Chapter Twenty-Six: Phase One
I knew Zelistan was a country that was almost entirely made up of jungles and forests, but it was also a kingdom where nearly 80% of the population were demons. So when I imagined the capital city of Zexestra, I imagined black and red buildings with pointed spires, blood flowing through the streets, gallows, crows, and all of that nastiness.
What I got was a far cry from expectations. and I looked around in awe at what I saw before me. Zexestra was beautiful and reminded me of the ancient jungle civilizations in South America.
There were small terraced buildings in large concentric circles, like miniature pyramids throughout the city made of vividly painted stones, all carved with intricate designs. These were broken up by towering structures that were constructed out of the jungle itself. Trees grew into the shapes of buildings, branches so large they formed bridges overhead, with thick vines hanging down that formed ladders of a sort.
The entire city was itself terraced. Each circle was a separate layer constantly rising higher into the air as you moved to the center. The royal palace was the highest point in the city meaning any invader would have an uphill battle through a confusing maze of buildings and streets.
The confusing effect was increased by the fact that eight main streets were leading in and out of the city, and all of these streets rotated clockwise then counterclockwise as they ascended the terraces, allowing for no straight path to the capital center.
Even more fascinating was that there was an abundance of gold inlaid into every design. Shining brilliantly in the sun as a spectacular contrast to the greens, blues, and reds of the paints and plant life. Waterfalls ran down the terraces throughout the city channeling out into the rivers that spread throughout the jungle.
The main road we were on was vacant as our group approached which we expected. It seemed like the whole country was put on alert after the system had broadcasted the world quest, and announced the return of the Dark Lord.
I gazed at the beautiful city in wide-eyed astonishment, my mouth open in wonder. My expression must have amused my friends because a moment later my friends were chuckling.
I forcefully pulled my attention away from the city and looked in the direction of my friends. Raising my eyes at them questioningly.
“It’s not as pretty as it looks. Especially with Milzeyan in charge.” Grenthar explained, pointing at a spot in the distance as we came up the road approaching the city. I turned my eyes in the direction he was pointing and I could see an area on the lowest terrace of the city, it was more green than gold, and the bright colors looked faded.
“The lower you are, the more you are viewed as inferior. They don’t always get the best resources. It’s not so bad near the main streets, where the guards patrol. Once you move away it gets dramatically worse. All around the city, you get slums like those. It’s where the orphans and criminals live.”
“That’s where you grew up?” I asked him and watched as he nodded somberly.
“That’s where The Gutter Claws called home,” Jeloqa added. “We would sometimes sneak up to the higher terraces but mostly we hovered near the main streets stealing from the passing merchants and other visitors while trying to avoid the guard.”
That had been another fun tidbit I learned as we started getting closer to the city. They had told me originally that they had done everything they could to survive here, but after meeting with Sherivos they informed me, in detail, how they had belonged to one of the city gangs.
“So how did you meet Veli?”
“A terrace job,” Grenthar said, his voice harsh. “The Gutter Claws sometimes took contracts, when one rich asshole wanted to fuck over another rich asshole. Or other things like that. We were hired to break into a laboratory up on the sixth terrace. Some magical scientist. The one who had Veli. She had already escaped that night catching the place on fire as she fled. When we got there the building was half destroyed, which meant we couldn’t get the documents for our client. We were getting ready to return when Jeloqa saw Veli hiding in the shadows and decided to take her in.”
“After that, we left the city,” Jeloqa finished. “That job cost the Gutter Claws a great deal. As Gren and I were the primary members of the job it fell back on us. We probably could have given up Veli as recompense since she was part of the experiment. Instead, we gave up our entire savings as a buy-out and moved on.”
As we spoke we had neared the gatehouse guarding the main street entrance. Six demons were standing at the gates, two of them were incubi, one of them was one of the Shoavari, and the final three were a female snake demon and two Fleuiasen, like Jeloqa.
Seeing us approach one of the Incubi stepped forward, hands raised. Unlike his companions, he was the least armored of the lot with just a small crafted breastplate of steel held on by a lattice of leather straps.
