Chapter 77 – Calling in Experts

  “What are they like?” Ash asked. They had gotten back onto the topic of the gods and how they pretty much now own Matt’s city.

  “Do you mean their personalities or…” Matt had paused halfway up the slope that would lead down into the small rolling hills that bordered the grasslands.

  Ash mumbled for a moment before speaking a little louder. “I mean what is it like meeting one of them. Its already strange to know that there are so many, when I grew up with our pantheon only having a few.”

  “I am sure you will see at some point. It’s really something you have to experience for yourself. I don’t feel anything from them since I am from outside the System boundaries.” Matt set out once more, navigating his way through the slightly denser tree cover. He wasn’t trying to be coy but also had been told by Tori to not give anything away.

  He suddenly thought about how these gods intercepted the people they wanted to talk to. Or at least how they did it with the world they were on, since they could just walk up to anyone at the Exchange. The reason he thought this was currently materializing right in front of him.

  He had plotted his course down the slope and through the rolling foothills before committing to the descent. He knew what was supposed to be on his path and what wasn’t. A sudden darkened area that resembled the forest just after sunset was definitely not what he had seen before.

  “What is that?” Ash asked. “Why is it suddenly dark?” She had adjusted well to life inside his mech and took to watching the display like a hawk, so she immediately noticed when things changed. She then gasped. “How!”

  “I think you are about to experience the answer to your earlier question.” Matt said and pushed forward. The terrain had changed from wooded hillside to something that resembled a barren hillside with a derelict fort, its fortifications beginning to crumble, with the keep still partly lit.

  Matt pushed through the portcullis, having to slide between the doors that were hanging open. The inner courtyard was in a similar state of neglect with stacks of boxes fallen over, their lower levels having rotted away. There was a low platform in the center with a flagpole sticking out. The flag atop that pole had a long diagonal slash running from the top corner to the far edge, slicing through the iconography in the middle and leaving the rectangular flag as two streamers.

  “Matt, I don’t like this.” Ash said as she began fidgeting in her seat, tugging at the harness she wore. “This isn’t supposed to be here.”

  “Just relax. Everything is going to work out fine.” He stopped next to the platform and crouched. The front hatches opened, and he hopped out, landing just at the edge of a path leading to the central keep.

  “Matt!” Ash called from the cockpit before cursing under her breath as she fought with the buckle on her harness. “What are…” She was suddenly silenced as a pressure descended.

  Right in front of Matt, standing on the steps of the keep, a figure appeared. She was short, slim and almost ethereal in nature. He thought that if he didn’t look directly at her, she would vanish.

  “Mekristi, it’s good to finally meet you.”

  “Greetings, prime of The Warden.” Came the whispered reply.

  Matt would have shivered at the voice that came from behind the half mask but needed to press onward. “You here for Ash?”

  The goddess in front of him tilted her head to the side and her eyes flickered to the open hatch of the mech. “You know the answer already.” Her whispered voice was a flat monotone but still he detected the hint of smirk.

  “Yup, but I was talking for her.” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “She is a bit frozen at the moment.” Matt had noticed that Ash had stopped dead in her tracks halfway out the hatch.

  Mekristi nodded. “Indeed. I should have considered the nature of the question. I offer compensation for the misunderstanding.”

  Matt waved his hand. “I am good on favors, just pass it on to her if you can.” He then turned to the woman that was still staring at the god, half hanging out of the cockpit. “Hey, Ash. You need to get down. This is Mekristi, otherwise known as The Bearer of Absolution. She wants to have a talk with you, and I assume she wants it in private?”

  He had turned to glance at Mekristi who nodded and held out her hand. “Come, child. We must convene.” Ash’s face turned as white as snow.

  Matt had taken off his helmet after confirming the situation and regretted it as he wasn’t able to suppress his eye roll. “Dude, that’s some creepy shit.”

