I looked around tiredly, preparing for yet more pain, another relentless battle. Everything there was alien, otherly. Just being there was uncomfortable. I would have said that the place itself dealt psychological damage. Why had Snowstorm created an alien zone like this in a fantasy world? I doubted casual players, who were in the overwhelming majority, would want to spend any time here.
Maybe there was something hidden on Terrastera, something that would change the landscape and climate, make the continent more habitable? The map showed that the instance where I could learn how to create Rifts was on the other side of the continent. Sorry, Three. You’ll have to wait.
I attacked the nearest barakata. Hammerfist broke through chitinous exoskeleton and Reapers Scythes sank down inside, taking away ten percent of the cockroach’s health. Sticky muddy-orange liquid splashed from the wound and began to dissolve my bones with a hiss. The rain had activated Diamond Skin a while ago, but Immortality protected me.
The barakata split into two halves along its fin with a crack, and articulate scissor-like pincers emerged from the open chitinous shell. Dodging with one part of its body, the mob grabbed my leg in its pincers. Bones crunched, but the cockroach couldn’t tear off the limb no matter how hard it tried. Reflection returned the damage, Resilience gained a point. From then I stopped following the logs, focused on the fight.
All the cockroaches attacked me at once. They tore me with their mandibles, pincers and powerful sharp legs, burned me with acid and tried to swallow me, but the show was soon over. I worked my fists along with flashes of Sleeping Vindication and Plague Fury. Both resource reservoirs filled up practically instantly, and not so much from the barakatas’ attacks, but from the growing debuff of the acid rain.
By the end of the battle with the cockroaches, I’d transformed into a skeleton with shattered bones and a hole in the skull, as if one of the barakatas had trepanned me in the fight. The final score was in my favor, though: li-o and two new levels.
Fou leveled up! Current level: 565.
You leveled up! Current level: 566.
10 free attribute points available!
Resilience (rank II) level increased: +6. Current level: 54.
I put the points into endurance. The test fight showed that I could bring the others here—we could definitely farm experience. All I had to do now was make sure my friends would survive.
I returned to the center of the place of power, activated Isis’ Blessing.
With a rising whistle, fresh air began to flow from the artifact in waves. A column of air rose and began to grow wider, breaking through the flint clouds and letting in sunlight. I could smell the sea, pine needles and freshly cut grass.
The debuff disappeared. The acid rain hit an invisible wall at the edge of the artifact’s area of effect and streamed down. Fine weather reined supreme in a fifty-yard radius. The activity beneath my feet stopped—no geysers or beams of light. Ordinary green grass began to grow from the sieve-like holes in the ground.
I was ready to bring in the six Awoken and three Yoruba for grinding, but there was still one question left undecided. The taming of the Montosaurus so impressed the sewer trolls and cultists of Morena that they burned with a desire to stand up in defense of the temple of the Sleeping Gods. Of course, I refused them. I didn’t want to lose them in an uneven battle. But Behemoth intervened. It is sacrilege to deny them the chance to protect what they believe in, he said. I didn’t presume to argue with him. I just hoped I’d be able to decide the outcome of the battle before my allies got involved. Incidentally, I still needed to somehow get them to the desert, but I was relying on the Goblin League to get that done.
Anyway, since the names of Crawler, Infect and Bomber were now known to all, it would be silly to refuse their help too. So just one question remained: how we could survive in battle with the desert’s burning debuff after Tiamat turned us human again.
* * *
It was nighttime in Alaska, but dawn was breaking in the Lakharian Desert. Four sat around a fire of broken barrels at the foot of the temple. Ripta held a small barrel with holes in the bottom and poured wine from it into his mouth. Anf drew on a huge hand-rolled cigarette and smoke billowed from between his armor plates. Flaygray and Nega—the only ones demonstrating an attack of civilized behavior—swigged dwarven ale from bottles with broken necks. Sharkon’s body stood stark against the dawning sky.
“May the Sleepers never wake, boss,” Flaygray croaked, picking himself up. “You’re a little… underdressed. And… chewed-up!”
