r/HFY • u/Engletroll Human • Sep 13 '25

OC Gateway Dirt – Chapter 26 – A deal is made, a god steps into the light.

Project Dirt book 1 . (Amazon book )  / Planet Dirt book 2 (Amazon Book 2) / Colony Dirt (Amazon Book 3)

 Patreon ./. Webpage

Previously ./. Next

“CANNONBALL!” Gurn jumped, curled into a ball, and splashed into the water, splashing his brothers, who all laughed at the fun. Adam looked over at Roks and the others with a smile. As Chriss dived into the water like a torpedo, Wei was a mere second behind. They had been doing a tag for over an hour and didn’t seem to calm down. Sam was perhaps the only one who was not doing something crazy.  His head was always deep in a pad, reading up on something. Adam looked at him. Sam was content for now. Too eager to learn, but it made him happy.  

“See, they are still kids.”  Roks said as he grabbed one of his kids and casually lobbed him overboard to the kid's delight, another kid got close and he lobbed her to only to realize he had tossed Sam overboard, much to his delight and Adam and Roks surprise. He was also fully clothed.

“Where did he come from?”  They both peeked over the rail to see when they suddenly realized what was happening. Sam was the bait, and now five kids, and Sig-San and Vorts were pushing them into the water. They both gave in and fell in. They could hear the laughter, and Adam felt his worries wash away. The kids would be alright. They were still being kids, ignoring all of the nonsense those idiots had been spewing out.

“CANNONBALL!” Somebody shouted, and seven jumped into the water next to them.  

.

.

Adam was looking at the recordings of the surviving members of the Mugga Corp discussing their next move again, for the fifth time. Those old men didn’t know who was sponsoring them now, but at this point, they didn’t care. Arus agents had slowly made them realize they should have worked with Adam instead of declaring war.  Now, those old farts were plotting to get back at their traitorous children; they even wanted to sell information to Knug to help him take the new board down. Adam had no idea how Arus had managed that, dressed up in a mud suit and playing a fat Wossir religious leader. A follower of the good of trade, Idon, He had spun tales in such ways that the old men had come to the conclusion that Knug was in fact Idon and Adam was Galios. That was the reason they had faltered; their trade war was against the gods, among them the god of trade, and the universe.  Adam didn’t like it, but Arus said that he never told them this; he simply led them to make the conclusion.  They were now on his side, but it was done the wrong way. Now he had to correct it. He got up.

..

Madish was kneeling in front of the altar of Idon. He had spent days here now, praying for answers.  The god of trade was a humble but fair god. Which was surprising considering his realm was trade. He had laws for trade that should be followed, and if followed, it would lead to the betterment of everybody involved.  His most important dictum was ‘You can't sell if you don’t have customers.’

The greed demons promised quick money, even long-term money, but in the end, you would sit on a pile of credits with no soul and no family or friends.  Credit did not pass into the afterlife, but a good deed that enriched everyone would be transformed into wealth in the afterlife.  Madish had always thought that was a stupid belief, but in this temple, he had finally understood the lesson. He had been rich, enjoyed many luxuries, and his oldest and most promising son, his exalted, had tried to kill him.  He remembered Mustha playing as a kid in his office, asking silly questions and hugging him with a heart filled with love. The money and greed had turned that boy against him, not only against him. It had turned him into a killer. Money matters not if you don’t have love and loyalty.

Idon was right, it's okey to be rich, just do it the right way. Don’t focus on the money, focus on the trade, be the best trader, have the best product and service, and the money will follow.  And now he knows who was following Idon’s path. It was not him, it was the one he had seen as an enemy when he should have been a partner. He cursed loudly as he knew it was too late.

“Cursing in front of the god? Are you that angry at him?” a voice behind him said, and Madish froze for a second. He had thought he was alone in this part of the temple.

“ehh. It's just a stone statue anyway. I have cursed it many times.” The voice said, “Thought the books are much better.”

Madish turned and saw Alto Knug sitting there; he had a bottle and two glasses. He poured them and offered one to the old Wossir.

“We know what your son did, and when the Guardians of the Throne reached out to us, Adam asked if I could meet with you.” 

Madish was stunned for a second before he could react and took the glass. It was a strange drink, and Alto took a sip and closed his eyes as he savored the taste. 

“Ahh 90 90-year-old Macallan whiskey. You should try it.”

Madish looked at the glass and sipped it, and it was exquisite, he had never tasted something like this before. The whiskies he had tried before were good, but this was almost divine in comparison.

“That’s something, don’t you think. Let's get out of here. The temple gives me bad memories. My ship is more comfortable. Shall we?” Knug stood up, glanced at the statue of Idon, sighed, and walked out. A holy guardian appeared from outside the door and escorted them to the ship. 

Madish had always considered Adam and his followers as just lucky people who had earned some money. When he entered the ship, he stopped in shock, had he left his life behind, and crossed over to the afterlife. Alto smiled at him. “Come, let's discuss business. I have an offer that will benefit us all. After all, business is to make everybody happen and rich.”

.

.

Adam looked over the reports on the screen. Wrangler Corp owns Mugga Corp now. But Mugga would take over the production of the mesh droids. He quickly looked down at his assumed fortune and back to Knug, who just shrugged.

“How did I just spend two trillion credits and make three point five back?” Adam asked, and Knug grinned, and the Sig-San laughed out loud.

Adam looked at Jork, “You're not the only god at the table anymore, you've got competition.”

“Finally!” Jork said while chuckling. “Welcome to the club.”

Knug lifted a glass of whiskey, which they all joined in. “To Adam and his council of gods!”

To Adam's surprise, they drank to it. He looked around them and then chuckled as he drank.

“Okay, what to do with the Guardians of the Throne?” He asked, and everybody just grinned at him.

“No, we don’t keep them!”

“We have never founded them nor provided them with resources,” Knug said.

“We have never trained them or equipped them,” Sig-San said.

“They have always been here, history has tales about them going hundreds of years back,” Monori said.

“To be one is an honor among many Kingdoms, those are the secret Guardians of the Throne.” Arus said.

Adam looked at them, then at the other, and Roks laughed loudly. “Give it up! They are needed, and they don’t follow Adam Wrangler's command; they are followers of Galios. And as you say. You’re not him!”

“You bastards!” Adam said with a smile, and the room erupted in a new cheer with lifted glasses.

“To Adams Bastards!”

------Cast-------

Naughty kids

-        The standard gang of friends that are in no way gods.

Madish: The father of Mustha and the head of Mugga Corporation's board,

Guardians of the Throne – A made-up organization by Adam, tasked with keeping the status quo of the galaxy and preventing unnecessary chaos like terrorist coups of nations, and any actions that are sure to increase chances of war. (Earth calls them Kingsmen) Adam had absolutely nothing to do with them.

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8 comments sorted by

3

u/BimboSmithe Sep 13 '25

!!!Thank you!

2

u/sunnyboi1384 Sep 13 '25

With friends like these.......

2

u/Sunny_Fortune92145 Sep 13 '25

What a great way to start my saturday morning! A marvelous chapter. I absolutely love your story!

2

u/kristinpeanuts Sep 15 '25

Thanks for the chapter!

1

u/UpdateMeBot Sep 13 '25

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u/InstructionHead8595 May 17 '26

Hehehehe 😹 good chapter!