Published at 14th of April 2026 11:55 pm

Chapter 191: Desertion and Demises

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Arkk could feel the demon at work behind the scenes.

How else would one thousand one hundred thirty-eight deserters slip away without anyone noticing? Most had been at the mountain hive where Arkk had sequestered the soldiers when he was still planning on them doing nothing but watching. They didnt have the rebuilt walls of Elmshadow keeping them in. But still, someone should have noticed. There wasnt much cover in the fields west of Elmshadow that would have hidden them from casual scrying.

His scrying team had been busy.

Had the demon caused the reveal with the Eternal Empires whale ships? Just to hide these soldiers, just to draw the Princes ire toward Arkk?

Have you found them yet? Arkk asked, arms crossed as he stood between his two scrying teams. He was well aware that his eyes were glowing more intensely than usual. He didnt do a thing to try to stop it.

No, Sir, Harvey said, sounding upset. How do a thousand people, presumably geared up in armor, hide themselves while moving like this?

Lets just say I have suspicions about why we can suddenly see the Eternal Empires ships.

What did one thousand people think they were capable of accomplishing against an army twenty times their size? Arkk had been planning on the same thing, but he had powerful weapons and personnel at his command. The Princes army were all regular people, mostly human with a handful of demihumans thrown in. No beastmen.

Even the greatest fools wouldnt rush headlong into their deaths like this.

But if they had somehow acquired an artifact that rendered them imperceivable, their confidence might swell. A thousand invisible soldiers wouldnt have a hard time slitting the throats of every enemy combatant while they slept. Or even while they were awake. Arkk doubted it would be that easy. In addition to those offensive rays, the Golden Orders avatar seemed to specialize in defensive uses of that power. Defense seemed more prevalent, even, between using that power to march through the winter to using it to protect from Arkks various attempts at bombardment. Even possessing other bodies could be considered defensive.

But the idiots marching toward their deaths wouldnt know that.

Nothing in the f-fields, Luthor said. Expanding search area.

Im about a hundred paces into the forest, sweeping up and down. If you want to start at the Woodly Rhyme end, maybe well pincer them.

S-Sure.

They couldnt have gotten that far. Not unless Mags was lying about when he thought they had leftit wasnt that Arkk trusted Mags, it was just that he doubted a thousand people could sneak off without supernatural invisibility. Assuming that came from the Eternal Empire, perhaps in the form of some artifact, there was a limit to how long they could possibly have been gone.

But he wasnt holding out much hope for the scrying team to find anything.

Keep searching, Arkk said, turning away. Dont just look for the people. A thousand soldiers cant march without leaving tracks behind.

Unless the demon hid those as well.

If anything, this incident made Mags less likely to be the demon. The demon would be with the deserters, cloaking them.

It was a good thing he hadnt had Kia and Claire kill the infuriating man.

Arkk teleported himself. All of his forces who were currently able were on hand today. He had even recalled Ilya and Vezta, taking time away from her learning how to construct rooms in order to utilize her abilities here. Priscilla was still out, unfortunately. Whatever caused her recent injuries left scars behind that werent healing as well as Hale thought they should. Agnete and Who had returned to the Anvil, temporarily, as they sought out some assistance.

That left him with distressingly few specialists that he could send out. He was wary about having Kia and Claire move out of range of his teleports. He needed to be able to move them to the Heart chamber the moment he felt anything amiss. Lexa could slip through just about anything with her spells and the cloak, but an assassin wasnt what he needed at the moment. Dakka and the orcs of the newly reformed Black Knights, the Shieldbreakers, and anyone trained to use the counter-demon equipment Zullie had produced werent slouches, of course, but he still wanted heavy hitters ready to deploy should the avatar, or demon, decide to act.

Arriving at the top of the tower, Arkk planted his hands on the crenellations, leaning over the side. He squinted, hair whipping around his head. The wind was a bit brisk today, especially as high up as he was. It wasnt like he would have been able to see anything that his scrying team had missed anyway. He was up here solely for the way it helped clear his head.

The demon. The Prince. The enemy at their doorstep. The first was the most pressing issue. It was causing problems. Direct sabotage. Likely the only thing keeping them from being killed was his surprisingly good relationship with the Prince. Something the demon knew and was clearly trying to undermine.

