Cultist of Cerebon

Chapter 33

Zareth let out a small huff of frustration as he looked over the makeshift biological weapons that he was attempting to create.

It looked quite similar to the Blood Sacs that he’d provided High Command for their assault on Fal’Ashar, but its internal structure was heavily modified. Rather than spew out highly adhesive and somewhat acidic blood, this latest weapon was supposed to exude the most potent paralytic airborne toxin that he and Vidhatri could come up with.

Unfortunately, Zareth was confronted with the limitations of lacking access to his laboratory and all the biomass stored within.

“Vidhatri, are you certain that this is really the best that we can do?” Zareth asked as he placed down the ball of pulsating flesh and turned to the shivarath. “This toxin would only slow down someone with 30 Vitality after extended exposure and have almost no effect on anyone with 40 Vitality.”

“Hmph. Meldorath’s Heart has spoiled you,” Vidhatri replied with a scoff, not bothering to look up from her own fleshcrafting project that she was expertly shaping with all six hands. “Unless you’re able to produce magic infused biomass without the Heart, you’ll have to be satisfied with using the mundane venom from the Dune Lurker Serpents. Though I doubt it will make any great difference, given that our enemies are heathens foolish enough to forsake the System.”

Zareth supposed that was true. While the Cult of the Unfettered One presumably had managed to develop unique capabilities by relying on the Etherveil instead of the System, that wasn't universally advantageous. Without physical Stats like Strength and Vitality, the cult’s members would almost certainly be a lot squishier and vulnerable to biological attacks than most.

Still, there was one problem with that.

“We can’t assume that will be the case for all of them,” said Rizok as he leaned against the wall, giving voice to Zareth’s concerns before he could do so himself. “We know too little of their organizational structure or how devoted the residents of Jabal-Alma are to the cult’s precepts. I haven’t seen any evidence to suggest that these ogres are System-less.”

“Perhaps, but they are not our concern. Zareth’s only objective, thus our only objective, is to prevent the enemy heathens from escaping via teleportation during the coming chaos, no?” Vidhatri responded as she gradually sharpened and shaped a long piece of bone until it had a blade-like edge. “So long as our primary targets are incapacitated, then all other enemy forces are free for the slaughter.”

Zareth didn’t exactly like the way Vidhatri had phrased it, but she wasn’t wrong.

His negotiations with General Nasrith had been… difficult, and he’d ended up agreeing to something that would undoubtedly cause him headaches in the future, but he’d been ultimately successful in arranging for a Critical Asset to be deployed to Jabal-Alma. Not just any Critical Asset either, but the actual leader of House Kavasa himself, Archmage Agnazir.

Zareth didn’t know all that much about him, but he was apparently some kind of powerful mage who agreed to lend out his assistance after General Nasrith shared information about the Cult of the Unfettered One. It made sense, as anyone with an interest in magic would be invested in a chance to learn more about teleportation.

Zareth sincerely doubted that someone strong enough to be called a ‘Critical Asset’, who was also the leader of a Great House, would have taken time to help otherwise.

Regardless, Zareth had been given a guarantee that his supposed savior would be arriving within the hour. Archmage Agnazir would then somehow completely bypass all of Jabal-Alma’s defenses, infiltrate the ruins, and launch an attack on the Cult of the Unfettered One before they even knew he was there…

How he intended to do that, Zareth had no idea. But who was he to question a literal [Archmage]?

Once that happened, it was almost certain that Jabal-Alma would be alerted by some means. Whether it be them feeling the destruction of their magical wards, someone with access to [Danger Sense], or some method of long-distance communication, there were simply too many different options to count.

Consequently, Zareth and everyone else from Tal’Qamar who wasn’t an [Archmage] would need to be prepared to suddenly find themselves smack dab in the middle of hostile territory. There was absolutely no way to know how long it would take for Agnazir to finish his assault and offer assistance, so they needed to be ready for the worst-case scenario where the entirety of Jabal-Alma attacked them for an extended period of time.

Moreover, Zareth wanted to detain the most important enemy figures so that they could be properly interrogated afterward while also leaving behind as few corpses as possible.

Zareth had a vested interest in this, as he still had hopes that he would be able to integrate Jabal-Alma into his territory after rooting out the Cult of the Unfettered One. This would be easier if he could capture the people who knew this place best.

Of course, all of that was easier said than done.

It would take a bit of cunning to successfully achieve all of his objectives given how outnumbered they were.

“Done,” Vidhatri said with satisfaction as she finished her little project and presented it to Rizok.

It was a long, makeshift sword crafted from sharpened bone with a hilt covered in sinew and flesh. The weapon’s blade was coated with a thin layer of venom that promised excruciating pain to anyone unfortunate enough to be wounded by it. Rizok grasped the blade’s hilt without hesitation and used [Temporary Blade] to sharpen the weapon further before he made a few expert swings.

“Not bad,” Rizok said after several moments. “The balance is not quite as good as my previous blade, and I doubt that it’d survive long against a weapon enhanced by a high-level [Enchanter] or crafted by a competent [Blacksmith], but it will serve its purpose.”

“I’m glad you approve. It will be a pleasure to watch you cut down our enemies with a weapon made from my own flesh,” said Vidhatri, her tone entirely too flirtatious for such a morbid comment.

