Chapter 16
After helping Mary, we continued until we reached the opening to the underground city. I couldn't help but chuckle at how stunned Pera looked, and when she turned her head to look at me with her eyes wide open, I couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed at her. Her face turned red and she started pinching to stop me from laughing but it just caused me to laugh harder. After I was done laughing Pera murmured under her breath "idiot," I smiled and didn't say anything about this as we just reached the entrance to the underground city.
We showed the guards stationed there the badge we were given and they let us in without giving us any trouble. As we walked to the entrance of the guard's cave, I showed Pera all the interesting places I had seen when I previously lived here, whenever I saw a ghost, I would smile at the opportunity to use my powers for good, but I knew now was not the time and that I would be able to help as many as I want after we had met with Vos and informed him about the upcoming war and what we should be doing, but I my mood also grew somber as I realized that no matter what I will happen in the future a lot of new ghosts would be appearing because of this war and the regrets that the soldiers would die with. I also knew for a fact that most ghosts I would not be able to help with words alone and at this time I had no ability to help with anything else.
Finally, we arrived at the entrance to the guards' cave. I was just about to show the silver badge I had gotten when I spotted Laura coming. I waved my hands and called for her. When she saw me she shocked as she was one of the few people that knew the real reason that I left the cave behind and that if I braved these dangers to come back it must be something important.
When she reached us she said, "I never thought I would see you back down here ever again after what you told us. And you Lily welcome to the underground city I hope you find it to your satisfaction."
I answered her with as much seriousness as I could must, "I would love to catch up with you but we have something important to discuss with Vos, and we can't delay anymore."
She saw my expression and something told her that it would be best if she led us to Vos. So, she told the guards that we were with her and she led us through the tunnel and into the other cave that hold most of the guards that Vos has trained.
We reached his office quickly as no one dared stop Laura and ask her where she was going. She knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. When we stepped inside Vos was shocked to see us but upon seeing my and Pera's expressions he gestured for us to sit and asked, "what is it that brings you here? From what I know the last time you said that being here is very difficult for you."
I shared a look with Pera as if asking her if this is really is what she wats to do, as after this there is no turning back, seeing her resolute eyes I sighed and answered simply, "the war."
Both Laura and Vos looked even more shocked about what I just said, and he raised his voice hurriedly saying, "I know there are rumors about a war coming that the upper nobles are talking about, but nothing is certain. How do you even know about the war."
I chuckled darkly as if I was about to send the world to its death, hearing my chuckle both Vos and Laura felt fear grip their hearts. So, I ominously said, "it's no rumors, it's a certainty. In the coming week or month at most they will send an order for conscription, a fourth of the people from the city and this underground cave will be conscripted, and all of the people living in the outer city will be conscripted as well only and lucky few will be able to escape their fate."
Seeing me speaking with such certainty fear gripped their hearts tighter and in a broken voice Vos asked me, "How do you know this? Even I don't know, and how do you know who will be conscripted even the king can't know with any certainty who they will be able to conscript a month before the call starts."
I looked at him with pitying eyes and said, "I see death, have you forgotten?" I saw of realization in his eyes so I continued, "with that many deaths on the horizon I can see them happening well before they happen. And how come I know who will be conscripted, it is because I can see the possibility of their deaths when they go to war."
"Now the reason I came," here I voice became a whisper handing down a divine mandate, "if everyone conscripted dies as well as the soldiers that went with them… I am sorry I said if but what I meant was when everyone dies and I can tell you that we will lose this war baring a Keeper coming down and saving us." At that moment tears began falling down my eyes, "everyone remaining in this city be it underground or above ground will die… I can see it, the flames burning everything and the rivers of blood flowing down the roads turning the gravel into mud. I can see our enemy slaughtering children and elders alike not caring about anything."
They looked upon my tear stained face and saw the truth of what I said they felt the gravity of failure, so I asked this time, "what should we do? Do we run away? Or will there be a general that would listen to my counsel? Would the general accept that I can steer everyone away from this slaughter and save as many lives as we can? Because if you the general leading the army will not listen to me and call me delusional, I plan to take Pera and Murtok and run, run as far away as possible and take with us anyone that is willing to listen to us. So, tell me Vos can you find out if I should run and save myself, or if there is anyone that would listen to my council and help me save as many people as we can?"
After I finished speaking Vos and Laura sat in silence and after ten minutes Vos asked me, "what about my family what can you tell me about what would happen to them?"
So, I answered him honestly, "only Kit will be conscripted but if you do nothing the rest will die with the rest of the people that stay here."
He took another ten minutes this time and answered my original question, "I was once a general in the last war. I will go and do whatever I have to do to get an audience with the King and get the answers that you need. He should give me this after I lead us to victory in the last war, and if the general I find that they will be assigning is incompetent or won't listen to you I will volunteer to lead the campaign this time. The Holy Father knows that the High Marshal is just an incompetent man that gained his position by knowing the right people and I have a feeling he will assign a general like him that doesn't know anything about the battlefield, and since I am trusting you in this and that what you said is the truth, I have no problem offending him and going straight to the King to get what I want."
With that I finally relaxed and knowing Vos's past I knew that the decision he makes will be the right one, and the one that saves the most people. Before I could answer him, he asked me question, "what will the two of you be doing before everything happens?"
I had thought long and hard about this so I answered, "I want you to have someone train Lily," she looked at me shocked not knowing when I had come up with this decision but she saw the truth in what I said, she was in fact in need of training if she wanted to survive so she didn't oppose my idea. I continued, "but I have something that I need to do here in the underground city before the war starts, so I will be staying here as well."
"So be it," Vos said, "the two of you will be staying in my house and Laura here will arrange everything that the both of might need. You will have to excuse me as I have to go speak with my wife and tell her what is happening before going to the king."
It took four days before he came back, in those 4 days Pera committed herself completely to training, while I helped more than a couple dozen ghosts pass through to the other side, every time I helped one cross to the other side the door within me grew a little bigger. I asked Murtok about this and the reason that there are this many ghosts and why the Keepers don't help them. He told me, "your powers grow because you are getting more used to them this is like the training that you did before but a hundred times better. The reason the Keepers don't help these lost souls cross to the other side is complicated and I am not yet allowed to tell you, all I can tell you is that they are not allowed to help them, they have restrictions placed on them."
I knew that he couldn't answer in more depth because of the seal, so I added this question to the growing list that I can only ask about once the seal is weakened or removed.
On the fourth day, late in the night Vos returned with a tired and weary look on his face, but he didn't delay and called Laura, Pera, and I to a meeting where he told us what had happened.
It turned out that the war was really happening, I already knew that so I didn't react much. However, he told us that this time the nation to the north of ours was coming, and that they have a small amount of people that can cast magic and spells like those in the books that I read, and that they were sending between 10 to 20 of them and no one knows what their abilities are or how them joining the war will affect it, as they had never joined a war before and anyone lived to talk about it. He also told us that the conscription will happen in two weeks from that day.
He also told us that it was even more troublesome than he anticipated but he was able to reinstate himself as a general and that he will be leading the troops. He was even able to get the king to commit even more of the trained soldiers by convincing him that it would be better, and that he should also have the nobles commit some of their own trained soldiers as if he lost to many soldiers while the nobles didn't lose anything they could revolt and take over his position as king.
I thanked him and we spent the next two weeks anxiously doing what we were doing before but with even more intensity. Vos and Laura trained their guards even harder, Pera threw herself into her training even more intensely than before. While I helped hundreds of ghosts and the doors inside of me stopped growing, instead they became more decorated and ornate, as if what was behind of those doors wasn't a force of nature that could destroy cities but instead an emperor waiting to emerge in the most desperate moment and cause the world to tremble and fall onto its knees when he emerges.
Then the day of conscription finally arrived, and all the people living their normal lives finally knew the dread we had been feeling for the past three weeks while waiting.