'It did seem a bit too much sending Tezka.' Jirni pondered. 'But why did he use the Suneater spell? Isn't it his signature move? He basically declared war on the Gernoffs on my behalf and we haven't t even once.'
'Don't flatter yourself.' Vastor replied. 'He didn't do it for you. He did it for us.'
The Master marked telepathically himself, Zinya, Filia, and Frey.
'Still, he's going overboard for sothing like this.' Jirni replied. 'Your family is not the Gernoffs' target. I am.'
'I know. I didn't expect Tezka to go that far.' Vastor said with a sigh. 'I need you to understand that I have no control over his actions. He's the only Eldritch I can't give orders to. I can only ask him to do things for .'
'Interesting.' Jirni pondered. 'Any idea why he had such a strong reaction?'
'Because he considers us part of his pack.' Vastor replied. 'And I don't an that he treats us like Fylgjas, but that he sees us as such. I don't know if he's grown fond of my family over ti or because of so past trauma.'
He glossed over the piece of Tezka that comprised Vastor's Abomination side and established a deep bond between him and the Eldritches he had used as a base for his research.
'All I know is that Tezka now perceives us as his cubs and is protective of us beyond what you and I would consider reasonable.'
'Why are you telling all this?' Jirni asked as her check-up neared its end.
'As a warning.' Vastor replied. 'Whatever you do, no matter how desperate you are, leave my family out of your sches. There's a reason I never had to move a finger against those who tried to harm Filia and Frey.
'By the ti I learned about any sche against Zin and the kids thwarted by Tezka, those involved were all dead. Their families, the organizations they were part of, anyone who might connect the dots and seek revenge passed away in "accidents".
'Don't destroy everything you are trying to protect by biting the hand of soone who can swallow the sun.'
***
It took Bashel Gernoff hours of flight, Warping in random directions, going through underground tunnels, and using unauthorized Warp Gates, but he managed to reach the secret location of the main Gernoff Household without anyone following him.
Having no idea what ans Tezka might employ, Bashel had destroyed his equipnt to ensure no tracker was left on him and checked his body with Invigoration.
After that, he contacted the Gernoff's network of agents and requested a safe way ho. There was no need to inform them of Tezka's threat because everyone in the Kingdom had seen the eclipse.
Bashel had been searched and examined with Invigoration at each stop of his journey. His guides brought him too deep inside Mogar's bowels and too high in the sky for anyone to follow them without being noticed.
Yet despite all that and the reassurance of his elders, Bashel didn't feel safe and he said so first thing when he started his report.
"The mission was a complete failure." Jiza Gernoff's eyes narrowed as she considered the implications of the Suneater's ssage. "We have lost six of our best Awakened, failed to intimidate Jirni Myrok, and learned nothing about the Ernas Mansion's real structure.
"On top of that, there's a new unpredictable variable in our plan. If during any of our next moves we implicate Zinya Vastor and her children, we'll make an enemy out of one of the most dangerous beings on Mogar."
"This confirms it was no coincidence Tezka saved Filia and Frey Vastor from Thrud's clutches." An elder with a long white beard said. "Based on our intelligence, he has t those children after Zogar Vastor adopted them.
"Otherwise Fallmug Sarta wouldn't have lived long enough to hurt them more than once. We have no information when the eting happened and why he cares so much about them, thought."
"That's irrelevant to our goals." Jiza dismissed the argunt with a sweep of her hand. "What matters is to keep pursuing our sacred mission without taking unnecessary risks."
"Can't we eliminate him?" A youth barely older than a boy said with disdain. "Tezka is just an Eldritch and has no Spirit Magic. We know his weaknesses. Our agents failed only because he ambushed them. If the situation was reversed-"
"We'd be already dead, you fool." Jiza's voice was a whisper but her cold tone cut the youth's confidence like a poisoned blade. "The Suneater is the inventor of dinsional magic.
"He was already a legend back when Oghrom Gernoff was still a naless petty thief. Even at the peak of his strength, our ancestor failed to take down the Suneater. Oghrom survived only because King Valeron and the rest of his companions joined the fight.
"Even one against five of the legendary heroes of our Kingdom, Tezka stood his ground and lived to tell the tale."
"On top of that, he doesn't make empty threats. The Suneater let Bashel live and entrusted his ssage to him because Tezka has the ans to back it. Our goal is to enact Oghrom's law, not to put an end to his bloodline."
"What's our net move?" The white-haired elder asked.
"First, send this idiot and whoever supervised his exam back to basic training." Jiza pointed at the youth who clenched his teeth in humiliation but said nothing. "Their incompetence is a threat to our household.
"Second, we need to inform our agents of Tezka's promise and reinforce our security. We'll do our best to avoid him, but another accident might occur, and he won't believe us if we tell him it's just a coincidence.
"If that were to happen, we need to be ready to hide and regroup. Fighting him in numbers on our turf and terms is the only chance we have at victory, but as our resident idiot pointed out, we need the elent of surprise.
"No matter how perfect a plan is, if the enemy sees it coming, we'll be the ones to fall into a trap."
***
"There you are." Tezka took a good look at the main Gernoff Household from a safe distance. "Judging by the commotion, I'd say this is where my new friend has gone."
Commotion was a big, big word to describe the behaviour of the guards surrounding the mansion.
The Gernoffs were always on alert, always keen and focused. Yet Tezka's nose could pick the scent of adrenaline in the air and the distinctive sll a human's sweat took when aware of impending danger.
The other five tails were scouting the rest of the known Gernoff's facilities and there was no trace of unrest there. On top of that, the tails could pass the Skull of Bytra between them through the pocket dinsion.
On every location, a tail used the artifact to read the mana flow of the defensive arrays of the stronghold. Only the main Gernoff Household had the magical formations charged at full power instead of stand-by.
Sothing was going on down inside and even though the many cloaking devices of the mansion kept the Skull from picking up Bashel's energy signature, Tezka was certain to have found the young Gernoff's current location.
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