Facing Galices

I hardly slept the night before. My body was a little stiff from the hard bed. I got out of bed and did my morning routine. After I brushed my teeth, I put on my clothes and packed my bag. I left down the hallway of the inn. Something was ominous about Galices being behind this. But I trusted Helsing's word. I need to get to Fjorn and figure some stuff out and make sure he's okay. I returned my room key to the front desk and exited the inn. The streets were busy and the sky mimicked daytime. I walked down the marketplace, squeezing through the onslaught of people. I was heading directly to the elevator shaft. I wonder how the hell I was going to get down there. I saw a bunch of dwarves and gnomes pile on. I pushed my way to the back of the elevator. They all stared with curiosity.

"Official swordsmen business," I said, hoping to garner a little bit of trust.

They looked away and did their retinal scans. Some were heading to the housing sublevel. Perfect, I thought. The elevator began to descend with a loud whirling noise. No outsider or tourist would know how many sublevels there were. It just simply did a retinal scan and questioned which sublevel you wanted to go to, with permitted clearance, of course. We had passed a large metal layer that can be seen through the grated from the gates of the elevator. The dwarves and gnomes talked amongst themselves as I stood in silence. We had passed the large metal flooring and the housing sublevel was revealed. It seemed significantly more massive now that it simulated daytime. I could see all across the housing developments. How the hell was I going to find Fjorn in all of this? I thought.

The elevator came to an abrupt halt. The gated entryway opened up. I stepped off the elevator and looked around. I saw a large metal device with a metal banner over with the words, directory. I quickly walked over, turned on the device and it requested a retinal scan.

"Need some help swordsman?" a local gnome asked in his high-pitched voice.

"Surely. I am looking for an individual who can help me with a mission for the Nibiru." I said, only half lying.

"No problem at all!" The small gnome said with excitement. "Names Kel. I work in the advanced engineering sublevel. If you ever need any help, like a mission, don't hesitate to ask!" Kel said as he scanned his retina into the machine.

"I am looking for a dwarf by the name of Fjorn," I said.

"Alrighty then." He said as he typed the name in. "There it is, he is in subsection alpha three, house number forty-two," Kel said with a smile. "Again, if you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

"If you could just point in the direction I should be heading in, that would be just about it, Kel," I said his name to give him a sense of being a part of this mission. Truthfully he has been a great help, but overly eager to help like I was recruiting.

Kel pointed east of the machine. "Just follow this path until you hit subsection Alpha. Look for alpha three and then you will be on the street leading to his home. Good luck swordsman." Kel said, smiled, and walked to the elevator shaft. It dinged and the gated doors closed and descended beyond view.

I began walking down the streets, drawing plenty of attention. Considering I was the only non-dwarf and gnome being on this entire level. Some houses copied the style their ancestors had encompassed. They had artificial landscapes with a house built into the side. Presumably, those were dwarves. I finally reached subsection alpha and followed along until I reached section three. I was on the right street. Now to look for the house numbered forty-two.

I quickened my pace down the street and saw the numbers on the houses. thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, and finally, forty-two. The house was reasonably normal from the outside. I walked over to the old oak door. I knocked twice and waited for a response. There was none. I knocked again and said "Fjorn, it's me. It's important."

I heard shuffling around and still no answer. Maybe he was in danger. I kicked the door open and unsheathed my sword. I had to crouch low to keep from hitting my head on the low ceilings. There was Fjorn, on the couch, sleeping. A cat jumped out from the empty box that used to contain bottles of ale. Drool has slowly flowed from the corner in his mouth, coating his beard. He snored like a wildebeest.

"Fjorn wake-up!" I said, shaking him.

He rolled over and groaned. "Five more minutes mom."

"Fjorn, you need to wake up, this is serious," I said. "I found out who we are looking for. The person who set us up."

Fjorn sat up slowly. He smelled like ale and could barely open his own eyes. "Well, you are a swordsman, you take care of it, and let me know when it's done so I can come cash the check they owe me." Fjorn then laid back down on his couch to try and fall back asleep.

"Fjorn this is serious man. It's Galices." I said.

"Boy, you are mad. The founder of the forge doesn't give two craps about me" Fjorn said.

