He waited until they were a good five-minute walk away from the vault before finally stopping. Probably none of the velak would follow past the door, but Callan didn’t want to learn that lesson the hard way.
“If I had a nickel for every time I had to flee from an enemy today...” he muttered, letting the chest drop to the floor again. It was surprisingly heavy despite its small size, and already there was an ache settling into his arms. Or maybe it was simply the three points of Brawn hadn’t helped as much as he’d thought.
Nickel is a precious metal. What do you mean by ‘a’ nickel?
“Oh, it’s the name of a coin where I come from.” Callan studied the chest. The lid appeared to be hinged with pieces of leather, further explaining why the velak had left it alone. “Pennies, dimes, and nickels. Also quarters.”
Hmmph, that sounds needlessly arbitrary. A quarter of what? Also, why call one by the metal it is made of and not the others? Xeph paused, then worriedly asked, It is made of nickel, isn’t it?
“I think so. Never really thought about it.” He tugged at the lid of the chest, only to belatedly note another belt of leather circling the entire thing, keeping it closed. With a little work, he managed to slip it off. “Also, it’s a quarter of a dollar.”
Now you’re just making words up.
Callan worked his fingers under the edge of the chest’s lid and managed to pull it open. With a cracking noise like the unsealing of an ancient tomb, the lid fell away, revealing the treasure inside.
Ah, that is more like it. No replacement for a dozen generations worth of mining efforts, but it is something.
“Right. Something. Care to explain exactly what this ‘something’ is?” he picked up one of the reddish crystals inside the box and peered at it. The gray light from a nearby sconce reflected off the crystal’s surface, casting crimson shadows around him. “I thought you said these velak were lithovores.”
They are. Those, however, are not rocks.
Callan squinted at the crystal. “You could have fooled me.”
Based on what I’ve learned of you so far, that seems likely.
“No, I mean—” Callan shook his head. “If it’s not a rock, what is it?”
Why don’t you eat it and find out?
“You’re joking. Look, I’m not that gullible.”
This is no joke, or trick. Place your trust in me, mortal. If we want to have any chance of finding an exit before your bones turn to dust, this is the best way.
Callan eyed the crystal warily. “Alright, but if this IS a joke, I’m putting you back in that statue.”
Before the god could respond, he brought his hand to his mouth and tilted his head back. The crystal slid down his throat surprisingly easily. It left a mildly chalky flavor in its wake.
Swallowing a few times to clear away the taste, he asked, “Now what?”
Now we wait until— Xeph paused. Ah. That.
Alert: Conviction has increased by 1.
Total Conviction = 1/5
It is called a memory shard, Xeph continued. They are a valuable way to supplement Conviction generation, especially at the early stages of avatarhood. I had assumed using Conviction to aid our escape was impossible, given the weeks it would take you to generate it, but this expedites matters handily.
“You told me before that I use Conviction to unlock my orison slots. Is that what you wanted this for?"
While that is useful, it is only ancillary to our current predicament. Let us return to the worship hall, and I will explain on the way.
Scooping up another handful of the shards, Callan closed the lid of the chest, then secured it under one arm. Following Xeph’s directions, he started retracing his steps through the tunnels, occasionally swallowing another crystal as they went.
“So why are they called memory shards?” he asked, popping another in his mouth. “Wouldn’t conviction shards make more sense?”
I couldn’t say, as I was not consulted when they were named. It was slightly before my time.
“You sure it isn’t because the knowledge is still locked away?”
The term is ‘compressed’, and no, I am not certain. How could I possibly know that I don’t know something? The very idea is a contradiction of itself!
“Okay, okay, sorry I asked,” Callan said. More quietly, he muttered, “And he gave me grief about our arbitrary names.”
What was that, human?
“Nothing! So why are we headed back to where we started?”
Ah, yes. There are multiple ways to leave this temple, but one of them was unavailable to us, or so I thought. With enough Conviction, we should be able to simply teleport ourselves to the surface.
“Nice! That would be way better than wandering these tunnels.”
He gulped down another shard. A new message flashed in his vision.
Alert: Conviction has increased by 1.
Total Conviction = 5/5
Ahead of them, the tunnel widened, and Callan found himself once again staring out across that vast chamber where he had first arrived. Gray flames sprung to life at their approach, but fewer of them than before, leaving half the immediate area in shadow.
Hmm, the problem appears to be growing worse, Xeph noted. Fortunately, we should now be able to resolve that issue as well as the matter of our escape. Approach the altar.
“What exactly are we doing?”
Several tasks. These ruins were once more than a place to merely store my almighty presence. It was a temple dedicated to my service and filled with the chants of thousands of my followers.
Callan glanced over the altar at the rows of stone benches. “Yeah, kind of got that already.”
