Gobán Saor: A magical axe belonging to the blacksmith and architect saint of the same name in Irish mythology and history. It is said that its power is capable of holding back the sea.
I murmured in approval after reading the words written on Kitab's pages as we resumed our advance through the streets. The rest after defeating the Scarab Golem was short; we wouldn't stand still to discover what would come next. This didn't change the fact that there were still questions I needed to answer.
"Hm… As you all must know, I'm not exactly frrrom around herrre, and you saw some of my memoriesss in the dream world, didn't you? You mussst also have noticed that some things in them match what I described in the ssstory I told earlier."
There were a series of nods and affirmations, so I continued.
"Well, when I sssay I'm not from here, I mean the world we're in rrright now."
No one answered. For a moment we stopped walking, and the whole group, at least those who could understand me, stared at me as if I were crazy, except for the floating head that seemed more curious than confused.
"That explains a lot."
Nas'hrah spoke, quickly realizing he had become the center of attention, returning the piercing gaze he received from the others.
"What?! After everything you've seen, I expect you to finally accept that there is something far beyond what your ignorant minds can comprehend! There are many planes of existence out there, some higher than others, or do you think Ma'habre is literally below the dungeons?! We left the world you know the moment we crossed the gate!"
Just as before, they were forced to accept yet another crushing truth.
"Before anyone asksss, I didn't end up here of my own free will. You could sssay that the Old Godsss of my world brought me herrre, granting me blessings and knowledge to complete a mysteriousss objective. That's why I know what I know."
"I suppose your colorful axe is a reward for some hard work."
"You could sssay so."
Then we started walking again, but the silence was short-lived, broken by Enki's question.
"Could you tell me what life is like in your world and more about your Old Gods?"
"Hm… Verrry well, but understand that there are things I prrrefer to keep to myssself."
"Just spit it out!" The floating head complained, making me stifle an irritated sigh.
"Rrright, but first of all, a quote you ssshould keep engraved in your mindsss: The most merciful thing in the world, I believe, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it is not written by Providence that we should travel far. The sciences, each progressing in its own direction, have hitherto done us little harm; but one day the joining of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrible visions of reality and of our appalling situation in it, that we will probably go mad because of this revelation or flee from this deadly light to the peace and security of a new Dark Age… Now, let'sss begin..."
-XXXXXX-
We descended a deep staircase into the basement of a dark building, illuminating the path with lit torches.
You know, usually in Lovecraft's stories, the narrator is the one being exposed to knowledge and technologies far beyond their comprehension, going mad in the process. In telling more about my world, I ended up being the entity revealing forbidden information to the people who accompanied me, but in this case, everything was common knowledge from where I came, except for one small detail: the Old Ones.
They existed, meaning that somehow, the stories were true, so I had to adapt my story, mixing my reality with the tales, thus beginning the long explanation about the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones, although the difference between the two is not clear, and the Cosmology of the universe.
The questions were incessant, mostly from Enki and Nas'hrah, who, if they had the means, would have been taking notes. The rest seemed more horrified; the wonder they felt about my world had died, probably wishing I wouldn't say anything, but now it was too late for that.
What would they do with this new knowledge? I couldn't say.
"Hm… Certainly, just like ours, your Gods are a bunch of wretches."
Nas'hrah commented, but I didn't dare reply, though I agreed; I didn't want to irritate my sponsors even more.
We arrived at a long corridor adorned with stone murals on both sides, revealing a procession of religious figures, judging by their clothing. The narrow space forced us to form two lines, stopping when we heard footsteps and the clanging of metal coming from the path ahead.
A tall, gaunt knight revealed himself, clad in dark armor that protected him from head to toe, and wielding a pair of swords, one long and one short, in his right and left hands respectively.
He looked around for a moment, muttering something incoherent that was muffled by his helmet, but still reverberated off the walls, until his head focused on us and he assumed a fighting stance.
"That's Sssir Serrril, the last member of Buckman's expedition! Don't kill him, we need to ressstore hisss mind!"
"And how will we do that?"
Rag asked, looking over his shoulder with his maul ready for a swing.
"We'd need the Mind Elixir, but sssince we don't have one, we'll go with the sssecond option. Get him drunk."
I rummaged through my backpack and pulled out a bottle of ale, receiving a few curious glances that I didn't bother to return.
"HOLD HIM!"
At my command, the armored skeleton closed the distance with open arms. Seril yelled, swinging his swords, only for them to bounce, clanging against the superior metal of the Penitent Armor.
Soon he found himself lifted into the air, struggling, trapped in a bear hug. I used the opportunity to approach, removing his helmet, facing the pale man with sharp features, but exhausted and malnourished from lack of sleep and food.
His bloodshot eyes moved erratically, and his mouth opened, letting out maddened screams. I removed the cork from the bottle and waited; the moment his mouth opened, I shoved the neck into it and poured the liquid.
"COUGH! COUGH!"
For a moment I thought I would drown him, but the movements of his throat indicated that he was drinking. When the bottle emptied, his movements slowed, but he still tried to escape.
