Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ruwen held his breath, shocked at the last statement. He had not told Tarot his name. It was possible he’d overheard Ruwen’s first name, but certainly not his last. That meant the golem maybe had access to hidden knowledge. It certainly made him take the Thieving Misfortune Golem more seriously.

Ruwen opened his mouth to ask, but Tarot lifted a tiny finger.

“No questions,” Tarot said. “Concentrate on the deck and choose three cards. Your reading awaits.”

Ruwen frowned and stepped backward to better see the all the cards. Many of the other Adepts now watched, attracted by the giant circle of cards. The Founders remained close, and he sensed Sift just behind him as well. Ruwen felt self-conscious with all the attention and worried about what the cards might reveal.

With a sigh of relief, Ruwen realized he might be the only one here who could understand the golem, but he guessed everyone would see his three cards. He could just walk away and avoid any embarrassment or compromise of his plans, but his curiosity had roared to life, and he knew he couldn’t do that.

Ruwen remembered reading a book on various methods of divination and he wondered if a Narrator had spawned from that. He didn’t want to take the time to enter the Citadel or Fortress in his mind, so he just sent a mental message to Sivart, the Narrator that had spawned from the manifesto of the Mist Wraith Talker. Sivart had taken charge of Ruwen’s mental world while Overlord searched for Uruziel.

Sivart? You around? Ruwen asked.

Effective generals are always listening, Sivart replied.

Great. Do we have a Narrator in there that knows anything about card divination?

Divination is a desperate leader’s last mistake. After a pause, Sivart continued. Although I must admit everyone enjoys Premonition’s company, even if her prophetic ability is highly subjective.

When Rami had triggered her third evolution, it had granted Ruwen some passives. One of them, Split Personality, enhanced his mental constructs by his Cleverness Attribute, which had reached two hundred and two percent. This had thankfully allowed Sivart to talk almost normally, although the Narrator still liked to use his proverbs.

I’m going to assume Premonition is the Narrator. Can you ask her if she’s ever heard of Tarotmethiophelius or a style of card divination using seventy-eight cards?

“You are a real thinker, aren’t you,” Tarot said.

“Sorry, I just want to pick the right ones.”

“The cards pick you. Never forget that.”

“Right,” Ruwen replied.

Tarot had told Ruwen to pick three cards, and his mind automatically separated the circle of cards into three groups, like pieces of pie. He pointed at the last card in each section.

“Twenty-six, fifty-two, and seventy-eight,” Tarot said.

As Tarot uttered the numbers, the cards Ruwen had pointed to glowed, softly at first and then brightly as white sparks engulfed the cards. They floated from their places in the circle to the center of the ring.

Ruwen’s right wrist suddenly burned, swamping the constant itching from Echo’s blood oath. He raised his hand and stared in shock at the underside of his wrist. Three miniature cards, identical to the ones floating before him had appeared. Their black backs covered in gold filigree an exact duplicate of the real things.

Tarot raised his arm and the dimensional portal in his stomach opened. The remaining seventy-five cards plunged into the portal like diving birds of prey. The dimensional portal disappeared, and the three glowing cards slowly lowered until they lay perpendicular between Ruwen and Tarot.

Before Ruwen could ask a question, Tarot pointed to the first card Ruwen had chosen. In a solemn voice, he spoke. “Your situation.”

The golem nodded to the card and Ruwen flipped it over, surprised at the palm-sized card’s weight.

Ruwen studied the image. A winged figure stood on a sled of clouds. Two wyrms, one white and the other black, pulled the sled by chains of gold. Ruwen’s wrist burned again, and he glanced down to see the first card now reflected the same image as the larger card. To his shock, the card also appeared over his Inventory, the cut-out figure in the lower right part of his vision. Before he could investigate the addition, Tarot moved and grabbed Ruwen’s attention.

Tarot looked up from the card and locked gazes with Ruwen. “The Chariot represents commitment to change. Your decision is made, and you hurtle forward toward your goal. Your determination is like a tidal wave, and your focus like a speeding arrow. Nothing will stop you now that your path is decided.”

That did sum up how Ruwen felt. He had spent a year and a half preparing for this trial and the consequences of his decisions. Although really, probably everyone here could relate to that, as they’d all worked for years or decades to reach the trial itself.

The addition of the mark above his Inventory interested Ruwen though, and he concentrated on it.

Relic Mark: The Chariot

Trigger: Wings of Resolve - All allies within thirty feet gain unlimited Endurance for five minutes.

Before Ruwen could ask Tarot for details on the new mark, the Thieving Misfortune Golem pointed to the second card.

“Your action,” Tarot said.

Ruwen reached forward and turned over the second card.

Five fighters, each armed with a staff, stood in a circle attacking each other. The men wore no armor and none of them appeared injured. They each wore distinctive clothes, giving the impression they came from different cultures. Ruwen’s wrist burned as the card manifested on his wrist and it appeared next to the existing relic mark over his Inventory.

“The Five of Wands,” Tarot said. “Struggle and conflict, competition and rivalry, the Five of Wands represents an imminent challenge. Paired with the Chariot, this trial is near but hints the adversary may include yourself. Look to your motivations, and brandish your weapon, the battle is upon you.”

Ruwen looked at the new mark.

Relic Mark: Five of Wands

Trigger: First Move – Stun up to five enemies in fifteen-foot radius for one second.

The reading might not provide much help for Ruwen, but the area of effect stun certainly did.

