Chapter 30 - Abomination

  “Is there a plan?” Victor asked. “For when Savgar decides to destroy Arbour?”

  Rayne had gathered the few of them that had undergone the Trial. Reuf and Sia were helping Elizabeth with her missing arm again which made it easier to get the others together for this. She didn’t like keeping them out of the discussion, it felt too much like they were colluding in secret, but they couldn’t talk openly about the Trial or the Order if they were there. Now they sat in Sylvian’s room as they talked about what to do next.

  “We were hoping he wouldn’t do that,” Rayne said.

  “He gave his word, and the pact clearly states that we must assist, or at least not work against, each other in furthering our paths,” Sylvian said. “He can’t destroy Arbour. He would gain the Bond-breaker title along with whatever else the System would enact.”

  “I have heard that the Bond-breaker title is like a sin in dwarven culture,” Zajowle said. “But I’m not certain Arbour qualifies in this context. A child of Yggdrasil is certainly important to the elves and several others, but it is not directly important to any of our paths.”

  “I follow the path of growth,” Sylvian said without hesitation. “There is nothing more important to the path of growth than Yggdrasil.”

  “An argument, sure,” Zajowle said. “But will it really invoke the pact if Savgar chooses to act?”

  “It might,” Sylvian muttered. “And Savgar won’t risk it. That is enough for now. He also gave his word that he wouldn’t do anything in the Trial, so we have that much.”

  “Well, that might fix itself then,” Teresa said. “He won’t be able to tell anyone about it once he leaves.”

  “That is if he does agree to the terms,” Zajowle said. “There is still the option that he might choose to fail the Trial than sign the contract. We don’t know what happens then. I’m not sure if there is a failsafe. Arbour mentioned to me that the contract was usually done by the Elders of the Order before they allowed people to take the trial.”

  “Even if he did,” Victor said. “Once he was back in Methal, he wouldn’t need to say much to get the dwarves’ help.”

  “So, what do we do then?” Teresa asked. “Hope Savgar has a change in personality in the next few hours?”

  Rayne and Sylvian looked worried but couldn’t think of any response.

  “I think hoping he has a change in personality is a bit much,” Zajowle said. “I’ll admit, I am not as invested in the child as the elves, but if you are going to do this, why not just appeal to the person Savgar is?”

  “What do you mean?” Victor asked.

  “Have you not noticed it?” Zajowle asked. “Perhaps it is not as strange to you as you are still new to this world, but Savgar does not share all the same values of his brethren. Not all dwarves are alike, and Savgar has always been more open-minded than most.”

  “That is true,” Rayne said. “I told Jack as much not that long ago. It is not often that a dwarf would spend so much time learning about other people’s cultures and languages. Especially those that don’t adhere to traditional dwarven values. Yet Savgar does.”

  “He just likes finding new ways to insult people,” Teresa said dismissing the idea.

  “Perhaps,” Zajowle said. “But he needn’t go to such lengths for that. And Victor, when you were in Methal, how many dwarven masters had human apprentices?”

  “There was one I knew about,” Victor said. “But I don’t think it was out of desire. He told me the price the dwarf charged him, and it was ridiculous. Nearly thought I had to give up the idea until I met Savgar. Savgar is tough, but fair and so were his prices.”

  “I believe that says a lot,” Zajowle said. “Even when training us, all strangers and foreign to his culture and norms, he has only treated us fairly and honestly.”

  “I don’t know,” Rayne said. “Savgar’s culture is very important to him. I can’t see him breaking away from that. The dwarves have a long history involving Yggdrasil and her children.”

  “That history was millennia ago,” Zajowle said. “When did the harvesting happen? Time can change things, and even the dwarves and elves are considered close allies most of the time now. We shouldn’t expect him to change, but maybe enough time has passed so that an understanding can develop. We should find what part in Arbour’s existence that Savgar and the dwarves have an issue with, and address that.”

