Scoundrel, chapter 6. (Patreon)

Here we are, please enjoy. There should be one other chapter before you all change your calendars.

The dungeons were as one would expect. Dark, dingy, even grimy in places. Crumbling stone, rotting bones, and rusting iron bars. Doors that creaked with lack of oil when moved and smelled of rot. Guttering torches that spread the scent of bitter pitch everywhere.

Really, it reminded me of home, way back when. I wonder if that's why Darnell made it. Surely the goody-two-shoes didn't actually use it. Though then again, some of these skeletons weren't props... Must have been some descendants, somewhere down the line.

The dark elf was properly chained up in the first cell, and now knights were cleaning the gaurd's room next to her, right at the base of the stairs leading up. The maids didnt come down here, it seemed.

The iron manacles on wrists and ankles had the would be assassin and spy pulled taut against the far wall. She wasn't watching the knights or staring at the keys that offered her freedom, however. She only had eyes for me.

I should be flattered, I suppose.

"So...." I began, more to break the silence than anything. To test the waters.

Then I stared at her until she began to fidget. As best as she could do so, at any rate.

Another long moment which had even the knights around me shifting nervously, and it was time to strike. "Why did you attempt to kill your lord?"

The would-be assassin offered me a look of pure incredulity before spitting out "You think you are my lord?!?"

"I am none other than Sammael. You have seen my handiwork, yet you doubt me? Tell me then, could any others you know perform such feats as I?"

The bait was swallowed easily: "I know a hundred stronger than you! A thousand! You Sammael? I laugh at your shameless jest!"

She did not believe a word of what she spewed save her first few, it seemed. That was fair, as I was not as strong as I once was.

I would recover, however, and those she knew were at their peak, their zenith. I would destroy them, as I had all before me. As for what happened after, that would be a matter between myself... and family.

I would not be disrespected by those I had once led, and surely, there were those I had once led among those this one considered strong.

"Yes, I am certain you do. And you will tell me of all of them, every single one. Surely you wish for us to meet, and for my betters to 'teach me a lesson' as the saying goes?"

Hm, they seemed not to know that phrase. Of course, she was a baby, this one. "Surely you wish them to inform me on how powerless I am? Give me names. Point me at your betters, that I may lose to them."

One of the knights behind me snorted a laugh, and that seemed to decide her.

"I will! The next to come for this place will be Zogdar, the monster king! He shall raze this place with his mighty horde of monsters, which he alone can control! Prepare yourself, Princess, prepare your Grave and go lie down in it! A thousand curses upon you for your defilement of our lord's name!"

Zogdar, huh? I didn't know any Zogdar. He could have changed his name, of course, but it was far more likely that he was a baby, like this one. Some of my escorts at least, had gasped; they knew the man by reputation at least.

"Why are you so certain this Zogdar will be the one to come?"

The assassin shut her mouth, looking smug and frightened in equal measure.  Not of me? Of her own loose lips? It was far too late for that.

A knight spoke up. "Likely because he is the closest among the enemy, my lord. He is stationed in what used to be a neighboring kingdom, where he rules the rubble of what remains with his monsters. More than one army was sent against him alone, and failed."

"That's nice," Even my own allies were thinking light of me it seemed. A warmth from the token; clearly my great-niece did not. I did not need such warm, sappy emotions, especially from one who would bargain her own body away due to weakness.

Ah, righteous indignation; that was better: "Good. How about you tell me all about it, since you know? I could use a laugh."

The assassin stayed silent. It seemed I would have to do this the less pleasant way then.

"Are you sure you won't talk?"

She said nothing. Not even a 'do your worst, vile fiend!'. I felt somewhat affronted.

"So what's your name? Is it really Cypress, or did you just pick that name because it felt suitably elvish?"

More silence. Boring.

"Tell me, do you know Mai?" She had a silly name, Maitake. But she chose it herself, so I had no right to complain. We'd theorized way back when that what she had become was as near immortal as anything could be. Maybe I'd get a final answer on that question, at least.