I do not think you do. Temples in this world are more than mere houses of worship. They are as much an extension of the god they serve as our avatars are.
“Hey, I’m granting you space rent free in my head. Leave my ‘extension’ out of this.”
What?
“Never mind.” Callan laid his hands on the altar. “So how do I—Ah.”
Several new boxes filled his vision.
Would you like to create a temple? Cost = 5 Conviction
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Error: High Priest not found. Temple cannot be created.
Error: Presence of existing temple detected. Attempting to merge...
Error: High Priest not found. Consulting
Error:
ERROR. ERROR. ERROR...
Pain stabbed through Callan’s head. He leaned over the altar and let out a moan, his whole body shaking. Somewhere, Xeph’s voice buzzed with urgent questions, but he could no more answer them than he could make his head stop quaking. It was like he was being torn apart from the inside.
Another box appeared in front of his vision. It flickered, disappeared, then returned.
Would you like to reestablish temple? Cost = 0 Conviction
Quickly, before it could disappear again, he sent a mental confirmation. Immediately, the pain in his head ceased.
Temple being reestablished. Please wait...
Callan blinked as the pain immediately vanished. “Okay. Let’s never ever ever do that again.”
Are you alright, human?
“I think so. Something clearly wasn’t right about that whole process though.”
Indeed, Xeph rumbled. It seems there has been some... corruption to the system since my seclusion. But you did manage to establish a temple, I felt that much. Our suffering has not been in vain.
“My suffering you mean.” Callan blinked as a new window appeared.
Temple reestablishment cannot be completed until a high priest is present.
Access is limited to the following functions:
Teleport
Scrying
Current Conviction reserves = 0/???
“Okay, that’s a bit ominous. What’s with the question marks?”
I have no idea. Likely an issue due to a lack of a high priest. Nothing we can resolve at the moment.
Callan lifted his hands from the altar and the screen disappeared. Placing them there again, the glitchy, angry text reappeared.
Hmm. Pull up your interface for a moment.
Stepping back, Callan brought up his stat screen.
Name: Xeph-Zul-Karatl (3rd Sphere)
Avatar: Callan Whitlocke (Trueborn Human)
-STATISTICS-
Brawn: 3
Momentum: 0
Fortitude: 3
Concentration: 0
Influence: 0
Piety: 0
-BOUNTIES-
God Bond: Talc – I
Manifestation: Mountainform
Orison slot 1: Shape Stone (Talc - II)
Orison Slot 2: *Locked*
-DOGMA-
Total Followers: 7
Available Faith: 0
Conviction: 5/5
Conviction Rate: 0.5/week
Temples: 1/1
APOTHEOSIS: 9/25%
Immediately Callan noticed that his temple stat showed “1/1”, so that was probably a good sign. Unfortunately, concentrating on it just brought up more error messages.
Meanwhile, Xeph was grumbling to himself. Eventually he said, I have a theory.
“Really? Do tell.”
This facility was a temple before, and it appears it remained so in some form during my seclusion. That also explains the nonfunctioning features. Notice that the temple’s conviction reserves have bled dry. If we refill them, I suspect much functionality will be restored.
“Okay, worth a shot.” Callan wasn’t sure exactly how to transfer Conviction, but trusting that he would muddle through he put his hands on the altar again. As he suspected, while his hands were on the altar all he needed to do was look inside of himself and it was as if the ability had always been within him, buried deep inside. A moment later, and...
You have increased temple Conviction by 5
Total Conviction = 5/???
Several of the sconces nearby that had previously been dark burst to life. Somewhere behind him a rumbling began to build, like a machine slowly powering itself back on. The air crackled around him, making the hairs on Callan’s arms stand on end.
That appears to have done it! Our temple is awake at last. Now, you need only step onto the teleportation circle, and we should find ourselves topside.
“Right, teleportation circle. Because I totally know what one of those looks like.” Callan glanced around, wondering if he should see a portal full of swirling mist, or maybe black smoke. Nothing so wonderous appeared.
It is inscribed onto the floor in front of the altar.
“Oh.” Leaning over, Callan could just barely make out a small circle embedded into the floor, big enough for maybe a half-dozen people to stand in. The edges appeared to have been crafted from a bronze-colored metal, then inlaid or poured into the surrounding stone.
Far as mystical teleportation circles went, he was a little underwhelmed.
Scooping up a handful of memory shards, Callan moved to the other side of the altar and right up to the edge of the circle. He stared at it, willing himself to take a step across.
What’s the problem, mortal?
“Does it activate instantly? I don’t want to have my foot teleported without the rest of me. Is it better if I jump in all at once?”
You’ll be fine. The portal won’t activate until it senses we’re fully inside. The process is totally safe.
