XV
We quickly arrived at Fulcan’s palace after evading patrolling soldiers from Tyrannust’s legion, only to discover an abandoned, torn-down tower. The banners that hung from both columns of the palace were burnt and ashen, and upon further observations, the whole castle wore a layer of black dust. Were we too late?
There was not a single sound in Tenebris, no happy shouts of children, no monotonous chatters of royal guards, not even a single chirp from the beasts of the air.
“Tarsus, Night, up, Foku, follow, Kadava lead Blood, west!” I ordered without hesitation.
Kadava immediately took charge and led the Blood Guild towards the west entrance of the palace, but the Night Guild stood still.
“Sorry?” Tarsus asked.
It hit me that they didn't understand our abbreviated commands. It was our abbreviated commands that granted us higher success than them, after all, evidently during that hunt for the lykos.
“Sorry. Just...bring your men to the top floor and search downwards to the second floor of the castle for any sign of life.”
The Night Guild picked up their feet and headed towards the top floor, following their swift leader.
Foku and I jogged to the east entrance of the large palace, slowly entering upon arriving at the broken grand doors. There was nobody inside. We crossed a small courtyard and entered the main tower, where Fulcan resided in. There was still no one. The hallway soon branched off into two routes, and I commanded Foku to head right while I journeyed left. It wasn’t long before a faint sound of footsteps pattered towards me. I crouched down instinctively, grabbed the hilt of my knife, and turned around swiftly. Nothing lingered in the darkness of the long hall, the sound had stopped. I slowly approached the area where the footsteps had initially come from, heart prepared for combat. My dagger had made its way out of the sheath, sitting heavily in my clenched blistered palm. I stopped and swooped behind a nearby pillar, and the careful footsteps started again, this time a lot louder. Soon, a dark figure grew bigger and bigger as it neared my column. At the right moment, I leapt out, strangling the shadowed figure with one arm while the other arm threatened the figure’s throat with the blade. The slim figure gave no hint of resistance.
“Roslyn? Roslyn Flyforwth? Is that you?” I blinked a few times, examining the slim stranger clearly.
“At the king’s service. And may I ask who this is?” She replied weakly, fear and horror in her voice.
At once I released her, sliding my blade back into its sheath.
“Roslyn! It’s me, Ulterium! What are you doing here? Where’s King Fulcan?”
“Ulterium!” Roslyn spoke, laughing. She threw herself into my arms, tightly embracing my waist. “You scared me! What are you doing here?”
“I came with my guild to find the king!”
“Gather them and meet me outside by the portcullis. There’s no time to talk here, though I would love to. Let me finish my errand and then I'll meet you out in the courtyard. I’ll explain everything then.”
She reluctantly released her arms as we turned to go our opposite paths. After I recalled Foku, we climbed upwards, summoning the remaining members of the Blood and Night Guild.
We waited for Roslyn in the open courtyard. The moon was blanketed by thick clouds, and the sky was draped a coal-black when Roslyn finally appeared, carrying a sack of many scrolls.
“I'm... I'm overwhelmed you're here, Ulterium,” she spoke, out of breath. “But, what are you doing with the...the other guild?”
“Don't worry about it. The Night Guild is with us now. Where’s the king?”
“Uh,” Roslyn spoke, eyeing Tarsus suspiciously. “Well, the king and his army are in the Terramancy Domain as of now. After the abrupt siege by the Almega Legion, our forces were too weak to fight back. Besides, half the army was already on the Terra Island when Tyrannust laid siege to the royal palace, and we had no time to fight back, so we ran.”
“Hold on, what were they doing in the Terramancy Domain? Did Lord Naterra do something?”
“Over-lord, that is,” Roslyn corrected, emotionless. “And yes he did. He started a war.”
“What?” A calamity if voices rose behind me.
“Surely you guys have seen the ‘Schlachtnacht’.”
