Pantheon Online

\'According to King Bargrux\'s letter, there should be a dwarven outpost up ahead.\' Harik groaned as his horse struggled through the deep snow. The army\'s pace had considerably slowed down since they began their climb. Harik smiled when Skovi and Skalla appeared, returning from scouting the path ahead. The two fiery wolves ran the length of the army while releasing flames to melt the snow. The Skardian warriors cheered as Exile\'s wolves returned to the head of the column where Harik was waiting. "Thovok is waiting with an honour guard. We wouldn\'t have noticed the outpost or the entrance without his presence." Skovi growled as he sniffed the air. "There\'s something wrong. I can smell divinity in the air."

"Divinity? Is there a God following us?" Harik asked with a frown.

"No, it\'s coming from the cracks in the mountain. There\'s a divine presence down there somewhere." Skalla growled in reply. "I\'ll alert Lord Exile. We may need him to intervene."

Harik turned in his saddle to look toward the peak of the mountain. \'Have the other kingdoms already started their assault?\' Harik thought as he wondered if the divine presence was a dwarven god.

He turned to one of his captains and gave the order for the army to pick up the pace. \'If a battle has already started, we need to get there soon. We can\'t let our allies down after all they\'ve done for us.\' "Skovi, Skalla, can you two clear a path to the outpost? We have to reach Thovok as soon as possible." Harik asked in a solemn tone. "Bargrux\'s people could be in trouble."

"I\'ll start right away," Skovi replied while nodding his large head. "Skalla will join me as soon as she\'s done talking with Lord Exile."

Harik watched the great wolf run off to start clearing the path. His gaze wandered to Skalla, who sat in the snow with a frown. The she-wolf caught his gaze momentarily before returning to her mental conversation. [You\'re certain there\'s a God down there?]

\'No, but there\'s definitely traces of the divine. We\'re not sure what\'s causing it.\' Skalla replied.

[Hm, don\'t enter the mountain until I contact you.]

\'As you command, Master.\' Skalla bowed her head as Exile cut their connection. \'Lord Exile seems concerned with this news. King Harik won\'t like it if we reach Thovok before he confirms if we should enter.\' Skalla sighed as she took off to join Skovi in his efforts.

"We can\'t be too quick about clearing the path," Skalla whispered as she rubbed her muzzle against Skovi. "Lord Exile has commanded that nobody should enter the mountain without his permission."

"Harik won\'t like that," Skovi hummed as his fur flared, melting a large area around him. "It could be difficult to convince him to wait."

"I agree, but we have to try." Skalla nodded her head as both wolves stared at Harik.

Meanwhile, Thovok sat waiting on his mount while eyeing where Harik\'s forces should appear. \'Skovi seems to have changed a lot, and it seems like Lord Exile has given him a partner.\' Thovok hummed. \'Why didn\'t he approach us?\'

He had asked himself that question several times since he had spotted the wolves. \'Still, this should mean Harik\'s forces are nearby. I\'m glad he answered the king\'s letter for aid.\' Suddenly, Thovok felt Exile\'s presence as his god connected with his mind.

\'Lord Exile, to what do I owe the pleasure?\' Thovok asked in surprise as he stroked his beard.

[Thovok, is there a God in Bargrux\'s kingdom?]

Thovok raised his bushy eyebrows as he murmured to himself. \'No, we worship no god but yourself.\' Thovok replied honestly as he wondered what the reason for the question was.

[There\'s no enemy God there? Or anything else connected to the Divine?]

Thovok groaned when he heard Exile ask that question. He paused for several moments, caught between his loyalty to his King and his God. \'There is something connected to the divine.\' Thovok paused for a moment. \'However, I believe you should speak with King Bargrux about it.\'

[Are you with King Bargrux?]

\'No, I believe he\'s waiting in the temple. Before he sent me to meet with King Harik, he gave instructions as to where he would be and to tell you if you asked.\' Thovok replied while frowning. He wondered what he had gotten caught up in. Of course, he knew about his King\'s new condition. But, as far as he could see, that should be good news for Exile.

[Tell me what Bargrux has that\'s connected to the divine. I\'ll only ask this once.]

\'Honestly, King Bargrux can explain it better.\' Thovok sighed as he finally understood why the wolves had been cautious. \'All I can tell you is that King Bargrux is the host of divine power. A demigod of sorts.\' Thovok waited for several moments as Exile remained silent. He wondered if Exile was shocked at the news or if he already knew and was just testing him. \'Lord Exile?\'

[Why has this never been mentioned before?]