Could he cut off communications with the Prince? Intercept any outgoing letters?

Unlikely. If the demon could orchestrate this mess, it could find a way of getting word back to Cedric. It probably couldnt lie to the Prince. If it could, it would have been easy enough to say that Arkk had gotten all his men killed, negating the need to go through with this convoluted plot. Until the demon was found and dealt with, he had to be as accommodating toward the Prince as possible.

A brief thought of assassinating the Prince flickered through his mind. He dismissed it as quickly as it came. Not only would the mere action of ordering Lexa to attack the Prince probably count as becoming his enemy, but it would also result in a rogue demon on the loose. That would be so much worse than the current situation, he couldnt even imagine

Savren was working on something that would hopefully identify anyone who wasnt who they said they were. Now that it had revealed itself and its capabilities, it wouldnt be long before he had a proper solution.

After that, he would have to focus on the Prince. The man couldnt be allowed to summon a second demon. It was best to not think about how he was going to go about that now, however. Not unless he wanted the demon showing up and killing him before he could get the thought out.

Then there was the problem of the actual army perched upon his windowsill. He had been letting them sit there, gathering strength, because he felt he had been gathering more strength. The longer they delayed, the more options, the more tools, and the more forces Arkk would have at his disposal. That was partially true, especially if opening up more realms brought him more equipment to use, but now he wasnt sure that he was growing faster than Evestani.

Not with what the Holy Lights avatar had said about those flying ships. They could rain down enough destruction to change the landscape.

His sabotage had destroyed a few, but not all of them. They were still grounded. They could even be building more of them elsewhere. If Arkk had that kind of magic at his disposal, he would be building a few here to get into the air as soon as possible while building even more at Fortress Al-Mir, ready to swoop in wherever they were needed.

Could he afford to let them get into the air? Between the ships and the avatars abilities, and the possibility that the Almighty Glorys avatar was scurrying about like a rat as well, he wasnt so sure about defending Elmshadow any longer. Even if he did use the Princes army.

Arkk frowned to himself, casting his gaze at the lands below the tower. Everything he had constructed here. All built with the power of the fortress, it would lose its reinforcing magic the moment he moved the tower. He had claimed territory as far as he could see, and even a it further. No conventional army could stand up to even a hundred of Dakkas Black Knights if he actively teleported them back and forth throughout his territory, helping them dodge any dangerous attack. It was part of the reason he had been so confident he could have taken on the combined Evestani-Empire army without the aid of the Prince.

Now his grand plan was holding him here. Keeping him from advancing forward with the force of the tower at his back, keeping him from sending Kia and Claire out into the field where they could do the most damage, keeping

Arkk lifted an eyebrow. He looked up, eying the large fields, the river that snaked through it, and the forest beyond. Woodly Rhyme took a few days to reach by foot travel through the forest, less for horses.

Perhaps

Arkk teleported down to the central meeting room. All his advisors teleported in from their stations at the same time. The last time he had taken a walk around the roof and come up with a plan, Kia had ridiculed him for not discussing it with his advisors.

Rekkar, Olattan, Ilya, Vezta, Zullie, Savren, Alma, Khan, Dakka, Lyssa, Lexa, Kia, Richter, and even Perrok stood around the table with varying levels of confusion on their faces. Most quickly adapted and took their seats. Vezta moved to her usual spot just behind his chair. Such teleports werent out of the ordinary and werent worth grumbling about. Richter was a bit slower on the uptake, though he quickly followed suit with the others, and Perrok looked surprised to be included at all. The blacksmith shuffled around, watching in obvious discomfort as the others all took seats they knew were theirs. Arkk, catching his eye, gave a slight nod to one of the empty chairs. With a grateful look, he sat down and quickly composed himself.

I think, Arkk started, planting both hands on the table as he leaned over it, we have nothing to gain by maintaining the defense of Elmshadow.

That noisy sort of silence filled the room. A breath as his inner circle processed his words.

The silence departed abruptly, replaced with a noisy sort of noise. Khan and Perrok refrained from joining in. The former, as was usual for the gorgon, simply settled down on his heated rock and waited. The latter looked around the rest of the group with an awed bewilderment. They were the only ones. Everyone else had to make their opinion known. Arkk was surprised at some of the sudden voices. Kias especially. While not as stoic as Claire, the dark elf was generally reserved.

