Chapter LIII: Hunt for the War Knife II

Demonic Wildlands

Month of the Tortoise 32, 172 ,328 DE

Jaanfaag's airship does not reach the source of the glow until after the sun is already touching the western horizon. The airship comes rest over a hill of dirt. Scraggly scrub brush rises from the charred ground for several kilometers outside of an area of crystal trees and scrub brush. On the far side of the trees, dirt and rocks lead up to the roughly semi-circular hill of loose dirt some ten or fifteen meters high. While we cannot see its entirety, the hill of dirt should more or less form a complete circle.

Because low, twisted scrub brush is the only vegetation in the area, we cannot get closer than the outer edge of the burned out area. But as the sun falls below the horizon, we see the polychromatic glow rising from the far side of the dirt hill. Warped, unnatural energies pass through the dirt and the bridge's outer bulkhead and windows as though they do not exist. They permeate my Body, Mind, and Soul. Trying to corrupt me, it makes the entirety of my Body feel like millions of ants are crawling throughout it.

While squinting and unconsciously scratching at the skin of his face, Vorn glared at the glow. "Is that the source of the Chaos corruption?"

"If should be."

Hiding behind the control panel, Brigitte cowers. Stuffing her hands into her clothing, she rubs and claws her skin. "I don't feel good. I don't want to be here."

You have found something ugly. Tama's thoughts carry hostility with them.

Can you deal with whatever is over there?

Of course!

No. We cannot. We are not yet strong enough. Tia's cold thoughts follow immediately on the heals of Tama's ferocious claim.

We're strong enough! We're not weak like this animal!

Enough! This Beast is, now, our Master! Mother Life chose him! We must serve him loyally until his death! Do not try to send him to his death! Tia's rage explodes, washing away her normal coldness.

Sister!

I said enough! We are two halves of a whole. We exist for battle, to kill, but without a Master to wield us, where do we find battle?

Tia's coldness returns. Master. You are the one who now wields us. We can protect from Primal Power on this level. It is not a pure Primal existence. This energy is Trinity corrupted beyond recognition. But the source is too strong, we cannot destroy it. Should you come into direct contact with the source, we might not be able to protect you from it.

While thinking about what Tia said, I stare at Jaanfaag's airship. The cargo doors have opened, and lowered on cables, humans in strange suits set foot on the dirt hill. At least they have the general shape and proportions of humans. Looking to be made from metal foil, the suits shimmer with silver-grey luminescence. I cannot be certain, but I think the move past the suit-clad humans without penetrating them. Could the purpose of the suits be to protect the wearers from the Chaos energies?

Once ten humans stand on top of the hill a platform with a chest, nearly two meters on a side, is lowered from the airship. I am too far away to be certain, but while much larger than the chest I took from the keep at the mining compound, this chest looks to be of the same design.

After the platform lands on the hill, the humans open it up. Taking up long-handled ladles that lay on the platform, next to the chest, the humans scoop up something the other side of the hill and pour it into the chest. Is that the Chaos sludge? If it is, this should be the source that Vorn's bitch aunt is using to spread the corruption of Chaos to the Ferocious Beasts and Beastmen.

It takes the humans close to an hour to fill the chest. They close the chest's lid. After the platform is hauled back up into the airship, cables are lowered and the humans hauled back up. After a few minutes the airship leaves, heading toward the west, the direction of the Great Plateau.

As Jaanfaag's airship moves away, we close in on the dirt wall. When we are close enough to see over the dirt hill, a roughly circular depression, but there are no signs of other airships.

The depression looks similar to be an impact crater, and in the middle, a pool of roiling polychromatic sludge, remind of the magma I once saw in the cone of an active volcano. At the center, a curved surface, which resembles opaque, puke green glass, peeks out of the sludge.

"That's the same as the stuff in the crate we stole." The thrum of Anger fills Vorn's voice.

After I do not reply for the better part of a minute, Vorn glances at me. "What do you make of that green thing in the middle?"

"No clue."

"You never came across anything like this in those ancient books you read?"

"Nope."

Vorn scoffs "What good are you?"

I shrug. "Opinions vary."

"We can't deal with this."

"Nope."

"Can Grandmaster Jones?"

"No clue."

That is an embryo in the middle. Tia's cold thoughts cut into my Mind like the blade of a sword.

An embryo of what?

After a few moments, uncertain thoughts enter my Mind. I do not know. It is not a pure Primal existence. It should be a very powerful corrupted Amalgamate creature, but I do not know what kind it might be. There could be multiple embryos inside that shell.

Tama's hostile thoughts follow on the heels of Tia's thoughts. If we were not tied to you, we could kill those things!

No. We could not. Even if we could use our full strength, we could not erase a source of Primal Power this strong.

Tama's sullen anger floods into my Soul, but my own rage stirs and she recoils.

After a few moments, Tama's cold thought seep into my Mind. We can only grow stronger. This embryo, this egg, will not hatch for years, perhaps decades. If we and you become strong enough in that time, we can destroy it.

Could the Great Tree do something about this?

