Lanek grinned. It never got old seeing people freak out when they saw or sensed the gryphon in the monastery. “Don’t worry about it, it’s no threat to anyone in its current state.”
With that, Lanek picked up the pace in order to meet two figures standing in the plaza waiting for him and the orcs. Talwarg and Nerek waited patiently, although Talwarg in particular seemed a little surprised to see the orcs.
“Welcome back, my Khan.” Lanek forced himself to accept the title, knowing that it was necessary in front of the two orcs. “Where did you pick these two up?”
Khurzag puffed his chest out, clearly intimidated by the chief of the Night Arrows. “I am Khurzag of the Ebon Shields. Who are you?”
“Talwarg, chieftain of the Night Arrows. This is Nerek, high shaman of the Hordefather.”
While Khurzag and Talwarg introduced themselves, Shel had approached Nerek and seemed to be inspecting him. Nerek cocked his head to the side and with a sly grin started to exude spiritual pressure. Shel stumbled under the power before bowing to the high shaman of the Night Arrows.
“Greetings, Nerek. I am Shel, sole shaman of the Ebon Shields and the first to hold that title for many years. You have my deepest respect as one more well-versed in the ways of the Hordefather than I.”
Khurzag choked and looked at Shel in shock. Lanek leaned close and whispered, “I think Nerek just made it clear just how far she has to go to be a proper shaman.”
“Thank the Hordefather for that. I’m not sure how much longer I would have been able to put up with that attitude before I said something I would regret.”
Talwarg cleared his throat, getting Lanek’s attention. “So, my Khan. What’s going on here?”
Lanek proceeded to fill Talwarg in on the situation, from how he discovered the fleeing orcs to the rest of the Ebon Shields choosing to follow one of the feral orc gods and abandon Wurgoth’s teachings. Talwarg’s face grew grim as he listened to the story, but ultimately shook his head sadly.
“Tribes joining the ferals or the dungeons has been becoming far more common these last few decades. I understand that they are sick of struggling to survive, but I will never accept their choice to go down that path. You have my sympathies, Khurzag. While the Night Arrows have lost the occasional member to the feral way of life, it has only been in small numbers, so I can’t imagine how hard it must be to lose the vast majority of your clan in such a way.”
“Thank you, chief Talwarg.”
Lanek stepped in and addressed Talwarg. “So, I want to give these two a tour of the monastery and give them a rundown of our plans and the threats we are facing. Hopefully, they consider joining with us for our mutual benefit.”
“Nerek and I can take care of that, my Khan. There is no need for you to do it yourself. Besides, the Lothenae was adamant that he needed to speak with you once you returned, he is waiting for you in the stables.”
“Thank you, Talwarg. I will go see Ivan now. When you are done with your tour and explaining our situation and plans to these two, please wait for me in the meeting chamber on the fourth floor.”
“Of course, my Khan.” As Talwarg bowed slightly, Lanek could see a mirthful grin on his face. Oh, you bastard. You’re enjoying my discomfort way too much.
Lanek walked away and made his way to the stables, spotting Ivan standing next to the sleeping gryphon’s shield. As he neared the Runeshaper, Ivan’s head snapped up and he rushed over.
“Lanek, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve discovered something about this shield.”
“Take a breath, Ivan. Good. Now, tell me why you are poking about Idril’s shield. I have no doubt that Caelis warned you away from it.”
“She did, but she changed her mind when I discovered that she was wrong this entire time. This shield is not being powered by the monastery nor is it connected to it in any way. No, the shield was put up from the inside, most likely by Idril herself.”
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“Seriously? Do you know why?”
“I don’t, but I’m sure you can get your answers if you place your hand on the shield.”
“Ivan, I’ve touched the shield before, nothing happens.”
“Things have changed, Lanek. When I placed my hand on the shield, I caught a glimpse of a figure and heard it say your name. I did not feel any malice from it, but it was definitely powerful.”
“Dammit, what now? I’m kind of over powerful things showing up to give me more work or to make me feel small and insignificant.” Despite his grumbling, Lanek moved toward the shield and lifted his hand. “Let’s get this over with.”
