Relma had to admit that she enjoyed her time in King Gormath's castle, but it was brief. The halls within it were kept warm by many animal skins, and there was proof of many hunts. The food was excellent, and King Gormath proved a hospitable host indeed.
During this time, she learned a bit about the history of the Conquista. Apparently, the Conquista peasants originated from the Sun Soul Empire. Many of them had ancestors in the conquered peoples of the Conquista. By now, the intermarriage between the various races had created something new.
King Gormath himself spent most of his time working. Most of his days were spent in an office, reading, affixing his seal to measures, and other things. And his servants seemed to like him a great deal.
It probably helped that she could speak the language, thanks to Elranor. She did her best to give Estela a sense of it. However, that proved problematic since Relma did not know how to speak to her. Her voice, as a servant of Elranor, was naturally translated.
Thus, Relma ended up doing virtually all of the communication—at least until Wrynncurth began to pick bits and pieces of it up; he did so quickly, for apparently, he'd been down this way before. So much of what he was learning, he was actually remembering.
By the time Relma and Estela departed to find Ajax. Wrynncurth had learned or perhaps remembered enough to remain behind and study. Jomas stayed with him, though Relma wasn't sure why.
Estela and Relma stood by the castle gates, about to leave. King Gormath, however, came out to meet her. "Are you truly in earnest, going into the jungle alone? I could provide you with a guide."
"Estela, King Gormath is asking us if we intend to enter the jungle," said Relma. "He's offering us a guide and doesn't seem to think this is a good idea."
"Tell him that we appreciate his concern," said Estela. "However, I wish to find my companion, and I can track him well enough."
Relma translated.
"Very well," said Gormath, nodded in concern. "But you should beware the Queen of the Jaguar, Nyx. She is a ravenous beast that often feasts on the flesh of those who invade her territory. Your friend may already be dead.
"Few have looked on her and lived. I am one of those few."
Relma looked at Estela and wondered why she was so reckless about this. "Estela, King Gormath thinks this is a bad idea. There is a Queen of Jaguars called Nyx, who eats humans who invade her domain. He says that Ajax may already be dead.
"He knows because he is one of the few people to look on her and live."
Estela kept a polite face on. "Tell King Gormath that we shall be cautious."
"Not cautious enough not to go, however," mused Gormath. "But do as you wish."
"He notes that you are not cautious enough not to go but says you may do as you wish," said Relma as Gormath walked away. Relma did not enjoy repeating people repeatedly, but it was her job.
The next morning, Estela led them into the lands, seeking Ajax's trail. She found it quickly, taking several paths through the farmlands. Ajax had been sighted near a farm, looking at the sheep. Pigs seemed to be a common choice for livestock among the people here, very common. The people did not seem malnourished or badly off, and Relma inquired about taxes. Gormath was apparently considered very lenient. Soon, they went beyond the farms and into the woods that were unlike any Relma had seen. They were a place with many ferns and a moist, humid air so that sweat dripped down their brows.
Often, Estela would have to hack branches away with a heavy blade borrowed for this purpose. Huge spiders dwelled in these places. Some had cocoons that contained what might have been rodents. Relma also saw several serpents around the trees. She wondered if Rioletta or House Gabriel had been here before.
Probably not, not House Gabriel anyway. Rioletta, being the Goddess of Fate, might have holdings.
Estela halted and kneeled by the tracks, pushing aside a fern as she did so. "...He came this way; come on."
"Are you sure?" asked Relma. "It wasn't another wolf or something?"
"Yes, Ajax's footprints are unique, and they aren't nearly as soft as most wolves," said Estela.
"Do you think we should speak with the spirits of this place?" asked Relma, looking around. A spider, the size of her hand, was crawling above them on its web. It stretched from the branch of a tree all the way to the trunk.
"We could," admitted Estela ruefully. "But I'm not sure they'll be as cooperative in this region. Anoa never came here, so they probably don't obey him."
