Chapter 22: A Treasure Map to Who Knows Where, Nicholas POV (Patreon)

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Chapter 22

A Treasure Map to Who Knows Where

Nicholas POV

Pan opened the door to the throne room and hurried inside without waiting for an invitation. The pirate fleet Jack promised me had appeared in Sector 6 and was making its way to the treasure fleet, so we didn’t have much time to search for the capital building.

I didn’t wait for him to bow. “Did you find one?”

He snatched his tricorn from his head, gave a quick bob, and then shoved it back on. “I found three. The problem is that by the time I tracked down the first, Rob had heard about what I was looking for and collected them. He’s got all three.”

I sighed. “Is this related to the favour he wanted me to do?”

“Yes, my liege. The last shop owner made that very clear.”

I stood up and removed my pistol and cutlass from their holster and sheath. Weapons were banned at port.

“Let’s go talk to him then.”

Pan raised his hand to stall me. “You don’t have to do this. We can just tell Morgan what happened and apologise.”

He didn’t get it. “Pan, the man who saved my mother’s life and gave her back to me happy and healthy, asked me to do this for him. If I want to be able to live with myself and face myself in the mirror, this is what I have to do, so lead the way.”

“It’s going to be a suicide mission.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Pan sighed but immediately turned around and marched for the doors. He glanced at Nargus as we stepped onto the balcony. Nargus was looking out into space, collecting more pirate souls.

As the God of Death for our Pantheon, he didn’t take a portion of our total followers to pass milestones like other Gods would. Instead, he gained followers when our people died. What he was doing right now was going to the unaffiliated on their deathbed and convincing them to make a last-second conversion.

It was almost amusing.

I looked up. “Nargus, you’re in charge of the ship while we’re gone.”

He raised his hand to show he’d heard without looking away from space.

We walked along the balcony and headed for the stairs to the main deck. The entire crew were still on their knees, overcome by the presence of Colin World Ship. He stood on the bow with his hands behind his back, staring contently at the Dyson Sphere.

A thought crossed my mind as I saw him, and I turned to ask Pan a question. “Nargus kept his ability to see anything he wanted when he became Transcendent. Does that mean Colin could split himself into multiple Transcendent beings if I turned him?”

“I highly doubt it,” Pan said, jumping on the bridge that connected the ship to the airlock. “It would be broken if you could raise a dozen Transcendents just like that. Even if it were possible, you would have to worry about them all becoming sapient. I feel bad enough about what we did to Nargus that I won’t help you do it again until I understand more.”

“I’m not going to make you do anything you aren’t comfortable with, Pan.”

Pan stopped before the airlock and then turned to face me. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t raise more Transcendents. I’m just saying wait until we see how Nargus turns out after this Cycle ends. The Peacekeepers try to do as little harm as they can, but sometimes that just means less harm, not no harm. They care about the stability of everything over the stability of one individual and they can lead to some horrible things happening. Horrible things that will eat away at you every time you have a moment to think.”

“Are you okay?”

Pan shook his head. “No. I’m as responsible for what happened as you are. And seeing what I’ve done to that poor creature is not something I’m happy about. If I didn’t have responsibilities, I’d have crawled into a bottle already and let the sweet embrace of oblivion take me.” He gave himself a little shake and sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Pan turned and pushed the airlock open with his Power. I followed him in, stepping into a corridor that led to what Pan had loosely defined as a street. Something squashed my Domain as I stepped off the bridge, shoving it back into my body and leaving me with 360-degree vision.

I tried not to let it bother me.

Lighting panels shone overhead as I walked behind Pan to the entrance of a cramped walkway that reminded me of the markets of Hong Kong. Hundreds of drunken pirates wandered through or lay against shop fronts, cradling bottles and women. Shop signs covered in neon lights displayed wares, mostly devoted to entertainment, of the adult variety.

“This is Port Rob,” Pan explained, leading me through the press of bodies. “It has every type of entertainment you can imagine, and there is an entire quest system in here that will give us resources and items, but every minute we’re here bleeds the ship's coffers. If it didn’t, we would never have to leave. So, if we need it, we can find it here. But as the items we need become more elaborate, we’ll run into more problems.”

