After sharing a meal with Rowina, Rex let her lead him back to Percus’s physician building, he was glad to see the building come into view, after listening to how molecules of matter interact during the consumption process was getting tiring, after entering, both nodded to the receptionist as they passed her sitting at the desk.“We have new information pertaining to our search,” Rowina exclaimed as she threw the door open, startling Percus while he leaned over a pot plant with a blue-green mushroom growing in it, “I’ve told you watching it will not make it grow any faster.”“I do not tell you how to do your job, so don’t, ah prince Rex, how are you doing?” Percus said, changing from scolding Rowina to bowing his head, his usual light tone of voice returning.“Don’t let me get in the way of scientific arguments, you know better than to bottle it up,” Rex said a smile on his face at the sight of how they were about to quarrel.“It is not an argument, I was merely stating a fact,” Rowin
As Rex turned toward the last path leading to Marcia’s house, he had run multiple ideas through his head to try and broach the subject of getting the key from her without soliciting any suspicion, the more he thought of each new idea, the more he thought it would be harder to push, “She is going to see straight through me.”The more he worried the more he seemed to get questioning probes from Lacey, Minet, Lizz and Marcia, ‘I forgot the shared bond for a bit there,’ he mused to himself.‘She is going to know something is up the moment you ask, especially now you have ruined your plan by worrying so much,’ Fafnir sneered as he approached the gates, nodding his head back in response as her guards bowed and opened them for him.‘Thanks for the vote of confidence,’ Rex sighed back, getting another gruff snort from Fafnir as the main door to Marcia’s house opened.“Something is up, what’s wrong?” Marcia asked as she passed through the open door, stopping Rex in his tracks at the bottom of
“No,” Percus said as Rex showed him and Rowina the key to the scrying tower, the sun was just rising in the horizon behind them as they spoke.“She said if they don’t come to ensure my safety, I couldn’t have it,” Rex replied with a shrug, “You know what she is like.”“This may actually prove somewhat fruitful,” Rowina said after a few seconds of deep thought, her statement causing Percus to wheel around and face her.“What are you talking about? Having one of the great generals there, plus the other younger ones will be a disaster!”“I don’t think so,” Rowina said wistfully, her gaze looking off into the distance.“Well don’t be a prude and please share what idea you’re concocting, my mind-reading skills have lapsed over the many years,” Percus said, glaring at Rowina with a hint of annoyance.“Hmpf,” Rowina replied with a scoff and a wave of her hand, “I was thinking that it may be possible with the bond they all share and with your meridian boosting skills that Rex may be able to s
Rex took a few tentative steps forward scanning the room at the same time, one hand was resting on the pommel of his sword, the other clutching the key tightly in his fist, ready for anything the room could throw at him. After a few minutes of nothing happening, he relaxed his tense shoulders and turned back to Marcia, who was still staying outside on the lift platform with the others.Keep going, she mouthed back, shooing him with both of her hands, motioning for him to continue toward the empty chair.After a deep breath in, sighing as he exhaled, Rex continued toward the chair, eyeing it suspiciously, “Is anyone here?” he called out as he moved, looking from left to right.“Yes. There is,” a voice called back, the suddenness jolting Rex back into an alerted ready stance, his hand gripping the pommel of his sword once more, “Nice reflexes young one.”“Er, thanks. Who’s there? Show yourself,” Rex replied, sliding Sküülen out of the scabbard a few inches.“You may call me Alahn,” the
“Well that didn’t seem too bad,” Lacey scoffed, rolling her shoulders once Alahn’s chanting had died down, “A few minutes of pinching, easy.”“Seems like it was hard for Rex though, look at him,” Marcia said, her eyes widening once seeing Rex’s haggard look.“What did you do to him?” Minet demanded, stomping forward, her eyes narrowed in annoyance at how Rex looked.“I bound your life to his depending on how good a performance he does in the scrying tower, it is quite demanding on the soul, he did well though,” Alahn said, clapping Rex on the back, making him stumble to his knees.“We were already bound to his fate through our bond!” Minet yelled, kneeling next to Rex, “Are you ok? What can we do?”Leaning back on his heels in a praying kneel, Rex looked up at Minet and the other worried women who had rushed over and smiled weakly, inhaled a deep breath, sighing loudly on exhale, “I’m fine, just a little worse for wear. I don’t think the amonthrul liked this spell of binding he did.”