"Let me try speaking with them," said Relma.
"Be my guest," said Estela. "I wanted a rest anyway."
Relma sat down, remembering some meditations Aunt Pan had taught her. Putting Lightning Trail across her knees, she closed her eyes. Focusing, Relma sent out her will, wondering if fairies were within this place. As she did so, Relma felt the spirits around her, yet they recoiled as she approached.
They remained... hesitant, out of sight, but only just.
Relma opened her eyes and stood. "...No, they're not listening. I don't think they know what to make of us just yet."
"Well, let's not keep them in suspense," said Estela with a shrug. "We'll follow these tracks as far as we can."
"Where's Ajax heading, do you think?" asked Relma as they walked.
"Up toward that mountain," said Estela, motioning. "Though I don't see what he hoped to gain by this.
"I wish Wrynncurth could have come with us."
"He wanted to stay behind and learn the language, Estela," said Relma. "And that will help us."
"I doubt that very much, though at least Jomas is with him," said Estela. "I've had enough of that simpleton already."
"Why do you still hate Jomas?" asked Relma. "He's already been of great help to us."
"I don't hate him," admitted Estela with a shrug. "I just don't want to marry him."
"Well then, why are you talking behind his back when he's not here?" asked Relma. "Can't you just tell your father you won't do it?"
"I can't do that, Relma!" said Estela.
Relma looked at her. "Why not?"
"Because it's important," said Estela, hacking through several vines. "House Vortegex's whole plan is based around this marriage. If I just flat-out refuse it, I could be disinherited. At the very least, the country will be less secure. The only way out is if Jomas dies on this mission."
"Would you be willing to let him die if he was in front of you?" asked Relma.
"Of course not!" said Estela defensively. "I'm a Knight; honor demands I protect my comrades in arms and the weak. I'm just... well, I'm hoping I'm unable to, despite my best efforts."
"Do you like Jomas?" asked Relma.
"As I said," said Estela. "I don't hate him.
"He's good in a fight, like an ogre in human form. But I don't want to marry him, and I don't want to hear any speeches from you about how I should accept it. We're only here because you decided to go after Lightning Trail—Against everyone else's objections, I might add."
"Right, yeah, I'm not really in a position to say anything," said Relma. Though privately, she remembered Estela trying to draw Lightning Trail herself. "What is leading Ajax out here?"
"I don't know, but the jungle is getting worse," mused Estela.
"Should we follow?" asked Relma.
"Do we have any other choice?" asked Estela. "We could wait for a bit and hope he links up with us. But I don't like waiting here more than is necessary; Father may launch an invasion. If that happens, all our plans would be in ruins.
"Come on."
And then Relma saw Estela heading straight toward a huge web with an equally huge spider as big as her head. Quickly, she grabbed Estela's shoulder. "Estela, look out!"
Estela halted. "What is..."
Then she saw the thing, inches from her face, and scrambled back. Raising her sword, it flashed in the light. Quickly, Relma caught her by the hand. "No, don't cut the web, Estela! The spider is just hunting to live!"
Estela shifted and finally nodded. "...Fine, you're right."
And they moved around it.
Even as they did, however, there were several rustling in the leaves. Relma halted, and Estela readied her sword. Drawing Lightning Trail, Relma was afraid of having to use it. She didn't want to kill anything.
"Meow, these are some pretty ones, aren't they?" asked a voice in the trees. "Yes... pretty indeed.
"Should we keep them? Or devour them right away?"
Many huge cats then emerged from the trees, spotted and snarling. Above them, in the branches, Relma saw a woman. She had brown skin and was majestically beautiful, clad only in ragged clothes. Yet she seemed a mix of human and cat, with paws instead of hands and feet. On her head were ears like those of a cat, with speckled yellow fur. Her yellow eyes looked with interest. She also had whiskers and a very... well... exaggerated form, as demons supposedly tended to have.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"Neither," said Estela. "Everyone will die here if you do not step away."
