Chương 52: 51. Donath

"Calli, we can't claim the Temple or the pentagon," Tavian said.

"We don't have the forces we need. I'm not letting you go back down into that dungeon. We nearly died!" Calli pushed her silver hair out of the way as she took a sip of Alisa's tea.

"But it should be less dangerous now," she said.

"And we need to do something about the mana well!" Cormath stepped up beside him.

"We don't need to claim the tile to inspect the mana well," he said, then added quickly, "Calli explained your theory to me, and I think it's right. We can go down into the dungeon again, and try to identify where the mana well is leaking. Perhaps it can be patched. Perhaps… it could be used to undo some of what has been done." Cormath gestured to himself. Tavian didn't like the idea of sending anyone back down into the dungeon, let alone his sister and the man he'd just rescued.

As he spoke, Lea spoke in his mind." Tavian, if you don't do something, the dungeon will eventually reform. But it won't happen overnight."

"We have other problems to focus on," Tavian said.

"Karath Amon. Lord Anarvia."

"This is about Anarvia," Calli hissed, leaning to push herself up and wincing when she put weight on her injured arm.

"Bring me my bag," she said, sitting back down. Tavian grabbed her tool bag and dragged it over. Calli rummaged around inside, then pulled out a set of silvery tools.

"I found these down there," she said, holding one up.

"They're stamped with the mark of Halin."

"The master Coresmith?" Tavian felt the cold slap of betrayal. He'd suspected, before, but now…

"Yes," Calli said, pain obvious in her eyes. The man had been a mentor to her.

"He was clearly working on the infuser. Or on something. He must have betrayed us."

"It stings," Tavian said.

"But I don't see why we should go back down into the dungeons."

"To try to do something to fix the mana well? To figure out what Halin was doing?" Calli snapped.

"What was worth destroying our city over?

""We already know," Tavian said.

"The Witherstone. He made a powerful artifact for Lord Anarvia." Calli shook her head.

"No," she said, "There's more. There has to be more. I don't think he would just—" she choked on her words.

"Cormath agrees with me."

"We should go back down," Cormath said, grimly. Tavian might have been willing to send them in search of more knowledge. But if they went back down into those dungeon halls, when would they come back out? Besides, Tavian wasn't certain he could trust Cormath. His motivations would have changed. Calli saw his face and eyes harden, and hauled herself to her feet before he could speak.

"We're going, no matter what you say," she said.

"It's important, Tavian."

"No," Tavian said.

"I order you both not to go back into that dungeon without express permission." He felt the Mandate Perk activating, lending authority to his words. Calli swayed slightly, blood draining from her face, and she sat back down on her bed. The rebelliousness had fled from her.

"Tavian, please," she said.

"I'm begging you, it's so important." Tavian felt a little sick, like he'd just pushed over a child. He didn't like the feeling of using magical Influence to force his family to listen to him.

"I want to know what Halin was thinking as much as you do," Tavian said.

"Now get some rest, and drink Alisa's tea." He started to leave the room. Cormath walked with him.

"My lord," Cormath said, "If I may… I am no longer one of your subjects. I'm dead. I cannot be. I am not susceptible to the magical compulsions in your commands." A chill ran down Tavian's spine.

"I respect you, sir," Cormath said.

"And will support you. But I need to go back into that dungeon. I need to understand what I've become. What I'm becoming. And what I can do about it." Tavian exhaled through his nose.

"In due time, Cormath," he said.

"Will you fight beside me, or will you leave us, in search of your own answers?" Cormath rubbed his chin, one hand resting idly on the hilt of his sword.

"I'll stay with you. For now." In the central courtyard, Tavian stood inside of a battlefield tent that Erond had set up. The man liked being in the middle of things. His broken leg prevented him from moving much, so he'd made himself the center. Vanal was still working, sifting their reserves. Without having to worry about the miasmic dungeon beneath their feet bleeding Essence by flipping their tiles, they could safely raise the Influence of the kingdom.

⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 795 326 2. 4 Erond breathed deeply, massaging the thigh of his broken leg. He grunted as Vanal pushed another load of Essence into the Core.

