Keeper

by Tom Larcombe

  He was ready for it when the mana loss hit in the middle of the spell. The flickering mana low notification let him know that he'd cut it close.

  Mana is low: 3/105

  He'd regenerated up to seventy-five mana before casting, pretty sure that the Conjoined Plant Growth/Weaving was costing him a base of nine mana now, times eight for a new intent with the conjunction. He discovered that he'd been right when he saw the three mana he had remaining. His other theory gained another data point a moment later.

  You have upgraded the skill/spell Conjunction to (4). Still going full out on it, aren't we? But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

  Eddie wasn't quite sure how to interpret that particular snark, but he'd managed to fulfill Tiana's request, Freyja's also, at least of him. The rest was up to Tiana.

  He glanced up and saw that it was only a couple of minutes until noon now. Tiana was bustling about on the far end of the temple from the door, placing something on the floor. She drew out a large piece of fabric from her inventory, then threw it over her shoulder. Two statues followed, which she sat on the ground beside the unfinished altar. Then she stood there and waited.

  As the sun reached directly overhead, nothing happened. A few minutes later, though, the sky rapidly darkened. Dark clouds rolled in like special effects in a movie, completely covering the sky in an angry gray blanket. Lightning flashed between the clouds several times before bolts started lancing down out of the sky also.

  The sky opened up, pouring heavy rain down on them.

  “Huh, trial by fire, or at least by downpour,” Eddie said.

  Tiana glanced at him and held a finger to her lips, shushing him.

  Lucky came racing in. She'd followed them down earlier, then laid down to nap in the sun once it was up. She'd wandered off to explore for a while, but evidently the rain was enough to send her looking for shelter.

  The roof held, but Eddie could hear the water pouring over the edges of the roof. Then the storm grew even more violent. Eddie was worried about the fort, the inn, and every other building in the area as it seemed like the lightning was coming down as thick as the rain. The tree overhead, the one he'd coaxed to form the roof, was the highest thing in the area and he was worried that it would get struck, but that didn't happen.

  Just as the storm hit an even higher peak, a bolt of lighting flashed down bright enough to leave Eddie's sight covered in flashing spots. When his vision returned he spun at a motion behind him.

  Tiana was snapping out the fabric she'd rested over her shoulder. Evidently it was an altar cloth. At least she draped it over whatever she'd placed on the floor, then placed the two statues, which he could now see were cats, on top of the cloth.

  Tiana began to chant. A minute into the chant a glowing, golden dot appeared in the air in front of the altar. It grew and grew until a golden disc floated there. A figure staggered through it and at first Eddie didn't think it was Freyja. The figure was wounded and bleeding, there was a hole directly through her side, her face was lacerated, and her shins looked like a dog had been using them as a chew toy.

  Eddie's first reaction was to cast Nature's Binding. Whoever came through the portal had to be associated with Freyja and with the wounds they had he was afraid they might not survive. Then the newcomer turned her face up and smiled at Tiana and Eddie knew that it was indeed the goddess.

  ~ ~ ~

  “It is done,” Freyja said.

  Eddie and Tiana shared a puzzled glance before Eddie spoke up.

  “What is done?” he asked.

  “Odin. He's been roused from his lethargy. I had to do it, but I feared for my safety in doing so. Nothing can stop a god from visiting a temple newly consecrated to them though. It is required even, although it may be delayed briefly. I surmised that Odin, when I angered him, would cut off any means of departure for me and I was correct. This was one means of transportation that he could not block, and now that I am in my temple he will not be able to track me.”

  She glanced around the temple and her face lit up with pleasure, despite her wounds, which were only slowly healing.

  “Many things have been changed for the gods,” Freyja said, “but that should still be sacrosanct. If it is not, then surely nothing is any more.”

  Eddie glanced outside. The heavy dark clouds were still pouring down rain, lightning striking seemingly at random.

  “I didn't think Od—”

  Freyja silenced Eddie with a quick motion.

  “Do not mention that name or he will be able to locate me,” she said.

  With another gesture from her Eddie could talk again.

  “I didn't think he was associated with thunderstorms.”

  “He is not, as such. That is the demesne of his son. However, when he is in a true rage the weather will frequently reflect that. He is sloppy in the exercise of his power and that carries over to his control, as you can see.”

  “Well, I'll say you certainly succeeded in angering him, if that is a reflection of it,” Eddie said, pointing outside.

  “It is, and you can understand why I needed a quick escape and a... bolthole? Do you call it? A bolthole to stay out of sight until he has calmed again, although...”

  She strolled about the temple, examining it closely. She paused and glanced out through the windows.

  “You've done temple grounds as well?” she asked.

  Tiana nodded.

  “With fully grown fruiting trees and bushes as well as a pond. At some point I plan on adding Koi or something like them to the pond, but I've yet to manage that.”

  “Not to worry my priestess. My blessing will do that for you.”

  Crap, I mean she earned it, but if Freyja gives Tiana her blessing I'll lose it myself, Eddie thought.

  He was immediately ashamed of himself for thinking it.

  “As a matter of fact,” Freyja continued, “this temple is unique enough that I shall make my blessing upon the temple equally unique. I would do so now, but that would surely attract the attention of he who shall not be named until he calms.”