“It seems you are wrong again dear brother,” Ean said with a deep scowl, looking at the edge of the cliff they sat on, the sound of growling and claws on rocks slowly getting louder.“Snap off two branches from the tree over there,” Rector said, pointing to a large fruit tree with a thick golden trunk.“The goddess will flay us both if I touch their trees,” Ean said, recognising the elder fruit trees instantly, “I’ll die by wolves before I let the goddess end me thank you.”“You and I both know the wood is incredibly strong, strong enough to knock a few wolf skulls in, we can throw the branches into the water and say the wolves damaged their trees in the fight,” Rector said, gasping loudly as he wrapped a long piece of Ean’s cloak around his torso, tying it into a knot to hold it in place.“And they call me the traitor and liar,” Ean scoffed with a soft shake of his head, “Not even the wolf king is stupid enough to let his pack touch their beloved trees.”“I’m open to any other ideas,
“Rex. Are you ok?” a faint voice echoed into his mind.“He isn’t moving, are you sure he is ok?” another voice said.“Everything checks out, I think he just needs a few minutes,” a deeper voice added in, a tingling sensation washing over Rex’s body.Feeling a sudden boost in physical and mental strength, mixed with a familiar feeling washing over his body, ‘Rex, you suffered greatly, but I can see you are mostly intact, I will help repair the damage the best I can, but you need to wake up,’ the deep voice echoed in his mind.‘I don’t wanna,’ he said back, his voice a weary groan. He hurt in ways he didn’t think possible right now, the ache reaching bone deep, and waking up and to start moving was the last on his list of important things.“Thank f**k, I just saw him twitch and breathe properly,” a loud voice sounded directly beside Rex’s ear, causing him to groan out aloud.“Good job Lacey, you scared him so badly I think you almost stopped his heart,” another voice said.“Shut up Mine
“Well since they all seem stable, I’m going to…” Rowina started to say while looking down at the control panel before faltering, her eyes widening in shock, “This…this is impossible.”“What is it?” Percus asked, peering over her shoulder.“The scrying crystal panel, it’s saying it is currently at 33% power. I have not touched it since I initiated the last bonding sequence,” she replied pointing to the three red columns on the panel, looking up at Percus her face filled with worry and confusion,” It is supposed to be tamperproof from any outside source. But since I have not touched it, I don’t know who has, or how.”“SHUT DOWN THE POWER!” a loud voice boomed into the room.“Alahn, what’s going on?” Rowina shouted back, startling again as the panel jumped up to 50% power, Rex now jerking violently.“I almost have it!” Rex suddenly screamed through gritted teeth, blood now starting to flow steadily from his nose.“He is pulling power into himself and into the crystal in a way that is mak
The moment Rex allowed Karinna to join him, she immediately started to mutter under her breath with her hands outstretched, slowly walking towards the young, downed woman.“What are you doing?” Cassius asked, taking a step forward to attempt to get a better view as to what Karinna was doing.“You need to stay back, the magic woven into this woman is highly unstable,” Karinna snapped, shooting a sharp glance toward Cassius, stopping him in his tracks.Raising his hands defensively, Cassius, along with Grug, retreated a few paces back and away from Karinna and the downed woman.“Grub be thinking how such small girlie make all buggies dead,” Grub asked, squinting suspiciously toward the young woman.“This poor girl has been subjected to a horrific amount of opposing magic. I am surprised she has not exploded already and killed us all, bringing this entire nest down in the process,” Karinna said, pausing her spell-casting to check the young woman’s pulse. “Before she can be moved, I must
Rex, Cassius, Hussin and Grub were on full alert as they moved through the archway and entered into the well-lit, large cavern. The first thing Rex noticed was the amount of crazak bodies strewn around. He estimated there were at least thirty here, all looking like they had died while trying to fend off an attacker.“Be alert of your surroundings,” Cassius said after leaning over and pressing his hand onto the shredded chitin of a downed crazak that was closest to the archway. “It’s still warm, I would say the fight happened only 15 minutes ago.”“These quilix died in fighting circles,” Hussin said, surveying the carnage. “It is our most used tactic for our primarily non-combat nest members. Whatever did this used raw power to overcome all present.”“To slay this many buggies, thing must be strong,” Grub said, kneeling down next to another crazak and running his hand over its limbs, tracing the deep gouges in its tough chitin with his finger. “This buggy was ripped in pieces. With stro
Godking Darius had never slept much in his old life, this habit leaked through to his current reincarnation. This worked well to keep his entourage of close advisors on their feet, as well as not allowing anyone to catch him unawares, which was in his top three of most despised things.He was currently perusing through his latest report papers, lounging back on his large high-backed throne chair, just sitting slightly offset to his large black obsidian desk. He always sat facing the doorway allowing him a good view of anyone who entered into his chambers. Feeling a pulse of energy approaching, he smiled evilly. Darius knew this weasel-featured advisor well. Turning slightly back to his table, he stashed the papers he was reading and turned back to face the door, interlocking his fingers across his chest and waited. A few minutes later, a soft knock on the door could be heard.“Enter,” Darius said, allowing a slight sliver of magic into his voice. He had learnt from his earliest time s
