A Soldier's Life - 311 - Humbled Hoarder (another edit on 9-25-25)

Chapter 311: Humbled Hoarder

I was cursing both my life decisions and Mynasha. “I know where Atlantium is!” I forced out, trying to find leverage. Khrusos studied me, some curiosity in his eyes. I could rush him and try and take his brain, but I hesitated. If it didn’t work, I would be flattened.

“So do I, human. I lived there for centuries,” he said with a mischievous sneer.

Shit, what else can I offer? “You look good for being six thousand years old,” I quipped, and I imagined being consumed by the massive head in front of me, my bones ground by his teeth.

Khrusos smiled. “Ha!” He laughed from his gut, the air reverberating from his voice. “I do, don’t I? It is closer to eight thousand, but I tend to lose track of time. Now let’s see what you are hiding.” Khrusos’s eyes glowed with aether as his smile remained. I felt like my aether core was being torn apart. I think I screamed, but I couldn’t be sure. My legs gave out and I face-planted into the floor, cracking my jaw and chipping multiple teeth. I now knew what it felt like to be manhandled by someone with magic far beyond me.

A young griffin’s wail of pain sounded. I forced my head to turn, only to see a large pile of goods with Baldo sitting on top. I had certainly collected a lot of shit over the last two years. One of the female giants complimented me. “This human is impressively large.” Had I not been in excruciating pain, I might have quipped some innuendos in response to try to gain some goodwill.

Baldo squawked in protest as Khrusos walked toward him and scooped him up. “I haven’t tasted griffin in ages,” the storm giant’s voice boomed.

Shit, I was helpless. “Please leave the griffin alone!” I yelled. “He is a companion and friend.” The agony passed and left vertigo in its place as I felt the weight lift. I fought back bile as I got to my knees. Baldo was trapped in the cage that was Khrusos’s hand, only his head protruding and clearly in distress. Mynasha was still flattened on the floor, eyes transfixed by the pile of goods before her. She was astonished, her lips parted in awe. I didn’t need to turn to know that Rhuuk and Jhuarkasha were just as speechless behind me.

Khrusos considered the griffin. I thought he was going to bite off Baldo’s head, but instead he dropped the young griffin unceremoniously. It was a good sign that he didn’t eat him, but Baldo slammed hard into the marble floor, succumbing to the oppressive force on all of us. His wings were splayed and he was twitching as he tried to move.

I searched for my dimensional space. It was still there and didn’t seem shattered. My aether core was full, but it felt like I had been kicked in the balls. I made my decision. Baldo disappeared, draining my aether. Khrusos looked at me, some curiosity on his face. Was he going to rip open my dimensional pocket again? Our eyes met, and he seemed to see me differently this time. He gave me the slightest of nods. Was that respect?

The two giantesses left their seats and walked toward the treasure hoard. As they stepped, they slowly shrank in size to that of a human. Khrusos tittered at his companions but followed suit, also deflating to appear no bigger than I. This caused the orcs to gasp in shock, which only made the Titans amused. One of the females commented, “Yes, we have walked among you since you overthrew us.” Khrusos gave the female an annoyed look that silenced her. Of course their reduced size made it easier for them to go through my things.

I was helpless as they sifted through my mess. One of the females took one of the ginseng roots, sniffed it, and nibbled on it. Soon, the entire stock of two-thousand-year-old ginseng was being handed out and munched on like a snack. I had planned some high-tier alchemy for those roots. The candied nuts were the next victims of the giants as they ignored the artifacts and focused on the culinary treats.

Potion vials were cracked and leaking onto the floor. When the liquids mixed, they produced a slight smoke. My alchemy glassware was mostly shattered. Pieces of armor were tossed aside as they dug through the pile like children on Christmas, looking for the best presents. The giants still appeared to have retained their strength, and they cared nothing for being gentle as they searched. I wasn’t sure if they were searching for something specific or just being curious.

My essences were soon found in the manticore pouch. Khrusos upended the supple bag into his hand, and the other two crowded around to see what he had found. I took advantage of the distraction to return the dreamscape amulet and essence collector to my dimensional pocket. I would have salvaged more, but it was all I had the aether for at the moment. The giants didn’t appear to notice as they were focused on dividing up the essences among themselves.

The loss of the four major healing essences was painful. One of the females—Ephemeris, I think—took one of the many apples on the floor and bit into it, her weathered face lighting up in pleasure. Khrusos had picked up the black spear and was twirling it admiringly. I was waiting for another opportunity to salvage precious items.

The third giantess was sniffing the bottle of elven ambrosia. She took a long pull before speaking. “Father, has he not paid enough tribute for his due?” Father? By a human standard, she looked to be over a hundred, while Khrusos only looked to be in his forties. Ephemeris was taking the opportunity to gather up Ginger’s apples in a sack she had found among my things.

Khrusos sighed and dropped the black spear. As it clattered on the floor, he faced us. In a much more deferential tone, he addressed us. “Very well. For the nourishment and amusement you have provided, you have earned a boon. What do you seek?” I craned my neck to make eye contact with Mynasha, indicating that she should speak.

She had fought to get to her knees. “Any inconsequential artifact that is easily portable,” she said, breathing heavily from the strain. I took the opportunity to check on the others. Fioasha was face down and wheezing heavily. Warlord Rhuuk was still standing, but from the hollow look in his eyes, I guessed he had drained his aether into his tattoos, enhancing his strength to do so. His eyes met mine with a cold, calculating stare. He had seen too many of my secrets. Jhuarkasha was huddled into a ball, and I was unsure if I had observed everything that had happened.