We turned off the side street onto a main street, pushing through the crowd. If the side streets were like the markets of Hong Kong, the main street was like a mall. The paths were wider and cleaner but no less crowded, and shops, bars, and brothels still lined either side. They were just nicer than the ones we had already passed.

“How big is this place?”

“There are roughly a quarter of a million human Bionoid NPCs here. Right now, we’ve only got access to the outer peer. We’ll have to complete quests to access the more refined establishments. But don’t worry about that. We’re only going over there.” Pan pointed to a shop in the distance and started walking.

“I thought Rob was in charge of this place?”

“He is.”

“Why are we going to a shop then?”

“He and Colin disagreed over who’s in charge and the port's name. He’s currently hiding out.”

That made sense.

I glanced about at the absurdly large space. “What’s the point of all this?”

“You can’t have pirates without a pirate port,” Pan replied.

“We don’t even need to come here anymore. Why would the Peacekeeper put this much effort into this place?”

Pan stopped walking and turned back to me. “Do you think the Peacekeeper made this place for you?”

I nodded.

He started laughing. “You humans are so egotistical. You always think you’re at the centre of everything.” He shook his head. “This place wasn’t made for you. This is one of a million parts of the Game that you’re people might never reach. You just got added in because you could fit.”

“Oh.”

“If we hadn’t grown so strong so quickly, this port would have been quite important to us. I think we might have been able to gain a second ship and then a third, eventually building our own fleet. That would have dragged us into the internal conflict here, and if we didn’t participate, we would have lost access to the port. Losing access to the port would have made it much harder for us to grow while lowering the crew's morale. However, we don't need this place now that Nargus invests in Wisdom. We’re practically self-sufficient unless someone wants something ridiculous like a capital building.”

We stopped outside the shop. There was a sign above the door with a pistol and cutlass. The windows were covered by bars, and the door looked sturdy enough to stop a rhino. Pan knocked twice.

A large man, holding a curdle, opened it. He looked over us and then nodded for us to enter. Weapons of a dozen varieties covered the walls, and a single cannon lay in the centre of the room. A man and a woman who looked like brother and sister stood beside the counter to our right, peering at a rifle and talking to another saleswoman. An ancient-looking man sat behind the main counter, writing in an account’s ledger, occasionally glancing at the pair. His body was too advanced to evaluate, which told me he was the shop owner and a C-grade Bionoid.

Pan walked up to the man leaning over the ledger and cleared his throat. “Tell Little Rob we’re here.”

The shop owner didn’t look up. “He’s not coming. I’ve been empowered to negotiate on his behalf.”

I decided to put on my friendliest smile since I wasn’t interested in getting killed. “That’s fine, but how do we know you have the goods?”

He reached behind him and opened a chest. “Insect colony starters. Why you would ever want something like this at your age, I don’t know, but I own the only ones you will find at Port Rob.”

Despite the demeaning name, they were real. They looked exactly like the capital building in my throne room, and their technology was just as impossible to read.

He closed his ledger and met my gaze. I couldn’t read anything about him. “I’m willing to supply them to you in return for a service only a Transcendent like yourself can provide.”

“Did Little Rob tell you I’m a Transcendent?”

He gave me a sly smile. “No. I pay good money to stay well-informed, which is why I have in my possession a map that leads to the treasure hall of a God of Plague and Famine.”

“Is that supposed to mean something to me, Mr?”

“You may call me Rasp. And it means I’m the reason Little Rob wants you to do him a favour.”

“You’re the reason?”

“Yes. The God I spoke of is the last of a fallen pantheon. Most of the treasure held within his treasure hall holds little value to me or Little Rob, but there is a tree that produces golden fruit which can restore youth and give everlasting health. In exchange for two of these fruits, I will give you the map to the vault, the toys you desire, access to the port’s ship alteration facilities, and forfeit any claim to the other treasures.”

I glanced at Pan. “Your thoughts?”

