Ch. 14: Dominance and Authority 6

“You two, be quiet and follow me. Close in your wings tightly. It’s been a long time since we’ve participated in a stealth operation, so let’s make this quick and dirty.” The dhampir known as Ganel was currently latched on to the side of a cliff where the ancient city of Vectoir.

Vectoir- The first and only major city of note on the Roseir Plateau. What was once a citadel for humans slowly developed over decades into a metropolis for mainly humans with the addition of other major races, most notably the karkans. Vectoir was also the first city to detach itself from the human empire during its collapse, soon falling prey to Ademptis’ corruption. The city finally lost its last little vestige of civilization from aggressive raids by arachs, a new hive of evoants, and a force led by genocidal intent karkans. Recently, Vectoir has taken over by karkans in order to gain more territory.

Karkans- A race of warlike beings descended from the ancient draconic race. Their culture revolves around bloodshed and being the strongest race of beings around, however the corruption of Ademptis proved to be an annoying adversary. Their empire’s remnants consists of twelve minor cities, two major cities, and numerous outposts where their military conducts patrols from. They frequently clashed with the extinct humans but ultimately lost nearly every war they participated in against their most hated foe due to a lack of belief in tactics.

The party Ganel led consisted of three dhampirs all well versed in scouting and stealth. Ganel had his usual weapon, a trident with its prongs serrated like steak knives. The second, a male with a cylindrical tube on his back holding numerous extendable javelins followed Ganel, rock climbing with speed and ease. The third dhampir, also male, had equipped an oak staff, he was the group’s main magic user.

When the three of them finally neared the edge of the cliff on the back end of Vectoir, they could pick up words of conversation being exchanged, presumably by karkans. Ganel peered over the cliff face, to see congregations of said karkans mulling about eating a supper of what he smelled was the meat of a hornet stag and spring vegetables.

One of the karkans began walking towards his group’s direction, though not because Ganel was found out.

Once the furred humanoid neared the cliff’s edge, Ganel grabbed its ankle and pulled it over the edge before it could even react.

The karkan tried to cry out, but found out he couldn’t speak as if the vocal cords in his throat were constricted. More accurately, the magic user in Ganel’s group cast a darkness attribute spell to silence the sound surrounding the karkan. In essence, sound waves could not travel within the influenced area of that spell’s epicenter.

“Let’s split up now. Survey the city as much as possible, identifying fortifications, locating mages, counting its forces, and anything else of interest. In particular, find the commander of this force so that we may better identify him in the future. If you can perform any sabotage without drawing attention to our presence, all the better. Meet at the top of the firehouse in two hours or earlier if an alarm is raised.”

Ganel’s compatriots nodded and dispersed.

-----

“So this is where the Arachs live… A bit dirty, don’t you think?” Commented Rainier casually to Kosok Kre.

“I would say the same to you. But you lived in a fortified outpost compared to our city of burrows and web. There are major differences.” Kosok Kre wasn’t insulted, he couldn’t afford to when he had already thrown in his lot with the human.

“Alright, so tell me about these representatives of your race. You mentioned they hold considerable sway over the Arachs?”

“Not as much as I wish even though I am the reigning prince, but I have more than enough to make it useful. Though I don’t have enough sway to change the beliefs of everyone.” Kosok Kre grit his teeth, he clearly didn’t like it when his own people undermined his authority.

Rainier walked beside Kosok Kre through a wide tunnel which was essentially the main street for the home city of the Arachs. It seemed the Arachs had several “cities” which were all connected underground by tunnels and above ground by crude paths. Only numbering four settlements total, the one Rainier was currently walking in was basically the arach capital known as Kochla.

Kochla- The capital city of the arach race on the Roseir Plateau. First built around fifty years before the long cataclysm of corruption that overtook Ademptis. The Arachs, ever since their creation, longed for a home of their own which they finally found on the Roseir Plateau. They began construction on their small territory modestly, which proved to be a smart move when corruption took Ademptis.

“Well, nevertheless I’m impressed by the arachs’ way of life.” Rainier spoke the truth.

He was truly fascinated by the capable hunter-gatherer society of arachnacosa warriors. They had a complex system of tunnels created by capable engineers. They also had an adept education system which not only taught basic skills but also magic and the English language (or whatever English was called in Ademptis).

Tero and Nera were the only two accompanying Rainier. Sataska was forced to stay behind due to the animosity between evoants and arachnacosa. In order to placate her, Rainier promised her he would have her at his side for his soon to happen largest plan.

