Spirits high after the stimulating meeting with the Prume representative, Elinor allowed Theresa to outfit her in some of the first bamboo fiber clothes. It was a grayish color without dye and refined through mechanical and ritual feats, providing a somewhat comparable equivalent to Earth’s quality. Semi-stretchy, it fit her form rather well, if showing a slight impression of her sports bra; it was a work in progress.
She left her cabin with a smile, finding a thick veil of mist that was left after the storm. The air was thick, and the musky smell of earth and slick greenery met her nose. Chaos appeared to have taken over the camp, but it was all boisterous, celebratory cheer. It was crowded, and some of the humans had to isolate themselves due to the noise.
A giant feast was being held for the newly resurrected former chief of the Wixum. All of the ri’bot that had gathered upon hearing the news of Vivine’s return were joining in the celebration, and the riverside fish farm, currently in construction, was being used as a dancing stage. Cultures mixed, with the various humans and ri’bot factions sharing their unique styles.
Tiffany joined her under the small front deck of the cabin, waiting for Edmon and the others to get ready to leave; they observed the growing excitement. “We have made splendid progress, Empress. Was there anything of concern regarding the Prume that caught your attention?”
A low rumble resonated in Elinor’s throat while glancing toward the edges of the camp from their slightly raised platform, spotting her father’s knights. She doubted the witches and warlocks would be given a holiday due to the time crunch they were under to fulfill the Clavex’s silk order that was counting down at a somewhat alarming rate.
It’s been nearly three months since I changed into this Lich Empress, and I’ve worked every waking minute of it to regain a place of security… It’s a start. Everything hangs on my victory in the tournament in six days. I’ve constantly been traveling, learning, investigating, and growing to have the knowledge to make these peace treaties work… And I think it will.
Tiffany held her hands at her front, giggling a little as she glanced at her. “I never had a second of doubt, Empress. No one can stand against you. Let the Scarlet Hand gather their armies to the east. Let Shade plot and stitch together his complicated net of insidious threads. I know you will overcome all opposition. We serve the Empress in death and life.”
Elinor streamed out a long puff of air, her powerful vision penetrating parts of the veil with the support of [Darkness Vision II]. Her former mother’s vigor sometimes unnerved her. Everything did seem like it was going according to plan. She’d damn sure put in the work to see it done. But still, there was a degree of skepticism within her that told her it wasn’t enough; she needed to do more… always more.
As for your question about the Prume… Yes, we do need to look out for whatever ‘test’ of character they’re going to send our way. It appears to have something to do with the cave. We shall see.
“Humph,” Tiffany’s fingers tightened around each other. “A test of character? And by what standard of morality are they judging you? How presumptuous of them. Why don’t we just send a plague to their safe little cliff and see how their morality changes under pressure?”
Tiffany… Elinor sighed, shaking her head and closing her eyes; the Witch Queen was quite serious. From what I’ve seen so far, the Prume are the strongest ri’bot faction we’ve come across. They know more about what is going on in the background than any of us. Let’s not bite off more than we can chew. If it is a test of character, then let it come.
“I am still quite annoyed at how vague their ‘test’ is,” Tiffany grunted, agitated orange eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of gray-skinned ri’bot. “What do we—”
“Empress!”
The Nexus wide alert furrowed Elinor’s brow, her focus darting to the medical area near the center of the camp for ease of access. Luisina Aristizabal, their doctor in the Serving Court, had raised the red flag, drawing Quin to rise to her full height to spot their US-based medical person. Elinor’s vision defocused at her rushed explanation, airways clear to allow her to voice the issue.
“Empress, your body has been taken from the tent!”
Beside her, Tiffany’s fingernails dug into her palms. “What? Don’t cause a panic. Everyone to the perimeter and work your way in; search everything that could hide a teenage girl’s corpse. The Trackers should be able to follow the scent. Move!”
Remaining in place, she saw several faces show a bit of confusion at the sudden activity of the undead. Her eyes narrowed as her father got further information from Luisina. The woman had seen it several minutes earlier when she entered, and carrying a human body would have certainly drawn attention. Something didn’t feel right about this sudden theft.
Why steal my original body? Elinor whispered in private to her father and Tiffany. It’s no longer connected to me in almost any way. I was saving it for Butter, but the people that knew that are all within the Nexus, and few even here. Is it to send a message? The human detractors that only view me as a monster?
Her father jumped on his own horse as her Serving Court bustled to the edges, searching for the missing body. “Too bold and out of line for the disgruntled groups of people. It could be the Susime, Scarlet Hand, or Shade. Do you have any idea on the magical front, Tiffany?”
