Chapter 772: Opening the Journal

Chapter 772: Opening the Journal

Uldars throne room was quiet at long last.

The only sounds one could hear were the laboured breathing of Theresa, Grimloch, and Brutus. All eyes were fixed on the dust on the floor attheir feet, the First Apostles body was now nothing more than ashesthe body of a man who had killed one of their friends and terrorised them for far too long.

After months of being hunted, of his life being interfered with, Alex had watched the man die.

There was no more First Apostle to lead the hidden church. The Third Apostle was also dust, and their army crushed. Any threat theyd posed to his family and friends was gone. The threat to him, and everything that that had meant, was gone. The fear that the First Apostle and his followers would have done anything, no matter how desperate and vile to stop them from destroying Uldars evil legacy, was no longer there.RêAd lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only

Nothing like what they had cost Carey, was ever going to happen again. Shed been avenged.

Now

Alex? a welcomed voice spoke his name.

He tore his eyes away from the dust at his feet.

There, standing in front of him, was his fiance, Theresa, his best friend who hed missed with all of his being. He'd been so focused on what killing the First Apostle meant, that hed been lost in those thoughts.

But she was there, like a breaking dawn.

TheresaTheresa! he cried, dropping his staff, and rushing to take her in his arms.

With one smooth motion, she sheathed the Twinblade, and jumped into his waiting arms, folding into him. Thank the Traveller, youre here! You're alright!

They squeeze each other, holding one another close, her head on his chest and him resting his chin on the top of he head. She looked up, grabbed the back of his head and pulled his face down to hers for a deep kiss.

They clung to each other for a long time.

Until they heard someone clearing their throat.

Uh, my names Bjorgrund. Alex heard the giant say awkwardly. Son of Birger.

Grimloch, the sharkman replied. Nice axe.

Thanks.

Alex and Theresa reluctantly separated.

The young giant was looking at them nervously, while the sharkman was eyeing the First Apostles bodiless head.

Brutus limped over to Alex, whining, licking at the young man's hand.

Oh, by the Traveller, Alex cried, Look what they did to you! Well, they wont be around to hurt anyone else. Come on, lets get you healed up. Raising his hands, he placed his palms on Theresa and Brutus, then cast Mana to Life.

The huntress gave a sharp intake of breath, her hands going to her mouth. You make that look so easy nowlook at how fast were healing

The wizard was pouring his energy into her and the cerberus, watching their wounds close. Yeah, no more interference, and not going to lie, it's pretty damn amazing, he said. He eyed the phantom blades hovering nearby. And speaking of not being able to believe things, what are those?

She smiled proudly, placing her hands on her sword hilts. I figured it out, the secret to the Twinblade, I mean. The true secret: great-grandfathers weapon and I are actually one and the same.

That's awesome! Alex said. So it makes phantom swords now?

Among other things! she beamed. I can't wait to tell you about it!

Congratulations you two, Grimloch said.

Healing the sharkman was next. While he did so, Theresa told him what had happened in Uldars sanctum.

She talked about the fight against both the Stalker and the First Apostle, as well as her evolution, Grimloch and Brutus' bravery, and how the fae had met his end.

He sighed with relief when he heard that last part. He transformed? I'm almost sorry I missed it. Almost, he said, looking at the remains of the fae. Oh geez, Asmaldestres gonna be kind of mad she missed that fight. I'll have to tell her that its all over.

Who's this Asmaldestre? Grimloch asked.

Then it was Alex's turn to catch the sharkman and Theresa up on everything that had happened in Keldas sanctum, especially the battle.

Bjrgrund jumped in excitedly, telling them about how he led the secret churchs army through the maze of traps, and helped to finish them off in the end.

Relief was clear in every voice and face in the room.

I can't believe it's actually over, Alex said, grimly. I honestly almost expected them to be hunting me forever.

Well, they're not, and I hope they suffer in the after-world, Theresa said fiercely. I'm glad that the First Apostle got to see his god dead before he joined him.

I'm glad you'll be with us, Theresa said.

Me too, Alex said.

The huntress and the wizard looked at Grimloch, who shrugged. I just met them, so His words were cut off by a gut, shaking belch that ejected a slimy antler from his throat.

It landed on Uldars floor.

The others stared at it.

Oh good, a toothpick, the sharkman picked the antler up, beginning to pick his rows of teeth.

Bjorgrund burst out laughing, his face turning red.

Grimloch looked at him. Were gonna be friends.

We are? the giant asked.

Yes.

There was a moment of silence.

Okay, Bjorgrund shrugged.

Good, the sharkman said, grinding the antler through his teeth.

Alex shuddered, looking at the slimy antler. Well, that was horrible. He turned to the images shifting along the rooms surfaces. By the way, I found a Watcher patrol and teleported them to the gate; I told them what happened, and that the First Apostle and Stalker are the ones who killed their fellow Watchers. Also told them that those two are dead. Theyre taking care of their comrades bodies and watching the gate, so we should be fine here. Alright. The young wizard cracked his knuckles. Now remember, I could just be going down some dead end, but if I'm right

He walked toward the images, then paused, turning instead to the cowhide chair that Uldar would sit in to watch scenes of Thameland. I bet you if theres somethinghidden here, it has something to do with his chair.

He sat down where the god had sat, placing his hands on the armrests.

The young wizard closed his eyes.

Calling on the Mark of the General, he pushed his mana senses into the chair.

This might be a longshot, he said. But, I'm seeing if he had any hidden threads of mana in his chairthough truthfully, its probably more likely that he used divinity. Then again, he used alchemy when he created the Ravenerand the patch on the Mark was a combination of magic and divinityso let's see what we can see. If I can't find anything, then we're gonna have to get Merzhin.

Reaching deeper into the chair, Alex felt around for even the lightest threads of mana, but found nothing.

Nothing at all.

For a moment, he considered giving up for nowit was just an idea after allbut a thought occurred to him. He focused the Mark of the General on the task of finding any mana structures that were similar to Uldars subtle designs of the Mark.

He tried once.

Then again as the Mark guided him.

On the third try, he felt something subtle, lying deep within the chair.

Alex gasped. There's something here!

Theresa took a step toward him. Even Grimloch held his breath.

Over and over he explored the inner workings of the chair; the threads were barely noticeable.

Uldar truly had been an incredibly gifted alchemist; he could even hide the thin mana threads of his work to make an item appear completely mundane. But thanks to the Mark, Alex was able to find what he was looking for.

And how to activate it.

A wave of power blazed through the chair and the images of Thameland were replaced by a blinding white light.

Everyone gasped, shielding their eyes.

The light immediately faded.

A new image formedone so massive that it stretched across every window in the roomall of it was of Uldar; an Uldar who was both very much alive, and looked vigorous.

He looked down with an air of regalness.

The god took a deep breath.

Then spoke.

Living journal, entry one, he said. I might be dying, so I have decided it would be wise to record a chronicle of my life.