CHAPTER 124

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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I turned a page, and the paper rustled, echoing in the empty room. Ahh, even if I had no skin to feel the paper in my skeletal hands, just being able to turn pages and read a physical book again is bliss. Reading something through my Children's eyes isn't the same; it's like looking at a screen. This book was about me; 'The Teachings of The Creator.' A book that is, effectively, my bible.

Aside from having no input in its writing, editing, or publishing? I agreed with basically everything in here. The bible comparison wasn't that far off, actually. It was full of lessons and examples, and I was just finishing the first lesson. 'Be a good person without expecting a reward, and treat others how you'd wish to be treated in their place.' There were a decent number of metaphors and stories mixed in there, but that was what it boiled down to.

I hummed and turned a page. There was a choking noise, and I looked up, turning my bare drake-kin skull towards the room's entrance. There, a group of Children stood, eyes wide and jaws agape.

"Well, come in," I encouraged, waving my free hand around the large, circular council chambers. It hadn't taken long to hold this dungeon-wide meeting in the Drake-kin's council chambers. Being on the seventh floor, it was relatively central and set up to accommodate large meetings. "Your seats have your species name on them because I wasn't sure who'd be sent. The others shouldn't be far."

Nervously, they entered. The first four to arrive were the Drake-kin, Kobold, Snowbold, and Capriccio delegates, the main species of the 'upper' and 'middle' floors. Those designations may change as I dig deeper. The Drake-kin shaman council had chosen their representative the day before, their Light Shaman, Vera Brightscale, in this chamber. The shamans of the Kobold Tribes and Snowbold villages had done similarly, choosing the strongest of their own to represent them; Daka and Luce Icescale, respectively. The Capriccio's mayoral council had chosen one of their mayors to attend, Baassi.

Even though I invited them, the Ratten declined and only said something about not caring for diplomacy. The Fungal Hivemind might be smart, but it wasn't fully sapient or self-aware, likewise for the Fish and Crabs. They were smart, and their Bosses were indeed sapient, but neither had a spoken language and had rejected invitations. The rest of the monsters on floors Zero through Eight were, again, smart but still animals. Even the ants.

The Snowbold Delegate did bring his bonded partner, a Three-Tailed Fox. The Kobold Shaman also brought his bonded partner, a Phoenix. Hmm, he looked familiar, too. Perhaps one of Teka's kids? The other delegates didn't have bonded partners. Still, as conversation between them started again and questions were asked, I could see contemplation in the Drake-kin and Capriccio's eyes. I didn't peak at what they were thinking of, though. If they wanted a bond, they would ask.

The next to enter were Asterion and Strikes-The-Air. Asterion paused, grunted, and then moved to find his seat. Strikes did that elaborate bow that Scorpans did and joined Asterion. Again, though floors Nine and Ten had some clever monsters, like the Rabbits who'd organized themselves into little societies, they still weren't sapient. Bright, certainly, with above-average intelligence, definitely. But they had no cohesive language or larger community.

The next group was the largest: All the Courts' representatives and the three Children species on the Eleventh Floor. The Crabfolk had sent their Pirate King, the amusingly named Spack Jarrow. No, I didn't name him. He named himself, as far as I'm aware. The Wyvern-kin had sent one of their Air-aligned members, who'd been babbling to the stoic Pirate King as they'd entered. The final delegate was Metis herself, walking in with her own two humanoid legs. Her long whale tail bounced behind her, and she was clothed in a Greek peplos-like dress.

Yes, I'd gotten the humanoid-oceanid transformation to work. It worked both ways at will, though it cost a fair amount of mana to fuel the transformation, limiting it to a single use per day. Now, I needed to work on adding new transformations to the existing enchantment, and it would be ready to use on Instinct's body. Speaking of, I needed to start on that... Ah. A snag. Where the hell was I going to get a living body without a soul in it's manacore?

As I contemplated this, the Children and Court delegates took their seats. Every single Court had sent a Spirit-level representative. If their King or Queen was their only spirit, they were here in person, though a decent chunk were Fairies now and too large and/or powerful to travel so far from their base of power.

When everyone was seated, I sent Kata the signal to enter with her companions.

Kata was the first through the doorway, her rainbow-hued transparent wings spread wide. By the brief look of surprise, I could tell she hadn't expected to see my avatar but took it in stride. She had a seat directly beside mine and quickly made her way over after signaling the rest to stay behind.

I looked down at the group, the teal flames in my skull's orbits locked on them. It was Showtime.

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Council Chambers, The Seventh Floor, The Dungeon.

