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Kernstalion 2 - 56: Upsides have downsides
🕑 Added 2022-02-03 21:55:44 +0000 UTCAs I leaned back in the chair, a metal mug in one hand and scratching below the itchy new clothing, I gazed around the loud and busy common room. Most of the people that filled its stuffy interior were eating or chatting across empty platters. During our trip here, I'd mostly seen Sandasin. Here, though, there was a large variety of races.
In a corner table sat two red, sharp-faced Graz, each with a pair of gleaming horns angling back through thick manes of black hair, while a large, tanned Grablon stood behind the bar. He was chatting loudly with a few soldiers that belong to the same race as Bastian. Around the center table sat a group of odd beings with small unicorn-like horns in the middle of their heads, and a dozen Sandasin completed the picture.
Goliarn, I thought as I inspected the soldiers that looked like Bastian.
The smallest was the same size as Bastian. Although massive in his own right, his tallest companion towered over him. Even sitting, this grim-eyed soldier easily looked over the heads of two Sandasin as they exited.
A contented sigh from across the table drew my attention back to the person in front of me. Bastian put the metal mug he had just downed on the table with a thud and smiled as he wiped his mouth.
"I needed that."
"I noticed," I said.
Thought what you like of this disgusting swill, I'll never know, I thought as I looked at the translucent yellow liquid in the heavy metal mug. I took a small polite sip of the dull, flat stuff, then quickly put the mug away and leaned on the table.
"Are you sure this is a good place to discuss this?"
Bastian looked around before leaning closer and giving me a quick nod.
"Better than anywhere else I know. The constant chatter should cover anything we talk about. Still, it can't hurt to keep our voices down," he whispered.
"Alright. Now, what's going on?" I asked.
Bastian looked at me, a crease appearing on his forehead. "When was the last time you had contact with Ra… your deity?" he asked.
I frowned. Although I was glad that he hadn't spoken her name, the question surprised me. I tried to recall how long the trip had lasted and noticed the memories seemed hazy.
Odd, I thought.
"Around a week ago, perhaps a bit more," I finally answered.
Bastian looked at me intently. "The last message I got from The Stone was nine days ago. He said he wouldn't be answering any requests or prayers for three days, but..."
That was almost a week ago, I thought as a bad feeling crept up on me.
"And you've heard nothing since?" I asked.
"No, and not just me. None of the Primes have. And it gets worse," Bastian said through gritted his teeth. "Our powers are weakening, especially those of the younger Primes who have more common classes."
Fuck! what are you doing, Rathica? I thought.
It had to have something to do with the whole Pantheon thing. I tried to recall what she had told me about it and realized the memories were a blur. Not like those of the recent trip, but like what happened when Rathica removed some memories. I did recall who was supposed to be in the Pantheons. Nimron had joined with Lischen, Fin'r, and Percussion, while Rathica would join with Ulderion, Flowheart, and the Stone.
No, wait! There should be five… Why can't I recall who the fifth is? I thought.
As I tried to recall, I vaguely remembered that something had happened back during my last trek through the Howling forest. But somehow, everything beyond that was a blank.
Dammit, this is just fantastic. Do all these guys take a kick of messing with my memories? I thought.
"Have you tried contacting one of Flowhearts Primes?" I asked, deciding to focus on the trouble at hand.
Bastian's grimaced, and I instantly knew I wasn't going to like the answer.
"You haven't heard?"
I shook my head, and he grimaced.
"They all disappeared," he said before grinding his teeth. "You know what happened to Dursic, right?"
"Preyatar's followers sacked it," I said.
"Exactly. Well, Dursic was Flowheart's largest power base, the only city she had control over. After it was destroyed, all of her followers scattered to remote areas while her Primes disappeared. The last I know of them was that they went into Raltch, and, well… you can imagine, I have no more information beyond that."
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, I thought as I wished I even knew where Raltch was. Then I vaguely remembered I'd heard it before, and without thinking, I pulled up my status to look at my map. A host of messages appeared at the bottom, and my eyes widened.
