Pantheon Online

Chapter 99 - The World Turns

On a blood-soaked field heavily armoured knights on different sides rained blows down on one another! Getrund who wielded a mace, savagely beat and dented his opponent's armour as he drove him to the ground. He breathed heavily as his opponent struggled to lift his sword to defend himself anymore.

"Your King is a fool! He should have accepted our King's offer to merge our countries into one!" Getrund laughed as nothing but groans came from the man at his feet. "Don't worry! Rejoice! The great God Arthur will smile upon your lands soon enough!"

Getrund swung his mace overhead and delivered the final blow. Putting his opponent out of his misery. His eyes scanned the battlefield to see that they were winning. He could hear the names of the Camelot Pantheon being shouted all over the place. A satisfied grin spread across his face as he gave thanks to the gods for allowing him to defeat his enemies.

'With Arthur watching over us, we will surely rule all of these lands soon.' Getrund thought about the possible future where the commoners would never have to fear war ever again. 'The other rulers are being too stubborn. They cling to power at the cost of their people.' Getrund let out a long sigh as his eyes swept over the piles of bodies...

Meanwhile, in a special room somewhere unknown...

"We have to report to the king at once!" Thovok announced as he glanced at the glowing gems in the room. 

Then, he remembered that he was the only one there. 'Ugh, I forgot... It's been centuries since anyone else came in here.' Thovok's eyes seemed to look into the distant past as he stroked his long grey beard down to his round belly. His eyes wandered over the gems set in the black painted ceiling of the room. Resembling something like a bright starry sky.

'Hm... The gods have returned. We can finally continue our research!' Thovok nodded happily as he walked under the gems, looking at a certain batch in particular. This lot seems to be close if I take the tunnels into Skardia. I have to convince the King to let us make contact.

The issue with that was the fact that his race had kept themselves hidden deep underground for all of this time. After the gods vanished, the other races were desperate to pillage their strongholds and steal the wealth that they hoarded. 'It should be fine if it's the Skardians...' Thovok hummed as he remembered fighting by their side centuries ago.

'We had a good relationship with them and they never turned on us...' He shook his head slowly as he turned to leave the room. Stepping outside, he looked over the edge of the suspended bridge that led here. The city below was bustling with Dwarves mining the rock to expand the city and going about their daily business.

"We'll finally step foot outside of the mountains once again..." A glimmer of light appeared in his eyes as he watched his kinsmen unknowingly go about their daily routines.

Meanwhile, in a dark forest far away...

Amrede lashed out with her dagger and only just managed to deflect the sharp claws aimed towards her. The small amount of sunlight that broke the canopy reflected off her dark grey skin and white hair as she spun to face her assailant. 

"Surrender!" A low growl escaped from her enemy. "You Dark Elves are all the same! The moment the gods returned you went back to your old ways!"

"And what about you? We knew that you Warbeasts would do the same!" Amrede stared silently at the heavily armoured panther type Warbeast as he walked towards her on two legs. His green feline eyes studied her every movement.

"We are merely preparing! This was not for you but to deal with the other tribes and make them understand our gods are the ones they should worship!" 

Amrede snorted as she prepared herself to flee. She did not buy his story in the slightest. Before the Warbeast could get any closer, she used the spell she had at the ready. Allowing her body to meld into the shadows of the forest. The Warbeast roared in outrage as he sniffed at the air, trying to catch her scent...

Meanwhile, in a rocky outcrop near the edge of a waterfall...

Khargra, a warchief of the Red Orcs, kneeled before what looked to be a large boulder. He grunted in low tones several times, as if he were becoming impatient. Suddenly, the boulder began to move. The front of it was actually four rocky arms wrapped around the creature's legs as it was curled up to sit there. It stood up on two legs at a towering height of seven and a half feet.

Khargra looked up into the ancient rocky eyes that stared down at him and swallowed. "Great Elden! The gods have returned! We orcs remember what most do not. Join us! And we will reclaim your lost lands!"

The Elden stared long and hard at Khargra before nodding its head slowly. A humming noise echoed from its body as it turned towards the waterfall. Several minutes passed before the Elden waved its hands through the air like a conductor of an orchestra. The flowing water moved away from the rock and turned horizontal as it led far away into the lands below.

Khargra grinned as he stroked his broken tusk. 'These lands have kept us prisoner for long enough!'

At the same time that these events were happening in other places...

Horns blew on the docks of a Skardian coastal city. The people chattered excitedly as they rushed to see the ships that had been spotted. Most of them were excited to see what treasures they would carry. While others were concerned about what would happen to them with the return of their king...

The whole world was on the move. What changes it would bring in the future was anyone's guess. There were still five game days left until the players would return. But what new problems and exciting opportunities would be waiting for them?