by Tamryn Tamer
“About two hours,” Talia answered. “Give or take…” she stifled a laugh. Jericho did the same as they both visualized giving or taking time. Talia regained her composure, “You know what I mean.”
“Got it,” Jericho nodded. “Be right back.”
Jericho teleported to the starting area for elves and stretched his spirit between the starting location and the first village. He sensed about forty different players between the two locations and began rapidly teleporting between them.
He cycled through all of the players and didn’t find her. He wondered if she changed her mind and picked a different race or decided to take a break before restarting.
“No,” Jericho mumbled to himself. “She wouldn’t do that. She’d want to rush back as fast as possible.”
It hit him. He was looking in the wrong direction. Sure, Terra was restarting as a level one player but she was also experienced. He pulled up his map and looked for the nearest portal from the starting location and it was in the opposite direction and passed through an area full of level twenty monsters.
“Dammit,” Jericho grumbled while teleporting into the middle of the highlands. He looked around at the basilisks and griffins roaming and stretched his spirit. There were about sixty players in the area but he could narrow it down to the ones moving toward the portal. Only about a dozen. He began teleporting around.
“Mother fucker,” Terra’s voice echoed from behind a rock. A flurry of arrows flew up toward a griffin circling above. “I have somewhere to be you stupid fuck!”
Jericho snapped his fingers and the griffin came crashing to the ground in a ball of flame. Terra’s head popped out from behind a rock and as soon as she saw him her face filled with rage.
“You stupid fuck!” Terra yelled while walking toward him. Every monster in the area seemed to detect her and started rushing toward her. Jericho held out his hand and summoned a hundred tiny balls of compressed fire. They scattered toward their respective targets and a couple seconds later the spirits all vanished. “What took you so long? You were fucking, weren’t you? I bet you were…you fucking bastard! I can smell the sex on you.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Jericho smiled. “Let’s go home.”
“You’re late is what you are,” Terra snapped. “Now open the fucking portal.”
“Care to tell me what happened?” Jericho asked. “Why’d you need to give Mirage your soul?”
“Because your precious little psycho ran off to try to stop Owl from summoning the Primordial and barely escaped with her life,” Terra answered. “She ended up getting radiation from playing with magus bile and we couldn’t cure it.”
“Radiation poisoning? Interesting,” Jericho said while opening the portal back to Dayrose. “Good to know. In the meantime, I better gather some player souls for the rest of them.”
“Yeah,” Terra growled as she walked past him toward the portal. “Might have thought about that back when you were stuffing your face with player’s souls. Huh?”
“Sorry,” Jericho cringed. “I really should have thought of that. What was I thinking?”
“You were thinking you wanted more power and more abilities,” Terra answered. “That’s what you were thinking.”
“I get it. I’m a selfish asshole,” Jericho said as Terra jumped through the portal. He walked through after her and appeared on the platform outside of his bedroom. “Just go tell Mirage you’re alright. She’s miserable.”
“Miserable?” Terra paused. “How miserable?”
“So miserable that you waiting just to tease her a little isn’t even fun,” Jericho said judgmentally and Terra got the picture. She sprinted inside.
“Terra!” Mirage’s voice echoed so loud Jericho imagined half of Dayrose could hear her. “You stupid elf bimbo! What took you so long! You said you’d be back before we knew it you stupid liar!”
“Okay,” Jericho said to himself as he walked inside to see Terra being crushed under a pile of familiars and followers. “And now that is just adorable.”
“Just get them off me,” Terra gasped as his familiars refused to budge. “It hurts.”
“Should have thought about that before you went and died on them,” Jericho joked while taking a seat on one of the sofas. “Where did Valaria go?”
“I’m here,” Valara’s muffled voice came from the within the pile.
“Why are you in the pile,” Jericho chuckled. “You don’t even know Terra.”
“I wanted to be included,” she responded from beneath the pile. “And it seemed like fun.”
