Those Behind the Scenes

The nauseating stench warned Anbaixiu that this was the blood of ixitxachitls. Had Aige chosen to dive deeper just now, she would have plunged right into an enemy trap. Once contaminated by this specially concocted demonic blood, Aige would very likely have been defiled. Yet the situation ahead was hardly promising either. Above them swarmed dense clusters of ixitxachitls. Realizing they could not harm the ghost ship directly, these fiendish scions threw themselves into a frenzy of mutual slaughter. They attacked their own kin with jaws and barbed tentacles, spewing demonic blood until the entire sea turned crimson. Toxic blood surged upward from the depths and spread downward from above, its sickening tendrils weaving through the seawater like a colossal net of sinew and muscle, closing in to engulf Aige completely. This time, there truly seemed to be nowhere left to run. Yet just as Aige's ghost ship plunged into the toxic blood, the massive vessel vanished without a trace. The ixitxachitls froze in shock. They were intelligent creatures; though the limitations of the ocean kept them from building radiant civilizations like those on land, they still possessed the feelings and faculties of thinking beings. They could not comprehend how Aige had suddenly vanished. Did the ghost ship possess an ability like this? While the monsters were paralyzed by confusion, Aige's ship sliced diagonally through their ranks and slipped cleanly past the encirclement. It was an illusion. Anbaixiu had invoked Leira's True Mirage, concealing Aige's translucent form entirely from sight. Normally, such an illusion could not function undersea because it could not insulate the caster from ocean currents—and to marine creatures, sensing the water flow was far more dependable than their own eyes. However, Aige's incorporeal form was virtually unaffected by the currents, and thus she left no ripple or displacement in the water. Rendered this way, the illusory disguise of the ghost ship was absolutely flawless. By tricking the ixitxachitls into expending their self-mutilating gambit against a phantom, the ship glided past another flank of rays that had not yet shed their blood, escaping the encirclement with ease. "Your instincts were spot-on after all." Aige gazed back at the sea choked with toxic blood, her admiration for Anbaixiu's talents growing by the second. "A divination wizard is simply terrifying. No wonder there are so few of you in this world. A few more like you, and the whole realm would fall into utter chaos." Anbaixiu chuckled softly. "Everything comes at a price. I can stand here only because the Goddess of Fate smiles upon me. If fate had decreed my death, no amount of forewarning would save me." Others took his words as mere false modesty. Countless people would have killed for such danger-sensing foresight. "What now?" Aige asked. "Should we wipe out these ixitxachitls to force out whoever is pulling the strings?" To consult Anbaixiu at every turn was unprecedented for Aige; in all her long years, this was the first time she had handed decisions over to someone else. The members of the Elegy Poetry Society seemed to have reached a tacit understanding: in moments of crisis, turning to Anbaixiu always yielded the best answer. This time, however, Anbaixiu shook his head. "These ixitxachitls are obvious cannon fodder. Wiping them out won't accomplish anything. Besides... I have a feeling this ambush wasn't meant for you." "You mean these ixitxachitls were targeting you alone?" Aige asked. Anbaixiu nodded. "It's just a guess, so I need to verify it. In a moment, we should part ways." Gareth chimed in at once. "How could we do that? If whoever is behind this is targeting you, how could we just abandon you?" Melina, who had been quietly taking notes, spoke up with determination: "Father, I'm coming with you!" Anbaixiu reassured them, "Don't worry, it won't be that dangerous. I have formidable illusions at my disposal. You saw it just now—this illusion can deceive even deities. Slipping away won't be hard for me. What's more, I'm a lich. My phylactery is stashed in a very secure place, so you have nothing to fear. The priority right now is rescuing Sefris. Staying with you will only slow down your pace." Reluctant though Gareth was, he could not deny the truth of Anbaixiu's reasoning. Saving Sefris was indeed the urgent task. Other matters could wait; the undead possessed an abundance of time. So long as they still existed in the world, they could afford patience. Yet Melina remained unyielding. "Father, I insist on following you!" Whatever the reason or justification, Melina would not let Anbaixiu face the danger alone. "Very well. Come along if you wish. I originally wanted you to stay with Gareth and learn a thing or two." Anbaixiu turned toward Gareth. "Brother, take a word of advice from me: never bring your wife onto the battlefield. Back when you fought your way through Ryan, you relied on your wits just as much as your fists. With Canggu by your side, your attention is entirely on her, and you can't fight at your true strength." Gareth offered an embarrassed grimace. "A momentary lapse. It won't happen again." After playing the live-in son-in-law for so many years without a worthy opponent, Gareth had indeed grown a bit rusty. Yet he was a born warrior, and getting back into form would