PftA Book 5 - Chapter 7 - Valuable Intel

While I was mentally prepared for several things, finding myself inside a hub-space was not something I anticipated.

Instead of a dimensional space with a single entrance, the space appeared to be a conglomeration of several small dimensional spaces. The linked space allowed whoever used the space to easily travel between anchored locations.

The closest analog I’d seen were the portal hubs within the Alliance. However, instead of setting up several semi-permanent portals in one location, the creators of this space had somehow linked several different spaces together.

And based on the feeling of the space, it was definitely made by multiple different Space Mages.

I mentally noted the portal that the group I’d followed used but didn’t follow them right away. Instead, I took several hours to carefully examine the space and the portals connected to it.

After doing a thorough examination of the place, I headed to the portal where the kastet group I’d followed had exited.

I was no longer concerned about being detected since it was clear that the original casters of the spells no longer maintained a connection. Instead, everything seemed to be controlled by a formation at the center of the dimensional space.  

I stepped through the portal. Thankfully, nobody noticed my arrival.

I’d been tempted to wait for another group to pass and trail them, but I wasn’t confident my Stealth would hold out that long.

Though I could have easily entered my demesne to recover my mana, doing so would likely reset my anchor points. Even if it didn’t, I was feeling too impatient to wait now that I was finally getting somewhere with my assignment.

Besides, even if my traversal of the portal was noticed, I doubted anyone would find me.

Instead of finding myself underground, I exited the portal into a large, open courtyard surrounded by towering structures. It didn’t feel like I’d traveled very far.

‘You’re on the other side of Davrim,’ Lisa helpfully supplied.

‘How did I miss this?’ I silently asked after seeing numerous obvious Collective members moving about. ‘Even with the wards, I should have noticed this many invaders.’

I’d already extended my Spatial Sense to its maximum since it was nearly impossible for others to detect. While I couldn’t definitively distinguish between demis and monstrous races, I’d physically seen members of non-demi Collective races, so the guilt of those present was not in question.

‘Weren’t you focusing on dimensional spaces? Besides, the wards around this facility appear to be some form of illusory array. From the outside, things might look entirely different.’

Lisa was right, but it still bothered me that I’d overlooked an enemy stronghold.

I’d have to teleport nearby when I was done looking around to see what the formation actually did. Unfortunately, my mana was starting to run low, so it would probably be a while before I could investigate things more deeply.

I shifted into my pocket dimension to recover. I kept a micro-portal open near the stationary portal I’d used to enter the location, mostly to keep a lookout for the next group of kastets.

I still wanted to follow one of the groups and see what, exactly, they were up to. The individuals traveling between the Baron’s estate and this location obviously weren’t engaging in combat, so I was curious why so many were coming and going.

It was obvious that the Baron was working with the Collective. That much was no longer a question. However, I still needed more information before I reported my findings to Councilor Lance and Anya.

By the time the next group of primarily Void-affinitied kastets exited the portal, I had managed to recover about three-quarters of my mana.

Cloaking myself once again, I exited my demesne and followed closely behind.

Only one of the kastets appeared to know where they were going. The others followed silently while scrutinizing their new surroundings.

“Hurry up,” the leader said when he reached the entrance. “The ward will only be down for a minute.”

The Void kastet shuffled the group into the building, not realizing that I’d slipped in behind them.

They went through two more wards in a similar manner, which made it simple for me to stay with the group. Had the building had sentries with a Null Field like the guards at the Baron’s estate, I doubted I would have been able to slip through so easily.

We arrived on the bottom floor at the same time that an injured group of invaders teleported into the large, open basement. A healing formation immediately activated, closing their wounds at a visible pace.

The room reeked of death and decay, making me want to gag.

“How many more bodies do you have for me?” a goblin dressed like a stereotypical shaman asked as they rubbed their sickly-looking hands together greedily.

The feathers on the goblin’s staff were hunter green and peach, marking them as a likely Death/Soul Mage, though they didn’t wear the colors anywhere else.

I felt a knot in my stomach twisting at the question, especially when coupled with the shaman’s affinities and the smell of rot.

‘Please, don’t tell me they’re making undead,’ I silently pled. It was one of the worst-case scenarios I could think of.

‘Considering the affinities they have gathered here, it seems likely that is their goal,’ Lisa said sympathetically.

The newly-healed invaders tapped their storage rings against the crystal mounted on a nearby pedestal. A quick scan revealed it was a storage artifact.

