“You guys find any meat?” I asked.
“Yeah, there’s some meat, but I don’t know why you’d want to eat a giant sewer croc,” Mika said with a distasteful look.
I chuckled. “You do realize that you’ve been chowing down on giant beetles for the past few days, right?”
Mika’s face lost all of its color and his hand dropped to his stomach. He looked over to Kjara. “He’s fucking with me, right?”
She snickered and shook her head. “Nope. Beetle-kabob. Tasty right?”
I felt a little sorry for the dýrafólk… Okay, I didn’t really, but I would feel bad if he threw up on Kjara, so I looked over to him and said, “It’s a game man. Everything taste delicious. I’m sure I can make something quite tasty with some gator steaks. Plus, I’m all out of all my prepared food and need to restock my mats.”
“I wonder if anyone at the temple has any good recipes,” I muttered as we walked back to the temple, a fresh stock of crocodile meat tucked neatly into my pack.
…
36
On our way back I popped open my character sheet and read through my skills, seeing if there were any in a good position to spend some of my newly earned points.
Combat Caster had just ranked up, and Discerning Eye was low enough in progress that I didn’t mind losing out on some progress, so I raised both and banked the rest of my points for later.
*** You spend 1 skill point and raise your Combat Caster skill to 16! ***
*** You spend 1 skill point and raise your Discerning Eye skill to 16! ***
We reached the temple just as the sun was going down, passing several other small groups of soldiers as they left for their evening patrols. The moon was just starting to become visible as the sun set, which if I was remembering right was perfect timing for our purposes, since Moon-gates required moonlight to function.
I chuckled a bit at the whole moonlight part. My earth based physics brain told me that there should be no difference since moonlight was just reflected sunlight, but I squashed that logic back into its hole, threw it a bucket with some lotion, and threatened to get the hose if it didn’t stop trying to ruin the fun.
When we arrived at the war room, it was empty except for a single bored looking scribe who’d been stationed there to record the results of the returning groups’ missions.
She glanced up from behind her small desk with a yawn and beckoned us forward, taking down our names and mission status in her logbook.
*** Quest Complete: Light of the Moon! ***
*** Assist the Temple and The City Guard in Cleansing the Temple and Surrounding City [1/1] ***
*** Your party has gained 1000xp! ***
*** You have gained reputation with the Temple of Heru-et! Neutral -> Friendly! ***
After competing her entry, she removed a small bell from her desk and rang it three times. Seconds later another clerkish looking fellow appeared and motioned for us to follow.
“This way please,” he said. “Hierophant Kaluitep awaits us in the spire.”
The clerk led us through the main body of the temple and up a long set of stairs. By the time we reached the top I was winded, and my legs felt like they were made of rubber. Another two or three more trips up and down that staircase and I’d skip right past buns of steel to buns of mithril.
The stairway led to a large domed room with a door in the roof similar to those used in observatories. The center of the room was occupied by a large stone arch surrounded by several layers of magical circles engraved into the floor. The runes of the circles glowed softly in their slumber, but every instinct told me that should they be awakened, whoever was within the circle would be having a very bad day.
In addition to the circles, there was a full squad of temple elite standing at attention around the room, eyes shifting between us and the archway.
The gate was constructed out of a pearlescent white stone and carved with a mixture of Saa hieroglyphs and magical symbols that were well beyond my understanding. My eyes immediately focused on the new spell-forms, trying to make some sense of the glyphs.
A nudge from Kjara brought my attention back to the present where Kaluitep was waiting for us. He led us forward, over the softly glowing runes to the archway itself. “As promised, the Moon-gate.”
I grinned and looked over the gate once again. “So, how does it work, and what should we expect when we get to Va’pu?”
Mika cleared his throat, gazing between me and the hierophant and added, “Yeah. Any info on what we are getting into would be great. I’ve had enough surprises for a while.”
Kjara laughed and even Kaluitep smiled as he continued, “Of course, of course. When we had more regular relations with the elves of the Vale, Va’pu served as our local trading post, garrison, and embassy in the area.”
“And now?” Kjara asked.
The Hierophant shrugged with a brief smile. “The garrison is still fully manned. We cannot leave the Moon-gate unguarded after all, but the traders and diplomats have long since abandoned the outpost in favor of Tael’va or one of the other trading posts closer to the Saa-eth.
He paused for a second in thought. “I don’t think you’ll have too much of an issue with those stationed in Va’pu.”
“What do you mean?” Kjara asked.
The old priest gestured to me. “Since the outpost has fallen out of diplomatic usage, those assigned there tend to be… like Kheph here, much more liberal in their views regarding the empire. Assignment to Va’pu is usually a punishment for those who upset the status quo.”
Mika grumbled something under his breath about being surprised they weren’t just executed, but Kaluitep either didn’t hear him or just chose to ignore the rogue.
“Good to know,” I replied. “Will we be able to return here via Moon-gate when we complete our work in the Vale?”
“The guards stationed in Va’pu cannot work the gate, and none of our priests have been assigned there for quite some time. None of our clergy has stepped far enough out of line recently to earn that assignment,” he said and paused for a second before coming to a decision. “I will teach you the activation sequence so that you can return.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Will you teach me the sequence to get to Va’pu as well?”