“Okay,” Jericho shook his head. “Everybody up. We need to discuss what’s going on.”
“Master!” Theia said aghast as the pile started to disperse. “How could you be so heartless! Terra died!”
“And now she’s fine,” Jericho answered. “But we still have a primordial god of death who we need to figure out how to kill.”
“You can’t kill my father,” Morgana replied. “And even if you could I wouldn’t let you.”
“What do you propose?” Jericho asked.
“We trap him,” Valaria said getting up. “Primordials can’t be killed but they can be relocated or trapped.”
“And do you happen to know how?” Talia said smugly while inspecting the goddess. “And who are you again?”
“I’m sure you know my name Talia. You have a very good memory,” Valaria said politely. “Say it.”
“Her name is…” Morgana started to answer.
“No,” Valaria poked Talia’s nose. “I want her to show she was listening.”
“I assure you I don’t remember,” Talia said haughtily.
“Well, no time like the present to remember,” Valaria smirked as Talia and Jericho both tried not to laugh. “Time flies while you’re waiting for an answer.”
“Stop it,” Talia snapped through her laughter.
“All in good time,” Valaria said. “I have hundreds of time puns by the way. Hundreds. It’s only a matter of time and I have all the time in the world…”
“Valaria!” Talia answered while laughing. “Your name’s Valaria.”
“See,” Valaria smirked. “I knew you’d remember.”
“Goddammit,” Jericho panted. “That’s cruel! Are you ticklish? That’s literally the worst.”
“Sorry,” Valaria playfully skipped over to Jericho and cuddled up next to him. “Collateral damage,” she snickered as she looked around the room at the familiars. She glanced up at Jericho, “While you were gone none of them actually cared to get to know me. Which is understandable considering the circumstances.”
“Everybody,” Jericho said. “This is Valaria. She’s the goddess of life and the newest member of the family.”
“Whose claim as first wife do you support!” Jinx said jumping straight to what mattered to her. “I’m Jericho’s first familiar so I should be his first wife. You agree, don’t you? Charlatan! Trickster!”
“No!” Ariel rushed forward. “I’m Ariel and although I was Jericho’s second familiar I’m a queen and Jericho should be a king shouldn’t he? You agree right? And without me he couldn’t keep building onto Dayrose and most of the house supports my claim.”
“The dragons and spiders don’t count,” Jinx argued. “Stop trying to count them! Bug. Insect.”
“I was actually thinking that I should be his first wife,” Valaria teased as all eyes focused on her. “Just kidding. Hm. Who do I support though? Honestly, I believe Riseva would be the most suitable wife for Jericho.”
“Riseva?” Jericho tensed up at the suggestion. “She’s not even a familiar.”
“I don’t think it’s required your first wife be a familiar, is it?” Valaria raised an eyebrow. “Riseva is the most suitable choice. She’s capable of bearing more children and as a demon her children would be the most powerful.”
“No children,” Jericho shook his head. While he knew some players liked turning that function on, not him. “Out of the question.”
<
br /> “In that case,” Valaria closed her eyes and pointed randomly landing on Sable. “It looks like I support Sable.”
“Sable’s not even participating!” Ariel said furiously. “It’s not fair!”
“I’m sorry,” Valaria laughed and pecked Jericho on the cheek. “But I don’t really care who marries him first as long as I get to marry him. I’ve watched him long enough to know that whether you’re first or last doesn’t matter.”
“Should we really be talking about this?” Terra said still pinned to the ground by Mirage who was refusing to get up or let go. “Isn’t there some big bad evil thing you need to kill?”
“My dad isn’t evil,” Morgana grumbled. “He just is.”
“Right,” Jericho said. “So, how do we trap him?”
“Easy,” Valaria said while playfully pointing at herself. “My prison. But getting him inside could be tough. And I suppose first you’d have to find a way to seal him away for transport.”
“Okay,” Jericho laughed. “How the hell do we go about all of that?”
“No idea,” Valaria hopped to her feet. “That’s on you. I already helped.”