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"Welcome all to the second dungeon-wide council meeting," The skeletal being spoke, its voice echo-y and ethereal. Halley was frozen, staring at the being. What was it? Was it an undead!? That voice, though... "There are plenty of new faces here, including my own. I have called this meeting to discuss old and new threats and our response to them in the coming months. But first, a quick summary for those who couldn't have known. Shortly after the port town was established on my Island, a bounty was announced for my destruction." ȐἈΝΟ𐌱Ɛ§

My Island? My destruction? Halley was beginning to realize something; a theory formed in her mind as the being continued.

"All comers failed. Later, the Phenoc royal family was assassinated, and there was to be a simultaneous invasion of the Phenoc Kingdom by the Bahrain Empire. That invasion attempted to use my Island as a staging point, though they were rebuffed at every turn and slaughtered. It was no accident that my Island was targeted, and from what I learned from one of the leaders of said invasion, their doing so was thanks to a deal made by the traitor that killed the Phenoc royals."

Halley had read of an invasion in The Teachings but not its context. It'd been meant for Theona? She'd lived in a coastal city. Would they have been one of the first to invade? Why wasn't this knowledge more widespread! Knowing Atlantis had taken the full weight of a continental invasion and repulsed it was incredible. Still, she hadn't even heard of this Island beyond rumors since before the Children had turned up in her city.

"Now, I believe the same actor has moved again." The skeletal being continued. There was no doubt in her mind about this being's identity in Halley's mind now as He waved down at her and the Children standing with her. "MyChildren, who left for the mainland, were driven from Blackwater Bay by a group of bloodthirsty Guilders. I already had a deal with Count Kolchiss to remove my Children. He had no reason to call for guilders to slaughter them, and I received a message to that effect while they were in transit. Someone sent a forged call to arms to nearby cities using his seal. He learned of the deception from the Guilders themselves, though they remain unaware. They are bloodthirsty and conveyed to him their intent to call a crusade against my Island to wipe out the scourge of Monsters who'd attack innocent humans and to destroy the dungeon that birthed them."

This was The Creator. A Transcendent Dungeon. A being so powerful and kind and generous...

"My Children, we once again face invasion," The Creator continued gravely. "Notby an army of otherwise normal humans with the aid of Guilders, but a concerted strike by the most powerful guilders alive. The Best of the best. The strongest of the strong. Templars, Champions of the Gods of humanity. We will be ready for them, and our preparations will be discussed over the next few days. First, though, there is another matter to deal with. Halley of Blackwater Bay. Step forward."

Halley took a deep breath. A hand on her shoulder had her turn to Baalzebub, who nodded encouragingly with a kind smile. She'd gotten good at identifying her friend's expressions over the last month. Standing straighter, she stood forward. Though she'd already talked to The Creator on the ship, somehow it was so much more intimidating when His body was a skeletal Drake-kin than when he possessed that giant Seagull.

"Halley, you are here to represent my human followers, who fled Blackwater Bay and have been granted asylum," He addressed her with a nod. "Though you were unaware of the consequences at the time, the damage has been done. Because of choices already made, you have another choice before you, which all your fellows will have to make."

"Choices already made?" Halley questioned, doing her best to keep her voice level. "What damage?"

"By acknowledging and worshiping me above the gods of humanity, you have inadvertently removed the Life goddess's protection of your body."

Halley felt her blood run cold, "W-what? Wait, is it just me or the others too?"

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I have only confirmed the lack of protection around you. The others would need to enter the dungeon, so I might do the same. You are not the first, but I have yet to claim you as I claimed them. Your choice is a simple one. Though I haven't confirmed it, I have a theory that once again venerating the human's gods will grant you Life's protection once more. Again, though, this isn't confirmed. You will remain on the surface, in the port town, until you wish to leave. That is your first option."

Halley nodded, calming down. It was one thing to hear of His generosity and kindness, but still allowing them sanctuary even if they didn't worship him anymore was another thing. Wait, did He say He already had a human follower?!

"The second is to have me claim you, as I did my first human worshiper. You will become part of the dungeon and may live within it. You could settle on any of the villages or towns in the dungeon, and I would make it known you are to be welcomed. I would offer some changes and modifications if you wished for them, but it would be your choice to accept it or not. I hold the right of my Children to make their own decisions sacrosanct."

Halley could only nod once more, her mind racing. He had a human worshiper. He offered changes he had likely already made to said worshiper.

"The third is to do nothing. Continue to worship me, but don't accept my claim of you. To live on the surface without my protection could invite other gods or beings to corrupt you, as they once did in antiquity. I couldn't guarantee your safety from beings such as them. However, you would still be under my protection as a citizen of my Island."