"It's... hard to explain Fjorn. But basically, looking at your record and history. No one is gonna bat an eye if you disappear." I said, wishing I could have phrased that a bit better.

"Well then. If no one is gonna bat an eye when I am gone, who cares if I am here?" Fjorn said, heartache carried in his voice a bit.

"Fjorn."

"Get out Xander. We finished our mission. Now you can do whatever you need to. Uncover this little conspiracy and I'll watch you on screen when you're in the arenas on Olympus, for real this time." Fjorn said harshly. I couldn't blame him. For what I had to say, even though true, it didn't feel right coming out.

"Take care of yourself friend. Things might get a little hairy." I said.

Fjorn got up and walked into a different room. I left his home. Maybe he's a little hungover. Maybe he just needs some time to shake off what I had said. Either way, I need to get to Galices.

I walked back to the elevator shaft. Luckily, it had opened full of gnomes. A family of gnomes stepped out and I took their space.

"Elevator is going farther into the sublevels swordsman. Not sure you are permitted." The closest gnome to the gate said.

"Official business for the tribunal." I flashed the seal that was a crappy copy of the real one from the order to Jotunheim and he began to nod and shake a little. It takes some guts for a gnome to call someone with a really big sword out. To be honest, I am surprised it worked, but then again, no one is going to question a swordsman. Swordsmen were known for their protection of peace, corruption and deception didn't really fit our description. We passed many thick layers of metal as we proceeded to the sublevels. We passed a sublevel where dwarves were forging some kind of new pearl white armor, they were testing weapons against it, not even leaving a scratch. We passed another sublevel showing gnomes in advanced armor suits that walked more naturally than you would think given their small bodies. Then finally, we had reached the sublevel for advanced engineering. The entire level was filled with starships and giant blasters. Like they were preparing for some kind of war. When we had reached the floor, all the gnomes on the elevator got off. Now what do I do? I'm stuck here. I don't have permission to operate this thing.

"Hey! Swordsman! How's it going?" Kel the gnome from the housing sublevel greeted me.

"Kel! I need your help!" I said.

"You remembered my name!" Kel said with a large smile.

"I did. Look, I have an important message I have to deliver to Galices. Can you tell me where I can find him?" I asked, hopeful.

"Oh man, he's on the tribunal sublevel. Luckily for you I have access. I deliver updates on the advanced engineering department every few hours. I can take you there!" Kel said excitedly.

I nodded and Kel walked over to the retinal scan and entered in sublevel tribunal. We began to descend at a more rapid pace than before.

"So, if you ever need any kind of engineering expert to be a part of your team, I got you!" Kel said. Not that I wouldn't put together a team, but Kel is way to gleeful and unaware of the real worlds out there. Fjorn witnessed a giant get ripped to shreds following an entire civilization and was kidnapped and everything else, Kel might have taken a dive off The Forge if he witnessed any part of that.

"I will put it in my report that you helped me greatly. Thank you again Kel." I said.

We sat in a moment of silence. The only view available was the biggest layer of metal for any sublevel so far. We had reached a long open corridor. It had many doors that led to different rooms. How the hell was I gonna find him?

"Alright, the tribunal should have just finished this afternoons meeting and should be ready for me to debrief them. Once that is done, Galices should be all yours." Kel said.

"He sure will be. Thanks Kel." I said, anger filling me.

We walked the long corridor in excitement. I could tell that Kel was an odd gnome from the moment I met him, but he seemed to straighten his posture a bit and copy my stride the best he could. We reached the massive doors and there sat a secretary.

"Hey Marie, I am here for the debriefing." Kel said.

Marie just stared at me. I remember that name from somewhere, but I wasn't sure where.

"Just one moment, I need to let Galices know you are here." She said, stammering a bit. She proceeded to the large doors and pushed one open. I could peer through and see a massive table surrounded by gnomes and dwarves. There were so many people that some had to stand.

Whatever Marie had said made Galices stand up. I could hear him a bit.

"Everyone, this concludes todays meeting, I need to handle something personal real quick, if everyone could vacate the room."

