Dave made a thoughtful moue with his lips, his mind working over the information.
“Well, I think that it would be best if we went and saw how things are going down below,” Malsour said.
The light from outside was slowly cut off as a new gate of metal rose out of the ground, with all kinds of inorganic materials weaving into the solid structure. There was a muffled noise from down below.
Dave turned, filled with more questions than when he had entered the room.
***
Deia’s mind was filled with questions, as well as new realizations, she was having from fighting the Players. All of it fell away as she saw Quindar with a clutch of four eggs by her side as she curled around them.
Dave got to her first and put a hand on her side.
Quindar looked to him lazily before she looked away. She was tired from her work.
“All’s looking good, momma Quindar,” Dave assured her and Fornau, who was placed between her, Induca, and the corridor that led to the entrance.
“Damn! Got to have all the fun without me! So how did it go?” Induca asked.
“Well, they were some well-leveled Players, but they relied on their actions too much.” Deia knew that they needed to work on fighting together; this had been their first battle and she had seen more than a few issues with it.
“Where is Suzy?”
“She got badly wounded, so Dave killed her. She should be back with us in six hours or so,” Anna said.
“Wow, Dave. Cold-hearted much?”
“Better to die and get a new body, than have one that is missing a leg, arm, and half your face,” Dave said.
“Remind me to not get on his bad side if I get injured,” Induca said behind her hand but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Fornau moved to Quindar, putting his head on hers and giving her a reassuring coo.
Deia looked over at them. A sad smile passed over her face. She looked to Dave, who was also watching them, and put her hand in his.
He looked and smiled to her. Dave squeezed her hand and pulled her close, both of them looking at the new mother and father, focused on their clutch of eggs, their bodies warming them.
“Maybe someday that will be us,” Dave said.
“After all this fighting is done and we can find somewhere safe, we’ll spread kids all over Emerilia,” Deia said.
“How many kids you think we’re going to have?” Dave demanded.
“Well, twenty would be nice.” Deia nodded, as if it were a normal number.
“You baby-crazed Elf!” Dave squeezed her hand and pulled her closer.
Deia laughed and turned back to the two new parents cleaning and checking their new eggs.
“Well, I say we give this lot some time to themselves and we get finished up with that meat! I’m hungry,” Induca said.
Deia and Dave turned, and followed Induca out. Anna did as well.
Malsour looked over his great-grandnephew’s and great-grandniece’s eggs, as well as his grandniece and grandnephew cooing over each other and their growing family. A happy smile crossed his face before he followed the others.
I wonder what Father would look like if I were to bring a grandchild home? Where are all of these thoughts coming from? Ugghh! He shook his head at his mental ramblings.
“Well, I hope that Nadorf is a lot quieter,” Deia said.
“Oh, I don’t know. Heard their beds are right squeaky.” Dave pitched his voice low.
Deia looked around to see whether anyone heard that. “Horny bastard.”
“Who said they wanted twenty kids?” Dave grinned.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
Chapter 17: Not Everyone Gets Their Way
The Lady of Light slammed her fist down on her chair. Ripples of light scattered away. Suddenly, a presence started to fill the room. Light looked to the single point that it came from, watching as a flaming portal appeared in her hall.
Servants who had been walking around, attending to the small garden off to the side or walking through the gold and silver room, looked in shock at the portal.
Nothing exited the portal but you could see into it. Another woman sat in a volcano, with a black wall behind her.
“Do not deem it within your abilities to touch my children, Light.” Fire’s eyes burned with power.
“Oh, get over yourself, Fire. You have no power here.” Light dismissed the other woman, throwing away her companionship as the trivial matter that it was against her pursuit for control over the Pantheon.
“No, but my family does.” Fire’s face twisted into a smile that made Light’s eyes thin. She noticed the shadow moved behind Fire. A head came into view, easily four times Fire’s own height.
A shiver ran down Light’s spine as she saw the coiled fury within the Dragon’s fiery eyes—the same color as its mother, Fire, who patted it calmly.
Instead of saying words, the Dragon growled, the power of its anger making Light shiver.
The Dragon’s power, even through the portal, was more than enough to rival her POE champions. The Players that Light was nurturing for the role of her champions of Light were nowhere near the stage she needed them to be to face one of these magical beasts.
With her limits gone from her champions and her beasts of power, she was lacking in her knowledge of beasts of power. Killing one of them while it was birthing would have provided her with the materials her people needed in order to create some truly powerful beast of power.
The Dragon snorted and pulled its head back. “Your time will come.” The Dragon’s voice spoke of power and strength.
Light looked at the Lady of Fire, knowing that she had made a grave mistake. Fire never seemed that strong because she kept on using her power to increase the strength of her dragons as well as teach those who followed her faith. She didn’t take their energy but she provided guidance to them.
Fire just looked at Light, and then nodded to the Dragon. The portal closed.
For once in her life, Light saw a new kind of strength: a strength in family. Although at times it was also a weakness, if given time to grow and prosper, it could turn into something truly formidable.
