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Torn God: Watcher of Deep Places (Web Novel) - Book 4: Chapter 8 Entreaties [Part 1]
Book 4: Chapter 8 Entreaties [Part 1]
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
“Those who walk the path of the warrior must make a friend of death, the unwanted companion.”- Unknown.
With Canis leading, we strode into the empty streets of the city and the storm. The Adventurer’s Guild’s two Anemancers, identical twins with dull brown hair and wild, dead eyes as turbulent and mad, danced around us as we marched toward our designated mission ground. Canis planned to summon the Djinn from the heavens and have the Geomancers temporarily anchor the creature to the earthly plane, grounding it.
It was all mystical gobbledygook to me, but I knew I would get what I wanted either way.
“Hurry!” shouted Guildmaster Canis as we arrived in the Grand Bazaar, now as empty as a grave save for a thin layer of sand over its yellow stones.
Almost in response to his call, the wind began to swell, spurring the others to greater efforts. The adventurers left from the Contest of Knives, or those who had not participated at all, were all here to challenge the storm’s power. Warriors tightened their grips on their weapons, and those who wielded the Mana’s Song clutched their staves and charms, all under the watchful eye of a calm, composed Canis.
The twins whirled into a more frenzied dance, tossing small slips of rune-marked paper into the air, their bodies leaping and twisting as if possessed. The wind seized the papers, lifting them high above, scattering their cryptic message into the churning heavens.
Then I felt it—a tension, heavy and oppressive, pressing down on my senses, thickening with each passing second. The twins let out a sharp, ululating cry, a beckoning to the storm, a call to the Djinn.
At the same moment, the Geomancers knelt, their hands pressed firmly to the stones beneath us, prostrating themselves as if in prayer. About the square adventurers rushed to place bright Zajasite. The stones glowed with an intense, pulsing light. Perhaps these stones were part of the spell—some arcane anchor to bind the Djinn. Or perhaps, they were mere beacons, calling the creature down from its heavenly realm.
And the Djinn descended, lured by the scraps of mortal promise. It emanated a wildness, a need to be free, that resonated with a part of me. It was a creature of ethereal air and shifting sand, its form ever-changing yet hauntingly graceful. Wispy tendrils of wind coiled around it, swirling with particles of desert sand. Its body suggested a feminine shape—curves like the sweep of dunes, with flowing, indistinct features that drift and reform constantly. Eyes, if they can be called that, were glowing embers hidden within its mist, watching with an intense, almost human intelligence. The Djinn exuded both an aura of allure and menace.
A sliver of regret filled me as I looked to Enkidu's spear. Without any imbued magic, this weapon would be useless against such a foe. Reluctantly, I handed it to a wild-eyed clerk Aldina, telling her to keep it for me. It would taste the blood of the coward Canis and the Enchantress Kaila, but against a Djinn, I needed something more powerful.
I drew Bellringer, readying myself. Yet, a strange hesitation held me back. Despite its alien nature, the Djinn felt oddly familiar, as if it was calling to a part of me I had long forgotten.
Curiosity stirred within me, sparking an overwhelming need to understand. I cast Sage's Sight upon it.
Zariyah Al’Abadi - Wind Mage [Consumed Human lvl.28]
Health: 1190/1190
Stamina: 112/115
Mana: 28/34
Greater Wind Spears (lvl.5)
Relentless Gust (lvl.5)
So I had my answer, and with this new clarity, my will faltered. For the first time since I had come to this land, I did not want to fight. I did not want to fight Zariyah, or whatever it was she had become, no matter the undoubted wealth of experience such a kill would offer.
And a Consumed Human? What was that? I thought to myself as a feeling of dread skittered across my soul.
My hammer felt heavy in my hands, my armor a weight pressing down on my shoulders.
Suddenly, a great cry rose from the Earth mages, the Geomancers, as they unleashed their carefully prepared spell. The ground erupted in an explosion of earth and raw stone, rising to form a dome around the entire area, blocking out the sun. Now I understood why the adventurers had placed glowing Zajasite around the Grand Bazaar.
The adventurers let out a great battle cry, echoing up and down their lines. Mages unleashed a torrent of magical energy at Zariyah, the Djinn. In response, the creature summoned a wall of air and sand, deflecting most of the etheric attacks, though a few still broke through, chipping away at its Health.
The Djinn howled in pain and rage, retaliating with a blade of air and sand aimed at the front line. Two adventurers, perhaps of lower rank, were struck down. One was bisected at the waist, her death nearly instantaneous. The other lost both legs below the knee, his cries of agony drawing his comrades’ attention. A quick-thinking Geomancer raised a wall of stone to protect the wounded adventurer, shielding him and his rescuers as they rushed to apply much-needed healing potions.
I realized then that the adventurers couldn’t see the Djinn’s attacks—only their devastating effects. I, however, could perceive them, if only as faint impressions. I saw the shape of a long, thin spear, launched with Zariyah’s fury, drive straight through another would-be slayer, piercing a fist-sized hole in his chest.
Was this due to my spell, Sage’s Sight? Interesting.
Even I would struggle to handle Zariyah alone; what hope did these weaklings have against such a powerful creature? I glanced at the Guildmaster, noting that he made no move to join the fray. The answer dawned on me—he was sacrificing his men, feeding them to his mad goddess, almost literally. He was also wearing down the Djinn, its Mana reserves depleting with each spell it unleashed to kill.
Noticing my gaze, he turned to me, framed by the cries of the wind and the screams of the dying. “Move, Gilgamesh of Uruk! Did you not promise to aid us?”
His command grated on me. How dare this mere ant speak to me so? I answered him with silence.
“Are you truly without honor? Can’t you see what’s happening? If you don’t help us, we’ll all die here,” he snarled, desperation breaking through. “Do something, damn you!”
Danger threaded each and every one of his words. Nearby, the Gold and Silver adventurers reached for their weapons. I could see in their expressions that things would soon escalate into more violence.
“What did I say about attempts to besmirch my honor, Canis?” I shouted, my voice cutting through the swirling hurricane in miniature under the stone dome. “Did I not say I would end you?” I said, undeterred by the threat presented against me.
He closed his eyes, struggling to regain his composure, or whatever passed for self-control. “Gilgamesh... please, I’ll settle accounts with you later… This is not the time!” Canis pleaded.
