Path of Transcendence 1: Ultimatum of the Nameless God (33 page)

The Priest-Captain's glaive and armor give the impression of being of higher quality that that of his soldiers, and his ring is quite obviously of higher quality. Binding the ring and checking its contents, I find a large supply of coins, gold bars and gems. There is also a large number of books, but I cannot read the language. The characters are different from those used in the written Slave Tongue. I would guess they are written in DokkAlfar, but unless I can learn the written form of the language, I will never know.

Nearly a third of Bogwater is consumed by the flames, but I see no sign of anyone fighting the fires. If every one has fled because of the DokkAlfar's attack, the town is doomed.

“That was rather interesting. It was not very impressive, but still interesting.” The voice is one I have not heard since returning to the Battleground of the Damned.

Turning, I glare at The Nameless. He is wearing a brown robe, and I can see hundreds, if not thousands, of blood colored runes etched into his staff. I cannot remember ever seeing those runes, while in the Lands of Despair. The unpleasant feeling the runes engender in me makes it certain that they are special, but I cannot tell in what way. What interests me more is why I can see them now.

“So, what are you here for this time?”

The Nameless laughs. “So very hostile. You have come to the attention of Yggr or his disciples. It is not the most auspicious of events.”

“So what? I learned one important thing in the Lands of Despair: the greater the danger, the faster I grow.  If Yggr sends his dogs to hunt me, I'll kill every last fucking one of them.”

“The dogs you faced here were nothing but puppies compared to Yggr's real dogs. He has many Transcendent DokkAlfar that serve him.” The Nameless lapses into silence for several moments.

My eyes narrow, as I stare at The Nameless. “Get to the point already.”

“This spatial construct is known as The Labyrinth of Yggr, but that does not mean that Yggr is in sole control of it. He has two other Jotun Lords and dozens of Jotun Champions, who aid him in overseeing it. Then, there is me. I control what you could think of as the backdoor access methods to this construct, and almost completely control the Battleground of the Damned.”

A nasty smirk twists my face. “Is that why you're a traitor in the DokkAlfar's eyes?”

Anger visibly flares on The Nameless' face. “I am not a traitor! Yggr betrayed me! The Jotun were unable to properly initiate the the dimensional matrix that sustains the Labyrinth. Without my knowledge, the Jotun Labyrinths would still be nothing but a dream.”

“Your body isn't imprisoned beneath Haven. What's the real reason behind the Great Fuck Over?”

All the emotion leaves what I can see of The Nameless' face. Even if his eyes are not visible, it is obvious that he is staring at me.

I have known for a long time that he was just feeding us a line of bullshit, when he took us and put us in our character's bodies. The big thing that I do not know is the real reason. What is there under Haven that he wants? Why did he need to use us to get it for him?

After a moment, the Nameless begins to pace. He does not bother to avoid the bodies and body parts lying on the cobblestones, his translucent feet passing through them.

“My vain hope was that you were to be the battering ram to smash open the gates of Haven. The best I expected was that a few of you would sneak into the Dvergar vaults beneath Haven. You were to be a distraction more than anything, but in the end, you failed miserably to be even that much use.”

My morbid laughter fills the square, echoing from the walls of the guild houses. “They were a bunch of fucking gamers. Other that preserving the lives, backstabbing and one-upping the other players is the only thing that really mattered to most of them. Yeah, some players became damn effective in the Battleground, but that was because they knew they weren't in any real danger. You overestimated their balls.”

“Only a few of you were ever truly effective, and none more than you. Thorrin would have been the most useful, if he had not been so focused on helping and protecting the cowards.”

“What is your game now?”

The Nameless turns and stares at me. Even if I cannot see them, the intensity of his eyes bores holes through me. He raises his hand, his index finger pointing at me. “Serve me. If you become my minion and swear yourself to me, I will block Yggr's forces.”

I spit in The Nameless' direction, but the phlegm just passes through his translucent body. “Go fuck yourself.”