Khrusos was growing again, releasing the magic that had compacted his body. Ephemeris had taken her apples and was also rising to her original height. The third giantess who had aided in stopping the plundering picked up the last paper cone of candied nuts. She gave me a wink before returning to her seat. An odd ally; I didn’t even know her name.

As the three storm giants seated themselves again, the weight slowly lifted off of me. Fioasha gasped the loudest in relief. I was urgently feeling out my aether recovery. How much aether did I need to reclaim the most valuable of treasures?

A metal object clattered to the floor in front of us. “An inconsequential artifact,” Khrusos barked. “A key to nothing but made of precious metals in thanks for your thoughtful offerings.” He chuckled to himself at his unwelcome humor.

The key was rectangular and made of silvery metal that reflected the light. Odd, unfamiliar runes adorned its length. Mynasha edged forward to retrieve the key and looked surprised at its weight. “You two may leave,” he said, dismissing us.

I looked at my worldly possessions: the overturned assessment table, scattered clothes, a small armory, and a few books now soaked in the liquid of various potions. An array of alchemy ingredients among the broken glass. The troll’s blood would spoil if I didn’t return it to my dimensional space.

“You can take what you will,” the giant said, amused at my longing stare. I had to tell myself not to be angry. I wore magebane and had recovered the collector and the dreasmscape amulet, my two most precious artifacts. I needed to stall for some time to recover more aether to collect more things.

“Is there a way for me to go home? Return to Earth?” I asked, stepping closer to the pile, my eyes searching for valuable artifacts.

It was not Khrusos who replied, but my odd ally among the three. “Earth? Is that what you call the origin planet of the humans and half-men?” I think the half-men she mentioned were halflings. “A strange thing to call a planet: Earth.”

I nodded, giving her my attention for the moment. “There is a way for me to go home?”

Her gray eyes brushed over me with a penetrating gaze. It was more than a stare. I felt like I was being undressed. “No. The World Gates are no more.”

“Gates? Then how was I brought here? How was Mynasha brought here?” I pointed back at my companion.

Khrusos spat. “Ignorant human. The aether engines are still active. That fool Hephaestus built the machines on the ley lines deep in the earth. He gave the engines sentience to power the gates. It allowed my people to conquer your world and many others,” Khrusos growled out threateningly.

“Until the demons,” the unnamed giantess said with a tight jaw.

Khrusos growled. “Until the demons,” he agreed reluctantly. “We destroyed all the gates to end the demon horde. We tried to destroy the aether engines, but Hephestus had changed them and they allied with you lesser species to turn on us!”

Khrusos was stewing and his anger rising from his memories. He did not appear willing to continue and I thought it was time to leave.

Ephemeris took up the narrative though. “I was not yet born.” She looked at Khrusos. “But I was told what happened. The aether engines became known as dungeons. They fought for their survival. First, they created creatures and sent them to fight my ancestors. Then, they got more devious when they realized they were not going to succeed. They trained your people to fight us. Gave them artifacts. Gave them magic. Gave them alchemy.” She indicated my pile of loot.

Khrusos angrily interceded. “It was not the pitiful smallfolk that doomed us. It was our own bickering among the clans. The infighting weakened us and made us susceptible to your tricks. You are trapped here, human; you cannot return to your planet. The dungeons can only pull people here and all knowledge of the World Gates is destroyed. Now, my patience has run out. Leave.”

It was clear the storm giant did not like his history revealed. I bowed slowly. “Thank you for your time. I am Eryk Marko.” I bowed low toward Khrusos. “Khrusos.” I bowed low toward Ephemeris. “Ephemeris.” I bowed low toward the final giantess. “I did not overhear your name. May I have it before we depart?” I wanted to know, but I was also stalling for as much time as possible to replenish my aether for one last grab.

“You have manners, human. I am Anemae, daughter of Khrusos.” She nodded at me with a contemplative smile on her dark-blue lips. I turned to the pile and began picking up items, quickly sending them to my space. There were a number of grotesque things mixed in that I had long forgotten about: a cockatrice head, organs of man and beast, a large stack of earth drake hide, and chunks of myconid flesh.

I left all the food for the Titans, lamenting the lost dungeon harvest that I thought would last a decade. The black spear vanished first, then Boris’s dungeon blade. I slowed, trying to judge what I could take with the amount of aether I had left.

I took all the artifacts in quick succession, digging them out as I went. The black jade chalice, the brooch, my blood compass, the ring of influence, the dungeon spellbook, an orcish hand axe, my sole remaining glowstone, Orc’s Torment, and finally, the tablet reader. I had waited on the tablet reader because its mass took a decent amount of aether to store. I avoided making eye contact with the giants for fear they would grow impatient.

The griffin pillow and weasel pelts were next, followed by an assortment of easily accessible clothes. Then I took what jewelry, silver, and gold I could find easily among the mess, tossing it into the chest I had liberated from the werewolf before storing it. I would have to replace my alchemy kit and supplies. Fortunately, most of my remaining pellets and healing salves were in my dimensional belt.

One of the jars of oblivion pills hadn’t shattered, so I grabbed it next. There were still many weapons and an equally large amount of equipment remaining. I stored the three bows before Mynasha grabbed my arm, whispering harshly, “We should leave now.” I didn’t look back at the seated Titans, but I sensed their amusement at my humbling was over. I bent down and tucked the two massive fire bear pelts under my arms, then started walking toward the exit with Mynasha.

There was still so much I was leaving behind. I hoped at least that the Titans would enjoy the food. When we exited the temple, it was still night, and I felt like running. We entered the woods and soon reached the edge of the caldera, where we began to climb. We had been the first to succeed. As we reached the lip of the Spire, Mynasha bared her canines. Her face was a mix of happiness and anxiety. The clouds below were illuminated with flashes of lightning as we hastened down the spiraling path.

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