Maya stood in silence as she finished reading the book. This was the first time she had properly learnt the history of the Old Gods, and she was left with more questions than answers.
The girl closed her book and placed it back on the wooden desk. "Hey, Sophia, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" the Paladin grumbled, her eyes still busy sifting through several times.
"What do you think about the Old Gods?"
"I'd rather not think about them at all."
"Any reason?"
"Because nothing good comes out of them."
"What about your powers, where does it come-"
Sophia snapped the tome she was reading shut. She then rose to her feet, her armor clinking gently. "Anyway I figured out a way we can get out of here."
Maya shrugged. "Lead the way."
She got up and trailed behind Sophia. They passed rows upon rows of shelves, each filled with ancient tomes and scrolls.
Eventually, they halted in front of a shelf that, to Maya's eyes, appeared indistinguishable from the countless others they had passed. This particular shelf was crammed with books of varying sizes and ages, some with leather bindings that showed the wear of time, others bound in cloth or parchment.
"Am I missing something?" Maya asked aloud, scratching her head.
Sophia, meanwhile, knelt down and began sifting through the books. "Just give me a moment." the Paladin brushed her hand against several dozen books, before finally pulling at one of them.
Instead of falling off, the sound like a loud clunk echoed, as the book looked into place in a leaning position.
The Paladin smirked proudly, standing up. "Looks like we're onto something."
"Huh, guess I'll give it a try." Maya tried pulling at some other books at random, but before she could even touch one, she was stopped by a firm grip from Sophia.
"Don't just pull at the books randomly." Sophia said.
Maya raised an eyebrow, but relented and pulled back her hand. "What are we looking for?"
Sophia then began to sift through one of the upper rows of books. "Find a book whose title starts with an E."
"Got it."
Without asking anymore questions, Maya started to help Sophia in searching for the book. By this point, she knew better than to question the Paladin.
She eventually found a book titled "Encyclopedia of Slimes" and pulled on it. Another loud clunk echoed.
Sophia smiled. "That's good, now help me find a book that starts with the letter S."
Maya was already starting to sift through the books. "Alright."
After a while, Maya started to figure out what the Paladin was getting onto. There must be some kind of password of some kind that involved pulling at the different books. She kept track of the titles of the books that Sophia asked her to pull.
The last book that she had to pull was one titled "Secrets of Pottery". The shelf in front of her grounded as they parted apart, with Maya noting that the combination of the first letters of the titles of books she and Sophia pulled spelling: Nemesis.
As the shelf parted away, it revealed a cramped and stony pathway that was barely lit by a few flickering torches. Maya and Sophia exchanged glances with each other before entering.
The Paladin led the way through the cramped and stony pathway. Maya followed closely behind, her eyes constantly darting around as she walked. Their journey was quiet, save for the clanking of Sophia's metal boots.
As they continued deeper, the faint sound of chants and prayers began to fill the air. As the two went deeper, the sounds only grew louder.
Maya placed a hand on her dagger. "Why do I hear chanting?"
Sophia glanced over her shoulder. "It's either the priests or devotees."
"I'm guessing we'll have to fight again then."
Sophia shrugged and turned her head forward again. "Let's not be too hasty. We might be able to sneak by."
Maya nodded and relaxed her grip on the dagger. She quietly followed the Paladin, though her mind was still far from being at ease.
Eventually, the pathway led them to a large chamber not too different from the one where the two fought the Cerberus. Flaming spheres lined the ceiling in a straight line, but instead of statues, countless people wearing tattered gray and brown cloaks filled the space. They were all kneeling and praying towards a golden goblet placed on a stone altar at the end of the chamber.
Maya moved closer to Sophia and whispered. "What's the plan?"
Sophia met Maya's gaze and replied. "We walk through."
Maya was about to protest at first; the idea of just walking through the room full of likely insane devotees seemed stupid at best. But then, a thought occurred to her, and she said, "You know, I'm surprised they didn't react to the sound of your boots."
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Sophia turned her head slightly towards Maya with a faint smile. "Probably too focused on their prayers."
With that, Sophia stepped into the chamber. She easily passed a few of the devotees without drawing any attention to herself. She then turned her head back briefly towards Maya. "We're good to go."
Maya nodded and followed the Paladin. But as she walked past one of the devotees, Maya couldn't help but glance at them. To her shock, she realized they were entirely skeletal. One of them brought their skeletal hands to their face in a gesture of prayer before kneeling with their heads bowed once again.
Quickening her pace to catch up to Sophia, Maya asked, "Are these people?"
"Maybe, once." Sophia said.
"Right…do you at least know what they're saying? I don't understand them at all."
"Give me a moment."
Sophia closed her eyes, taking a moment to concentrate. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and spoke. "Something about inviting Nergal back to cleanse the world."
