Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (105 page)

“You can wait. Just be there by Late Bailem. I assure you, you won’t be dissatisfied. Once I leave Bloodvain, I’ll be heading to Gessler Village. Bring the gods to The Bloody Trough to hear the rest of my plan. I’ll be at the bar drinking. Just keep them from following me to the shed when I take a leak. Maybe you could bump into a chair or something to let me know you’re there.”

Lasidious agreed and left George to enjoy the rest of his dream. In the morning, the mage woke up to his wife throwing up.

The God World of Ancients Sovereign

Lasidious called Mosley, Yaloom, and Mieonus to the Hall of Judgment. “How are you on this Peak?” the Mischievous One inquired.

The gods and the Book of Immortality—who always rested in the hall—said they were fine, but demanded that the God of Mischief get down to business.

“Did any of you hear what George had to say to the Serpent King last night?”

“I did,” Mosley responded. “Why?”

“Did you learn anything from that meeting?” Lasidious took his seat at the table and played with the Book’s golden stand while he waited for a response.

Mosley thought a moment. “Nothing other than George telling the snake that Brandor was going to attack his kingdom. I know he wants them to fight underground.”

Lasidious smiled. “I see a problem with his plan, don’t you?”

The wolf moved to the head of the table, turned the seat into a platform, and then jumped up and lowered to his haunches. “I see many flaws in his plan. Brandor has no intention of attacking Seth. Why would they fight the Serpent King’s army when George possesses the pieces of the crystal? Sam will attack Bloodvain, not the serpent’s city.”

“I agree, but I overheard George telling the Barbarian King that he needed to meet with him tonight. I thought we could all listen in. I would wager that it’ll be intriguing to see what he’s planning.”

The Book of Immortality floated into a hovering position in front of Lasidious. The thin slit in his binding opened. “I would also like to attend this gathering.”

“Sure, why not?” Lasidious replied. “All you do is sit around and collect dust. It would do you good to get some fresh air in that binding of yours.”

The Book feathered its pages. “A breeze or two would be nice. When shall I appear?”

Lasidious patted the Book’s cover. “Be in the barbarian’s throne room just before Late Bailem, but remain unseen to the mortals.”

Bloodvain’s Throne Room

Late Bailem

Lasidious, Mieonus, Mosley, and the Book arrived in their invisible form and stood behind Senchae’s throne. Yaloom had stayed home, stating he no longer cared what happened. Despite the god’s anger toward Lasidious, his curiosity got the best of him. The God of Greed watched the meeting from his waterfall.

Senchae, the new general of his army, Corvin Hurthon, his guards, and a few of the king’s officers were in attendance. George appeared at the center of the room with Kepler and his brothers surrounding him.

“Thank you for coming!” George announced. “I’ve called you here to let you know that I intend to see that the battle for the pieces of the Crystal Moon is fought on the Serpent King’s land. I’ll be traveling to his lair to hide the Crystal Moon’s pieces until we can defeat the Kingdom of Brandor.”

Senchae interrupted, “How will you keep the crystals from being used by the snakes as a bargaining tool to create an alliance with Brandor?”

“I’ll hide the crystals deep within the Serpent King’s underground city. Seth won’t know he has them.” George paused for effect and enjoyed Senchae’s smile. “I have things to do, and I won’t be able to be found for the next 15 Peaks. I’ll be creating other alliances. We still need to gather enough of an army to crush Brandor.”

“Where will you go?” Senchae asked.

“My King, this is a matter best left between you and me. These brave men around us do not need to worry about such details. They have much to do to prepare for war. With your permission, perhaps we could speak of this during some other series of moments.”

Senchae liked the diplomacy displayed by his consulate. “Agreed. We’ll speak of this later.” He knew George had no intention of telling him anything, but the mage made everyone feel he respected the king’s position, and this was good enough for Bloodvain.

George looked into the eyes around the room. He watched to ensure that every barbarian took to the idea of using the snakes as a force against Brandor. After a brief question and answer session, he made his exit.

“Sounds like George is worried that Brandor will defeat the barbarians,” Mosley said after watching the mage vanish. The wolf turned to face Lasidious. “Let’s meet back at the Hall of Judgment to discuss this.”

Everyone agreed, and then they vanished.

Soon, Lasidious lifted his feet onto the table. He leaned back, enjoying his position of power. The Book of Immortality took its place on the golden stand while Mieonus stood behind the God of Mischief, rubbing his shoulders.

