Chapter 4 Part 6

Allentown's interior quarters was very much unchanged from what Armegon had remembered. The outer parts of the town known as tent city was in a constant state of metamorphosis where each new day saw new people and new temporary structures in the same plot of land. But in the inner city, permanent structures, the university, the library, and the governmental palace were ringed by sturdy stone and wooden buildings. These were the businesses and homes of the middle class, and provided the setting for the city proper.
Armegon took in the sights as he strolled along. One sight that caught his eye was a boarded up chapel. It was a commoner's chapel dedicated to the god of war. The door had been bolted closed, and a sign had been hung on the foyer entrance that read, "Under New Management". Now, that was a curious conception, he noted.
Armegon made his way to the "Odds and Ends" novelty shop with little difficulty. He entered and found the proprietor, Seada, polishing a candle holder.
"Ah, my traveling Tycarian half-elf," he said when he saw Armegon. Armegon had forgotten that he had told Seada that he was from Tycho when they last met.
"Not anymore," he returned the greeting. "I now reside near the village of Glorfin a little ways north of here."
"Well it’s good to see you again wherever you fare from." He extended a hand and Armegon took it warmly. "So have you any good business for me?"
Armegon opened a shoulder bag and pulled a few things out that he had picked up here and there. He put them on the counter where the merchant announced that most of it was just junk, however, he offered Armegon a silver piece for brass button. “And have you heard any good stories?” he asked the halfelf.
"Maybe," Armegon offered. "Have you heard about that warlock that got murdered?"

"Oh yes," the merchant nodded. "That is big news. It is common enough for journeymen mages to get killed in the field, but here at the Univeristy? It's a real shocker!"

"Well I have and educated guess as to who the slayer of the warlock, Mestys was," Armegon said. There was no proof of course, but if he could get the city watch harassing Tyson, well, at this point anything to irritate Tyson was desirable.
Seada was ecstatic. He took a pen and scrap of paper. "Who do you think it is?"
Armegon leaned close and whispered secretly. "His name is Tyson," Armegon said. He gave a description of Tyson as well. "I think he is an operative of Blackheart."
"I doubt it," Seada said skeptically as he scribled. "Morteous Blackheart is now the head of the House now that Serpent is gone and he too is a warlock. Warlocks don't kill other warlocks."
"Serpent’s gone?"
"Haven't you heard?" Seada appeared shocked. "Well if you live outside a small village and have been out of touch for a while, you may not have heard. The man who was known as Serpent Blackheart is now simply called Ragnera. He’s the new god of war."
Armegon recalled the boarded up chapel and the sign. So that is what it had meant. "How did that happen?"
"From what I was told, he slew the old god of war in a fair hand to hand combat. The gods all have some rule about the succession of the passing of a god, and Ragnera was granted the powers of the former god."
"That’s amazing," Armegon proclaimed. "I’ve never heard of anything like it before."
"And I dare say you never will again." Seada filed Armegon's gossip away. "From what I’ve heard, the gods usually kill any mortal who dares to oppose a god like that, but since Serpent was a demigod already, they say the Godking intervened on his behalf. Any way you look at it, the outcome spells hard times for everyone all over the world."
"How's that?"
"The gods have always played a kind of game with the world. They make alliances and enemies with each other. The reason for this game is that there were the same number of good gods as evil gods. Because of that balance the world is as we know it. The old god of war was a kind and just god. His death represented the upset in the balance between good and evil among the gods. Now that balance has been eliminated and the gods of evil will dictate our lives from now on."
Armegon thought on this. "Is there no where you can go to avoid their wrath?"
"The only way to protect yourself from the mischievous doings of the evil gods would be to take up residence in a temple to one of the good gods. Even when they are in the majority, they have to obey certain rules. They are powerless in the temple of another god."
"So Blackpuss finally managed to gain his godhood," Armegon muttered whimsical.
"You know your own business," Seada advised, "but if I were you, I’d speak with a little more respect about the gods."
"You're probably right. I just wonder if there’s any hope at all." Armegon inspected a ring that was on display.
"Well, there’s always hope," Seada said. "There’s an old legend that says that the end of the age of the Godking will be heralded by death in the hand of war." Seada laughed. "It made no sense at all long ago, but now that Ragnera has become the god of war, the legend seems to fit the situation."
"How so," Armegon asked.
"Are you going to buy that?" Seada pointed to the ring Armegon was inspecting.
"Yes," Armegon answered knowing that he would not get his answer unless he did."
"Well Ragnera, the former Serpent Blackheart's sword is called Reaper. That’s close enough to death for me, and it certainly means death to those who are on the unfortunate end of it, hence 'death in the hand of war'."
"Where did that legend come from?" Armegon asked. Surely it wasn’t just a coincidence.