  “Why do they?” Teresa asked. “I get that Savgar doesn’t like trees, and a talking one is probably not high on his tolerance meter, but is that all there is to it? We only have myths to go by, but I don’t recall Yggdrasil ever being the problem in those.”

  “There might be a little bit more,” Sylvian said. “The children of Yggdrasil have the ability to grow perpetually and quickly if given the time and resources. In some cases, they have been known to assimilate entire planets and eventually solar systems into their being.”

  “That doesn’t sound great,” Victor said.

  “That actually does sound like a problem,” Teresa added.

  Sylvian shook her head. “They don’t destroy the worlds. It’s more like they connect the worlds together. They assimilate and connect everything together and with enough time will even connect to the other children throughout the universe.”

  “That is similar to our myths of Yggdrasil,” Victor said. “I remember hearing about it from a mythology lesson when I was a kid. Something about connecting the different realms?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know about that,” Sylvian said. “I do know that they are the purest form of growth and nature in the universe and facilitate new life and change wherever they touch. However, a misunderstanding developed a long time ago.”

  “The dwarves in the past have seen it a different way,” Rayne continued. “They see it as though the world becomes food for the child. They call them world-eaters as the world they connect to and assimilate are forever changed as a result, but that isn’t the case. When the harvesting started, they were among the first to join. We believed all were lost in this world ever since.”

  “That might be a difficult sell,” Victor said.

  “Indeed,” Zajowle said. “But not an impossible one. You said they were among the first to join, but they weren’t the ones that started it, correct?”

  Sylvian shook her head. “No, that was a different group, the Kveik. Their kingdoms were destroyed by the elves once we learned what they done.“

  “Further proof that destroying one now would not go well,” Zajowle said.

  “Maybe,” Rayne said. “But the elven sects are more scattered today than they were back then.”

  “I think they might come together for a cause like this,” Zajowle said. “You believe so too. But the dwarves will be the first issue that must be dealt with. The tree is sentient and that means it can be negotiated with. I believe there might still be a deal that can be made here. Unfortunately, I don’t think anything we have to say will matter at this point. That will be up to Savgar and Arbour. If they can come to an understanding, then a war might be avoided.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “What’s in it for you?” Sylvian asked. “Try as I might, I just don’t understand why you are interested at all.”

  “My interest are very simple,” Zajowle said. “If the tree were to live, then there is plenty of profit that can be made. If we are the only ones that have access to it, then we would have a monopoly on all the goods that come from it. I remember reading about the wood and byproducts from the children were a treasure trove of special properties. Dimension, growth, time Aspects. The list goes on. Those can go for a tidy sum, especially if we control the market.”

  “You are planning of cutting the child up?” Rayne nearly leaped up in anger.

  “Peace,” Zajowle said holding up his hands. “I would never. That would be a waste, and I’m not as short-sighted as those that came before. But every plant needs a little pruning from time to time. Why should that go to waste? I do follow the Path of Money, and a renewable in-demand resource would always be better than a one-time payment.”

  Rayne looked like she was about to explode, but Sylvian placed a hand on her. “Relax, please,” Sylvian said. “We have enough to worry about.”

  Rayne sat back down. “We won’t allow any harm to come to the child. Not if we can stop it. Not for profit or anything else.”

  “Of course,” Zajowle said. “I did not mean to suggest so. Only that there is still profit that could be gained from it living. Not all plants need to be destroyed to be used. Some wood here, a few leaves there. It is sure to produce and shed magical reagents and even if it doesn’t, then there are still the new life and creations that would come from around it should it survive.”

  “Perhaps a discussion for another time,” Sylvian said. “There is much that has been forgotten about the children.”

  “Doesn’t matter if Savgar destroys it anyways,” Teresa said, leaning back against the wall. “But it’s between those two now.”

  *~*

  “Abomination!” Savgar yelled gripping Thurg in his hands. Every muscle in his body was tense and telling him to leap forward and destroy the thing before him, but something held him back. Those damn elves. She knew about this, of course she did.

