“I didn’t know, but it doesn’t matter. He is locked up by his pantheon. He can’t return to his realm so we can do whatever we want.”

  Krenocia says “He is right. If Holos could return, he would have by now.”

  Seronia says “I suppose you are right and this ore would be useful. However, taking it won’t be easy, I will need your help.”

  Krenocia says “I know. That’s why I had Ash summon both of us.”

  Seronia says “As for stripping the power from the realm, it is possible, but it would cause Holos immense pain.”

  “That sounds like a bonus to me. Besides, if he goes crazy inside his cell it would just make him look worse. Even if he told the pantheon about you two, he wouldn’t be believed.”

  Seronia says “It would basically be torturing him. I am not comfortable with that.”

  Krenocia says “It’s fine. Just take the mine and let me worry about the rest.”

  Seronia says “Alright, fine!”

  “The mine is a spiral that leads to a central chamber. Inside that chamber is a statue of Holos and it is what creates the ore. You probably need to start there.”

  Seronia says “Ugh! I certainly don’t want his statue in my realm!”

  Krenocia says “Alright, let’s go take a look and leave Ash to his mining.”

  The two of them walk past me and head down the tunnel, but before they get too far I hear them start bickering. From what I manage to hear, Seronia is not happy with Krenocia’s agreeing to torment Holos. Sometimes, Seronia is just too nice for her own good, but Krenocia balances her out.

  They soon move out of earshot and I turn my attention back to mining the ore. About an hour later I can start to hear them again, I must be getting close to the center chamber. A few minutes later I enter the chamber and quickly rip out the last few feet of ore.

  Krenocia says “All done?”

  “Yep, I got it all. So, did you decide what you are going to do?”

  Seronia says “First, we are going to modify the statue. Then we will prepare the entire mountain to be moved to my realm. Once it is ready, I will take it with me and return to my realm. Whatever happens after that has nothing to do with me.”

  “Alright, fair enough.”

  Krenocia says “Modifying the statue might cause the ore to regrow. If it does, you will have until the mountain is ready to be moved to mine.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “That would be great!”

  As soon as they finish explaining, the two sisters start working together to modify the statue. Luckily, Holos made the statue overly large so there is plenty of material to work with. They must have had things fully planned out because it only takes them a few minutes to change the statue.

  When they are done the ugly statue of Holos is turned into a nice statue of Seronia. The new statue is only about half the size of the previous one, but that doesn’t seem to matter. The ore in the wall quickly regrows as they work on the statue, probably because they used divine power to modify it.

  I wait until they are done before I start mining, just to make sure that I don’t interfere. As I start tearing ore out of the wall, the two of them walk out of the chamber. I work as quickly as I can since I doubt it will take them long to do whatever they need to do.

  However, I may have underestimated the difficulty of stealing an entire mountain. I actually manage to reach the mine entrance after clearing all the ore for the second time. When I walk outside I don’t see the goddesses, but while looking around I spot something on the ground.

  To the left of the mine entrance there is a line of runes running off around the mountain. They are divine runes so I am able to read them and they are about separating space. My guess is that it is to separate the mountain from the realm so that it can be moved.

  If my guess is right, then that would explain why I was given enough time to finish mining. After all, the mountain isn’t small, so it would take a long time to surround it with runes. I turn to the right and start following the edge of the mountain until I spot the goddesses.

  They are currently bent over writing runes into the ground and I stop to enjoy the view. I have already accomplished my goal, but my curiosity isn’t about to let me leave. After all, how often am I going to get the chance to see an entire mountain being stolen?

  Krenocia says “Enjoying the view, Ash?”

  “Yes, I absolutely am!”

  Seronia says “Did you already finish mining? You were faster than expected. Do you want me to refresh the ore?”

  “No, thank you. From the looks of it you will be ready soon and I wouldn’t be able to mine much. I’m not sure if the ore being in the mine will make taking the mountain harder.”

  Seronia says “It would make it take a little more energy, but I don’t mind. Since you came here for it, you obviously have a use for the ore.”

  “I have been using it to make armor and weapons for my beastmen. I am also saving some, I have been thinking about making an army of golems to fight against the demons.”

  Krenocia says “That sounds like a good idea, but you would have to make a lot of golems. Do you have that kind of time?”

  “No, not currently. I am hoping I will have the time before the war starts. Although, it might end up being more of an elite unit rather than an army.”

  Seronia says “That sounds more realistic. After all, even when you have free time you tend to find trouble for yourself.”

  Krenocia says “Speaking of trouble, why don’t you fill us in on what you have been up to lately while we finish these runes?”

  As I continue to enjoy the view of them working, I start filling them in on recent events. After catching them up, I start telling them my current and future plans for building a kingdom. As I am telling them about my plans, I mention the creation of the gate to the southern empire.

  Seronia says “I don’t like that plan. Once the gate is open, it will be very hard to keep our existence hidden!”

  Krenocia says “I am afraid that I have to agree. Is increasing trade worth exposing our existence?”

  “In my opinion, yes it is. Isolation has already put the peninsula quite a bit behind the rest of the continent. If it continues, the problem is only going to get worse. Besides, I think it won’t happen anywhere near as quickly as you are thinking. The ones coming through will be merchants who couldn’t care less about anything that doesn’t make them money. It will happen eventually, but I doubt that it will be soon. I also think the southern pantheon is the best one to make contact with first.”