Pan frowned. “It depends on what sort of map he has. If it's a simple star chart, it might take weeks to fulfil the quest.”

I turned back to Rasp. “My quartermaster makes a good point.”

He paused. “Give me your word that if I show you the map and you should choose to act upon the information, you will be bound to perform this service for me?”

“You have it?”

You have sworn an oath. If you should use the map to take anything from the vault or have another take anything from the vault, you are bound to participate in Rasp’s quest.

Rasp nodded and reached into his jacket pocket, passing me a rolled-up scroll. The moment my hand touched it, the information was transferred to my mind. I knew exactly where the vault lay, seeing a world and sector thriving with an advanced society. I could open a portal to it immediately.

I handed the scroll back without opening it, a plan already forming. “I need to return to my ship. You’ll have your answer within the hour.”

I turned around as Pan looked at me strangely. I quickly left the shop and walked down the street, heading for the airlock.

Pan chased after me. “What did you see?”

“Not here,” I said.

A few minutes later, we exited the port and took a portal to the throne room.

I took a seat on my throne and sighed. “It’s a trap. The civilisation this god resides over is extremely advanced.”

“You think they’re too powerful for you to steal from?”

“No. I’m almost entirely certain I can open a portal into their treasure vault and take everything without them being wiser. That’s the part I think is a trap. I’ve read enough stories about thieves taking something they shouldn’t from a dark God and having to survive the ramifications that I know I don’t want any part in it.”

Pan shrugged. “We move on then. We collect the pirates Jack has conned and start evacuating the other falling sectors.”

“I don’t want to do that either.”

Pan sighed. “What do you want to do then?”

“I want to cut a deal with this god, but I don’t want to owe them a favour, so I’ll see if they’re willing to trade our S-grade metal for the tree.”

“That’s like trading a bar of gold for a bowl of rice. But since we’re starving and can’t eat the gold, it’s not a terrible idea.”

“I’m glad you agree.”

I opened a tiny portal to the treasure hall the map had shown me, sending my Domain through. When I couldn’t find the other God in the massive building, I stretched my Domain over the planet. I saw far too much technology I couldn’t understand. It was everywhere, packed together and layered on top of each other. When I couldn’t find the other Transcendent on the planet, I pushed my Domain out further, going into space and enveloping the other planets and moons in the system. I didn’t do it all at once because I didn’t want my actions to look like an attack.

Every world was covered in these four-armed, bear-like humanoids. Their society seemed friendly and peace-loving, without any violence. Yet every ship was armed, and I saw hundreds of trillions of them. After going out further, I found the other God in an academy. He was on the largest planet talking to a stadium of children. He wasn’t any bigger than the others, only standing slightly over a meter tall.

“I apologise for interrupting you,” I said quietly, projecting my voice to the other Transcendent’s ear. “But I was wondering if I could share a moment of your time.”

The little bear God created a hologram of himself to continue speaking to the class before making himself invisible as he stepped back. In less than a second, his Domain expanded, crushing mine and removing most of it from his system, leaving only a tight corridor from the portal inside the vault to where he sat so I could still see him. He pushed aside my Domain with his own as entered the Pantheon before projecting his Power towards all three of us.

I tried to close my portal but couldn’t, so the god’s Power flooded through. The air shimmered beside Pan, and the bear-like God appeared on a throne made from fur. He wasn’t in the room with us. He was projecting his Power through his Domain like I had with Jack. And just like with Jack, he was completely capable of tearing us apart.

Pan, the diplomat, turned and bowed. “A pleasure to meet you.”

His words were a lie, which immediately reminded me that this other God would know when I was lying.

The other God ignored Pan’s lie as he stared at me. “You seem to have found my vault and chose not to steal from me. I don’t get many polite visitors these days, so I will hear you out before I destroy you.”

I floated a chunk of ore to him while my heartbeat pounded in my ears. “I was hoping to trade a large quantity of this ore for the healing tree that resides in your treasure vault.”

