Path of transcendence om.., p.23
Path of Transcendence Omnibus II, page 23
Brand looks at Duncrik. "When I leave the ship, will the ass-fuckers in charge give me any shit over papers or any other bullshit?"
As he glances in the direction of the port authority, Duncrik practically sneers. "The Night Raven is a DokkAlfar airship. Even though you are the owner of this ship, they would never dare to interfere with anyone on board. Human kingdoms and empires do not risk going to war with DokkAlfar. This little city would never dare to risk offending one of our empires."
Brand turns his stare on me. "Can you show me where the Street of Gods is?"
I nod my head. "Do you want to go, now?"
Brand is obviously holding back a lot of anger and hostility. "The sooner I get this over with, the better."
"Let's go." I leave the ship by way of the starboard gangplank.
Bringing only his Wytch and the purple-eyed DokkAlfar, Valcrit, with him and leaving the rest of his entourage on the Night Raven, Brand follows me. The dock workers gawk at the three of us as we descend the twenty flights of stairs leading down from the wharves to the ground. While I would like to think that seeing a human, an Alfar, and a Dvergar together in a single trio is the cause, the more likely reason is the Wytch being as good as naked and having that unnatural sexual allure about her.
As we reach the crowded main streets of Freeport, Brand starts projecting an aura of hostility and deliberately stays behind me. When he was Talon, he never liked crowds, but everyone always gave a Half-Dvergar a wide berth in the same way they would give an angry bear a wide berth. Now, he has to rely on those aura tricks to create space for himself in a crowd, or in this case, he is half relying on no one daring to offend a Dvergar and letting me clear the way. I cannot decide if it should make me laugh or get me pissed.
* * * * *
Freeport is not a small city. The population is supposed to be over two million people, and without modern Earth high-rise buildings, it takes a lot acreage to house them all. Walking through the city, it takes us more than an hour to reach the entry to the Street of Gods.
Before stepping fully onto the Street of Gods, Brand stops and looks around. After a silver-grey flash of light illuminates his left eye for a moment, he looks around again.
"Something wrong?"
Brand stares at me. "You can't feel it?"
My eyes widen slightly. "You can feel how space is warped here?"
"Why wouldn't I be able to?"
I am not sure if Brand's question was rhetorical or not, but I do not respond. I am too surprised to learn that he can actually sense it. I cannot do it, and I only learned about space being warped on the Street of Gods because I was told. I could probably see it with pattern sight, but I never bothered to look.
After a moment, Brand steps onto the Street of Gods and looks around again. Seeming to be satisfied, he grunts and starts walking forward. He has not stopped projecting that aura of hostility for a second, and everyone is still leaving a wide open space around him.
Without shutting down his aura, Brand boldly walks over toward a City Watch patrol. With fear visible on their faces, the watchmen lower their spears to point straight at him. Before Brand has the chance to start a fight, I quickly move between him and the watchmen. Seeing me, the watchmen's eyes open wide, and they abruptly point their spears at the sky.
"Lord Dvergar!" The patrol leader's voice is more an exclamation of fearful astonishment than anything. I never managed to get used to their reactions the last few times I was here, and I am still not.
According Vili's story, which may or may not be accurate, some thousand years ago, Freeport dared to imprison a group of five Dvergar. It cost them the lives of a quarter of their City Watch, but they finally managed to beat down the Dvergar and imprison them. In retribution for the lives of their dead watchmen and to show their power, the Council of Lords ordered the Dvergar to be tortured and mutilated.
The Dvergar were all youths under twenty year’s age. Even though Dvergar reach physical maturity quickly, among the Fallen Dvergar of Taereun, they are not considered to be full adults until the age of thirty. Often, Dvergar who have reached the age of fifteen will go travelling about for a decade or more, and these Dvergar were a group from Staloks Hjem, the largest Dvergar city on Sudnel. When the clan leaders of Staloks Hjem learned what happened, they leveled Freeport, and slaughtered more than nine-tenths of the population, with many being killed by torture. Ever since then, Freeport does not dare to lay a finger on a Dvergar, and generations later, many of the residents still have an abiding terror of Dvergar.
