Legends of Amacia Rise of the Caverias

Nemesis prowled the Black Fortress in search of Gulez. When he finally caught up with Gulez near the barracks, he was alone. Nemesis came out of nowhere and surprised Gulez, taking him by the throat with his organic hand, lifting him off the ground, and roughly pushing his back to the wall. “Where’s the cat?” he demanded viciously.

“What’re you talking about?” Gulez managed to reply as Nemesis’s claws began to dig into his neck.

“You know what I mean, little man,” Nemesis hissed venomously. “I warned you not to cross me or her. Now where is she?”

Gulez then realized whom Nemesis was talking about and wheezed, “Ahriaman took her to the Tower. He wanted to take her to Kartoom but the Emperor wouldn’t have it. I’ve been looking for you so I could let you know, but you haven’t been around.”

“The Tower? Shit!” Nemesis snarled, “This is a complication we didn’t need. How many are guarding her? How many, damn it?”

“Four Cadre wizards and fifty guards,” Gulez gurgled. “Please put me down. I want to help.”

Nemesis dropped him on his feet but kept his hand firmly around Gulez’s neck. “Where in the Tower did they take her?” Nemesis demanded.

Gulez shook his head. “I don’t rightly know, but I suspect that she may be in the top,” he replied. “I do know though the security there is four layers thick with one wizard and ten of the Emperor’s crack elite commandos guarding her in each layer. The Emperor intends to make her his queen and he’s going to use the Cadre to break her in order to do it.”

Nemesis slowly let go of Gulez’s neck and Gulez said, “Thank you, but there’s more I need to tell you. Do you know a safe place to talk?”

Nemesis nodded and said, “Follow me.” Gulez followed him deep into the dungeons and when they got near Hanna’s cell, he stopped and said coldly, “All right, spill it. What else do you have for me?”

“Well...first off, the Emperor knows where Beowulf went because of a bug they planted in her just before she went into the arena. They called it a shebat,” Gulez reported. Nemesis swore and Gulez continued, “The one they call Ahriaman used the bug to trace her location to Acheron. When the Emperor found out they were in Acheron, he went ballistic. He ordered Ahriaman to triple his production of Zarukars and Xenians in Tartarus. He then ordered me to gather the rest of his army near Cydonia on the border of Elar and Myria. He said he wants an army to end all armies. He means to go to Acheron himself and make an end of Beowulf and those people. I’ve been ordered to gather and marshal all of his war machines in Cydonia. We’re to wait there and link up with the new Zarukar and Xenian divisions from Tartarus. When they link up, that army will sweep across the land like a plague and those people will die a most horrible death. He’s not going for prisoners this time. This won’t be a raid, it’ll be genocide.”

Nemesis cursed, smashing his cybernetic fist into the wall, leaving a sizeable pit in the solid rock beside Gulez’s head. The sheer power of the great cyborg bear stunned Gulez. “This isn’t good, not at all,” Nemesis growled.

“Well, there’s more and I don’t know if it’s good or bad but I tend to think it might be bad,” Gulez continued darkly. “The Emperor also told Ahriaman to unleash something he called a Rakshe...sa, Rak something. I don’t even know how to pronounce it.”

Nemesis swore again and said, “It is pronounced Rakshasar and you were right to think it was bad. The Rakshasar are commonly known as the Dark Riders or the Black Eleven. They are the special creations of the Cadre for the Emperor’s personal use. They exist only to serve the Emperor. They are brutal and nigh invulnerable. They’re held in reserve until there is a special job that requires their unique talents.” Gulez looked up at Nemesis as he tried to explain the Rakshasar. Nemesis could tell that Gulez didn’t understand the significance of what he was saying. “Basically, the Black Eleven are genetically engineered assassins that are only utilized when the Emperor wants to utterly destroy his enemies,” Nemesis explained.

Gulez began to understand and added, “Well, these Dark Riders or whatever they are have orders to bring Beowulf’s head and the renegade prophet that’s with him. Everyone else is to die.”

“Shit!” Nemesis cursed. “Not good, not good. Thank you for telling me this. This puts you a step closer to getting out of here. Now go back to your duties. If you can find a way to interfere, do so. Try to buy us some time.”

Gulez smiled wryly, saying, “I’m already doing that. The gathering of the army and material is taking longer than it should. I just can’t seem to get any cooperation because I’m an outsider.”

Nemesis saw the mischievous look and chuckled. “Good, good. But be careful,” he warned. “Because of these developments, if you find an opportunity to escape to Acheron, do it. They need to be warned. You do know where it is, don’t you?”

Gulez nodded, saying, “Yes. I’ve been studying the maps. It’s in the Cimmerian highlands far to the north.”

“Good. But you’ll have to be clever and deceptive about your escape. No one must know that is where you are going,” Nemesis instructed. “I’ll see about liberating Selina from her captivity or at the very least keep her from turning. It’ll be very difficult to liberate her from the Tower. The Cadre is not a group to be trifled with. They’re very powerful sadistic wizards.”

Gulez nodded, saying, “I’m glad we are on the same side. I’d hate to have you as an enemy. When and if I get the opportunity, I will go and relay the warning. But once the Emperor discovers my treachery, he’s going to go nuclear.”

Nemesis looked down at Gulez and said, “Don’t you worry about the Emperor. Just go when the opportunity arises and it will, I assure you. The Emperor is going to want you to supervise the marshaling of the army. Be careful that you are not followed.”

Gulez nodded, saying, “I won’t.” At that, Gulez went back to his duties for the Emperor and Nemesis went in search of Selina.