"A bold one, definitely one I want to keep... especially with that fair skin, very nice," said the woman, licking her lips. "Surrender now, and we'll be gentle."
"Death first," replied Estela, flourishing her blade.
She looked very fine doing it, but Relma hoped for neither death nor capture.
At that moment, Ajax appeared from the forests. "Nyx!"
Nyx looked up in irritation. "What is it, Ajax? I'm making a meal."
"These are my friends, the ones I told you about," said Ajax flatly. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't devour them. Some of them anyway; where are Jomas and Wrynncurth?"
"We're here alone," said Estela.
"Oh, how disappointing; I was hoping to devour these," said Nyx. "I so wanted to hang some of their skins on my wall."
"Maybe next time," said Ajax flatly.
Relma shuddered and reminded herself that King Gormath had had jaguar pelts on his wall. So, it was sort of the same. Well, not really, to Relma, at least.
"Who are you?" asked Estela.
"I am Nyx, Queen of the Jaguars, and this is my body within the realm of the Conquista," said Nyx. Then she dropped down so she and Estela were inches apart.
"Your body in these parts?" asked Estela, refusing to back away.
"Yes, I occupy many different bodies. Each one presides over the cats of that region," said Nyx, scratching a jaguar behind the ears. "Though Jaguars are my absolute favorite, yes, yes, you are..."
"Ajax, explain yourself!" snapped Estela, hiding her move away from Nyx by turning to him. "What are you doing here with this woman? Why'd you run off? We've had to delay our plans because of this!"
"We've been having something of a family meeting, to be honest," said Nyx. "We are long lost cousins, after all."
"Cousins?" asked Estela.
"Distantly, of course," said Ajax. "Both of us trace our lineage back to Baltoth. I learned of her existence from my wolves and decided to track her down. They've been fighting over territory with her, and I had to iron some things out."
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" asked Relma.
"Because there is a universe outside of you, Relma," said Ajax. "I wasn't even planning to meet up with you until I ran into all those undead.
"I was trying to set up a meeting between her and Father, but then you ran into that mess. With the rate at which you people get into trouble, I needed to reschedule, so I brought you here. Then I met Nyx here instead."
"What have you been negotiating about, exactly?" asked Estela.
"If you have to know, I've been trying to put together a formal alliance between the cats and the wolves," said Ajax. "I've heard about Durag's undead constantly increasing rate. The dragons aren't harming anyone. Whenever they swell too large, the dragons swoop in. They incinerate whole swathes of forest and call it a day.
"That only kills some of the dead, and it makes it more difficult to eat for everyone.
"We're trying to plan some sort of solution, and we're starting with a ceasefire."
"I'm certain we can discuss all this over dinner," said Nyx, licking her lips. As if on a whim, she brushed a paw over Estela's shoulder. "Will you join us? It'll be nice to have you there, either dead or alive."
Estela looked to Relma, then back. "We will."
What was Estela doing? This woman was a bloodthirsty monster.
She and Tanith would probably have gotten along just fine.
Even so, Estela was in charge. Relma wasn't supposed to question her decisions unless asked.
So Nyx led Estela, Relma, and Ajax through the jungles. The Jaguars, meanwhile, flanked them tightly, snarling as they did. The heat got worse as the day wore on, and there were several sprinkles of rain. Nyx often spoke of hunts with Ajax, while Estela and Relma said nothing.
At last, they came to the den of Pentera.
Skulls surrounded her home—hundreds of them laid out in rows in a full circle. There was only one narrow lane where the bleached white bones were not. And this was where they walked toward a large cave, leading into the earth.
"This place is..." choked Estela. "Where did all these skulls come from?"
"Oh, do you like them?" asked Nyx. "I'm trying to collect as many different shapes and sizes. For instance, this one belonged to a particularly dull-witted one—a pale-skinned one from Highwatch. Mostly, you get brown skins in these parts.
