Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3) by John Gold (novel24 TXT) 📕

some very cold places. My heavy armor kept me sinking into the snow, and she called me a fatty; I called her an idiot. Ultimately, we got on each other’s nerves, and it was great. But all good things must come to an end.” LJ fell silent, thinking back to the most unpleasant part of his story. “No, I’m not ready to talk about what happened after that. All I’ll say is that it’s the reason I’m here.”

The group thanks LJ for his story. Isaac turned to whisper to Femida.

“That sounded like Sagie’s story, just retouched.”

Femida nodded. She’d caught the similarities, too.

The meeting went on for another hour, though LJ didn’t pay any more attention to Isaac. In fact, he did his best to pretend that he didn’t exist. When the group dispersed, Femida stopped the newcomer. She mentioned to him what was bothering her as they left the creativity building.

“Your story was awfully similar to Sagie’s. I knew him personally, so I take issue with that. If you’re here on a quest from the gods and decided I know where he’s hiding, you’re going to be very disappointed. We haven’t seen each other in five years. There’s nothing to tell.”

Cinder fell on the prison’s magic dome and burned away without getting inside. Somewhere off in the distance, a tongue of flame licked at the stone arch at the top of the enormous cave. Three small human figures stood at the gaping vertical shaft at the center of the island. Femida watched the workers toil, bringing up new loads of ore. The day shift was pulling themselves up the ladder after a long day of hard work.

The mine was big enough for a whole castle to fit inside, and it dropped three kilometers down to where the richest mithril deposits were.

LJ ignored Femida, his eyes on Isaac’s plate armor boots. He was barefoot and wearing a worn, striped outfit. But where had he possibly gotten his clothing singed?

“Those are nice boots. Lord sandals?”

Isaac didn’t react.

But Femida didn’t like the newcomer’s attitude. She was in charge in Valhalla, and she wasn’t used to getting treated like that. Her hands involuntarily clenched the railing tighter.

“LJ, I’m talking with you. Do people the courtesy of listening when they do that.”

The boy turned and looked at her as though she didn’t exist. An animal, a piece of decor, nothing worth respect. Then he asked her a question she wasn’t expecting in the least.

“And who are you?”

“Femida. You wanted to talk with me, no?”

Human, Femida, Level 833

The young man glanced up at the script, doubt flickering in his eyes.

“If you’re Femida, answer me this. How are your sister swordswomen doing? Still having a hard time beating you?”

“…fine. I haven’t seen them in a while. Why, do you have news?”

LJ didn’t react.

“Hm. No, I was just wondering.”

Femida turned away and took a breath. The view of the vertical descent and the people climbing up the ladder helped calm her nerves a little—the newcomer knew Femida personally. Then, she felt a light shove in the back, after which the bottom of the shaft started approaching quickly. The fall was quiet. Even though she did scream, nobody heard her, as the sound was swallowed up by the thick air. Her thoughts tumbled, one after another, as she tried to figure out what was going on.

LJ had come for Femida.

***

So much time wasted. Isaac jumps into a combat stance and is about to take a swing at me with his sword—I need to calm him down.

“Who even was that? And she called herself Femida?”

Isaac relaxes slightly, though his sword stays poised.

“In the Sea of Calm, Sagie came across an ‘interesting inhabitant,’ as you put it. Who was it? And what was strange about it?”

“Fem, how many non-level shapeshifting cats have you seen in your life? I’ve seen two. One was in the Sea of Calm; the other just recently, in Kkhor.”

Isaac’s sword was turned away, the tip resting on the ground between his feet—just like Femida during the Hunters trial.

“Prove that you’re Sagie.”

“Would a dwarf hammer do the trick? Or should I call you the fat idiot I promised to make a sword for?”

Isaac drops his sword and looks down at his hands as they clench and unclench.

“I’m going to strangle you!”

“Let’s leave the hugs for later.”

“I’ll crush you to death!”

“Just skip the amplification, otherwise you’ll break my neck. But whatever, go ahead.”

“Where have you been this whole time, you idiot? It’s been almost six years! And here you are, showing up in prison like it’s just another city.”

“A coma…that’s all I know,” I reply, throwing my hands up theatrically. “I need to head back to the clinic and go through an exam so they’ll say I’m healthy.”

“One more question. What’s your name in real life?”

“Hm, I never told you that.”

“But I know what it is. I know what your name is right now, too.”

“So, Bak Kvan was your doing?”

Isaac nods.

“What happened after I disappeared?”

Isaac slips his sword into the sheath on his back.

“You died from the meteor’s recoil, and then you came back to life as a lich. Leon ran off and survived the explosion; Talamei and Miridia were killed. Then, death showed up and killed your lich. It was a pretty epic battle, and you even managed to kill Margul during it. After that, I started running around the world while I hatched a plan. I used the information I had to find your carcass in real life and take you to safety, and then I was caught twice and thrown in prison. I was much better prepared the third time around. As you can see, we’re in jail, and I’m not wearing the same kind of negator bracelet you’re