“Shit.”
“Anna?”
“Oh, don’t worry about Alkao. He knows that if he tries anything that you’ll come back and beat his ass down now. We need to get back to Benvari, and I need to send a message to my father.”
“What’s up?” Deia asked, slowly coming out of her stance.
“The Creatures of Power are being released back onto Emerilia, bit by bit. The thing is that many Creatures of Power were sealed away for being overpowered, being held in reserve, or in Alkao’s case—to protect them. Now with the rules lifted, they’re all coming back. From the Dragon Kinal, to the water snake Melhoun.” Anna talked to herself, walking back through the cave system. “Shit! Why didn’t I think of that sooner? It also means that brother and sister are going to be pissed! Uggh, not going to be happy to find I wasn’t there when they came back.”
Deia looked to Alkao, still not trusting to leave him alone.
“I am sorry, Oson’Deia. It seems that even at my age, my emotions lead me faster than my mind.” He bowed deeply in respect.
“Then, you won’t mind if you go ahead of me?”
Alkao snorted and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. “That would be fine.” He turned and walked through the caves.
Deia couldn’t help but notice the ragged scars on his back—two large ones that seemed to flow into his shoulder blades and others that just seemed painful from looking at them.
Deia thought of his classification that put him as an Aerial Demon, remembering the stories of winged creations that flew in Emerilia’s skies. He had wings but they were torn off. Who would do such a thing? She could only imagine the pain that had come with the act.
Chapter 28: Revelation
Dave looked at the thin piece of Mithril. With the current power of his soul energy, he was only able to break its bonds once a day. He’d been researching and looking through different information, going into all the information he could find on the Xelur Demons and making his way to one of the three massive smithing libraries in Benvari.
He pocketed the piece of Mithril and went back to studying. It took months for smiths to train themselves to use the disruptor gem. Dave didn’t want to wait that long.
“Smarter, not harder, kids.” Dave looked at the book in front of him. It was an expert-classed book on different weapons and tools the Xelur used. Not the lightest reading, but they were masters of soul energy manipulation.
“What the hell is a Halfling doing in here?” a Dwarf with a group of his friends said, loud enough for Dave to hear.
“Probably got lost on his way out of here. Half-blood.” Another spit on the floor.
Dave rolled his eyes and kept reading, making notes on special paper that would add the information to his interface’s notepad.
“He’s reading an expert-level book on the Xelur.”
“What kind of twisted bastard does that?” A red-bearded Dwarf growled. “It ain’t right.”
“There’s no way a Halfling is even allowed in the smithy.” The apparent leader stood. “We’ll sort him out.”
Dave found a part about how the Xelur fed their own souls with energy with something that they called a soul shunt. He started reading, writing notes as the group approached.
The leader put his hand on the book, forcing it onto Dave’s table.
“Excuse me—do you mind?” Dave looked up at the leader.
“Sorry, I need to read this book,” the Dwarf said. It was clearly a lie.
“We can share but I need this,” Dave said.
“I ain’t sharing nothing with a half-blood piece of shit like you.” The Dwarf’s lip curled as the others moved up around him.
“Wow, racial slurs. Bunch of freaking Einsteins.” Dave shook his head. “Fine. Piss off, because I need this book.”
“What did you say, fucking dirt breed?” The leader’s hand went to the hammer at his hip.
“Do you have anything better to do than bully someone else because they look a bit different from you? Are you Dwarves?” Dave shook his head, going back to reading his book.
The Dwarf’s hammer came out and he swung for Dave’s head.
Dave used his hotkey action, armoring up in seconds.
The hammer hit his Mana barrier and careened off into a bookshelf.
The others looked at the hammer and then Dave as he looked up from his book.
“Your mommas never teach you manners? I guess I’ll have to.” Dave’s arm shot out, grabbed the leader’s shirt, and pulled him forward before he slammed his forehead down on the leader’s face. Blood gushed from his broken nose as he fell to his knees.
Dave jumped from his desk as the other three made to attack him.
“Kill him!” The leader held his face. It looked as if he’d had his nose broken a few times, so he was quickly recovering.
The other Dwarves charged.
A shield appeared on Dave’s arm, identical to the one he had forged at Cliff-Hill. He stopped the ginger Dwarf’s fist, breaking it before he slammed his shield into his face. The Dwarf went down in a howl of pain as Dave turned and swung, smashing a brown-haired Dwarf’s arm. There was an audible crack as they howled out in pain.
The last, seeing his friends down, made to run.
Dave destroyed the arm bracers on the inside of his shield, throwing it and catching the fleeing Dwarf in the back.
The leader moved around the desk, ready to attack Dave.
“What the hell is going on here?” Jesal stormed into the library.
“This half-blood shit was reading materials for an expert Master Smith. I asked him to put it away as it is restricted reading material but then he started fighting my friends and broke my nose,” the leader said.
Jesal looked to Dave. “Well, Dave?”
The leader’s face split into a grin, taunting Dave.
“I was reading up on the Xelur Demons, wanted to see if I could speed things up. These weirdos started calling me a half-blood and some other racial shit and then took it upon themselves to police me, by demanding me to give them a book that they are not qualified to read.” Dave stored his armor and his clothes reappeared.
