The Tower in the Shadows

The fall of the capital of Nygar had consequences both known and only now being revealed.

The horde had reformed but was greatly diminished. The greatest of the monstrosities that had assaulted the capital city of the kingdom of Nygar had been destroyed. But the cost is still being calculated.

The release of such destructive energy had disrupted weather patterns across that part of the continent. Where the city once stood was now a blackened wasteland, and the rivers that flowed to the ruins were choked with debris and had been altered by pollution from the magical energy.

The horde was still heading east, and the few kingdoms and baronies in its way were evacuating their populations and using their military forces to prevent losses among the civilians.

In the shattered kingdom of Nygar, the nation's military was largely still intact. They quickly spread out, hunting void-corrupted abominations that remained and seeking to help the civilians scattered across the countryside. These efforts were being led by their new king.

This brought significant political instability to the area, as one of the most powerful nations was suddenly no longer strong. Some ambitious nations and lords eyed their borders with the kingdom and began to wonder if they could expand their rule.

## ## ## ## ##

Rickle had not been watching the bombardment or its aftermath. He had been watching the energy wake around the horde.

He knew that Oda had been manipulating it to help hide the numbers and power of the monstrosities that were moving within it. He created the weather patterns that also helped obscure its progress. Finally, the cold sucked the strength and power from the defenders.

It was all him.

He was an excellent manipulator and adept at hiding his involvement. Rickle had been studying his methods for centuries and knew him better than anyone.

He watched, analysing patiently, going through each possible thread, ignoring everything else.

Then he found it.

"Got you, old man!"

## ## ## ## ##

"How long before they arrive?" Ranus asked the people crowded into his meeting room. Since the destruction of the city of Nygar, this was the most significant number of people he had in the room. They were here because they knew that this was the day that decisions had to be made.

"It is difficult to make that determination," Danrum spoke up. "We do know that from the direction they are travelling, they will have to come from the North through the valleys. The local monster population will not take kindly to an incursion, even of that size, into their territories."

"Very well. Do you have any idea of the numbers?" Was his next question.

"In that area, we have some good news." Elian now spoke. "The hordes' largest and most powerful monsters have all been destroyed. Most of the lesser beasts were also obliterated in the bombardment. What is left is mostly made up of the outer part of the horde. They do still have the advantage of numbers, though."

"Which are?" He prompted.

"Hundreds." She replied grimly.

That brought silence to the room as everyone began to work out how strong the city's defences were. They all knew the problem was with the death of some of the void corrupted; others would be brought into the horde by that very corruption. They had all seen the reports of military units clashing with the horde forerunners or outer numbers trying to reduce its size. There were numerous reports of both success and failure. It was impossible to determine whether these actions would ultimately help or hinder them in the long run.

The horde coming through the northern valleys would mean that the dungeon would be in its way. They had all come to understand that the dungeon was the ultimate target of the horde, as they somehow understood that it was a danger to them.

The hardest below would fall on the dungeon when the horde arrived, but they also knew that the city would be forced to make it stand as well.

Ranus was doing everything he could. The problem was that he knew it wasn't going to be enough.

He, too, began to entertain the possibility of evacuating the city.

## ## ## ## ##

Well, the horde was coming.

Ranus have informed me of the events across the continent and the destruction of several cities. The good news was that the most prominent and most formidable members of the horde that was coming had been destroyed. The problem was that the rest are still moving.

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Hundreds.

That was what he had reported. The problem was that I could not fashion my defences until I understood the danger that was coming from me. I recall an example from history of fortifications and defences being erected, only to be discovered that they were ineffective against the wrong type of weapons or war.

I spent the last few weeks making void stones. I built up a small reserve, but the rest had gone out into the world. A few had been returned, allowing me to make more, but at the moment, I was nowhere near the amount I was going to need.

I looked to my defences again.

I had limited resources and even more limited time. So, I could not just rush into a frenzied construction spree. I have to be tactical and ruthless.

I started with the surface building. I had installed the highly destructive fire-infused mana stone trap. It was as destructive as I had hoped, and it would eliminate many of the first wave. Part of the blast wave went down the stairwell into the dungeon proper. I would need to keep my first and second-floor minions away from that room until the blast was over. That was easy enough to achieve, but what can I do to make it more destructive?

The solution was simple: more mana stones. This was easy to achieve, and I created four more rocks and added them to the trap. I daisy-chained the five together to trigger when they reached the doorway to the tower base.

Dirty and straightforward, the way I like it.

I would be facing numbers. That trap will reduce them by at least a few. The rest of the floors would have to be reinforced to withstand the weight of the number coming. In that the layout worked for me already. The stairwell will stop them from flooding in. Hopefully, they will be so frenzied to reach me that they will crush each other, increasing the casualties among their own ranks.