> Your title, "Fearless four-armed Prime, was repeatedly used to describe you
> Status alerts removed
> You've gained Karma: 712
> Raparion used 12 karma to create: Mental Purifying Carp - male
> Raparion used 12 karma to create: Mental Purifying Carp - female
> Raparion used 12 karma to create: Mental Purifying Carp - female
> Raparion used 12 karma to create: Mental Purifying Carp - female
> 200/200: Karma
> You're Karma is capped; gains redirected to Rathica
I looked at the massive amount of Karma gains, barely believing what I saw. Was everyone in this bloody city talking about me?
"What's wrong?" Bastian hissed as he stared at me.
I saw his figure, hazy through the status window, and shook my head.
"Wait," I said, waving at him before focusing on the messages.
So, Rathica gets what I can't use? I guess that's better than all of it going to waste, I thought as I read the final message.
I focused on the four messages in between. Although it seemed excessive to use twelve Karma on a fish, at least now some of the Karma was spent on me instead of going straight to Rathica. I didn't expect the few hundred Karma would help her out that much anyway.
It took me a second to remember what I had called the status up for, then I pulled up the map. A reasonably filled-in continent around the dot that represented me appeared, a narrow line moved back to the Howling Forest, showing the path I'd taken. The area to the left of the city was hazy, with a few name areas and locations and a coastline. Zooming out until I could see most of what I had uncovered by now, I saw a small sharp path to the far right. It was as far east as I had gone, and I searched for a label that said Raltch. There was none, and I wondered how much farther the continent went that way.
I need to find a cartographer, I thought before closing the status and looking at Bastian.
"Something happened?" he asked as his eyes scanned my face as if searching for something.
"It looks like a lot of people are talking about me. My Karma just maxed," I said with a shrug.
"Ignore it," Bastian said. "That stuff is useless. Only some crafters use it and only small amounts."
I grinned as I padded my wooden chest plate. "I'm a woodworker, remember?"
Bastian inspected my chest plate, and after a moment, his eyes widened. He probably recognized the wood. I expected a reaction, but he just nodded thoughtfully before continuing.
"Well, you will likely never have a shortage. There is nothing that needs more than a few points. I've been sitting at one hundred for as long as I can recall," Bastian said, brushing the Karma aside as if it was inconsequential.
As he did, I realized how much of an advantage my mindscape was and likely would become in the future. Suddenly I realized something else. The chances were large that I'd gain far more Karma in such a large city. I needed to spend it or have Par do so!
"Give me a minute," I said as I lay my hands across the table. "I need to fix something fast."
Without explaining more, I put my head on my arms as if I was going to sleep and quickly stepped into my mindscape.
The bluster of the bar disappeared, to be replaced by the rustling of leaves and the gentle lapping of water. As soon as my little cloud self appeared, a cheerful shout came from the tree.
"You are doing great," Par shouted as he sprinted down the trunk and began pointing at the little pond. I saw a few shadows move beneath the surface, much larger than the bird that flew overhead hunting bugs.
"I don't have any time," I said as I flew towards him. "I will probably get more Karma in big bursts in the coming days. One of my titles is spreading through a new city."
Par stopped halfway down the tree, and his beady black eyes suddenly gleamed and glittered.
"So I get to splurge?" he said as a devilish grin formed on his snout.
"Keep a hundred in reserve, but use everything extra as soon as it appears," I said quickly.
If I made another carving that needed Karma, I didn't want another dip in my woodcarving skill.
"There might also be some trouble happening soon. One of those deities that Rathica is creating a Pantheon with hasn't answered his Primes prayers for a week. Apparently, their powers are lessening?"
"..." Par looked at me as a worried frown wiped away his previous joy.
"Par?" I snapped.
"Wait a minute," he muttered, his eyes turning glazy.
I grunted, hovering around him as he remained glued halfway up the tree trunk, staring at nothing. I was about to shout that I had to go back when he shivered and looked at me.
"Now I remember," he muttered. "This isn't good. That prime is locked away somewhere, unable to connect to this world. There are very few ways of doing that," he continued before frowning.
