XXXII
Fulcan helped our two guilds portal back to Tenebris after retrieving Arcanor from our hideout. Our two guilds and his army were back at Fulcan’s grand palace, celebrating the victory with great joy. We informed Arcanor of everything that had happened, from our first encounter with Famming to the creation of the Pirate Confederacy, and of course the brutal end of Helterium’s reign. He listened in amazement, celebrating with the army as well.
“How's Kadava doing?” I asked as he congratulated the king.
“He’s recovering well. It’s been a month since I’ve heard from any of you, and I was starting to worry about what had happened. Kadava’s regaining his strength, but I don't think he's ready for the upcoming war. He's still not used to his artificial leg, even though he's overcome the shock. He hopes to join you soon, though.”
“That reminds me...Fulcan, which overlord is declaring war next?” I called, interrupting the king’s joyful exchanges with his generals.
“I was trying to figure that out too. I’ve sent scouts again to search for activity on the islands that haven’t been encountered yet, but none have returned,” the king replied, approaching us.
“Can’t you foresee the future, Arcanor?” Tarsus asked.
“I could try, but the darker the future, the cloudier my vision is. I doubt I’d see anything at this point in time.”
“Well, give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“I...”
“What is it?” I asked, noticing something wrong.
“I don’t want to do it,” Arcanor spoke frankly. “I’ve...I’ve been having these strange visions involuntarily and...and it’s the same vision over and over again.”
“What is it?” I repeated.
“It was strange. It wasn’t a vision of the future, but of the past. It was during...Zxyx’s reign. I saw the arrow in his chest, but instead of moving forward to see his corruption and the War of Zxyx occur, the vision rewinded; the arrow flew back to the archer. And I always woke up when the archer’s face glared into my eyes.”
“So you saw a vision...in reverse.”
“Yes, and you don’t understand. I’ve scrambled through books and scrolls while you were on Helterium’s island, and there has never been a documented vision of the past, played in reverse. This has to mean something. The vision kept repeating and repeating, whenever I ate, whenever I read, whenever I rested. And it occurred so much more frequently when the Army of Light returned to Mainland Grozorg. I would suddenly see the same vision over, and over again. And every time...it would always end when the archer glared its harrowing blue eyes into mine.”
“So, you know who corrupted Zxyx - who really started the war!”
“No, the figure was masked. It wore a gray cowl and a thick gray mask, revealing nothing but...two, haunting, blue eyes.”
“A repeated vision. What do you think it means?”
“I’m not sure, and that’s what’s worrying me more.”
“We don’t have much time,” Fulcan suddenly spoke, turning towards Arcanor.
“Alright, I’ll give it a go.”
Arcanor closed his eyes and placed his fingers on his temples. Sitting cross-legged, he began to slowly levitate in the air as his eyes shone a brilliant blue-white. Everyone around him watched in awe, soldiers and guild members halting their conversations to observe Arcanor.
His face was troubled and his brows were furrowed. He was deeply concentrated, but something he was seeing bothered him. His hands were shaking unsteadily, and soon, his entire body started to convulse. In a matter of seconds, he tumbled onto the ground, weak and out of breath.
“Arcanor! Are you okay?”
Everyone rushed around the exhausted oracle. Some tried to sit him up, others grabbed towels to wipe the sweat off his face.
“What is it, Arcanor?” The king asked, stepping through the crowd.
“I...I don’t know what I saw. My vision...there were brief pieces and short fragments. A strange symbol. A masked gunslinger. Zxyx. The arrow. The pair of gruelling blue eyes.
“From our previous experiences,” Fulcan interrupted, “the subsequent war occurred on islands directly across each other. With Arcanor’s fragments, and recalling which islands are across the water domain, it has to be the Pyro Faction.”
“Home sweet home,” Pyrrhus whispered beside me grimly.
“The symbol...it was a strange flame with a circle behind it, and some intricate patterns on top. Could that be the Ignis Ordo symbol?” Arcanor asked.
“None other,” Pyrrhus confirmed. “King Fulcan, I could be of great assistance in the upcoming war. If you hadn’t heard, I was part of the Ignis Ordo.”
“Perfect. We know where to start. Thank you, Pyrrhon. Army, you will get to return home for the rest of today. At daybreak tomorrow, we begin the march. Be at the palace at six, sharp!”
The soldiers immediately dispersed, leaving the palace through a trapdoor that led underground to retreat to their individual homes. The Almega Legion was still on watch throughout Mainland Grozorg, though not as many of Tyrannust’s men were on the prowl anymore. The battle between the king and Helterium was on the edge of the main island, where virtually no men of the Legion patrolled, but there was evidence of his corrupted warriors around central Grozorg. Fulcan insisted in the use of the underground passageways, stressing on the importance of every life in his great army.
