Chapter Ashborn 370: To Seek a Mad Demon

“Absolutely not,” was Cirayus’ immediate response. “You nearly just died, lad. You think I’ll let you go to that madman’s tower? Have you forgotten what he tried to do to you last time?”

“I remember it well,” Vir said calmly.

“Well, then you’re out of your mind if you think I’ll let that abomination carve a tattoo into your skin.”

The mention of Saunak immediately soured the mood in the room, as Vir had expected it would.

“I understand your concerns, Cirayus, and believe me, I share them just as well. Nobody is more shaken than recent events than I am, I assure you. And yet, who was it who suggested Saunak as a Thaumaturge?”

“That was… It’s too soon,” Cirayus said, undoubtedly realizing he had no leg upon which to stand.

Vir’s lips curled upward. “Too soon for me to inscribe the tattoo I earned in the Tournament? Too soon for me to grow stronger, so that I might defend myself and my people? Tell me, Cirayus. Be it now, or a decade from now, will Saunak be any different in your eyes? Will the risk be any less?”

“I s’ppose not,” Cirayus said at length. “But if you’re going, I’m coming with you.”

“You can’t,” Vir said. “You and Tara are the two most indispensable people in this camp right now. The troops need you to guide them. To show them what actual combat looks like. No one here has even a fraction of your fighting experience. Or your experience teaching the combat arts.”

“Be that as it may, what use is training the troops if the Akh Nara is dead or worse?” Cirayus said. “I’m sorry, lad. I won’t let you go alone.”

“Who said anything about going alone?” Vir asked. “Tell me, Cirayus… Is Saunak a god-fearing demon?”

“I’d say that he is,” Cirayus cautiously replied. “He’s been obsessed with the Imperium for as long as anyone can remember. It’s what drove him to live in an Imperium tower in the first place. I think he worships them. Perhaps more than anyone alive.”

“Then there is nothing to fear,” Vir said. “Ashani will accompany me, as will her pack of wolves. Shan will, of course, also join us. From what you’ve said, I think Saunak will be on his absolute best behavior.”

“And if he isn’t?” Cirayus asked.” If he makes another attempt on your life again?”

Vir shrugged. “Then I will end him. “I’ve seen what weapons he has. I might not have had the strength to overcome them before, but now? Saunak won’t stand a chance. Any objections?”

Vir looked at each of his retainers in turn. There were plenty of sour faces—not a soul in the realm liked Saunak—but no one said anything further.

“Then with that, I call this meeting adjourned.”

“Are you sure about this?” Ashani asked, joining Vir as he left the tent. “This Saunak fellow sounds like quite the character.”

“Oh, he is,” Vir said. “He might also be indispensable to the success of this rebellion, and past that, to the prosperity of the realm itself. Saunak is a genius. His creations might very well transform demonic culture for the better. Or,” he added, “they might ruin it.”

Cirayus’ concern came from a good place, and was even well-founded. Saunak was a potential threat. Just that he was far too important to ignore, and if there was even the slightest chance that Vir could make an ally out of him, he had to at least try.

“So?” Ashani asked, clapping her hands together. “When do we depart?”

“As soon as we’re able,” Vir said. “I just finished making the escape Gates back to the periphery of the Ash, and then to the Demon Realm from there. Malik and Balagra will oversee the construction of fortified outposts there, which will be manned at all time.”

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“Quite the construction project,” Ashani said. “You’re building your own little oasis of civilization here in the Ash.”

“A small one,” Vir said with a frown. “Only wish we had about ten times the amount of labor to actually help build this stuff. Cirayus’ Balancer of Scales is a huge help for anything requiring hauling large lumber, but he’s just one demon. At least there’ll be two of us once I get the art inscribed myself.”

Assuming I can learn how to use it quickly… Vir thought. Though he intended to consult Shardul and Ekanai, he was fully prepared to slog his way through learning the art, as he’d been forced to do for practically everything else.

Before that, he had to actually get to Saunak’s tower, and the journey would not be easy. Even with the assistance of the Artifact that had led Vir and Cirayus to Saunak’s lair years ago—which Vir now held and planned to use—he’d still have to scour the Ash the old-fashioned way. Ashani could only create Gates to places she’d seen or visited in the past, and Vir could only stabilize existing Tears, which meant that Vir would have to stabilize Tears to distant locations, travel through, and check to see if the bauble resonated at all. Upon finding a suitably close location, Vir and Ashani would have to travel on foot.

