The bells had halted for a time but now they rang anew. Orgeeg was sure the Royal Black Guard had found the bodies he'd locked away in the coal room and the body he'd left in the hall to the EastWing. He crouched low in a single room belonging to some senior servant that had been curved into a wall leading to the SouthWing. Outside he could hear the footsteps of five Black Guards passing back and forth. The fact that the Black Guard had elected to put in place patrolling hands all over the palace meant that a search was underway. Only a matter of time before they started searching rooms, only a matter of time before they found him and Masutap won.
"Fuck." He cursed.
"Surrender yourself and they might let you live." The woman pressed to the corner of her tiny room out of fear said. She must have been the personal attendant to one of the Royals so as to warrant her a place of her own. By the scent of the expensive perfumes and feel of the silk fabrics that draped over her bed, Orgeeg could tell the servant was affiliated with a female royal, probably the Queen.
"What is your name?" Orgeeg asked without turning to her. His eyes set on the shadows passing beneath the door.
"What purpose will my name serve?" She asked in a shaky piping voice. "Just surrender, if they find you here they will think me an accomplice."
"I ask your name so as to know whom I kill." He turned to where she was pressed against the wall, at the furthest possible place from him. She observed him with large brown eyes and trembling lips. "I can't let you live. If I depart you will lead the Black Guard to me." "I shall not tell on you." The woman said.
Orgeeg walked over to her, three strides and he stood before her. "I do not believe you." He said. She opened her mouth to scream but an elbow to her temple had her collapsing onto her bed. He wasn't going to kill her, she was just a servant who'd opened her door to the wrong person. What he needed was silence, silence from everything that was going on outside the room. Her heavy breathing and whimpering just wouldn't do. He needed the silence that would enable him to delve within himself.
Orgeeg sat cross-legged upon the cold floor, he closed his eyes and breathed in and out in a steady rhythm. Counting each inhale and exhale, focusing on his breath until his mind cleared of all clutter. Orgeeg allowed himself a thought amidst the sea of calm within his mind and with that thought he transported himself elsewhere. He wasn't in the Palace anymore, he was floating on a raft upon the Rankf sea. The waves pushing him back and forth, the sun bathing him in a warm embrace and the breeze kissing his pale skin. In this place of familiarity, he allowed himself another thought, he pictured a book within his hands. Prowess of the mind.
To flip the first page of the book he would need an objective.
Kill Masutap.
A thousand thoughts bubbled free of his objective, Orgeeg ignored them all and counted his breaths once more before focusing on the thought again.
Kill Masutap.
His mind screamed at him, forcing him to come to terms with the fact that he could not hope to reach the Rank One without spilling blood. Orgeeg smiled at the thought, accepting it and the first page turned. He forgot who he was at that moment, he forgot his pain, he forgot his dilemma. All he had was his singular purpose, the objective that he was to meet without question, regardless of the obstacles in his way. Orgeeg exhaled and with his next inhale his entire body went still as every Form of Combat known in the realm engraved itself at the forefront of his mind.
A knock on the door, hard and threatening. "Open Up!" A female voice said. They'd already started searching each room, a task given to the lower Ranks. Orgeeg got up, rolled his shoulders and walked for the door.
She was pretty in the torch light, the Black Guard. Three others stood behind her and only one of them was male. There must have been a fifth around somewhere, the hand of the Black Guard patrols always had five. "Stand aside, servant, we are to check you-" He punched her in the face, breaking the cartilage of her nose followed by a kick that had her landing on the man behind her, bringing both of them to the ground. The two others were too slow to react, he pounced forward, elbowing one on the neck who immediately collapsed. The other drew her flat blade but Orgeeg kicked her wielding hand before stepping back and bringing his heel down on the face of the man getting up from the ground.
The Black Guard managed to draw her flat blade with her other hand only to have Orgeeg's middle and index finger drive into her neck and curl around the trachea with a backward yank. She collapsed and Orgeeg picked up her sword.
Orgeeg walked away from the four, the blade in his hand dripping blood. He'd had to slice their throats open lest they got up and came after him. They would have know his face from that brief interaction, anonymity was his only ally and he could not afford to lose it lest he failed at his objective. Every killing was justified according to him. He would have cowered at the thought of killing his fellow Royal Black Guards but the singular thought in his mind that was blanketed under layers of Forms of combat kept his focus sharp. Kill Masutap.
The fifth and final complement of the hand rounded a corner only to bump into Orgeeg. His eyes took in the former Rank one and the blade held away from his body, the guard turned around to ran. A coward who was undeserving of his Rank. Orgeeg swiped in a Form of Pride, balancing on one foot and leaning forward so as to maximize his reach. The blade tore into the back of the man's neck and Orgeeg walked around the body and its pool of blood.
Orgeeg quickened his pace to a jog, his hand firm on the flat blade’s hilt, his mind segmented to answer for every sound and every shadow he saw. He heard the footsteps of three ahead of him and pressed himself to a huge potted plant, obscuring their view of him. The three made their way past the plant and
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Orgeeg held his breath, ready to pounce immediately once his cover was blown. He knew the other two Guards were not far behind the trio, probably just around the corner. It would be unwise to be sandwiched between them.
The trio moved away, whispering their displeasure at having to patrol when it wasn't their duty to do so tonight. Orgeeg had half a mind to pursue them as they went further away and rounded a corner. The incompetence of the Black Guard was indeed profound, duty should be above all. Above even sleep. The Guards should be honored to be patrolling and instead they complained, he would surely have been found if they had kept their focus on the task at hand.
