The Accidental Archmage - Book Five, Edmund Batara [best way to read ebooks txt] 📗

Farther shalt thou fare;

What ale-talk here | do they have within,

The sons of the glorious gods?”

Eldir spake:

2. “Of their weapons they talk, | and their might in war,

The sons of the glorious gods;

From the gods and elves | who are gathered here

No friend in words shalt thou find.”

The disgusting slurping sounds continued from inside the room. Loki shook his head and walked several feet from the receiving area of the cavern, toward the entrance.

Finding he could still hear the repulsive feeding, he went out of the cave into the inner chambers of the temple. He gave a cursory look at the two guards minding the door. Armed with long spears, only the upper torso and the head were clad in red plate armor, the lower part of the body being in bulbous spider form. The soldiers were perfectly still, their full faceplates thankfully preventing a look at their facial features.

Good. I would hate to look at spider faces this close. Spiders. Uuggh. I had my fill of them coming here, thought the deity.

As soon as the large stone double doors closed, Loki found he couldn’t hear the revolting sucking noises anymore. The deity looked around the large room and saw the walls were filled with carvings. Looking closer, he found they unexpectedly portrayed stories. Ordinary stories. Mortal ones. The trickster god had assumed these etchings to be of a dark and forbidding theme—but he was mistaken, to his irritation.

The deity hated being wrong. Loki had not been in this part of the great temple. Meetings with the owner were usually held outside in the forest or on the tops of mountain peaks. But this time, he had brought a promised present and wanted to discuss matters of significant import.

The stone space also clearly served as a special receiving area of sorts. Stone benches were present, though one, in the middle of the room, had hand and foot manacles. He looked up and saw several magelights, giving the chamber unrivaled illumination.

Nice. Though the décor appears to lean toward the primitive style. Too bare for my taste,judged Loki as his eyes roved over the entire chamber, examining the place as was his wont, for weaknesses, traps, and wards. The deity continued around the space, the sound of his boots disturbing the eerie silence of the room.

He was already seated on one of the benches, thinking about his next destination when the massive stone doors were suddenly flung open.

“Ah, Loki. That was exquisite! Such an evil man! Punishing him would be a great pleasure!” exclaimed the newcomer.

The Norse deity stood up and smiled.

“I do keep my promises, Anansi. Evil won’t begin to describe that mortal. How long will he last?” he asked.

“Two years, if I am greedy. Five years, if the punishment warrants it.”

“Do make it five. That human deserves it,” replied Loki.

“Then five years it will be,” said Anansi as he sat beside Loki. The being then waved his hand.

“There! We’re all by ourselves now. No unwelcome ears or spying minds,” said Anansi. “Though it’s the first time you’ve come here. I guess you’ve got important matters to discuss?”

“Could be. I am nearing the end of my preparations. I thought you would like to know.”

“Informing me in person? That’s thoughtful of you, my friend.”

“I admit I am still wrapping up several loose ends. I did manage to get the First Mage to promise not to act against me. It was a stretch considering he had a powerful deity giving him advice, but it’s done,” said Loki.

“Strange times indeed, Loki. A mortal as a First Mage. Those Aztecah acting up. An undead plague in the north. Was that your doing?” queried Anansi.

“I wish it was, Anansi. But no. The magic to do that is one even exceeding the power of the head of a pantheon. Even Hela has her hands full. I guess Hades is also hard-pressed. That removes some of the major players from the list of suspects. That’s an unknown factor I am worried about. We don’t know the who and why of such an event. But I will find out. Hopefully, before we start our little drama.”

“Good. I am tired of being a runner for those big mouths. All these millennia and not a whiff of deitihood,” commented Anansi in a voice marked with righteous indignation “All I get for the hard work is good job, Anansi, or here’s another task for you, Anansi. Makes you puke or want to shove the goodness up their collective asses.”

Loki laughed. After a few seconds, Anansi joined him.

“So, you want me to get my people ready?” Anansi asked after the laughter subsided. “You do have to arrange matters with the others in this part of Adar. I could barely tolerate some of them. Others, I wouldn’t be caught dead in their presence.”

“I’ll take care of that, my friend. Just ready your delightful Onini, the marvelous Osebo, and the wonderful Mboro. I know you also have a huge menagerie of pets. Though I might have a job for your sasabonsam.”

“The ogre or the vampire kind?” asked Anansi.

“Both, I think.”

Chapter One

Preparing for the Barrens

Loki spake:

3. “In shall I go | into Ægir’s hall,

For the feast I fain would see;

Bale and hatred | I bring to the gods,

And their mead with venom I mix.”

Eldir spake:

4. “If in thou goest | to Ægir’s hall,

And fain the feast wouldst see,

And with slander and spite | wouldst sprinkle the gods,

Think well lest they wipe it on thee.”

Loki spake:

5. “Bethink thee, Eldir, | if thou and I

Shall strive with spiteful speech;

Richer I grow | in ready words

If thou speakest too much to me.”

Then Loki went into the hall, but when they who were there saw who had entered, they were all silent.

The javelin flew straight into the panther’s neck, suddenly arresting its predatory attack on Habrok. The