Chapter 8.10 - A Rat Faced Man

Serin was done. He had driven in his executioner's spike into the last prisoner of the Haven incursion. The Warhounds had long ago stopped bringing in the dead. Serin had lost count. Thankfully, his [status] had not.

257,513

A quarter million dead spiked in a little over two days. He still had to travel to Ston to dispatch those that were there, which he would do shortly. He did not want the enemy to have a chance to repatriate their soldiers.

Now was when Serin would squeeze the enemy. Every Soul he stole was another soldier not revived by the enemy.

Haven's report of losses and casualties was still being written, but the final reports on Haven's allies were being given by Edel and Dana.

Governor Marquest had her people currently in decontamination. They were directly exposed to Haven's Reem-toxin rounds, a deadly toxin that caused the flesh to melt. They were stuck in their armor until decontamination was complete, but the specialized armor had done its job. As for the region itself, reports had stated that the area would require much assistance from Matriarch Grier to purify the land of the serious biological damage it had sustained. That damage thankfully did not spill into the wild. Some of Shurik's experiments had shown that when Haven used more powerful weapons that hit the wild, the wild tended to become more dangerous in that area, permanently. No need to make the Wild at their doorstep more dangerous.

The Corvid Society was almost done with ousting their occupation. They had gone with Master Cristie's plan, which involved using the labyrinthian design of their city to pick off their enemies, leaving no bodies in their wake. To the enemy it seemed like soldiers were simply disappearing left and right, with not even a drop of blood to show their demise.. The Corvid Society's Academy grounds, as they refused to identify as a city, became a hunting ground for the few thousand full time staff that were present during the occupation. And unlike Haven, not a single person died. Additionally, they had captured the High Herald Rees, formally the general of the GWA. Serin looked forward to the secrets that would come from him.

From all accounts, Thul had sustained a bit of damage, but their city stood uninvaded and the enemy had been routed, however there were no prisoners. There weren't even bodies. Krul, it seemed, had claimed them as his own as 'war trophies'. Serin wasn't planning on arguing with a Divine.

As Serin finished receiving his in person report from General Edel and Spymaster Dana, he bowed.

"I want to thank you both. If it weren't for these years of service and training, out losses would have been much higher. I know you do not have a final count, but when you do, let me know. And for our Spy, Nighmora. Her accomplishments merit her a seat as a regional governor at the very least. But that is a discussion for later. For now, gather our casualty counts, and prepare our soldiers. I wish to move on the enemy when I return from Ston."

"Lord Serin, will any be accompanying you?"

"A few."

Edel then saw them. The masked masked helms of black and red. Serin's Forsaken, his personal guard. They answered only to him, and were not technically part of the protectorate. They had been trained by him, led by him, and would follow him into hell. But for today, they would ensure his trip to Ston went off without worry.

***

"Lord Serin, I must say, I hadn't really considered exactly how much space 100,000 immobile bodies would take up. I gladly look forward to having their bodies processed and removed. But more importantly, what is this delicious dish?"

Wilton walked with Lord Serin. Wilton had already relayed his overwhelming successful ousting of the invading enemy siege forces. Serin did not like Wilton's personality. They could never be friends. Wilton was caustic to enemy and ally alike. But Wilton was effective.

"It is called an Empanada. It is from the Fae folk and it is meant to be eaten with the hands, so I had some brought over with me, as I was sure you would wish to dine together, and I have much work to be done."

The struggling dead, gagged and moaning, lay around them, watching as their brothers and sisters in arms were executed one by one by lord Serin.

"Lord Serin, surely we can sit and have a meal together. The only thing that changes for those bound and gagged is how long until we process them. I have an idea! You and I will sit for tea. We will take no more than 30 minutes. Then I will leave you alone to execute these people at your speed, which is much faster than mine. As it is right now, it will take you the better part of a week to finish killing these people. Why not take a break, i will have casters top off your stamina and mana, and then you can [dash] between bodies as I am sure you did back in Haven, and then be on your way."

Serin was not happy at Wilton's response, but he was right. Slowly receiving the report while walking was not saving any time, and instead was slowing it down.

"Alright Wilton. We will have tea. Then you will leave me to my work. I have an invasion to begin, and this is the last task remaining before we can begin."

"Thank you my Lord."

Wilton and Serin stopped their work to sit down in a lovely little gazebo that Wilton had especially setup for him to have tea and brunch. A [barrier] spell was placed on it to mute the cacophony of those awaiting their execution.

***

"Why do we tolerate that man? More importantly, how does a rat faced pudgy diplomat rise to such a position to talk to our Lord so casually?" The voice was that of a gruff male. Space had been made for the horns that grew from his head.

When working, the forsaken did not use their names. They stood as the faceless might of Lord Serin himself.

Another Forsaken answered, this time the voice of a smoky female. "You mean Wilton? He may be a human, but he came here as a slave, and quickly rose up the ranks. If you read his unredacted dossier, he is responsible for multiple successful investigations against spies that had attempted to encroach on our territory. He also hunted down the spy that stole Haven's perma-ice, which prompted the majority of our external issues. He was the one who wrote the white paper on how to diplomatically capture Ston. He is a master with the pen…"

"He is a jackass."

"Yes. I have heard he does not take a wife, but there are several children of the harvest that he has claimed as his. None of them are human. He purposely sought out non-human partners that were of a higher level than him."

"He is still a jackass."

"That is as much a fact as it is directly Wilton's actions that led to almost a quarter of Ston's population being non-human. Do you know how much effort it takes to convince an entire city to have children outside their race?"

"With 'surprise changelings' not much."

"Can it, Walt."

"Hey, no names." This time the voice was from the third. The forsaken did not have a rank structure, but instead had a leader appointed for each mission based on expertise.

"Additionally, don't discuss classified files in the open. Also don't insult people whose Merit and accomplishments are beyond reproach."

"The only people who can hear us are soon to be dead, and we are all speaking in the Lybringer Tongue."

"Did you already forget? The enemy can use the heart of any pure human as a listening device. So keep the banter down to a minimum."

"We could just blow out their eardrums."

"You are aware that these bodies are technically payment from Ston to Haven for the refitting of their defense network. Are you going to tell the dhamphir who purchases this person that the meat is spoiled because your blast ruptured his internal organs?"

"No."

"Alright then."

Brunch had concluded and Serin stood up. "Back to work." The Forsaken said to his brothers and sisters, both in arms and by blood.

***