2121 Hidden Palace (Part 1)
It was Kigan's aura, allowing Xenagrosh to understand the meaning of that play.
"Continue, Caltem." Dusk said with a cold voice as his alleged minion kept writhing in alleged agony.
"Yes, yes!" The merchant slammed his head against the ground a few times in apology for the time lost while he tried to remember every single rumor he had heard.
"Forgive me, o Hushed King, but that's all I know. I never visited the secret palaces nor do I know their location, but I can tell you who does."
Caltem then gave Dusk the real names, the list of aliases, and the hiding spots of the members of the Undead Courts in the various cities who were more likely to have first-hand information about Orpal's fortresses.
"The good news is that the Mad Queen knows nothing about the palaces. Even after submitting to her, the elders of the Courts kept them a secret from her. Also, they didn't move a single gold coin out, afraid that Thrud may be keeping tabs on them.
"The Courts feared that mobilizing the troops necessary to take down the fortresses wouldn't have escaped her attention and alerted her of their true intentions in case she managed to infiltrate one of her Generals in the raid."
"These are all good news, but what do you mean, the necessary troops?" Dusk asked.
"The Dead King is still alive and his spells are still at full power. Also, there's no telling how many of his Chosen are guarding the palaces. Diverting from the war the necessary forces to beat them would have been something hard to miss." Caltem replied.
"Let me guess. The names you gave me belong to those tasked with planning the attack on the palaces." The Red Sun said, connecting the different pieces of information.
"You are right, my Lord. The Courts need to be prepared for the moment they decide to rebel. Swiftness is the key so that by the time the Mad Queen understands what's happening, it will already be too late." The merchant nodded.
"I couldn't agree more." Xenagrosh said while pressing several runes on her amulet to contact her brethren and share with them that information. "We must collect the intel that the Courts have gracefully gathered for us and strike at the three palaces at the same time."
"Wrong." Dusk's tone was that of a general addressing the troops. "We'll collect the information as you suggested, but then I'll lead the charge on each palace in person. In the heat of the battle, your siblings wouldn't recognize a Chosen from a guard or an elder from a concubine.
"I know every undead worth knowing and those who might have been foolish enough to follow Night in her quest. My presence will allow you hybrids to separate the wheat from the chaff and go all-out on those we don't need to take alive.
"As soon as we conquer a palace, I'll move onto the next one so the raids will be not only much more efficient but also almost as quick. We'll sort the spoils of the battle later."
Xenagrosh's eyes became two fiery slits of mana as she weighed the time that they would save with the Horseman's help against the delay that waiting for him would cause.
"You are a cruel bastard. I take back a few things I thought about you in the past." She nodded.
"What about the kid?" Kigan abruptly interrupted his farce and stood up, worried for Kelia.
"We are in agreement or I'd never offered my help in the first place." Dusk said in annoyance.
"What about him?" Xenagrosh pointed at Caltem.
"We'll let him live, for now." The Red Sun replied. "He may have fed us fake information or withheld something to ensure his survival. We'll dispose of him only after the end of the mission."
"But, my liege-"
"You've sided with Orpal the moment I was gone and you abandoned him as well when the Courts deposed him. Now, you are betraying them for me. You've seen and heard too much." A snap of Dusk's fingers produced a burst of Spirit Magic that struck at Caltem's eardrums, making him faint.
"Do you want us to kill everyone in this mansion as well?" Kigan asked.
"There's no need." Dusk shook his head. "They have just seen two academy scouts and a student whereas Caltem knows I'm the Red Sun. If I let him go, the people who have picked Kelia's scent will memorize it and search for me.
"With Caltem gone, instead, they'll start by investigating his enemies inside and outside the Courts. Even if someone survives our raids and manages to escape, by the time rumors about my return spread, people will have forgotten about my alias and his scent."
***
Dusk and the hybrids left the party and shared the newly acquired information with the rest of the Organization. It took them the remaining of the night to cross-reference everything and find where their new marks were hidden.
The Abominations waited for sunrise to attack, when the undead were at their weakest while Chaos was at its strongest.
The remaining of the day was spent studying the blueprints about the secret palaces collected by the Courts, finding their location, and using their battle plans as a basis for the hybrids'.
"Fuck, it's almost sundown, but we can't afford to wait until the next morning. By then, the Undead Courts will be on our tail." Kigan said as they Chaos Warped at a safe distance from the Pleasure Palace.
"Day or night would have made no difference." Dusk replied. "Night is still alive and her prisms allow her Chosen to share their bloodline abilities between them. She always picks one undead capable of moving freely during the day so that the strength of her minions isn't affected by the sun unless they are in the open.
"Between that and how deep underground this place is, they wouldn't suffer from the light element in the air even if it was noon."
The three worked together to deactivate the most dangerous arrays from the outside before starting the attack. Thanks to their collective knowledge and Dusk's Spirit Magic, the only limit was the time.
'If only I had even a fraction of my powers, I could take control of the hybrid's Primordial Flames and take down the magical formations in a matter of seconds instead of hours.' He inwardly cursed.
'What about Doom Tide?' Kelia asked.
'That would be stupid. After a while, the arrays would come back online and at some point, I would have to release its energy.
'If I were to do it outside the palace, the element of surprise would be lost. If unleash Doom Tide inside, instead, we would have to search through the rubble and there would be no survivors to interrogate.' Dusk replied.
After getting rid of the self-destruct mechanisms and the elemental sealing arrays, they moved in. There were still a lot of magical formations left, but even though undead weren't supposed to have Life Vision, any more and the control system would have perceived their tampering and sounded the alarm.
Knowing Orpal, they had expected the Pleasure Palace to be something tacky and flashy like a brothel. Instead, it looked like a small underground fortress.
