Chapter 15
Chaos remained in the wake of King Talarys’s retreat. Labyrinth beasts who heard the conflict arrived swiftly, preventing any pursuit. Tired and battered mages continued casting spells as the remaining skeletons took to the front line.
This time, Mave let loose. Simple Labyrinth beasts could be crushed remorselessly, unlike Talarys’s army.
Once the enemy was crushed, Mave found herself alone. Her armor was covered in scratches, blood, and dimly glowing runes.
She wished to take her helmet off and get some fresh air. Adrenaline pumped through her body at a level she couldn’t recall feeling before.
But she knew better than to do that. Her armor protected both her body and her identity. And her gender, which likely mattered more than she cared to admit in the Malus League. Others generally assumed she was a man, and she did nothing to disabuse them of the notion. What did it matter?
She heard groans and whining from behind her. Turning, she saw a dozen or so mages slumped over the stone flooring. Their ritual circles had burned out, and they relied entirely on the skeletons and Mave to protect them. Many of them bore burns, shredded robes, and a variety of small cuts.
But not a single mage had been killed in the battle, or even seriously wounded.
One mage remained standing, and he slowly trod over to Mave. His lips were moving, so Mave assumed he was grumbling about something.
Yoam bitched about everything. Both he and Mave were mages from the inner circle of the Tower of Black Cognition, more generally known as the Black Sorcerers.
There were five others, including the grand magister, Graem, who led them. The other mages present consisted entirely of magisters, as Mave had been reluctant to bring weaker spellcasters.
“When I felt my cairn fail, I had thought the Labyrinth had finally overcome it,” Yoam said as he approached, his nasal voice scratching at Mave’s ears. “Instead, it was caused by that ass. I thought that Maliah’s megalomania and boundless arrogance were the worst attributes a ruler could have, but clearly I was wrong.”
“I found him amusing,” she replied, her voice filtered through the magic of her helmet and transformed into something wholly artificial. “But you are right that we didn’t expect this.”
“I didn’t. You knew something was up from the moment I called you. Damn good decision to keep the young ones out of here,” Yoam said. “If we had brought the adepts and journeymen down here, who knew how many corpses I’d be presenting to Graem. Fuck.”
The senior necromancer threw off his hood and ran a hand through his ragged mane of graying blonde hair.
While Yoam had mastered anti-aging spells decades ago, his choice of magic discipline came with a cost. Mave wondered if her senior would be a talking skeleton at some point.
“Perhaps. But I’m not as sure,” she replied cautiously. “It cannot be luck that nobody died in that onslaught. He had two demon princes, plus countless devils. For all our ability, I refuse to believe we came out of it with no more than a few scratches.”
Yoam grunted, his eyes running over the other mages. “Probably. But why? If that ass wants to work with us, Maliah would welcome him with open arms.”
“Perhaps,” Mave said cautiously.
A laugh. “You and your secrets.”
“I was thinking more of the clash of egos that might result. Only so much of what we saw can be acting. While I suspect that the real King Talarys isn’t such a boasting ass, I have little doubt that he is supremely confident and power hungry. No man builds an empire within months without an inhuman drive,” Mave said.
“Inhuman, eh?”
Mave nodded, but was aware of how dangerous those words might appear to be.
The Malus League had been founded from such ambition. Maliah had brought countless mages here from Gauron with nothing but his charisma, and built one of the most powerful nations in the archipelago despite all opposition.
“Anyway, I’ll need a fair bit of time to clean up here. Need someone to bring down more magitech so I can set up another cairn. We’ll be in shit if we lose control of our primary artifact collection site,” Yoam said, changing the subject. “Head back up with anyone badly wounded, if there are any. Graem will need to know what happened here.”
“Don’t go chasing after the arrogant king,” Mave warned.
“How the hell would I? He went the wrong damn direction and fucking vanished. The stairs are that way.” Yoam pointed toward an exit that the Labyrinth beasts had attacked from, but not the way that Talarys went. “If he didn’t go up, then our demihuman guides are useless. He might be an ass, but he’s a competent one. No wonder Maliah locked down New Ahm.”
Mave raised an eyebrow beneath her armor. She hadn’t felt fear from her encounter with Talarys, but Yoam apparently felt differently beneath his exterior of rage.
“Let me know if you need help cleaning anything up,” she said, then clapped Yoam on the shoulder.
Given she was shorter than him, she had to stretch her arm. The necromancer gave her an amused look.
