I didn’t leave the walled compound immediately.

There was still the matter of where I went from here. I’d spent months in the dungeon and gained much in the process. A new Class. Upgraded skills. A hidden sector. And not least, a Pack.

But now, it was time to contemplate the future.

I’d ventured into the guardian tower primarily to confirm my supposition about the mantises and gain a Class. I’d done one but not the other.

I wasn’t sure what it meant that the assassins had not followed into the dungeon. Had I been wrong about why they were hunting me? And did it even matter anymore?

After all, the better part of a year had gone by.

Whatever the case, I didn’t fear the mantises anymore. Now that I had my final Class—even if its melding was incomplete—I felt ready to face them and their shadowy employer.

The dungeon, or rather the arctic wolves, had given me something else too. Something priceless.

A sense of purpose. A goal for the future that went beyond mere survival or the accumulation of power. My plans were still nebulous, but in my mind, I held the makings of a grand strategy.

One that would see House Wolf rise again.

Much would depend on what happened after I re-entered Nexus, the mantises’ own actions, and if I found Ceruvax.

But I was certain I could see it done.

First, though, I have to get out of here.

Rising to my feet, I swung about in the direction of the savant’s corpse, but before I took more than a step, another Game alert intruded.

Congratulations, Michael! You have completed the task: Stay True to Wolf! You have taken another momentous step on your journey to becoming Prime, deepening your Wolf Mark.

I smiled. I’d almost forgotten about the task. Its message was welcome, though, especially the news that my Mark had deepened.

Events in the dungeon had made clear just how significant Marks were in the Game. My Wolf Mark, I realized, was as important to my player growth as my levels, skills, and Class—if not more so. It had granted me priceless traits, triggered my Class into evolving—not once, but twice—and if I was right in my suspicions, it would be vital to the founding of House Wolf.

Deepening it further was essential to my plans.

Reaching the sector boss’s corpse, I broke off from my musings and rifled through his clothing. Sadly, he had nothing of value.

That’s it then, I thought. All done here. Turning about, I made for the crystal door.

As I strode through the compound, I let my gaze wander over the deserted interior. In the aftermath of the battle, the compound was tranquil, if still eerily silent. Besides the savant’s corpse and the mounds of white power peeking through the long grass, little evidence remained of the fight. All the statues had awakened or turned to dust.

My gaze slid to the right. Well, that wasn’t quite true. The statue of the giant human with the benevolent smile remained.

Benevolent smile? I wondered, almost missing a step. When did that happen?

I was certain that there had been no smile on the sculpture’s face earlier. Granted, I’d had bigger things to worry about at the time, but I had scrutinized the statue, and I definitely didn’t remember a smile.

Hmm…

For a moment, I contemplated ignoring the anomaly, but as slight as the discrepancy was, I thought it warranted a closer look. And it was not like I was in a hurry.

Altering my course, I made a beeline for the sculpture. Reaching its base, I craned my neck back and took in its entire length.

But I could pick out no other anomalies.

The figure stood with his arms folded across his chest and his chin bent, looking down—or in my case, smiling down—on whoever stood directly before him. Walking a half-circle about the statue, I studied it from every possible angle but identified nothing else odd about it.

It was, by all appearance, an ordinary statue—I tapped ebonheart’s hilt against the marble—and solid too.

Drawing on my will, I probed it with my abilities. But analyze didn’t turn up anything. Nor did trap detect or mindsight provide any insights.

Sighing, I sat down on the ground. “What are you?” I asked, staring up at the figure.

Not unexpectedly, there was no response.

Tugging free a stalk of grass, I toyed with it in my hands. Unlike the statues outside the public dungeons, this one had no animal familiar. Was that significant?

I had no idea.

Despite the lack of a beast companion, though, something told me this statue was related to the others in the plague quarter. Call it suspicion or the paranoia of an overworked mind, but I was certain there was a mystery here, even if it was one I was not sure I could solve.

Still, I was reluctant to leave the matter alone.

Given the inclusion of the beasts in the statues—in the others, if not this one—it seemed self-evident that the statues had something to do with the Primes.

What though? I wondered, chewing on the end of the grass stalk.

Finding remnants of the ancients in Nexus wasn’t strange. According to Ceruvax, the city had belonged to the old Powers before the new ones had moved in. What was surprising, though, was that the new Powers had allowed the statues to remain.