Halley's eyes lingered on The Voice, the only being with skin and scale in the room. A seamless blending of Drake-kin and human. On meeting the woman, she'd thought The Creator had made her something more relatable to humans on the surface. But what if the changes were her

choice?

The rainbow-scaled woman locked eyes with Halley, and... There! She'd winked!. Halley was right, she was the human worshiper. Or was it ex-human?

"Halley, I will be generous and give you three days to choose rather than demanding one here and now. Spend some time with your fellow refugees and convey to them the choice they must make. Be warned, though, that the guilders and humans of the town above must remain unaware of the full extent of your second choice. To the others, Say only that they have three options; to abandon worship of me, live in the dungeon under my protection, or live on the surface under my protection. Only those who choose the dungeon will be given the full explanation.

Halley bowed. "Thank you, Creator. I will do as you wish."

She stood back, and the meeting continued. Halley wasn't paying much attention. She had bigger things to worry about.

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The Port, Blackwater Bay, Theona

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Tamesou Akio couldn't believe that the plan was going this well. Once they'd gotten a response containing the date the ship would be arriving, they began to organize the rumor. Three days later, the ship pulled into port. The 'Good Tidings' was a merchant ship and looked like it had legitimate trading to do if the crates they were loading and unloading said anything.

The next day, their plan went into action. Across the city, the rumor they'd crafted spread like wildfire. A Minotaur, one of the monsters left behind in their haste to escape, had been spotted in the upper district. A dozen rumors disagreed about which house exactly, which street and even the color and size of the minotaur changed. The one constant was that it'd been seen there. The increased patrols around the upper district and lower guard numbers near the port were all the confirmation they'd taken the bait that the teens and minotaur needed.

That night, as soon as it was totally dark, they'd moved.

They'd kept to the darkest alleyways, away from the main streets. They moved through houses where they had to, aided by the sympathetic. The port was almost totally empty of guards and full of ships. At the far end of the docks, in the closest berth to the harbor's entrance, was the Good Tidings. Sophie was instrumental in hiding the group as they snuck past the few remaining patrols.

When they reached the gangplank, a well-dressed man stood at the top, keeping a lookout. He waved them up and hissed a warning as they passed. "We can't leave till morning; the watchtowers by the harbor have orders to fire their cannons at any ship leaving at night. We've got a spot we can hide you down in the hold."

"Thanks, mate," Bruce whispered back. They snuck down into the ship, past rows of hammocks full of snoring sailors.

"Only the captain and I know about you," the man guiding them whispered as they walked down another set of stairs. "The men can't spill a secret they don't know. There's a secret compartment at the front of the hold, an empty space we normally use for really valuable cargo. It's blocked off from the rest of the hold by this wall. There's enough food and water for the journey and then some."

"We can't thank you enough, sir," Elize said earnestly. The man chuckled as he pulled open what Akio realized was an entire fake wall. The hinges were cleverly hidden, and the latch all but invisible. There were plenty of large crates they could move in the way to hide it, though. It looked like they were on sleds, which would make it easy for them to move around.

"Name's Gresh, and I'm no sir, kid. It's not like we're doing this for free," He explained as they "We're being given some real valuable metal for the trouble. Look, just stay here and stay quiet. The guards will be down to inspect the ship and hold it in the morning before we're allowed to cast off. Stay quiet, and you'll be fine."

With that, he closed the wall behind him, leaving very little light shining through the cracks in the planks. Even that faded as the man left with the lantern. A quick spell later, though, and Akio summoned a Light Sprite. The tiny thing floated around the ceiling, shedding a soft glow on the four humans and the minotaur.

"I can't wait to get home," Ossydus said, longing in every word. "There was a cow in my village I really liked, never did get to ask her out."

"What was her name?" Sophie asked, settling on a blanket next to the ship's outer wall.

"Penne," Ossydus answered, wistfully. "She had the most beautiful horns, pure white and curved just right. She moved like a princess, elegant and graceful." The minotaur slumped. "Who am I kidding. She probably doesn't even remember me."

Elize reached over and pat the minotaur on his knee. "It's alright. I'll bet she's just waiting for you to come home. And If she's moved on with someone else, well, there are plenty of other gir- cows, right?"

"Not really," Ossydus said, dejected. "It's a small village."

They only talked for a little while longer before Akio dismissed the sprite, and they fell asleep. He wasn't sure how long they slept, but he felt like it wasn't enough. When he woke up, Akio could hear the sailors' loud conversation as they organized the hold. At one point, he heard Gresh ordering people about. One order stood out to him.