“Alright, YOU TWO!” Kosok Kre barked at two arachnacosa city guards dressed in grey armor and holding serrated longswords.

The guards slapped their armored chests in reply, waiting for their kre’s command.

“Escort these three to the meeting room of the council building. Provide them every accommodation they ask for as they are my personal guests.” Kosok Kre spoke with a dignified air surrounding him.

“Are they…?” One of the guards couldn’t help but inquire about the identity of the kre’s guests.

Kosok Kre shook his head. “They are not the invaders. They are humans I am gambling our existence on. At the very least, treat them as you would treat me.”

““As you command!””

Kosok Kre turned to Rainier and the twins. “I am going to summon the other figures holding influence over my people, how you deal with them is up to you, Rainier. There are three of them, Sharok answers to power, Dulcek is a self-absorbed idiot, and Maork only answers to personal gain. Personally, I dislike all three of them, but their skills are there.”

“Hm, well I’ll just wing it once we get to that point. Alright, see you at the meeting.” Rainier turned and followed the two arachnacosa guards to the council building.

-----

The council building wasn’t a building so to speak, rather it was a cordoned off area surrounding by cut stone to give it the illusion of a building buried underground. Rainier noticed that in this more noble and wealthy portion of Kochla that the tunnels were made with cobblestone paths with the materials used being something akin to sandstone.

Underground plants aligned many of the larger tunnels and underground rooms like glowing roots and mushrooms. Rainier paused to take a look at two entries that updated within the encyclopedia.

Moonroot- A plant with above ninety percent of its surface underground and the remaining ten gathering the energy of the moon which gives it the ability to glow. The moonroot stretches further and wider the more you get underground to gather more moisture until it ends. It is often raised and grown by underground sentient species in order to reinforce their burrows and underground tunnels due to the root’s strength and light it gives off.

Whitecap- A type of mushroom that glows a bright white thanks to its magical properties. The whitecap gathers underground magical energy to illuminate its surroundings underground for the sole purpose of gathering small animals and insects to carry its spores for further growth in other areas. It is often cultivated by underground races for the purpose of illuminating passageways and food as the whitecap’s stem is highly nutritious unlike its poisonous cap.

Rainier studied the whitecap entry for a few seconds. He thought about taking some whitecaps with him to further cultivate a wider variety of poison instead of sticking with the toxin made from wretched poisonfingers.

“Honored guests, this is the council building. Please step inside.” A guard led the trio through the open passage into the council building and led them directly to a circular room where a sculpted stone mound rested in the center. “I apologize for the lack of seating arrangements. We arach’s have not had visitors from another race in… For as long as I can remember.”

Rainier shrugged. It didn’t really matter to him. “Hm, could you please get someone to bring some food down for me? I like tasting new foods I’ve never had before. You want some too, Nera? Tero?”

“You honestly expect me to eat what these… Things consider food?” “I’m not hungry.” Both the twins answered in turn.

Not offended by Nera’s rudeness, the guard that had spoken to Rainier nodded his head. “I will have someone bring to you some of our specialties. Cooking isn’t exactly something we arach’s indulge in, but we prepare our foods in advance from time to time. I believe the food will arrive before the council does, around fifteen minutes at minimum.”

Time passed while Rainier spoke with Nera and Tero, preparing on how to deal with this council.

Of the three, Rainier felt that only Sharok would be swayed to his side. Maork would as well as long as if he was fine with personal gain under Rainier’s conditions. Dulcek, the apparent self-absorbed idiot would most likely be the biggest problem but also the most easily dealt with.

He thought about this as he ate the food which had come in moments ago by an arachnacosa servant whose head looked down at the ground nearly the whole time the servant was in the meeting room.

The food didn’t look particularly appetizing, probably thanks to the brusque nature of the arachnacosa society. However, the taste spoke for its own. Rainier first ate what appeared to be seared worms which had a chewy texture but a surprisingly decent taste resembling tender rib meat without the bones (Rainier later found out these were indeed worms of the Scaleworm species). The second dish consisted of whitecap stems with some sort of meat next to it. The stems absorbed the juices giving a lovely juicy taste. Rainier liked this dish the best of them all after trying the rest.

Despite there being one dish he particularly liked, Rainier felt the dishes were rather subpar. He believed he could make superior versions of these foods with his own flair.

“I don’t know WHY you brought the enemy to us, our HOME CITY of all places. Are you trying to prove yourself a simpering weakling of a prince?!”

“Calm yourself, Sharok. They are not a part of the invaders and I believe they can help us wipe out the threat to the north. It is simply the conditions of them doing so you will have a problem with.” This voice belonged to Kosok Kre while the former Rainier believed to be Sharok.

