Chapter 24 - Part 2

Clear skyes stretched beyond the horizon allowing the scorching sun to burn everything in sight. The road was dusty and hot with no shade for the Emperor's caravan of people, but that posed no problem in keeping Ryel comfortable. Everywhere he traveled he always took with him two very specialized Wielders in order to acclimate the area around him to his preferred temperature and humidity. The dust was carefully blown away from the area as they moved on while adjusting the temperature in a wide area to encompass everyone. This time, the Emperor decided to travel modestly and keep his entourage to a meager 60 people and no more. Usually he would have rode with at least 200 men and women, but he had to prioritize haste and security as the day in which Jurissa will fall was numbered. And that day was approaching fast.

It has been a long journey and the lack of retainers, concubines, and entertainment was getting to Ryel, his mood only being held by the string of seeing his new power in full bloom at the Trials. Every night since his departure he had dreamed about the amazing feats he would be capable of. Helena's letter brought him immense joy as he recalled what she told him. Power beyond that of a GrandMaster's. He chuckled to himself, and anticipated the moment with every fiber of his being.

Emperor Ryel rode at a steady pace on his prize mron, Yustiel, pure white coat that ended in an emerald great on the tips of the creature's mane and tail. It even rattled majestically as it swatted away with its tail at the flies and bugs. It was a rare creature indeed, bred only for the Imperial family, it moved with such grace it shamed even the best of dancers. This breed of mron were gently yet incredibly strong and had a taller stature than the rest. It's supple body was made for cutting through wind at high speeds while being fully armored in gold. Even it;s vertical mouth had been bejeweled with rare stones and metals.

"She's a fine beast, your grace." Ad'hm pulled closer, riding his own mron. His own was a standard old brown that he named Crest, gifted to him when he had first joined the Imperial guard and refused to take another since.

"That she is." Ryel answered proudly as he stroked her ridged thick neck through the gaps of the armor. "Had her since I was a child. She may be big, but she's gentle and loyal."

"She is lucky to have such a great master, your Imperial Majesty. You take great care of her." Ad'hm looked down at his own mron and stroke its fur. "Crest here has saved my life so many times, I owe him a great deal. Don't know what I would do without him."

"Probably in a ditch somewhere." Danil laughed and pulled besides the two.

"Probably." Ad'hm admitted. "But at least mine was not named by a 2 year old. Bubbles." Ad'hm couldn't contain his laugh.

"Don't listen to him, girl. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Danil whispered to his mron lovingly. Emperor Ryel joined in and chuckled.

"You two better behave when we get there. Don't make a fool out of me, and no brothels, Ad'hm. Araya made me promise to keep you in check."

"Looks like someone's living under the heel." Danil smirked, he motioned with the harness for Bubbles to speed up slightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm free as a bird."

"Looks like you're pretty much whipped to me." Ryel laughed and Ad'hm slumped his head in defeat.

"Don't worry Crest, I'm sure we'll get to see some pretty ladies, ignore these two." He said in a baby voice. His gaze turned to Danil who sighed for the hundredth time just today. "Anything on your mind?" He asked as he adjusted in the saddle.

"What do you mean?" Danil looked at him confused.

"You've not been looking like yourself, Danil; ever since we left Red Keep." Emperor Ryel added. "Don't tell me this is about that thing with that woman." The Emperor rolled his eyes.

"No, your grace. That has not been a... thing for a while." Danil sighed, he reached a hand and grabbed a brown stone around his neck.

"A woman thing?" Ad'hm's ears perched in interest. "How come I've never heard anything about any woman thing?" He asked with furrowed brows.

"We're not friends Ad'hm." Danil sighed again.

"That never stopped me from sharing all my adventures." Ad'hm smiled from ear to ear, his eyes looking into the distance as if he was remembering something.

"Believe me, I know." Danil said in disgust. "You really would hump anything that moves. No wonder Araya ignores you." he said under his breath then coughed to mask what he said but he knew that both Ryel and Ad'hm heard.

"Hey! That's not..."

