by Elian Tars
Zhelvan and Zeert were in no hurry to answer, frozen in place like statues.
“Dear sirs,” Tiara said firmly. “Wait outside. And tell those in the corridor,” she added, hinting at the elite guardsmen, “to go down to the hall.”
Nobody argued with her. A minute later, the three of us were left alone. Tiara looked around in search for a place to sit. Finding no suitable surface for her royal rear, she sighed.
“I suppose that the rent for this room will increase now. Not every kennel is honored with the presence of the duke’s daughter and his son-in-law.”
“This is my bed, sort of,” I said, sitting down on it. Tiara joined me, while Berg occupied the only chair in the room. Tense silence hung in the air. Tiara studied the archer, who sat upright with dignity. I watched them as if from the side, being in no hurry to take the initiative.
“Thank you for supporting my husband. I’d like to believe that you’ll continue doing so,” she said confidently, like a true aristocrat.
“Have no doubts about it.” Berg gave a short nod.
Tiara turned to me. I couldn’t help but draw a comparison that’d probably seem offensive to anyone, but I meant nothing bad by it. She reminded me of a dog. Her expression and her eyes seemed to tell me: “Master, I’ve checked everything. All is fine. Do your business, I’ll wait.”
I quickly brought Berg up to speed and asked him to contact Rugus’s Disciple without delay.
“Strange things are going on.” My friend shook his head when I was done talking. “Okay, I’ll meet the Disciple as soon as possible.”
During my talk, I didn’t call Shelton by name. Apparently, Berg noticed that and was doing the same now. I couldn’t lay out all of my cards even in front of my own wife despite the fact that she and her father probably knew who had been trying to make a ruckus in their home for a while now.
“Thank you,” I nodded.
“Ken,” Berg said, “I wanted to discuss something else with you...” He cast a meaningful glance at Tiara. “In private”.
Deep in my soul, I sincerely thanked him. It was as if he had read my thoughts. I really wondered how Tiara would react to his request.
“My dear husband, I’ll be waiting for you downstairs. Don’t be too long, please. You had a long day, you could use some rest.”
She kissed me on the cheek, bid Berg farewell, and left. I was both pleased and scared. It’ll be most troublesome if she starts complaining how we had a deal and how there should be no secrets between us. I didn’t know if she was trying to act like an ideal wife, or if she honestly respected me. Was it all just a game? Was she trying to mess with my head even more?
“Ken? Are you all right?” Berg asked. I shook my head, stopping to stare at the closed door and looked at him.
“I’m fine. Sorry for all these,” I waved my hand, “surprises. What’s wrong? Do you think that Shelton won’t approve of our plan?”
“It’s not the Followers of other Gods that I wanted to talk to you about,” he said in his most serious tone, staring me in the eyes, “but ours.”
***
After talking to Berg, Tiara, our escort and I, returned to the castle. Voices could still be heard from the throne room — Caer was enthusiastically explaining something to his vassals and potential allies.
“Let’s not disturb them,” Tiara whispered into my ear. “Father wouldn’t be against our presence there, but believe me when I say that he can deal with it himself.”
I shared her opinion as I was too tired to hold a speech in front of the aristocrats. The duke could handle it without my help. I believed in him. In the morning, if someone needed to talk to me, I’d humor them. I needed to get some sleep, and…
But I wasn’t given a chance to fall asleep right away.
“It’s our wedding night, remember?” Tiara teased as soon as we walked into our bedroom. I didn’t know whether I should be glad or sad that there was no tradition according to which married aristocrats should sleep separately.
In the morning, the maids woke us up about forty minutes before breakfast. Hurriedly cleaning myself up, I shut myself in the bathroom while Tiara was getting dressed, and, taking the Altar of Darkness out of my inventory, offered my prayers to the Old Man.
You have received 200 Faith Points.
I expected to get more, but I knew that I was being greedy. In total, I had 1,123 Faith Points and could now unlock the Small Avatar of Darkness.
