Path of the Slayer B3 58. Birthdays & Politics

I woke up like I’d been dead for countless years. No armor adorned my body. Underneath my back, something soft and magical supported me with an enchanted blanket covering on top. My environment wasn’t just clean, it was luxurious, and it felt safe enough.

As my awareness stirred further from the black unconscious depths, my body remained slow and somewhat unresponsive. My energy moved sluggishly. My soul was under pressure. It took me a minute to realize the Doom Brand was still in effect, and I had to counteract it actively.

When I finally opened my eyes, I found Doomie sitting on my abdomen, her wings wrapped around her curled-up body. Glancing to the side, I saw Grimmy standing with hands on her little hips in an attentive stance.

I groaned. I would’ve asked how long I’d been asleep if it weren’t for my internal time tracker.

We had two days remaining before it was time to leave the Crossroads Citadel Realm. Knowing that struck me like a splash of cold water, waking me further. It was hard to believe the Grand Generational Passing was thirty-three days away.

There was another notable detail about the times.

“I just turned twenty-five,” I mumbled.

Doomie tilted her head.

Grimmy gasped. “It’s your birthday!” She gasped again. “I turned seventeen yesterday! Birthday alignment!”

Her excitement was notable, yet I couldn’t partake right away. Just thinking back at all of my trials and tribulations sent flashes of hardship, violence, and death across my vision.

The Doom Brand dialed up the gloom I felt as a survivor of events that would’ve killed most folks. Royce was dead. Four of my juniors were dead. Was Seraphina alright?

Britta?

“Master Arden, it’s going to be okay.”

Grimmy wrapped her arms around my neck. Doomie unfolded herself, the belt still around her waist. She lumped herself into the hug, and despite Doomie’s nature, the gesture broke through.

I didn’t push away or use words to downplay what I felt. I didn’t have the fight in me to refuse.

Their devotion fed me. Emboldened my soul. And the more I grew as a Pathwalker, the more important my soul became, more-so than all of my powers. So, for this one, I rubbed Grimmy’s back with my left and patted Doomie’s head with my right, letting myself enjoy the moment.

“Congrats on making it to seventeen. And congrats to me, I suppose. I’m a quarter of a century old,” I said, finding some humor. “My enemies have lost their edge. They should’ve taken me out by now.”

“No way!”

Grimmy pulled back without releasing me. She looked well put-together. Her green skin was clean, and her hair was styled into a braided ponytail that reached down to the small of her back.

She wasn’t the scrawny, hunched over, and desperate creature I first met. She stood with a presence of mind and spirit that was ready to fight any battle. The strength in her yellow eyes bore into me with a sunny passion.

“That’s why I slept first. And quickly! I knew your enemies would want to disturb your sleep. So I held watch over you and the others. Especially you, Master Arden.”

She nodded rapidly, her ponytail swinging about.

I snorted. “I’m pretty sure Doomie was handling the watch just fine.”

“Well, yeah, but it’s good to be doubly sure!”

“Of course, my loyal knight, of course.” After I propped myself up on an elbow, Doomie gracefully slid off to sit on the edge of the bed. Somehow, she kept maneuvering her wings around like solid things without them getting in my way.

As I examined her, that was when I noticed a few new changes.

She had angular horns on her head. And long dreadlocks. They reached down to her waist. There was also an intimate sensation coming from her that was frankly disturbing and impossible.

Ancestral roots.

Doomie was a nomad.

How?

I wasn’t sure. The doom avatar kept changing and existing outside of the parameters somehow, and the God-Queen wasn’t doing anything about it.

“You notice it, right?” Grimmy stood back, her hands behind the small of her back, her legs set in a dutiful stance. “I’m not wrong for feeling it, too, right? Doomie’s like you. Does that mean she’s your–”

“Don’t say it,” I grunted. “Please don’t.”

“Well, I think this confirms things for me.”

“Confirms what?”

Grimmy kneeled and raised a hand in front of Doomie. “My Oath of honor extends to you second, Mistress Doomie. I shall serve you in any capacity, and through my service to you, this shall be in honor of Master Arden as well.”

Doomie swiveled her head around like an owl to look at me, her shaded eyes blinking. I shrugged, and the doom avatar swiveled her head back to Grimmy. Doomie nodded.

I doubted that would change the wording of the Oath itself, but the link between me and Doomie should be more than enough for Grimmy. Our powers were made flexible for a reason.

The half-gob broke out into a silly shimmy in celebration of Doomie’s acceptance. I looked at some notifications in my System Logs that hadn’t gotten viewed fully just yet.

[Congratulations, Pathwalkers! You’ve slain 80 Pathwalkers of the Defiled Covenant (Above Level 61)! You’ve earned another Four Trillion Credits in your Realm Verse Bank Accounts!]

[Congratulations! You’ve satisfied all three objectives of the Royal Quest! You’ve earned a Super Reward: A Dragon Princess Favor. Bravo!]

There it was. My first Royal Quest was completed. That left the Divine Quest.

[Divine Quest: Make it to the Grand Generational Passing with your companions without letting your Path become public! You will receive a special reward when you do!]

