The door to the house of healing shook as Aperio knocked lightly on the wood. Fearing it would break, she ceased the movement and hoped that her barrage had been enough. She was about to ask Ferio to knock for her when the door was opened from the inside.
The man opened his mouth to greet the two Goddesses when Aperio heard rapid steps that were quickly followed by a shout she could not understand. A moment later, she saw Laelia's daughter fly down the hallway towards her, followed shortly thereafter by her foster mother.
Before the paladin had time to catch up, the girl had launched herself at the winged Goddess. Aperio caught the girl, taking a step back and lowering her arms along the girl’s path to soften the impact. The child immediately wrapped her arms around the Goddess as best she could and started to babble words that had no meaning to Aperio.
"I am sorry, my Goddess." Laelia said. "She not know how to behave. Very thankful that you saved her..." Her voice trailed off as she scrunched her brows, looking for the correct word.
"Brothers?" Aperio guessed. She spoke as softly as she could, trying to not cause any undue pain to the girl clinging to her. "And you need not be sorry. This is preferable to the usual pretentious behaviour."
Her paladin gave a nod despite the confused expression that had settled on her features. The woman seemingly still did not understand that Aperio did not like the formalities that being a Goddess entailed. Maybe it's the language barrier?
Learning a few more languages – especially the ones the Humans used – would certainly be helpful. Or will that be something I could recall after taking out a few of the crystals? Aperio had no great desire to sit down and learn a language like she had done with Moria, though with her drastically improved memory it should be a lot easier. Is there a limit to how much I can know?
She pushed the rather weird line of thought back down and instead returned her focus on the people present. The girl in her arms had stopped her stream of words once she realised the Goddess was not listening; instead, she had waited until both Aperio and Laelia had settled into silence to wiggle herself around and ask her foster mother something.
Whatever it was caused Ferio to stifle a laugh and answer before the Human had a chance. The girl seemed excited at the words as her eyes began to sparkle and she immediately asked the fiery-haired Goddess another question. This time, the girl froze at the answer and very slowly turned to look the winged Goddess in the eyes. Aperio could only give her daughter a confused look that was accompanied by a questioning magical nudge.
"She wanted to know why the 'pretty Elf’s words are so loud when she barely speaks'," Ferio said. "So I told her that you are a Goddess and that her mother serves under you, which caused her to ask what you are the Goddess of. I thought 'everything' is pretty accurate."
Aperio blinked at her daughter. If her title was to be believed, then Ferio's claim was certainly true, but she really did not want that to be the case. The idea of being able to just make a universe – or, at the very least, the creation of a System that was able to influence every form of life that lived in it, including the sapient species – simply did not sit right with her. It also seemed so outlandish! How would anyone ever be capable of something like that? That line of thinking brought her mind back to the crystals and the knowledge she hoped they would hold. Only one way to find out.
"I hope it did not scare her," Aperio said, looking at the still-frozen child in her arms. "I am not scary, am I?"
"Sometimes you scary," Laelia admitted. "But Brenia not scared. Probably asking herself many question and try to find right ones to ask you."
"I am afraid I will not have time to answer questions. I merely came by to make sure Natio was not making any trouble, and to let you know that I will be seeking out the dungeon in this city."
Laelia stood a bit straighter at the mention of the dungeon. "Wish me to join?"
"No," Aperio replied with a slight shake of her head. "I would like you to keep watch over the people here. Perhaps spend a bit more time with your family. Speaking of which, may I see your sons before I leave?" While she could see them perfectly fine through her aura, Aperio felt like actually going to visit them was the right thing to do.
Her paladin seemed confused by her question, remaining silent for a moment with her brows slightly scrunched together. The prolonged silence caused the part of herself Aperio was seriously starting to hate to call for the head of the insolent wench that would not answer the question of her Goddess. Luckily, she was getting better at ignoring the feeling, simply pushing it into the deepest abyss of her conscience where it belonged.
"Of course," Laelia finally said with a small rise in pitch that spoke of her uncertainty.
Aperio suddenly had an unpleasant inkling as to why the paladin seemed uncertain and hesitant. "Are you not used to being shown basic decency by the one you serve?"
"I used to receiving orders," she replied. "Hidden as request or statement. What I want not matter."
"It does matter to me. If you are not fine with something I do or ask of you, please, tell me." After she had received a small nod from Laelia, Aperio continued. "Then, may I see your sons?"
This time the Human only had the briefest of pauses before she nodded and motioned for the two Goddesses to follow. During their exchange Brenia had kept quiet, returning to hugging the winged Goddess. She had either not fully understood what Ferio had said or – what Aperio dearly hoped was true – did not care.
As they walked down the halls, the people they passed glanced their way out of simple common curiosity. However, as what they saw happened to be someone they knew to be a Goddess, being hugged by the child she carried, the simple glances turned quickly into prolonged stares. Clearly, they were seeing something that was far beyond what they considered to be normal.
