The Scumbags Guide to Enslaving Demon's

The Oath Well predates the palace itself.

Built into the center of the white route, underneath a dome of black stone, it sat in place as a circular pool of liquid light. Chains extended outwards from the pool and disappeared into holes drilled directly into the ceiling. Chains connected to Vharra’s network glowed red-gold. Ancient chains connecting to the First Queen’s original oath glowed white.

The group froze at its perimeter.

Calder turned ghost white.

"I remember this place," Calder muttered.

Austin Veyron stared at him, taking in his reaction. "Back from before you became prison?"

"I swore my first oath there," Calder replied.

As soon as Calder spoke, the well reacted.

A chain emerged from the pool and materialized into the form of Calder hovering above the surface. Younger, kneeling before Vharra alone, he was presented a crown made out of chains. She told him he would be able to protect everyone Vharra’s subjects preyed upon.

Calder reached forward as if he could still take the crown.

"I agreed," Older Calder murmured. "Thought locking myself down tighter would be better than no cage at all."

Visions around them twisted. The friends traveling with Calder earlier crowded around the crown chain their names rewriting themselves into links of chain around its circumference.

Elena looked away.

"I didn’t know." Calder clenched his fists. "I didn’t realize until they started asking me why they couldn’t leave."

Something snapped from the pool and lunged towards Calder. A black figure with Calder’s younger face reached forward, holding the chain crown tightly in both hands.

"KEEP THE PROMISE" , it whispered.

The oath- born creature leapt forward.

Veyra stepped forwards, blocking Calder from the possessed clone. Veyra swung her sword in an arc around the creature. Enough of the blade hit the crown for it to break apart but it reformed into Calder’ humanoid shape from the pool itself. Rin gripped the chain around its wrist; it sprouted two additional arms. Sarielle shot silver fireballs into the water but the vision of Calder continued wading forwards.

"It feeds off the oath," Nahlia said behind Austin Veyron. "Punching holes in its body won’t change a thing."

Calder lunged forwards despite Austin Veyron restraining him by the shoulders.

"I promised. Let me take care of it."

The face shoved Calder away violently.

’TAKE AUTHORITY . PROTECT THEM .’

Austin Veyron’ red- gold eye sparked with electricity. Seeds within Austin Veyron’s body shifted around, wriggling across the pool’s surface at the prompt.

Calder stopped before the hovering crown.

"I will protect those who ask," Calder said, staring into the pool. "And I will never cage someone as justification for claiming to keep them safe because it scares me to think I’ll lose them."

The oath creature let out an ear-piercing scream.

The crown shattered.

A single white chain erupted from the pool and lashed around Calder’s ankle. It illuminated, revealing the original text beneath what Calder promised.

’PROTECTION WITHOUT CHOICE BECOMES OWNERSHIP.’

The creature evaporated into thin air. Defeated, perhaps, the oath well pulsed then projected another vision hovering above itself.

This vision showcased Vharra kneeling at the feet of the First Queen. She wasn’t queen yet; only head among equals. She wielded the original ledger themselves and incanted words Austin Veyron strained to comprehend.

"If you take my network you may borrow it," the First Queen continued. "Know that every chain you deny to sever betrays you further."

Vharra nodded in agreement.

As she agreed to this new statement, the red- gold veins engraved into the oath well illuminated, trapping them within.

Nahlia skimmed the words below the pool. Slowly at first, reading before speaking aloud.

’A QUEEN WHO BINDS ANOTHER’ CHOICE FORFEITS HER OWN AUTHORITY.’

Elena traced over the inscription carved into stone behind her. "It’s what we agreed to."

"How?" Tessa inquired, scoffing at the revelation. "How do we even prove that’s true."

Everyone realized what they had to do.

The well illuminated beneath the surface of the water. It presented a new image to them, shining brightly.

A vision depicting Vharra standing in her throne room presenting Austin Veyron with the sovereign contract.

A whisper filled the room, pouring out from the stones themselves.

’YOUR COMPANIONS BECOME ASSETS OF YOUR SOVEREIGNTY.’

"That’s it," Nahlia scoffed. "She stole our choice to lead. Made a pact in front of everyone there to hold her accountable."

The entire oath well trembled. Red- gold chains linking everyone to the pact loosened around them.

Voice shredding as it echoed against the palace walls, Vharra shrieked.

"We don’t understand." Vharra yelled. "Undoing the oath will hurt everyone else! If we rip this off I have to live with what we’ve built because I am strong enough to handle it!"

Pools of light erupted from the water.

Faces Austin Veyron didn’t recognize warped out of the liquid and slammed themselves against the group’s backs. Faces belonging to oath creatures made out of every promise Austin Veyron broke but deserved. Every failure Austin made when Austin decided to just not believe anymore.

The oath well was asking them.

Is punishing Vharra enough to set the entire network free?

Austin Veyron watched the chains link everyone together. Destroying the Queen’s authority would sever every commanded relationship they held simultaneously. Some slaves would be free and thrive; others would die if the routes powered down. If they took the court itself down with them everyone still below would be crushed under stone if they rushed.

