We had a long briefing about the dangers of relying on a familiar. Sure we used gliders, but if I died, or if the familiar was popped the entire army was stranded. So… real blimp shopping from an actual builder. The kind that the Justicars were using at the very least, if we could afford one.
The plan, assuming Ovaria was done and back, was to go to Porg for the markets. There was a rumor that Prox slaves were for sale there. We'd been meaning to check to see if it was true, but lacked the funds. The bonus was there was a massive blimp construction operation on the planet and I really wanted to inspect some warships anyway.
I kissed Nicole’s forehead and readied for the day. Mysti arrived with a nice breakfast loaded with yummy smelling bacon and freshly cut slices of melon. She handed a plate to Zoey who managed the babies in their tiny little rockers. A light knock on the door had Nicole scurrying off to the washroom. I slipped into a robe before prying the door open.
“Good morning. You have guests,” Harmony said with a cheerful smile. She sniffed the air then added. “Smells delightful in here.”
“And who do we have the pleasure of hosting?”
“Warg and Machew. They happen to be having a good time in the entertaining room downstairs. Groz is telling jokes to them for now,” Harmony said, eyeing the fact I was still in a bathrobe. “I’ll let them know you need a few minutes.”
“Thank you Harmony,” I said, closing the door.
I gave a loud hmm… I did not expect this.
Nicole hopped out of the small room ready to go in her adventuring leathers. Her smile was wide, and her movements energetic. Seeing her so jubilant brought home how much I had missed her while I was evading capture. When I told her how I felt she said she was a big girl and would be going with me.
Gemini was geared in a fancy war mage set, she carried a legendary healing staff, and a long dagger rested on her hip. She pointed at the fact I was eyeing the curves her robe revealed and not getting ready. I chuckled, I guess that just left me to get into gear. I headed for the bucket to finish washing up. When I was clean I went into leathers that a robe went over.
I kissed my babies goodbye, saying something cute to each one. Next I wished Zoey and Mysti good luck with the little ones today and that I’d buy them some nice fabric for baby clothes if we got the chance. I left with my healing staff, daggers on my thighs, and a plate of breakfast for the walk. Both Nicole and Gemini followed close behind me.
“How do you want to play this?” Nicole asked while we headed for the stairwell.
“Depends on what they are here for,” I said, taking the first steps down. I was famished so I quickly tried to eat when I wasn’t talking.
Gemini mentioned, “I think it's obvious they’re here for the orb. While I expected this, I never expected them together. Machew commands respect, he doesn’t travel with inferiors. Would he meet or entertain with lower guild masters, sure. But travel. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Nicole said with a raised brow.
“Unless it is happenstance. They are officially allies now, so -”
I paused her talk and set the plate down on a random display table to offer her an arm. She accepted, tucking her arm into mine. “Easy, on the what-ifs, we can ask them in a moment.”
The loud boisterous voice of Warg hit our ears from the bottom of the stairwells. “Groz, you did alright! Glad to see you alive.”
“I really hate him,” Nicole muttered, her eyes locked onto Warg and then softened. Nicole was ancient and wise, and I obviously kissed her cheek. She wasn’t going to let this morning be ruined by Warg’s arrival.
In the reception room there was a circular couch with a round stone table in the middle. Groz stepped over the couch to hand Warg a stout draft. I liked to give the god of war a hard time, he deserved it, but I never doubt he loved dvaren.
Machew was a first for me. I’d seen tigruna before, merely another variation of a human and animal mixed. Except Machew was a god and he was an alpha tigruna, putting him at almost twice my height and definitely weighing double what I did. Both of them were in battle gear of the finest sort with intense engravings.
Even if they were geared for war, they wore wide smiles on their faces. I did not see two of the master universes most powerful beings. I saw two males sharing a laugh at some silly joke Groz said.
We were noticed when Groz pointed at our approach.
