Persepera

The 25th of Elaphebolion

The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals

Arche kept a close eye on his vitals as he trudged along the passage. His Stamina and Mana rose rather quickly. With his current Wisdom of twenty-five, he regenerated about thirteen percent of his total Mana pool per minute. Ideally, his Stamina would regenerate at a similar rate, tied instead to his Endurance, but it seemed walking while injured was enough of an exertion to slow the regeneration. Still, in under eight minutes, Arche had a fully regenerated Mana pool.

“Here goes nothing.”

Arche closed his eyes and brought up his vitals. Then, doing his best to control the flow of Mana, he activated Divine Body. Despite his efforts at control, his Mana plummeted while his Health and Stamina rocketed upwards. Straining against the flow as hard as he could, he managed to last three seconds before he was forced to deactivate the skill, leaving him with only seventeen Mana and a pounding headache.

Health: 414 / 495

84%

Stamina: 355 / 355

100%

Mana: 17 / 190

9%

Arche grinned. His pain levels had gone from ‘hurts to breathe’ down to the more manageable level of ‘don’t bend over too quickly.’ He’d also managed to avoid Mana Burnout, which was the real victory. He took a hesitant step forward, then another, confident now that his body was no longer mired in the agony of his wounds. Arche grinned and broke into a run, racing down the passage. Just being able to run again was freeing.

The passage eventually led to a huge, steel door. Arche pulled up short, cursing at himself. His relief at healing himself was making him reckless. There were traps here and, now that he was mostly uninjured for the first time in a while, he was racing off again to get hurt by more traps.

He had to be more careful. Arche narrowed his eyes at the floor and walls in front of him, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Nothing stood out to him, so he crept forward until he stood an arm’s length from the door. It was twice as tall as Arche and broad enough for three men to walk through together without touching. A massive padlock the size of a kite shield secured the door to the stone frame. Arche rubbed a hand over the scars on his chin. Even if he had lockpicking tools or knew how to use them, this lock was almost comically massive. The key would have to be the size of a sword and he hadn’t seen anything like that in the dungeon.

Arche took a step back and considered the problem. Either he could turn back and try to find another way through or he could figure out how to outsmart the locked door and see what was on the other side. Treasure was a strong possibility but it could also be a trap. Whatever was on the other side of the door was clearly either valuable or dangerous, perhaps both. He was also very curious about why such a large door was necessary. He scrutinized the lock again. It was a simple padlock with a front facing keyhole, looped through a metal bar in the door and the stone wall. What really caught his interest, however, was the shackle that ran the top of the lock.

Arche looked at the Tridory in his hand.

“I’m actually kind of glad no one else is here to see this.”

Without further ceremony, he stuck the tip of the spear through the looping shackle of the lock, then pressed the second button on the Tridory’s shaft. Metal screeched as the Tridory switched from spear into bident. The sharpened edges pressed against the metal, then sliced through. The lock fell to the ground with a heavy, echoing clang. Arche winced, reverted the bident into a spear, and looked at the broken pieces of lock on the ground.

“I take it back. I wish someone saw that.”

With no visible handle to grasp and pull, Arche threw his shoulder into the door. The old metal groaned, grating against stone as it swung inward. Arche tensed, spear ready to stab at the first sign of danger. It was still a dungeon, after all.

He slipped through as soon as there was room. Once inside, it was hard not to gawk at the marked change in environment. Gone were the dimly lit halls and passages that had littered the dungeon so far. He was in a laboratory, similar to the one he had blown up far above, but much more advanced. Beakers and vials of liquids stood in various contraptions designed to heat, cool, condense, and melt all around the room. The room itself was massive, easily the size of a dining hall and filled with gray and white machinery. The floor was tiled, as opposed to monolithic stone, and eerie, flickering lights lined the ceiling in rows, shining a sanitary white glow onto everything.

Large tables covered in dried blood took up a fair portion of the room, but what was more interesting was the figure dressed in white, bent over one of the tables. Arche tensed, ready for trouble. The figure straightened, as if sensing his attention. A shadow crossed over them and they disappeared.

Arche blinked, then spun to find the figure standing behind him. It was a woman, but unlike any woman Arche had ever seen. She was tall, towering half as tall again as Arche, with skin that ebbed and flowed from one shade into another. Some parts of her seemed like stone or steel, others exhibited all the tones of flesh that Arche had ever seen and many he had not. She had long, thick, dark hair tied behind her head with a piece of simple cord.

“I do not appreciate disturbances in my work, spark.”

Her voice was low and made the air tremble. A chill ran through Arche. Whatever this woman was, she was the same as the Oneiroi. The same as Death.

“Sorry for the disturbance,” he said, struggling to keep his voice even and calm. “Miss?”

The woman stared down at him, her face impassive.

“I am Hekáte.”

There was a short pause, then Arche stuck out one hand.

“A pleasure. I’m Arche.”

A baffled look crossed Hekáte’s face for a moment. Clearly, her name had not had the effect she intended. Ignoring Arche’s proffered hand, she crossed her arms and looked down at him.

“What are you doing here, little spark?”

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Hekáte’s voice held a note of command, compelling Arche to answer.

“I was separated from my companions in this dungeon. Your door came up along my path, so I entered.”

Arche dropped his arm when it became clear she wasn’t going to shake it. Something in his mind itched. There was some familiarity to her name. He had seen or heard it before, he was sure of it, but he couldn’t place it.

