Rise of the Godking - Chapter 175

Chapter 175 - A Flying Wrench(1)

Daneel waited for the red-robed man to pull him, kick him, or at least snap him around using the shackle that could dictate his moments with just a flick of the holder's wrist.

None of that happened.

Ignoring him as thoroughly as the elf had done, the man led him to one of the round buildings along the path. It was different from the rest, with a crimson teleportation matrix inside and nothing else, unlike the others which had either refreshments for travelers or places to sit down and rest after a long journey. Not anyone could enter the Empire as they wished: sometimes, permission was required, and hence, the waiting period was designed to be as pleasurable as possible.

All three of them had read up on the Empire before coming here. They dabbled in various industries, but slavery was their bread-and-butter. Slaves could be brought to them to be broken in, trained, or even sold for a good price. Apart from that, they also leased out skilled workers who could perform the duties of the citizens of Graiton who had resided in the second and third layers underground.

The total number of people who made up the Empire was a mystery, even though the beggar king had done his best to remove the shroud around it. In terms of land, his estimates stated that twenty islands had been put together, their masses joined together to create a unified land that defied the word 'island'. It was almost a continent, veritably, and the beggar king had noted how astonishing it was that such a force was being allowed to thrive by the Garbonors.

He had had many suspicions, too, ranging from the far-fetched which included details of a rumor that the Ushanbos somehow held a secret they could use to threaten the family, to downright depressing ones such as the belief that a few held where the Ushanbos were merely a front for the Garbonors. From the quote that Daneel had found on that button hidden among the Ushanbos clothes, though, he had decided that there was something else entirely at play, here, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it before heading towards the Mainland.

Planning was always easier when quantifiable entities were present on the playing field. That quote had messed with everything he had thought he had known about this Empire, so the main reason he had decided to come here was that he wanted to leave the islands knowing that he knew each and every part of them, and that there was nothing that could surprise him after he completely embroiled himself in his schemes to bring down the family.

Inside the circular alcove which had enough space to hold 10 people, the red-robed man waited, watching a different individual dressed in the same manner who was sitting at the one corner of the open room with his eyes closed. There was an open door opposite the one through which Daneel had entered, causing the entire place to be airy and free, and right as he felt a gust of cool wind caress his face, he did something that only a slave who had been tortured for years somewhere underground would do.

Straightening his back, he took in a deep breath with his eyes closed.

His entire body tensing up as if he was standing on a land being ravaged by an earthquake, he waited for the reaction that could definitely be expected from a place that was so known for its skill in dealing with slaves. Everyone knew that the most important thing was to always keep the downtrodden trodden down, so any member of the Ushanbos should move to strike him where he stood until he cowered on the ground, bleeding from lacerations all over his body.

"Onward."

That word appeared from the corner where the other man was sitting, and with a gentle nudge, Daneel was taken to the crystal. He tried not to let any confusion show on his face, and he was sure that he had succeeded, but still, his mind was in turmoil as he touched the matrix, and disappeared.

While he waited for his vision and other senses to adjust, he shook his head, telling himself that it might just be that there was a policy that no violence should be present on that welcoming island as it was a place where different guests would be resting. Not all visitors would enjoy such scenes in an atmosphere that was meant to be civil, so after letting out that deep breath, he slouched, again, as any slave would act cautiously after realizing that they had just done something that could have killed them if they were anywhere else.

Before his mind completely adjusted to the backlash of shifting through space, the image that had upended his understanding of the Ushanbos reappeared at the forefront of his psyche. Those scars he had seen on the three who should have lived like kings seemed to be screaming at him now, telling him to admit that the most obvious explanation for what he had seen was true, but he refused them.

Blinking to adjust to the gloomy area he had come to, Daneel looked around and saw stone walls, making him wonder whether he had directly been thrust into the Empire's version of the Pit. Only, when he raised his head and looked straight ahead, what he saw made all such thoughts flee as the realization struck him that he had severely, stupidly underestimated the Ushanbos.

A tall, stone arch made of the same material used in the construction of that massive cathedral stood there, with swirling mists filling the entirety of the doorway. Two open, wooden chests stood on two sides of it, and from where he stood, Daneel could see multiple objects made of crystal in the chest nearest to him.

They were all charms, or in other words, this world's version of trinkets, magical items that either used or contained energy to cast spells, or possess different effects. The queue that stretched out from a few feet in front of the spot he stood and the guards who had been arranged on both sides of the arch completed the image, making it abundantly clear what he was seeing: a weeding out of individuals who either possessed magical objects, or those who had had spells cast upon them for whatever reason.

As it had served him well so far, he had trusted elven magic to hide his identity. He could have walked in with his original face, but as this was too risky as it might be used to connect him with his place of origin in case there was someone who possessed such information, he had opted to adopt the visage of a middle-aged, bearded slave, just a few years from death due to the extremely rigorous life he had been forced to lead until now.

Picking up the handle that had been left behind when his guide had stepped through, the red-robed man gently nudged him forward again, making him join the end of the queue. Daneel's thoughts raced; quickly, he had a discussion with the system, but as its stores of data were still woefully incomplete, it was unable to ascertain whether his disguise would be uncovered. It did say that it could give him an answer after a deep analysis, but the line was moving quickly, and he knew that he would not have enough time.

He didn't know why, but he felt a strong certainty that the Ushanbos might already have prepared to detect magic of any kind. After a couple of moments, the best option he could think of was to somehow walk away, remove the spell, and use the system to rearrange the bones of his face, but the entire place was a cavern teeming with red-robed guards holding pikes, with no nook or cranny he could use to hide himself.

When he arrived at the spot where only two people were left in front of him, he reached the grim conclusion that he would have to speed things up. When planning this excursion, he had already laid out multiple scenarios in his head, and he remembered thinking then that he would do something like this only as a last resort.

Having his identity exposed, and giving concrete information that he was capable of using, or having elven magic used on him would identify him both as the one who had probably knocked out the three Ushanbos, and the one who stole from the beggar king and was now evading capture. It would put him in hot, no, blistering soup, and as it would expose his face, too, he was not prepared to let it happen.

Letting out a sigh of resignation, he closed his eyes and let his senses wander. He was searching for the Will, of course, to hopefully take command of the entire room and pass through without eliciting any conscious response. His logic had been simple: if there was no significance behind those scars he had found, the Will would definitely be waiting for someone like him to come along, just like all the others he had connected to recently. Cautiously, yet with the firm touch that was ready to take hold of the entity at the heart of the land, Daneel ventured deeper, father, further into the ground below his feet and found what he was looking for.

It was larger than what he had expected, and a bit later, he understood that the Wills of all the individual islands that made up the Empire must've joined together. It also showed no outward signs of turmoil, but he didn't give this detail too much importance as it was probable that it was a defensive mechanism.

With his heart beating out of his chest, he reached out. He came upon a barrier, but without thinking too much about it, he pushed.

Something pushed back.

Sweat popping up all over his body, Daneel fled as quickly as he could…but he was too late. At that moment, it had all been exposed to him: the Will was thriving, and it was also being controlled by a single, or multiple individuals who knew what they were doing.

For a second after he returned to his body, he waited, hoping that the person might have lost track. Another second passed, yet nothing changed around the cavern, except for him reaching the position where he would have to step through the arch next.. But right as he was about to take in a breath filled with the relief…a ghostly hand, made of misty wisps each possessing the form of a human skull screaming in anguish appeared out of nowhere, snatched him up from where he stood, and promptly threw him with such force that he was barrelling out of the cavern before anyone inside could even draw a breath.