Mosley spoke first as he lay across the top of the table. “As I said, it sounds like George is worried that the barbarians will be defeated by Brandor. I believe the human wants to ensure that he doesn’t lose the crystals, and hiding them in the Serpent King’s lair is a decent plan. Sam will never know where they are. I wonder where George went after he left the meeting? Why does he need 15 Peaks before he can make another appearance in Bloodvain?” Mosley lifted his leg to scratch behind his ear.

“That’s what I want to know,” Lasidious responded. “I say we find out.” The god waved his hand, and a map of Southern Grayham appeared on the table. He told the map to search for George, and it quickly responded. The parchment rolled itself out and revealed the mage’s location. “Hmmm, Gessler Village.”

“I like your new toy,” Mieonus complimented after seeing how efficiently the map found the mage.

No one acknowledged Mieonus. Instead, they all vanished.

The Goddess of Hate stomped her lifted heel against the marble floor of the hall. “Ewwww! I hate them!” The goddess vanished.

When George appeared with the cats, they were underneath The Bloody Trough, and it was good they had appeared where they did. Four horses were there that night drinking beneath the inn, but as luck would have it, they were on the opposite side of the wall that fed water to the troughs. The presence of the three jaguars would have scared the horses half to death, but since the demons were masters of the shadows, there was no cause for alarm. They just simply hid.

The mage gave instructions for the cats to wait, and then he walked through the swinging doors of the inn. He surveyed the establishment. The bar was filled with barbarians, but what he had hoped for most was also present. Six humans from the south were also drinking. All of them were rugged looking, and none of them looked approachable. They were perfect.

Satisfied, the mage found a seat at the bar and ordered an ale. He would wait for Lasidious’ signal and then begin his charade.

Mosley was the first to appear outside the Bloody Trough. Once the others had arrived, the gods entered together. Like before, they remained unseen to the mortals. They quickly found a spot to sit and then looked to see what George was up to.

“Why would we want to watch him drink?” Mieonus whined. “This isn’t worthy of a god’s attention.”

Lasidious shook his head. “We don’t know why George is here. He must have a reason. Perhaps he’s meeting someone. Let’s just see what happens. It’s not like we have anything better to do. I’ll summon us drinks.”

Lasidious waved his hand across the table, and soon everyone who could drink had a frosty ale.

The Book, feeling a bit left out, opened the thin slit across its binding. “I wish you had created me with the ability to enjoy a drink. I’ve always wondered what food and many of the liquids you pour down your throats taste like. I hear you speak of them, and find myself curious.”

After a brief debate, the gods agreed that it would do no harm to give the Book a set of taste buds, eyes, rosy cheeks, arms, teeth, a tongue, a nose, and a small stomach that was buried deep within its pages. They decided the waste that would normally exit a body would be stored in the form of excess, random letters toward the back of its heavy binding. The Book would be able to open itself up and then dump the letters onto the ground whenever this page filled up. The gods laughed at the idea that the Book would take a dump by dropping piles of letters on the ground.

Mosley snorted, “I wonder if the text will have an odor?”

“I don’t know,” Lasidious replied, “but I can’t wait to find out.”

As the group continued to laugh, the Mischievous One used the distraction to alert George to their presence. He bumped into one of the chairs to cause its legs to screech across the floor, and then he acted as if he had done it unintentionally.

The mage turned to look in their direction. “Do you think he knows we’re here?” Mieonus queried as she watched George glance across the room.

Mosley chided. “Between Yaloom falling in the fire and Lasidious bumping into chairs, we might as well put up a sign that says: Hey, George, the gods are watching you.”

George turned back to the bar. A few moments passed before an enormous man entered. It was not long after he took a seat next to George and ordered an ale that a conversation between the mage and this massive barbarian began.

After George’s fourth drink, he excused himself from the conversation to take a leak. He would leave more than once, and during every series of moments that this happened, Lasidious kept the gods entertained.

George walked to the back of the inn and entered the shed where Double D had killed the home-wrecking, barbarian sergeant. He poured his glass of ale into the hole and smiled.
I’ll give it a few more trips before I put my plan in motion,
he thought.

After the mage’s third trip, George decided to step up his drunken act. He sang out to announce the whereabouts of the Crystal Moon as he glared at the barbarian he had been talking to. “Hey, big man! Did you know the Crystal Moon has been stolen from the Temple of the Gods?”

The mage lifted his voice to ensure everyone would hear. “I know where two of the Crystal Moon’s pieces are!” He pulled his pack off his back and then opened it. “I have them on me! They’re right here.”