It didn’t explain what the Ardentia had to do with this place. Did they serve Aphrodite, a Goddess of love? Or Pasiphae, a cursed immortal and scorned woman?
“Let me down,” I said.
Olaf helped me down and quickly asked, “Figure anything out?”
“Nothing good,” I said. I quickly explained what I had found out.
“Well, we know Aphrodite is the fallen now,” said Rose.
I frowned, something about this just didn’t feel right to me. I know we got that message earlier that the Goddess Aphrodite was watching us, but it didn’t say that was a bad thing. It didn’t say it was a good thing either. I suppose the only option was to go inside and find out for sure.
“Lead the way, Rose, but . . . don’t attack right away unless you are attacked first. I still feel like we’re missing something,” I said, ready to follow her in.
Rose stepped forward, entering the temple first, shields at the ready.
The entrance was dark and quiet, barely lit from light at the end of the tunnel and the light from behind us. As we got closer to the other end of the tunnel there was the sounds of chanting and moaning.
“I swear if we come out into some kind of orgy . . .” complained Rose.
“It’s probably a drug induced trance,” I said, trying to allay some of her fears. Sure, it was entirely possible there was indeed some kind of orgy going on inside, but I highly doubted something like that would be put into the game, especially with the warnings about rape and the consequences. “It was a big thing in ancient Greece. They would dope up young girls in the hopes they would have visions of the future. If soothsayers are in charge like we’ve heard, then I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case.”
“I’m pulling for the orgy,” said Olaf, earning an elbow from his wife.
As we finally exited the tunnel it was into a large hollowed out cave of polished marble with massive columns standing from floor to the cavern ceiling and circling the entire cavern.
Near the center of the room were four elderly men and four elderly women chanting, surrounding them were scantily clad girls, writhing and moaning, chained to the floor. And just past them, in the center of the room on a raised platform were two women, trading blows. Both looked to be barely able to stand, their clothes were Grecian in style though brown with dirt and age as well as being torn either through the fight or age, I couldn’t tell, and yet they still persisted, each strike looked to take more energy than the previous attack. And there, around their ankles were shackles, each one connected to a chain that connected them to each other. They were literally bound in eternal conflict.
“Why haven’t they stopped them?” Baby asked, a quaver in her voice.
“Power,” said Mardi. “Whoever bound them like this . . . that is your fallen.”
“Hephaestus,” I hissed. It was his temple to his wife. A last bastion and a trap. If I remembered my history correctly, Aphrodite was never what one might call faithful. In fact, she was as promiscuous as the Gods came, maybe even more so than Zeus, and his infidelity was legendary, but more due to the legends that surrounded his children. I was getting sidetracked. Myth tells us Aphrodite hated her husband because of how ugly he was, it was a punishment from Hera . . . or was it Zeus? Anyway, point is, he loved his wife, not as a wife but as a prize, as far as he was concerned she was property, fairly given. I could understand him growing bitter after how many centuries of constant betrayals. Falling after enduring something like that . . . it would be easy.
I don’t know why, but I glanced at Heath, he seemed to look on Aphrodite with some kind of satisfaction to see her in that state. Was that what happened to him?
“How do we handle this?” Rose asked.
“We have to stop the Ardentia obviously,” I said, looking at the eight soothsayers, all of them level 9 or 10. “Then we need to free them, all of them.”
“And how do you suggest we free a God?” Heath asked.
“With a god of our own,” I said, looking at Mardi.
“Hey, I am not a Goddess anymore, remember?”
