“You got big,” said Tucker, grinning as he clapped Pudge on the shoulder. The former dire bear was at least nine feet tall and built like a champion power lifter. The only thing that remained the same – from what Tucker remembered – was the bearkin’s head, which had retained much the same shape. He used his inspection ability:
Pudge Blackwood – Level 86
There were a few other lines denoting Pudge’s highest attributes and most favored skill, but Tucker was far more interested in the bearkin’s high level. That he’d reached such lofty heights was amazing. Tucker knew that his own leveling speed was incredible, largely because he’d taken advantage of the fact that he gained energy from crafting potions. He’d coupled that with long bouts of combat, which let him achieve an accelerated pace of progression.
And yet, Pudge had outpaced him.
“In more ways than one,” he remarked. “Level eighty-six? What have you been doing to get that high?”
In his gravelly voice, Pudge said, “War.”
“Oh. Right. Kind of obvious, if I took a second to think about it. But how did this happen? How did you get here?” he asked. “And where’s Zeke? What about Talia? And Abby?”
“Not here,” Pudge said, looking around. “Come with me.”
Tucker nodded, then turned to tell Iris – who was looking at him like he’d gone insane – and said, “Me and my buddy are going to catch up. I’ll be back later!”
With that, he waved. Iris, of course, tried to object, but Tucker quickly latched onto Pudge’s arm and guided him away. That’s when he realized he had no idea where he was going, so the second they entered the central part of the airdock, he admitted as much. Puge let out a chuckle that sounded like a growl, then led him down the stairs, across the ruined city, and to one of the few intact buildings.
Upon reaching that building, Tucker’s attention wandered to a curious arch in the center of the adjoining square. Opposite streams of lizard people were steadily walking into and out of that arch, disappearing and appearing as if by magic. “What is that?” he asked.
“I’ll tell you in a moment,” Pudge said, leading him into the building. Inside, there were more of the lizard-people, but a few of them were much slimmer, with colorful plumes that set them apart from all the rest. There were also a few other races represented inside, and Tucker recognized humans, beastkin, and even a couple of elves.
“Who is this?” asked a little boarkin girl, planting herself in front of Pudge, her hands on her hips. “You can’t just bring anyone in here, Pudge. There are confidential matters that are not meant for strangers’ eyes.”
“He is not a stranger. He is an old friend. Trust me,” Pudge said.
Tucker took that opportunity to extend his hand and introduce himself. The boarkin girl took his offered hand, shaking it warily. “Tucker? Where have I heard that…”
Her eyes widened. “You’re the alchemist,” she breathed.
“It seems that my reputation precedes me,” he said with a wide grin and an elaborate bow that included a sweep of his glorious tricorn hat.
“How did you get here? Where did you come from?” she asked.
“Not here,” Pudge chided in the same tone that he’d used with Tucker only a few minutes before.
“Oh. Right. Obviously,” she said. “Come on.”
With that, she wheeled around and marched deeper into the building. Pudge followed, and Tucker just shook his head at the bossy girl. Soon enough, they reached an empty room that had obviously been used for planning. A map of the area hung on the wall, while another was laid across the huge table at the center. Various cities had been marked with notes, while there were a host of figurines meant to portray the disposition of armies.
Before heading out, Tucker had heard quite a few stories about the force rampaging across the Imperium. Some called them an army, but most seemed convinced that they were a horde of monsters that were slightly more organized than normal. Perhaps led by one who’d awakened their sapience. If those people could see what Tucker saw, they’d be much more frightened of what the force represented.
Finally, once the door was shut, Tucker asked the question he’d wanted answered from the moment he saw Pudge standing on the airdock. “This is Zeke, isn’t it? He’s in charge of this whole army.”
“In charge isn’t entirely accurate,” the boarkin girl said. “I’m Sasha, by the way. I just realized that I didn’t introduce myself. I’m not normally so rude, but I’ve heard a lot of stories about you.”
“All good, I hope.”
“Some. Talia’s tales are a little less complimentary, but even she seems to think of you in decidedly neutral terms,” the girl answered. “But to your question, Ezekiel is nominally in charge, but he mostly leaves the actual running of things to others. He fights when he needs to, and he makes some decisions, but…”
Stolen story; please report.
“But Zeke isn’t really the leader type,” Tucker supplied. It made sense. The boy was a fighter, not a leader. He could do a decent job if he was thrust into the latter role, but he’d never be comfortable with it. “Where is he?”
“Off running dungeons,” Pudge said. “Without me.”
“Don’t pout,” Tucker said.
“I’ve been telling him the same thing!” Sasha said, slapping her hand against the table. “He has responsibilities here. He can’t just go running around and playing with his brother.”
“It’s not playing,” Puge growled. “It’s getting stronger. That helps everyone.”
“You’ve been gaining levels here, and –”
“Not to be rude,” Tucker said, interrupting what he expected would be along, drawn-out discussion. “But can y’all tell me exactly what led to Zeke having an army of lizard-people? And why is he fighting against the Imperium? Not that I object, of course. They’re bad news. But they’re also strong enough that I think I’m justified in asking why he’d choose to pick a fight with them.”
