Castaway Planet

Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 153 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 2

Uninhabited Island / Ruins / Scholar’s Rest/ Lowest Basement/ Outside Cult Doorwaay

Galactic Standard Time / 1000

As he walked towards the door, Rogix tightened his grip on his axe. He knew that as soon as he opened the door, everything would start. If they could strike fast and hard, they might be able to stop this before it began. He had promised to help Icotrix, and he meant to do that. But there was the chance that they had already killed the sister, but he had to hope. That was the only thing he could do.

He looked around at the people around him and then nodded as he made a decision. “Bryce, I want you to stay with the men if you can in the battle ahead. But if you have a chance to kill the enemy, take it! Icotrix, got anything that might be able to help us blend in?”

Icotrix nodded and looked around, smirking as he saw a chest to the side. Walking over, he opened it and laughed a little. “Perfect! These robes will make them think we’re the last few coming in to watch. But how will you handle what’s inside?”

Rogix only nodded as he took one of the robes and threw it over his armor. “I’ve thought about that. Based on what’s inside, I’ll make a plan. Besides just killing everyone. But I need to know, those ‘Spawn of the Great Beast’? One of them is what your sister will be fed to, right?”

“Yeah. There are monsters a lot like the paintings. I’ve seen three of them, and all of them were different and could use different Power Abilities. As long as the doors are closed, it will be asleep. Keep the doors closed, that’s the way to win,” Icotrix said with a hard glare at the door.

All Rogix did was nod before he turned around and opened the door. The sounds of large drums came through the door.

He looked around and felt his heart clench. There were at least forty of the robed cultists, and twenty of the Bulky Figures in two lines down the middle. Each one was beating on a drum, and at the head was a man. He was dressed in an elaborate purple robe, and his hood was off. The man had dark blue hair and a mustache below blue eyes. It was lucky that Rogix had met Bryce and his friends, or he would have been shocked. Unlike them, he had to be a person from the Engineer’s Realm, and maybe a traitor like Icotrix called the man behind them.

But it was the two people that he was talking to that made Rogix’s heart clench.

The jade green hair deep green shirt and black pants told him much, but the person beside him gave more.

That man had a bald head and wore blue armor. There was a blade on his back, a large one with a blade the width of a hand.

There was no doubt in Rogix’s mind that this was the General of the Water, Arglix, and his charge, Prince Barclix. It was all he could do to keep calm, staring at the Prince talking to one of the enemy like that. If he wasn’t here to see it, Rogix would never have believed that this was possible.

“Someone important?” Bryce’s voice next to him caused Rogix to nod.

“Yeah, I think we’ve found the Highest that Icotrix talked about,” Rogix said bitterly, his mind heavy. He never thought that he would point his weapon at an ally. But if the prince was here, then he was a traitor and he would bring him to justice even if he went through Arglix.

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

Bryce felt the old man was going through something and didn’t press. He just looked around, seeing the robed cultists and then the Bulky Figures. As Icotrix had done, some of the Cultists had to be able to shape-shift. Each and every one of them was just an unknown variable that could change the battle in an instant.

He looked around the room, taking in everything. The chamber was large, around three hundred feet wide and long. There were balconies about ten feet off the ground and another two above the lowest one. The chamber’s far wall had a large set of doors fifty feet wide that went to the ceiling. The floor of the chamber had a large hole a good hundred feet wide in front of the door. Before that was a large platform where the hoodless man and the other two were standing. In front of that moving toward the doors was a platform with three crosses on it. From where they were, they could see who was on them.

All three crosses had people on them. The first was a white-furred feline-like biped. From the clothing on them, the being had to be sentient. He didn’t know the race, and the clothing was more ancient than the Kingdom’s. If the race had fur, then they might not need clothing in these forests. The being next to him made Bryce go still. The next cross had a child-sized Ancient in their armor hanging there. He had seen the Ancient party come aboard the Spirit, and that was the ‘Apprentice’. From the smooth armor and color, unless that was the color for all Apprentices. If the kid died and the Empire knew Bryce let it happen, he was looking at another war. But the last one had to be the turncoat’s sister. She had blackish-red hair like Icotrix, and if she was awake then he was sure her eyes would be the same.

“Found our rescue targets. On the crosses. We have a lot of enemies to get through. Any idea how to do that?” Bryce asked softly.

“No, any idea where the chains are Icotrix?” Rogix asked softly.

There was a procession from the right of the party, and Bryce turned his head. There was a commotion by the doors, and from them came a procession. To Bryce’s confusion, they were carrying a cross with a girl on it.

“That’s the princess!” Rogix said, shocked to near speechless.

