Chapter 4404: Trial Run (Part 2)

"I’m telling you, it works." Jorl paced around the throne in a frenzy. "Orpal’s plan can work. He has everything he needs to succeed. His tower evens out Dawn’s, his mass eclipses Acala, and Life Maelstrom more than makes up for the gap in their mana cores.

"Once you factor in that Orpal is going to gang up on Dawn and exploit Dusk’s abilities to neutralize her best cards, you can see that unless Dawn has a few more cards up her sleeve or Baba Yaga comes to her rescue, she has little chance of victory."

"If none at all." The Black Throne’s raspy voice sounded smug. "Yes, the Dead King came up with a good plan. One that for once isn’t based on boastful words and wishful thinking. I agree with your assessment.

"There are several unknown variables, but unless this is Baba Yaga’s scheme, Orpal can pull it off. He can absorb Night’s last sibling and become one of the most powerful beings on Mogar despite his many faults."

"That’s great news." Jorl sneered. "We should throw him a party. Maybe you could swear your allegiance to him while we are at it. He can use a third tower to conquer Garlen a bit faster and still have time to have his nails done."

"Foolish apprentice, you’ve misunderstood my words." The cursed tower laughed at the idea of submitting to an inferior intellect. "I wasn’t praising the Dead King, nor was I admitting defeat. Far from it.

"I’m simply amused by fate’s uncanny sense of humor."

"What’s so amusing about this?" The Storm Griffon stopped pacing, staring at the twisted chair-shaped corpse that gave the Black Throne its name in spite. "Once Orpal gets his hands on that kind of power, he’ll be beyond our reach.

"Our alliance will become pointless. I’ll have to cross my fingers and wish for a Guardian to kill him, and you’ll have to hide for the gods know how long."

"*If* Orpal gets his hands on that kind of power, you mean." The cursed tower’s laugh sounded like a raspy fit of cough. "Think about it, apprentice. Everything he’s planned for himself, we can do better.

"My tower has many enchantments, whereas his crystal paperweight has none. You have his same Life Maelstrom and the strength of a Griffon. Akhton has Origin Flames and Mana Body.

"If any of your followers has access to Doom Tide, what’s the difference between Orpal and us? Why shouldn’t we make our move before he does and reap the benefits?"

’He is right.’ Jorl thought. ’I can put together a team the likes Orpal can only dream about. I only lack the Doom Tide, but that’s not important for me. I also know Light Mastery and would lose as much as Dawn if we removed the world energy.’

"What benefits?" He actually said. "The only thing I’d obtain by capturing Dawn is keeping her out of Orpal’s clutches. You, instead, could study her just like you would Night and discover the secret of the Horsemen’s regenerative powers.

"At that point, you wouldn’t need me any longer, and I’d be left holding the bag. Thanks, but no thanks. There is no loyalty between us, only shared interests. If I do this, Orpal will discover my betrayal, and without your help, I would have no way to defend myself."

"I won’t be his slave, but I won’t be yours either. Our deal is about mutual benefit, and there isn’t anything for me in kidnapping Dawn."

"A fair, but incomplete assessment of our situation, apprentice." A pristine white cut opened in the Black Throne’s headrest as the corpse smiled. "I’d indeed learn the secret of Dawn’s regeneration, but you’d also have the Healer you need to treat the Vurdalak’s corruption."

At those words, Jorl frowned in focus.

"That’s not all. Once I can finally mend my broken body and Forgemaster my tower’s combat form, killing Orpal will be much easier. I’m not going to abandon you, apprentice.

"Our game has gone too far, and I’m having too much fun to call it quits. After millennia of boredom, things have gotten so exciting that I can feel blood rushing through the dried husk of my body!"

"I’m sure that in some cultures that’s a compelling argument." The Storm Griffon scoffed. "Too bad I’m from Garlen. In my homeland, we call speeches like yours a convenient pile of bullshit."

"I love that you don’t trust me, apprentice, just like I appreciate your confidence in talking back to me like that." The Black Throne replied. "If only you were a bit smarter, I would consider you almost on my level.

"Let me put it this way. Right now, we have no feasible plan to take the Dead King down with your current forces, correct?" He asked, and Jorl nodded for him to continue. "Yet capturing Dawn is a different story.

"Orpal already shared with you all the information about her we need, and we have the means to overpower her. Consider this a trial run. If we win, we’ll increase our power and test our abilities against a lesser version of Night.

"Even if Dawn still has a few tricks up her sleeve, we can still beat her and use what we learn to understand the full scope of Night’s abilities. If we fail, however, all is lost. There is no way we can take Night prisoner if we can’t even defeat Dawn.

"Last, but not least, what’s the alternative? Sit on our thumbs and wait for Orpal to make his move? I can always go into hiding until someone kills him, but what about you, apprentice? Your family and Verhen want you dead.

"Even if you desert the Dead King and run away, there’s no place on Mogar where you can be safe from the plague that lies dormant in your chest. You have no choice but to trust me."

Jorl thought long and hard, weighing his options.

"Let’s do this, then." He said. "What’s our next move?"

***

Garlen Continent, Distar Region, Verhen Mansion, at the same time.

The sun was down in the Griffon Kingdom when the hybrids had fought the Bight Day, but Lith hadn’t missed a single exchange.

He remained glued to his amulet until the end of the fight, noticing several oddities.

"Something is off here." Lith said. "I could understand a local Awakened rushing to the scene after Dawn was spotted entering Batara, but how could they film her descending from the sky and bursting through the Blood Minotaurs’ door?"

"Maybe an Awakened happened to be nearby." Elina shrugged. "Or maybe they were tipped off by one of the guards that saw Dawn fly over the city walls."

"Don’t be naïve, Mom." Lith snorted. "Awakened have better things to do than walk with their noses up in the sky. As for a bribed guard, the sighting of a Horseman would have caused so much ruckus that no one would have had the time to make a call before it was way too late to catch her entrance.

"If you ask me, the only possible explanation is that Dawn herself warned someone of her arrival and that someone broadcast the fight on purpose."

"It sounds a bit far-fetched, son." Raaz said.

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