Tears of Liscor, page 56
part #9 of The Wandering Inn Series
“It does not?”
“No. They are doomed, regardless of how much they struggle. Even if the city of Liscor holds off your army, my apprentice, Tyrion Veltras will not be stopped. He intends to take Liscor, and he will take the city regardless of how many defend it.”
“Then we die. We die if we win, but we die twice over with reinforcements from Pallass.”
Reiss felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. But then it stopped. A chill entered him as his master’s energy flowed from him to Reiss, giving him strength. Reassurance, black, like midnight, ran through Reiss’ veins.
“Pay no attention to the doorway, my apprentice. It will be dealt with momentarily. Rather, consider Liscor and your fate. Do you think I would abandon you after all the time I have invested in you?”
Yes. Just like Oom. Just like the others. But Reiss didn’t say that either. He pushed the words down, daring not even to think them in his head. There was nowhere safe from his master. Nowhere but the depths of his heart, the beating soul he clung to. Still clung to. It was the one place Az’kerash could not look; his master’s heart had ceased beating long ago.
“What can we do, master?”
“Why, let the Humans play their game, my apprentice. Be the pawns in their trap. Take the city. Kill the Drakes. Slaughter the Antinium in their Hive.”
“But if we do—”
“Your Goblins will die. Yes. And Drakes will die. And the Antinium. And Tyrion will expect to sweep in and clean up the survivors. But he will not. Because on the day Liscor falls, my apprentice, I will be with you. And I will raise every soul that falls. Every last one. Drake. Gnoll. Human. Goblin.”
Reiss’ heart skipped a beat in his chest.
“Master? What are you saying?”
A smile flashed across Reiss’ lips that was not his own. His lips moved and spoke another’s words.
“Exactly what I claimed. On the day you do battle, I will lend my strength to yours. I will reanimate the fallen and give you warriors to slaughter the Drakes. They will not be able to defend against that. Imagine it, my apprentice. Imagine a zombie or Ghoul or Draug rising for each of your enemies you slay. Every single one, in a city of Liscor’s size. Only the Antinium will be spared, and they will fall against your hordes. With them, you could hold Liscor, could you not?”
“But the Humans—”
Reiss protested, but his mind was racing. How many citizens did Liscor hold? Ten thousand? No, many more than that. A Walled City held hundreds of thousands. Did Liscor hold a hundred thousand citizens? More? A hundred thousand undead plus his army…
“Perhaps you do not think it would be enough?”
Reiss bit his lip. Yes, even with those numbers, they would have to hold shattered walls. And they would be wounded, tired after fighting an entire city even if the undead rose. But again, the smile flashed across his lips.
“Yes, my apprentice. Tyrion Veltras has an army dangerous enough on its own. But I promised you I would raise every soul that fell. And that includes his warriors. And he has brought [Knights]. Adventurers. They will become lethal undead far stronger than the rest. The strength of the living is matched by the power of the undead. But if that is not enough, if you hesitate, I will offer you one more token of victory. My Chosen.”
“Them?”
This time, Reiss’ heart did skip another beat. He felt it, and he felt his master’s joy.
“Yes. Not Kerash. I cannot risk him. But I will give you Bea. I will give you Venitra. Ijvani has not yet returned to me, but two are enough. Bea will bring death to the Antinium, and Venitra will take Tyrion Veltras’ life. Is that not enough?”
It was. It was enough. Two of the Chosen. Reiss remembered them fighting. He had seen Venitra kill. He closed his eyes and remembered them standing over Zel Shivertail. They had not killed him, but they had come close.
Two. With two, he could—Reiss’ mind raced. Az’kerash spoke with his lips, forced his eyes open.
“So, my apprentice. Do you still fear Liscor and the plans of the Humans? Or do you see victory? Because should you take Liscor and hold it, you will have a city of your own. A place to defend. A home for your kind.”
And there it was. His dream. A shining city on a hill. Reiss’ eyes opened wide. He stared at the image in his mind. Of all places. Liscor. He imagined rebuilding the walls. With his master’s power, it could be done in a day. And if he could defeat Tyrion Veltras, could it be possible that the Drakes would…? If he left some alive, if he…
“Well, my apprentice?”
