End of an Era (Project Chrysalis Book 2), John Gold [ebook reader online txt] 📗

all the blame upon herself, turned her back on her followers, and asked them to accept the patronage of the other gods.

Miridia then spent a millennium in voluntary reclusion. She touched nobody, living quietly the whole time. Every once in a while, she stepped out into the big world, dropped in at the academy of magic, and picked up the latest news about the portal arts and Space Magic. She was the kindest of the gods, their greatest inventor, and the pioneer of magic constructions and golem-building. All the dwarves loved and respected her. Each of them wanted to be the same kind of great wizard Miridia was, though the catastrophe changed everything. Her self-confidence was shattered, as was her daring and will to see everything through no matter the cost. Talamei saved all those memories, a treasure from the lighter days of his youth. Back then, everything was simple.

However, none of the gods guessed why Miridia actually shut herself up at the site of the catastrophe.

***

Leon was sitting on the windowsill in his office. Actually, the fortress didn’t have an office for the god, something Leon himself had insisted on. The windowsill in the treasurer’s office was just the place he came to relax.

His head was buzzing with news from the war efforts around the world. Talamei was organizing attacks in neighboring locations, provoking Leon to destroy the usual undead and free up resources that could be used to create and control chimeras. Twelve bone dragons with liches in their stomachs already carried out a constant patrol around the fortress. Ten raid bosses and an entire army of chimeric undead were gathering under the walls of Airis Castle.

Merlen walked over and handed the god a cup of freshly brewed tea.

“Relax, or you’ll go gray before your time.”

“Thanks,” Leon replied, taking the cup. “I’m worried about this war with Talamei. Honestly, he’s taught me a lot, and I’ve honed my ability as a commander. I mean, Merlen, I can’t control the circumstances, the third party in the war. In this battle, I’m going to have to be all in, using all my skills and abilities, but that’s just going to be enough to enable me to stay even with Talamei. If anything else happens, I won’t be able to handle it. That has me nervous. I’m sure something won’t go as planned. That third party will definitely make itself heard, and then it’s hard to say who will win the day.”

Merlen smiled happily. Stress was a narcotic for him, something he needed to taste the essence of life.

“You can’t predict everything. You’re human, not a god.” Leon grinned. “I mean, okay, okay, you get what I’m trying to say.”

“Merlen, if we want to win, we have to change the playing field to the point that the third party is playing by our rules. If we can do that, the battle will go the way we want it to, and the outcome will be easy to predict.”

Leon wasn’t sure why he was unsettled, so he just set to work the way he always did. It was only later that he would recognize his mistake.

***

It takes me twelve hours to get around the mountains and meet up with Femida on the other side. I’m scared. Sure, the bots don’t bother me; I’m just worried that the goddess will track me down. With that in mind, I run without giving myself time for a break. Normal bots don’t get the time of day. I run as far away as I can.

When Fem hears my story, she decides to join me in my dash away from the mountains.

“Your resistance to mental attacks is above a million, and you’re still shaking with fear. Your eyes are wide, you’re running like a mad man, and you didn’t even notice the train on your tail.”

Fem is right. There are three packs of mammoths and their guards chasing me. We spend more than twenty minutes killing them all. I’m stronger than ever, so the battle is more a genocide than anything else. An enormous crater yawns from the ice, with six mammoths and their guards floating in the water.

I level up.

“You said something about a curse.”

I copy the description and send it to her. After reading through it a couple of times, Femida looks at me in alarm.

“Sorry, Sagie, but I’m going to take your head off if you come back to life. You just need a second to kill me, and I think I can take you out that fast.”

“Sounds good to me.”

We run in the direction of Mergad, hauling the sled packed with loot behind us. While we do our best to avoid battles, we do kill anything that jumps us. Finally, the ocean opens up ahead, and we couldn’t be happier. Spring is coming to a close, but everything is still frozen, so we’re able to pull the sled to the other side of the channel. At least we don’t have to lug it on our backs. Femida curses, saying that we should have grabbed a pack mammoth, and we have to stop working on leveling up our skills when we’re attacked yet again. Still, she’s happy we’re alive, much stronger than we used to be, and even much richer. All we have to do is get to the auction. When the client confirms that the mission was a success, the money will be sent to Femida’s account, and she’ll send me my half.

I have to wonder how many people there are in the world who would calmly hand over four and a half million credits for a quest. Femida passed the test. I had my money, sans taxes.

Back in the city, we put all the loot we’ve collected up for sale. Now, I can head home and relax for a couple weeks. I have money, I’ve reached Level 550,