Chapter 379: The Bait in the Skull Pits

“Now?” Zonon-In demanded. “You are sure?”

“Yes, leader,” one of her higher ranked demons growled from two crocodilian snouts. Its voice was like gravel. “Sniffers find mana scent: dungeon core near.”

“Where?” The leader leaned forward, her eyes blazing.

The smaller demon cringed beneath her glare like a frightened imp. “South. One plus half mortal mile, is what sniffers say.”

“That’s close,” she turned to Osian who had entered her tent for some unrelated business of his own.

“What lies a mile and half south of here?” she asked the man, failing to keep disdain from her voice.

He startled amusingly, like he had pins placed in his boots. “I suppose that would be the Skull Pits. Terrible place full of quicksand. But, I was talking about my people, it appears they’ve disappeared.”

“Ah yes,” she said irritably. “The ones who left camp against my orders? And, what of the twenty I sent to get them back?”

“That has nothing to do with me. I want my people back,” Osian’s tone was testy.

“Then your ambitions are low. Why have small wishes when you could be wishing to be a king. Wouldn’t that be nice for you? A human king? With your little jewelled crown and your sceptre?”

Osian ground his teeth, which was an excellent passing moment of amusement before she got down to real business.

“Osian, tell me, how would a dungeon core end up close to this camp?”

The witch frowned. “Well…dungeon cores appear without warning all across the land. There’s no one rhyme or reason to it, and few, if any, can say how. The Ravener just sends them out, and they show up in caves or other places below ground.”

“So it is possible.” One of her pincers clicked with anticipation. “Hmmmm, this might explain certain things. This Ravener of yours started chaos in the swamp, then your people—who seem not to know what following orders means—vanish at the same time my patrol is destroyed.” Her pincer clicked faster. “...It seems a dungeon formed to the south and now its monsters are laying claim to our territory.”

She looked at her demon. “Did the sniffers sense much mana?”

“Little mana,” it snarled.

“Perhaps the core formed in the last day or so, which explains the low mana,” Osian said. “They say it takes time for one to establish itself.”

Zonon-In growled, her mouth tentacles scraping her teeth.

This was an opportunity she’d be a fool to let pass: a dungeon core appearing so close while it was still weak…if she could take a punishing force and eliminate its guardian monsters and claim it, she would have a prize for her lord well before the time she anticipated.

Ezaliel might even grant her greater rewards than what was promised.

Yes.

Yes, she would act, claim the prize quickly, and if it was indeed the dungeon’s monsters that had interfered with her forces over the past day, with them destroyed, her camp wouldn’t be forced to move until a time of her choosing.

She rose from her bone throne, towering above it.

“Gather a sizable force,” she commanded her servant. “I want mortal followers assembled and waiting alongside my demons within the hour. Only the best fighters. Only those who can follow orders.” Her eyes lingered on Osian. “From those, I will choose who will accompany me in an attack on this dungeon.”

“Yes, leader,” the demon snapped its jaws and backed out of the tent.

“Osian.” Zonon-In’s attention turned to the traitorous witch. “You will remain here since I cannot be sure you will follow my orders properly.”

“What?” he cried. “We must expel these invaders from our home!”

“And if you didn’t behave like an infant, I would bring you along. You could watch or fight, whichever you choose. But, you can’t even keep your own followers in line, and this situation is much too delicate for me to risk you going off on some mad plan for honour, or some other silly word you mortals make up.”

She grinned. “Congratulations, you’ve acted so chaotically, you’ve managed to bring a demon up short. Not many can say that. So, you will stay here guarding the camp, and make sure your people are ready to travel when the time comes.”

Osian grumbled and swept from the tent. Her laughter followed him.

“Well, this is going to be a good day.” She reached out and grasped air.

There was a shimmer, then a hiss of brimstone, and in a flash of red light, a war-spear appeared in her claw—nearly as tall as she—and made of burning brass. The end bore the skull of its former bearer and its barbed tip shed necromantic vapours swirling through the air.

“Time for some exercise,” she snarled. “Oh how I’ve missed these times.”

###

“Well, it’s done.” Alex hurriedly placed the dungeon core back in his bag.

He’d sensed the orb’s unique mana rise after he’d reached into its centre.

“Aye, now we wait for the signal.” Cedric bit into a piece of jerky, tearing off a chunk of smoky venison. Brutus stared at him.

“Here’s hopin’ they come pourin’ outta that camp like a whole nest o’ angry wasps.”

“Yeah.” Theresa said, checking her arrows. “I hope Drestra, Hart and the others will be okay.”

“Don’t worry about them, worry about us!” Alex laughed, checking his potions. He was taking stock of how many bottles were left since giving some to Hart, Drestra, and the witches accompanying them.

The plan was a simple one.

He, Theresa, Claygon, Brutus, Cedric and a small mobile force of spellcasting witches from Crymlyn Village, were deep in the Skull Pits. He’d just activated the dungeon core, letting it shed mana for the demons’ mana sniffers to notice.

The idea was to trick them into sending out a force to find the core.

Meanwhile, Drestra, Hart and another group of spellcasters were waiting out of range of the mana sniffers, close enough to the camp. If the demons took the bait, half of the army would be gone; the Sage and Champion could then infiltrate the camp and rescue the hostages.

When the fighters left, a witch would send a message by way of their familiar to Alex’s team, letting them know how many enemies were coming for the core. Once the cult was deep in the Skull Pits, they’d find an ambush—not a dungeon—waiting for them. The witches knew the swamp, Alex had Baelin’s boat, and between the entire group, they had enough flight spells, potions, traps and skills to bury the enemy in swamp water and quicksand.

