by Seth Ring
“My name is Josephine, High Priestess of the Ordo Serpentes. Please have a seat.” With a brilliant smile, she gestured to the side where a couple of carved stone seats were placed along the wall.
“Thank you, but I don’t think that would go well for your chairs,” Thorn smirked. Following Josephine over to the seats, Thorn squatted down as Oberlin took a seat.
“Now, you said that you want to negotiate for a soul piece? What makes you so confident that we will consider your offer?” Crossing one shapely leg over the other, Josephine propped her chin in her palm and stared at Thorn.
“Otherwise you would not have met us without a guard.” Thorn’s advanced sense of smell had failed to pick up any other people in the room when he walked in.
“Hah. I don’t know if it is a pleasure to talk to an intelligent person or if it is annoying. Since we are being straight-forward, why don’t you lay your cards on the table? What can you offer for the statue?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought that far ahead.”
“You are trying to tell me you walked in here expecting us to just give you the statue? Don’t insult me.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
The sinister air of the Temple grew heavier as Josephine’s words echoed around the room. Her voice took on the slithering quality that it had when they first walked in. The flickering torchlight seemed to splutter and dim as the deep pools of inky black shadow deepened. Shivering, Oberlin shrank back in his seat, throwing a frightened glance at Thorn who still looked calm.
This was not what he had in mind when he had recruited Thorn for the quest and he was becoming worried that the situation was getting out of control. About to try and mediate, he had barely gotten his mouth open when Thorn spoke again.
“Not only do I expect you to give me the statue, I’m pretty sure you’ll give it to me for free.” Without standing, Thorn reached out his hand to one of the stone chairs and squeezed the armrest.
*BANG*
Under his incredible strength, the armrest exploded into a cloud of dust, startling Oberlin. Josephine’s eyes widened in surprise momentarily, but her expression was back to normal so fast Thorn almost missed it.
“Ah, you are threatening me.” The Head Priestess stated, no change in her tone.
“Think of it less as a threat, and more as encouragement. A fight wouldn’t be in either of our interests. What would be better is if you just gave Oberlin here his cursed soul back. He has done some work for you, you’ve hunted him up and down the region, seems fair to call everything square and let it go at that.”
“Surely you have more than that. There is no way you would walk in here without something else to rely on.” Josephine uncrossed her legs and stood, looking down at Thorn. Or rather, she tried to. It was difficult to look down on someone who, crouching, was at eye level.
“You were not joking about being straightforward, were you? Do you really want me to lay everything out? Okay.” Thorn rose to his feet, stretching out to his full 8’ 9” height and gazing down on the robed High Priestess. “The truth is, I have a quest to crush your altar and all the statues.”
“Ah ha, the truth comes out. I thought I felt a familiar aura on you.” A wide smile spread across Josephine’s pretty face as she backed up to get out of Thorn’s reach.
“Can someone please explain what is going on?” Oberlin complained. When the other two ignored him he sighed and got up as well, moving to the side of the room. The air grew thicker as Thorn and Josephine confronted each other. Without warning both turned and walked out to the middle of the large hall, as if they were of one mind. Summoning his tetsubo, Thorn planted the end in front of him.
“Why don’t we start this over,” Josephine spoke calmly, lifting her snakehead cane.
“I am Thorn, Avatar of Hati, the Moon Wolf.”
“Greetings Thorn.” Josephine gave a slight bow, her left hand on her chest and her cane held up. “I am Josephine, Avatar of Salliish, the Shadow Serpent. Is this your first time participating in an Avatar challenge?”
“Yes.” Thorn was frank. “Would you mind explaining how this is supposed to work? I get the feeling that killing you is not the point.”
“That is correct,” Josephine eyed Thorn’s massive figure. “Thankfully this is not a duel to the death. While some Avatars do go that far, an Avatar challenge is more of a duel for supremacy. Contrary to the commonly held understanding, the gods never left, instead of hiding for reasons unknown. Yet they never stopped their grand game. Ever since the first era, Avatars have continued to seek each other out to compete against each other.
“Challenges can come in all shapes and sizes; the only constant is that they are triggered when two or more avatars find themselves near each other. Avatars must state their challenge to activate it and will be penalized or rewarded with the favor of their sponsoring deity based on if they fail or succeed. You can think of favor like a currency that unlocks reward tiers from the deity. When you walked in I was notified that you were an Avatar and that I was to challenge you to a contest of strength. Since you are here for your friend’s soul, why don’t we make this simple? If you can beat me, you get his soul. On the other hand, if I win you have to do something for me.”
Thorn shook his head, “I don’t agree to unspecified favors.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Since we are dealing in souls, why not keep the currency consistent? If I win you let him go. If you win, you let him go but I’ll join your organization.”
“What!? No way!” Oberlin shouted from the side.
“Now that is a deal I like the sound of,” Josephine spoke at the same time as Oberlin, as if afraid that Thorn would take back his words. “You for him. The battle will go until someone admits defeat. What I mean to say is, make sure you give up before you die!” As her last word rang out Josephine lifted her cane and thrust it forward.
