Tatiana brought up the rear She patted RandidlyÆs arm after the rest had left This was a good idea IÆm glad you did it Everyone needed a bit of a break from running the city The Wandering City is chaos and progress incarnate You purposefully made it strange and unmoored so we wouldnÆt fall into a rut but that strangeness makes our jobs a little more difficult
Thank you I appreciate that youÆve kept the trains on time while IÆm gone Randidly said seriously Without you
Tatiana waved her hand I handle the timetables but you provided all the materials ItÆs almost annoying how little IÆve needed to do to make Kharon a success your name is a big draw It would take a certain sort of genius to squander everything youÆve left for us
When RandidlyÆs subordinates had gone he turned back to look at Nrorce The blue goblin gestured sharply with his hand handle the dishes Randidly moved smoothly picking up the remnant plates and platters after his group had eaten their way through the meal Nrorce had prepared Balancing almost a dozen plates on his arm he walked through to the kitchen Flicks of his fingers mobilized natural energy annihilating the remnant sauce and gristle that lingered in the wake of the mutton steaks He then brought everything to the sink for a thorough scrubbing
The domestic tasks were rather mindless but Randidly enjoyed the combination of the simple motions and the pleasant buzz that had settled in his mind He still felt rather drained from his experience working his way up through the Mountain encountering the shades of Devick and challenging the Master but now that tension had eased from the simple conversation with his subordinates
We are all working for the same thing No need to bear the responsibility all on my own Just like Claudette wonÆt be alone when she stands up to her father For a brief moment Randidly clenched his hand The sharp outline of his strained tendons in his arm reminded him of those horrifically muscled statues and he shook himself He considered contacting Neveah to see if she could perhaps do something but then Randidly grimaced picturing NeveahÆs amused expression as she looked at the statue better not mention it She probably already knows considering her friendship with Tatiana but if she finds out it bothers me she might commission one herself
Congratulations Your Skill Soul Bond has grown to Level 415
RandidlyÆs breath hissed between his teeth but he did his best not to linger over what that notification might mean Instead he cocked his head and read the soft wind currents for signs of Nrorce To his surprise the goblin wasnÆt within the farmhouse he had climbed up the vine covered walls and now sat along the Western portion to watch the bleed crimson and maroon out through the clouds of this world
You took the rest of the population to a different planet Nrorce said when Randidly hopped up to join him Randidly nodded
Nrorce pursed his lips This place well I thought the entire world was empty after my daughter died But I suppose itÆs pretty empty now isnÆt it Lifeless
Randidly opened his mouth to respond but Nrorce was already waving his hand Alright IÆm tired from cooking And if you want this to happen again heh Do you take me for a fool You need to pay me if you want me to cater an entire party You are adult enough not to need to rely on charity from an old goblin
After studying NrorceÆs purposefully blank expression Randidly allowed a small smile to dance across his face Alright Next time IÆll pay
You better Nrorce grumbled After bowing toward his blue skinned back Randidly left the old goblin in peace Besides he had a lot on his own plate before the DonÆs party it was definitely time to confront the Patrons and make sure they werenÆt planning anything malicious for the Alpha Cosmos
There was an awkward silence as Randidly absorbed that and considered Then the seemingly innocuous Patron of Blades stepped forward We can give you our understanding but there is a lot we donÆt know as Sun implied Everything changed so quickly
During most of the Second Cohort we were all close All nine of us Elhume and his eight original Patrons Truth Abyss Blades Feathers Deep Sun Blooms and the Borrowed Elhume had used the Nexus to reach the Pinnacle but there were a few flaws with this method he wasnÆt invincible within the Nexus just the one that none of the other major factions wished to offend Even with that deterrent we had to fight constantly to defend the order in the sizable portion we controlled Outside of even our struggles various forces controlled small kingdoms that constantly warred with each other attempting to monopolize the influx of Aether from new worlds
You are primarily concerned with the way the Cohort ended right Well you need to go back a bit for that clusterfuck to make sense The Patron of Blades looked around at the other gathered Patrons It is somewhat humiliating to admit this but we we were the outer circle all of us The four closest to Elhume were Truth Borrowed Feathers and Deep Three of which are dead by ElhumeÆs hand and one which well she is still recovering from exposure to the bone charm When she wakes perhaps she can shed some more light on what happened By the way
I havenÆt finished examining the bone charm Randidly responded with a firm voice However I am able to handle it safely You donÆt need to worry about the Alpha Cosmos unraveling around you But please continue
The Patron of Blades nodded We had three big projects in those days First the creation of Elhumes or humans Elhume believed that if we wanted to extend our control of the Nexus we would need a more efficient way to gather subordinates This was before the Nexus Ways so we couldnÆt efficiently respond to threats Our standing army had to be ready in all locations Abyss and Deep were focused on this with Abyss only assisting with his understanding of potential and transformations The Patron of the DeepÆs unique power was the core of the project
Us three Sun Blooms and myself managed major points of entry into our area We were the guardians that defended the citizens against the chaos of the wider Nexus
Meanwhile Truth Feathers and Borrowed accompanied Elhume to slay a very dangerous individual They succeeded but they all returned slightly haunted Borrowed hid away unwilling to talk Truth seemed to look at the world with hollow eyes And Feathers well she didnÆt stray from ElhumeÆs side Usually after a long mission like that Elhume would call us back for a meal after a major mission He always liked to check in with each of us But that time he did not We didnÆt think much of it we each had too much on our own plate
Suddenly the Patron of the Abyss interrupted Within a week Elhume publicly killed the Patron of Truth He offered no explanation or apology
The Patron of Blades sighed Part of it seemed to be the stress of the Elhume project but there was also the issue that ElhumeÆs body started generating crystalized Aether around him faster than he could be rid of it Things spun wildly out of control He seemed suddenly possessed determined to begin the plan They activated the ritual to create Elhumes and the Patron of the Deep died in the process Officially it was an accident As for the Patron of the Borrowed as far as we can tell Elhume used his body to create the very first Armament With that he slew a particularly powerful head of a rival power that had routinely challenged his authority And with ease
But by then the other forces in the Nexus were calling for the Patrons to be sealed away Perhaps in retrospect it was a blessing they might have feared that Elhume would turn us all into weapons for his eight fists and become invincible I donÆt think they understood how bad the physical restrictions on his person were becoming
You always add too much detail The Patron of Blooms rearranged her face the roots and vines tightening and flexing into a haughty architecture What is there to say We believed we knew Elhume And perhaps there is some truth to his claim that something went wrong on their assassination mission But the harsh truth is this he realized he no longer needed us We were more useful to him as weapons than as companions So he cast us aside Our dream of creating paradise amounted to nothing