“Hrm, if they have the skill and power to do so, I’ll respect them. If not, then I’ll have them killed before they leave.”

“They can hear you, Sharok. And do not worry about power or skill. I’m sure you’ll recognize them.”

Kosok Kre entered the circular room where Rainier stood about lazily with Tero and Nera tending to their weapons. Kosok Kre was followed by ten other arachnacosa, three of which followed Kosok Kre’s suit and surrounded the stone mound. The other six were city guards but with armor and arms of a seemingly higher quality than the normal guards, they took positions in around the back of the room with space divided equally.

“Allow me to introduce you all. These here are my guests: Rainier and his personal guard of Tero and Nera. Rainier, these three are Sharok, Dulcek, and Maork. Sharok is the general of our forces. Dulcek manages our general infrastructure such as tunneling and city supplies. Maork coordinates the people such as education and hunting and gathering.”

So far, Rainier didn’t have a good impression on any of the three and he felt that they each had a similar outlook on him.

“So, say what you’re going to say, no point in waiting.” Barked Sharok.

Rainier nodded slightly and began his speech. “I understand you face a severe threat of invaders to the north. These new invaders pose a larger threat than anything you’ve faced so far and I am quite certain they will not stop at a single city. They will continue to spread until your race has either fled or are annihilated. While I am not looking down on your own might, I know for a fact that when a large group begins a colonization or invasion, they are confident in their abilities to do so.”

Rainier noticed Dulcek sneering under his breath as he listened to Rainier’s words. Surprisingly, Sharok and Maork had looks of acknowledgement, as if they fully or partially agreed with Rainier’s words.

“As we speak, I have spies investigating this city which is known as Vectoir. I even know the race of the invaders, they are called karkans. Karkans are a fierce race of individuals hell bent on superiority in combat. The only reason why I know the arachs would lose in a battle against karkans is simply because they are more experienced in warfare. However, with my knowledge, my exceptionally skilled followers, and your superior numbers, I am more than confident in eradicating the karkans. I say this, I will eliminate every last karkan on the Roseir Plateau with or without your help, and of course it’d be easier with. I will ONLY do this under a single condition.” Rainier grit his teeth, the hard part was coming up. However he was confident.

“And this condition is?” Queried Maork. He was the type of fellow who liked adding conditions to his proposals, so he was always wary when someone else did the same.

“The arach race will be under my rule. This is the sole condition.” Rainier patiently waited for the expected reactions.

Sharok, Dulcek, and Maork each performed different actions but all out of surprise or indignation.

“Of course with the arachs under my rule, I will use my knowledge to help your people expand and prosper. Of course in doing so, you will be helping me in future plans with your military forces. However, I can promise that I will bring the arachs a promising future.” Rainier was not lying here.

Thanks to his consumption of knowledge from reading many different types of books on earth, he had many ways to improve the more primitive civilizations like that of the arachs. There was no point in being a ruler if you don’t help your own people change from underground dwellers to proud citizens who can live above ground without fear and the promise of a future.

“You…” Rainier focused his eyes on Dulcek, who finally began talking after frequently disregarding Rainier’s words. “You filthy maggot. I will not stand for this, the arach race are a proud people who will never submit to maggots like you. I won’t stand here anymore to listen to your drivel, guards! KILL THIS MAGGOT RIGHT NOW!”

Then Rainier took action. He jumped forward while drawing the Razor of Envy. With great speed, he dashed over the stone mound and kicked Dulcek in the head, knocking the head back. He then took both of Dulcek’s arms and pinned them behind his back with Rainier’s weight pressing into the hold while also holding the dagger tightly against the arachnacosa’s neck.

The guards intended to intercept Rainier and kill him, though not out of Dulcek’s command but because of his sudden aggression. However, their weapons were somehow wrested from their grasp and dropped to the ground. Tero and Nera hastily disarmed each of the six guards in the room with several twirls of their poleweapons. They know held the weapons pointed at one guard and a lethal magic spell already charged at another. If Rainier commanded, they would instantly kill four arachnacosa guards and then swiftly kill the remaining two.

“I am not here to be hostile, but I do intend to get what I want. Sharok, you respect power, do you not? Tero and Nera here are just two highly skilled dhampirs among a slew of their veteran comrades. I myself am not weak and can easily get even more powerful with every foe I slay. Maork, apparently you respond well to personal gain… While I cannot promise anything right away, gamble on me and I will bring you great riches to not only you but all of the arachs and anyone else I bring under my rule. As for Dulcek here, I deem him unworthy and unless you all wish otherwise, I’ll kill him here.” Rainier spoke very stoically, his voice not wavering or cracking for even a single moment.

