Chapter 91 - Leaving Finally At Last (Patreon)

Now that they have obtained the very own thing that they came for, the Heart of the Flame Atromach King, they could finally leave the Undead Asylum Catacombs and the Orange Shore altogether.

Finally, at least.

Valkorion already had far more than enough of this place and all of the Undead that were within this dammed place. On top of everything, it wasn't really sitting well with Valkorion that this place was being swarmed with overpowered Undeads that could awaken at any moment and kill them faster than they could blink.

The only piece of good luck was the fact that the Mid-Sequence Undead were not wandering into the Upper Level of the Izaltih; if they had, then they would have been killed as soon as they entered these cursed halls.

He knew that the cultists of the Cult of the Dammed were perhaps not really as lucky as they were when they entered the Upper Levels of Izalith, maybe due to their much higher numbers and power.

Most, if not all, of the types of the Undeads could sense Life, no matter how decayed or corrupted the Life was; they could sense it, and sooner or later, they would swarm the location where they sensed the living beings in an attempt to kill them.

Not only did he share this sentiment, but even Gotrik Gurnisson was rather content to leave this place as soon as possible. During the journey, Valkorion developed some kind of friendship with the dwarven Slayer to the point where he planned to ask the dwarf to join his merry band of mercenaries once it was established.

According to his plans, there would be a lot of prey to slay.

With the object of interest secured by Mellisandre, they exited the Undead Asylum Catacombs in exactly the same way. As everything was already cleared from the Undead or potential enemies, they exited the Undead Undead Asylum rather quickly.

Once they were back in the Orange Shore, they all headed towards the Volantis. Mellisandre was heading towards the Volantis because from there on, she could disappear to one of the hideouts of the Red Temple, and Gotrik was heading to the Volantis for God knows what.

***

Two Weeks Later

With the carriage wagon that was waiting for them at the edges of the Orange Shore, it dropped them off some time prior to entering the Undead Asylum Catacombs. The journey back to the Volantis took around two weeks on the back, and once they returned to the Volantis, it was time for them to part, at least between him and Mellisandre.

The red priestess needed to deliver the Heart of the Flame Atromach King back to 'Him' because it was the crucial ingredient for 'Him' to become the King of the Angels. It seemed that her God, or rather future God, planned to advance to the King of Angels rather soon before advancing to Godhood.

Valkorion, though, already pondered that 'He' was for sure more powerful than an average Angel, even if he was standing at the limits of Sequence 1. For certain, there must be some kind of hidden reason for that because, without that alone, the Red Temple wouldn't be able to become this kind of big organization.

According to everything that he had seen and found out about the Red Temple and their power, apparently, they were only a level weaker than the organizations backed and worshipping True Gods.

Which was rather mind-boggling.

Unless...

Suddenly, certain thoughts took root in his mind as he stopped at the idea for some time before he returned his attention back to Mellisandre.

The dwarven Slayer went to take care of his own things as soon as they returned to the Volanits and disappeared in the crowds of people, noting that he would be at the inn where he had dwelt previously.

"I am not really one for the sentimental talks, but hopefully, we will see each other soon... and be careful."

Valkorion said he didn't really know what to say to Mellisandre because, technically speaking, she was his closest intimate friend in this new world. They had lived together for several weeks and even had sex together, and he certainly felt some kind of affection for the red woman.

Building connections with people was never really his forte and his strong side; mostly, it was done out of coincidence rather than something that he had conscious control of, and he also wasn't the most sociable person around.

"I will... and you should too... the lands of the Valyria are not a safe place for you, nor should you remain here. Your destiny lies behind the northern sea..."

She said before leaning forward and giving him a fiery, passionate kiss that seemed to last for an eternity, as her figure disappeared to the shadows soon afterward. With that being done, he stood in the place for several moments as he pondered over her words, or rather, he should call it a warning.

Valkorion knew that the lands of the Valyrian Freehold weren't a safe place for him, mainly due to his paternal lineage, but at the same time, he wanted to explore and gain from the Valyria as much as possible as long as it lasted.

Not to mention, it was also the best place to gather allies and amass a power base for the future Doom of the Valyria. Though, what caught his attention was the second part of the warning...

That his destiny lay behind the northern sea.

The only northern sea that he could think of was the Shivering Sea north to the Essos.

The Shivering Sea is a frigid sea north of Essos. It was bounded to the west by northeastern Westeros, to the south by the narrow sea and northern Essos, to the north by a vast frozen wilderness called the White Waste, and to the east by lands and seas unknown, perhaps the Sunset Sea.

The Shivering Sea was one of the biggest seas on the entire Faerûn. Its water was teeming with life of all kinds. Hundreds of varieties of fish swim through its depths, including salmon, wolf fish, sand lances, grey skates, lampreys and other eels, whitefish, char, shark, herring, mackerel, and cod. 

Crabs and lobsters are found everywhere along its shores. Seals, narwhals, walruses, and sea lions have their rookeries and breeding grounds on and around the countless rocky islands and sea stacks.

The sea is also home to many whales, including grey whales, white whales, humpbacks, spotted whales, and most importantly... Leviathan and other Mythical Creatures that lived in the depths of the sea.

There were also several cases of the pale blue mists moving across the waters, so cold they froze any ship they passed over. Drowned spirits are said to rise at night to drag the living down into the depths. Mermaids of the Shivering Sea are described as having pale flesh and black-scaled tails, and they are considered far more malign than their sisters to the south or the Ice Dragons roaming above the sea and hunting the diverse sea life as their source of food.

According to the rumors that were semi-confirmed, there was another continent... north of the Essos that was rarely reached or in contact due to the challenges that everyone faced when they tried to cross over through the Shivering Seas.