“Exile!” Mikari roared as he burst into the workshop. “We have a problem.”
“What is it?”
“It’s Noslin. She’s back.” Exile frowned as he turned to stare at his brother. “That’s great news. What’s the problem?”
“It’s Nar’Kozz. He kept her alive to follow her to Himinbjörg!”
‘Fuck!’ Exile stared at Mikari for a moment before cancelling the spell he was working on. ‘That’s why they haven’t assaulted Valheim.’ “Ok, bring Noslin to my private quarters. You and I will talk to her before we call a general meeting.” Exile replied with a nod.
As Mikari rushed out of the workshop, Exile hummed to himself. ‘I’ve already completed the enchantments on my new gear. Luckily, Bargrux was able to have the staff and small pieces of armour for under my robes ready in time.’ Of course, he had not revealed his new equipment yet. He was saving it for a moment that would have a high impact on the viewers. Exile sighed as he exited the workshop and headed for the longhouse. The sound of players chattering about Noslin’s return died down when they saw him.
‘Word has already spread, and they want to know what’s going to happen.’ Exile groaned internally while wearing a carefree expression on his face. ‘I need to get Noslin’s story first. Especially whether she found a piece of her first element.’
“Exile! You have no right to speak to Noslin privately! Have her tell us everything right here!” One of the Pantheon leaders shouted the moment Exile entered the building.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Exile replied while cocking his eyebrow at the player. “Noslin left because of a private matter that she shared with me. We need to talk about that before getting to the issue about Nar’Kozz.”
Exile held up a hand when he saw the player was about to argue. “If you don’t like it, you can take your Pantheon and get the fuck off my mountain.”
Exile nodded when he saw the player backing down. He cast his gaze around the room as the gathered leaders avoided his gaze. ‘They knew Nar’Kozz would come eventually. Did they think they could hide out here and hope Nar’Kozz headed for the divine realm of another race?’ Exile shook his head as he casually walked for the door that led to his room.
“Exile!” Noslin said as she stood up from her seat.
“It’s good to see you, Noslin. I hope you don’t mind Mikari joining us for this talk?” Exile said with a smile as he sat on the spare chair next to her.
“No, it’s fine.” She replied with a slight smile before her expression turned grim. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Just stay calm and tell us what happened,” Exile said as he kept a neutral expression on his face. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cm
“Not long after we separated, the Stalkers flooded the tunnels.” Noslin began as she shook her head. “I couldn’t outrun them, so I had to hide.”
“Hm, that was our fault. The others became too loud and woke them up.” Exile sighed. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”
“I thought something had gone wrong. I could only hope you all made it out in time.”
“We did, barely,” Exile replied as he shrugged his shoulders. “What happened after that?”
“You were right. There was Inheritance down there,” Noslin genuinely smiled as she thought about it. “It took some time to find it without the Stalkers discovering me.”
“Anyway,” Noslin continued. “I can’t tell you what I got from it, but it was worth it. When I came out, there were Stalkers everywhere. As if they had been waiting for me.”
Exile frowned as Mikari groaned. ‘They must have killed her. I wonder how many lives she lost trying to get here.’ Exile sighed as he gestured for Noslin to continue.
“It was strange. They just stared at me, doing nothing,” Noslin shrugged as she saw their questioning gazes. “Since they didn’t attack, I didn’t want to provoke them. I tried to shake them off by running around the tunnels. But no matter where I went, there was always more of them waiting.”
“I tried to go back to the Autosphere, but they blocked its entrance. For the first time, they didn’t move aside. That’s when I realised what was going on.”
“They knew Valheim had been evacuated.” Mikari groaned. “They were keeping you alive so you’d lead them to us.”
“Exactly,” Noslin sighed. “I had no choice but to take the same exit as you. When I did, I headed in a random direction. However, no matter what I did, I couldn’t lose them.”
“What did you do?” Exile asked.
“I thought I could lead them away. But once I got too far from Valheim they would cut me off. It’s like they knew you were still in the area.” Noslin replied while shaking her head. “I couldn’t even grind for levels. They killed every mob without letting me get close to them.”
