“Excellent,” I said.
“Where’s the other Northern barbarian, the smelly one?” Yumo-Rezu asked.
“Drok,” I said, smiling. “He rules the barbarian tribes as my vassal in the North. He’s back with his wife and built a longhouse of bones as his seat of power there. I went to visit in the summer; it’s really great up there in summertime when there’s endless daylight and no night. But man, even a god’s liver can take a beating with the amount those barbarians drink. When I came back, I had to take a vacation to recover from my vacation!”
We all laughed.
“So, where did you go for your recovery holiday?” Yumo-Rezu asked.
“I traveled across the ocean to Yeng to see Ji-Ko and his monks at the Monastery of Necrosis. Ji-Ko established it there with the permission of the Emperor, who’s still very grateful for everything we did for him.”
“And how are the Blind Monks?” she asked.
“They’re doing well, although the term ‘blind’ isn’t perhaps the most technically correct way to describe them. Each of them has an undead skeleton permanently by his side, whose eyes he uses to ‘see’. Ji-Ko and Rhuz teamed up, and they train warrior monks at the Monastery of Necrosis.”
“Did you see my sister when you were in Yeng?” Yumo-Rezu asked, and a flash of jealousy flickered across her eyes. Although all of my women knew they had to share me, Yumo-Rezu, with her fiery temperament, was the one most often afflicted with jealousy. To her credit, though, she did her best to suppress it.
“Of course,” I answered. “Wind worship has made a huge return in your native land, and she’s gained a great deal of power as a goddess, all of which she uses wisely, of course. Her increased powers means she frequently comes to visit.”
“I bet she does,” Yumo-Rezu said, with the smallest hint of snark.
I chose to ignore it. “And the new Wind temple Rami-Xayon built is one of the most impressive pieces of architecture I’ve ever seen. I heard that even the Emperor is jealous. I think the only thing that outshines it is the Cathedral of Necrosis here in Brakith.”
“Ooh, yes, yes, I’ve heard all about it! Can we go see it now?” she asked.
“Rollar, please excuse us,” I said. “You can give me the details of your campaign later.”
We walked out of the hall and headed for the exit of the palace. When we turned a corner, we almost bumped into Elyse, who was hurrying along the marble-floored hallways with a pile of dusty tomes in her arms. She was with child, so she had some trouble balancing all the books.
“Sorry, Vance!” Elyse said, and the smile of delight that lit up her face whenever she saw me sparkled in her gorgeous eyes and on her luscious lips. “I was so excited about cracking these books open that I wasn’t even looking where I was going! Ah, Yumo-Rezu, it’s lovely to see you! You’ll have to tell me all about your travels later, but right now I need to get these books to the Great Library.”
“A child?” Yumo-Rezu’s mouth dropped. I thought she was about to ask why I had chosen Elyse to bear my first offspring, but then she suddenly broke into a grin. “Congratulations!” She kissed both Elyse and I, and I could have sworn she slipped in a little tongue. I guessed an evening romp with the two women wouldn’t be out of the question, then.
“Thank you,” Elyse said after Yumo-Rezu had finished embracing her. “I can’t really believe it. But the child should come in only a month. I think it’ll be quite strong, with such a powerful father.”
“You bet it will,” I said.
“I wish I could stay,” Elyse said, “but I really must be off to the library.”
“We’ll all have dinner together later,” I said to her. “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up.”
Elyse smile before she hurried off.
“What’s this Great Library Elyse was talking about?” Yumo-Rezu asked. “And does she live here with you in Brakith?”
“She does, yes.”
“I thought you would have made her Seraphim of the New Church of Light,” Yumo-Rezu said.
I shrugged. “I offered, and she had no interest in it. She worships an old goddess now, a dead one that she hopes I’ll eventually be able to resurrect: the Goddess of Knowledge. Elyse has never forgiven the Church of Light for what they did to her. Instead, she’s dedicated herself to the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. She established the Great Library here in Brakith, and her quest is to gather all the greatest books and scrolls in the world into one place: here. And can you blame her for not having any interest in the New Church of Light? Most people in Prand want nothing to do with it after everything that happened. The Lord of Light is lucky if he has a hundred worshipers across the entire world now, and the New Church of Light consists of a single little chapel near the ruins of what used to be Luminescent Spires. That bald-headed buffoon doesn’t seem to care though. Even after suffering the humiliation of having to publicly apologize and prostrate himself before every single person in Prand, he still wears a smile on his yellow face. His indefatigable optimism is annoying as all hell, and I avoid him as much as I can.”
“He does acknowledge you as God of Gods, though, yes?” she asked.
“He does, and he knows I’ll kick his sunny ass if he steps out of line. I don’t care what he does, really, as long as he doesn’t bother anyone.”
We continued walking, exiting the palace and entering the market square.
“What happened to Percy and his pirates?” Yumo-Rezu asked.
“They’re still sailing the high seas, in brand new warships,” I answered. “And they’re not pirates anymore; they’re the Navy of Necrosis. Together with my kraken, they keep the peace out on the ocean.”
“Ah, that’s good to hear. I’m sure they’re … oh, wow,” she gasped as we