“That’s… nice, but I think I should probably test if it can serve its most important function,” Zareth said as he held out his hand for the sword, interrupting Rizok before he could respond.

Thankfully, the lizardkin merely offered Vidhatri a suggestive smile before handing the sword over. Zareth did his best to ignore the little byplay and immediately began using his abilities to analyze the weapon.

It wasn’t terribly complicated, though Vidhatri’s venom was one that he didn’t recognize and the entire sword seemed more a bit more durable than its material should naturally allow, likely due to some facet of [Fleshcrafting]. However, it seemed just as well-made as all the other weapons that Vidhatri had made for the rest of the soldiers.

His assessment complete, Zareth decisively buried the weapon in his chest and began the process of merging it into his own body. He’d had to move a few internal organs to make a space where it could be safely stored without excessively impeding his movements, but it was necessary if their plan was going to work.

“It's a bit of a tight fit, but I think this should work,” Zareth said once he finished subsuming the blade, rolling his shoulders as he got used to the strange sensation. “I have no idea how you managed to store so many weapons in your body, Vidhatri. Even just this feels like a challenge.”

“[Compact Flesh] is an often overlooked Skill, but one that I find invaluable,” Vidhatri said, a trace of pride flashing through her four eyes.

“We’d definitely be buried up to our waist in sand without it. I doubt we’d last long without any weapons,” said Zareth as he nervously tapped his fingers against his leg and considered everything that could go wrong with their plan. “Is everything with the relocation of Skaara still going as planned?”

“You needn’t worry. Our injured guide is safe where she is,” said Vidhatri, reaching into her chest and casually pulling out a pulsating sphere of biomass that sustained the lizardkin’s brain before returning it to its place. “Unless the heathens are given a reason to look close, the flesh replica that we left behind should pass muster long enough for our purposes.”

Once they decided on their plan, Zareth and Vidhatri had used every bit of expertise at their disposal to create a biological clone of Skaara that could fool the [Crystal Speaker] assigned to heal her. After all, the hospital was on the other side of Jabal-Alma and they couldn’t afford to have the lizardkin taken hostage once hostilities began.

Fortunately, Skaara was still comatose so creating a pile of meat that looked like her on the surface was… still difficult, but not impossible.

It wasn’t all that hard for Zareth to form the body’s appearance as he’d worked with a decent amount of lizardkin and possessed [Aesthetic Intuition], but actually getting things to breathe was beyond his ability. Even if he had access to the most cutting edge neuroscience research back on Earth, Zareth doubted that he’d be able to replicate the neurons responsible for managing a human’s respiratory System, let alone a lizardkin’s.

Usually [Permanent Flesh Manipulation] generally handled those kinds of details automatically, such as making neurological modifications that made it possible to control his tendrils, but it wasn’t something he could actively control to a fine degree.

Vidhatri’s assistance proved invaluable in that regard, and they were able to successfully switch out Skaara with a convincing enough copy and turn the real one into… a more portable form.

“I suppose we’ll just have to trust that nobody will notice,” Zareth mused before turning his attention to Rizok. “How are things progressing with Major Idris and his soldiers?”

“They’ve all been informed of the plan and are prepared for battle,” Rizok confirmed, his eyes firm and determined. “However, none of them are trained for operations requiring significant deception. There’s a large risk that things could go wrong if the enemy becomes suspicious.”

That was certainly true, but Zareth felt it was a risk that they were just going to have to take.

None of them could afford to be in the lodgings that Jabal-Alma had prepared for them when combat began. Without a capable [Geomancer] on their side, attempting to barricade themselves in underground chambers while facing off against an enemy who literally built their settlement by carving out tunnels was tantamount to suicide.

It would likely only take minutes for Jabal-Alma to collapse the entire place on top of their heads, which was an outcome that no amount of clever planning could overcome.

Therefore, Zareth needed to relocate both himself and his allies out of their lodgings and into the relatively open cenote where they could establish defenses without being crushed by several tons of rock. Unfortunately, it would come across just a tad bit suspicious if Zareth suddenly decided to move everyone out of their accommodations without a plausible reason.

Especially given that, in hindsight, the locals had probably been quite deliberate when they had confiscated all of their weapons and housed them somewhere that they could all be isolated and killed with minimal effort. Also, Rizok had noticed a slight uptick in the number of ogres patrolling outside their lodging area after the ogre Vidhatri turned into a meatball reported an inexplicable gap in his memory.

It wasn’t anything significant enough that Rizok would have noticed if he wasn’t explicitly looking out for it. This was likely because the locals themselves had no strong evidence that anything was amiss, but it still indicated that Chieftain Murog was paranoid enough to act on even the smallest inconsistency.

This meant that their deception would have to be very well executed if they were going to get away with it.

“This would all be a lot easier to coordinate if Archmage Agnazir could be a bit more precise about exactly when he’s going to arrive,” Zareth murmured, running his hands through his hair as he tried to calm down his nerves. “If he arrives too late, then we’re going to be in a world of trouble.”

One would think that an [Archmage] had some way of contacting them, but Agnazir either wasn’t able to or didn’t care enough to make the effort.

For some reason, Zareth had a hunch that it was the latter.

“We’ve arranged everything the best that we can,” said Rizok, placing a hand on Zareth’s shoulder reassuringly. “It’s tempting to overthink a battle before it begins, but there comes a time that you simply have to trust in the preparation that you’ve made and the competency of your allies. Everyone who came with you from Tal’Qamar is an experienced soldier, and Major Idris learned from the greatest defense specialized officers in our ranks. We are more than equipped to handle the challenge ahead.”