A frown turns the corner's of The Nameless' lips downward. The hostility he directs toward me is almost strong enough to be a weapon. “You have two options. Serve me or die. I will not lift a finger against you, but you will still die. Yggr has set his eyes upon you, and it is not in a friendly manner.”

“I'll take my chances.”

My smile  is  mocking, as I turn from the Nameless and start walking. His glare bores into me from behind, until the Stevedores Guild blocks his view of me.

The fires are sweeping further north. Even if most Bogwater's buildings' walls are made of stone, everything combustible inside those walls is going up in flames. There is no indication that anyone is trying fight the fires or stem their advance. I find it hard to believe that everyone in Bogwater is just writing off their town this way.

Garion is in the street outside his small church, when I reach it. His worried eyes turn toward me, when I approach. As I move closer, his lips turn downward in a distinct frown.

“You used far too much of your ki. Your healing has been set back by a considerable amount.”

I shrug. “There was no real choice. I needed to finish off fifteen DokkAlfar soldiers and three archers quickly.”

Garion's eyes open so wide that the whites visible all around the irises. Coming from his half-open mouth, his voice is barely above a whisper. “Eighteen? You fought eighteen DokkAlfar at once?”

I stare at my human hand, as I clench it tightly into a fist. My voice is harsh, from the sudden surge of anger and resentment. “What's the big deal? When I had a real body, I killed DokkAlfar by the thousands, dozens at a time. If I had even half the strength of my old body, I wouldn't need ki at all.”

When I returned to the Labyrinth, I was not sure of what I would do. Now, I am. The Bohemian Cats and Deathmeister will suffer before they die. I will not give them release, until they beg me to end their lives. The Nameless will be destroyed by my hand. If I am still alive after that, I will see if I can kill Yggr and his Jotun Lords just for kicks.

Garion's face is pale, as he stares at me. He gestures toward the sparks in the air. “The fires are getting close. We should get your woman and escape, while we can. The Merchant Council has probably diverted all the resources of the town to defend their own properties. Maybe, they will try to save some of their supporters assets as well, but you never can tell.”

As I enter the church, I sense Garion shiver slightly behind me. Perzey is lying on the small bed, dressed in a loose smock. The bracelet I left with Garion is on her wrist. She mumbles incoherently in her sleep, when I lift her off her cot.

Picking up Perzey, she seems to be much lighter than when I carried her here. It seems that I have become much stronger than I was a few days ago. I did not notice it wielding my swords, but I stopped being aware of how much they weigh, before returning to this place.

Garion is stuffing potions, herbs, and medical instruments into a shoulder bag. It has to be a dimensional storage bag, considering how much it is holding. Glancing in my direction, Garion rushes towards the exit.

Outside, the smoke filled air is heavy with drifting sparks. The fire is only two or three roads from Meadowlark Street, where we are standing. The billowing smoke, with flames flickering under it, looks like the gates of Hell. I cannot repress a shudder. Being this close to the raging inferno, my memories of the agony of being burned alive are all to real.

“Brand, hurry up!” Garion's voice drifts to my ears from forty or fifty yards down the street.

I rush to catch up with Garion, and he leads me on a twisting course, through the winding streets of Bogwater. In less than ten minutes, we have reached the northern part of the western wall. A gate lies only a few hundred feet further north.

There are still hundreds of Bogwater citizens trying to escape the burning town through this gate. This is probably the last one that does not have fires surrounding it. Most of the people fleeing are loaded down with their life's possessions. The only watchmen are outside the town walls. The merchants in charge have given up on saving anything beside their own property.

Outside the north-west gate, I find thousands of Bogwater residents. Some people are milling about aimlessly, and others appear to be in shock, sitting with blank expressions. Many of them are suffering from burns or broken bones, but none appear to have battlefield injuries.

“I need tend to the injured. You should find someplace relatively quiet and let her sleep.” Garion is looking around, his eyes lingering on the people with the worst injuries.

“How long before the sedative wears off?”

