Ch. 71 – Astragos XII (Patreon)

[Experience Awarded: 70]

After helping Felix get the guards who were unconscious into the small outpost and tying them up, Reth swam over to the Coralborn woman. “What’s your name?”

She spat – which just floated up and away from them – “You and your empire can go to the depths!”

Reth activated his Cloak of Stolen Identities and took on her appearance, causing her to gasp at the sudden realization. “That’s right, I am going to masquerade as you and get right to the empress.”

The woman looked past Reth to Felix, “You’re the one who was giving orders.” Her voice was gruff, and it sounded as if she had been destroying her throat with shouting for years. “Who are you?”

Felix finished putting on a pair of flippers and swam over to her, “I’m a Versewalker, like I said.”

Tinuriel swam over – having found her own pair of flippers. “You should have listened. You’re lucky that he let so many live.”

She looked to Felix, “They’re alive?”

Felix nodded, “The ones Tinuriel slew are the only ones that are dead. The rest will wake up in a few hours.”

The redhead shook her head, “You…If you were spies or assassins, you’d have killed us.”

“I tried to tell you, but you didn’t listen.”

She looked at Tinuriel, “I like the way you swing your blade. But what I really want to know-” she turned to Reth; “-Is how you stopped my Magic.”

Reth put a finger to his lips, “Sorry, that’s a secret.” He swam past Felix and into the building, coming out a few moments later with his own pair of flippers. “This should make traversing much easier.”

Felix floated in front of the woman, “We’re heading to see your empress in a play for peace. I know you don’t have any trust in us, but what if I could convince you?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, “Never.”

Felix shrugged, “Lucifer? How long?”

“Three hours. I wish we could reduce the time requirement.”

The woman looked around, “Who said that?”

“Hi, I’m the Versewalker’s…umm…one second, Querying System…Okay, so the closest thing in your ‘Verse is something called an ‘Enthraller’. Yeah, I’m Felix’s thrall.”

The woman’s eyes went wide, “There’s only four in the whole of Coralith…” She frowned, “What do you intend to do?”

“Well,” Felix grabbed the woman and pulled her behind him into the building. Tinuriel followed behind, as did Reth. “We are going to put you lot into a type of prison for a bit. There’s some of your allies in there that we captured in the Monolith Empire. You have my word, you won’t be injured. And, once a peace is established, I’ll return you safe and sound.”

The woman laughed as she was tossed into the pile of the other captives, “You think we’ll surrender? Or give in to some white peace?”

Felix shook his head, “I was going to ask you to accompany us to the capital,” he looked to Reth, “What’s it called?”

“Coralus.”

“Thank you,” he turned to the woman once more, “I was going to see if you wanted to come with us on a mission of peace, but since you don’t want to…” Felix swam to the woman and stabbed his blade into her head. She sagged and went unconscious.

“That looked harsh,” Reth muttered. “But, you left her alive. I wouldn’t have been so merciful.”

Felix turned on the man, “You’ll need to learn mercy if you want to stay along as an Escort. Tinuriel only kills when we are attacked.”

She nodded tersely, “I don’t mind killing. But Felix has been insistent on trying to not be the aggressors.”

Reth chuckled, “No, I get it. I just meant against the Coralith forces I wouldn’t have been merciful. Past tense. Would not have.”

Felix nodded and explored the rest of the structure, finding several suits of armor and missives. Picking through the missives, and working alongside Reth, they were able to determine how the war was going and some of the localized troop movements. Putting it all together, it appeared that the two empires had engaged in some skirmishes along the border, but were still in the process of bringing the bulk of their forces to the front.

But the interior was a different story. Whilst the Monolith Empire had mostly stripped their troops from every locale and were sending them to the front, the Coralith had kept a number in reserve and spread around the empire in several of these outposts. “It looks like they’re planning a war of attrition from a defensive standpoint,” Reth muttered.

“But why?” Felix asked. “If your foes were committing everything to a front, you would want to send a force around it and enclose it from behind. We already know the Coralith Empire had agents in the Monolith Empire’s lands.”

Tinuriel came over and shook her head, “You’re both thinking with underhanded methods in mind.” She glanced at Reth, “Which I expect from you, being an agent of an intelligence organization.” She pointed at the massive sandbar between the two empires, “This is where the majority of the conflict will occur.” She looked to Reth once more, “I imagine that the Monolith Empire is used to slashing and bludgeoning weapons in their everyday use?”

Reth nodded, “Yes, those are the standard ones.”

“And they don’t have my Might stat,” She muttered. “All of the Coralith we have encountered have preferred stabbing weapons, which are not slowed by the waters. Additionally, projectiles do not act the same when they come in from above the water.” She smiled, “They’re not planning on fighting.”

Reth frowned, “What makes you say that?”

“If I had their unique advantage – I believe Felix would term it ‘home field’ advantage – then I would not engage. I would force my foes to come to me. They were waiting for something and needed to throw up a defensive front.” She looked to Felix, “They were waiting on the tomes. I would not be surprised if they had more assassins and thieves on their way to try and recover those items. The Coralith Empire is waiting in a superior defensive position and keeping just enough of their numbers on the front line to pose a threat or stalemate, whilst they wait for their trump card.”

“But we have the trump card,” Felix stated.

She nodded, “They are planning a lengthy war of attrition and hoping for an armistice whilst they acquire a relic that would allow for them to force terms – or wipe out their foe.”

Reth scratched his head, “I mean…that makes sense…”

“Timer is up!” Lucifer stated as the portal to the VBV opened. The trio loaded the prisoners into the VBV Portal Room, and Lucifer used some hidden communication function to instruct elves from the forest kingdom to come and take these new prisoners into custody. They also made sure to equip the armaments and armor of the soldiers to traverse the region more easily. The VBV portal shut as the trio took off once more, heading towards the capital of Coralus.

Days passed as the trio continued their journey. Felix ensured that when they went to rest in the VBV, he worked with Gina to extricate the cover of the two artifact-tomes and swap them. Thankfully, the ritual was contained within the pages themselves, and the covers were merely cosmetic.

They were stopped a handful of times, but Reth acted like a pompous ass, and thanks to his Coralborn exterior they were unimpeded. The travel was peaceful and they were able to have lengthy discussions to fill the time.

“So every single elf is a warrior?” Reth asked.

“All are capable of fighting unless they are infirm,” Tinuriel replied. “And even then, the infirm can still function as defenders if the worst happened.”

Reth looked to Felix, “How do they handle invalids in your home ‘Verse?”

“It depends. There was a push way before I was born to equalize access to buildings and services for people with disabilities. I guess most folks just…live their lives. Some people have more dire handicaps that necessitate assistance.”

“Interesting,” Reth muttered. “In the Monolith Empire those types of individuals often become the burden of the family they are with.”

“It must be tough,” Tinuriel commented. “Having to support those in need.”

Reth shrugged, “It sounds callous to say, but most infirm children are left to die or fend for themselves. There is no safety net as you describe in elven culture.”

“Speaking of that,” Felix muttered as he turned to Tinuriel, “You have a king, but he acts more like a manager than a monarch.”

Tinuriel nodded, “The king is responsible for making all final decisions, but he gives his subjects vast autonomy. For that, we are thankful, and support his decisions if they are wise and just.”

Felix sighed, “My home ‘Verse sucks in comparison to that. There, the government structure is overbearing. They’re involved in everything about your life. The upper class and elites that run everything are out of touch as the planet is burning from climate change…it’s fucked.”

Reth frowned, “It sounds like a dystopia.”

Felix nodded, “It is.”

“Why not take it over?” Tinuriel asked. “You’re a Versewalker who could exert your power and take control of it.”

Felix frowned, “There’s eight-billion people on that one planet in my home ‘Verse. I don’t even know if there are other civilizations out there in space. Even at Core Level 50, I couldn’t fight an army with tanks and drones.”

“Plus, Versewalkers are not allowed to interfere to that degree. The System Admins step in and strip them of power or lock them in their VBV as punishment. Our job as Versewalker, Core, and Escorts is to solve Crises to keep the ‘Verses running smoothly.”

Tinuriel frowned, “It would run smoothly if Felix was in charge. You’ve seen what he’s been able to do with his VBV.”

“While true, taking over a world or even a whole ‘Verse is something that Versewalkers are not made to do.”

Reth cleared his throat, “I think we’ve arrived.”

Coralus, the capital of the Coralith Empire, stood on the horizon. An enormous crevasse in the ground was torn asunder from some ancient magic, and the entire city was built into the walls and floor of the enormous rift. Large stone and metal structures intertwined the area. Large whale-shark hybrid creatures swam along the various levels of the city, with harnesses and cords trailing behind them as several people clung to the public transit. An enormous spire stood at the far end of the crevasse where it ended – a palatial structure made of bright opal and encrusted with enormous pearls the size of a small house.

The trio swam to the edge of the large rift and descended down into the channel. There were alternating currents that slowly nudged them one way or the other – some type of Jetstream that propelled them forward. Reth got in between Felix and Tinuriel, “What is the plan? We can’t just barge into the palace in stolen armor.”

Felix grinned, “I thought of that. Let’s find some place to hide out.” They swam off of the main concourse and into an alleyway. Felix opened the VBV that he had been focusing on having ready, “You two go inside. I’ll get to the empress with my Class Skills and tell her my plan.”

Reth nodded and went into the portal, “Alright. Good luck.” He dropped the disguise and left the Portal Room.

Tinuriel grabbed Felix’s hand and gave him a kiss, “Be safe.”

“I will be.” She went through the portal, and it snapped shut behind her. Felix stripped off the guard clothes and swam back to the main concourse, heading towards the palace.

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