Gloominess +4: The Cradle of Gods. A LitRPG series: Book 4

by Elian Tars

  Since Tiara had helped me find out where the Parts and the Shards were hidden, she knew everything about the island and its giant dweller. Filling her in posed no threat to me.

  “Is that so? So we won’t be needing all the Shards soon?” Tiara asked in surprise once I fell silent. I was about to answer, when she suddenly tensed up. Quickly relaxing, she added: “The Great Mavia agrees with your patron’s decision not to waste strength on the battle with the Sea Serpent right now. However, she pointed out that after restoring Zurtarn, we’ll need all the Shards.”

  “And then we’ll go beat up that giant worm together!” Mara said enthusiastically. “What?” she answered to our curious gazes. “I want to see it, too!”

  After that, the conversation shifted to more cheerful and mundane topics. I knew that I should go meet the dukes and go encourage our troops by showing them my trophy and holding a pompous speech... but I was too tired. The Small Avatar and the Amulet had drained me. The first time I used that combo, I was out cold for a while. And although I was doing better this time, I didn’t feel like getting up from my comfortable chair. The only thing I had enough strength for was lifting the goblet.

  The others must’ve seen how exhausted I was since nobody insisted that I should go mingle. That was nice... but it couldn’t last forever.

  “May I come in?” a voice asked.

  “Come in, Kazimir,” I said, gesturing him to enter.

  Lifting the tarp, the prince stopped for a moment, looking at me.

  “So it’s really you, sir,” he said with a bow.

  A while back, I had asked Kazimir not to be formal when we were alone or among our people, but now Tiara was with us. I supposed that in his eyes, she wasn’t just my wife, but also the daughter of the duke who had given me the lands on which his people now lived. It wasn’t that Kazimir was afraid of the duke, it was probably that his good manners didn’t let him casually talk to me, his master, in the presence of other aristocrats.

  I nodded. “Will you join us? And tell us how you’ve found out that I’ve returned?”

  “Rumors spread faster than Decay, sir. The dukes have already heard about your arrival. They’ve sent their people to me to confirm and invite you to the dinner that’ll take place in half an hour.”

  “The dukes will be dinning together?” I asked, unable to hide my astonishment.

  “Sometimes it’s difficult for people to forget their grudges,” Tiara answered instead of Kazimir. “As far as I know, Guer-Shui and Rugus don’t hold a grudge against one another. Nor do they want their Followers to be on bad terms during the campaign. So, every evening, my father and Zhalvin Cleuney sit at the same table, and I keep them company. Kazimir joined us yesterday.”

  “As your deputy, sir, and a representative of the God of Darkness,” the prince added hastily. “There’s no need for me to be there today.”

  “No, you’ll go with me,” I said firmly.

  “But you...” Kazimir tried to refuse, but I cut him short.

  “Don’t argue. You’re the commander. As a combat unit, I’m stronger and more useful than you when I’m alone. I don’t want to have to deal with strategies and tactics, that’ll only impede my progress. I think I’ll take a small elite squad and do what I want... I just need to convince our allies to let me do it.”

  “You have my support, my dearest husband,” Tiara blurted out readily.

  I nodded at her gratefully and stared at Kazimir who was still standing at the entrance. After a few seconds of silence, he bowed. “Thank you for the honor, sir. I won’t let you down. With your permission, I’ll notify the dukes that you’ve returned and accepted their invitation. I’ll also find candidates for your elite squad. Do you have any wishes?”

  I had some thoughts about it, but no time to voice them since Mara cut in.

  “I suggest, Sir Senior Disciple, that you invite Una into your squad,” she said in a tone so earnest that it made it sound like she was truly worried about me. If I didn’t know her better, I would’ve believed her. She was trying to provoke Tiara by being formal with me even thought I knew very well that she didn’t have much respect for human aristocrats. “You’ve already fought side by side more than once. And she has become much stronger lately. I think she’ll be glad to become a part of your elite squad, Sir Senior Disciple,” she said and bowed, trying to hide her smile, but I noticed the impish gleams of joy dancing in her cold, bright blue eyes. Oh, what a trickster you are...

