The Lord of Ragnarok

The Lord Of Ragnarok

Chapter 30: Death and Lies

Slums of Urbe Auream - Onager Cavum’s P.O.V.

The old storehouse was little more than an abandoned building, but I had selected it years ago in order to become a safe house. Since Incido had obviously betrayed us there was no more money that allowed some sway in the actions of Hydra. In truth there was no more Hydra itself. I was the only one left of our organization. The ones responsible, those Equis mares, were too heavily guarded to make killing them a simple affair. I could kill them, easily enough, but doing so would alert the city to the presence of my assassin’s guild.

I looked at those that had not fled when they learned the end of all things had come. There was Antitheus Angelus, who was fanatically devoted to the idea of what we did. She was sadistic in a way that often made me wonder if perhaps a soul for a monster had been placed in a human by mistake. She sat across from me, her armor was reduced down to a skin tight chainmail shirt which had been enchanted to make no noise. Her cape which the interior or it was filled with over a thousand metals, all of which had come from various adventurers that she’d killed. Beside her was her two favorite weapons. Both of which were twin daggers, and both were created from dragon fangs.

I knew what they were, after all, I had pulled the fangs from the corpse of the fire drake myself. The others that had stayed weren’t nearly as talented, or reliable as Antitheus. She was the perfect size for a slew of reasons. Standing she was barely as tall as most twelve year old girls, her build wasn’t much better. She kept her coppery red hair short, and all of it together made her appear much younger than she truly was. There were times she could pass as a merchant’s daughter, getting close to those in the merchant’s guild, and eliminating them.

She could still pass as a child, I knew that, and I knew that there was a possibility that I could use that to my advantage. I could feel the magic around me, and that was another potential issue. Most of my guild knew that I was a lich, and even more knew that in life I had been some kind of warrior. They didn’t know that I was more than that. I had been a sorcerer that happened to be a warrior as well. Although when it came down to it I had more skill in hand to hand combat than I did with spells.

My magic allowed me to create simple undead, and to sign a contract with a powerful demon lord that gave me my immortality. A contract that was coming due, and I was behind. By this time I would have fulfilled my end of the contract a hundred times over. Thirty souls, provided in his name, gifted to him at the end of each year. For the last three hundred years I had provided the souls he desired, but this year, with those fucking Equis Mares, I was behind. I had only claimed fifteen in his name. I needed another fifteen.

It wasn’t as if there weren’t souls to gift, but without the shadows to work from I was stuck. There wasn’t a possible way to assassinate a soul without gaining attention that I knew we couldn’t afford. Without the bribery money it was a matter of skill only, and that meant being as quiet as possible. With what was left there were only three of my guild that had any chance at all of possessing the skill to silently kill. Of course I knew that Antitheus would keep the sound of any kill from escaping a room, but there was absolutely no way she would make it totally quiet. It wasn’t a matter of her not being able to do so, but she lived for the small expressions, the dying emotions, and the last moments of the light going out of her victims eyes.

Blackjack's P.O.V.

"The next time I say, what could go wrong, or that should be easy, hit me, HARD!" I yelled as Clop, mom, and I ran as hard as we could from the giant scorpion. It wasn't a Radscorpion, although it looked just like it!

The thing was fast, incredibly so, and it was striking out in every direction. The adventure had begun so easily. Mannulus had said there were rumors about some remnants of the criminal organization they had removed still running around. He didn't want direct confrontation, just information.

I volunteered, because it was easy. just go and see. Only there was a small strange mare that kept in front of us. She led us out here, and I realized that she led us to a trap. A trap that I was stuck fighting without my shotgun!

Clop rushed past me, using the swords she'd found as projectiles, "Blackjack, I promise ya, if'n ya ever do this again, Imma gonna bugger your backside till it's sore and bleeding!"

Mom jumped out of the way of the stinger, and she used the little glass bottles that Mannulus had given us. One right after another of bottles filled with fire hit that thing only to piss it off more.

"Fishie, never again! Never say that something will be easy ever again!"

I watched as it attempted to herd the three of us, and I was reminded of that first job I had done for Bottlecap so long ago. It moved forward, attempting to get to us, and then I watched as my mom fell. It was a simple thing, someone had been here before us, and it was a helmet that was sticking out of the ground.

