We searched around the mountains for three days, trying to locate a good spot for a city, resting either near Torpel Trees or close to the coast. We didn't find any other food, and the fish didn't taste any better after it was dried. Still, even with the constant fear of monsters, we slept well and weren't going hungry. The fact that Haltir made me practice my ax skills every evening probably had something to do with how well I slept.

On the fourth day, we were moving a little deeper into the mountains, following a ten-meter wide river that was flowing around a steep hill. The goats were easily navigating the steep slope, and we had more or less gotten used to the constant riding.

"If we don't find anything today, we should consider going to Crouhal," Laurel said. "Perhaps we can find someone selling a more detailed map of the area."

Letting my body sway with the movements of the Sabertooth Goat, I thought about what she had told me about Crouhal, a border town that had grown around a keep that guarded the sole entrance between the empire and the coastal part of the Shallow Gale Mountains. It was at least a two-week journey by foot, but the Goats should make it a lot faster. Although I really wanted to find a good spot, nothing we had found so far had sufficed. Each time I had found a candidate that had seemed perfect, Haltir had pointed out a dozen deadly flaws. After the tenth time, I had stopped saying, 'this looks good, and changed it to, 'what do you think?'

"I think you are right," I finally said, staring at the hill blocking our view. Haltir was on trailing duty, as he preferred it, ten or so meters behind us and looking around constantly.

"Course I am!" Laurel said.

We silently continued, rounding the hill. In front of us, both sides of the river angled sharply up towards a cliff wall at least forty meters high that was split through the middle as if struck by a giant sword. The river flowed through and had hollowed out the bottom part of the cliff sides. Higher up, the tips were close enough to jump across. Scanning to the right, I saw the hill ended after a few hundred meters with another cliff, leaving a nearly flat plateau, save for the long gap in the middle. I couldn't see what it looked like on the other side of the river, but I felt my hopes suddenly rising.

Laurel and I shot each other a glance.

"Do you think he will find something to complain about again?" Laurel whispered.

"No idea, but even without further investigation, this looks almost perfect to me. It's like a natural fort," I said. "Let's go and check it out.

Nudging my goat forward, I looked around for the best way to get up. The closer we got to the cliff, the more impressive it became, and at the bottom, we heard a whistle from behind us. Turning, I saw Haltir stare at the top with gleaming eyes and a wicked grin.

"So… what do you think?" I asked, pointing across my shoulder.

He didn't reply but quickly moved towards us.

"We need to move around and see if it is similar on all sides. If it is, we can stop looking around."

Finally! I thought.

"That is if you think your people will be able to live atop that?" Haltir continued.

"They will be fine," I muttered, deciding that if anybody complained, they could just go and find another place to live.

We moved around the cliff, away from the river, searching for a way up, but when we got to the other side, all we had passed was more mountain faces.

"Do you think the Goats can carry us up?" Laurel asked as she looked at me.

I thought for a moment, looking at the cliff, then at the goats. "Only one way to find out," I said, more than a little happy that we might have finally found what we were searching for.

Nudging my Sabertooth Goat, I had tried to get it to jump up the wall. To my surprise, it leaped without any hesitation, landing two meters up the cliff on an edge I could probably barely hang from. Before I could even worry, it continued jumping and climbing up, and soon I was holding on tightly, my stomach lurching as I saw the ground below me distance itself further and further.

Looking at something tall from a distance never did convey how creepily high something was until you were standing on it and looking down, I thought as I kept my eyes pointed at a spot in the distance. It took the mount a few minutes to climb up, and when it jumped over the edge, I drew in a breath of relief. The top had looked almost perfectly flat from below but actually was slightly rounded with dozens of cracks and boulders littered around.

Some startling cries came from below, followed by laughter. A few minutes later, Laurel and Haltir joined me at the top, and we scattered as we scanned the edges on the other side of the river. The furthest edge went down into a steep slope that ended at a small forest of Torpel Trees, the largest I'd seen so far.

"Will this be a problem?" I asked as I turned to Haltir.

Moving closer to the edge, Haltir peered down, inspecting what he saw for a while. "No. This just makes it even better. It's not too wide, so we can put guard towers and a gate here to guard the entrance. Anybody that attacks here will be easy prey to our archers. "

"Or mages," I said, as I decided the first thing to do was get Rathica to make another door to the library. I had failed to use it the last chance I had, but that wasn't going to happen again.

Haltir just sniffed as he moved around the plateau again, taking a look down the two-meter wide gap. Laurel was staring back towards the sea, which we could barely see from here.

Thinking of mages, I scanned around to see if we could expect any incoming fire from nearby mountain tops. Luckily the closest one was far away.