“I will. But do remember that I am entrusting you with information that would be very dangerous if it were to fall in the wrong hands. I only do so because of the services you have already performed for the gods.”
He turned to Kjara and Mika and said, “Please wait here. The gate will be ready momentarily.”
The Hierophant gestured to a clerk who had taken up position near an odd assortment of gears and chains mounted onto the wall. With a practiced ease, the man turned a large wheel and the ceiling began to slide open with a faint trickle of dust.
A beam of light shone into the room and onto the moonstone structure of the gate. The stone began to glow, drinking in the moonlight.
When the ceiling was completely open and the gate fully aglow, Kaluitep showed me a small panel with a collection of sigils on the outer edge of the Moon-gate, and the sequence that would activate the link between this gate and its sister in Va’pu.
As he gestured to the various glyphs he spoke. “Unlike the larger Sun-gates, the Moon-gates are much more flexible… but also more limited. Each gate can only be opened for a short time, dependent on the amount of moonlight available, but are not fixed to only one route. If you learn the correct sequence of glyphs, this gate could connect to any of its sisters throughout the world.”
“Wow. That seems pretty powerful… and dangerous.” I said, making a note to blur out the sequences for Va’pu and the return trip in my videos for the day.
Kaluitep nodded and replied, “It is. But it is also costly. The more distant the gate, the more mana and moonlight required to establish the connection. For Va’pu, tonight, neither of us should have a problem, but to connect to a gate in Karillia, or on the northern islands, only a full moon an
d group of priests would be able to form the portal, and probably only for minutes.”
I nodded along, memorizing the glyph sequence.
*** Congratulations! You have learned the Moon-gate sequence for the Va’pu Outpost. ***
*** Congratulations! You have learned the Moon-gate sequence for the Temple of Heru-et ***
*** Congratulations! You have become more proficient in Spellcrafting! Rank 3 Achieved! ***
The upgrade to Spellcrafting was a little surprising, but who was I to argue. All I had to concentrate on now was making sure to get the combinations right so I didn’t connect to some alien gates somewhere and get a god-worm shoved into my belly.
Kaluitep called Mika and Kjara over and handed us each a small scroll. “These will inform the guards that you are there on official temple business and are not to be delayed.”
He looked to me and added, “Yours also entitles you to one of their chariots for your trip to the Vale.”
My eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. “I get to drive a chariot?”
Mika groaned and Kjara smiled at my excitement.
“But… I don’t know how to drive a chariot.” I said, deflating slightly.
Kaluitep smiled. “Worry not. They can teach you at the outpost. It’s all in your scroll.”
My excitement came flooding back and I looked to Kjara and said with a sly grin, “Good thing I’ve got some free skill points then isn’t it.”
She just sighed and massaged her forehead with one hand while surreptitiously flicking me the bird where Kaluitep couldn’t see it.
I grinned and looked to the gate. “Shall we?”
Kaluitep motioned to the gate. “Please do the honors.”
I punched in the sequence for Va’pu, making sure only Kaluitep and I could see the panel as I did so, and immediately felt a tugging sensation from the gate as it sought out enough mana to power itself.
*** Moon-gate sequence entered—Va’pu ***
*** Moonlight available—36% ***
*** Additional mana requirement… 832 ***
*** Provide 832 mana to activate the portal? (Y/N) ***
“Woah,” I said and confirmed the expenditure. I felt my knees start to give way as almost ninety percent of my mana was instantly drained by the gate and would have fallen if not for Kaluitep reaching out to support me.
The moonlight saturated stone bled slowly into a swirling vortex that popped into a shimmering, silver curtain.
“The first time is always the hardest,” Kaluitep said as I steadied myself. “Once you are all through, I will close the gate on this side. Leaving it open would only make the Va’pu guards nervous.”
Kjara looked to Kaluitep who gestured towards the gateway and smiled. She turned to me and said, “Shall we?”
I looked back with a wide grin on my face and bounced up and down as I said, “I get to drive a chariot,” and then hopped through the portal with Mika and Kjara right behind.
…
37
Unlike the warm feeling of a Sun-gate, the Moon-gate’s energy felt like a crisp, cool mountain stream, or at least what I imagined one would feel like. It’s not like there are a lot of cool mountain streams left in my neck of the woods that one would want to swim in.
One second we were in Sehkem, and the next we were halfway across the continent in Va’pu, surrounded by a ring of glowing silver runes with four guardsmen standing outside with deadly looking spears pointed our way.
“State your place of origin and business in Va’pu,” one of the guards said as the portal collapsed with a soft pop behind us.
I held up the scroll and replied, “We come from Sehkem, on route to the Vale of Dreams in the service of the gods.”
The speaker gestured with is spear. “Toss your scrolls to me and be mindful of the circle.”
I nodded and did as instructed, feeling an intense heat on my hand as it came within inches of the inscribed circle. The rolled up paper made it through without issue, and Kjara and Mika’s soon followed.