The dragons had not died, but moved to another plane. Now that they were back, they were stronger than ever. Light had underestimated them. It hadn’t been Fire who opened the portal; it was the Dragon. Light had never put much attention into the leveling system—she was already naturally powerful.
I wonder how many levels that Dragon has grown while it was stuck on that other plane? I wonder how many all of them have? Would it be enough to challenge even our true servants?
These troubling thoughts moved through her mind as she looked at the information that her Light follower was sending her now that he was revived. She looked at the names closely. A part of her mind remembered seeing them somewhere else.
The citadel! They were the four who did the most damage! How the hell did they get in the middle of this?
***
Bob smiled and looked to the Lady of Fire.
“Thank you for guiding your followers there.” Fire bowed her head.
Denur also inclined her head to Bob.
“Oh, stop that, will you ladies? I didn’t do anything. I was ready to push them in the direction but Malsour and Induca both wanted to go see Quindar and Fornau. They went of their own volition.” Bob waved it away. “Oh, and they’re not my followers—just my friends. Well, I guess Anna is kind of my daughter and it’s too soon to tell about Suzy.” Bob tapped his chin in thought.
“Well, at least let me thank you for hiding my daughter,” Fire said.
“Ah, that.” Bob smiled. “I thought as much.”
“You didn’t know that she was mine completely?” Fire’s eyebrow raised.
“Well, I kind of put the mirages you were sending to the meetings and the time period of when you were pregnant together.” Bob smiled while Fire paled.
“Do you think any of the others noticed?”
<
br /> “No. I added in my own illusions to bolster the whole thing up and well, even if they do, I kind of like her so I’m going to do my best to see that they don’t mess with her. That said, she has stepped on a few people’s toes so it wouldn’t be that unlikely that one of the lords or ladies starts gunning for that particular little party. She is rather like her mother in that way.”
Denur snorted in agreement as Fire looked between the two of them. She shook her head as an amused laugh escaped her lips.
“Well, thank you anyway, my old friend,” Fire said.
Bob bowed his head, feeling the real emotion in her voice. “Well, you can repay me by going and talking to her.”
“W-what? No... I mean, she has probably forgotten everything about me… She uh…she…might, probably won’t need me.” Fire looked flustered as she tried to figure out what to say.
“One of these days you’ll meet and if you wait much longer, I think that she might end up kicking your ass across Emerilia for being such a wuss.”
“If she doesn’t, then I will.” Denur’s big red eye looked at Fire.
“Crap!”
***
The Dark Lord looked over his preparations and the creature that lay in front of him. It was an Alturaran, made from the crystals of the planet. The once organic creatures had attached its soul to the very inorganic material of the planet in order to survive. In their past, they used to spread themselves across the stars with massive machines, taking new planets by force.
Now their machines no longer left their atmosphere and the only way to expand their territory was to use the portals into the realm called Emerilia. The Alturarans were focused; another land for them to take over and to make their own drove them with a new vigor and made them a terrible enemy to behold. If they were able to get a hold in Emerilia, they could craft machines with their abilities that would decimate the planet.
With a wave of his hand, the Dark Lord dismissed the parts of the Alturaran before him. He felt the budding power within him.
Boran-al’s Citadel had released power that had been stored for centuries. That power now filled him with new vigor and strength. Enough strength for him to carry out the next part of his plan.
Now to wait until the right moment.
***
Lord Fend looked over the massive wall that extended from the frost plains to the north across the Kufo’tel forests down to the Mithsia Mountains.
“It will take one mighty force to try to attack us now,” Wrole said to his lord as they looked over the massive emplacements.
Fend grunted as he looked at the walls that rose in the distance, meeting up with one another to make a complete defensive wall.
“Since my grandfather’s time, we have kept these walls a secret while adding runes to them—protection, strength. Countless mages have touched these walls and made them powerful. I just hope that it is enough to keep out the forces that wish our downfall.” Fend leaned on the battlements and looked out over the forest.
“High King Rean has asked that we be ready to take on more people if other mountains are attacked,” Wrole said.
Fend nodded. He had been moving with his forces while Wrole had remained in Mithsia, doing his bidding and carrying out his orders. Fend’s sons were still too young for the responsibility and they respected their father’s orders.
“I feel that this is just the beginning—the opening moves have been played. Our will was tested and we spat in their eyes. I wish that they would leave us alone, but I know that they will not. The lords and ladies of the Pantheon are loathe to do much more than act like bickering children.”
“Was it so long ago that you and your brother were so different?” Wrole’s eyebrow rose in question.
“That wasn’t bickering—that was good-hearted discussion! Plus, he’s off being a metal banger anyway. Try to get him to come back here for family events is like building this wall from pebbles and leaves!” Fend muttered under his breath as he noticed Wrole’s amused grin. “Oh, shut up, damned advisor. Feels like you’re just there to make me look like some bumbling ape.”
“Well, if you didn’t make it so easy…” Wrole’s face split into a smile.
