Just before the sun disappeared completely into the ocean of neon colors painting the western sky, a pair of acolytes came to escort the trio of adventurers down to the temple’s grand hall to attend the feast being held in their honor. The hall itself was an enormous marble chamber, whose domed ceiling was held up by titanically proportioned pillars, each thicker across than any tree Lexi had laid eyes on. Lit both from a huge ornate chandelier hanging from the dome’s center as well as intricately wrought golden candelabras on each table, the white marble and gilded ornamentation throughout gleamed as if the chamber itself were filled with sunlight.

At the chamber’s back, opposite the large double doors leading into it, three broad steps led to a wide pedestal upon which sat a long table arranged so that those seated all faced out towards the rest of the room. The rest of the tables filling the space’s interior were arranged in neat rows on opposite sides of an baroquely ornamented carpet which ran the entire length of the room, all the way from the doors to the top of the platform. The chamber was filled with nearly a hundred clerics and acolytes, with their placement appearing to be determined hierarchically.

As Lexi and her companions entered the room, she noted that those closed to the doors wore the simplest togas, with no adornments. However, the closer they got to the pedestal, the more ornate and embellished their garments became. Although the population of clerics largely consisted of human women, Lexi keenly noted both the presence of men among them, with all of the other goodly races being represented in some smaller proportions — with the sole exception being that she saw no beastkin within the chamber.

“Hail!”

The clear voice of Anya echoed through the marble hall with all the authority of her station as high priestess of Xoth. “Hail the heroines who, against all odds, retrieved Xoth’s holiest relic from the clutched of the vile greenskins! Thanks to their efforts, and the supreme sacrifice of one of their number, the Starseed is once again in its rightful place, here in Xoth’s temple. Hail the heroines!”

“Hail the heroines!” came the chorus of voices from all sides, filling the marble chamber with the rich warmth of a hundred women and men all cheering the three adventurers.

The high priestess gestured to the three vacant seats to her right, the places of honor set aside for the companions. More than a bit self-conscious at the fact that literally every cleric in the room as staring at her and her friends, Lexi did her best to keep her eyes straight ahead and locked on Anya, mentally creating blinders to eliminate everything else in the room. This task became exponentially more difficult when the smiling older woman began to applaud the adventurers, a gesture which was joined by the entirety of the room in short order.

After what seemed like an endless trek through miles of cheering and clapping priestesses and priests, Lexi and her companions finally reached the dais, and moved into their appointed positions beside Anya — Lexi taking the seat directly beside the high priestess, with Samantha and Danica occupying the following two places. With a single imperious gesture from Anya, the cheering and applause died down, and everyone took their seats. Mercifully, it did not appear that Anya had any further speeches planned — at least not yet — because Lexi saw legions of young acolytes file out from the very last tables, only to return almost immediately bearing large trays of food and drink.

As the legion of young acolytes began to fill the tables — stating with the table on the dais where Lexi’s party sat with the high priestess and her highest ranking underlings — Anya turned to the the adventurers, a warm smile spread across the mature woman’s lined but beautiful face.

“Given how chaotic and sudden things have been for you,” she said to the group. “I’ve taken the liberty of coordinating with the Adventurer’s Guild to have both this quest as well as the prior one you’ve all just completed on our behalf officially logged.”

“Shit,” Lexi said running a hand through her honey blonde bangs. “I’ve been so gung-ho for the past few days that it completely slipped my mind that we’d want to be doing that. Thanks so much for being so considerate, Anya.”

“It’s nothing compared to what you three have done for us, or for the sacrifice paid by your fourth companion,” the high priestess said somberly. “The guild paid out quite a hefty reward for your recovery of the Starseed, but I fear that fails to even begin to strike a balance with what you have lost today.”

“Quite,” Samantha replied in her usually clipped speech.

“Still,” Anya continued. “I have faith that you will succeed in this new quest that the goddess has ordained for you. I’ve taken the liberty of securing the chest of gold coins here for you in the temple’s vaults, so everything will be safe and secure for when you return as a quartet.”

“Heh, yeah I guess it’s not like we’ll be buying anything in the underworld dungeons, right?” Lexi chuckled darkly.

“Indeed not,” Anya said with an indulgent smile. “However, we have prepared supplies and provisions for your journey.” The high priestess raised one hand in another imperious gesture, immediately stirring a previously unseen acolyte to motion. The green haired young elven woman scurried over to a side table which Lexi then saw was laden not only with four packs bulging with what must be supplies and foodstuffs. However, it was not the bulky packs which the elf retrieved, but a pair of small wooden boxes. The elven acolyte placed one before Lexi and the other in front of Samantha, bowed deeply and then retreated back to her original position.

“What gives?” Danica interjected indignantly. “How come they get a little box and I don’t?”