"Now, now, boys." Ryel laughed. "Araya is off limits. She is only for me." he said in a singing voice. "And I don't think she values your... life style, Ad'hm." he laughed again.

"Respectfully, I'm not the one with twenty concubines, your Imperial Majesty." Ad'hm said with a smirk.

Ryel and Danil laughed. "Nothing I can do in that department, I'm afraid." he shrugged. "I'm the Emperor after all, it's to be expected. What would people say if I only had 1. That I'm a Yeva'Ah" he began laughing even louder.

"Don't jest, your grace. Many people might overhear and start rumors." Danil warned.

"I'll just flay them alive." He raised his voice then turned to Danil. "There, now they know not to." He smirked.

"So, after Elo'yn, we're straight off to Jurissa." Ad'hm felt like a change of subject would do well for Danil. "Any further news?"

"No." Emperor Ryel replied. "They have yet to find our eyes."

"And will never do, your grace." Danil added. "Reports have remained the same.There are twenty monster tamers currently guarding Jurissa, they don't look like much, but you never know with them. Beyond that there are seven squads of Wielders and two thousand soldiers. Ashen crystals have not been observed but we cannot afford to assume they don't have their own."

"And the plan?"

"Still the same, Ad'hm. Don't you read your memos?"

"Just wanted to go over it again, just in case." Ad'hm pouted. "Maybe you got something wrong and are too scared to say anything..." he pouted. He knew that Danil would have already committed every detail of the plan to memory, but loved getting on his skin. "Who knows, maybe you even forgot a major important part and need a refresher." He shrugged.

Danil looked at him with a murderous gaze. "The plan has three parts." He began to speak through clenched teeth. "Jurissa is located far away from any potable water source. The river dried out because of an earthquake two hundred years ago and they transport thousands of gallons of water every day from a natural spring. Up until now we could not locate the spring, but thanks to our eyes we have found where it is. Into Bahal territory, three kilometers East away from the city. First part of the plan, a group formed with just me and you infiltrate within Bahal and poison only the water that's being transported to the city militia, while using Coercion on the labourers to hide our presence. The poison will take effect within three days as mild fevers, but negligible. The second part of the plan is to make contact with our spy to cause a great distraction at the farthest East side to break their remaining troops. And the file part, while the poison is taking effect, our troops advance."

"Very well! A plus!" Ryel applauded. "That first part is the most important, make sure that you don't squabble and ruin things!"

"Don't look at me, Danil. I'm a master chemist. I can synthesise the poison I created, need I remind you, in my sleep." Ad'hm puffed his chest.

"I will not fail." Danil said with a dead tone having lost all the amusement in his voice. He grabbed the brown rock in his palm squeezing it until his knuckles turned white.

They fell in silence, deciding that conversation was getting to grim and turned to enjoying the road. It was easy and comfortable, but only because they rode with the Emperor, that also meant that it would take longer to arrive at their destination.They would have arrived in the city two days ago if they went at full speed, but that was not feasible with such a large group.

The green farm fields broke into a dense emler forest by the time the sun began to set. The low flat canopy of the emler turned almost black from the golden hour's violent orange light.

The caravan decided to camp next to a small clearing right next to the road. While they had less people than usual, Ryel felt safe with two extremely powerful Wielders, they might not be quite at Araya's level, but they were close.

The servants put up the tents while soldiers chopped wood from a nearby abandoned waggon for the cooks to prepare dinner. By the time the food was ready Danil and Ad'hm were already a few pints of ale deep, and their stomachs hungered for what delicious mysterious stew the cooks had made. Only in a lifetime the servants and guards would get to eat such fine dining, thanks to the sole fact that they accompanied the Emperor on such a long trip. Everyone hummed as they ate, savouring every bite.

"Whadd'ya think he's doing?" Ad'hm asked and jerked his head towards the immense Imperial tent. Every night, Ryel, had been closing himself up in the tent, refusing to step outside, only accepting food inside. Everyone had treated this as if it was normal, but Ad'hm found it peculiar. This was the first time he went on the road with the Emperor, and he was never the sort to miss out a drink.