“Gryff! Great to see you. This is Machew, Machew Gryff. That is his wife Nicole. That one, I don’t know sorry,” Warg said in introduction.
Machew walked cautiously to meet us in the middle. He gave a slight bow to Gemini who matched his gesture. “It is great to see you again,” Machew said. He sniffed, furrowed his brow, and gasped a moment later. “Of all the things, this was the last I expected.”
“I was serious, the equalizer has arrived as foretold and I’ll stand at his side,” Gemini said with a friendly tone. “I find I’m the shocked one. You're here in my home with a lowly guild master.”
“Well. I was signing a new treaty with one of the tiny Justicar guilds that splintered off. A ceasefire for them and theirs after we removed half their bases,” Machew said proudly. He then thumbed Warg. “The TruthSayers came and scooped up the exodus of troops leaving since the leadership is in hiding. We finished the deal, then a talking tree told us to come here.”
“Where’s Rina?” I asked, noticing her absence.
“Back at home. And Machew is partially right. He left out a major detail. Come with me shit stain,” Warg said with a friendly grumble. We headed for the main city exit, guards from all parties following along.
“I swear, if you keep poking me I’ll have to tear your head off Warg.”
Machew pointed a clawed finger at Warg when he went to reply. I was shocked when the rhinorc bit his tongue with a snort, keeping his words in check.
“I hear you had a tussle with some Justicars. Killed two companies worth,” Machew said curiously.
“Rhetorical or wanting information?” I asked.
“When you get at my level -”
Time froze. I kept walking at least five paces before I realized it. When I realized what was happening I went to the nearest potted decorative plant. “Hand Machew, Beargor. Things are progressing quickly. Accept the challenges Machew presents and then you and yours get to go home.”
“Soon?” I asked. There was silence. Shit, well... make lemonade out of lemons.
I reversed my steps knowing time was... - and time resumed.
Machew continued, “Information is the most valuable of assets.”
I removed Beargor from my core. When I handed the orb to Machew it was like he was witnessing his firstborn for the initial time.
“This is Beargor. I promised him he wouldn’t sit on a shelf. He and his army have killed over a hundred Justicars and close to two companies worth, not me directly. May he serve you as well as he served me,” I said, sad to see him go.
“Just like that? You don’t even know what we brought you,” Machew said, scrunching his face while he stared down at me questioningly.
Warg grunted holding the door open for us. “Gryff operates with insider knowledge. He is a tool. A big dumb tool.” The long horned snout of his snorted out a chortle.
“Pfft, I should kick your ass Warg.”
“Seriously Warg, I find myself puzzled and that is a rare occurrence. Why did you just freely hand over something worth more than this planet?” Machew asked, his big thumb caressing the orb.
“You are probably the most powerful being in the universe. A higher power said to give it to you. So…” I said letting the sentence hang.
“You trust them that much?” Machew asked, his gaze down his nose was stern.
I grunted with a nod, my grimace evident. I had halted before leaving the castle to say, “Prox means everything to me. That orb, while nifty, means nothing. You and those who value this gaming verse are tools of a different kind. You
have fun in your sandbox. I’m heading home to go fishing in mine.”
“You really don’t want to stay even if you can achieve greatness in the greatest of arenas,” Machew said with an even judging tone.
“Not one bit. Now, Warg, what did you want to show me?” I asked the rhinorc who’d gotten into a side conversation with Groz.
He held a finger up as they hit a punch line and burst into laughter. Machew nudged his head forward to let us continue in peace.
“Over the next three days, you will be receiving reinforcements. There is… was… I have a problem saying this,” Machew admitted, his irritation evident when he scratched his face. “This orb is clearly not going to be given for free. I was… hmm… probably best I not say out loud and dance around the subject like you.
“There was a warning that I’d be given a great gift and that I should prepare appropriately to recompense. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but part of that was also leveraging Warg for help. A lot of these efforts will take time.”