"That Influence feels good," Erond said. His leg would heal faster if they could keep the Influence high. Braun and Cormath were already here, Braun seated, Cormath standing. Tavian rolled out his shoulders, setting the Aegis down on the ground and taking a seat. He mostly felt the increased Influence as relief; a sign that he'd managed to deal with a problem that he no longer needed to worry about. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"How are we doing on food?" Tavian asked.

"Still not good," Erond said.

"We're talking about days, not weeks." The refugee population; people entering from the city had exploded over the last 24 hours. ⬣ Kingdom Population: 356 ⬣ More than a hundred people had brought something of value, offered along with an oath in exchange for joining the kingdom. Many people who'd arrived were desperate people, unable to return to their homes. The ghouls were still looting the city. These refugees sheltered near the griffin stables, between the walls.

There were nearly a hundred people gathered there now, and Tavian could see that it was going to become a problem.

"This increasing Influence is going to make it more difficult for the non-subjects," Erond noted.

"Some of them may be willing to risk going back into the city in search of something to offer in exchange for our protection." Tavian frowned.

"It seems cruel," Braun said, echoing Tavian's thoughts.

"Can't we just let everyone swear fealty? I get that we're low on food, and we need more Essence, but…" All eyes turned to Tavian.

"I wish the same thing, Braun. I wish our kingdom covered all the Corinath Isles, and there were no traitors among us. But we're doing what we can. Anyone seeking shelter in the Fortress gets it. That might become a problem in the future, but for now, the system is working." Braun nodded, accepting the wisdom in Tavian's words.

"A tomorrow problem," he said, using one of Calli's favorite phrases.

"That's right," Tavian said.

"None of that matters if we can't stop the Karath Amon," he said.

"We only have perhaps today and tomorrow before they reach the outskirts of the city." Tavian checked the system map. Lord Anarvia, no longer slowed by turbulence in the dungeon, had completed the surround of Tavirost Fortress. His claimed tiles completely encircled Tavian's. The effect of the surround was a slight drain on the Essence of the Core, as it resisted the Influence of Anarvia's Core. It was low, though, no more than an Essence or two per day, and so it wasn't much of a concern.

Anarvia likely thought the surround put Tavian in a much more challenging place. A normal Kingdom Core would have seen a significant increase in its burn rate—dozens of Essence per day—when surrounded like that.

"If it wasn't for the Karath Amon, we could probably just wait him out," Braun said.

"Lord Anarvia's burn rate must be high enough that he's going to start losing Influence well before we do."

"And food," Erond added.

"We'd run out of food if there weren't invading soldiers out there." Tavian crossed his arms and sighed. He wished that Calli was here, but she was still sleeping off her injury in her chambers. He'd sent a craftsman to board up the window he'd shattered with the Aegis.

"We need to take action," Tavian said.

"Sitting here in these walls is a death sentence. If we can strike a blow against Anarvia, and consolidate the remaining Houses, then present a unified face…" he trailed off. It was a big ask, especially when none of his messengers had managed to get in direct contact with the other houses. Except for Tiren, but Valliroth and his priests couldn't help them much now.

"There's the warehouse," Braun suggested.

"If we left the fortress undefended, we might be able to bring a block of soldiers out to raid their supplies." A block of soldiers was twelve by twelve, one hundred and forty four men. Taking that many would leave the Fortress mostly undefended.

"Raids don't change maps overnight," Tavian said.

"We need something bigger. Something that they wouldn't expect. A direct assault on Anarvia's compound, perhaps. With the power of this shield, we could break through his gates and storm his home. Maybe even reach his Core."

"A death trap," Erond said.

"You'd be cut off, surrounded by ghouls. Every man you lose would be another soldier in Lord Anarvia's army."

"We have to act big," Tavian said.

"Like frightening off a direbear. Wave our arms in the air, be loud, pretend that we've got more than we do. It won't fool Anarvia, but it might give his mercenaries pause." Just then, a horn sounded at the gates. A few moments later, the tramping of hooves entered the courtyard. Tavian emerged from the council tent, and was delighted to find his two pages; the ones that he'd sent to house Donath. They beamed proudly as they rode up, and Tavian's eyes widened when he saw Lord Donath himself, riding in behind them.