I had void stone traps on every floor to absorb void essence. This will slow the amount coming down to my Core. The problem was that the volume of void corrupted monsters coming would overwhelm my Core. I had ten void stones arranged around me in my alcove, which could be used to siphon off some of that corruption. The traps on the stairs would also help. They would draw void essence away, protecting me from it until I could deal with it later.

Add another?

That was my first thought. Increasing the essence being drawn away would help me. I could place my new stones on the stairs. I could add them, but I decided to explore more options.

I could create another large trap, similar to the one I had repositioned from the tenth to the eleventh. Make it bigger? I could do this. I would need to make sure that the enchantments do not interfere with each other.

What other options were there?

I kept thinking.

## ## ## ## ##

Rickle met with Nictor and Xandus.

The other two were in deep conversation over the events of the horde crossing the continent. Even though the most significant part of the horde was destroyed, it was still a threat. They all knew its destination, and they were doing what they could to slow and weaken it.

Rickle had been thinking about speaking to them since he made his discovery. As he approached, they turned, ending the conversation, and talked to him.

"Rickle, why do you wish to speak to us today?" Xandus asked him.

"I want to know what you plan to do when you find Oda." He had decided not to reveal that he had a clue where the old fool was. He didn't want them to go rushing off half cocked until they had a plan in place to deal with him.

The two exchanged a side-eye as they thought about what they were going to say to him.

"There is a plan in place to deal with him," Nictor spoke now. He was hesitant, but time was running out, and action would be needed soon.

This was not exactly a revelation to Rickle. He knew they had been working on something for some time, but the fact that the leader of the dark court had come out and told him there was a plan in place was interesting.

"Which is?" He pressed.

"Why are you so interested?" Countered Xandus.

"I may have the means to find him." Rickle decided to jump in headfirst and see what happened.

This caused the other two to fall silent and look at him with great intensity. He could see the wheels behind their eyes turning. If he could produce the information he claimed, they might have a chance to stop the corrupted God.

"Are you sure?" Nictor almost demanded. They become very intense suddenly, and you realise that they might have a plan in place that they were confident would work.

"Yes. I knew a lot of his methods and tricks a lot better than any of you, and he might have just made a mistake."

The other two gods looked at each other again, debating what to tell him silently. In the end, Xandus nodded, and that seemed to decide the issue. Nictor turned him again and began speaking.

"We realised that a void corrupted God was a danger we were not prepared for. Destruction was our first approach, but we have come to understand the danger of that. It would cause a massive explosion of void essence. We have been exploring methods to contain him and eliminate the corruption, enabling us to prevent further contamination safely. The problem is that a divine being corrupted is a hazardous proposition. In our research, however, we believe we have discovered an answer. It is ironic that Oda inadvertently supplied us with the answer we needed."

Xandus stepped in. "We discovered how he cut the Dungeon Core Bhaldor from the Paths of Ascension. As the God of balance, he created a means for a single being to be cut off from the Paths yet still interact with the world. We discovered that such a means could also be used to imprison someone of a divine nature, as they are similar in many ways to Dungeon Cores. The prisoner will be contained within a pocket dimension stored within a structure similar to a Dungeon Core."

"How would that stop void corrupted essence from spreading still?" Rickle was both alarmed and intrigued by what they were saying.

"We connect it to Bhaldor. He will be forced to receive a constant stream of void corrupted essence, regulated to a safe level that would not endanger him. Because of his connection with the prison, to cut off Oda from the Paths, we will swap their positions in the Paths."

"You mean to make Bhaldor a God?" This alarmed Rickle.

"No. The Paths will overwrite Bhaldor's system, and he will be integrated into it. This, in turn, will cut Oda off from the Paths, which in turn will cause the system to rebalance itself as it was designed to."

Rickle fell silent, trying to grasp what they were telling him. He understood the basic concept of the imprisonment of Oda, but such a radical change would bring an equally drastic rebalancing by the Paths of Ascension.

"You honestly don't know what would happen if you did this?" Rickle voiced the great concern about the plan.

"No, we do not. But we must trust in the system that has served us so well all these millennia." Nictor spoke up.

"With Oda cut off and safely contained, we can set about undoing the damage he has done. The Paths of Ascension is already in motion, preparing to redress the imbalances within the world at the moment." Xandus reminded him.

At that, he was forced to agree with her. The shifts and changes in the divine realm below were causing an imbalance and confusion, which the system was preparing to rectify through changes. It was designed so that it could not be influenced, and it would make its own decisions within its bounds. Many were speculating that there would be at least one new God or goddess added to the pantheon very shortly, maybe more, depending on how the Mantles responded to the possible candidates.

Rickle remained silent for a few more moments and made a decision.

"All right." He said to them. "This is how you track him."

He went on to explain to the two heads of the courts what he had discovered that they needed to know. After completing this task, he gained a deeper understanding of the potential outcomes and started taking action.