The Tower in the Shadows

The map on the table outlined the areas his plans would cover and take into account.

"We are sure that these are the lines of advance?" Ranus asked Danrum. The two were having a meeting in his office. Ranus and his Watch Commander were discussing what was to come and making difficult choices.

"If the monsters are ground-bound, yes, this is where they will come from. The mountain range's natural valleys act as channelling routes. The most direct route from Folly's End to Shadow Vale will take them through these valleys to the west. The natural layout of the mountains will cause us to be slightly deflected northward, rather than directly towards us. They will enter through the north end of the valley closest to the Dungeon if they follow that route. That will allow us to prepare for their appearance."

"If they don't?" He asked.

"To reach the southern end of the valley, they would have to take a completely different approach to the mountain range. This would push them southwards into the river lands. If they come directly over the mountains, then the river would act as a natural barrier to slow them."

"What of the possible underground routes?"

"There are a few natural routes through the mountains that are not part of the Underlands. Even then, we have found very few natural caverns and caves that descend far into the mountains around us, so we doubt that they will come this route."

"And if the void corrupted had flyers, we would already be under attack as they would already be past Nygar." Ranus thought of the last route to reach the city.

"Indeed, my Lord." Danrum agreed with his assessment of the situation.

"So, we know that they will most likely come from the North. The Dungeon will be the target anyway, but there is a high probability that we will attract some stray monsters in the assault. What of the city's defences?"

"With the winter weather now threatening to come again, we are being delayed with what extensions to fortifications we can build." Danrum was frank in his assessment. "If the fortifications are breached….The cost will be heavy."

Ranu sighed. It seemed that this valley only had two seasons: a short summer and a long winter. At least most of the sewage system had now been built, relieving many problems that the city was suffering from. That left the city's fortifications as his biggest concern.

"How many of the improvements to the northern palisade have been finished?" He asked.

"The four new towers are almost completed. Two of the bolt throwers have arrived, and we are assembling them on the two completed towers closest to the gate. We are training crews to operate them as we speak. The trench will be finished in a few days. We will need to rework the trench after winter."

Ranus was dipping into his reserves to acquire the siege weapons for his city. He had discussed the issue with Danrum, expecting the man to ask for catapults, but was surprised when he said he wanted bolt throwers. He argued that the ground that they needed to cover was mostly flat, as it was a floodplain, and bolts are always a more effective weapon in such an environment than a catapult. They will be fighting massive monsters, not tightly packed infantry.

Ranus deferred to his Watch Commander and placed the order.

"When will the next two arrive in the city?" Ranus asked.

The look on Danrum's face told him most of what he needed to know. "We were not supposed to see them until spring. Nygar is buying every siege weapon it can, and I was quite surprised we got the two we did."

"From what we have learned, how to rate the kingdom's chances?"

"It's hard to say, my Lord. It all depends on what comes out of Folly's End. Once the river is crossed, the kingdom's forces will not be able to put up a serious defensive line until Castin." Danrum was frowning again as he thought over everything that he had seen in recent reports. "It's a solid plan. The biggest problem is that we don't know the scale of the power of what could cross that river."

"Do you think they can hold them at Castin?"

"Castin is a fortress city from the old Empire's days. It has never fallen yet."

"Yet." Ranus sadly echoed. That had them looking at each other.

## ## ## ## ##

Rickle was hiding in his realm.

He felt exposed in a way he had never before.

Once he realised what he had done during the meeting of the Pantheon, he was too shocked at his own actions to engage anyone else. He withdrew instantly to his realm and has been hiding out there since.

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Several other members of the divine Pantheon had tried to engage him, but he had flatly refused to speak to anyone, cutting himself off entirely from them. He still watched the mortal plane, acting when he could.

He was still cursing himself for his outburst, as he had always sought to be hidden in plain sight, playing the fool and prankster. This allowed him a certain freedom of action that the others did not have.

He was sitting at his favourite table, flicking playing cards into a hat. Many would call this wasting time, but he saw it more as a meditation practice. It was a habit he had picked up when he was mortal and continued as a god. He found the simple repetitive action peaceful, allowing him to calm and focus his mind. He never missed anymore.

He was so angry with himself for the outburst, but not for what he had said. His words were valid, and he knew it. Usually, he would have spent time dropping hints and manipulating the others to get them to where he needed them to be, but they were at such a point of crisis that he didn't have the time, and he lost his temper.

They could all see the storm building. And for the first time in who knew how many ages, the Pantheon as a whole was afraid. None of them could see the end result or destination of what was going to happen.

Fearful mortals were dangerous. Fearful gods were disasters waiting to happen.

