The First Lich Lord
Chapter 71

My apprehension grew as we strode down the road toward Maltis. This was the regional capital, and while it was nowhere near the size of Dothar, the population was well over a hundred-thousand people. The city controlled trade in the entire region, it was the nexus of trade lines in the local area.

Arching bridges spanned across the wide chasm, visible even from outside the city. Maxwell walked beside me plucking a quiet tune on his guitar. We debated splitting up. I was certain by this point that a group of three traveling companions, one of them being a werecat, was something the guards would be watching for. Maxwell had talked me out of it.

The tune he was playing was a kind of subtle spell that didn’t so much as disguise who we were, as it made our group appear inconspicuous and forgettable. We debated for a long time on whether or not the spell was worth it. Dealing with city guards and standard entrance protection to the city would likely be fine, but if the church had stationed a contingent of priests to watch for me, then it was unlikely that the spell would work.

As the gates came within view, a line of traffic went both ways through the white gate. Guards stood under the arch, inspecting and keeping an eye on travelers passing through. I tried not to be obvious in my scrutiny, but I watched as carefully as I could to see if there was any indication of extra guards or the guards paying extra attention.

“I don’t see any priests,” Raven whispered. “You’re certain your spell will work?”

“Yes.” Maxwell smiled at a passing cart and nodded, trying to portray that we were just another group of wanderers. “And it’s not a spell, it’s just a song, a tune. All it does is put their minds at ease as the calm notes tell their brain to look elsewhere for trouble.”

“Then why isn’t affecting us?” Raven demanded.

“You aren’t my target.” Maxwell sounded exasperated.

“How does that work?” Raven pressed. “I can hear your music, so why doesn’t it affect me.”

“Are you looking for me and my friends?” Maxwell glared at her; they’d been arguing about this for a while. “Or are you one of the people I’m trying to shroud in music?”

Raven let out an annoyed huff. “That makes no sense.”

“Would you two stop!” I snapped. “We’re approaching the guards.”

The two guards on either side of the road glanced over us and their eyes just moved on to the next person. We collectively let out a sigh of relief, even though I wasn’t breathing. Then a man behind the guards fixated on us, he stepped forward alongside the road and raised his hand, drawing our attention.

I tried not to panic and nodded at him. He was clearly some kind of officer. His armor was emblazoned with a symbol denoting his rank, though I didn’t know the ranking system in this nation. His armor was neatly polished, and the silvery steel was augmented and offset by bright blues. The fact the city could afford to equip their soldiers and guards with such expensive armor spoke to the wealth.

“Reasons for visit?” the officer asked in a clipped tone that was all business.

Maxwell continued to pluck quietly on his guitar, and I smiled at the officer, hoping my illusionary face didn’t show the turmoil I was feeling. “A little trade, but mostly travel,” I said, attempting to keep my voice level.

“I don’t see any horses or trade goods?”

“Ah, yes.” I nodded, calling up the story we decided upon. “We’re just setting out after completing quests in the area. For now, we mostly have gold, and we looking to purchase horses and trade goods, using that to pay for our exploration as we go.”

The officer thought about my words, a brief round of suspicion in his eyes, before a light of realization dawned. “You bound souls, always looking for something else. Enjoy Maltis, and stay out of trouble.”

I smiled back at him and nodded, then we continued on through the gate. That had been exactly what we hoped he would suspect. As NPCs had woken up, they’d become more aware of bound souls, and the hijinks they would get up to. A group of adventuring bound souls in the area looking to continue onto the next was nothing new, nothing special.

Almost as soon as we were through the gate, there was a commotion, and I looked behind me and saw that a small contingent of people had joined the line and were pushing their way to the front. We hurried deeper into the city—they were so close behind us!

Another contingent of men in holy robes rushed down the main street toward the gate, and we slipped past them.

Maxwell just about passed out from running so hard. In fact, I had partially carried him some of the way. Carrying both of them to increase our speed caused my death energy reserves to decrease. I was only able to do it for a little bit, but the ground we covered over the course of the day had been more than we covered at any one point since.