When the hostages were safe, Drestra was to shoot a blast of fire into the sky as a signal to Alex’s team that the prisoners were on their way to the village with the witches, and the enemy camp was destroyed. The Champion and Sage would then come to reinforce the Skull Pits.

With everyone assembled inside the perilous terrain, they could break the army’s back.

It was a good plan, Alex thought, one he and his companions had worked out together.

“Just hope they don’t surprise us,” he muttered beneath his breath.

“What was that?” Cedric asked.

“If they do, we’ll be ready for them,” Theresa said, giving Alex a small smile.

Brutus stood up, padded across the boat and licked his face.

“Thanks, guys,” he said.

“Y’got bloody good hearin’, Theresa,” Cedric was relaxing against the stern, toying with the glowing string on his bow. “Well, ain’t this a bit strange?” He said.

“What?” Alex asked. “You mean that we’re here waiting for an army of demons to attack us while sitting on a magic boat in the middle of quicksand country while a bunch of witches we’re now kinda friends with are out setting enough traps to catch half the animals in Thameland? Yeah, I guess that is pretty strange.”

“Naw.” Cedric shook his head. “That’s not it, mate. Waitin’ to fight a bunch of monsters…is jus’ another bloody day o’ the week fer me. What I meant was, this feels a bit like the night we met. Just you lot an’ me. Even the pup’s here…although your little sister’s been replaced by that great, dirty golem.”

“Claygon’s clean,” Theresa said, a defensive note in her voice. She patted the golem’s leg.

He was standing beside her in the centre of the vessel, his eyes focused.

“Yeah, I washed him before we left the village,” Alex said.

Cedric burst out laughing, his deep voice rolling through the marsh. “Now, now, don't the two of ya’ get all crusty. S’just a harmless expression. An’ I’m only sayin’ he’s dirty, meanin’ that bringin’ him into a fight’s a bloody dirty move, not that I care too much about fairness when somethin’s tryna kill me an’ all that. Anyway, I’m gettin’ distracted from what I was sayin’. When we first met, I remember tellin’ ya’ it was good ta see yous fightin’ the good fight. Especially wit’ your fancy magic. Y’always pronounce your spells all slow an’ steady-like, an’ yer real precise with those incantations o’ yours.”

Alex’s pulse quickened. “Yeah, as I always say, it pays to learn your spells inside and out.”

“Agh, as long as the mana does what I tell it, s’good enough for me,” Cedric said. “But, s’funny, here we are, fightin’ together. Gotta say, s’been nice havin’ yous an’ Baelin with us. Makes things easier an’ helps wit’ the plannin’ an’ such. I’m not the best with that part…my head’s much better at buttin’ other heads than at tactics.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his head from side to side. There was a sharp crunch. “Anyway, s’too bad one of yous wasn't marked. Yer both good fighters and good planners, would’ve been great havin’ ya wit’ us.”

Alex fought his expression, it wanted to do anything but remain neutral, a quick glance at Theresa told him she was having the same problem. The irony of the situation was overwhelming. He felt a little guilty deceiving Cedric. The Chosen was a decent guy, honest, trusting, and if they’d met in Generasi, he’d probably be part of his cabal. He obviously liked him and Theresa…but how long would that last if he told him he was the missing Fool.

Alex looked at the murky water around them.

…now was not the time, if there ever would be one.

“Hey man, it’s too bad you’re not down in Generasi with us,” the Fool changed the direction of the conversation. “Sure, we get into the books, but we also play hard.”

“Well, the playin’ part sounds good t’me,” the Chosen chuckled. “Who knows, maybe if this war ends before everythin’ on my skull’s gone grey, I’ll come down an’ take a look for meself.”

Alex winced. ‘Why do people keep saying stuff like that?’ In every story he’d ever heard where someone talked like that just before going into battle, the story would end with them dead. But, he wasn’t about to share that thought with the Chosen though, that was more a Khalik or Thundar conversation.

“It’s incredible down there,” Theresa said, slipping her quiver onto her hip. “It’s like the world—”

She paused, cocking her head to the north.

“I hear a bird,” she said. “It’s moving fast.”

The huntress looked in that direction, and Alex and Cedric followed her gaze.

A dot in the distance was growing fast, shooting through the clear sky for Baelin’s boat. It stopped short, hovering above them with a leather tube clutched in its talons.

The brown swamp piper squawked and flapped its wings until Cedric fed it a piece of jerky. It snatched the meat, nipping his thumb while Theresa removed the message from its claws.

‘Bird familiars have way too much attitude.’ Alex thought of Najyah and Llyworn’s duck.

“Did it work?” He asked Theresa. “Are they coming?”

She was silent for a long moment. “Ooooh it worked alright. There’s over two hundred cultists and more than a hundred demons on the way. Including a really big one.”

Alex rubbed his hands together. “Oh…oh holy shit. And we’ve got like fifty witches. I’d say we’re pretty outnumbered.”

“But you've got the Chosen of Uldar an’ that great, big, er…clean golem at yer side.” Cedric laughed.

“Yeah, this is good. We were outnumbered about four to one when they ambushed us, so I think we can handle this,” Theresa agreed. “They’re looking to raid a dungeon full of Ravener-spawn which means there’s only a skeleton crew left in their camp.”

“Makes things easier for Drestra, Hart and the witches,” Alex said. “Good, well we made a plan and so far it's working. That’s something to celebrate, not complain about.”

He took a deep breath, cracked his knuckles, and began putting his potions away. “Did the message say how fast they’re moving?”

“Seems they’re rowing at a steady pace, so they should be here in maybe an hour or so.”

“Alright, let’s finish our preparations,” Alex said. “I’ve got a lot of summoning to do.”