“Yes, but your father the God Ivaldi is. I imagine as the Dwarven God of Crafting, he might have the skill to break the chains of Hephaestus. On the other hand, I’ll understand if he doesn’t show up, Hephaestus’s work might just be too much for him,” I said, intentionally challenging the God, Maggie’s warning from the first time I logged in to the World Tree was still seared into my being, ‘Respect the Gods. The system governing the Gods and Goddesses is very fickle, as it should be. A God could bless you one day and curse you the next, so be careful not to offend them.’ Did I risk offending him? Yes, I did. Was there any other being I knew capable of breaking the work of God like Hephaestus? As much as I love my Goddess dearly, she was not a Goddess of Crafting, Forging, Smithing or anything related that would be helpful in this situation. And while I was sure she would love to see justice done in freeing these women, I didn’t want to put her in danger.
“Might?” Mardi shouted, clearly looking offended by the suggestion. It also had the unintended side effect of interrupting the chanting of the soothsayers. “Oops.”
“Mardi, start praying to your daddy for help, everyone else, we have soothsayers to capture,” Rose ordered.
“No,” moaned one of the old men. “The sanctum has been penetrated. Brothers and sisters, we must stop them.”
As one the eight turned on us with a single raised hand then chanted something, causing a wave of energy to rush at us, freezing us in place on contact. I saw a debuff ‘Binding’ with a 60-second timer. On the other side of it, the soothsayers all wilted a little. Whatever this spell was, it took a lot out of them.
“Has the time come?” one of the four women asked.
“Hmm, the prophecy,” said another.
“Eight is one,” said yet another.
“Who?” another man asked.
“Me, I am the most skilled of us,” said the first one to speak.
“Yet you are oldest and most frail. Can you handle such power?” one of the women asked.
“The prophecy,” said the woman that first mentioned it.
“So be it,” said another of the men.
As one, seven of the men and women pulled out ornamental daggers. They chanted as one, causing blood red crystals in the pommel to glow brightly. As one, all seven daggers plunged into the soothsayers’ hearts.
The last man standing, lifted a gold chalice adorned with similarly glowing rubies. He raised it above his head, his arms shaking from the exertion of using his frail body. At its highest point above him, the rubies glowed brighter then pulsed.
At the same time, the daggers still buried in the soothsayer corpses glowed brighter, a line of red light streamed from the daggers to the chalice, the corpses, aged as they were seemed to mummify, eventually turning to dust as the daggers clattered to the floor.
“Anoint me with love great Goddess that our work might continue,” said the soothsayer, tipping the chalice over and pouring red energy over himself, his body catching fire, a brilliant red flame engulfing him. The man screamed and howled in pain but would not fall nor did the flames seem to really damage him. When the screaming eventually subsided, the man had started breathing deeply, no not breathing, drinking. He was drinking in the red fire that wrapped around him. It was impressive to watch as the aged skin became youthful, each crease filling in, his height grew a few inches and his robes tore at the seams as his body bulged with reclaimed muscle until his robe tore away from his arms and chest, leaving him with just tattered robes barely held up around his waist by a rope belt, his exposed ash grey skin and pointy ears revealing him to be a dark elf.
“Ah, that is so much better, we are . . . restored,” came a rich and youthful voice, he was also no longer a soothsayer, his nameplate now read
This was totally a boss . . . and not one in a dungeon. The debuff finally faded.
Quest Alert: Blood Trail to Where? 9 (Recommended Level 6-8) – Completed!
Lieutenant Saaya has asked for you to use the scroll to the end of the line and see to it the Ardentia Guild also knows it’s the end of the line.
Reward: +5,000-Experience
About time.
Quest Alert: Blood Trail to Where? 10 (Recommended Level 6-8)
Defeat the final remaining leader of the Ardentia Guild. Rescue the trapped Goddess. Earn a well-deserved reward.
Reward: Experience, Hidden
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“You’re mine,” taunted Rose, charging in.
I was quickly behind her, bringing my own powers to bear, starting with a ‘Lesser Holy Fire’, adding the damage over time spell.
“How amusing?” the anointed laughed. “Yes, fight me. Fight me for all you are worth so that you might see the true power of love.”
“Shut up,” growled Rose, inadvertently using mana with the command. The fact the former soothsayer now had a debuff ‘Silenced’ proved it worked.
