When I saw the logs, I sighed with relief.
Destroying Plague quest More Workers! failed!
You are no longer’ a member of the Desti’oging Plague!
You have lost your rank of Legate of the Destroying Plague!
The crown clanked as it fell from my bag, dissolving and flowing into the ground.
Your Legate’s Crown has been removed from your inventory and returned to the Nucleus of the Destroying Plague.
Your reputation with the Nucleus of the Destroying Plague has reduced: -50,000.
Current reputation: hatred.
Skill lost: Destroying Plague Immortality!
Skill lost: Desti’oying Plague Immunity!
Skill lost: Subjugate Mind!
Skill lost: Plague Reanimation!
Skill lost: Plague Fury!
Skill lost: Plague Pestilence!
Skill lost: Plague Boost!
Less than half an hour remained until the legates of the Destroying Plague revived. I smiled a wicked grin as I imagined Mogwai’s face when he failed to summon me.
Unnoticed, Tiamat appeared next to me again. Irita unwillingly moved away under the goddess’s piercing gaze.
The workers, now human again, bowed to the Sleeper, wished me luck and rushed back through the portal.
Manny clapped me on the shoulder before he left.
“Show those dro who’s boss!”
Although, for the noncitizens, I was ‘dro’ too…
The guardians fell prostrate before the goddess, muttered words of thanks, but it didn’t last long—the allure of new life and sensation was too great. Anf chittered happily, almost embracing Iggy. My summoned Montosaurus trampled awkwardly next to Ripta, who quietly squawked, trying to convey his feelings to the reptile.
Flaygray crawled at Tiamat’s feet, got a friendly pat from the goddess and left, uncorking a bottle of wine with his teeth as he went. He took a long drink, closed his eyes, sighed. His oasis in the desert.
Nega couldn’t stop repeating herself.
“Alive again, feeling again, once again I can…” She listed everything she could do, making even Gyula redden at the ears. “Come on, big boy, cop a feel!’”
“Sony, Nega, I’m married!” The builder spread his hands and staggered back from the succubus.
The massive arch of the Great Portal continued to spit out new soldiers. The mercenary leaders and centurions looked around professionally and walked over to me: humans, ores, elves, trolls, ogres, dwarves… They reported their arrival, barked out: “May the Sleeping Gods never wake! And may their sleep be eternal!”
The mercenary commander couldn’t keep his eyes off the goddess, but somehow found the strength to turn and shout.
“Shining Tiamat is with us!”
Discipline and training took the reins. A living goddess? So what? They’d seen stranger. The mercenaries and gladiators turned, went to review the situation with Bomber. I glanced at the numbers of adepts—nothing had changed. The mercenaries weren’t even followers of the Sleeping Gods!
Tiamat watched them go, then turned to me.
“Unfinished business remains, Initial. The nightmare of the Lakharian Desert, the great Sharkon, lost his connection to you and is fading away.” The Sleeping Goddess pointed to the foot of the temple, where the giant underground terror’s body languished, dying. “I can return him, too, back to life, but he will still die.”
“At least he’ll die alive, and not turn into plague dust, Tiamat,” I said, swallowing.
“Very well, Initial,” the goddess answered. “But there is something that holds Sharkon’s returned soul in his body, and I feel it coming from your friend, the mage Crawler. I don’t know what it is. I feel it…”
“Yes, goddess, I’m here!” The gnome had been listening closely to the goddess and now he approached and started rooting through his inventory. “This? This? Or maybe…”
“Yes, this is it,” Tiamat said when Crawler pulled out his Essence of Neratakon. “The essence of a disincarnate Old God who cannot be returned.”
Tiamat said nothing more, didn’t so much as bat an eyelid, but the flask of divine essence disappeared from Crawlers hand. Sharkon’s skeleton began to stir from the bottom, growing over with flesh.
Sharkon, level 783 Underground Terror, has become your battle pet.
“There is another thread leading from you to a non-sentient creature,” Tiamat said. “Your fates are linked. Even alive, you have remained marked by the Nucleus, but now that you are disconnected from the Destroying Plague, the creature has lost its supply of energy and the spark within is going out. The creature is not as powerful as Sharkon, and its revival will require nothing but your wish. Do you want to return this being to life and summon it here?
Already guessing who she meant, I nodded.
“Do you wish to return his former name?”
Another nod.
A monstrous wolf, ribs piercing through rotten flesh and fur sloughing off, appeared before us. He was dying, but when Tiamat poured life energy into him, he rose, staggered over to me and licked my hand.
Crusher, level 30 Fierce Wolf‘has become your battle pet.
Ores from the Broken Axe clan and Yoruba soldiers began to emerge from the portal two by two. As soon as he appeared, Yemi found me with his eyes and I nodded—he would be in command of the ores. The mage and Sarronos directed the warriors to the front lines.
The troggs and cultists were already taking up battle formations in front of the temple’s northern side. The ores, Yoruba and the mercenaries and gladiators from the Green League would cover the other three sides. I knew they were headed for a massacre, but without them, I had no chance against Nergal’s army of so many thousands.
Before creating a raid group and taking command of my guardians and pets, I glanced at my profile. There was no time left to use Grain of Transformation, otherwise I would have redistributed thousands of points of charisma, which would be completely useless in the coming battle, into endurance.
Scyth, level 579 human (hidden)
Ranks: Dungeon Hero, Mightiest Punisher, Most Magnificent Avenger, Pioneer, Beast God Conqueror, Junior Gladiator (all hidden).
Clan: Awoken (hidden).
Real name: Alex Sheppard (hidden).
Real age: 16 years (hidden).
Class: Herald (hidden).
Primary characteristics
Strength: 222g (+2798).
Perception: 2162 (+1158).
Endurance: 2243 (+1318).
Charisma: 4069 (+2289).
Intellect: 1408 (+1158).
Agility: 1562 (+1440).
Luck: 4204 (+2018).
Secondary characteristics
Health points: 7,012,964.
Mana points: 2,201,126.
Vindication points: 2,197,000.
Serendipity:
