The cheer that exploded from the crowd at the mention of my name was longer, louder, and prouder than any that had come before it. The roar pealed across the square like glorious thunder, and the hairs on my arms rose and tingled. It took almost five minutes for the crowd to quiet down enough for Layna to continue.
“As Webmaven of Aith, I now award Lord Chauzec with lifetime Freedom of Aith. He will always be welcome here, and what is more, if he ever needs us or our war spiders, we will always come to his aid, no matter where or when it is required.”
Everyone bellowed out a vociferous “Aye!”
“We are known as a cold people by outsiders, as a cruel and dangerous people, even, but we are more than that; we are a loyal people like no other. We are deadly to our foes, but fiercely loyal to our friends, and from this moment on, we will forever be loyal to Lord Chauzec, will we not?”
“Aye!” they all roared, the sound crashing like a glorious wave against my ear drums. “LORD CHAU-ZEC! LORD CHAU-ZEC! GOD OF DEATH! GOD OF DEATH!” they chanted as they drummed their spider legs together to make a thunderous beat go along with this chant, like a massive army thumping their spears against their shields in perfect time.
Layna turned to me while the crowd continued to chant.
“They adore you, Vance.” She beamed at me. “Which comes as no surprise, considering what you’ve done for them. Is there anything else, beyond our undying loyalty, that you would ask of me and the rest of the Arachne?”
“There is one thing, yes,” I said. “I will establish a church of the Temple of Necrosis here and consecrate the altar myself. Any Arachne warriors who wish to dedicate their kills to me will be given special coins to carry. Anyone else who wishes to offer me sacrifices will be welcome to—even the small sacrifice of time, in the form of prayers. It all adds up, and all of my worshipers help me in some small way. The more worshipers I have, the better.”
“I don’t see any problem with that,” Layna said. “The Church of Light holds no sway here in Aith, and nobody will oppose the establishment of a Death church here. After what you’ve done for us Arachne, we will be eager to worship at your altar.” Her suddenly hungry eyes drifted down to my crotch. “Of course,” she continued, “some of us may wish to worship you in different ways. I hope that such things will be possible in the very near future.”
I could almost feel Isu’s jealous anger crackling behind me, but, to her credit, she managed to suppress it as quickly as it had arisen. She understood that if she wanted me, she had to share me with every other woman who adored me.
“I’m sure you could,” I said with a suggestive smile. “But we’ll talk about that later. Tell the Arachne about the Temple of Necrosis.”
Layna relayed everything I’d just told her to the crowd. Once I’d been given a few more vociferous cheers and rounds of applause, the crowd finally dispersed, but not to go home; they went to the usually empty taverns. The Arachne weren’t typically disposed toward carousing and drinking, but tonight, the taverns would be overflowing tonight with celebrating people.
“Should we go out and celebrate with my people?” Layna asked.
“Not tonight, I’m afraid,” I answered. “We can’t afford to waste time, not with our many enemies growing stronger every minute. We need to move on at first light, and I need to plan. Did you find what you were looking for in the library?”
“I’ve skimmed through the most important works,” Layna answered. “I’ve also informed Friya of a few things she didn’t know about dragons and the Dragon Goddess.”
“Good. So you’ll be ready to leave at first light then?”
Layna nodded. “I hope you don’t mind me traveling with a hangover though, just for tomorrow. As Webmaven, it is my duty to celebrate with my citizens on such a momentous occasion as this.”
I chuckled. “Just make sure you’re packed and ready to go at dawn. And Isu, come with me. We’ve got some plans to make.”
Isu and I left the palace and returned to our chambers, where we looked over a few maps and worked out the quickest route to Lough Harbor, the closest ocean port, where we would find someone to sail us to Yeng. The main difficulty would be transporting a thousands-strong undead army. I’d figure something out, though. For the moment, what counted was making good time. As my powers had increased, especially after this most recent harvest of souls in the battle against the Crusader Army, I’d started to feel the presence and strength of other gods. It was easy enough with Rami-Xayon and Anna-Lucielle, since they were in such close proximity to me. I could feel their respective energies and powers very distinctly.
But somewhere in the undefined distance, like the barely perceptible flicker of lightning just over the edge of the horizon, I could feel the presence and strength of another deity. This one was dark, malevolent, and potent. Even though I had crushed Rodrick and reduced the Temple of Blood to ruins, the Blood God was by no means defeated, and I could sense his strength growing.
When Isu went to sleep, I stayed up in my chamber. It was time to pay a visit to the Gray Sentinel on the Black Plane.
I closed my eyes and sent my soul there. As soon as I arrived in that cool, soundless realm, I strolled at a leisurely pace across the glassy black surface. It expanded outward in all directions, melting into the blackness of the starless sky at the end of every undefined horizon. At the center of this world was my Gray Sentinel, and gleaming in its upper branches was the