“Great job, Rose,” I shouted, having to suddenly dive out of the way of a ceremonial dagger. The anointed had animated the seven ceremonial daggers despite being silenced, suggesting they were controlled by something other than magic, perhaps some kind of innate ability.
“Daggers hurt a lot,” called Rose. “Baby, keep at max range and keep your ward active on yourself. We cannot afford to lose you in this fight.”
“You got it, sis,” Baby called, flying up and away from the daggers.
Damage began picking up in earnest, slowly amplifying the damage to ensure Rose kept agro on the boss. Unfortunately, the daggers seemed to have a mind of their own and ignored any taunts.
We finally got the former soothsayer down to 90% HP, it was slow going but we got there. And when we did he laughed, the silence having long since ended. “Brace,” cried Rose.
“You fools, you stand no chance against love, you cannot imagine the sacrifices of love. Love is my shield, always and forever,” the anointed said unconcerned by us. He raised a hand and red beams flowed from the daggers, back to him, refilling his health back to 100%.
“Well this is bad,” said Olaf.
Heath appeared out of ‘Stealth’ not near the boss but next to one of the daggers, his own weapon streaking down and shattering one of the ruby hilts.
“No!” the anointed cried, his health suddenly plummeting 13%. “How dare you! I will kill you all in the name of love!”
I saw the daggers start vibrating. “Run, get behind the pillars,” I cried out, already running for the closest one.
“Stab them my friends, let the whirling dervish of love cut them from their mortal coil,” the boss called out, sending the daggers flying fast, spinning around him like a Buzzsaw, the circle of the saw continued getting larger and faster until the first dagger clanged off one of the pillars.
“Attack the daggers,” Rose yelled once the effect had ended. She still went back to tanking the Anointed
It was easier said than done. They parried every attack I threw at them and my spells couldn’t seem to target them.
“This isn’t working,” Olaf called from the other side of the room. “We need the daggers to hold still and they only do that when he restores his health.”
“Okay, new plan, kill the boss,” ordered Rose.
“Do you really think I will allow you to destroy another of my beloved gifts? The precious totems created by our love,” said the anointed. “I do not need to use their gifts to defeat the likes of you.”
We went back to grinding the boss’s health down. Hoping that at the 80% mark he would heal himself, but he didn’t, nor did he at 70%. At 50%, he was finally healed, seemingly one of the daggers had gone rogue.
“No, you must not,” he cried out as one of the daggers restored the lost HP in just a few seconds. It was long enough that Heath was able to appear and once again shatter another hilt. The refilled HP plummeted to 75%.
“They are noble warriors,” said Vision, skidding to a stop next to me. The little wolf had been using hit and run tactics, darting in, taking a bite and darting back out. He also seemed to have a much easier time avoiding the daggers.
“What do you mean?” I asked, flipping over one of the daggers. Why did he call the daggers noble warriors?
“The warriors, they may fight with small knives, but they are noble. The act of sacrificing one’s spirit to save the life of another, nothing could be more noble,” said the cub.
“Are you saying, there are warriors wielding the daggers?” I asked the little wolf.
“Of course, can you not see them?” Vision asked.
“I can’t, but you can, right?” I asked.
“Of course, I can,” said the wolf cub proudly.
“Can you attack the warriors?” I asked.
“I can, but Rose said to attack the boss,” said the little guy, glancing nervously at Rose.
“Can Micaela see the warriors?” I asked.
“I do not know. Should I go ask her?” Vision asked.
“No,” I said, finally figuring out how those daggers worked. “Let’s both go talk to your boss.”
Micaela was struggling, her larger size limited her Dexterity and therefore reduced her dodge chance. Still, she continued to fight, using her two axes as best she could, frequently using ‘Hack and Slash’ to cleave into the boss with Butch and leave behind a burning debuff with Sundance.