“Tarsus, Ulterium, I can’t thank you enough for going through all of this with us. But on the bright side, three wars down, meaning nine left to go.”
“Not all that bright,” I chuckled. “We’re always here for you, Fulcan. Who would want to see their own nation crumble?”
Fulcan stared at me with a slim smile.
“Well, you and your guilds should head back to Sanoctuis too. Please send my regards to Kadava, Ulterium. Oh, and keep an eye on Arcanor. Make sure he doesn’t try to foresee any more events. He’s getting...tired.”
“Will do.”
“How long will it take to march to the fire domain from Tenebris?” Tarsus asked.
“With the underground passage starting from my palace, four days wouldn’t be a wild guess. I suppose I should tell you that there’s also a trapdoor near your hideout leading to a portion of the underground system that my army would have to march across tomorrow. Roslyn’s idea. Perhaps you should just use the tunnel system to go back home; that way, you’d know where the trapdoor is located. Tomorrow morning, go down the same trapdoor and wait for me and the army to arrive to join us.”
“Sure. Do you know the exact location of the trapdoor?”
“When we visited your place, Ulterium, Roslyn marked an area on your map. It should be around there. She was a bright girl, always thinking ahead.”
“I know. Let’s head home. See you tomorrow, Fulcan.”
“Take care.”
We exited the palace through a trapdoor. With no map, I headed in a general direction, leading the two guilds behind me. We stepped foot into the familiar underground trail and began our journey back home.
“Tarsus, feel free to stay over at our guild tonight. I mean, we have the location of the trapdoor anyways,” I suggested, voice ringing through the tight tunnel.
“Do you have room for seven?”
“Well, I think our guild can fit six more. That means you’ll have to double up with...”
I gave him a quick wink and the entire underground passageway was filled with laughter. Tarsus scowled and punched me in the arm, walking briskly ahead of me.
“Where do we stop?” He asked without turning around.
“Good question. With no map, we’ll just have to go up the first trapdoor we reach. It we reach a cenote, then we gotta scale up that as well.”
“Great. Is this what you call ‘improvise’?”
“Eh. More or less. Works every time. Mostly.”
The thirteen of us continued our march underground, joking around with each other. We had a lot more room and freedom to move at our own pace now that the army wasn’t in the way.
Through the dark tunnels we travelled, following the straight one way pass and losing track of time until the ceiling above us rose taller, with metal rungs climbing up the dirt wall to our right.
“That’s our exit,” I informed, looking up to see nothing but pitch black.
“And if it’s the next one?” Tarsus doubted.
“Then we improvise,” I quickly responded, a ghost of a smile across my lips.
“Of course. Up we go.”
We were greeted by the familiar forest our members trained in, the crooked canopies overcasting our hideout and barricading the bright glimmer of the millions of stars high above.
“Make yourselves at home,” I spoke, opening the front door to our hideout. The two metal doors that one would have expected to swing inwards slid up slowly, like a portcullis of the royal palaces. Behind the sliding grating lay two more doors with a heavy padlock binding the handles. I inserted my blade and the lock unlatched easily, opening the two doors to welcome the Night Guild into our hideout.
“Does that only work with your knife?” Tarsus asked as everyone stepped in.
“No. Any registered Blood Guild weapon can open that lock.”
I nodded my head to the weapon room across from us, and Tarsus twisted a frown that suggested, “Not bad”.
“Normally, the heavy grating would be up when every guild member was home. The inner doors would also be unlocked, just for the sake of convenience. But when times like now arise, security protocols like this would be set up, especially when one of our members are injured.”
“Interesting. Better start setting up heavier security around my hideout.”
“Oh,” I chuckled, “it gets heavier than this. This is only Tier One security protocol.”
“I’ll check on Kadava,” Arcanor spoke to me. I nodded my head as he went off to Kadava’s room, bringing Glo with him as well.
“Looks like your guild’s already found a room for themselves,” I started.
“Were you actually serious about having only six spare rooms?”
“Never thought I would need seven. Never thought of recruiting more than ten members. You thought I was joking?”
“Never mind. Anyone taking that couch?”
“Glo wouldn’t mind,” I winked.
“I’ll respect her, Ulterium. Anyone taking that couch?”
“It’s all yours. See you tomorrow morning.”
“Good night.”
Tarsus headed off to the couch while I checked in on Kadava. He was fast asleep, and his wounds were bandaged up. His face had colour, and his chest rose and fell steadily. Glo and Arcanor nodded towards me, and I headed off to my own room, hastily taking everything off and leaping into my soft, comfortable bed.