Supreme Magus

Chapter 4200: Bad Timing (Part 1)

”Mom! How can you-” The Vampire had just started exploring the long list of grievances she had with her mother, but the Wight was already wearing the Eyes and Ears.

’This noise-cancelling enchantment is amazing.’ Kalla thought, nodding at whatever Nyka was saying, hoping it would make her calm down. ’Ruler Menadion is truly a genius.’

”Goodbye, Fluffy. Goodbye, Garrik. I’ll miss you a lot. See you in six months.” Nok said as he hugged the youths.

”I’ll miss you too, Nok.” Garrik said. ”You are a great friend and steed.”

”I won’t.” Fluffy said. ”I know I was rude to your mother, but I didn’t deserve to get chased and beaten up every day for five months straight!”

”You’d better Awaken before my return, kid.” Nok snorted. ”Because the next time you see me, I’ll-”

The arrays surrounding the Verhen Mansion became visible to the naked eye, blinking with yellow light and cutting the Byk short.

Something powerful and uninvited had entered the range of the sensory magical formations that surrounded the Mansion, but had kept itself outside the park.

”Don’t worry, it’s a friend.” Lith’s magically transmitted voice resounded in the rooms where his family and friends were to reassure them. ”Nice to meet you again, Loma. The next time you pay me a visit, however, give me a call first.”

”It’s nice to meet you too, Scourge.” The orange fog floating before Lith was a Horde, one of the few Awakened fungi on Mogar. ”Or rather, it would if we didn’t meet solely under unpleasant circumstances.

”Sadly, this time will be no different.” He sighed. ”I’m sorry for my unannounced arrival, but we’ve never exchanged contact runes. Visiting you in person was the only way I had to reach out to you.”

”Whatever you need, I’m afraid this isn’t a good time.” Lith lowered the arrays and let Loma inside. ”My son was born just a few days ago.”

”Congratulations. I hope he’s doing fine.” The Horde was polite, even forming a smile on the portion of the mist that resembled a head, but aside from a tinge of envy, his tone was flat.

Hordes were incapable of reproducing, so the concept of paternity was alien to them.

’I get Loma doesn’t care about Raldarak, but why the envy?’ Lith thought.

”He’s doing great.” Lith nodded. ”I, on the other hand, rarely get to sleep more than a few hours per night. Yet I doubt you’re interested in my parental struggles. What brought you here?”

”Time is of the essence, so I’ll get straight to the point.” Loma’s body shapeshifted into an orange replica of Lith, the highest form of respect a Horde could give to a member of another species.

”I need- No, the entire Horde race needs your help, and we need it badly.”

Kalla had read a few things about the Hordes, but like most people on Mogar, she had never met one. While she waited for her children to get ready to move back to the Eclipsed Lands, she examined the stranger with the two pieces of the Menadion Set.

’What a fascinating creature.’ She thought. ’Countless minuscule bodies sharing one mind. I wonder if someone like that can become a Lich.’

”What happened?” Lith offered his guest a seat, a trail filled with different kinds of snacks, and a glass of water.

”Another one of us has finally gained sentience.” Loma placed a misty hand over the trail, draining the water and turning the food dry and moldy. ”It’s just another fungus folk, not a Horde, but it’s the first after me. The first in millennia!”

Hordes were cold and dispassionate creatures, which only made Loma’s enthusiasm even more vibrant.

”If we manage to find them and bring them into our fold, there will be eight Hordes walking Mogar again. After Phaso’s death, there are so few of us left that each Horde has to cover an entire continent by themselves.

”Even someone as rare as the Guardians outnumber us at least three to one.”

”I know, and I’m sorry.” Lith couldn’t help but feel partially responsible for the pitiful state of the Horde race.

One of them had died during Lith’s Awakened graduation exam to protect the disciples from Vareen the Plaguespreader, a powerful Eldritch. Another Horde, Phaso, had died after being infected by a fragment of the World Tree.

According to the Hordes, Phaso had always been a bad apple, but Lith couldn’t stop wondering whether the late Horde had really fooled their companions for millennia or if Phaso had just been corrupted by the Tree’s lingering madness.

”Don’t be.” Loma dismissed the apologies with a wave of his hand. ”No one of my people considers you responsible for what happened, quite the contrary. We are grateful for what you did. I wouldn’t have been sent here to ask your help otherwise.”

”My help with what?” Lith asked in confusion.

”As I said, there is only one Horde per continent.” Loma sighed.

”Ygri, the one who resides in Verendi, informed us of the rumors about the newborn fungus folk, but so far, that’s all we have. All the Hordes are assembled in Verendi, but the continent is too large, and we are too few.

”All of our usual tracking methods failed, and we’re running out of time. Without a solid lead, we’ll never find our kinfolk first. That’s why I’m here. You are the best tracker on Garlen, and you’ve proven it by finding the fragment of the Yggdrasill Tree in Phaso’s possession from continents away.

”You can lead us to our new comrade before it’s too late.”

’Too late for what?’ Lith asked Solus via their mind link.

He was certain that he was supposed to know the answer, but he couldn’t remember it and didn’t want to sound rude to his guest.

’Hordes have no friends in any Awakened Council.’ Solus reminded him. ’They are lonely creatures who are nigh-immortal and, according to the Council, hold the secret of the white core.

’If primitive people like the Odi succeeded in capturing and enslaving a young but already powerful Loma millennia ago, there is no telling what might happen to the newborn fungus folk.’

’You’re right!’ Lith’s eyes widened in understanding. ’If there are rumors about a new fungus folk, the Hordes can’t be the only ones who heard them. Right now, there must be a hunt for the fungus folk.’

’Yeah.’ Solus telepathically nodded. ’And since there is no one to teach the basics of magic and common sense to the newborn fungus folk after they gained consciousness, the poor kid will be easy prey.’

”You’re right.” Lith stood up from his chair. ”We need to find your comrade first. There is one huge problem, though.”

”If this is a matter of compensation, you don’t have to worry.” Loma shook his head. ”I’ve been trapped in Kulah for too long to possess anything valuable, but my fellow Hordes have roamed Mogar since ancient times. I’m sure you can reach an-”

”That’s not the issue.” Lith said, knowing it was only partially true. ”As I said, my son is just born, and I carry Dragon blood. I can’t get far away from him for more than a few minutes without going on a rampage.”