Her face betrayed her, even through her silence; shock and disbelief. She either knew Mai or knew something of her. Both emotions morphed into clear outrage, and  at last she got vocal: "How dare you! such disrespect!"

Disrespect huh? "Ha. What are you talking about? Her nickname? She herself gave me permission to call her that."

Of course, she'd been all of about twelve at the time. I was looking forward to seeing how she'd grown up. We hadn't parted on the best of terms, but we hadn't been enemies... for some reason she thought she could control me or something, order me around. Order me not to kill Darnell.

No one could stop that meeting. Not after what he'd done. What they'd done. Not my generals, not by sycophants, and not some little girl I'd picked up from crumbling streets and raised as one of my own.

It was destiny, of a sort. All of this had been. The irony is that I would be the one to destroy all those betrayers had built, even as they had set law down upon me to save it, from the dust of history past. Foolish, all of it.

The woman became guarded, her eyes slits as she regarded me.

Another push, then. "Shall I call you a nickname? Cy? Press? Ress?"

"Disgusting swine," and a glare was my response.

I shook the good princess's head. "That wouldn't work. A nickname should be shorter than one's name, not longer. You need to be able to call it in battle without wasting breath. That one is simply too long."

She cursed me, in a display of childishness I've not seen in at least a day. As if I had a problem with such. "Such things are music to me; again!"

Cypress went silent again. She had an impressive glare for one so weak, though. "So, let me ask again. Do you know Mai? Is she still alive?"

It was odd that the knights and clergy around me were also silent; surely they must know who I was speaking of, and yet even my vaunted guides kept their counsel. I would know what was being kept from me, and I would know now. I would keep pressing until I received an answer.

The spy flicked her gaze between the knights and I. After a second of that back and forth, she at last answered. "Queen Maitake is alive and well, and stands ready to lend her own strength to the cause of grinding this weak and foolish land into dust."

Well, wasn't that something? "That's great. You one of hers? A loyal subject, and all that?"

The spy flinched back, and I realized I had almost pressed my borrowed face into the rust scented iron bars. Surely, the princess was not so intimidating?

Her face hardened into clear defiance, and the glare returned as she leaned as close as the chains would allow. "I am. What of it? I can tell you little about the mind of the queen."

Hah, that was so silly I waved it away. "Of course not, you're a cut-out. But what you can do is take a message for me, provided I let you go."

The sounds of confusion and consternation behind me were music to my ears, and the look of shock was priceless; I would remember it fondly for all my days.

"What do you mean!"

"You can't!"

More foolishness to wave away. Time to show a few teeth: "Shut up metal men, your betters are talking."

I turned back to the person that mattered in the room. "Well?"

"What is your message?" The spy asked, full of a caution that wasn't warranted.

"That Sammael is back, and wants to talk to her, of course. If you want, I can write it down." Why a spy of all types of operatives would need such a note for such a simple message was beyond me, but I shouldn't judge. It wasn't as if the humans had impressed me with their intelligence so far.

Fire in this one, she shot right back with a wry look. "I think I got it. But can you offer proof? If this proves a fool's errand, then my Queen shall be most cross."

Whatever got her here. "That is no concern of yours, however if you need some proof to get to her, sure I can do that."

I walked over to my supposed archivist and swiped some paper from his book. Then I swiped his ink and quill, and wrote a simple circle on it. A simple protection circle, and nothing more. In a code, an old code, a code that was old when I was young, I wrote: 'remember lesson one' below it.

A few shakes would see it dry. So far none of my escorts had truly pissed me off yet; this would be the true test. "Let her out."

"But...."

"Let her out, now. My continued assistance depends on your ability to listen." I would never break the contract, but I could offer more or less help depending on what these fools did. No matter what I wanted to do, or how badly I wanted to destroy this place myself.

Of course the stone against my borrowed breast heated up to almost painful levels, telling me exactly what my contractee thought of such behavior. Too bad she wasn't the one in control.

