Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave stood at the edge of the central courtyard of the Palace of Heaven. Whether from above or below, the tales said that this place had never been breached. Its walls could withstand the fury of gods, and apparently there were measures to prevent any entry from above. But here they stood, the first of history. Beyond was a verdant garden far removed from the stony plateau they’d come from. Considering the Stormfield still worked, there would be other enemies in here. Their silence, however, was deafening.

The small breach in the walls of the Palace of Heaven was soon blocked by their ally, Law—Erlebnis’ relentless pursuit was brought to a halt, if only for now. But if he had been able to leave, the garrison manning this place would let Erlebnis reenter just as easily. They didn’t have much time for rest, for the god of knowledge had become somewhat like Sataistador—alone, and highly mobile. Sataistador had dodged death countless time by keeping himself as little more than a man. Perhaps that had been Erlebnis’ conscious goal, or perhaps not… regardless, it was frightening.

“Where is Rook?” questioned Veid, resplendent in Veidimen-style armor. Other gods shadowed her—Raccomen, Lira, and even Almazora, who’d ceased her defense on Berendar for this fight.

“Erlebnis caught him,” Anneliese explained, looking around the courtyard warily. “I think he died, but…”

“You think?” Argrave repeated, then shook his head. “I watched him dissipate. He’s dead. But we don’t have time to think of that. We need to claim as much of this place as we can. We always planned on having Law inside the Palace, fighting Erlebnis, but he’s dealing with him on the outside instead. Roles need to change.”

“You need to take me to the Stormfield.” Governor Zen was the first to set foot on the grass ahead, and he held a strange red sword in his hand. “I can guide us there. I’ve studied this place, and the array, in great detail. I know this fortress inside and out.”

“So do I—lest you forget, all of my commanders, even myself, studied its layout. Is guiding us what Sataistador asked you to do?” Argrave said accusingly. Now that the governor had shown his hand in calling Sataistador as reinforcement, there was no need to be coy about these things.

The governor gestured to the spot where he’d torn out his ribcage. “I think I demonstrated amply I’m on your side in this battle. We made an alliance—I intend to keep it. I called him here to aid us. You’d be dead without that.” He turned his head back to the courtyard. “We can’t linger here long. Erlebnis has shown he can break free of Sataistador and Law, and lest you forget, we haven’t claimed all of the Palace of Heaven for ourselves—merely set foot inside it.”

Orion stepped forward and gripped the governor’s robes, jostling him. “What did Sataistador ask for you to do in this battle?”

“Win it. Nothing more… grandson-in-law.” Governor Zen spread his arms out, not touching Orion.

Argrave was expecting Anneliese to inform him that was a lie immediately, but looking at her face for answers told him the governor was being genuine. Argrave didn’t know what to make of that. He had anticipated the god of war to have at least one request of the governor… but none? Were they wrong? Was Sataistador not planning a betrayal of some kind? Then why had he worked with Zen in secrecy?

“Each deity needs to focus on one aspect of the fortress,” Argrave decided, then tapped his brother until he released Zen. “Almazora—accompany Zen to the Stormfield. Lira—deal with the pressure exerted by the walls, so our troops can approach. Raccomen—focus on opening the sky, so Durran can provide support from above. Veid—continue working with Galamon, commanding the troops. Everyone needs to get the hell away from me. Erlebnis is after me.”

“Meaning?” Anneliese prompted him.

“His anger surprised us. His hatred of me, his tunnel vision; we can use it to our advantage, now, if I plan something before he comes again. I’ve fought Mozzahr, Norman—I’m almost used to broken, ravenous monsters by this point.”

Almazora said,

and shook his head. “I joke less

saw what he did with his magic—he’s quite literally burning himself away for a vague hope of ending you,” Raccomen criticized. “Veid can handle my role of opening the sky. I’ll come with, and aid you with my mastery over space. Erlebnis cannot be underestimated, especially

accepted the

how to deal with the lich if he hasn’t lost his mind. And, after, she needs to know

impressed himself with his ability to roll with them. Nevertheless, this one caught him square in the face. He didn’t

is Melanie

#####

offer of help had been some anodyne to this development, and with his [Echo Step], he might well be the best fighter of any of them by this point. Still, this battlefield had the highest stakes they’d ever dealt with. She was tasked with keeping an eye on Governor

lifted from Royal Road; report any

it hadn’t been at all as she’d been expected it. She’d seen gods die before, but that…? It had felt wrong, all the way from the scene itself to the fact that Rook was

her sister-in-law as she watched Argrave’s departure. “Ask Stain if he’s lost

Alchemist’s intervention, gods’ blessings only dissipated in one way—if the god in question died. And

still has

nature. Considering this wasn’t mentioned to any of the

she muttered

#####

of being on the battlefield against a bunch of gods and their servants. She’d had enough of people that could break

assault of the Palace of Heaven began. Traugott had proven extremely adroit at preparation, and so by acting just before the time of the assault, they hoped to have both ample time to prepare while

was the last thing that

the oasis and entered into the narrow corridors leading to the palace proper, incongruities arose. The entrance was a long, winding stone maze. Argrave had told them of this, but promised it

a favor of sorts.

Dario led them, using her blessing and his impeccable sense of stealth to avoid conflict. False walls and endless illusions made a difficult maze all the more troublesome, and Melanie regretted not bringing along someone like Anneliese to see past all the falsities. Despite all the

four hours of ceaseless bumbling about, avoiding

was a beautiful and spacious room that fit the title of palace. There were four entrances, each at the cardinal directions. From these entrances, stairs descended downward to a central platform. A bottomless abyss surrounded the platform and the stairs. They scouted