  “What? Where?” The dwarven voice called back. “I haven’t seen anything else in here. Certainly nothing to call an abomination. Oh, right. Introductions. Hello, I am the tree before you. Yes, I can talk. It comes up a lot. My name is Arbour. What is your name?”

  “World-Eater!” Savgar yelled. Every instinct he had, urged him to move, to act, but at the same time his honor held him back. He could feel his blood pounding demanding him to do something, but he had given his word. He nearly spat blood from the conflicting emotions fighting within him. Of all the things he thought it could be, this was the last thing he had expected. There weren’t supposed to be any left.

  With a guttural yell he slammed Thurg down on the stone floor imbuing every ounce of frustration he felt into the swing. The crash of metal on marble sent an echo reverberating through the chamber and left a crack through the marble floor. Almost in defiance of him, the marble reknitted, sealing in the crack and leaving no trace that anything had happened a moment later.

  “Right, well it is nice to meet you World-eater,” the abomination was still talking. As though nothing was wrong, but everything was. Their kind were destroyed. We made sure about that, but here there was one before him and he couldn’t even do his duty and destroy the thing.

  “Damn that elf,” Savgar growled. “As untrustworthy as the trees they worshiped.”

  “Are you talking about Sylvian, or Rayne?” the tree asked. “I only met them a little bit ago. I thought they were nice.”

  “Lying, two-face elves is what they are,” Savgar spat. “You’re lucky I have honor, and I will keep my word even if no dwarf would blame me for breaking it here. I should have brought my Battleaxe.”

  “Why is that World-eater?” the tree asked. “There are weapons provided if you need one for the trials that require them. I’m sure you can find something there.”

  “My name isn’t world-eater,” Savgar yelled.

  “Then why did you introduce yourself as that?”

  “You are the world-eater!”

  “I don’t think that is right,” the tree said. “I already told you my name is Arbour, and I don’t think I had another one.”

  “It’s your kind!” Savgar said. “It’s what you do. You consume planets and galaxies, incorporating them into yourself. Leaving nothing but the husk of a planet in your wake.”

  “I haven’t done anything like that,” Arbour said. “It doesn’t sound like something I would do either.”

  “Abomination,” Savgar mumbled sitting down. “I promised I wouldn’t do anything to you, but that won’t stop me from getting my clan to come back here later. I’ll see an end to this and keep my dwarven honor.”

  “Of course,” Arbour said. “So long as they are willing to undergo the Trials, then they are welcome to come. You still have three trials left. The others will have to wait until you finish before they can try. But you won’t be able to tell anyone about what the Trials entails. Part of the rules.”

  Savgar grumbled. He didn’t even want to finish this Trial now. Not that it would make much difference either way. They might have a pact right now, but that would change soon enough. If the elves wanted to go to war over this then war it will be.

  Savgar sighed. He never minded a good war. He even participated in a few in his younger years. The invasion of the orc tribes was one of his favorites. The orcs were excellent fighters and worthy opponents, but there hasn’t been a war between the dwarves and elves in centuries now. They even had good relations in recent years, and he had grown to like those two elves. He didn’t relish the thought of fighting them.

  “What’s on your mind?” the tree asked interrupting Savgar’s thoughts.

  “Never you mind, reucklic,” Savgar growled.

  “Hey! That’s just rude.”

  Savgar ignored the tree’s complaints. “How long have you been down here?” he asked instead.

  “I’m not sure,” the tree said. “I remember the Order. After them, it was a long time before Jack appeared. Do you know Jack? The others knew him. He helped me pick my name. I thought talking-tree would work, but he told me I had to pick a different one.”

  “I know the boy,” Savgar said. “Need to remind him not to trust trees.”

  “What’s wrong with trees,” the abomination asked.

  “Nothing natural about trees,” Savgar said. “Just large parasites feeding on good solid dirt. Same for all plants as well.”