  “My dearest husband,” Tiara said when Mara got silent. She was composed and calm — years of having to pretend to be polite had taught her how to keep her cool in situations like these. “I’d like to be the one covering your back. I know you know that I’ll come in handy in a fight. Please, accept me into your squad. I’m sure that you won’t be disappointed.”

  I refrained from glancing at Mara, not wishing to feed her mischief.

  “You do know that I won’t be taking your bodyguards with me?” I asked calmly.

  “I do. Don’t worry, I have artifacts to increase my chances of survival,” she answered in all seriousness.

  “Well...” I drawled and shifted my gaze to Kane. “Will you let Horn go with me?”

  He just shrugged. “Sure.”

  I could’ve asked him and Mara to go with me, but they weren’t strong and were better off as support. Kane’s role was reconnaissance and quick transmission of info to the high command. There was no need in risking his life in battle.

  “As you see, most of the squad is already here,” I said, turning to Kazimir again. “But I’ll take a couple more outstanding warriors. I’ll be glad to see what you have to offer.”

  Kazimir gave a short bow and left. Looking at the tarp, I caught myself thinking how life had been unfair to him. Not so long ago, he was an heir of a free and independent principality, and now he was an errand-boy. Well, to a degree. He’d send his men to run the errands instead of doing them himself. But still! Take Berg, Mara, and Kane, for example; they were commoners, but they were sitting in the company of a duke’s daughter. Even I, whose body belonged to a villager, was a baron now. Kazimir, a born aristocrat, could’ve easily stayed in the tent with us, but he had decided not to waste his time and do real work instead. But it was precisely because of his noble birth that he had more work to do than the other Disciples. He had experience managing and commanding people. And although his army wasn’t too big, he still had more experience on the battlefield than any of us.

  “My dearest husband, I think we should go, too. We have to get ready for the dinner,” Tiara said tenderly.

  “Where are we going?” I asked although I knew the answer.

  “To my tent, of course, since you’ve so kindly offered yours to your friends,” she answered, pointing at Mara.

  I looked at Tiara, glad that she didn’t have the arrogance so common amongst the highborn. Yes, she thought herself above most and wasn’t afraid to show that. But she did that so discreetly that one could attribute it to her joking nature. I wanted to believe that she was sincere calling Mara and Kane my friends, but a part of me was sure that she was just pretending.

  We all had to wear masks, after all; those were the rules of society.

  “Let’s go,” I answered, getting the useless thoughts out of my head.

  Four of our men and Caer’s six elite guards were waiting for us outside. I greeted everyone, observing their reactions. My appearance had a different effect on them. My people looked at me with admiration, as if I was a hero, but the guards had difficulty keeping a straight face, turning away and grimacing from time to time. Maxed-out Gloominess does wonderful things... It was difficult for those who weren’t close to the Darkness (or the Ancients?) not to react on me. Although, this effect worked only on common Followers. Gleams and Disciples felt it, but it didn’t cause such negative emotions in them.

  Overcoming their disgust, the guards managed to get a grip of themselves and joined Tiara and me. Three of them were walking in front and
three behind us. The camp turned out to be huge, set on the edge of the forest a couple of kilometers away from Beldera (away to the north I saw the city walls). The dukes weren’t afraid of a sudden attack — we had enough scouts and sentries. There was no reason to be afraid of any sort of attack, really. In fact, it’d be beneficial for us to fight the duke’s troops in an open field instead of trying to lure them out of the fortified city.

  As we walked, I noticed people frowning in my direction. Most of the warriors served the dukes and they had had no chance to see me in person. But they knew my name. I noticed their eyes widen when they glanced above my head.

  Sometimes they recognized me even before they’ve read my name.

  “Greetings, Sir Senior Disciple!” I’d hear from the crowd from time to time.

  “Welcome back, Sir Senior Disciple!”

  “Now we’ll kick their asses!”

