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

that you got to the center of the desert and saw what most people can only dream of. And you’re saying it like it’s no big deal!”

“What do you know about the dead giant with the spear in him?”

The girl fell silent and stared out into nothingness. A couple of seconds went by before she replied.

“That was a forgotten era. Lots of books have been written about it, but they were all condemned later as heresy and taken out of print. We had a seminar at the academy about how it was an era of wanderers and wars between the gods. The wanderers killed one of them. The god was from the capital of the Hanay Empire, most of which is desert now. The caliphate is just a fraction of its former power.”

“You mean to tell me that there’s a dead god lying in the middle of the desert, and that the whole thing’s there because of him?”

“That’s what they told us.”

How am I supposed to take that? Bernard is a god? That’s doubtful, and why would a god need to participate in a ritual? How did he ever show back up if he was killed?

“Could it be that the dead god was reborn as a simple mortal mage?”

“I don’t know what it’s like for you, but they promise us the afterlife for a good life and Hell if you’re a sinner.”

I need Bernard to figure out what’s going on. Better not touch anything until I have the whole picture.

Hela, seeing me lost in my thoughts, asked me another question.

“So, you really got to the middle of Hashan?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

“I’m an unusual kid with unusual abilities. But I have something I need you for, speaking of the monsters out there.” Hela smiles, apparently remembering my contract. “I caught a lot of those beasts. Do I have to go to the caliph’s palace myself to get the money?”

“What? That many?”

“A little more than four thousand of the normal ones and three raid bosses.”

“How did you bring all them here?”

“My cart is out back.”

Hela starts laughing louder and louder, finally grabbing her stomach with one hand and the desk with the other. Finally, she replies.

“So, some kid got to the middle of Hashan Desert alone? And he killed thousands of monsters, hauling them back in a cart?”

“That’s what my second question is about, and I have an offer, too. If you agree, I’ll give you a present. I have a lot of loot that needs to be identified…a lot.” Hela stops laughing and glances at the door leading to the back courtyard. “You’d probably like to boost your identification skill, right? When we’re done, you can keep one item…absolutely anything!”

“Deal! We’ll count your monsters at the same time.”

“Okay, but let’s do it tomorrow. For now, I need to make sure my cart is safe until the morning. We’ll get started then.”

I had to run from the desert to Sural itself. After getting some rest, eating, and getting ready for a double day, I log into the game.

We sit there for nearly 24 hours, going through and identifying everything I have. Hela jumps for joy when her identification skill hits 750. I’ve never seen a happier girl.

I’m already starting to get a good picture of the local people and the players. I like people like Hela much more than others. She’s open and kind…and beautiful.

Once we have finished identifying everything, the girl picks some stylish epic boots and I head off.

It wasn’t “death goes to the auction.” I’m just a simple village boy hauling a cart loaded with sacks. People laugh at me and offer to give me a horse, though I decline. A horse would die if I asked it to pull this much weight! If those idiots knew that what I have in these bags is worth a million gold, they’d shut up.

I spend the rest of the day putting up lots, setting minimum prices, and figuring out the auction. Then, I go back to sleep. I don’t have much time left.

The next morning, I drop by the local caliph’s palace. My reputation in the caliphate is up to esteem, so I can buy property or open a shop as soon as I get full access in the game. Just a couple of months left! In a word, the government would like me to stay in the city for a while, maybe even forever. My fantastic reward puts me in a good mood, too. I was way off on the number of monsters I’d killed. There were almost fifty-five hundred, and I got a thousand gold each for the heads of the raid bosses. I walk away fifty-eight thousand gold heavier, though that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what I need. My main income will be from the loot.

I have about thirty hours until trade closes. There are just twenty-five days left until my probation with the Hunters starts, and I need to get home, too. I wouldn’t use a portal even if I could—they only work within continents and log player movement. Guild hunters out looking for criminals and other serious organizations are all that use them. I have at least one god on my list of enemies, and I’m not interested in leaving tracks someone could use to find me.

I need Hela. She probably knows about the city.

“Hi, Miss Hela.”

“Hey, Sagie, what’s new? Need something else identified?”

“Sorry, I don’t have any new boots yet.” I pull my red bucket hat off my head and look at the floor guiltily. The girl laughs. “I’m looking for information about a city, and nobody in Sural will tell me anything about it. With my reputation, too!”

“What’s the city?”

“Zirda.”

Hela looks at me as if I just made a mess.

“If I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you were a bandit. Zirda is in Ovidius, a long way from human and dwarf lands.”

Ovidius is the continent that’s south-west on my map. It’s also home to Imir and my village, which means that