Realm of Monsters - Chapter 697: Titan Appetite

Chapter 697: Titan Appetite

  The kitchens of Morrigan’s castle were far more impressive than any Stryg had ever seen. Rows of shelves after shelves stocked with food line the walls. Tables were splayed all over a kitchen large enough to be a minor lord’s hall. A dozen hearths sat on another wall, each cooking different pots of delectable smells.

  A kitchen truly fit to serve the appetites of titans. Lunae and Solis, it seemed, had not spared any expense. Stryg and Belle were more than happy to take advantage of it. Cooks served plate after plate in front of the two titan infants, only for the food to be devoured in mere seconds.

  Gale made a face of disgust from across the table. “You both eat like animals.”

  “We’re hungry,” Stryg licked his sauce-covered claws.

  “More bloodwine, please!” Belle slammed her tankard into the table.

  A servant rushed to her side and filled her tankard.

  “You know, most people drink their wine in a glass,” Gale said.

  “Why? It seems terribly inefficient,” Belle mumbled between bites of food.

  “Nevermind…” Gale said dryly.

  “Oh, this is so good, what is this drink?” Stryg held up a small pitcher.

  “That is syrup from Glimmer Grove, my lord. It is meant to be poured on your food,” answered a servant in a calm manner.

  “Syrup? I’ve heard of Sylvan tribes using tree sap to make ‘syrup.’ Is this the same thing?”

  “I believe so, my lord. Though this one, I believe, was made from the trees of Glimmer Grove,” said the servant.

  “I never knew it was this good.” Stryg downed the whole pitcher and slammed it on the table. “I’d like another.”

  “Right away, my lord,” the servant bowed and departed.

  Stryg tried to lick the inside of the pitcher to get what little was left of the tasty substance.

  “Stop that,” Gale snatched the pitcher away. “Don’t drink any more of that stuff. You’ll get sick.”

  Stryg tried to reach for the pitcher with his grubby hands and glared at Gale when she pulled it further away.

  “He won’t.” Belle plucked an oyster from her plate and slurped its insides.

  “Won’t what?” Gale cocked an eyebrow.

  “Get sick. He’s craving sugar because his body needs to replenish its reserves after all the blood he lost,” Belle explained.

  Gale furrowed her brow, “You’re serious?”

  “Why do you think we’ve drunk so much bloodwine?” Belle gestured to the half dozen empty bottles on the table. “Vampires like you only consume blood out of sustenance. A bit of blood here and there, and you’ll be fine, any more just goes to waste. Stryg and I are different.”

  “Because you’re titans?” Gale said.

  Belle nodded and ate another oyster. “Titans are quite large, but our bodies are also incredibly dense compared to mortals like you. Simply put, we have to eat far more than other creatures of our size. Sure, we can go long periods without eating; our body will simply consume energy from our own reserves, but ideally, we eat a lot, often. Our parents get by with less most of the time, but Stryg and I—”

  “Are still growing children,” Gale guessed.

  “I’m not a child,” Stryg said off-handedly, not really paying attention to the conversation.

  Belle nodded to Gale, “More or less. We crave certain foods, particularly after we’ve been wounded, like blood and sugar. Our regeneration consumes a lot of our bodies’ reserves.”

  “And you’re both still healing,” Gale noted. After the beating Bellum had given the two rambunctious infants, neither could leave the throne room on their own. After sending the rest of their party with some servants to find their new guest chambers, Tauri, Lucas, and Gale had to drag Stryg and Bellum to the kitchen with the help of Brown’s might magic. 

  Now the titan duo seemed much better for the wear, both sitting up straight and eating on their own.

  Gale sipped at her tea. “Thank you for explaining the intricacies of your nature to me. Your insight is most helpful.”

  Belle gave a small, flourishing bow. “Glad I could be of service.”

  Gale couldn’t help but crack a smile. “I must apologize, I have underestimated you and Stryg. You are wiser than I was led to believe—”

  “The cake you requested, my lady.” A pair of servants worked together to carry over an enormous cake drizzled with honey and placed it in front of Belle. The whole cake was larger than a roasted turkey.