Beneath the breastplate was a thin leather jerkin that was just enough padding to prevent the steel from digging into his caramel flesh. The demon wore tight, form-fitting, leather trousers that showed off his powerful legs. Strapped to his hips were two vicious-looking hatchets that I had no doubt could be used to put a swift end to anything that caused trouble.
The incubus was also the most sexually attractive man I had ever seen, at least according to my aesthetic, and I was straight. Sans his horns, tail, and cloven feet, he looked like the love child of Idris Elba and Ryan Reynolds, if they had produced a child who was also a K-Pop star.
“Hello, travelers. I regret to inform you all but, entrance into the city is strictly regulated at the moment. I am sure you understand. With rumors of a new dark lord on the loose, we can’t be letting just anyone walk around unchecked.” The demon said with a silken voice that had the slightest hint of a gravelly purr.
He smiled a wide, seductive, smile that was almost predatory, and I could feel the magnetism of the incubi’s natural charisma. Despite the smile, there was no hiding the suspicion, and barely restrained violence of his movements.
Yoelin Level: 33 Class: Dancing Marauder Affinity: Hostile (Anti-Trust)
I wasn’t concerned by his hostility. I had brought this up when Sherivos explained the plan meant infiltrating the city, and that the guards were currently ordered to be on high alert.
There were many similar skills and perks in this world he had explained. In fact, many merchants, and upper nobility had some skill or another that could mimic this effect in different situations. It just meant that whoever it affected sensed me as a potential threat to the authority they served.
Unlike beasts and monsters, sentient beings were able to resist the urge to immediately attack, and that should allow the group plenty of time to charm our way past the guards. Particularly with my array of skills.
I stepped out in front of my group and tried to put on the most condescending, affronted scowl I had. This part was going to be trickier than I had hoped. The fact that the guard was an incubus meant that I would have to compete against his charisma with my own.
I also needed to do this without him realizing what I was doing, or at the very least why I was doing it. Fortunately, I already had the perfect excuse, especially after tweaking my identity a bit with my abilities to disguise myself.
“Excuse me! Who do you think you are, peasant!” I sneered. “You dare stand in the way of Leodonus the Great!” I infused just a hint of mana into my voice, just enough to get the attention of everyone who heard me without appearing too problematic.
Yoelin’s hazel eyes widened for a moment in surprise, before narrowing skeptically.
“I am sorry, uh, your lordship? I have never heard of you before. Regardless, I am only doing my duty. Everyone entering the city needs to be verified before we can allow passage. Even… nobility?”
I knew he was doing his best to be polite, and inwardly I wanted to laugh. I wanted to feel bad for the guy, but I was having fun playing the part of haughty noble.
“Of course, I am nobility, but my title matters not. My name is Leodonus the Great! I am here to bestow you poor, uncultured souls with entertainment the likes few of you have seen!” I declared, my voice still containing traces of my Puppetmaster’s Decree skill.
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Now every guard was looking in my direction with great interest as I waved my arms flamboyantly in Wuzzy’s direction.
“Now, Wuzzy,” I told him telepathically, and a moment later my bear was on his hind legs. He was wobbling back and forth releasing a haunting melody through his growls and grunts. As his ursine song ended he landed once more on all fours before doing a lopsided somersault.
I tried to maintain a smile as I winced internally at Wuzzy’s lack of grace. Luckily, the display didn’t have to be perfect, just good enough that my disguise as a ‘Showmaster Trapezist’ would be believed.
While not the most graceful in my previous life my increased attributes were now enough that I could breakdance on a tightrope blindfolded. I had discovered that circuses were uncommon in this world, and were often the eccentricities of the rich. Which was the perfect cover for me.
“Did I do good?” Wuzzy asked me hopefully, and I grinned at my bear.
“Yes, I will make sure you get a good treat later,” I told him before turning back to face Yoelin.
“Erm, that was… very nice, your lordship-”
“I am Leodonus the Great! I demand to be called as such!” I sniffed, interrupting him. I saw his eyes flash in annoyance, but he coughed and corrected himself.
“My apologies. That was indeed an interesting act, uh, Sir Leodonus the Great. I am still afraid that we need proper identification before you can enter the city.”
