Chương 151: Illumination

"Get back!" I yelled.

"Let it go!" The golem lumbered across the temple, moving slowly, having lost interest in us. When it reached the altar, it laid forward, then pressed its chest down on the altar, slotting in gently. The sun core fit in the center perfectly, and the golem's half body sank into the floor. Channels of golden light surged away from the altar, racing across the temple ground, before blasting into the ground.

The gaps in the bricks lit up with gold sunlight from below, racing outward from the central plaza, before it reached the walls. Lapis-blue light rippled up over the cave walls, forming an illusion of a sky dome. Painted clouds swirled above, and a distant ball of light formed, shining down on the entire cave. Only a few shards or rock shone through, breaking the illusion of the outdoors.

"Woah…" I breathed.

"We did it," Sage said.

"The golem's dead," Yesman confirmed.

"And so is Othmuk." I stepped to the edge of the stairs and knelt down. With almost no Presence left, I was exhausted, but we weren't perfectly safe. There were still hundreds of orcs here. We had to get back to the surface and seal off the Labyrinth before it was too late.

"Come on," I said, hoisting myself up with my spear.

"We still have to get back to the castle before they decide to lock us down here." We raced back the way we came. Our squads' healers worked as we ran, repairing any injuries we'd sustained. Whenever orcs tried to stop us, we cleaved through them, but we didn't make any special exceptions to kill them. They would count as monsters. Now that Othmuk was gone, there really wasn't any reason to hunt them down—the other squads could use them just as well as standard monsters in their weekly Labyrinth runs.

When we reached the surface, we found a cellar of soldiers and thegns waiting for us. I asked, "Do you have any way of sealing the Labyrinth?" There was a gate, of course. It worked against most monsters, especially when it was dark and quiet and there was nothing obvious on the other side. But against orcs? They'd pounded it down in a matter of seconds. They were smarter than the average monster.

"We can collapse the tunnel," the Drillmaster said.

"We'll have to excavate it later, but it will buy us time to regroup and build a stronger gate."

"Most of the orcs in the camp are gone," Lord Ceonwin said from the back of the room.

"The 294th is hunting down the rest of them as we speak. We're still assessing casualties…but we haven't lost too many soldiers." I nodded.

"Othmuk is dead, and the level guardian is deactivated."

"Then it's done," the Drillmaster breathed.

"Not quite," Lord Ceonwin said.

"There is one last joust." ~ ~ ~ The lists were almost empty. People had scattered, and Lord Hinlaw was nowhere to be seen. Most of the other thegns had either rushed to help stop the orc rush, or had run away as well. It was eerily quiet, and wind whistled across the lists. Still, the sun shone high above, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. As I walked back and untied Burr, I stepped over the dead body of the squire Hinlaw had sent to spy on me. I grimaced, then looked back at Lord Ceonwin.

"An orc didn't do this."

"No," Lord Ceonwin said.

"Hinlaw wouldn't leave a squire alive like this, not to let the man snitch." I stayed silent for a few seconds, then shook my head. Hinlaw deserved whatever was coming for him.

"Officially, I own Hinfic's lands, correct?"

"Correct," he replied.

"Even if you lose here."

"Then I'll withdraw," I said. We'd tracked down the Warlord's messenger, and he was watching over us—officiating the tournament.

"And you'll keep your Domain." Ceonwin shook his head.

"Were you to withdraw now, it would stain your honour. You didn't finish your courses, simply because of your friendship with an Ealdorman? Word would spread about Sir Levi, who couldn't finish even his first tournament with his head held high."

"I'm not sure if I can ride again today, sir," I said.

"I'm exhausted." Stolen story; please report.

"I'll land one strike, then we'll ride four courses with our lances up," he said.

"That should do it, yes?" He glanced at the messenger for confirmation, and the messenger nodded.

"Thank you, sir." I mounted Burr, picked up a lance, then pulled on my helmet. I didn't even attempt to hit him on our first course, but his lance slammed into my chest, nearly knocking me off my horse. I held on tight, using all my effort to grip Burr's saddle. One point to Lord Ceonwin. The rest of the courses passed with a breeze. I raised my lance up to the sky, and so did Lord Ceonwin. After the fourth course, we both dismounted and knelt in front of the messenger.

He declared, "Lord Ceonwin is the victor, and the Domain will remain in his hands. Sir Levi will claim the spoils of his successful challenge against Sir Hinfic, and now controls all of those lands. I will bring this news to the Warlord."