"I'm going to contact Rathica," I said, waiting to see if the others had anything more to say. Haltir just nodded, and Laurel was still gazing at the sea.

Rathica, we've found a spot, I thought towards my Deity. There wasn't any reply, so I tried again, louder—still nothing. Feeling my mouth tighten, I turned to Haltir was looking at me.

"She isn't replying. Let's all try," I said and began shouting for Rathica. After a few minutes, I stopped, feeling helpless.

"Something must be wrong," I muttered. Suddenly the mountains and area around us seemed a lot more ominous, and I turned to the others.

"Let's make camp. It'll be night soon. Perhaps she is busy and will contact us when she has time."

"Let's head back down. Until we get more people, this isn't a good spot to be attacked," Haltir said.

I completely agreed and was about to head back the way we came when I had an idea. Moving to the sloped side, I stared down at the small forest of Torpel Trees a few meters from the cliff.

"Let's camp on this side."

The others agreed, and as my goat easily climbed down, I tried to reach Rathica another time. When I got no response, I sighed.

What are you doing, Rathica?

--

In the deep regions of the Primal Space that wraps around and weaves through both the physical plane and all other planes, a cloud of small white orbs rushed after an amazonian-looking woman with an ax in one hand and a shield on her back.

Dents and scratches covered her armor, long gashes marred her face and bare arms, and her hair was in major disarray, but her burning eyes and the wide victorious grin showed whoever had fought her had taken worse punishment.

Far in the distance, another figure shot towards her, covered in bark and leaves and with a massive beard. It looked like a tree might if it had come to life and tried impersonating a man. Another slightly smaller cloud of white orbs followed him.

Did Lischen cause you any trouble? Rathica asked as the hulking figure of Ulderion fell in beside her.

Of course not! That ugly hag has her hands full with the hordes of demons ransacking her realm, Ulderion said, his voice a deep growl. And even if she hadn't, she is too stupid to realize I was there.

Don't underestimate her! I've told you before, Cinderage was the stupidest of the bunch, and look how we underestimated him!

You underestimated him! Not me! And even then, you still bested him! Ulderion shot back, his wooden face turning into a mock smile. Instead of talking about these fools, why don't you tell me how things are going in your realm.

Rathica hissed in annoyance. You know perfectly well how it's going. I've got ten times too many souls there, and instead of growing it, I can barely keep it together.

Ulderion burst out in laughter before pointing behind her. Then why don't you give those to me! I've got plenty of space left for them!

Rathica didn't respond, but her eyes began glittering dangerously.

Bah, so easily angered! You're almost like Cinderage!

Rathica snapped her gaze towards him, and a dangerous aura emanated from her. Don't compare me with that genocidal maniac!

Fine, fine. Ulderion growled, looking forward. Did you find out where that fiery-haired fool went?

For a moment, Rathica continued to glare at the figure shooting through the cold, dark space beside her before she turned her gaze forward.

No. He is gone and somehow took part of his realm and a good deal of the earthling souls with him.

How… Ulderion muttered. I've never heard of a Deity that blew his realm up and made off with part of it, and I've been around longer than all of you combined.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Stop showing off, Rathica snapped. You're only old in this part of the Deityverse. Even those Primal Demons are older!

Such a short fuse. I wonder what Nimron will say when he gets back…

A sharp burst of light escaped from Rathica's form, billowing out like a soap bubble and quickly disappearing behind them.

Have you spoken with him? Rathica asked, gazing sharply at the other.

Not yet. He has been busy getting his Grablon followers back in line. He was… more than a bit upset when he found they weren't using names.

How do you know?

He leveled the mountain next to Vorchal.

Rathica didn't immediately react, wondering if he was lying. He shouldn't have that much power.

I know.

The two deities continued forward without speaking until they reached a massive swirling area of chaotic energy bands and clouds of glittering gas.

I'll let you know if any of my partitions find more souls, Rathica said before rushing into the energy flux.

Ulderion stared at the souls as they whooshed after her before turning the cloud in his wake. So, little mortals, let's go to your new home! I hope you are all looking forward to being reborn into shrubs?

The massive entity snorted, then turned and rushed into the swirling chaotic energy, the souls after him.

-

It was midday, and Haltir was practicing how fast he could rush up the cliff with his Sabertooth Goat. He said it was practice anyway, but the boyish grin on his face told another story.

"You think that will work?" Laurel asked with raised eyebrows, her voice thick with disbelief.

"Why shouldn't it?" I asked, chopping at the three-meter tall log.

We stood with our backs to the cliff, Laurel on the lookout, while I was focused on my work.

