Chapter 8

As we approached the door to Tyr’s quarters, I felt a bit of apprehension about the request I was going to make. I knew that rebirths were a closely guarded secret of the Council and the gods that ran the Pact Houses, but for our partnership and friendship with Cassandra to continue, I had to tell her. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. It opened and I entered, leaving the others outside as I made my way over towards the hearth. As always, Tyr sat before it in his chair. His eyes looking deep within the flickering flames before him.

“I am sorry to interrupt you, Tyr,” I said quietly, giving a slight bow. “However, an issue has arisen, and I need your advice as well as possible permission.”

He turned his gaze to me and asked, “What is this issue that has you so uncertain? It has to be quite a serious matter.”

I took another deep breath and answered, “Cassandra has begun to question things. Most of it has been around the surprising insight I seem to have on the monsters and creatures here. When you also factor in the armor and weapon designs, she has a reason to question. The going story is that I lost my memory, but there is too much I am recalling that will no longer allow that narrative to continue. At least not with her, but I worry about what may happen in the future. I want to ask your permission to tell Cassandra the truth about me and where I come from. She is a close, trusted friend and ally and could help us dodge issues like this in the future. Still, I think we may have to come up with a reason why I could recall all these things that not even seasoned adventurers may know.”

He turned his gaze back to the fire and I waited, in silence, for him to come to his decision. He silently looked into the flames and then sighed before turning back to me.

“Things have certainly become more complicated since you arrived,” he said with a weary smile. “Not that it’s a bad thing, but the various things that have come to light since your arrival have been tiring. Then there are the changes you have created in the Pact Houses and even the choosing methods. Now, a fundamental issue has occurred with the rebirth plan itself. I will talk with the Council about the possible perils ahead of us. You may tell Cassandra, if you genuinely believe she is trustworthy, and I will take any blame the Council chooses to cast.”

I motioned to speak but he raised his hand and continued, “I should have prevented the abysmal punishment you endured for Jonta. Our punishments for such acts have been around since Eden’s founding and the brutality of them has prevented people from breaking those rules. The last punishment prior to yours was ten thousand years ago. Perhaps that is why our hidden enemies thought they could get away with their treachery. Still I have a debt to pay and I intend to do what I can, while not overstepping my bounds too much.”

I knew not to argue when someone gave their help and thanked him before returning to the others. I silently turned and began to head for our room with the others rushing to keep up, worried about what had happened. I greeted the guard as I passed and entered the room, waiting by the door for the others. Once they were in, I closed and locked the door before gesturing for them to sit down. Amenthia and Entivala sat on the bed, while Cassandra sat down at the table. They exchanged worried looks before turning to me expectantly.

I took a deep breath and began, “I have talked to Tyr. I spoke with him in regard to revealing the sensitive information about me. He has agreed, trusting in my judgment, to allow Cassandra to learn the truth.”

Enti and Amenthia let out cheers before calming down and becoming quiet again. Cassandra still had an unsure look on her face. I sat down at the table across from Cassandra and continued.

“I am not from Eden, Cassandra. I am from a world called Earth. The pantheons of the gods that make up the Council, as well as some lesser known pantheons that reside here, used to watch over the people of my world. When their religions faded and their power waned, they started thinking of other pursuits. Tyr himself was a known god on my world in the religion of the ancient Norse people. It was a form of entertainment in my world that gave Odin the idea for Eden.

“From my world’s perspective, it has only existed for close to forty years. From Eden’s perspective, it has existed for thousands of millennia. I was the age I am now when I died and appeared before Freyja. I didn’t do much with my life other than games, martial arts, and porn. I never had a girlfriend or many friends. I had been distracted reading something I had just purchased and had died in the process. Since I didn’t have enough Karma in either direction, I was given the choice of purgatory or to come here. It was an easy decision to make.

“Amenthia was trained to be my companion and help me with the various aspects of this world that I didn’t know. She was made aware of my world and thus could understand my references, as well as understand how I would know things. It was a general training program since they never know when a rebirth will occur or in what area or Pact House. Entivala had been trained, as well, in a different camp, as a back-up in case there was a problem with whoever was assigned to me. Thankfully not only have there been no problems, but Entivala still became my companion and the three of us have become remarkably close.

Over the next hour or two, I told Cassandra everything about me. Growing up as a child, my teenage years before Eden. My likes and hobbies as well as where I learned so much of the creatures that inhabited this world. She was skeptical at first, but by the time I had finished, she had an expression of shock and wonder on her face. I left her there for a while to allow her to process all I told her and what it meant. I was hoping that my honesty would create a favorable outcome, but it is hard to understand or predict how someone will react.

After several minutes, she turned to me and said, “Thank you, Pathios, for sharing that with me. I understand how it could be dangerous for others to know those details. Many would think that such knowledge, regardless of the fact you came from another world, would give you an unfair advantage. To be honest, it does, though your lack of understanding does balance it out a little bit. I appreciate the trust you have put in me and I promise I won’t let you down. Perhaps later, we can discuss more of it, but for now, why don’t we return so that we can deal with the worm problem for the miners. How do you expect to deal with the issue without any bloodshed?”

“We are going to make a deal with the worms,” I replied with a slight shrug of my shoulders. “If we could find out where the den is and ensure that the miners will stay away, perhaps we could work out an arrangement with them. Let the miners collect the ore and gems but stay away from the den. If we work it out the right way, we could create an endless supply of ore and gems for them.”

Her eyes widened, “That is why you looked for that ‘talk to animals’ spell. Amenthia seems to have a talent for speaking to people and you’re hoping that she could do the same with the worm. That is a dangerous but cunning plan. Why do you think it would work?”