It irritated me that the head mage had to repeat my order before the knights moved, but not quite enough to kill them all since they jumped pretty quickly after the words were spoken.

The spy came out as she did everything, cautiously. She didn't bother rubbing her wrists, which were marked and a little bloody. I respected her for that, showing no weakness in front of her supposed enemies.

I rolled the paper in my hand and held it out. She took it, and I pulled her close, meeting her eyes. "One other thing. Get all your other spies out of the city and out of the kingdom. You have a week. If you do not, I will consider them all fair game, and I will find them just as I found you. I don't need any further messengers. Do you understand?"

She shuddered and nodded. "I understand. It shall be done, demon."

I gave her a smile. She was learning! "Good, now get out of here. You," I pointed to one of the knights. One I knew had some pull in their command structure. "Escort her and see no harm comes to her. She is allowed to make detours to dead drops and the like, so she can inform her friends of the situation. Nowhere else."

II turned back to my new messenger. "Remember, he isn't who you need to worry about. I can find you at any time. Behave."

I wasn't even lying to her. Now that I had the scent of her soul, I could track her down whenever I wanted.

That settled that; the details could be handled by lessers now, I was now officially bored.

I guess it was time to either start trouble or stop it. It didn't really matter which.

"Come on, take me to the wall. The broken section." I could go myself of course, but then all the people around me would cry and moan about being left behind, and how their beloved Princess was in danger, and all of that. Sure, I could murder them all to shut them up, but then I'd have to do all the grunt work myself.

They wasted time staring at me, wary. The supposed head wizard even stepped up to me, mouth open to say something. "Well? Move, you laggards! Or do I need to convince you?"

"What is it you do here?" Oh my dead gods, he was TALKING. He had decided to question my motives! He should know those already.

"If you are to survive, you may need allies. I am much stronger now," Stronger every day, and stronger than you by half again, "but even so, I cannot be everywhere."

I mean, there were ways around that limitation, but he didn't need to know that.

"So you mean for us to ally with the dark elves? The most evil and foul race to walk the planet?" the commander of the knights shouted at us, spittle flying.

"Please, the dark elves aren't that bad. Trolls are much worse," I started ticking off fingers. "Giants, naga, goblins...."

"Enough prattle!" Was the man's reply. On that much we agreed. "They are enemies of humanity!"

As if I wasn't? "And? Hardly unique in that, and they owe me a favor. Rather, Mai does. So if I ask nicely, she should help us." Help me kill you myself, that is. She deserves that right as much as any other, even me.

The fools I'd seen so far? The disrespectful scum I'd encountered since my revival? Only deserved death, in as ignominious a fashion as possible. If the others wanted to join in, the old crew, I'd let them. If they continued to try on their own now that I was here, they would share the same fate as their cannon fodder.

At last the group moved, forming up into something vaguely like a circle around me and moving as I did. Ferahn was beside me however, and he was STILL talking.

"Now? What are your plans? How can you help those at the wall?"

"Well, I thought that since I'd regained some strength, I'd simply rebuild it. The stones still exist after all, and they remember their purpose."

Did these fools really not know how things worked? The new laws, despite being users of them?

"Do as you will," the fool in question said, as if I needed permission for such things. Even if I should at some point, those permissions were not his to grant.

The gem warmed against my breast again, a softer heat this time. Yes, we were indeed in this situation together, my foolish host.  For all the good it would do you.

I was regaining my old power quickly. I would be the most powerful being on this continent soon, even while it would take months to reach my old power. The longer I stayed out of the gem with its irritating seals, the more I existed, the more I gained. I might even become more powerful than I was at my old peak.

My host would weaken, of course. She might even die, as the months wore on, those same seals that weakened me killing her very soul. There was a certain poetic justice in that, yet I did not wish it for her.

Like all of Darnell's brood, I wanted to kill her myself, in my own way. Much as all the scum had built on the backs of others. All this, all around me, would burn.

