He turned back to me. "Oh, one other thing. I can't guarantee I can help you every time. For every such intervention I have to pay with my own power, whatever's left of it."
"Why did you waste it on this new skill, then?" I asked. "It wasn't crucial. You don't think you should have saved it for something truly important?"
The god smiled. "Not crucial, no, but the timing was perfect to hand out a few purpose-built freebies. Where do you think it would be the easiest to start a rockfalclass="underline" in a desert or on a mountain slope where all you need to do is kick one piddly little pebble? The situation you've just created allows me to interfere without messing up the logic of the universe. Had I tried to issue each of you with the apocalypse button, then yes, I'd have overdone things. So once again: keep shaking the foundations and doing grand deeds. One day the reward will find its heroes."
"Yeah, right. So that their patron god could cash in his chips, too," I couldn't hold the sarcasm back. "Ditto for using the Help of the Fallen One on a dying player. One gram of gratitude a day multiplied by three multiplied by eternity. Not bad for a power investment, what d'you think?"
The Fallen One grinned and gave me a wink.
Cryl stepped forward and lowered his head. "O Fallen One, may I accept you as my god, too? None of the Light ones came to help me when I was dangling pinned to the ceiling in the Cats' cellar. No one showered me with their skills and attentions. But if I became one of the founders of a powerful movement, that could bring enough fame, fortune and wealth to last me two eternities, if necessary."
I stared at Cryl in surprise. The Fallen One gave him a look of approval, nodded and slapped Cryl's shoulder, accepting his request. With another gong, a new explosion of diamond dust erupted. The kid's eyes widened as he moved his lips, scanning the messages visible only to him. I'd love to know what the god had given him.
Unexpectedly to us, Taali stepped forward, too. "O Fallen One, is it true that dark priestesses have a number of, er, very special skills?" she blushed even though she'd managed to avoid putting her request bluntly.
The Fallen One grinned again. "It is, Paladin Maiden, it is true indeed."
Taali raised a proud head, "Accept my vows too, then!"
The god shook his head in surprise and glanced at me with what I thought was a hint of envy. "No vows needed. Your ambition is well enough. Accept my gift, then..."
The gong struck again. Taali's eyes started twitching, reading the lines of text in her interface—her nostrils flaring, a winning smile blossoming on her lips. Finally, she lowered her head in a bow. "Thank you..."
The tired god lowered his eyelids. "Time for me to go. I've done too much and revealed myself much more than I should have. Max? You've got to be on your way, remember?"
I nodded. "Sure. I need to kit myself out first and then I'll be off."
The Fallen One nodded and turned to go when his stare happened on Lena. The girl and her mother stood nearby, studying the god with interest, not daring to approach. The Fallen One lingered a few seconds; then, coming to a decision, he bit his lip and snapped his fingers. A plain gray bracelet appeared in his hand. I noticed him whisk away a crimson streak that ran from one end of his mouth to his chin. Oh. I just hoped our god wouldn't overexert himself handing out his gifts.
Curiosity forced me to select the bracelet as target and check out its stats.
Platinum Bracelet of the Dark Priestess. A Divine Artifact.
Item type: Independent, indestructible
Soul bound. Cannot be removed even after the player's death.
Item class: Unique
Permanent effect: The Mark of the Fallen One. Your relationship with all Dark races has changed to neutral.
Effect: Journey Home. Teleport to any Dark temple of your choice.
Cast time: 0
Mana: 0
Cooldown: 24 hrs.
My inner greedy pig shook, his eye twitching. How I understood him. This kind of thing could save your backside in dozens of situations. Not forgetting that all of the Fallen One's actions had at least one hidden agenda. By wearing the priestess' bracelet, the girl would get used to her new status. And by teleporting 'home' to a Dark temple after she'd extricated herself from various dangers, she will reinforce the association: I am the priestess, the temple is my home, my safety. This Fallen One was anything but simple.
He handed his gift to Lena. Having exchanged a few words with her mother, he tousled the girl's hair and waved his goodbye to us all. With a pop, the god disappeared, still enveloped by his dome. The summer forest sounds assaulted us with a renewed force, the sun growing hot and strong. Time to get back home and hide under our castle roof. A bite to eat wouldn't go amiss, either.
Tamara Mikhailovna and Lena walked over to us. The girl looked into my eyes, her stare attentive and vivid, very unlike I'd seen it before—bathed with joy, happiness and interest in everything around her.
"Max, thank you so much! Mom told me you helped them to find me. I don't know what would have happened to me without your help!"
My inner greedy pig purred, flattered by her praise. Still, I wasn't the only one deserving of it. "It's nothing, really. You need to thank Cryl over there. He stayed put feeding and guiding you. And Taali was upset about you more than any of us and helped us with everything she could..."
"Did she? I can't remember anything," the girl looked at my friends with gratitude. "Thank you too!"
We started along the trail that led to the castle. We could see the Vet's flag flying on the donjon spire. Tamara Mikhailovna had already changed into some period-appropriate fantasy clothes. Now she was doing all the talking, going unhurriedly into every detail. She had the rare gift of endearing herself with everyone from the first minutes of meeting them, just like a favorite auntie on a visit from out of town.
"I can't thank you enough, Max, both for myself and for our Dad. He'll come later on in the afternoon. No one gives time off to chief physicians. I'm not even talking about vacations..."
"It's nothing," I waved her gratitude away, embarrassed enough as I was. "What are you planning to do next?"
Tamara Mikhailovna stopped and looked back at the rather steep ascent we'd just climbed. "I'm not even out of breath," she shook her head. "What with my asthma and bad knees, I've been jumping around like a schoolgirl in May. And the air here reminds me of the seaside. St Petersburg is all covered in sleet, slush and those chemicals they use to melt the ice in the streets. Answering your question—yes, we want to go perma mode, both of us. When our Lena got trapped in the game, we started looking for her here. The police don't deal with missing children if they're lost to the virtual world. The AlterWorld's administration was playing for time, quoting their confidentiality clauses and demanding an official request for an international police search. In short, my husband and I decided to go digital and look for her ourselves. She's immortal now—sooner or later, we'd have found her ourselves. Instead, you found us... with this horrible story..." she wiped the corner of her eye making sure her child didn't see it. She didn't need to bother: open-mouthed, Lena was listening to the blushing Cryl feeding her his finest war stories.
I tried to distract the woman from her sad thoughts. "You'll have to join a clan. Preferably, one in the top 10. That'll give you some security. If you have enough money, it would be a good idea to buy a house within the city limits. You don't even need to go above level 10. Then again, Lena has already done that so you might need to catch up with her, too."