Path of Dragons 14 - Chapter 14 - Debauchery

The landscape blurred beneath Elijah as he tore across the sky at supersonic speed.  Every now and then, particularly territorial monsters attempted to intercept him, but the Shape of the World Serpent was far too maneuverable to be contained.  Due to the nature of his magical flight, he didn’t need to worry about the physics of redirecting his flight.  Instead, he slithered through the air as easily as a normal snake maneuvered across solid ground.

None of the other world’s avian creatures could duplicate that feat, especially not with how fast he was moving.

Despite his speed, he’d yet to reach his destination by nightfall, so he landed next to a stream where he decided to test out the new abilities granted by his Girdle and Chausses of the Wild Revenant.  After deploying his tent and enjoying a few calm moments next to the stream, Elijah used Summon Food, producing a small, granola-bar-sized brick.  The first bite confirmed that it was just as tasteless as expected, though after he’d eaten the entire thing, he found that hunger no longer gnawed at his belly.

Summon Water conjured a small bladder full of clean water.  It tasted slightly artificial, but his senses told him that it was perfectly potable.  That confirmed his suspicions that neither ability was meant for anything but emergencies.  Still, having easily conjurable rations was a great boon.

He could think of hundreds of times when such an ability would have come in handy.  After all, he’d spent years surviving primarily on monster meat and mantle-cleansed water.  Back then, he’d have killed to have one of those nutrition bricks or even a single sip of the summoned water.

However, he quickly surmised that the abilities weren’t usable in quick succession.  Once activated, they went on cooldown for five days.  Another confirmation that they were only meant for emergencies.

To test things out, he drank only half the contents of the water bladder before storing it inside the tent.  The rest of the night passed peacefully, with Elijah simply enjoying his time in nature.  From what he’d seen during his travels, there wasn’t a hint of civilization for hundreds of miles in any direction.  It wasn’t the most remote location he’d ever camped, but it was close enough to elicit a feeling of peaceful contentment.

That night, he eschewed the protection of the tent to sleep under the twinkling stars.  He awoke to dew covered forest and the sight of a wolverine trying to enter his tent.  The defenses held firm, but that didn’t stop the badger-like animal from trying. 

When he stirred, the beast hissed at him, its hackles rising as it took an aggressive posture.  Elijah sighed.  “Don’t give me that.  This is my camp, not yours,” he muttered, turning away from the beast.  To some, it would be a dangerous enemy, but Elijah could sense that it was barely better than a mid-ascendent.  The thing could scratch, bite, and claw at him for days and accomplish nothing.

So, he continued to ignore it as he approached the stream.  In only a couple of seconds, his hand darted out, his fingers wrapping around a sizable trout.  The fish squirmed in his grip, but it was incapable of escaping. 

Elijah had plenty of food in his Arcane Loop, and besides, he was still satisfied from the nutrition brick.  But he knew better than to pass up easy food when he saw it.  In only a few minutes, he’d cleaned the fish and had it roasting over a hastily built fire.  The offal went to the wolverine, who accepted it greedily.

It still took a few swipes at him, but gave up when it became obvious that Elijah wasn’t going to give it what it wanted.  Instead, it hunkered down, hissing and growling at him. 

Elijah continued to ignore it as he enjoyed his fish.  He wasn’t much of a cook, so it was more than a little bland.  However, the fish had enough ethera in it that it wasn’t entirely tasteless.  If it had been prepared by someone with an actual cooking skill, it would’ve been much, much better.

He ate a few more before he finally decided to head out.  When he looked inside the tent, he saw that the summoned waterskin had disappeared, proving that it wouldn’t last very long.  The effects of eating or drinking his summoned rations would remain, but if he didn’t consumed them, they would disappear after a single night.

Interesting.

The wolverine attacked him a few more times as he packed up the tent, and oddly enough, its fury only increased when Elijah transformed into the Shape of the World Serpent.  Fortunately, the annoying beast had no chance of keeping up with him as he darted away.

He’d never really liked wolverines or badgers.  They were vicious creatures who never knew when they should quit.

In any case, once he was well into the air, he continued his journey.  As he did so, he was once again reminded of the stark differences between Earth and Gorveth.  Traveling across the surface of the latter had always been a struggle.  Not only was the environment itself deadly, but the native monsters were insanely aggressive.  Traveling without stealth meant that he could only go a mile or so before he was attacked.

But Earth was different.  No less dangerous for most people, but for Elijah, who blended seamlessly into the environment, it was much more peaceful. 

And that wasn’t even considering the beauty.

In its own way, Gorveth had been a striking place.  Elijah could easily recall the purple rivers of corruption streaking across the sky and casting the black-and-grey landscape in shifting hues of violet.  But it was nothing compared to Earth, with all its forests, crisp streams, and beautiful wildlife. 

Even the air was different.  Sweet and refreshing, as opposed to corrosive and containing a violent hunger that could overwhelm the most stalwart mind.

Elijah slowed a little, just enjoying the atmosphere.