“Calm, young one,” Anya smiled, her lined eyes twinkling with mirth. “If you’ll open the boxes, you will see that these are the two Starsight Gems which birthed by the Starseed itself. One of my priestesses who is a skilled silversmith has mounted these for your human companions, my little elf, so that they might see in the dark depths with as much clarity as all of your noble race can do without the need of any magical aid.”

Lexi opened her small jewelry box to see that the pea-sized opalescent gem has been set into a silver fixture wrought into the shape of what Lexi initially took as an extremely long necklace but quickly realized was in fact a waist chain. Samantha’s box contained a similarly designed piece of jewelry. For a moment, Lexi wondered at the choice of settings for the gems, but as soon as she visualized both her own and Samantha’s costumes and armor, she quickly realized the genius in the design. Something like a necklace, ring, or bracelet would be almost guaranteed to be damaged during combat. But, a waist chain would be concealed underneath their outfits — Lexi’s breastplate and Samantha’s thick sash respectively — which would be far less likely to result in a disastrous situation where the lights suddenly went out.

“These are wonderful!” Lexi gushed. “The design is so thoughtful, just perfect for what we need.”

“Indeed,” Samantha added. “The work is extraordinarily well done, and will doubtless serve our cause very well. Thank you.”

“It’s our pleasure to assist you in this small way,” Anya said nonchalantly, belying the tremendous import of the magical gems which would enable the two human members of he party to see in the lightless depths of the dungeons under the world’s surface. “Additionally, my acolytes have laundered and repaired all of your armor and clothing, so you’ll be set to depart this very night.”

Lexi’s face must have registered enough shock at this suggestion to be clearly apparent to Anya, because the high priestess immediately clarified her statement. “You see, the portals which lead into the world below are not accessible while the light of the sun shines upon Aeternia’s face. It is only in the relative darkness of night that any can descend into the underworld’s dungeons.”

“Can you tell us where we need to go?” Lexi asked, her face a mask of bewilderment at the revelation of the quest’s suddenness. “Because, as it stands now, I have a pretty good idea of what we’ve been asked to do, but zero fucking clue about how we’re supposed to find our way there.”

Whereas Danica was already happily stuffing her face with a plateful of deliciously aromatic roast vegetables with which she had been presented, Samantha had been listening keenly to the conversation. “That is actually my deepest concern at this juncture as well,” the monk added. “None of our party, to my knowledge, have descended into that labyrinthine world before, and all upon Aeternia’s surface know of the legendary perils of the underworld’s dungeons.”

Just. Fucking. Great.

“Actually,” Anya said, laying a graceful white hand gently atop Lexi’s and splitting her cool gaze between the paladin and monk. “I can do far better this time than simply telling you where to go. We have among our numbers an acolyte who spent the first decades of her youth within those very corridors, and is eager to serve as your guide on this holy quest.”

“Whoa,” Lexi said softly. “That’s…amazing!”

“Truly, that shall be a decisive boon for our endeavor,” Samantha added, her normally even voice tinged with an undercurrent of wariness. “May I ask, however, how it is that a former denizen of the underworld has come to be in Xoth’s service?”

“Ah, yes!” Anya said, the mature woman’s face reddening slightly under Samantha’s steely gaze and pointed question. “I should have made that clear at the outset. Luella, your guide, is a member of the lepidoptera race — one of the mothkin. Her particular clan is one of those who lay their eggs underground, so the young hatchlings will often spend the first phase of their life exploring tunnel networks adjacent to, and often intersecting with, those of the dungeon real proper. Although, the caverns within which the mothkin lay their eggs are not typically formally part of the underworld’s labyrinth, Luella wandered into that region of the interior world as a young child, and managed to escape not only with her life, but also with a unique insight into the subterranean realm’s geography and ecology.”

“Mmmm!” Danica squealed through a mouthful of some pan seared vegetable that looked something like a cross between broccoli and cotton candy — insofar as it was bubblegum pink. “I met one of the mothkin once! It was back when I was still a kid, maybe like twenty or thirty, and a beautiful mothkin girl visited with the elders in my village back on Tarynth. I dunno what they talked about, or why she flew all the way out there — Tarynth is an island, so it’s kinda hard to get to from the mainland — but I do remember how pretty she was! It wa—”

“So yeah!” Lexi cut in abruptly, seeing that Danica’s trademark motormouth was already running away with itself down some twisted path known only to the zany little elf. “That all sounds fantastic, Anya. Thank you so much for the thoughtfulness of having found us a guide. And, from what you say, it sounds like Luella will be totally up to the challenge.”

“As I said,” Anya said genially, once again lightly striking the back of Lexi’s hand. “Anything we can do to aid with a quest ordained by the goddess herself, simply consider it done.”

Although her libido had not quite recovered from the marathon fuck session with the adorable little elven femboy — apparently even a futa had limits — Anya’s touch kindled a thought in Lexi’s head, reminding her of an item she had mentally “pinned” to address later. Leaning in so that her next comment would be for Anya’s ears alone, Lexi softly asked, “Any chance I could get one of those rings that Avery was wearing?”