The Greystone Chronicles Book Four: Defenders of the Realm by Dave Willmarth

Author:Dave Willmarth [Willmarth, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-27T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Ancient Enemies

Geb raised his hands and each member of the group received a buff.

Blessing of the Old Ones

Strength and Stamina increased by 5%. Dark vision increased by 30%. Recipient now has an unfailing sense of direction while underground. This is a permanent blessing bestowed by one of a legendary elder race.

There were surprised murmurs among the group. Grimble bowed his head “Thank ye ancient one.” The others quickly followed suit. Geb replied “A small thing. To express my thanks.”

Alexander was eyeing the red stone in the floor. It clearly had some tie to the being they just freed. “Geb? What is this stone?”

“Ah, the node.” Geb moved to stand next to the stone. He held a hand directly above, and Alexander’s Mage Sight showed him a thread of deep red magic rise up from the stone to connect with Geb’s hand. Geb closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His skin color took on a slightly reddish hue.

“There are places of power on Io. Where the nodes expose themselves. This is one of those places.” Geb continued. When he saw blank looks on the faces around him, he said “You do not know of the nodes?”

Alexander shook his head. This was definitely not in any code he’d seen.

Geb took a seat and motioned for them to join him around the stone. He played with the thread of magic, pushing it from hand to hand as he spoke. “Within the depths of Io there is a network, a sort of web of power. All magic, all mana, comes from that power. It pushes up through the earth everywhere like rising water. The flow is slow but constantly permeates everything. Though that is just a fraction of the power. A slow leak. The nodes are direct connections to the web. The terminus of a conduit that reaches nearly to the core of our world.”

Sasha was the first to speak. “This node. It… knows you. It was glad to see you.”

“Heh.” Geb chuckled “Not quite. The node is not sentient, though it does live, in a way. It simply recognizes me. I am its Guardian. We have spent many an age together. After so much time, a bond is formed.” Geb paused to indicate the cage. “Inside there, I was unable to make a connection with my node. So, in a way, you are correct. This is a reunion.”

“Who put you in the cage?” Grimble practically growled the question.

“Demons” Geb spat the word. “They sought to harness the power of the node. It is a battle as timeless as Io itself. Since the demons first arrived, they have sought power above all else. My people, with the help of a few allies, have fought to prevent them from harnessing the power of the nodes. The demons found this one during some war that was being fought up above. A large force of them retreated into this mine and found me. I’m afraid I was no match for so many, though I destroyed them by the hundreds.

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