“Micaela, fall back, all the way to the pillars,” I yelled, running for one of the pillars.
“Jack, where are you going? Why are you taking Micaela?” Rose yelled.
“I figured it out,” I yelled back to her. “Just keep fighting, I’ll be back.”
Taking refuge behind the pillar, Micaela wasn’t far behind me.
“What is it Bye-bye? What did you figure out?” Micaela asked.
“Your magnificent little wolf helped me. He has definitely earned himself the greatest belly rub in the history of belly rubs,” I said, grinning at the little wolf.
“You promise?” Vision asked, looking at me wide-eyed, his tail wagging a mile a minute.
“I promise,” I said.
“That’s great, but what is it? We’re in the middle of a fight here,” said Micaela, panting. I could see her stamina was running low and her health wasn’t quite topped off, but it was filling up, probably thanks to her totems.
“Vision said they were warriors, not daggers. He said he saw warriors wielding knives. The Anointed even called them totems,” I answered.
“So what?” Micaela asked, not putting it together.
“They are totems,” I said again. “They exist in the spirit world. You can fight them there, we’ll keep after the boss, you need to go into the spirit world and fight the daggers, get it?”
“Oh, is that what you two were talking about?” Micaela asked, looking at her axes. “Hey, don’t you take that tone with me. I will ground you for a month.”
“Done?” I asked.
“Huh, oh yeah, we’re good now. My spirits and I will deal with the dagger-wielding warriors, you guys focus on the boss,” said Micaela, slumping to the ground and leaning back against the pillar.
“Is it working?” I asked looking at Vision.
“Boss says stop standing around and get to work,” said Vision.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I said, running back into the fray.
Chapter 22 - Micaela
The muted colors of the spirit realm quickly surround Micaela, bringing her to another plane of existence. She could still hear and see the fight her friends were waging but she also now saw something truly ghastly. The warriors that Vision had said were wielding the daggers, were little more than spirit wraiths, all shadows but with a stark white face frozen in a rictus of pain and suffering. As they struck at her
friends, they cried out in pain, tears leaking from their empty eyes.
“Boss, don’t just stand there, let us at ‘em,” demanded Butch, the wolf spirit had grown quite a bit this week as Micaela’s training with the greater spirits had paid dividends. The more physically gifted of the two wolf spirits she first adopted, he was only slighter taller than his brother, any similarity ended there. Butch was built for strength, endurance and stamina, giving Micaela bonuses to all three stats. He had also gained a bit of a mean streak.
“Hold on now,” said Boots, the spirit that inhabited her boots. He was a horse spirit that gave her a speed boost and a little extra Stamina and Dexterity. “We cannot just go rushing in.”
“You are a horse, rushing in is what you do,” countered Butch.
“You are both correct,” said Sundance, playing the peacekeeper as usual. Unlike his brother, Sundance was slim and rather lithe. Opposite of his brother, he boosted her Intellect, Spirit and Charisma, he also had developed something of a fiery aura. Micaela knew Butch would never admit to it, but Sundance was probably the strongest of her totems. “But we do not have time to argue over this. Butch, you will tank them, we want to fight them one at a time, so we do not get overwhelmed. Boots, you will get them all to chase you. You are the fastest of us so that should not be a problem. Barista, Coffee and Espresso, do your best to heal us and keep our spirits up.”
Butch grinned his wolfish grin and started stalking forward, eager to fight in the spirit world, something Micaela had never done before. The three ravens that occupied her gourds, fell from Micaela’s shoulders, flapping their wings and taking to the air, circling around the group.
“Why am I always being chased? All the other horses chased me too,” whined the horse spirit.
“That was a race,” deadpanned Butch.
“I just wanted to run, why does everyone keep chasing after me?” Boots complained, completely ignoring Butch’s dig.
“What am I supposed to do?” Micaela asked.
World Tree Online: The Duchess of Hammers: 2nd Dive Begins Page 37