Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Assault (I)

"I have to admit that your puppets are really realistic. How do you make the blood? And the spells?" one of the puppeteer's bodyguards asked.

"The blood is real. This makes it even more realistic. The spells are stored in a special container. They can only cast one. Fuck. It's not been enough for them to destroy them, but they've buried them. Little can be reused. The work of months... I hope it was worth it," she lamented.

"You mean, apart from the payment. As far as I know, they've been quite generous. At least, you'll buy us some drinks, won't you?" another of her escorts demanded.

"You're always the same. Okay, but help me dig them out. At least, the materials should be refinable," the puppeteer agreed.

"At the Smiling Table," the escort negotiated.

"You... Fine, you win... But I want all the remains," she resigned herself.

"Deal!"

Kan Golge cursed inwardly. He had been too arrogant. The vampire had believed that he had everything under control, that he was one step ahead of his enemies. However, it had turned out that he was one step behind.

The worst thing was that his old injuries had worsened. He wasn't worried about losing an arm, having his face half burned, or having lost an eye. They could regenerate. The problem was a new crack in his core.

In the past, he had modified his body to make it stronger, and had inserted a valuable gem to create said core, his power center. With it, apart from a tougher body, he had increased his mana capacity and performance.

The price to pay had been high, but he had been more than willing to carry it on. His current objective was to replace that cracked gem with the Eternal Flame. Not only would his power increase, but his internal wounds would completely heal. However, he had fallen into his own trap.

The necklace was fake, and had exploded on contact with his aura. Luckily for him, he had had enough time to activate the defensive artifact that he always carried with him.

The result had damaged the device, thus rendering it useless, but he had managed to survive. His son, the one who was with him in the office, had been vaporized, as well as the room. Nonetheless, that didn't bother him too much.

The problem was that the space had been sealed. The evacuation magic circles weren't working, so they couldn't escape through them. The enemy had come prepared. In fact, they had been planning the operation for some time.

The necklace not only carried a powerful explosive, but a subtle and powerful tracking system. Not only the main base was being attacked, but all the ones in between. They intended to use them as a bridge to find other linked bases, and eliminate that threat from the face of Jorgaldur forever.

In fact, those who had attacked the puppets representing the Guardians of the North were also suffering the consequences.

"Another one..." Kan Golge cursed inwardly.

He had warned the children who were outside the base immediately, so that they would flee. He didn't want to lose any more strength.

However, many hadn't made it, probably along with their subordinates. He could feel their connections breaking.

As for those in the main base, they were necessary sacrifices for him to escape. He had promised them that he would activate a powerful weapon that didn't exist. It's not that there were no defenses at the base, but the enemies were numerous, and had come prepared.

Therefore, his children and subordinates were fighting with all their might to buy time, while believing that they could counterattack. They trusted in the power and preparations of their lord, whose resources had always been extraordinary.

What they didn't know was that their enemies also knew who they were fighting against. The mana distortions affected everyone equally, but the defenders were worse. Many of the defensive artifacts had been rendered useless, and the defensive shields had been weakened considerably.

What they knew even less was that their lives would end in twenty minutes. They had activated a special gift given to them by their lord to temporarily increase their strength, at the cost of weakening them when the effect wore off. It should be enough to give him time to activate the "secret weapon."

What they didn't know was that they would actually die. He didn't want to leave witnesses, so that seed would force their bodies until they were completely consumed. Nothing could save them anymore.

Of course, there wasn't enough for everyone. Non-combatants had to hide in a special shelter. In reality, it would be their grave.

The situation would have been very different if the attack hadn't been a surprise. If the first thing the raiders had done hadn't been precisely to create chaos in the circulation of mana. The defensive barriers should have prevented it, but the attack had come from within, from a certain necklace.

Aside from attempting to kill the first ancestral vampire that touched it, the fake necklace's mission was to interfere with the mana. At least, the second part had been successful.

He continued down the stairs, closing the different entrances behind him. Even if they got past the defenses, they would have a hard time finding him.

He stopped halfway down, opened a secret door in the wall, and continued down another staircase. It was an operation that he had already repeated four times.

That escape route was a complicated labyrinth that only he knew. To make it more difficult, the forks were hidden, and he blocked the mechanisms after crossing them. It seemed like just another wall next to endless stairs.

Finally, he arrived at his destination. It was a long, dark tunnel, which would take him far away from there. He could then use the transportation circles that were waiting for him ahead, towards his secret hideouts. He was well-prepared to escape.

However, the vampire couldn't feel happy. Although he had escaped, he had lost a lot due to a single carelessness. His greed for the necklace, and his pride in believing himself smarter than his enemies, had led him to make a terrible mistake. Centuries of effort had been lost in just a few moments.

"If I achieved it once, I'll achieve it again. I'll rebuild everything," he promised himself as he advanced through the tunnel. "Although, perhaps, not all is lost. If they go there..."

Kan Golge changed his mind and turned around, until he reached a fork that he had already passed, and chose the other path. Luckily, the vampire hadn't torn down that part of the tunnel, just the initial kilometer. However, if his enemies tried to follow him, the rest of the tunnels were designed to fall on their heads.

At first, he had decided to go to one of his shelters to heal his wounds. There, he had to calmly prepare his future plans, while assessing the extent of the disaster. Now, Kan Golge had changed that decision to head somewhere else. If his hunch was right, perhaps he would have the chance to turn the tables, to return triumphantly.

"It's worth a try. Not everything is lost. They're going to pay for they've done," he promised with resentment.