Zareth took a deep breath and gave his friend a nod of gratitude. He was still a bit nervous, but not nearly as much as he expected to be.

After growing up in the deadliest part of Tal’Qamar, surviving two separate assassination attempts, and delving into the temple of a dead god filled with horrific creatures, he’d become more accustomed to danger than he ever thought possible. He had the backing of capable soldiers, a vicious [Fleshwarper] who’d probably killed more people than he’d like to think about, and one of the most powerful individuals in Tal’Qamar coming to provide reinforcements.

When this day ended, it wouldn’t be him who would be regretting their decisions. No, when the dust settled, it would be the Cult of the Unfettered One who would regret luring innocents to death and attempting to do the same to Zareth and his allies.

“Then if there’s nothing else, let’s get started,” said Zareth as he decisively exited his room and began making his way to the main area where everyone else was waiting. “The sooner we begin, the better positioned we will be once Archmage Agnazir arrives.”

Zareth heard Rizok and Vidhatri immediately follow in step behind him, both of them fully prepared for the upcoming battle. When he arrived in the central gathering area, he was relieved to see that everyone else seemed just as ready and determined as he felt. Zareth’s retinue and the two squads of soldiers from the Southern Legion were all checking over what equipment they had and were finalizing their preparations.

One of Major Idris’ [Scouts] was keeping a close lookout by the entrance to their lodgings for anyone from Jabal-Alma while the lizardkin [War Mage] had a distant look in her eyes, presumably staying alert for any magical surveillance.

Major Idris noticed them approaching and immediately barked out to the rest of the room, “Soldiers, attention!”

Everyone snapped to attention, the sound of boots thudding against the stone floor in a unified chorus as they all turned their eyes to Zareth and waited patiently. Though not for some kind of inspirational speech or to listen to the amazing strategic insight of a 23 year old civilian; Major Idris had already thoroughly covered and discussed the plan in detail.

Instead, Zareth stopped a few feet in front of the assembled soldier and closed his eyes before quietly reaching out to his god. This was a rare occasion where he was the one taking the fight to the enemy and not being suddenly ambushed by [Assassins] or flesh golems emerging from the walls, and he fully intended to take advantage of the chance to properly prepare.

“Lord Cerebon. I’m not sure if you’re listening bu—”

Zareth nearly flinched as he immediately sensed Cerebon’s attention settle on him like a heavy cloak, intense and all-consuming. He could feel faint anticipation in the god’s presence similar to what he felt before his ritual against the Conclave, along with a silent encouragement to continue.

Ignoring Vidhatri’s sudden burst of feverous prayers, Zareth regained his composure and carried on with his prayers.

“Thank you for your attention, Lord Cerebon. While these soldiers are not among your followers, they fight with me against an enemy that would see us dead,” Zareth began, the Divine Essence in the room growing thicker with each passing moment. “Please, bestow on them your Blessing so that I may further your designs.”

The moment he finished his relatively simple prayer, Zareth used [Manipulate Divine Essence] to guide his god’s power to the soldiers before activating [Minor Blessing of Cerebon].

It wasn’t a Skill that he used all that often, mostly due to a lack of opportunity and because it wasn’t exceptionally powerful. Temporarily granting people a lesser version of [Cerebon’s Boon] was somewhat useful, but that wasn’t possible without time to prepare beforehand. Likewise, most of his experiments in Blessing objects with the Skill produced… inconsistent and unreliable results.

Knives that turned into gelatinous puddles of flesh, rings that gave the wearer both enhanced regeneration along with a horrible rash, and one memorable instance when he tried to Bless Rizok’s sword, only for it to grow a mouth and start screaming at him.

Zareth was very glad at the time that it was only temporary.

Vidhatri was the one who taught him that Skills like [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] was similar to [Ritual of Offering], in that it was best used after beseeching Cerebon directly and was even better when he could guide the Divine Essence to the intended target. These were the sort of details about Skills that organizations learned over time, and Zareth was fortunate to have Vidhatri’s extensive knowledge at his disposal.

Zareth felt as Cerebon answered his prayer, the Divine Essence intensified even further and poured into the soldiers arrayed before him, and strangely, himself as well.

He was briefly worried that they would all start spontaneously growing limbs or undergo some other gruesome transformation. That would have drawn a lot of attention, but Cerebon seemed to show him mercy and kept the Blessing subtle, the only visible change a momentary palpitation that seemed to ripple across all of their bodies.

Once the process ended and everyone stopped yelping at the bizarre sensation, all of them turned their attention to the unexpected message from the System.

Or in Zareth’s case, messages.

[Cerebon's Greater Boon] has been temporarily acquired!

[Cerebon’s Boon] has evolved into [Cerebon’s Greater Boon]!

Temporary Skill has become permanent!

Zareth found himself dumbstruck as Vidhatri’s zealous prayers reached a new level in its intensity, expressing her gratitude to the Weaver of Sinews. Zareth did feel grateful, but he mostly just felt confused because he was pretty sure that the description for [Minor Blessing of Cerebon] explicitly stated that it only granted a lesser version of his Boon…

Not to mention the fact that his previous Boon seemed to have evolved and become permanent?

Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, Zareth’s entire body tensed as Cerebon’s attention became nearly suffocating. The previous anticipation had morphed into something more akin to deep satisfaction and vague images of the artifact atop his spire began to flash through his mind.

Moreover, there was something very strange about the System message attached to [Cerebon's Greater Boon].

It was difficult to explain to someone who had never experienced it themselves, but while the System didn’t actually speak or create any sort of auditory messages, its messages did have its own sort of distinct “voice” through the intuitive understanding it imparted. This voice had always felt alien and almost eldritch to Zareth in a way that he couldn’t quite articulate.

[Cerebon's Greater Boon] still carried a hint of that otherworldliness as he attempted to access its description, but there was also something else. A secondary message that felt distinctly familiar.

Cerebon's Greater Boon - Increases the Strength, Vitality, and Agility of the user by 3. Substantially increased physical regeneration, and grants resistance to poisons and toxins. Slightly enhances sensory perception. Grants the user a minor ability to adapt to environmental threats. Strengthens any divine link between the user and Cerebon, God of Flesh and Transformation.

It was only after he finished analyzing the Skill that Zareth realized what was strange about it. The “voice” of the message reminded him far more of Cerebon than the eldritch feeling he was accustomed to with typical System notifications. He had a feeling that this had something to do with the last portion of the description.

While everyone else was busy inspecting the unexpectedly powerful Boon, Zareth turned to Vidhatri,quietly sharing these strange changes he’d noticed and asking if she had any idea what was causing them. He shouldn’t have been surprised when Vidhatri’s eyes immediately lit up with newfound zeal.

“Our actions here must be more key to the Weaver of Sinew’s designs than we first knew,” Vidhatri said fervently, her voice filled with excitement. “He’s chosen to use this opportunity to grant you his Greater Boon! I didn’t earn such an honor until I passed the sacred trials to become a Senior Fleshwarper. With the divine link strengthened, he can now send images to guide your path. It’s clear from what you saw that our god wishes to use that artifact to speak with you upon our return to Tal’Qamar!”

That was… definitely an unexpected development. He couldn’t help but feel both curious about Cerebon’s motivations and what these mysterious ‘designs’ may be as well as a sense of foreboding toward their eventual conversation.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

After all, the last one resulted in him hiking through the desert and exploring an ancient, monster filled temple.

However, dealing with the implications of all that was an issue for later. He couldn’t afford to be distracted when they were about to head into battle.

“I’ve done my part, Major Idris. Vidhatri and I are ready to begin the plan if your soldiers are as well,” said Zareth, turning his attention back to the immediate task at hand.

Major Idris nodded to him resolutely before addressing the soldiers. “You heard the man. Remember your orders. Keep your mouths shut once we’re out of here. I don’t want any of you saying something stupid and getting us caught. After we reach the designated location, be prepared to set up a defensive perimeter, and do your best to avoid attention. I doubt the locals will be willing to approach us, but it's best not to tempt fate. Am I understood?”

The soldiers responded in unison, their voices resonating resolve and readiness.

“Yes, sir!”

Major Idris nodded in approval before turning his gaze back to Zareth. “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be, Apostle Zareth.”

Having already been told what to do, Vidhatri stepped forward and raised a single arm toward the soldiers as she prepared to enact the first stage of their plan to get out into the open without drawing suspicion. A small hole opened in her palm and a revolting, pus-colored stream of gas poured forth and covered the soldiers.

They withstood it surprisingly well, with only a few of them looking as if they were at risk of gagging as an absolutely nauseating scent similar to raw sewage mixed with rotting fish filled the air. The gas was something that Vidhatri had developed from some particularly foul creature native to Zumair and was similar to the gas she used to bypass the ogres guarding the tunnel to the ruins.

Zareth instantly disabled his olfactory receptors and felt a surge of gratitude that his abilities were so convenient.

Once everyone was properly coated with the noxious concoction, Vidhatri ceased spewing the gas, and Zareth began the next part of the plan. He immediately turned around and began running out of their lodgings, not having to fake his coughs and expression of disgust. He doubted any of the others had to put on much of an act either as the dramatic scene of more than 30 people wheezing and staggering out of the barracks, enveloped in a cloud of foul odor, was convincing enough on its own.

A few armed ogres looked as if they were about to stop them, but they all immediately recoiled at the stench the moment they attempted to approach.

Zareth and his allies made it into Jabal-Alma proper without incident, the civilians all effectively kept at distance. It wasn’t long after that before Chieftain Murog and several of Jabal-Alma’s other leaders arrived and approached with reluctant expressions.

“What is going on here? Why do you smell as if you’ve been bathing in Deepworm vomit?” Chieftain Murog asked, barely concealing his disgust as he held a cloth over his nose.

“I apologize, Chieftain. There was an… unfortunate incident in our lodgings,” said Zareth, feigning an embarrassed expression as he offered his planned story. “You’re familiar with my abilities, correct? Senior Fleshwarper Vidhatri was instructing me on how to create a particular type of biological substance, and I had a… bit of an accident when attempting to make it. The result was an unknown gas that spread through our accommodations and is responsible for the unpleasant odor. We were forced to evacuate to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Chieftain Murog’s expression grew increasingly annoyed throughout Zareth’s explanation until the point when he mentioned that the gas may be dangerous, at which point his demeanor shifted to one of concern.

