Chapter 182: A Poor Workman Blames His Tools

 

Zamarak sat still on his chair as he watched his son enter his study. If he was alive then it seems the newest visitors to Hell could potentially be reasoned with. Emphasis on potentially…

Having high hopes for anything in Hell was an overall bad strategy. Those who did not prepare for the worst were not alive for long. Plenty of demons would kill you just because they could or they wanted to. 

No greater reason, no greater cause, just a love for the slaughter…

So the very fact that his son was alive and the building was still standing was cause for some hopeful optimism, even if it was an extremely cautious optimism. Plenty of raiders wouldn’t kill you, they would just enslave you…

“Father…” his son said, his face a shade paler than usual.

“Zarik, what news?” Zamarak asked cautiously.

“The ancient… he… he wishes to parley.” Zarik stammered, his body shaking like a leaf.

“Parley?” Zamarak asked in slight confusion. You do not parley with those that are weaker than you. The strong took what they pleased, that was the way of the world.

“I don’t know, they could easily just kill us all.” Zarik stammered in response, his voice shaking.

“I see… then come, we should not try the temper of the ancients.” Zamarak said as he wearily rose to his feet. He was in his sixth decade in this world and he has seen all manner of horrors.  The ancients could deliver a level of fury beyond imagining.

When Zamarak stepped through the door into the main hall of the governor's building , he saw a pair of black blades stab straight through the wall. Zamarak froze as terror crept up his spine. His mouth went dry when the entire wall was ripped off and he was left staring at this monster.

“Hi there…” the beast said with a wide grin that showed off its rows upon rows of serrated teeth.

Zamarak stood dumbly as he listened to the ruined building creak under the strain of suddenly losing its wall. 

“So you are the chief, mayor or what have you?” the beast said as he bent down got right up into Zamarak’s face.

Zamarak audibly gasped as he stared at the rows of white serrated teeth. Each curved fang was the size of sabre and when the beast spoke his breath stank of blood. 

“What do you want from us? Judging by how we are still alive, you want something only the living could provide?” Zamarak asked in as even a voice as he could manage. This creature radiated power, he could feel the air was thick with Ether. It was like standing next to a furnace as the waves of Ether lashed against him.

“I want to find the downwards Ring Gate.” the beast said in a low bestial voice with baritone that vibrated Zamarak’s ribcage. 

“The downwards Ring Gate?” Zamarak asked in confusion. Normally the desire was to move up the rings. The lower you were in the rings the worse your life was. To reside in the blazing and sprawling metropolis that was the Pride Ring was everyone’s dream.

They were currently close to the Ring Gate connecting the Ring of Envy to the Ring of Wrath. Since they were currently in the Envy Ring, to go down would mean to enter the Ring of Wrath which was a death sentence for most demons.

The downwards Ring Gate was controlled by a Wrath Warband. The forces of Envy have been desperately trying to reclaim the Ring Gate but so far the Wrath Ring Warband has proven to be far too difficult to defeat. So the common denizens of the Envy Ring had to deal with the constant raids from Wrath Raiders.

“Yes, down… I need to get to Limbo.” the beast said and this threw Zamarak for another loop. Limbo? Why would an ancient want to go to Limbo? Limbo was just a continent sized slum, there was nothing there and no one was interested in it.

Even the Treachery Domain only interacted with the Realm of Limbo because they wanted to exile someone. What could there be gained for entering the Realm of Limbo?

“I have a map… to the downwards Ring Gate… but it is guarded.” Zamarak replied uncertainty as he nodded as Zarik scurried off to get it.

“By the Wrath Ring I presume?” the beast drawled as if he was slowly getting bored of this conversation.

“Yes, they number in the tens of thousands.” Zamarak said trying to be as useful as possible. Plus if this ancient destroyed the Wrath Warband it would tip the balance and make life easier here. But if the beast didn’t destroy them… there might be a problem.

The Wrath Ring respected strength, despite being the lowest Ring in Hell they had one of the most powerful militaries. Their ceaseless internal wars ensured that only the strong survive. It was common knowledge that if the Wrath Ring ever got their act together and united under a single banner, it would spell doom for many of the Rings.

Knowing the Wrath Ring, some at least would fall in line with this ancient. He was powerful, he needed only to claim the heads of some of the Arch Demons and he would win entire Warbands into his service.  

“What do you intend to do?” Zamarak asked, in spite of his fear.

“Oh cause a little carnage here and there, but don’t worry…” the beast said with a low chuckle as he shifted his head slightly.

Zamarak turned to see Zarik running up to him with a large scroll in his hands. Zamarak watched as the scroll lifted out of Zarik’s hand as the beast retreated. Zamarak took a step forward and saw through the hole in the wall the beast staring at the map as it floated in front of him.

“Very clever Morningstar…” the beast said with a grin as it waved one of its hands and a magic circle appeared. A magic array lifted off the parchment and with a snap of the beast's fingers a complete map of the Hells appeared, showing exactly where each Ring Gate was on every layer of Hell.

Zamarak’s jaw fell open as he saw this. The Ring Gate Maps were prized possessions. The only reason his town had one was because of their proximity to the Ring Gates during certain years.  The armies of Envy would occasionally use this place as a staging ground to repel Wrath Ring invasions. 

These maps were precious things. The only reason why Zamarak gave it up so easily was because he valued his life and the lives of his family far more than any vague sense of loyalty to his masters.