I grunted as we walked out of my castle home. A dvaren elevator awaited us with a nice ogre lady sliding the doors open. Machew’s guards were agile mages, I could only imagine their levels. The ten of us boarded the box car and moments later we descended.
“I’m surprised you came yourself,” I said and the big tiger man chuckled. “I take it you like to get out?”
“Well, you’re right about that. Keep this between us please. The offensive against the Justicars has halted, in a sense. We’ve strategically captured what we could swiftly. In the past we would consolidate and solidify our gains. Except we’re not,” Machew said and Gemini raised a hand he nodded to.
“You're going after their allies?” Gemini asked and the big male nodded down at us.
“Indeed, they are normally safe on the low tiered combat planets. We want to break the cycle that feeds the giant. That is all those little guilds are for the Justicars. The top officers of Justicars leave to become lower guild leaders, then they pick best recruits to funnel up. Not a bad strategy, we do it ourselves, and while we’ve hit the smaller guilds before, it's never been this intense,” Machew said with a grin. “We’ve never been this prepared, and our foes so unprepared.”
“Then the war is going well, normally you lay off the gas. This isn’t personal is it?” I asked.
Machew shrugged. “This was a long time in the planning, and yes, there was a ceasefire phase planned. We wanted to allow the Bitonians to take the second slot and call it a win. But… due to outside influences whispering in the council, and my ears we’ve decided on another course.”
The elevator door opened. Machew had a big grin on his face that should have told me there was a decent surprise ahead.
We walked into the parade fields where we conducted inspections, disseminated information to the masses, and used this open space to load up our blimps. What I saw startled me.
There was a massive war blimp smack in the middle of our staging area, that wasn’t the shock. Arrayed before it was elvath archers in neat formations with banners snapping in the wind. They were arrayed with precision, their backs were stiff as they glistening in their shiny armor. At least a thousand smiling male elvath stood here, and each of them was surprised to see Nicole. I knew Prox had been a farm for elvath coming to the gaming verse to help win battles or compete in games.
My hunt for them in the slave markets had been abysmal. Yet, here stood thousands of them geared for war. I was very confused by this.
“Where? I’ve had the hardest time freeing elvath,” I mumbled.
“Because elvath do not live in chains in the master universe. They have a place of privilege here. These fine warriors are all from the Inquisitors. Any elvath, and yes, I know there is no true difference between an elvath and an elf. Any elvath wanting to go home to Prox was welcome to try to follow you back to your birthplace,” Machew said. He grunted with a frown. “We have a million elvath in our ranks.”
My face twisted in confusion. I walked the line of troops, stoic faces glaring back at me as they realized they were being measured. Almost all of them were males but I did see a few females in the ranks. They were a mix of mages and archers in light chainmail, versatile for movement. The weapons they carried were legendary or better, telling me these were not new recruits. Only a few held a shield and one handed weapon. The other minority among the ranks was a loose formation in the back where a handful of them were in berserker builds.
I finished my inspection and walked to Machew. “So few.”
“Indeed. A thousand will help you tip the scales. These will help you with the Wyverns of the Wilds. I was told to tell you that is a great orb to acquire. Then you should seek the Ogres of Orginia, and finally the Harpies of Weslo. Not sure why those, and they weren’t picked by me…” Machew said, letting the sentence hang. I understood that they were probably non-negotiable.
“Less than one percent wanted to go home. Well, we’ll take what we can get,” I muttered. I noticed Nicole was numb with wide eyes. She stepped up to the soldiers to converse, her curiosity winning her over. “Going to be a big shock to a lot of elvath back home. These lads are going to be happy.”
“Majority are second or third generation master universe. They were born here but understand that this is not home. For most, you’re an unknown, a whispering rumor. When these notify the others, I expect more to join you. Since Warg is not here I’m going to level with you. This is just between us two,” Machew said, waving back the others.
Even Gemini gave us space to talk with the elvath warriors.