"It seems I read it once in a copy of the writings of a prophet named Jenner Mek. They say that he was deaf and blind but could make noises with his mouth. Being deaf, he could not talk as you or I, but they say that on occasion, he would break down into coherent speech. When he did, it was all written down."
"Do you have a copy of those writings?" Armegon asked
Seada indicated he did not. "They are not exactly a hot selling item." There may be a copy at the Library, but I know they won't sell them to you."
"Then I may make a copy of them." Armegon declared.
Seada shrugged. "Suit yourself, but it seems that it would be a waste of time to me. I mean what good will it do to know what will happen. You can't do anything to stop it. Either it’ll be beneficial, or not. Either way, your stuck with it."
"Perhaps your right, friend." He tossed the ring he had purchased into the air and caught it. "Well I must go." He pocketed the ring and made for the door. "I’ll see you another time."
"Don't be away so long this time," Seada replied.
Armegon exited the shop and headed back towards the guild. He thought on what he had just learned. So Blackpuss had attained his godhood. Even at his worst, Armegon had not been that arrogant. Well, maybe once. Okay, several times. But the point was that their home world had no gods save the Creator and no one wanted to overthrow him, except the evil spirit of Riecluf also called Lastir, and his servants an odd pair named Damien the Dark and Dominik the Destroyer. Actually, Armegon reflected nostalgically, they were a couple of assholes, but they did keep things from getting boring.
Armegon entered the guild and went to the room he shared with Ultrecht. To his surprise, Ultrecht was there. He was packing his bags and preparing to depart. "Well," Armegon asked, "did you learn anything?"
Ultrecht tossed Armegon's bag at to him. "I'll tell you while you pack." Armegon opened his pack and started stuffing his belongings inside. "The coins are from long ago. When the world's cities and kingdoms were united, the central government bought the lands by issuing the World Imperial Coins. The coin holder could redeem the coin for the king's gold after fifty years when the new economy stabilized. The value of each coin depended on how much land had been bought by the coin."
"Unfortunately," Ultrecht continued, "before most of the coins could be redeemed, they were systematically stolen from the nobles who owned them. That was when the extinct brotherhood known as the Sinjettica were hunted down and killed. There was no doubt as to who had stolen the coins, but they were never found." Ultrecht sat at the table and propped his feet up. "The coins have been assumed lost. Every now and then one will show up making some lucky adventurer very rich. The last coin to turn up was an the Amethyst Coin of Seron. It was sold for five hundred thousand in gold. That was thirty-two years ago."
"How many coins were there?" Armegon asked as he tucked a shirt into his pack.
"Quite a few," Ultrecht told him. "Most coins are relatively low in value. The Malachite Coin is generally considered to be worth about one thousand in gold. From what I read, there were hundreds of these coins. They were held by knights and common landholders. The more valuable coins were city specific. The Diamond coin of a city was held by its ruler and major landholder. The value decreased slightly for each successively lower coin. For Allentown there was one Diamond coin. Its estimated value is about one billion in gold because Allentown is such an economic power. There were also two Emerald coins at over a hundred million each, four Sapphire coins valued in the tens of millions, eight Ruby coins worth a million each, and the list goes on. The Amethyst coins, the Amber coins and the Malachite coins, and that was for just one city."
"That's quite a story," Armegon said. "Where did you get it?"
"From a mage that works for the Merchant's Association." Ultrecht poured himself a cup of wine. "He was trying to research a spell for burglar proofing storage vaults."
Armegon laughed. "I'll bet there was a mage not three tables down working on a way to get into bugler proofed vaults."
That's not the worst of it," Ultrecht continued.
"Oh?"
"Remember when we were in those mines?"
Armegon frowned. "Yeah, so?"
"Samson killed an morhulk there," Ultrecht reminded him.
"I thought it was seventy-two," Armegon corrected. Ultrecht smiled. "Right, seventy-two. Anyhow, Samson found five ruby coins then and the diamond coin too. I remembered where I got it."
Armegon laughed. "They were worth so much here, and Samson took them with him. How appropriate."
Ultrecht was not so appreciative of the humor. "So what did you learn?"
Armegon told of his visit to the "Odds and Ends". Ultrecht listened quietly without interrupting as he learned of Serpent's deification and Morteous' elevation to the head of the Blackheart clan. He also showed interest in the coincidental fulfillment of the prophesy.
"Maybe we should take a look at that writing some time," Ultrecht noted.
"Right now they are checked out, but the original text is in Tycho," Armegon told him. "I checked at the desk on my way in."
"It might give some insight as to what is expected to happen by some of the powers that be," Ultrecht surmised. "In any event, I’m not sure what to make of Blackpuss and Quickdraw. They are a pair of obnoxious characters."
Armegon closed his pack. "Well we can't worry about it now, we have to get some food and sleep if we’re to fly back to Avery's hideout tomorrow."
