Wish upon the Stars chapter 917

The next morning saw us all moving out of our temporary shelter. I stashed another eight scrolls as usual, then followed behind Devlan as he

The next morning saw us all moving out of our temporary shelter. I stashed another eight scrolls as usual, then followed behind Devlan as he

The next morning saw us all moving out of our temporary shelter. I stashed another eight scrolls as usual, then followed behind Devlan as he led us out and around the zone of protection that was Yettin. I was a little worried they might notice us and flood out to attack, and even with him stating unequivocally that it wouldn’t happen, I wasn’t willing to take the chance. I covered us all with Murmur as we walked, keeping us completely cloaked until we were out of sight and into the forest beyond the city, heading into the C-rank zone.

“So, our next stop is going to be Freldorf,” Devlan said as we made our way along a relatively unobstructed path. Being an army meant we were pretty intimidating to anything that might have got in our way, and I was pretty sure even most of the other factions would avoid us.

Animal, to my surprise, recoiled at the statement. “Oh, please tell me we aren’t visiting the Swamp Ghouls. They’re so terrible.”

“They’re unpleasant,” Devlan admitted. “But they’re STRONG. And most of the candidates won’t be trying to win them over. Most of the locals don’t bother with them unless they have to, and I can’t think of anyone who would suggest an alliance to a candidate.”

“Um, question,” I said, raising my hand. “What is a Swamp Ghoul? Ghouls are undead right? Are we going to ally with monsters?”

Devlan shook his head. “They’re not actual ghouls. Though there ARE ghouls with a racial trait. Swamp Ghouls is an organizational name though. They’re…slightly cannibalistic. But only if you attack them. They’re Murk Elves.”

Dayna, who had been walking nearby, visibly flinched. “MURK Elves? You want us to ally with MURK Elves? Murk Elves are not SLIGHTLY cannibalistic. Murk Elves are chaotic evil nightmare creatures who devour their enemies ALIVE. My species has been hunted basically to extinction and we aren’t as poorly regarded as Murk Elves.”

“That’s an exaggeration,” Devlan protested weakly. “This tribe has diverged heavily from their ancestral traditions.They rarely even eat enemies, it’s a ceremonial thing they do once a year, and they’d be willing to drop it if you push.”

The Heaven Murder Elf looked skeptical. “If that’s true…they might be worth recruiting. Murk Elves are notoriously difficult to fight. They’re basically immune to pain and their blood is poison. Not even the same poison. They eat poisonous plants and animals as they grow to cultivate different strains. Their nobility are distinct for their nearly irresistibly toxic blood.”

“Freldorf is in a swamp,” Devlan informed us helpfully. “The whole area is highly toxic. Lots of poisonous plants. And they use their blood to cultivate even more. Side note, don’t eat or touch anything in Freldorf unless you have some kind of purification power.”

Dayna snorted. “That won’t matter. Murk Elves don’t work with weaklings. You have to survive being poisoned by their leader to cement an alliance. I don’t care how far they diverged from tradition, that one is inviolate.”

“How do you know so much about them?” Asked Bethy with interest. “Do you just know all the elves?”

The elf girl shrugged. “Basically. Especially the rare variants. Star Elves, Moment Elves, I even met a Grave Elf once.” She shuddered. “I sincerely hope to never repeat the experience. They are DEEPLY unsettling. I’ve never met a Murk Elf, mostly because no one sane goes anywhere near them. They’re almost always rabidly hostile to outsiders. How did a tribe of them even end up on this planet?”

He shrugged. “Who knows. I’ve heard a few guesses, the most realistic of which being that they were given sanctuary from the Wishmaster for services rendered. The D-rank zone isn’t the only place they live. There’s an A-rank Monarch who lives in the central city. She’s considered one of the most dangerous beings on this planet, and is so toxic that LOOKING at her unimpeded can kill you. She usually wears a veil.”

“I wasn’t aware there WERE any A-rank Murk Elves,” Dayna said in astonishment. “They don’t generally fare well in the outside world. There were rumors of a few swamp worlds with enclaves, but much like my own people they’ve been heavily depleted.”

Dayna’s people, the Heaven Murder Elves, had an almost unnatural natural gift for combat. They were extremely famous as retainers and mercenaries, but were often killed on sight because they were as dangerous as enemies as they were as allies. Bethy had been the one to recognize Dayna for who she was, and had beaten the elf girl in combat and swayed her to her side.

I was PRETTY sure there was more to that than we’d seen, and that Dayna’s acceptance of her place as Bethy’s thrall had something to do with Lark offering her protection vicariously. But whatever the case, Dayna traveled with us openly and no one had bothered her, even despite her being a reformed cultist of Verdyn.

Chelsea, to my surprise, looked actively excited, and so did Daysia. “I can purify any poison we come up against, so don’t worry about that, and Shane has his own abilities in that direction.”

“And I really want to study some of these plants you mentioned,” Daysia gushed. “I could learn so much from them.” The dryad had been distinctly down since the dungeon, but after getting through that and reuniting with her parents, her outlook had shifted. More than that, since we arrived here she’d been making fast friends with Celine, Alyssa, and Jessie. They’d even worked together back at the tree grove.