“And the Soul siphons,” the shaman said, holding out its discolored hand impatiently.

The fighters each handed the goblin a small bead-like object, which the shaman eagerly popped into its mouth, one by one.

“Mmmm.” The goblin shaman swooned a little as it moaned in ecstasy after eating the last object. The sound made me want to bash the creature’s head in. “Good, good. This next batch will be strong.”

Turning its head toward the new group of kastets, the goblin said, “What are you waiting for? Start charging the Void crystal already!”

The kastets hurried over to a short table and formed a line behind a navy crystal. The lone Shadow Mage appeared to be standing guard, ensuring the kastets were not attacked or double-crossed as they channeled their mana into the crystal one at a time.

The other group of kastets had left as soon as the newcomers arrived, seemingly eager to escape.

I couldn’t blame them after seeing the goblin removing bodies one at a time. It then did something to mend the broken bodies before carving formations into their skin.

The bodies disappeared once the shaman was done with them, making me curious about where they were going. Was everything being finalized somewhere else using the mana collected from the mages?

The kastets weren’t the only ones contributing, either. I noticed a couple more groups arriving and channeling their mana into color-coded crystals as well.

Specifically, hunter green, peach, and mint-colored crystals. Along with the navy crystal being fed by the kastets, that was Void, Death, Soul, and Mind – all the requirements for creating undead.

‘I need to report this right away,’ I silently told Lisa. ‘Can you send a recording of what I found to Lisa and Councilor Lance?’

‘Done.’ After a moment, she added, ‘They want to know where the other portals lead.’

That made sense. I was also curious about where the other portals connected to the hub space led.

Instead of backtracking through all of the security wards, I entered my demesne and used it to travel just outside the first portal leading into the hub space. Since I wasn’t overly worried about being detected, I immediately entered the portal hub and headed toward the next unexplored portal.

= = =

I wasn’t surprised to find that one of the portals led to the Tier Eight battlefield world where I’d observed Collective forces gathered. The other portals led to warded locations on various worlds.

Some were inhabited Alliance worlds where the enemy had created small refuges, while others were huge military hubs within Collective space.

While large enemy troops didn’t appear to be using the portals to invade, they were using them to leave Alliance space and return to the Collective.

After they turned in the bodies and pilfered souls, of course.

I marked each of the refuge locations and forwarded the information to Anya and her husband. I hoped the information was what Anya needed because I’d long gotten tired of playing scout for the Alliance.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do my part in protecting the people of the Alliance… I just felt a little disgruntled that so much of my ‘vacation’ from the dungeon was being ruined.

As I sat in my demesne waiting to hear back from Anya, I got a message from Zavira asking if she could borrow my workstation.

She mostly wanted to take advantage of the time dilation within my demesne, but I didn’t mind. Zavira was the reason I’d installed a high-tier forge in the first place.

“You taking a break?” Zavira asked when I pulled her into the space.

She looked relaxed, which was good. I worried sometimes that the threat of invasion might be weighing her down.

It certainly seemed to be bothering my parents.

Mom was a bundle of nerves, even though her city on Earth hadn’t been attacked at all. And Dad… he was mostly freaked out because the kids were all in stasis within his city’s bunker.

Though he knew they were safe – safer than anyone not in stasis, for sure – the separation was really getting to him and Caesi. I imagined it was similar for the rest of the parents with underage children.

“I guess you can call it that,” I replied. “I think I’m done with my mission. I’m just waiting to hear back from Anya or Councilor Lance.”

“Oh! So, you found where all the invaders are escaping to?” Zavira asked with interest.

I raised a brow inquisitively. I hadn’t shared the goal of my search with anyone since I was a believer in operational security, so I was curious how she’d found out.

“Why would you think that’s what I’ve been doing?” I asked, deflecting.

Zavira rolled her eyes. “What else would you be up to? You aren’t the only one looking, either. I can assure you of that,” she said confidently.

I shook my head and sighed. “I’ll tell you about it when the Council says I can. Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘loose lips sink ships?’”

“Is that some kind of Earth saying?” Zavira asked with a laugh before dismissively waving a hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything.”

Zavira walked over to the forge and injected a bit of mana to start it up. I glanced at my Enchanting workstation and frowned.

While there were always things to craft, I really didn’t feel like doing anything particularly productive right now. Instead, I decided to veg out and watch a movie while I waited for a reply from the Council.

Hopefully, the intel I’d gathered would let us put an end to the war soon. I really didn’t want it to drag out any longer than absolutely necessary.