  “D-d-do you k-know her?” Ash managed to force the words out of her mouth. He could almost hear the grinding of her teeth.

  “Yeah, well, kinda.” Matt had to hedge a little. “She is a subordinate to my patron. Apparently, she’s new to the whole ‘having blessed’ thing.”

  Ash looked from Matt to the outstretched hand from Mekristi then back to Matt. “Can you come with me?”

  Looking to Mekristi, he saw the slight shrug of her left shoulder. “Yeah, if it makes you feel better, I can come along.” Matt said. “I promise to keep your conversation secret.”

  Mekristi looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow that he could barely see under her cowl. “Even from The Eternal Warden?”

  “Yup, even from her.”

  Apparently, that was enough to satisfy the goddess since she turned and beckoned them to enter the keep. Ash and Matt started after her with him slightly in the lead. He did notice that she had gripped onto his free hand as they walked. When he glanced at it, she immediately let go but he did reassure her that everything was ok.

  As he had observed from outside the walls, the central keep was the only thing that was still maintained and even had some light flickering in the windows. The hall they entered was spacious and warm but poorly lit, a central fire cast shadows with the numerous pillars around the edge of the middle space.

  Next to the fireplace was a set of rather plush furniture that looked like it was arranged to seat a dozen people to talk comfortably. They were guided to the seats farthest from the fire. Mekristi sat on one couch while they took the other that was pulled into facing hers.

  “…”

  Matt looked at the goddess that sat across from them as she stared in silence. He was being polite and letting her lead the conversation, but as the silence stretched with her not making a move he had to intervene.

  “So… why are we here?” Matt led with an easy question.

  Mekristi looked at him then recognition seemed to dawn on her face. “Ah, right. Ash, will you be my prime?”

  Matt facepalmed. He literally smacked his hand to his forehead and pulled it down his face. Ash was both confused and suppressed by the inherent nature of the goddess so she could barely speak let alone hold a conversation.

  “Tori!” Matt said. “Help her, please.”

  Suddenly there was a screech and a rumble from outside. They all looked to the far end of the hall and a moment later, they heard a knock at the door. Matt turned back to Mekristi. “Are you going to let her in?”

  Ash was now, curious, confused and suppressed which is why Matt wasn’t surprised when her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted, slumping against his left shoulder. Their host got to her feet and went to answer the door.

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  “Hello Mekristi.” Tori said with a nod as she looked around the main hall of the keep. “Nice to see you haven’t changed much about the place.”

  “Warden Victoria.” Mekristi bowed her head. “How may I be of assistance?”

  “My prime saw fit to invoke me to this pocket dimension, and I chose to answer.” Tori explained as she stepped around the other goddess and walked over to the couches. She saw Matt laying Ash down on the couch while he slid out from beside her.

  “Hey, can you help coach her on how to have this conversation?” Matt asked when he noticed Tori standing at the edge of the rug with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. “She needs some help with this, I think.”

  Matt then explained what had happened so far in the encounter and Tori gave her fellow god a lot of side eye. “I only have so much time since I had to negotiate with the System over this. Frankly if it weren’t for it having a liking for my prime, I don’t think it would have allowed this encounter.”

  “I would of course appreciate your guidance in this matter.” Mekristi said in her monotone whisper of a voice.

  “Great, here is what you need to do….”

  *****

  When Ash next awoke it was in a much different atmosphere. Oh, the derelict keep, and the poorly lit hall were still the same but the oppressive weight of the goddess’s presence was no longer smothering her. She noticed that she was laying down on the couch rather than sitting and quickly righted herself.

  Matt was off in the corner talking to someone. She didn’t know who, but the woman was tall, well built and wearing very utilitarian clothing. They noticed her moving and the woman clapped Matt on the shoulder before nodding toward Mekristi then vanishing.

  “Good, you’re awake.” Matt said and chuckled to himself. “Anyway, back to business.”