The only trick now was the map. But we were in the city now, and in cities you had options. One of our goals, aside from saving ourselves some travel time by acquiring horses, was to replace a way to temporarily disable the map. Unfortunately, both goals required money, which we had very little of.

We also needed to get over the bridges crossing the chasm, as that was the other chokepoint that might stall us. There were multiple bridges, but each would have guards stationed on them if our pursuers determined we made into the city.

Since the map updated at more or less midnight, the last position they had on us was near where we’d broken through their line. Choosing that position wasn’t only because it was weak, but it also indicated a different path than we would actually follow.

By the time we reached the bridges, the sun was beginning to dip.

The scale of these bridges was one to be appreciated. Stone arches made up of massive stones were further reinforced by steel cables supported by tall towers on either side. I hadn’t expected such engineering capabilities. The fact they’d been able to manufacture cables that size spoke to the ability of magic to change what was normally capable for such civilizations.

The bridge had a steep arc, and when we reached the middle, a truly massive piece of pure, solid granite served as a keystone that supported the structure.

Without that solid piece of granite, the stone slabs would’ve tumbled down into the chasm below. The sweeping cables came lowest at that point and nearly touched the stone railings. I took a moment to step to the side and look down to the chasm. Hundreds of meters below us, a wide river churned, taking up all of the chasm’s kilometer wide floor.

The construction of these bridges had truly been a monumental task, and I had no idea how it could have been accomplished without heavy machinery. But I could picture scores of mages and wizards working together to levitate the stones in the place.

There was a total of four bridges, and each was wide enough that four carts could cross side by side at any one time. In the fading light, I saw places along the chasm where elevators were powered by pulleys and ropes lowering to the river. Small docks were built down there, and there were a few small fishing vessels moving around. It was truly an incredible site. Even back on Earth, such a construction project as this would’ve been quite the undertaking.

When we made it to the other side, I noticed there was a slight change in the quality of buildings—this side was more of the lower class. Which fit my needs quite well. I nodded at Maxwell, and he quit playing his song for the first time since we entered the city. He knew how to replace things in cities like this. In the past, Maxwell had been driven out into the country, having made a nuisance of himself to the church, and part of that was his involvement in the underworld.

He examined several signs and gestured for us to follow. We turned down several streets, each one leading away from the main streets and nicer homes. Soon we entered an industrial zone that was meant for mass production of some unknown good. As is often in these kinds of places, the factory workers lived nearby, and the more downtrodden often turned to more illicit forms of entertainment, which were often built in the underworld.

Maxwell led us into an inn. It wasn’t the place I would’ve ever chosen, but upon entering, we found the establishment was much nicer than the outside would appear.

Maxwell smiled when he entered and sighed deeply. He approached the bar, where a man with dark skin and a bright gray mustache wiped down the wooden surface. He had a deep voice and chuckled when he saw Maxwell. “Never thought I’d see you again. How have you been?”

“I didn’t think I would ever come back,” Maxwell laughed. “Jonsey, my friends Ezekiel and Raven. Boy, do I have the story tell you.”

The man I now knew was Jonesy, gave me a scrutinizing look. “Name’s Jones, he just insists on calling me Jonesy.” He met Raven’s gaze. “I got no problem with your folk, just behave yourself.”

“You’re the second person to respond like that to her,” I said.

“Ohho, really now? I’d be interested to know who. Most people don’t even recognize that they’re a werecat despite the obvious signs at a casual glance, werecats have a degree of innate illusion around them.”

“It was another innkeeper.” I scratched my head. “I don’t think I ever got her name. But she sold us some clothes for Raven.”

Jones continued to eye Raven for several long seconds before letting out a snort.

“I promise I will stay out of the way,” Raven eyes began to get big.

“Ah,” Jones waved his hand as if to dismiss something. “None of that now, she seems young. I doubt she can cause to much trouble for me.”

“Jones,” Maxwell said, steering the conversation back. “I came here for two different things, well three actually. We’re being tracked and I need a way to stop it, at least temporarily, we also need horses and a room. But we have no money—you know I’m good for it, if you can help us, we’ll repay you.”

