Elenore spoke in Argraveâs mind, yet Galamon spoke aloud at the same time.
Elenore conveyed, âAnneliese suggests you tell him. Then, you can trap Traugott when he comes for the Undying Soul in question.â
Galamon said to Traugott, âWe have no need for your tricks. The Veidimen are more than a match for this Palace of Heaven. We have no fear of death.â
Argrave reeled from the two voices with opposite suggestions, but stared at the shell of Norman bound by druidic magic without saying a word.
Traugott rebutted, âMany have tried to take the Palace of Heaven before. Hordes of divine servants, without free will enough to fear death, have fallenâand you think allegedly fearless mortals stand a better chance? Fortunately for me, Iâm not offering this to you. You may be a rather unique specimen, Galamon, having abandoned vampirism⊠but you lack the certain insight that makes Argrave such an interesting conversational partner.â
Galamon looked ready to lash out, but the Alchemist placed one of his huge hands on the snow elfâs shoulder.
âWhy in the world do you want an Undying Soul?â Argrave asked.
âThere are few things more interesting in the natural world. Souls that can persist foreverâthat can move from body to body, or become eternal ghosts with power beyond imagination⊠it would have tremendous uses for me. Youâve seen what Iâve been working on, I trust? It would be quite interesting to create the perfect specimen.â
Argrave hesitated to bring up his own use of his Undying Soul. The Alchemist conjectured it was a large part of the reason that he was able to come here, to this realmâto the world of Heroes of Berendar. And furthermore, it was the crux of their plan with Sophia. Theoretically, only with his Undying Soul and her ability of creation could they transfer his physical form to where Gerechtigkeitâs true essence rested.
The idea of giving something that had such a capability to Traugott was frightening, especially when he toyed with a fragment of Sophiaâs power.
Elenoreâs voice cut into his thoughts. âRefusing to tell him doesnât mean that he wonât learn. Heâs said that he chose to come to you before Erlebnis, meaning his next conversation would likely be with Erlebnis, who would give him a target that we couldnât possibly know. Who knowsâperhaps Erlebnis has an Undying Soul of his own, tucked away in storage. Either way, if we donât tell him⊠itâs pointless.â
âWhat if heâs just bluffing? Heâs using a druidic bond, not his actual bodyâAnnelieseâs empathy wonât work. He could get the keys to the kingdom if weâre incautious.â
âWhich would you prefer to bet onâthat Traugott managed to infiltrate the opera house without Erlebnisâ help, or that heâs bluffing? He may be clever, but he lacks the connections in the Great Chu to pull something like that off alone.â
Elenoreâs cold reason cut away Argraveâs doubt. He conveyed to her, âInform Galamon why. Heâs a little uneasy with this.â
âAlright.â Argrave nodded, shifting on his feet. âI can give you a location.â
âOooh,â Traugott said excitedly. âThat greatly eliminates complications. Tell me, then. Iâm all ears.â
âHow can I trust you wonât just leave once I do?â Argrave narrowed his eyes.
âBecause itâs in my best interest for you to assault the Palace of Heaven. I made some⊠agreements with Erlebnis. I generally like to keep agreements I make, unless they inconvenience meâlike the ones I made with him. Iâm supposed to get him some things, perform some actions. But if heâs dead, he wonât have hands to receive, nor thoughts enough to comprehend my actions. That would be ideal for me. Even beyond that, I donât intend on seeking out this Undying Soul until youâre in the middle of assaulting the fortress.â
âWhy would youâŠ?â Annelieseâs brows furrowed in contemplation, then relaxed as an uneasy revelation came to her. âNo. I understand.â
âYes, you should. Iâm not naĂŻve,â Traugott continued in a low tone. âI see the people you brought todayâboth the ones within my little workshop, and those without it. I understand what you intended for me. It stands to reason youâre going to try and kill me when I come for this soul. Very dastardly⊠not that I wouldnât do the same in your shoes.â Traugott shook his head. âI wonât seek out the Undying Soul until youâre in the middle of assaulting the Palace of Heaven. You canât afford to stretch your forces thin. Theyâd be too thin to catch me, and too thin to take the fortress. So⊠the calculus of power demands you choose to let me slip by.â
âYou can see our people? So, youâre nearby,â Argrave deduced.
âHmm.â Traugott smiled broadly. âI canât say.â
Argrave considered Traugottâs implication. It was true that theyâd need to bring all of their forces to bear to take the Palace of Heaven. But for Traugott⊠ostensibly, Anneliese alone would be sufficient. Yet the notion of allowing Traugott and Anneliese to clash while they assaulted the Palace of Heaven was frightening. Not only was Anneliese vital for Argraveâs main forces, Traugott was willing and able to mastermind all kinds of devious traps. He trusted Annelieseâs ability, but sending her alone was simply intolerable to him, logically and emotionally.
âLet me think,â Argrave held up his hand.
âAs you wish.â Traugott folded his hands politely.
âHeâs uncomfortably clever,â he told Elenore, then explained Traugottâs gambit to her. When he was finished, he concluded, âI donât see a way to get ahead of him. Heâs right. We canât afford to chase after him while weâre assaulting the Palace of Heaven. Anneliese is our trump card against him, and sheâs necessary here. Vital.â
ââŠheâs thought of all angles,â Elenore agreed after a while. âIt still holds true that heâll find out one way or another. MaybeâŠâ she went silent for nearly a minute, then returned with a quiet voice. âMaybe we can call upon some reserve troops. A veteran, whoâs been similarly clever.â
âWho?â Argrave questioned.