Last night, I let the deliverer out of the window of the tavern room. The mechanoid set out with my coin to a merchant named Fred. I supposed that it’d come back tonight with my seventy stat and fifteen skill points — this week’s quota. I’d then be able to learn the Small Avatar, which would cost me fifteen points.
I chuckled again, opened the Elemental Types menu and spent 1,000 Faith Points to unlock my super-skill. With the sense of having fulfilled my duty, I exited the lavatory and, escorted by the unchangeable monks, went back to the bedroom.
Tiara was waiting for me, dressed in a beige, puffy dress. It didn’t bother her in any way that I was wearing my armor and cloak — I had already asked her what she thought about us being dressed so differently; not that her answer would’ve made me change.
“Don’t worry, my dear husband,” she answered. “Armor’s the best kind of suit. Sometimes, I want to wear something beautiful rather than practical.” She smiled. “Why has such a question come to your mind anyway? Do you think that it’s shallow-minded of me to wear dresses? Do you want me to wear my armor?”
“No, not at all,” I blurted out. “Dress however you like. It’s just... You know that I’m not an aristocrat... I thought that everyone’s always well-dressed in castles and I was surprised when I was allowed to be wed in my regular clothes.” I managed weasel myself out of the tricky situation I had put myself in by asking silly questions. The devil is in details, as they say, and one could easily be ruined by those details. Sure, many people knew that I was a Gleam, including, I assumed, Mavia, who had met me in person. As far as I understood it, Gods could easily feel someone like me, but they didn’t tell their Disciples everything. Maybe nothing bad would happen if Tiara found out my secret, but I decided that it’d be better to keep things to myself to avoid getting into even bigger trouble.
However, if she already knew everything, then my explanations must’ve sounded silly to her…
Almost everyone who was at yesterday’s feast was present at breakfast. Caer said that he had already met Rugus’s representatives — Shelton came an hour after dawn, just as Berg had asked him to. I was surprised that the duke chose to negotiate during nighttime. Even though he had barely slept, Caer looked rested, but he was drinking a bit too much wine.
He asked me to confirm that the king was hindering Rugus’s Followers from fighting the ever-spreading Decay. He had already told them this last night, but they still reacted pretty strongly.
“So it’s possible to stop the Decay?!” exclaimed a short-bearded man, Baron Logreef Dott, the ruler of Boer in Kors County. “I still can’t believe it!”
“So you’re saying, Mister De Bleit,” said a potential ally, Lord Velimir, a sullen, lanky old man with handlebar moustache and a voice too sonorous for his age, “that the independent Duchy of Oruel is trying to, heh, save our lands? I’ve been thinking about it all night… That’s very strange.”
“Not only your lands,” said Sir Helderd, the lord of Nelburg. “But their own, too. It doesn’t seem like the Decay is going to stop in the nearest future, or that it’s going to stop at all before it consumes the whole world. Sir.” The baron looked up at the duke. “Why does the king get in the way of Rugus’s Followers?”
“And not only your king,” said Lord Istar, a young, clean-shaven man with fair curls that were falling over his thick, crimson cloak. “As far as I know, Rugus’s Followers are being persecuted all over the continent. And that means,” his face became grim as he looked around, “that it’s not the king, but his patron who’
s behind this, which is even stranger. Why is the God of All Kings preventing our world from being saved, huh?”
And there it was. He said aloud what many had in mind. I was curious to hear their answers.
“Because he’s not interested in it,” roared a familiar, thundering voice. Black smoke appeared in the center of the hall, twisting into a fifteen-foot tall, translucent figure of a man in a dark robe with a hood that fully covered his face.
“The God of Darkness?” Tiara whispered in astonishment, having read the man’s description.
“Yeah, that’s him,” I replied without taking my eyes off the Old Man.
“Your Gods won’t tell you why it’s so, but I will. Rheingeit is waiting for the world to be destroyed. He needs it; he won’t get in the Decay’s way, but he’ll stop those who try to. Human kings blindly do his bidding, happy that they won’t see the end of the world in their days. They’re wrong to think so.”
