NOVEL NEXT Chapter 103 - ???: Dealings in the dark
The sickly sweet scent of ritual incense burned in outrageous quantities pervades the backroom office currently occupied by several figures adorned in masks and shrouded in shadows. The density of the essence from the wards designed to protect against scrying and ensure our anonymity, as well as our general proximity towards each other generates a stifling, crushing pressure, especially with the ire of the respective lead figures directed towards each other.
“We have lost a peak-third tier Initiate to the endeavor against this thrice-damned dual dungeon. A third tier! Do you have any idea how taxing it was for master Argevoss to revive him? Your shoddy planning has delayed our plans by months!” a figure shrouded in shadow and a stench of death exclaims, the eye sockets of the skull-shaped mask concealing their face glimmering with an ominous green glow.
“Now, now, dear friend.” a figure, itself adorned with a fox-shaped mask speaks. Where the previous voice was undoubtedly masculine, the cadence, pitch and even roughness of this voice appeared to shift between words, giving it an eerie, otherworldly quality. This second figure seated in the center opposite to the one with the skull mask is similarly shrouded in shadow. Unlike their counterpart, however, the shadow is constantly shifting and occasionally peels back to reveal parts of clothing or skin beneath the layer of concealment, yet the displayed appearance never stays consistent with itself. An expensive robe, a soldier’s uniform, a destitute dress and more pieces of clothing make their appearance, creating a confusing display when looking closely at the figure for too long.
“Nothing of value was permanently lost, was it not? And we have gained some valuable information about the threats we face in this region, have we not? The Living Landslide making an appearance was most unexpected, but it is good to know of his current capabilities. Without the support of most of his party, it should be easy enough to overwhelm him when the time comes, don’t you agree?”
You could hear the smug smile forming beneath the fox mask, and the lights in our leaders mask narrow to pinpricks.
“There was never any doubt of that.” he responds tersely. “Our gifts far exceed any power they may bring to bear. But now that our activity has been discovered, they will be on guard. With the church sending in additional agents and the inquisition snooping around, our operation is at risk of discovery if we don’t act soon, and the delay does not do our timetable any favors.”
“Quite.” the fox mask agrees. “But I have an idea to resolve this issue. We will have to discard some of our more useless pieces, but we should be able to give them a false trail while we focus on our goal. Could your underlings prepare another puppet possession ritual? One of our own has found a useful in into the local administrative structure, which should give us a better overview of our opponents movements and enable us to maneuver smarter once our prize comes into our clutches.”
“The appraiser is one thing.” our leader grumbles, “but a direct government employee is under a decent amount of scrutiny. Do you have someone capable of fooling third tier analysis and divination that can handle the role, especially someone you can spare when our objective is so close?”
“I do, in fact.” the fox mask smirks again. “The inquisition has maneuvered to use the local dungeon as a training ground for their pups, but it has allowed one of mine to break through into the third tier as well. We should thank them, really. My best asset will remain available to take on the role of our prize once an opportunity presents itself.”
“Good.” the skull of our leader's mask bobs down and up again in a curt nod. “Because I have heard news of a summoning ritual being conducted by the church. The time draws near.”
A ripple of excitement goes through both cults assembled upper echelons at those words.
“A Hero will soon grace us with their presence.”