BECMI Chapter 79 – Scouting Speed Run Complete

Those attuned to the Seal Focus in the back yard of the Thisbean Inn could likewise to it, the only place in the city it was safe to do so… and the Seal could be, well, sealed off.

The citizens of Darkmoor City had woken up in the morning one day to find the walls of the city had been raised to forty feet high, and new walls twenty feet tall, with regular archer’s towers, now encircled the city at a range of a mile, complete with paved roads reaching out to the middle and along the inner side of the walls. It also set up a secondary secure zone to contain the creatures that spilled out of Castle Darkmoor, greatly appreciated by travelers and locals alike, isolating the gloomy keep and its fantastic Dungeon on its promontory further.

I had to do something with my evenings when most people were asleep. Running precise lived-lines all over the area helped, too, but Shaping Stone was always relaxing in its own way… and I’d inherited a great love of building stuff like that, and skill at doing so.

I went in the back entry to the Thisbean Inn, TK both getting rid of the old man’s ropes and lifting him easily along at the same time. He was confused and frightened, starving and about to be sacrificed, so his state of mind wasn’t something too steady right now… but suddenly walking into an inn, and not somewhere with robed cultists about to sacrifice him to their frog god, was definitely not something he was expecting.

I motioned over one of the new hires, a student at the nearby university who also happened to be one of the Catcher’s agents. “Good chicken broth for this man, his stomach won’t take richer food for a while. He’s a slave from a cultist temple, and he may have usable information, so you probably want to debrief him after he’s had a warm meal, a bath, and some sleep. I trust the king is still upstairs?”

“He is, Lady Edge.” She helped guide the old man to a nearby chair as he looked around in dumb shock. “We will take care of this one.”

I inclined my head to her and glided toward the stairs to the games parlor on the second floor.

A dozen of my people were in the main room. They’d also been watching and commenting in the Markchat, helping dissect and analyze an attack plan on the temple… especially the levels inside it revealed by the massively pulse of the spell I’d let off.

That altar had had track lighting, a stereo sound system, and there’d been two laser defense systems in place, concealed among the statues. I was pretty sure the master of the place had been watching from an upper floor balcony, but he hadn’t been expecting anyone invisible, and didn’t know what the pulse of magic was when I’d let the off. Likewise, the effect of the TK that had tossed the priest into the revealed sacrificial pit to the breeding pool of killer frogs downstairs was invisible, and it looked like the slave had been sucked into the pit when I’d turned him and dragged him along with me with as we exited the place, using the security team bursting through the main doors to exit.

The ventilation system had modern ductwork, fans, and infrared sensors to detect creatures. There’d been cabling running through the place, power circuits, and I was pretty sure drones swept the system and got rid of rats and bugs entering via the ventilation constantly, although they’d not been prepared to deal with , and they didn’t have magical means to negate flying.

I had seen the ones on the outer walls wearing goggles of futuristic design, which probably included some form of magnification and motion-sensors, as well as low-light or infrared. Thus, I’d stayed out of line of sight of those wall guards as I’d rounded the place.

The guards outside knew I was coming and opened the door to let me enter with polite nods to me. I stepped inside and turned to greet the group of men and two women waiting for me.

Hanvol had kept the illusion up, and spent the to lock it into place relative to a glass crystal stand he’d set up at my direction in the middle of the table. I didn’t need it, of course, but the movers and shakers of the kingdom and its forces were here, and the maps I’d made were going to be incredibly valuable for planning the next stage of things.

“Lady Edge,” the beaming King Antius greeted me, my light leathers and dark attire swirling into a more formal scarlet and black lace dress that flowed nicely into my curtsy of greeting to him. He may have been a king, not a King, but as far as such things went, he was straight Silver, and should have been one of Mithar’s Own. “That was the most astonishing scouting and infiltration mission I have ever had the opportunity to behold. That was better than any scrying ball or magical spell that I have ever witnessed before. And these illusions that retain a perfect map of the area!…”

He was clearly a bit overcome with the sudden raising of the bar of what was possible with magic, which wasn’t unexpected.

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“You have greater problems than you think, Your Majesty,” I replied, letting his praise flow pass me without much concern. I flicked up my own , still images above the one Hanvol had erected of the surroundings there.

Mine were still shots, one an image of the main worship hall’s second floor, and specifically a viewing box there clearly meant for higher priests or nobles of some sort. The rest was centered on the security team that had burst into the place searching for the user of an unexpected arcane spell.