“Do you believe that this substance is toxic? Are my people in danger?” Chieftain Murog asked urgently, stepping back slightly as he surveyed the group as if they were carrying a plague.

“I-I’m sure it’s nothing too serious,” Zareth said, doing his best to sound uncertain about his reassurance. “I do feel slightly unwell, but there’s nothing to worry about. All of the soldiers have decent Vitality and my god makes me more resilient than most. Since the source of the problem came from a gas instead of an actual disease, there’s only a small chance that it could cause harm to anyone outside of immediate exposure.”

Zareth made sure to punctuate the point by using his abilities to cause a tiny stream of blood to trickle from his nose. He quickly moved to wipe it away, but not before Chieftain Murog noticed and widened his eyes.

A quick series of expressions crossed the Chieftain’s face, from slight suspicion to consideration before eventually landing on grudging acceptance.

“You and the rest of the outsiders will be escorted above ground by our warriors,” Chieftain Murog said firmly, already gesturing to his guards to begin carrying out his orders. “Pails of water will be brought for you to wash away the substance. You will not be allowed back into Jabal-Alma until it can be determined that you are no longer a risk to our community.”

Zareth stopped his expression from breaking out into a big smile as the plan put together by General Nasrith’s [Strategists] worked out exactly as intended. Although to be fair to Chieftain Murog, it wasn’t as if he had many other options. Given that Jabal-Alma’s hospital was built into a series of underground tunnels, a potentially toxic gas would easily spread through the confined space and endanger its inhabitants.

Bringing Zareth and the rest of the group above ground was the only possible option that Jabal-Alma could have taken so long as they wished to maintain the safety of their community.

It likely helped from Chieftain Murog’s perspective that their group was completely disarmed and that Jabal-Alma had plenty of warriors stationed above ground.

It didn’t take long for the ogres to organize and begin escorting them to the stairway that led to the surface. As they made their way upwards, Zareth reviewed the rest of their plan in his head and considered everything that could go wrong.

There were difficult requirements that they needed to fulfill if they wanted to succeed.

They needed to defeat the ogre warriors stationed above ground before the rest of Jabal-Alma could realize what was happening and launch a counter-attack. Chieftain Murog and the rest of the enemy’s leadership needed to be prevented from going back down into the cenote before hostilities started, so that they could be captured. A strong enough defensive perimeter would need to be created for Zareth and around 30 soldiers to withstand an assault from potentially hundreds of enemy combatants.

All in all, they had a tough road ahead and there were many things that could go wrong enough to cost them all their lives.

Zareth stepped above ground and closed his nictitating membrane as he was exposed to the Qahtani Desert’s scorching sun for the first time in several days. A quick look around confirmed that there were a decent number of warriors stationed around the entrance to Jabal-Alma, with several more positioned on the rampants of the wall surrounding them.

Fortunately, most of them seemed merely disgusted by the scent wafting from the group rather than suspicious or alarmed. A few of them weren’t even carrying their weapons, instead casually leaning against the walls of nearby wooden buildings or playing some kind of games with stones on the ground to pass the time.

Zareth was glad to see it since they needed all the advantages that they could get. As he finished surveying the area, taking note of enemy positions and mentally preparing himself for the confrontation ahead, he was poised and ready for anything to happen.

But even as he was about to initiate his plan to prevent Chieftain Murog from leaving the moment their group was delivered to the surface, he still didn’t quite expect things to go wrong immediately.

Zareth stumbled to the ground as the earth began to violently shake, a thunderous rumble emerging from beneath their feet. The suddenness of it caught everyone off guard, causing a cacophony of shouts and confusion as they all struggled to maintain their balance. The unexpected earthquake only lasted for a few moments before it dissipated and left behind a scene of turmoil as everyone tried to figure out what had just happened.

Zareth was just as confused as everyone else, until he suddenly sensed a massive surge of magical energy emanating from Jabal-Alma. More specifically, the surge seemed to originate from the general direction of the ruins where the Cult of the Unfettered One was located.

Even with [Magic Perception] and [Ether Attunement], Zareth shouldn’t have been able to so clearly pinpoint the magical surge from such a distance. That he could mean that there was only one possible explanation.

Zareth hurriedly began scanning in his surroundings as his mind raced to figure out how he should respond, stopping when he met gazes with Chieftain Murog who’d also fallen to the ground and was looking around and assessing the situation.

Even looking back on this moment in the future, Zareth wouldn’t be able to say exactly what he saw that convinced him to make his next decision. Perhaps it was the thinly veiled suspicion in the Chieftain’s eyes or the likelihood that there was someone among the ogres who could also sense the magical surge and understand its implications.

But whatever it was, Zareth immediately knew that they had to act swiftly and decisively.

“Major Idris! Now!”

Zareth was already pushing off the ground and charging toward the Chieftain as he shouted, intent on preventing him from retreating back into Jabal-Alma and rallying more forces against them. He felt Rizok’s [Aura of Bolstering] washed over him, enhancing him physically and granting him a burst of speed as he sprinted towards his target.

Their attack had definitely caught the ogres off guard, allowing Zareth to get close, as many of them were still picking themselves up from the ground. His fingers shifted into venom-covered claws and tendrils burst from his back before surging toward Chieftain Murog’s chest.