A knock on the door pulled my attention to the rest of the room. It was far more majestic than I first realized. I was resting on one side of an immense bed with plenty of space around me.

Little glinting motes floated around near the ceiling. Calming vanilla and lavender scents wafted throughout. Various doorways led to grand amenities that yawned open invitingly, promising delights made for noble scions or the likes of Melody Eclipse’s closest followers.

The moment I spotted a black, gold, and red serpentine dragon on the wall, I figured we were in a Dragon Supremacy establishment. There would be political traps waiting to activate.

“The food isn’t as great as yours,” Grimmy said, looking around with me.

Another series of knocks on the door caught my attention. I swiveled out of bed and ignored the plain nightshirt and shorts I wore. After all the fighting, training, and activities we’d been through, modesty wasn’t much of a concern.

I answered the door by hand, and I saw Thumper and Merlin on the other side. They looked well, even if slightly reserved.

I ushered them in. Thumper used a knife and Path Energy to carve the runes and circles into the floor before evoking the concealing spell. Merlin caught the activation and used his Path Magic to echo, fold, and apply wards.

They placed down multiple layers. The furrowed brow on Merlin’s face and the tense stance of Thumper’s body made me think they weren’t satisfied with the security. I didn’t blame them. We were well into the clutches of the Dragon Supremacy – Melody Eclipse’s attention was all over us.

Hers and the other major factions, but hers most of all.

“I think that’ll do it,” Merlin said shakily. “I threw in my System Brand on that last layer to drive the point home. We should be able to talk about our gains in private.”

“Finally!” Grimmy cried, hopping around the three of us. “I’ve been holding it in for, like, forever!”

Doomie joined the half-gob in hopping around. As they did that, I looked Thumper and Merlin up and down.

They were both dressed casually, with Merlin in the stylized robes of the Dragon Supremacy – gold, black, and red – and Thumper adorned in a series of soft leathers and pelts – all black or dark brown. Thumper had his flowing raven hair over his face again out of necessity rather than preference.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“The Obsidian Crown, Epic Rank 6, Vet Junction City,” Thumper answered softly. “It’s one of the more expensive hotels you’ll find here in a city for Veterans. We all got our own rooms. That includes the juniors and the actual Veterans. All paid for.”

“Melody?” I asked. “Last I checked I talked her into granting the rewards to the next of kin. Then I fell unconscious after that.”

Our first conversation after the Royal Quest had been strictly business. I should ensure the next one was a bit more lighthearted or fiery if my plan to court her was going to work.

“Not Melody, unfortunately, but one of her major followers. A rich, spoiled scion to some big wig family. Refusing her while you were knocked out would’ve led to other complications,” Thumper explained.

“Arden, we’re in the middle of it all now,” Merlin muttered. “Like. Seriously. All the camps are circling us like sharks. Assassins-For-You are ensuring they don’t try anything foul above Level 175. But anything below that is on us, and I think at our Levels, we have to worry more about Veterans than Demigods.”

I turned that over quickly in my head. “It’s because of Veteran Sharia, isn’t it? Level 175 is within her reach as long as I feed her my special food. What would happen if we separated?”

Both the dwelf wizard and half-giant rogue shared a look. They both shrugged at each other and looked back at me.

“We’ll be okay,” Grimmy declared, still hopping and fidgeting about. “We’ll fight our way out if necessary.”

I shook my head. “No. We’ve done enough combat for now. We have a celebration to hold. We have our remaining juniors to look after before we depart. Their safety is paramount.”

With a slow breath, I slowed my heart and focused on what needed to get done pronto. “And we have our gains to look over along with the Veteran Placement Quest.”

Grimmy stopped fidgeting. Merlin let out a big whoop. And Thumper wandered to the nearest dresser mirror.

Running his hand through his long raven hair, he peeled away the magic hiding his features and revealed the silver-eyed prince he truly was.

“It annoys the hell out of me we have to rush like this,” Thumper muttered. “We can’t even give ourselves time to mourn because of the sharks swimming in at the first hint of blood.” He shook his head. “I actually liked Noodles, too. She was screwed up, but … she had the potential to grow and become better.”

“Yeah, well, that’s our life, right? The strong will survive. And those who aren’t strong enough might not. We’ll have to make the most of it.” Merlin took out a golden smoking pipe. “Do you mind?”

“Go for it.” I walked over to a large dining table with gold accents and a glossy surface, taking a seat.

Doomie skipped and fluttered over to me, grabbing my arm to lean against. Grimmy selected her position behind me. The others found their seats around the table.

“Doomie has dreadlocks and feels like a nomad,” Merlin said, puffing out his first multi-colored stream.

“I’ve noticed,” I replied.

“Who wants to start?” Thumper’s silver eyes flicked around to me, Merlin, and lastly Grimmy. “Uh. I’m voting for me to be second to last. I feel like I should have the biggest gain, but Arden always has a way to one-up everybody.”

“Leave out the Levels for now,” I amended. “New powers and evolutions go first.”

“I’ll start,” Grimmy offered, ears lowered before she revealed her gains.