Orgeeg leaned away from his hideout, he crouched low with his blade pressed to his side. He started a jog that quickened to a sprint as he neared a corner leading to the SouthWing and heard the voices of the two Black Guards who'd separated from the others who'd blindly passed him. Within a blink of an eye he was in their midst. Orgeeg stepped close and stabbed the first man under the chin. With no solid bone to bite down on the blade, he was instantly able to withdraw it, in time to parry a surprising blade thrust from the other man who was definitely of high Rank. He took another step and stabbed the flat blade’s point into the man’s throat whose Rank apparently wasn't that high.
Orgeeg ran towards the Southwing where he knew he'd find Masutap next to Dahli. The ringing of the bells were now frantic and without rhythm, a clear indicator that all was not well and the Black Guard were not in control. The whole palace was now awake as it became clear that there was definitely someone in their midst, someone with murder in mind.
Kill Masutap.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Ten are dead, Rank one." said a Black Guard whose Rank mattered the least to Masutap. She fought down the urge to clap her hands with glee at the news while dancing to the ringing of the bells.
Masutap made sure her frown was pronounced, showing both disappointment and worry over her precious Royal Black Guards who in truth she did not give two fucks about. She chewed her lower lip as if in contemplation of a solution to the Black Guard's current predicament and rubbed at the back of her neck in frustration for her failure in figuring out what to do. She abruptly straightened and met the blue eyes of the Black Guard before her, showing both resolve and determination in her stance. "Double the hand, ten Guards patrolling together. Double the amount of Guards patrolling the North, East and West wings. Place Guards at every intersection and ten on each roof and have three times as many Guards on the Queen."
The Royal Black Guard raised a questioning brow. "What of the Princess Dahli? Are the Guards to be tripled when it comes to her too?"
"Rank Seventeen, Twenty five and myself are more than capable when it comes to the safety of the Princess." Masutap replied, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her tone at being questioned by one of lower Rank.
The Black Guard saluted and left the door to Dahli's chamber. Masutap turned to the Ranks positioned on either side of the door and saw that their chests were pumped up with pride due to her words that spoke of her confidence in them. She locked the door after flashing Rank Twenty five a soft smile and turned to regard the Princess Dahli who stood in the middle of her chamber in a white silk night gown.
"Why are the bells ringing?" Dahli asked.
Because Orgeeg is coming to save you from me, you musty bitch.
"There is an intruder in the palace but we have everything under control." Masutap answered. Yes, by allocating Guards far from here so does Orgeeg get a chance to come close.. Then I will kill you both and blame him for your death.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Dahli asked.
Masutap realized she'd been smiling and her lips pressed into a thin line. "You just look so beautiful tonight Princess."
Dahli raised one blond brow. "It's acting Queen." "Forgiveness, Queen." Masutap said.
"Know your place Rank One." Dahli said before turning and heading for her bed.
And you shall know your place as a lifeless corpse soon enough. Masutap thought as she followed in Dahli's wake, patiently waiting for when Orgeeg will make an entrance for her to drive a blade into the entitled bitch.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"LOCHA! TAKE MY LIFE!" Leba screamed into the dark chasm at the end of the cave that was ten paces away from where he stood. He waited with a stilled breath, waited for a sensation or a peculiar play of the torchlight or anything that would serve to show that he hadn't been wasting his time and making a fool of himself for the past several hours of the night.
Nothing happened other than the breathing of the servants in black standing behind him and the shuffling of the old Kolotian beside him as he regarded his beads.
"You have made a fool out of me." Leba whispered, ensuring his voice only reached the Kolotian.
"Pardon?" The old man asked while peering at a string of beads drenched over one shoulder.
"You have made a fool out of me." Leba whispered once more while gnashing his teeth and balling his fingers into fists.
"What? Anyway, I think for the ritual to work we would have to go closer to the chasm. I know I first said we'd have to keep some distance from it in order to give Locha space to climb forth from the darkness but I am now certain that you would have to be close to the spilled blood of the innocent for your words to reach the bringer of the endless ni-"
"ENOUGH!" Leba screamed. "You have made a fool out of me!" He proclaimed while stabbing the Kolotian with a finger upon a bead riddled chest. "I am done with this stupid ritual of yours, I will not go through the whole thing again. I AM DONE!" Leba turned and started to walk out of the cave.
"You don't have to do the whole ritual this time." The Old Kolotian said to his retreating back. Causing him to stop. "All you have to do is approach the mouth of the chasm, close enough to have one foot dangle over it," The Kolotian paused. "And whistle." Leba abruptly turned.
"Yes, the whistle is how he has been communicating with you, you know the tune. Go out and call for him." The old man said. Leba walked towards the chasm, brushing past the Kolotian who turned and matched his step. Leba's mind recalled the words of the God whom the other Kolotian had channeled, something about whistling at the gates of oblivion.
Yes, yes, it makes sense now. Ever since he'd started to pursue his quest for the Bringer of the endless night. A whistling tune had been stuck with him, a tune whose origin he did not know. Leba came to a stop one step from the gaping dark hole in the ground with the Kolotian immediately behind him and his servants further back.
"The tune, Leba Vigon. The tune." The Kolotian said.
Leba closed his eyes, turned his attention inward. He took in a deep breath as the tune coalesced within him, he pressed his lips together and prepared to push the air between them. Joy welled within him, the joy of success. He felt an unquestionable faith regarding what he was about to do. An almost otherworldly certainty that this, the whistling tune, was all he'd need to bring forth the God of the Void.
Frail yet firm hands pushed at his back, pushing him into the chasm. Leba Vigon's head collided with the chasm wall, his skull denting hard enough with it to send an eyeball popping out of its socket. His back met with a protruding rock, breaking his spine. His clothes tore as he tumbled down and he met the dark ground with his arms pinned beneath him and his legs facing the wrong way. The smell of blood and the engulfing darkness was the only company the last son of Vayin Vigon had as he lay broken at the bottom of the chasm floor.