Chapter 1405 (Patreon)

AN: He snuck up on me; I apologise...

“Call me Gorlock, the Destroyer,” the guy Anise had led into the temple introduced himself, and my jaw dropped for a second as I stared at him, completely unable to process his words. Here, this guy, likely in his mid-thirties, with a somewhat receding hairline and an overall look that spoke more of some sort of office worker or maybe a math teacher, was introducing himself as ‘Gorlock, the Destroyer’. Hel, without the armour, simple as it was, he could easily have merged into any crowd back before the Change, and nobody would have batted an eye. And yet, ‘Gorlock the Destroyer’?

It took me a moment to realise that Anise was matching my facial expression rather well, staring at the guy in equal measures of shock and disbelief, a part of me half-expecting her to reach out and slap the back of his head. That expression made me realise what was going on, and I couldn’t help but laugh, especially when the guy started to crack up himself, a wide smile on his face.

“Gorlock, the Destroyer, eh?” I chuckled, only to laugh a little more at the look of outrage on Anise’s face. “Got anything shorter? Maybe Lock, or maybe Goro? Desi might work, too,” I suggested, trying the different supposed nicknames out one by one, not really feeling any of them.

“Well, my Mom supposedly wanted to name me Mortimer, but I believe Dad vetoed that, so there’s that. But maybe you can just call me Tim; that’ll do, right?” he asked, a rather amused grin on his face. 

“Well met, Tim, also known as Gorlock, the Destroyer,” I greeted him, overacting the formality for all I was worth. I even pushed out a bit of magic to make my eyes glow and my hair sparkle, while my cloak was billowing in a magically conjured wind. “Know that I am Jade Morgana, also known as the Elementalist or, to some, as The Pale Lady,” I introduced myself, using two of my titles and barely concealing the wince when mentioning the Pale Lady caused the space around me to vibrate weirdly. For a second, I felt a rather uncomfortable pressure all around us, making me realise that I had essentially invoked the name of a different deity in Lady Hecate’s shrine. While I wasn’t sure how big of a ‘no-no’ that was, I couldn’t help but think it had been a major faux pas.

“That was different,” Tim whispered, staring at me in complete disbelief. “Cool introduction- how does that work?” he asked, obviously trying to wrap his head around the whole thing. 

“Why, if the system acknowledges your right to a certain title, you are allowed to invoke it,” I shrugged. “That means they become more than words, though you should be careful what titles you invoke where,” I couldn’t help but scowl slightly at my previous idiocy. I really should have known better. I’d have to visit Lady Hecate later during the night and grovel a little. 

“Now I need to figure out how to get the ‘The Destroyer’ title,” Tim immediately decided, only to frown for a second when he saw the expression on my face. 

“I would advise against it,” I told him, all levity gone from my voice, “Titles have meaning and, for lack of a better word, weight. I don’t know what you’d have to do to gain a title like that, but I can promise you, it won’t be good or pleasant. Nor would it leave you unmarked. People would instinctively feel that you did something horrifying enough to be known as ‘The Destroyer’ and would fear you, unless you learn how to conceal your presence sufficiently well to, well, hide that,” I explained, noticing how his eyes widened during my explanation, until his face settled into a rather serious, and a little sombre, mask. 

“Then, I won’t ask how you gained that second title, nor will I ask whether you speak from experience,” he told me, his voice holding a bit of compassion, “And, maybe we should focus on the topic at hand, why you asked little Anise to get me,” he continued, causing the look of sheer, unadulterated outrage to reappear on Anise’s face when he called her ‘little’.

“That might be for the best,” I agreed. “By the way, thank you for that, Anise.”

“Now, onto the actual topic,” I continued after using the brief silence to conjure up a pair of chairs for the two visitors. “Have a seat, please.”

“Do either of you know why this Shrine was built here in the first place?” I asked after both were seated. When neither spoke nor signalled their knowledge in some other way, I continued. “The Charland isn’t just an unpleasant and overly hot area. It’s a little more, especially the centre. Lady Hecate asked me to build the shrine here to help monitor the area. That’s also why the library crystal was created: to let people store the knowledge they gather about the Charland and share it with others who come here. Cause, you know, the Charland is dangerous, and neither Lady Hecate nor I knew how it would continue to develop,” I paused for a moment, considering my words. “Well, I can say that I had no idea how it would develop. Lady Hecate might have had some ideas, but if she did, she never shared them. Hard to say what the Gods actually know, unless they are in a sharing mood.” 

“Interesting,” Tim mused, glancing at Anise for a moment, then at the crystal next to me, before focusing back on me. “Not going to lie, that’s interesting and all, but, really, I don’t care all that much. You say this place was built for that; I ask why we, the people trawling through that hot mess in there, should share the tricks we have shed blood, sweat and tears for?”

“For one, you would be able to get information from other groups. At least one group managed to reach the centre of the Charland, observe the issue there and return. And that group added their insights to the crystal, so that might be of interest to you,” I explained, before holding up a hand in warning, “You should, however, be aware that the whole sharing-thing is divinely inspired. And people who try to wiggle out of obligations towards the divine, or try to deal in bad faith, will…” I paused, letting the idea just hang there. “Well, let’s just say it won’t end well for them,” I finished, knowing that their imagination, perhaps with a touch of inspiration from half-remembered Greek myths, would do more than any dire warning I could give. 

Especially as I had no idea how much Lady Hecate would, or even could, do to punish people. I only had my divine curse as an example, but it had been bent and twisted in multiple ways, making it largely irrelevant these days. Sure, I continued to prefer the night, but that was just as much personal, maybe elemental, preference as it was necessity.

“I see,” Tim nodded, while Anise looked rather pale at the suggestion of divine punishment. But then, the Gods in the different myths and legends didn’t always bother to avoid collateral damage, so she might simply be worried about the potential splash-zone if somebody decided to piss off the Gods. 

“Maybe we should focus on the other topic, that guided tour you mentioned,” Tim suggested. “We usually don’t venture into the mess all that often, and we didn’t plan to go in for at least another week, maybe longer. One of my buddies managed to sprain an ankle, and while healing magic helps some, we feel it’s better to let it heal completely, just in case,” he explained, making me look at him with faint approval. 

Depending on the type of healing magic and the skill of the healer involved, it was possible that further damage to a recently healed area caused the healing magic to, for lack of a better word, break, essentially returning the original damage. For an injury like a sprained ankle, which would be stressed during an exploration, that could be incredibly hazardous due to reduced mobility; waiting was the wise choice. Unless you had a competent healer, like Luna or me, but that was an entirely different topic.

“Would you be willing to let me join your group? While I don’t know your overall tactics and formation, I am confident that I can assist and elevate your group’s overall strength,” I explained, curious about Tim’s answer. 

For a second, Tim didn’t answer at all, simply appearing deeply in thought, with a prominent frown on his face. 

“Honestly, I was initially sceptical whether I should come see you at all,” he admitted. “If not for this one, I wouldn’t give you the time of the day,” he nodded towards Anise. “But she feels that assisting you is worth it, so here we are.” 

“Why don’t we do it like this: We were planning to head into the Charland in ten days. Why don’t you swing by in a week, meet the rest of my group, show off a bit of your skills, and we go from there? That okay with you?” he suggested, sounding quite reasonable. In turn, I simply nodded, considering my next steps. Where to go, what to do. So many options, so little time.