Faluel had already seen the city from Lith’s memories but it was still such a magnificent masterpiece of magic and technology that the Hydra’s amazement was completely genuine.
“What is this place?” Friya blurted out, her enthusiasm turning into suspicion as she finally had the time to take a good look at her allies. “I thought that elves lived inside the Fringes and had golden skin whereas yours is light brown. Who are you guys and what are you doing here?”
“Do you know where my people live?” The orc shaman couldn’t believe her pointy ears.
“No, I know where one tribe is and their hospitality was far from pleasant.” Friya raised her rapier, Dreadnought, staring at the rest of the members of the senate in suspicion.
“You don’t look like an Emperor Beast and you…” She pointed at Syrah with the blade and then at Ryla. “What the heck are you?”
The Hati Queen was equally suspicious, moving her eyes from the women to the fallen Tyrant while pondering the events.
‘The timing of the rescue was really convenient, just like the fact that this woman claims to have met elves. It’s all too good to be true.’ Yet Morok’s conditions were truly dire and Friya’s smell told Syrah that the human woman wasn’t lying.
Also, she was genuinely scared.
“I’m no Emperor Beast.” The Hati Queen said while studying the reaction of her alleged saviors. “I’m Syrah, a Hati. The Elder Beast evolution of the warg. This is Ryla and she is a Fomor, the next evolutionary step of the Balors who descend from humans like you.”
“And I’m no elf.” The shaman lowered her gaze in shame. “My name is Br’ey and I’m an orc. It means ‘creature of the dark’ in elvish. Before our fall, we didn’t live on the surface like our cousins, but deep underground where mana crystals grow.”
“That makes you the bastards who raided the cities of the Kingdom and killed hundreds of innocents!” Friya’s outrage was as genuine as her increasing fear.
What Syrah wasn’t aware of, was the fact that Friya’s anger was actually aimed at Glemos for putting the monsters through so much suffering and her fear was due to her lack of acting skills.
She was terrified at the idea of their lies being exposed and having to fight to the death so many enemies without her dimensional magic.
“Calm down, kid.” Faluel, instead, was unreadable. “We came here to help Morok avenge his father and that’s what we did. The rest can wait until he wakes up.”
“But, Master Faluel, they-”
“According to the demon, they possess the Tyrant’s bloodline legacy and if we alert the Council, our friend will lose his birthright and these people their lives. Don’t be so quick to judge before hearing both sides of a story.
“Life is often more complicated than it appears.”
‘Be careful.’ The orc shaman said via a mind link. ‘The Hydra is as strong as Glemos was and her equipment is terrifying as well. She can’t kill us all, but we can’t stop her from escaping either. Not with all the safety measures of the south entrance down.’
Syrah nodded, glad that the interests of her people and those of their guests still aligned.
“Please, don’t be afraid.” The Warlord knelt and with her the Balors and the few Fomors in the monster army. “I swear upon my life to be loyal to Glemos’ heir and that I’ll do everything in my power to protect him.”
“We swear!” The Balors and all the believers of the cult of Glemos shouted as one, tying Syrah’s hands even tighter.
Balors and Fomors already considered themselves a superior race due to their close resemblance to their god and because he had always favored them. Ryla being both the Warlord and the high priestess only made things much worse.
‘I’ve just lost a tenth of the main forces of my army. I need to play this with extreme caution. If only Urhen was the Warlord instead of that zealot, I wouldn’t be risking a civil war.’ She thought.
‘Even if we win, without the Balors’ help, Zelex will fall way before we are ready to move and our new home wouldn’t last more than a few weeks. Without them, the ogres will die, the trolls will become unstable, and the goblins will be nothing but dead weight.
‘On top of that, that damn hole in the ground exposes our presence to anyone flying above Zelex.’ Syrah cursed their bad luck and resigned to putting the lives of their people even more in Faluel’s hands.
“I know that I have no right to ask you for help and you have no reason to accept, but please, listen to me.” The Hati Queen fell onto her knees, her forehead touching the ground. “I need you to close the hole on the surface and hide it to the best of your abilities.
“If our enemies find Zelex, we will lose our lives and everything your friend has done until now will be for nothing.”
“Why do you need my help?” Faluel shrugged, feigning ignorance. “Moving a bit of dirt and setting a few arrays is no big deal.”
“It is for us.” Syrah replied. “Out of Zelex we revert to our fallen state and we age no differently from a normal monster. Also, we have little knowledge of arrays. Everything you see here is the work of the Tyrant bloodline, not our own.”
“I see.” The Hydra nodded. “Since you’ve saved my friend from that monster, I owe you this much. Yet after this, I’ll consider us even and I have no reason to trust a monster.
“Also, be aware that I’m going to set the arrays so that if anything happens to us, the position of this place will be visible for kilometers so don’t try to pull anything funny.”
“Do whatever you deem necessary.” The mistrust and questions of the Hydra reassured the Hati Queen. “Thank you on behalf of my people.”
‘If this was just a farce, the Tyrant wouldn’t be on the brink of death and his women would be eager to help us in order to earn our trust. I guess miracles do happen, after all.’ Syrah thought in surprise.
‘I can’t believe this actually worked.’ Faluel thought in equal surprise. ‘From blowing the entrance open to showcasing the “chosen one” in order to increase the influence of the high priestess and undermine the Queen, Lith predicted it all.
‘He staged every step of the fight so that once it was over, the monsters would be forced to ask us to stay and help them. This way, we get to have a tour of Zelex and understand if the children of Glemos can be reasoned with without even trying.’
Yet despite her admiration for Lith’s foresight, Faluel felt guilty for deceiving the monsters like that. She was betraying their trust, playing with their beliefs, and exploiting their grief from the rites of passage all at the same time.
Their King had died for mere hours, hoping to buy enough time for their god Glemos’ return and Lith had delivered them the best next thing right after fueling the fires of their superstition.