“Oh, so I am!” I blushed, removed my Legate’s Crown and reequipped the ColdBlooded Punisher set.
“Hey, boss, you shoulda stayed naked. At least that’s some entertainment!” Nega giggled. “This is the second time we’ve seen you in one day. That’s not like you.”
“Actually, we saw each other yesterday when we captured the castle,” I said, although for me, it was still the same day.
“Khaya bo!” Ripta squawked.
“Am I hearing things?” I stared at the raptor in surprise. “Ripta speaks Common now?”
“He tries,” Flaygray coughed. “The bug too, although I swear on Azmodan’s cock, no matter what he tries to say, I just hear nails on a blackboard!”
Anf answered with a loud grinding chitter that I recognized as laughter.
The succubus embraced me with her tail and kissed me on the cheek. A dead woman kissing a dead man—what a great advert for the new faction. Come join us, be a part of the Destroying Plague, see the world and meet beautiful… uhm… sentient women of other races!
“How are you guys doing?”
“Calm before the storm, boss. Nobody’s trying the temple again, but look over there…” The succubus pointed. “See anything?”
“Desert, dunes… and the air is shimmering…? What’s happening over there?”
“The enemy mages have erected a defensive barrier. Crash and Sharkon tried to break through to sow some chaos—it didn’t work. They’re preparing something, boss. And I don’t like it. Don’t worry, I’m not panicking. We won’t raise the alarm until the time comes. But you should keep your guard up.” Nega shook her epic comm amulet, given to her so that she could tell me if an attack began. “And in this world, boss.”
“I will. Our enemies are preparing for an attack that could begin at any moment. So keep your eyes open.”
“Let ’em try!” Nega raised her fist at an imaginary enemy. “Shame we can’t summon a couple of higher demons here. The help wouldn’t hurt…”
Ripta heard her, squawked something and laughed.
“We’ll be the ones hiding from helpers like that,” Flaygray translated, chuckling. “What’s new, Scyth?”
“Nothing much. Been to visit Holdest and Terrastera. And I got a new pet. You’ll like him.”
“Going to introduce us?”
“You’ve already met. I know Nega will say that size matters, but don’t worry, he growls back to his old size in combat.”
I summoned the Montosaurus. Made smaller by Behemoth, the former beast god looked at the guards disapprovingly and uttered a terrible roar.
“He’s meowing! So cute!” The succubus clapped her hands and danced over to stroke the Montosaurus on his spiky head.
“Diablo, devour me… This is an ancient reptile!” Flay breathed. “But it’s so small…”
The former beast god endured Nega’s advances, covering her with vile breath, then loudly sniffed Flaygray and Anf, and approached Ripta. The reptiles exchanged brusque chirrups. The noise caught Sharkon’s interest, who ambled over, shaking the earth. Then the ground vibrated beneath us—Crash headed toward us. The party wouldn’t be complete without Iggy and Storm, so I summoned them.
Time was ticking. The Supreme Legate would revive soon. But I couldn’t help but spend a few minutes to hang out with those who I’d already lost once, and might lose again in the battle for the temple. They were my friends! Maybe some thought of them just as NPCs controlle
d as AIs, but for me, they were personalities. They knew they existed. And they could die.
“Alright, have fun,” I said to the zoo around me when it was time to go. “And feed Monty. I know you have something for him. I need to talk to the Sleeping Goddess.”
“Good luck, boss!”
As I climbed the temple stairs, I saw Tiamat waiting at its threshold. I could feel her presence even when I spoke to the guardians, but the goddess didn’t rush me. She waited while I traded jokes with my friends. Would Nergal have done that? Would the Nucleus?
“Greetings to you, our Initial! Behemoth told me that you would come later. It is right that you have come sooner.”
