Jackal Among Snakes

But Argrave and Orion could not waste time focusing on that. They found Anneliese and the rest soon enough in a low-lying grove, precisely as had been conveyed to Elenore.

“Alright. I found them, sis. Thanks,” Argrave communicated back home.

“Be safe. I don’t ever want to feel you go dark like that again,” Elenore told him, moments before their communication ended.

The Alchemist had long ago spotted Argrave’s return, and told the others. They waited on him as they passed into the place.

Anneliese still held Sophia, precisely as Argrave had asked her to do. Anneliese got the young girl’s attention, and when her red eyes fell upon Argrave, they widened in disbelief. “What did I tell you?” Anneliese said to the princess.

The Alchemist held out his hand as Argrave walked up. “My lens.”

Argrave had intended to say something to Sophia, but he begrudgingly pulled it free from beneath his eye and flicked it like a coin. The glass faded into the Alchemist’s flesh, and Argrave’s eyes flickered between him and Sophia. He had hoped the item in Sandelabara related to Gerechtigkeit might be… well, an item, and not a person. Having Sophia here would be a burden, regardless of his feelings on the matter. He put his hand on her head while she stared at him in total shock.

“Told you I’d be back, Sophia. These are the friends I told you about. We’re here to get you to safety—and that means we can’t talk much right now. Is that alright?”

Sophia nodded, and Anneliese gently set her down. The princess walked up to his leg at once, touching him to be sure he was real before standing behind him, sheltered from all the others. It was awkward at first, but Argrave adjusted. She didn’t seem to want to say anything at all.

After a time, Anneliese whispered, “I… don’t think she processes things like a normal girl does. She doesn’t fear for herself. She was more scared for you—and she trusts only you.”

Argrave heard and absorbed her words, but more pressing matters deserved his attention. “I certainly hope we’ve come up with something while I was busy risking my life. Melanie, your portals, maybe?”

The Alchemist answered in all their stead. “The golems Dario—or more accurately, the being working through Dario—sent are capable of neutralizing all supernatural energies, be it magic or divine blessing. I detected the same energy coming from the ones protecting Good King Norman. Did you find a way to bypass their nullification?”

“No,” Argrave shook his head. “But it looks like they were attached to a specific host. Those people we got rid of—when they bit the dust, they started to disappear on their own. I was able to…” he looked down at Sophia, not wishing to admit he’d killed her father. He said instead, “Norman won’t trouble us ever again.”

“So, whatever empowers the golems is likely anchored similarly to Dario. That’s a lead, at the very least.” The tower master Castro looked to be deep in thought.

“But an easy way out seems off the table.” Argrave looked at his party. Onychinusa, Castro, Anneliese, himself, and the Alchemist—these golems were perfect counters to their magic. And from what Durran said of his fight against the creature, they weren’t exactly easy pickings physically, either. They were hardy enough to walk through liquified rock. That took tremendous power and durability.

“I’m sure you’ve seen the Shadowlander problem.” Argrave turned, and Sophia clung to his leg anxiously. “As much as I love playing my enemies against each other, I suspect the Shadowlanders will come without an end. Thousands of creatures the likes of which could have levelled Dirracha will spread out across this land, until Traugott finally sees the opportunity he’s been looking for.” He put his hand on Sophia’s head, almost to assure himself that she was still here. “The longer we wait, the worse the problem will get. So, I’m not sure we can afford to do something like that.”

“The Shadowlanders are not Traugott’s puppets. He’s merely letting loose wild animals to take advantage of the chaos. Only Traugott himself that will come for us. That gives us some leeway in dealing with them.” Anneliese’s reminder was neutral, but did brighten some faces.

“Why don’t we get the gods to come down here, get their hands dirty?” Melanie asked. “Better than dying.”

“If they know about this place, they might learn about Sophia.” She looked up at him when her name was called. “I can’t predict what they’ll try and do with her. No—we can’t involve them.”

Anneliese stepped away to the top of the hill shielding the grove, watching the distant golems. “The thread connecting these golems… it is quite thin. Stretched.” She turned back to them. “I suspect it’s a matter of distance. This is only my conjecture, but I don’t believe magic and divine nullification will be as absolute as it was in your initial encounters with Dario. And the reason why the golems are lingering near the entrance isn’t because they want to catch us as we leave. No—they likely can’t advance further without breaking their connection.”

