I didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, I was extremely concerned that I was now trapped in this rocky prison with what was undoubtedly a very dangerous person. On the other side, if she was trying to kill me, she probably would have done it at this point. All it would have taken was to collapse this dome on my head.
Before I could even move in a decision a swarm of wisps flew right through the rock walls and surrounded me in a swirling storm of souls. Each of them seemed ready to fight at my command, and I also had Lilith still hiding in my shadow, so it appeared that I wasn’t completely defenseless. The champion seated across from me did not notice the souls, but she could not fail to hear the clinking and banging of metal on stone from outside this private space. The soldiers I had brought with me apparently didn’t take too kindly to me being imprisoned and were now attacking the dome, trying to free me.
The champion sighed while looking at the point of the wall that the most noise was coming from. “Could you tell your thralls to cease, they won’t be able to get through and I have no intention of hurting you if you keep things civil.”
Her words snapped me out of my overwhelmed stupor and brought anger to my features. My brow dropped low on my face as I glared at her. “They are not thralls, they are people, and how do you expect them to react when you do this without any warning?” I gestured to the dome around us for emphasis.
“You are saying that you do not control them?”
“They do not do anything they aren’t willing to.”
“So, what of the claims of enslaved souls from a millennium ago? Can you honestly say that they are false?”
“I don’t know exactly what happened back then, but from what I understand it is likely a few may have committed such crimes.”
“You admit it then.”
My scowl deepened. “As long as you admit that you all used the worst of us, people who my god actively punished and tried to dissuade, to justify attacking us, killing everyone who believed in them, and reducing us to little better than laborers when we should have had the same opportunities to grow under the guidance of our god. If you ask me, one is significantly worse than the other.”
She raised a placating hand at me. “I feel we are drifting along a tangent conversation. I did not come here to exchange insults or blame for things before our time.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Please, let us end this and move on before it gets out of hand. Would you kindly tell your soldiers to stop so we may get to the reason why I am here.”
I was still very frustrated with this whole situation but yielded enough to stop the attack on the dome, for now. Approaching the wall in a way that I could keep an eye on her, I called over a wisp, speaking in a low voice to them. “Can you let them know I'm alright, or at least get them to stop?” I hoped that they could get the message across because I really didn’t want to have to yell it through layers of rock.
The wisp flashed for a second before it flew through the wall and out into the world again. I listened as the noises from outside continued for a moment before slowly dying down and then ceasing entirely. It looked like the message was received well enough, which was one problem resolved. Now I needed to deal with the dwarven champion.
Turning fully towards her again, I asked her, “Is that good enough for you?”
“Yes, it is much easier to focus without all that noise.” She gestured to the stone chair she had constructed across from her. “Please, have a seat so we might talk.”
I eyed her warily for any hint of deception, but all I saw was the professional and almost regal exterior she presented. Eventually, I decided to take her up on the offer. This was what I wanted after all, to talk and not have to endure a potential siege.
She started the conversation as soon as I had myself properly situated. “I believe formal introductions would be a good place to start. My name is Velena, champion of the Earth Mother.”
It felt weird talking to someone who by all measures should have been my enemy, but then I noticed something that had slipped past my comprehension during all the chaos and panic. There were no wisps around her, at least not any angry ones. A few of the souls that I had brought with me were hovering around the space, keeping an eye on her from multiple angles, but there were no blackened wisps attempting to attack her. This little detail, now that I had noticed it, did a lot to take the edge out of my mind.
Feeling at least somewhat better about this interaction, I answered her introduction with one of my own. “I am Samuel, champion of the Lord of Twilight.” Saying that out loud in the presence of another champion felt extremely strange.
She gave a slight smile with a nod of the head. “Good, now that the formalities are out of the way, let us proceed to the reason for this meeting. My goddess would like to ask for permission to establish a direct connection between our patrons.”
I had no idea what this ‘direct connection’ entailed, so I asked someone who did. What does she mean by that?
There was no immediate reply to my question, but there was a flurry of negative emotions seeping through. She wants to talk face to face. They said with a dark tint to their voice. I cannot believe she would have the gall to... They seemed to stop themselves before bursting into a rant, and instead did what felt like the equivalent of glowering.
