“I hear you. And fighting the Justicars?” I asked, seeking clarity.
“Oh, that is kinda irrelevant, always was while at the same time having an effect. There are sub managers under me tied to Joran. If you start smashing into the Justicars to the point they are bleeding numbers and ranking then they would help me. I think I need that now. You’re going to be aggressively targeted. Without a doubt the proverbial gloves are coming off.
“Just be grateful there is limited knowledge on where I told you to go. The moment you hand those orbs off to Machew, run. Keep on the move. The green portal will come and you’ll go home to all new wars to fight. Wars that mean I’ll never have to deal with you again.”
I nodded and said, “Thank you. I will race off Thur and then help to speed my exit. If I can’t make one of the -”
“Then hide and wait a bit longer,” James said, predicting correctly that I was going to ask about a failure to convert a dungeon master into an orb. “Look, Gryff. This all may be a moot point. You were just publicly assassinated by a Justicar official on a non-combat planet. You will wake up to chaos. You will be on the run from here on. Expect everyone but Machew to hunt you now.
“The second Joran removed the rules, your silly orbs were trivial. The other managers will want you gone in a few days. They may see the error in their hesitation. I will tell them we need more magic to send you home. While they may not want to give away stored power they may realize they have no option.
“As things disintegrate they will see the error in waiting. So do your worst. Get the orbs to help the chaos flow. If not, lay siege to Justicars. Or hide. No matter what, if you survive, you’re going home.
“I’m rambling and repeating myself. Excuse my poor behavior. Times… the times… are unusual. You need to go back to your body Gryff. Your mission is clear and muddier than ever before. Survive and you get to go home”
I opened my mouth to thank him and instead a bright light blinded me and then I was nothing and nowhere all at once.
∞∞∞
My eyes shot open in shock. There was a painful crash of my heart slamming against my chest. The sheer agony told me something was off.
I was drenched, soaking wet in a goopy sticky substance that I quickly concluded was blood. When my vision cleared I saw a lot of red pooled around me. A full unit of dvaren guards and my wives were standing over me while I laid on the ground with a golden glow.
The shimmering aura around me faded, revealing I had been brought back from the dead. The feeling combined with the realization was euphoric, and yet, terrifying. There were tearful happy eyes of Nicole, she’d cried with intense sobs of relief. She dried her cheeks while glaring down at me with happiness.
Gemini was shouting with Groz, poking a finger into his chest. My hearing returned to catch what they were saying.
“We need to double the guards,” Gemini said, setting her hands on her hips.
Groz grumbled and replied, “We did, this requires more than dvaren. To counter this we need specific mages added to the mix.”
“Do it, and don’t prod my general Gemini,” I said, getting to my feet. I was naked, my body being rinsed off with a rag by a sniffling Nicole. It was clearly not going to be enough. Mysti was standing with an open robe that I stepped into even if I was still filthy. “The assassin was powerful. She had some crazy spells that were new to me and were almost able to stop me. This.” I pointed to the dead body of the arachnid woman. “Is the tip of our problems, because I have worse news.”
Nicole scoffed and said, “Worse than a spider bitch, killing you and your guards?” I saw the two guards alive and breathing with sour expressions. They were blaming each other and Groz set them straight. The sheer amount of blood on the deck was disgusting. That meant we only had a single revival left. Best if I hid for a full day. “Not a good time to zone out, husband.”
“Load everyone up. Gemini the second we can, take us to a shitty backwater planet like Wealo. Preferably somewhere we can easily run from if we encounter a fight.
“Expect to be on the defensive going forward. Groz!” I waited for his full attention. The general patted a runner on the back sending him running to get the loading started. “Everyone, and I mean everyone gets an orb inspection going forward. There is about to be an army that will sack Thur. We need to hurry up and get out of here before they trap us,” I said quickly.
“They can’t -” Gemini started to say but I cut her off.