The hood turned in my direction, as if its owner cast a farewell glance at me, and then the Old Man disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. I sighed in relief. I was afraid that the enemy Gods would come after him. It was unlikely that among those present only Tiara and Caer were Disciples while the others were Followers. This meant that they already knew that the God of Darkness had held a speech in front of a crowd of aristocrats.
I could assume that any attack would only confirm his words. It could also be that the other Gods didn’t want to risk coming here on their own. They had no time to join forces since the God of Darkness disappeared pretty quickly.
“Mister Ken.” Lord Istar was the first to break the silence. “You refused to say the name of your patron. You had the right to do so before, and you still have it, but I’ll try my luck still — is the God of Darkness your patron?”
I’m sorry, boy, that I paid you so little attention, the God drawled, I haven’t fully recovered yet, but I have to spend my energy to appear in front of other people. In front of those, who, unlike you, can’t make a step without my help. You’re doing great on your own. I’m proud of you. You can tell them the truth, you know. I promise that I’ll tell you everything one day. Thank you, boy. I’m always with you, have no doubts about it.
The Old Man fell silent. I glanced at the message that informed me that twenty Faith Points had been used up.
“Yes, he’s my patron,” I answered. “And it’s his Followers who are born to withstand the Decay in the true sense of the word. We have immunity against it and we can increase our regeneration. Rugus’s Followers are our loyal allies, just like the Duchy of Urhon is now.” I gave Caer a questioning look, and he nodded slowly. “There are two Parts of a powerful artifact left to get. I, together with my people, will go after one of them, and the duke of Urhon and the duke of Oruel will go after the other — the Part that a faithful dog of Rheingeit, King Leor IV, is guarding. While the Part is in his hands, the Decay can’t be stopped. We’ll have to fight fearlessly for the future of this world.” I stopped, thinking that my speech was becoming too pompous even for the aristocrats. I quickly corrected myself. “To hell with the world! For our future, our homes, our lands and our families. The king is blind! He doesn’t see that the world is dying. The king is a fool if he thinks that he and his children will live in a better world. I’ll get my Part and come to aid my father-in-law. Together, we’ll attack Longera and complete the artifact!”
The breakfast dragged on, but a decision that could change the entire world had been made by its end. The castle now resembled a disturbed anthill. The guests, who had come to hear the duke out, were now hurrying back to their homelands to gather the reinforcements. Those who were ready to march immediately were training in the courtyard.
Everything was done in the next two days, at the end of which a mighty army left Urhon.
Chapter 19
The Charge
We were short on time. Perhaps two days weren’t enough to prepare an army for a campaign, I couldn’t tell for sure — I wasn’t a military expert, but we couldn’t wait any longer. Gods would soon find out that the duke of Urhon and the duke of Oruel had united and marched off against Longera, which meant that their Followers would know about it, too. That’s when the race against time would begin — if the king manages to call off the troops that had invaded The Great Steppe and strengthen his defenses, our chances of winning would be close to zero.
We couldn’t afford to stand idly, then. Why was I constantly being kept from peaceful grinding, getting stronger, and contemplating? Over and over again, I had to learn on the go, adapt, and make decisions in a rush. Then again, maybe that was what made me move forward; made me into someone that the sharks like Duke De Bleit thought worthy of their attention. I wanted to believe that.
With a buzz, a fly flew off the canopy and went about its business. I supposed that it was time for me to go, too.
“Going already?” asked a disappointed voice. Turning my head, I smiled sadly at Tiara who was lounging on the bed.
“Yes, it’s time.”
“Won’t you stay?” she asked hopefully. “For an hour more at least?” There was mischief in her eyes.
It took me a lot of effort to refuse her. The two days and three nights that we’ve spent together were like a dream. It was a trivial, but an accurate comparison. I kept feeling like I was always running somewhere, but I also wanted to believe that these little adventures of mine were what was making me stronger. Despite that, for a split, treacherous moment I thought how good it’d be to forget about it all and stay here with her.