When she said the name, Argraveâs eyes lit up. Furthermore, various names of Undying Souls that he might offer to Traugott faded away, leaving him with only one offering. He turned around to look at Normanâs shell.
âAlright. Iâll give you what you want, you give me what I want,â he promised.
Traugott looked around until he spotted some paper, then picked it up. He grabbed a charcoal bar and began to write. âIâll write it down for you,â he said, pausing to explain further. âA small portion of it. Then, after⊠Iâll give you the whole paper.â He continued to write, and Argrave waited with his arms crossed. After a time, Traugott ripped the paper in half, then handed it to Argrave.
Argrave looked between him and the paperâthe man had already given them everything they needed by writing it down. If they just took it from him, now⊠but Elenoreâs words rung true. Traugott was likely going to learn one way or another. He was resourceful, if anything.
âItâs in the Burnt Desert,â Argrave explained. âYou can find a grand palace deep in the earth below Carlandianâitâs a coastal city on the eastern desert. You have to go into the townâs drained oasis to reach it. Though⊠since Durranâs killed the Vessels of Fellhorn in the region, perhaps that oasis isnât drained anymore. In which case, youâll have to swim down.â
âIs it a lich?â Traugott asked, tilting his head. âIt must be, if it resides in such a placeâan underground palace.â
âYes. Itâs his lair, his home. He used to be a southron elf, back when they were a meaningful force. Now⊠well, once you become a lich, you lose those distinctions. With Gerechtigkeit coming, heâs on the verge of insanity. The place is trapped, and crumbling.â Argrave held out his hand. âNow⊠your end of the bargain?â
âOf course.â Traugott smiled in Normanâs shell, then held out the paper. Argrave at once opened it to make sure that it wasnât nonsense. Surprisingly, it wasnât. Traugott had been honest. Theyâd need to verify his point of vulnerability to be sure he was entirely so.
âWhat now?â Argrave said.
âNow⊠I eagerly look forward to your attempt to take the Palace of Heaven.â Traugott offered Normanâs hand, as if to shake on the deal. Argrave stared at it contemptuously. Traugott retracted the hand. âVery well. Farewell, Argrave. And good luck.â
Normanâs shell closed its eyes⊠and the animal soul within it awoke, barking and backing away from them. Galamon lashed out, crushing the abominationâs neck. It crumpled to the ground, joining the dozens of other corpses.
âIs he gone?â Argrave looked at the Alchemist and Anneliese both. âFor sure, this time.âf(r)eewebn(o)vel.com
âGone.â The Alchemist nodded. Anneliese agreed. âI was unable to trace him.â
âWas that wise, agreeing?â Galamon questioned.
âNot sure there was a wise answer. Then again, thatâs what someone without wisdom would say.â Argrave looked around. âLetâs⊠letâs take care of this place. Then, we take care of this new problem. Thereâs someone we have to speak to. Galamonâcan you look into this, decide if itâs worth the risk?â
âOf course.â Galamon took the paper. âIâll scrutinize it better than anyone.â
Argrave looked at a long, long row of ballistae. Then, he turned his head to the right. There, the black-haired, red-eyed Dario sat, looking up at Argrave almost as if he were a pest. Even still, this man whoâd sabotaged their progress with the Heralds to such a degree remained unhealed, bound to crutches and afflicted with wobbly limbs.
âI donât think weâll ever be able to use all of these, even. Youâre making them faster than we can make the batteries for them.â Argrave scratched his cheek, some embarrassment at this fact.
âBatteries?â Dario narrowed his eyes.
âThe cores,â Argrave rephrased. âI do appreciate your good work. But Iâm here about something else.â
âWhat?â
âTraugott,â Argrave said.
Dario scoffed. âHim?â
âHeâs discovered how to imitate Sophiaâs ability.â Argrave laid out the facts plainly, hoping it might ignite Darioâs vigilantism.
âNo doubt thanks to you, largely,â Dario rebutted⊠but Argrave didnât miss a twitch of unease in the manâs face.
âIâd like you to try and kill him when he tries to infiltrate somewhere,â Argrave continued.
Dario shook his head. âWould love to. My body is jelly, though. Even if I could get my metal frame working again without the Heraldsâ power, I canât even run without breaking something.â
âWhat if Sophia could change that?â Argrave kneeled down. âSheâs gotten rather adroit at healing people. Severed limbs, broken minds⊠your bendy appendages arenât such a big step up. Even more than that, what if you had a huge area to prepare for his coming? A palace, with plenty of nooks and crannies⊠and a scary lich at the center of it all, whoâs trapped the place to hell and back.â
Dario stared at Argrave, then shook his head. âYou donât trust me enough for that. And I donât want to be bound by the White Planes, or any other entity.â
âDonât I trust you?â Argrave met his gaze. âYou said it yourself. If Traugott could decide the fate of the world, thatâs the scariest proposition. And you could end him, forever. Even without the Heralds washing your brain, you still have to believe that.â
Darioâs lip twitched. âEven if I could walkâŠâ
Argrave nodded. âYou will.â
âTraugott⊠wonât be easy, alone.â Dario scratched his forehead. âThe one that caught meâŠâ
âMelanie?â Argrave raised his brows.
âShe helps⊠it could be doable.â Dario nodded.
Argrave tapped his shoulder gently. âThen letâs do it.â
âNow?â Dario looked at Argrave as he rose.
âYeah, of course,â Argrave nodded as if it was obvious, making for the door. âIâve got a schedule.â
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