Jesal looked over the whimpering Dwarves on the ground and the one Dave had knocked out with his shield. Jesal moved to the Xelur book and checked its cover. “What is your smithing level?” Jesal asked the Dwarf leader.
“Journeyman, Master Smith,” the Dwarf said proudly.
“So, you took it upon yourself to police a Master Smith-leveled Dwarf under my personal tutelage to become one of the council, who was reading an Expert-level book which you are not yet allowed to read?” Jesal said calmly.
The Dwarf leader’s face paled as Dave pulled out his piece of Mithril and moved it between his fingers, grinning at the other Dwarf.
Dave noticed that several other Dwarves who had heard the commotion were listening in and watched a number of them whispering to one another.
The lead Dwarf didn’t say anything and seemed to be visibly shaking.
“Tell me how that works out?” Jesal asked, still waiting for an answer to her question.
“Master Smith, I did not know.” The leader bowed.
“Next time, use your head, not your brawn. If you had talked to Dave instead of assuming several things, then you and your friends could have avoided this. Smiths need to know when to hit hard and fast, when to stop, and when to tap lightly and carefully.
“It seems that you lot missed those lessons, so here is another. I’m going to give this to Gorrund and he can decide your punishment. We are the protectors and smiths of Emerilia. We strive for acceptance, and here you have gone against that ethos,” Jesal said gravely.
“Yes, Master Smith.” The Dwarven leader looked at his feet. Dave kind of felt sorry for the guy.
Dwarves didn’t punish others with anger and force unless they needed to. First, they would do their best to teach them the error of their ways. Dave hoped that the gang of Dwarves would learn something from this.
“Very well. Dave, get your books and come with me. And you’re paying for the hammer that’s stuck in the wall!” Jesal said.
Dave winced. “Why do I have to pay for it?”
“It’s your mana shield, right? Your fault for using the full strength!”
“It was only quarter,” Dave grumbled. He picked up his books and grabbed a few others and tossed them into his bag, catching up with Jesal.
“Well, don’t tell others that. The Weapons of Power are supposed to be secured away, not on a Master Smith wannabe.” Jesal’s voice was low so only he could hear.
“So now I’m a wannabe now? Is that some kind of weird groupie?”
“More like some bat-crazy lunatic who builds too many things that should simply be impossible.”
Dave snorted.
“What?” Jesal asked as they left the library and the people who were already talking about what had happened and the new Halfling who was training to be a Master Smith.
“Back on Earth, many people told me that the things I was doing were impossible.” It was a rare good memory from Earth.
“Oh?”
“I would tell them it’s only impossible because someone smart or dumb enough hasn’t tried it out yet and, fuck it, I’m still not sure which kind I am.”
Jesal couldn’t help but chuckle. “So, find anything interesting?” She’d given him all that she knew on expanding one’s soul energy to be able to use the disruptor better, but she’d given him leave to look into whatever he felt like. His research had already come up with more than one kind of abstract idea.
“I think I will soon enough. People have used soul energy for every discipline. It’s strange: with soul energy, Intelligence and Willpower stats are flipped. Straight up increasing my Willpower is one way to increase the volume of soul energy I can retain. The amount of Mana I have feeds into how much I can regenerate at a time. I think that I might have to do some of the training that Suzy did to increase her Willpower, though I think there must be another way to grow it. I’ve been channeling some of my soul power into my armor and I’ve increased a few points. Once it’s stored in the armor, then the Willpower regenerates nearly instantly as my Mana reserves dip. It’s as if the Mana is a raging river and my soul is a dam. As soon as the dam is opened, then the Mana rushes through, refilling my Willpower and turning into soul energy.”
Jesal looked as if she were about to say something before she tilted her head to the side, getting a message on her interface. Her face paled. She turned toward the western entrance and broke out into a jog.
“Jesal?” Dave asked, jogging with her easily, his longer legs eating up the distance.
“Seems your friends found something—something that shouldn’t be alive,” Jesal said, her face hard as she used her interface to send messages out.
***
Deia sat in what had been the Dwarves’ food hall. Now it was cleared as she and her party ate food with two warbands and Lovan himself, all watching the eight-foot-tall Demon Prince, who had been eating non-stop for the last twenty minutes.
The door opened; the warbands split, letting Jesal and Dave pass.
“Master Smith.” Lavon bowed.
“Lavon, how many times must I say it’s Jesal?”
“At least a few more.” He grinned. Some of the tension in the room died down now that she was here and cracking jokes.
“Damned rank-loving weirdo!” Jesal rolled her eyes and continued into the room.
Dave looked over everyone, relaxing when he saw they were all okay.
Deia smiled upon seeing him, playing with the ring that he had given her.
“So, you must be Demon Prince Alkao. Well, where the hell have you been?” Jesal asked.
“Frozen.” He looked to Anna.
“Well, he couldn’t very well let you go roaming around to try to get a way to fight the Dark Lord again,” Anna said.
Alkao let out a hot breath, sounding like a horse because of his lungs’ sheer size.
