Chapter 56
Chapter 56
“What do you mean you can’t show me how the game works?” Miranna asked, frowning. “I was told to ask you to do so.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, or am not willing.” Jazzjak sighed, waving his hand at the gods in the room. “It’s that I can’t . The system won’t let me show it until one of them reaches tier 5.”
Max put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder as she grunted. “Let it go, Star. Trust me, it only gets worse the higher you climb in the tower.”
She grunted, threw her hands into the air, and stormed her way to the chair beside Tanila. “What’s the point, then, of the tower? Is it really worth all this if you can’t even share stuff with me?”
“Maybe,” Fowl answered before anyone else did. “It depends on whether you want to spend more than a hundred or two hundred years with someone you love or with friends. Otherwise, maybe not.”
“Seriously? That’s the advice you give her?” Batrire asked. “If you want to spend time with someone?”
Fowl nodded. “It is, because you know that’s the only reason why I did the whole tower thing. Out of everyone in our party, which of us cared about getting stronger just so we could rule over people and have whatever we desired?”
Max chuckled as the room stayed silent.
“Exactly!” their warrior exclaimed. “None of us cared about being strong just to be strong. I didn’t want to be in charge of a kingdom! You know how much I hate having to be responsible. The only reason I wanted to beat the tower was to help keep you all safe and get to spend as much time as I could with the woman I love.” Batrire growled, and Max prepared for what was coming.
“Come here, you wonderful, handsome dwarf,” Batrire said, grabbing Fowl’s beard and pulling him till they were kissing.
“And that’s the funny thing about godhood,” Cordellia stated, wincing as she spoke. “All this power, and that still makes my stomach roll.”
Miranna sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry… I’m just… tired. You all don’t mind if I go and rest? The plan is to attempt the next dungeon in a day or two, and I need a moment.”
“You’re fine,” Tanila said, patting Miranna’s hand. “We all understand. Trust me. There’s not a person in here who doesn’t understand how you feel.”
His daughter grunted and rose, waving at everyone as she made her way toward the portal that would take her home.
After Miranna was gone, Sog rapped his knuckles against the table. “So, we’re going to talk about the dragon in the room? Aka, her story?”
Max glanced at Rakonath and saw his dragon’s frown deepen.
“I don’t like it, even though part of me wants to,” Rakonath said. “Max and I spoke about how it would be a beneficial thing for the two of them to share. Both the growth and the power they would possess, along with their innate enjoyment of each other, make it desirable. The part I don’t like… is how it happened.”
“So what changed?” Fowl asked. “I mean, why would the dragon act like that? And did he really intend for them to fight against Shale Spark?”
Max rapped the table as Sog had and waited until everyone was looking at him.
“I don’t know, Rakonath doesn’t know, and even Bob isn’t sure,” Max stated. “The problem is we were just told about a game we thought we had some idea of and the fact we don’t.”
“And knowing that multiple gods, especially the Nine, are playing with our child’s life,” Tanila said, her voice almost a growl, her hair and eyes starting to illuminate, “makes me angrier than I want to admit.”
“Let it go,” Cordellia whispered. “Getting angry will make us do foolish things.”
“Do you…” Tanila snapped and then stopped herself, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. Her hair and eyes dimmed to their normal color. “Sorry… I’m just worked up.”
“We’re all worked up,” Batrire replied with a soft smile. “She’s our girl too. Each of us cares for her, and we’ll be right there beside you, fighting anyone who wants to harm her.”
Tanila nodded, clearing her throat, and mouthed thank you .
“Can I interject something?” Jazzjak asked.
Max motioned for their helper to go ahead.
“I think you all are finally realizing what I warned and hinted at. I can’t come right out and say certain things because it’s not allowed . As you ask specific questions or reach certain tiers of power, I can talk on things that I am aware of, but there will come a time when my knowledge ends. Most of what I know comes from the one god I assisted, who only reached the sixth tier. Hearing what I am now makes me wonder about things I know or thought I knew. I—”
Jazzjak stopped talking, his mouth moving, but nothing came out. Max could see the pain and frustration on their helper’s face as he gasped once and then snapped his jaw shut.
After clearing his throat, Jazzjak sighed. “I’ll teach the game when I can. For now, all I can tell you is to go back to our original plan. Each of you needs to get stronger, and you need to reach the highest tiers possible before you end the protection period.”
“So we’re just tabling this discussion?” Sog asked. “Like, done with it for now?”
“There is no point in continuing it,” Jazzjak replied. “All it will do is raise more questions we don’t have answers for and upset some of you more than others. The last thing we need is—”
Max felt something calling to him in his dimensional storage, and it caught him off guard. He ignored Jazzjak and the others as they talked, finding the item that was calling to him. A book he hadn’t touched in what felt like forever was there. It vibrated, hummed with a power that couldn’t be ignored.
Tanila’s voice pulled him back as he held the book in his hand, hearing her call his name. “Max?”
“The book… the one Phaius gave me.”
The room went silent at his words, and he opened it slowly, unsure what he was going to find inside. It would only allow a single line of conversation once from each of them.
****
Meet me. Now. At the place we first met.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
****
Max’s heart raced in a way it hadn’t in ages. Even in some of his greatest battles, it didn’t match the speed at which it beat right now. “I… I need to go,” he said, glancing up at Tanila.