  She turned and with a wave of her hand a padded stool appeared in front of her. She took a seat, then smiled again when she noticed Lucky napping against one wall of the temple.

  “Little one,” she called.

  Lucky was immediately awake, racing for the goddess. She leapt, only to be caught by Freyja. Lucky sniffed, then leaned her head towards the slowly closing wound in Freyja's side. Lucky started licking at it, trying to clean it, and Freyja giggled.

  Eddie and Tiana both stopped dead, staring at each other. It was not a sound that either of them would have ever expected to hear from the serious goddess, especially with her current situation. Freyja giggled again as Lucky squirmed and tried to clean the wounds on her face. The sound was like tiny bells, high pitched but perfectly in tune. It evoked an easy feeling in the listener, as though there could be absolutely nothing wrong in a world that contained such a sound.

  Lucky finally settled in Freyja's lap, the goddess' fingers idly stroking the bobcat's fur.

  “Eddie, you had a hand in the creation of this temple too, did you not?”

  Eddie nodded, then bowed his head.

  “You have spent your time in game attempting to nourish and provide comfort, have you not?”

  Eddie gulped.

  “Yes, but I've done so for reasons that profit me in our other world,” he said.

  She waved a hand dismissively.

  “The reasons do not matter, the fact is that you have done such. So this blessing shall also do so. For Tiana it shall grant healing and protection, as well as a safe space for those who do not wish to participate in combat. As well, once per month, the fruiting plants of this temple and its ground can be harvested in a most bountiful manner. I think that this combination will be able to be combined in my blessing. After all, this shall be Freyja's First Temple, and the blessing should reflect that.”

  “Your first temple?” Eddie asked, “Surely someone
else has built one for you.”

  “Altars and shrines in great number, but until now never a full temple,” Freyja responded.

  “What do I need to do now?” Tiana asked.

  “Nothing, although should you wish to spend time here healing those who come to visit more rapidly than my blessing shall, then you should do so. For now, though, there are those who are looking for you. I shall remove myself from their sight, and yours as well. I shall remain in my temple until he calms, then provide my blessing to it before departing.”

  “Thank—” Eddie started to say, but when he looked up she was gone.

  Lucky was sitting on the stool, licking her paws to clean them. Once she'd finished, she curled up on the padding and was instantly asleep again.

  “Eddie, there you are,” Karl said. “No-one's been able to get a hold of you all day long.”

  “Tiana and I finished the temple. I wasn't checking messages while we did that because we wanted to get it done without interruption, but then when we did finish, well, look at yourself.”

  Karl was dripping wet, soaked right through to the skin.

  “So we decided to wait out the rain in the temple since it seems I got the roof right and it doesn't leak,” Eddie finished.

  “Well, we found a couple of goblin corpses out back of the inn earlier this morning. I thought you should know.”

  “What killed them?” Eddie asked.

  Karl looked over at Lucky and nodded.

  “Her, we think. Otherwise there's something else around here with teeth and claws that doesn't like goblins. They'd been there a while. As soon as we looted them the corpses were gone, so I think they were from last night.”

  “Well, that would explain where Lucky was during the fight,” Tiana said. “Normally if you're fighting, she's right there with you.”

  Eddie nodded.

  “That she is. I'm starting to think that this isn't going to let up. Should we run back to the inn, then stoke the fireplace up so we can dry out in front of it ?” he asked.

  “You can run, I'll be fine,” Tiana said.

  She muttered for a moment before a shimmering film surrounded her.

  “It's supposed to protect from flammable liquids, but I found out it also manages quite well with rain,” she said, then strolled out into the downpour.

  “None of that for us?” Karl called.

  “Sorry, caster only,” Tiana replied.

  “Race you?” Eddie asked, taking off as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

  “Hey,” Karl replied, then raced out into the rain.

  Inside the temple, Lucky was the only visible creature remaining, but the bobcat felt that the other woman, the one she'd loved at first sight, was still around somewhere, even if she couldn't currently be seen or smelled. She decided to stick with the women for the moment. She'd return to Eddie later, when she wouldn't get soaked doing so. Lucky purred for a few moments, then kneaded the cushion atop the stool before curling up on it and drifting back to sleep.

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Twenty

  Odin stormed back and forth through his hall. His rage was overwhelming, all other thoughts dismissed from his mind.

  The audacity of that wench, he thought. I should insist that they demote her to a serving wench in some out of the way scummy tavern, or maybe a goblin breeder, or even some random animal in the woods.

  It was a towering rage, one that lasted for hours, but even Odin's rage could not last forever. As he slowly wore it out, he looked around and realized that he'd destroyed his throne room. The only creatures aside from himself that were still there were his ravens and wolves, the rest had fled once the magnitude of his rage had made itself known.

  With a wave, he restored the room to the way it should be. Then he allowed thoughts other than his rage to creep back into his mind, but he knew that Freyja had been speaking the truth as she saw it, so he examined each thought as it tried to reassert itself. The threads of his thoughts were slow to do so, each one sparking connections and bringing more thoughts to his mind. He nearly missed it, but insinuated in with the memory of a portion of his duties was a tiny thread of thought, more a persistent suggestion than a true thought.