“Guh,” Jericho groaned. “He could summon him any moment.”
“He can’t,” Mirage said smugly. “I destroyed his summoning materials. His familiar mentioned that I set them back a day.”
“Fantastic!” Valaria said cheerfully. “You have a whole day to figure out how to capture a primordial. I’m sure you’ve done more with less. Now, who wants to give me a tour of my new home. How about, Jinx!”
“No!” Jinx said angrily as the tall slender god grabbed her arm. “You didn’t vote for me! Slut! Harlot!”
“Okay,” Valaria smiled impishly. “Give me a good tour and you’ll have my vote.”
“I’ll give you a tour!” Ariel shouted while trying to shove herself between Jinx and the goddess. “I’ll do it! It’s technically my citadel!”
“No!” Jinx snapped at the eager fairy. “I’m giving the slut a tour! Fly! Pest!”
“Great!” Valaria said while leaning into Jinx. She sneakily placed her hand on the small of Jinx’s back and slid it down toward her athletic ass. “And maybe while we’re exploring we can get to know each other better,” She grinned lecherously at Jericho before running off with the familiar.
“So,” Jericho groaned while looking around the room at his remaining familiars. “Any ideas?”
“Feel free to take your time brainstorming,” Terra gestured at Mirage on her back. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 10
Summoning Death
“Well,” Owl said irritably while hovering above the massive summoning circle. He liked hovering, it was relaxing, like floating in the water. He shapeshifted to make his body light and balanced before utilizing a small whirlwind to keep him afloat. Recently, very few things gave him that type of simple pleasure. “Better late than never.”
“Sorry master,” Whim said somberly as he set the last gem on the stone pedestal. The summoning circle was made up of hundreds of lines that intersected like a spider’s web and at each intersection, a rare material was placed on a stone pedestal. “Had I noticed her…”
“You did the best you could,” Owl nodded at his disappointed familiar. Whim was distraught over his failure to detect Jericho’s familiar since he had very little use outside of acting as a spiritual sonar. “You were watching everybody in the fortress and you weren’t the only one who missed her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mortiax growled menacingly. Owl wasn’t a big fan of the Fallen’s attitude but there was little he could do to correct it at this point. The stupid monster was only interested in killing and it seemed that’d always be the case.
“He means that all three of you were assigned to watch,” Razixithura chided in his guttural voice that made Owl wince. Owl glared at the mind flayer and instantly an illusionary person appeared next to Razixithura and spoke in a normal human voice. “Better?”
He didn’t hate his familiars by any means but he also didn’t feel that deep connection to them that Jericho felt for his. He thought of them more like hard to replace pieces of equipment. Owl wondered if that’s what he was missing. None of his familiars even came close to Jericho’s. His shapeshifter certainly proved that.
“I just want it on record that none of those cowards managed to do anything,” Aldo pointed to the players helping to organize things. Owl noticed there were far fewer players than expected and wondered if something was going on. “It wasn’t just us that failed.”
“I wouldn’t say you failed,” Plague patted Aldo’s head as he passed by. The tall gaunt dark elf nodded at several players who quickly rushed to the citadel. “The damage could have been much worse if you weren’t here. You minimized our losses, that’s a success.”
“It doesn’t feel that way,” Aldo growled.
“That’s because you have your masters warped view of success,” Plague glared at Owl and waited for him to come down to his level. “You going to sit up there all day?”
“Am I in for a lecture?” Owl asked while double checking his notes. The circle was completely so all he needed to do was infuse it with magic and complete the incantation. “I’m busy.”
“I have received a piece of information that we need to discuss,” Plague said irritably. It was no secret that their relationship was becoming a bit strained ever since Plague decided to push for peace. “I’d prefer not to yell it.”
“Fine,” Owl said dropping down to the ground. “What is it?”