Before she could get up it was rushing toward her. The memory of finding her head, of knowing that I would never talk to her again filled me and I roared as I rushed toward the giant scorpion. I pulled my dragon's claw, and I hurled it as hard as I could at the thing's face. It embedded hard into the furthest left eye, causing it to scream. I latched onto the claw with my telekinesis and I pulled it across.

It was blind, hurt, and was striking at anything now. I used my magic to yank the claw out, and then I thrust it forward again. This time it hit just right and the entire scorpion twitched before it fell.

"I guess that's it," I said.

I heard something move, and we looked to see the smallish strange mare. I began to say something before she attempted to attack Clop. I watched as she managed to get past her first defense, and I saw the long cut.

Clopmaniac was several things, but I'd learned that she wasn't a novice when it came to fighting. She was good, really good, at sword fighting, and whoever this was fighting her was just as good, if not better.

I wasn't giving her a chance to hurt Clop. I figured a dart from my crossbow only to watch it be cut in half in the air.

"Tisk, tisk, I wasn't finished playing with her yet. I'll get to you, and the old nag in a little bit."

She turned her attention back to Clop and before she could get very far I saw mom’s horn light up. A pair of shackles formed on the mare’s wrists, causing her to falter. She growled, changing her quicker attacks to something with more power. I know that mom had most likely hoped the same thing that I did. That she would be skilled in quick attacks, but instead she seemed to be just as skilled in more intense, driving, and powerful ones. But with her slowed down Clop seemed to be at least on an even level of skill.

Another formation and the mare fell to her face, I could see the shackles around her ankles, and then I watched as she huffed, looked at us, and then shrugged.

“Okay, I was going to finish her off first, but if you two want in so badly,” she said before she threw a dagger, “then enjoy it!”

I teleported to mom, grabbing her, and I felt the bite of the blade as it hit. Luckily it seemed to be my shoulder, which made me grateful, or did until I felt nausea kicking in.

“Awww, I had hoped to get the old mare with that, but oh well, one of you poisoned is enough anyway!”

Whatever I had expected it didn't involve mom growling. She stood, and I saw the head security mare I'd seen back in the stable. Chains, shackles, and everything else that could hold the lithe mare was on her. She stumbled, fell, and I could see her struggle against her bonds, and I also knew that there was no way that she would get loose. I watched as my mom, Gin Rummy, walked directly to her and proceeded to kick her causing the smaller mare to cry out.

“Is there an antidote?!” she shouted, “Tell me now!”

The lithe mare laughed, “Maybe, maybe not!”

I saw mom do something I didn’t expect. She stood there for a moment, and then she looked calm.

“Where Go Fish and I come from, the place we came from, we were trained as security,” she said calmly, “And security saves ponies. That’s our job, but all of the way from the very first security mare down there was a sort of understanding that sometimes to protect ponies you had to do things.”

I watched her horn light up for a moment and a small strike of lightning jumped from it to the chains the lithe mare was wearing. She screamed, surprise, pain, and panic were all three in that scream. I knew, because I’d done it as well. I watched mom as she circled the mare.

“Y...you can’t!” she shouted, “You’re an adventurer! You’re not a murderer!”

My mom laughed, “Adventurer?” she asked, “I just told you. I am a security mare, and as a security mare it is my job to protect the ponies placed under my protection. You have endangered one of them, and that means that you’re a threat. In order to save them I have to eliminate the threat. Now, I know that I can possibly call upon some of the others that we protect, and have them come and treat her for poison. I am quite certain they will be able to cure her, and at that point since you refused to give any aid at all I will consider you to be a threat in the highest order. The only way to deal with that is to eliminate it, with prejudice; however, if you are willing to help then there will simply be a cell, questions, and then a decision on what to do with you. So, what is your choice?”

She looked at mom, then at me, and then back at her, “It’s arachne venom,” she said softly, “I don’t carry the antidote, but it’s fairly easy to come by.”

She nodded, looked at me, and then at Clop. I watched as Clop closed her eyes, breathed, and then began speaking to herself. A few moments later I saw Mannulus step through with a few of the others. They walked toward us, and I saw him studying me for a moment.

“We will be healing you, shortly, and then our guest will be staying for some questioning.”