Aperio did her best to ignore them, a task that should have been easy if it weren't for her aura providing her with information about every little detail in her surroundings. Relegating the influx from her aura to the back of her mind helped a little, but did not stop it. Slowing it to a trickle, like she could when she had just figured out that she could use it, did not really work anymore. At least it does not seem to bother the people as much anymore.
She did not know if they had simply gotten used to her rather overbearing mana or if the System recognising her as its creator again had brought the change, but she would not complain. If it helped her stand out a little less, it was welcome. Now I just to have to find more people with wings so that won't attract undue attention. Hiding her feathered appendages was something she would rather not do, even if she was technically capable of doing so.
Stepping through one last door, the group entered the room that held the two boys who were still asleep in their beds. At least, that is how things appeared. Aperio, however, knew better. Both boys had reacted to their mother entering the room, and when Aperio had stepped through as well they had both tensed up, trying their best to pretend to sleep. The winged Goddess gently lowered Brenia, much to the girl’s dismay, before stepping nearer to the beds.
Only now did she allow herself to closer inspect the two children through her aura, trying to find any damage she might have missed the first time. Much to her relief, she was unable to see anything wrong.
"How long have they pretended to be asleep now?"
"A few hours," Laelia replied. "I thought best to let rest."
"It probably is. Physically they are fine; they likely need time to process what has happened to them." Maybe they can forget it ever did. Aperio briefly tried to imagine what it would be like to have multiple souls within her, each vying for supremacy. She shuddered, and hoped that the boys would manage to forget. "If you need my help, just ask."
Her paladin hesitated again before she nodded, a motion that made Aperio fairly certain she would not ask when she should. "I mean it, Laelia; ask if you need help."
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"I will," she said, her voice still carrying a note of uncertainty that brought a tinge of sadness and anger to Aperio's mind. She also felt the magic of her daughter brush past the edges of her mind, telling her that she should take her own advice.
Ferio was correct, of course. She should listen to her own advice. Take the offer her daughter had made. But, she could not bring herself to do so. The act of asking for help felt disgusting. The need to remember her life as a slave? Even more disgusting. But, at the same time, completely avoiding talking about it also felt utterly wrong.
Admitting to herself that she was not perfect should be easy. It was true after all; nobody is perfect. But a sizable portion of her psyche outright rejected the notion of being seen as anything but utter perfection.
With a mental sigh, Aperio turned to leave, but not before giving Brenia a very gentle pat on the head. The way the child did not care about what she was and what she could do was refreshing. I hope it stays that way.
"Now, what are you having the newest member of staff do?" She had already found where Natio was, but he currently resided in a place she would not give any more attention than necessary to. What he was doing there was answered by Laelia's next words.
"Latrine duty."
Aperio had to do her best to not laugh at the statement. Yesterday he was a God, and now he cleans toilets. It was an amusing thought, but it was also one that reminded her of what she was capable of and how little a literal God was able to do to stop her. "I do not think I have to go and check on him myself, then." I have seen enough of that to last me a good few centuries.
"Probably for the best," Ferio agreed. Laelia for her part just gave a small nod and started to lead them outside again.
As soon as the door had closed behind them, Aperio could not help but smile. The boys had stopped their act and were flooding Brenia with what the winged Goddess assumed to be questions that the girl eagerly answered. She was also quick to fetch Aperio's feather from a nearby drawer to present to her brothers.
The way back out was much like the way in: people stopped what they were doing to look and bow. Every step caused the wooden floor to slightly groan under her weight and the people who had not noticed her passing before to turn to look as well. While she did not mind the attention she got, Aperio still found the fact that she was someone others would come to revere simply because of her nature to be rather unnerving.
"You sure you not want me to follow you?" Laelia asked as they reached the front door.
"If you really want to, you may accompany us. I simply thought you would like to spend a bit more time with your family and your friends." She did not know if the people here were her friends, but she doubted the paladin would let her children alone with people she did not trust.
Laelia remained quiet for a while, staring at her feet. Did I do something wrong? Aperio was about to ask when her paladin looked at her with an expression that she could not place and spoke.
"Thank you."
The winged Goddess tilted her head ever so slightly at the words. She did not quite understand why Laelia sounded so thankful for something so simple. And a bit selfish, maybe. Aperio wanted her paladin to spend time with her family, yes, but she also wanted to spend more time with her own daughter. Whether a dungeon excursion was the right activity for an extended family reunion or not wasn't something she knew, but she doubted they would have much trouble.
After giving Laelia a nod, the woman turned and went back inside, only closing the door after she got another gesture from the winged Goddess, motioning for her to go. Does she think I don't like her? With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused her attention on her daughter.
"Before we go, may I ask you something?"
"Of course, mother," Ferio replied.
