Chapter 73 - Ritual

The carriage was eventually taken to the ruins located 15 km in the northeast direction of Syracuse. The group was silent, preparing themselves for any possible ambush. This time, there was absolutely no room for error, which is the main reason for Alistar himself being present.

Fortunately for them, they didn't suffer any attack, nor delay, and arrived safely at the ruins as planned. The children were then carried to a small dungeon besides the ruins, where there were other kids, currently huddled around each other, and looking fearfully at the men that had kidnapped them.

In the past, many of them had started hollering and screaming at the men to be set free, and crying for their parents, however, those that made noise, were punished with whippings, and were not given any food. After a couple of children suffered from this, the rest stopped complaining altogether. There was deep despair in their eyes.

The six new children were then led into the cell, and the men simply left them behind with no concern at all. Everything was under their control after all. They didn't know the purpose of the kidnapped children, but they could care less. They had been paid handsomely, so they knew better than to ask questions that should not be asked. Too much knowledge, after all, can also be a sin.

Evelin, who was among the children, looked quite calm. She agreed to help Nerun, since she also loathed the kidnappers, and she was actually looking forward to doing something about it as part of her adventure. She turned her head towards a small window area in the cell. There, she could see a small bird perched on a post nearby looking straight at her. She winked with her right eye, and the bird seemed to nod.

- HOWWWWL -

A wolf howl broke the silence of the night right then and there. Many birds in the surroundings then flew into the skies in fear. No one noticed that the small emerald bird also took to the skies and after looking around went towards a small forest that was barely some kilometers away.

…

After Sombra had talked to Alistar, he left the city and arrived at another manor inside the rich area. This manor belonged to another noble family of the County, House Cortana. They were a special family, since they were actually a family of mercenaries that in the past managed to accrue some merits, and eventually bought their way into the nobility of the kingdom, not more than a couple decades ago. They were low-rank nobles, but nobles in any case. They were also the staunchest supporters of House Salento in the County of Syracuse. They were also the rulers of Syracuse's underworld, and did a lot of shady deals.

The leader of the house was a Qi General known as Carlos Dai Cortana. Obtaining the right to use the "Dai" article before his last name, was Carlos's ancestor greatest accomplishments, and he, as the current leader of the family, was constantly thinking of ways to increase the House's standing in the Kingdom. He wasn't content with what they had, and even dreamt of governing the County of Syracuse. He was thus willing to do anything to increase his and his family's power, so he eagerly jumped into the chance to do so. The fact that children were being kidnapped in order to fulfil this dream was the least of his concerns.

Sombra quickly and silently entered the manor while remaining hidden in the shadows. This was the secret technique he was proudest of. However, a blue furred pup was watching everything from an alleway nearby, undetected. After all, Whitey was a dire-wolf. And if the wolf-line of Magical Beasts had any expertise, it was precisely in hunting and trailing.

In a study inside the manor, Carlos Dai Cortana was reading some papers, even late into the night. Carlos was a stocky middle aged man, with a rugged face. His prowess as a warrior was quite well known, and he was an expert in axe arts.

Sombra appeared inside the study without as much as a noise being made, while watching Carlos flip through the different papers, seated with his back facing Sombra. Sombra stayed still for a while. A couple of minutes later, Carlos was the first one to break the silence.

"I don't appreciate you entering my study unannounced. What is it? Is the issue with that idiot from the Monet family solved?"

"Indeed. I had to wipe his ass. The man was being followed by Serena Dai Vanilla and her men. It's a shame they encountered me, otherwise they might have actually achieved something." said Sombra with a sneer. He was quite proud of being able to escape Serena, after all she was a well known Qi General, and was not 30 years old yet. She even had quite a good chance to become a Qi Emperor in the future. However, the man named Sombra did not put her in his eyes at all. Even though he was just a Qi Praetorian, he was quite confident in being able to escape from her, or even stall her for a while.

"Good. I trust there will be no more issues then. Since the cargo will be complete by tomorrow, when can we perform the ritual?" asked Carlos, talking without turning at all.

"If everything is gathered, then by tomorrow night, during the full moon, we will be able to complete all the procedures and go ahead with the ritual. After doing it, we can then lure the Vanilla girl and end her life in passing. The power you will get will also let you soar quickly in the ranks of the nobility. I just hope that you remember your promise to us after everything is done. Our organization does not take kindly to those who break them after all." said Sombra nonchalantly.

"Are you threatening me boy?" said Carlos while standing up and looking at Sombra ferociously. The energy in the room went out of control momentarily, and a rat's head the size of a watermelon was looking with its red eyes at Sombra.

Sombra however did not flinch, and kept smiling under his mask. The grin carved in it looked as if it was mocking Carlos' Outburst. Sombra simply answered, "How would I dare, lord Carlos. No, after all, I'm just a messenger. But the many leaders in my organization can make sure that the Cortana family simply disappears from existence. That is not a veiled threat. I'm simply stating a fact. I'm just afraid that facts don't care about your feelings."