Mave found one of the nearby demihuman guides cowering in the far corner. If Talarys had taken them during the battle, the sorcerers would be in true danger. Only the native demihumans knew how to navigate the Labyrinth. Anyone else would swiftly become lost in its changing, twisting corridors.
That was the precise reason that Yoam’s necromantic cairn was so important. His skeletons prevented the rooms from changing, and allowed safe and swift passage to the lower floors of the Labyrinth. Down here, rare artifacts were plentiful.
Until the fall of Compagnon, those artifacts had funded much of the Malus League. While the nation had plentiful funds internally, they were worthless for international trade. Nobody accepted coinage with Maliah’s face on it, and nobody trusted them to pay back their debts. The trade sanctions by Tarmouth only made things harsher.
But artifacts were a universal currency in the archipelago. They had been easily laundered through Compagnon and had been vital to pay for large shipments of magical catalysts and other necessary supplies. Tarmouth had known all along that something was awry, but the jingle of money had prevented them from acting.
This particular demihuman guide calmed down once Mave let her know they were leaving. A slave collar looped around her neck, but she wore sturdy work clothes. Her hollow-eyed look gave away her true state of mind, but she wordlessly led Mave outside. Most demihumans weren’t as lucky as this woman, but Mave had insisted on proper treatment for those here.
Officially, the reason was because good guides were worth their weight in gold. Letting the workers break them was poor business and inefficient. Unofficially, Mave disliked the general treatment of demihumans in the League. Things weren’t like this in her homeland.
Still deep in her thoughts as she left the Labyrinth, Mave jumped when multiple sendings popped into her head. Her thoughts jumbled as she tried to make heads or tails of the mental blasts she had received.
The Labyrinth blocked all external communication and teleportation. That included magical sendings, which enabled the mental transmission of messages.
“Chief Enforcer,” the guards said to her, when she stopped near them. They wore the enchanted plate of mage-knights.
They couldn’t see her expression, or even where she was looking. Perhaps they thought she had stopped to greet them.
“Have any messages come for me in my absence?” she asked.
“A sending came through from Grand Magister Harpersmith. It had no contents, but instructed you to contact him,” one of the guards replied.
That matched up with the general intent of the sendings that she had received.
The difference was that her sendings made it clear that her presence was needed, and that something was awry in New Ahm. Mave was in demand.
“Ready a carriage and a sending device. I’ll leave for the capital imminently,” she said.
“Sir!” the guards barked, saluting.
Mave wandered into the camp while she waited for the carriage to be brought around. The last time she had come here herself, the place had been fairly quiet. Without trade through Compagnon, artifact recovery had become less valuable.
Now, hundreds of mages and soldiers mingled with the workers. They overflowed from the small number of buildings, and into huge tents. The workers appeared nonplussed about what was happening. Many of them had likely never seen so many mages in one place, let alone so many magisters bossing them around.
The knights largely kept the peace, given the cultural divide. Mages grumbled and argued, demanding better lodgings and food. The workers subsisted on meager wages for their labor, and didn’t appreciate giving up their rations.
“I take it there’s a supply issue?” Mave asked, intervening in one such argument. Her demihuman guide trailed behind her, steadfastly pretending nothing was happening.
Mave suspected that she’d be tailed by the demihuman until sent her away. Following Mave gave the demihuman some immunity from what was taking place around her.
An argument broke out in response to Mave’s question, causing the officer mediating the dispute to scowl.
“I asked a simple question,” Mave said. Silence followed, as the mages and workers shut up.
“The supply wagons only had enough rations for a force half this size,” the officer pointed out. “We’re too far away from any major towns to get more food by tonight.”
“Isn’t that your fault, then? Fuck, why do you need so many goddamned robes around here? Is a war happening?” one of the workers spat.
“That’s not your business.” Mave sighed. “The easiest solution is to send the extras back. I didn’t ask for this much support to begin with. But the situation is more complicated. What about the nearby fortresses?”
This camp had token defenses, but Mave had avoided building anything major at the Labyrinth work sites. Towers shaped like gigantic phalluses attracted attention, and letting enemies know how to cripple the League’s economy was unwise.
Instead, she had relied on the network of fortresses that lined the mountain range. Ordinarily, it defended against Labyrinth invasions but it sufficed for logistics and rapid defense.
“They don’t want to give up precious supplies. The forts aren’t the best supplied areas in the League,” the officer said.
“While my heart weeps for their plight, reality is far harsher,” Mave said. “I’ll put in orders for them to provide food as a stopgap. I’m returning to New Ahm, so if there are any problems, you will need to contact me via sending.”