Perhaps, I thought drily, that’s because the statues are simply that, nothing more than ordinary inoffensive stone.

I sighed. Maybe I was deceiving myself. Maybe there was no great mystery here. My gaze dropped to the figure’s feet. They rested on a stone plinth, I noted, and over time had been covered over by soil and grass.

I frowned. Or maybe the key to unlocking the statues’ secrets lies not above but below?

I threw away the bits of grass from my hands. It’s worth a try, I decided.

Leaning forward, I began to dig.

~~~

It took longer than I expected to free the statue’s base.

I kept at it, though, because not five minutes after starting, I realized the stone plinth was more extensive than I’d initially thought. It extended three yards in a half-circle all around the statue.

And on its flat top was a carving.

“Well, well,” I murmured when I was done uncovering the plinth. Standing back, I looked between the statue and the carving at his feet. The image revealed was centered directly beneath the giant figure’s gaze.

“So that’s what you’ve been staring at all this time, eh?”

Once more, there was no answer, and I chuckled lightly.

My mood had improved considerably. I’d been right; the statue had been hiding something. And all it had taken was a few minutes of manual labor to uncover.

My eyes drifted to the carving again. I’d seen it before and had recognized it immediately.

It was a blood talisman.

There were slight variations, of course, but otherwise, the intricate lines of silver engraved in the marble were identical to those in the artifact I’d encountered in the Wolf Trials.

Dropping to my knees, I crouched before the carving and let my gaze rove over the fantastical beasts depicted. One of the differences between the two talismans was the portrayal of the wolf. Here he was not snarling.

Sitting on his haunches, the wolf stared at me with penetrating eyes. Gently, I brushed my fingers against him.

Nothing happened.

Hmm.

The last time I’d touched a talisman, the reaction from the Game had been instantaneous. So, what was wrong with one? Was it broken?

Hells, I hope not.

Leaning forward, I placed both my hands flat down on the marble surface.

Still nothing.

Urgh.

Clenching my hands into fists, I pounded on the inert stone. When that didn’t work, I banged harder. Maybe it just needs a good shaking…

A deep metal gong sounded in my mind, and I grinned. There, that’s fixed it. Staying still, I waited expectantly.

Words wrote themselves across my mind.

Analyzing offering…

What?

Offering? What offering?

Not me, surely?

Hastily I removed my hands from the talisman and sat back. Another Game message unfurled in my mind.

Analysis completed. The offering has been deemed sufficient. Do you wish to tithe this artifact to the guardian?

Relief was my first response. Because one, I was being offered a choice, and two, I couldn’t be the offering, not if the Adjudicator was referring to an artifact.

Confusion followed. But what was the mentioned artifact? I hadn’t placed any of my items on the talisman.

My gaze slipped downwards. Or had I?

In all my banging, the medallion around my neck slipped down and touched the talisman. I should stop calling it that. Whatever the marble carving was, I didn’t think it was a talisman anymore. What it was, I had no idea, but it bore further investigation.

Removing the amulet from around my neck, I placed it on the marble plinth.

The same Game message reappeared, but this time with a warning.

The offering has been deemed sufficient. Do you wish to tithe this artifact to the guardian? Warning: the amulet will be lost in the process.

I pursed my lips. Just who was the guardian mentioned? Involuntarily, my gaze jerked upwards towards the statue’s face.

Him, I thought. The guardian had to be the statue itself.

My eyes narrowed. One of the many things that had struck me as odd about this dungeon was its name. The titles of the other two public dungeons—the scorching dunes and haunted catacombs—had been self-explanatory.

Not so this dungeon.

Nothing I’d encountered in the dungeon had alluded as to why it was called the guardian tower. Until now.

The Game message appeared again, prompting me for a response.

Do you wish to tithe this artifact to the guardian?

Did I? The amulet provided a nice buff, but it was not irreplaceable. And this mystery was too tantalizing to ignore.

Let’s find out what this is all about, I thought and willed my response to the Adjudicator.

Tithe accepted. Item lost.

Awakening guardian…

…

The End.

Here ends Book 3 of the Grand Game.

Michael’s adventures in Nexus and beyond will continue in Wolf in the Void.

Coming soon!

I hope you enjoyed the story! If you did, please leave a review and let other readers know what you think.

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Happy reading!

Tom Elliot.