I wonder if he knows. Did she just tip him off? What was my plan? Confront Galices in the heart of The Forge and then what? What if he just calls the guards to slay me? Or Fjorn could be right and I will end up imprisoned on Olympus?

The many gnomes and dwarves exited the room in an orderly fashion.

"Kel, Galices has requested you stand by. He wants to speak to the swordsman right away." Marie said.

Kel sat and felt a little underwhelmed by her statement. The end of his journey on this mission.

After the last dwarf exited the room, I entered.

"Shut the door please." Galices called in a older high pitched voice.

"I assume you know why I am here?" I asked.

"Yes, I caught Helsing. Good thing he didn't put up a fight." Galices said shaking his head. "You know. I have lived a very long life. I have seen the rise and fall and the rise again of dwarves and gnomes. Being a thousand years old takes its toll on you. All these memories floating around. I am not the witty, smart genius I was when I was only a few hundred years old. But time must go on."

"Why did Fjorn and myself get put on a mission to Jotunheim?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"You may be a prince of Nibiru, but you will still get imprisoned for your actions here boy. I have no fear of you." Galices said.

"You are correct. I can still be. But I will not be leaving this room until you explain the mark that Zeus has given you." I said with a stern and confident tone.

"Let me inform you on something boy. Zeus is a god. He has saved so many. I remember once when my people were doomed, I along with them. How can beings that can live for so long, cut their lives so short? One day a few hundred years ago, I was tinkering with intergalactic transmissions. I wanted to discover what was beyond this galaxy. Yes, The Forge was brilliant. But what if I was immortal? What if I could see the end of my forge. What if I could see it prosper for all eternity. My creation. My world. Pish posh, words of a child. Until one day, I received a call back on my transmission. Energy that has never been read before on any charts. I could barely sleep that night, but when I did, I was somewhere beautiful. I was on a planet that was massive and had plenty of space for all my people. Not surrounded by metal, no worries of anything. The people there were happy." Galices said staring off into the ceiling.

"Galices. It was a lie. Zeus deceived you. He deceives. That's his thing. But why me?" I asked.

"I dreamt that night of Zeus coming to me. He spoke the truth to me. He was a god and he was going to cleanse the evil. He was going to see that my people prospered more than anything. We weren't just made for importing and exporting trade. We were meant for a higher purpose. And all of you saw us as tiny useless beings." Galices eyes narrowed in anger at me. "But he can't travel here. He doesn't have the forces yet to compete with the swordsmen or their king. But if he had the strength of the prince, he might be able to do so. But you made me fail him. You failed to relinquish your entire soul. So I had to come up with a device that rid the rest of your annoying body. He bought me some time, but it wasn't enough. You got away from him!" Galices was gritting his teeth so hard, I could see blood in between his lips form.

"Galices. This isn't right. You're not in the right state of mind." I said, drawing my sword.

"I found the mark in my research. I branded myself. These marks give us unity with Zeus. Whatever soul I take, he can have, so now boy. It's time." Galices pulled out a little device that shot an orange essence towards me, I lifted my sword sideways and blocked it. It pinged off the weapon and back at the gnome. It collided with him. He stood a moment. The light was fading from his eyes.

"Galices! No!" I shouted. I ran towards him and caught him.

"Zeus is coming. You were right boy. In my state of mind, I was becoming delusional. I didn't know what I was doing. I think Zeus did this to me. Listen, they can come here now. I gave them parts of what they needed. I think they will take their chances. The horsemen will arrive first giving more souls to Zeus. If or when he arrives, the Forge will be taken. I am sorry." Galices said. Light faded from his eyes, his back was hot from the mark burning when he had passed on. I sat a moment in shock.

Zeus had ruined everything. He wants the downfall of our galaxy. I need to stop him. I need the strength to fight the horsemen.

The doors swung open and Marie screamed at the top of her lungs. "The swordsman killed Galices! Sound the alarms."

"Kel, you have got to trust me, I did not kill him." I said.

Kel stood in shock at what he was seeing. The corridor only held the two of them. I needed to escape. Alarms began to blare loudly. The whole damn Forge was gonna be coming for me. I ran over to Kel.

"I can't have you get in trouble for this." I said to Kel, I raised my sword to him. "Go to the elevator and take me to the surface."