“You are different.” Hekáte sniffed the air and narrowed her eyes at him. “You are not from Tartarus.”

Arche frowned, cocking his head to one side, but before he could respond, Hekáte continued.

“Ah, one of my cousins has been meddling with things they should have left well enough alone. It is of no consequence to me. I have long abandoned your world for my own projects. Projects that you are interrupting, spark.”

Arche faltered for a moment, grasping for something to say. “I don’t mean to interrupt you, but I’m pretty confused right now. Do you…do you know there’s a bunch of beastmar that live here too?”

“Beast…mar…” Hekáte dragged the word out. “Describe these creatures.”

“Well, erm, they come in a lot of different varieties. Some are hairy, some are smooth. Some look like people, others are much more animalistic. Almost all of them have extra limbs or extremities. They tend to have grayish skin and fur.”

Hekáte frowned, her head tilted slightly to one side. Her eyes unfocused as they began flitting about, as though she were interacting with some interface.

“Attend me, spark.”

A shadow fell across her and she was gone. Arche turned and found her standing next to one of the tables stained with blood, near where she had been when he had first entered. He hastened over to her, one hand pressed to his nose to block out the growing smell of chemicals. Hekáte flipped through a large, leather-bound tome. She settled on a page and turned the book around, showing several masterful sketches of beastmar, some in anatomical poses and others standing in life-like postures.

“Is this the creature you speak of?”

“Yes. Why do you have pictures of them?”

Arche raised his eyes to meet hers. Hekáte grimaced and closed the tome.

“A failed experiment. I thought I had disposed of them. Clearly I have not. My guardian must have been subjugated while I worked.”

“Hekáte.” Arche hesitated. “I’m not going to pretend I understand what’s going on here, but here’s what I do know. I’m here to destroy the beastmar. They’re threatening a village on the surface and have to be stopped. Did you…make…the beastmar?”

Hekáte stared over Arche’s head, lost in thought. Arche was about to repeat his question, thinking perhaps she hadn’t heard him, when she answered.

“Yes.”

“They’ve caused a lot of suffering.”

“That is not my concern.”

“It concerns me. I’m trying to stop them, but I can’t do it on my own. Now, it sounds to me like you owe a debt.”

Hekáte’s presence magnified until it was a physical force pressing into Arche. He braced against it as best he could but was pushed back a step under the weight of her displeasure.

“Be careful what you demand of me, little spark.”

“I’m not demanding anything of you.” Arche tried to keep his voice firm while doing his best not to crumple; just standing near her drained his Stamina. “I have an idea of what you are and I know that I have no way of forcing you to do anything you decide you don’t want to do. But you bear some responsibility for what has happened. I am asking you to help me set it right.”

Hekáte looked thoughtful, then her gaze drifted to the Tridory.

“Curious,” she said at last. “I had thought that lost some time ago.”

“You know about this weapon?”

“The Tridory. Forged by a relative of mine who always did like to tinker. Of all my large family, he is one for whom I have the most respect. That his creation has fallen into your hands…curious. That you are capable of wielding it, more so.”

Hekáte’s voice trailed away, lost in thought. Arche felt the silence stretch on between them, then her overwhelming presence faded. He gasped and took a deep breath, feeling suddenly lightheaded.

“Very well. I am forbidden from directly interfering in the affairs of mortals, even here, but I can provide you this. My guardian has been subjugated by these creatures. I know not how they accomplished such a feat, but there is no doubt that magic is involved. Take this.” Hekáte conjured a small bone, about the length of Arche’s hand, and held it out. “This will mark you as a friend. With the guardian free, you will be able to clear out the infestation.”

Arche took the bone from her and stored it safely in his inventory.

“Thank you. What will you do when this is over?”

Hekáte smiled. “It is time, I think, to move my Vivitorium once more, but I will wait until you have accomplished your task and left my domain.”

Her form flickered but she did not fade entirely. A copy of her appeared on the other side of the table and another behind Arche. He was surrounded, encircled by three Hekátes.

“I trust you will not fail me, little spark,” the Hekátes spoke in unison.

The hair on the back of Arche’s neck pricked up.

You have been offered a Quest.

Save the Guardian

Hekáte has bade you free her guardian and given you the tools necessary to see the job done.

Objectives

· Free Hekáte’s Guardian

Rewards

· 5,000 experience

· Increased Divinity

· Favor of Hekáte

Penalty for Refusal or Failure

· Unknown (almost certainly bad)

Accept this Quest?

Yes

No

Arche frowned at the penalty but nodded. He would have accepted regardless, considering it would only help him, but the extra rewards were not something he was going to turn his nose up at.

“Thank you. If I may ask, though, what do you mean by ‘Favor of Hekáte?’”

Each Hekáte raised an eyebrow.

“You would rather have it than lose it. This world may have forgotten its gods but that does not mean we have forgotten this world. Go, now. I have much work to do and can abide this interruption no longer.”

Her words, spoken out of three mouths, were thick with compulsion. Arche found himself walking to a door with a horizontal handle near the top. Mechanically, he grabbed the handle and pulled. The door opened out toward him from the top, pivoting on some axis near the ground to reveal a chute.

“Aw, man,” Arche whispered before the compulsion made him climb inside.

Arche slid down the smooth passage with a single thought running through his head.

I’ve really got to stop letting strange, powerful beings fuck with me.