I sighed, calling the rats and asking them to bring me another bottle, and with that, I repeated the process. I wonder how much of his mind he still has to need two full bottles, probably even less than D'arce did when I first encountered her.
Seril stopped struggling, and I ordered the skeleton to release him. The undead did as I commanded, and then we watched the staggering knight with a red face and a silly grin.
"Ssso, how do you feel?"
He looked at me, but the answer that came was not what I expected.
"HIC!"
CLANG!
After a sob, he fell face down on the ground, the creaking of his armor sounding like a bell, now accompanied by his snores of a well-deserved rest.
I blinked in disbelief, trying to comprehend what had happened, but in the end, I could only laugh. Looking to the side, I saw how the rest of the group had a similar reaction to varying degrees. Enki and Nas'hrah didn't seem to care, they were even annoyed, but the rest, some smiled and others laughed.
"That wasss good, now can you help me take hisss armorrr? It's one of the bessst you can get in this place. I believe it will be perrrfect for Cahara."
"Are you really going to plunder one of Rondor's knights?" D'arce asked, though I expected more anger in her voice.
"Afterrr everything we've done, doesss it really matterrr? We're not going to kill him, and I only want the armorrr. He can keep the swords, and besidesss, he'll leave the dungeon with Buckman's group."
I couldn't see her face because of the helmet, but D'arce didn't protest. Cahara, on the other hand, was more than happy to help me take almost everything of value that Seril had. His armor, now worn by him after changing in a corner, I made sure to ask the rats to keep his leather armor, thirty silver coins, and the Fencing Scroll, which Cahara read, learning Fast Attack.
With that done, the Armored Skeleton carried a half-naked Seril on his shoulders and we moved on, passing the place where the Bug-Eyed Figurine would sell the best items in the game in the Ma'habre of the past, and crossing a small door, arriving in the Temple District.
"Frrrom here, we can open a ssshortcut to the main square, but I recommend opening a Blood Porrrtal in the Grrreat Library to deliver Seril due to the prrroximity."
We turned right, walking down a long street and then left, passing a mural adorned with collapsed pillars. Going down and following the right again, we stopped before the Great Library, its main entrance blocked by a wall of vegetation.
"Thisss is the great library wherrre the New God Valteil ruled. Now abandoned and forrrgotten. We will have to go back in time, to the Ma'habre of the passst and defeat him in combat to obtain his sssoul, however, we need to find Le'garde, for he possessesss the Cube of the Depths, the artifact capable of activating the beacons we see scattered thrrroughout the city."
The group agreed, their moods immediately souring at the mention of the man. This didn't stop us from continuing; on the contrary, it made us move faster, all to finish this quickly.
We used the side entrance of the library to climb the staircase of its towers, reaching the smaller laboratories and the last ritual circle.
Doing a quick mental review, I had maximum affinity with Alll-mer, Gro-goth, and the God of the Depths, lacking only one level with Sylvian. Madeleine and D'arce had already reached their limit with Alll-mer, the second level with the God of Destruction, and the maximum with the God of the Depths.
They hadn't participated in the masked rituals, so the only way to increase affinity would be by showing love or sacrificing someone in the circles. That wasn't an option. In the end, I suggested we pray to Sylvian, with Enki joining in. So we did, praying, feeling the disgusting love that engulfed us.
Now, I had reached maximum affinity with all the Gods. With enough soul stones and empty scrolls, I could get all the abilities and spells in the game. Something I might try in the future; you never know when something will be useful.
After that, I created a blood portal, taking us to the dungeon entrance, then using the well shortcut, descending to the basement, but not encountering Buckman's expedition.
Cahara, Nas'hrah, Madeleine, Moonless, and I stayed behind, hiding while the rest of the group returned Seril to his companions. We could hear the shouts of surprise and joy from here. Considering how mad the dungeon was, nobody asked how the knight ended up drunk and without armor, but at least he was safe.
From there, we went to the hexing table. The group members I spent most of the time with and I no longer had Soul Stones, but I felt immense joy seeing the skill trees of the Old Gods and Alll-mer shining like constellations, indicating they were complete.
The New God soul trees varied from person to person, depending on their soul and which skills they had unlocked. Enki benefited the most; his high affinity with Gro-goroth and the God of the Depths allowed him to acquire all the spells and abilities of his trees, but there wasn't much that could be done about Sylvian, other than participate in the Rabbit Masks' orgy, and he didn't seem interested in that.
Cahara and Rag never bothered to pray to the gods; all the magic they knew came from the scrolls I gave them. In the end, the mercenary used a Soul Stone on the Endless line, and after a cry of surprise, he drew a dagger and swung it in the air, delivering swift blows, revealing that he had learned En Garde, an ability that allowed him to catch enemies by surprise and gain an extra turn.
How this would work in real combat, only time will tell.
There was nothing else to do on the upper levels at the moment, so we returned through the portal we had used, leaving the Great Library and descending a small staircase to the plaza just below, where the Old Guardian and another merchant would have been in the distant past.
We ignored the path that led to the back alleys and consequently, Nas'hrah's Laboratory, the White Angel, and the Temple of Torment. We followed the entrance of the building ahead, crossing more ruins. There was a resting point to the left, with a bonfire and a bed surrounded by vegetation.