"She hasn't answered for three days now. Hadn't we agreed to go to Crouhal?"

I nodded. "We did, but I want to try this. I can't believe neither of us thought of it before."

Laurel sighed and moved back to her spot near the river.

Glad she had left me alone for a bit, I focused on the wood, picturing the familiar image of Rathica on top of it. This has to work! I thought. Not in the least bit because I couldn't stomach another bite of the solid sewage they called fish.

As I began molding the wood into the shape of Rathica I wondered what could be wrong and if Eli was alright. Rathica should be fine because I was sure I would sense it if she was seriously injured, but Eliandra? She was just a mortal. Gritting my teeth, I tried to push away the worry and focus on the task at hand.

Only when I began the delicate work of the face did my mind finally zone out, the movements of my hands becoming automatic.

At what point I regained clarity, I can't say, but my hands dropped from the statue before me.

"It's even better than the other one," I heard Laurel whisper behind me, and Haltir grunted in agreement.

Inspecting my work, I only partially agreed with them. I still saw a dozen flaws and far more things that could be improved, but it was indeed slightly better than the one in Orlion. Still, I hadn't had a status window notification, so it couldn't be that good.

Stepping back, I focused on the statue and prayed to Rathica. At first, nothing happened, but then, ever so slowly, an aura began spreading from the wood, and with a shudder, it began morphing. The skin turned softer, the hair almost seemed to move, and a whooshing sound came as a bubble of light spread around the statue. It grew until it encompassed us and the small Torpel Tree forest.

Laurel sucked in a breath behind me.

Rathica? I asked, praying hard she would answer now.

A soft glimmer appeared before the statue, then a translucent version of Rathica appeared. It was shimmering and wavering like the early holographic movies I used to watch as a child.

"Est! It's a good thing you remembered the temples!" Rathica's voice drifted around us, airy and soft.

"What's going on?" I asked, barely suppressing a few extra choice words.

A soft laugh tickled around the area as Rathica looked at me.

"I've found another few souls, and I'm struggling to do anything but keep them in one piece."

That made sense, I guessed, remembering she said she couldn't take in an infinite amount.

"Is Eliandra alright?" I couldn't keep the worry from my voice.

"She is fine! I've placed her in a pod, so she will be fine even if the protective barrier fails."

Wait, that's a possibility? I thought, almost telling her to bring her to us. Then I remembered the dozens of horrible monsters and pushed the desire away.

"Well, we've found the location for the city! Can you still even create anything?"

Laurel hissed behind me, and turning around, I saw she and Haltir were looking at me with wide eyes.

"Don't look so surprised. They are wondering how you dare speak to me like that," Rathica said as she smiled at me fondly. "Don't mind them, and don't ever change. I remember how it is when every mortal barely dares to speak around me. Just stay as you are." She suddenly blinked and barked a laugh as she turned to Haltir, who was standing in some sort of military pose.

"Definitely! As long as it is within reason, you can act as you always do."

Haltir let out a contented sigh and cracked his neck. "That's good! Standing like this is bad for my old bones!"

Laurel snorted. "You say that, but after what Est did, you're-" her voice stopped while her lips still moved for a second, then she stared in shock at Rathica.

"Don't speak of that part. I know you think it's safe here, but you were both right in your suggestion to Est," Rathica said as she turned to me. "The thing you did will make guarding you a lot more dangerous. Although the mortals in this world are only mortals, some have powerful backing. Powerful for the likes of me…"

I blinked in surprise and turned to mental speaking. Other Deities?

Demons, Rathica said, a distasteful look on her face. Now that the Guidar are gone, the other demons that had been hiding are coming back - yes! Out of the woodwork! A nice phrase.

I groaned. "So the Guidar are gone, and now we get some new bunch of bad guys to deal with?" I almost added, cliche, but just shook my head in annoyance.

Rathica shrugged. "They have always been here. To our knowledge, the Guidar always continued to have some control over the system, and despite all the bad they did, they used it to keep out the Primal Demons. Now that they are gone, the Primal Demons can contact their minions again and have begun enacting their will on the world."

"Can't you just kill them?" I said, thinking back to the ease with which she had stopped the massive entities from breaking down the barrier around her realm.

"Only if they are in my sphere of influence. That's one of the reasons we need to build a city here and begin expanding. No, no-Est!" she laughed. "You don't have to turn into some mayor and run a city for the rest of your life, or even for a week, for that matter. My primes will be allowed to do that if they turn old and grey if they so desire, just for the rest. You have far more important work to do than running some city."

I sighed in relief, laughing back. For the first time in a while, I felt our connection strengthen again, and a wave of love passed through. As it did, the slowly building fear and anxiety I had been feeling for days now washed away, leaving me fresh and focused. It did make me wonder, though.