The mages smirked at Mave’s words, while the officer merely snapped off a salute. If he disagreed, it didn’t matter. While Mave might hold a lesser position than many of the mages here, she was the Chief Enforcer of one of the most powerful towers in the League. Her word was law, and she had enforced it with her sword multiple times.
Once finished, she dropped off her demihuman guide and found her carriage. It had no driver or horses, as it was driven by a magitech engine. A small flat device sat on one chair.
Mave got inside and sent the carriage on its way.
Once she cleared the camp’s outer wall, she took off her helmet. Her rusty blonde hair fell over her face, matted with sweat. Most of her hair was tied up in a bun, so she undid it, allowing it to trail down her back.
An observer would describe Mave as eerily beautiful. Her face could entrance a man with a look, at least until they looked into her eyes. Those were like ice crystals. The cold gaze in her blue eyes had frozen men out in the past, and she had never thought twice about it.
Somehow, she doubted that her eyes would have any effect on this King Talarys. Rumors had reached her that he was something of a womanizer and was bedding dozens of demihumans each night.
While Mave suspected the rumors were exaggerated, he did attract a strange amount of interest from the demihumans in his territory. Much of the intelligence she gathered from her agents made it clear that the newly minted king was the subject of much fantasy by his female citizens, especially those with horns and tails.
She fiddled with the sending device as her thoughts distracted her. Talarys had easily been the most conventionally attractive man she had seen. Mave knew that her mother would be slobbering all over him within minutes of meeting him, given how hopeless she was.
Fortunately, that meeting hadn’t happened yet. But Mave knew it would come one day. She only hoped that the current situation changed enough to make it less difficult for her.
Although knowing that her mother was sleeping with yet another man would always be frustrating. Her father might be dead, but shouldn’t her mother hold some sense of fidelity?
The sending device sprang to life as it connected.
“Mave, are you alone?” a gravelly voice uttered immediately.
“Yes, and I’m in a warded carriage. We can speak freely.”
A grunt. The speaker was Graem Harpersmith, the grand magister of Mave’s tower and one of the oldest and most powerful mages she knew. His scarred and wizened face came to mind as she listened to him.
“I’ll worry about the details of the Labyrinth later. Maliah wants us to meet our mutual associate,” Graem said.
“Should I bring anything?” she asked.
“Only your skeptical ear. He’s upset that we’re not helping him with his insane plan to start a war with the entire world, and will give us some menial crap to deal with while smooth-talking us.”
“So, the usual.” Mave laughed. “I remember the look on his face when you told him where to shove his demon lord.”
“Unfortunately, my reaction has put us in a tight spot. Without the artifact trade, we don’t offer as much to the League right now. Maliah and I go back further than I like, but he’ll throw us aside if we get in the way of his schemes. If you were half as competent as you are, I imagine he would think a lot harder about getting rid of the tower,” Graem grumbled.
“I doubt I’m the only reason he wants to keep us around,” she said.
“Maybe, but he appreciates power and talent. A lot of our intelligence on the cock kingdom comes from your agents, and you’re a highly competent combat magister. Until Maliah goes completely crazy, he’ll still remember the reason why he created the League, and it’s about fostering powerful mages. Not vengeance.”
Mave stared at the device, confident she had misheard something. “The cock kingdom?”
“It’s a name that’s being bandied about due to the acronym of the Kingdom of Kavolara,” Graem explained, then coughed. “I suspect it found purchase due to your reports of the king being a womanizer.”
“Ah.” She chuckled. “Well, it so happens I met this king. I have much more faith in the rumors now. If he walked through the streets of New Ahm, I imagine he’d draw a very large crowd purely based on appearance.”
“Met him?”
“King Talarys caused the entire problem. We had a scuffle, and he left. Maliah may be interested,” she said.
“Damn right he will be. He’s obsessed. Any information you have will help Maliah determine how he should approach Talarys.”
“I see. Then I’ll brief both of you once I return to the capital,” Mave said.
After this conversation, she busied herself with organizing supplies for the Labyrinth. Now that they had an enemy who had attacked them inside it, the need for a permanent detachment of soldiers was vital.
The trip to New Ahm took most of the day, despite the carriage’s unending movement. When Mave stepped outside, night had fallen. The street outside Maliah’s tower, which was known as the Tower of the Black Sun, was nearly empty. Light emanated from the tower itself. A handful of constructs patrolled the exterior of building, ignoring Mave as she approached the entrance.
