Anbaixiu recounted to the God of Alchemy how he had released the two kuo-toa, Benbo'erba and Babo'erben, concluding, "I originally just wanted them to put some pressure on the Kuo-toa Goddess and weaken Her divine power."
"Then you succeeded beyond measure. The kuo-toa appear to be mutinying on a massive scale."
The God of Alchemy turned the bone whistle Anbaixiu had sent over in His hands. He had not anticipated that such a tiny whistle could produce such a massive effect either. To deal with this psychotic goddess, the God of Alchemy had not been idling away His time; He had been constantly searching for intelligence.
Thus, the moment unrest stirred in the Elemental Plane of Water, word reached Him immediately. The Kuo-toa Goddess seemed to be throwing a mad tantrum, inciting widespread displeasure among many deities of the ocean pantheon. They had never liked this psychotic goddess in the first place, merely tolerating Her presence; now, word had spread that even the gods of the ocean pantheon no longer wished to count this lunatic among their allies.
Anbaixiu thought about it, then said, "It probably comes down to two reasons. First, the bone whistle propagates through sound, allowing it to affect swathes of kuo-toa all at once. Second, that goddess was too clever for Her own good, having previously commanded vast numbers of kuo-toa to funnel warped faith to Aige."
The second was the primary reason.
Anbaixiu did not know precisely how many kuo-toa that psychotic goddess had mobilized back then to transmit faith, but the proportion was undeniably massive.
In other words, countless kuo-toa had received Aige's reversed divine oracle, embedding the concept of freedom deep within their souls. Once those freedom-seeking kuo-toa regained their sanity, they promptly renounced the psychotic goddess.
Had She not courted doom like that, the worst outcome would have been a vast number of kuo-toa falling into depression—which might have even bolstered Her divine portfolio of insanity.
The God of Alchemy could not help sighing in wonder. "Fate truly works in mysterious ways. It seems our plan can be put into action much sooner."
"We can make our move already?" Anbaixiu asked in surprise.
Toying with the bone whistle in His hand, the God of Alchemy replied, "With this in hand, we are just about ready."
The deity raised His crystalline hammer and tapped the bone whistle a few times. Without adding a single extraneous material, the nondescript whistle swiftly morphed into a translucent, crystalline flute.
"Teacher, that hammer of yours..."
Anbaixiu immediately sensed that something was unusual. The God of Alchemy's method of modification transcended his understanding of alchemy.
The God of Alchemy remarked smugly, "Sharp eye. You've been making quite a splash lately, and the influence of alchemy has grown by leaps and bounds—naturally making My own power swell. This is an artifact I recently forged. Anything I strike with it is reshaped according to My will, generating corresponding alchemical knowledge that serves as inspiration for budding geniuses."
In fundamental nature, He was identical to the Goddess of Magic and the Lord of Knowledge; it was merely that their domains and concepts were so vast that the God of Alchemy could not compare to them.
Yet all conceptual deities possessed similar authority: they could suppress or unleash the development of their respective concepts.
The Goddess of Magic could place a hard ceiling on the highest tier of spells any caster could wield; any new spell required Her endorsement before it could be successfully devised.
The Lord of Knowledge theoretically governed the genesis of all creative ideas, whether in arts or crafts. He could elevate a mediocre hack into a genius writer, or instantly rob an illustrious author of their creative muse, leaving them unable to pen another word.
Now that the God of Alchemy had reshaped this bone whistle, the principles behind its creation would become part of the body of alchemy, waiting for some genius to comprehend them.
Such was the virtuous cycle of a conceptual deity. As long as these alchemical developments did not bring about the end of the world, they would sooner or later propel the God of Alchemy into the ranks of greater deities.
"I have amplified the whistle's effects. If the Kuo-toa Goddess truly was born from the collective delusions of the kuo-toa as we suspect, this should affect Her as well. With Her currently in a weakened state, it ought to be enough to lure Her out of Her divine realm."
Anbaixiu hurriedly said, "Then I will contact Hell immediately so Tiamat and Zariel can get ready."
The God of Alchemy waved it off. "Tend to your own affairs. Leave this side to Me. Be careful on your end; if that really is the Demonic Dragon of old, it will be far more dangerous than the Kuo-toa Goddess."
"Rest assured, Teacher. I have never underestimated an opponent."
Ever since Anbaixiu heard that the Demonic Dragon Tyrant had revived, he hadn't even checked his beloved ledgers, spending all day brooding over how to resolve this nuisance.
The God of Alchemy said, "Good. Remember, if you run into an impossible obstacle, let Me know. I can at least preserve your life."
Between master and disciple, words of gratitude were unnecessary, and they soon brought the conversation to a close.
Yet just as the communication ended, a woman clad in a resplendent, golden-yellow gown appeared beside the God of Alchemy.
