Alex sat in a house across a hippie and an emo, with Scott and Hades standing behind him.
“Thank you for your help Alex. If not for you, we would have been captured or killed today,” Devana spoke.
“Mmm.” Hecate wasn’t as good at expressing gratitude.
*Bang* *Bang*
Alex hadn’t heard them because he was handling a more important matter—playing PUBG on his phone.
Embarrassed, Scott took over the diplomatic duties. “My Lord’s support was only natural. After all, we are warriors on the same side. The apocalypse will spare no one and you will both be necessary when the time comes.”
Devana and Hecate exchanged glances in silence. They kept their heads down, unwilling to meet Scott’s gaze. After several hesitant moments, Devana spoke, “We’ve discussed your request for us to follow your Lord. While we appreciate what you’ve done for us, we’ve…decided to refuse.”
“How could you refuse? Do you not understand there will be nowhere to run?” Scott squinted his eyes as he gazed at the two Goddesses.
“We won’t run!” Hecate leaned forward in her chair, glaring daggers at Scott until Devana managed to appease her.
Devana sighed. “It’s not that we don’t understand the urgency of the situation, but that we can’t leave our people. You’ve seen the feeble state of this community. If we leave now, the werewolves or another party will come here and enslave everyone. We must stay here for the time being and protect them.”
Scott frowned.
“However, when the day arrives that the world shatters, if the Lord of Wolves comes, we vow that you will have our people behind you.” Devana and Hecate gave Scott firm glances.
Scott felt the sincerity in their gazes and words. He knew the promise of a Goddess was as unbreakable as steel, since reputation became more important when one lived for millennia. “Very well. We shall count on you at that season. For now, there remain additional matters to discuss. Hecate...”
Hecate spoke with hesitation as she watched Alex. “Will you have him go there? It is certain death.”
Scott looked at Alex with clear eyes of the utmost faith. “I believe in my Lord.”
*Bang*
“Yes, headshot!” Alex was crushing his true enemies in the game today and wouldn’t allow any trifling concerns to distract him. His only focus was survival…in PUBG.
‘Which part of this buffoon gives you such confidence?’ Devana and Hecate wondered, but it wasn’t their place to intrude. They had their own troubles.
Hecate took out a ring and held it in her open palm. It was sterling silver with a sun-shaped crest on the front. She stared at it for a long while before sighing. “Take it.”
…
*Bang* *Bang*
Alex was still not paying attention and Scott couldn’t lift the ring in his soul form. Hecate’s face warped in irritation.
*Bang* This time the bang was a little dimmer because it was the sound of the ring hitting Alex in the forehead.
“Ow! You b*tch! The hell?!? I should’ve let those werewolves run the train on you!” Alex rubbed the ring-shaped red mark on his face, annoyed by the disturbance.
Hecate’s chair exploded into pieces as she stood up in a rage and began forming an ice spear above her head.
“Everyone please calm down. This is a misunderstanding, Lord. Hecate was giving you a gift and her hand slipped. This ring is a unique treasure.” Scott was a master at appeasing his Lord by this point.
“…Unique treasure? So it’s very expensive?” Alex picked up the silver ring from the ground and traced its smooth texture with his fingers. He admitted that it appeared to be an antique with detailed workmanship, a rare quality loot drop at least.
“Indeed, Sir. This is Lancelot’s Ring of Dispel, a powerful item. It can cleanse its wearer of all enchantments or spells once per day. This ring is priceless.”
“Hold on. You just said it was very expensive. Now you’re saying it’s priceless. Which one is it? I don’t need any aluminum Voltron ring from an arcade.”
…
Everyone was lost for a moment before realizing the issue. ‘This guy is supposed to save the world? Even his vocabulary has a problem…’
“If my game was interrupted for a toy ring then people are about to get decapitated…” Alex took out Balisarda. He was a hardcore gamer to the core, ride or die.
*Cough* “My mistake, Lord. I misspoke earlier. This ring is a very expensive treasure.” Scott handled Alex like he would a Hollywood diva.
Alex looked satisfied and put away his sword. “Ok. I’ll accept this as an apology from gothic Barbie over there.” Alex tried the ring on, displaying a smile of appreciation for his new bling.
Hecate was gnashing her teeth as Devana held her back.
“That’s settled. Now for the other matter.” Scott looked over at Devana who met his eyes.
Devana’s eyebrows bunched together. “Radegast, It’s no problem to tell you. Last I heard from Perun, he was in Kitezh, but are you certain you wish to travel there? If Perun is not dead as you claim, he‘ll be furious. His policy is to kill everyone who enters that place, even if it’s you.”
Scott replied with confidence. “Even when I encountered Perun in the past, I did not fear him, let alone now that I am positive he is dead.”
“Hmm? What are you two talking about?” Alex finished admiring his ring and became curious about all this gibberish.
“Sir, we are discussing the next relic site that we will visit,” Scott clarified.
“Where’s that?” Alex queried.
“Sir, it is a place the god Perun called home, a city called Kitezh, or as some refer to it, the Russian Atlantis.”
Author's Note:
Sorry for the late post. I've added some editing tools into my workflow, which has improved the quality of my writing, but also made it take longer to produce finished chapters.
On the bright side, I've finished outlining the next few mini-arcs and you'll find them very interesting.