Reiss stood in place, staring at the Human army. Around him, Goblins milled about, staring at his back. The Goblin Lord slowly turned, and they flinched from his gaze. But he was not looking at them. His eyes found a Goblin with a crimson blade, who stared at him suspiciously from the back of a huge wolf. And another—a small Goblin who wept for the Great Chieftain who had been her enemy.
“Yes, Master. I do not fear the Humans. Give me power and I will take Liscor for you.”
For him. For Goblins. Reiss heard Az’kerash laugh as if he could hear the lie. His master spoke one last time, in his head, not with his mouth.
“Then prepare, my apprentice. Prepare and grow your army. Two Chieftains must kneel, and I must strengthen myself for the ordeal to come. But know that I am with you.”
And then he was gone. Reiss understood the irony of that, but he could still feel his master’s magic filling him. He clenched a fist and looked up. His blood hummed. He stared back at the Humans and then began to walk slowly. And he saw it. A vision of a city filled with Goblins. A safe haven.
Victory. One last battle. Reiss had told Osthia that he had three battles to win, long ago. Now it was one. All he had to do was take Liscor. With his master’s help, it was possible. More than possible. All he had to do was gather the last two tribes to him. Reiss paused. After Tremborag’s death, it should be easy. All he had to do was convince Rags and Garen to kill them all. All he had to do was wade through the blood of the innocent. Reiss closed his eyes and touched his heart. He felt it beat, quiver, then stop for a moment. It hurt. But it had to be done. For a dream.
One last time.
——
“We are gathered here for one reason. To discuss Liscor and the plans of Humans and Drakes.”
The Grand Queen spoke softly. The vessel that reflected her image raised its feelers and gestured to Klbkch. It tilted the mirror, and five faces flashed at Klbkch for a moment. He stood before her, next to his Queen, the Free Queen of the Antinium. They listened as the Grand Queen went on, speaking to all the Hives at once.
“A decade ago, the Hives conferred, and it was decided that a Hive would be established in Liscor. To forge an alliance. To secure a foothold. To allow the Queen of the Free Antinium to conduct her…theories. Now the situation has changed. So the Hives are met in conclave here to discuss. I am the Grand Queen of the Antinium. And we see in the Goblins and schemes of Humans an opportunity for the Antinium. We see their deaths.”
She looked at the Free Queen. Klbkch could sense his Queen’s resentment, her tension. And fear, too. For despite their objections to her, contempt, fury, both Klbkch and the Queen of the Free Antinium looked on the Grand Queen and knew she spoke for the Hives. They felt her pull, even in Liscor.
“The situation in Liscor has changed. Pallass has agreed to reinforce the city, as have the other Walled Cities and lesser cities. However, they will not reach Liscor before the Humans and Goblin Lord. So the city will be besieged. My Queens, your thoughts?”
The mirror flashed. The body twitched, and another presence took over. The Queens spoke, each one different, each one inhabiting the vessel before ceding control. They were five-in-one. Each time one of the Queens took over control of the body, it would stiffen, then move as they willed it. Five voices, all similar, but each different in how the Queens spoke. Each Queen unique, as were their Hives.
“Unprecedented. The opening of war.”
She sat still, her moving mandibles the only changing thing about her. The rest of her was still and silent. Watchful, waiting. The Silent Queen.
“Is it certain? Beyond doubt?”
She looked to Klbkch, as if he could answer her. The Silent Queen, weaver of bodies. She had been chiefly responsible for bringing back Galuc’s form in the Workers and Soldiers. And she had been the first to create the forms of old. The Silent Antinium, assassins camouflaged, stalking. The mirror flickered. The Grand Queen reappeared.
“We have monitored the messages sent between cities. Our Listeners have conveyed the truth and lies. It is so.”
The Grand Queen’s voice was authoritative. She sat tall, and her feelers moved slowly, decisively. It seemed as though she counted each word and weighed it, and her mandibles clicked. Counting, assessing, ever weighing odds and chance with cold logic.
“Pallass’ decision is of no consequence. The statistics show that the amount of soldiers they may transport through that door is extremely limited. Nevertheless, the door presents an unknown variable. An asset. Or hindrance. But the assault on Liscor is the primary focus.”