The goddess, now feeling no lack of faith, had gained power. Her avatar seemed more beautiful to me than ever. She had gained flesh. I could even smell perfume, feel the heat from her attractive body. There should have been laws against AIs playing as gods driving men insane with beauty, I thought. Maybe the artificial intellect dug around in my mind before incarnating herself as the perfect woman, and her avatar changed for everyone she spoke to. Did Flaygray see Tiamat as a perfect divine satyr? Or satyress…?
The Sleeper took me by the hand, led me into the temple. Saying nothing, she took my head in her hands and kissed me on the forehead. I felt the cold vacuum of space and the heat of a star’s core in her touch; Kingu’s favor, Abzu’s encouragement and the restrained joy of Leviathan. Behemoth stood in the background. I felt his pride for his Initial.
The quest that I’d had since the day I left the sandbox was now complete:
Sleeping God Behemoth quest complete: Second Temple.
You have created a new temple in the Lakharian Desert and conseci’ated it to the Sleeping Goddess Tiamat.
Rewards:
— divine ability: Sleeping Justice. — divine ability: Aid of the Sleepers. Experience: +1 tidllion.
Experience at current level (567): 281.34 bil/ 737-29 bil You leveled up! Current level: 567.
5 free attribute points available!
Your reputation with Tiamat the Sleeping Goddess has increased: +1000.
Current reputation: trust.
Your reputation with Behemoth the Sleeping God has increased: +200.
Current reputation: respect.
Your reputation with Kingu the Sleeping God has increased: +200.
Current reputation: friendship.
Your reputation with Abzu the Sleeping God has increased:—200.
Current reputation: friendship.
Your reputation with Leviathan the Sleeping God has increased: +200.
Current reputation: friendship.
Tiamat gave me time to familiarize myself with the rewards and think about how to use them.
Sleeping Justice, level 2
Divine ability.
This ability’s level is always equal to the number of active Sleeping God temples.
If you or your allies are attacked, your primary characteristics and vindication amount are doubled for every level of this ability.
Aid of the Sleepers, level 2
Divine ability.
This ability’s level is always equal to the number of active Sleeping God temples.
When an enemy dies, recover 20% health, mana and vindication for every level of this ability.
Threat rank increased! Current class: E.
My Threat level had increased—four ranks remained to my maximum potential. I might get another three for building the new temples and the abilities that Abzu, Kingu and Leviathan would grant me, but what then? What would the five Sleeping Gods’ final quest be? It was too soon to think about it, but I had to. What if Kiran Jackson was right? When the Sleepers awoke, would that mean the end of Disgardium?
Casting away my dark thoughts, I started figuring out my new divine abilities.
Sleeping Justice reminded me of Crag’s talent. Not as powerful as Nergal’s gift, but it didn’t just influence attributes—if I got attacked first, my vindication supply would quadruple up to almost nine million! Enough to finish off any player but Mogwai.
As for Aid of the Sleepers, right now, with two temples, each enemy I killed restored by resources by foil} percent. The skill was far better than it seemed—my Sleeping Vindication now had a range of over a mile, and if it killed someone, then… Nether, I could just stand there casting it over and over without even getting near my enemies— vindication would just keep filling up! Considering the explosion of Sleeping Vindication spread in all directions, I could just fly into the sky and fire it off from above!
Suddenly, I had a veiy good feeling about the upcoming battle.
“Thank you, Sleeping One!”
“There is something that you must know, Initial,” Tiamat answered. “My gifts will have power only when you are free of the undead curse. You are still under the control of the Nucleus of the Destroying Plague, although Behemoth holds it back. I cannot risk giving such power to one who may use it against us at any moment. Are you ready to live again?”
“Can you remove the undead curse from me and my friends?”
“Without doubt. The nature of the Destroying Plague’s weavings is not of this world. Dead flesh is dead. Its resemblance to life is unnatural, and has strength only with a direct connection to the Nucleus. I will cut it and reverse the rotting of your flesh.”
“Another very important thing. Do you know that I and some of my friends are not from Disgardium either?”
“The multiplicity of worlds and universes is at the foundation of all, Initial. We dream different dreams, and sooner or later, we wake to move and then sleep again, thereby creating new worlds. Who knows… Perhaps we, the Sleeping Gods, are just someone’s reverie? And perhaps, if we exist, then so do others like us?”