The mortals, at least, were taking actions to try to contain the storm that was building over Folly's End. Many of their gods were now openly supporting these actions, but he was afraid that it wouldn't be enough. No, it wouldn't be enough, nowhere near enough. Nygar had a plan, but Rickle knew it was still not enough.

Of that he was now sure.

The kingdom of Nygar would blunt the assault but not end it.

No, it would be Bhaldor that would be the deciding factor in all of this.

He knew that Oda also knew that.

So, what would be his play? Subterfuge or brute force?

Rickle suspected that the last void corrupted monster attack was a test of Bhaldor's defences. Ironically, Oda could not commit many more attacks like that, as it only strengthened Bhaldor in the long run.

"What are you planning, old man? Are you abandoning subterfuge for a direct assault? Do you have the forces for it?" Rickle asked himself in the quiet of his realm. He had been doing his best to look at the board and see all the pieces and how they could be played to their best advantage, just like Oda would be doing as well.

Whatever the corrupted Oda was going to do would happen soon. Rickle could see that the game was entering a vital moment. He can see all the pieces, all the possible moves, yet most evident was a full-scale assault on Shadow Vale from Folly's End.

What concerned him was the moves that he couldn't see being made during that period of chaos. That would be the perfect time to strike at something vital when they were all distracted.

But what would it be?

Was he overthinking it?

As he continued to spiral through different ideas and possibilities, he sensed the presence of two members of the Pantheon outside of his realm. They were doing the divine equivalent of knocking on his door.

He had ignored most of the others for the last few days, but these he could not ignore. He granted them access.

Xandus and Nictor entered his realm.

In all the time he had been a member of the Pantheon, these two particular gods never entered his realm, and they looked around with some interest at how it was representing him and his Mantel.

"Why are you both here?" Rickle asked bluntly as he was in no mood for pleasantries or visitors.

"Rickle your speech to the pantheon was a great benefit to all of us." Xandus sat across from him. "It reminded us that we need to work together more than ever."

Nictor joined them at the table. "We were surprised you spoke up the way you did."

His face contorted into a deep frown. "Not my best moment."

"Not so! Your words were spoken from the heart and affected all of us who listened to them." Xandus exclaimed. "You forced us all to look at what we are doing."

"Without Oda to keep us focused, we are splintering." He spoke the words that many were thinking.

Both his guests looked extremely uncomfortable at his words, but knew that they were the truth. Oda was often disliked and condemned by many in the Pantheon, but he performed his duties exceptionally well, keeping them focused on problems as they arose. Now that he was the problem, the central force that had held the Pantheon together was gone. That meant the gods were starting to focus more on their own goals than on the collectives.

"That is all true," Nictor said after a few moments' pause. "Many of our more reckless and impulsive members are threatening to strike out on their own."

Rickle was unsurprised by this.

"We need to build a united front against such rash action. The consequences could be dire for us all." Xandus added.

The fact that the heads of the two courts were together speaking to him about unity and cooperation was not lost on him. Traditionally, these two were the ones who were the most adamant in trying to gain more power and destabilise the Pantheon.

He laughed gently to himself. "How things have changed!"

The two looked at him, slightly confused and maybe even insulted. But he did not care. Things were in too much flux right now to see a way out. They were going to have to chart a course and wing it. He wondered if they saw it now, too.

"There's no need for mockery," Xandus said with a slight tone of reproach.

"If not now, when?" Rickle countered. "But we must look to the future. How do you plan to contain Oda?"

The two looked at each other, and he spotted the hints that they had decided on that question already.

"We can't contain him," Nictor said out loud, echoing the thoughts many were quietly thinking again.

"So, you will be seeking to destroy him." Rickle needed to hear them say the words that represented the position he had already reached.

"He was too far gone. There's no way we could remove the void corruption from him safely, even with the assistance of … Bhaldor." Xandus said. Rickle noted the slight pause before she told the Dungeon's name.

"We need to release his Mantels back into the Universe System," Nictor added, but sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than making a statement.

"That will not be easy," Rickle told, and both of them agreed.

## ## ## ## ##

Oda was torn between the two sides, fighting an internal battle in his mind and soul.

His old self and Mantels were still resisting the void corruption spreading through his form. Now it was revealed, but it had burrowed deep and was slowly winning.

The void side was dominant, but he lost control periodically.

The old Oda, when he came to the fore, did everything he could to sabotage the others' plans. He did what he could, but his influence had been severely weakened by the destruction of the temples and the priests who worshipped him.

That did not mean he was powerless.

His most potent weapon was growing stronger and challenging the others' plans.

He could see the storm building in Folly's End.

It was close to breaking.