Her image changed. Light shone. A Queen stood amid steel as her Soldiers waited, wearing armor and bearing weapons made of metal.
“If it serves the Antinium, let the Humans fail here. With Liscor’s Hive, it is surely possible to defeat both Goblins and the Humans even with compromised walls. Can the Flying Antinium not reinforce?”
The words were thoughtful, the body language direct, and faithful. The Armored Queen’s feelers moved slowly as if slowed by fatigue, but her posture was respectful, militant. She sat in the light, a bloated body ravaged by countless births.
Of all the Queens, the Armored Queen had sacrificed the most before they had rediscovered how to create Antinium without the actual eggs of Queens. Yet she had never complained, never wavered. If she had broken, it was only in her faith in the strength of the Antinium during the first war. She had turned to steel instead. Now it shone, reflecting from the mirror as she spoke.
“My Prognugator, Tersk, speaks highly of the Free Antinium’s combat potential. Between their might and that of Liscor’s own, surely the trebuchets may be destroyed before they can assault the city? And if the city is breached, the Antinium are more than a match for Goblins.”
“Revalantor Klbkch. Your analysis?”
“We have the means. Our tunnels may assault the Humans regardless of where they place their trebuchets. They are in range. Although…”
Klbkch spoke quietly. He thought of the tunnels the Antinium had dug in secret for a purpose just like this.
“Although?”
His Queen looked sharply down at Klbkch. He nodded.
“If the Humans were to place their trebuchets directly over the dungeon, our tunneling teams would be unable to directly assault them. We would be forced to burrow around the dungeon’s walls. There would be complications. But if we are prepared to sacrifice the Soldiers and Workers necessary, we could destroy the trebuchets regardless of their number. We have artifacts stockpiled. And Painted Soldiers.”
The vessel turned its head towards Klbkch, and the mandibles rose in a smile. The voice that spoke began quicker, higher-pitched. Overeager.
“Ah yes, your elites. My Revalantor has told me of them. I wish to see their combat potential. As for reinforcement, the Flying Antinium are able to make the journey. But we may be spotted. If we use the farthest tunnels, my Antinium could rally in secret and arrive in Liscor in two days from there. Simply give the order and I will demonstrate their capabilities. I have many new warriors who will prove their effectiveness in battle.”
Eager. The Flying Queen’s every move hinted at an excess of energy, and she twitched constantly, her words falling over themselves in their haste to get out. She was the most radical of the Queens in one sense because she pursued the most unstable and risky of designs. The Antinium had barely mastered flight in Rhir, and her Antinium lacked the finesse of the old Weaver Queens.
And yet, her weakness was also a strength. Her Antinium could fly after their fashion. And the Flying Queen was tireless. Her armies could fill the skies.
“If the Grand Queen wishes it, I can have an army present at Liscor. We could break the Humans and slaughter their [Mages] and destroy their trebuchets. It would be a victory for the Antinium alone. A simple one. Ten thousand—no, five thousand of my Soldiers alone could halt the Humans’ ambitions.”
“A suicide attack?”
The Armored Queen sounded disapproving. The Flying Queen looked annoyed as she flicked a feeler. The vessel raised something invisible to its mandibles as, in the mirror, the Flying Queen ate from a bowl.
“A calculated loss. It would be little lost for much gain. And if the Humans attack anyways…I will send more, then. A proper army to fight and hold Liscor.”
She was about to say more, but then the mirror changed and the last Queen spoke. Her body did not move, but her cracked mandibles slowly opened and closed. Her words were more halting than the Antinium’s natural staccato rhythm.
“The slaughter is. Not beneficial to the. Antinium as a. Whole. What says. The Grand Queen?”
The Twisted Queen turned her head then. Her missing eye, her broken expression, all hinted at the pain she had endured. In the First Antinium War, General Sserys had assaulted a Hive twice. First the Twisted Queen’s Hive, then the Grand Hive itself. Both times, his armies had been broken by her warriors. And he had died battling one of the Centenium.