We continued our walk, discussing details and strategy, until we finally came to a stop at the edge of a new terrain. A very muddy, sludgy, WET terrain. I grimaced. “This, I take it, would be the swamp you mentioned? I don’t suppose these isolationist poison elves like at the EDGE of this swamp?”

“Nope, dead center,” Devlan said with a shrug. “But we need to pass through to get where we’re going anyway, which is why I planned this meeting. Two birds, one stone.”

As I stepped over the dividing line in the grass though, I was immediately notified that things weren’t going to be that easy. Even as we walked away from the solid ground and onto the squishier and more insubstantial grass that made up the uneven terrain of the swamp, a familiar scroll unfurled in my vision.

“Announcement: The next task begins! Capture the frog king! Deep inside the toxic depths of the Venomvein swamp lives the deadly and terrifying Poison Dart Frog King. An uncatchable menace with a brilliant mind, beware the frog king’s fury, for to trespass on his domain is to court your own destruction. Hint: Depths in this case is literal, you’re heading down, not forward.”

I stared at the purple flaming letters on the newly unfurled scroll with a sigh. “Really? The SECOND we step into a new territory. Also I’m pretty sure I’m the only person here that can even do this part? How the hell are any of the other candidates supposed to try it?”

“Maybe it’s great-grandpa helping you,” Chelsea said brightly. “Suggesting a task where you have an advantage!”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “And why would the rest of the council allow that?”

“They probably assume you’ll die,” Abel said nonchalantly. “Lot of cautionary warnings there. Those weren’t so prevalent before. Feels like a setup.”

“Oh it’s almost definitely a foreshadowing thing,” I agreed. “But why are they doing ANY of this. The whole planet is under lockdown. I can’t imagine anyone cares that much about any of this when the whole line of descent of the Wish Curse Palace might get sucked into the Void.”

Belsara giggled. “Oh that doesn’t matter. Aiden is still the Wishmaster. He’s running this show, and you saw his attitude about it. If we all die he’ll just shrug and say we weren’t worthy. Besides that, NOTHING can interrupt the succession war. Not unless Aiden forced it through with majority elder support, which he absolutely doesn’t have even if he was inclined to try that. We’re locked into this, no matter what happens.”

Callie looked annoyed. “My heretic flame can’t purify physical poison, and Chelsea’s flame of purification can’t coat her whole body. Your mom took years to create that combat state, and she just doesn’t have the skill for it yet.” She turned to frown at Abel. “Can’t you go in? Your infinite blood sea should isolate your from the poison, right?”

“Yup, but it’ll also isolate me from everything else,” he sighed. “In a swamp like that, visibility will be ass. Your hubby has his ridiculous sensory form, but with my Ragam Blood Body active I’ll be heavily cut off from any sort of energy or physical sensation. Perception isn’t my strong suit on my best day, but I’d be useless under that muck.”

I briefly considered trying Belial to utilize his power under the swamp, but in the end, I decided against it. I wasn’t some fragile support backliner who needed to be coddled. Spending two hours coming up with an intricate plan to perfectly protect myself might mean someone else would get to the king. I didn’t believe for a moment that I was the ONLY candidate who was capable of going down there.

Several of them probably had wishes that enabled their subordinates to go. I’d actually considered that, but I’d also have to preempt any wish based traps or tricks, and honestly after using up all of Nat’s stockpile on our city escape I was running low.

Taking a deep breath, I triggered Zagan. It would be more useful for a physical detox than Leviathan, which was aimed more at soul defense. With a quick salute to my friends, I dove forward into the marshy water. From the second we’d entered the swamp, the ground had started to become more complex and sparse. We could still walk, but there were gaps where you could enter the underwater biome beneath the floating tangle of weeds and roots the ground consisted of.

Sure enough, as soon as I submerged, I felt a toxic miasma of filth try to surge into me. Zagan, being what it was, roared inside me like a furnace kicking on, boiling off the corruptive energies of the poison as it tried to erode my life force.

With my safety taken care of for now, I also triggered Dantalion, spreading my Perception around me through the marsh like a sphere.

I found…swamp. I sighed. I wasn’t completely screwed, of course. Dantalion included Eye of Revelation which was comprised partly of Seek Hidden. Seek Hidden let me find traces of hidden or missing things, and I could do the same with the frog king. I just had to dig into the data cooking in the swamp until I found a trace.

As I searched, I also considered a few things. I was pretty sure Malachai WAS involved in setting this task. Ignoring the danger, it was exactly what we needed right now. Namely, the super venomous frog king would be an excellent gift to open negotiations with the Murk Elves. I wasn’t sure how he’d convinced them to issue it or how the issuing even worked, but I wasn’t going to waste the chance to put us in a good position.

Suddenly, my head jerked up. I’d found something. A trace, a hint of the frog king’s presence from a long time ago…and one that led off into the swamp.

With a cry of delight, I spread my wings, flapping them hard to create a pair of paddles the drove me forward through the swamp water like a motor. As I shot off through the sludge, I could feel other forms closing in from the edges of my perception. I grimaced. I’d been right, I wasn’t the only one who could get down here.

Triggering Murmur, I cloaked myself, vanishing into the dark murk seamlessly as I plunged deeper into the swamp, heading both forward AND down. The frog king was holding court deep below the surface, and I was aiming for a little regicide. Game on.