Sause knelt down, an uncharacteristic seriousness adorning his usually carefree face. He wore a simple yet enchanted set of linen clothing – which accommodated his size quite well – and the ever short tufts of hair over his head hung as much as they could because of his posture.
It was quite impressive that the space he was in, a massive cavern that would have fit the whole of Genhuis City, along with a cluster of towns, was so tranquil, not a sound reaching the ear.
Yet this wasn't too odd.
An audience with the Scaled Elder often took patience, even if you found yourself in his abode.
An hour had almost passed with Sause stuck in the bow, when a great stomp rocked the cavern.
The dramatic falling of weak points in the cavern, making a statement as to the loss in the integrity of the space... did not happen.
How could an area deigned by the Scaled Elder himself as home be so structurely unsound, however primitive it looked for such an ancient, powerful being?
Sause did not move.
He heard another mighty stomp, and then another, and another.
With each, it was evident that the Elder drew closer, and by the fifth stomp, Sause felt a scorching breath that travelled along with a choking dark smoke bathe him thoroughly. The hoarse cry from a pair of massive nostrils also blasted his ears... but he had grown used to it.
He raised his head.
What had been a dark cavern now had the great shadowy overlay of an enormous lifeform whose eyes were bright enough to give significant lighting to the surroundings.
The air swooned as heavy movement rocked it. A massive head turned and focused on Sause. A turquoise blue eye with a neon glow illuminated the giant, the slit-like pupil at its middle dilating slightly.
A wide mouth below a long snout covered in rough, stone-like, foggy grey scales opened to reveal two arching sets of long teeth akin to the erect stalactites in the cavern, and then...
"HOW OFTEN DO YOU HAVE TO VISIT ME, SAUSIFILLIS?" a booming voice shot from the great maw with striking intensity, and Sause groaned as it rattled his bones, as if each word was stab to his vitals.
"Forgive me, Elder," Sause said respectfully, his eyes unblinkingly staring into the large, blue circular glow. "This is unlike the times when I brought to you Benzard or when I came for your aid two months ago. I simply—"
"I AM AWARE."
With Sause being cut off, there was another thunderous noise as the great creature moved, passing where Sause was positioned.
Its body, visible to the giant's eyes in the dark, crossed past his vision as it tremored its way to another portion of the cavern that could barely contain its size. In fact, the Great Elder was so massive that Sause had never seen the Elder's tail even when the great beast moved about.
And when the great creature moved, he would be compelled to silence each time.
For very few could act haughty in the presence of a dragon.
Even fewer could withstand the resting might of a Herald of one of the Deities.
Jerthrax, the Vision of Misery, was both of these things.
"IT HAS FINALLY COME. THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAGEDY THAT THEY FORETOLD. THE PENANCE FOR PROMISE THEY MADE, AND THE INEVITABLE RISE OF A FIEND," the great dragon said in what sounded like a forlorn voice.
"What promise do you mean, Elder?" Sause inquired.
The great lantern of an eye turned to the giant, and another boom resounded across the cavern as it seemed that Jerthrax had settled.
"YOU WILL FIND THAT MAKING FRIENDS WHEN THERE ARE FEW CAPABLE OF COMPREHENDING YOUR NATURE, IS A RATHER DIFFICULT AFFAIR. FRIENDSHIPS BORN AFTER SUCH TRIALS... THEY PERSIST PAST TIME AND PAST BETRAYALS. EVEN GODS HAVE A TENDERNESS OF THE HEART."
Sause couldn't quite follow these vague words, but the gravity within the Scaled Elder's voice turned him even more sullen than he had been. He had come here because he had sensed a great disturbance from afar, way past the Central Boundary, and wished to learn what it meant from the Elder but...
"NOW, WE WILL PAY FOR IT," Jerthrax said before emitting another scorching, smoky breath.
"PREPARE YOURSELF, SAUSIFILLIS. AS THE PROMISE UNFOLDS, THE FIEND IS SET ON HUNTING ME, AND THE OTHERS DOWN. THEY WILL TRAVEL HERE SOON."
Sause nodded.
He knew who the fiend was, or at least which affiliation the fiend was from. He was prepared for it. It was only a man, after all. But the promise, he had no idea what it entailed. It probably wasn't something he should worry about right now, as the Elder had warned him of a more immediate threat.
He rose, preparing to leave while mulling over how the enemy would get here, given the difficulty involved, when...
Jerthrax took in a great whiff of air, and Sause turned, surprised at the sound.
"Elder...?"
The blue flares that were the dragon's eyes turned into miniature suns and the air churned along with this change.
"AN UNFORESEEN ENEMY HAS ARRIVED. HIS PRESENCE IS TRANQUIL, SAUSIFILLIS. EERILY SO..."
***
Pelian.
"It is ready," the sailor said.
A masked man standing by the shore, looking at the large ship that allowed the eager waters to bash into its hull, nodded at these words.
There was no time to waste.
The disappearance of the seven Diviners in Genhuis City made it evident that he was 'seen' despite the many contingencies he had employed to avoid his plans leaking to opposing parties.
"It won't be easy, will it? Getting there I mean," Fulina who stood at Actuass' side asked.
"No. The Paladin I will have to face is the least of my worries. One of them at least," Actuass replied.
"Would it not be better to acquire the Herald in Opungale first then? To increase your chances of reaching Edagon, not to mention beating THAT Herald?" Cyne, another of Actuass' most trusted, asked. "He is human, right? He is certainly weaker than the one in Edagon?"
Actuass didn't answer immediately.
He clenched his fist.
The power coursing through him right now was unlike the one he attained from Stages, Cores or Classes. It wasn't simply physical or exclusively spiritual. It seemed all encompassing.
Absorbing Rayn's soul had ended up being the best option, after all, it granted him the ability to sense all the Heralds, the ones gifted with the power of the governing Deities.
Those who steered this world in the absence of two of the Deities.
While he hadn't become a Herald, he too now held traces of the Deities' power from Rayn's soul, and thus could sense pools of similar powers all around Aigas.
Hours ago, Actuass had sensed one of the Heralds move from Pelian to Opungale in the blink of an eye, which was why Cyne was urging him to go after this particular Herald first.
However...
"That one isn't an option for now. Playing a game of cat and mouse will only waste time. This particular man is not above fleeing from me, and he is very good at it. It is better to head straight for the Herald who is least likely to run away," the masked man answered.
"Alright, then let me come with you. You need faces you can trust by your side," Cyne said with a firm face.
Actuass turned to him.
"No. You two have important tasks," he said to the two. "Fulina securing Genhuis City, and you acquiring Gritgot City is imperative. In the likely event that Guissepo tries to take over Pelian, I need you to hold him off until I return. I have the feeling that this nation will receive no outside aid, and the Houses may not all be inclined to assist."
Fulina and Cyne wanted to argue, but they accepted their tasks. They trusted Actuass, and more than that, they had faith in his resolve to accomplish his goal.
They both sympathised with it, after all.
"Relax. I have acquired a few interesting monstrosities to help me on the way. As for the rest of the men I'm taking, they will do their part well," Actuass said before pacing on the muddy ground towards the ship, the stamps he left with his boots getting drowned with sea water moments later.
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