Chapter 29

“Welcome back, John,” Xi, as Roxanne’s temporary second in command, greeted me as our group came through the portal to our Loegrian side base.

“Nice to be back,” I replied with a smile as I looked around at the slightly expanded camp.

“Yes, we’re getting a few new arrivals,” Xi confirmed as Roxanne came up.

“That’s true, Seers Jemima, Abi and Adsila are here, along with several more Mages and investigatory teams from the civilised Earths,” Roxanne added to Xi’s information. “We’ve also received several new defence teams from those worlds too, so for a little while you’ll be training them on the dos and don’ts of dealing with the Orcs.”

“Main one being, don’t let them spot you,” I chuckled.

“That’s the one,” she replied with a grin.

“Anything more on the Seeker?”

“Yes,” Xi replied. “Arwen caught it leaving a dwelling on the site of the Higher Adepts’ base. She believes it also has some sort of portal there as she occasionally sees it enter, but not leave. Lagertha suspects it can disguise itself as an ordinary Orc too, as once an investigator type entered and has never left, but, that’s only a suspicion.”

“Good one though, if it seeks out evidence, then disguise is a good tool,” Roxanne nodded.

“No progress on that weird screen it wears though, we might have to let a Loegrian take a pot-shot at it whilst we scan it to see how it reacts.”

“I’ll bear it in mind, but for the moment, we’ll stick with the passive stuff.”

“Yes, Mage Roxanne,” Xi formally replied.

“Progress on the camouflage issue?”

“The Loegrian scientists have come up with a solution to the Seeker’s nanites. We’re incorporating it into our armour with a specific ward solution, now we know how. We’ve yet to test it though and would like a similar opportunity to try it out for the first time.”

“Aye, we’ll need an opportunity, as I don’t want to end up surprised in a situation where we find it doesn’t work.”

“We have found a ... factory where they grow the Crimonachs. I believe that would certainly get their attention,” Xi proposed.

“A fitting revenge for Mage Negg too,” Roxanne nodded. “Very well, present the plan and I’ll go over it. With luck we can learn a bit about this Seeker too.”

“Yes, Mage Roxanne. Brianna’s team, along with the Loegrians, are still going over the vortex generator information we obtained. It’s a slow process though as it’s a completely new area of science for them, as opposed to a Mage making themselves lighter or floating,” Xi followed up, along with a wry smile.

“Aye, it’s one area where the Orcs are way ahead of us.”

“Yes, Roxanne. The Loegrians admit they couldn’t even build one yet, save with our help and have called for the extra help who arrived here with you.”

“Nice bunch, utterly amazed at where we are and how we got here,” Roxanne chuckled. “Rakona’s sent an observer too, her protégé for the next Archon, guy called Vilton.”

“He might be in for a little surprise when Julia does an inspection as Simone and Dorry may well be with her,” I added with a grin.

“Oh hell, yes. I’m intending on being here for that one,” Roxanne laughed.

“Where’s Betsy?” I asked as the sled was normally at the far end of the camp chattering away to anyone she could get to answer.

“Helping the squids set up a new village near that good farmland near the mouth of the river they’re spreading along,” Xi replied.

“Well, good for her,” I mused.

“The squids seem quite taken by her. They hadn’t achieved flight in their civilisation and they quite like flying.”

“Wonder if she’d like to stay with them permanently,” Roxanne added thoughtfully.

“I think so, they aren’t put off by her constant chatter as they chatter constantly themselves,” Xi chuckled.

“We’ll see how it goes; she’s far more stable these days anyway.”

“Yes, Benjamin says she’ll be fine now, in so far as he can tell from her alien psyche.”

“I’m surprised his gift worked, then again it’s not a physical one, possibly happens at a deeper level of quantum than we ... or the Seers can read and interpret, bit like your aging thing, John.”

I shrugged. I simply had no idea why de-aging of anyone but yourself was horrendously difficult. I just saw it as a series of tasks coupled with hitting what I mentally interpreted as a reset switch. The only issues we’d had with it so far were Mages regrowing wisdom teeth. Not that I got to practice a lot, most Mages kept themselves at their peak quite easily, save only where a bit of maturity was needed for their chosen job in the real world.

“Has Athena made any progress in finding those quantum frequency changers?” Roxanne added after a slight pause.

“She found one under the city the Orcs call Tracca, but says there appear to be at least five, though only the one under Tracca is a meteor type, the others appear to be constructs ... if well hidden,” Xi replied.