Jones studied Maxwell. “I do know you’re good for it, I just don’t want excess trouble… Ahh, I’ll see what I can do.” He gestured for us to follow him behind the bar and into a room in the back.

“Are you sure he will know a way to beat this spell?” I whispered to Maxwell.

“If he can’t do it himself, he’ll know someone who can,” Maxwell assured me. “Think about it, Zeke, tracking spells aren’t uncommon, you know this, so there has to be a way to beat them, otherwise no criminal enterprise could ever thrive.”

“That is a fair point.”

“Jonesy and his inn are a kind of a neutral ground for the different crime families and,” Maxwell smiled slightly, “authorities, to meet and mix. He also has a side business connecting the right people and providing services like this.”

“Tell me about this tracking spell on you,” Jones said once we were in the next room, a simple table and a bookshelf with different items arranged in neat rows the only adornments. Through another door I could hear the sounds of the kitchen.

“I can do you one better.” Maxwell pulled out the map and laid it on the table. “This map shows both our location and the location of those chasing us, it updates once a day around midnight.”

Jones picked it up and examined it closely before he spread it out. He noted the different symbols and dots before spending more time examining the edges. “This is a ritual tracker. More people can be added to it if given a sample of something closely tied to them. I’m guessing they must have something of yours.”

“They destroyed Ezekiel’s house. They probably grabbed something from there,” Maxwell explained.

“I would be interested to know why you’re fleeing from Olattee. This is quite the organization they have pulled together to chase you.” Jones gave me a very serious look.

I smiled weakly and shrugged. “They… just don’t really like me.”

Jones snorted. “I’m assuming you would like this done before the update tonight?” I nodded in response and he continued. “I’m not sure I can fully disable it, though I might be able to build something to spoof it, so it shows you someplace else.”

“That would be amazing.” I smiled, if he could do that, it would no doubt give me a massive advantage. Surely, they would eventually figure out the map had been spoofed, but that could be weeks from now.

Jones must’ve interpreted my reaction, because he then crushed my hopes. “It would only work for a few days. Without a complete drawing of the ritual they used, it’s incredibly difficult to break ritual tracking. The spoofing would be a temporary fix, after awhile it will start to give chaotic results and they would realize something happened.”

“Is there any way to get rid of the tracking completely?” I asked.

“No,” Jones shook his head. “Ritual tracking is very hard to beat, but the good thing is there is a limited time that it can be used. Once whatever they used to track you has been separated from you long enough, it essentially loses its association with you and ceases to work, assuming they don’t have something very precious to you, if they do, then you’re just screwed.”

I thought about what had been in my cabin, and nothing sprang to mind that was overly important. “The few days will at least allow us to distract them and get them off my tail.”

“Good,” Jones said. “I guess the fortunate part is that while we can’t actually break it, spoofing it can be done at a relatively low cost, though I will need to bring in a ritualist.”

While I knew rituals, learning an entirely new ritual just for something like this wasn’t worth the time, so I didn’t offer my own expertise. New rituals took time and patience to learn, far more than we had to spare with how close the priests were. I would watch whatever this other ritualist did closely. Maybe I could eventually replicate it.

“Can you have them here in time?” Maxwell asked.

“Should be no problem. We’ll have to discuss payment later, but I’ll front the cost, and even though it’s low, it’s still expensive.”

“I’m happy to play for the evening to draw people in to help offset the cost some,” Maxwell offered.

“If you stay another night that’d be worth something, this evening is already kind of settled in, though I would still appreciate it. As far as horses, that should be straightforward, same for the room. And it might seem steep for me to ask as much as I do for the rooms, but I provide protection and anonymity you cannot match elsewhere in the city.”

“I take it an IOU you won’t work?” Maxwell asked.

“Nope.” Jones met my gaze, interest and curiosity crossing his eyes. I wondered if he had seen something. “You’re on the run, if I just do this for you on the house with an IOU I might never see my money. Though I have a task that would be rather well suited to compensate, your friend seems very capable.”

“What are you thinking?” Maxwell asked suspiciously.

“There’s a new crime ring forming,” Jones said. “We don’t know where it came from, and it’s causing a lot of turmoil. They’re mostly slavers and they’re encroaching on the relatively balanced underworld.”

