Book 5 - Chapter 14 - Scattered Treasures (1/2)
Autumn sat with her legs crossed in the hollow of her tree. The beautiful young woman’s face was pale, her bearing weak. The efforts of the last few days had been a lot for her to bear on such frail mortal shoulders. She had yet to fully recover from the exertion.
Suddenly her still, statuesque form began to change. Her lashes fluttered and her eyelids rose, revealing a baleful glare. Radiating haughty superiority, the animosity in her eyes was ice cold rather than savagely hot. Space warbled before her and two figures appeared from the ether.
“Sorry to bother you,” Cloudhawk said by means of greeting. The episode of being flung from Autumn’s home only a few days ago seemed to have been put out of his mind. “We’ve got a lot this time, several relics – maybe even one you can use. Want to take a look?”
The Shepherd’s god affect was tepid and expressionless. She hardly thought Cloudhawk would bring back anything powerful enough to pique her interest. Unless he’d unearthed something like her flute, then it didn’t matter to her what trinkets he brought. Yet as she was preparing to turn her back on the pair something did catch her eye.
It was one of the spirits Hellflower had managed to capture.
The scientist explained. “This is some strange creature we found while exploring.”
“This is a phantasm, a creature formed by condensing godly spirit and mental power,” Autumn corrected. “They live only under very specific circumstances. You humans cannot unlock the mysteries of these phantasms, only the gods can analyze their nature.”
Autumn’s words only made Hellflower more eager. “Could we impose on her Majesty the Shepherd Goddess to help us?”
She did not refuse, but her response was a dismissive sniff. Cloudhawk cast Hellflower a knowing look.
“Majesty, please forgive any offense. We found something very unexpected during the excursion and I was hoping you may be able to help us identify it.” Hellflower produced something wrapped tightly in cloth. When she removed the layers the arm they’d found was revealed. The armor and gauntlet had been removed revealing flesh much like that of a human’s. However it was entirely hairless, without any blemish, like it was carved from marble. Hellflower presented it to Autumn with both arms outstretched like an official in feudal times presenting tribute. “Please see for yourself.”
The former god expressed satisfaction with Hellflower’s obsequious manner. Whether or not she really believed it, she was at least showing the Shepherd God the proper respect.
When she looked at the limb her brows furrowed. “This is a god’s arm.”
It was as they’d guessed.
“We found this along with a bunch of relics. This proves that whatever world that was had some connection to ours. Gods were there once, what was its history?” Cloudhawk wanted to know the answer, and Autumn was the only one who could give it to him. She was, after all, once a god. “Have you been to this world? Do you know who this arm belongs to?”
Autumn looked at Cloudhawk as though he were an idiot. “Please spare me your simple-minded mortal ideas. With your ant-like intelligence, do you think you can comprehend anything of godly history?”
Cloudhawk’s curiosity endured. “So did I guess wrong? If the gods never went to that world, why did we find a Temple, these relics, and an arm?”
“You found various godly relics. I ask you, did you find any trace of demonic presence?”
“I… not yet.”
“Not yet, not ever.”
“Why would be able to find godly relics but not demonic ones? Can you just speak clearly?”
Autumn stood up and left, spitting a frigid response over her shoulder. “That’s all I’ll say. Figure out the rest yourself!”
Cloudhawk hated when people talked in riddles, and especially when they only gave him part of the information. If she wouldn’t tell him, it wasn’t like he could put a knife to her throat and force her to speak. He wasn’t so bold.
Hellflower was happy enough with their revelations, though. The genetic material she found in this limb would do wonders for her research. Autumn also seemed perhaps open to the idea of helping her discover more about these phantasms. She was eager to begin.
Despite not getting all the answers he wanted, Cloudhawk had indeed made out like a bandit as well. Over the next several days he spent his time going over the relics they found. In the end he’d managed to fix some of them. Cloudhawk was happy to find that with more experience gathering relics was getting easier. Soon he would have what they needed to outfit a contingent of demonhunters.
Now all they needed was for Claudia to train some up. From now on, the title was ‘demonhunter’ wasn’t exclusive to the Elysian lands.
To Skycloud, Cloudhawk’s actions were more terrible than if he’d just outright destroyed the city, and more effective than if he’d killed their strongest warriors. He was proving to everyone that wastelanders could do anything the gods could. Their precious gods were not the absolute authority they pretended to be.
***
A few days later.
The old drunk returned to Greenland City after seven days on his mission. He had secretly eliminated the more troublesome factions in the four cities and helped establish leaders who were sympathetic to Greenland’s cause. The four cities, at least ostensibly, were under their control now.