“I would like to speak to your supervisor! Now!” I demanded, practically screaming in frustration. “Bring me whoever is in charge of this ignorant fool!”
As much as it amused me, my outburst was serving its purpose as everyone within hearing range was now focusing on the spectacle I was creating with intense interest. I really need to thank Karens for showing me how to pull this off. I chuckled to myself.
My sudden outburst had the added benefit of completely wiping out Yoelin’s false smile as he looked increasingly uncomfortable, and forcing the remainder of the guards to begin approaching me as they tried to help him deal with the “unreasonable noble”.
“Now!” I roared across the mental bonds I had with the rest of my minions, and while everyone was paying attention to me Talon flew into the city carrying Nuts and Bandit with him. I couldn’t see her, but I trusted that as soon as Talon took off she would have followed after him.
Typically in the larger cities, there were obfuscation detection and tracking spells that registered when people entered and left the city. It marked them in a way that allowed them to be traced if they entered areas they shouldn’t be.
Allegedly this was to help cut down on crime, and external assassination attempts. Unfortunately, my party and I needed the freedom to move through the city with minimal detection. Of course, like almost every security system, if you knew it was there you could think of ways to circumvent it.
While there were a number of ways to get around the security spells most of them weren’t quite foolproof, and relied heavily on including the human element. Meaning we would have to rely on bribes and other things that could eventually lead back to us anyway if someone was persistent enough.
Which is what led to this plan. Sherivos had given us the full details of how the city’s security screening worked. Encircling the city were runes inscribed into the ground, and then they had been covered back up so they would be unnoticeable.
There were areas where the runes were faulty, or their potency fluctuated, and the criminals and other gangs had made use of this information for ages for smuggling and other purposes. With the city being on high alert right now, these sections would be more thoroughly observed by the guards.
But where fluctuations wouldn’t be as heavily observed right now was surprisingly the main entrances. With the assortment of people constantly coming in and out of the city, there were always minor disturbances as there were differences in power levels and abilities.
This is also why the main entrances were guarded so heavily. each guard had somewhere on their person some sort of mana-infused crystal that not only helped strengthen the runic spells but would react if magic started to interfere with the runes.
However, by pulling the guards away from the entrance their gems wouldn’t be able to detect that something had started to interfere with the runes. There was also the added benefit that when their gems re-entered proximity they would react to the runes as they currently existed. Meaning that if the runes were tampered with when the gems got close that would be the “default” setting and the gems wouldn’t react.
So as soon as the guards closed in on me Veli and my minions would move in while distracted. Veli using her trap runes could augment the rune field on the ground to serve our purposes. We wanted the rune field to work. We just needed it to work a specific way.
“What ssseemsss to be the problem?” the snake woman asked, hissing in irritation as she approached. I scanned her as she did and saw that she was a few levels higher than Yoelin, and her name was Leyadra
“This-” Yoelin started to say, barely getting a chance to speak before I interrupted him.
“Greetings madam! My name is Leodonus the Great! As you have seen, and this, peasant, is insulting me!”
“How so? Explain?” the demon asked me as she looked between me and TYoelin suspiciously. I couldn’t help but notice how the other guards circled around my party, forming a barrier between us and the city.
Good, the plan is working! I was content. Now I just needed to drag this out until I was given the signal. Already I could sense that Nuts had been dropped off on one of the nearby buildings and he was scampering quickly down to street level. When Velixen was done setting up her own runes she would tap him twice on the head.
I still can’t believe you thought of something like this. My inner voice said to me. I couldn’t help but agree. Of course, I had seen the Oceans movies and watched The Italian Job a few times. Heist movies were always fun and clever. But there was a huge difference between watching movies about criminal masterminds, and actually being one yourself.
I had been relatively law-abiding before. The worst thing I used to do was probably speed. Okay, I had occasionally stolen a few things. But that was mostly out of survival when I was poor, broke, and hungry. Only taking food or other things that I absolutely needed, and only from rich corporate stores that could afford the losses,
“My apologies Miss. I, Leodonus the Great am here on commission to entertain and delight! It is a very important task, and this… man…” I said giving Yoelin a questioning glance, "acts as if he has never heard of me before!”
“Pardon me, Leodonus the Great, but have you ever been to this city before?” Leyadra asked me. I did my best to look both astonished by the question and rightfully indignant. I brought my hand to my chest, opening my mouth, even stamping my foot for effect.
“Why, of course not! That is why this poor city needs me so desperately. You lack the dignified entertainment services of a true master of the arts.” I huffed. That caused a few snickers to bubble from the other guards who were just enjoying the spectacle. Yoelin shot them dirty glances while Leyadra ignored them.
“I see, and if you have never been here, then how is he to know who you are?” She inquired, as she looked past me where my party waited behind me. “I do recognize these people, however.” Her voice grew harsh. This too was part of the plan.
Not only did my group have a bad reputation as Oathbreakers, but Gren and Jel’s time in their gang had made them notorious. I feigned ignorance at this.
After all, the famed Leodonus the Great is too damned noble to condescend to pay attention to such details.
“This riff-raff? Why, they are simply guards under my employ. I took them on in a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“Poachers.” One of the other guards sneered distastefully at my friends, it almost made me break character, but I persisted. We knew that this would happen.
“I had a contract and I needed loyal mercenaries, willing to see me to safety.”
“More like to see the inside of your purse.” Leyadra retorted, but then sighed.”All this aside we do need proof of identity and verification for your reasons in coming to the city. If you have a contract, we of course need to see that as well.”
“Master, Nuts’ head has been rappatapped!” My squirrel sent to me excitedly, and I could sense that he was running in circles at the thrill of the whole thing. I forced myself not to chuckle out of hand.
“Good boy, return to the others, I’ll see you on the other side in a bit,” I told him before focusing on Leyadra’s serpentine form.
“Madam, I assure you. I didn’t mean to cause a scene, but you have to know, this is most unorthodox to be greeted so distastefully.”
“Lord Leodonus the Great,” she emphasized. “I understand you have a job, we have a job too. You may be an important man, and we have plenty of those who enter the city daily. They still need to provide documentation.”
“Oh, very well,” I grunted, feigning both annoyance and defeat. I reached down to my satchel and pulled out a thick vellum scroll that Dirriga had provided me with. The wonderful shopkeep had even linked it to my unique magic signature so whenever I needed to falsify my identity I could link my disguises to the scroll, and it would confirm my fake identification.
If only I had this on earth, I could have been a world-class criminal.
The demoness took the scroll from my hands and began reading the information. I watched with expectant delight as her eyes scanned the page before freezing halfway down. I didn’t smile as her scales almost seemed to pale.
“Is something the matter?” I asked, trying to sound more impatient than smug. Not that it would have mattered.
“You are affiliated with the Threigar and Sons consortium?” She asked, her voice slightly unsteady. That caused all of the other guards to take a step back from me in surprise, Yoelin looked suddenly queasy.
“Of course! No other trading house would be fitting for one such as I!”
I had been told that Threigar was a big deal, but it became clear that he wasn’t just a big deal, he was practically the whole deal. If I had to compare it then Threigar was Jeff Bezos and Amazon Prime, and everyone else was the local mom-and-pop shop. The guards’ reactions were part of why Dirriga had been so upset at the idea of contract poachers.
Being affiliated with them came with a lot of weight, both financially, and politically. Which meant I could easily make the guards’ lives a living hell for annoying me. If I had, in truth, been truly annoyed.
“Please, sir. Excuse our rudeness. I won’t delay any more of your precious time. Enter the city at your pleasure, and if you decided to do a public viewing of your show, I would be delighted to see it!” Leyadra said hurriedly waving me and my party towards the gates.
“Thank you for your kindness, and I will keep that in mind,” I replied, almost amicably, trying to convey the relief of someone who had just gotten their way. Which I had. Beneath all of our feet, my nightmares followed along mimicking our shadows as accurately as possible, and ensuring that we were never truly touching the ground.
It was a strange sensation, like walking on sand made of marshmallows. Thanks to the runes that Veli had set up over the others though as we all crossed into the city the only tracking data the guards would get would be from my nightmares and not the party members.
Which meant that my friends and I had free reign of the capital.
Phase one, complete.