Not wanting to leave the conversation between Velena and me hanging, I kept things rolling while my pocket god stewed in their emotions for a minute. “And what would that require us to do?”
She waved her hand in a slightly dismissive gesture. “Nothing complicated. We would simply need to clasp hands for a moment.”
That seemed exceedingly simple for something as grand as a meeting between gods. “Is that really all there is to it?”
“Yes, but it requires that both parties be willing to establish the connection, so the decision is yours whether you wish to cooperate or not.”
More likely it was up to my pocket god who was still simmering in their anger and resentment. Is there any danger in going along with this? I asked them.
They calmed enough to answer me. Yes, there is. Meeting in such a way is like standing within reach of a dagger’s blade, which is to say the both of us are vulnerable to attack, but in my current condition that situation would end poorly for me if it came to it.
I eyed Velena from across the stone table. Thus far she had been extremely cordial and exhibited very few signs of aggression. The question on my mind right then was if all of that was just a ruse to get to this moment and stab right at the heart of their problem.
Me and my pocket god both tried to analyze the situation for all it was worth, considering every outcome, plan, or possibility that could play out in this situation. I felt the immense weight of our choice pressing down on me with more force every second. Eventually, the tension snapped when an audible sigh rang out in my head.
Go ahead.
I blinked in surprise as I tried to process that. What? We don’t know what they want or hope to achieve with this. What are we going to do if this turns out to be just like what happened to you the last time?
I understand your concerns because I have them as well. However, she was never one to hide her intent from another. If she came here with the goal of killing or imprisoning me again, she would have stated so from the start. Besides, all this extra effort wouldn’t be necessary. If they wanted to get to me, all they would have to do is kill you, and there have been ample opportunities for that. It is simply not in her nature, or dwarven nature, to take so many unnecessary steps towards that goal.
There were no personal experiences that I could draw from to counter their arguments. I had no idea how much a god might change in a thousand years, but from the sound of it, my pocket god was sure that no significant deviation of the Earth Mother’s character could have come about in that time. Still, this was a significant risk.
Are we really doing this?
Yes. I... I want to hear what she has to say. There was a lot of hesitation in their words, a conflict of emotions born of both melancholy and betrayal.
Now it was my turn to let out a small sigh. I looked over at Velena who cocked her head slightly in a questioning manner. She was obviously aware that I had been in conversation with my god all this time, and my sigh probably tipped her off to the fact that we had finally reached a consensus.
“Despite our reservations, as well as the personal history involved in this situation, we will agree to this meeting.”
She gave a polite smile with a nod of the head. “Thank you. Are you ready to begin now?”
“As much as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”
Her hand extended out towards me, open and waiting for me to reciprocate the connection. I hesitated only for a moment longer before slowly reaching out and clasping our hands together. Nothing happened for a second, but then I felt my body go stiff. The sensation was familiar to me as I recognized it from when my pocket god had taken direct control over my body.
Looking across the table I saw that Velena was likewise stiff as a board but calm in demeanor, probably under the same control that I was. There was a skin crawling feeling that flowed down my arm, seemingly carried on the currents of my blood as it rushed through my veins. When it reached my hand and connected to where Velena and I had joined there was a surge of energy that sent a tremor through my body. Two divine beings just contacted one another, and I could feel their immeasurable power intermingling while using our bodies as a conduit.
I became aware of another presence, another mind besides my own and that of my god. This one seemed clear, vibrant, more focused, and it was only because of this connection that I now realized just how damaged my god truly was when compared to a deity who was still whole. The expectation that I had was for the discussion to begin and the threats to flow, but all that came for the longest time was silence.
The quiet was deafening, and it wasn’t due to some failure to establish communication or even because of an action from one of them. They were just not talking. I wasn’t sure if the tension that I felt was real or imagined on my part, but it was there all the same as the equivalent of a stare down between gods played out. This all-encompassing silence was eventually broken when the Earth Mother spoke.
Twilight... A simple reference to my god's name, and one that was not deemed worthy of a response as she received nothing in acknowledgement. So, she tried again.