After I gave them hope of course, by fixing all their broken defenses, as an example. They would rely on me, soon or late, and that would be their downfall.

The streets emptied as we took to them, with even the most dedicated merchant clearing the way before us. It made walking them easy.

The gem warmed, and pinkened. My host was worried, it seemed. Over a little exercise, of all things? As if some walking would stop us while I was in charge.

"I thought you said you could not do such things," The supposed great mage beside me not quite asked.

"What things?" I hated passive aggressive shit like that.

"Repairing city walls. Shoring up our defenses," the man replied.

"No, I said I wouldn't, not that I couldn't. Such tricks take a lot out of one."

"So what changed?"

A good question, and one I would not answer directly. "We are about to be attacked again, are we not?"

The man hummed at me, clearly not buying it. That was fine, he didn't need to. It wasn't as if the wall would do much to stop their enemies anyway; it hadn't before.

Just no point in dragging another meteor from the depths of space if I didn't have to.

We reached the bad section of wall, and it was in a state. Half under construction, half cleared of rubble, it looked as if the stone cutters would have something passable in another two or three weeks. Not a well-built wall, but it would likely stand up to some punishment. It might even last an entire day's siege.

I put some power in my voice, just as I had before on this very stretch of wall. "Clear out. Take five. Knock off and get some beer."

This time, the people under me looked up for a moment in shock - and then moved. No wasting time, no laughter. They were learning.

In honor of that lesson learned, I waited patiently until the last worker was out of the field of fire before I began. There was plenty of raw materials around, and with the memory of what the wall used to be, it was almost like building with legos.

"No mortar?" The old man asked, calmly watching all the stone blocks and bits of stone blocks piece themselves back together.

"Won't need it. They will be growing together soon enough. Don't tell me you can't do this?"

He wasn't very strong, but surely he had enough for this; at least for smaller structures. Could he do a full castle? Maybe, but he clearly hadn't in his obviously long life.

"Not that way," was his equally calm reply, something I could call him on - if only I cared.

"Well, you'll have to show me your way then; I'm curious. Think you can do things my way?"

"Given time. I can see how you have cast this spell, yet I doubt I could hold so many of anything with such weight at once."

"Yeah, it's best to start small if you don't know. Dropping something that weighs a ton is never a good idea unless you've got an enemy under it." I was holding something like two hundred blocks here as I melded them all back together.

"Will the stone move?"

A new voice, coming from some distance behind me. I turned to find a workman... no, a foreman? A working stiff either way, mounting the stairs behind us. The guards let him through without a challenge; interesting.

"If it needs to. The ghost of the wall which came before is powerful."

The man walked right up to within ten feet of me, watching the stones dance in the air as I settled them. "Good. That is good, as they will need to move when the earth moves. If they do not, they will shatter again, and we shall be left to rebuild again."

Yeah, that would be annoying; I wasn't rebuilding this again. "No need to worry, I don't half-ass my work."

I imagine the castle I'd built that one time was still up, unless Darnell the mighty had somehow paid it a visit. Hell, it could have probably survived him; it wasn't like the man was good at things like this. Not compared to the rest of us.

A little tiring... but easily done. Twenty minutes well spent, and now I could simply walk from one section of the wall to the next, like I was supposed to. I danced on it a bit to drive the point of safety home.

"See? It's all just fine. You can slam a rock or two off it to test it further if you want."

The man stepped up as well, stomping as he came. Rather funny, really.

The soul gem warmed. What was her problem now? She wasn't getting control; this time was mine!

"Alright, time to go back!" I could see some sighs among the peanut gallery, sighs of relief. It was fine; I needed to study. That these fools were relieved that I wasn't out and among them spoke to how silly they were; it wasn't as if I needed to be close to murder them all.

I passed the workman on my way back to the ladder; I wasn't going to lead this bunch of idiots through all the tower stairs.

Now to play the waiting game.