“You’re sure that is a good idea?” she asked, wincing. “Right now?”
He held the book so that she could read it, eyes widening slightly, and then nodded slowly.
“Go,” Tanila whispered.
“Go where?” Sog asked.
There is no time for discussions. Everything is happening too fast and sudden.
But I need to go… right?
I believe Phaius is one god you can trust. He earns much from your rise, and I believe he has solidified his position of support. We do not have time for a discussion.
Max didn’t want to have a discussion. He wanted answers. “I’ll be back,” he said. “Sorry.”
[ System Travel - Planetary ]
[ Warning - System Announcement - Travel to this world will notify the gods of it that a threat has entered their world. Proceed? ]
[ Y / N ]
The room folded as he stepped through the purple portal; the space he and his friends had discussed everything of importance was gone, replaced by a field that had just been planted.
Thunder and electricity erupted around him as he stepped into the world.
A quarter of a mile away, he felt a presence of the god who had sent the message, standing there, clothed in purple and light radiating from him.
Another peal of thunder rang out, and a boom erupted that tore the freshly planted field apart, sending dirt and seed scattering for a half mile.
“WHO DARES…” the dwarven god Ockrim roared, his golden armor radiating power as lightning sparked from it, a massive two-handed hammer drawing a bolt of lightning from the sky, appearing beside the human god Phaius. “Max? Phaius? What in the heavens is going on?!”
“Calm yourself,” Phaius said, holding up his hand. “I called him.”
“Called him?!” Ockrim shouted, twisting to face the nearby god. “Without asking me?! Why would you—”
“Wekime.”
One word cut off the dwarven god, the power and energy that was radiating from around him almost vanishing in an instant.
“Wekime? Why… why would—” Ockrim asked.
“I’m here to deliver a message,” Phaius answered. “Put away your aura and your equipment. We need to talk, and this is the only place it could happen.”
“I… you… argg!” Ockrim grunted, his hands clenching the weapon so tightly that Max wondered if the shaft might shatter under the popping of his knuckles. “Fine!”
The dwarven god’s armor and weapon vanished, replaced by the same purple-robed toga that Phaius wore.
Max watched as the two gods turned their attention toward him, one set of eyes having questions, the other seeming to hold answers Max wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.
“We need to talk. All of us,” Phaius said. “But not here. We cannot do it here. Now come.”
A portal appeared beside the human god, and Max didn’t wait, moving through the ruined field. As he drew near the two, he stopped, seeing the destruction, and sighed. Twenty gold coins with the image of Phaius appeared in his hand. He dropped them on the barren soil.
“Seems the least I can do after having ruined this person’s field twice now,” Max said.
Ockrim grunted, and a small grin appeared. “Always the kind one I see. Forgive me, I—”
“Later,” Phaius said. “We need to move.”
Max stepped through the portal and found himself inside the room in Phaius’s temple that the god used when coming to this world. Three chairs were already set out, and he sat on one.
Ockrim appeared next and grunted, dropping his body into another.
Phaius came, the portal closing behind him, and he stood for a moment, staring at Max before shaking his head and taking his seat.
“So… what was so important you made me think Thuyja had returned?” Ockrim asked.
“Yeah… I knew you’d come. Sorry, but it’s that important,” Phaius replied. “Part of me wishes she would return, but it appears she is still in hiding. For now, we have bigger things to discuss, and I’m not sure how much I can share or what we can talk about without… being prevented from doing so.”
The dwarven god grunted and nodded. “One of those talks. You and I have had a few too many of these in the last few decades.”
“Blame him,” Phaius said, pointing at Max.
“What have I done?” Max asked. “I’ve been busy on my own world.”
Both of the other gods chuckled at his words, and he watched as they glanced at each other, smiling.
“You have no idea the chaos that is taking place in the godhead,” Ockrim replied. “I don’t blame you for not knowing, as you shouldn’t know but need to know.”
“Need to know what?” Max asked. “I swear you two are being awfully… weird. Talking like this because you can’t speak about it straight forward… I’m finally experiencing what my friends felt sometimes.”
Both gods slowly nodded, each of them smiling slightly.
“You’ve learned to notice that… good. Tell me is your skill giving you any advice right now?”
Besides being worried these two might age us before saying something useful? Whatever it is they have to say, it must be bad if they’re going to act like this.
“He’s a bit concerned about how bad things must be that you need to share if you’re speaking and acting like this. Could you please be straight with me on one small thing? On a scale of one to ten, how—”
“A thirty,” Phaius said, his smile gone after having given a number. “We’re going to show you something, and you’re going to learn a trick that will only work for a short period of time. I’m not even certain it will work because it appears the focus of so much is centered around you and your daughter .”
“What does—”
Phaius held up his hand and put a finger to his lips. “Don’t say her name. Right now, I hope that the focus is mainly there. For now, it’s best if we just take a moment and write down our thoughts. You know… to help get things straight.”
Max watched as both gods pulled out a normal-looking journal, a pen appearing in each of their hands.
It’s like what I did with Everett and my book on the tower.
Seems you’re not the first one to find a loophole in what one is allowed to tell others.
Chuckling to himself, Max pulled out a journal and pen, wondering what game was about to take place.