2144 Marauder's Map (Part 2)

"They shared with them their memories of when you suffered from cold and hunger during winter, of how much Tista's illness affected their lives. It may seem trivial to you, but for those people, it meant stopping seeing your family as a bunch of monsters.

"It doesn't make up for how they treated you on the day of the attack nor does it magically erase the fear they feel for you, but it's a start. A bond of trust goes both ways and today you took the first step. Now you can only wait and see how they respond."

***

Griffon Kingdom, City of Valeron, a few days later.

Lith had been expecting a call from the Royals for a while now, yet he would have never imagined that instead of ordering him to return to the battlefield they would just send summon him to the capital.

"Nice to see you, Magus Verhen." Morn said while Lith gave him a small bow. "I'm glad to hear that you've moved back to Lutia. I hope there's no grudge left between the Verhens and their fellow citizens."

"The pleasure is mine, Your Majesty." Lith replied. "As for Lutia, we are working on it."

His eyes moved around the Throne Room, noticing that Kamila, Tista, the Council's representatives, Faluel, and even Xenagrosh had been invited as well. Yet his wife stuck out like a sore thumb among such powerful creatures.

"What's the meaning of all this?"

"It will all be clear to you in a few minutes." Sylpha said while conjuring a tendril of Spirit Magic to establish a mind link with Lith.

The Queen brought him up to speed about the Organization's mission to retrieve the pieces of intelligence about the Golden Griffon that Orpal had collected in case Garlen became too small to host both the Dead King and the Mad Queen.

Much to his dismay, Sylpha broke the link right after informing him that each of the three hidden palaces had proven to contain a vital piece of information.

"The reason we have summoned you here is that what we are about to share with you requires utmost confidentiality. We only have one chance at this and we can't risk any detail leaking outside these walls." She said.

"From the Pleasure Palace, we rescued Termian, a Blood Warlock who helped Arthan to build the Golden Griffon. Thanks to him, we have learned how to craft cloaking rings that will allow our agents to escape the detection of the lost academy's defensive system.

"Thanks to the rings, once inside the only way their presence can be exposed is by being spotted by the guards. Even if that were to happen, as long as they can be kept from sounding the alarm, it would take hours for someone to notice their absence.

"From the Treasure Palace, instead, we have collected an enchanted map of the Golden Griffon." Sylpha handed to Lith a seemingly blank parchment.

'If not for Life Vision confirming that this is actually an artifact, I'd think that either this is a joke or that I have to swear to be up to no good to make it work.' Lith thought, making Solus inwardly giggle.

"It has already been imprinted and we've already checked that its content becomes visible only in the proximity of Huryole.

"Termian explained to us that after the Undead Courts discovered Arthan's plans to make the academy a maze, they used the enchantments that the Mad King had shared with them to create this map.

"It's a tool that, by reading the flow of energy coursing through the various floors of the academy, can show you the position of every room inside the Golden Griffon in real-time.

"Even if our agents were to be spotted and Thrud rearranged the layout of the building to keep them from escaping, the map will allow them to find their way to the exit."

"What about the Wisdom Palace?" Lith asked. "Did you find the schematics of the power core that will allow us to safely destroy it there?"

"Sadly, no." Sylpha sighed deeply. "Our Eldritch allies only found a list of the Forbidden Spells the Golden Griffon is enchanted with and Arthan's blueprints for a more advanced version of the Madness.

"Sadly, over the centuries the Kingdom's Rangers have already discovered the hard way most of what the lost academy can do and we have no use for the blueprints."

'Speak for yourself.' Xenagrosh inwardly grinned at those words.

"Then what's the point of this meeting?" Lith replied. "Even with the map and the rings, anyone who stays for too long inside the Golden Griffon would fall under its slave spell.

"There's no point taking such a risk without knowing the position and the weakness of the power core."

"You would be correct if we didn't get ahold of a crucial weakness of the lost academy and the perfect tool to exploit it." Raagu Drerian, the human representative of the Council stepped forward. "The only thing we lack is the means to use them both."

"Maybe it's because I'm still under 100 years old, but I don't appreciate cryptic one-liners. Why have you summoned me here and why are you telling me all this?" Lith asked.

"You have to excuse Raagu." Faluel said with a chuckle. "She has a flair for the dramatic that you seem to be immune to."

"I was simply trying to make him understand how important this is and how much is at stake." The human representative snarled in annoyance. "Termian also confirmed to us that undead are completely immune to the Golden Griffon's Unwavering Loyalty array.

"They can safely remain within its premises for as long as they want without the risk of being enslaved. Also, in the Wisdom Palace, we found the schematics of the array and we had the opportunity to check his intel.

"The Undead Courts really pulled a fast one on the Mad King. According to Termian, the original plan was to conquer the Golden Griffon the moment it was finished and use its regeneration chamber to achieve true immortality with no strings attached.

"What they failed to consider was that even after Arthan's death, the academy refused to recognize a new master. It fought and killed those who had come to conquer it and the few survivors remained trapped inside like the rest of the students."

"Let me guess, you want to put this knowledge to use by sending a recon team of undead inside the Golden Griffon to study its power core on site and learn how to safely destroy it." Lith said.

"Correct." Raagu nodded.

"It's all very interesting, but my questions remain. It just adds one more. Why have you called me here, why are you telling me all this, and what makes you so sure that your recon team can accomplish such a difficult task?" Lith asked, making Raagu sigh.

"The answer to your first two questions is the same." King Meron said. "We want you to be part of the recon team."

"Me?" Lith was flabbergasted. "The last time that I remained trapped for too long inside the Golden Griffon, you quarantined me for weeks. What makes you think that now things are different?"