The Cardinal of Sin

Intermission: Vultures of War

Unknown Location

It was rare for Zuranon's Twelve Executives to gather and now was no different. There were only seven of them present which was more than enough to discuss events and make decisions. Zuranon hadn't remained as effective as they had been by being inflexible.

All seven figures were hooded in an attempt to conceal their identity. It added to the mystique of Zuranon and each Executive spent at least some of their time attempting to divine the identity of the others. Some formed alliances with each other but they were usually temporary, lasting until one party completed their goal.

Despite that, Zuranon had a united purpose. They acted as one more often than they opposed each other. It was in their interests.

"I was expecting more." The Executive was leaning back into the chair in an attempt to further conceal their identity.

The others looked at him. He sounded like a he. Zuranon didn't care about gender. Strength and dedication to their cause were the only requirements to be a member.

"I doubt we have seen everything." The counter statement came from one of the others that was probably male. It was accompanied by several gestures that seemed twitchy. That confirmed his identity for most of the Executives. The twitch was the result of an experiment gone bad so even if they didn't know the true identity of the Executive, they knew which one was sitting there.

"He's only taken one town!" The first speaker growled. There was the impression that he might lean forward but he didn't.

"It is winter." The voice was female and sultry. It sounded seductive but was toned just that little bit too strongly. The speaker was a little too eager to seduce and that set off alarm bells.

"And he killed no one."

The Executives looked at each other. That was something they couldn't deny. The undead Sorcerer King was not behaving as they expected.

"A ruse." The voice was quiet. It sounded like it came from beyond the grave and in many ways it did.

Zuranon worshipped death. It was made up of the living and the undead. The man who had spoken was no longer a man but an undead. He was possibly the most powerful of them all.

"A ruse only." The statement was repeated. There was a note of pleasure sufficing it. "We do not need to alter our plans."

"A ruse?" The Executive who spoke had a slightly grey cloak. Until one of Zuranon's plans was actually enacted it was all in motion. They did plan but they also chased opportunity.

"If he killed everyone, the others would run. The others would fight and their blood would be spilled for no reason." One spindly finger rose. "We cannot presume to know all his plans."

That much was true. While the Executives of Zuranon knew they were intelligent, that meant they were wise enough to realise they couldn't know everything the Sorcerer King knew. They did not have access to the information he did. They did not know what his goals were. They knew their own, and they knew how they could work an undead of his power into their goals.

"So we should continue with ours?" The question was rhetoric. They had plans but they had not put them into full deployment.

"We should proceed with them."

"Even without knowing?" The question had no context but the Executives understood.

"There is no new information, but he is what we have wanted," the voice that sounded like it came from beyond the grave confirmed.

The Executives nodded. Clementine's body had been retrieved from the Re-Estize Kingdom but they had been unable to resurrect her. She had refused to be raised. Instead they had had to revert to methods to speak to her soul. Speaking to a spirit was at the same time both easier and more difficult than resurrection.