“They can and they will. Carry out your orders. Smash the current blimp out of the way if you have to. Load up the refugees. Now!” I shouted and spun to return to my room.
“I will launch us from the auxiliary bridge, I got the perfect place to go to,” Gemini said, kissing my cheek goodbye for now. She sputtered her lips that were stained red. “Ugh, get clean, darling.”
Gemini ran to catch up with a determined Groz. The duo and the dvaren with them would be able to handle the crowded refugees desperate to get back with us. I couldn’t help but frown knowing they were going to be the last to make it onto our proverbial ark.
My sigh was minimal, and I knew there was lots to do so I headed inside to hide with the others following me. I went to grab a bowl of fruit off the deck only to hear shouts of no.
“Poisoned?” I asked and was told there was fresh food inside our fridge. My grumbling stomach would simply have to wait. “I’m not the kind of man that cowers in a room, but right now, we need to buy some time. Ten guards on this door.”
“Already being addressed. What happened… when… you died?” Nicole asked hesitantly.
I went to sit in a rocking chair, wanting to snuggle into the soft cushion. Zoey snapped with a sharp tone and said, “This is our only home, and we’re about to seal ourselves into it. There is a shower, you need to get all this blood off you. No sense of getting everything filthy before we relax. I will guard the children with Mysti while you two shower.”
My open mouth was closed by Nicole. Zoey had a right to mom me. Even I could use direction sometimes. I did know it was not worth arguing over. Getting blood everywhere was inherently a gross concept and just laziness. So I went to shower and tell Nicole what happened.
She clung to me tightly, clearly distraught by the fact I had just died to an assassin. I let her grieve on my shoulder while holding her tenderly. One thing was for certain. The time of playing nice was over. We were going to burn the master universe down in a crescendo of chaos. I grumbled knowing I was so close. There was zero chance I would go home by myself. As a team we would speed along our removal from this universe.
CHAPTER 16
Of all the places to hide out for a day, well, I never expected a water world. There wasn’t a single island on this planet called Grue. The single bright yellow sun beamed down a gorgeous day across a sea foam green colored water.
The smooth ocean surface only rippled occasionally from a soft wind. There was the odd flying fish, or birds diving into the water, but besides that the setting was serene.
Which was the opposite of what we had to run from. You see, James was right about his prediction. Joran and the Justicars arrived on Thur with the flagship of Admiral Uchina leading the fleet. Luckily for him he arrived over Remi. I had contemplated taking the figurehead out in a climatic fight. Removing the head of the Justicar army would stop a whole lot of problems.
Except I was under heavy guard, without more than a single revival staff at my disposal and instead of rushing into a likely losing battle I saved those desperate to flee the master universe. While the enemy fleet organized we were able to rush close to thirty thousand refugees into our lower holds.
We blasted out of there the moment we could and Gemini took us to Grue to hide. At first I was miffed that we had gotten stuck on such a truly desolate planet. After all, who the heck would live here? The answer was water beings and floating charter cities built for adventurers. So I grew confused by what those encompassed at first.
Basically, a big ship would accept new arrivals as it toured the waters. The problem was they couldn’t have a fixed spawn point because of the rotational hurricanes that frequented the planet. So they would ferry tourists in and out via blimp and atmospheric orbs. When the new arrivals reached these floating city ships they would go farm dungeons and get some rare water loot.
Of all the desolate planets to go, this is the one Gemini chose. I myself was mystified by how this played out to our advantage and the answer was simple. It wasn't anything special besides a place to hide.
However, for Kor. This planet was a sea of opportunities, and something that Gemini calculated I would appreciate. She knew Kor was likely coming home with me. That always was the assumption. He would be released from his orb and swim the deadly waters of Vin. Yeah… a part of the problem for Kor was that he would be tiny compared to the leviathans that lurked in the deeps of the oceans.
