Persepera
The 21st of Thargelion
The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals
When he woke, Arche’s first thought was that he’d been knocked unconscious a truly frightening number of times. Tartarus was apparently dead set on giving him brain damage and he’d completely forgotten to ask a healer to look into it. His next thought was that he was moving. More accurately, he was being dragged. He grunted and tried to open his eyes, but everything around him was dark. He heard a dog bark, then a soft hand cupped his cheek.
“Arche, are you all right? Can you hear me?”
Tess stared down at him, concern and relief shining in her eyes. Beauty incarnate. He opened his mouth to sing her praises.
“Ow.”
“You’re all right.” She sighed in relief. “What happened?”
“A lot. Too much. I’ll tell you later.”
She pulled him to his feet and he cast Darksight. They had evidently wrapped him in his own cloak and Aima had dragged him along, back into the labyrinth.
“What happened to your eyes?”
Arche froze.
“My eyes? What’s wrong with them?”
“They’re glowing orange.”
His mind raced, trying to figure it out. He gave up, shaking his head.
“I don’t know. We’ll unpack that later. How long was I out?”
“Hours. Were you behind that notification about a shrine of Ares?”
Arche frowned.
“You saw that?”
“We did,” Aima said. “I think it is safe to say that everyone in Tartarus saw it.”
“Well, there’ll be no hiding it now. Yeah, that was me.”
Tess took a deep breath, then nodded at him.
“This will have repercussions.”
“I’m aware of that but he’s got more enemies than just me, it turns out. It’s not much but it’s something.”
Tess frowned and handed him the Tridory. He leaned against it, still feeling the aftereffects of the battle against the shrine.
“What happened after I passed out?”
“The shrine crumbled around you,” Aima said. “I barely retrieved you in time.”
Arche looked at her, surprised.
“You saved me?”
The vampire gave him a withering glare and spoke as if to a child.
“If you die, I do not get your blood.”
He smiled but said nothing. He looked at the dog sitting patiently at his feet. Argos stared at him with big eyes, full of excitement. Unable to resist, Arche bent and patted the blur hound’s head, connecting mentally.
Happiness. Excitement. Anticipation. Good boy?
“Yes, you’re a very good boy. You’re getting a treat as soon as I can get you one.”
Argos’s tail whipped faster.
“We’ve got a while to go, yet. Are you up for it?” Tess asked.
“Yeah. I can walk. I just hope it’s not going to take another nine hours.”
“I don’t think so. The labyrinth hasn’t moved since we entered. I think it’s recognized that we completed it.”
“Let’s hope. I’m going to go through some notifications. Holler if you need me.”
A flashing icon showed he had several waiting for him. Following Tess as Aima cleared the way ahead, he started going through them.
Divine Body has increased to Level 14.
You have started down your Profession Path.
Yours is a unique path, not walked by any others who share your Profession. Forging your own path comes with special benefits and drawbacks. You have gained a Trait.
Pathfinder
+25% Skill Experience
-75% Skill Experience from Teachers
Arche’s mouth fell open in shock, but the surprises weren’t over yet.
You have absorbed a Divine Spark from a Shrine of Ares.
By successfully integrating it with your own Spark, you have gained a Trait:
Mana Leech
Through direct contact, you can drain Mana from eligible creatures and objects.
Drain Rate: Willpower per second
+10% Intelligence
+10% Wisdom
+10% Willpower
Your Divine Epithet is Enyalius.
Arche read each notification three times, then opened his status page.
Arche Enyalius
Level: 23
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Experience to Next Level: 9,431 (8%)
Race: Human
Age: 27
Height: 191 centimeters
Weight: 93.3 kilograms
Profession: Demigod
Trade: N/A
Traits: Slayer of the Mighty, Psychic, Bull’s Might, Pathfinder, Mana Leech
Companions: Lyssanderyli
Adventuring Party: Theresa Eliades, Aima
Health: 890 / 890
100%
Stamina: 680 / 680
100%
Mana: 470 / 470
100%
Strength: 50
Dexterity: 40
Agility: 35
Fortitude: 40 (35)
Endurance: 48 (43)
Intelligence: 47
Wisdom: 48
Willpower: 45
Perception: 31
Charisma: 47 (41)
Comeliness: 18 (14)
Luck: 25
Exhaustion — Tier 1
It was an impressive spread, even if it ended on a dour note. More than half of his attributes were now boosted by percentage modifiers, thanks to Psychic, Bull’s Might, and Mana Leech. It was little wonder Trait-Wielders were hunted. The power they offered was undeniable.
Willpower received the biggest increase, at a cumulative thirty-five percent, but the fact that other attributes had risen above it showed how much he neglected it. Truth be told, he had neglected his progress for a while. Attribute points were hard to come by. Lyssa had confirmed they grew more difficult to train the higher they were, and he hadn’t done much fighting in the last month and a half. When they returned to Myriatos, he needed to go hunting. The only reason he’d been able to hold his own against Medea and the dragon—and Aima, for that matter—was because his Profession had given him a ridiculous boost to his attributes.
That, and plain dumb luck.
“Anyone have any ideas for getting out?” Arche asked, returning his attention to the rest of the group as they approached the long set of stairs leading out of the treasury.