"Where is the Temple of Yggr?" I keep my tone of voice neutral. Freeport may be a city of scum that live in terror of the Dvergar, but there is no point in antagonizing the City Watch.
The patrol leader points to the north. "Near the middle of the street. Look for the square with the three Dragon statues. It's on the east side of the square."
I look at Brand. "Let's go.
"The Street of Gods runs due north to south, and we are at the south entry to it. Because of the warped nature of space on the Street of Gods, it can only be entered from the north and south end, and its length is supposedly not fixed. I've never lived in Freeport and only know the stories, but the residents accept the nature of the Street of Gods as an immutable fact. Haven has its own Street of Gods that supposedly exists under the same laws, and according to what I have been told, every human city over a certain size and population does as well. I've seen the one in Haven, but I never entered it.
"In both Freeport and Haven, there is an urban legend that says you can travel to any Street of Gods in any city from any Street of Gods in any other city. The only catch is no one seems to know how you do it, or at least, no one, who does know how to do it, is talking. I do not know what to believe."
Brand chuckles. "This place sounds interesting."
My laugh is morbid. "Interesting . . . I suppose that's one way to describe it. Sick and twisted might be a better way."
Brand does not say anything else. As he follows me, Brand has a strange smirk on his face. More than a few times, he stops and stares at what is happening in front of some of the churches and temples. The Wytch at his side looks, as well, but her face could be carved from stone for all the reaction she is showing. I do my best not to look at what the two of them are looking at.
I had to come to the Street of Gods on my second visit to Freeport. After what I saw, I would prefer to have never returned. Inside Yggdrasil, the Jotun Lords are generally unseen overlords, and their Priests are just your run of the mill bloodthirsty maniacs. On the Street of Gods, you can see some really fucked up shit from the churches and holy men. It is enough to send chills down my spine. I do my best to not look at anything that is outside the normal bounds of reality, as I want to understand it.
When the city of Freeport is said to have over two million residents, that number does not include the denizens of the Street of Gods. No one claims to know how many beings live on the Street of Gods. Some are human or humanoid. Others either are not, or do not appear, human or humanoid. The most disturbing ones are the ones that appear human or humanoid while being something else entirely. There are numerous creature with frightening amounts of Power here, but most of them know how to hide their Power, so you never know what dangers you might be encountering.
The city of Freeport is a bit over ten miles from north to south, and the entries to the street of gods are both several miles from the city walls. By the time we see the square with the three Dragon statues, it feels like we have walked far more than ten miles. I am not sure how much time has passed. On the Street of Gods, it is either day or night, and everything between dawn and dusk is nebulous.
The square is easily a hundred yards on a side, and the east side of the square has three temples on it. Brand fixates on one of them. The Baroque styled building has a porticoed entry with two pairs of two columns on either side of the closed double doors. Like many of the building on the Street of Gods, this temple gives off an oppressive air of Power. There are no signs naming what god a temple or church worships, so you have to know what temple you are looking for. I do not see anything to distinguish the temple as being one worshiping Yggr. There are no guards and no features to distinguish it as belonging to the self-proclaimed god of tyranny and domination.
Brand stalks toward the closed doors of the temple. He is not projecting rage, but even with a Psi-dead, Dvergar Body, I can still feel it. Even, his Wytch has stopped and is staring at his back, with Valcrit standing watchfully by her side.
As Brand reaches the temple, the thick wood doors shatter under his kick. Fragments and splinters of wood fly into the temple like shrapnel.
"JINMU! GET THE FUCK OUT HERE!" Brand's yell is so loud that it echoes in the square, and every being present turns to look at him.
Moving up next to the Wytch, I see her smiling. That smile chills me to the bone. I have seldom seen such a malicious expression of schadenfreude on anyone's face.
I do not hold back a snort of disgust. "Brand has one screwed up way of asking for someone's help."
The Wytch sneers in my direction. "How would you deal with the man that betrayed you, condemning you to be my slave?"