“You can’t be seriously asking us to eliminate a crime ring,” Maxwell said incredulously. “Just for a room and a few services.”

Jones laughed. “Of course not. I would pay you as well. I’m not a fool, I know that what I’m asking for is more than the debt you’re incurring. But it’d also give you cash to help with your flight. I’m sure that would be useful.”

I frowned and thought—well, my illusion did. “Do you care how we do it? This likely won’t be a quick job. Can your ritualist spoof this tracking more than once, so it buys us more time?”

“I don’t particularly care how you do it,” Jones shrugged. “No one in the underworld really cares how you go about your ways, long as you don’t get caught. Kind of the general rule for most shady interactions. As for the spoofing, yes, but it will definitely make it clear that something is wrong when they spoof it a second time.”

“If they don’t realize where I’m at, I don’t see how that’s an issue.” In a city this size, I was pretty certain I could get away with using quite a bit of death magic and no one would know any better. Death was everywhere, so even an excess burst of it would in all likelihood go unnoticed.

“I will warn you that given time they can probably triangulate where you’re located,” Jones said.

“I would expect as much.” I stroked Mercy thoughtfully debating my options. “You kinda have us over a barrel. We’re in the city already, if we don’t have the blocking they will fortify the exits and prevent me from leaving. So, tell me about this crime ring.”

Jones smiled. “Like I said, we don’t know where they came from, they keep popping up in different places across the city. Their leader almost appears to be priestly, for those who have met him and live to tell. Which is strange because Olattee would never condone this, so it must be some other religion.”

“You mentioned they’re slavers?” I asked.

“That’s one of their areas, or so we think.” Jones leaned on the table, pointing at the map. “We think that’s the central location for their operations. But we’re not sure where the slaves are that they take. People keep disappearing off the streets and are never heard from again. They hold black-market slave auctions, but the people they sell are not…” He licked his lips nervously. “Normal. They might be something other than slavers, no way to know. They also pedal some kind of red powder that’s becoming quite the new crave on the streets.”

“What’s it do?” Maxwell asked.

“Gives some pretty impressive temporary physical boosts and an adrenaline rush that’s supposed to be something spectacular,” Jones explained. “But the side effects are brutal. Enough that the local crime families want nothing to do with it. After all, if you kill off your clientele, who do you have left to sell to?”

“You have a deal.” Truth be told, this was something I had the time for. It sounded too much like another blood cult, or something else just as sinister. My imagination was already coming up with ideas about where the people they were assuming were taken as slaves were actually disappearing to.

Jones sent out a runner to get the ritualist. I expected it to take longer to get the ritualist. Except he’d come running, judging by the breathlessness and beads of sweat dripping down the side of his head. Evidently, Jones commanded quite a bit of respect with the man.

“Let me see the map,” he said as he slipped on a pair of spectacles. He hemmed and hawed as he studied it, occasionally glancing between the map and me. “Okay, I know what needs to be done.”

“Can I help you?” I asked. “I have some skill with ritual magic.”

“We shall see,” he said. “You knew enough not to try and learn a new ritual for a time sensitive matter like this, so maybe you’re not entirely unskilled.”

I will bear you the boring details of the ritual he laid out. It consisted of different items from me and the ritualist. Once the diagram was done, he was thoroughly impressed by my skills with ritual magic, and at some point, he began explaining the logic behind the spell. I still wouldn’t have the skill to replicate it myself, but I had the basic understanding of how to spoof this tracking spell now. Given time, now that I’d seen it firsthand, I could no doubt replicate it, or something of similar effect, on my own.

Working together we powered the spell. It wasn’t very power intensive and was done within a few minutes.

“This should last for a few days. From what I understand, you will need it done more than once.” I nodded and the ritualist continued. “I’ll come back and help you with that then. Next time you can take the lead. If you’re on the run, this would be useful for you to know out in the field.”

“I appreciate your help,” I said with a smile. The ritualist gathered up his supplies and left.

Jones gave us rooms and I settled into rest. It’d been a very, very long day.