“Inquisitors are going to split into two, Justicars are going to be top dogs for all of a few days. Then we’re going to attack them with two prongs. This will bring them down and siphon off smaller guilds. The three alliances should happen soon, as in months at the longest. Honestly, even if you sit here on your ass, there are forces at play that will make this happen. If you want to cause the change to occur faster, then get those orbs. Hand them to Warg as you get them. While you and I dismantle everything Justicar.”
He never flared red. Either his words were true or the fact they were intended was honest but who knew what the future held.
“I have to admit this is good news. We’re behind though. I need to get real blimps and -”
“Ah,” Machew said, interrupting me. “These troops were more or less a gift because we don’t want the others defecting when they find out you were the real deal and they had a chance to go home. For this orb.” He paused thinking about what to do. “Go visit Minip. There is a war blimp shipyard there. Tell them you’re Gryff and I sent you. I’ll send the word forward so they’re expecting you. Consider yourself able to get a carrier. Those will hold more than you have in this entire city. Not for free, for the orb.”
“Mighty kind of you. So… It’s happening then,” I said, folding my arms with a sigh. After all this time, the ability to get home was nearing. “A couple more dungeons, some raids on the Justicars, and then Warg splits. Does he know that you know?”
“Nope,” Machew said with a mischievous grin. “I know a lot though, it's my plan after all. Listen Gryff. You may not understand but I desperately want you gone. You’re not only a loose cannon; I’d rather avoid trying to manipulate and control you. You’re connected. Connected to the point I’d rather let you do what you were sent to do and then breathe easier when you’re gone. My helping you, is more for my piece of mind. Joran will just kill you though and you need to be cognizant of that.”
“I am, to a degree. If this is the plan, provided by our mutual friend, then… where do you need me to raid?”
Machew smiled, his whiskers dancing with his happiness. “I’d wait a month if I were you. Let your numbers grow and then return to Maswe -”
“Wait, the planet I just left two days ago?” I asked rudely.
“Indeed. If I try to pry them off the planet they defeat my forces as we arrive. If you sneak in with a single c
arrier you can do a ton of damage,” Machew said with a shrug. “Your call, just know that is the best place for you to continue to do the most damage.”
“Alright…” I said, not sure where else to go with the conversation.
“Hey! You're the ugliest human I’ve ever seen!” Warg said from behind us. I rolled my closed eyes to prohibit anyone from seeing I was acknowledging the dick. “I talked with Groz. More dvaren are going to be coming your way. This place should be a trickling hotbed of Prox soldiers working to return home.
“Not all of them are going to be high level warriors. A lot will be maids, cleaners, and whores - both sexes. So be prepared to need additional gear and supplies. Not like I’m going to provide any. You got nothing I want.”
“A legendary necromancy staff at half souls,” I said and Warg stuttered a step.
“Yes, umm, yes indeed. You going to make me bid on it with Machew? This guy is the richest being in the master universe. I’d never compete,” Warg scoffed like a scorned child.
“You two decide, I don’t care. I need to be rid of it,” I said and Machew glanced at Warg with calculating eyes.
“Give it to him. You will scour every slave market for it though. We need to get this Prox problem behind us. Let them go home so there is no doubt the balance was restored and those needing to go home - well, we rest easy knowing they were freed.”
“Gemini,” I said waving her over. “Take Warg to get the necromancy staff and the orbs.”
“Yes, Emperor,” Gemini said with a curtsy. When she left Machew and I watched the duo fade for the castle.
“Is there some magical way to remove a familiar? Feels silly to hold a nice blimp if I’m getting a real airship carrier,” I asked.
“No, funny thing is, your familiar is worth more than the carrier. They’re just that rare. I’m a busy guild leader Gryff. It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for making Gemini so happy, she was an officer I was hoping would make councilmember one day. It is nice to see her happy. I am sincere when I say I wish you the best and am excited for you to get the hell out of the master universe. It can’t happen soon enough,” Machew said, extending a paw.
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