He stepped through a gate and was once more within his tower, Ieros busy analyzing his new set of memories. It wasn’t too hard, these new memories did not differ too much from the previous memories that Ieros had made in the years before. So it finished this quickly, organizing its memories within its library after it was done. It wanted to continue organizing data but the Surveyor repressed this desire, it appeared that it was once more time to serve Athera if the court mage amulet was of any indication. But it was curious, why so soon? No matter, it would find out by going. So once more, it opened a gate and appeared in the throne room, his black and silver robes flowing mysteriously as he did so.
He nodded to the Emperor and asked, “What is it that you need me to do?”
The Emperor apologized, “I am sorry to call upon you so soon but I’m afraid that one of your abilities will be rather useful for this. You see in the northern regions of Athera are infested with monsters and after hearing about how you wiped out the monster nests of Amartia, I would like you to do the same for Athera.”
Ieros nodded, “Of course your majesty, I shall set out immediately.”
But before he left, the Emperor said, “There is one more thing I want you to do, it is that when you return, you bring Visalia Orentia, the General of the North, back to the capital. I wish to speak with her, her behavior has been… worrying.”
Ieros nodded once more, “It shall be done.”
He then walked through a gate, appearing right on the edge of Northern Territory. He then created a dragon to ride upon, taking off and flying into the snow-laden sky. He decided to talk first with the General of the North, of course, he could find out the locations of the monster nests but this would also surprise the Northern Garrison, they’d think they were under attack. So it was best to announce his intentions and perhaps get the help of the Northern Garrison, it would make his work more believable if he were to do so. So using his shadows, he found the location of the Northern Garrison base, Winter’s Keep.
He began to fly the dragon closer, the keep’s defenders going into a panic as they prepared their defenses. Arrows and ballista bolts flew through the air only to be halted by magic and falling to the ground uselessly. Ieros got closer and closer, landing outside the castle gates with the defenders clustered on top of the walls. Ieros dismounted from his dragon and then dismissed his creation, the great stone dragon turning into dust. The defenders were all shocked, murmurs and whispers wafting down to Ieros’s ear. Ieros then announced,
“I am Ieros, Archmage of the East. I was sent here by his Majesty to help the Northern Garrison exterminate the monster infestation.”
The defenders on top of the wall were silent, they were unsure as to what to do with the man who had just descended from the skies on a dragon. Suddenly, there was a small commotion on the walls as soldiers began to move the side as if making way for someone. Sure enough, someone appeared, a woman clad in winter furs with white hair and skin with piercing sapphire blue eyes which glared down on Ieros. He met her glare, his remaining eye glowing silver for a brief moment.
Ieros spoke first, “You must be Visalia Orentia, General of the North.”
She spoke curtly, “I am.”
Ieros then bowed his head, “Upon the order of his majesty, I will offer my power to you to exterminate the monsters, will you accept it?”
She said nothing for a few moments, finally saying, “I shall see how you perform. If it is up to my satisfaction, I will allow you to help me. If it is not, you are to return to his majesty.”
Ieros then raised his head, meeting her gaze, “I shall not disappoint.”
She didn’t deign answer him, instead turning and appearing to descend from the wall. Some time later, the gate of the keep creaked open and she stepped out, a group of ten men accompanying her.
Ieros asked, “Isn’t that too small of a force to exterminate a monster nest?”
She said, “You will be doing most of the work. These ten men will just be here to protect me.”
Ieros shrugged, “Very well, that just makes my job easier, I don’t have to worry about accidentally killing allies.”
There was a sudden tension in the air, the ten soldiers grabbing their weapons but Visalia raised a hand, stopping them.
She gave Ieros a piercing stare, finally saying, “Follow me and my men, I will lead you to the first nest.”
Ieros nodded, “Very well, will it be fine if I were to create some golems to help me?”
She nodded curtly and Ieros then made six hundred stone soldiers, surprising the ten soldiers who instinctively bunched together for protection. The stone soldiers paid them no heed, looking directly in front of them awaiting their orders. Of course, in addition to these six hundred stone soldiers were the commander golems, ones that Ieros gave a higher intelligence so that they could coordinate their troops. In this case, he created twelve, each of them commanding fifty stone soldiers as this way, he could spread out his forces without diminishing their effectiveness. The ten soldiers were understandably surprised although Visalia just stood impassively. Of course, she was surprised as well but she had better control of expressing them.
Meanwhile, Ieros said, “Lead the way, General. I’m sure that the both of us would like to finish this as quickly as possible.”
She didn’t even glance at him, just walking off in the direction of the nearest nest, her escort, Ieros and his army following behind. They arrived border of the nest, a rather large goblin nest which had grown too strong to be defeated by the numbers at the garrison without heavy losses. The soldiers were obviously rather nervous upon entering the nest’s territory but Ieros continued to move without fear, his force of six hundred positioning themselves around Ieros, Visalia, and her escort.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
They continued to march through, the stone soldiers slaughtering the goblins with ease, an unbreakable moving stone wall which made rapid progress to the nest. Ieros continued to walk casually as his troops successfully surrounded the entrance of the nest and began to march inward, trapping the goblins within the confines of their home. The stone soldiers marched within with a few squads staying at the entrances so they could catch any goblins that managed to escape the kill squads.
Every living thing within the goblin nest was dead within the hour, Visalia insisting to see within the nest to confirm what Ieros said.
With confirmation, she merely said, “Good work.”
She then gave the order to return and they did so, Ieros’s army of stone dissipating into dust. Visalia stared at Ieros, re-evaluating what she had first thought of him.