It has been a while. Now that I heard her voice for more than a single word, I noted that it was rich and strong, yet filled with what I could only describe as trepidation. Again, her words failed to gain any sort of reaction.
Will you not even give me the courtesy of a greeting? I could practically feel the glowering glare that my god was probably giving her as the conversation continued to be one sided. Will you not even say anything? It almost sounded like she was hurt by being ignored in such a way.
Finally, my god decided to speak. What do you want? The words were colder than ice, apathetic, and distant. I swore that I felt the Earth Mother almost recoil at them.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
We have not spoken in a millennium, could we not just talk for even a minute?
No. The answer was immediate, and now I could definitely feel hurt coming from the goddess. I was starting to feel extremely awkward listening in on this conversation, and maybe even held a little sympathy for the goddess who was receiving a glacial shoulder.
I see. She said despondently. I don’t blame you. The way you were treated, what they did to you, I always thought it was too extreme a punishment when other solutions existed.
And yet, you did nothing. You said, nothing. You just stood back and watched as they destroyed everything I built and allowed your followers to assist in the murder and degradation of my own. Your complacency makes you just as culpable. The frost was gone, and now there was a heated edge to replace it.
I didn’t know what to do! They were in such a frenzy, and it all seemed to spring up from nowhere. There was no time to plan or even talk to them. Every time I tried I was pushed away as they continued to drive their followers into attacking you.
You’re making excuses for your sins.
A flash of outrage came from the goddess. You were not the only one who had to worry about their people! My followers did not have the same strength and influence back then that they do now. If I had openly defied them, or defended you, then they may have turned on me as well. You understand that the needs of our children outweigh our own personal desires.
Cold apathy returned to my gods emotions as a pause was left to hang in the air for a moment. What, do, you, want? The emphasis placed on each of those words contained the weight of a mountain.
Her answer was not immediately forthcoming, and there seemed to be a great deal of uncertainty in her thoughts. If I'm being honest, I don’t rightly know. I never believed that you could have escaped the prison they made without one of us letting you out personally, but with the champion of light being driven into a fervor as of late, and the increased reports of undead sightings across the land, I had a feeling, a hope, that maybe you managed it. When the message came in that an army of the undead had taken a town under the influence of the followers of light, that was the last bit of evidence I needed to convince me.
Some of the tension started to dissipate between the two gods. She continued explaining her reasoning. I can’t say why exactly, but the knowledge drove me to action. Perhaps it was guilt at having left you to fend for yourself, and maybe this is my sad attempt at trying to make up for my shortcomings in the past. Whatever the case may be, I made demands and rushed here as fast as I could without even thinking about what I might say or do when I arrived. Now that I am here and have had this chance to speak to you, I believe I know what I came here to do.
Whatever it was, she apparently needed a moment to compose herself before telling us. You may not trust me, and if that is the case, then I will leave and not interfere with you in any way. However, if you would allow me, I would offer my assistance to you along with that of my people.
Everyone was silent, stunned by the proposition the goddess just presented. The silence was broken when Velena voiced her own opinion on the matter. My lady, you can’t be serious! I can understand staying out of this if it doesn’t involve us, but you’re talking about war!
I know.
We have allies and trade partners amongst them. If you declare war, then our relationship with them will be damaged or severed completely!
I know.
Why then? Why would you risk all of that to get involved in something we have no stake in?
There was a pause before the answer came. I can’t... I can’t be a spectator again. Knowing what happened last time, if Twilight fails, then I'm not sure they would survive this. Their death would leave all the problems we are seeing unsolvable, and the world all the poorer.
Velena sighed. Even if that is true, and even if it is a proclamation from you, our people will not be so eager to jump headfirst into blood and death for people that they do not know, and in this instance, were taught to fear.
It will be difficult, I know. The goddess readily admitted. But everyone stands to lose far more in the long term if we do not intervene now.
Listening to them talk made me slowly realize something that was important to this discussion. Hold on... I interjected myself in the conversation. Am I correct in assuming that you don’t know what the followers of light have been doing?