Nobody greeted her as she entered. She used a pair of elevators to reach Maliah’s inner sanctum. Graem met her outside it. His one visible eye glowed a dim blue, and an eyepatch covered his other eye. His full white beard and mustache twitched as he saw her approach in full armor.
“Ah, you’re here. I’ll contact Maliah,” he said.
After several moments, during which Graem was likely conversing using sendings, he gestured for them to enter.
Maliah greeted them alone. No other mages had come to this impromptu meeting. The man towered over Mave, with bright red glowing eyes, trimmed white hair and beard, and dark skin.
“I understand you’ve had an interesting encounter,” Maliah said, his eyes boring into Mave. “This was intended to be a simple catchup, but it seems more serious matters must distract us.”
Mave grimaced, but nodded. They couldn’t see her expression. “The Kingdom of Kavolara has found a way into our section of the Labyrinth. They launched a raid, dismantled Magister Yoam’s necromantic cairn, and then left. King Talarys himself was present.”
“What are our losses?” Graem asked, his eye narrowing as it blazed with blue fire.
“None.”
Maliah and Graem stared at her, and she shrugged. “I am wary of speculating, but King Talarys clearly held back during the encounter. He had plenty of opportunity to do greater harm and chose not to.”
“Or perhaps you are overestimating his ability, and underestimating that of our mages,” Maliah said.
“He was accompanied by two demon princes. While I might be willing to test my blade on one, those two alone could have crushed our entire force,” Mave replied.
Graem cursed. “So he is an infernalist?”
“If he has a mage under him capable of controlling demon princes, then why would that mage need a king?” Maliah drawled. “Yes, this does change matters immensely. We should speak with our associate. He might have greater insight into what you witnessed.”
Mave doubted that, but had little choice.
The three of them delved into Maliah’s sanctum, before reaching a heavily reinforced and warded room. Dormant constructs in the form of suits of armor lined the walls, ready to tear apart any intruder.
Maliah unlocked the thick steel door with magic, then entered. Mave and Graem followed.
Inside crouched a gargantuan figure, roughly the same size as the smaller of the demon princes that Mave had seen earlier. A glowing red circle surrounded him, and its power was the only thing that protected them from him.
It was also the same thing that allowed this demon lord to remain in Harrium. This was the Demon Lord Grishaw, and Maliah was attempting to permanently summon him to this world.
“Ah, guests this time. I thought I asked for more knowledge devils,” Grishaw said, his voice silky smooth despite his bestial appearance.
“In time,” Maliah said.
“You’ve said that about the pact for weeks now,” the demon lord replied, a bored look on his face. “When will this Varian finish his work?”
“Varian?” Graem hissed, his eye glowing as he glared at Maliah.
In response, the archwarlock waved off Graem. “I said that this was the work of more than just me, did I not? Varian has been instrumental to Grishaw’s summoning, and is in the process of finalizing it.”
“I had wondered how you learned infernalism so fast,” Graem growled. “No wonder. Trusting him with this is a mistake. Varian might be an old friend of Elias, but he can’t replace him.”
“I remain the archwarlock. It is not about trust, but about borrowing the power of those who have it. Remember that,” Maliah said. “Now, let’s talk about a different infernalist.”
Mave had remained silent during the brief argument. She didn’t recognize the name, but Graem had a long history with the Malus League. Elias had been the former Grand Magister until he died invading Gorgria years ago. If this Varian had a connection with Graem and Elias, it likely meant he was connected in some way to the attack on Torfunburg.
“Mave witnessed two demon princes in the Labyrinth,” Maliah said, gesturing to Grishaw. “You might be able to help us identify them.”
“Two?” Grishaw laughed, and the noise echoed off the walls. “Noble demons, no doubt. It is common for you humans to mistake them.”
Mave interrupted, “There were noble demons present as well. These princes were taller than you and exuded immense magical strength. One was a bestial warrior that I’ve seen drawings of in demonology texts. The other was the size of a large house. Both carried weapons bearing runes I vaguely recognize. The larger one’s halberd appeared to be of dwarven make.”
Grishaw’s look of boredom faded away as he listened intently, his black eyes narrowing and claws clacking together. He asked followup questions on the princes’ appearance, then leaned back.
“A Bausfrahr and a Kashlovian. And those weapons…” Grishaw’s gaze became distant. “Remind me again who the summoner is? All you have spoken about with me is Gorgria and how badly you wish to despoil this Queen Faeris.”
“He is known as King Talarys. Nothing else is known about him. He simply appeared one day and used his infernals to conquer central Kavolara,” Graem said.