Moments later I felt the bite of a potion that reminded me all too well of Morning Glory. The taste of it was even the same. I felt my heart ache at the memory of her. I’d keep going, not thinking about things, doing what we had all done in 99 in order to make it through the day. The closet in the back of my mind was full, and the memory of Morning Glory demanded to be seen. I felt the guilt and anguish of what had happened. Her death plagued me, and still continued to plague me. I didn’t have a doubt one that if I were still in Hoofington I would be attempting to do something stupid just so that I could be with her again. The thing was, I wasn’t in Hoofington. I had friends again, and like the friends I had made then I felt that they were good and decent. I felt a hand, looked up and saw mom, and then I gave her a smile.

Gin Rummy’s P.O.V.

The little Earth Pony mare that’s being taken back is lucky. She’s lucky because my Go Fish is still alive. If she would have taken her from me I don’t think that there’s a place anywhere she could hide. I helped Fishie up, and we followed Mannulus into the portal. Once there I watched as our prisoner was taken away. Despite what we had been doing after the excitement I was more than fine with relaxing and staying here for a while.

Of course we happened to make it back before they served supper, and I was glad to see the surplus of food. While I had gotten used to eating recycled waste, it was nice to actually eat roasted vegetables. I watched as Clop talked to Fishie, the two of them seeming to work through whatever was on Fishie’s mind, and I was glad for it. As they talked I finished eating, took a drink of something that was strong enough to use for scrubbing Stable walls, and then I smacked my lips as I considered the taste.

Another two glasses and I felt twenty years younger. Everything felt blurred, but there was a gentle warmth in my gut that I loved. I got up, moved, and bumped into somepony. We talked, although I am fairly certain that I felt what he had to offer. There were a few words, slightly slurred by both of us, and then my memory became even more hazy.

Gin Rummy’s Home in Sankere Nim

The moment I woke up, I felt the unmistakable feeling of getting a good rutting was present, but I couldn’t remember when I had signed up for the breeding que. Slowly the realization that I wasn’t in the stable dawned on me. I looked around for a moment, and I realized that I was lying beside one of the lords of the temple. The way that Fishie had explained it was that they were kind of like Overmares, or in this case an Overstallion. His eyes opened, and I could see the confusion.

I decided that the best way of handling it was to be honest.

“What I can remember, and feel, you weren’t bad, but there’s a few things you might need pointers on.”

The platinum colored pegasus looked shocked for a moment, “Never heard complaints before,” he said sullenly, “I mean, every girl liked it.”

I grinned at him, touching his muzzle, “Maybe that was the problem, they were fillies, but I’m a mare, and I have expectations,” I said before I stretched and realized that my new barding had been stripped from me in several places. None of it looked ruined, but all of it looked soiled. There was the dirt, blood, and everything else that one would expect of a Security Mare’s barding, but also I could see lots of other stains. There was little doubt that it would need to be cleaned.

"I'll concede that," L0rd0f7hunder said, "but did I forget to mention the half ton, cerulean tigress in the room?"

Confused, I asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Well," L0rd0f7hunder replied, "it's not every night I please two ladies in one night, especially since the other lady has ninety centimeters and nearly forty kilograms more than either of us do?"

"I don't remember any doughy mares being entertained last night…" I croak.

"There was a stallion," a sultry voice purred, "a mature Mare, and me!"

It's then I noticed the face of a blue furred tigress slinking over the platinum Pegasus' back.

"What the buck?!"

"There was no buck," the tigress cooed, "yet, there was much mating, plenty of moaning, and a tangle of limbs to make even the heathen gods jealous."

She then kissed L0rd0f7hunder's cheek, purring, "Darmok, you amaze me. Heathen killer, wisdom keeper, tigress pleaser. If I am not with cubs, it shan't be long until I am."

“Whelp, I picked a Tartarus of a day to quit drinking,” I moaned.

“I’m thinking I may need to start again…” L0rd0f7hund3r groaned, “and I’ll probably need to increase my intake of vitamin B6, C, and D. I ain’t no young stud anymore.”

Temple of Celestia Sol - Dungeon - Mannulus P.O.V.

Standing in the Dungeon I was reminded of the part of the temple that barely saw visitors. While we had all worked together to design the entire temple the dungeon was specifically created by myself. I had based them largely on the tombs and dungeons that I’d read about in the various famous dungeons in both animation and in literature. In truth there was some aesthetics from Snake Mountain that resided inside of the dungeons. One of which was the acid/slime pit that Skeletor had used at least once.