  “Who was…”

  “Don’t worry about her, I am positive we can talk about that later, but we have used enough of Mekristi’s allotted time.” Matt said then looked to the goddess who had been sitting unnoticed in the chair the entire time. “Go on, like we practiced.”

  “Ash, I would like to have a talk about an offer I have for you.” Mekristi whispered.

  Looking to Matt, Ash saw him nod then extend his thumb at her. She just assumed it meant to proceed. “What kind of offer?”

  “As you know, Matt is a prime disciple of Victoria, The Eternal Warden. I would like to offer you a similar role under me.” Mekristi began and slowly picked up speed in her explanation. “I have watched you and learned of your struggles via the System. I feel that we are kindred spirits and walk a similar path.”

  “What do you mean?” Ash was much more relaxed now that the divine auras were lessened. “How is my path similar to that of a god?”

  Mekristi’s eyes scrunched and made Matt think she smiled behind her mask. “In this case have walked and will walk are implied. You are not the only one who’s past haunted them despite crossing the planes.”

  After a brief moment the goddess continued. “I suppose the main difference is the time I had to make sure my past was dead and buried.”

  “And you can help me?” Ash asked. “I don’t know where to begin or how to actually do what I need to do.”

  Mekristi looked at her with a slight head tilt. “You don’t need to know that yet, only that you wish to know then will have the will to act. In fact, the threats will only grow as time goes on.”

  “But where do I start?” Ash asked in a nearly begging tone.

  Nodding to Matt, Mekristi eased her worry. “He was the right place to start. Fate clings to him like all of his race. This one just has the ability to actually do what needs to be done.” Matt frowned at the words but didn’t otherwise speak. “So, to my offer?”

  Ash took a moment, holding up a finger while she thought. Eventually, the concentration eased from her face, and she looked back to the god. “I accept.”

  “Take my hand.” Mekristi said, extending her palm to Ash, who took it, then suddenly tensed.

  Matt knew from personal experience what was happening and just waited patiently. The moment passed and Ash was able to retrieve her hand while Mekristi slumped, thoroughly exhausted from the experience. After a few moments, she was able to recover enough to speak but it once more underlined how much power Tori had compared to some other gods.

  “Go now. Continue on your journey.” Mekristi said. “I will be contacting you soon, my prime.”

  They said their goodbyes and quickly left. Matt pushing Ash onward despite her wanting to stop and ask questions. “Keep moving, we need to get out soon so she can collapse the space before the System does.”

  Matt all but threw her into the cockpit before jumping up himself. Van had them moving before either were buckled in. They were halfway through the gate before Matt was actually able to take over.

  “What is the rush, why do we need to run?” Ash was asking while fidgeting with her restraints again.

  “That is the problem.” Matt pointed with the mech, and Ash could see on the screen that the castle began to fade before suddenly being replaced by the forest they were supposed to be in.

  “Wait, were we about to die in there?” Ash was suddenly much more upset about the whole encounter and her voice was several octaves higher.

  “Well, no. Wait, kinda?” Matt wasn’t sure how to explain what Tori had told him but tried his best. “Pretty much how it works is that the god gets a limited pass from the System to come and bring a part of their realm into the world. While the System allows it, the god in question has to sustain the dimension with their own energy.”

  “So, she didn’t have the power to sustain it?”

  “Not exactly.” Matt was reorienting to their direction of travel. “I called Tori, giving her the authority to enter the space regardless of what Mekristi wanted. That meant two gods were in one small space that the System was allowing for this event. It upped the tax on the event and your new patron still had to pay up.” He paused a moment. “But I have a feeling that Tori will be offering compensation.”

  Ash, chewed on his words for a minute. “But why did you call her?”

  Matt disconnected from the mech and turned in his seat to look at her. “Because, while I don’t know much about The Bearer of Absolution, but I could see that she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Tori, being her kinda boss or partner was just the person to help.”