“I fail to see how we might take advantage of that, Your Highness,” Orion said politely. “The golems will stand watch, but the Shadowlanders will flush us out, like water slowly filling a cellar we’re trapped inside.”

Anneliese paused at that, lowering her head in deeper contemplation. Castro, however, raised a finger.

“Argrave—you’ve learned this land intimately. Is there any way one could approach either the Shadowlanders or the golems quickly and covertly?”

Argrave didn’t need to think for very long. “Sure. There’s a huge network of tunnels underneath most of the city for the kingsmen and the king himself to show up throughout town. But given how dangerous the Shadowlanders are—given they might cause the whole thing to collapse at any time—I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Castro closed his eyes and contemplated something deeply. Argrave watched him with bright eyes, hoping that there was something that the wise old man would think of in this dark hour. After a time, a smile fell across Castro’s face and he opened his eyes with a laughing sigh.

“I will punch a hole through the Shadowlanders and the golems both. And through that hole, you all shall leave.”

“No, you won’t,” Argrave shot down his idea at once.

“Time wastes as we—” Castro continued, but Argrave interrupted him again.

“No, you won’t, because I know exactly what you’re thinking. You’ll use your A-rank ascension, and you’ll tear through them all like a knife through butter. But I won’t let you, because I know how that ends. And it ends pretty badly for you.”

“I have a robust succession plan, Argrave,” Castro assured him. “My position in the Order has basically already been delegated to those who will take my place. And I assure you, they are as steadfastly loyal to you as I am.”

“I’ve never had to do what you’re talking about before. I don’t want to start now,” Argrave shook his head.

“Maybe I want it,” Castro mused. “I am many things, but famous? I think not. Over three hundred years of living, and I can still walk through the streets of any city without so much as a widened eye in recognition. Make sure the historians write about me, maybe hire a minstrel or two… and this old man can breathe his last.”

Argrave looked at him with a terrible feeling swirling in his chest. He couldn’t conjure words, and that only made the feeling worse.

“If you want to save all, I could consume this city,” the Alchemist said, looking about. “They are people lost in time, and already being massacred by the Shadowlanders. I could once again call upon potentiation. Those from the Shadowlands will fuel my endless appetite. I will chase them into their own realm. And then, when all our enemies are subsumed into my flesh…” he pointed at the black stone hanging around Argrave’s neck. “You put the Smiling Raven inside there.”

Argrave looked between them. “What is with you two?”

“I dare not test my unevolved might against those golems while the Shadowlanders swarm down without end. Furthermore, I know you dislike the idea of me having some say in Sophia’s fate.” The Alchemist looked at Argrave squarely. “Dario’s words stuck with you. And they stuck with me, too. I am not ignorant I am inhuman. Whatever she represents, perhaps I deserve no say in the fate of the world. Becoming the Smiling Raven would allay your fears more permanently. And you gain a weapon to use however you will.”

Argrave looked around at everyone. He already saw in their faces something of what he felt in his heart—a lack of other choices.

“Whatever plan you decide on, decide upon it quickly,” Onychinusa reminded Argrave. “Elsewise, I’ll just go home without you. More of those disgusting Shadowlanders are coming from their portals. Soon, this whole city will be lost to them.”

“I’m, uhh… of a like mind,” Melanie admitted quietly, though with a degree more empathy than the ancient elf. “So, Argrave?”

Ask an old man to die, or ask an older man to turn into an abomination that destroyed a continent millennia ago. If the Alchemist became the Smiling Raven, they would lose his tremendous capability of research, his vast trove of knowledge, and all things related to the direction of researching Gerechtigkeit. Castro, meanwhile, would undoubtedly pass on if he did as he proposed. His A-rank ascension all but guaranteed such a fate.

Argrave looked down at Sophia—innocent, confused, and hiding behind his leg for protection. Though he knew the answer, he hesitated to speak it. He found his resolve in her trembling figure. Argrave lifted his head up, took a deep breath, and prepared to damn an ally with his next utterance.