Chapter 3469: A Matter of Trust (Part 2)

“We Hordes are a tight-knit community. Without a good reason, they won’t take the word of a stranger above that of their brethren.”

“I agree.” Lith extended his hand, an emerald green aura marked the presence of a mind link.

“Wait!” Lotho pulled Lith back from his shoulder, exploiting the physical contact to establish a hidden telepathic communication. Read the latest on empire

’Are you insane?’ He said. ’This matter should be kept secret. If the Hordes really can inherit the essence of the World Tree, they might become our competition. What if they turn against us? What if collecting all the fragments opens a new evolutionary path for them?

’One that allows them to breed and gain the hardness and magical-enhancing abilities of Yggdrasill wood? The Hordes would become unstoppable!’

’If the Hordes can inherit the essence of the World Tree as you say, then even if we kill one of them, the fragment will be passed on to the others.’ Lith replied. ’One Horde is a tough nut to crack but eight of them?

’We can’t beat them without reinforcements and even then, we have no guarantee we can capture the Hordes. Also, they might become *my* competition at worst. I’m the one with the fragment and only I can extract the others.

’You can’t do anything but accompany me.’ Lotho’s expression turned angry hearing those words but he couldn’t refute them. ’If they turn against us, it will indeed be a problem, that’s why I’m trusting Loma.

’One, we have no chance of success without Loma’s help, and two, Hordes have proven themselves to be wise and kind creatures. They were willing to sacrifice themselves to rid Mogar of the Plaguespreader and one of them died to protect a bunch of Awakened kids.

’Hiding the truth from the Hordes will only make it easier for the one with the fragment to manipulate the rest of the Hordes and turn them against us. I don’t know you but I don’t want another war between Awakened.’

Lotho grimaced but let Lith go. Too many plant folk and Fae had died fighting against Thrud and he couldn’t bear the thought of more dying in a conflict he could have avoided.

“Fair warning. It’s bad.” Lith offered his hand to Loma again.

“Life usually is.” Loma took it and learned everything that had happened since Lith and the others had reached Esor. “Great Mother almighty!”

The spheres-eyes went wide as the Horde looked at the fragment with fear, taking several steps back.

“Keep that thing away from me. I won’t have the will of someone else poisoning my mind again. How can Fae call that abomination a blessing?” The humanoid cloud of spores churned, turning its limbs into weapons and conjuring powerful spells.

“I told you it was bad.” Lith closed his fist and sealed the fragment in a barrier of silvery flames. “I’m sorry for triggering your trauma but you asked for the truth and I trusted you with it.”

“And I thank you for being completely open with me.” Loma stared at Lith’s clenched hand as if it were a scorpion with its tail raised and ready to strike. “What do you want me to do?”

“Spotting the Horde infected by the fragment will be easy.” Lith said and Loma nodded for him to continue. “Once we identify him, I need you to inform the rest of your people while I buy you some time.

“Convince them to help us, seal all exits a Horde like you can take, and stay away in case a fight breaks out. I’ve learned how to remove a fragment from a plant’s life force but not from a fungal one, let alone two or more.”

“I get it.” Loma nodded. “Just talk until I give you the signal. Whatever the infected Horde wants or says, let him reveal his cards. This story is so absurd that my people might not believe me. Follow me, please.”

The Horde opened a tunnel with earth magic and closed it soon after the group’s passage to conceal their direction and destination. Feela looked nervous but she asked no questions. Unlike Lotho, she trusted Lith.

’I would have liked to keep things under wrap but the situation is already volatile. One small misunderstanding and we’ll be at war with one of the most ancient and powerful races on Mogar.’ She thought.

Hordes were few in number, but thanks to their resilience and immortality, they had lived longer than any other Awakened. They could perform experiments impossible to other races simply because even in case of catastrophic failure, a Horde could always make a new body.

Each spore had its own life force and shared the entirety of the hive mind. Even if a portion of the life force of a Horde or many of its cores were crippled, they could be discarded. A single healthy spore was enough to make a Horde from scratch.

The digging continued for a few minutes during which the fragment became more compact and spun faster. The group arrived in a large cave dimly illuminated by fluorescent moss.

The place was damp, with water dripping from stalactites that formed either pools or stalagmites based on how long the phenomenon had gone on. Looking at the scene with Life Vision only blinded the Awakened.

The cave was covered with Horde spores that mixed the different life forces and emitted so much power that the Awakened only saw white. Even the Eyes of Menadion went haywire, forcing Lith to use Fire Vision.

’This is bad.’ Solus thought. ’Each Horde has brought their own equipment. We don’t have the time to study them all. Even if we did, without a mana geyser the headache alone would make us helpless.’

“It’s alright.” Loma’s body scattered in a dust cloud that moved and pulsated with a rhythm that reassured the rest of the Hordes Loma wasn’t acting under coercion. “These people are my friends and mean no harm to us.”

“I wish I could believe you, kid.” Part of the spores converged into a red blurred figure. “The last time I met a Council representative and agreed to their request, poor old Racas died.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Feela bowed apologetically. “It wasn’t our intention to endanger you. No one could predict the arrival of the Plaguespreader.”

“Easy for you to say.” A grey cloud grumbled. “You weren’t there during the attack. I don’t remember any of you Council elders coming to our rescue until the matter was already resolved.”

“I understand your anger, brother.” Lotho raised his hands in a peace gesture. “The Council-“

“Never cared for us Hordes!” A black swarm roared. “You never helped increase our numbers and when Racas died no weregild was offered. So don’t call us brothers, Fae. We have nothing in common. You made it clear for millennia.”

“Calm down, Zarta.” Loma partly merged with the black swarm, triggering a mind link. “Let’s solve this amicably.”

“I agree.” The red blurred figure ebbed in what could be considered a nod. “Why are these people here, by the way? How did you find us, strangers?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Lith pointed at a blue humanoid figure. “He knows why we are here.”

Unlike the other Hordes, the blue one had collected his spore cluster into one dense body with multiple limbs and crackling with mana.