“Why you!” Fend chased his advisor, threatening to beat his backside as Wrole laughed down the wall’s line.
A few of the Dwarves looked at the commotion; a few laughed and others shook their heads at their lord’s and his advisor’s antics.
Chapter 18: Nadorf
Josh looked out over the wall, to look down the road they came from Komo.
The traders had been most thankful for the protection to Nadorf. They’d come across a few decently leveled monsters but they weren’t much compared to the creatures that the Stone Raiders usually dealt with in their raids.
“Maybe they took a bit of a detour,” Dwayne said.
“Well, I kind of bet that they did. It was a detour going to the mountain instead of coming right here, though they said that they would be here soon,” Kim said.
“Ah, I think I see something.” Josh saw six people run out of the forest, traveling at some speed now.
Josh walked down from the wall. Before, he would’ve jumped, using someone’s house and the other items scattered around to break his fall. After his fight at the citadel, he kept the POE in mind as he moved around.
“Well, at least we’ve got trade moving again and people will stop fearing Quindar,” Dwayne said.
“Well, I’m still hoping that the damned thing didn’t eat them,” Kim said.
“Knowing that lot, they’re probably having dinner with the damned thing!” Josh snorted.
“Well, whatever it is, people are pretty happy that we cleared up Quindar’s demands. Also, the fact that the dragons have said that they will be keeping the area clear of high-level mobs is pretty good,” Dwayne said.
“You know how much money we’re not going to get for having the dragons keep those roads clear?” Kim asked.
“Well, there are always bandits.” Dwayne shrugged. “Plus, we’re raiders, not bodyguards.”
“This is true, but a bit of diversity didn’t hurt. Some of the ideas that Suzy had about starting to consider trading sound like they might generate some revenue.” Kim shrugged.
“You sound like Lucy now,” Josh muttered.
“Did any of you look up who she and Dave are?” Lucy asked lightly, continuing to read her book and only half paying attention to the conversation.
“No. How the hell would we find out? Their faces are probably the same, but we can’t really go around doing facial recognition on them. We aren’t bloody coppers,” Josh said.
“Hmm,” Lucy said, not feeling it necessary to elaborate.
“Well, you going to tell us why the heck you just said that?” Kim asked.
“Suzy Markell is the secretary of one Austin Zane—you know, the richest guy in the world. The one who mines asteroids; has settlements on Mars, the Moon, and Earth. You know, richest man in history. Find it odd that she is spending so much time in here and how that she and Dave get along really well? Now, if you have a look at pictures of Suzy Markell, you notice that there’s this rather dapper-looking guy—black hair, goatee, nice suits?” Lucy looked at everyone with their blank expressions. “What the hell happens in those minds all day? How the hell do you get ideas? Just hope like hell a neuron hits another?”
“Hey! I’d like you to know that they don’t hit one another—they smash one another out of the ballpark!” Josh said.
Lucy gave him a flat stare. The others looked at him for a few moments.
“Boss, I think you just said you’re even dumber than we thought,” Dwayne said.
“W-wha? No! I was saying that my ideas are so good when they come together that my neurons would probably explode if they were anyone else’s!”
“Yeah, still think that makes you pretty stupid,” Kim said.
“Aren’t you supposed to be my minions? My yes-people? Comrades in arms? You know?”
“All right, so what you’re saying about Suzy being Austin Zane’s secretary—that’s pretty crazy, but whatever.” Kim shrugged.
“Kim, he’s one of the richest and most powerful human beings on Earth,” Josh said.
“Ehh,” Kim shrugged again, clearly not bothered.
Lucy didn’t say anything; instead, a picture appeared in all of their inboxes. There was Suzy and Austin Zane, wearing sunglasses as they talked about something.
“Heh, kind of looks like Dave,” Josh said.
Silence fell as everyone slowly looked at Josh. He looked at Dwayne and Kim.
“Lightbulb,” Lucy said.
“Miss us much?” Deia asked as she and the rest of her party slowed down to meet them.
Josh just stared at Dave; Dwayne and Kim did the same.
“Do I have something on my face?” Dave rubbed his constant stubble beard.
“Ah-h, no, sorry. We were just talking about something, completely somewhere else.” Josh smiled.
How the hell didn’t I see this before? Josh looked to Suzy and back to Dave, his brain unable to really understand what he was seeing. Dave was definitely not like some of the billionaires he knew.
But hell, dude, this guy is a trillionaire! Fucking countries could take loans just from him instead of other countries. Fuck, I don’t want to know what this guy’s taxes are like.
“Sorry about them. We have an inn with everyone in it. We’re going to be leaving through the teleport tomorrow but we thought we might as well have a few drinks tonight to celebrate. This lot are off in la-la-land for some reason. Oh, and Josh wants to talk to you about business, Suzy,” Lucy said.
“Thanks.” Deia stared at them all with a confused expression.
“Ahh, sorry—just figuring something out,” Kim said with a half-smile.
“O-okay then.” Dave gave them all peculiar looks before they moved to follow Lucy.
Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2) Page 14