take no time at all. Anbaixiu pulled a set of armor from his pocket dimension and offered it to Gareth. "Modified from Hellrider armor. It won't match your previous suit, but this thing can fly..." Anbaixiu explained how to operate the Hellfire Armor, then handed out a few of his magic mirrors. Once Aige finally breached the surface of the ocean, Anbaixiu took Melina and soared into the sky. The flight packs were swift, and within moments father and daughter vanished toward the horizon as two faint white streaks. Only after Anbaixiu had disappeared from sight did Aige remark to Gareth, "He is the youngest junior in our Elegy Poetry Society. Having been saved by a junior, we had better step up our efforts, or the shame will be unbearable." Gareth felt a surge of sentiment himself. He truly needed to pull himself together. Turning to Canggu, he said, "Stay out of the fray. Just like the old days, all you need to do is secure our retreat. Leave the rest to me." With the Hellfire Armor encasing Gareth and the black-flamed blade resting in his grip, he was reminded of those years long ago in Ryan. It was time to get serious. Otherwise, he would fail the longblade in his hands—the old companion that had followed him through life and death. Though Canggu felt somewhat reluctant, she was not truly a spoiled, unreasonable princess. In a crucial moment like this, she could only agree: "Don't worry. I'll stay hidden and keep your path of retreat safe at all times." Watching the pair, Aige suddenly felt a pang of envy. She lacked a companion of her own to confide in and travel with. Perhaps she should seek out another ghost ship to see if they might get along? *** Meanwhile, Anbaixiu and Melina flew rapidly in the opposite direction. Naturally, he was not heading home. He needed to find a place to touch down and prepare for the pursuit that was sure to follow. Anbaixiu was now certain that the ixitxachitls were hunting him. After he had flown a short distance, the creatures had leaped from the water one after another, giving chase in his direction. Yet their swimming speed could never keep pace with the jet-propelled packs, and they were soon left far behind. Anbaixiu was in no hurry to flee blindly. First, he had to figure out how they were tracking him, and there were only so many possibilities. Unfortunately, one of those methods was something he had no power to dispel. He needed a solid foothold to brace himself for the coming pursuit. A divination wizard's intuition was remarkably keen. Stumbling upon dry land in the midst of a vast ocean seemed an impossible stroke of luck, yet Anbaixiu found an islet after flying barely a hundred kilometers. It was an exceedingly small island, exposing perhaps two thousand square meters above the waves—barely enough space to erect a modest keep. Still, it was the best option available. Anbaixiu landed upon it with Melina and immediately went to work. Melina became his porter, retrieving an array of metallic jigsaw-like components from his pocket dimension. Under Anbaixiu's instructions, Melina assembled the metal pieces one by one, forming a crude teleportation array. "Father? This connects to the Underdark, doesn't it? Are we going back?" Anbaixiu shook his head. "Of course not." Melina blinked in surprise. "Then what is this array for?" "To call in reinforcements," Anbaixiu replied with resolute certainty. Moments later, the teleportation array flared with light, and the Rose of Decay stepped through accompanied by an escort of Death Knights. "Mother!" Melina rushed over excitedly. Though not her first time leaving home, this was her first true long-distance journey, and she had already begun to miss everything about the Underdark. Yet the Rose of Decay's attention was fixed entirely on Anbaixiu, her voice laced with concern: "I hurried over the moment I received your message. What is the situation?" Upon receiving Anbaixiu's distress call through the Necrotic Codex, the Rose of Decay had dropped everything, assembled her elite retinue, and rushed to his side. Anbaixiu offered a wry shake of his head. "What else could it be? Surely some grand figure I've offended is out for revenge. Don't worry, I've grown quite used to it over the years." Anbaixiu's list of enemies was long enough to fill a thick directory. He had lost count of how many times he had been hunted down, so he was not in the least bit rattled. "Then what do you need me to do?" the Rose of Decay asked. Anbaixiu said, "I'll trouble you to turn this islet into a fortified position and settle matters right here. As for me, I'll need you all to buy me a little time. I intend to have a word with those behind the scenes." "Those?" The Rose of Decay caught his phrasing, and the silhouettes of several goddesses instantly sprang to mind. Sure enough, once Anbaixiu entrusted the defense to the Rose of Decay, he turned toward the empty air and slowly chanted a prayer to summon a deity—the invocation to summon Shar, the Goddess of Darkness. A moment later, dense mist billowed from Anbaixiu's form, coalescing into the figure of a tall, graceful woman. Shar offered a soft smile. "You are always the cleverest one. You guessed it was me already?" Anbaixiu sighed helplessly. "The only one capable of locating me anytime and anywhere is you, Goddess. Let's save some time: which goddesses have banded together to target me this time?"