Pudge took a deep breath, then began, “It started when Zeke first ascended…”
After that, he described how Zeke had been enslaved by a race of corrupted dwarves, and it was while working as one of their captive miners that he met the first kobolds, who he’d later save from an evil wyrm called a Blood Wraith. After that, he had led the kobolds across the Ianthian Wastes, eventually fighting a war against hill giants on behalf of the centaurs of the Muk’ti Plains.
Then, after he’d won that war, he promptly started another against the Kingdom of Adontis.
“This time, they attacked us first,” Pudge explained. “But when he saw the way they treated the beastkin they’d enslaved, our path was established. We needed to destroy them.”
And they had, utterly obliterating the entire kingdom. Many civilians had survived, but very few of the famous Knights of Adontis had made it. After reuniting with Talia and enduring the fall of the undead Kingdom of El’kireth at the hands of Abraham Micayne, they’d retreated to the Muk’ti Plains only to find the Radiant Host waiting to wage war against them.
“Wait – I thought y’all killed Micayne. What did I miss?” Tucker asked, genuinely confused. The one comfort he’d felt after leaving the Mortal Plane behind was that the man who’d enslaved him was dead. But now, that seemed to not be the case, and he wanted answers.
“He’s a lich,” Sasha stated. “He can’t be killed unless someone destroys his phylactery. Or that’s the working theory, at least. We don’t know enough about necromancy to be sure. But Talia’s hunting him down.”
“She would be,” Tucker stated.
“Abby is one of the people in charge of the Radiant Host,” Pudge blurted. “We don’t know how that happened. She was supposed to end up with the elves, but –”
“Well, there’s the problem right there. That tree goddess y’all met doesn’t know here people very well if she thought they’d endure Abby’s presence,” Tucker said. He’d met a few elves in his time, and he’d learned that they were just as racist as their human counterparts in the Imperium. Perhaps even more so, if such a thing was possible. “They probably shipped her off as soon as they could make a deal with someone else. And Eta wouldn’t have cared, either. Now that she got what she wanted out of Abby, she’d only follow the letter of the deal.”
“I see,” Pudge said. “Talia almost killed her when she found her. I…I don’t know…”
“He’s a little conflicted about it. He remembers this woman a little differently than the others,” Sasha stated. At that, Pudge glared at her. He clearly didn’t enjoy having someone speaking for him.
Tucker could understand that. In his youth, he’d had a stutter, and before he’d developed strategies to adapt to it, his parents had often spoken over his attempts to communicate. That had always annoyed him, even if he knew they had the best intentions. He suspected that Pudge felt something similar.
“What about you?” asked Pudge.
“Well, that’s a bit of a long story,” Tucker admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Long story short, I made some friends – also lizard people, as it happened, though don’t tell them that because they prefer to think of themselves as dragons – saved some children, and became a privateer. Met a nice woman, got some levels, and well, here I am.”
“You’re a pirate?” asked Sasha.
“Privateer.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Mostly the name,” Tucker admitted. “Sounds better, though, doesn’t it? Anyway, I think we can help one another. I have a ton of luxury goods, and –”
“You need to see the tower,” Pudge stated.
“I don’t know if I have time to go sailing across the world to –”
“No. Come with me,” Pudge said.
“Do you think this is wise? We should wait for Zeke,” Sasha said.
“My brother trusts Tucker. I trust Tucker. There’s no reason to wait.”
She looked as if she wanted to argue, but she brought herself up short. Perhaps there was hope for the pair after all. “If you say so, I’ll trust your judgement.”
After that, Tucker allowed himself to be led out of the building and to the arch. In retrospect, he should have expected that was their destination, but he hadn’t really expected it to lead to the tower. And when he passed through the portal, he was even more surprised to find himself in a huge plaza ringed with shops and populated by dozens of huge statues of formless warriors. There were also thousands of people in the area, but the crowd parted as Pudge strode forward.
Tucker couldn’t help but gape at it all. When he asked about it, Pudge simply said that he would explain everything once the tour was complete. The next level – which they reached via a teleportation portal that was even more sophisticated than anything created by the gnomes of Westport – was even more impressive, and it contained a city’s worth of residential buildings.
After that, they visited what Pudge called the Artisan’s Terrace, which was entirely misnamed. It featured expansive fields that looked fit to feed an entire nation. Then, they went to the Crimson Spring, where Tucker found the most wondrous water he’d ever beheld. The steaming liquid contained more mana than anything he’d ever seen, and Pudge had to practically drag him away from the miraculous stuff. He did manage to snag a few sizable samples, though.
Next, they found a training area with a huge plaza and multiple wings that Pudge claimed could somehow replicate hundreds of different scenario against an uncountable variety of enemies. Tucker wanted to test it out, but he was persuaded to wait until after the tour, which finished at a luxurious manor set amidst perfectly manicured grounds that felt so peaceful that Tucker didn’t want to leave.
“This is amazing,” he said.
“Ah, I know you,” came a melodious voice from nearby. Tucker turned, and he nearly stumbled when he saw one of the most beautiful women he’d ever beheld. She was so fetching that he almost didn’t notice her cloven hooves or the pair of dainty horns protruding from her forehead. “I am Eveline, your friend’s resident mind spirit, and you’re here just in time. We have need of a good alchemist.”
“You…you’re a demon.”
She let out a tinkling laugh. “Once upon a time, and maybe again in the future. But for now? I’m just a spirit. Now, let’s have a nice little conversation, Mr. Tucker.”