Syrah spent the rest of her free time with the members of her court while using the warg’s collective brainpower to revise the events following the raids and spot the potential loopholes in the deal with Faluel, and compared it with the one they already had with the Undead Courts.
Morok had acted like a hero and his offer was reasonable, but he was still someone Syrah knew for a few hours.
Trusting him blindly would have been reckless and stupid. To make matters worse, Ryla had shifted the focus of her ramblings from the old Tyrant to the new.
During her sermons to the loyal followers of the church of Glemos, she told them about the coming of the prophesied hero and spoke of his promise of a better future as if it was a matter of fact instead of mere words.
Syra knew that the Warlord was slowly eroding her public support, using hope to poison the minds of the citizens and force the Queen to need an excellent reason to turn down the savior’s offer without incurring into riots.
At the same time, however, the more Syrah thought about the miraculous series of events that had brought Morok to Zelex, the more preposterous it seemed. She had many doubts that she only voiced to Urhen and Br’ey.
Not only were they her best friends but they were also among the few that knew the truth about the fall of their respective races and how deep Glemos’ manipulation of the truth was.
On top of that, even if Morok’s offer really was a poisoned chalice, she couldn’t find a single reason to trust the Undead Courts better even though she knew them for much longer.
“It seems that we have to toss a coin and pick our poison.” Urhen said after they used a mind link to relive the entire day of the raids for the umpteenth time yet didn’t learn anything that they already knew.
“Indeed.” Br’ey nodded. “Yet if it was up to me, I’d choose the Tyrant. Even if I’m going to die, at least I would have spent the rest of my days with my family instead of forcing them to become adults and move out of our home.”
“That’s why I’d refuse it instead.” Urhen countered pointedly. “At least we know that the undead are snakes in the grass. If we deal with them, we’ll stay on our toes the whole time and be ready to counter any funny business they attempt.
“With Morok, instead, the promise of peace and quiet would make us lose our edge and turn us into sheep ready for slaughter.”
“Both offers suck.” Syrah sighed. “The Undead Courts want us to cull our numbers while the Tyrant wants to split us apart. Whatever we choose, there are going to be too few of us left to defend ourselves.”
“So, what are we going to do?” Br’ey asked, hurt by her friend’s willingness to separate her from her child again. “Are we really going to rely on dumb luck?”
“No.” Syrah shook her head. “You see, even if no one knows the future, the past is a great predictor of future behavior. Thanks to the amulet, I’ve been able to access something called the interlink and read a lot about the recent events in the Kingdom.”
A quick mind link allowed her to share the news about the Jiera plague, the undead migration, the increasing hostilities between humans and the Undead Courts due to their new recruits, and then everything about the War of the Griffons and the Dead King.
“Damn, we got played like a fiddle!” Urhen snarled in outrage. “That’s why the Undead Courts were so eager to reconnect with us, providing us with information and food! It was all a long con to gain our trust.
“They have made themselves an enemy of the whole Garlen and after the disastrous leaderships of the Horsemen and the Mad Queen, they are losing ground every day to the human alliance. I change my vote. I want to go with Morok as well.”
“Don’t rush your judgment.” Syrah raised her hand, prompting her friends to calm down. “We can still ally with them, but now that we know how desperate they are, we can change the deal to better suit our needs and protect our people.
“As for Morok, either he is the good guy he claims to be or he’s a naïve fool. This tool allowed me to study him, his allies, and even this Verhen fellow that Eryon fought. Elder Urma didn’t lie about him.”
Another mind link passed the information about Lith’s meteoric rise from a student of the White Griffon to Spellbreaker, then Great Mage, Archmage, and lastly Supreme Magus.
Many videos about the War of the Griffons were available, showing his exploits in defending the Kingdom. Most of the pictures also showed his army of Demons. Their sight alone sent a shiver down the women’s spine.
“If what we just saw is true, how did Eryon survive the encounter?” Syrah asked, voicing the question in everyone’s head. “Is it me, or are his shadow soldiers really similar to the ones we fought?
“Last, but not least, is it more likely that some monster from the past sensed our sins or that a powerful Magus from the present followed Eryon to Zelex?”
Pictures of Morok’s engagement with Quylla were public knowledge along with the good relationship between Lith and the Ernas.
“This doesn’t make sense!” Br’ey blurted out in surprise. “Why expose himself like this? It’s all too absurd to be just a ruse. I still believe him.”
“Me too, but I can’t bet our future on a mere gut feeling. As I said, the past is a great predictor. I know what to ask him to learn the truth.” Syrah replied.
“Which is?” Urhen asked.
“You’ll know it soon. I’ve summoned him and his Verhen friend to discuss our deal. They’ll be here any minute.” The Hati Queen replied. “Ryla isn’t invited, but if I’m right she’ll come anyway. Br’ey, mind link us at all times. Urhen, be ready to fight.”
“Wait what?” The Balor was flabbergasted. “If you think a fight might break out, why receive them here alone? Wouldn’t be better to at least have our honor guard present?”
“We are alone to have privacy, yet at the same time we are not. I’ve put every warg and Hati in Zelex on standby. If something goes wrong, the captains will rush to our aid while the others will alert the rest of the tribes.
“Our guests will be cornered, surrounded by the full force of our armies without even knowing.”
As Syrah had predicted, Morok had come alone in good faith but Ryla had insisted upon accompanying him to the meeting. Contrary to her expectations, however, Lith had brought company.
Two women walked behind him, one tall and friendly and the other shorter and terrifying. Zoreth had taken her role as godmother dead seriously and since Kamila had no need for her, she had gladly accepted Lith’s request for help.
She wore a full set of deep blue Bookwyrm armor and the Adamant Sky Piercer claw on her right hand crackled with raw elemental power.