  But this persistent suggestion would lead him back to the state he'd been in if he allowed it to work as designed. He skillfully cut that thread of thought from the rest, placing it in a protected portion of his mind where he could examine it more carefully with less risk.

  He was sure he knew what it did though. The memories of the state he'd been in for some time combined with his quick glance at the thought to show him that it pushed his mind to do what it wasn't intended to do. A closer examination of the suggestion showed him that he was right, and it also showed him exactly how it worked.

  The suggestion pushed him to do more than analyze those mind-worn world-traveling mortals in some of the medical pods. It pushed him to try to get into their minds, to allow his own thoughts and mind to mirror theirs. It pushed his own mind to become inflicted by whatever ills those mortals he was analyzing suffered from.

  That must be what led me to my morose apathy and lethargy, he thought, his anger growing again. I shall find whoever insinuated that thought into my mind and I shall wreak havoc upon them for their violation of my mind and purpose.

  He called the others back to his throne room, seemingly oblivious to them as they entered. Unbeknownst to them, though, he kept a portion of his focus on them. Whoever had attacked his mind had surely provided for a way to monitor the process in case he discovered it, as he had. It would not be the first time there had been spies in his entourage of hangers-on, and it would not be the last. If he discovered one this time, though, he could begin to extract his vengeance.

  As the hangers-on filed in he instructed Huginn and Muninn, Thought and Memory respectively, to sit upon his throne as a reminder to him that his thoughts had been assaulted. He would not sit upon the throne himself until such time as he had achieved his vengeance and was no longer worried about an attempt to bring him back to the morose, apathetic state he'd just escaped.

  Standing in the center of his throne room Odin began his proper job once again, going back and examining the records from the time when he'd been neglecting to do so, starting at the last point he'd checked before his mind and motivation were taken from him.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie wrote the rest of the day off as a wash. By the time he'd gotten back to the inn, he'd been completely drenched. Fortunately, he had a change of clothing, something Karl had pointed out was unnecessary since the game cleaned all normal clothing at midnight. Now, Eddie was glad he had spare clothes. Karl, on the other hand, was bemoaning the fact that he didn't have anything to change into other than the padding he wore under his armor.

  “See, I told you having a backup set of clothes was a good plan,” Eddie said.

  “Yeah, go ahead, get the 'I told you so' out of your system,” Karl replied.

  Eddie just shrugged, he'd been on the receiving end of Karl's 'I told you so' comments more than once, so he wasn't going to sweat it.

  “So, what did you want anyhow?” Eddie asked. “It must have been pretty important for you to go out searching for us in that rain.”

  “I wanted to tell you about those goblins, and Allie was worried since she hadn't seen either of you all day and you weren't replying to your messages.”

  Eddie pulled those up now, blushing when he realized that there were almost thirty message he'd ignored.

  “Sorry, but like I said, we were on a tight schedule. Had to get that done by noon.”

  “Had to?” Karl asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Ask Tiana. Her story, not mine. I'm not sure it should be shared either, at least not right now,” Eddie said.

  “Eddie, what the hell do you keep getting yourself into? NDAs, hidden quests, in-game secrets, how do you keep track of what you can actually talk about?” Karl asked.

  “It's easy, I just mostly keep my mouth shut o
r make small talk.”

  Karl shook his head.

  “That's BS and you know it, but whatever. Tell me when you can?”

  “If I can,” Eddie said, nodding. “I'll tell you later, if Tiana and the other individual involved say it's okay. But now, I think I'm going to need to spit a whole side of venison out here. See if Liv has anything to mull wine with also, it's that kind of day I think. We should be busy because no-one's going to want to go out adventuring in this weather.”

  Eddie was right, the inn was packed that night. Paul hadn't brought much wine with the rest of the alcohol, just several small casks. Eddie hadn't put it on sale though so he still had all of it that Paul had brought him. He changed that policy tonight.

  Liv was in the kitchen working on a stew for dinner while Eddie sat out at the fireplace in the common room, roasting a side of venison and mulling wine. By the end of the night, the venison was gone, the stew was nearly gone, and he was down to half a small cask of wine remaining in stock.

  Mental note, Eddie thought. I've got to find the time to try to arrange a teleport of supplies, especially booze, and also get Dominic's brewery set up for him. That's gonna have to happen soon, too.

  It was still raining when he went to bed, although now it was just a light drizzle, not the downpour they'd experienced earlier. Tiana and Eddie snuggled closer together than normal when trying to fall asleep since the rain had chilled the normally cool air of the room even more.

  ~ ~ ~

  In the morning, Eddie was worried that the rain from the day before may have made it impossible to seat more supports for the wall. He quickly ate breakfast then headed out to check. The ground was a little wetter than before, but fortunately not the muddy slop he'd been worried about.

  The sky was much clearer than the previous afternoon. When he and Tiana had headed back to the inn the sky had been black all the way to the horizon, lightning bolts flashing down constantly. Now there were a few dark clouds still, but the sun was coming through between them and there was no more lightning.