With lightning speed the cane stretched out, the snake head on the end growing larger and coming to life. Thorn had been watching closely so he was able to get his weapon up in time to deflect the thrust. Still, the snap of the snake head’s mouth next to his shoulder made him sweat.
Seeing her attack fail, Josephine jumped backward and raised her hands high overhead, a purple glow gathering in the mouth of the serpent head. Loud chants began to roll out of her mouth as the purple light grew stronger and stronger, bathing the room in strange slithering shadows.
Tightening his grip on the handle of his weapon, Thorn was about to charge forward when warning bells started going off in his head. Shifting his momentum, Thorn threw himself to the side, dodging just as the tail of a giant snake landed where he stood moments before. The marble floor cracked under the impact of the blow, chips of stone flying through the air.
Focusing on this new enemy, Thorn faced the massive snake. Almost fifty feet long, the snake was as thick as a barrel, with jagged black and purple scales running along its sides. Wicked fangs were visible as it hissed toward Thorn, its cold, yellow eyes staring unblinkingly at him. As the purple light fell on the snake’s skin it seemed to fade in and out of existence, melding with the dark shadows.
Josephine stayed still, her hands raised, continuing her chant. Seeing how the snake seemed to fade out as it left Josephine’s purple light, Thorn narrowed his eyes. As if feeling Thorn’s glance at Josephine, the giant serpent shifted to put itself between them, defending Josephine from a possible attack, further reinforcing Thorn’s assumption.
“Let’s test the theory.” Thorn thought and stepped forward.
Lashing out with his tetsubo, Thorn aimed for the snake’s side with a light probing strike.
*tink*
The hardened purple scales deflected the blows with ease. Thorn, borrowing the momentum swung his weapon again. And again, the blow was deflected. Unswayed, Thorn continued to lash out with increasing speed. Unable to react to the speed of the strikes, the giant snake stayed curled up, weathering the storm of blows.<
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In between the tiny gaps in the coils, Thorn could see the snake’s eyes watching for the slightest break in his rhythm. Its attention was fixed on Thorn. Just as Thorn and the snake locked eyes, its head shot out from between its coils, forcing Thorn to abandon his latest attack and block in front of his chest.
With a crash the serpent rammed into Thorn, sending him flying backward into one of the Naga statues. Coughing, Thorn scrambled to his feet. As he did the snake struck again, this time biting at Thorn and forcing him to tumble out of the way. Missing by less than an inch, the snake did not pursue Thorn, instead of withdrawing back into the protection of its coils.
Staggering up, Thorn wove on his feet as he got his bearings. The snake was still in between him and Josephine who was watching the fight with much glee, her staff still shedding purple light on the fight.
“Haha, how do you like my pet? She is pretty strong, isn’t she?” Josephine gloated.
“Eh, not too bad.” Rolling his shoulders Thorn did not seem overly impressed. “Let’s start round two.” Charging forward, Thorn once again threw out a storm of attacks. His weapon blurred, raining down blow after blow on the scaly skin of the giant snake to little effect.
To the side, Oberlin stared at Thorn, a huge frown on his face. He had never intended for Thorn to get so enmeshed in his issue and he felt terrible that Thorn was fighting on his behalf. As he continued to watch his breath caught. Once again, Thorn had been sent flying into the wall, this time bringing down a bow-wielding Naga statue.
Yet, as this cycle continued, Oberlin’s frown turned to confusion. Repeatedly Thorn was struck, tumbling through the air to smash into the wall, destroying the room spectacularly. However, what was strange was that Thorn always seemed to hit a new statue each time he went flying. Soon, it wasn’t only Oberlin that was confused.
Josephine seemed to have caught on that something was wrong. Thorn was flying around like a human bowling ball, smashing into everything. Yet each time he hit the wall he bounced back up, no worse for wear. His attacks were as persistent and quick as if he was using up no energy. Growing frustrated, Josephine bit her bottom lip before shouting a command to the giant snake. Uncoiling, the snake slithered back, wrapping itself around her.
“What are you playing at? I can’t believe an Avatar would be so weak. Especial44 an Avatar of the god of night. You should know that failing a challenge brings serious penalties.” Josephine warned Thorn.
“But I’m not failing. I only have the altar left.” Thorn pointed at the altar behind Josephine.
“What?” Looking around, realization mixed with a sense of horror dawned on Josephine’s face. “You tricked me.”
“I told you I had a quest to crush your altar and all the statues.” Thorn smiled. “According to the rules you listed, an Avatar must state their quest and give their opponent a fair chance to prevent them from achieving it. I did that. I told you that I had to smash the altar and all the statues.”
“And I assumed you were talking about the statues on the altar. Very tricky.” The High Priestess narrowed her eyes as she glared at Thorn. “Well, I’m afraid you’ll pay for that.” Whispering an arcane word, the purple orb in the mouth of her cane flashed, forcing Thorn to squint. When the light cleared, the giant snake was gone. Instead, Josephine rose in the air, her body growing larger, a snake tail replacing her body from the waist down like the Naga statues.