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

As he looked around the temple, Selrotis could only grin. He had worked so hard to get this done, and he had finally. And there was going to be the most important step in his grand plan! With the prince himself here and allied to him, things were perfect. With Barclix's promise to legalize the worship of the Great Beast, things were going great. Over the next few years, those who followed the Great Beast would become the only religion! And with Barclix's pledge of sacrifice, they were bound together. Selrotis watched the cross with Barclix's sister on its move towards the alter, he grinned.

“It’s good that my sister finally has a use!”

The voice of Barclix caused Selrotis to laugh a little. “I know the feeling! That old fool is still clinging to life back home! I sometimes wonder if I should help him along!”

The laughter of Barclix only made Selrotis chuckle for a bit.

Selrotis only shook his head, thinking of the last few years. He has been exploring a hidden Temple within the Kingdom with a pack of Followers. It had been the end of a quest that a Future Seer had said would lead to the path his life was to take. Instead of the wonders of the Ancestors, instead, he had found Barclix and his own followers. There had been a short battle before these strange flying insects attacked them all.

With the numbers the creatures had, the humans had been forced to fight together. After the two of them had killed the alpha together, they decided to talk and feast on the slain creatures. That night while their mean laughed and partied, the two had talked. It had taken the two of them a short time to see the way that both of them were the same. Together they had planned to use the other to their twin benefit. And that was the best decision that Selrotis had ever made!

Together they had planned the deaths of Selrotis’s rivals in the Followers to Barclix’s forces. From the deaths of those ‘rebels’, Barclix had gained goodwill from the nobles. And Selrotis had climbed higher until he was one of the High Priests. There were only a few things to do to gain the thrones that both of them wanted.

“Still my friend, I am sorry that you’ll lose the piece that was her,” Selrotis said with a shake of his head.

Barclix only shrugged. “She was getting too unpredictable. Once I prove the greater, my other sisters will look to me. Once I mary them to my followers, binding their factions to me. Then I’ll be one step closer to the throne!”

Selrotis only nodded, looking around with a grin. “And soon my master will come here within the next week. Once he sees this place and takes command, you’ll need to do your part.”

“Of course my friend! Once my army gets here, the good general will lead the charge and kill the rebels. It will destroyer the Scholars, and my Makers will slowly take over!”

“And all of them will be the Followers of the Great Beast! Once the temple is built, we will rise! The terrible way the monsters of the Beast Worshipers lied to us! Once my men help you kill the heir of the Grand Priest, everything will be over!” Selrotis said as he looked at Barclix who laughed.

Selrotis could only stare at the fool that was Barclix. He saw the way that Arglix nodded at him as Barclix’s gaze was away from him. Selrotis could only barely hide his grin. To think that the fool didn’t know that the so-called general next to him was Selrotis’s own cousin!

Arglix was one of many who had found their way into the Kingdom’s army from the Followers. They had most of their people in his and one other’s army. The rest of their spies were all around the Kingdom, slowly gathering intelligence. All they needed to do was wait a little longer, and then they would rise. If Barclix wasn’t needed for his own rise, then Selrotis would have had Arglix kill the fool!

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

Amilisra tried to think as she woke up from her slumber. For a second, she wondered why her back was against such a hard surface. Then she blinked as she realized she was looking down at her body. Why had she been asleep standing? Then everything that had happened came back to her and she reacted.

“What, where am I……No!” Amilisra screamed as she tried to get free. But she was bound to the cross and was stuck there. She looked around, trying to find anything that might help her when she saw who was ahead of her.

Standing there, Barclix just looked at her and grinned. “Hello, sister! How was your nap?”

“Barclix what are you doing here? General Arglix! Free me, we have…too…escape?” Amilisra asked as she looked around and saw the beings around her. For a moment, she thought that her brother and the general were captives. Then she saw that they were unbound and Arglix even had his weapon. For a moment she wondered what was happening and then she realized it as a cold sphere formed in her gut. “You planned this! You planned my capture!”

She couldn’t believe it! He was still her brother, and he had planned this!? But why!? He was a hero! He had saved so many lives, and done so much. To think that he was a traitor all along!? It would have been impossible to think that before now.

Barclix only shrugged and grinned at her. “I always knew that you were smarter than the other noble fools sister! I must admit, that I will miss that. But needs must after all. At least I’ll be here to watch your final moments!”

“Final!?” Amilisra asked in horror as she looked at her brother, staring at him. Suddenly, everything about him that bothered her made sense in a way that she never expected. “Everything that you did, you planned it! Not the finding them, but somehow you knew everything about where those rebels were!”

“But of course! And my friend here gained much as well! A few more months sister dear, and I’ll be king!” Barclix declared.

