Chapter 57
Chapter 57
“Wekime is concerned. The game we play has changed. The little I could see has been shattered,” Phaius wrote. “Know that he sent me to tell you to get stronger faster. You and he need to have a chat .”
Max set down the journal he had picked up after they had moved chairs and frowned. Both of the other gods were taking their time, reading his description of what had happened with Miranna and Wekime.
Why send Phaius to speak with me and tell me this? Does this mean we were right or wrong about whether that was a trick or not?
There is no way of telling, but it would appear we are still so important that Wekime made such drastic moves to create this moment.
“Ahh, I miss my old seat. Mind if we swap?” Phaius asked, standing and then stretching.
Max nodded, setting the journal back down on the stone chair and traded seats once again.
“You know, I remember when the game felt much easier.” Ockrim grunted, tapping his pen against the outside of his journal. “I even remember being bored at times, hoping something would happen.”
“So it does get better?” Max asked, smiling. “Waiting forever just to have DP be earned so I can immediately spend it is so tedious.”
Both of the other gods chuckled and smiled. “You have no idea,” Ockrim said. “Wait until you’re… how old am I?”
“Easily over 500,000 years,” Phaius answered. “It’s obvious by the gray hair.”
“Bah, I have no gray hair, and you know it,” the dwarf god replied. “Still, I’m older than you by a few years.”
“Twenty-two years older,” Phaius muttered. “And every time it comes up, you bring it up.”
“Wait, so you both are friends? Like a real friend?”
“Oh yes, I’ve known this one for longer than I wish I did,” Ockrim said. “He and I go back to a time when defeating the tower felt easier, but I can’t say it was. Phaius, of course, cheated. He has a spark.”
Max felt his eyes widening as the human god shrugged, a smile stretching across his tanned face.
“Sorry you weren’t the chosen one. Perhaps it was because you were so short.”
As the two gods sat there for a moment, poking at each other, a small glimmer of hope grew in Max’s chest.
I guess you can keep friends that long… I guess…
“Wait, so if you two were friends, how did Thuyj—–”
“Let’s not discuss that,” Ockrim said, the playful tone gone. “Instead, we need to think about something else. We need to consider why this meeting happened and the purpose of it.”
Max glanced at Phaius, who shrugged.
“I was summoned , and it was the kind that makes me drop whatever I am doing and come.”
“Like a dog,” Ockrim muttered.
“And you would just as quickly if he whistled your name,” Phaius replied.
The dwarven god sighed and nodded. “Aye… we all would.”
Phaius leaned forward, focused on Max for a moment. “Tell me… your daughter… You mentioned a run-in with another god . Ockrim and I warned you that she would be different. Just how different is she?”
Be careful. Sharing the wrong thing, even to gods we trust, can be dangerous.
“A combined bloodline? Two parents who are gods? She’s strong, but I mean it took her five years to reach level fifty.”
Ockrim’s bottom lip protruded as his face looked slightly pained, head bobbing from side to side. “Five years is fast, but not broken fast. Defeating one of the trial dungeons is a big deal but…”
Max watched as the god’s throat moved, and no words came.
A low grunt was the only sound the dwarven god made as he leaned back, crossing his arms.
“Seems we’ve hit a place of what cannot be discussed,” Phaius said. “So soon and on such a small matter.”
“Small matter?” Max asked. “What is a big one?”
Phaius shook his head. “I won’t even try. I like not feeling pain like that. Trust me, the longer you’ve been around, the pain you feel when you are chastised for trying to speak on something you shouldn’t is far worse.”
“And yet, the god I ran into didn’t seem concerned until the very end,” Max replied. “Was he bluffing or?”
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Phaius held up his book and started writing. Max wanted to groan as he waited.
“So how are Batrire and Fowl? Is their kingdom in order?” Ockrim asked.
“Uh, yeah. They’re doing well. I mean, besides Fowl wanting to drink a lot and figure out the perfect ale, of course.”
Ockrim chuckled and then burst out laughing. “Oh, that one never goes away… in fact…”
Max watched as the dwarven god’s eyes flickered a moment before a metal barrel appeared in both hands.
“Give this to him. Tell him it only took me about 200,000 years to get here. Now mind you, this isn’t my best stuff, but to give that… well, that would drive the poor dwarf mad, not being able to have any more once it ran out.”
Max took the metal barrel from Ockrim and could feel that it was chilled.
“You keep it cold?”
“Maybe… trade secrets,” Ockrim replied, winking at him. “Just know there is so much out there to learn and trade across all the worlds. If I remember right… you like baking.”