"Or he was forcefully returned to the primal chaos," he muttered. Then he looked at me. "Have you been able to contact Rathica?"
Please tell me they aren't trapped in Boglodon, I thought, as an image of a group of deities hoving around the empty portal room, slamming walls came to my mind.
I shook my head. "I didn't try. That Nimron might be looking and-"
"Young fools," Par roared, interrupting me. "Playing games at a level they have no right to be at!"
"That's useful," I said, anger boiling up. "Instead of telling us how stupid we are, tell me what you mean!'
"As long as she doesn't come here, and you don't summon her, she can talk with you without any Deity ever knowing," Par snapped angrily.
He climbed down the rest of the tree and moved beside the small pond.
"Even here?" I asked.
"If she doesn't answer you, she is either too busy, ignoring you, or in dire trouble," Par said.
Rathica? Can you hear me? I shouted as loud as I could. A short tingling sensation ran through my connection with her, then it dissipated. Rathica? I tried again, reaching out as strongly as I could. There was no more reaction, and I cursed.
"I felt a bit of a reaction through my connection, but there is no response," I said as I floated beside Par's head.
"That's trouble," Par said.
"Est, you need to get me a new body quickly," Casiron's voice suddenly burst from the tree. "If Rathica can't assist you in times of trouble, you need someone to be around to help you. Libidi isn't powerful enough."
I grunted. "I've got no wood around here," I said.
"So? Don't you have some spell to grow a seed into a plant?" Par said as he shook his head.
Casiron remained still as I sighed sadly.
"I can't make anything beyond a sapling, or it will drain me dry."
"What? Just use some of the Karma! You have enough," Par said in surprise.
Wait, I can do that?
"How?" I asked, my voice almost hungry at the concept of growing my own trees—preferably from scarce and strong wood.
"Ugh, you unknowing little... What is the name of the spell?" Par said as he pulled at his hair.
"Sprout life," I said.
A ping came from my status, and as seemed normal in my mindscape, a small window popped up without me asking for it.
> Do you grant your keeper, Raparion, access to your spell 'Sprout life'?
"What are you going to do?" I asked, slightly worried.
"Just give me access, you foolish mortal," Par snapped.
I hope I won't regret this, I thought as I clicked yes.
A second passed, then another, then three quick pings whined at me for attention, and at the same time, new lines appeared.
> Raparion has used twenty-one Karma to alter Sprout life
> Sprout life has been changed to Enhanced Sprout Life
> Enhanced Sprout Life can use Karma instead of lifeforce to power its effect
I stared at the message in stunned surprise before focusing back on Rap.
"Why didn't you tell me you can upgrade my spells?"
"Because you didn't have enough karma," Par said, a smug look on his face. "Also, the bit you had was needed for more important things."
Says you, I thought, thinking I still hadn't really seen any benefit of the Mental Purifying animals.
I pictured Share Lifeforce and Controlled Conflagration, then wondered what he could do with those before pushing the ideas away. I wanted to think on that and have some say in the changes before I went and meddled with those spells, and I'd been here for far too long. Bastian was probably getting worried.
"Alright, now what about Rathica?" I said.
"I don't know what she is doing, but there is little you can do to help her," Par said, turning to look at the carps in the water. "Just be glad you have your own mindscape and more Karma than the others."
Holding back on me, are you? I thought. Like hell, he didn't know what was going on. At a minimum, he had an idea!
"What would happen otherwise?" I asked, wishing I had eyes to roll at him.
"The same as with many of those other Primes. You would get weaker," Par said.
"How much weaker?"
Par shrugged. "Until you'd die."
"Wait, what?" I hissed. "Why?"
Par's eyes glistened as he turned to me. "What? Did you seriously think there would be only upsides to following a deity and being a Prime?"
I growled, starting to get angry again and pondering if I should slam him with some barrier lightning. Somehow my desire must have triggered something because the barrier began darkening as crackling lightning coursed across the area above us.
"Hold on, hold on!" Par shouted, dodging below my cloud form. "Why are you always so short-tempered?"