The witch’s hand moved to her chin, her other resting against her belly as her lip drew into a line. “Ritual-wise, absolutely. Since it was connected to your spirit at one time, there is a residual connection, if weak, which is why we were going to use it for Butter. The High Queen is going to be livid when she returns… Could it be the Prume, Empress?”
Elinor curbed her anxious fidgets by holding her hand at her back, mind working frantically to find some answer for this unusual theft.
I don’t know. It’s possible…
She thought back to the pipe the toad smoked, drawing in the essence of the gems he’d fitted into it. There were a dozen uncomfortable ideas that sprang to mind, but Shade’s invasion put a particularly nasty needle into her thoughts: what if she were under some kind of mental or spiritual attack again?
Everything felt real, yet so had her time with Shade. No, she should be able to identify any attempt at wrestling control away from her due to increasing her [Extremely High] Grade resistance to the third level. This had to be reality.
For ritual purposes or to cause disorder, it doesn’t matter, we need to be ready for anything, Elinor growled. Put the Delthax and Wixum soldiers on high alert. Tell them that there is the possibility of an attack, which would be just what we need when so many Wixum are gathered in one place.
Tiffany’s agitation grew as Black and Ash made their way to them, and Quin could be seen in the background, looming over the nervous crowds of ri’bot.
“Empress, could this be something to do with the ‘test of character’ the Prume spoke of? Are they trying to see how you would respond to having something seemingly important taken from you? We do generally keep a sharp eye on it.”
I don’t know, Tiffany, Elinor mumbled.
Going over her options, Elinor descended the stairs to accept Ash’s hand, and Tiffany hurried to hop onto Black’s horse, hiking up her skirt. She sent the order to keep searching; they needed to head to the cave. She couldn’t afford to get distracted by this, and it did seem like a distraction. There was something in this cave that could bring her to the next level; she knew it in her bones.
Find evidence of where it went and compile a report. Let’s go, Ash.
“As you wish, Empress,” the ghostly rider whispered, bringing them into the forest to bypass the crowded riverside.
Something wasn’t right, and Tiffany suspected the Prume since the theft happened just after their spokesperson left. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Then again, it had been a perfect time to snatch her body. Everyone was preoccupied, and the event had been well anticipated since she’d promised to raise her some time ago.
It could be Chief Kalix or one of his Xaria, possibly Chief Yimara herself. They’d already established that the Susime had spies, so it could be them.
The Scarlet Hand was resourceful and powerful; they’d also returned to the valley if she was to believe Roman’s word. Was he a double agent?
Spokesperson Jet’al had no issues sneaking in and out of places, as he’d demonstrated, and he’d told her there would be a test before ushering her to the cave. She had so many enemies and potential enemies that it was hard to see who would gain anything from this theft.
Shade worked in the shadows, and perhaps this was some tiny piece in the grand scheme he was hatching. The mystery about it was what unnerved her. Why her corpse?
Elinor turned her sight to the north as she hugged the skeletal figure of Death, her father joining her on his own horse as Famine carried Tiffany. The damp jungle met their journey through the mist, but her spelled bamboo clothing resisted the liquid they brushed up against.
Her sister was likely reaching the edge of the northwestern valley, and White had road hard to meet up with them. She should be well protected with Mika, Adoncia, and White there. If worse came to worst, then she could just release her body and return home.
Perhaps the most unsettling news came shortly after they left their developing lake city; the ri’bot trackers lost the scent of her corpse at the tent itself. It was as if her body had simply disappeared, leaving no trace of anyone but the medical staff that had entered, throwing shade on them, yet not one of them was not undead.
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It didn’t make sense. Somehow, this one theft had thrown all the stability she’d garnered into a loop. Why steal her corpse?
* — * — *
Debating it in the following hours, as daylight gradually gave into night, Elinor was no closer to finding a solution. She left the Nexus radius to communicate with the camp, but her father put into place a communication grid with some of the Serving Court taking shifts to play a game of telephone.
At midnight, which marked the start of the fifth day until the tournament began, they made it to the cave, and Elinor was still no closer to an answer. Reports from the lake remained the same: no sign of her corpse or any suspects.
They performed a full inventory, which garnered some results of clothing, medical, or general quality-of-life items that had been stolen by teens or addicts, some of which with the begrudging help from her undead. Despite their loyalty to her, they still could be pressured into helping their family with unhealthy addictions.
From what they determined, it seemed to be based on their belief that it wasn’t harming the empire by doing it since it was so little. Still, they did steal when they knew it was wrong, but not necessarily ‘harming’ their empress. It was something to take note of. Elinor didn’t care much for minor offenses like that and left it for their supervisors to handle.
Most of it was understandable and inevitable, to some degree. However, there were no other unusual thefts, such as a corpse going missing. Everyone was accounted for and ready to be raised when time and energy permitted. The excitement she’d felt upon the spokesperson’s exit had been severely tempered as paranoia set in. Could this be some PSYOP to get into her head and make her act out?