Confusion was felt from the goddess, and I shrank into myself a little bit when she turned her full attention onto me. What do you mean by that? We receive reports on their movements and general information about their goals, but I have a feeling you’re talking about something else.
I am, and it is the primary reason why all this is happening. They have been experimenting on humans with diseases and poisons, killing whole villages.
Shock and horror were the first things I felt through the link, but they were replaced by skepticism, though not entirely. You best have evidence of these claims or else you should prepare yourself for reparations for spreading such dangerous lies.
We have evidence, a lot of it, and you can even talk to the bishop if you wish, though I must warn you that his current situation is somewhat delicate.
You will show me this evidence. This meeting will be put on hold until after we have had a chance to see it. It was not a question whether this would happen, but a statement of fact that it will.
After agreeing upon the course of action, the connection was severed leaving the two of us alone with our respective gods once more. Velena peeled back the layers of earth she had contorted into our meeting room. The harsh outside light made me wince in discomfort as my eyes adjusted to natural light again.
The moment the walls were completely down the captain of my escort came rushing up. “Sir, are you alright?”
“I’m fine captain, thank you.”
“What happened in there?”
“We talked, and our gods talked, quite a lot.”
“Your gods?” He turned his bony spectral face to regard Velena for a second. She seemed a bit uncomfortable with ghostly eyes of the captain staring at her. “Wait, does that mean she’s like you?”
“A champion? Yes.”
He suddenly looked like all his concerns just tripled in intensity. I couldn’t blame him for feeling that way since I shared many of those same concerns myself. This most recent conversation, while gaining my interest, hadn’t yet assured me that their intent is pure. Perhaps I was becoming somewhat soured by the environment that I had lived in these last few weeks that I saw everything as a potential threat.
The captain leaned in a little closer to speak to me in a quiet tone. “Is there cause for concern?”
“I don’t think so.” I murmured back to him. “But still, keep your eyes on them.”
Velena was apparently done letting us have our private conversation because she stepped towards us. “Are you quite done conspiring?”
“Not conspiring, just discussing security.”
She looked me up and down for a second before conceding. “Very well, then how do you propose we proceed with this viewing of your evidence?”
I thought about that for a moment before coming back with my answer. “We have it all secured in the town, so the easiest way would be to have you come in and see it for yourself.”
“In that case I will be taking my accompanying soldiers with me.”
My brow dropped a little bit as I eyed the heavily armed dwarves. “You can take ten.”
“Ten?” She said, slightly stupefied. “Don’t you think that’s a little insulting to say that I must leave most of my protection behind in this situation?”
“I’m a little adverse to risks at this moment.”
“You think that a mere hundred soldiers can bring about the downfall of a fortified town?”
“I do, because I did so with far less.”
She cocked an eyebrow at me, looking partway between surprised and impressed. “That will have to be a story you must tell me someday. I can feel that is no lie, so I will acquiesce to your terms despite how much it leaves me vulnerable.”
A small smile spread across my face. “After that little display you pulled just a few minutes ago, I highly doubt that you are ‘vulnerable’.”
She returned my smile with a coy one of her own. “Sir, are you suggesting that I am not a delicate flower of a woman? How brazen you are to attack a lady's heart in such a manner.”
I gave an amused huff but didn’t play into the banter any more than that. She collected her ten chosen escorts and was ready to enter the town. The two of us walked at the head of both of our security forces. While we moved, I decided to ask a few questions that had been eating away at the back of my mind.
“I’m curious, Velena, how exactly did you hear about our actions here?”
She chuckled a little. “You do realize that my people own the single largest information sharing network on the continent, right? As soon as your army attacked a messenger raven went out with news of it. Don’t worry though, I've kept the news limited to a need-to-know basis thanks to the wishes of my goddess.”
“Hmm, thanks for that I suppose. On another note, you keep speaking as if you know for certain if I'm lying or not.”
“Curious, are you? It is simply part of the blessings my goddess bestowed upon me. I am attuned to the earth and everything around me, within a certain radius. I can feel the slightest of movements, including how fast a person's heart is beating. You’d be surprised to find out that the heart is indeed far more honest than any individual. Oh, that reminds me of something.”