"Forgive me," Lord Ceonwin said.

"But I will ensure that you're accompanied by a much stronger guard squad for your return journey." The messenger rubbed his neck.

"There is nothing to forgive. Thank you, my lord." ~ ~ ~ I met with Lord Ceonwin in his office immediately afterward. He shut the door, then sat down at his desk with a sigh and a long exhale.

"Sir Levi," he said.

"Congratulations. And you have my eternal gratitude. I am forever in your debt." I bowed my head.

"You helped me plenty, sir. But…how will this work, now? Technically, I own lands in another Ealdorman's Domain. Does this mean I'm no longer serving under you, and now am taking orders from Hinlaw?"

"Pillar, no. That would be a nightmare." Lord Ceonwin shook his head.

"You are to remain under my command. The lands that Hinfic owned will now be considered part of my Domain, and you will continue to serve under me. I will claim you as one of my thegns, now." I grinned.

"That is excellent to hear, sir."

"For now, yes. But you've earned yourself an enemy in Hinlaw, and he won't stop until you're dead. He will seek revenge for his son, for his stolen honour, and for his land."

"He can't just outright kill me, can he?"

"No, but that won't stop him from trying all manner of underhanded techniques. You will be forced to deal with Hinlaw before long, and when you do, it will put you in open opposition to the Warlord. You will have to be ready." I nodded.

"I own land now…"

"Yes, indeed. More than ten Hides of it. But that won't be enough to overthrow the Warlord."

"I'll need to take more direct control of a battalion…" I said.

"Or two. I need to start building an army loyal to me." Lord Ceonwin nodded.

"Correct. And that will be no easy feat. Once your sapper training is complete, I will appoint you as the thegn in control of the 294th and the other nearby battalions. Until then, you would be wise to get to know the men. You must survive the year."

"Yes, sir," I said.

"And make use of the lower level of the Labyrinth," he said.

"You need better gear."

"Yes, sir." Ceonwin stared out the window, his fingers folded together.

"I didn't think it would come to this. Orcs slipping behind our lines, Ealdormen infighting…talk of a rebellion against the Warlord."

"What other choice is there?" I asked.

"Under the Warlord, they'll slowly chip away at us until there's nothing left." Lord Ceonwin sighed.

"No other choice. Perhaps not."

"What about the orcs?" I asked.

"If all the Labyrinths are connected, then how far can they travel under our territory without us knowing? Considering that all the gates between the cities are open now." He grimaced.

"We will have to seal up the passages that we can, and ensure that all entrances on our side of the Thelea are accounted for." I folded my arms.

"And if we can't deal with them all?"

"We may have to deal with other incursions where we aren't expecting. We'll have to be ready to respond wherever, even far behind our lines." I looked out the window just the same as him, watching the castle clean up after the orc attack.

"What will happen to Alis?"

"The Princess escaped from Eraen-Kalora a few months back," Lord Ceonwin said.

"I didn't expect her to turn up here, but alas… I imagine they'll take her back to the bastion-capital. She's the only heir to that bloodline. Her mother is gone, her father cannot remarry by law, and he couldn't pass on his blood even if he wanted to. They need her."

"Do they, though?" I asked.

"It's not like the king is that important."

"For now, they must keep up appearances." Lord Ceonwin crossed his arms.

"As for you? I will need you to help with the cleanup. We'll need all hands."

"Yes, sir."

"And then, after that, I will grant you and your squad leave from your training for a few weeks. There is an important task for you. And you'd best bring the 294th with you." ~ ~ ~ As we helped gather the wounded and sort out the dead, I hunted down Romance and Elf. When I found them, helping clear away the wreckage of a tent, I said, "I know you guys wanted to return home, but there's another mission for us."

"Sounds like we missed out on most of the glory," Romance said.

"You soaked up the spotlight today, Sir Levi."

"What's the mission?" Elf asked.

"I need to visit my new lands," I said.

"I need to announce my thegnage, and…well, plenty of other tasks. Mostly managerial. Lord Ceonwin gave me a list of tasks. I'm starting my own noble house."

"Sounds easy enough," Romance said with a resigned sigh.

"Just, you know, starting a noble house. That's just another morning, right?"

"Hopefully it will be that easy. I bet it won't. But either way, we leave tomorrow morning." END OF VOLUME 2 To Be Continued…