Yes he would be punished for it and probably die for it but at least his family might survive. These maps were master crafted artefacts. It was specially designed as well, the map he had only showed the downwards Ring Gate. This information was cheap since the Wrath Ring was a death sentence and honestly there were easier ways to kill yourself.

But to unravel the magic of Magne Morningstar? That easily? It was impossible to even imagine…

“What do you think keeps the Ring Gates moving?” the beast asked as he turned to face Zamarak as if reading his thoughts.

“The Black Heart, all roads in this accursed realm lead to the Black Heart. This map merely communes with it letting you know where the Ring Gate is. So I merely needed to learn how to commune with it. Not very difficult, if you know how.” the beast said with a laugh as he tossed the scroll into the dirt.

“Thank you for your contribution. At least with the scroll you just might keep your head.” the beast said as he flashed him a fanged smile. 

“What will you do now?” Zamarak asked his mouth dry.

“Now that is a good question. I guess the first thing I would like to ask is…” the beast said with a grin.

 

You got any wine here?

 

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.♚.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

 

“Was that really necessary?” Mahaila said crossly as we all got ready to make camp.

I paused in my efforts to carefully stack the barrels of wine I wanted to drink for the evening.

“What was? If you mean the wine then yes.” I replied as I stacked the final barrel into a nice little pyramid.

“Why? You took their wine, all of it.” Mahaila retorted in exasperation.

“Well they weren’t going to drink it anyway.” I replied as I turned to look at her.

“What?” Mahaila sputtered in response.

“That way, incoming Wrath Warband. Too big for them to deal with, they will all be dead in a few days or they have to abandon the city. Either way the wine is gone, so I might as well drink it.” I replied as I saw Mahaila give me this wide eyed look.

“You could have at least told them.” Mahaila spat back.

“Why would I, it makes it less dramatic when I swoop in to save them.” I deadpanned and that gave Mahaila some pause. She wasn’t the only one the rest of the party all turned to look at me in surprise.

“Why are we saving them?” Azatharine asked bluntly.

“Agreed, they hold no significant purpose. If it is meat you require, then that is plentiful here.” Serchax queried and I let out a laugh.

“Waste not, if I behave like a mad beast then I’m predictable. I save a town and burn the next. The uncertainty will be useful.” I said with a grin.

“Plus I get my meat anyway.” I added with a laugh as I popped the lid off the cask of wine and downed it like it was just a small cup.

I instantly paused and then I spat the wine out. What the fuck was this stuff? 

I took one look at the pyramid of wine barrels and I waved my hands transferring it all into my pocket dimension.

“What do you really think they can grow good grapes here? If you want good wine you should head to the Lust Ring.” Mahaila said dryly.

“I suppose it is the Envy Ring, Envy only makes sense when everything fucking sucks.” I replied as I slumped down into the dirt and summoned out a barrel of my favourite fruit wine that I brought along from Averlon.

“Why did you steal the wine if you already have some?” Mahaila asked crossly.

“One cannot have too much good wine.” Rosa replied nonchalantly as she poured herself a glass from the barrel. 

“You want a glass?” Rosa asked as she held a glass out towards Mahaila who just scowled in response.

“Your loss.” Rosa said with a shrug before handing it over to Serchax who took it before taking a sip.

“Ah Averlon really does know how to make wine.” Serchax said with a satisfied wine.

“I suppose you don’t get to drink much of it on account of you being underwater most of the time.” Azatherine said dryly as she waved off an offered glass.

“Sounds depressing.” I replied as I downed half the barrel in one gulp.

“Oh it really isn’t, some of the best wine is found at the bottom of the ocean. You ever drunk a hundred year old vintage that has been stored at the bottom of the Azure Sea? The ether in the water seeps into the wine over time and improves the flavour.” Serchax said and I turned to look at her.

“You never mentioned that.” I said and Serchax shrugged.

“I drank the last barrel about ten years ago. I have some younger vintages if you want.” Serchax replied.

“I’ll be taking it all when I get back.” I said with a huff.

“Can we focus? Limbo, our plan?” Mahaila pressed testily.

“All in good time, I have a Warband to smash first.” I replied as I finished the rest of the barrel before producing another barrel.

“How many did you bring?” Rosa asked curiously as she refilled her glass.

“About a thousand barrels.” I replied and I saw Mahaila’s brow twitch in irritation. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Forget it…” Mahaila said, finally giving up.

“When is the Warband coming?” Mahaila asked and I turned to look at her.

“In about a day, all of you should rest. We have been on the move for three days.” I replied.

“Unnecessary my king, we are able to go for far longer.” Azatherine said and I nodded. That was obviously true, every single person here could probably go non-stop without food, water or sleep for weeks.

The sheer amount of ether they had in their bodies allowed them to do ridiculous things like that. It wouldn’t be pleasant and they would weaken slightly over that time but it would be of little issue. Three days was basically nothing but I did notice some performance dips at the eighth day mark for Azatherine. Rosa could last slightly longer at nine days. No data on Serchax and Mahaila since I have yet to see them reach their limit yet.

This little excursion of ours will push all their limits. Hell was not a hospitable place. Exposure killed here just as much as blades. Resources were scarce to non existent, good luck getting water here and growing crops was either difficult or outright impossible depending on where you were.

All of this could be remedied of course, I wasn’t planning on conquering hell with fire and blood alone. 

 

Only a poor workman uses half his tools…