“Holy shit, what the hell was that?” Lanek choked out, his vocal cords in agony after the strange voice burst out of him.
My apologies, Lanek. I… forgot that you do not have sufficient attributes to channel my voice without harm.
Forgot? Does this have to do with your condition?
Probably. It may be best that we limit our contact for a time, if I had spoken through you any longer you would have suffered permanent damage.
Damn… How strong were your previous Heralds?
Your attributes are less than a quarter of what my weakest Herald had in the past.
Oh. Yeah, maybe I should work on that. When should I try to contact you again?
You should not. I will reach out myself once I deem it safe, which will hopefully be when you plant that tree and establish a new domain. At that point, I may be more like myself than I’ve been in at least a century.
Gotcha, boss. I will get right on it.
I know you will. Take care and good luck.
“Was that Eldros?” Pharaoh asked in awe.
“It was. As you heard, we have a deal. Can we leave in the morning? I don’t want to make Lira or Invidros wait.”
The cat nodded. “I can. I will stay here for the night, if that is acceptable? I ordered my kin to stay safe in the dungeon until I return.”
“Feel free to stay the night.” Lanek responded.
“Lanek, what just happened to you?” Lira asked, worry evident in her voice. “That looked like it hurt.”
“I’m not as powerful as Eldros’ previous Heralds. Not even close. In his current state of mind, he forgot that and impulsively spoke through me. I need to help him soon, I really don’t think he has a lot of time left. At first, I thought that he had years before he fell, but now I think that I was being far too optimistic.”
“How can we help?” She asked while Pharaoh watched intently from a chair.
“The tree that appeared where I died is apparently capable of creating a new grove for him. I’m not sure how, but if I can turn the tree into a grove in his name, it will expand his domain. The last time he had more than one grove to support his domain was over a century ago. I have the acorn for that tree on me, but I haven’t figured out where to plant it yet.”
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Pharaoh asked. “Shouldn’t that be your priority?”
“I need to figure out the most advantageous place for the grove. Hopefully, Lira and I can figure it out together on the journey back from Laethon. Will I be able to speak to her while you carry her soul?” At his question, Lira looked at the cat, clearly curious as well.
“Unfortunately not. While I carry her soul, she will essentially be asleep.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Curious as to how the cat was able to do this, Lanek decided to [Identify] the creature. Honestly, he should have done it earlier, but Eldros’ actions had distracted him.
Pharaoh
Tressym (Underworld)
lvl ???
A tressym is one of the more advanced evolutions available to a cat, typically the final evolution attainable without requiring the aid of a higher power or artifact. These winged felines can range in size from a standard house cat to that of a mid-sized dog depending on their affinity. A tressym’s affinity is shaped by their surroundings and actions. This affinity will then, in turn, dictate their skills. A tressym of the Underworld affinity will often be found in service to the various gods of the dead as their spirit-focused abilities allow them to serve as the perfect guides to usher the souls of the departed to their final resting place.
“Just how strong are you?” Lanek asked, a bit taken aback by the lack of information about the cat’s level. “I can’t see your level.”
“Oh, don’t bother asking. It’s a species trait that all of the smaller felines have. Their levels are naturally hidden and no amount of brute force or skills can make it appear. It is said that only the higher powers can see the level and the little beasts themselves certainly won’t tell you.” Lira said with a smile.
“It has helped us survive. Most creatures in the world will hesitate to attack a cat unless they are obviously a kitten or infirm. This is because they cannot determine our level or particular species, which gives them pause since they can never be sure if they are facing off against a regular, evolved, or extremely high level cat. You can only see my species because I allowed it, but I do not have the ability to allow access to my level.”
Lanek snorted in amusement, before explaining to the indignant cat. “Sorry, in my world a lot of animals that really should not be afraid of a cat will run from a fight with one. There are a few reasons that have been given for that, but I couldn’t help but think that maybe the animals of my world have levels and its just the humans that are unaware of the System.”
The cat, somewhat mollified by the answer, promptly closed his eyes and went to sleep. He was clearly content to allow Lanek and Lira to figure out the plan for the following day without him. They left the room to the sleeping feline and sat in Lanek’s office to discuss the plan for the morning, but were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Come in.” Lanek called. A moment later, Ivan entered.
“The decision has been made. Nerek, Khurzag, and Shel will make up the council, which I don’t think will come as any surprise to you. Talwarg will lead it.” Ivan announced.
“They made a good choice. Although, I’m pretty sure Talwarg wasn’t all that happy, but I don’t think that it could have been anyone else. Talwarg does not want to be in charge, but no one has done more to protect this place than he has, except maybe you. However, I am surprised that you, Liv, Lira, and Ograch were not selected for the council.”
“We all spoke up before the vote and removed ourselves from consideration. We would all prefer to travel with you, although how Lira intends to do that remains a mystery.” Ivan responded, eyeing the spirit curiously.
“It’s not a secret, I just haven’t told anyone aside from Lanek my plan. I intend to speak with Invidros and pledge myself to his service in hopes of regaining my body.” At the confused look on Ivan’s face, Lira explained about the cats and Pharaoh’s offer to carry her soul.
“May we join you on this trip to Laethon?” Ivan asked, glancing at the door.
“We? Are Liv and Ograch waiting out there? If so, tell them to get in here, there is no need for them to be hesitant around me.” Ivan nodded and opened the door, ushering the sheepish pair into the room.
“Guys, you are all more than welcome to join me on my travels. However, also bear in mind that there won’t be any hard feelings if you choose to leave the party, city, or whatever. Are you sure that you want to keep traveling with me? It is likely going to be far more dangerous than guarding the monastery or patrolling judging from how everyone has reacted to the whole ‘Chosen’ thing.”
“We’re with you. Please, can we look into reaching my people soon? With what we know now, I don’t want them to remain isolated and ignorant of what’s coming.” Liv asked tentatively.
“Of course. Once we get Lira a body, I need to do a few things around Caelis first, but I was planning on setting out in the spring. Does that work for you?”
Surprised, Liv almost bowled Lanek over with an embrace. “Thank you! I did not think that it would be so soon. That is perfect! Traveling that far to the north would be folly in the winter.”
“Great.” Lanek said as she ended the embrace and stepped back, flushing in embarrassment. “Make your preparations and get some sleep, we leave at first light.” With nods all around, the group retired to their quarters and Lira disappeared while Lanek went off in search of Talwarg.
He found the hobgoblin moping in the meeting room. Seeing Lanek, he grumbled a taciturn greeting.
“Why would you do this to me? Why do you hate me?” Talwarg said in mock despair.
“Oh, stop your whining. You know that you are the best person for the job. Besides, as the dude in charge, you can take advantage of your position and delegate some stuff to the rest of the council. There’s no need to do it all yourself.”
Talwarg brightened at the thought. “You’re right. Nerek’s going to rue the day we nominated me for this damn job.”
Lanek laughed with the hobgoblin for a few minutes while Talwarg plotted his revenge before explaining his plans for the next few days. Talwarg seemed concerned, but understood the necessity.
“Good luck, Lanek. Make sure that you don’t stay gone for too long this time. I have few enough friends in this world and I would prefer to keep them close.”