Donath saluted Tavian and dismounted from his horse, striding confidently over to grasp Tavian's hand. He was a tall man, about ten years Tavian's senior, with a large, full beard, broad shoulders, and sunbaked skin from overseeing his fields. He wore a gold trimmed tunic, with sheaths of wheat embroidered on the hems, and a charging bull over his heart.

"Tavian," he said, smiling. His handshake was firm.

"Or should I call you Lord Veros?" Tavian noted that the man didn't offer to call him King.

"Veros is fine," Tavian said, and Lord Donath released the grasp. Behind the man, men, women, and carts entered the courtyard. A carriage rolled to a stop, and Lady Donath stepped out, holding a child. More children peered out the windows.

"I apologize for this intrusion," Donath said.

"But, considering the circumstances, I thought it would be better for us to unite our forces?" Tavian nodded, slowly. He felt himself on a razor's edge. Donath could be a very valuable ally, but if he'd simply brought more mouths to feed…

"Don't worry," Donath said, clapping Tavian's shoulder.

"I've a whole banner of men and their families with me. I'll help you hold the fortress."

"Good," Tavian said, even though he still couldn't help but wonder how they'd feed that many people. A tickle of worry quivered in the back of his mind. What if Donath had joined Anarvia, and this was some kind of attack? He needed an oath of Fealty.

"Great. That is wonderful. We'll have you and your men swear fealty and join this kingdom."

"Yes," Donath, said, "We'll want to do that. We're used to working without Influence, out on the outskirts, but being here is a bit of a drag…" He seemed hesitant.

"Of course, you'd remain in command of your men," Tavian said, starting to feel more uncomfortable. He had, at best, a block of soldiers. Buoyed by 3 Influence, 144 men could perhaps face half a banner. If Tavian let all Donath's men within the walls, the man could seize the fortress and the Core.

"How did you get here?" Tavian asked.

"The streets are dangerous."

"When we first heard about Karath Amon marching in from the west, we started making preparations to flee to the south. Lord Anarvia was pressuring us to join with him." Donath leaned in, looking around furtively.

"He was using black magics. Ghouls. Miasmic type stuff, threatening to burn our fields on one hand, while offering us riches on the other. It made me sick, you know, seeing what he's done to this city. Miasma isn't a power used by good men." Tavian's side twinged, and he unconsciously pressed a hand to it.

"Then it's true?" he asked.

"The Karath Amon landed and are marching east?"

"Yes," Donath said.

"They probably didn't want to risk sailing into the harbor and having to fight Brask's fleet. They must be in communication with Anarvia."

"I deduced as much," Tavian said.

"Did you bring provisions?"

"We've brought some food," Donath said.

"Enough for a few days." He pointed to the east, where a smoky haze hung in the sky.

"We burned the stores and fields we left behind, to prevent the Karath Amon from claiming them."

"Why did you come to me?" Tavian asked.

"You could have fled to the south."

"I might have saved my family. But a Lord's duty is to all his people. We can hold this fortress for a time, and exact concessions from them. If Brask is still holding out on his island, perhaps we can arrange for safe passage off the island. The city may be lost, but…" Donath trailed off as he noticed the hard look on Tavian's face.

"You don't intend to abandon the city," he said.

"If I might make a recommendation," he said.

"Your Kingdom Core won't protect you here. You're fighting a losing battle. You're going to die here."

"I'm not leaving," Tavian said.

"Anarvia already offered me the easy way out. I'm not turning Tar Corinath over to traitors and foreigners. Let me show you something." He led Donath to the kingdom Core, glittering in the center of the courtyard.

"I assume that your house was not within the boundary of the kingdom, the night of the coup," Tavian said.

"Otherwise you'd have felt it when Anarvia's men destroyed the Core." Scars from the destruction of the Core were still visible in the courtyard.

"Ah," Donath said.

"There was some discussion of that. I am not surprised that your father had a back up Core in his vaults."

"This Core did not come from my father's vaults," Tavian said.

"I brought it with me from Endara. This is one of the fabled Conqueror's Cores, constructed by the master Coresmith Galwyn himself." Donath turned to the Core, searching it with a penetrating gaze. He scoffed.

"Liar."