“So you continued like that for as long as you could.” Mikari sighed. “Let me guess. You got worried about how far behind you would become if you kept doing that. So, you felt like you had no choice but to head here.”
Exile remained expressionless at Mikari’s statement as Noslin nodded. ‘She bought us as much time as she could. I can’t blame her for worrying about her growth.’ Exile clasped his hands together as he bowed his head.
“Where are the Stalkers now?” Mikari asked after a moment.
“They left once we reached the base of the mountain.” Noslin groaned as she glanced at Exile. “I’m sorry for leading them here.”
“They would’ve found us eventually,” Exile replied as he returned her gaze. “In fact, your actions probably bought us more time than we would have had without them. They wasted their time focusing on you. Nar’Kozz probably thought there was no point searching for us when they had a guide.”
Exile chuckled as he stroked his beard. “Don’t get me wrong, it was a smart idea for a game boss. Nar’Kozz just didn’t realise what kind of person you are.”
“Exile, you know what this means, right?” Mikari asked.
“Of course,” Exile nodded. “They abandoned as soon as they were sure of our position. They’ll have used the time it took Noslin to climb the mountain to rush to Nar’Kozz. Which means war is on its way to Himinbjörg.”
“How can you be so calm?” Noslin asked as she glanced from one brother to the other. “There’s no telling how many Stalkers are on their way here! Let’s face it, Nar’Kozz will probably join them!”
“Don’t worry,” Exile chuckled as he patted Noslin on the shoulder. “We used the time you bought us well. Mikari, take Noslin to the armoury. Let her choose from Ragnarok’s personal pile. She deserves that.”
“I’ll give the order to recall the teams out in the fields,” Mikari said as he urged Noslin to stand up. “I’ll put Himinbjörg on war alert and open the armoury to the players.”
“Good,” Exile nodded. “Where are we at with our siege preparations?”
“I believe we’re ready. The evacuation plan in case things go wrong has been tested. It’ll work.” Mikari replied with a sly grin. “But I doubt we’ll need it.”
“What about the army’s captains? Have they been chosen?”
“Yes,” Mikari nodded. “Clay reached Tier 2 yesterday, and a few made it today.”
“He never told me,” Exile grumbled as he cocked an eyebrow at Mikari. “What’s his new Authority?”
“Well,” Mikari scratched his chin as Noslin stood there with her mouth wide open. “He’s not happy with it. He’s certain he failed to unlock the Authority with the best potential.”
“Come on, just tell me,” Exile replied as he rolled his eyes.
“He’s the God of War.” Mikari shrugged as Exile shot him a questioning gaze.
“That sounds pretty good to me. What could possibly be above it?” “I have no idea,” Mikari sighed. “I thought I’d be the one to get it. But if Clay already has it, I just need to hope he’s right.”
“If he’s right, you better claim it before anyone else,” Exile replied with a frown. “I don’t want to think of something above War falling into the hands of another Pantheon.”
Mikari nodded as he led Noslin out of the room. Exile groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘Clay’s our best to captain the first line of defence. We need the checkpoints to hold so we can crush their numbers.’ ‘At least they can’t climb or fly over with our checkpoints above each other. They can give cover fire from above.’ Exile nodded as he recalled the layout of the checkpoints on the path. ‘Mikari made sure there was no way they could do that. So they’ll have to throw bodies against us till we break. It’d be nice if they never make it to Himinbjörg.’ Exile chuckled to himself as he heard a commotion in the main hall.
‘I guess Mikari has told them to prepare for war. They better not complain after all the equipment I prepared.’ Exile sneered as he stared out the window. ‘I hope Nar’Kozz holds back long enough for us to wipe out the Stalkers and close our trap. No matter what, this threat ends here.’
Exile frowned as he considered what would happen if they failed to end Nar’Kozz now. ‘It won’t be long til the horde arrives. I guess I should rally the troops.’ Exile cocked his eyebrow as he glanced at the door. ‘Let’s see what the God of War can do…’