55 Chapter Fifty- Five – A Warband (1/2)
”The picture she paints is terrifying,” Shvaughn admitted, watching the warrior girl run off faster than she could attain with magic. Sama looked human enough in ears and build, but those eyes were either magical or something else, and the mottled skin on her shoulder and neck very unsettling.
The black nose and whiskers Tattoo had been almost unsettlingly cute, however.
”Yes,” agreed Usilla, also watching Sama and her floating Disk with its load of cabinets disappearing quickly. The extra pork was all left behind to dry out and get added to the rations of the rangers, disappearing into their packs quickly.
”Your tone is unsettled. How went your magic?” Shvaughn asked the elfin diviner.
”I decided to follow her advice and see what would happen. It was… unsettling. The very tenor of the spell changed. It was as if I was being called on to answer questions unspoken.
”The nature of the spell is that I am, in essence, disturbing a higher being with questions for answers I don't know. This time, I could feel it thirsting for my next question, a dire need arising, and an eagerness to hear my words.” Usilla took a deep breath. ”I believe she played it perfectly. If I had simply sought to inform them without asking questions, I would have gained nothing, or been subverted. I have never felt such approval on the other end.”
”And we cannot play a waiting game, if her words are to be believed, as the forces coming are scattered, varied, and not coherent… but they are endless. If a true Champion emerges and unites them…” Shvaughn trailed off.
”We know from the tales that the forces of Heaven have their disagreements, but in the end, they are united and have their own places above. If there is information to be shared, it is shared quickly and universally. Portents, dreams, omens, visions, and possibly even direct divine servants are being sent out even as we speak, and all the faithful of the lands threatened are going to be whelmed in a short time.” Usilla took a deep breath. ”There should be forces moving quickly even now. Adventurers and special agents of the Divine and great powers will be stirring to action at the early alarm.
”I do not know how many lives she has saved by arranging for this early alarm, but it was a clever ploy.”
”The enemy sees this as a great game, a chance to spread more seeds of corruption. To stop them, we must find the center from which they are spreading, close it, and then slaughter the agents they have brought to this world. They move in groups of hundreds to thousands, like an endless number of bandit raiders.” Shvaughn frowned. ”We will have to split up our own forces in order to intercept them all. This will weaken our fighting ability.”
”Yes, if the war magic they can call upon is as powerful as she described. The Shaper seeks to change the very nature of magic here. I will have to witness it myself, of course, but I am not looking forward to it.” Gathering dozens of Casters together would have an incredible effect on a battlefield with Ritual Magic helping boost their strength, but this unknown war magic of the enemy might be something to fear. ”It should not work, but the Shaper is directly intervening to warp the Laws of Magic. It must not be allowed to endure.”
Shvaughn watched the last of the rangers heading out, following Sama north, along the tracks of the beast-men warband. Such tracks were basically an open road to follow for these hunters, who could track a week-old spoor faultlessly through the forest, let alone a thousand abusive, arrogant bastards chopping it apart as they advanced.
The rest of the rangers were burning away the last of the corpses of the dead. Sama had told them that as long as they got at least 95% of them, the vivic energy would be enough to purge anything they missed. But, they more the merrier, it was like a huge offering of alien invaders to the Land, and they were going about their task with religious zeal.
They'd be forming mounds of the dead, and Ash Nap would set them alight, cool unwhite fires pouring mists down into the Land. The crows and maggots wouldn't be pleased, but it was what it was.
The little swordswoman's advice and knowledge about what kind of foes they would be fighting was impressively deep, and her voice had carried to every ranger about her as they discussed such things. The calm professionalism and level of detail, especially the flat and rather unimpressed threat level assessment, had sold them on the information, even before she had put up remarkably detailed illusions up of what to expect via her talking Sword.
Even Ulissa hadn't heard much of this information, as the Mad Gods of the Warp were not something wise people delved into for details. As rangers, learning details about what they were hunting was very important, and would quickly pay off as they learned more fighting, but the most important thing had been… attitude.
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”Listen, warriors. You're facing the Mad Gods of the Warp. They have only two objectives: be entertained, and spread their power. They want fights, and they want to corrupt and claim more mortal souls.
”What they do not want, because it's not possible in their home realm, is to lose. And you can definitely make them lose!
”They are insane and malevolent, but they are not stupid. What you have to do in this battle against the forces of mad gods is stop treating them like serious foes, and start treating them like Food for the Land.
”Feed them to the Land. All of them. Burn their items of magic and use them to reinforce and strengthen your own. Keep NOTHING. It all gets burned to make you stronger, and the Land stronger.