Ockrim summoned a glass box, and inside it was a cake Max had never seen. An aura of something magical seemed to dance along the sparkling frosting, almost as if fireflies were trapped inside with it. A small river of stream of blue coloring flowed like real water, and a dwarf figurine with a fishing line moved, pulling up what looked like a candied fish before it fell back into the water.
“What in the world is that?” Max asked.
“Something I paid a large amount of DP for,” Ockrim replied, holding it out for a moment longer before storing it. “Just know that some gods aren’t known for fighting with weapons or spells. The items they create can sway others to earn favors, and one god might be willing to fight on their behalf, just to earn one of those gifts.”
“I feel like I need to try your chair again,” Phaius said, interrupting their conversation. “I’m almost certain it feels nicer than mine.”
Max traded chairs and picked up the journal, opening it immediately.
“The Nine are different than any other gods. The rules affect them differently, and yet they have rules that all lesser do not. No one knows what rules, though many believe they do. All I know is that the Nine play their own game. We have all heard and know the story of the system and the Nine. We know the history. The black skills are part of the game they play. To hear that Death would seek out a black skill holder and try to trap them through their child is foreboding. It most likely means they are well aware of who all the other skill holders are as well. None of the gods I have spoken to through… different channels, know of the names of the other black skill holders, but some proclaim they do. I do not venture into the other two realms often. Doing so weakens me. Every god learns when they reach a certain tier that crossing between realms is a game played at a much higher level than any can believe.”
Max reread that paragraph even though he didn’t need to a second time.
The layers of complexity of all this are sometimes staggering, and yet I feel a way past it. A thread I can remember but not see or feel yet. I’m not sure what or when it might appear in a way we can grab hold and use it, but I know it will come.
The question is how long must I wait? How many of my friends or family—
A pain in Max’s chest came as that word and the space he was sitting in collided.
“Phaius… my… my family. My mother, father, and sister? Can… can I visit them? Here?”
“Ahhhh…” Phaius held that word for a moment, wincing. “Perhaps… I’d ask that if you desired it, you do it quickly and without causing too much of an uprising… In fact… if you word got out that you were here, I’m not sure how the system might handle that.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re not supposed to be here,” Ockrim said. “Technically, we shouldn’t allow you to be here, but the fact that you’re here and we haven’t attacked you or cast you away could be seen as… going against certain rules. You’re given a three-hundred-year safety period for a reason. To avoid manipulation .”
“But I don’t have that safety period,” Max replied. “I’ve fought in the arena multiple times.”
“We know,” Phaius said. “That is why I might have written what I did, completely surprised that you showed up, of course.”
“Of course,” Ockrim repeated, rolling his eyes.
“So wait,” Max said, glancing at the two gods before him. “How does my doing what I did impact both of you?”
“So far?” Ockrim asked. “Nothing as of yet. Only time will tell… which is a good moment for me to step out. I was in the middle of something when I was notified that one of my worlds was under attack. Since I have solved that problem , I shall be returning to my previous obligation. Phaius.”
Max watched as the dwarven god stood and grabbed Phaius, the two of them doing a quick hug and embrace.
“Be safe, friend,” Phaius said.
Ockrim shrugged. “Provided you don’t drag me into anything major, I shall. Try not to get on anyone’s bad side yourself and be careful.”
“Never,” Phaius replied.
Ockrim gave a small nod toward Max, and a green portal appeared behind him.
“Perhaps I’ll find a young man I know who always causes problems on one of my worlds in a few hundred years,” Ockrim said.
“Seth Pendal?” Max asked.
A scowl appeared on the dwarven god’s face before he chuckled. “No… I hope I do not run into him… that wouldn’t be a good thing for either of us.” With those words said, Ockrim stepped back, vanishing as the portal winked out.
“So… should I ask about Seth Pendal and you two?” Max asked.
“No.” Phaius grunted. “Now then, are you going to cause problems if I give you permission to visit your…”
Max saw how the frown that had been present at the mention of Seth Penal vanished, replaced by tight eyes and a pained expression.
“What’s wrong?” Max asked.
Phaius took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He moved to where Max was and put his hand on the younger god’s shoulder. “You’re new to this life. I forgot that. Go… go and see your family. Remember that time is different for us. Just try not to turn the city into an uproar.”
Max felt a twist of knots forming in his gut as Phaius clapped his shoulder once.
“For what it’s worth, Max Hoste,” Phaius said, his eyes softening. “Know I’ve never been more proud of one of my children who has defeated the tower.”
A green portal appeared behind the god of this world, and he stepped back, nodding once at Max.
What does—
Go.