  “Oooh!” Belle clapped excitedly.

  Gale sighed and sipped her tea. She glanced at Tauri and Lucas, who were talking quietly in the corner. She hoped they would finish up soon and save her from this parade of gluttony.

  With no help insight, Gale decided to shift topics. “So, regarding what happened in the throne room. Care to share what Bellum told you, Stryg?”

  Stryg’s expression turned somewhat somber. “Yeah, she told me about my Sigte bond…”

~~~

  “So your lifeforce is somehow connected to Lunae? And if you die, so does she?” Gale whispered, scarlet eyes wide.

  “Yeah, something like that,” Stryg shrugged stiffly.

  “Damn,” Belle whistled. 

  “And you don’t know how it came to be?” Gale asked.

  “Not in the least,” Stryg admitted.

  “This is bad, really bad,” Gale muttered to herself. She glanced around to make sure they were out of earshot. The servants had given them some space, which seemed easy enough, their kitchen was made large enough to serve titans.

  “Still pretty cool, though, right? I mean, you can draw upon Lunae’s powers.” Belle sat up, “That’s how you stopped the storm in the river!”

  “Shh, not so loud,” Gale warned.

  “Sorry,” Belle winced.

  “Do you know anything about Sigte bonds? Anything that might help?” Gale asked.

  Belle shook her head. “Nope. You?”

  Gale hesitated. She didn’t know anything about Sigte bonds in particular, but Lunae’s blessing had thrust a few flashes of memories from Stryg’s childhood with the moon goddess. Gale had been sworn to secrecy by Lunae, who had warned her that such memories would only cause Stryg harm. After seeing Stryg’s painful reactions to the book of memories, Gale was inclined to agree.

  “Not really,” Gale whispered. “For now, we have to make sure Stryg doesn’t become a target for those wanting to hurt Lunae. Like your mother,” she glanced at Belle.

  “My mom would never do that,” she crossed her arms.

  “Bellum wouldn’t have to kill Stryg. Just the act of having him as a hostage would be enough to deter Lunae.”

  “My mom is honorable. She would never take her own family hostage. Our family has problems, sure, but Mom would never use Stryg against Aunt Lunae.”

  “But she’ll slash his tendons and stab you in the gut?” Gale said.

  “That’s different. She wasn’t serious,” Belle replied.

  Gale scoffed and made an incredulous face. “How is that not ‘serious’?! The both of you were bleeding out!”

  “Yeah, well, titan culture is quite violent. I don’t expect you to understand,” Belle said.

  “Stryg?” Gale glanced at him for support.

  He shrugged, “I trust Belle. If she says her mother wouldn’t use me as a hostage, then I believe her.”

  Belle smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Okay, even if it’s not Bellum. There could be others who’d want to hurt Stryg just to get at Lunae.”

  “Like who? If something were to happen to Stryg and Lunae, it would bring the wrath of a Calamity—the most powerful one, mind you—down on everyone,” Belle said.

  “That’s only if they know. Few people are aware of who Stryg’s father is, or that Lunae happens to be married to him. And it’s not the kind of information anyone is eager to share either.”

  Belle blinked. “Oh. I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “Hey, guys, mind if we join you?” Tauri walked over to the table, her brother standing beside her.

~~~

  As the day came to an end and the last traces of sunlight were beginning to disappear over the horizon, High Admiral Edon took one last walk on the decks of the Scarlet Beast, the flagship of Murkton’s fleet. The Realm had never seen a ship her equal. She was almost twice the size of any other warship on the Ebon Sea. Fifteen enchanted ballistas capable of piercing the toughest of hulls lined each side of the Scarlet Beast.

  Disciplined and battle-hardened sailors lined the deck, with a brown mage waiting at each ballista, ready to empower the enchantment bolts at a moment’s notice. A crow’s nest had been built atop every sail, where a yellow mage sat, casting wind spells to assist in whatever the admiral deemed fit.

  Similarly, a small army of blue mages sat below and atop the deck. Edon would just have to give the word, and an array of chromatic spells would be unleashed. Waves would propel the ship forward, while the mages on deck would unleash storm magic upon any foe they came across.