But one thing Earth and Gorveth had in common was that both were enormous.  The latter was much larger than the former, but Earth had still grown to roughly the size of Jupiter.  As such, he didn’t reach his destination – which was on the other side of the continent – after that second day. 

Once again, he landed.  This time, he camped in the middle of a vast savannah that might’ve once been central or western Africa.  There were rhinos and giraffes, elephants and lions, though none bothered him.  The same couldn’t be said of the troops of roving baboons that tried to raid his camp in the middle of the night.

To anyone else, they might’ve been terrifying, with their screeches, growls, and grunts.  Elijah ignored them, trusting his tent’s defenses.  And if those failed, he would just have to take care of the creatures himself.

Thankfully, it didn’t come to that, though the next morning told Elijah that hundreds of the beasts had come upon his camp. 

Not wanting to be forced to kill them if they chose to return, he quickly packed his camp and headed out.

The next day, he spent a couple of hours flying across a vast lake, telling him that he was very close to his destination.  Only a few more hours after leaving it behind, he finally saw his quarry.

The city rose in the distance, a fortress by anyone’s measure.  Even from dozens of miles away, Elijah could see the blocky thing for what it was.  It reminded him of Kalki, though without any of that fortress city’s historical inspiration.  Instead, it was like a blob of concrete, brutalist in design and singular in its purpose.

It was also enormous.  Easily half a mile wide and just as tall.  As Elijah drew closer, he dropped low to the ground and shifted into the Shape of the Scourge.  Only a moment later, he was clad in the Guise of the Stalker and entirely undetectable.  He trotted forward, studying the fortress and the surrounding city.

In some ways, it reminded him of Bloodrock Bay.  The buildings were arranged haphazardly, as if they were nothing more than an afterthought.  But at least they had a little color to them.  A little personality that exceeded the simple notion of domination. 

Still, he quickly surmised that they were run-down and barely hanging on. 

So were the people, as Elijah discovered when he saw the fields.

Those too were expansive.  And like the outskirts of Ithalon on Gorveth, the Farmers tending them were not there by choice.  Elijah could sense enough to recognize that most of them were nature attuned.  There were even a few Druids there.  They toiled like everyone else, purposeless and dejected.

Elijah did his best to ignore them. 

The time would soon come for him to free those people.  But until then, he needed to lay low, gather information, and prepare a plan.  Because he had no intention of letting it go unanswered.

Unfortunately, the enemy was numerous.

Elijah identified them easily.  In the fields were guards, though not good ones.  They were only there to keep an eye on the slaves.  Not to actually fight anyone. 

Once Elijah reached the city, he saw an eclectic collection of brigands, bandits, and other criminals.  Not just humans, either.  Dwarves.  Gnomes.  Goblins.  Elves.  There were even a few races he didn’t recognize.  All were dressed colorfully, as if they thought a little extra attention would make them more effective in their chosen professions.

There were brothels, too.

Oh, so many brothels, each populated by good-looking men and women of every race.  Those people played their parts.  They pretended they were there by choice.  But Elijah could see behind their eyes.  He knew that they were enslaved just as surely as the Farmers.

As Elijah progressed through the city, he found himself feeling dirtier and dirtier.  Not only was the place a den of absolute debauchery – and in every way imaginable – but it was literally filthy as well.  It was as if the place had been designed to be as unappealing as possible.

It reminded him of drug houses he’d seen in the news and movies, but that impression probably originated with the overwhelming aura of inebriation that enveloped nearly everyone he saw.

They stumbled around, entirely unaware of their surroundings.

The only people who didn’t fall into that trap were a few sober guards here and there.  They carried themselves with a sense of propriety and looked upon the others with appropriate disgust.

Elijah didn’t explore much, but he did find that one of the main roads led out of the city and to a set of Conclave Spires a couple of miles away.  That avenue was kept mostly devoid of trash or other detritus. 

He settled in to watch the Spires for a while until he saw a convoy of people exit the compound.  They were obviously well-to-do, as evidenced by their expensive wardrobes festooned with high-grade silks and plenty of jewelry.  A few members of the convoy were high ascendents as well, though most remained at the low end of that tier of power.

Excitement buzzed around them as they covered the distance separating the Spires from the city, increasing a little with every step.  They didn’t stop once they’d entered the city limits, though.  Rather, they kept going until they reached one of the looming fortress’s side gates.

There, they met a burly pair of guards – high ascendents, both – who checked their names against a list before allowing them inside. 

When the door opened, Elijah caught a few hints of gold, silver, and white marble before the sight was sealed away by the closing door.  That’s when it hit him.  The why behind the city’s continued existence.  They let it remain because it offered the wealthy elites of the world something they couldn’t get back home.

Decadence.

Debauchery.

Degeneracy.

It was a level of corruption that rivaled any he’d encountered on Gorveth, even if it was a different flavor.  And Elijah’s previous decision to put an end to it all seemed even more justified than ever.

He stalked forward, anger boiling within as he contemplated the best means of attack.