Sullen dissatisfaction fills Tia's thoughts. The Great Tree is an embodiment of the Power of Life. She is an avatar of sorts. Life nurtures. Life protects. Life endures. Life seldom destroys. She would have to injure herself to destroy this. Unlike me, she is not a weapon.

Despite being of the Light Od, I have a sharp edge. The stronger I become the more I will endure. If we both become strong enough, you can wield me to cut through anything. Amalgamate. Elemental. Primal. Anything. Tama is the Dark Od. With enough strength, she will end the life of anything she cuts. If we and you grow strong enough, nothing will survive battle with us.

I turn to Brigitte. "Head west.! Follow Jaanfaag's airship!"

"Yes, Master!" A relieved expression settle on Brigitte's face, which looks sunburned. She already has small blisters showing, as though she has second-degree burns.

I am of the Light Od. I can heal her, Master. But you must bring out from your Core Realm. Tia's cold though carry and aura of gentleness with them.

Tia, the black-edged, silver blade, appears in my hands. As I point her at Brigitte, Brigitte shrinks back and a shocked expression appears on her face. But before Brigitte can say anything, green-flecked, silvery light envelops her. The blisters recede, and in a few seconds, the skin of her face and hands returns to its normal lightly suntanned complexion.

Brigitte's hand touch her face, and she stares at me with a surprised expression. "Thank you, Master. How did you do that?"

"I didn't. Tia, my sword, healed you."

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Brigitte stares at the sword in my hands. After about thirty seconds, she looks out the front window of the bridge. "I can't see the other airship."

Looking out the window, I see the airship some seven or eight kilometers ahead. "Stay on this course. It's ahead of us."

Demonic Wildlands

Month of the Tortoise 33, 172 ,328 DE

With the Eastern Escarpment of the Great Plateau visible on the horizon, Jaanfaag's airship turns to the south once more. Thick forests, once more, cover this part of the Demonic Wildlands, allowing us to close the distance to less that five kilometers with little likelihood of being spotted. The only light on the bridge come from the faint luminescence of a few gauges on the control panel.

As dawn nears, a lone mountain rises from the forest. Rising some two kilometers into the sky, its stark slopes, which look like congealed magma flows, show no signs of vegetation. It looks like its flat top was sliced off by a sword, and ruins dot its outer edge. Thick plumes of whitish smoke rise from several locations.

"What is that place?" Vorn's question breaks the silence on the bridge.

I glance around the bridge. "Just who the fuck am I supposed to ask?"

Vorn frowns. "I thought the Demonic Wildlands were your playground."

I snort. "How the hell fare to do you think we've com from Shizukana Gake?"

Vorn shrugs. "Seven, eight hundred kilometers?"

"Try fifteen hundred. Maybe two thousand or more. The Silver Princess is fast, and that Jaanfaag's airship isn't much slower."

"Master, are you two married?" Brigitte giggles.

I glare over my shoulder at Brigitte. "I don't know about the smug cat, but do you think I'm a fucking okama?"

Brigitte puts on an innocent expression. She does an infinitely better job of it than the smug cat. "When you argue, you sound like my parents. I couldn't help but wonder."

Innocent my ass. I do not what her game is, but even though she swore her Oath, she is up to something. Her scent reveals a complex mix of contradictory emotions that make no sense. It is just like Old Man Jones always says, you can never trust anything that bleeds for five days and does not die. They are all born as natural actors and deceivers, and try to manipulate males as naturally as breathing.

"I see another airship. Two of them."

At Vorn's words, I follow his pointing finger. Partially hidden by the ruins, the superstructures of two airships stick up not far from the edge of the mountaintop. The big question is, are there more airships moored up there. If so, how many?

"Brigitte, you knew nothing about this place?"

"Nothing. No one ever said anything about it." Brigitte shakes her head emphatically. Judging by her scent, she is speaking the truth. Unless, she is lying to herself, which is possible. Humans often convince themselves things they know to be false are true. They believe their own lies.

I stare at Brigitte for a moment but pick up no changes in her scent. "Stay low. Maintain this distance and circle the mountain."

"Yes, Master."

As we circle the mountain, we see no sign of any roads or stairs leading up its slopes. Whoever lived atop it either flew up it or used tunnels to reach the top, but I do not see any signs of tunnel entries either. I would need to get closer to perform a more detailed inspection.

In roughly equidistant locations around the mountain, Vorn and I spot obelisks. Some still stand, but most are broken wreckage. They still-standing obelisks have complex sigils engraved on their surfaces, but I cannot tell their purpose. I would to get closer to examine them properly.

This is an ancient world. Countless civilizations have risen and fell over millions of years. With just a glance, there is no way to guess who built ruins atop the mountain or the obelisks below it. I do not believe it to be some relic from the time of the War Masters. The sigils do not give me the impression that they were designed to function off Trinity or its aspects. This place was probably built long after the Seal of the Dragons Gods was placed on this realm.

After completely circumnavigating the mountain, we find no other airships. If there are more they are moored to far from the edge to be seen from below.

"We need to wait for dark. Take us father away from the mountain."

"Yes, Master."