“That is the Tree of Health,” he said, sounding offended. “It has a great deal of religious value and has existed from before my people had the technology to look after themselves.” He glanced at the ore and chuckled. “But then again, this is S-Grade ore. It’s not something that can be made. How much are you willing to give me?”

“I will give you the tree’s weight.”

He considered my word. “Would you mind telling me who you are?”

“You can call me Nicolas, God of Pirates. I’m rather new, so I doubt you’ve heard of me.”

He smiled, showing two rows of sharp teeth. “You must be the one of the first of the new age. I wondered if any of you would survive long enough to meet me. My name is Tiberus, God of Plague and Famine. Don’t let the name fool you. I am not a dark God but one who wards against such threats. I imagine you must like to fight and plunder?”

“Not really. It’s out of necessity.”

He scratched his belly. “Such is the dark pantheon’s ways. Yet, you didn’t plunder me when you had the chance, which shows you are not beholden to your nature. Why do you need my tree?”

“I need its fruit to buy weapons that will help my people wage war.”

“So, you need a life-giving fruit for violent ends. You don’t make a good argument for helping you.”

That was a fair point. “At least I’m honest.”

“True. That is a mark in your favour. A polite conversation is another mark in your favour. Do you have ill intentions toward my realm?”

“I’m quite certain you could smite me and my entire pantheon without much difficulty, but even if that were not true, I wouldn’t think so. I see no transit rings in your system or natural wormholes, so my people won’t run into yours or need to contend for resources.”

He crossed his lower set of arms. “Yet you can make a path to my door if you wish to, and the plunder you would find there would outweigh what you could find elsewhere.”

“True, but pirates need a safe port to trade with. If we attack everyone, what we take serves no purpose.”

“You would think of my realm as a safe port?”

“If you were willing to trade, then yes. There are many Gods, and as you pointed out, I am new.”

“You would have me turn a blind eye to your actions?”

“Would you be willing?”

He chuckled. “I was not so benevolent in my youth. There was a time when my brothers and sister travelled among the stars, building our empire. We grew powerful, and with that power came arrogance. It takes much to humble Gods and make them turn from their path. They need to see their empire crumble and everything they built turn to dust. They need to watch their brothers and sisters perish pointlessly before remembering their humility and purpose. I’ll trade with you. I will give you the tree and equip your pantheon with equipment that can harness your raw Power. This equipment will strengthen you when fighting the dark pantheons but offer no support when you fight those of the light. If your pantheon grows, I will give you more, if it shrinks, I will take back what I have given. In return, you will give me all the S-grade ore you have on your quant little ship.” Tiberus gazed around the room, giving me time to consider his offer. “I must admit this realm you have built for yourself is quite strange. There is power here, but also great limitation.” He turned his gaze downward. “You keep slaves?”

“Refugees,” Pan clarified. “Their sector was falling. We gave the families of our followers a place to live.”

Tiberus scratched his chin with his paw. “A kind gesture, and they seem well cared for. You have spared no expense in their comfort, which is something I would not expect from a Pirate God and is why I am willing to work with you.”

I stared at him apprehensively. “Do we work for you now?”

Tiberus chuckled. “It is not an unreasonable conclusion. But that is not my intent. Trying to manipulate and control a God who can fold space at will is never wise, even when they are as weak as you all are. I wish to help you now so you will help me in return.”

“Doing what?”

His eyes hardened, and his lips pulled back, showing a third row of teeth. “I wish to kill the Gods who took my brothers and sisters from me, but I know not where they are.”

Request Received

Tiberus mourns the loss of his brothers and sisters. Their deaths weigh heavy on his heart, stopping him from ascending to a higher realm. He is willing to help you now so you can help him locate the six gods who killed his brothers and sisters and help him get revenge.

Rewards:

The contents of his vault

The support of his people for yours

Tiberus continued to talk. “I will clothe you in my colours. Few will recognise their origins in this age, but those who do shall pass along the news to others, drawing them to your side.” He held out his hand, and a hologram appeared above it. “This amulet will let my old allies and enemies recognise you. I do not know how my allies will respond to you, but it should not cause you issues, only offer benefits.”