  “I don’t feel unnatural,” The tree said. “And I don’t really feed on dirt. I feed on Aethyr. I think you are just a tree hater.”

  “Aye, I hate trees,” Savgar said. “Eating Aethyr you say? That’s not natural either. Not in this realm.”

  “Jack ate Aethyr,” the tree argued. “He seemed perfectly fine afterwards. I mean some of his inside came outside, but is that not normal for humans? He always seemed to have some of his insides on his outside. Then again, the other humans didn’t do that.”

  “He might have,” Savgar admitted. “But all the humans are strange.”

  “Why does he get strange, but I get unnatural?” the tree asked. “What is so different between us?”

  “He doesn’t eat worlds!” Savgar yelled.

  “Neither have I,” the tree shot back.

  “Yet,” Savgar grunted. “And I’m not going to let you.”

  “I don’t intend to,” the tree said. “Eating worlds doesn’t interest me. All I want is to see the sky. Maybe meet some other trees.”

  “The sky?” Savgar asked caught off guard.

  “I was born here, and I have never seen anything else,” The tree said.

  “The sky? That’s it?” Savgar asked. “That’s all you want?”

  The tree’s branches shook in what almost looked like a nod. “Sorry, I been practicing something called ‘body language’ from the humans, but I don’t think it works for trees very well. Yes, that is all I want. See the sky, talk to some trees.”

  “Trees don’t talk,” Savgar said.

  “Of course they don’t talk to you,” the trees said. “You hate trees. They can probably sense it.”

  “That’s not…” Savgar started but stopped. Did trees talk? He didn’t like the thought of that one bit.

  “Why should I believe you?” Savgar said instead. He was going to stay away from that thought entirely. “That all you want is to see the sky and be around some trees. That you won’t try to eat the planet and everything around it? Everyone knows you can’t trust trees.”

  He couldn’t believe that was all it wanted, but he didn’t sense any deception in the abomination’s words. If it was true that it didn’t want anything more from this realm, then peace might be possible. But he needed assurances.

  “I’m not sure what you want me to do to prove my intention,” the tree said.

  “Invoke the System promise,” Savgar said. “You know the one. If you don’t want me to come back here with an army of dwarves bent on cutting you down and burning the remains, then that is what I require.”

  “I promise my only intentions right now are to see the sky and moderate the Trial,” the tree spoke without hesitation.

  “Not good enough,” Savgar said before it could take hold. “Promise you will not consume, assimilate, whatever word you want to call it, this world. That you will respect the boundaries of this jungle and not exceed them into any other kingdom’s territory, and that you will not leave any of your offspring around to plague this world with. Agree to all that and I’ll promise not to destroy you the first chance I get.”

  “Is that really necessary?”

  “It is,” Savgar said. “If you ever want to grow beyond that, you will need to ascend to the next realm. Then you will be that realm’s problem. Leave the lower realm alone.”

  “I’m not even sure if I can ascend to the next realm,” the tree said. “Sometimes I get the feeling I can. That I am just one push away from doing it, but something is stopping me. Do you know what could be doing that?”

  “Not my problem,” Savgar said stubbornly.

  “Fine,” the tree said. It repeated the phrase three times as Savgar waited for the System to get involved. An energy settled between the two forming a link as the System acknowledged the promise. He didn’t like to have even that much of a connection to the world-eater, but he would stomach it if it kept the abomination in check. At least he felt better knowing that should the tree break its promise the System would get involved now. It was a small comfort. If it did that then he would have all he needed to mobilize the Ironbreath and Firebreath clans into acting. Still, a part of him urged him to act still. To strike it down before it could become too strong to handle, but he held that part in check for now. So long as it was willing to adhere to his restrictions, then perhaps a tenuous peace might be possible.

  “We have an agreement then,” Savgar grunted heading for one of the three doors. All that was left was getting this Trial finished now.