She finally said, “You’ve passed. I believe that your help will be invaluable.”
They returned, Ieros offering to quicken their travel by use of a gate but she refused. So they walked back, arriving back at the keep in the afternoon.
Once there, Ieros asked, “I need a place to recuperate my power, do you have a spare room?”
She eyed him coldly a few moments more before saying, “One of my soldiers will guide you to your room.”
Ieros bowed his head, “I thank you for your hospitality.”
She said nothing, simply ordering one of her soldiers to give him a room before disappearing into the inner keep once more. Ieros then followed the appointed soldier, thanking him once he reached his room. The soldier hurriedly left once he was dismissed, Ieros ignoring him as he inspected his surroundings. It was to his satisfaction, a mostly bare room except for a lantern and a bed. There was, of course, a window but magic took care of any who would dare to spy from without. Ieros then began to meditate, his mind going to the Library and beginning to organize his new memories. But while he was in the middle of doing so, there came a knock on his door.
Wondering what it was, Ieros went to open it, seeing a soldier who jumped nervously when he opened the door.
Before Ieros could say anything, the soldier blurted, “Sir mage! The General requests your presence at the General’s personal quarters!”
He began to run but before he got away, Ieros said, “I’m afraid I need a guide to her chambers. You will have to lead me.”
The nervous soldier nodded and began to lead him, although he was practically jogging to get away from Ieros. But Ieros kept pace with him easily, ignoring him when the soldier ran away after he led him to his destination. Ieros entered her chambers, seeing no one. There was, however, a long table with food upon it, although the food was concentrated on the opposite ends of the table lengthwise, it seems that the General was rather distrustful of him. He guessed that this was a countermeasure for when he attacked her, this would give her enough time to dodge.
As he was observing this, a door on the opposite end of the room opened and the General stepped through, clothed a bit more lightly as it was not as cold inside the keep.
She noticed that he had not taken a seat and gestured to his spot, saying, “Please sit, sir Archmage.”
Ieros took his seat but did not touch the food, saying, “You need not go such lengths for me for I do not need to eat. Unless… there is something that you wish to speak with me about in relative privacy.”
She was silent for a moment, finishing her morsel first before answering, “You are correct, sir Archmage. I shall be blunt, I’d like to propose that you and I team up.”
Ieros was silent, wondering just what exactly she was on about.
He inquired, “What exactly do you mean?”
She was eating a piece of steak that she had cut, chewing and swallowing before answering, “A coup of the state. With your stone army on my side and with my tactical genius, we could overthrow the Emperor and rule Athera together. We could even be involved intimately if you so wish.”
Ieros remembered what the Emperor had said about her and now guessed what was most likely the true reason as to why he was here. It was to subjugate Visalia, the traitorous general. He then raised his head to meet her gaze, her cold sapphire eyes watching him closely.
He then said, “I too shall be equally blunt, I refuse your offer.”
She was unperturbed, continuing to eat, “Why?”
Ieros explained, “Well you see, I have no doubt that you and I will be able to easily overthrow the Empire and take it for ourselves. From there, if we still happen to be allies, we will go on to conquer the world and successfully create world peace through one unified humanity. But there is one glaring problem here, that life would no longer be interesting. You see, I don’t care for politics nor reputation, what I care about are the fascinating and spontaneous events which happen around us daily. And although our path to achieving this goal will be filled with fascinating events, there will be no more after we have finished. That is, of course, assuming you don’t betray me, in which case it will only be me as I would have killed you in retaliation for attempting to kill me.”
She was silent, finally saying, “Will you tell the Emperor?”
Ieros shook his head, “No, I think it would be more interesting if I kept silent about this. It will be fascinating to see you struggle to find another ally in which to help you achieve this coup.”
She commented after sipping some wine, “You’re a strange man. But that’s not bad I think. A shame that you won’t join me though, is there any other reason why?”
The depths of Ieros’s hood seemed to smile, a smile that was blacker than the shadows of his hood, “It is simply not time yet. In the future, there will be a far better chance for you to succeed and the result of your actions will result in a most fascinating phenomenon.”
She placed down the wine glass that she had been slowly spinning, finally saying, “A chance you say? I suppose you won’t explain, will you?”
Ieros shook his head, “Unfortunately I cannot, that would ruin the surprise.”
She then stared out the window and the slowly darkening sky, with snow falling more heavily now.
She took another sip of wine, changing the subject, “Why don’t you eat?”
Ieros replied, “I do not need physical sustenance although I could eat if I choose. I simply do not wish to eat food right now, that is all.”
She said, “It is rude not to eat what your host provides you. Trust me, it isn’t poisoned.”
Ieros said, “Very well, I will eat for the sake of politeness.”
The two then began to enjoy their meal, Ieros savoring the cuisine and adding this memory to his collection of other food memories. He finished rather quickly and thanking his host for the fine meal, he retired to his room, he needed peace and quiet in order to organize the new data he collected. Meanwhile, Visalia continued to look out the window, disappointed at how today’s events had gone. It was truly a shame that he had not allied himself with her, although perhaps it was for the best. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to kill him once she no longer needed him. Seeing his powers today, it seemed highly unlikely that she would be able to assassinate him. She had the uneasy feeling that she would be the one to die in their tenuous alliance but it would be worth it, a high risk, high reward gamble. She, of course, had not given up on getting him as an ally, she was patient. After all, she had waited two decades for a chance to overthrow the Emperor, she could wait some more.