“If you’re talking about the recent incident where the Legion decided to brutally murder anyone they saw, then yes we have indeed,” Kadava spoke resentfully.
“Yes, according to King Fulcan, the Schlachtnacht was preparation for the war, and it was planned by Overlord Naterra to occur the night before the war!”
“Overlord Naterra? Preparation? The night before? Ulterium! This was all spoken at the council gathering!” Tarsus recalled.
The memory of the meeting that had occurred not too long ago hit me, although I couldn't recall much of what was spoken due to that blasted Tarsus who had occupied me the whole time.
“Yeah, I recall that,” I mumbled under my breath sardonically.
“The High Lord Tyrannust VI managed to get most of Grozorg’s citizens to bend to his dark will,” Roslyn explained. “Nearly every citizen on his island has been tainted by him, and those who demonstrated resistance were brutally slaughtered.”
“Tyrannust VI used the good as...scapegoats?”
“Scapegoats to get his work done. His legion has grown to a massive number, perhaps the size of the king’s Army of Light and Purity now. It’s not safe anywhere anymore.”
I recalled the audience at the arena. Every single soul there was once a former citizen of Grozorg, contributing themselves wholly for the good of the nation before they were tainted by the dark high lord.
“But...how can Tyrannust tell who’s on who’s side?”
“From accounts told to the king, those who chose to convert received a strange, dark mark on their body. All they did was recite a strange phrase, and the mark would appear on their body. But if they went against their word after receiving the mark and betrayed the corrupted high lord, the mark killed them before they can go any further.”
“That’s outrageous! How could anyone...why would anyone turn to him?”
“He was a good guy with an excellent reputation before all this, and he promised even better rewards after his father’s death. It didn’t take much for him to first sway his own island, then the rest. The people wanted things different. They were tired of the system, tired of the rules, and so they got things different. Anyways, King Fulcan and the Army of Light and Purity are on the fronts of battle. He sent me to scavenge the last of the war maps that haven't been burnt. I’m so glad you met me here tonight, and... I suppose it’d be better with two guilds than one,” Roslyn spoke, glancing at Tarsus again.
“Well, don't they have aid from anyone right now? Hired mercenaries, pillagers, even the citizens that are untainted...anyone?”
“There was no one to help. Now that all twelve elemental domains are under Tyrannust’s possession, many untainted citizens were too scared to enlist, and those who wanted to serve the king did not dare step foot outside their doors during the Schlachtnacht. That’s why King Fulcan was in dire need of your assistance. We have no time to lose, the king is waiting for my return. Follow me, I know a path that will lead us to the king and his army.”
We picked up our feet and followed Roslyn immediately.
“We created an underground route system to evade the Schlachtnacht,” Roslyn said. “The construction of this system had actually begun during Zxyx’s reign, with the original intent a trading route for merchants from all around Grozorg. The route would provide protection for the merchants from thieves or mercenaries, but the project was abandoned after the confusion Zxyx had caused on Grozorg. Now the king has requested it to be built as a means of transporting the Army of Light and Purity around Grozorg, seeing our current situation with Tyrannust. None but the king and his army know about this system, and now you know as well.”
Just outside the portcullis was a large trapdoor on the grass ground, concealed by leaves and fake hay over the shaft. As we descended into the tunnel one by one, careful not to attract any nearby tainted soldiers of the Almega Legion, the torches neatly situated on both sides of the narrow passageway immediately lit up.
“The entire army of King Fulcan is on the main front in the Terramancy Domain, and we fear a collaborated side flank from other elemental factions. King Fulcan ordered me to gather the remaining maps, since he had apparently found and marked down excellent vantage points. The Army of Light is currently at an advantage; we have roughly twenty times the number of men compared to the second largest army on Grozorg, and if we make it in time, we may be able to seal the deal.”
The narrow downtrodden path snaked and curved, winding at random turns. Occasionally, the path split into two or three, but Roslyn did not hesitate in choosing which path to take and kept jogging forward.