"I have a theory that the shape of the skulls of humanoids determines how intelligent they are. And I've always enjoyed examining them."
"You kill people to collect their skulls?" asked Estela.
"And their skins as well," said Nyx, missing the horror in Estela's tone. "I have entire walls worth of adventurers on them. Only those who trespass on my domains, of course."
"Not a smart move," said Ajax.
"Oh, but why?" asked Nyx.
"If you just leave the bodies where they are, people find them and assume some wild animal did it," said Ajax. "Then they stay out. They get the message that something really dangerous is there, but they don't know for sure it is you.
"If you start collecting huge numbers of skulls and bones, then sooner or later, someone finds it. Then they start sending bold heroes after you, and it's nothing but endless fighting."
Relma wondered if Ajax was critiquing this now out of genuine concern. Or because Relma and Estela were present. It was a question that troubled her.
"Oh, but I so enjoy devouring would-be heroes," said Nyx. "It's always the highlight of my week. However, they haven't really sent any after me lately. Not since Gormath made a truce with me in person.
"Though the negotiations were pleasant indeed..."
"I hope you don't expect us to eat human flesh?" asked Estela, looking ill. Relma felt the same.
"Don't be silly," said Nyx. "I intend to make the food myself. I am not a poor host. Please, make yourself at home. And don't worry, this room has no humanoid skins in it, just animals.
"I realize it brings about some discomfort.
"So, what is it that has brought you three out here?"
"We're seeking the Dragonfire Shield. King Gormath has told us he will only give it to us if we kill Durag," said Estela quickly.
"Oh, yes, the usual suicide mission," mused Nyx. "Queen Vanessa tried sending some imposters out to the Conquista. They always give them that job. If it succeeds, Durag is dead; if not, they failed the quest. Then, Vanessa started using it as a means of getting rid of troublesome war leaders.
"She'd find some curly-blonde-haired boy, assign the problematic warriors to him as a guard, and send him out. I ate a few of them."
"I thought they believed us a little too quickly," mused Estela. "Any advice?"
"Well, there are a few ways into the land of Durag," said Nyx, coming to the cave entrance. The first is to cross Bryag's River by his bridge. You'd have to sail south, land, and head downriver. There are a few fords you could take, but it's more or less suicide." Within the cave, they found it very clean.
Two branches of the wall led two different ways. The left had numerous skins tied up next to the wall. Many of them were human, and Relma looked away. On the right side, there were countless other animals' skins.
"See, there is a constant stream of the undead around those areas," said Nyx, leading them down the right. "They try to cross over when Bryag is sleeping. Some of my other bodies have good sport hunting the dead."
"So what would you recommend?" asked Estela.
"Simple enough," said Nyx. "You want to go to Durag's domain by sea. Of course, he's drawn up mountains on his northern coast, but there is one way in.
"Highwatch."
"I've heard the name," said Estela.
"It's the ancient homeland of the dwarves. All the dwarves," said Nyx. "Some of them went north during the wars with Anoa. So those are also descendants.
"I've never been fond of eating them, tough and stringy.
"Now, who's hungry?"
Nyx then ushered them into a dining hall and departed. There, they waited as Ajax told them about what he had seen. It seemed that the jaguar here was an honor guard of sorts, taken from litters to serve Nyx. Most jaguars dwelled in solitary ways, meeting only to mate.
No one felt much like a conversation. Though Estela was insistent, they had to eat whatever they were offered. With the exception of cannibalism, obviously.
And then Nyx came back with the meal.
What she served was a series of forms of meat mixed with spices and rice. Tasting it, Relma was surprised to find that it was excellent. But Estela looked at it in surprise. "What is this?"
"Don't worry; it's not sentient," said Nyx. I keep food stored in an ice cavern below."
"How do you have an ice spirit here?" asked Relma, thinking of the heat.
