Gestation by John Gold (love books to read .txt) 📗

have just as many believers. We’ll get back on track as soon as we can rebuild our reputation. Little things like this don’t change what we’re working toward.”

“Little things?” Merlen stared angrily at the god. “Leon, we have invested so much money building our reputation, hiring warriors, and completing quests. We even had humanitarian aid missions going! Now, all that is wasted because we got ahead of ourselves.”

“But that’s not why you’re mad.”

“I’m afraid we’re ruined! As soon as the dragons lift the siege, the other clans will move in for the kill. There are civil wars going on all over the world, and the locals don’t get involved. They have their own problems. Humans and elves are going at it, with a whole village slaughtered in the periphery. Dwarves and orcs are at each other’s throats. We have dragons and war. Leon, it’s about to start, and we can’t pull together enough strength for a powerful hit. As soon as the dragons leave, they’re going to come after us. The only reason people are staying away from us now is because of the dragons, but they’re going to leave us weak and helpless. Our enemies won’t pass up an opportunity like that.”

“And we’re ready for them, Merlen.” Leon got up. “I put together a group of master swordsmen and intelligence mages. Twenty of the warriors will be equipped with obsidian weapons, and we’ll be able to put down any magic cast at us since they’ll get the kind of debuffs that will make them think twice about trying it again after we kill them. It takes an ocean of divine energy to quickly get rid of debuffs like that. I’d rather resurrect ten people than get the debuffs of one killed like that. That’s our trump card when it comes to fighting young gods and mages. We’ll be fine with the rest.”

“War means expenses. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

The young god nodded confidently.

“I’d invest much more if it meant achieving my goals. We haven’t gone through any more than ten percent of the plan, and I don’t see any real danger. Merlen, you’re not looking at the big picture. We don’t have problems; we have an opportunity to fight this war on our terms.”

A silence hung over the room. Merlen went back to his numbers, truly believing in Leon’s plan and looking for something to tell him that he was right. Numbers always soothed him.

Just then, a servant walked into the room and handed Leon a message.

“What’s up?”

“The dragons are going to lift the siege in a week. We’re going to discuss what we owe them in an hour outside the fortress.”

“Finally.”

“Let the allied clans know. We’re starting the bloodiest war this world has ever known.”

Leon got up and looked out the window. The shadow of a dragon flying above the castle blocked out the light for a second, and Merlen caught a glimpse of a predatory smile on the god’s face.

“The dragons are going to be on our side.”

∞ ∞ ∞

In the city of Denev, right near the market, there was a structure with a long canopy. That was where all kinds of different pets and animals for riding were sold, and the local kids had been playing there for the past year. The boys and girls loved riding the creatures, feeding and watering them, and earning some money by taking care of them. The older kids, on the other hand, spent their time out in the country, where they boosted their animals’ skills and levels.

Just then, a girl rode up on a big Bengal tiger, both of them purring happily. The animal’s owner walked up to the pair, patted the girl on the head, and asked her a question.

“Well, Mini, did you like the tiger?”

“Yes,” the girl replied, eyes shining. “Miss, you have no idea. We got away from a whole pack of wolves, and then we helped some kids. After that, some herbalists ran up and asked us to protect them, so I made myself a wreath while we were doing that. I made one for you, too.”

The girl placed a brightly colored wreath on the tiger owner’s head.

“Will you be coming back to take the tiger out?”

“Of course!” She jumped for joy and ran off to boast to the other kids.

A procession of two dozen paladins and priests marched through the city just at that moment. At their head was a blue-eyed girl with long, red hair, wearing a simple white dress with blue stripes. A life aura glowed around her. The locals ran over to the holy girl and asked her to heal them, as she could lift any debuff with just one motion of her hand. There was no spell, injury, or disease that could withstand her divine gift.

There, on the border with the orcs, fights were always breaking out, sometimes with the undead getting involved. The holy girl and her companions had spent the previous month out on long raids clearing the area of the undead and only returning to help the suffering.

Every time the girl’s procession came around, the animal owner watched her carefully and listened to what she had to say. The owner was a woman with plenty of experience behind her, and what she saw wasn’t a holy girl; it was a girl experienced in love who craved the attention of the public. Little details here and there gave her away. The woman also saw the calculation the girl put into what only looked like good deeds.

But she was awfully young to be so clever.

Hannah Quick was the animal owner’s name. Over the previous year, she’d reached Level 350 and earned enough money to buy her own pet. Her experience as a psychologist helped her in the game, too, giving her a way of speaking with both animals and humans. Kids who were problematic in real life became open and happy in the game. Both kids and animals understood emotions, and so it was easy for them to get