She’d planned for opposition and built up her network of undead and supporters, but this was not what she’d expected, and perhaps that was the genius in it. No one came forward to brag or taunt her. No rhyme or reason came from a spiritual attack, which Tiffany said would have long come by now.
There had to be a reason. Yet, nothing. Her body was just… gone, and the same question kept cycling in her head: why… why… why?
* — * — *
Galloping into Roman’s camp outside of the large cave, Elinor got her first look at the large opening and got a scope of what her sister had described. At least five meters tall, and burrowed out of what appeared to be solid stone, it was certainly manufactured and not natural.
The Legend was currently by a fire, the sounds of the jungle insects pulsing around them as Elinor jumped off Death’s horse. Tiffany and her father soon joined her, and she sent the horsemen off to gather more Death Energy for what she’d used up in the daily price to keep her empire functional.
Her butlers and maids, who had accompanied Roman, were swift to greet her and wait for any orders. Elinor greeted them by name before turning to the sitting man, sipping at a cup of herbal tea he’d made from the jungle roots.
“Care to join me, Empress? It’s not bad stuff, to be honest.”
Elinor shook her head, sitting on the shaved log they’d placed by the fire with Tiffany. “I promised Butter that I wouldn’t eat until I could share the experience with her. What have you discovered?”
Roman sipped at his tea, blind eyes following her father as he stayed standing and moved to peer into the dark cavern. Her horsemen disappeared into the jungle to collect life force.
“Hmm. I didn’t expect you to come in force: the Witch Queen, Frozen King, and two of the Horsemen, but I guess they go everywhere you do to collect souls. I get the feeling something happened that’s put you on alert. Should we expect an attack?”
She shrugged, vision drifting to the opening and it’s shockingly smooth, perfectly circular angle as if drilled. “There’s always a threat of being attacked. There are updates to the board, but before that, I would like an explanation of the cave, as was our previous arrangement. Have you found anything useful?”
“Mhm…” His lips curled into a half-smile as he turned to the cavern. “I’ve been exploring it… Interesting place—deep—some areas are totally vertical while others are horizontal. There’s a design to it, but I think I’ve discovered the trouble you’re having with the residents…”
He grunted and rose to his feet, nudging his head for her to follow. “Here, let me show you…”
Elinor complied, Tiffany’s curious gaze studying every inch of it as she snapped her fingers, creating five balls of Witchfire to examine the edges, but Roman motioned for them to go further. Her father remained beside the man, helmet on and waiting for any kind of attack, but the cave quickly curved into a dip that burrowed into the ground.
“A quen’talrat could fit in here,” Elinor whispered, running her fingers along the incredibly smooth walls. “It feels like…”
“Silk?” Roman answered, pointing at the area that descended into the depths of the tunnels. “Hey, Tiffany, what can you tell us about the cave here?”
The witch was partially distracted by the walls themselves, talking under her breath as she worked through whatever she was discovering.
“Hmm? Oh, Empress, this is incredibly symmetrical… as if cut by lasers and lined with some kind of… chemical compound more complex than anything I know about on Earth. It is totally unaffected by the weather… waterproof, and I don’t think it would change if submerged for decades, if not centuries. If we could coat our fabric in this substance, it would be… more resilient than anything I can do with rituals, at least at this point. If…”
Her fingers twitched as she neared the place Roman pointed, dropping to her knees to spread out her flames. “No, no, this is… impossible. What kind of creature… Oh… Oh, my, hmm…”
Elinor felt her anxiety rising from all the stress piling up regarding her lost corpse. “What, Tiffany?”
“Silk,” Roman responded with a silent chuckle. “That’s my guess, anyway. I’m fairly confident that the little feathered monkey-foxes have already sensed us coming into the entrance, but they won’t attack until we reach the first junction. You see the walls here…”
Tiffany nodded emphatically, lighting up the area with her orange flames. “It looks like stone, but it is silk! Perfectly blended and thinner than paper, yet our voices are causing vibrations that they are picking up, transferring deep within the tunnel system… Feathered money-foxes made these? It is incredibly similar to spider silk but far, far, more sophisticated and beyond question stronger—even when brought to scale—fifty times stronger than steel, at least. We are not breaking this.”
Roman dropped to the side of the wall, tapping the stone and looking into the cave in ways Elinor didn’t quite understand yet. “Hmm… No, these money-foxes have learned to adapt to this environment by using the original owners’ corpses, as far as I have puzzled out.”
A grin showed Roman’s pearly-white teeth. “I’ll be straight with you, Empress… Steel tank spiders—that’s how I’d describe them.”
