A spy's return home

The farther Seth’s journey took him from the capital, the more villages in the same condition as the last one he passed through appeared. As much as the capital city had changed in the previous few years, the rest of the kingdom remained the same.

It took him an entire month of almost nonstop traveling, only taking breaks to purge a village here and there, before finally reaching the border with the Wrath Kingdom.

A three miles long wall built between two large mountains appeared in his way. This marked the border between the Blood Kingdom and the Wrath Kingdom.

A small army could be seen stationed along the wall at all times, and its purpose was not to stop a potential invasion from the Blood Kingdom but to stop the criminals there from reentering the kingdom.

Seth stopped space-jumping once he reached the border, walking slowly towards it. With each of his steps, his looks and build changed, making him appear as one of the Wrath’s kingdom’s citizens, more precisely, one of the spies he had long ago killed in the capital.

“STOP.” A loud and strong voice came from behind the massive gate at the border, and Seth’s footsteps stopped immediately.

“Who are you?” the voice asked again, a tall and muscular man making his appearance from behind the gate, strolling towards Seth.

Seth bowed respectfully before replying: “I’m returning from a mission to investigate the strange happenings inside the Blood Kingdom, a mission I’ve been tasked with over a year ago.”

The man looked suspiciously at Seth for a moment before asking: “Any proof of your claims?”

Seth looked left and right for a moment before pretending to reach into his sleeves and pulling out a small medallion with the Wrath Kingdom’s mark.

Upon seeing the medallion, the man’s expression eased slightly, and he nodded toward Seth. “Welcome home, soldier. Do you want a place to rest as we prepare a carriage to take you back to the capital?”

Spies and border guards were still soldiers in the kingdom’s army, and the medallion Seth had just created was a way for spies to identify themselves when they returned from a mission.

Seth shook his head as he pocketed the medallion again and started walking toward the guard. “No need. I’d prefer to return and deliver the news of what I’ve found as soon as possible. The situation is quite urgent, so I would be most grateful if you could simply land me a horse for swift travel.”

The guard nodded with a serious look before leading Seth past the gate.

“What is happening inside Blood Kingdom? We’ve not received word from any of our spies for a long time.”

Seth looked at the guard’s serious expression before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose the information I’ve gathered to anyone besides the king.”

“I understand. I understand.” Replied the guard with a sigh before saying: “Still, with everything going on, I’m afraid the king wouldn’t care that much no matter what news you bring…”

“What do you mean by that? Did anything happen while I was gone?” asked Seth, a curious look in his eyes.

“Those damned Oath Kingdom ascended. A new type of ascended had appeared there, which can disappear and appear again out of nowhere, a smell of blood following them everywhere. They spread terror throughout our kingdom and the neighboring ones, kidnapping and killing people everywhere.”

“What’s worse, no one can figure out how to deal with them.”

Seth’s face turned into one of surprise as he asked: “Do they transform into some sort of blood mist whenever injured and just disappear completely before reappearing again fully healed?”

“Yes. Yes.” Replied the guard before raising an eyebrow and asking: “Did they appear in the Blood Kingdom as well?”

Seth shook his head with a severe look before saying: “Not anymore, but they are originally from the Blood Kingdom and not Oath. Now I need to hurry and get to the capital even faster. The king must hear what I know about the blood race.”

The guard nodded, and, even if he wanted to ask more about it, he didn’t, as he rushed his steps, leading Seth to the stables and preparing a quick horse for him.

Seth climbed on the horse’s back before saying: “I need you to send a message to the army, informing them a spy is traveling from here, carrying information about the blood plague that had befallen the kingdom. Tell them it doesn’t originate from the Oath Kingdom, but the Blood one, and not to make any sudden decisions until I arrive there to deliver the information.”

“Are you sure you don’t want a carriage and an escort? The roads are not as safe as they used to be...”

“Don’t worry. I’m used to working alone, and the blood race poses no threat to me.”

After the guard nodded, Seth rode the horse away from the border, heading straight for the capital. Once he was far away, his features transformed to normal, and he disappeared from the horse’s back.

A few blinks later, he appeared at the edge of a small village. It was only about noon, but very few people could be seen walking the streets. The very few out had tired and distressed looks on their faces.

It wasn’t hard for him to figure out what was happening. The blood race instilled fear into everyone.

Making his way to the local tavern, Seth ordered a bowl of soup and some ale before sitting down and listening to the conversations around him.

Just as he expected, most of the talks were about the blood race kidnapping people from the village, both young and old, which were never seen again. Some drunk young men even entertained the idea of all of them uniting in an attempt to find and save all those missing people.