Garion quickly examines Perzey. “By morning at the latest. She is already showing signs of waking up.”

“Thanks for taking care of her, but I'm leaving now. I don't like large crowds. You never know when someone will put a knife in your back.”

Garion puts his hand on my arm, as I turn away. “Brand, you should really rest for the night. You need it more than she does at this point.”

A couple of big men, who look beast hunters, stare at me. They do not appear even slightly friendly. When one whispers to the other, the second man quickly start pushing his way through the crowd.

I stare a Garion. “Saying my name like that wasn't the smartest move. Unless, of course, you were trying to set me up.”

Garion pales, his eyes widening. “No. I wasn't thinking. I did not mean any harm.”

“Whatever. I'm leaving.”

I start towards the north, and the hunter that stayed moves to block me.

“Where d'ya think yer  goin', Brand?” His voice is loud, pitched to carry across long distances.

Circulating ki through my mind, I half-turn to glare at the hunter. My eyes promise him death.

“Fuck off.”

Too loud whispers and clearly enunciating voices rise from the surrounding crowd of refugees.

“Brand?”

“He's the one responsible for this?”

“He escaped from the DokkAlfar?”

“It was really DokkAlfar that were hunting him?”

“My neighbor saw the DokkAlfar walking across the river.”

“Where are the watch?”

“Fuck the watch! Just kill him!”

The hunter's face pales, and he glances around nervously. Hundreds of people are watching our encounter, and the hunter's face flushes with rage. His hands reach toward the hand axe and hook knife hanging on his belt.

I let my ki flood outward, filling the area with my aura. My voice is pitched just loud enough for the hunter to hear. “Do you want to lose your life with your pride? If you pull a weapon, I will kill you, just like I killed the DokkAlfar. Go away!”

Shame, rage, and fear battle within the hunter's eyes, and fear wins. His hands hovering near his weapons, he backs away. The mumbling of the crowd carries more fear than the hunter's eyes. The hunter is an adept, but they are mostly mundane. Some shaking in terror, the survivors of Bogwater back away, making a path for me.

Continuing north through the fields surrounding Bogwater, I enter the forests, disappearing from the sight and lives of the citizens and transients. With luck, I will never see that place again.

Walking for several hours, I reach a small meadow along the bank of the Bogwater River. I take out some blankets and lay Perzey down on them. I sit next to Perzey in the lotus position, not bothering with a fire. The light would attract unwanted attention. I make a meal out of dried meat and very hard travel bread.

I never did have a chance to learn the basic exercises for strengthening my mana and psi. When I find someone who knows what they are doing, I will have to take the time to learn.

Using too much ki has damaged my body again, but ki's greatest benefit is restoring and strengthening the body. Slipping into a light trance, I use small amounts of ki to accelerate the rate of my natural healing. It is much slower than externally promoted healing, but at the same time the ki heals it will continue to reconstruct my body.

The sun is well above the horizon, when Perzey's stare draws me from my meditation. Her brilliant silver-grey eyes are clouded with confusion. As she stares, Perzey sometimes opens and closes her mouth, as though wanting to say something but being unable to formulate the words.

After a long time, she tremulously voices her thoughts. “Brand saved Perzey. Perzey does not understand. Why?”

“You tried to kill me, and I spared you. I own you. You are my property. Perzey belongs to Brand. I will  not let you die, until I tire of you.”

Slipping my hand behind Perzey's neck, I draw her face close to my own. “You will live and die by my will. I will use you when and how I choose. I will show you the path to become strong, but you will have to walk it. If you are too weak, I will cast you aside.”

As I withdraw my hand from from behind Perzey's head, she presses her cheek against my palm. “Perzey will be strong. Perzey will make Brand admit Perzey is strong.”

Perzey strips out of her smock and tears off the bandages underneath. On the inside of her left breast, a small white scar draws her attention. Tilting her head and prodding her tit with her fingers, she grins.

“No more wounds. Perzey is healed.”