Elinor didn’t breathe, the image of a steel spider the size of a tank blooming in her mind like the sugary taste of ice cream. “Are you saying the Creeping Shadows are dead, and these monkey-foxes, what… killed them and used their corpses to fight off intruders?”
“Worship, more like,” Roman snorted, running his fingers through his messy black hair. “I’ve seen them extract acid of some kind from the small ones by using some kind of organic gland to store them and spray on your unintelligent undead that we sent in as test subjects. The stuff works,” he grunted, scratching her neck. “They gather it up again using another gland that sucks it all in—crazy stuff if I’m being completely honest.”
Tiffany rubbed her hands together, a breathless giggle accompanying her elated, shining eyes. “How do we get this potent acid and metal spiders? We could flood the tunnels in a frontal assault. All we need is one of these spiders resurrected to make their primary defense useless.”
Elinor’s mind reflected on what the Prume messenger said about watching her and her actions. Tiffany wasn’t wrong; they could overwhelm them, potentially set fire to the place, and find one spider to add to her army, which would likely be immune to the acid. Were these creatures under the Prume’s protection, though?
Roman’s doubtful hum drew their gaze before she could voice her caution. “Eh, personally, I wouldn’t antagonize them, and after watching the first gate, or so I’m calling it, for the last little while, they’ve got a lot more tools at their disposal. I’d suggest we tread carefully, and potentially make some friends. You can communicate with them, right?”
“Hmm. If you can find me a corpse.”
He rubbed his chin with a thoughtful nod. “I might be able to do that. From what I hear, you’re preparing for a big match. Why not train a little through the night? I’ll get some sleep and look for a corpse in the morning, talk to the locals, and get a feel for things. Maybe after that, start a Legend’s Quest with me? You’ve got the muscle to help,” he laughed, nodding to her entourage.
Elinor stared at the hole, lost in thought. Maybe these creatures were needed for something, or maybe the Prume just wanted to see how she’d respond to opposition. Would she shove down the front door or knock and see who lived there first?
“I like that plan,” she finally decided, exiting the cave. “These spiders would be a huge bonus for my army if we can get them. Something tells me you already have a corpse and are just playing games,” she accused, giving him a hard stare as he settled into a sleeping bag nearby.
“Maybe I do,” he said with a yawn. “Good night, Empress. Tomorrow, we learn the secrets of this cave. May our efforts be bountiful!”
Elinor’s glare shifted to the ominous opening of the spider’s den. Valdar had told her that the Crawling Shadows went crazy after their Queen’s death, left to rampage before leaving to the eastern desert, beyond the grassy plains of the Great Clans. What was left were probably the few that had been killed during the frenzy.
There were certainly questions for them to get from here, and if the acid they carried was this potent after more than a century, then it had to be at least Uncommon Grade. Hopefully, it wasn’t higher, or she could have a problem.
Then again, maybe it would be better if she’d discovered her first Rare Grade creature to unlock the next intelligent Grade; it was a hope. She was starting to see the base power of these Grades, and what advancing her current units to that level would bring her. If only this wall she’s hit would go away.
How strong are you, little spiders? she internally mused. Butter’s lucky her wings didn’t get caught in your webs. The fatty insect would have made for a good meal.
Letting Roman sleep, Elinor got into the training mood, using her father as a battle partner. It went without saying that she was very outclassed. Unlike the poor tiger girl, her father could crush her chains like a blade of grass, and she had to learn how to fight on the defensive against an unstoppable opponent.
It was a good experience that sadly yielded no experience, but she did get a few Tier upgrades by morning, including two wonderful surprises:
[Grade Advancement - Chains of the Damned II Unlocked]
[Grade Advancement - Enhance Construct II Unlocked]
[Monarch of Death III - Increased to E-tier]
[Death Pool II - Increased to S-tier]
[Butterfly III - Increased to D-tier]
As morning came, Elinor fell against a tree, feeling a little spiritually drained from the constant fight; it seemed that her plan to just keep reforming her body during the competition wouldn’t be endless. Death and Famine filled her spirit up throughout the night, yet she did have a limit, and it was good to find it now.
Watching the sun’s light peeking over the mountains through the canopy, Elinor heard Roman getting up. Hopefully, today wouldn’t require a lot of physical labor so, ironically, her spirit could rest. There was one burning curse that kept lighting her fire, though.
Whoever, be it the Prume, Susime, Shade, or the Scarlet Hand… Whichever person or faction stole my body, they will feel what it is like to draw my displeasure, she seethed, forcing herself up and stretching as she went to greet the Legend.
Roman certainly was a legendary sleeper, if nothing else. Now, to see if he was also a legendary liar and con man. Did he have a body for her or not? If so, they could be meeting a new potential ally… or enemy, soon enough.