Across Eternity: Book 5 - Chapter 6
Date: 4/7/2024,
Categories:
Fantasy
Author: Sage_of_the_Forlorn_Path
... find them? My kin?” Shannon asked with desperate hope.
“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s dark and packed to the brim with captive beastmen. The prison is ruled by a very powerful fiend by the name of Carthace, and guarded by countless Pack members and other minions. They’re using this place to turn beastmen into fiends and are building an army to conquer all of Handent and then wipe out Uther.”
“By the spirits,” Valia gasped.
“So what do we do?” Shannon asked.
“I have a plan.” Noah crouched down and began drawing a map of the compound in the dirt. “That cover isn’t simply to keep the prisoners in, it’s to keep the sunlight out. As a true Profane, Carthace can’t be out in the sun, and I doubt her twisted progeny can handle it either. If we destroy the cover, we can use the sunlight to force her and her minions underground, then free the prisoners.”
“How do we destroy something that big?” Valia asked.
“Alchemy. The cover is made of webbing and I took a sample. Deep inside the prison, I found the lab where they are administering parasites, and there is a machine in there that generates large quantities of energy. I can write a formula to break down the webbing and use that machine to power it. Once we have the sun on our side, you two can start freeing the prisoners. There will be a lot of fiends getting in our way, but the more prisoners we release, the more allies we’ll have in the fight.” Noah looked up at the bleak, gray sky. “It’s too overcast right now. ...
... Let’s do it tomorrow.”
That night, they camped far away from the prison. Noah busied himself writing out the alchemy formula while Valia helped Shannon hone her combat skills in preparation. The next day brought a clear sky, the best they could hope for.
“I’m off,” said Noah. “Once the cover disappears, it’ll cause havoc among the fiends. Work fast, before they reorganize themselves. I’ll launch flashbangs to signal to you that I’ve escaped the palace.”
Valia stepped forward and kissed him. “Good luck.”
“Please, be safe, My Lord,” said Shannon with a bow.
Noah patted her shoulder and departed, crossing the barren wasteland surrounding the prison. The fiends were outside performing combat drills. Having received the unholy powers of the Profane, their old lives no longer mattered. Regardless of how much they suffered in the prison or what had happened to their home or loved ones, their minds and souls belonged to the darkness. Driven by bloodlust and a desire for more power, they would follow any order their wicked masters gave them.
Noah passed them by, beyond their ability to detect, and infiltrated the prison. He made his way to the lab built into the old dwarven palace. The ghoul Noah spotted the previous day was there, busy transforming fiends with his many accomplices. He had to take them out so that he could modify the machine. Fortunately, they all appeared relatively weak, at least compared to Tysinger, but each was superior to a human being, and there ...