  Our people recognized me and many of them didn’t hide their joy. Their emotions brought a smile to my face, but I hid it. I didn’t want to smile from ear to ear like an idiot. I had a reputation I needed to keep. Half-smiles, quick nods, and waving were enough. This way, I showed them that I cared about them and at the same time, I drew an invisible line that protected me from fraternization.

  “You’re surprisingly famous,” Tiara whispered with pride in her voice, walking arm-in-arm with me.

  “Only among my people,” I answered, pretending to be modest.

  From time to time, we had to stop as half-smiles weren’t enough for some people. I exchanged a few words with the Ilyenta’s officers, and then I talked to the head of my secondary squad — Erg. Once a medic, he was now responsible not only for healing, but also for supplying my army and collecting loot.

  I talked to others as well. For example, with Hulne, one of the Disciples of Rugus, a mighty warrior, who together with Una and the late Jerome, accompanied me in the search for one of the Parts. All in all, I saw a lot of familiar faces among the Rugus’s Followers who had fought with us in the battle for Ilyenta.

  I greeted the housecarls, but saw neither their current thane, nor the former one on the way — they must’ve been busy with something, otherwise they would’ve come to greet me. Not that I a high opinion of myself, it was just that the Followers of Noriduel were very impetuous and uninhibited people. Just like their patron.

  “Oh! Hello there, traveler!” Tael practically fell from behind the backs of other onlookers to the feet of the bodyguards. Tiara’s men tensed up, raising their shields and swords. They didn’t do anything more, accustomed to the fact that someone would rush to greet us from time to time.

  “It’s good to see you.” I offered my hand to Tael who returned my handshake and bowed to Tiara. She smiled and bowed in reply.

  Tael didn’t say anything important in the end. Shaking his wineskin, he talked about how glad he was to see me and how the day we met was one of the best days of his life.

  “...because you’re always fun to be with, Ken! There was Al-Harum before, now there’s Beldera. And we’re finally swinging our swords for a righteous cause! Thank you for such an amazing contract! We haven’t had so much fun in a long time!”

  “Yeah!” one of the mercenaries shouted.

  “That’s true!”

  Other people saw nothing more but a merry mercenary in Tael, but I knew that a God was talking to me. A God who thanked me not only for the fun he was having, but because he really was glad that I was helping save Zurtane. Noriduel wasn’t among those who had destroyed the Zurtarn. Someone who loved booze, women, and fun as much as he did didn’t want the Decay to take all that away from him.

  “You’re welcome,” I replied with a chuckle. Raising my voice, I said: “The truth is with us, my friends! In a few days, we’ll defeat the king! We’ll put an end to his evil deeds, and after that to the Decay!”

  “Yeah!!!” the people shouted, supporting me.

  Tael smiled slyly and stepped back, disappearing in the enthusiastic crowd.

  A couple of minutes later, we finally reached Tiara’s tent.

  Chapter 24

  Marching Off

  As soon as the tarp closed behind us, Tiara wrapped her arms around my neck.

  “I’m so glad we’re finally alone, my dearest husband,” she whispered passionately.

  “Me too,” I answered, pressing her close to me. “I wouldn’t mind some fun now, but I’ll behave...”

  Remaining in the embrace, she leaned back to see my eyes. Her face expressed extreme surprise.

  “For the God of Darkness!!!” we heard from the outside.

  “For the Great Rugus!!!”

  “For Guer-Shui!!!”

  “Let’s smash the king!!!”

  “Yeah!!!”

  Surprise was replaced with a smile and giggling.

  “You’ve caused quite a stir! With such a clamor, it’d be impossible...” She waved the thought away and got out of the embrace. “And it took us much longer to get to the tent than I planned...”

  I shrugged. “I couldn’t ignore my old comrade.”

  “That’s true,” she said in a serious tone and then smiled. “Well, let’s not ruin it by being hasty. Let’s postpone the celebration of our reunion until the evening. But you have to promise that you won’t run away from me!” she added jokingly.

  “As if I ever would,” I mumbled and sighed. “I promise that I won’t avoid you on purpose.”

  Tiara made a wry face and shook her head. “That didn’t sound very nice. Well, whatever. Let’s get ready for the dinner.”