I picked up the lucky coin that shone on the ground, and continued forward, then to the right, reaching a corridor decorated with more murals and pillars. I admit, I knew what awaited us there, but even so, my mouth dropped open when I saw the monster's rotting corpse in front of me.
"Hm… So someone finally killed that damned lizard."
Nas'hrah commented as if nothing were wrong, while the rest of the group was taken aback by surprise and admiration, uttering agitated whispers or mild insults, for before us all stood a great golden dragon with its neck torn open by a war scythe still embedded in its flesh.
Dried blood formed a dark pool beneath its neck, while its face, tongue hanging out and eyes swollen, was locked in an expression of horror.
For a second, I considered reviving it with Greater Necromancy, but would I be able to control such a creature?
I approached cautiously, removing the scythe from its neck with a tug. This was the worst weapon in the game, emphasis on the game, but now, it was as functional as any other.
I ordered the rats to take it to the hideout and asked the rest of the group to wait while I cleared the shortcut ahead. I climbed a staircase, reaching a walkway overlooking the path below, and crossed the threshold towards the balcony where there was a lever, pulling it and causing the nearby metal gate to rise, clearing the way to the central square.
"Verrry well, the shortcut is open, this makes our movement thrrrough Ma'habre much easier, now we can do many thingsss, acquire books and scrollsss from the Great Library, find Master Nas'hrah's laboratory and finally get a new body forrr him, create a Husk to summon Ronn Chambara in the Temple of Torment and acquirrre the Sergal Spear."
Needless to say, it was obvious that the group wasn't at all happy with the things we still needed to do.
"All while the moon tries to kill us." Cahara let out a subdued laugh, almost inaudible because of his armor.
"Do we really need to do all this?" Rag asked next, receiving a furious glare from Nas'hrah, which he made sure to return.
"Only if you wisssh to be as prepared as posssible, for we will face the New Godsss, and their power should not be underrrestimated. Despite his condition, Master Nas'hrah is still extrrremely powerful, so what about the othersss at the peak of their powerrr?"
There was a heavy silence, and I was tired of constantly reaffirming the power gap between mortals and the New Gods.
"I'm beginning to hate the number of times my servant proves himself right. I won't be able to reclaim my reign if you all die in the first blow, so do as he says and prepare yourselves. I'm willing to wait a little longer."
"You have my grrratitude, Massster."
I bowed politely, making him let out a smug laugh.
We set off for the Great Library again, using the same path as before, passing through the laboratories and entering the main building. I nodded, admiring the surroundings, shelves upon shelves, from floor to ceiling, completely filled with books and scrolls.
"Alrrright, if you have any coinsss, now's the time to ussse them!"
A wide smile spread across my face; now let's see what I can get here.
-XXXXXX-
The rest of the group managed to get all, or almost all, the skills and spells that could be acquired through scrolls. I, on the other hand, got something I had wanted for a long time.
YES! YES! YES!
Those were the thoughts that raced through my mind as I wrote on the empty scroll I found after tossing some coins.
"O LORD, TEACH, PHASE STEP."
I cringed as the information flooded my brain, but upon opening Kitab's pages, there was my new spell.
Phase Step: A revolutionary magic that distorts space, teleporting the user five steps in the direction they are facing. Use at your own risk. It's quite possible you'll end up stuck in a wall.
My eyes soon drifted to the Book of Enlightenment resting beside me on the table. Honestly, I didn't know how it worked here, and I was afraid to find out, but I kept it in my backpack in case it came in handy in the future.
Then I looked around, seeing what the others were doing. Enki and Nas'hrah had their heads buried in books, occasionally exchanging words. D'arce and Rag sat at a table, exchanging stories. Moonless, Madeleine, Cahara, and the skeleton awaited me, as I had mentioned the hidden treasure here.
"So, this is another thing Nilvan showed you?" The mercenary asked as we stepped in the library courtyard, approaching the statue of Bethel.
"No, ssshe just gave me knowledge of the streetsss of Ma'habre and Observation Haki. The location of the treasuresss was given to me by the other Godsss."
I doubt he understood my joke. Anyway, I took a few steps to the right from the statue and conjured Greater Dark Orb on the ground, creating an explosion.
When the dust settled, there was the treasure chest. I didn't see his face, but I believed Cahara was smiling, just like Madeleine and I. However, before we could open it and see what was inside, footsteps approached us.
We turned, expecting it to be a member of the group, only to find ourselves face to face with a person dressed similarly to me, with a hood, iron mask, trench coat, and a backpack, but with the detail that one of his hands was hidden by a pile of thick fabric.
Isayah, but we didn't start his quest, we didn't even find him, so what was he doing here?
Instead of starting his dialogue about the treasure, he screamed like a madman, a heart-chilling noise, scratching his own fabric-covered body, but amidst his senseless noises, he said something that made me understand what was happening.
"THE MOON! THAT DAMNED MOON!"
Isaiah had been moonscorched, and the side of him that he had kept hidden from the world was revealed to us by the Envious God.
END OF CHAPTER