I glanced at Pan. “What do you think? I’d like your input, too, Nargus. I assume you can see in here by the way your ears keep twitching?”

Nargus opened his mouth, and I projected his voice into the room. “Transcendent seas wash mortal shores, leaving destructions and children’s tears.”

Tiberus smiled. “You are wise for one so young and kind for a God of Death. I can cloak your followers from their eyes like I do my own. They would have to be right in front of them to see their allegiance.”

I glanced at Pan. “Did you know the Nargus could see the followers of other Gods?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what he is and isn’t capable of. It’s not exactly like we’ve had a lot of chances to talk about these things.”

Tiberus chuckled. “I remember when my brothers and sisters were unaware of their capabilities. Enjoy the surprises that will come and reconsider your position on turning the Bionoid Colin into a heavenly host. We once had such an opportunity and, in our arrogance, shunned it.” He laughed at Pan’s shocked expression. “The veil of time is easily pierced. The universe remembers what is spoken, holding even Gods accountable for their action.”

I frowned. “What exactly is a heavenly host, and what do you mean by reconsider our position on turning Colin into one?”

Tiberus smiled. “A heavenly host is a servant race of Transcendent beings. You must devote a portion of your followers to each one you raise. This will weaken your pantheon’s growth but give you many Transcendent beings at your command who cannot grow stronger or be permanently extinguished, easing the strain on managing your followers.”

I glanced at Pan. “Did you understand that?”

He nodded. “Deduce one milestone's worth of followers to create a transcendent servant who cannot grow stronger or be killed. They would work nicely with your Domain.”

“I would also consider them part of your pantheon and provide them with weapons,” Tiberus added.

“That actually makes your offer less appealing, not more,” Pan replied. “If you are willing to outfit that many Gods with A-grade equipment, it has to mean that your enemies are all A-grade or higher Gods. We’re bait.”

Tiberus shrugged. “They are S-grade Gods, or at least they were the last time I saw them. I am also an S-grade God, so I stand a good chance of beating them with your assistance. I make no claims against using you as bait. But you will have a fighting chance if you raise the host.”

I saw Pan’s hesitation, which was enough for me to decide I didn’t want to accept his offer. “Tiberus, will you give us the tree for all the ore now and time to decide if we want to help you. If we decide not to help you, you keep the ore, and we keep the tree. If we decide to help you, then you give us the rest of what you promised.”

Tiberus frowned, running a paw down his furry chest. “This is not an unreasonable demand. Either way, I gain from this.” He nodded. “I accept your proposal. However, I will give you the equipment I promised and add to my offer. Should you choose to help me, I will teach you how to control your Powers and gift your people a technology each time we kill one of my enemies.”

“That is most generous,” Pan said.

Tiberus vanished from the throne room, but I could still see him in the lecture stadium.

“Would you mind opening a portal for me to my treasure?” He asked. “It will save me from walking to my own transport system and speed up our exchange.”

I opened a small portal for him to his vault.

He stepped through, pointing to a location in the corner. “Put the ore over there.”

He then walked to the tree with golden fruit and waved his hand. The tree, roots, and dirt rose into the air. A mountain made from high-grade metal bars I couldn’t identify trickled toward the tree roots, shifting like water and forming a pot for the tree to sit in. Other resources in equal quantity flowed towards the same location joining what he was making.

“I’ve engineered the pot to keep the tree alive. It will feed, water, prune, and shield it if your ship is attacked. The tree will survive damage that will turn your vessel into stardust, so you won’t have to be concerned about it.”

I opened a portal and pushed all the ore into his vault before opening a larger portal near my feet that connected to the spot next to the tree. Tiberus pushed the tree through with his Power, placing it by my feet. The tree was about ten meters tall, so was only about the size of a bonsai tree, compared to everything in the throne room.

You have found a unique item.

The Tree of Life

This tree produces 1,000 fruit each Cycle. Each fruit will restore the health and youth of one NPC.

For every Cycle this tree is in your possession, you will receive 1,000 rejuvenation and medical treatments.