“So you say, but the track record today for ‘safe’ hasn’t exactly been stellar. Can you forgive me for being a little paranoid?”
If you would rather look for an alternative...
“No, no. I’m as eager to get out of here as anybody.” With a resigned sigh, Callan stepped into the circle. He waited.
After several long heartbeats of absolutely nothing, he turned in a slow circle. “Am I doing it wrong?”
Not that I can tell. It appears that the teleportation circle is inoperable at the moment.
“I knew it was broken! And you were so confident it wasn’t going to tear me apart!” He shook his head. “I bet this is why the text listed ‘ERROR’ beside it.”
We can worry about the why’s later. For now, we still need to get out of here. The temple’s scrying function seemed operable. Try that.
Grumbling, Callan returned to the altar. Laying his hands on it, the same angry screen from before reappeared. This time at least, the temple’s Conviction was at a satisfying 5/???.
Alright, give me a moment to activate Scry... Hmm. It appears it is currently limited to the confines of the temple. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. It should be visible... now.
A ghostly mass of lines settled in the air just over the surface of the altar. It took Callan a second to realize he was looking at a map.
“Okay, that big area there has got to be this chamber,” he said. He traced his finger along one of the lines that descended towards the surface of the altar. “And here is where we made our way down to the vault. The training hall must be somewhere between, either here, or here.”
Yes, yes. More importantly, see that other tunnel? The one that slopes towards my effigy?
It took Callan a moment to locate it, but when he did, he traced the line as it wound slowly upward before simply ending near the altar’s edge. “This one?”
Yes. I cannot be certain, but I think—I think—that is the back way into the temple. Built just for emergencies like this when the teleport circle is unavailable.
Callan straightened, looked around the room to get his bearings, then turned back to the map. “Doesn’t appear too far from here. Let’s get a move on.”
They set off down the tunnel, his steps quicker now that he knew where their destination lay. Over the last few hours, the press of the walls had been steadily building on him, and it had grown to be all Callan could think about. Seeing the sun again, or even just catching a hint of a fresh breeze would do wonders to help restore his sanity.
Ah, it will be good to walk amongst mortals once again.
“Yeah, about that. We need to start figuring out a game plan. How exactly does one recruit followers in this world?”
How do priests recruit new worshippers in your own?
Callan frowned. “I mean, a lot of ways, but we don’t have gods that actually show up to convert us directly. Religion is more of a ‘believe what you do not yet see’ sort of thing.”
Yet you cannot see me, either.
“Yeah, but I can definitely hear you. Whether I want to or not.” He tapped his palm to the side of his head for emphasis.
Very humorous. Still, for ordinary mortals, they will not be able to see or hear me any more than any other god. It will be up to your words and emotions to turn their hearts in my direction.
“Oh. Huh. Okay.”
Is there something wrong with that, human?
“No, I guess not.” Callan shrugged. “Just, you know, thought there might be more on offer here. I mean, you gifted me with some pretty awesome powers, so...”
My bounties are reserved for my priesthood and followers who distinguish themselves from the rest of the masses. Such gifts should be used sparingly, and it is far better to win a follower’s worship through something more than personal enrichment. Such individuals do not remain in the fold for long.
“Okay, but don’t blame me if they think I’m just another crazy human trying to start his own cult. The first time one of them breaks out a batch of Kool-Aid, I’m out of there.”
Kool-Aid?
“It’s a—Dangit, I don’t want to explain Earth stuff right now.” He noticed another door up ahead, this one similar to the one that had guarded the vault, but easily twice as large, if not more. “Hey, how much do you want to bet that’s our exit?”
I find gambling to be a reprehensible addiction.
“Aw, you’re no fun, Xeph. Keep it up and I won’t take you to Vegas.”
What is—
“Never mind. Let’s just get out of here.” Callan tugged at the wheel on the door, grunting when it didn’t give way like the last one had. Clearly the elements had gotten into this one a bit. It took several tries before he finally got it moving, the bolts disengaging from either side of the wall with a god-awful squeal. Rust flakes rained down, leaving him coughing and spitting in an attempt to chase them away.
Then the door swung open, and Callan forgot all about the rust flakes. He took an involuntary step back.
It was night outside, with only a hint of light on the distant horizon, the glow of an alien moon or perhaps some city hidden from view. Still, it was enough to see what lay beyond.
Past the door, the cavern disappeared, air sweeping out over an abyss that appeared bottomless in the wan light. Sheer cliffs stretched to either side, and some hundred or so feet away a second cliff line followed his own in parallel. Wind howled through the void between, tugging at Callan’s clothes and attempting to draw him out into its embrace.
He wasn’t going anywhere through this exit, except down.