One of Murog’s guards reacted quickly and attempted to intercept him, slicing off two of his tendrils with an expert slice of his spear. Likewise, one of the Elders astonished Zareth by swiftly manipulating the Etherveil with an expertise that surpassed his own and cast a spell that caused the earth beneath his feet to turn to mud.

However, the surprise of his assault was just enough for Zareth’s ambush to succeed.

Sensing the spell just before it was cast, he leapt forward at the last moment and gouged out a chunk of Murog’s side, injecting a fair amount of venom. This caused the Chieftain to let out a roar of pain and hit Zareth with a powerful kick that broke several ribs and sent him flying back toward his allies.

By then, enough time had passed for the initial confusion to disappear and for each side to realize that they were now locked in battle.

Vidhatri was distributing fleshcrafted weapons that were emerging from her body to the soldiers, a Tal’Qamari [War Mage] was launching bolts of lightning at ogre soldiers atop the ramparts and Rizok was charging forward to engage Jabal-Alma’s leadership.

“[Defensive Positioning]! [Deploy Fortifications]!”

A moment after Major Idris used his Skills, the soldiers from Tal’Qamar organized themselves into formation with mechanical efficiency while several earthen barricades spontaneously sprang up from the ground. Long ranged fighters took positions behind these new defenses while the melee fighters made a coordinated push toward the entrance to Jabal-Alma, intending to secure the area to prevent escape and defend against reinforcements.

Chieftain Murog glanced toward the path leading down into Jabal-Alma before turning back, likely realizing he wouldn’t escape in time with a paralyzed leg.

“Kill the outsiders and capture their leader! For the Bound God,” Chieftain Murog shouted as he stared at Zareth with hate filled eyes and raised his spear up high. “[Rally the Faithful]!”

The Chieftain’s Skill instantly took effect as all the ogres suddenly began moving and fighting with unnatural fervor, though this didn’t worry Zareth all that much.

While the Tal’Qamar side was slightly outnumbered and were reduced to makeshift weapons, it almost immediately became clear just how much experience mattered in this world. With higher Levels earned through a lifetime of combat, the Tal’Qamari soldiers instantly trampled over and cut down several of the enemy warriors before they could properly organize a defense.

Combined with Rizok’s Aura’s and Major Idris’ superior tactical Skills, their group moved with a lethal precision that only a professional fighting force would have been able to match. Not to mention the impressive regeneration offered by [Cerebon’s Greater Boon], allowing the Tal’Qamari soldiers to ignore minor wounds that may have affected them otherwise.

The enemy’s long-ranged fighters attempted to exploit their positional advantage, but Vidhatri quickly morphed into a fleshy monstrosity and threw herself onto the nearby ramparts, thoroughly occupying their attention.

Zareth quickly healed his broken ribs before taking position behind Major Idris’ conjured fortifications and using his long-ranged abilities to support the assault. He fired poisoned quills at any ogre he could safely target, used his Minor Decrease Gravity Sigil to unbalance enemies at the most opportune moments, and healed any injured soldiers who fell back to their position.

Zareth honestly expected them to clean up the enemy forces fairly quickly, so that they could begin establishing defenses against the hundreds of Jabal-Alma’s warriors they anticipated would soon be swarming their location.

However, after a couple minutes of brutal combat, he began to notice that something was off.

While many of the enemy had either been killed or wounded in a way that put them out of the fight; the Tal’Qamari side only had a few severe injuries thanks to Zareth’s ability to deal with most wounds. Despite this, Zareth felt as if they confusingly hadn’t made as much progress as they should have and that the enemy somehow had more numbers than he’d initially estimated.

Having a feeling that he knew what was going on, Zareth stepped behind one of the fortifications just as an arrow flew by his head and began scanning his [Eye of Cerebon] across the battlefield. His suspicions were quickly confirmed as he noticed strange movements in the surrounding Etherviel, especially around the enemy forces.

It took a few moments for him to fully discern what they were doing, but Zareth figured it out when he noticed the edge of Rizok’s blade just barely fall short of a female ogre's neck despite her not having moved to dodge. A Mirage Stalker [Archer] from the Tal’Qamari side snuck onto a rooftop and fired an arrow that expertly flew between two soldiers and should have struck Chieftain Murog in his blindspot. He somehow seemed to see it out of the corner of his eye and dodge at the last moment.

Of course. They’re using illusions, Zareth thought grimly as he began studying the battlefield with this new understanding in mind. Not only that, but whoever is doing this is really clever.

He’d never viewed illusions as something that could so drastically impact a battle, but the enemy was being subtle enough that Zareth doubted most people would notice. Positions were slightly different from what they seemed, movements were carefully misdirected, and the actual number of combatants was cleverly obscured.

Zareth watched as one Chieftain Murog’s personal guards seemingly had her head crushed by a backhanded strike from Sergeant Grunlok’s shield, only for her to be concealed by an illusion and a fake corpse to be left in her place. She then fell back to receive healing from a [Crystal Speaker] who nobody else could seem to see, the magic stored in the crystal quickly mending her wounds.

It was an especially impressive sight given that the illusion must include some kind of tactile feedback to fool an experienced soldier.

Seeing such proficient and well-practiced use of the Etherviel, Zareth couldn’t help but wonder just how long the Cult of the Unfettered One had been honing the craft to achieve such results. The Tessik couldn’t even hope to compete despite investing a decent amount of research into the Etherveil.

