Fang rumbled out a low growl, as if to agree.
“I … I see, yes, I’m sorry Vance, I didn’t mean to insult you like that,” Yumo-Rezu said, looking uncharacteristically sheepish.
“Apologize to him too,” I said sternly, pointing to Fang. “He might not be a dragon, but he’s been the best damn mount a warrior could hope for, and he’s been by my side right from the beginning, and for far longer than you have.”
“I’m … I’m sorry Fang,” she said.
I gave a satisfied nod; Yumo-Rezu’s goddess side seemed a little haughty, and while I had bonded with her, she would have to understand that I wouldn’t allow her to treat me or my minions in that manner.
I sent Fang off toward the ocean, then turned to face Luminescent Spires, which was looming before us, blotting out the gray sky like a vast mountain or volcano. We must have looked like three tiny ants, sent to infiltrate a gigantic enemy anthill.
And infiltrate it we would.
As we got closer, we were able to see more details. The city walls were a hundred feet tall. Archers and crossbowmen were stationed every few feet along the entirety of the fortifications. There would be no scaling those walls; any attempt to do so would get you turned into an arrow-riddled pincushion in seconds.
The enormous oaken gates of the city were barred shut, and a huge press of commoners and peasants were waiting outside. Many had carts filled with produce from the nearby fields, but others looked like beggars.
“The gates will open at dawn,” I said. “Let’s get up closer and observe for a while.”
The city walls were surrounded by a broad, deep moat, and the only way across was the huge stone bridge in front of the gates, where the crowd of farmers, peasants, and beggars was waiting. Beyond the moat was open grassland. The only way to approach the city without looking suspicious was to join the throng of people on the broad dirt track that led from the farmland to the city gates.
“We’re going to stick out like sore thumbs in that bunch,” Yumo-Rezu said.
“We need to get closer,” Friya said, “but the moment we get within sight of the guards and the soldiers on the walls, they’ll raise the alarm.”
I shook my head. “There’s no need for concern. I’ll be able to get right up to the gates without anyone knowing I’m there.”
“How?” Friya asked.
“Like this,” I answered, closing my eyes.
I searched for the presence of death, and was immediately confronted by a vast amount of it, all concentrated in the center of Luminescent Spires. There were more fresh human corpses there than on a battlefield; the scale of the slaughter was scarcely comprehendible. I now knew without a doubt that the Blood Pyramid lay below the city, and that Elandriel had been keeping himself busy sacrificing people in their thousands while I’d been in Yeng. This did not bode well. He and the Blood God were stronger than I could have imagined, and it would take all of my power to defeat them.
Human death, however, was not what I was looking for right now. No, the corpses I was seeking out were far smaller and more inconspicuous, and I quickly found exactly what I’d been looking for: a dead rat. There were plenty of them around, of course, but I picked one out that had died quite recently. This fresh corpse hadn’t yet begun to rot and stink in earnest. With a tiny spark of my life force, I resurrected the little creature. Its glazed-over eyes shone with a bright yellow-green glow while its stiff rigor mortis body softened and flexed with a new and unnatural vitality.
I snapped my fingers, and it sprang to its feet, scuttling out from under the bush where it had died and zipping over to us. Yumo-Rezu saw it coming, shrieked, and jumped into my arms. I had to laugh; rats were the last thing I’d imagined the mighty Dragon Goddess would fear.
“Get that filthy little thing away from me!” she yelled.
Friya chuckled and knelt down, putting out her hand. I directed the undead rat to scuttle onto her palm, and she picked it up and stroked it, cooing over the tiny undead beast.
Yumo-Rezu’s face wrinkled with disgust and loathing. “Ugh, that’s revolting!” she spat. “Just send it on its way and get it away from us!”
“They are very intelligent creatures, and can be quite affectionate as pets,” Friya said. “I kept some as pets when I was little.”
“This one isn’t a pet, though,” I said. With a simple mental command from me, the rat scurried down her arm, side, and leg onto the ground. “He’s a perfect little spy, my eyes and ears to find out what’s going on at the city gates. Look, they’re opening now; he’d best be on his way.”
The red sun was just rising over the distant eastern hills. A mile away, the massive oaken city gates were groaning as teams of oxen within the city walls cranked the huge system of pulleys, gears, and wheels that opened the gates. People were now shoving and jostling in the crowd that were eager to get into the city.
“Off you go, little buddy,” I said as I sent the rat scuttling on its way.
There were plenty of live rats around, and the peasants and beggars were used to them, so nobody noticed or cared about one more rat on the road. If they’d looked a little closer at this one, they would have seen its unnaturally bright green eyes … but who ever took a moment to examine rats and their eyes? My undead rat soon arrived at the city gates, which were now open. I closed my eyes and flung part of my spirit into the rat, experiencing the world through its senses.
Human beings now looked like Frost