It was a good reminder that even with his new ability, the Ash was not to be taken lightly. Finding something within it was still a chore. Let alone navigating across the realm.

The difference was that the navigation now only needed to happen once. The moment Vir reached Saunak’s tower, he planned to establish a Gate that led back to his demons’ camp, thus allowing unfettered access. Indeed, he planned to create a series of Gates along the way. It was only after he’d done the legwork and built up a network that the Ash would finally become navigable.

Pathfinders always had the hardest jobs, and Vir and Ashani were the only ones in all the realms capable of that job.

“I’m ready now,” Ashani said. “Let me just round up the wolves. They do like to wander.”

Vir met Ashani just outside the garrison an hour later. It turned out the fastest way of locating Ashani’s wolves was to enlist Shan, who’d rounded them up in no time. They’d been out hunting Ash Beasts for sport in the nearby forest… Which spoke volumes about just how terrifyingly lethal these wolves truly were.

And how effective they were at keeping the camp safe. Balagra would be assigning more demons to the role to compensate. It was better this way. More practice for the troops, even if it did put them in danger. There was always danger in real combat, after all. The sooner they grew used to its constant presence, the sooner they’d achieve their full potential.

“Alright, then,” Vir said. “I’ll stabilize the first Ash Tear I see that’s big enough. We’ll go through, I’ll check the Artifact, and we’ll return and repeat as many times as we need to until the Artifact glows.”

“Sounds like you don’t need me at all, then,” Ashani said, pouting slightly. “I suppose I shall simply twiddle my toes and watch you.”

Vir rolled his eyes as he bounded into the sky.

Ashani had no trouble keeping pace, and while the wolves couldn’t bound nearly as high, they followed just as rapidly on the ground—their keen senses never once losing them, despite the heavy foliage.

After clearing the forest, Vir set to looking for a suitable tear. The first candidate was quite close, only a few hundred paces from the edge, and from there, Vir spotted several more in the distance. They were everywhere, and tended to become more numerous the deeper into the Ash one went.

For most, that presented a terrible hazard. For Vir, it was an unprecedented opportunity.

Vir stabilized the Gate and peeked through. The sky was far darker there—almost black—and the prana density was greater.

“His tower is deep inside the realm, but not quite at the core, from what I remember,” Vir said. “Similar sky, too.” He distinctly recalled the endless lightning storm that ravaged the mountains and the plains that surrounded Saunak’s tower. It was worse there than in most places, but then again, lightning was an almost ubiquitous feature of the Ash, so it was difficult to tell precisely.

Vir brought the orb up to his eye and peered through.

Nothing.

Unfazed, Vir pocketed it and pulled the prana from the Gate, destabilizing it back into a Tear.

“No luck?” Ashani asked.

Vir shrugged. “If only it were that easy. Don’t worry, though. I doubt this will take too long.” He gestured to the blackened plains. “Not when we have so many Tears to choose from.”

As Vir soon discovered, it would, in fact, take quite some time. In fact, an entire day of arduous searching yielded not even a single result. Not the faintest trace of Saunak’s tower, and the two returned to the camp with nothing to show.

Day two went about the same, and by day three, Vir told Ashani to do as she wished at camp until he’d found something. The wolves had grown increasingly restless, and Ashani spent most of the time calming them down. It was better for everyone if they joined him when he was ready.

Searching for exits into the Demon Realm was comparatively far easier. There, any number of Tears would suffice, so long as they were large enough.

But Vir was looking for a single building in an entire Realm. Even with the aid of the Artifact, which would alert him even miles away, the task was only barely feasible.

He’d begun to wonder whether the device was somehow broken, or if his task was, in fact, impossible, when it finally lit.

It was a faint glow, yet unmistakable, nevertheless.

Vir had hoped for something stronger, but given how much time and effort it had taken to find just this one, he swiftly abandoned that plan. They would travel on foot. With their speed, Vir could only hope the journey wouldn’t take very long.

It was time to get Ashani, and the wolves and go meet Saunak. And this time Vir could only hope the mad Thaumaturge didn’t attack him.