“What was all that about?” Trismit whispered as the door slammed behind him and Retvik. While the day had started off pretty badly, things seemed to be turning around, since the pair of them had been treated to a very nice spa treatment and were now allowed ten minutes on their own in a warm jacuzzi bath. Sure, they had been forced to be naked (at least, as naked as Rethans could be) the entire time, but this was far better than the cold, glass cages they had been locked in all morning.
“What was all what about?”
Trismit had finally relaxed enough to be able to talk. He had remained mostly silent all day, not really having any courage to discuss their current situation. Retvik on the hand had been outwardly polite on the surface but scathing underneath.
“What you said to the Thantophor. He went and said something to you, you said something back and he paused then left.”
Retvik grunted as he slowly eased himself into the warm water. He had admittedly quite enjoyed the afternoon of pampering, even if it was under the tyrannical orders of the new High General. “You did not hear what happened?”
“I was too busy being in shock in how the Thantophor’s guts got sprayed across the window of your cell and all along the floor and how he nonchalantly pushed his own internal organs, whatever they were, back into his own body and shrugged off a wound that would have killed a normal Rethavok.”
Trismit glanced around the room, checking the only exit. The walls were weirdly bubbly, as if they had some sort of plastic wrap on them that had expanded and contracted with the jacuzzi pool’s heat. By the door were some towel racks, fulled with freshly dried, fluffy towels.
“You want to know what I said?”
“Whatever it was…” Trismit paused, testing the water. “You upset him. I think.”
With a tut, Retvik stretched himself out, enjoying the warmth and the bubbles. “I did. But I think I was justified in my anger.”
“Why?”
Retvik tutted again, looking up at Trismit, who was finally getting into the water himself. “Why do you think?”
“I do not know. Like I said, I was somewhat… in shock. Still am.”
“Well…” Retvik closed his eyes. The jacuzzi was making him a bit less tense. “He IS a deity. A god of death of all things. An insanely powerful being, to the point that the other deities have to hold him down. He could have broken us both out of there and saved us. He could have stopped Kenon before all of this even began, as he apparently knew what was going on in advance. But no, the personification of death stood by and let us all suffer, then, instead of, I do not know, being a god of death, beating the piss out of Kenon and rescuing us, he just got us slightly better prisoner conditions.”
“You seem… overly annoyed.”
“I am…” Retvik grunted. “He would rather try and stay on Kenon’s good side than actually save us.”
Trismit shrugged, lowering himself down so everything apart from his head was underwater. “Maybe he did save us.”
“If we were saved, I would be back with the rest of my family. And Gath would be with me.”
“I will be blunt, I do not think he has the power we think he has. When he spoke to me on the ledge and told me not to jump, I was under the impression-”
“Wait, what?” Retvik suddenly sat up. “What ledge?”
Trismit paused. “Oh… I… did not tell you about that… Well, the Thantophor talked me into not jumping. I got the impression that he is not very powerful.”
“Hmph. Well, you are correct in a way, but still…” Retvik grumbled, then fell silent. “I would like to not be a prisoner, floating in the unknown.”
“This is far better than those cells at least…”
“Yes, true…” Retvik glanced at the door, having heard the handle turning, knowing that the Void Lord was about to return. “Well, we cannot discuss this further, not now at least… Shall have to save this conversation for another time… Assuming we have another time…”