“Well hidden and likely well defended too. Be amazed if there wasn’t one in their military base either,” I added.

“Likely, yes, but so far she hasn’t located it and she tries every day, along with Gregorius and her handmaids,” Xi shrugged.

“I’d rather get them all at once. If we go after them one at a time, I’m pretty sure the Orcs will just build one to replace them,” Roxanne replied thoughtfully.

“Athena thinks the same.”

“Anything else on that sealed chamber Kate discovered?”

“No, nothing, we can’t scan it, and, without Kate, we don’t even know it’s there,” Xi chuckled.

“Oh well, it’ll wait. Now let’s plan some missions and mayhem,” Roxanne replied with a predatory smile.

Three days later my squad were creeping around the Crimonach ‘factory’ planting incendiaries and leaving a few ‘clues’ that might interest the Seeker, if making little or no sense to us. They were simply random artefacts from various Earth artists that could be interpreted any way you liked.

“This is a Jackson Pollock, isn’t it?” Clara asked.

“How the hell would I know? It might have been done by my Mark for all I can tell,” I chuckled.

“Philistine,” she giggled.

“If you want it, keep it, just make a copy,” I replied with a grin.

“Not a great fan of modern art, are you, John?” Kate asked.

“I know what I like.”

“Bet you he’s got the full set of pictures of dogs playing pool,” Clara stated with a muffled laugh.

“Along with his classic Playboy collection,” Kate added.

“I only keep them for the articles,” I replied before bursting out laughing.

“Shush! You’ll attract the Crimonach guarding the place,” Lenna warned as she uncloaked for a second.

“That one?” I asked as, raising my silenced Glock, I put three bullets directly into its brain stem as it stealthily approached, only to fall with a crash to the floor.

“Er...”

“Friend Lenna, we’re supposed to be a decoy to attract the Seeker,” I chuckled, pointing to a few Omniscient probes watching us pass around a few objects, disguised as we were in glamour images of cartoon characters, albeit with slightly Orc style features.

There were three hisses and the three probes went down under Drow crossbow bolts.

“Spoilsport,” Kate giggled.

“I didn’t want them to see me!” Lenna replied as she re-cloaked.

“She looks damned good as green faced Jessica Rabbit,” I chuckled.

“Shut up!”

“Ah, bingo! Here they come,” I stated as we detected Orc sleds approaching.

‘Bug out, everyone!‘ I mentally sent out.

Krinnos, the Adept responsible for this region, led the way into the plant, surrounded as always by his guards and his various investigatory/analyst staff and prepared to supervise the investigation as his people tried to find out what this enemy were up to this time. The Waargs and the Eviscerator had found nothing, but that wasn’t surprising, though the fact that an Omniscient had, was.

“Here, Adept,” came a shout from an analyst as they were looking at a series of ... artefacts, lying close to a dead Crimonach and three destroyed Omniscient probes.

‘What on Draenoric are these?‘ he wondered as what they had, made no sense at all. “Have the Omniscients recordings transmitted to the Seeker’s office,” he finally commanded as he picked up a sheet of paper covered in gold stars.

Unfortunately for Krinnos, the paper covered a light sensor which triggered several detonators set into the incendiary devices well-hidden throughout the plant. He, his staff and guards didn’t even have time to scream before an expanding wall of intense fire swept them from existence.

Crnnch watched in silence as Adept Slaarg and his staff went over what little was left of the plant.

“No survivors and the heat fused much of the plant into a glassy mess,” Slaarg finally gave his initial analysis.

“We have the recordings?” Crnnch asked as he wondered what this enemy were up to now.

“Yes, Seeker. They were forwarded to your office. This makes no sense though, we have found odd evidence of them spying on, stealing and kidnapping from us, but never deliberate sabotage, unless we caught them by surprise, and they were most certainly not surprised here.”

“Yes, it is odd,” Crnnch replied, sending his nano-swirl ever further out, but picking up nothing, yet feeling that he was being watched and studied.

‘New camo is working, ‘ Ilzik reported.

‘Good, maintain position, ‘ Roxanne ordered.

‘You got it.‘

“Dunon, take the shots,” Roxanne ordered over the Loegrian radio link.

There was a sharp ‘crack’ and the red covering of the Seeker turned almost crystalline for a second, before becoming an almost perfect mirror as a second plasma bolt slammed into it.