Calder nodded in agreement.

"We have to be methodical about this," Calder said. "Break only what we can handle." Don’t destroy the entire system at once.

Below them, the white chains engraved into the well by the First Queen writhed together and reformed into a staircase leading downwards.

Down into the original ledger room.

"This is it," Austin Veyron said turning around to address the others. "Continue going down. Find the first ledger and only destroy what we know how to deal with."

Without warning, oath creatures lept from every direction towards the group. Faster than anyone could block them.

They didn’t attack.

They clawed and fought their way towards whatever waited at the bottom with the group. Whatever nightmares the first ledger concealed within its pages.

One bargained with Austin Veyron.

Its face resembled one of the guards killed during the final standoff at Grand Meridian. It clawed at Marcus’ name on the ledger, pleading Austin Veyron take authority as they did. Make Austin Veyron give in and Austin Veyron would let Austin use Marcus as another weapon to claw back with.

Austin Veyron squeezed its wrist.

It whimpered in response, screaming You should have listened to me longer. You could have saved me if you just wanted to believe.

The guilt lodged within Austin Veyron’s ribcage twisted.

"Austin," Austin Veyron replied softly. "I could have. But that doesn’t give Austin the right to make everyone else pay for my mistakes."

Austin Veyron refused to consume the monster’s life.

Instead Austin Veyron tugged on the line tethering the oath creature to the well itself, cutting the single command anchoring it into reality.

Marcus’ attacker’ face relaxed in content before fading away, dissipating into motes of white light.

More burst forth from under the pool.

Between holding off the attack Rin and Veyra took positions on the small ledge surrounding the oath well. Rin leveraged her speed to force more oath creatures near exposed chains while Veyra cut only the lines connecting them to the pillar, nullifying their forms without taking their lives as payment. Sarielle shielded the entire group from the tide of bubbling water threatening to explode upwards from the ruptured stone altar around them.

Seven marked pillars of stone that wouldn’t give if the liquid elevator decided to surge upwards with pressure.

Calder remained stock still as everything clawed at him.

Every face Austin Veyron failed looped around Calder’s body, pulling him in every direction possible. His eyes glazed over as pain washed through his body but he remained still. Every time someone whispered into his ear offering a glimpse into what Calder once was Austin Veyron refused to listen.

"I don’t own you," Calder repeated.

With each word the oath well around them began to collapse in on itself.

By the time they made it down stairs Nahlia had reached the bottom of the small set of stairs descending from beneath the oath well. They curled around itself like a spiral staircase made entirely out of ancient scripture, disappearing into the ground. "If we go down," Nahlia explained, pointing at the unreadable void below them, "we can reach the first ledger and only destroy what we need to." Problem was

—as Nahlia finished her sentence—the oath well shattered underneath her.

The oath well was breaking apart at the seams.

"If we go down," Nahlia continued despite losing her footing, "Vharra can sever the court from this world entirely."

Maelis pointed at the ceiling behind them.

Red- gold chains snaked through holes in the crumbling black ceiling behind them.

"If we wait," Maelis added, "She has time to rebuild."

Elena flipped through the transfer book at her wrist.

Pages fluttering against her skin as she traced over each name. "Everyone on this list," Elena finished, "Is growing too comfortable." Vharra’ hold on society was slipping.

Everyone knew what was happening. Go down and leave everyone with a free way out. Stay here and give Vharra the chance to change her mind.

Austin Veyron looked to their sides at their friends, willing someone to say something.

Each of them had lost their train of thought. Eyes darting between the stairs leading downwards and the swelling pool beside them and every single oath creature the group had managed to convince to let Austin go without killing them. Austin Veyron had allowed too many people slip through Austin’s fingers by just taking what Austin wanted and listening to everyone Austin Veyron let down break Austin’s heart was enough to make Austin want to join them.

Then Calder spoke up.

"We have to go down," Calder said resolutely. "We owe it to everyone we let slip through our fingers to show them there’s more to life than this prison can give them."

One after another everyone nodded in agreement.

Words of conviction spoken from Veyra, Rin, Elena, Tessa, Nahlia, Sarielle, Seven.

People Austin Veyron passed throughout the stronghold shouted after them, prisoners who had hidden behind the group’s backs and freed themselves from Austin Veyron’s perverse delusions when Austin Veyron finally decided to do something.

The oath well agreed.

Understanding their decision, the pillar of light around them groaned, fracturing from pressure.

Piece by piece the structure spider-webbed apart until nothing remained but a single set of stairs leading down from beneath the luminous pool of water.

At the bottom of the stairs.

Waiting for them in complete darkness was a room Austin Veyron knew all too well.

A massive book rested upon a stone pedestal at the center of the room. Every single page was still.

Sealed shut with white chains draped around the cover itself and engraved with the First Queen’ personal seal of authority.

Somewhere, behind them in the walls of the palace, Vharra let out a blood-curdling scream.

"You are not strong enough to deal with what’ down there."

Austin Veyron began descending the staircase next to Calder.

"We will be strong enough," Austin Veyron replied with finality as the chains released them both, dissipating from reality itself.

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