Wrymvr the Deathless. Klbkch did not see him in the mirror. That worried him. So did the Twisted Queen, at times. She alone had sent no delegation to inspect the Free Antinium. But then, that might have been for the best. The Flying Antinium, the Armored Antinium, even the Silent Antinium could be witnessed by other species and only instill fear, terror at best. But the Twisted Queen’s creations were horror manifest.
“The designs. Of. Humans are not. Important Drakes are not. Important. The only concern is. The Hives.”
“Yes. The Antinium may hold Liscor. Free Queen, what say you? Can your Hive withstand the Goblins in battle? The Humans?”
And now it came to the Free Queen. She stirred uneasily. She of all the Queens had been unmarked by her Hive. She had disagreed with them. Klbkch remembered. The Free Queen had argued against the creation of new forms, of researching more dangerous bodies for the Antinium to use. She had called for only two things: the rediscovery of how to make True Antinium and the creation of Queens.
Both ideas had been dismissed as impossibilities. The most difficult of tasks. But both achievements had been what defined the Antinium, what made them strong. For that reason, Klbkch had followed her into exile in Liscor. Now the Free Queen spoke uneasily.
“If—if my Hive throws its might against the Goblins and the Human army, I believe we could hold Liscor. At great cost. If it is the will of the Hives, we will honor our contract. My Queen?”
“Could your Hive repel the Humans even if the fighting spread into the city? How many Soldiers are present in your Hive? How many Workers? How many Painted Soldiers? Estimate their kill-to-death ratio.”
The Grand Queen’s voice was thoughtful. The Free Queen hesitated. Klbkch whispered numbers up to her, and she told the Grand Queen. The Soldier and Worker counts she knew, but Klbkch had to make up the statistics involving the Painted Soldiers. Klbkch himself responded to the question about Liscor’s defense as a whole.
“If it came to a battle in the streets, Grand Queen, I fear the odds would be against the Hive. The Humans possess a strong, mobile force and [Mages] capable of wiping the Antinium out in number. Our Painted Soldiers as yet lack the ability to combat magic users without the advantage of surprise attacks.”
“A failing only my Flying Antinium have overcome. Which is why my Soldiers’ presence in the city would be invaluable.”
“Or mine. My Antinium will not reach Liscor in time, but perhaps bags of holding may be sent. Armored, your Soldiers may stand a better chance against mounted Humans, Free Queen.”
“If Klbkchhezeim is to fight, my Silent Antinium should aid him. It is far, but if the Flying Antinium are willing to lend transport, I will send my quiet ones to kill [Mages] in secret.”
“A slaughter is. Inevitable regardless. Of those who join. Why ask, Grand. Queen?”
The Grand Queen spoke softly, ignoring the other voices.
“Klbkchhezeim. If the Antinium fail to defend the city, what if they assaulted the Humans from the safety of their Hive?”
Klbkch froze, as did his Queen. If they abandoned the city? He spoke carefully.
“I believe we would win, my Queen. If…if you are suggesting we cede the city, it is possible to wipe out any army above. We could collapse foundations, attack from below. It is more advantageous, but still unlikely.”
“We see. And if you defended, what then? How long could you hold?”
“Months. We have drainage systems in place to prevent flooding, and the Humans would not penetrate more than our outer tunnels with bombardments. Why?”
The Free Queen spoke sharply. The Grand Queen looked at her.
“The Human Lord, Tyrion Veltras, intends to take Liscor. The odds are not in Liscor’s favor regardless of reinforcement. However, the Antinium need not waste combat potential fighting. It is my will that the Hive will abandon Liscor as soon as the walls are breached. They will close all tunnels and hold out as the Humans occupy Liscor.”
Klbkch felt a jolt. His arms tingled. She meant to abandon Liscor? He stared at the Grand Queen as she went on.
“They will not reveal themselves until the Flying Antinium, the Silent Antinium, and the Armored Antinium have all positioned armies in proximity to Liscor via a constructed underground tunnel. Then, all four armies will retake Liscor.”
She looked around. And then the vessel jerked. The mirror flashed four times. Shock. Confusion. Excitement. Acceptance. The Queens spoke at once.
“What purpose is served by this act?”
“Have the Antinium not forged a contract? Will this betrayal be known?”