Carlos was angered when hearing the answer, but he simply humphed and sat right back. He knew very well that the power behind the mysterious man that called himself Sombra was something that his family could not fight at all. He was just a low noble after all, and his personal power was barely noteworthy in the middle cities of the Kingdom. This realization only made his thirst for power even stronger.

So, when the man named Sombra showed him some of the means that his organization had, he jumped into the opportunity with open arms. He was willing even to sell his soul.

And selling his soul he was. The Ritual that was to be performed was based in the old beliefs of the olden duchies that once inhabited the land. The duchy that used to exist close to the city of Syracuse in particular, was known as Gad, and was actually part of a pentapolis, made by five duchies in the surrounding area, and together they were known as the Land of Philistia. The five duchies once had the chance to actually fight for a Major Territory and nearly succeeded. They were quite powerful, and even had Legendary level experts to hold the fort.

However, the Philistines did not pray to EON, but to another entity they named "Dagan", the god of prosperity. This made them one of the main targets for the Temple in the past, and along the then rising Ansem's duchy, they were completely obliterated from History.

Carlos knew a part of the ruins near the city's history, but what he knew was barely the tip of the iceberg compared to the knowledge imparted by Sombra. This man named Sombra did not only know the ancient history of the place, but also seemed to be familiar with some of the rituals performed by the ancestral cultures of yore. His means were also quite mysterious, which was the reason, that even though he only seemed to be but a Qi Praetorian on the surface, even Carlos did not dare to underestimate him, less he suffered because of his carelessness.

The ritual they were about to perform needed the blood of children, less than 10 years old, and to be sacrificed through immolation towards Dagan. Dagan would then shower the performers of the ritual with great power according to the amount of sacrifices given. It was said that in the past, the Duke of Gad had sacrificed a thousand children to Dagan, and thus received a direct blessing of energy and power which allowed him to rise up to the legendary level of power.

This was also one of the reasons for the eventual decline of the Duchy, since they were abhorred by the populace, as well as its neighbours, not to mention the power of the then budding Temple, who rallying the efforts of several of the other clans, with the lead of the then Duke of Ansem cornered the duke and razed the city to the ground. This was also one of the major victories that allowed the Duke of Ansem to unify the land and eventually create the Ancestral Kingdom of Ansem.

Carlos knew of the brutality of some of the beliefs from the Ancestral times. After all, in the Barbarian Lands, north of the kingdom of Ansem some of the old traditions still flourished, and there were rumours of true devils and demons still roaming the land in several of the territories around the continent. That being said, for Carlos, his own power was what mattered most. This was a dog eat dog world after all, and even if the ritual demanded for something worse, he would have still chosen to go through with it.

He knew that his talent was far from enough, and he had no confidence of even becoming a Qi Monarch. His descendants weren't particularly talented either, and he wasn't willing to keep going like this. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and in the past, the existence of high level warriors in the land of Philistia made Carlos confident that he could also take part of that power. Not only power, but riches and artifacts could also be granted. He would use such power to get to the top of the County first, and then who knows. He might aspire to more. With the backing from the organization, who said he would not be able to make his family rise to the top of the Continent.

As long as he was careful enough, no one would be wiser about it. And his accomplices as well as himself would use this opportunity to put major pressure on the Clan Vanilla as the current governors of the County. They would then weaken House Vanilla little by little. After all, If he could get to the level of a Qi Emperor, or even higher, he would be in an unassailable position in the County.

Wasting no more time, Carlos prepared for the day to come. His plans included going towards his partners and close friends, to increase the pressure on House Vanilla, and force them to make mistakes, for which they could later be held accountable to the Royal Family. Serena in particular had to be put on the spot, since she represented the Army, and by putting the blame on her incompetence and lack of leadership, they could make her eventually fall to their trap and kill her. Her death could later be blamed on the kidnappers. As for the scapegoats chosen, it was a radical group of barbarians that were known for their terrorism acts in the Kingdom.

The plan was already in motion, and there seemed to be no problems whatsoever with it. Sombra left the manor and quickly left for the ruins. He would get ready for the ritual over there. If he managed to perform properly, he was sure to make some great gains from this excursion.

'Greed is a beautiful sin', he could not help but think. As he was approaching the ruins, he sunddenly stopped.

- HOWWWWL -

A wolf howl was then heard in the depth of the night. The howl scared some birds in the vicinity that flew away, but other than that nothing happened. Sombra scanned his surroundings but failed to notice anything untowards whatsoever.

He couldn't help but curse the filthy beast, and quickly went into the ruins. However, he couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right, yet he could not put his finger on what exactly was the cause for such a feeling. He checked and double checked the ruin, the dungeon as well as the preparations for the ritual, but everything seemed to be ok.

In the end, he relaxed, and thought that maybe his nerves were getting the best out of him. After all, this was an important endeavour, and he was aware of the possible consequences of failing. And this was his first major assignment, he was more than eager for it to be successful. Everything was ready. The next night, everything would be over and he would be able to go back to the organization. What happened afterwards in Syracuse would have nothing to do with him.

…

In the small forest, Nerun was writing a letter which he tied to the leg of the small emerald bird. The bird then flew towards the City, towards the small army post that was located in its midst. Indeed, everything was ready. Both the net and the fishes.