Liam expected the paladins to rebel when he announced his intention to surrender, instead, they crumpled. Armored men and women took a seat as their Lightning Lord told them to give up. The most powerful earth magi in Kherestetal, possibly the eastern half of the continent, found sand with their asses.
Silence.
And more silence as the paladins processed his words.
To say they were shocked, was to ask if being tasered was a mild inconvenience. Some made surprised gurgles, trying to recover their voice, all failing until Owen spoke up.
“I don’t understand, why build a miracle only to give it away? And the road! You’re paving them a road that leads to the Duke’s palace! Directly through the heart of Khereshetal. We haven’t even begun to build a wall around the city, and the militia has barely mustered enough men to start digging a trench. My lord, is this a joke? You said you were human, why sell us out to those snakes?”
Liam bit his tongue to avoid rolling his eyes. “Owen, you do understand that the gorgons consider themselves human right? So I’m siding with humans who were cursed, against humans who killed my mother. Kheresh gets no pity from me. Not when they’ve been staking Calypso’s daughters to death. Think man. If Maya and the duke were staked on the open sands, what would Kheresh’s response be?” Said Liam.
“That’s- ah-” Owen scowled, disgusted by the thought.
“Yep, that’s exactly the response I would expect. Even a neutral faction like you paladins would intervene. I considered joining Calypso’s assault on the city, my lightning would slay human armies like a blowtorch incinerates ants. But half our volunteers hail from Khereshetal, and more than two hundred men serve in both the militia and your auxiliaries.” Liam shook his head at the clever reporting, displeased by the truth that crippled the church’s military. It was an understandable deception, militia training was generally compensated, so many people trained and kept in shape on the weekends, but there were only so many guard posts to cover, meaning junior militiamen could serve in Kheresh’s reserves for a third of the year and the church’s reserves for the other third. Sort of like working two part time jobs. The fulminonimbus probably had half their reserves tied up in local militias, or on other tours of duty that would prohibit mobilization for a crusade.
“Owen, I know the gorgons look like she-demons, but you’ve been murdering their preschoolers. Children who didn’t know enough to not jump into a portal, and then wandered around looking for friends. Only to be murdered. Man… When the adults show up… Well, lets just say that floating island up there, I would bet my weight in gold that Calypso is steering it.”
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“But my lord! Taloc would never bless the inhumans over his kindred!” Snapped Owen, his sentiment echoed by all paladins.
A sigh of sorrow escaped Liam’s lips, he’d forgotten the fulminonimbus’ lies. How deeply they had entrenched humanity as Taloc’s chosen race, a lie that was in direct contrast to the truth contained within Nyota’s copy of the Teutonic Codex.
“No, humanity is Taloc’s most hated race. Therun Perun Taloc is his full name, and while he remains human, I believe he altered his own people into the felinids. Did Taloc not bring the snake men across the sea? Who do you think they are, if not the gorgons?” Said Liam, walking over to the clearest patch of crystal wall and peeking out of it.
The felinids had returned to the fulminonimbus’ barracks, as had the weaker paladins, leaving only fulminonimbus knights to stand watch over the crystal palace, and they were keeping a respectful distance.
“There is no easy way to say this, and I expect my words to remain private until Taloc walks the world once more.” Liam added, turning around and meeting each of the five paladin’s eyes, one after the other.
“Pandora is humanities’ mother, for all her evil, she is the monstrosity that all humans stem from. Including Taloc,” He raised a hand to keep Owen from interrupting. “Don’t ask me to explain that gibberish. I’ve had ENOUGH weird relations to last a hundred lifetimes!”
Owen made a noise like a cat having its entire body waxed and spritzed with lemon juice. Gurgling, hacking, and yeowling all at once.
“Surprised? Yeah… Me too, when we get to Greenwood you can read the Teutonic codex yourself. Well, if the lil lightning bugger will let you.”
Gasps of eagerness echoed through the room, creating a cacophony of hacking joy and confusion.
Oh crap… I just promised religious zealots access to their god’s diary…
uhm…
uh…
Whoops!
One glance told him they were practically salivating, with one of the female paladins quivering in her armor, clearly ecstatic in the worst way.
“Okay! Finish the fortress, make peace with the snake ladies that Taloc made, and then give them a glass home so people can see them coming around the corner and no one gets renamed as Rocky. Then we can go to Greenwood knowing Kheresh is defended by Taloc’s chosen warriors!” Cried Liam, kicking off a frenzy of activity.
He suspected his words would have an effect, but the sudden fervor that overcame the paladins was akin to a berserker who lived off nothing except magic mushrooms and the blood of his enemies, finally allowing several magi to level up and enabling the creation of the crystal palace within three days' time. Walls were raised, towers built, and the inner sanctum doubled in size with every passing day.