I had everyone’s attention as I began to speak, of course. “These two individuals are not humans, and are probably not even natives of this planet.” I picked out the one who looked like an officer among the security team, then the only seated person in the viewing area, zooming in on both of them.

They looked human enough, except there was a faint greenish hue to the edges of their skin, almost like they were a little ill.

“Note her attire is considerably neater and more form-fitting than the rest of her team, with the armor being distinctly different on closer examination, more like plates adhering to an underlying coat or layer than being armor of its own. It is also jointed differently and follows her figure with flexibility and precision. She also is carrying TWO laser pistols, and is holding them in the manner of someone used to doing so.

“Note she also looks to the man in the balcony seating, who gestures her to continue. He is clearly her superior.”

The sequence of events played through, and there were several murmurs as they picked up on what I’d seen.

“The temple itself interferes with outside Scrying trying to penetrate, but it did nothing to prevent such magicks from operating inside itself, presumably to the temple’s own benefit. I routinely use Aural scans to take the measure of those around me, as the Color of one’s soul is generally a very good indication of the character of the person.

“In almost all cases, there is an unnatural rigidity among these people, modes and frames of thought they’ve been locked into. I saw something similar with the spies sent by the Iron Graf to kidnap the king, but not so complete. Here, free will has been .”

Layers of Brown and almost Clear Auras came up around almost all cultists in the hall of worship, and then played backwards among those I’d encountered. It wasn’t until I reached the civilians in the town that the same faint Brown and Clear Auras mostly disappeared, replaced by richer Brown, Purple, and Gray Auras among those who lived there, and Purple, Red, and occasional Black Auras among others, including the visitors. Only the slaves seemed to have any Yellow, Orange, or White, and even Blue was only visible on the rare few cultists who seemed to be based in the town instead of the storehouse area or temple.

“What exactly does that mean?” the Great Jordie, Bishop of Darkmoor, asked gravely, the thin and rather ascetic man frowning deeply.

“They’ve been completely brainwashed, and are basically obedient tools of their masters. They have precious little capacity left to function on their own volition, their free will has been burned out of them and then replaced with absolute loyalty to their masters. The ones who have Colors, usually Purple to Black there, are the ones trusted enough to be left some of their own self-will, so they can respond to situations instead of waiting for orders. The rest… well, they’re not much more responsible than intelligent dogs at this point, brainwashed and mind-locked thralls who can’t disobey, can’t be turned, can’t rebel, and will fight to the end if told to.

“They aren’t even fanatics, because fanatics have faith. These are just tools now. Note that the security officer there and the leader on the balcony are a rich Ruby in hue, likely aliens from an advanced civilization who consider everyone here beneath them, and come from a disciplined and very traditional military background.”

The Azure Knight leaned forward quickly. “That means they will fight to the death in mass combat. Morale will never be an issue with them, only potentially with their leaders!” Quiet words and nods indicated the soldiers there understood the danger of such a mindset in a battle. A foe who would never yield was a formidable foe!

“Their leaders are also masters of advanced technology, and might well be defectors, renegades, or criminals from the Palace of the Gods you have spoken about. The technology I’ve seen has nothing in common with the control devices of the Ei of Hazz that I’ve run across, and matches the few pieces that the Catcher has chosen to show me that you’ve acquired by other means.”

“The masters of that alien magic,” murmured King Antius thoughtfully, staring at the images of his foes. “And they’ve come down from the skies and fallen in with a demonic cult of frog-worshipers?” He sounded incredulous because it was so weird.

“I surmise that any force that worshiped frogs wasn’t too bright on the surface of things, and a few laser blasts to the skull, uses of technology to improve their lives, decent military leadership leading to increased wealth, and their local ambitions with authority over thousands have come to fruition. Whether they think such absolutely idiotic and immoral behavior is going to turn into something more is a different tale. Perhaps they are not reacting well to a magical world and have lost some of their rationality as a result.

“In any event, you can assume they are intelligent enough to make use of both the technology they have access to and the magic of the cult. Would that we had more time and could learn more about the history of the cult, as I think the slave that I brought back will have to help you with.

“I have to rest and regain the spells I expended and prepare for the assault on the morrow. I would like the Free Company to have the task of securing the temple proper. The barracks, living area, and town hold the vast majority of the soldiers, but the temple has the core of their technology and most dangerous members, and we do not want the cult retreating back to its defenses. I believe we can secure the temple rapidly with a surprise assault and insertion, while the Darkmoor Army can secure the areas external to the temple with great speed and surety. I have reason to believe I can secure the personage of the Baroness with speed from what look to be holding cells down there.”