During their trip from the throne room, Paool questioned Rex about his incredible ability to heal wounds.After seeming somewhat satisfied with Rex’s vague explanation about being bonded with an ancient creature and sharing some of its traits, Paool then asked about how he was hiding the presence of other beings, explaining he could sense multiple scents emanating from him.“Why does smart buggy not be asking Grub about him?” Grub suddenly blurted out, appearing next to Paool, startling the crazak.“Uh, this one does not know what to ask of you delicious-smelling one,” Paool replied after a few seconds, his name for Grub eliciting a chuckle from Cassius.Before Grub was able to respond, Paool stopped suddenly, his action not being noticed by the others for another two steps.“Everything ok Paool?” Rex asked, instinctively resting his hand on the pommel of his sword while his eyes darted between both ends of the tunnel they currently traversed.“Yes, blessed one. This humble one was ju
Chapter 104Thirty minutes later, and with great effort, Rex was able to be upright without nausea or a pounding headache and was now seated at a small table in the cavernous room he was placed in.“Uh, I feel worse than ever,” Rex said, reaching out and picking up a strange blood-red coloured food object he guessed was fruit from a stone bowl in the centre of the table he was sitting at, Grub to his left and Cassius to his right. Both men, he could see, had a worried expression poorly hidden in their facial features. Turning the food over in his fingers, he could not attribute the shape nor colour to any fruit he had seen, during his time in Oak, nor even during his time in Dracoterrum and this realm.Clearing his throat slightly before speaking, Cassius broke the silence that came after Rex’s declaration, saying while also looking at the food Rex was studying, “They call it a “Smuur”, whatever that means. I have not been able to ascertain a translation to our tongue, but I believe i
“Now now Dorian,” the younger, gentler female voice said in an almost sing-song tone before Rex could reply, “I remember, gods quite a long time ago now, where a man once told me, ‘A man’s secrets are his very being. The ability to strip a man’s secrets and lay him bare is a travesty to his core.’ With that in mind, how could you allow any of us to assault his mind and take away that which doesn’t belong to us?”“Sounds like Tillian has found herself a young interest,” the older woman’s voice said, almost mockingly.“I can admit, unlike some of us, that this young…I am sorry, Rex was it?” the voice from Tillian said.“Yes, my name is Rex,” Rex nodded, finally being able to have a voice amongst the seemingly ending squabbles of beings unknown to him.“I had forgotten if you classed yourself as an adult or child still,” Tillian’s voice said softly. “I know so little about your race I’m afraid. I doubt even Gillart could shed any light on this.”“Hullans would be the closest to his race
Doing his best to keep his heart rate and thoughts on the correct path, Rex took a step back out of instinct, causing the hive queen to stop one step above where he stood and raise the two eyebrows on the left side of her face.“Do you not intend on agreeing to our deal?” she asked, her voice going flat.“Uh, sorry. Old habit to give myself room for a fight if needed,” Rex said, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead as he realised he had also unknowingly taken an unarmed fighting stance.“Hold out your hand,” the hive queen said, smirking seeing Rex relax from his fighting stance in seconds.Doing as requested, but keeping his muscles taut and ready to react at a moment's notice, the hive queen strode forward, striking the tip of his thumb with one of her claw tips so fast Rex did not even see the queen move her hand. After feeling the pinch, he looked at his thumb, seeing the blood now slowly trickling out from the tiny wound.“Uh, that’s strange,” Rex said, still staring curio
“Balrog!?” Rex spluttered, his mind whirling. “But Fafnir said she was…”“A demon?” The hive queen said, her voice almost like a low growl sending a tingling sensation down Rex’s spine.“Uh, yeah,” Rex sighed, hoping his admission did not seal his fate earlier than expected, “I believed it because he was a dragon and she didn’t look anything like the crazaks that attacked earlier on my journey, or now I’ve seen you, doesn’t resemble you either.”“Do all humans look the same?” The queen asked, raising two eyebrows over two eyes on the left side of her face while looking down at Rex.“Well, no,” Rex replied. Then it dawned on him, “Same race, look differently. I must admit I’m now curious about how that happens. Our looks differ due to quite a lot of things like race, gender, and heritage of the parents, is that the same for you?”“No,” the queen replied with a quirk to the edges of her mouth. “You are tempting and intelligent, quite the tantalising mix indeed. Our looks depend on our l
Taalook had only led the group a few hundred metres toward a large archway leading into a dimly lit tunnel when Rex stopped two paces from the doorway. “What’s this?” Rex asked, tracing his eyes over the archway, one eyebrow raised. “What’s what Rex?” Cassius asked, halting beside Rex and staring, confused at the arched doorway. “There is another film of magic over this doorway. Another shield?” Rex asked turning to face Taalook and Hussin. “You can see the zone magics?” Hussin asked, his small beady eyes growing a little larger in surprise. “Zone magics?” Cassius asked, snapping to look at the archway once more, squinting heavily before sighing and turning to Rex. “I don’t know how you do it. Is it something you can teach?” “The queen has the zetas set zones that allow certain types into certain zones, preventing those from going into places they shouldn’t be,” Taalook boomed. “Hussin can tell you about it once we meet the queen, and if you are allowed to continue living afterwa