Two days later, evening, Konrad had called for a meeting of all the captains of the Night Lord Legion. Every captain except Harus and Sevatar came to the war council room of the Bright Castle.
The war council chamber of the Bright Castle was dimly lit, the flickering glow of soulflame lanterns casting long, shifting shadows across the stone walls. The air was heavy with tension, a silence draped over the gathered captains like a thick cloak.
Konrad sat at the head of the blackened stone table, a map of the Forgotten Shore unfurled before him.
He looked over the gathered men and women, his black eyes calm, unreadable. Konrad stood up at the head of the table, draped in his black and crimson cloak. The light glinted faintly off the midnight blue armor hidden beneath. Finally, he broke the silence.
"Now that all of you are here,"
Konrad began in a level tone, his voice quiet but commanding,
"let me begin explaining my plans."
Tessai, the captain of the first company, raised his hand respectfully. Konrad gave him a short nod.
"Night Lord, Sevatar and Harus aren't present."
"I have sent them on a mission," Konrad replied curtly.
Before the murmurs could grow, Gunlaug raised his hand and Konrad motioned to him.
"Are we going to destroy the rebel faction of Changing Star?"
Before Konrad could answer, Talos slammed his fist onto the table, shaking the lanternlight.
"Those bastards! As soon as someone waves a flag of rebellion, they flock to them like sheep. Don't they know they're alive because we kill the threats they can't even see coming?"
"Talos," Konrad said, his voice like a blade.
Talos stopped immediately, sitting back down.
"Sorry, Konrad."
"People only see what you haven't done for them. Never what you have,"
Konrad turned back to Gunlaug.
"People always see what you didn't do for them. They rarely acknowledge what you did. As for your question, the answer is no. We won't massacre those rebels."
That raised some eyebrows. Konrad continued, his tone cold, clinical.
"We will use them. They will become our meat shield when we siege the Crimson Spire."
Gasps and surprised murmurs broke out among the captains. Even the usually stoic Seishan shifted slightly in her seat. Gemma, ever the blunt one, leaned forward.
"Do you mean... we are going to siege the Crimson Spire?" He asked.
Konrad nodded. "Yes. We're going to join Changing Star's faction and lay siege to the Crimson Spire."
Marvin leaned forward. "Night Haunter, are you really suggesting we ally with those traitors following Changing Star?"
Marvin, the scion of Valor, asked with a disapproving tone.
Konrad's gaze sharpened. "Why are you acting stupid here? Do you think we are all fools here like you?"
His eyes locked on Marvin, then turned slowly to Seishan. The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"Do you two really think I don't know about your secret collusion with Changing Star's faction? You're hoping she kills me, and then leads you both back to the waking world, aren't you?"
Seishan's expression tightened, her eyes narrowing. Marvin's expression froze.
Konrad leaned in slightly. "It would be a real shame if Saint Madoc had grief for the vanishing of his youngest son, now wouldn't it?"
A cold silence followed. Then Marvin gave a stiff smile. "Yes. Indeed. It would be."
"The only reason I haven't wiped the rebels out because we need them. This will be our last and only chance to conquer the Crimson Spire."
Konrad continued. His tone was even, but his words cut deep.
"Didn't you notice? Only seven sleepers arrived at the Forgotten Shore this solstice. There will be none next solstice. The dream realm is closing its grip."
He let that hang in the air for a moment. He tapped on several places on the map.
"Now, the only way to conquer the Crimson Spire is to gather the Seven Shard Memories. We already know this. The Crimson Spire was built on them."
He turned toward Seishan.
"You have one, don't you? I believe you have the Builder's shard. Am I correct?"
Seishan hesitated for a moment, then gave a tight nod. "Yes, Night Lord. I have it."
Marvin blinked and looked at her in shock.
Konrad turned back to the rest. "Changing Star's faction has three of the Shard Memories. She and her cohort are going on expeditions to recover two more—the shard memory from the skeleton of the First Bright Lord, and another from one of the seven hero's statue located in the Underworld."
Konrad paused, looking over his captains. The tension in the room had grown dense.
"I've gathered you all to tell you our task is to recover the final shard—the Seventh Memory—hidden deep in the catacombs beneath the Dark City. It is guarded by the Lord of the Dead. A Fallen Tyrant."
"You mean the monster in the catacombs?" Gemma asked, voice low.
"Yes," Konrad said. "It has ruled beneath our feet since the dawn of this city. A fallen tyrant who once ruled these ruins. It guards the last shard."
Some captains paled. Others straightened with resolve.
"You all will begin preparations. We descend into the catacombs in at dawn. I hope this will be a clean fight."
Gunlaug leaned forward, his brows furrowed. "You want us to fight it?"
"No," Konrad said. "Only Tessai, Gemma, Gunlaug, Talos, Sevatar, Seishan and finally me. You might bring two of your best. The rest stay and hold the castle. I have already sent Gunlaug to scare Changing Star's cohort and Sevatar to scout around. We will rendezvous with Sevatar and Harus at dawn. Harus will come back to the castle while we march to slay the fallen tyrant."
Talos asked, "Do you know the Lord of the Dead's abilities?"
Konrad's face darkened.
"Some. It was once the last prince of the dark city— before it died and rose again. It commands an army of immortal bones and skeletons."
But his face eased as he said, "Remember Kido, what I ordered you to make?"
"I remember, Night Lord." Kido captain of eleventh legion said.
"A few week ago, I had sent Sevatar to deliver it to the Lord of the Death."
"Oh! I understand, now." Kido said. The others were confused.
Konrad looked at others and said, "Let's just say, we have poisoned the Lord of the Dead. It should be a lot weaker than an average Fallen Tyrant. But it would be a deadly opponent none the less."
"Ah! I wish we could also poison the crimson terror." Konrad lamented.
Silence.
"I will slay it myself. You guys just hold off it's minions." Konrad said.
"Is there any objections?"
None said anything.
The siege of the Lord of the Dead was about to commence.
"Those I mentioned, go prepare yourselves. Others go do your job."
"Dismissed!"
***
At dawn, Konrad, Talos, Tessai, Gemma, Gunlaug and Seishan reached the eastern edges of the city and climbed the imposing monolith of the great wall. Standing on top of it, they saw the colossal crater and the headless statue that stood not too far away, its one remaining hand thrust toward the skies.
Their prey was hiding in a vast underground chamber beneath that statue. The Lord of the Dead was waiting for them in the underground chamber.
At the base of the statue, the second arm of the Priestess lay in the mud. Thousands of years ago, it had broken off and fell, crashing through the dome of the underground chamber. Now, there was a chasm in the ground that led into the lair of the Lord of the Dead.
Yesterday, Nephis and her cohort had used that breach to escape from the catacombs. Now, they were going to use it to descend into that darkness and slay the master of the catacombs.
Few meters away from them, was Harus and Sevatar waiting for them.
"Did you missions go well?" Konrad asked them.
Harus nodded while Sevatar spoke,
"Harus had scared the Changing Star's cohort to leave the city. I have confirmed they left city using this escape route."
Konrad nodded.
"How is the fallen tyrant?"
"I checked it. It is significantly weaker than when I first saw it."
"Good! Harus go back to the bright castle and Sevatar join us. We will kill the that thing today."