Suddenly, I realized that Tormis’ mood was far from mellow. He looked calm, but shadows seethed around him, shielding him in an impenetrable cocoon. Oh yeah, Romanova. She could rile up anyone.
“I’m carrying out your mission,” I told him confidently, staring him right in the eye. “You want to move your temple to the Road of Stars, don’t you? This is the first step.”
“You’ve awakened a power that you have no clue about.”
“Where is this Road of Stars, by the way?” I asked after a brief pause. “Is it in the material world or the Shadow Plane?”
“The Road of Stars is a bridge between worlds,” Tormis reluctantly replied.
“The Astral Plane? Libra? Shadow Plane? How can I get here — through an Astral Portal, a pentagram, or — ”
“Or!” A new voice spoke up, its tone sarcastic. Another figure materialized next to us: a slender woman in tight-fitting raven-black clothes and a silver mask. The shadows recoiled from her, and once again, I detected movement with the corner of my eye — Tormis disappeared both in the physical world and the Shadow Plane. Such behavior was strange and confusing. The God of Shadows fleeing from the restored temple, the heart of his power? Could Romanova be that strong?
“To tell you the truth, your patron isn’t one for bravery,” the First Maiden said, smirking. “I know him. Tormis always preferred to act by proxy without a direct confrontation.”
I sighed, carefully studying her with my shadow vision, and finally replied, “A nice trick. Can you teach me?”
Your reputation with Tormis was increased by 50. Current value: 4010/15000 (Respect)
A quiet chuckle followed. He was the God of Trickery. What did I expect? Games, masks... The fake Romanova vanished, transforming into a lanky man wearing tailored dark leather gear and a cloak, his face hidden under a cloth. However, the eyes in the narrow slit looked familiar. Tormis had taken the shape of the Thief, which I hadn’t yet seen, only recognizing it from the temple statues.
“I’ll give you some advice, Cat,” the god said. “You are hunted by powerful enemies. They won’t back down. You can’t defeat them. But victories aren’t always won through strength. Take a closer look at the company you keep. Someone there can tip the scales of your war.”
Tormis’ face subtly changed. Two sword hilts appeared on his shoulders, and a familiar symbol gleamed on his chest. I sighed deeply. Now that was some clue! I had considered something like that, but... I needed to ponder the new information and put it to use. Then I might have a real chance.
The meeting seemed to be adjourned. The winged cluster of shadows shot upward at breakneck speed, leaving the temple. I wondered if I was just as fast when using Shadow Transformation.
* * *
Fortunately, Romanova’s invisible valkyries didn’t touch me, even if they patrolled the cave in droves. The Maidens’ weird stealth ability wasn’t flawless — I could see their blurred silhouettes via shadow sight, and even in the material world, air glimmered where they passed. I hoped they wouldn’t harm my Jordi.”Your gray friend shouldn’t be afraid. We won’t stay here long,” the First Maiden said thoughtfully. “We’ll leave as soon as our reservoirs are full and the Glowing is restored.”
“He isn’t afraid, more like bothered by your presence.”
“I know. He tried spying on us, as he’s wont to do,” Romanova said, snorting. “But the Silver Stronghold’s well-defended. He’s upset that he failed. You don’t need to tell me anything. I have the profiles of all entities from rank six. Actually, I used to specialize in this sort of thing. I know more than most about the God of Shadows. But what did he see in you, I wonder?”
Smiling, I tapped the hilt of Aelmaris.
“Yes, most likely,” Romanova said, nodding. “You would have never found and freed his temple without a Key. Your personality type probably works for him, too — they have a keen scent for these things.”
“By the way, what’s the Road of Stars?” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
“The Road of Stars? Where did you learn about it?” Romanova asked, surprised, but Svechkin, who was silent until then, interrupted her.
“It’s also known as the Great Staircase. A stable interworld instance, something like a bridge between the Upper Worlds and the Netherworlds. The realm of gods.”
“Does it work like Helt Akor? Say, can your stronghold jump there?”
“Why? Divine entities might consider such invasion an attack. We don’t need a war with them!” The First Maiden scowled.
“Just tell me, yes or no?” I kept pushing. The answer was important.
“In theory, the Stronghold can teleport anywhere in Sphere. There are no restrictions; you only need a beacon.”
“Great!” I smiled. “Then I’ve made the decision about my reward!”
“Really? So what did you choose?” the First Maiden asked me grimly, glaring at me through the holes in her silver mask.
I grinned. While preparing for this conversation, I had spent a while deciding on my tactics. I didn’t want to antagonize the former developers, but they were still going to use me — why shouldn’t I use them? As a matter of fact, they needed me as their Joker in the
