City of Fallen Souls: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 3) by Jez Cajiao (fb2 epub reader .txt) 📕

“We enforce the old laws of the Empire inside our Enclave, but in the city proper, slavery is growing in popularity. We are few in number and strength now, but we heard the clarion call of your arrival. We saw your declaration of war and your assumption of power. When Barabarattas ordered us to declare our support publicly for him and deny your claim, we refused. The Legion General was immediately cut down in the street by ‘unknown criminals’ in response, and we pulled our families in to shelter within the Enclave. We are under guard, the remnants of the great Legion of Dravith, reduced to less than three hundred in total. We remain barely over a hundred soldiers, with our families, non-combative staff, and loyal supporters, all surrounded by our enemies. Now, after all this time, you come forth and claim your place as a Scion of the Imperial Line? At our weakest point, you come, and we have failed you already.”

“Bollocks,” I scoffed. The three of them stared at me, clearly shocked, and I shrugged. “Look, how old are you, Yen? I know it’s generally considered bad taste to ask, but fuck it.”

“I... I’m seventy-six, this past spring,” Yen admitted, struggling to keep her face smooth.

“Okay, and you two?” I asked the others.

“Forty-seven,” said Tang.

“Thirty,” Amaat supplied.

“Okay, well I’d love it if you had brought me a fucking army. Really, I would. The thing I need, though, and I really mean need…is you. I need experience, I need help, and I need a way through the politics and shit that I’m no good at. I can kick someone’s arse all day. I can’t sit down with lords and ladies and convince them to not do shit.” I shrugged, sweeping my arm around to indicate the wreckage throughout the room. “You see all this? The damage and the death? This is me. I’m a blunt fucking instrument. Amon had people to help him, to curb his temper, to guide him through the sneaky and the nice ways around things, because he was a hammer, when all that was needed was a fucking teaspoon. You must have studied him, Yen. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re not,” she said, leaning back and crossing her legs with a smile. “The Eternal Emperor hated details. He despised dealing with ‘fiddly bits’… he just gave the orders and expected us to make things happen. It worked because the Legion and the senate all knew if they let things get out of hand… he would deal with things personally. Such as with the island nation of Vellum.”

“The archipelago of Vellum?” asked one of the smugglers, and Yen snorted.

“No, the archipelago is all that’s left . They decided piracy was a better choice than paying their taxes and tried plundering their neighbors. The Emperor disagreed, and now a collection of tiny islands is the only surviving evidence of one of the most prosperous islands in the western realms. That is only one example of why people behaved when the Emperor told them to. They sent his emissary back to the capital, minus his head, so he rode a Greater Dragon and personally sank their ships, killed their armies, and destroyed their island.”

“The man really was batshit,” I said, seeing his memories for a second, feeling the rush of wind pulling my beard back as Shustic’Amon dove down through the high, thin clouds into brilliant sunshine, the green trees of the island growing before us as we gathered the spell, our hearts hammering with an odd mix of fury, regret, and relief as we prepared to kill tens of thousands for the crimes of their leaders. “He regretted that day,” I said musingly, still lost in memories. “He knew it would save more lives in the long run though, and that was always key. If one death today would save a thousand tomorrow, He’d not hesitate.”

“How do you know this… and how did he speak through you?” Yen asked in shock, and I shrugged.

“He’s my ancestor; something about his assassination and they things they did to kill him, combined with the gifts he had from the Gods, meant that his soul survived. He’s always been with me and my brother. No idea how or why, beyond that; might as well ask why water’s wet or why rum always makes shit better.”

“Rum, eh?” Tang asked, grinning.

“Aye, and I’d kill for a decent drink right now, I tell you.” I muttered, forcing a smile.

“So, these are your people?” Yen asked, and I shook my head.

“No, these four are smugglers the Drow had captured.” I said gesturing to the four of them. “The others are my people, and the rest are…” Yen held up a hand, and I stopped, frowning at her questioningly.

“So, these four are known smugglers, criminals…and they’ve sworn no Oath to you?” she asked, and I grimaced, glancing over at them.

“No, no Oaths, and I’ve no control over them.”

“Then I think we need to consider them as criminals that are overhearing important state secrets Jax. We need to silence them, by steel or by Oath.”

“They can’t swear an Oath, as they’ve already sworn one to the Smuggler’s Guild,” I replied, and Yen snorted.

“Really?” she said, looking at the now-scowling grey-haired man, before turning back to me. “You can take as many Oaths as you like, provided you don’t swear to any with terms at odds with each other. Considering he’s already lied to you, he’s clearly untrustworthy.”

“Hey, now, I’m not untrustworthy!” the grey-haired older man said, stepping forward.

“Really? You’re the world’s first honest smuggler, are you? No wonder you’re naked!” Tang snorted in disgust. “I recommend we kill them, my Lord. They‘re admitted smugglers, which is a crime punishable by either thirty years hard labor, or death.”

“We’ll swear!” said one of the others in the group, stepping forward and ignoring their leader.

“I’ll swear an Oath, too!” shouted another, when the lead man sighed and raised his hands, gesturing for everyone to calm