“Why so many paths? What if we get lost or something?”
“We started digging paths to the other islands as well,” Roslyn sighed anxiously. “Apparently, Naterra’s war is only the first to come.”
Silence filled the cavern once again. The dirt ground resembled many iron clod footprints, and some distorted shield insignias were gently wiped across the soft clay walls. Evidently, the entire army travelled down here after the beginning of Schlachtnacht.
“How long will it take for us to reach Fulcan? If you’re planning to march non-stop to the Terramancy Domain, it’s going to take at least two days.”
“I know. But there’s no other way now, is there? We don’t have enough stallions, and even if we did, the Almega Legion would for sure decimate the lot of us if we travelled on the surface. Anyways, scattered throughout this underground network are a couple of empty cenotes, where we can camp overnight. The openings of the cenotes will provide us fresh air and, if needed, an alternate route to get out, but I see no reason why we would at this time now.”
“Hold up, can’t someone just make a portal or something? There’s got to be a way of making it to Fulcan on time rather than endlessly marching for two days.”
“Tarsus, I drained most of my energy bringing you and Ulterium back, and this marching isn’t helping,” Arcanor replied, “but at the closest stop, I could probably snap open a small portal for a short period, which would allow no more than two guildsmen to aid Fulcan. After that, don’t expect to see any more portals from me for a long while.”
“Two’s better than nothing,” Tarsus immediately spoke. “So who’s going then?”
I spoke up. “Night Guild, in no offensive way do I say this, but Fulcan favours the Blood Guild over your guild. It’s simply the truth, ever since the War of Zxyx. So I propose two men from my guild head through Arcanor’s portal to aid the army.”
“Wouldn’t it make sense for a Night guildsmen to go to gain his trust then?” Tarsus spoke loudly.
“How does that even make sense in a time like thi--”
“Stop! Now’s not the time to argue,” Roslyn interceded. “I understand the long history between your two guilds, but I must side with Ulterium on this one. It makes more sense, too; the king understands the skills and abilities of each individual of the Blood Guild over the Night.”
“When wouldn’t you side with Ulterium?” Tarsus gave out an irritated sigh, rolling his eyes. “Whatever you say, messenger girl.”
Roslyn abruptly stopped, but I continued pushing her in front of us. In an attempt of taking her mind off Tarsus, I racked my brain for two members to assist Fulcan.
“Roslyn, I’m going to send Glo and Foku.”
No one voiced out disagreement, but Tarsus’ agitatedly grunted.
“Glo will help heal the injured and wounded men, while Foku would support Fulcan through his skills of illusiomancy.”
“Are you sure you won’t need us?” Glo spoke softly behind me. “I want to stay with you guys!”
“Oh, we’ll need you all right. You’re the best medic I’ve seen in my life! But the kingdom is counting on you now. If Fulcan falls, Grozorg falls. He’s our last hope. Also, you’re related to Fulcan! Once he sees you, he’ll be comforted for a while.”
“Glo’s of noble blood?” Tarsus spoke up, turning around to glance at her. She gave him a small smile.
“Glo’s the first cousin removed of Fulcan. She’s tended his wounds ever since he became king.”
“I joined the Blood Guild after the War of Zxyx was over,” she added. “There was really no point in aiding him when all was good on Grozorg.”
“Until now. He definitely would be glad to see you again.”
Roslyn halted again. In front of us lay five paths that had diverged from the main route, and Roslyn pulled out a scroll from her leather sack.
“Not familiar with this part of the network. It’s rather new here, and I haven’t been down the second, third, or fifth path either. A single path would take two to three days alone from one destination to the other, and when I get back to Fulcan, I would’ve spent nearly a week in these wretched dirt passageways.”
After a quick glance, Roslyn proceeded down the fourth tunnel.
“According to the map, it’d be a good two hours until we reach the first cenote. If we pick up the pace and jog a bit more, we could reach it in an hour or less. Keep moving, guild members.”