Lith walked last, to double-check Zoreth’s findings and make sure she didn’t miss anything or, if she did, that no one would notice him taking it for himself.
The tunnel was rough and uneven, with no source of illumination. It was a natural structure formed over a very long time that showed no signs of the recent passage of any creature bigger than a rat.
Aside from the droppings of small animals and the presence of moss, one would have thought it barren.
“Remarkable.” Unanna said, carrying the Silencer device that ensured no one would hear them. “The flow of world energy is accumulated and focused inside the Garden like the legends say.
“If someone finds a way to tap into it, the sky is the limit to its potential applications.”
“Yeah, all the more reason to stay on our guard.” Bytra said. “Limbell was a genius Forgemaster and I bet that his shadow disciple didn’t find this place on his own. I bet that this is where Limbell conducted his secret experiments.
“The dark, shady research he couldn’t burden his heir with. If I’m right, the secret lab you’ve found in his house was just for teaching. This is where the real magic happens and the protections of this place have been devised by an old monster, not a runt.”
The Raiju’s words made everyone stop wondering whether to report the Garden’s existence to the Council or keep the secret between them. If that was Limbell’s real lab, the weapons at the disposal of the shadow disciple were much deadlier than their master.
***
Deep inside the Garden, inside the temple of the Great Mother, at the same time.
Maergron Ashvein, shadow disciple of Pharek of Derios, heir to the Ears of Menadion, and new owner of the secret lab was sitting on the stone throne of the main hall of the temple.
Once it had been the symbol of power of the Groundkeeper, the Fae who ruled over the Garden of Mogar and ruled who to grant or refuse access to the temple. Now, it was just a chair in the right position.
From there, Pharek had overseen many experiments at the same time thanks to the Ears, making sure that each one of them would receive the power it needed from the Garden without blowing in his face.
Maergron had learned well from his late master and exploited the perfect acoustic of the room and the power of the Ears to extend the area of effect of Earth Vision to the entire complex of the caves.
While sitting on the throne, he could finely regulate the ongoing alchemical processes, study the pseudo cores conjured by the many Forgemastering circles he was tinkering with, and act as a living security system more accurate than any array.
At the moment, however, he was holding his head between his hands in sadness.
“How could you do this to me, master Pharek?” He sighed deeply, the pain in his voice as fresh as if the murder had happened just one day ago. “All of this would have never happened if you had one ounce of compassion in your heart.
“All I asked you was to give me a small shop. Something that would act as a link with the Awakened community and provide me with funds while I got on my feet. Yet not only did you refuse, claiming it would have aroused too many questions…”
The late Pharek was right. Even establishing a small shop was too risky. The size and revenue weren’t the problem, the connections required to sell anything to Awakened were.
How could a nameless youngster have a well-established business? How could people trust a nobody? The only way to make it work was to create a fake family and make Maergron their heir, but that would have been idiotic.
One couldn’t make up an entire Awakened bloodline and hope that everyone went senile or never questioned why they had never heard the name before. Awakened, especially the powerful ones, were old and had a great memory.
They would have seen through the ruse in one instant and soon Maergron would have been interrogated until he spilled the truth or be forced to run away.
Old man Pharek had tried to explain this to his disciple, but Maergron just wouldn’t listen.
“No, that would have been too kind of you, master. You had the gall to also ask me to help your precious Nem from the shadows. To befriend him and watch his back from the greedy Awakened who would go after his legacy.
“To covertly use my Ears and the knowledge you imparted me to make him a better Forgemaster! How could you do that? I was already resigned to leaving your house like a beggar and toiling as a nameless Forgemaster for years to build my own reputation.
“I managed to suppress my rage at the thought that the Ears and a damp cave were all I’d get after your death while Nem would take the house, the riches, and your family name.
“Asking me to share what little I had with that rich spoiled brat was beyond heartless.” Maergron had repeated that same speech countless times in the attempt to convince himself that it wasn’t his fault.
“I had every right to be angry. You deserved that punch, you old fool.”
Tears streaked down his eyes, not believing a word that came out of his own mouth. Pharek had died because he trusted Maergron so much that he was listed as a son in the defensive mainframe, making him immune to the many arrays of the house.
Because Pharek never wore enchanted protections while spending what little time he had left with his precious disciple. The punch would have never killed him if not for the blind trust he had in Maergron.
With his master dead, the shadow apprentice had lost his mind. Knowing that soon Nem would come back and find the body, it was only a matter of time before the Council hunted Maergron down like a rabid animal.
With already one murder on his shoulders, committing more wouldn’t make his situation any worse. Needing money and resources for his experiments and being in a precarious state of mind, Maergron had used the Ears to take what he needed.
After a few months had passed and no one had knocked on his door, he had calmed down enough to recognize the foolishness of his ways. He had stopped attacking the Council elders, hoping to have gotten away with it.
He had also started to build his reputation as a mage in the village of Yurta, waiting for the rumors about his abilities to reach the right ears. He needed the Council to come to him so that he could claim ignorance of everything and have a fresh start.
Maergron was still sniffling when the Ears of Menadion caught a weird vibration coming from the upper floors of the complex. It took him a second to focus his consciousness and follow the soundwaves to their source.
“What the fuck?” He could sense two weaklings, two regular human women, and five ghosts. “Something is weird. I get that the Council sent its Hand of Fate after me, but who are the other four? Guides? Trackers?”