“You two have a history?” Jesal sat down at the table, directly opposite Alkao.
Dave moved to Deia and the others, squeezing her hand as they got close. “Good to see you’re all right.”
“Worried?” Deia asked.
“Petrified,” Dave said.
Deia smiled and squeezed his hand.
“So, what’s going on? Who is he?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Deia hadn’t really believed the story at first, but now, there was no denying it after Anna confirmed it.
“You could say that,” Anna said.
Alkao made an annoyed noise and continued to eat.
Unlike when Deia had first seen him, his eyes were no longer pure black. They looked like a cat’s but instead of a yellow pigment, they had a red pigment around their slit pupil.
“Oh, shut up, you big lummox. My father and I were around at the time of the Demon uprising. The Demons—no longer caring for their Dark Lord’s orders, which placed them into many battles and killed many of their own—rebelled against their lord.
“It took all of the power of the Pantheon to put the uprising down. My father and I balanced out the scales and might have made a few careful moves. Like rescuing a few of the Demon Princes who were fighting for their people and those Demons who were fighting for their homes, lives, and families but were in a hopeless position. We saved thousands, and hid them away, saving the Demon race, quickening the end of the rebellion.”
“Your father?” Jesal asked.
“The Grey God.” Alkao’s deep voice filled the room with little effort.
Deia didn’t doubt that it could fill the skies if he yelled.
Jesal’s eyes widened as she looked to Dave.
“I have some interesting companions.” He shrugged.
Deia elbowed him.
“What? That was a compliment, right?” Dave grinned, avoiding her second elbow.
“Okay, so why is Alkao here?”
“To prepare,” Anna said.
This seemed to interest Alkao as well, as everyone listened.
“My father, since he is classified as a lord of the Pantheon, is unable to kill creatures or have a direct influence on the way things are done. He can give orders, requests and guidance, but he cannot purposefully kill a creature with his own power. Imprison them? Sure. Kill? Never.”
“And what does that have to do with this situation? He didn’t kill Alkao, but shouldn’t he be somewhere else?”
“As you know, the Pantheon are now allowed to have Creatures of Power and paladins at the same time, as long as they are made of their energies. That means all Creatures of Power, if they are animated by one of the Pantheon, must be returned to Emerilia if they are alive.”
Jesal’s face paled.
“By Anvil and Fire, how many of the creatures that were excommunicated does he have?”
Anna held her eyes. “All of them.”
A chill ran down Deia’s spine. She remembered the stories and books she had read about the monsters that had at one time or another wandered Emerilia.
Chapter 29: Shockwaves, Aftermath and Climbing
“All of them?” Jesal asked, clearly shocked, her mind reeling from that. She couldn’t even start to imagine or think what that was.
“From the primordial monsters that the Pantheon messed with to the Angels that wanted to wipe out all of those who did not believe in their Lady of Light,” Anna confirmed.
“So why is he here?” Jesal pointed to Alkao.
“My father is taking his time, as much as possible, in releasing his power over the creatures. He’s sending all that might be potential allies to the People of Emerilia first. Alkao is the first of his race who has been returned. He’s putting them down quietly so that they don’t cause a big stir. He wants them to be as ready as possible for what is coming.”
“How long do we have?” Jesal asked.
“In a year, all of the races that my father captured will start to return.�
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“Why didn’t he simply leave them alone so that they might die in a different plane?” Malsour asked.
“He was scared that if they found a way to keep themselves alive that they might find a way to escape or do something that would endanger Emerilia,” Anna said.
Malsour shook his head. “I will tell Mother.”
“Good. Father is telling the first arrivals what is going on. He is trying his best to place them near cities that might accept them instead of kill them. He’s also working on drafting up ‘events’ that will be centered around destroying the worst creatures that will make it out of storage. Creatures like Wokui, the Water Dragon.” Anna looked to Malsour and Induca, who then looked to each other before they pulled up their interfaces.
“So, you’re saying that all of the species that your father saved from annihilation are coming back to try to help us against all of the creatures that Emerilia and the Pantheon couldn’t control. All of the fucked-up creatures are then going to come in waves of events, starting next year?”
“Pretty much.”
No wonder he didn’t seem all that fazed about deciding whether we should release those Weapons of Power from the vaults. Doomsday is coming.
“I need to go and talk to some people. Dave, get working on that Mithril!” Jesal rose from her seat. “If you need anything here, let me know.” Jesal turned and moved from the room. “Treat them well, Lavon. They’re our guests now, and make sure your clan is ready for a battle.”
“Yes, Master Smith,” Lavon said, with none of the playful tone from earlier.
***
It had been three days since the revelation was made. Everyone in the party was training. Anna was off with Dave, making him face his fears to increase his Willpower.
Suzy walked through the food hall, seeing Alkao consuming more food. She gathered her food up and went to go sit at his empty table. Others watched her; no one wanted to get close to someone of his level.
“So, you have the courage to sit with me, little one?” The Demon lord’s eyes flicked to her.
“Going to have to try a lot better than that to annoy me or make me scared.” She ate a mouthful of meat, gravy, and potatoes.
Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2) Page 26