“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?”
Both Retvik and Vikalos were folks who didn’t shout that much, but they had both just roared at the poor person on the other end of the call. And, understandably, the other voice was clearly shocked.
“Um… The… the Overlord is demanding that your new Decaylings do their Decay Lord Trial within the next 4-ev…”
“Why in the name of the fucking void has that bastard demanded this? And why is he NOT telling us in person?” Vikalos growled. Everyone else in the main office was on edge as well, but Litvir was telepathically trying to calm everyone down. Doubly so because Retvik and Vikalos’s shouting had been heard all across Savepoint.
“Well… uh… he is… kinda busy…”
The voice belonged to Orion, a tiny, cat-shaped Decay Lord, and a particularly ancient one. However, he wasn’t used to being shouted at. He was a godly feline after all, normally he could calm people down. But calls were harder to control than disagreements in person.
“So, let me get this straight…” Galyn grunted, subtly telling Vikalos to calm down and back off. Neither he nor Itaviir had to simmer down Vikalos’s anger in a long time, but it was required now. “You want our Decaylings to do their Decay Lord trial early? What is the reason behind this?”
The voice stuttered some more. “It’s… it’s not just your Decaylings. Deathven is… trying to get as many Decay Lord Trials done as soon as possible. But the Thantir have been marked down as “having high potential”, meaning you have been pushed to the front of the queue.”
“But we have not put our Decaylings’ applications in yet!” Retvik shouted. “Not only that, but you’ve also ignored our queries about whether some of our Decaylings can even DO a Decay Lord Trial!”
Orion stuttered some more. “But… when we visited, your Decaylings were already almost there…”
“Yes, ALMOST, not COMPLETELY! There is a massive difference between the two!” Vikalos was getting angry again, understandably so. “Why has Deathven CONSISTENTLY messed up with the Thantir’s Decaylings? This is the THIRD time IN A ROW that something has gone awry and astray!”
“I understand your concern but-”
“But what? This is heavily unfair on all of us! Deathven overall was supposed to change things for the BETTER!”
The cat on the other end of the line sighed. “You Thantir have massive potential. Your Decaylings are more powerful every time.”
“They would have more potential if you allowed us to fully train them up!” Retvik snarled. “Have you forgotten what Litvir, Arkay and I went through? Do you remember what happened to Elkay? And now you are going to ruin our next set of Decaylings as well?”
“You’re absolutely right, Retvik. Which is-”
“You know I am right. Yet you are still calling us and threatening to put our Decaylings in danger. For no obvious reason! You have rolled over for Deathven and showed us that you have no spine.”
The line went quiet for a moment.
“I have an explanation. But it is for the ears of the Missing only. Hidden Trio to Hidden Trio.”
Vikalos growled, then grunted and sighed. “Very well. Retvik, Litvir, do you want to call Arkay in on this?”
“I have already told Arkay to join us…” Litvir tutted as he muted the call briefly.
“If they mess you three about, you let us know immediately.”
“I am sure we will be fine, Vikalos. But we appreciate your offer.”
The Tattered Navigators left the office, and Retvik and Litvir moved the call to their private office. Arkay was already there, as Litvir had telepathically told him what was going on.
“Are they fucking with us?” Arkay was less angry, more nervous. “Is this a repeat of what happened to us and our trial?”
“Seems like it.” Retvik took a deep breath to calm himself down. “It is not quite the same situation though. And we ought to get back to this call.”
Litvir unmuted the call. “Are you still there, Orion?”
“I am, yes. I have Ziital and Eta with me too. I assume your trio is together?”
“We are. I don’t know what’s so big and important and rushy about all of this though!” Arkay exclaimed. “Please don’t tell me that this is some new level law piss that caught us three out!”
“It’s not level law stuff, I assure you…” Ziital seemed very unamused. “It’s actually far, far worse.”
“Is this because of our new Decaylings?” Arkay asked. “I know they’re not a standard set of Decayons, but that doesn’t mean they should be treated differently.”
Orion started explaining properly this time. “It is somewhat to do with your Decaylings, but only because they are far, far more powerful than most. Deathven Himself is forcing through early Decay Lord Trials, because he wants to bolster the number of powerful Decay Lords he has on hand. Mainly in areas that don’t have much of a Deathven-aligned presence. He also wants to make sure he has insanely powerful people he can call on in a moment. You Thantir fall into that category, after all, you destroyed multiple Voidborn cults. And since your Decaylings are of a high potential, it has been decided that we push the Decaylings up a bit.”
“But why though?” Arkay was confused. “You don’t already have a ton of powerful Decay Lords?”
“We always need more. But…” Orion trailed off, and muttered something to Ziital. “Alright, fine. Deathven believes that “something big” is coming. As much as he hates amalgam mimics and doesn’t like dealing with Voidborns or Time Drakes, he’s well aware that, whatever this threat is, we will need as many people as possible. Your new Decaylings fit the brief perfectly.”
Arkay, Litvir and Retvik all glanced at each other.
“That… sounds bad…” Litvir eventually muttered. “But why are you not being upfront about this?”
“We don’t to cause panic. Yes, Deathven can be a… bit of a pain, but he is… often very right about these things… Having some backups is always a good thing. The Thantir Decaylings aren’t the only guys being pushed forward, we’re pushing pentaclusters all over the place to speed things up.”
As much as they didn’t like it, Retvik and Litvir gave in. Arkay was still a bit unsure. And, because of that, he decided to make some demands.
“You’re not really giving us much of a choice!” Arkay frowned. “We can’t say no. But since we have to comply, I want some terms and conditions. You keep all our Decaylings together, in one team, same way we did with our previous Decaylings, and you give us a proper and exact time for when the trial starts. I also want you to keep us updated, or preferably, let us watch the trial from a distance. And if Deathven dares to give them a fucking stupid, unwinnable trial the way you did with us, I am fucking coming over there to stab the cunt in the face.”
“That’s all fair!” Orion purred a little. “We’ll give you an update as soon as possible, once I’ve spoken to the Trial Keepers. Thank you for accepting!”
Before any of the Missing could say goodbye, the call ended.
“I would bet an entire 4-ev of income that Deathven asked the Travellers to speak to us, because we know them…” Retvik growled, having calmed down a bit.
“No need to bet, because that is exactly the case!” Litvir hissed. “Either way, we need to speak to our Decaylings. I have already asked them to gather in their classroom.”
Arkay and Retvik both sighed. “Alright, let’s go and get this over with…”