Focus. I need to find the caster of the illusions, Zareth reminded himself as he fired a volley of poisoned quills at one of the three warriors that Rizok was fighting and began tracing the movements in the Etherveil back to their source.

There was nobody on the Tal’Qamari side who had the tools to do so, and they couldn’t afford to waste time or the enemy reinforcements would overwhelm them. Especially since the enemy had almost certainly used the cover of illusions to send someone down into Jabal-Alma.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for him to zero in on the Elder who turned the ground beneath his feet into mud earlier, an old female ogre with skin so pale that it almost seemed translucent.

The enemy caster was standing somewhat off to the side of the main battle, shrouded in illusions as she expertly weaved the Etherveil. Zareth took a moment to think over his options. He wasn’t in the best position to attack the caster directly and he didn’t know what tricks she might pull out of her sleeves to escape if she realized that she’d been spotted.

It was a good thing that there was someone on his side who had the ability to see through the illusions.

“Vidhatri, I need your help. Follow my gaze with your [Eye of Cerebon],” Zareth telepathically communicated, glad that the shivarath was still wearing the magical ring that allowed him to do so. “I need you to capture her alive.”

Vidhatri finished mauling the poor [Archer] that she’d been tearing apart with a giant tentacle completely covered in razor-toothed maws and quickly spotted the illusionist. “I can tell that someone is there, but they’re blurry. There’s a good chance that I’ll accidentally kill them if I can’t accurately target their vitals.”

Zareth briefly cursed as he split his attention between the illusionist and the overambitious ogre who’d used a Skill to rapidly charge their defensive fortifications from the side before anyone could react. After ducking beneath a swing of the ogre’s spear and piercing his limbs with several tendrils, the [War Mage] standing by Major Idris took the opportunity to set the ogre ablaze with a ball of fire.

“I have an idea. Start positioning yourself so that you’re ready to ambush the illusionist as soon as she’s revealed,” Zareth said telepathically, ignoring the dying ogre next to him and focusing entirely on his target.

While he was nowhere near as experienced as the illusionist likely was in manipulating the Etherveil, he had the advantage of both surprise and [Ether Attunement] on his side. Zareth exploited every bit of those advantages that he could as he began slowly twisting and unraveling the threads of Ether that composed the Sigil sustaining her spell. It was far from easy, like attempting to unravel a spider’s web without alerting the spider, but also wasn’t as difficult as he’d initially feared.

The combination of [Ether Attunement] and his ability to see the Etherveil with such clarity using [Eye of Cerebon] made him feel like the steps came naturally.

Zareth must have been more absorbed in his task than he thought, because he didn’t even realize that he had succeeded before Vidhatri suddenly launched herself from the ramparts like a missile. The old illusionist was crushed into the ground by the weight of the malformed monstrosity that Vidhatri had become, and quickly impaled by a tendril that was almost certainly pumping some manner of paralytic venom into her body.

With the source of the illusions incapacitated, the effect on the battlefield was almost immediate. Rizok cut down several ogres in a single moment, while Zareth sent the enemy’s healer flying into the air with his gravity Sigil and ran toward the front lines to engage directly with the disorientated ogres. Vidhatri finished subduing the illusionist and leapt into the fray with her typical ferocity while Major Idris used Skills to improve the Tal’Qamari side’s coordination.

The sudden turn of events was enough to nearly shatter the morale of the remaining ogre warriors. Chieftain Murog put up a valiant last stand, his spear blurring as it moved so quickly that it seemed as if he was wielding multiple weapons at once. Yet, Jabal-Alma’s relative isolation meant that even their leader likely hadn’t seen as much combat as the seasoned soldiers of Tal’Qamar.

Rizok expertly weaved through the Chieftain’s strikes and feinted to the side before launching a blisteringly fast attack that disarmed Murog of his weapon. Alarmingly, the Chieftain didn’t hesitate to pull a knife strapped to his waist and thrust it toward his own chest in a desperate attempt to avoid capture, but Vidhatri and Zareth both acted in tandem to stop him. Zareth’s tendrils surged forward and wrapped around Murog’s wrist, halting the movement, while Vidhatri jumped onto the ogre’s back and paralyzed him with the same venom she’d used earlier.

As the last of the enemy forces was either incapacitated or cut down, Zareth took a moment to survey the aftermath of the battle.

He was surprised to see that the Tal’Qamari side had managed to capture the other leaders of Jabal-Alma without suffering a single fatality. The most severely injured soldier was a lizardkin who took what should be a fatal blow to the throat from the Chieftain, but he had still survived due to [Cerebon’s Greater Boon] and Zareth’s healing.

Despite all of the advantages they had, it was still an amazing success and made Zareth wonder what he could accomplish if Cerebon always showed him this kind of favor. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to enjoy this victory before Major Idris had marched toward the entrance to Jabal-Alma and began shouting orders.

“Soldiers! Establish a defensive perimeter. Sergeant Grunlok, position the Bulwarks at the entrance and prepare to hold back enemy reinforcements! Corporal Tiranth, take our long-ranged fighters to the ramparts and open fire on anyone who tries to come out of that gods-forsaken hole! Apostle Zareth, Senior Fleshwarper Vidhatri, place your bioweapons around the entrance! [Deploy Fortifications]! [Rapid Positioning]!”