Her face was not remarkably gorgeous, yet she carried an aura of dignified, lavish opulence. She possessed long, magnificent bright-gold hair, and Her eyes resembled two pools of molten gold. She wore robes studded with an assortment of gems and precious metal spangles, draped a cloak woven entirely of strung gold coins over Her shoulders, sported a belt forged of solid gold, and wore gold boots encrusted with giant pearls.
This ensemble could be said to be the consummate embodiment of "wealthy lady."
For She was none other than the Goddess of Wealth, Waukeen.
Waukeen smiled and said to the God of Alchemy, "You truly dote on this mortal. This goes well beyond the bond between a deity and a follower."
Setting down His hammer, the God of Alchemy turned toward Her. "My relationship with him is complicated—not something that can be summed up in a sentence or two. But I believe that if our roles were reversed, he would do much the same."
Waukeen sighed wistfully. "How I envy You. If only I had possessed such a trustworthy follower back then, perhaps I would not have endured so much torment."
She had once been captured by Graz'zt, the Dark Prince, suffering agonizing torment in the Abyss, at one point weakened to a state far beneath even a mortal's. Had She not possessed the sheer luck to escape the Abyss in the end, She would have fallen long ago.
The God of Alchemy was not Waukeen's savior, but after Waukeen escaped the Abyss, He was the first to extend a helping hand. He not only offered His divine realm as a sanctuary for Waukeen, but also aided Her in reclaiming Her lost power.
However, the agony Waukeen had endured ran so deep that She had been forced into a prolonged slumber.
Precisely because Waukeen could not awaken, merchants had lacked divine blessing over the years, leaving commercial development across the entire Prime Material Plane at a standstill.
Until recently, when Anbaixiu embarked upon the path of a capitalist.
The reforms brought about by this lich had completely overturned traditional business models, striking the world like a hurricane.
Through this, Waukeen had awakened from Her slumber, thoroughly restoring Her former power.
Yet despite having recovered, Waukeen was originally only a lesser deity. To ensure Her enemies would not track Her down, Waukeen did not leave the divine realm of the God of Alchemy, opting instead to deepen Her cooperation with Him.
Pleased to hear Waukeen praise His student, the God of Alchemy nonetheless replied with humble modesty, "He is My most outstanding student, yet he has little talent for alchemy. Instead, he made extraordinary contributions to commerce. In this bargain, You are the one who profited."
Waukeen laughed. "Quite true. If You hadn't stopped Me, I couldn't have resisted meeting him myself. I hear You wished to recommend him as My chosen, yet why do You forbid Me from meeting him?"
The God of Alchemy shook His head. "I know My student well. If forced to choose between the Goddess of Magic and the Goddess of Wealth, he would choose to serve You without hesitation. But this is not up to Me. There are many more deities watching My student. He shines too brightly, to the point where his every move is scrutinized by the gods."
Waukeen said ruefully, "I understand. My power is too meager; I lack even the ability to protect Myself."
This lich's status was far too prominent; he had already become one of the central figures of this plane. For Waukeen to step forward now and take him as Her chosen would be tantamount to offending every single deity with eyes on Anbaixiu.
A deity like Talos might not care, but Waukeen had to weigh the consequences carefully. If Talos took offense, would Waukeen defend this chosen or not?
And Talos was hardly the only one watching Anbaixiu. Setting aside the two goddesses punished by Ao—Shar and Lolth—there was Loviatar, Tiamat, Zariel, and a whole host of other deities who held close ties with him.
Now the lich was even involved in the wager between the dragon deities and the Lord of the Dawn. Never before had the gazes of so many deities converged upon a single mortal. Waukeen was simply too weak—so weak that She scarcely possessed the standing to bestow a blessing upon him.
"Do not fret, My friend. What this student of Mine excels at most is helping others—especially deities. Was I not once so weak that I couldn't even sustain My divine realm? Yet now I am advancing toward the rank of greater deity. It will be the same for You. Once the bank in Hell is established, You too will break through Your former shackles and become an intermediate deity.
"What we must do is simple: wait patiently. It is My student who has much more to ponder. Let us focus our efforts on figuring out how to help him resolve Talos's wager."
Waukeen nodded and said to the God of Alchemy, "I shall handle the negotiations with Hell. I am quite eager to see what the founding of the first infernal bank will bring Me."
The God of Alchemy said delightedly, "Splendid! Dealing with devils is what I dread most. I am merely a researcher of alchemy; bargaining is hardly My forte."
Waukeen smiled faintly. Her form began to shift until She took on the exact appearance of the God of Alchemy, after which She took a magic mirror capable of communicating directly with hell lords from Him.
Since it was not yet suitable for Her to step into the open, She would interact with the devils under the guise of the God of Alchemy.
She hadn't negotiated business with anyone in years; to think Her first counterpart would be an Archduke of Hell. The very thought filled Waukeen with excitement.
Chapter 485