Rise Of The Godking

He had a pounding headache that was going nowhere no matter how much he ma.s.saged his head, and all around him, slaves were hurrying back and forth, summoned to the collapsed mineshaft to help with the effort of clearing the entrance.

He knew that his corridor had been called, too, but had already decided that he would risk a whipping as he was just too tired to go. He took great effort to put one leg in front of the other, and each time he was reminded of what he had just gone through, his little friend would throb painfully, as if resenting him for not going through with the act even though he had been so close.

It wasn"t sentient enough to understand that it would have meant him aging ten years, and he was too tired to even try and suppress such thoughts. He just wanted to get to his cavern and lay down on the bed, and even though it would be a hard one, he was sure that he would be able to fall asleep in a second.

His task had been simple: he had needed a distraction so that he could escape the succubus"s clutches. The main reason they had all hated it was that they didn"t see what was in it for them. Their thoughts were limited; they had all been of the opinion that even if the conspirators who were causing a shortage of food were found out, there could be no change possible.

Yet, Daneel had already worked out a plan to target these folks and change the situation in the Pit. Right now, he was quite sick of the plan he had just orchestrated to even think about another one, and as soon as he got this thought, his mind latched onto all the errors that had almost made him a middle-aged man.

"So many things went wrong! And I bet there are others, too, that I don"t know of, yet… First, I underestimated her. She had no trouble with taking me under her spell. If it hadn"t been for that word from my memories which means so much to me, I would have been done for! And, second, if I didn"t have the system, there would have been no time to sync the answering of the main question with the arrival of those vomiting slaves. I almost said the word out loud! From everything I"ve heard about her, it"s almost certain that she has power over those who give her permission… and she"s livid about the entire thing, to boot! I was hoping that she might brush it off as a coincidence… but the way she looked made it clear! She is going to target me later! Ah, I really made a pile of problems for myself…"

The idea to use vomit had come from Reese. He had said that such a disgusting sound would definitely break one out of anything l.u.s.tful they were feeling, and he had turned out to be right. He had also supplied the specific potions necessary to cause a violent reaction in one"s stomach, and he had also helped with the step to save the lives of the five who would interrupt the two of them.

Those with thick beards had been chosen, and right now, he knew that someone must be shearing those hairy things away, leaving behind faces that she would not be able to recognize. There was still a small risk that she would be able to do so if they did nothing else, so they had also taken the precaution to cover the bodies of each slave with soot that could be washed off.

"So many precautions, so many delicate steps… and after all that, if they knew that I didn"t even hear the answer, they would laugh at me."

He would have been very worried about this… if he didn"t have the system at hand. He saw, now, how instrumental it had been to this entire plan, and on a whim, he decided to think it.

"Great job! I couldn"t have done it without you! Frankly, I don"t even know if praise or gratefulness does anything for you, but there"s no harm in trying… anyway, what are the names she gave?"

[Responding to host. Name of individual in charge of food on the surface is: Count Erfrost. Names of enforcers who steal away the meat and vegetables meant for the slaves are: Jerrad, Malena, Kolfar, Nigor.]

His eyes widened at the list. He hadn"t thought that four of the cruelest individuals in the Pit would be the ones behind this greedy crime.

"Well… that complicates things. But still, I"ve got time to think about it. Why the h.e.l.l is it taking so long to get home?"

Grumbling and cursing, he sped up and trudged the rest of the way with a dark face. When he finally arrived, a smile of satisfaction reached his lips… but it was quickly put away when he found someone waiting for him.

"Took you long enough. I won"t even ask whether you were successful. We did our part, and now, it"s time for you to do yours, or pay. You have a month. The others didn"t want to give you so much time… but just like Reese, I"m curious in regards to what you"re capable of. Don"t. Let. Me. Down."

The big man jabbed Daneel in the chest with each of the last words he said, pus.h.i.+ng him back until the lip of the cave.

Daneel had learned that his name was Xander. Together with the woman he had seen him the other day, they apparently ran an extortion ring where they starved ten of the weakest slaves so that they could live with bountiful food, and when he had found this out, he had been quite repulsed.

Still, it had to be admitted that Xander was the one on whom a majority of the plan had relied. He had been the only one with enough knowledge to cause a collapse, as apparently, before becoming a slave, he had been an inhabitant of the second layer in charge of excavating new areas of the mine.

Daneel had asked about the reason behind his fall from grace, but hadn"t found the answer.

"Don"t worry… I won"t. I wasn"t just posturing the first time I met you, you know. Maybe, if I succeed, you will let a few of the slaves under your foot go…"

He didn"t know why he was doing it, but as soon as he recalled the reason behind the man"s strength, a wave of scorn swept over him.

Xander had been about to leave the cavern. He turned around at the exit, and for a moment, Daneel was convinced that his palm, which was big enough to encircle his neck by itself, would soon be choking him.

Instead… the man smiled, but his amus.e.m.e.nt didn"t reach his eyes which stared with cold contempt.

"Or maybe, instead of killing you, I"ll add you to them. I"ve found that starvation is very effective against those I hate."

On a good day, Daneel would have had no problem meeting his heavy gase, but quickly, his fatigue caught up with him. Even though he didn"t want to, he found himself looking down wearily, and as if taking that as a victory, the big man scoffed and said, "Don"t think for a moment that I was praising you before. I just believe… that results are everything. She caught up with the five who interrupted you two even though they split into different corridors. She captured two of them, and I"m pretty sure they won"t see the darkness of tomorrow. In the cave we collapsed to give you an opportunity to get out, four slaves died. There was nothing that could be done. I did say that it was an unpredictable art with no tools at hand. You"ll quickly join this count if you don"t turn out to be resourceful, so here"s some advice: don"t waste the time you"ve been given. I"ll be waiting…and watching."

With another smile, Xander left, and Daneel collapsed onto the bed.

"Six men and women…died to make my plan work? It wasn"t supposed to be this way! Are ten years of my life worth six lives? I...I don"t know. Still, I didn"t even know them, so…why is there an ache in my chest?"

He lied down, intending to sleep away the tiredness and the feeling in his heart.

Yet, the solace of slumber didn"t arrive no matter how much he tried, and Daneel spent the night tossing and turning, his thoughts on his first plan in the Pit…and how much of a disaster it had turned out to be.