"Unlike you and your lot, Emperor Ryel reveres the Creators, as a good man should." Danil said murmuring a prayer of his own then making a semicircle with his hand and touching his heart.

"Sheesh. No need to, Hicc, be so rude."Ad'hm slapped Danil over the shoulder. "Here have another bite." and took the spoon trying to feed him. Danil simply batted the spoon away from his face and grimaced in disgust when it sprayed his clothes. "You're making a mess."

"You are the mess here, Ad'hm." Danil sighed. While he had the same amount to drink, Danil used a trick his old master taught him. He rushed the alcohol through his body to be filtered. He loved the taste of ale but hated the aftereffects which for most it was quite the opposite.

"You never get drunk, do you." Ad'hm looked at him annoyed. "Have fun once in a while, will'ya?" And pushed another pint towards him.

"Creators look favorably upon those who show restraint." he said and refused. During these past days he began to warm up to Ad'hm, even if it was just a smidge, while once he believed him to a man whore, which he on one side envied the freedom and on the other disapproved with disgust, he now saw beyond that. He was a broken man who did not know how to allow himself to be loved. Even as that, he did not think of him as pathetic, he did not judge. It was his job to read and understand people, it was what made him valuable to Ryel. That and his incredible defensive abilities. "Are you not phased by what we saw, Ad'hm?" He asked with sincere curiosity.

"What? All I saw were damned farm fields today."

Danil leaned in. "I mean in the Creators' city." He whispered. He hoped to get an honest reaction out of him, now that he had lost his inhibitions. He saw how brutally honest the man was after just a swig.

"Oh." Ad'hm let out a sigh and shook his head. "I don't know what I saw. But they didn't look like gods to me. I don't know if they were there to test our faith or creatures sent by the Creators themselves, to stop us. All I know was that They wanted to kill us, They were infected, Danil. They were infected! And we stopped them from killing us!" He took another big gulp of ale.

"Maybe you are right, maybe not. If They didn't want us to succeed we would have failed. Whose to know, really, aside from Them, of course? I like to think it was a test. I don't know if it was a test of faith or will or something else. My faith may be strong and firm but I feel my will, what defines me as a Wielder, slipping away, uncertain if my actions are guided by Them anymore or have I been forsaken like the unblessed." his head slumped.

"I think you're drunker than I am, Danil." Ad'hm laughed and slapped him again across the shoulder. "You're the pious one. " He said with a more serious tone. "My actions are my own, that I know for certain, If i make a mistake so be it. I learn and grow, I don't look for some revelation or hidden meaning to justify them."

"So you hold yourself accountable for your actions and not excuse them through divine means." Danil nodded in agreement.

"If not me, then who? Just a handful of people have the rank and balls to say something to me." He laughed. "And I don't know if the Creators are up there watching or not," he said looking up to the red sister that shined in the clear sky. "But I don't think They're interested in the actions of a single foolish human. I'm sure they have something better to do -" Ad'hm stopped abruptly, cranking his head towards the cry for help of a woman. The red night settled over the camp and it was hard to see anything beyond the campfires.

"What was that?" Emperor Ryel emerged sleepy eyed from the tent.

"Your grace, get back inside, now!" Danil shouted.

"You stay with the Emperor!" Ad'hm ordered and bolted towards the cries. Multiple people joined in and soon a few fire blasts and icicles flew through the air. Ad'hm hurried as fast as he could, weaving and dodging through the crowd that fled away from the comotion.

"Help!" The woman cried, but soon after a few solid thuds and cracks from broken bones resounded through the camp followed by a viscous shrill that forced Ad'hm to cover his ears.

"Fuck!" He screamed as his ears bled. Ad'hm pushed through and found himself at the back of the camp, next to a campfire two wielders and three soldiers surrounded a hideous creature that made him question his sanity. He tried to shake away what he saw, hoping to be just hallucinations from coming close to alcohol poisoning, but regardless of how tight he closed his eyes and opened them again, the monster was still there holding the body of a lifeless maid.