\'King Bargrux wanted to be the one to tell you. I believe he has a gift for you.\' Thovok replied as he thought about previous conversations with his King.

[What kind of gift?]

\'I\'m not sure. He hinted that it was something valuable for a God.\' Thovok replied as he scratched his cheek.

[Hm, Harik will be with you shortly. Skovi and Skalla are accompanying him. I\'ll descend momentarily to speak with Bargrux personally.]

Thovok frowned as Exile cut off their connection. \'That was strange.\' Thovok hummed as he stroked \'Screw it. I\'ve put off talking with Bargrux for too long. There are too many ifs and buts clouding my 13:46

judgement. If Thovok is right and Bargrux holds something we can use, I have to have it.\'

the horns of his goat. \'I hope His Majesty hasn\'t done something stupid to affront the gods.\'

Exile drummed his fingers on his desk in his private room. \'This could be bad. How the hell has Bargrux become a demigod?\' Exile groaned as he considered his next move. \'It could be a trap. What if it\'s a divine weapon that can kill me instead of him being a demigod?\'

He dismissed that idea after a moment. \'No, he probably is a demigod. Thovok can\'t hide the truth in his thoughts. So what would this gift be? All of this should be connected to Bargrux\'s gain during the Sommerdan war.\'

Exile let out a long sigh as he tried to imagine what would happen if he descended. \'I can\'t ignore him being a demigod. If he\'s still on our side, he\'ll be an amazing asset. It\'ll be some time before new demigods grow up. So he\'s unique for the time being.\'

\'That\'s assuming there are no demigods still alive from the age of the old gods.\' Exile rubbed the bridge of his nose as he weighed his options. \'There\'s too much to gain by keeping him on our side. But this dwarf war is going to drain Skardia. We got lucky with Laskia, but there\'s still the elves to worry about.\'

\'Screw it. I\'ve put off talking with Bargrux for too long. There are too many ifs and buts clouding my judgement. If Thovok is right and Bargrux holds something we can use, I have to have it.\'

Exile took a deep breath as he calmed his thoughts. \'Let\'s see how this goes.\' He activated his Avatar spell, and his consciousness shot down to the mortal realm. A lightning bolt struck the mountain as Exile opened his eyes to see the familiar dwarven temple.

He had made sure to arrive directly on the throne situated in the main area to leave Bargrux with no doubts as to who held the most power. However, King Bargrux only smiled when he saw Exile\'s arrival.

\'He looks genuinely happy to see me.\' Exile thought as he studied the dwarf king. \'Or not.\' Bargrux\'s expression suddenly turned ugly as he noticed the changes Exile had gone through when he took Allyce as an Oracle.

"Why\'d you ruin your rugged good looks?" Bargrux cursed as he stormed toward the throne. "What the hell is this? Only a new oracle could do this!"

Bargrux groaned as he studied Exile. "Dammit! What race is our new ally? Hm?"

Exile chuckled in his mind for a moment. Bargrux was acting like an old friend and seemed to already accept Allyce\'s people without knowing who they were. \'I guess I was worried all this time for nothing.\' However, that was when Exile felt the waves of divinity leaking from Bargrux\'s figure. \'Seems Thovok really told the truth and wasn\'t misled.\'

"My new Oracle is called Allyce. She belongs to the Great Eagle tribe of Warbeasts." Exile replied as he cocked an eyebrow at the dwarf king.

"Well, I don\'t care what you\'ve promised her. But our agreement still stands! I won\'t have a second less of your time just because you\'ve gained some new followers." Bargrux hummed while shaking his head. "A bloody waste. At least you kept the beard."

"Speaking of changes," Exile replied with a slight smile that made Bargrux freeze. "It seems I should congratulate you. How did you do it?"

"Well, about that." Bargrux chuckled with a glint in his eyes. "I owe you an apology. I used your war to gain access to a relative of mine."

Bargrux stroked his beard as he studied Exile\'s expression. "You wouldn\'t know him since he\'s been imprisoned for a long time. But he was a traitor to my family and my people. I took our vengeance and claimed some things as recompense for his past actions."

"Tell me, Exile, what do you know about the First Elements?" Bargrux said with a cocky grin.