Rise Of The Godking 64 Truth

'They are all… working together? How? When? What…'

His mind was filled with naught but questions, his eyes were almost glazed over with incredulity. The figures were still frozen in place, their weapons just an inch away from their target, but that inch seemed to be so insurmountable that even though each of their hands was vibrating as they were putting forth all their strength to make their move, they couldn't get any closer, at all.

Above it all, the Master seemed unperturbed, as if he had been expecting this situation all long. He was handling them as easily as if they were children… and because they weren't responding, Daneel had the time to think things through for a moment.

He went back to the very beginning, to that moment when he had begun upon this trial that had led him here. It had started with the problem of food, and the issue of not losing his strength… and that had sent him to the Succubus, whose pretty face was now beaded with sweat in front of him.

She had sent him to Lord Burrow…who was snarling as he tried more and more to move his dagger and kill the master.

He had found Jezara in the Lord's employment… whose ruined face was now empty, with just the eyes showing the anger and frustration that was definitely filling that primitive mind.

And then… to find out about Jezara, he had gone to the Courtyard and met the old man with the sword, who seemed powerless now in front of the Master's inscrutable and invisible defense.

Amidst them all was the dwarf king, who had interposed himself into Daneel's life without being invited or called upon. His existence suffused all the other experiences that Daneel had gone through, and seeing him now, with his gigantic mouth opened into an angry roar, he saw that he had been played as a fool all along, used for his wit and then discarded as soon as he had made the plan that had resulted in the scene in front of him.

After boiling it all down, that part stood out. His mouth tasted sour as he realized that he was merely a piece on the chessboard. He remembered, again, just how happy the dwarf king had seemed after hearing his plan, and now, it was obvious that the man had rejoiced because he had found the perfect opportunity to emerge from below and pursue his vengeance.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. There was no way that you could have known."

He heard a familiar voice behind him, and a moment later, the old steward appeared on the hill, grunting due to the effort but keeping his eyes fixed on the standoff.

Daneel didn't even know what to say. He opened his mouth to clarify at least some of the doubts he had, but nothing came out, as there were simply too many to pick from. 

Shooting him a glance from the corner of his eye, the steward chuckled and said, "You got it right. This is a plan that has been in the making for over a hundred years. With or without you, it would have gone forward… but by becoming a slave and then proving yourself to be resourceful, you transformed into the kindling that set this town aflame. They've all been in on it, together. They have all been watching, waiting to kill you if you showed even a hint of exposing them to those that weren't supposed to know about it all, but because your loyalty was unquestionable, you have been spared. I was against it in the beginning, you know. When everyone met and proposed that we push you to a situation where you would have to act against the surface, I was of the opinion that you would falter on the way and doom us all. You know who trusted you from the beginning? Burrow. You haven't seen him, but he was watching you on the Surface, just as he watched all the rest. When he was notified about how much you had changed… he was really happy about it, and said that this was the kind of change that could be trusted. After all, he knows about change…due to the fact that he was a n.o.bleman-turned-slave, too, once."

Daneel sputtered, unable to believe that the one he had wanted to see die so much had placed so much faith in him. His mouth opened and close as if he was a fish out of water, and shaking his head, the steward continued.

"Look at that c.o.c.ky Master. We knew that he was wearing a defensive cloak, but its power will run out soon…the whole point was to get him up into a tizzy so that he would come here without his usual bevy of charms. With each second, its power is being whittled down, so soon, he'll finally be dead! He is trying to act calm, but I bet he's panicking inside… anyway, back to you. The main question you must have must be about that whole episode with Sebastian and the butler, right? Well, the Master suspected something, so he sent the butler who kept a close eye on Burrow. The guy was so effective that he couldn't even tell us about something as simple as this exchange spot. So, someone had to go in there and get a message, and for that, you made the perfect plan! Alas, Sebastian had to die… he was one of the few experts we had, but his sacrifice was needed. As for you finding that secret spot where you saw Burrow stealing from the food…it was necessary, as we needed to get weapons to fight a war! He still ensured that everyone would have enough to live…but it made him look like the perfect villain! Ha! Anyway, we can talk about the rest later, after—"

'After what?', Daneel would have asked…had he not turned back to the scene of the confrontation, and found a change that even those with their weapons around the Master's neck hadn't seen.

Two shadowy figures had appeared on the flat land, vague and tall and ghostly, yet still possessing enough semblance to offer no doubt on the truth of their existence. 

"No, no, no, no…"

The steward began to mutter under his breath, his face suddenly an unhealthy white, leeched of all blood and vitality, his eyes two squinting dots, looking on disbelievingly at the sight in front of him.

All of a sudden, a loud sound made Daneel snap his head around, again.

A large dust cloud had appeared around the Master, obscuring his surroundings, but nearby, a few flying figures could be seen. With loud 'THUD!'s, they fell to the ground, and as the image of the Master cleared…they gasped, together, to see that there was not one, but two individuals standing there.

The Master had a smile on his face that Daneel had seen before when the man had been about to set off to torture an unruly slave. His crimson cloak was nowhere to be seen. Beside him stood a man dressed suavely in the same shade as the cloak, with a face hidden by a crimson mask…with only the eyes standing out, two blazing spots in the otherwise dark surroundings of the spot of the exchange.

Before anyone could say anything, the Master's words echoed over the land, again, and this time…hearing them made the steward shudder, and fall back.

"Finally. Finish up quickly here, boys. I've got stuff to do, people to kill…and apparently, little dwarves to root out, and play with. You can begin!"