I didn't say anything, feeling slightly upset with my own short temper. Luckily, the barrier gradually returned to its normal transparency. As it did, I noticed a cluster of ugly maggot-like demons that were attacking each other near the barrier.
"Deities need Karma. Their essence depends on it! If their expenditures are higher than their income, they will stop powering up their primes. If that's not enough, they will begin draining Karma from their Primes, until..."
"Until they die?" I snapped.
"It's not something conscious, so I wonder if these youngsters even realize it is happening," Par said as he looked at the ceiling and slowly crawled back to the edge of the lake. "It wouldn't help if they knew. It's not something they can stop even if they wanted to."
So Bastian is going to die if we don't get that Stone freed?
"Dammit! How do I forcefully contact Rathica?" I asked.
"To do what?" Par said as he shook his head. "She might be a young pup, but you are just mortal. What do you think you are going to do?"
"What if she is caught somewhere, and there's something she needs doing here?" I asked, thinking of Boglodon. "Perhaps I can create some distraction or open a gate?"
Par fell quiet and looked at his hands, his eyes glassy. After almost a minute, he frowned. "There might be some way, but I'll need to find the pieces in this infernal scattered mind of mine."
"How long will that take?" I asked.
"Dunno," Par muttered, distracted. "But faster if you leave me to it."
I grunted. For a moment, I felt like pushing him, but I knew it wouldn't help. Instead, I turned to the tree in which Casiron hid.
"I'll try and get you a body as soon as I can," I said.
"Make sure you do," Casiron rumbled. "I can't help you like this, and from what I'm hearing, you will need all the help you can get."
"I know," I said with a weary sigh. Then I stepped out of my mindscape.
The sounds of the bustling bar wooshed back into focus. I faked blinking around blearily and pushed myself up. Bastian was staring at me with narrowed eyes, taking a sip from his mug. When I looked at him, he raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
"How long was I out?" I asked.
"Long enough to get some start drawing some odd looks," Bastian said before leaning forward. "Any success?" From his sparkling eyes, I knew right away that he didn't buy my 'I fell asleep' act one moment.
I shook my head. "No. I couldn't contact her no matter what I tried. However, there is something I can try, but I'll need seeds," I said as my mind began spinning. "Preferably of some special type of tree, hard, and resistant to demonic blood."
"Are you going to make another temple statue?" Bastian asked as he leaned closer, his eyes gleaming.
"Maybe. But I was wondering... why do you need a library door?" I asked as I grabbed my mug and took a big gulp. I wasn't planning on a temple statue except as a last resort. If I drew Nimron here, things would only get worse fast.
"With no other entrances, we wanted to hide the weaker Primes there," Bastian whispered, his voice almost drowned out by the chatter.
That's brilliant! I should have thought of that, I thought with a blink. Even if I couldn't go to the library because of Par and Fnipper potentially going to war, I could have hidden others inside!
As I thought of it, I suddenly realized that I did have a potential safe spot. Boglodon. Well, if there's no Deity war going on down there right now, I thought as I thought of Beara and the others. The memory of Beara made me shove the idea away. I trusted Bastian, yes, but I had no idea about his fellow Primes.
"If I can contact Rathica, I'll ask her to make a door," I said. "But where?"
Bastian didn't answer but looked around before bending even closer, his nose almost touching mine.
Dammit, this is just making you look even more suspicious, I thought, as I held back from looking around and making it worse.
"They are here," Bastian whispered, so softly that even ten inches away, I could barely hear him.
I frowned, not sure what he meant. Then my eyes widened. "Wait, do you mean all of-"
Bastian put a hand over my mouth and nodded vigorously before looking around again and leaning back in his chair.
I wanted to ask a dozen more questions, like how many there were and how they even got here. Had they even come here to help or where they were and got stuck when the Nailhounds arrived? Still, with who careful Bastian was, I decided those questions would have to wait.
"Alright," I said as I shoved my mug to the center of the table. "Do you know a place where I can get some seeds or saplings?"