That… and well, he would be lonely. Don’t get me wrong. I loved chatting with my five headed friend… but it was either I gave him a happy ending on Vin, or released him here. Which led to a conversation with my pal.
“Hi Gryff,” Kor said, frolicking in the water beside our makeshift barge. He was in a great mood, and I couldn’t fault him. I normally spawned him on land, this was a rare treat.
While Groz, Gemini, and Nicole were overseeing the inquisition of our newest arrivals, I was out on a scouting blimp that had been converted into a boat. Yes, I waited until the damn legendary healing staves were recharged. And the moment those suckers could bring me back I left my suite I’d been hiding in. I wanted to talk with Kor, it’d been too long. Also, I was feeling a wee bit guilty.
“So… I messed up. I killed you while fighting those bears. That was all on me,” I said with a heavy sigh. “Kor…”
My friend had three heads under the water while two focused on me. A clear sign he was distracted.
“Sorry, yummy fish down there. How far can I go without being by your side?” Kor asked, ignoring my apology.
“How should I know? I did a test when I first got here, but that was with no mana pool and on shitty mobs. Wait… Don’t answer that.” I had to hold up a finger to stop him from a saying a smartass comment about how I was a dumb human. “I brought you here for a reason… Well, I was going to see if you wanted to be released,” I asked politely.
“Here? As in these waters?” Kor asked, all five heads turning to glare at me with confusion. And now I had his attention. “Do you not want me to come home with you?”
“Kor, in all my years, you’re the longest friend I’ve ever had. Two full years I was trapped with you, and I can’t think of someone I would rather get stuck with again more than you. But… This isn’t about me or my wants. This is about you and yours.
“If I take you to Vin, you might hate the waters. The ocean might be too salty, the fish too bland, and the lack of babes depressing. Plus… Spoiler, I’m a land based human,” I said and he chuckled.
“We both know I kickass on the land and in water,” Kor said and I bobbed my head in agreement.
“Well, what were you thinking?” I stuck my hands in my robes, rocking my feet while I waited for him to answer. He was clearly mulling over the options.
“That…” A mouth shot fire out in irritation. “This is a big decision,” Kor grumbled.
“Tell me about it. I know I can free you. There are lady hydra’s here, at least Gemini said as much. You would what? Revert to a legendary roaming boss?” I asked with a shrug.
Kor bobbed a head, the others were processing the options. “I would be so lonely here. If the salt is slimy, the fish bland, and the oceans too cold. Can you move me and the others somewhere else?”
I smiled at my friend who had ducked an outside head into the water again. “Four out of five for a serious conversation is a win. I’ll take it. Kor, I would travel the entire universe until you were happy and probably retire to fish by wherever you chose to be home. Assuming I can convince the family to move.”
“Then we go to Prox. It shouldn’t be more difficult than that. I look forward to trading fish for war boar with your griffin friends,” Kor murmured in thought. I smiled imagining the scene play out in my mind. A second head dove down. “There are many hydra here. Much lower levels, in the green to purple range. I sense the legendary hydra was already removed from this world. The others will be fine to collect to take with us though,” Kor said, bobbing his head in agreement with his own words. “There is a dungeon not far away. I can sense it, but it is hydra less. Still, it's close, we should give it a look.”
“Uh…” I hesitated looking around to blank stares around me. “Okay, a lot to digest there. Let us start with awesome. I am glad you’re coming home with me.
“Now. These floating cities that are in the southern hemisphere during this time of year probably are stuffed with natural orbs from these waters. Meaning we could probably trade some platinum for tens of thousands of mediocre hydra and not take any risks associated with farming them. It would make you the biggest baddest hydra in Vin’s waters for sure.”
Kor frowned with a twisting of his head. “If that is the case, then they would probably have a water breathing orb and jewelry. If you move us about four miles that way,” Kor said moving a flipper to the east. Clearly he was not dissuaded by my attempt to say we should play it safe. “I can see if the dungeon is deep. I might be able to farm it with you never leaving this ship.”
