“Glorious Emperor, I appreciate the feast and the hero’s welcome and everything, but you know I’m on a very time-sensitive mission. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d appreciate it if you don’t beat about the bush.”
“I owe you my kingdom, God of Death, and I would never dream of asking anything more from you,” the Emperor said. He already looked far healthier than he had when Anna-Lucielle and I had exorcised the Warlock’s spirit from his body. The last few days seemed to have shaved twenty or thirty years off his appearance. “However, there is a situation in which you could be most helpful to me. The reward you gain from your effort will be of tremendous use to you in your campaign against the Blood God in Prand.”
“What’s the situation, and what’s the reward?” I asked, trying not to grow impatient with the man’s vagueness.
“Not what, but who,” the Emperor answered, clasping his hands together and smiling cryptically. “My head alchemist was kidnapped a few weeks ago, when I was helplessly ensnared in the Warlock’s trap, and he is being held to ransom by a renegade warlord.”
“You have a large portion of your army back,” I said. “I don’t mean to sound flippant, but why do you need me? Can’t your own troops go get your alchemist back? Surely some minor warlord shouldn’t present too much of a challenge to the Imperial Army?”
“It is because of my alchemist that this cursed warlord is proving to be such a thorn in my side,” the Emperor answered, clenching his bony hand into a fist. “He has forced the alchemist to create a new weapon with Yengish gray powder. I sent a division of my army against this warlord yesterday. They outnumbered the warlord’s troops three to one, but because of this new weapon, they were massacred. Only a handful of survivors, battered and bleeding, staggered back into the City of Jewels this morning. Warlords have sprung up all over Yeng in these times of anarchy and chaos, and now that I’m healthy and in control again, my Imperial Army will not have any trouble defeating and subduing most of them … but this warlord, who has my head alchemist, cannot be defeated by conventional means, not with this new super-weapon he has. This is why I am humbly asking you for your help, God of Death.”
I took a long, slow sip of my wine as I considered everything the Emperor had just said to me.
“I don’t mean to sound too mercenary,” I said eventually, “but what’s in it for me? What’s the reward?”
“Whatever this super-weapon is, you can have it when you defeat the warlord,” the Emperor answered. “And, what is more, I will instruct my head alchemist to make as much gray powder for you as you can carry across the ocean. I will also order him to teach you the formula to make more.”
Ji-Ko, who was sitting across from me at the table, whispered just loud enough for me to hear. “This is an unheard of honor, God of Death! The formula for gray powder is one of the most closely guarded secrets in all of Yeng! It has never been revealed to anyone outside the Emperor’s Dynasty and the head alchemists of the Forbidden Palace!”
“That’s the powder that creates a mighty explosion when a flame or spark touches it, right?” I whispered back.
“Yes! With enough of it, you can bring down the thickest and strongest city walls!”
Well, that seemed to explain how so many of my ships had been destroyed. Someone must have had this gray powder. Because of the destruction of my navy, I needed an ace up my sleeve, and this Yengish secret weapon could be exactly that.
“How far away is this warlord and his army dug in?” I asked.
“Not far at all, God of Death,” the Emperor answered. “A day’s march for infantry troops, but only a few hours for fast cavalry.”
“Well then, Glorious Emperor,” I said with a swift grin, “I think I’m in the mood to help.”
Chapter Five
Morning fog, dense and milky, blanketed the undulating landscape of green hills and shallow valleys. The fog was so thick that visibility was limited to a dozen or so yards at the most, but I was able to navigate using Fang’s senses. The huge lizard could sense the warmth of living things, so my party and I raced confidently through the fog, knowing that there was no way that we’d be walking into any sort of ambush. The Emperor had given me command of a hundred of his cavalry troops, who were racing along behind my party on horseback. I’d enchanted their weapons with Death magic, and my party carried tower shields strengthened with the power of Death.
I’d learned that the warlord’s name was Hengchun, and that he was a former general of the Imperial Army. He’d been one of the first people to swallow the Warlock’s Spirit of Prosperity bullshit, and he’d been stripped of his rank and kicked out of the Forbidden Palace. That had been before the Emperor fell under the Warlock’s spell, of course. It made sense that he had an axe to grind with the Emperor. I suspected that Hengchun had been involved in the sabotage of my ships in Gongxiong Harbor, since Yengish gray powder had been involved in that, and he was wielding weapons using this substance. Whether Hengchun was in league with the Blood God, though, was something I wasn’t entirely certain of. I’d find out soon enough.
As we galloped through the fog, Elyse pulled up alongside me on her undead panther. A vivid memory flashed through my mind. I remembered how disgusted and frightened she’d been when I’d first resurrected Fang, and how much convincing it had taken for her to ride