“I think you should hold off on performing this summon,” Plague said coldly. “Based on information from my spies, Jericho seems to think the creature you’re summoning will kill…”
“No,” Owl said while retaining his stoic expression. Owl was already familiar with the rumors and decided it was likely a ruse perpetrated by one of Jericho’s subordinates. “They are attempting to buy more time. The sabotage proves they are scared. When it didn’t work, they spread misinformation hoping to delay me further.”
“Except Jericho doesn’t think like that,” Plague scowled. “Or have you forgotten?”
“Jericho doesn’t think like that,” Owl agreed. “But Raven does. Jericho doesn’t need to think like that because he has people who do that type of thinking for him.”
“I don’t think that’s the case,” Plague said coldly. “You’ve been irrational lately.”
“I’m never irrational,” Owl said maintaining his composure. “I thought you were smarter than this. It’s why I chose you as an ally.”
“No,” Plague chuckled while shaking his head. “I’m not that smart. I’ve lost more battles than I’ve won and I’m always on the losing side. I was even wrong about Raven being a threat.”
“Fine,” Owl said impatiently. “So, let me explain it to you then. This is a game. What type of game developer would put a mechanism to destroy the world in it? How much money would they lose if everybody in the game died?”
“Fair point,” Plague nodded. “But assuming their goal is purely financial why haven’t the fixed the cruelty and mayhem? Why haven’t they doubled the size of the world and provided safe zones? Why do they allow for the destruction of cities? Jericho even perma-killed a hundred players according to the forums. Well, the forums say you did but we both know that’s a lie. The goals can’t be purely financial with mechanics like that.”
“A game without conflict is boring,” Owl answered. “But there need to be limits to keep it fun. Loss being possible makes it fun. Everybody in the game losing everything wouldn’t be fun. It doesn’t make sense as a mechanic.”
“It seems you’ve made up your mind,” Plague smirked. Owl could tell that he didn’t agree with him but it didn’t matter, he’d prove it.
“Yes,” Owl said emotionlessly. The fact was he needed to acquire a powerful familiar if he wanted to challenge Jericho. “I know it’ll be fine.”
“Alright,” Plague said
while turning to walk away. The gaunt dark elf paused to glance at the summoning circle. “Have fun.”
“Where are you going?” Owl asked as Plague walked toward the stronghold along with several other players following his lead. Owl took a slow breath as a layer of frost formed on his shoulder. It was infuriating, even his own allies trusted rumors from Jericho more than they trusted him. “Did you forget that this was your idea! You’re the one that warned everybody against letting them expand! Now you want to walk away when we can finally win? Are you that scared of losing?”
“Losing?” Plague laughed and glanced back at Owl. “I’m fine losing. Look at my track record. I lose, I retreat, I hide, I surrender, whatever it takes to live to fight another day. It’s what I do.” Plague arrogantly stretched out his arms and walked backward toward the stronghold. “I’m the Plague. I adapt and keep going. I might not win, but as long as I’m still around, I haven’t lost.”
“Coward!” Mortiax growled in disgust.
“We trust you master,” Aldo said assuredly. “They were useless anyway.”
“It’s fine,” Owl gritted his teeth. The only ones sticking around were his familiars, mercenaries, and a couple dozen players who trusted Owl more than they trusted Plague. “I don’t need them.”
“Master,” Whim said while trying to place his hand on Owl’s shoulder. Owl quickly smacked it away while floating back up toward the sky to confirm everything one final time. He looked at his familiars in disappointment.
“All I need is the Primordial,” Owl growled while opening up his parchment. Jericho was number one because his familiars gave him knowledge. Sapphire was number two because Jericho gave her knowledge. They were lucky. “A proper familiar.”
“Proper familiar,” Razixithura illusion said somberly. “Yes, somebody more powerful than us.”
“Our master deserves somebody more powerful,” Whim agreed sadly.
“Our master deserves whatever he gets,” Mortiax said with disgust.
“Good luck,” Aldo said while hanging his head. “I hope you summon the most powerful familiar in the world. You’re a good master and you deserve it.”