Ruler of the Realm

Ninety-eight

It was fully dark by the time Pyrgus and his two companions managed to retrace their steps to the rise from which they’d spied on Beleth’s army, but the moons rose early at this time of year so they had light enough to see.

The demon encampment stretched below them.

Pyrgus lay propped on his elbows with Nymph to his right and Woodfordi on his left. He could see the flickering campfires and the rigid, robotic movements of the sentries.

‘Looks real enough to me,’ Woodfordi murmured, echoing Pyrgus’s very thought.

‘As I understand it,’ Nymph whispered formally, ‘such illusions are meant to look real.’

‘Well, all illusions are meant to look real,’ Pyrgus said. ‘But there are illusions and illusions.’ When Nymph gave him a long-suffering look, he added, ‘I mean, the Goblin Guard is an illusion that can kill you. When it’s triggered, the goblins might as well be real for as long as the illusion lasts. They can attack you and cut you up and react in every way as if they were really there except you can’t kill them. But you couldn’t do that with a whole army.’

‘Why not?’ Nymph asked.

‘Costs too much,’ said Pyrgus simply.

‘Beleth’s hardly short of money.’

Pyrgus shook his head. ‘It’s not just money – it’s the energy cost. All spells need energy. You can’t just keep making them bigger and bigger. After a while the spell needs more energy than your technology can handle. An illusionary army that could actually fight is way beyond anybody, no matter how much money they have.’

‘Excuse me, sir, this is all very interesting,’ Woodfordi said, ‘but it doesn’t help us figure whether that army down there is real or not.’

‘No,’ Pyrgus agreed. He began to climb to his feet. ‘Only one way to find out…’

The arguments started at once. ‘You can’t go down there,’ Nymph said. ‘It’s too dangerous.’ She glanced towards the demon encampment and added, ‘I’ll go.’

‘My job,’ volunteered Woodfordi. ‘I was trained in espionage.’

Pyrgus looked at him in surprise. ‘Were you?’

Woodfordi shook his head. ‘Not really, sir. But the lady’s right – can’t have a prince taking that sort of risk.’

They bandied it back and forth for a while, then reluctantly agreed they’d all go, but only on the strict understanding there would be no heroics.

In the event, none were needed. Beleth’s entire army proved to be as insubstantial as a moonbeam.

Woodfordi passed his hand right through a patrolling sentry. ‘What’s going on here?’ he whispered, half to himself.

‘I don’t know,’ Pyrgus told him. ‘But I do know we need to tell the palace about this. Are you still out of communications range, Woodfordi?’

‘Afraid so, sir.’

‘Then we have to get back to the flier right away.’