Tartarus Beckons, Edmund Batara [bts book recommendations .TXT] 📗

of adamantine to the floor of a vast cavern, the artifact’s surface glowed with eldritch sparks amidst a swirling vortex of blue energy. Flickers of power ran up the metal cables, powering the giant magical orb.

Around it stood rows of gleaming humanoid constructs, each a hundred feet tall and armed with giant versions of metal weapons. They all bore the mark of Hephaestus, a horizontal hammer above an anvil. The Greek deity of forging had learned a valuable lesson from his experiment with Talos, the huge bronze warrior who had protected Crete back in the First World – colossal forms also make for oversized targets.

Suddenly, a huge flaming hand, covered with clouds of smoke roiling with immense power, thrust out of the mirror’s surface. The mirror and its chains glowed brightly in response to the intrusion, and flashes of massively powerful energies attacked the unwelcome appendage. The hand became an arm, and the arm revealed a gigantic shoulder. A fiery face contorted by agonizing pain emerged and a great cry shook the vast cavern. The metal constructs started to move.

Chapter One

Maljen

The Gothi of Maljen sat across the small round table, still wearing a happy grin. Andreas Hahn, formerly of the University of Uppsala and known on Adar as Ivar Godfrid, was undeniably delighted to see Tyler. Kobu, wearing his black samurai armor, sat on a chair positioned behind the wooden door, his weapon now in daisho form on his belt. The mage was also glad to see the young man, one of the few visitors from the First World, or Earth, he had met. There was Liam, of course, but that one was already back home. The third First Worlder was a deranged follower of the deity Ares and that encounter was one that Tyler would rather forget.

The mage did hear stories from some deities about recent First Worlders, or visitors as they were known on Adar. Some came to an unfortunate end, believing to the end that they were dreaming even as giant spiders came calling, dropped into the middle of a vast ocean or an active volcano because of a random encounter with a wayward portal, or became dinner for some tribe of cannibals or one of the ferocious predator packs roaming the continent. Others met worse fates – became human sacrifices, fell in with a dark spirit and found the price to be their flesh and soul. Some did good and many of the non-scientific improvements in the world came from the ideas they had brought with them

“Man, you don’t know how happy I am to see you,” exclaimed the Gothi.

“You keep on repeating that, Ivar,” Tyler replied with a wry smile.

“I know. But knowing what I do now, the few scraps of information obtained from various sources, reluctant deities included, I am sure glad to see you’re alive. Though Kobu here was the least talkative of the lot. All he would say was he’s not at liberty to divulge anything without your permission. I love that get-up though. A samurai! A real live one! In full armor, no less! Without the helmet, of course.”

Tyler just grinned.

I wonder what his reaction would be when Tyndur arrives? An einherjar would send him right through the roof, thought the mage.

The burly warrior and ranger had not yet arrived, and it was providential that Kobu offered no information about Tyler or the party to the Gothi. Their adventures had resulted in discovering secrets better kept from the established pantheons of Adar. It was not that the mage didn’t trust Ivar, but the man was beholden to Odin and such knowledge could be demanded by the deity from his priest. From what Tyler gathered, the exile was instead generous about sharing knowledge about his homeland though not about himself.

“And I heard you can do magic! And a High Mage at that! I don’t know how you did it, but believe me – I. Don’t. Want. To. Know. Normally I would be envious, but from what I picked up, that’s a job which definitely isn’t me. But I wouldn’t say no to an exhibition later,” continued Ivar with a flippant bow.

“Of course, man, no problemo,” he laughed. Ivar was one of the few persons or beings he considered as close friends, even if the man was a priest of Odin. It could be their connection as both were from Earth, but he still appreciated Ivar’s attempt to tell him what he could, within the constraints laid down by the head of the Nordic pantheon. But Tyler had to admit his distrust of old eye-patch had considerably lessened.

“And you got married!”

“Yep,” the mage confirmed with a shy, though impish smile.

“I could say that I am not happy with not being invited to the wedding, but I was informed it was an informal affair. Extremely informal and totally exclusive. Nobody was invited,” Ivar chortled loudly.

“Please keep the information to yourself as much as possible. I don’t want to risk Eira’s safety.”

“Eira. At least now I know her name. Actually, nobody wanted to tell me any details, except that it’s the Lady of Fossegrim Forest. Maljen is lucky to have a High Mage in its environs. Don’t worry about the information. I’ll keep it to myself. If I hear something bad approaching Fossegrim, I’ll go there myself with what forces I could raise,” said the Gothi.

“Thanks, Ivar. I really appreciate that. You’ll meet her one of these days. I’ll work out an arrangement for her to send you a message if the forest needs assistance.”

“So, I guess you’re going to settle here? That your mind is already made up?”

“Yes. Strangely, that gave me a more stable frame of mind. Accepting Adar for what it, I guess,” replied Tyler.

“I understand that, Havard. I went through the same confusion and denial period. Trying to work with a First World perspective in a magical and relatively primitive world. I couldn’t accept Adar and its… unique norms for some time. Especially the brutality and questionable moral