The lead guard handed his spear to his companion and picked up the documents, unrolling and reading them slowly. As he finished, an expression of relief crossed his features and he turned towards the archway behind him and called out, “Deactivate the wards.”
Another guard poked her head in from the doorway and approached the glowing circle. Unlike the spear-wielding Saa she was dressed in a long flowing toga-like robe topped with an intricately engraved usekh. Her head was shaved and tattooed with mystic symbols, and she held a long bronze staff in one hand. The entire length of the staff was engraved with mystical symbols and on its top was an intricate headpiece shaped like a cobra head.
The remaining guards put up their spears as she moved to the edge of the circle and inserted her staff into a small hole in the stone. She whispered a series of words into the back of the cobra headpiece and I could feel the energy in the room begin to shift. The bright glow of the warding circle flowed from the wards and into the staff, causing the cobra’s eyes to light up with a cold blue light.
The magus grinned, “Ah. I love that part. I’ll have some extra mana for the next week at least. No stale bread and water for us! Now we can have the good-”
The leader of the guards cleared his throat, interrupting her and nodded in my direction.
She glanced over at me, and then at my stole and I was pretty sure I heard a muttered expletive escape her lips as she dropped to her knees and bowed. “I apologize for my rudeness, Adept, and will accept any punishment you see fit.”
The rest of the guardsmen seemed equally worried and amused by their companions’ plight, so I decided to play along for a moment and maybe break the ice.
I walked over to the kneeling woman and said in my most serious voice. “Magus. What exactly did you plan to do with the extra mana you spoke of?”
“I… I…” she began, flustered. “I was going to utilize it to create wine and meat for me and my squad mates, Adept.”
I looked back at a confused Mika and Kjara and winked.
“Wine!” I shouted in mock horror. “You would use the gifts given to you by the gods on wine?”
She cringed and replied, “Yes, Adept. I know it is wrong for us to imbibe such things but-”
I cut her off again, looking around to her companions who were starting to get edgy. I gave them a grin and made a shushing motion with one finger as I looked down at the kneeling woman.
“Wine. Blasphemy. Why would you waste your mana on wine when you could make beer? Or even better, mead. Wine. Bah!” I said and she looked up at me in shock.
“Oh, get up, Magus. I’m not some hoity toity priest from the Temple of Heru-et. I serve the Lord of the Underworld, and he, at least does not require a stick in the ass as part of his priestly vestments.”
She stood up and started brushing off her robes, still a bit confused. “Uh, of course, Adept.”
Mika chimed in, “Can you really make beer?”
“I’d take wine too,” Kjara interjected, giving the magus a friendly smile.
She seemed to calm a bit at that and nodded, “Wine, definitely. But with enough research and some samples I could probably make the others as well…”
“Damn,” I cursed. “Well, all I can make is water, so I guess I’ll settle for wine.”
I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you all. I am Adept Kheph Sa’tep of the Temple of the Restless Dead.”
Gesturing to Kjara and Mika I continued, “This is Ahn’ep Kjara of the same temple, and our companion Mika of the northern isles.”
The woman nodded to each of us. “I am Magus Aku’a,” she said and then gestured to the guard who had first questioned us and then to the other three men. “This is Sergeant Balmet, the commander of this outpost and guardsmen Tek, Vis’tep and Heku.”
Kjara was shivering slightly, and I could feel the cold seeping into my own bones, so I nodded in greeting to each of the men and then looked between the sergeant and magus and asked, “Is
there somewhere we could go out of the cold?”
Balmet nodded and handed the scrolls to Aku’a and said, “Please escort our guests to the main hall and see that they get everything they need.”
She nodded, retrieved her staff from its socket and gestured for us to follow. “Please follow me. We have some lentil stew left over from tonight’s dinner, and water of course.”
Kjara’s teeth chattered as we walked. “Bu..bu… but… is… the… there… warmth.”
The magus looked over and said, “Of course.”
She led us out of the gate building and through a set of mazelike corridors that eventually ended in a set of stairs leading to the surface. I wasn’t quite sure how the Moon-gate was supposed to be exposed to moonlight if it was underground, but I figured I’d find out eventually if we needed to use it to travel elsewhere.
We crossed a small courtyard and entered the only building showing any signs of habitation. When Aku’a opened the doorway, a gust of warm air escaped the room and washed away the chill. We piled inside and shut the door behind us, looking around for the fire.
There were another four guardsmen seated at tables around the room, their equipment in dire need of cleaning and repair. They snapped to attention as soon as we entered and they caught sight of my stole.
I waved them back to their recreation as we huddled near the fire, thawing out our extremities that were not accustomed to the chill of night in the desert.
The magus looked us over and said, “I have to return to the gate in case it opens again, but I will have a servant show you where you can bunk for the evening. The visiting clergy suite hasn’t been used for a while, but it is in good repair. They just need to get the fire started.”
I smiled and said, “Thank you. I’ll let you get back to your duties but had one more question before you go.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
My smile grew even wider as I asked, “Who gets to teach me how to drive a chariot?”
Mika just sighed and Kjara punched me in the arm, “Let her go back to work, you big cheese.”
Heart of the Void: Sosaku Online - Book 2 Page 27