The lithe Earth Pony mare glared at me, her eyes promising lingering pain and death, and I knew that if given the chance she would do it. I also knew that Gin Rummy had scared her. She’d scared her because at her core Gin Rummy was a Head Security Mare. It wasn’t about good and evil with her. It was simply coming home from a job or not coming home from one. Of course I knew that she had certain rules that she wouldn’t break.

“I have questions,” I said, “But I already know that you’re going to lie to me.”

I walked closer, holding a small vial in my withered hand, “So, since I know that you’re going to lie, and since you know that I can’t trust you, that leaves us at a very special place. A place where I can learn who you really are.”

I closed my eyes, focusing on her, and a moment later the chains that surrounded her disappeared. She got up, but not before bands of necromatic magic lashed out and wrapped around her wrists and ankles. I could feel her pulling against the magic, and then with a focus of will I created a tentacle of necromatic magic which slid under her armor, causing it to decay, and then it ripped it from her.

I looked to see her only in a loincloth, her breasts, small things they were, stood bare. There was now a look of understanding on her face.

“You’re going to fuck me, aren’t you?” she asked with no emotion, “Just like he does. I mean, really, what it is with you dead bastards? Why do you want to fuck girls that look like they’re barely breeding age.”

A leather strip was grabbed by the same tentacle and shoved into her mouth. She tried to speak around it, but found herself unable to do so. I walked toward her, my good was studying every inch of her, and I touched her shoulder.

“I have no desire to fuck you,” I said with a hiss, “What I do have a desire is to learn who you really are, and this is going to help me. There was an ancient warlord a very long time ago. He said that you could live with another for forty years, share every meal with them, speak on every topic, and then one day take them out and tie them over a volcano and on that day you would finally meet the real them.”

I showed her the vial, “I have no desire to find a volcano, but instead I have this. It’s called Ignis veritatis, the fire of truth. It works fairly simply. It will flow through your veins, getting everywhere, and once it has completely touched every possible part of you from the inside I am going to ask questions,” I said, “Each lie, regardless of what kind, will result in you feeling like you are burning from the inside out. The feeling won’t disappear, it won’t end, and you will simply have to exist with it.”

She glared at me and I pulled the stopper from the vial. I stuck it to her arm, and when I did the Ignis Veritatis seemed to move of its own accord to her skin. I watched as it was absorbed, and moments later I could see her straining as it worked its way through her. Like in the game the magical properties of it seemed to cause an almost instantaneous reaction. I removed the leather strap, and I heard her breathing.

“Now, why did you attack earlier?”

“I was bored,” she said before her eyes went wide and I watched as she tried to pull away from the bonds, “FUCK! IT BURNS!”

I breathed out a sigh, “I did warn you,” I said, “Now, why did you attack?”

“I… I was ordered to!” she shouted, “It won’t stop burning! I told the truth!”

I laughed, “I did say that it wouldn’t end, didn’t I?”

She struggled, “FUCK YOU!” she screamed, “I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I’M GOING TO SHOVE A SWORD UP YOUR ASS!”

I glanced at her, “Yes, well, lets continue,” I said sounding bored, “Now, why were you ordered to attack?”

She was quiet, and then she screamed louder.

“FUCK! IT’S WORSE! HOW IS IT WORSE?!”

I glanced at her, “A lie of omission is a lie all the same,” I replied, “Now, why were you ordered to attack?”

“I HATE YOU!”

Her head fell forward, and I could see that she passed out. I held the vial to her arm and the Ignis Veritatis moved from her body back to the vial. I looked at her and could see that she had spirit, unfortunately she had gotten in my way. Still, she had days ahead of her, several of them, and they would be spent in pain. I heard a noise and turned to see the guardian of the dungeon. She was designed every bit as her counterpart. She moved in with grace, all while she looked at the lithe mare with interest.

“Lord Mannulus, it is has been a while since you graced my floor with your presence,” she said with a bow, “I had thought that you simply forgotten about me.”

I smiled and gave a slight nod, “I would never forget about you Fizzlepop Berrytwist,” I said before looking at the captured mare, “Our guest has answers I desire; however, I find myself with less time than I truly need. When she awakes, would you notify me?”

She gave a bow, “Of course,” she said, “When she awakes, do you wish me to administer any specific line of questioning?”

I grinned, “We have the Ignis Veritatis for that, all though if you wish you may prepare her for me.”