"How do you speak normally?" Aperio asked, bracing herself for the wave of disgust that would soon wash over her. "No matter what I try, there is always this note of power to my voice."
"I am sorry, but I can't help you with that. You have always talked like this. If I want to lace my words with mana, I have to consciously do so. At least if I want enough that people notice it in the same way they do with yours."
"Oh." Aperio hesitated for a moment as an idea came to her. It might work, or conversely it might kill the people she tried it on. "Do you think I could talk to people like we do? It is almost like telepathy, after all. It would also solve the language barrier. I could understand Laelia's prayer just fine and it was most certainly not in a language I know."
"You already give me a headache when you reply to my questions that way, I think a mortal would die if you try that," Ferio said, wincing briefly. "Now that I think about it, however, the monsters in the dungeon are mostly mindless, but they should still react to a mental query. Should you wish, you could try to train your abilities that way."
Apparently you can be too strong. Aperio could not help but sigh at the answer. Simply more things to master. "Then please, lead the way."
Ferio gave her a nod before leaping into the sky with a graceful motion, her fiery wings materialising behind her. Aperio followed suit, kicking off of the ground and unfurling her own feathered limbs. The air caressing her form took the edge off her mind, a soothing touch that she had not known she needed.
Flying over Ebenlowe during midday was vastly different than during the crack of dawn as they had previously. At this time, they weren't the only ones using the sky as a quick way to cross the many islands that formed the city. None of them have wings like mine, though. There were varying sorts of people in the air with them, but Aperio spotted repeated clusters carrying spears and bows as long as their bodies. A better look revealed them to be wearing the same armour the guards had when she had first entered the city.
A group of three of them, noticing their ascent, started to move towards the pair of Goddesses, but they were quickly waved off by another man – one with red cloth stitched to his shoulder.
Aperio squinted, both physically and with her aura, to get a better look at the man, but she did not recognize him. Trying to listen to what they were saying was also fruitless, for despite her ability to hear their voices she still could not understand a word of what they were saying. In a way, she was glad that their speech remained incomprehensible. That I can even hear them is crazy enough, I really don't want to have to listen to an entire city talk. She found herself thankful for the fact that her distance hearing was selective in nature. It required her to actually focus to hear the faraway voices.
With a shake of her head, Aperio banished the thoughts from her mind and followed her daughter. Looking at her brought a question to her mind that she had not asked before but thought important nonetheless.
"Ferio?" she asked, only continuing once her daughter had settled in beside her. "Is it normal that the mortals do not know the appearance of their Goddess? Many people seem to know of you but fail to recognise you when they actually see you."
"I usually don't walk among the mortals," she replied with a shrug. "Most of my followers are also on Spicor, not here on Vetus. That is also where I used to spend most of my time, talking to Roots and trying to figure out what had happened to you. I also don't really care if they know how I look or not; it doesn't really matter as long as they show some respect once they know."
"I guess it does not," Aperio said more to herself than her daughter. It should not matter, but now that she was more than skin and bones she found that she wanted to be recognised. Though, she was not sure if she wanted people to notice how she looked or if she simply wanted them to recognise her as a – the – Goddess. But if they know what I am, I can't really just live my life, can I?
She shook her head and pushed the thought away. It was something she would deal with after the current mess with the other Gods and her lacking memory had been solved. "How big is the dungeon here?"
"I have never been inside myself, so I only know what some of my followers have told me. It is rumored to be a bit over a hundred floors, but few adventurers are capable of making it past the sixtieth. However, I doubt that will be a problem for you. Your strength continues to grow by leaps and bounds – even if you cannot remember any proper way of fighting, I have no qualms about your abilities."
Despite the disgust the statement would bring with it, Aperio voiced another inadequacy of hers aloud. "I would still like to learn how to fight properly. It seems like a fun thing to do," she continued, trying to soften the blow to her psyche. "I also have this." With those words, she summoned from her Void the blade the follower of Natio had used to try and bring about her demise. She grasped the hilt of it, then paused. It felt disturbingly light in her hand, and she had the impression that it might break if she gripped it too tightly.
Ferio gave the weapon a curious look before speaking. "I can try to teach you how to fight with that weapon, but I'd like to try something first. Though you may have lost your memory, and have become quite different in some ways, the way you talk and move, mother, has remained largely unchanged. I'd like to see what your instincts are with the sword. Perhaps, if you try, you can still figure out how to wield it." She gave a half-smile. "Though now that I think about it, your magic – or even your bare hands – will likely be deadlier than any weapon you have not forged yourself."
Before Aperio could answer, Ferio slowed down, pointing to a large stone building below them. A closer look revealed that it sported a large plaque depicting crossed spears in front of a shield – the emblem of the Adventurer's Guild. Below the plaque she could make out the words 'Ebenlowe Dungeon - Entrance' written in the slightly newer version of the Common she knew.
It was clearly their destination.