“We can easily go and see,” I said to groans around me. “What!? He twisted my arm. Look at that hydra, you see his sad eyes. Next thing he will say is his poor belly is empty. Can you look him in the eyes and deny him. Can you!?”
“Boss,” Jason said with a drawl and a slight chuckle. “I was sent to remind you of no risky stuff. Conversin with yer friend was what Madam Nicole, and Gemini said to allow.”
There were a dozen elvath, a half dozen dvaren, and Jason escorting me on the ship. I figured we would run into this problem if I decided to do anything fun. The elvath were carrying two of our four legendary staves.
“What level is the dungeon?” I asked and Kor did an odd shrug of indifference. “Who has an inspection orb?”
An elvath officer raised his hand and said, “I can swim too. No water breathing orb on me. I got one aboard Gorilla though.”
Hmm… “Okay, a simple inspection for now. We head over, and… what’s your name?”
“Orion, Sir,” Orion said with a terse nod. The elv was short for his race, and lean with high cheekbones. He wore a white robe with golden trim and carried a legendary water staff.
“Great. So we head over. I spawn Kor. He brings a victim to the surface, Orion scans it, and we go from there,” I said with a big grin. Axle was here and extremely nervous. “Did Groz tell you the same thing?”
“Yer correct, Sir,” Axle said staring at the floorboards.
“Okay, I heard both of you, and your objections have been noted for the record. I promise we will simply scout and head home. In you go Kor,” I said returning him to his core. The magical transition of him converting was the best and I stood still until he was a tiny orb again around my interior.
My retreat off the ramp and into the blimp resulted in the others giving me space to head for the bridge. A dvaren captain, and co-captain waited for me when I entered the small room.
“Where to, your grace?” Captain Binard asked, the older dvaren twirled his mustache with boredom.
“Four miles that way,” I said, gesturing the direction Kor pointed to. “We should see a darker splotch or something, but who knows.”
“You’re going to get me in trouble with yer missus,” Captain Binard grumbled. The captain stopped his mustache twirl to pat his co-pilot into action.
“Well, if we're quick about it, they’ll hardly notice we left for a smidge,” I said with a wink that had absolutely zero effect.
The bell rang from the co-pilot. The ramp rang the
bell in return that they were ready to depart. Bad memories came flooding back and I grimaced. My calm exhale let the thoughts of Dib’s betrayal fade. This blimp was fast, and we made it over a darker section of ocean in only a few minutes.
“We’re going to half descent the ramp, keep us ten feet or more off the water. If you hear the bell, get out of here and ensure no one fell into the drink before you blast back to the Gorilla,” I ordered.
“Aye, yer grace,” Binard said with a stern tone.
I left the bridge for the back ramp that was already fully down. I used a palm up in a rapid rising gesture to tell Axle I wanted a higher ramp. He caught on because I stopped walking. When the ramp was level I stepped to the edge and spawned Kor.
My friend created a huge splash as he dropped down into the water. I watched his outline fade quickly from the surface as he dove to the depths below.
“I hate fighting in the water,” Orion said, his neck sticking out as long as it could so he was able to peer over the edge without falling in.
“Fighting in the water, or the water in general?” I asked.
“Both,” he said to lots of nodding agreement from the others.
I chuckled and said, “Snow. I hate the snow. I can swim well enough but I will give some merit to your fear. Dangerous things lurk in the deep dark.”
The water didn’t bother me besides the unknowns. Well, that and the fact that on Thur there were monsters in the deep we never got to know about. Okay, I was maybe being dishonest with myself. The water was somewhat terrifying. I, however, had a thirty foot tall legendary hydra in my back pocket.
Kor breached the surface as if his ears were burning. An orca type whale struggled between two of his mouths. “Hurry up, it is struggling. The dungeon is really small. I can probably drag the boss out for you. Maybe even talk it into surrendering.”
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