“Well, Arx didn’t say what he was the god of, but he definitely claimed to be one.”

“Are you sure this was actually a god?” Unlike Macera, Mercy didn’t seem disbelieving, only genuine curiosity showed through in her voice.

Then again, this was coming from the angel who had told him to get better at acting. Who really knew how she was feeling? Cael liked to think though, that because she was a part of the Church of Vera, those were actually her emotions. Maybe that was a tactic they used to encourage oversharing. He definitely felt like telling her more.

“As sure as I can be. I can say that I owe him my life and might be biased because of that, but beyond that, I think it wouldn’t be good to say anymore.”

“Of course. Please continue with your story.”

Now that Cael had established that he wasn’t, in fact, a murderer, this conversation finally had the potential to become constructive.

Naturally, this also meant the universe could not let it continue.

“A Lesser elemental is forming nearby. Efforts are being made to dissipate the mana density, but it is advised that all citizens relocate to shelters.” Cael rubbed at his head. He was pretty sure that announcement had been sent straight to his brain. Telepathy was cool.

“Worry not, Cael. Though it appears we must cut this conversation short, I declare you innocent of all crimes deserving execution, and under the circumstances, I will waive further judgment just this once.” Mercy was remarkably calm as far as disaster planning went. She hadn’t even addressed the whole ‘lesser elemental’ thing. Cael wasn’t sure how dangerous it was, but the announcement had referred to it as lesser, so he was sure they had it handled.

A cracking sound, like thunder, rumbled through the air.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Aren’t we underground?” Cael asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got my money on an earth elemental.” Macera definitely sounded like this wasn’t anything that should be worried about.

“I was thinking it could be sound.” The human countered.

“Sure, but by that logic it could also be a lightning or wind elemental.” Enken, by virtue of guessing multiple, had a higher chance of being correct. Maybe. Cael didn’t know if some elementals were more likely than others.

“The possibility remains for metal, arcane, gravity, water, space, and time.” Mercy was just cheating at this point. Surely it couldn’t be fair to have that many guesses.

“Could there be multiple?” Cael inquired.

“That would be the worst-case scenario, but yes. However, the chances of that are quite low.” It was quite comforting to hear the ‘honesty is the best policy’ person say that it probably wouldn’t happen, but knowing his luck…

“Attempts have failed to halt elemental formation. All citizens, please make your way toward disaster shelters and activate contingencies against wind and earth magic.”

“It appears Cael was correct. Luckily for the Constabulary, no money was actually specified in a bet.” Cael didn't think Mercy was joking. “Trista, could I ask you to send our friend to a shelter? I fear we would not be able to ensure his safety in the face of two elementals.”

“Additionally, a shadow elemental has been detected. Please prepare accordingly.”

“Well, shit. Three?” Macera sounded much more stressed suddenly.

“Not necessarily. The shadow elemental can exist inside of the earth elemental. It would also explain why it was detected later.” Trista explained, which Cael thought sounded pretty cool, but clearly, everyone else disagreed.

“Don’t say that.” Enken groaned, “An amalgam would be so bad for us.”

Cael had a funny feeling that this was going to be so bad for them.

Trista walked around the table and Cael stood up to meet her. He was taller than her.

“Hi Trista, it was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Her smile was a bit strained when she grabbed his hand. “Good luck, Cael.”

“Good luck to all of you.” Cael knew that wishing him luck was kind of pointless, and it wasn’t like he was going to be fighting the elementals, so they would need luck more than he did.

She squeezed his hand and the world vanished around him.