She paused for a moment to dig around inside a little satchel on her hip before removing something. “I believe this is yours.” Her hand extended to me, and in it sat a small bone.
Surprise crossed my face as I picked it up, now able to see the runes etched on it. Familiarity quickly bubbled to the surface as I realized that this was the bone charm that I had used to control that rat so long ago. Velena saved me the hassle of asking the question that she predicted would be next.
“I noticed the odd scampering's of a rat in the church that day, and curiosity drove me to investigate. Frankly I didn’t know what it was at the time, and figured it was just some strange method of pest control by the servants. Now, though, it seems far more likely that this belongs to you, yes?”
No use in saying anything other than the truth while in her presence. “Yes, it is.”
“So, you were privy to that conversation we were having about you back then?”
“Yes, and it was quite worrying for me.”
“I can imagine.”
The conversation sort of teetered off from that point and we continued towards our goal. I had to hand it to the dwarves, they were certainly stoic in the face of an army of undead that surrounded and observed them as they walked through the streets. After the reveal of what the followers of light had been doing and the subsequent destruction of the church, it was decided that the evidence would be placed in an empty storage building, under guard at all times to prevent possible destruction.
Of course, the guards let us in with some side glances given to the dwarves as everyone packed into the building. Once Velena’s guards were satisfied that this wasn’t some sort of trap, they calmed down a bit and assumed a more out of the way position. Velena looked around the room at the piles of paper and books. I decided to give her a little direction to start with.
“The most damning evidence is over there. We had everything organized by severity, but I suppose that can be subjective. If you want to simple start randomly, feel free.”
She looked at me with slight skepticism. “You found these where?”
“In the cellar of the church. They had a lab down there as well where they created the poisons. We saved some of the equipment, but all the poisons were disposed of for both safety reasons and to prevent their use.”
“How convenient.” Her little jab at my credibility made my brow twitch, but I shot back at her.
“You can tell if I'm lying, so you can also tell when I'm speaking the truth, can’t you.” She didn’t answer, which was good enough for me to call that a win.
Velena started to read the documents. The first few seconds she read in a rather flippant manner, as if she expected the papers to be filled with a bunch of nonsense. However, as she progressed from one page to the next, her posture and expression became more concerned. It progressed to the point where she was picking up and putting down documents in rapid succession, all the while murmuring things under her breath.
“No, that’s... They couldn’t possibly... I’ve seen that signature... I remember hearing about this...” More and more she descended into mutterings until eventually she stopped completely and leaned on the table.
There was silence for a minute, and I decided to break it. “You believe me now?” I said while walking up beside her.
She said nothing, continuing to stare into the piles of paper with a mixture of emotions flashing across her face. Of the few that I managed to pick out, there was disbelief, confusion, disappointment, and anger. The silence that hung over her was heavy, and she didn’t do anything until finally she just held out an open hand in my direction. I could infer what she was asking for, so I grasped her hand again to form the connection.
Once the slightly jarring process was completed and our gods were connected again, a flood of outrage came pouring in. I didn’t want to believe you, I couldn’t believe you, and even with it right in front of me, I still don’t know if I am able to. How? How could he do this? Condone this?
I’m not sure. My god said. When I first learned of this, I too thought it was so unlike him that it might as well have been someone else. This can’t be allowed to continue, and I plan on questioning him until I have all the answers.
If people learn of this, then there will be an outcry for justice not only from humans.
We know, and that was the plan we had to gather support for our cause. The question I have for you now is if you would be willing to help us achieve this, or are you going to stand in our way?
I already said that I wished to aid you, this new knowledge simply means that now I am obligated to. Things cannot return to the way they were now that I know this, and my people will rise with me to right this wrong. I don’t know if it was because of the connection, but I could feel her earnest desire, and I suppose my pocket god could as well.
I’m not saying you are forgiven, but your aid now is welcome. Perhaps old wounds may be mended with time.
I would ask for nothing more than such a chance.
And in that moment, an alliance between humans and dwarves was formed. This would significantly change the course of the war, elevating us from a position where we were just barely ready for a fight, to now having two armies and access to steady supplies, both of which would only grow with every day. It was time to bring the fight to the other gods.