"Oh, I trapped an ice spirit within the road of ancient stone. Then I cut off all entryways save through my hideout," said Nyx. "It takes a bit of doing, but with willpower and persistence, there are all kinds of conveniences you can make.
"Although now and then demons break through and never and then there is a full-on invasion. You can see this due to Durag's experiments. But, those are the risks."
"You risk demonic invasions to keep the meat cold?" asked Estela.
"Luxury does have a price, Estela," said Ajax. "Try it."
Estela did try the food. Judging from her expression, she liked it very much, to the point where she seemed to forget where she was. Relma felt the same about the food, and this made her suspicious. "This is... good. Very good."
Nyx seemed very pleased. "Yes, I've picked up many recipes from merchants I've seized. Whenever I capture a cook, I have them teach me in exchange for their lives. Of course, one tried to poison me, so I cooked him.
"What do you think?" She peered at Relma.
"This is excellent," said Relma.
"I've always preferred food raw," said Ajax.
"Well, that does have an appeal," mused Nyx. "But there is something to say for civilization.
"Care for some oranges?"
Several jaguars then carried in a bowl of fruit that Relma had not seen before. Taking it, she peeled it and ate it. It was sweet and juicy. Estela also seemed to enjoy it, but Relma kept thinking of all the people who had died.
"In any case, once you arrive at Highwatch, you can take the south road into Durag's lands. He still keeps in some contact with the dwarves of that region, so the road won't be as heavily watched," said Nyx. "Eventually, you'll reach Blightskull Keep."
"Subtle naming convention," said Ajax.
"I found it glaringly obvious," said Nyx. "It's the border between Highwatch and Durag's domain. There should be a tunnel within that leads to his clans realms As for how to deal with him. I have no idea."
"My thanks for the help," said Estela, eating an orange. Though her eyes gazed on Nyx warily. "We'll need it."
At that moment, a jaguar loped into sight. Nyx dropped down to all fours naturally and gazed into the creature's eyes. Then she rosed up with a smile that revealed sharp canines. "Sooner than you may think, actually."
"I smell something," said Ajax, sniffing. "Warriors, coming through the jungle even now."
"I smell them," said Nyx. "They're of the Sun Soul Empire; I can tell by the feathers they are wearing. They must have climbed the northern cliffs to come this way.
"Well then, we shouldn't keep them waiting, should we, my dears?"
Jaguar emerged around her as if for war.
"What would they want here?" asked Estela.
"My soul, of course," said Nyx. "It's why I spread my soul out across multiple bodies, so if I were defeated once by them, I could avoid such a fate."
"What fate?" asked Relma.
"To be burned eternally within the fires of the Sun Spirit," said Nyx. "In order to extend its lifespan, of course."
"But the sun is immortal," said Estela.
"Nothing physical is immortal, Estela," said Nyx. "Every flame will eventually go out; every bit of this world decay into nothingness. Then, only the spirit will remain.
"Unless the Sun Soul Empire succeeds, of course.
"Their goal is to create an eternal universe that lasts forever. And they utilize the Sun Spirit for that purpose. By sending the souls of those they capture to burn within it, they extend its lifespan."
"That's horrible," said Relma.
"They regard it as an extraordinary honor," said Nyx. "Their entire society sacrifices itself to that goal.
"But we've spoken too much; I have a war to plan. Let's go dine. Want to watch? Or participate in it yourself?"
"I'm not one to cower behind," said Estela. "Relma, stay here."
"But-" began Relma.
"You're not exactly the best warrior among us. Stay here," said Estela. Then she drew her sword.
"...Yes, right," said Relma.
Nyx, Estela, Ajax, and the Jaguars all left almost at once—all except for two Jaguars standing on their haunches at the far side of the wall. Relma waited, wondering how things were turning out and feeling nervous.
Then, suddenly, the jaguars rose up and snarled. Relma sensed someone behind her and whirled to face them-
Everything went black.