Even Gods Must Fall by Christian Warren Freed Read Free Book Online Page A

much to do with it. We were destined to carry out this task. Our wants and needs are nothing to the gods. After all, why should they be? The gods created this world and all life on it. We are nothing if not the playthings of the gods.”
    “I don’t fancy being a plaything for anyone or anything,” Bahr said and frowned. “This has gone on long enough. Maybe it’s time for the gods to be gone altogether.”
    “What are you saying? That we’d be better off without their influences?” Anienam asked. His mood visibly darkened at the possibilities intoned in Bahr’s train of thought.
    Bahr paused, suddenly conscious of where his thoughts were leading. “Perhaps. We’ve been ignorant tools for far too long. What good have the gods done for us? The good ones abandoned Malweir long before any of us here were thought of. The dark ones only want to destroy everything. We don’t need either sect, wizard. Perhaps the time has finally come for the world to govern itself. Malweir continues daily without divine interference. Most of the old races have abandoned their belief in the gods altogether. Look at Groge. His people worship a singular deity. What do your books have to say about that?”
    Though blind, Anienam looked down upon Bahr with newfound approval. The Sea Wolf was finally shedding his outer skin and revealing his true nature. Granted, it had taken longer than he anticipated, but Anienam was sure Bahr now had the practical understanding necessary to complete the difficult task appointed to him. A good sign, but is it already too late?
    “What you propose is tricky. Each race is imbued with the ability to self-govern. We all enjoy certain freedoms that a lifetime of slavish devotion to the old gods disempowers. The gods can be seen as lethargic. The gods of light left this plane long ago, vowing to allow us the right to self-rule.”
    “They don’t seem overly interested in returning to deal with their problems, though, do they?” Bahr added. “They could have come back to stop the dark gods at any point.”
    “Perhaps they wanted to test us,” Anienam said.
    “So this is all some grand experiment? For what purpose?”
    “That is an answer I fear we will discover all too soon.”
    Bahr let the conversation drop. Something he failed to identify in the wizard’s tone bothered him for reasons he wasn’t sure. All he wanted at the moment was to sit down, enjoy his share of roasted venison, and fall asleep. The rest of the world could wait.
    He practically collapsed onto a folding stool procured from the fine vaults of Trennaron and listened to the conversation between Dorl and Nothol. Bahr could always count on the travel banter of his favorite sell swords to brighten the mood.
    “I’m not saying that, you thick-brained fool,” Dorl fumed. His face reddened from frustration. “Alls I’m saying is that the meat is starting to taste old.”
    “Of course it’s old, dummy. Boen killed it near on a week ago!” Nothol replied, feigning his own frustration. The vast majority of his comments were always meant to incite the infantile feeling of aggression Dorl kept pent up.
    Dorl blinked twice as the realization struck. “No. You’re not going to get away with this again. This is my point of view. I’m not giving it over to you just because.”
    Nothol sat back and held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, be that way. I wasn’t looking for a fight anyway. It’s still too cold for that.”
    Satisfied with the victory, Dorl said, “Good. That’s settled.”
    “The meat is getting a little rank.”
    “Damn it, Nothol! I’m going on guard duty.”
    The camp broke out in laughter as the shorter sell sword hastily snatched his weapons and trudged off to rove the perimeter.
    “Why do you do that?” Rekka Jel asked once the merriment died down. Since joining the quest in Chadra, she and Dorl had grown to become lovers. Her newfound emotions failed to translate into understanding for the northerners or their