Chapter 14 Ajax the Invincible

Wraith twisted his arm to look at it more closely, “So you’ve given yourself a name?”

No, you did, I am a manifestation of your subconscious that you gave form, Ajax responded.

Wraith looked around, but Plague and Fear had left his core room to go do their own thing. “If your my subconscious then tell me what I am thinking right now,” he challenged.

Pointless things, you’re wondering about that woman. You realize you are more than just an ordinary dungeon core, you have a past she is part of it, you realize she’s probably your wife and that you have children. You beginning to realize the emotions your feeling are not a hundred percent the result of the body you are in but are a result of these emotions coming the surface, Ajax said.

Wraith shifted uncomfortably as Ajax shed light on his inner conflicts so easily. “And what is your suggestion?” he asked.

Either she serves us or dies, you may be his descendent, for lack of a better word, but you are not Darren, you are Wraith now. It is your destiny to pursue power and conquer the world and nothing will get in our way, Ajax intoned haughtily.

“A worthwhile strategy,” Wraith agreed and stood. He walked out of his core room onto the island that was once the tower of the runed city. Wraith was suddenly struck by the beauty of the cavern. The flooding he had arranged had transformed the rock ruins of an ancient city into a swamp with glowing underwater plants showing the faint outline of the buildings of the drowned city. A shadow moved through the water and the hydra slithered up onto the island sniffing Wraith as it passed by and lay in the pool of enchanted water rolling around. Leeches and water mites fell of its hide as they were turned to gold the hydra had evidently found its own use for the enchanted spring.

Wraith jumped twenty feet up onto a platform where Fear and Plague sat overlooking the city and eating the charred corpse of a fish. Plague way of eating seemed to absorb the food then chewing it as fear did. Wraith sat down took a piece and chewed and swallowed.

“What’s the next plan?” Fear asked lounging on the hard stone and pulling a bit of rubble out of her hair that had been lodged their during the fight.

“We need at least three more allies to have a chance against dryad,” Wraith replied.

Plague chuckled and gestured towards Wraith. “Agreed that last fight ended badly although I see you’ve managed to compensate for your loss,” he said gesturing to Ajax.

Should I tell them about you? Wraith mentally said to Ajax.

I see no benefit in letting them know what they need to just let them come to their own conclusions, Ajax said.

“Yes, I needed an upgrade,” Wraith said.

“Which dungeon are we going for next?” Fear axed.

“The Waste of War,” Wraith answered, “she is the next closest dungeon that Dryad left crippled.”

“I met her before,” Fear said, “she was a bit of an arrogant bitch.”

“What type of core did she have?” Plague asked.

“She is an energy core,” Fear said, “she didn’t do the standard and make lightening elementals but made a bunch of spellcasters for her minions she was on the inner circle for three years before she…” Fear said and then trailed off, she didn’t need to finish the sentence the others knew what had happened next.

Wraith felt an itching sensation and looked up. “Someone just entered my territory,” he warned them.

“Could the heroes have tracked us here?” Fear asked gripping her staff in hand and rising to her feat.

“Its just two individuals so far,” Wraith said rising and pulling his duel-wand and rapier from their holster and scabbard.

Wraith felt the individuals stop and then he heard a voice projected over the water by some magical means. “Wraith Eminence, I am Faceless one of the Turashen I have come in peace as an emissary of Pathaldron. He has instructed me to put myself at your service and I have come to offer my services to you and brought with me one of my servants to aid you as well,” the voice spoke.

Wraith was intrigued. He summoned his mana, in his territory it was a simple thing for him to make a small boat and he paddled over the obsidian surface of the lake onto an island made of the roof of a submerged building. He saw a cloaked figure and a slightly shorter humanoid figure that more a white mask carved with a fanged visage with a glowing red sigil on the mask’s forehead. The man’s face was completely inscrutable too Wraith even with his acute night vision.

“Can you prove you come in good faith?” Wraith asked his fingers drumming over his duel wand at his hip ready to draw it and pull the trigger at the slightest threatening motion.

“I can offer nothing but my actions and my word, if there is something that you require you need only ask,” Faceless replied.

“I must confess my defenses seem to be lacking you and your companion were able to enter by cavern without any struggle, how would you fix this?” Wraith asked.

“I would establish a guardian, if you like I could do so for you,” Faceless offered.

“Please do so, this will be part of your demonstration of how useful you will be to me,” Wraith agreed.

Faceless spoke to the masked humanoid in series of snarls that Wraith didn’t understand. The creature knodded and stepped into a shadow and vanished. Moments later the creature returned it rits body and clothes showing cuts evidence of some fight, behind it was an unconscious woman being dragged by her hair. The raku tossed the woman to the ground and Faceless knelt by her and pulled out a wooden stake from his belt. The wood was black and glistened with black tar, Faceless stabbed the stake through the woman’s chest and into the earth. Wraith could feel the stake draw blood from the woman’s body and send out roots as the tree sprouted leafless libs and grew a foot in size.

Wraith cocked his head as he looked down at the tree. “What is that?”

“This is a Gulthias tree, the bane of living plants it creates a radius of blighted land around it corrupting and awakening the plants. It corrupts fey creatures such as dryads and nymphs and terns them into blighted versions of themselves. It is unique among all plants that it is undead, the sun is its bane like many undead and it draws it sustenance from the blood of the living. It is extremely territorial and can move its roots through the soil to attack and bind intruders once it is big enough,” Faceless explained. “Despite everything that is known about the tree there is much even I don’t know about it, it is a sentient creature and secretive by nature. I do know that it will alter the land around it to protect itself though.”

“Interesting, you have fulfilled your part of the deal; it seams you have come in good faith, but I still don’t understand why the manifestation of darkness is interested in me?” Wraith inquired.

“Pathaldron senses the web of fate lies heavily on you, we are the beginning of an event that will stir the fabric of the future. No one knows what it is but those sensitive to the fates can all sense it is coming. If you were to owe Pathaldron a favor you could swing it in his favor, we are losing the war with the light, we think you could change that.” Faceless answered.

Wraith paused to consider. He thought about rejecting the help, he didn’t like the idea of being beholden to anyone he had made it this far by his own strength, but he looked down at Ajax and remembered the pain of his arm being cut off and his near defeat. The last battle had ended in a draw he would need allies to help combat these adventurers hunting him down and to defeat Dryad.

“I accept your alliance and Pathaldon’s patronage, what must I do?” Wraith asked.

Faceless held out his hand and black oval adder stone like the link of a chain. “Swallow this and your link to the darkness will be complete.”

Wraith took the stone it was as cold as if it had been sitting in snow. He placed it in his mouth and swallowed. He could feel the stone pass through his lungs like a ghost and into his heart. Wraith could feel a new power enter him and access to a well of man that was not his own. He held out his hand and Ajax flexed his hands and lines of black energy coursed along them.

“We of the taken abandon our names to hide our pasts,” Faceless said, “Would you like to do likewise?”

“No,” Wraith and Ajax said in unison. “I want the whole world to fear the name of Wraith. Come we have one last ally to gather, we must go to one last dungeon, Furry Pointe. We need mounts did the two of you bring any for yourself or will you need one as well?” Wraith asked Faceless and the Raku.

“We actually brought enough mounts for all of us present here, they are car-car they are native mount to this country,” Faceless explained.

“Then we should mount up and leave at once,” Wraith said and the five of them left Wraith Eminence’s territory into the dark of the night above and rode north deep into the wilderness.