“And he uses hellfire,” Mave added. “I’ve witnessed it enough to recognize it, especially when accompanied by devils who also use it.”
Grishaw stared past them, his expression vacant. “There was once a city in northern Gauron called Talarys. Ordinarily, I would laugh at the idea of somebody taking its name.”
“I take it that the city means something?” Maliah asked.
“Its name carries great meaning. An infernalist well versed in history would know it.” Grishaw clacked his claws together. “Was he accompanied by succubi?”
“Yes. They wore pink leotards and appeared to play a support role,” Mave said.
Grishaw relaxed. “Ah, Lilim. I would not consider them true succubi. If you met the real deal, I doubt you would be of the right mind. Or in one piece. The dream demons are more dangerous than most give them credit for. Even I am wary of crossing them, given their immense power.”
Mave knew that Grishaw knew more, but whatever it was, he kept it to himself. Talarys had set the demon lord off in some way.
“You should hurry the pact, Maliah,” Grishaw said, his eyes refocusing. “With it, you can bring forth a great army to oppose this new threat. Because I suspect you will come out for the worse against him. Or at least find some means to summon me temporarily in case of danger.”
“I control an entire nation of mages. One man cannot stop me,” Maliah snapped.
“I would wager that he’s more competent than Varian. Even should you gain the upper hand, what is to stop him from creating his own pact?” Grishaw laughed again. “This is the true danger of talented infernalists. If he can summon two demon princes, then he can likely pact a royal devil. I may serve the Devil Queen Ariel as one of her spymasters, but I would never compare myself to one of her handmaidens. Again, make some plans, Maliah—stop relying on unfulfilled promises of a pact.”
“Fortunately, that may not be necessary,” Mave said, seeking to derail this conversation. “Like I said, Talarys held back. He also stole some of our magitech. I don’t think he is as hostile to us as feared.”
Maliah’s eyebrows shot up, and he ignored Grishaw’s taunting. “That is good news. But only if we can reach the man.” A pause. “Let us step outside.”
They returned to Maliah’s inner sanctum, leaving Grishaw to his thoughts.
“Truthfully, I have been hoping for this,” Maliah said. “While I have activated my agents in the northern city-state of Avolar, the Kinadain who rule it are wary of working with us openly. Talarys has scared them enough to accept our support, but only from the shadows. But if we could gain Talarys’s open support, we can do whatever we wish and ignore some pathetic Kinadain. The entire island would be aligned under our banner. Tarmouth could be conquered in moments.”
“We know nothing about him. He might have held back for a different reason,” Graem warned. “Trusting him is a mistake.”
“Perhaps. But the benefits are immense if he is amenable to working with us.” Maliah pointed a finger at Mave. “I want you to investigate him further and try to make contact. At the same time, I will let my agents in Avolar know to assist you. This is our highest priority. With King Talarys’s assistance, we could bring the entire archipelago to heel. Gauron would have no choice but to recognize our power then.”
With those orders, Maliah vanished back into his workshop.
Graem and Mave left without a word to each other, taking a carriage back to their tower. Once safely ensconced in Graem’s receiving room, which was heavily warded against eavesdropping, they spoke.
“This is madness,” Graem said. “But perhaps we can salvage it given the animosity most here feel toward the Kingdom of Kavolara.”
“Madness?” Mave asked.
“If Maliah gets his way, then our dreams are finished. I wanted a nation where mages could research whatever they wanted and live a life free of politics. This isn’t that and is becoming less like it every day now.” Graem rubbed his forehead. “I can already see the black ships of Malataine massing off the coast, loaded with paladins and inquisitors, and the armies of mages bringing down mountains on our heads. Gauron ignores us because they can. But a Malus League the size of the entire archipelago would be too large to ignore.”
Mave shivered. Graem was convinced that the only response they would receive from Gauron would be hostile.
Was that how hopeless things were? Mave disliked many aspects of the League, but it was a bastion of knowledge in the archipelago. There was magic to learn here that was ignored elsewhere. Countless mages encouraged and helped her improve her abilities.
“Let us hope that this King Talarys isn’t truly amenable to Maliah’s wishes,” Graem said. “Even if he is, I feel we’re better placed to test him first. We don’t need a second Maliah.”
Mave suspected Graem was being overly cautious. After all, Talarys had somehow known she was behind the earlier letter. His friendly attitude made her wonder if there was perhaps a future outside the League, but without returning to Gorgria.
For now, she had intelligence operations to run. If the time came, she would reach out to the infernalist king.