"Good idea," Ultrecht said as he jumped to his feet. "Let's go down to the big dining room and order a real meal for a change."
They spent the better part of that afternoon and evening relaxing and making small talk. Armegon went to a local tavern and had a few ales while Ultrecht visited some local acquaintances. They turned in early that evening, and awoke the next morning and left the city.

True to his word, Brandor, the great silver dragon was there to meet them. He had covered himself with an illusion so as to not draw attention. As Armegon and Ultrecht approached the glade, they were greeted with the sight of a wild horse grazing. When the horse saw them coming, the illusion wavered and vanished leaving the dragon in its wake.
"Welcome back gentlemen," the dragon greeted them. "I trust your visit to the Archives was educational."
"Oh, yes, Ultrecht smiled around gritted teeth. We learned so much. We even learned a bit about ancient forms of currency that included coins made of diamond."
Brandor laughed. "It was quite a switch from 'let the buyer beware', was it not?"
"Oh don't worry, there are no hard feelings," Armegon assured the dragon.
"Oh, yes there are," Ultrecht insisted. "But I know when I have been fairly beaten. You’ll pardon me while I hold a grudge."
"I would cease to respect you if you didn't," Brandor replied. "Shall we go? There is plenty of daylight left, and we have a long way to go." Armegon and Ultrecht mounted Brandor's back, and within minutes sailing into the sky. Miguel Blackheart found Tyson in a small garden behind the main hall. His father had ordered the garden's construction when his druidic powers had started developing. Tyson, Miguel knew, occasionally retreated there when something weighed heavily on his mind. "Tyson," Miguel greeted as he sat on a bench in the shade of a willow, "where have you been? We looked for you all morning." "I teleported into Allentown this morning, did Morteous not sense it?" "He probably did, but he too is away. I’ve asked him to travel to Keron with our peace proposal to King Rigel so if he did sense your teleport, he did not deem it important enough to rush back. Actually I think he has gotten used to your unique magical style. I don't think it stands out as much as it used to." Tyson stuffed some pipe weed into a pipe and lit the bowl. He took a long draw and held it inside for a few moments then he slowly let it out. "And the others?" "As you said, they have adapted to hide their presence," Miguel reminded him. "You should do so as well. Need I remind you that there are other warlocks in this world, and any of them are capable of locating you by your use of magic. I am surprised it has not already been tried" "It has," Tyson informed him. "Ultrecht got a warlock named Mestys to locate me and lure me into his trap." Miguel shook his head. "I don't think I know this warlock. Where did you meet him?" "Her," Tyson corrected. "Her? Okay, where did you meet her?" "At the Archives in Allentown. She found me researching and claimed to know an authority on the subject I was reading about. That’s when she lured me into his trap." "I would think that you might ask Morteous to ask her to stay out of your business. He’s probably her superior in their order and can probably get her off your back." Tyson smiled. "That won't be necessary," he said. "I’ve arranged for her to stay out of everyone's business forever." Miguel was disturbed. "You killed her?" "She turned me in to my enemy. I had to do some very fast talking to stay alive. Of course I killed her." Tyson was adjitated. "Well, Morteous won't like it. He could’ve controlled her and the killing of a warlock would normally put you on the very top of their enemy list. And there are a lot of warlocks." Tyson shrugged. "If I’d known I would certainly have consulted him, but I saw it as a personal problem and dealt with it appropriately." Miguel winked. "I think we’ll keep this action of yours a secret; at least for a while. No sense in getting Morteous angry about something unless it’s necessary. He’ll raise a ruckus when he hears about the woman's death, but as long as you covered your tracks well enough we will survive." Tyson sneered. "No one saw me come, no one saw me go, and unless they can travel back in time and catch me in the act, no one saw me break her pretty neck. I left no clues." "That sounds thorough enough," Miguel agreed. Tyson finished his pipe, and emptied the ashes. "Was there something you wanted?" "Wanted?" Miguel asked. "Oh, yes! I am getting ready to travel to Hell and I thought you might be interested in joining me." It was tempting. Miguel always knew where a good party was being held. "No, thank you. I appreciate the offer, and normally I’d accept, but today I think I’ll pass." "Fine then," Miguel said as he climbed to his feet. "Tiona, the House administrator, will be in charge of the political matters and Kana will be in charge of security if you need them. You have been cleared to roam about on your own recognaissance for the most part. The only places you are not authorized to be are locked anyhow so use your spare time as you please. I'll be back either tomorrow or the day after, as will my uncle." Miguel turned to leave. "Until then," he waved and disappeared inside the house. Tyson watched him go. It appeared that he was now considered a top operative of House Blackheart. He would need that clout in the future. For he knew that sooner or later he was going to have to confront Ultrecht and Armegon. He needed to have a trump card in his hand as well as an ace up his sleeve when that happened. But what?