Never had Rainier believed he would speak like this back on earth. He always imagined himself as a hero of good, not a conniving player in it for power.

Sharok raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He disliked Dulcek in every way. Idiots like him should be culled in Sharok’s opinion. He also rather liked Rainier’s way of handling the situation just now. While he still didn’t like the idea of the arach race submitting themselves to Rainier’s commands, he felt that Rainier could actually pull off everything he said.

Maork also disliked Dulcek, but the only reason he nodded was because he felt intimidated by Rainier’s words and actions. While he hadn’t seen everything Rainier could do, Maork felt that this human was not one to be trifled with.

“You’re-ack… You are all actually listening to this pile of dirt? This damn worm?! It’s like I thought, YOU ARE ALL FIL-” Dulcek screamed pitifully like a child throwing a tantrum.

Rainier only bothered letting Dulcek live for a few moments se he could see what kind of person this arachnacosa was when facing death. And he was not impressed.

Rainier sliced the Razor of Envy cleanly across Dulcek’s neck in two quick strokes to let the blade be covered in the arachnacosa’s blood. Like always, the Razor of Envy absorbed the blood, resulting in an increased gain of power in his overall physique and strength of the acid spit Rainier had. Pain invaded Rainier’s mind, though it wasn’t as powerful as the time he absorbed Itome’s soul.

“Now, what will you all do?” Rainier posed this question to Sharok, Maork, and even Kosok Kre.

Kosok Kre was a bit alarmed by the sudden death of Dulcek but quickly recovered. “I already planned on doing this. I believe in your capabilities, Rainier. I believe that we arachs are destined for a better future. I may be only a kre, but I will follow your lead now and in the future.”

Sharok was not a simple warrior, he is a smart warrior as well. He knows when the time to retreat and when to place his trust in others. This was now the time to trust someone. “I, Sharok, will follow Rainier’s rule now and in the future. However, you better deliver on your promises.”

Maork knew that if he didn’t capitulate, he would probably die. Besides, even though he wasn’t friends with Sharok or Kosok Kre, he knew they were intelligent arachs. “I see no real harm in this. I will also follow your rule, Rainier. This future you intend to bring us sounds promising. I’ll follow you for as long as this future seems possible.”

-----

Ganel met up with his two fellow spies on top of Vectoir’s firehouse. “So what have you all found out?”

The javelin using spy went first. “I noticed the karkans fortifying several open chokepoints in the city ruins. I also saw mages laying down magic mines of ice, fire, and plant types. Each of the mages I saw each had a sword staff colored according to what I believe would be the magical attribute they specialize in. I also investigated their other defenses and am now well informed on the subject.”

The mage spy went next. “I found what I believe are their center of command, located in the very bottom of this firehouse. Their chain of command leads to, strangely enough, a human who I believe came to Ademptis the same way our lord did. I also managed to place a latent magic explosion rune where their main armory is. I can set this off whenever I am within twenty meters of the rune and it will last for up to a week before the magic energy dissipates.”

Ganel smiled while nodding. “This is good. I caused several “accidents” to happen around the camp eliminating at least twelve karkans. I also assessed to overall composition of the forces here so I can report this back to the lord. Now, let’s leave our message and be on our ways. Haroh, use a javelin for the delivery.”

The javelin user, Haroh, nodded while smirking. He pulled out a single javelin which had no embellishments other than the handhold sculpted solely for its Haroh’s grip. Ganel pulled out a handwritten letter from Rainier to Haroh who inserted it into a small magnetic tube which was then attached to the javelin. Crawling down the firehouse on all fours like a lizard, Haroh held the javelin between his teeth.

Haroh then entered the firehouse through a ruined window and looked down at the bottom of the tower. This firehouse was constructed very simply. There was the bottom holding a solitary room where the commanders of the invading karkans were located. Spiraling along the side is a steep staircase leading up to the firehouse’s lit now lit beacon.

Haroh peered over the side of the spiral staircase and held the javelin aloft. The dhampir took aim at the very center of the table where the karkan leaders were conversing and eating at. Haroh pulled his arm back and unleashed his strength. The javelin spiraled through the air as it hurtled down to the table.

Before the javelin even hit, Haroh left the firehouse and took to the air with his wings along with Ganel and their magic using comrade to return to Outpost Roseir.