Tiberus transformed, growing in size until he stood on our scale. He waved his hand, and a suit of gold armour, radiating Power like the sun's heat, flew towards him and wrapped itself around his body. He waved his hand again, and materials flowed towards him, creating two bowls. One looked very weird, and the other looked completely normal.

The portal I’d opened for the tree was pulled from my control and grew to the size where he could pass through. He casually walked into my throne room, unconcerned by anything around him. He seemed to be in a hurry.

Tiberus held up the weird-looking bowl first. “This is called Second Skin. It’s quantum robotic armour that sits over your skin, making you as tough as the lowest A-grade God for a short period of time.”

“How short?” Pan asked.

“It depends on how often you are struck and how strong those strikes are. Second Skin has no Power source, so it can only take a single A-1 strike before it has to be recharged.”

“Is it a divine item?”

“No. You’ll only be as tough as an A-grade God. You won’t have any of the other benefits.”

I glanced at the normal-looking bowl. “What does that one do?”

“That’s also called Second Skin, except that one will strengthen any weapon you coat with it. Just dip it in the bowl, and you’ll have yourself an A-grade weapon for a single strike.”

“What if we need more than one shot?”

“This equipment is designed to stop weaker Transcendents from fighting you and let you survive long enough to run from higher Gods. This is not for you to go on a crusade.”

He waved his hand towards the portal, and more of those metal bars poured through. This time, they transformed into a large chest. Once the chest was finished, the metal kept coming, filling the chest until it only had enough space for the two bowls.

Tiberus walked over and picked up a bar. “This is how you use the bowls.”

He tossed the bar into the ugly bowl. In a few seconds, it was converted into a quantum robotic form. He then picked up the bowl and turned, tossing the contents over me. The liquid spread over my skin before disappearing from my senses.

“You are now protected by second skin. You will have up to A-1 grade protection if you charge it with your Power.” He turned and put the bowl into the chest. “Store the bowls with the bars for safety. I built a failsafe into the chest that will cause everything I’ve given you to crumble to dust if you take the bowls or bars out of your throne room. Apart from that, you can help yourself whenever you want. If there is nothing else, I have a lecture to give.”

Tiberus let me feel his Domain sweep the ship as he checked if he’d been cheated, and then he withdrew it, reminding me he could kill me if he chose.

When we said nothing else, he walked through the portal back into his treasure hall. The portal shrank to its original size as he returned control to me. He shrank to his starting size as well but kept his armour on. I opened another portal for him, back to where his hologram was still giving a lecture.

“Very kind of you,” he said. “In the future, you will not be able to open portals into my realm, except into my throne room that you can no doubt see. I will be stepping back from guiding my people directly for the foreseeable future and await your decision. Years mean little to me but do not try my patience. Decide to help me or tell me you do not wish to. I would prefer the truth to be left in the dark.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said.

I watched Tiberus step through the portal into the lecture hall and retake his place, replacing the hologram seamlessly. I withdrew my Domain from his realm and closed the portals.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Well, that went better than I thought it would.”

Pan raised an eyebrow. “You’re aware he could have killed us at any point.

“Which makes it a good thing we didn’t steal from him.”

Nargus was still listening in and added his two cents. “The worm sees nothing but the dirt he burrows through. Sunlight baths his face, giving the joy of sight. And the bird chirps with glee as the earth offers its bounty.”

“Well, yeah, obviously,” I said. “I’m not going to pick a fight with other Gods unless I have to. That goes both for Tiberus and his enemies.”

“Listening winds.”

I turned to the tree at my feet and the chest behind me. It hadn’t occurred to me that they would have a listening device built into them. “I’m just being honest if you’re listening,” I told the plant and chest. “There might be a circumstance where I take you up on your offer, but it hasn’t happened yet. I am, however, considering your offer and will continue to consider it going forward.”

“Good save, my liege,” Pan said.

Nargus chuckled.

“We need to get a move on,” I said. “We’ve got less than an hour until the pirates reach the treasure fleet.”

Pan smiled and used his Power to make two fruit fly to his hand. They were as small as a grain of rice. “I’ll be back shortly then.”