The brave men that tried to come to the woman's rescue shouted in fear and shot a blast from time to time to keep it in place.

"What the fuck is that thing!?" Ad'hm asked as he approached it cautiously, by now he was fully sober and to his senses. A shock like this would wake even the dead.

"Captain Ad'hm!" One of the Wielders replied with a shaky voice. "It came from the forest. It grabbed Letty, sir!" The man said horrified. The creature's big hand that ended in sharp claws covered Letty's whole torso. It held her tight, slashing through her clothes and flesh, while smashing her on the ground whenever the men tried to get closer. It shrieked with every inch and abrupt motion.

"Let her go!" One of the soldiers ran towards the creature at full speed with his sword drawn, but one sweep of its other hand and he flew several feet into a tent. Ad'hm managed to get a better look at it now that it faced him. It was almost humanoid, with exaggeratedly elongated features. It's overgrown members folded weirdly against his body. It lacked any distinguishable face, but a mouth that was riddled with sharp teeth. Slashes patterned its torso, similar to that of a mron, they huffed and puffed as the creature breathed. Its white pale skin was almost translucent on one part of his body while on the other side its skin was burnt red, scarred and deformed. Unknown if that was what the creature meant to look like or not.

"Be careful!" Ad'hm warned. "Stand back." It wasn't the time to study the creature.

"But Letty, sir!"

"She's already gone." Ad'hm said cursing under his breath looking at the lifeless body slumped in the creature's tight grip. "We need to kill it before it kills us. You two!" He pointed at the Wielders. "Try to encase it in strong barrier."

"Yes sir!" They said in tandem and with strain on their faces the raised a sturdy barrier around it. The creature began to heave as it flung it's arms around hitting the solid air with loud thumps and bashes. The poor woman's head was no longer as it used it to deal a final blow which broke the barrier.

"Shit! It's strong!" Ad'hm hurried and quickly raised a shield between the creature and Wielders as it began to pound at them. "Step back!" Ad'hm shouted and they did as instructed, eager to get out of peril's way.

Ad'hm placed himself between the creature and everyone. The maddened being shreeked once more with such reverb that brought Ad'hm to his knees from pain. It tried again to pummel at them but this time the shield held. He waved his hand across the field, pulling the water from the stray icicles that flew earlier and sent that water to the creature's feet and arms, trying to encase them in solid ice. He was successful only for a few moments before the creature shattered the solid ice.

"Shit!" Ad'hm cussed. "What about this!?" He shouted at the creature and with two closed fists he pulled his arms apart and the ground beneath the creature's fee opened swallowing it up to his waist. The earth closed tight against its body blocking it completely. It began to swing and flail his very long arms that were extended by long claws. It had a great reach and everyone backed down a few paces. Ad'hm gathered Fios in the thinnest blade he could muster, overlaying it with his will to vibrate at incredible speeds. It emitted a buzzing sound that echoed through the red night, usually he avoided this spell, deadly as it was, the buzzing made him crazy as he felt it in his ear drums, but thanks to the creature temporarily deafening him, he had no issue casting it at will. With a push of his hands he sent the force blade towards its right arm, cutting clean through the bone and flesh. It dropped to the ground along with Letty's body.

The men cheered behind him and he sent a few more blades. One severed the other arm, while two slashed through his torso and another one took off his head.

Ad'hm breathed in relief. "Take anyone who is injured to the healers, and make sure you give Letty a proper burial." He looked around, a lot of the tents were destroyed and some even on fire from the stray fire blasts. He saw other wielders putting out the fires and helped as much as he could while hurrying back to Ryel.

He found Danil with a huge creese between his brows and a stern face just outside the Emperor's tent.

"All good?" Ad'hm asked.

"Emperor Ryel is unharmed and well." Danil replied and knocked a few times on the air, only for his knuckles to hit an invisible solid wall that rippled when touched.

"Good." he sighed in relief. "Come, you must to see this. Leave the barrier just in case, we don't know if it has any friends. I never thought there'd be something like this in Avlan forest."