Tarot pointed to the final card. “Your outcome.”

All the Adepts stood around him now. The Quartermaster looked on in amazement, as did most of the others Ruwen could see. Once again, he felt nervous and vulnerable, like his secrets were being revealed for all to see, but again, the occurrence of the Five of Wands in the middle of a fighting trial shouldn’t shock anyone.

Ruwen reached over and flipped the last card, wondering what it would say about the outcome of his plans here.

The card displayed the upside-down image of a young man walking on top of a low wall reading a book held in his left hand. To the man’s left lay clouds and birds and an endless drop. Just seeing the cliff made Ruwen’s stomach turn. The man held a small book bag in his right hand and a black wolf pulled on it with its teeth, trying to pull the man off the ledge.

“The Reversed Fool,” Tarot said. “Negligence and fear. A disregard for consequences and risk. Imminent danger surrounds you, but you travel forward unaware. Paired with the Chariot and Five of Wands you race toward your enemies and while you are prepared and determined, you must use caution or invite disaster.”

Ruwen’s wrist burned, and he glanced down at the upside-down Fool and then focused on the third small card over his Inventory.

Relic Mark: Reversed Fool

Trigger: Joker’s Dance – Increase Critical Strike damage by 25% and decrease personal Armor Class by 50% for 5 seconds.

Another ability that might prove useful, assuming Ruwen could figure out how to trigger them. While the first two readings could apply to anyone here in his opinion, the last card felt a little close to home. It made him worry if he’d rushed here to this trial before being ready, but he pushed that doubt aside. He had not had a choice on the timing of this trial, and his preparations had been exhaustive.

“Thank you for the reading, Tarot,” Ruwen said. He held up his wrist. “What do I do with these?”

Tarot held his arm out. He pointed with his index and flicked his wrist. “Using just the index finger and flicking your hand will trigger the first card and activate its abilities. Use two fingers for the second card and three for the last.”

Ruwen rubbed his wrist. “How long will they last?”

“Until you use them or get another reading, which provides three new cards.”

The Quartermaster stepped closer. “That was spectacular! I’ve never seen Tarot do that before. What did he tell you?”

“To be careful,” Ruwen said. “Like everyone else I know.”

“Are you going to take him?”

Ruwen looked down at the Thieving Misfortune Golem. He felt bad that the creature sat here alone as the decades passed, but he really didn’t want any more bad luck. And while the relic marks on his wrist had obvious value, he wasn’t sure they balanced the karmatic imbalance.

“The reading made you uncomfortable,” Tarot said.

“No,” Ruwen said immediately. Then, after a moment, he sighed. “Yes, a little.”

“Good,” Tarot said. “That is wise.”

Sivart?

Yes?

Did you speak with Premonition?

In a fashion.

What does that mean?

When I mentioned the name Tarotmethiophelius, she entered a trance, and has not stopped speaking since.

What is she saying?

She is chanting about alignments and prophecies. The name triggered something in the core of her identity. One moment, she has recovered.

Tarot continued to watch Ruwen but remained silent. Ruwen’s stomach turned in indecision. On one hand, he felt terrible for Tarot, as the thought of him locked away made Ruwen sad. On the other, he worried what harm the additional bad luck would cause.

Premonition calls him the supreme oracle, Sivart said. Every source she has ultimately traces back to Tarotmethiophelius. She said he is far too dangerous to leave. Sivart paused and, after a moment, continued. From the additional details Premonition just provided, my recommendation is to destroy the golem. If that is not possible, you must take him to keep the golem from your enemies.

Ruwen’s frown deepened. Thanks, Sivart.

“What happened to your previous owners?” Ruwen asked Tarot.

“Horrendous deaths, all of them. Appalling really. But I did warn them. What good is a reading if you ignore it?”

“That’s terrible. Why would you tell me that?”

“I’m a thief, not a liar. You remind me of another fool. Just like you, the Universe twisted itself around him. I bet you destroy the Resonance Offset of every place you go.”

Ruwen wondered if Tarot meant Pen, and it shocked him the golem knew about the Architect Role’s Navigator function. The Resonance Offset determined how much manipulation the Universe would allow, and how far into the future a Divine being could see. He had dragged Grave’s Resonance Offset all the way to zero. Only when he’d traveled to the other side of the universe had the Resonance Offset relaxed enough to allow things like time travel.

“Am I affecting your abilities?” Ruwen asked.

Tarot nodded. “I have spent my life spiraling from past to present to future and back. An endless cycle as I crept through the eons. For only the second time in my existence, am I locked into the present, trapped by the gravity of fate. It is like breathing for the first time.”

Ruwen felt his chest tighten at the imagery Tarot used and how Ruwen made the golem feel better. How could he leave the golem now?

“Do you think your karmatic imbalance caused your previous owners’ deaths?” Ruwen asked, hoping the answer would be a resounding no.

“Almost certainly,” Tarot replied.

Ruwen rubbed his forehead. “Why would I do that to myself?”

Tarot smiled. “Because Fortune Golems can read auras and our cards manipulate them. Not even peak Deities can resist our marks.”

Ruwen turned to the Quartermaster and handed him the token. “I’ll take the Thieving Misfortune Golem if he’ll have me.”

“I agree,” Tarot said with a nod, as the Quartermaster took the red token.

Rain bounced off Ruwen’s head and shoulders. He didn’t need to look around to know it only fell on him. His karmatic imbalance had begun, and he prayed Tarot proved worth it.