Nemus kept answering Astaroth's questions for a while, satisfying his curiosity as much as she could. When his questions ran dry, she finally undid the surrounding barrier, and the sounds of crickets' stridulation reached his ears.
That's when he looked up and realized what time it was. The room he was in seemed as bright as day, but he noticed why pretty quickly.
All this light emanated from Nemus. She was glowing in a soft white, but bright enough radiance to keep the entire open room lit up like daytime.
He turned to her.
"Talking to you was very… informative. But I have things to get back to. I need to get back to my kingdom and catch up with things there before heading back out to become stronger. So I will take my leave."
As he turned around, ready to leave, he heard Nemus' voice.
"Wait. I can get you to your kingdom faster. Gather the people you want to go with you and come back here. Also, I want you to have this."
Turning to face her again, a scroll slowly floated toward Astaroth. Catching it with his right hand, he unrolled it to check its contents.
*Property Deed: Agnar's Mage Tower*
This document gives you ownership of Agnar's Mage Tower when consumed. All the land attached to it, part of its estate, will be put under your name, or the name of the entity of your wish.
**
Astaroth looked at her, confused.
"What is this? Why would I need a mage's tower?"
Nemus brought her hand to her mouth, stifling a giggle.
"Silly. You are standing in the mage's tower. The land ascribed to his estate is this entire valley. Agnar has long since passed, and I doubt he would mind me giving you this deed. Do with it as you see fit. Now go, gather the ones you wish to have brought back home with you."
Astaroth took a moment to realize the worth of the scroll in his hands. But once he did, he reverently rolled it back up before setting it inside his inventory.
Luna saw him get ready to leave and jumped off the chair she had seated herself in when Astaroth got up. She waddled her way over to Nemus, hugging her.
"Bye Mama Nemus. I'll come to visit, I promise!"
After saying her bit, she released her arms from around Nemus and skipped her way joyfully to Astaroth. The latter stood there slack-jawed.
"Mama? That's what you are going to call a deity?"
"Is it wrong, master?" Luna asked, her head tilting to the side.
'Gagh! She's so cute.'
Scratching the back of his head, Astaroth looked at Nemus, who seemed unbothered by the fact, and he dropped the matter.
"Of course not, as long as she doesn't mind. But we need to do something about how you call me. I'm not sure how well it would look if we went around with you calling me master. I would pass for the most devious guy in town."
"Then how should I call you, master?"
"You can just call me Astaroth. I think that would be fine."
"Ok, Papa Astaroth!"
Astaroth almost immediately coughed blood. She had skipped from one bad appellation to another.
What would people think if they heard him getting called Papa?
"Ahem. Just Astaroth is fine."
"Ok, Papa Astaroth!"
The look of pure innocence on her face made him dread. From the corner of his eye, he could see Nemus giggling to herself, and he shot her a death glare.
She responded to his glare with a wave goodbye, and mouthed out 'Papa' to him, before turning around to laugh to herself.
'I hate my life…'
Walking away, with Luna grabbing his hand, he travelled down the spinning hallway that led back down outside. Once down there, he quickly spotted a group of five who were lounging near the entrance.
When they saw him come out, they hurriedly jumped up and ran toward him.
'I forgot they were here…' Astaroth thought to himself.
"Guild Leader Astaroth! Please, a moment of your time!"
Astaroth sighed silently, wanting nothing more than to relax.
"Yes, Tusk. What can I do for you?"
The Orc player was glad the guild leader had remembered his name and smiled toothily.
"I would like to discuss something with you concerning our position in the guild. Now I know this may sound presumptuous, but I think our deeds here in the last days have earned us a higher station in the guild."
Astaroth could already see where he was going, and his face hardened.
"What did you have in mind?"
The change of tone didn't go unnoticed, and SharpTusk suddenly calmed his enthusiasm.
"Ahh. Yes, well… My friends and I thought that the mission to bring the officer Silent Light to you, as well as defending the shelter afterwards, would at least be worth a small promotion. I wouldn't ask for something as ridiculous as getting an officer's title, but I think we deserve a little recognition."
Astaroth stared at him, his face cold as ice, and SharpTusk's forehead started sweating.
'Such pressure.'
But loosening his demeanour, Astaroth smiled at him.
"Of course. I wouldn't let you stagnate at the bottom after helping me out. But I will not be the one to decide what your actions are worth. Phoenix will be the one to deliberate on it. Come back with me to the base, and we can bring the matter to her."
SharpTusk and his crew sighed in relief. For a moment, with Astaroth's intensity, they thought he would kick them out of the guild for stepping out of line.
"Yes, sir. Of course, sir."
Astaroth nodded at them before asking Silent's whereabouts, and they responded he was in the underground shelter. Astaroth thanked them and descended into the underground shelter to go find him.
After travelling the tunnels downward for fifteen minutes, he reached the shelter. There was activity around the perpetual bonfire, and he headed that way.
When he arrived at the edges of its lighted blaze, he saw something that brought tears to his eyes.
As a soft golden glow dimmed down, Astaroth lunged at Silent Light, grabbing him in his arms into a tight hug.
"Silent Light, you beautiful bastard!"
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