Zareth felt the Major’s Skill take effect as his body began moving before he registered what he was doing. He intuitively understood where to place the bioweapons so that its gas would filter down the staircase without affecting his allies and hopefully inhibit the enemy reinforcements.

The next few minutes were a blur of movement as the Tal’Qamari soldiers raced to position themselves as defensively as possible while Major Idris used an array of Skills to swiftly create an impressive array of fortifications around the entrance to Jabal-Alma. All of them were hyper aware of the fact that at any moment, hundreds of armed warriors might pour out from the depths below and completely overwhelm them.

Even if they’d emerged victorious in the previous battle, there was absolutely no guarantee that would be the case when they were outnumbered ten to one.

Before long, Zareth was standing behind the fortifications and using [Eye of Cerebon] to look deep into the entrance of Jabal-Alma alongside Vidhatri, who was doing the same. The two of them, along with Major Idris’ [Scout], were the best equipped to spot any signs of enemy movement before anyone else. The rest of the soldiers were on high alert, expressions solemn and weapons at the ready as they prepared for the onslaught they all expected to come at any moment.

Zareth’s third eye scanned the darkness of the tunnel entrance, the tension growing with every passing moment. But as several minutes passed without any sign of reinforcements from Jabal-Alma, tension turned into suspicion before then turning into complete confusion.

“Vidhatri, can you sense anything?” Zareth whispered, hoping she might have some unique insight. When she shook her head, he asked the [Scout] the same thing and received a similar response.

Zareth’s confusion only grew as they continued to wait for another few minutes, with nothing but the sounds of the desert wind and the occasional shifting of soldiers to break the silence. He eventually turned a questioning look to Major Idris, who had the highest authority in a combat situation like this one and would be the one to decide on their next move.

Major Idris was just as bewildered as everyone else and seemed to understand that something needed to be done. “Sergeant Grunlok, you and the other Bulwarks will take point as we head down to see what’s keeping them. Proceed with caution, and be prepared to retreat back to our fortifications at the first sign of an ambush.”

With those orders delivered, everyone quickly organized into formation with the most defensive capabilities at the forefront and a few left behind to ensure the captives remained secure.

As they slowly descended back into Jabal-Alma, the silence was oppressive. The anticipation of being ambushed at any moment was almost worse than the actual fight, with every shadow and corner seeming to hide potential threats. It was only when they were around halfway down that the silence was broken by the distant sound of yelling.

Zareth was somewhat relieved to have confirmation that the residents of Jabal-Alma hadn’t all spontaneously vanished, but he still wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It was only when their group had finally descended far enough for them to see the source of the commotion that everything became clear.

Zareth’s mouth fell open in awe as he witnessed a colossal serpentine form, sculpted from the water of Jabal-Alma’s cenote slam into half a dozen ogre warriors and effortlessly sweeping them aside. Hundreds of stone arms had emerged from the walls and the ground of Jabal-Alma, each of them either having already captured an enemy combatant in its grasp or in the process of chasing down another. Massive crowds of civilians were contained within impenetrable barriers of wind, corralling them like cattle away from the most dangerous areas of conflict.

Amid all of this was a young naga wearing surprisingly modest robes who floated above Jabal-Alma on a tornado of wind. His expression was vaguely intrigued as he faced off against several ogres who were clearly members of the Cult of the Unfettered One if their manipulations of the Etherveil and frantic spellcasting was any indication.

Zareth watched as the naga who could only be Archmage Agnazir casually transformed a massive boulder that had been teleported above his head into a sphere of water with a flick of his wrist then sent it crashing into a volley of arrows that had been launched at his back. He then instantly turned the ball of water into several dozen spears of ice and used them to bombard the enemy cultists.

Almost all of them managed to either dodge or conjure some kind of shield, but soon began clawing at their throats a moment later. By the time Zareth realized that Archmage Agnazir had done something to the air surrounding them, the cultists had already collapsed unconscious and were quickly captured by a stone hand that emerged from beneath them.

“I-Is this really the power of an [Archmage]?” Zareth found himself asking as he and the other Tal’Qamari soldiers watched the unfolding scene in amazement.

It had taken them all substantial effort to deal with somewhere around 50 hostile warriors, but Archmage Agnazir looked like he was on track to secure the entirety of Jabal-Alma by himself. Zareth had always heard stories about how strong people could become when they reached the higher-levels, but the utter disparity in strength was astonishing.

“Well, there’s a good reason why High Command refers to them as Critical Assets and why the Great Houses have managed to hold onto their power,” Rizok said at his side, eyes filled with something akin to reverence as he watched Archmage Agnazir. “It’s speculated that he has a variant Class of [Archmage] that specializes in controlling elementals and that his Level is somewhere in the 70s. Although nobody would claim that he’s the most powerful person on Valandor, Archmage Agnazir is one of the reasons why Tal’Qamar was never attacked while its military was sent abroad.”

Zareth had attributed that to the Skyglass Spire, but seeing Agnazir in action made it easy to imagine just how terrifying it would be to face the Archmage on the battlefield. As Major Idris ordered their group to stand by and wait for Archmage Agnazir to finish cleaning up the enemy forces, he also began to wonder what kind of resources the other Great Houses could possibly have that would allow them to compete against such power.

Given that his deal with General Nasrith would soon put him into deeper conflict with several of the Great Houses, that was something that he suddenly felt that he should learn more about.

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