Rise of the Godking

Holding a spear with an oiled grip and wearing leather armor that didn't really fit him all that well, Daneel tried not to look up as he teleported onto the central island, right in front of the large hourglass in the middle where his prey lay.

With the system, it had been quite easy to mimic the handwriting of all those people. The letters had been placed where they were to be found by him, the thief, and the elf, but this job, he had left for himself.

It was the most dangerous one, of course, and knowing this, the elf had tried to insist that he would come with him…but Daneel had put down his foot, saying that he was more than equipped to deal with whatever came his way himself. They had also had enough reason to believe that he was telling the truth; as he had no option, he had had to reveal that he was more capable than he looked by drawing all of the fake rebel's plans in merely an hour.

Alex had looked over them and grunted with surprise before saying that they looked genuine enough. The elf had studied them, too, and stared at Daneel in a way that didn't make him comfortable, and then, both of them hadn't said anything about the rest of the plan.

They still had other parts to play, out in the islands, in case he took more time than he thought he would need. After all, the entire objective was to draw away all of the main guards from the central island to the surrounding islands, and if they weren't kept there, he would be trapped here as surely as if he was a fish in a bowl, ready to be plucked out and questioned.

It was imperative that they remain elsewhere, until he was done with everything he had come here to do. Managing to not glance up even a single time, he reached a large square filled with fountains, grass, and marble tiles, and there, unable to stop himself, he finally looked up.

Up close, the beggar king's residence was both grander, but also less domineering. From here, the metal tiles that made up the two pyramids could be seen more clearly, their surfaces appearing scratched and chipped due to years of damage from the wind and the weather. Its size was the main thing that awed people here, though. He had been wrong in his estimation before; it was easily as tall as a 15 story building, and at the very top, he could see faint outcroppings that might be residences that had been constructed there, with such a magnificent view.

Also, he saw that the point where the pyramid below and the one balanced on its tip above met was actually a thick, solid juncture that was reinforced by metal bars all around. From afar, it seemed as if they met at a single point, but that was an illusion brought about in a clever manner.

He could have tried kidnapping one of the guards, learning their mannerisms, and sneaking in without taking any such steps. However…if he did that, it would be the easiest thing for the beggar king to call his guards on him when he found out that the one talking to him wasn't who they were supposed to be, and after all, in such a plan, too many things could go wrong.

What if he met someone who was close to the guard? What if he was asked to do something that he didn't know how to do?

He had found no way to be thorough enough in his questioning to be sure that he would carry out the disguise in the best manner. So…the solution had been to reduce the risks, and that was exactly what he had done by emptying the entire island of all the guards that were supposed to be present here.

The entrance of the building was a massive arch inlaid into the pyramid, holding double doors made of shining, gilded wood. Two guards stood in front of them, looking at everything suspiciously, and as soon as he neared, he didn't even have to say anything before being waved inside.

The reason behind this was that he was carrying a parchment in his hands that could be a message meant for the king. He had also found out that in such times, any soldier could be commandeered to send a missive…and hence, he had no problem gaining entry.

A long corridor with a ceiling that was at a height of ten men standing on top of each other greeted him. He had wondered about how the inside would be, but he had never expected that it might have been constructed in this manner. The corridor he was in stretched the entire length of the pyramid. On both sides of it, large doors could be seen leading to rooms beyond, but apart from that, there seemed to be nothing else here.

Just a single look inside one of those doors made him understand why this was so.

'It's a warehouse. The entire damn thing is a warehouse! Why didn't I think of that before?'

Crates and crates of objects filled every inch of each room. There were only one or two guards in the entire place, so every time that they weren't looking, Daneel went into as many of the large doors as possible. Most of them were filled with those unmarked wooden boxes, but some had huge objects whose purpose he couldn't figure out. Some of the objects looked like pointed excavators that might have been used for drilling tunnels back on earth, and some were uncomfortable to gaze at, looking like large blocks of stone with stone arms jutting out of them, ready to start moving and conjure a scene fit for a horror movie.

He found stairs, too, that led to levels above, but the way to reach his destination was clear. There was a small teleportation matrix at the very center of the corridor, and even though no one had said anything about it, he was reasonably sure that it led to the king.

He had already crossed it once while checking all the doors in the bottom level. There was just one door left before he would have no choice but to go back to the matrix…and as soon as he went into it, his breath stopped.

Until now, the corridor he had walked in had been fit for a king. Tiled with marble that was somehow the color of the forest, its walls had been decorated with arching patterns and paintings of scenes of battle that he had no idea about. The ceiling had been decked out with chandeliers made of spun glass that cost a fortune in this place, apparently, and the entire area had been illuminated by unseen light sources, hidden within the walls.

All of the warehouses had been starkly different from the corridor, but the one he stepped into now had been constructed in the same grand manner. Walking on the green tiles, Daneel reach for the object that was the reason behind his racing mind, and as he touched it, the system said:

[Long range transmission device found. Scanning. Item can be reprogrammed and reconstructed to transmit energy. Time required: one day.]

It was a large, six-pointed star made of a crimson, glasslike substance. When he knocked on it, no sound came, though, and it was hard as a diamond. It lay on the floor, in a stack of six, each as big as a full-grown man.

He was so tempted that he imagined himself hoisting one on his shoulders and running out. He knew that it was an absurd idea even before he considered it, but he just couldn't stop himself.

'Damn! Well, maybe not today, but soon! Soon, I'll have one of these, and then…no one will be able to stop me!'

Lips downturned, he went out the door he had come in through, still shooting glances at the device as if it was his own child that he did not wish to part with.

Taking firm, angry strides, he reached the teleportation matrix. It was all the beggar king's fault; if the man hadn't turned out to be such a rogue, he could even have managed to buy those objects safely. Everything had been ruined because of him, so finally… Daneel stepped forward and disappeared, ready to confront the man revered by so many, but rotten inside to his eyes, and at the moment, to his alone.