“So how will I die,” Amilisra asked, letting her struggles stop. She looked around at the beings before her and for a moment, she thought she felt something. Something that she had never felt before. But it was similar all the same.

“You will feed the Spawn of the Great Beast! Your blood will help me bless your brother. Take heart! This will change your people’s destiny!” Selrotis cried out as Amilira’s cross was put next to three others.

She looked at saw a boy her age in strange armor with a helm with eye holes. An older girl with red hair of all things. And finally a white furred Enemy. She looked at the beings here and felt that they weren’t the worst to die with.

She looked at her brother and with an effort, spat at him. As her saliva hit him, he only laughed a little.

“So you had a bit of bite after all? A shame I only found out about it now!” Barclix said before bowing.

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

It was all Bryce could do to keep Rogix from charging at the traitors. As they heard the echo of Barclix’s speech, Rogix almost screamed in rage.

“Keep it cool my friend, keep calm. We just have a better target to strike at. The question is, do you want him to live until I make him talk?” Bryce whispered to Rogix.

Rogix turned his head and looked at Bryce who only nodded. Looking around at the balconies on both sides, he frowned. For a second, Bryce had thought he saw something in one of the ones on the left. He thought a shiny blackness had moved, if only for an instant. Shaking his head, he looked around at the enemy and finally found the chains connected to the door. His eyes tracked them and to his surprise and hope, the lock was on their right. It was set against the wall, and there were only two of the Bulky ones there! It was a large wrench, and it had to be moved by muscle power!

“Look alive! Found the way the doors are opened. I’ll take the men there and hold. What about you two?” Bryce asked quietly.

Rogix took a deep breath and looked at the platform with the traitor prince on. “I’ll be dealing with the traitors. Just need to wait for a spark to strike. I don’t know….” Rogix began only for a scream of rage to echo off the walls.

“traitor!” A female voice roared from their right. As everyone looked towards it, a woman in armor with green hair wielding a spear jumped out of one of the balconies. She landed and charged, only for the sword wielder next to the ‘highest’ to intercept her and grin at her.

As that happened, Zane appeared and charged out of a balcony on the lower level. He screamed a strange word as he fired his pistol at the purple-robed beings. When he did that, some of them charged to meet him as the flesh of others started to change.

Bryce could only blink in shock. “Or we go now, that’s good, let’s go now.”

But before they could even move, a yowl came from the left. Two feline humanoids jumped out of a balcony, one with black fur and the other with crimson fur wielding a sword. As they were air-born, the black one suddenly glowed red and gained a red energy aura. The being’s aura shot out red energy darts that hit the line of drummers. Each bolt hit a drummer’s head, burning their flesh to cinders. As the two felines landed, other felines charged out of the lower left balconies.

“How did they get here?!” Rogix demanded in shock.

One of the Followers ahead of them snorted.

<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>

Arglix only laughed as he blocked Wilmria's weapon. “Dear Wilmria! It’s been too long darling!”

“Quiet you scum! How dare you try and kill the princess?! But to work with these freaks! Why!?” Wilmria growled.

Arglix only looked at her with a soft smile that kept his rage at bay. How dare this pagan call his own scum!? After having to put up with the likes of Barclix all these years, this happened?! He had never let his own flesh sing like the others were doing. He had sucked up the Prince and followed him saying something about his loyalty. And now this? It was almost too much! The only pleasure that he ever had was fighting the others. And here was one of the ones that he wanted to kill after the conquest, right here and now? It was a sign from the beast itself!

“Please Dear Wilmria, you can’t win alone against me! And even with the other intruders, you can’t win!” Arglix said, his voice having a dangerous purr to it. He loved when he could use his voice to break his foes. To let them die in agony of the mind, was the greatest way to dominate others.

“You will die, and the Prince will face judgment! I’ll see to it myself!” Wilmria declared as she jumped back and called upon a green energy aura.

As Arglix tried to think of how to kill her or knock her out, Barclix had to make things worse.

“Keep her body mostly intake! We can use her, as a way to decimate her army!” Barclix called out.

For a moment, it was all Arglix could do to keep silent. To think that fool of a prince would say that to the General of the Wind. The person who was behind all the dictator relief operations? The woman who trained her men herself from raw recruits? Who promoted them to be her commanders? What else could go wrong after this?

“Hey, who are you all!?” A voice roared from near the door to the rest of the Temple. The explosion of lightning there told him that something was very wrong.

“FOR THE KINGDOM!”

With that battle cry, Arglix felt his heart jump to his throat.

With a flash of yellow energy, suddenly Rogix was there, swinging his axe at Arglix. Then and there, Arglix knew that the time for hiding was over.

“Kill him!” Arglix roared as he dodged Rogix’s blow by bare inches.