Running away? Kia barked out, voice overpowering the rest for a brief moment. We can take em! Send me and Claire in and well grind them to paste ourselves!

Of course, she wanted to charge headlong into battle.

The people here are counting on us, Ilya said, close enough to him to put a hand on his arm. And if we stop the defense, the rest of Mystakeen Itll be just like before we took back the burg.

Olattan, though his voice remained at his usual neutral level, managed to make himself heard through sheer presence. I presume there is a good reason for abandoning territory weve fought and bled for.

Master. Even Vezta joined in with a heavy note of disapproval in her tone. I concur with the orc. We spent weeks claiming every scrap of land and burrowing beneath the land. All that effort claiming territory will go to waste if we move the tower.

On and on it went. Rekkar thumped his fist against the table. Dakka and Lyssa agreed with Kia, wanting to fight rather than flee. Savren sought to scan Arkk, searching for subtle synapse stimulations that might suggest cerebral sabotage. Richter, having joined solely because Arkk was the one standing in the way of Evestanis first invasion, was actually straining on the link. It was close to snapping in his case.

Arkk held up his hands, calling for them to calm down.

Alma bit her lip, chewing a little before trying to talk over the ongoing arguments. You cant possibly want to fight, she said, not to Arkk but to her fellow werecat. Lyssa growled back, only for Alma to sit up straighter. If Arkk says to leave, there is something out there that we cant handle. Listen to your head for once, not your bloodlust.

Are we trying to escape the demon? Zullie asked, Because I think I have a few more ideas

You havent finished formulating your freshest fancies, now youre fishing for more? Youd contribute to this conflict more if you chose one idea and completed it counter to commencing continuous half-cocked creations

Oh, like you would know. Found your notes yet?

You

What of the avatar? Lexa asked, her simple question pulled thin by the tension in the back of her throat. We cant leave that monster alive.

Arkk snapped his fingers, teleporting everyone to a random seat at the same time. The sudden teleportation, following disorientation, and confusion as they found themselves staring across the table at someone they hadnt been expecting bought him a precious moment of silence. A moment he used to slam his hands down on the table.

If you all would let me finish, he shouted, red eyes burning so bright that he could see his face reflected in Zullies rectangular glasses. He waited a second, making sure he wouldnt be interrupted, before letting out a small sigh. Sorry. I shouldnt have started with that.

Well be abandoning the defense to go on immediate offense, Arkk said.

That noisy sort of silence filled the room. Again.

Arkk opened his mouth but didnt manage to beat the sudden voices shouting across the table at each other. Kia, Richter, Dakka, and Lexa started shouting at everyone who advocated for more caution. Zullie and Savren picked up on their argument right where they had left off. Vezta was still concerned about losing access to all the territory they had claimed.

With a snap, Arkk shuffled the room around once more. If I have to throw you all into separate corners of the fortress and talk to you individually, I will, he threatened, skimming his gaze over everyone. He deliberately let the silence hang this time, daring someone to speak. Nobody took him up on it. We arent going to get a better opportunity to attack. Those airships are grounded still, but they wont be for long. More importantly, they are visible. Agnete is back and she is trying to requisition support from the Anvil. We have a full stock of charged glowstones.

What of the demon? Olattan asked, speaking up in a deliberately respectful tone. Is it wise to make our moves with that thing causing havoc?

That is the one blight, Arkk admitted, allowing the interruption this one time. But unless Zullie can accurately locate the demon now He paused, looking at the witch. She shook her head in a sorry negative. Then the demon will only continue escalating the problems it has been causing until it manages to succeed in its goal of turning us against the Prince or the Prince against us. There is a minor benefit in that our enemies are also the Princes enemies. The demon may just put harassing us on hold to revel in the destruction of opponents it can actually strike at.

Veztas lips twisted into a faint frown. A dangerous proposition, she said with obvious disapproval. A lot can happen in the chaos of battle.

A lot can indeed, Arkk said, nodding his head. Which is why were having this meeting. We are going to eliminate as many risksfrom demon, avatar, and conventional armyas possible. He looked over the table once again. Any questions?

That noisy sort of silence hung over the table.

Arkk braced himself for the start of a very long meeting.

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