"This Jinmu is someone from Earth. He's not going to react well to Brand coming after him like a raging ogre. After what Brand did in Refuge, we need this Jinmu!"
"The pitiful sentiments of a weak-willed human. You may have a rock ape Body, but your pathetic human Mind and Soul waste the strength of it. If the human will not help, Valcrit will rip what we need from his mind." The naked contempt on the Wytch's face would make a saint want to bitch slap her.
I am no saint. It is hard not to haul off and hit her. After taking deep breath, I get control over my temper again. Even after the Great Fuck Over and everything else I have been through, I am not someone that hits women. I have been forced to kill more than a few in battles, but every time, it always left a bad taste in my mouth. A man protects a woman; he does not try to hurt one. It is an old fashioned point of view, but I am old.
Seeing me calm down, the Wytch frowns but does not say anything. Turning away from me, she focuses on Brand again. She is not human. She does not act or react like a human woman, and she, sure as hell, does not act like an Earth woman.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
The sound of footsteps emanates from inside the temple, followed by the appearance of a man dressed in red armor. He stops in the shadows about ten feet back from the doors. Holding a samurai style helm under his left arm, he has a scabbarded katana hanging from his belt.
If not having a Dvergar Body, I would not be able to see much with him staying back from the light, but with my Dvergar eyes, I can see him clearly, despite the shadows. I recognize him from dozens of news articles and interviews over the years. He really looks like the decease actor Ken Watanabe, but his name is Ryouske Urehara. Jinmu is actually Ryouske Urehara?
Damn, back when he was Talon, Brand sometimes called Selestra Mei. Ryouske Urehara has a daughter named Mei. Brand may have said that little bitch Selestra's family was wealthy, but that does not even begin to describe it. The Urehara family is the single richest family on Earth.
"Hello, Brand. I never expected you to escape from Gor'achen so soon. You have put on quite a bit of mass. It seems like the gladiatorial arena agreed with you."
Brand clenches his right fist so tightly that the metal of his gauntlet screeches, and his voice is like an animal's growl enunciating human words. "You sold me out."
Jinmu smiles, but the smile looks more self-mocking than anything. "Looking at the Brand in front of me, I think that betraying you has been good for you. You are finally free of the overarching obligation toward me that shackled you. Now, you should be free to do as you choose."
Brand steps into the temple. He and Jinmu appear to reach out and touch one another. "You betray me, leaving me to a gladiatorial slave pen, and you actually have the balls to say it's a good thing. You're making me want to take my time and see how loud you scream before I let you die."
No matter how many times I look at Brand, I cannot get used to just how ridiculously overdeveloped he is. You do not notice it so much around those gladiators. Other than Tyrend, all of them are bigger than Brand, and Alfar are just skinny little punks no matter how you look at them. With Jinmu, it is just too obvious. Jinmu is about 5'10" tall and solidly built for someone from Earth. However, standing in front of Brand, he looks like anorexic.
Jinmu's smile never wavers. "You can take your revenge on me, but Mei is not here. No matter what you do to me, she will be beyond your reach."
With his fists only halfway raised, Jinmu flies through the air, leaving a fan of blood in his wake. I did not even see Brand attack, but Jinmu, at least, saw enough of it to start to get his hands up. What kind of inhuman speed is that?
Before his body hits the ground, Jinmu flips over in midair, and his feet hit the ground, smoothly absorbing the impact. When he was sent flying, he never lost his grip on that helmet, and now, he casually puts it on. Even though his mouth and chin are covered in blood, it does not put a dent in this man's demeanor of strength and nobility. He is a man who has lived his life with power and authority that rival that of an ancient daimyo.
As Jinmu draws his sword, Brand is already moving forward. Like he did on the Night Raven, Brand has again turned shadowy and appears not quite corporeal. This is something that he never did his days as Talon, so I am not sure what he is doing.
