriting the geography exposition dump as a lesson from Tamana's master, but I'd rather get the chapter out and move on to the next one. If enough people want it, I could go back. I didn't think about it until after I'd written most of this chapter and added them to chapters two and three because it was only modifying a paragraph or two.

 

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