Tiara was a wonderful woman: beautiful, smart, insatiable, patient and supporting. I hadn’t just been resting for the last two days — I couldn’t let myself waste time like that. I left the castle and the city and went to the forest to increase my supply of “lives.” The duke didn’t much like me being so self-willed. He gave me a piece of his mind the first time I did it, claiming that he was concerned about the safety of his very valuable ally. Tiara had a rather heated “talk” with him, which was surprisingly enough to make him come to me the next morning and ask me to “be careful and not take unnecessary risks,” instead of “stay in the castle and keep a low profile.”
“I’m sorry, honey, but no. I was asked to come back by noon. I have to go.”
Turning away, I got up and began to dress. The bed squeaked; a second later, I was tenderly hugged from behind.
“Can I really not go with you?” she quietly asked. “Or is my possible death during your ‘teleportation’ just an excuse?”
“You really can’t,” I said firmly and glanced over my shoulder. Tiara looked sad, so I decided to cheer her up. “You know, let’s do it anyway. You’ll die, the effect of your ritual will end, and I’ll be a free man again.”
She batted her eyelashes in surprise and then smacked me on the back.
“You idiot! You won’t get rid of me that easily! And even if you do, the ritual is too strong. The caster’s death wouldn’t end it. The Great One would pass my duties on to a different Follower. However, there’s no guarantee that she’d be better than me.”
For a few seconds, we stared at each other without saying anything. Her gaze was serious, but I was still skeptical about the truthfulness of her words — I shouldn’t believe everything I hear. However, I was pretty sure that she wasn’t lying — her death wouldn’t be enough to get rid of the Mark of the Sacrificed.
On the other hand, neither would my death. I had every reason to believe that resurrecting wouldn’t save me from my unenviable fate. Unfortunately, I’d very likely get a chance to test this theory of mine as I was dying with amazing regularity.
I didn’t worry at all that I had told Tiara about what would happen to the “non-Followers” of the Old Man if they were to be transferred through the Darkness. First of all, I had said in front of everyone that my powers of Darkness would transfer me to the place I needed to be when everything was ready. By doing that, I raised the authority of the God of Darkness and at the same ti
me explained why I was still in Urhon. Secondly, the Old Man allowed me to reveal some of our secrets. Ironic as it might sound, we stepped into the light. We were hiding before, but we couldn’t do that anymore. It was time for action. Despite the Old Man’s generosity, I remained vague with the aristocrats, revealing some details only to Tiara because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get rid of her otherwise. My faithful wife was ready to follow me to the end of the world. She had a very adventurous spirit, and it was near impossible for her to pass on such an adventure. Tiara said that if she couldn’t go with me, she’d catch up with her father’s troops and join the campaign. I hoped that Mavia would give her some other task.
“Of course not.” I chuckled and, turning to her, kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t worry, if I wanted to get rid of you, I would’ve tried to do so during our wedding night. As you can clearly see, I didn’t. Who knows what tricks I can expect from you? Not to mention that Mavia is always watching after you. Right now, I need you alive.”
I smiled again and, turning around, walked toward the changing screen so that I could get dressed in peace.
I didn’t lie. I really didn’t think of Tiara as my enemy. At the very best, she was an ally, and I didn’t have the habit of throwing allies away just because they had the upper hand.
Suddenly, I remembered what happened in the dungeon. The sacrificed Follower of Rugus didn’t count as an ally; he was an unfortunate causality of a series of unpredictable circumstances. I could say that he died for the common goal — locating the artifact that his patron was struggling to find.
I wasn’t a saint, I couldn’t save everyone, and it’d be ridiculous to think otherwise. This world hardened me. I could ignore my humanity, but there should be a serious reason for me to do so. The Mark was a serious handicap, but the possible opportunities made it all worth the effort. If I kept my eyes open — like I always did — everything would be okay. Even if I found out that Tiara’s death would break our bond, I wouldn’t kill her. At least, not until she tries to betray me.