Seth knew that the people taken by the blood race were all already dead, or if not dead, turned into self-replenishing blood bags for them.

With a sigh, he looked at one of the people proposing they go and fight the blood race before saying out loud: “It’s pointless. The only thing you’ll manage to do is kill yourself as well.”

His loud, clear words attracted the attention of the entire tavern, all the people turning their unfriendly eyes on Seth.

“What do you mean by that, outsider?” asked the man that had just spoken.

“You heard me clearly. You cannot take care of the blood race on your own. You will only serve them more bodies to feed on. As for the people you so heroically claim to want to save, they are already dead.”

Seth’s words attracted the ire of most men there, but a few of them managed to grasp the meaning behind Seth’s words. One was the tavern owner, who had just served Seth his soup and drink.

Raising a hand to stop the impulsive young man from berating Seth again, he asked: “You know the ones responsible for the blood plague?”

Blood Plague was what most people of the continent called the recent events, due mainly to the bloody nature of the ones responsible for them.

Seth smiled and took a sip of his cup before nodding. “I do indeed. In fact, no human in the entire continent knows more about the blood race than I do.”

“Old Nick, he’s just a bragging brat. We should give him a good beating and kick him out of our village.” Said the young man, a mocking look in his eyes.

Old Nick, the tavern owner, ignored the young man and asked Seth: “And what would sir propose we do then? Wait here until our entire village gets destroyed by the blood plague?”

“What else can you do?” asked Seth. “That is the problem with being weak. Sometimes, the strong just choose to step on you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. The age of the humans was long over, as the times had already decreed; this is the age of the ascended, where remaining a simple human would only condemn you to a life of misery.”

Even the tavern owner was starting to look strangely at Seth, but what happened next stunned everyone. Seth stood up calmly from his table, and a small portal appeared from nowhere near him.

He turned to look at the stunned people inside the tavern before saying. “Most of you would never have the chance to ascend, as the world is never fair, and you lack the affinity for it, but even so, you don’t have to accept this life of misery.”

“If you want some semblance of safety and happiness, gather your loved ones and travel south, past the border, and into the capital of the former Blood Kingdom.”

“Trust me when I say that is the safest place you could find yourself right now.”

As his words ended, Seth stepped into the portal, disappearing from the tavern. He knew that probably no one would heed his words, but he still wanted to give them a chance.

The same scenario happened in every village on his path for over two weeks as he traveled north, heading for the Wrath kingdom’s capital.

<3521 people have decided to trust host’s words and relocate to the Blood Kingdom’s capital. According to my calculations, since host has cleared most of the criminals on the way, over 2500 people would still reach it alive, while approximately 1000 will end up dying on the road.>

‘That’s good enough. How many did Paxon manage to bring?’

<12 459>

“A priest really has his way with people.” Muttered Seth as he looked at the walls of the Wrath Kingdom’s capital in front of him.

He was not here for quite a few years, but very few things had changed. The only thing of notice would be the slight bloody smell all around.

“Guess it’s time to turn the world upside down.” Muttered Seth with a smile, his looks changing to the same ones he used at the border before walking toward the gates.

The guards stopped him immediately, but after explaining his identity and showing his medallion, he was allowed entry into the city, heading straight to the army barracks.

“Name and rank.” Asked the guard at the barracks, a bored look on his face as he didn’t even bother to look at Seth.

“Otis Knor, Infiltrator sent inside the Blood Kingdom. Reporting back with urgent news regarding the Blood Kingdom’s mysterious activities and the instigators behind the blood plague.”

The guard’s bored eyes snapped to attention as he asked: “Were you the one who sent that report from the border?”

“Yes.” Replied Seth with a nod.

The guard sat up and said: “The king has requested you to be immediately led to the palace as soon as you arrive and be granted an audience. Come, there’s no time to lose.”

After yelling at another guard in the back to cover his post, the guard started leading Seth toward the royal palace. On the way, the guard asked: “Is it true that the Blood Kingdom is responsible for the plague and not Oath?”

“Sort of. Things are a bit more complicated, but I can’t t tell you anything before informing the king.” Replied Seth.

“I understand. That’s normal.” Said the guard, and the two continued rushing towards the palace.

The king has also received news of the return of their spy in the Blood Kingdom.

Even if the speed at which he had arrived from the south seemed a bit suspicious, the king was more than happy to receive some news about the blood plague, so he didn’t read too much into it, quickly granting Seth an audience.