Malcolm Tent
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Wish upon the Stars chapter 931
🕑 Added 2025-07-16 22:56:04 +0000 UTCThe rest of the labyrinth was as obnoxious as it was frustrating. We caught several more candidates, some we let go, some we trapped and left behind. When all was said and done, at the end of the one week it took us to reach the other side, I ended up receiving another fifty points, a full fifty percent again what I already had. Not to mention fifty six more scrolls to add to my stockpile.
Emerging from the caves, my first thought was…”Wow, this is super pretty.” I was blown away. Rolling fields of lush green grass, fluffy white clouds, the sky was even blue, which had to be an illusion because I didn’t see a fire cage up there. Small patches of bountiful green trees dotted the landscape, and I could see flowers, butterflies, and any number colorful flora and faun frolicking across the expanse in front of us.
“Yeah, it was designed to be,” Jack said wryly. “A great amount of the resources of this planet are focused into this area. The inner two rings on both sides of the planet are the central areas where all the power on this world congregates. Is it any wonder they’d want it to be pleasant? The infrastructure is good too. Case in point.”
He points out into the green fields, and I was surprised to see a man approaching. Tall and worn with a thick beard and carrying a shepherds crook. B-rank, obviously, and clearly confident in his power. Behind him trailed about a dozen fluffy looking sheep with scaly wings. As we watched, one of them burped out a plume of fire, not even slowing down as it did.
I expected him to be a guard or something, but Jack greeted him cheerfully as he came closer. “Hey ______ good to see you,” I blinked. What was that?
“Um…what did you just say?” I asked him cautiously. “I didn’t…did you say anything? I can’t remember. I feel like you did, but maybe there was no actual word?” My head was buzzing slightly. Not enough to hurt but enough that it was weird to experience.
Jack snorted. “I said _______. Or I tried to. He’s the guide who will lead you to the central city. He lost his name in a poker game a few centuries ago. Now it’s impossible to say. If you form the words it just comes out ______.”
Bethy gasped in excitement. “You can DO that? That’s amazing! What if I took everyone’s name from them? I could make everybody nameless like that. Or wait, I could make them all change their names to Bethy! There would be an army of Bethy! A sea of Bethy, the rivers would run red with Bethy!” She threw back her head and cackled in what I’m pretty sure she thought was a menacing boom, but was actually more ridiculous than scary.
“But wait,” she said slowly. “How do I take your names? Wait…can I drink them? Somebody let me bite them so I can drink their name!” She looked around frantically, clearly excited to test a new possible use of her powers.
I sighed. “Bethy, none of us are thralls and your bite causes agonizing pain. And no, you can’t just bite one of the new guys. Just because we don’t know all their names doesn’t mean they’re expendable.”
“You don’t know our names?” asked one of the faceless hordes of Ascendants I’d recruited. I was PRETTY sure he was one of Belsara’s group.
I clapped him on the shoulder. “Of course I do…you.”
Callie pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s Ken. Sorry Ken, my husband gets absent minded in his pursuit of progress. I’ll make sure he learns everyone’s names as soon as we have some free time. Now Mr…nameless. You’ll be guiding us to the city?”
The spokes radiated out from the A-rank cities on either pole. Though there was more than a single city in the B-rank zone, there were still only ten. Combined with the staggering number of competitors that meant we were very likely to run into plenty of my fellow candidates in whatever city we ended up in.
Sure enough, as soon as I took a step away from the cave entrance I got a new task. This one was just to reach Veltheim in time for the “conclave of candidates”. Normally, an easy task like that would be a relief, but I was immediately deeply distrustful of it.
Much like the previous task, which had prioritized the safety of the candidates, this one was strange. The only thing I could think of that would necessitate that kind of arrangement was if someone was planning to clue the others in on the Void invasion. Which was an alarming thought.
Firstly, it hadn’t been done before for a reason. But more importantly, we’d be gathering together all the candidates in one location, which was a huge security risk. I could only hope that this risk had been weighed by the elders. Not that I was against the thought of getting some help, but I knew it was a big gamble, especially with so many suspected traitors on world.
The nameless man nodded, tapping his crook, and his sheep took flight, circling around us once and then flying back the way he’d come. Because they looked so free and easy, I decided to let Archie out to follow them. He would be able to scout ahead as well as enjoy himself, so I had Bethy release him from her Domain.
My phoenix companion trilled in excitement as he swept off into the blue sky, and the rest of us set off after the nameless man, who had just turned to leave rather than elaborate. The trip was shockingly quick and easy, given the absence of any real threats out here. I wondered if that was an expected aspect of this ring or if the obstacles had been removed to streamline the conclave.
My B-rankers were all together this time. Crell, despite not being the strongest or most experienced, was in charge of that contingent, on my orders. The former lord of the Ghost Bone Tower was one of the craftiest and most terrifying people I’d ever met, and there was no one I’d trust more in a leadership position among my people except Zeke or one of my parents.