“People scare some creatures when they are in large groups like the miners. That will ensure that the worm’s den is protected. This kind of worms don’t digest the ore or gems, so the miners could turn the earth into food for the worm and the worm would replenish their ore and gems. Ideally, the miners wouldn’t have to go very deep, so everyone wins, and they could develop a mutually beneficial symbiosis.”

Before we left, we made sure that Amenthia had learned the spell and that it was effective. Since it was her first bit of magic, she had Enti help her figure out the activation of the spell and Enti shared some of her lesser mana potions to help top up Amenthia’s mana pool. Though her mana was now unlocked for spell usage, it had been at zero before. Now that it was unlocked, with five levels in her wisdom, it gave her a mana pool of one hundred. With everything prepared, we set off to return to the mining camp.

We arrived just after mid-day and the camp was bustling with activity. It looked like everyone was stopping for their mid-day meal and there were various campfires burning with pots and pans working to cook the large amounts of food this group needed. As we entered, we caught the eye of many as we passed and, while before they seemed distrustful or uncertain, they seemed to be genuinely happy to see us return. A few greeted us as we wove ourselves through the bustle of activity towards the mine. Garn was talking to someone near the entrance when he saw us approaching. He finished talking to the person and sent them on their way before greeting us.

“Ah, I am happy to see you returned as promised,” he said shaking our hands in greeting. “Thankfully, nothing happened while you were away, but I did make sure to stay clear of the tunnel as you suggested. So, how are you going to deal with the problem?”

I glanced at the others before answering, “We are going to try diplomacy. This mine is right near a worm nest, which is why it is so rich in ore, gems, and other minerals. It also explains why your tunnels are being collapsed. The worm is trying to prevent you from reaching its nest and possibly killing its young.”

His eyes widened in shock, “By the gods. I never thought that a worm could be the reason, but how do you plan to talk with an animal?”

“That’s why we had to leave for a little bit,” I answered with a smile. “I needed to locate a possible spell that could assist us and thankfully I found it. It will allow my companion Amenthia to speak to it on our behalf.”

He nodded in understanding, then asked, “What do you hope to accomplish? I mean, wouldn’t it just be easier to kill it and be done with all of this?”

“Easier, possibly, but not lucrative,” I answered, causing him to have a confused look on his face. “When the worm travels through the ground, its body refines the earth before it expels it, making it rich in minerals. Another byproduct is that, when it expels what it has consumed, it deposits ore and raw jewels into the rock it leaves behind, as well. Killing the creature would make this mine run out of material in time. However, if we could get you and the worm to be on the same page, we could ensure your mine never runs out.”

I watched his expression change to shock, and he realized what I was trying to achieve.

“What kind of agreement are you hoping to set up with the worm?” Garn asked, barely hiding the excitement in his voice.

I thought for a minute and answered, “There will be limits to how far and deep you mine. Then I am hoping to come up with a method that works for both of you to let the worm know a mine tunnel is depleted and ready to be reclaimed. The worm would then collapse the tunnel and you would work on another while it seeds the previous with minable material again. Do you have a map of the tunnels so far?”

He nodded and ran off to one of the nearby tents, before returning with a large piece of parchment. I unfurled it and looked at what was there. Asking for a quill, I added two other tunnels from the main entrance.

Pointing to the map, I explained, “If you run four tunnels, mining one or two while the others are reclaimed by the worm, it will create an even pace that works for both of you.”

He nodded in agreement and wished me luck in my plan. Knowing that he was on board, we began our trek back toward the left tunnel and hopefully towards the worm den. It took us roughly a half hour to reach our previous depth within the tunnel and began to slowly move deeper. We didn’t want to prematurely alert the worm and place it on the defensive, or worse, get swallowed by it before we could get to the den. Entivala used her map to try and guide us, due to the limited light our belt lanterns were giving off.

After another hour of travel we arrived at our destination and emerged into a large cave. It looked to be massive, at least twenty meters across and double that in length. The tunnel seemed to end into a drop-off down below, so we slowly crept up to the edge and looked down. The cave seemed to be nearly twenty meters deep and my assumption had been correct: this was indeed the worm’s den. There appeared to be at least ten to twenty juveniles moving around down below. I looked around for the adult but didn’t see it there. I was about to curse myself when the ground began to shake, and a loud rumble filled the air. We moved back towards the entrance of the tunnel just as the adult worm burst out of the wall nearby.

We stayed as still as possible as the worm moved out of the rock wall. I hadn’t been able to tell how long it was the first time we saw it, but now I had a better vantage point. It looked to be ten meters in length, and I saw my companions beginning to move for their weapons. I caught their attention and shook my head. They realized what they were doing and stopped before any noise had been made. Amenthia quickly cast her newly learned spell, which thankfully worked on not only herself, but anyone she cast it on, as well, and looked to me for confirmation. I nodded watched as Amenthia closed her eyes and cast it the spell on both of us before she stepped towards the edge and I prayed that I wasn’t wrong.

“Oh mighty worm,” she called out to the creature, no doubt sounding weird to the others. “We have come to talk and find a solution to a problem with the tunnels.”

The worm jerked its head towards us and bellowed, “Why have you disturbed the sanctity of my home with your filth! I shall devour you so that none may know of this place!”

“Please don’t do that,” I called out to the creature as it began to move towards us. “I want to find a way to protect this place from the miners that extract precious metals from the rock. I know that you are upset that they are here, and I hope to broker a deal that will help the miners and protect you and your offspring.”

“We truly mean you no harm,” Amenthia added. “It was my companion’s idea to find a way to communicate with you in order to prevent any unnecessary bloodshed. You have yet to harm any of the miners; instead, you simply collapsed the tunnel, preventing them from moving deeper. That shows you don’t want conflict any more than they do. Hear us out. You have nothing to lose.”