“Wise Woman of Hothgrum,” she said with a warm smile and without a trace of sarcasm, “I am honored. I am Isu, necromancer and loyal servant of the God of Death. I have seen you in my dreams.”
What the fuck was this? Friya also bowed to Isu.
“You too are a Raiser of the Dead, one who is greatly blessed,” Friya said in a tone of subdued reverence. “Long have I worshiped the magic of Death. We have met in the land of dreams, you and I. It is a great honor to finally meet you in this world of blood and bone.”
Then Anna stood up, leaned over, and offered a hand to Friya. Friya took Anna’s hand in both of hers and touched it to her forehead in a gesture of respect.
“You are a devotee of the Charm Goddess, are you not?” Friya asked.
“I am indeed,” Anna replied, sweet as sugar. I peeked behind her back just to check that she wasn’t surreptitiously using Lucielle’s Mirror again, but she was being a good girl.
“I recognized the necklace,” Friya said.
I felt a little sheepish. I’d figured the necklace Anna wore was just another of her many items of jewelry, the only function of which was to enhance her already staggering beauty.
“Since I was young, I’ve had a great interest in the Old Gods. When I heard that Vance was coming up here, I had to tag along. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get away from the lands under the sway of that cruel church of sanctimonious virgins.”
“Well, you are most welcome here, Anna. We welcome devotees of all the Old Gods with open arms.”
Now the only woman of my party who hadn’t introduced herself to Friya was Elyse. She was squirming uncomfortably in her seat, staring at Friya with barely veiled contempt. This was the last thing I’d been expecting, but in hindsight, it made sense. Everyone here followed the Old Gods, and nobody was particularly fond of the Church of Light. Elyse was entirely on her own, for once a minority rather than part of a comfortable majority. I figured I’d better step in before these women decided to gang up on Elyse, so I went over to give her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“This is Elyse,” I said before anyone else could take the lead, “the first person to join me in what has become my quest to destroy the Blood God. She is a Bishop of the Church of Light, that much is true.”
A rumble of disapproval rippled through the hall after Rollar had translated.
“But,” I continued, “she is of a far more open mind than many of her peers in the Church. First of all, she’s here following me, the God of Death. That should tell you something about the kind of woman she is. She’s been by my side for the entire duration of every battle we’ve fought, and she’s a formidable warrior in her own right. More than that, she is a woman of honor and loyalty. She’s put her life on the line for me again and again, and you’d better believe I’d do the same for her in a heartbeat.”
Elyse looked up at me, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears.“Thank you, Vance,” she whispered. “I needed that.”
She then erased the glint of jealousy and enmity from her eyes, put on her most cheerful smile, stood up, and extended her hand to Friya. Friya took it graciously, to her credit. Her dislike of the Church of Light was more than justified. In a place like Luminescent Spires, the assholes in charge would likely burn her at the stake. Friya had understood that Elyse was not like those zealots. In the interest of the cohesion of the group, Friya put her prejudices aside and smiled at the bishop.
“We do not often see representatives of the Church of Light here in Hothgrum,” Friya said, “but any friend of Vance’s is a friend of ours. As long as you serve the Raiser of the Dead, you are welcome in our Great Hall.”
Hegmun and the other Hothgrum dignitaries nodded approvingly.
“Now that we’ve taken care of introductions,” I said, “let’s get down to business. Some terrible shit has been going on in this part of the world. Friya has told me of a growing evil. If I’m to do anything about it, and I sure plan to, I need the details. No beating around the bush, no vague hints and clues and winks. Tell me exactly what the fuck is happening here.”
“You’re right, Lord,” Friya said. “For a long time, the Frozen Wastes of the North have served as a barrier. But the barrier has been breached.”
“A barrier for what?”
“Some Old Gods survived the Purge, but their powers were so diminished that they had no option but to flee to places where those who wanted them dead could not reach them. You have traveled through much of Prand, and you’ve seen firsthand how difficult the journey here is, how inhospitable the Wastes are. Do you think the Splendorous Army could mount a large-scale expedition this far north?”
“I’ll answer that, as someone who once commanded a division in that very army,” Rollar said. “It would be logistically impossible to get a large number of troops this far north. Vance’s undead army could do what no others could do. Men of flesh? Impossible. That’s why your tribe remains unconquered.”
“Yes,” Friya said. “And that was why certain Old Gods ventured beyond our lands, in search of a place where they would be out of the reach of the long arm of the Splendorous Army. And they were safe there… until recently.”
“What happened?” Isu asked, looking concerned.
“The Splendorous Army was not the only thing the surviving gods