For his part, the B-rank looked both smug and relaxed when we showed up, flanked by Carmichael and Alanna, the sword mistress and Dez’s dad from the dungeon. The boxer looked a lot more energetic and excited than I’d ever seen him before. Ellisara, who was sticking close to me as my guard, eyed the master manipulator doubtfully. “This is the captain you chose for your B-rank force? He’s barely out of C-rank.”
“He’s got a Mythical skill,” I shrugged. “And he’s more clever than he looks.”
She scowled at him suspiciously. “We’ll see. If he wants to be in charge he’ll need to earn it. I won’t follow some cowardly schemer who can’t even get his hands dirty. Your mother told me to guard you, not listen to you. And you, you might have our little lord here fooled, but I don’t believe you’re capable of running things here for a second. C-rank or not, I could crush you with my bare hands, nevermind my mace.”
Crell put both palms up inoffensively, giving her a lazy smile. “Whoa there, don’t shoot. I realize I’m a bit underqualified for the job, but Shane himself isn’t exactly the most experienced. Trust is more important than raw power don’t you think?”
“Um, for the record, I do NOT trust you,” I said, raising my hand helpfully. “I like you well enough, though even that wasn’t true at first, but I definitely don’t trust you. You’re bound by contract not to harm me, but you’re way too slippery for me to place unconditional faith in. But then, I don’t trust you either, Ellie. No offense, but you work for my mom, not me. My mother and I aren’t the same person, and if you think something is in her interests and I don’t think it’s in mine, you’ll still do it. That makes you somewhat unreliable in my eyes.”
She blinked at that. “I…did not get that impression from you. You seemed perfectly comfortable with me.”
“Oh, I am,” I assured her. “I just don’t trust you. I trust almost nobody. I could count the list on one hand. I don’t need to trust someone to like or get along with them. So you don’t need to worry about Crell betraying me, because I’m always ready for that. I learned that lesson the hard way.” The feeling of a blade sliding into my flesh when Travis turned on us was one of the most vivid experiences of my life. Not for the pain itself, but for the impotent rage and helplessness I felt during the incident.
To my surprise, rather than get offended, Ellie grinned at me approvingly. “That’s probably the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say, Shane. I’m impressed. You’ve got your head on straighter than I’d expected, given your touchy feely attitude about friendship.”
“People take that kind of thing personally, even when it’s not meant that way,” I shrugged. “No need to bring attention to my own issues when it’ll just start a fight.”
She hummed in acknowledgement, then turned to Crell. “Alright, I’ll buy it. For now. But I’ll be watching you. And like the little lord said, I’m not here on his orders. If I decide you’re a threat, you’ll never see me coming, no matter how sneaky you are.”
Crell fanned himself dramatically. “Bestill my heart. I think I’m in love. Don’t you worry about the boss. He’s my gravy train. If he becomes the Wishmaster, as one of his most important vassals, I’ll have an all access pass to one of the most expansive factions in the universe. You can’t buy access like that. I’ll do whatever I need to do to get him to the top.”
That was surprising. Not because he was acting out of self interest, that was perfectly predictable, but because it implied he’d been doing extensive research since emerging from the dungeon, which I hadn’t seen any real sign of. I suppose expecting someone like Crell to tip his hand was naive, but honestly, I was slightly MORE comfortable with him now that I knew his angle, contract or no.
I turned to my current second in command. “So, I trust you’ve been making inroads with the locals and gathering intel on this conclave? I’ll put you in touch with Devlan, he’s our man on the ground for some of the local factions. His uncle runs The High Society in the C-rank zone and he has some contacts that could help you make inroads. The Marsh Elves too.”
“B-rankers are more hesitant to shake up the status quo,” he grimaced, gesturing around at the fresh and pleasant atmosphere. “Not as much to gain, more to lose. The inner rings are a pretty sweet setup. Not to say we have no interested parties, but negotiations are ongoing. Especially with this conclave in town. Lots of competition. I have at least three possibles and one strongly implied yes.”
I sighed, but nodded. That made sense. I hadn’t been expecting to roll up B-rankers like I had the earlier factions anyway. Every A-rank was going to be a legitimate nightmare to recruit, with legions of followers and scaths of influence. The B-rankers, as the next link in the chain and the go betweens for all the lower ranked zones, would be the key to swaying any of those, and they knew it. Which meant we’d need to wine and dine them, regardless of the urgency of the Void incursion.
“Alright, politics,” I exhaled in annoyance. “Fun. But doable. For now, take us to wherever you’ve been staying.” I had a message incoming about the next step in this task, and I wanted to know what was on the horizon. Honestly, I kind of missed when Void monsters had been trying to kill us. I had a feeling this was going to be so much more irritating.
Comments
David White
"acting in left interest" -> acting in self interest
