“She has ceased to live, yes, but I know the location of her bones.”
“That’s good. I’ve resurrected Xayon and Lucielle. I need a willing, living female to consent to fuse her body and soul with that of the goddess, and then I need the dead goddess’s bones. I don’t think I’ll have too much of a problem finding the former, and it sounds like you can help me with the latter.”
“Although I know the exact location of the Dragon Goddess’s bones, getting to them might be a little bit of a problem.”
“Good thing I’m a problem solver, then. Tell me where they are and I’ll find a way to get them, I promise you that.”
Ji-Ko chuckled dryly and shook his head. “It’s a rather major problem, perhaps greater than the ones you’re accustomed to solving. The Dragon Goddess’s bones are in the last Dragon Temple in Yeng.”
“I was a crypt diver long before I was a god,” I said, “and there’s no temple or crypt I can’t take treasure from. Whatever traps and locks are in there, I’ll get around them.”
“It’s not traps and locks that are the problem, God of Death. It’s the Warlock. He built his tower on top of the ruins of the last Dragon Temple. He has the Dragon Goddess’s bones.”
“Well, shit.”
“This is a problem?” Ji-Jo asked.
Zhenwan laughed from beside me. “This is no problem at all.” He smiled at me, then looked at the monks. “This is a solution!”
“He’s got that right,” I said. “We can kill two birds with one stone. Or maybe just kill a Warlock and resurrect a dead goddess, but you get my point.”
“And we will help you do this, in whatever ways we can,” Ji-Ko said. “I know the layout of the goddess’ temple and would gladly guide you through it. We Blind Monks have been devoted to the Dragon Goddess for thousands of years. Despite her death, the banning of her worship by the 51st Glorious Emperor, and the death of her final dragon.”
“So dragons are officially extinct then, huh?”
“They are, sadly.”
“Don’t worry about that, I’ll be able to resurrect one when the time comes. I’ll need both Dragon Gauntlets for that, though. Do you know where the lost one is?”
“All our sources point to it being held in the reliquary of the Forbidden Palace,” Ji-Ko answered.
“Damn, I was kinda hoping it would be in the Warlock’s tower as well,” I said.
“Not everything can be fortuitous, even for a god,” Zhenwan said.
Ji-Ko frowned. “There will be no way to obtain it short of stealing it from under the Emperor’s nose. And although he is foolish and lax about many things, security around his reliquary is tighter than anywhere else in the City of Jewels or the Forbidden Palace.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to steal something valuable from a high-security location,” I said. “Besides, we don’t have a choice. I need that gauntlet.”
“We will do whatever we can to assist you,” Ji-Ko said. “You can count on us, God of Death.”
The other monks murmured their agreement.
“I was planning on setting off for the City of Jewels tomorrow morning,” I said, turning to face all the monks. “I’d like you guys to join my party. I can use all the local assistance—and extra elite warriors—that I can get. Especially when I can’t bring my army to the continent unless I’m willing to go to war.”
“We will meet you outside this temple at dawn, God of Death,” Ji-Ko said. “We are as eager as you are to get this mission underway. We have been preparing all our lives for this time, and finally, it is here. You are here. Together we will defeat both the Warlock and the Blood God, and our revered Dragon Goddess will finally draw breath again!”
The monks all let out an enthusiastic cheer.
“I’ll see you at dawn tomorrow for the start of the greatest quest Yeng has ever seen!” I said.
The men let out another enthusiastic roar.
“Right, I have one more question for you guys, though,” I said. “This robe I’m wearing, why was it hanging in the Plump Herons Inn?”
Ji-Ko’s face crinkled with mirth as he laughed heartily.
“Ah, that is brother Wen-Ting’s robe!” he said. “We Blind Monks are permitted to consume small quantities of alcohol, but brother Wen-Ting has a little trouble controlling himself once he gets started.”
One of the monks hung his head as his cheeks turned crimson. Too bad he felt ashamed for having some fun.
“Last night we brothers went to enjoy a crisp amber ale at the Plump Herons Inn—its specialty—but brother Wen-ting ended up having a little more than his share,” Ji-Ko said. “He vomited it up all over his robe, and the floor and table of the inn. After cleaning it up, the innkeeper graciously allowed him to wash and dry his fouled robe there too. It seems that fate directed brother Wen-Ting to drink to excess last night, so that you could find his robe and then us, God of Death.”
“Here’s to drinking! Who ever said it wouldn’t save the world, huh?” I grinned, and my new warriors laughed. They sure did sound like they’d make some fine drinking buddies too.
Zhenwan and I returned to the inn without a problem, since the Warlock’s storm had died down almost completely now, and he went straight to bed. I found Friya waiting for me on the balcony of my bedchamber, wearing her wolfskin Cloak of Changing.
“I sense that there has been some progress with your quest to find the Dragon Gauntlet, and to resurrect a dragon,” she said. “I yearn to become the dragon, Vance. Every night my dreams become more vivid and intense. But also, there are nightmares, terrifying visions of what will come to pass should the Blood God defeat you. It will be the end of the world; everything will be drowned in a never-ending tsunami of blood. Only you can