“No one can trick me and get away with it! The glory of Salliish, the Shadow Serpent cannot be maligned!” As she grew, her robe fell away, revealing a tight-fitting armor that grew with her. Jagged claws grew from her fingers and her hair began to wave as if it was alive. Her eyes pulsed with purple light and she roared, shaking the room. Flecks of stone and little bits of dust and dirt fell from the ceiling.
Her eyes fixed on Thorn, Josephine shot forward, her snake tail sending her sliding around the floor as she advanced. Her unpredictable movement made her hard to pin down, but Thorn was not worried. To Oberlin’s surprise, Thorn even put away his tetsubo and stepped back heavily, his feet hitting the stone floor so hard they left cracks in it. Spreading his hands Thorn dropped into a martial arts stance, a wide grin spreading across his face.
“Haha, I’m finally facing something I can use my training on!” Thorn thought to himself. Every single fight he had participated in to this point was with people or creatures much smaller than him. Josephine’s Naga form was much more his size. In fact, with her tail extended she was taller than he was. Plus, her upper body had grown larger to account for the tail so she was the perfect target for Thorn’s Taijiquan.
With a piercing scream, Josephine lunged forward, her large claws outstretched. Rather than bracing himself, Thorn stepped forward, his front foot sliding across the floor smoothly as his hands came up to intercept the attack. With a twist of his torso, he deflected the attacking Naga, tossing her to the side.
Furious, she tried to knock Thorn back with her large tail, only for Thorn to accept the blow head on. Her tail hit Thorn’s large figure and bounced off, unable to move him in the slightest. With a screech of pain, Josephine slid backward, out of Thorn’s reach.
“What did you do?” Her pretty eyes were aflame with anger as Josephine glared at Thorn.
“What do you mean? I’m not sure I am following.”
“Why can’t I knock you back? My summoned serpent could throw you all over the place!”
“Oh, that. Yeah, I’m not jumping anymore.” Thorn shrugged. “I’m pretty heavy, so I am not easy to move. However, I’ve noticed that the game compensates for my weight when I jump, otherwise I’d never be able to get off the ground. So long as I intend to jump right before something hits me I’ll move. But I don’t have any more statues to smash so there isn’t a reason to let you toss me around.”
“This is stupid! How am I supposed to beat you in a contest of strength! You’re as dense as a mountain!”
“So are we done?”
“In your dreams!” Chanting, a purple mist gathered in Josephine’s hands, quickly solidifying into a bow. Hissing, she drew back the string and a purple arrow with a two-pronged arrowhead appeared, aimed at Thorn. “Die,” she hissed, releasing the arrow straight at Thorn’s heart.
For a brief second, Thorn considered trying to block the arrow, but seeing how fast it was coming in, he gave up that thought and dove to the side. Too fast to completely dodge, the arrow cut into Thorn’s side, punching its way straight through his armor and ripping a gash along his ribs.
Grunting in pain, Thorn dashed behind a pillar, barely dodging the second arrow. Feeling the burning of the wound, Thorn looked down to see the edges of the cut slowly taking on a purple hue. Poison. He needed to end this fight fast.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Darkness dominated the edges of the room, allowing even Thorn to hide. Torchlight cast long shadows against the walls of the underground temple. The stone floor was cold to the touch, and the pillar at his back was hard. Despite the chill, Thorn was happy to have solid stone between him and Josephine's poison arrows.
The arrows themselves were not that dangerous. Thorn’s massive body was much too dense for that. Despite their sting, they did very little damage to him. The purple poison coating her arrows was a different matter. Thorn could feel the poison numbing him and slowly draining his health. He did not know if it would fade over time or if his health would continue to drain until he died, and he was not about to risk his life experimenting with them.
About to peek out from behind the pillar, instinct made him jerk his head back in time to avoid another arrow. That same instinct prompted him to dive away from the pillar as Josephine’s massive snake tail smashed through it, showering him with fragments of stone.
Scrambling behind another pillar, arrows clipping at his heels, Thorn thought frantically. “I need to close the distance, but those poison arrows are no joke.”
“Ha, not so tough now, are you?” Near the altar, Josephine’s Naga form swayed from
side to side as she released arrows at Thorn’s hiding place. “That’s right. Keep hiding! Like that craven god of yours!”
At Josephine’s words, something in Thorn’s chest began to burn, sending hot adrenaline straight up into his brain. Without thinking about the consequences, Thorn grabbed a large chunk of stone from one of the pillars that Josephine had smashed and stepped out from behind his cover. His eyes burning, Thorn glared at the Naga, his teeth clenched in visible rage.
*ding*
Wolf’s Rage Unlocked
A wise wolf chooses when to fight and when to run. But when they choose to fight, they do so with unmatched fury. Due to meeting the conditions for [Wolf’s Rage] in advance, you have unlocked the ability out of order. Unlocking the [Wolf Hide] ability will require increased favor from Hati.
[Wolf’s Rage] may now be used three times a day to grant increased Stamina, Strength, and Speed for 1 minute per [Avatar of the Wolf] ability unlocked. While in this state, the player will have a strong desire to confront problems aggressively, even if it would be to their detriment.