"Move that crate of cannonballs to the back there!" A few voices agreed, and soon enough, there was a loud thump as a crate was pressed right up against the fake wall in front of the handle. Akio shared a grin and a thumbs-up with the others, who all looked pleased. As ordered, they remained quiet for a few hours more as activity slowly died off.

Just when they thought it would be over, a really familiar voice.

"-nd it's my job to make sure no one sneaks out of the city, captain. We're doing this with every ship. If you've nothing to hide, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" Guard-Captain Heliat said, presumably to the ship's captain.

"Of course! Feel free to look all you like, sir," another man, the captain probably, said. His voice sounded strained, and he gave a nervous laugh.

Akio started to get nervous, too, and the others looked just as nervous. Ossydus, though he didn't know the man searching for them, picked up on their unease. Though he tried a confident smile, Akio could see it was getting to him, too. As the guards and Heliat got closer and started checking in and around the crates, Akio decided they needed to do something. Heliat was no slouch, he'd definitely find them.

He did have that spell he'd been trying to get to work since he'd seen Sophie do it. Akio waved everyone into the back corner of the room, where Ossydus was. He'd make far more noise if he moved around than the four of them.

Akio gathered everyone close and brought up his shield, sending Ama his intentions. The gemstone sent back the image of him, giving a thumbs up.

They were moving the crate by the fake wall. It was now or never.

He channeled the spell, keeping a very specific mental image, and sent the mana down through his arm and into the shield. Unlike when he usually did that, the magic pooled and collected for a second, then burst out around the group from the edges of the shield, forming a dome.

With an "Aha! What do we have here!" Heliat opened the fake wall. They'd not opened the crates and barrels of food yet, and so there was no food lying about. Akio's eyes landed on the blanket they'd slept on the night before at the same time Heliat's did. Shit! Heliat stepped into the room, eyes like a hawk. He looked around the room, his eyes glancing right over them without seeing. It'd worked! They were invisible! A man who could only be the ship's captain quickly followed. He looked like a stereotypical swashbuckler, wearing a big hat with a feather in it.

"See, nothing here! I normally use this space to hide stuff that might tempt the crew. My best alcohol, fine jewelry, and such. Haven't needed to use it in months, actually."

"And I suppose it makes a fine place to hide illicit goods, Captain Hart?" Heliat asked, turning a raised eyebrow at the captain. The man laughed guiltily, rubbing a hand on the back of his head.

"What?! Me, a smuggler? Oh, you've got the wrong man, my good sir. I'm a simple merchant, you see?"

"We'll see."

Luckily, the corner they were hiding in was also empty of crates. The guards that searched the barrels and crates didn't bother to search an empty space.

"Fresh food, a blanket... It seems like you've had a stowaway, dear captain." Heliat drawled.

"A stowaway?!" Captain Hart exclaimed, eyes wide as he looked at the secret compartment. "I suppose it's possible. I haven't even been back here in weeks. It could be that someone was trying to sneak into the city. That big crate was only loaded last night after we got into port. It hasn't been moved since so they must have snuck off the ship yesterday."

"Where did you sail from, If I may ask?"

"Eh? We came from that Island off the coast. Pretty place. Atlantis, they're calling it now. I was the one that discovered it, you know? Gresh! Where are the papers!?"

"Right here," Gresh said, stepping forward into the now mostly empty room with a clipboard in hand.

"Ah! Thank you, my friend," The captain replied, taking the clipboard and scanning it. "See here, sir? Left Atlantis three days ago, set to head down the coast to Baliba. Should get there next week if the winds are favorable. In two weeks, if not."

"I see... Perhaps my quarry wasn't left behind then... perhaps it snuck in on your ship, for what purpose I wonder..." Heliat wondered, rubbing his beard. "I'd recommend you don't go back to that Island, captain. It's a den of bloodthirsty monsters who'll soon be getting what's coming to them."

"Th-thank you for the warning, sir. I'll be sure to stay away."

With one last glance around the room, Heliat turned and left. Captain Hart and Gresh shared a look. Gresh cleared his throat loudly. Akio was confused, but Bruce seemed to understand as he quietly cleared his throat. There was a sigh of relief from the two sailors before they left and shut the compartment again. The crate was pushed back into place, and their voices trailed off as they walked away with Heliat and escorted him off the ship.

It was only after ten minutes, Akio counted, that he said anything.

"Well, that invisibility spell works, at least."

"You didn't even know if it'd work!??" Sophie exclaimed.

"Idiot! Stupid!" Elize joined her

Akio cowered under the force of two teenage girls hitting his raised arms, calling him every name under the sun. He didn't mind, though.

They'd escaped, after all!

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