“We’re limited on options if we don’t kill the guards,” Tess said. “We might be able to break through, but then we’re lost.”
“Don’t suppose your friend that got us in here can get us out?”
Tess shook her head. “Even if Mags could, how would we let her know?”
“Fair point. Maybe we can talk our way out?”
Aima bared her teeth. “You two might be able to. As soon as they see me, there will be no talking.”
“You could put your mask back on. It helps hide your vampirism, right?”
Aima looked surprised, then nodded. In fairness, it had been a guess. She clearly had some sort of charm ability and she’d been able to put them under some limited influence but the upkeep to fooling so many people for so long had to have been costly.
“We’ll go quietly, try to talk our way out. If things go bad, then we’ll go nuclear.”
Both Tess and Aima gave him blank looks.
“We’ll go…” Arche struggled to think of an appropriate comparison. “We’ll just beat the shit out of them, all right?”
“I would prefer to simply kill them,” Aima said. “If it comes to that, would you allow me to feed?”
Arche considered it. “Yes. Try to avoid bringing it to that point, though.”
The door loomed ahead of them. Aima donned her mask and wrappings, Tess clenched and unclenched her fists, and Argos, sensing the tension, nuzzled his head against Arche’s leg. Arche stepped forward and banged twice on the door. There was a pause as everyone held their breath. The silence stretched too long.
“Who’s there?” a muffled voice called out from the other side of the door.
Arche glanced at Tess and shrugged.
“Arche.”
A pause.
“Arche who?”
“Are you shitting me?” Arche muttered, then louder, “Arche Enyalius.”
A chorus of voices broke out on the other side. Through the noise, Arche caught one particular sentence that gave him some hope.
“Inform the king.”
Maybe they wouldn’t be attacked immediately.
“We’re very tired,” he called out. “Can you open the door, please?”
The door clanged as locks disengaged. It opened slowly, scraping against the floor. Light flooded into the dark space, blinding all of them.
“Hands up!”
Arche did as he was told. Someone grabbed him and he felt the cold pressure of manacles close around his wrists. Tess grunted as the same was done to her. Argos started barking and growling, so Arche sent soothing emotions through their link. His eyes finally adjusted to the change in light and he saw they were surrounded by a dozen heavily armed guards in livery of purple and gold. One, wearing a foppish helmet, stepped up to Arche. By his angular features, gray skin, and pointed teeth, Arche presumed he was an elf.
“You are Enyalius?”
“Yep. I’d like to see your boss, please.”
“I am Autolykos, Captain of the Ephyran guard. You will come with me.”
“I would rather my companions come as well.”
Autolykos’s eyes darted toward Tess and Aima.
“Worry not, no harm shall befall them while they are under my care. The king wants to see you. Alone.”
“Arche?” Tess sounded uncertain.
“It’ll be all right. Watch yourselves. Try not to kill each other.”
“Take them to a guest room. Do not leave them,” Autolykos said. “You will come with me.”
The guard captain grabbed Arche’s arm and led him away. The rest of the guards escorted Tess and Aima off in the opposite direction. Arche looked sideways at the guard captain.
“Just you to escort me, huh? What if I tried to run?”
“You entered the treasury by teleportation,” Autolykos said. “If you ran, I would catch you before you ever got out. No one knows the palace better than I do.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. I was about to enter the treasury after you, once we learned the Shrine of Ares had been destroyed. We couldn’t risk you leaving by other means.”
“You took your sweet time about it. That was hours ago.”
“The orders came from the king himself and he was otherwise indisposed.”
Arche shrugged, using the lull in conversation to Examine the elf.
Autolykos
Level: 46
Race: Stone Elf
Age: ?
Height: ?
Weight: ?
Profession: ?
Trade: ?
Traits: ?
Companions: ?
Adventuring Party: ?
Health: 910 / 910
100%
Stamina: 730 / 730
100%
Mana: 650 / 650
100%
Most surprising was that the skill actually worked. The elf had a respectably high level. Arche had never encountered a stone elf before and wondered what differences they had compared to other elves, besides complexion. Was it their automatic attribute distribution or something more? He’d have to ask, if he had the opportunity.
“It’s not polite to go peeking at other people’s profiles, you know.”
Arche raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Sorry. Bad habit. How could you tell?”
“High Perception. I can generally tell when I’m being watched. It came in handy in my old line of work.”
“You’re very talkative, for a guard.”
“They can’t pay me enough to keep quiet. I’m impressed you got all the way through the dungeon. I thought for sure the Minotauros would have killed you all.”
Arche’s temper started to bubble.
“It was wrong to lock him away in there.”
“I always did feel bad for the old bull. Less so when he nearly took my leg off. In any case, don’t get mad at me. It was Nemein’s call.”
“Who’s that?”
“Formally, she’s the King’s Advisor. Informally, she runs the city. I recommend avoiding her, if you can. She’s one scary lady.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Can I ask you a question?”
“Certainly.”
“Why are you being nice to me?”
Autolykos laughed.
“You’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure. We’re here.”
Arche was ushered through a large door into a tiny room. There, Arche came face to face with the King of Ephyra.