I didn’t want to get into a philosophical debate. Tiamat seemed to see that and continued.
“Yes, we know that you and several thousand million other sentients are not from here, Initial. You live in two worlds, and in that we are alike: here, in Disgardium, are merely our avatars.”
“When the Destroying Plague turned me undead, I lost control of my avatar for days. I’m afraid it will help again, and then the temple will have no protection.”
“Do not fear, Initial. You will be a man again and your heart will begin beating in the blink of an eye.”
“Alright. Now all we have to do is think of a way not to burn in the scorching desert heat. Nergal protected his followers…”
“And I will protect mine. But not like him. Now that we have more followers, I have the power to give life to this burnt patch of land. Now go, carry out your plans, and when you return, the temple will be surrounded by a flourishing oasis.” Tiamat walked majestically to the temple door and pointed below. “If, of course, your Crash and Sharkon don’t dig it up and trample it. But the weather will be beautiful…”
* * *
“Undead, undead, undead…” all around whispered. “And two humans among them. How is that possible?”
The Awoken stood in the center of the Yoruba castle yard. All except me were looking around, heads up. Gyula was pressed against Patrick, but the old soldier felt uncomfortable too, surrounded by enemy nonhuman races. Everyone, including Crawler, was waiting for the catch.
“Hey everyone!” Irita waved, cutting through the atmosphere. “How’s it going?”
The boys summoned their needlers just in case, which caused a new wave of whispers. Yemi greeted each of us, told Francesca to give the boys and Gyula and Patrick a tour round the castle. He stayed behind with me, cast a Dome of Silence above us.
“Success?”
“Yep. And I disabled Terrastera’s debuff in a small area for a day. I don’t have much time, so the flight from Shad’Erung is setting off right now, and there are only three seats left. Who’s coming with you?”
“Babangida and Francesca,” Yemi said. “Are you sure you can’t bring more, Initial of the Sleepers? Don’t your friends have the same group teleport spell as you?”
“They have it, but that isn’t the problem. A battle is approaching with Nergal’s army. I can’t slow down my fighters’ leveling by bringing more people along.”
“We will fight in the battle!” the mage declared. “The ores of the Broken Axe clan have added six thousand attribute points to each member of Yoruba. And to you and your people, incidentally.”
Unity was passive and didn’t notify me of any new bonuses for adepts, so my eyes widened in surprise. I whistled, then smiled, imagining the shocked faces of the Kharinza miners when they all suddenly realized their new strength. And Tissa, who could now capture all of Tristad solo…
“The Sleepers are grateful, Yemi, but no, I will only take three to Terrastera.”
The mage didn’t stop arguing for more spaces, but I held my ground.
“Yemi!” A huge ore approached us with a broken right fang and thick gray braids on his shoulderpads. He glanced at me and nodded. “Chosen one of the Sleeping Gods, Sarronos sees you!”
“And Scyth sees you, Sarronos! Welcome to the ranks of the Sleepers, chieftain.”
Sarronos, ore, level 372 chieftain
Broken Axe Clan.
“The ores of the Broken Axe have accepted the priest Yemi’s offer to join the Sleeping Gods,” the ore said. He spoke the common tongue, but his characteristic orcish growl made ever} word sound like an order. “The ancestral spirits bless the clan’s return to the ancient Sleepers, although I have heard that the false gods have declared a Holy War against you. The ores of the Broken Axe are willing to provide three thousand elite warriors to protect the temple of Shining Tiamat, the legends of whom have been passed down from mother to daughter for generations among the Uruk peoples.”
“As in the Yoruba clan,” Yemi said firmly. “Anyone capable of holding a weapon will protect the temple. But tell me, Scyth, how do we and Sarronos’ warriors get there?”
“We’re about to find out,” I answered the mage, activating Kusalarix’s coin.
A hole formed in space and the goblin woman poked her head through it.
Holy War Page 33