  None could stand against the might of the Scarlet Beast, nor the fleet of warships sailing right behind her, and Edon knew it. “Everything seems to be in order,” he said with an air of satisfied judgment. Despite the late hour, it was easy to see; the moon was practically full, save for a small sliver.

  “I can assure you it will stay that way,” his first officer agreed. “We are on schedule to meet at the Lyre Crossing’s Dam by noon tomorrow. Arch Mage Belisarius will be there waiting for us.”

  “The gift of wind magic,” Edon mused. Belisarius had flown out from Murkton not long after Edon had left, but he was already at the dam. He could already imagine Belisarius’ smug look as he arrived a day later with the Scarlet Beast and the rest of the fleet.

  “Your orders, admiral?” the first officer asked.

  “Keep us on course. I am heading to my cabin for the night. Report back to me if anything comes up.”

  “Yes, admiral.”

  Edon turned to leave when a shout came up from above.

  “Incoming fog!” shouted a yellow mage from a crow’s nest.

  Edon spun around and whipped out his spyglass. Sure enough, a bank of fog was creeping up on the river’s horizon, but it wasn’t fog. “It’s frostmist…”

  “That can’t be…” the first mate frowned. “Reports said the enemy fleet was three days away. There is no way they could have arrived here so fast.”

  “And yet there the mist is.”

  “But, what of the Lyre Crossing’s Dam? You said Arch Mage Belisarius had completed the enchanted dam. There is no way the Sylvan fleet could have gotten past Belisarius’ army and the dam’s battlements. No one could, not even the Scarlet Beast.”

  “Fucking mages and their magic tricks, failing when we need them most,” Edon cursed. “All hands to battle stations!”

  His words were like a cascading effect. The command rippled throughout the crew and every sailor ran to their positions. A white mage shot a bright spell into the air, signaling the rest of the fleet sailing behind them. Brown mages cast spells on enchanted bolts as thick as a dire orc’s arm and loaded them onto the ballistas. Yellow mages and blue mages were on standby, ready to spellcast.

  Edon leaped atop a crate and drew his sword, drawing the attention of his crew. “No matter what happens on this night, we do not let a single one of those Sylvan savages past us. If we cannot stop them here, then they’ll reach Murkton by morning. We end the threat to our people tonight!”

  “Aye!” his crew shouted.

  Edon thrust his sword to the sky. “For House Morrigan! For Murkton! For your families!”

  “AYE!” the crew roared.

  “For the Scarlet Beast—!”

  A beam of moonlight shot down from the heavens and pierced the ship, puncturing a hole straight to the bottom of the hull. The crew was thrown back as the pillar of light fell right down on High Admiral Edon’s head and swallowed him whole. For a brief moment, the first officer watched as Edon’s body crystallized, before it was shattered into a thousand shards of ice, then pulverized into nothing and devoured by the silver light.

  The beam disappeared just as fast as it had arrived. The crew stood in stunned silence, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Water began swirling in from the bottom of the ship. Shouts of panic erupted from below deck.

  The first officer staggered to his feet and found his voice. “B-Blue mages stop the flooding! Ballistas, fire at the enemy!”

  The brown mages glanced at each other. “But, sir, there is only fog. What are we supposed to shoot at?”

  “I said fire! Fire! FIRE!”

  The mages swung the ballistas around and fired upon the frostmist. Enchanted steel bolts flew through the air, hurling with burning magic, and disappeared into the mist. There was no sound. Not of steel piercing icy hulls nor the splash of bolts crashing into the water.

  The Scarlet Beast reloaded its ballistas and fired again, the rest of the fleet following their lead. Countless projectiles soared and disappeared into the mist. Only silence remained.

  As the frostmist grew closer, it parted to reveal an amassing swell that reached the skies and cast a shadow over the Murkton fleet. A lone figure stood atop the wave, a pinprick in comparison. Her hair was as silver and luminescent as moonlight. She spread her arms wide and then threw her hands together in a powerful clap that sent ripples through the mountain of a wave.

  “Dear gods.” The first officer’s blood went cold as the swell rolled over the river and blotted the sky, dragging the fleet ever closer, before falling over them.