  Behind one of the curtains that divided the tent into several compartments, there was a tub filled with warm water, prepared specially for me. I took off my armor and got in, muscles relaxing and fatigue fading away. Tiara called a barber who made my appearance more suitable for such an official event and sprayed my clothes with the familiar spruce-scented liquid. He helped me to get dressed and then sprayed Tiara’s clothes, too. I couldn’t help but admire the ingenuity of the genius behind this invention that easily replaced the entire washing and ironing process.

  “You look great,” I complimented Tiara. She had her hair done while I was taking a bath, putting her long tresses up and fixing it with a hairpin made of white metal with red gemstones. She also changed her dress and was now flaunting in blood-red leather scale armor. Her boots were of the same color, as were her gloves and the woolen robe with a hood.

  “Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”

  “Not only does it look nice, but its stats are great, too,” I said in astonishment. Curious, I asked the system for information on Tiara as well.

  Mrs. Tiara Dark

  Level 98

  HP: 7,210/7,210

  Since we were now married, she had changed her last name to Dark. And since I had no real last name, I went with the name of the unofficial capital of my barony — the village of Dark. Tiara had also dropped the “lady” from her name because she didn’t like how “Lady Tiara Dark” sounded.

  But what impressed me where the numbers. After she had changed her clothes, she got 2,000 HP.

  “I told you I won’t be a burden. It’s far from what you have, of course, buuuuut... It’s far from the best I can do,” she smiled slyly.

  “Meaning?”

  “I’ll try to make my armor even more impressive with the help of my skills.”

  I had suspicions about the way she was going to upgrade her armor...

  “Can you do something like that for me?” I asked even though I wasn’t eager to wear armor “enchanted” with the help of blood magic. Something told me that animal blood wasn’t her preferred crafting material.

  “I’m sorry, my dearest husband.” Tiara lowered her eyes. “Only high-leveled Followers of Mavia can wear such armor.”

  “That’s what I thought.” I smiled and hugged her. “Don’t be sad. The armor I have is good enough for me. Let’s go.”

  The dinner went without incidents and my proposal to create an elite squa
d had been approved. Of other things, we discussed the strategy of the upcoming assault. I listened attentively, but I mostly kept silent, preferring to leave such matters to the professionals. Both Tiara and Una, whose presence was expected at the meeting as someone her status couldn’t be left in the dark, stayed out of it, too. The latter was more reserved than usual. Two dukes were a serious audience and she couldn’t allow herself to overstep her boundaries. She kept her flirtations discreet, casting occasional glances at me, while she talked to Tiara pretty coldly.

  To hell with their petty squabbles... They can sort it out among themselves. I made my position clear to Tiara.

  Adding to the gradually growing tension in the air where Caer and Zhalvin’s negotiations. It seemed to me that the former tried to be friendly. And at first glance, he seemed to succeed at it, but it was like smiling to hide the pain. Here and there, genuine emotions still slipped through.

  But what Zhalvin felt, that I failed to understand throughout the entire evening. The tall and thin man seemed to be a good-natured fellow. A smile seemed to have settled under his thin moustache, for it never left his lips. Looking at his oval head and curly hair that framed his face down to his chin, you’d never think that he was a powerful man, a Disciple of Rugus and a ruler of an independent duchy.

  The worst thing was that I was sure that he was lying, but he was doing it so well that my gut didn’t feel anything like anything was wrong. Only my brain didn’t let me trust him.

  “By the way, my dear son-in-law,” Caer addressed me when the discussion of the strategy was over. “Won’t you tell us where you’ve been? Or is it a secret?”

  “How can we have secrets in front of our allies?” I smiled in reply and for the second time today, retold my adventures. When I mentioned that Rugus and Una had helped me in the battle with Biergein, I noticed how Zhalvin looked at the girl in astonishment. His reaction didn’t come as a surprise as Gods didn’t always tell their Followers about everything they did. The Old Man was the same. Although his astonishment was too open. Maybe he wasn’t astonished, but offended? But before I had a chance to figure it out, he regained his composure. Had I not been glancing in his direction before, I would’ve easily missed it.