  “Couldn’t you have done something? Maybe helped her? You said that you have done something similar already.” Ash was still confused about the whole thing and rightly so. This particular god was a bit on the odd side.

  “Yes, but it’s not my place. I don’t want my records mixed in any more than they already are.” Matt reconnected and started moving again. “We already are mixed up together, I don’t need to be involved with your patron too.”

  Silence was his companion for a while as he wove through the small hills and fading tree cover. He wasn’t going to disturb Ash while she came to terms with the recent events. He actually felt a little bad for her and all the horrible things she had gone through in such a short time.

  After several minutes, Matts passenger finally spoke up. “I think I need to start getting stronger.” She said with conviction. “While I very much want to restore Hope, I want to learn more about how you fight and of your weapons before that happens.”

  Matt smiled inside his helmet. “That can be arranged.” He just spotted a heard of the deer that he had encountered before. “Let’s start now.”

  *****

  “What the fuck did you give her!” Jess grabbed Tobias by the front of his shirt and hauled him toward her. “Did you see what that thing does?”

  “Good morning to you too, Jess.” Tobias said with a dry tone. “What did I give to who?”

  “The psycho dwarf that literally melts people with every shot. You gave her a gun that lets her do it thirty times in a row and in auto.” Jess was still gripping him by the coat but had set him back on his feet. “How did you think that was a good idea?”

  Tobias glanced at the hands on his shirt and Jess let him go. “First off, she will be fine. You know as well as I do that her devotion to Matt and her being influenced by her patron will make sure nothing bad happens.”

  “Yeah I…” Jess began as her ears wilted, and she glanced away.

  “And I think the real problem here is that you are just jealous.” Tobias continued.

  “That’s ridiculous.” She denied.

  Tobias gave her a flat look. “I know you have seen all the other new pilots getting special treatment and you are still stuck with the first generation of weapons that we gave you months ago.”

  Jess’s face flushed red. “I-I don’t want to sound ungrateful.”

  “Oh, you’re not, just a little frustrated is all.” Tobias smiled at her. He reached out his hand and grasped hers. “Do you want me to show you what I have been working on?”

  Looking down at her hand joined with Tobias’, she quickly looked around before saying in a low tone. “Toby, you agreed to keep it between us.” She hissed. Then after confirming that nobody was looking, she darted forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I would love to see what you are working on.”

  “Then right this way.” He said and began to lead the way out of the lab. He was slowly getting her more and more comfortable with the little public displays, but she was shy by nature. Something Tobias thought was odd given her strong emotions and air of command with her squad.

  They walked down the main hall of the forge and into one of the assembly rooms where there was a large device sitting in a cradle. “I took some inspiration from the last wave of the event but its largely based on an Earth design.” Tobias said while walking her over to the cannon.

  “It looks bigger than the one Matt has.” Jess observed.

  Tobias laughed. “That’s because they are.” Seeing her confused expression, he explained. “Matts has a bore diameter of 25 millimeters. This one has a bore of 40 millimeters. His is fed through a strange magazine that defies logic, these are charged with ten round clips that eject out the bottom when you are done.”

  “You said ‘they’. Does that mean you have more of them?” Jess asked while running her hand down the metal receiver and stocks. She saw the piles of ammunition in a crate next to the work area. On the other side of the assembly room is what looked to be magazine pouches that were scaled up for a construct.

  “Indeed, we have made fifty so far. So, plenty for the people whose class would benefit from them.” Tobias said. “I think they will pair nicely when we reforge your construct.”

  Jess stood up straight. “What do you mean reforge?”

  “It is a little thing I discovered after the latest forge upgrade. Come this way and I can show you what we will be doing over the next few days.” He put his arm around her waist and guided her into his personal lab. She was so overwhelmed that she didn’t even protest the affectionate touch and just followed along.

  There was about to be a massive overhaul of the construct corps of Vil’ Krad and Tobias was planning on being the driving force behind it.