"Was this the influence you have?" I asked, looking at Rathica intently.

Rathica frowned, cocking her head as if she was listening to something. "It's hard to explain to someone who isn't a Deity. But I can't stay much longer. Something is going on that needs my attention." She pointed at the split plateau behind us. "I can see what you have in mind, but I also see that Haltir and Laurel have other ideas."

A two-meter-wide image shimmered before her, showing the plateau mountain and the river that ran through it.

"Laurel's idea is as follows," she said, and buildings appeared on the top of the plateau encircled by a wall with guard towers every ten meters."

I moved closer, as did the other two, and we inspected the city. I realized that although the flat plateau seemed massive right now, with a city atop, it somehow seemed smaller. It was hardly a city, more like a keep.

The keep disappeared, and a single massive castle replaced it with spiraling towers and roofs blocking everything. "This is what Haltir has in mind."

I whistled, looking at the castle. "How are we ever going to build that?" I muttered, but Haltir didn't respond. He was staring at the image with glittering eyes. When the castle disappeared, he sighed sadly.

"And this," Rathica said with a slight grin, "is what Est has in mind."

Holes appeared in the stone cliffs of the plateau that smoothed until they looked like concrete. The image grew a bit to give us a view through one of the windows showing high roofed corridors and large rooms and gathering areas. Above the river, suspension bridges led between the two sections of the plateau while a small harbor sat on one side of the river. The top of the plateau had changed into a forest with a garden in the middle.

Laurel sighed and nodded. "You prove my point. You always come up with these strange things! Did you come with this idea because of Orlion?"

"Partially," I said, as I remembered the dozens of fantasy games I had played over the years.

Haltir was quiet for a while, then turned to me. "I had not thought of using the mountain itself to increase the available space, and I should have. Still. Why would you waste the top by planting it full of trees?"

"Look closer," I said, pointing at the trees. Rathica obliged my unasked question, and the image grew, even more, zooming in on a section of the top.

"Torpel trees!" Laurel shouted.

Haltir was quiet, nodding as he began walking around the image. "Alright, I agree that's a good idea, but why that many?"

"Aesthetics," I said, shrugging as I saw him look at me in disbelief. "I just like trees." And so does Elliandra, I thought as I looked at the small park in the middle, wondering if she would recognize it.

"Alright, I can feel all of your ideas, but I'm going to show you what I will make the foundation for." Rathica said, and a moment later, the image changed, zooming back out."

A new image appeared roughly a combination of our previous ideas. My smoothed, hole-filled cliff sides came back, together with the bridges, while two much smaller castles appeared on the plateau, one on each side of the river. Connected by walls with towers similar to what Laurel had thought up were buildings with trees everywhere. In the middle was a small park that reminded me of the one I had envisioned. As soon as I saw the image, it felt right. Although the massive forest seemed like a good idea, I had no idea if there were going to be any flying attack in the future, and having a few castles with towers might be a good idea.

"Are you going to make all of that?" I finally asked, and I felt a burst of hilarity through the connection.

"No, I can't. I need my energy for other things. Watch…"

A loud cracking followed Rathica's voice, and I turned to the mountains beside me. Slight debris and gravel were pouring from the sides, while openings appeared fifteen meters above the ground. More stone poured out of it, creating quickly growing hills. Muted splashes came from the river, and Laurel sprinted away to the edge until she could see below the mountain where the river carved through.

It all lasted for only five minutes, then things quieted down, and I saw there were a dozen holes. The steep slope had turned smooth, and there were a few stopping points that were horizontal. Following it up, I saw a massive gate block the entrance with a partial wall that stopped after a few meters.

A bright flash from my side made me turn around, and I was just in time to see Rathica's image disappear in a burst of glitter.

That's all I can do. It should be enough for the first group. I'll leave it to you to arrange food, sleeping things, and tools.

I groaned and shook my head in annoyance. How was I going to get supplies for thousands of people?

How long till the first group arrives?

At least a month, perhaps longer. If you need to speak to me, pray at this statue, and I'll hear you. I might not be able to help, though… and Est? Move this statue somewhere into the city!

Before I could come up with more questions, I felt Rathica's presence disappear, and I was left staring at the statue that was once again wooden and still.

Haltir stood beside me, a crooked grin on his face.

"Yeah. Now you laugh. Just wait till we have to carry this thing up!" I said, turning to where my goat had turned into an unmoving statue.

I felt slightly annoyed, but at the same time energetic and powerful.

"Let's go and see what she built," I said while touching the goat and drawing a new Vengeful Spirit in.