Instantly, Lanek found himself in a forest glade looking up into a human face. However, the face, torso, and arms of the creature were the only features that were vaguely human in appearance. The figure’s upper body was a mass of muscle underneath dark brown flesh. Pulsing green light illuminated the creature’s veins. Its head was topped with an unruly mane of dark green hair and a pair of gigantic ram horns. Its ears were pointed and its entire upper body was covered in tattoos.
When he lowered his gaze to take in the rest of the creature, he saw that its lower body was akin to that which you would see on a satyr, complete with digitigrade legs and hooves instead of feet. However, this figure was much taller and more muscular than any satyr he had read about in the myths and stories back home. In fact, the creature looked like it would dwarf even a minotaur in both height and musculature.
“It’s about time we spoke, Lanek. I don’t think I need to introduce myself, do I?”
“You’re Eldros, aren’t you?”
“I am. It is time that I give you the courtesy of an explanation, especially since I have much to ask of you. Yes, I know you have a lot of requests piling up, but I can only use the options that are available to me. Before I make my requests, let me answer those questions that I can see bouncing around in your head. First, what you heard from Nerek is true, I had nothing to do with your summoning. None of the Primordials could pull off a summoning like this, our domains simply do not extend toward breaking the veil between worlds. Also, I don’t know who summoned you.”
Eldros continued while Lanek tried to take in the information. “As for why I offered my aid and why I am going to ask for your help in return is because I could feel your affinity for nature when you arrived. I could see your memories and watched your grandfather teach you how to live in the wild and how you adopted his kind heart when it came to those animals that crossed your path. Like your grandfather, not once did you turn your gaze away from those abandoned, sick, injured, or starving creatures without trying your best to care for them. When I saw you desperately trying to aid Kazuma in escaping from the dungeon’s grasp, I knew that we were kindred spirits.”
“Is that really all that rare?”
“Yes and no. Back when people were more common in those places where I held sway, I would find many people who were kind to animals, but it was rare to find any that were dedicated to helping them. When I found those people, I would work to bring them into my service. You were the first I’ve seen who met the criteria in almost a thousand years.”
“That can’t be right, there have to be others out there somewhere.”
“Oh, there most likely are, but I cannot reach them. My influence was centered around ancient forests and jungles scattered throughout the world, each defended by a powerful guardian beast and any followers I may have had in the area. However, some of those forests were so remote that only the guardian beasts and the creatures of the forest lived there. Almost a thousand years ago, those guardian beasts began to fall. Once the guardian beasts fell, I could no longer see or influence those other forests, so I have no idea what state the rest of the world is in aside from what Wurgoth has told me. In fact, I don’t even know if those forests still stand.”
“I’m guessing that you want me to figure out what happened?”
“While that would be appreciated, that is not the request I have for you. I need your aid with my sole remaining guardian beast, Idril. If you could get her to return to the forest, it would allow me to reclaim a portion of my power and influence, at which point I could aid you further. And before you ask why I am working with you, I already said that we are kindred spirits and I want you to enter my service. I don’t have any grandiose plans for reclaiming the world, I just want to restore the natural order and stop the destruction of the land being perpetrated by the gaunts and others in this last bit of land that is still connected to me.”
Throughout his conversation with Eldros, Lanek could feel a connection with the weakened Primordial, a shared love of the wild and its denizens. In his former life, he would often daydream about what he would do for nature and the wildlife back home if he ever had magical powers. These daydreams would usually end up with him somehow acquiring the powers of a druid. However, as with most people, his need to grow up and become a cog in the corporate machine led to him abandoning those daydreams as his imagination atrophied due to the everyday drudgery of modern life.
Now, though, he saw a way to not only revive those dreams, but to actually make them come true. “Eldros, I would like nothing more than to join your service. Not only do you represent the things that made me feel most alive back on Earth, but you have gone out of your way to join me with my two dearest companions.”
Eldros beamed warmly at his new and only worshipper. “I accept you into my service.”
At the Primordial’s words, Lanek felt the connection between them become more solid and binding even as the System chimed with the sounds of multiple notifications.