Jinmu's sword appears to cut through Brand's shoulder as he moves inside its range, but there is no blood spray or sound of metal slicing into metal. Jinmu's eyes open wide enough that I can see the whites all around the irises, and Brand's fist hammers into his stomach. This time Jinmu cannot twist and break his fall, before he crashes into the pews behind him. More fragments and splinters of wood scatter around the temple.
Jinmu staggers slightly as he rises to his feet, and fresh trickles of blood run from the corners of his mouth. As he smiles, his teeth are stained with more blood.
"You're better than ever. The Greatest God Transcended me, but you have already surpassed my new level." Jinmu stops talking as his words turn into a fit for coughing.
"Greatest of Gods, bring Judgment. . ."
Brand moves, again, even faster than the last time, and his short right hook, to the side of Jinmu's head, flips him off his feet.
"Not this time, motherfucker. Your dickbag god probably wouldn't judge me right now, but no point in taking chances."
Jinmu struggles back to his feet again, and sheathes his katana. "You win. I can't beat you. Any one of your punches could have killed, but you were hesitant. I feel the lack of surety in your fists. Why?"
That was hesitating? If that was hesitating, then just what in all the hells anyone has ever dreamed up would Brand being fully committed be like?
Brand's frown is thunderous as he glares at Jinmu. For several minutes, the two of them do nothing but stare at one another. I know they have a lot of history together, but I cannot begin to guess what might be going through either of their minds.
"The Labyrinth of Yggr is unstable. In time, it is going to blow and take the entire universe and us along with it. Woden, The Nameless God, is making it worse, and the means to fix it is on Earth. I need control over Prophet and Delphi to find where it might be. You still have backdoor access to all of those systems, right?"
Jinmu's eyes widen slightly before narrowing. He stares at Brand for a few moments. "If you want me to help you, there will be two prices."
"What?"
"Mei is not in Freeport any longer, but she is still a slave. First, help me free her. Second, we go free. I won't ask for your promise to never hunt us, but we go free now. If we meet in the future, we can settle this."
"Do you really think that you'll be able to defeat me in the future?"
Jinmu smiles and shakes his head. "I doubt that I will, but I can find someplace to hide Mei that you will never think to look for her."
"Let's go." Brand turns and walks out of the temple.
"Mark, whether you believe it or not, I really am happy to see you."
Brand stops, his back rigid. "The last vestiges of Mark McGuinness died in the slave pits of Gor'achen. I'm Brand."
Jinmu's eyes seem to lose something, but I am not sure what. He looks down. "I understand. I am sorry."
Jinmu looks toward the back of the temple. "Delilah! We're leaving!"
A tall, willowy woman walks toward Jinmu. Her skin is pale like snow, and her hair darker than midnight. She does not have the inhuman beauty of Brand's Wytch, but in human terms, she could be considered a perfect 10. The only thing detracting from her beauty is that she has the wan appearance of someone that has been sick for a long time.
Brand's eyes narrow. After a moment, he looks over his shoulder at the woman and frowns. The look she returns to Brand is timid and fearful. Not saying anything, he seems to appraise her before looking away again.
Jinmu approaches me with a business professional’s smile. "Good day, I am Jinmu."
I take the proffered hand. "Thorrin Hammerfist."
"You were among the Damned, were you not?"
"That's right."
I look at the woman, the smile she shows me is oddly hopeful. "I'm Delilah. My daughter played Taereun. Her character was Nessa."
I cannot keep the shock off my face. "You had a teenage daughter?"
Delilah's mouth opens slightly before she frowns. "My real body was a lot older. This was my character. I started playing after the MMO Incident. I’m not sure why. Jessica was comatose. They all were. The government wouldn’t tell us anything. I guess, I was looking for reasons, or answers, or I don’t know what."
Delilah pauses and stares at me with a mix of hope and fear in her eyes. "Can you take me to Nessa? Please?"
This time I am the one frowning. Delilah’s statement about Nessa made me assume that because Brand and Jinmu are in their Earth bodies, she is as well. I should never forget that when you assume, it makes an ASS out of yoU and ME. She is a woman desperately trying to find her daughter, and she needs our help.