Curious, Maya knelt down beside one of the skeletal devotees, examining them more closely. "Anything else?"
Sophia paused for a moment before speaking again. "They're saying the chalice is the key to the sacred communion."
Maya stood back up. "Makes sense, figured it was important."
"The question now is do we take it with us?"
"That'll probably piss everyone here off."
"I know, but we can take them." Sophia said.
The Shapestealer glanced around the room again before looking at the Paladin. "Maybe, but I'd rather not if possible."
"You scared of a bunch of skeletons?"
"They could be dangerous skeletons; unless you remember otherwise."
"Don't remember much about them."
"Then how about this? We look around and if there's no other way out, we take the chalice."
"Sounds good."
Maya and Sophia began to explore the chamber, weaving their way around the kneeling devotees. Deciding to cover more ground, Maya veered off to the left side of the chamber, while Sophia took to the right.
As The Shapestealer explored the area, her attention was caught by a glint of metal in front of one of the devotees. Approaching cautiously, she realized it was a rusty key, lying just within arm's reach of the skeletal figure engaged in prayer. She glanced around briefly to ensure that the other devotees were still absorbed in their own prayers.
She then waited for a moment when the devotee with the key in front of it knelt down further in prayer, Maya moved close, before quickly kneeling to grab the key. Afterwards she concealed it within her cloak, stood up, and walked away as fast as she could.
Maya scanned the chamber for Sophia, and she eventually saw that the Paladin was methodically tapping her hands against the stone walls on the far opposite side of the room. Intrigued, Maya made her way over to her.
"What are you looking for?" Maya asked.
Sophia paused, turning to face Maya. "A hidden door." She then resumed her search, her hand making contact with the wall once again.
Maya moved to a further part of the wall and called out in a louder voice, "Any signs to look out for?"
Sophia was about to respond, "Just have to—" when suddenly, her hand seemed to sink into the stone, pressing down on a pressure plate hidden within the walls.
The walls rumbled as some slabs of stone began to split apart and revealed a metal door. It was made of dark iron with carvings that depicted scenes of odd rituals and copious imagery of the sun.
Maya and Sophia approached the newly revealed door. The Paladin examined the door closely and then turned to Maya. "Looks like we'll need a key," she observed, her gaze settling on the door's heavy lock.
Immediately, Maya reached into her cloak and pulled out the rusty key she had found earlier and held it out to Sophia, "I found this."
"Oh nice, where did you find it?"
"I…uh, found it on the ground."
Sophia chuckled as she gestured towards the devotees at the back of the chamber. "You stole it from one of them, didn't you?"
Maya shrugged her shoulders and let out a half-smile. "Didn't look like they'd miss it,"
Sophia's smirk widened a bit as she took the key from Maya and turned to face the door. Then, she inserted the key into the lock and turned it: opening the heavy metal door.
The Paladin stepped inside first. Maya followed closely behind.
The two found themselves in a smaller room, its walls bare except for a single painting that dominated one side. The painting depicted a scene of rituals, with many people feasting on what looked like different types of meats. Curiously, there was a goblet-shaped hole at the center of the canvas.
Maya walked closer and leaned in, examining the hole with keen interest. "Bet this is where the goblet is supposed to go."
Sophia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, just get ready I guess."
Turning to face Sophia, Maya said. "Hear me out, I got a plan."
"Is it for you to take the goblet and run while I fight?"
"Well…yes, but I was gonna say that I'd come back to help you after."
Sophia shook her head and let out a mock sigh. "Fine, you're faster than me anyway."
***
The two then returned to the larger chamber and went to the stone altar. Sophia positioned herself in front of it, her sword drawn and ready. Meanwhile, Maya took her place behind the altar with her eyes glued to the golden goblet.
"Just take it whenever," Sophia said.
"Alright," Maya replied. She reached out with steady hands as she prepared to grab the goblet.
Maya's fingers barely brushed against the goblet before she grabbed it and bolted towards the other room. Behind her, Sophia tensed as she imbued her sword with [Smite], the weapon now shimmering with a radiant light.
But as the Shapestealer was running, she suddenly skidded to a halt as her attention was captured by the sounds of agonized screams and moans of the devotees. She turned her head and nearly gasped as she observed how the devotees were simultaneously engulfed in crimson flames.
Rather than shutting her eyes, Maya found herself strangely transfixed by the sight. Despite the devotees' bodies being completely skeletal, she could somehow still see the despair on their faces as their hands reached out to grasp at salvation that would never come. Soon, their bodies crumbled into ash and smoke under the intense flames.
When the screams finally died down, Maya saw an odd sight. Although the flames had left behind mostly ash markings where the devotees once stood. There seemed to be one last devotee remaining: still kneeling in a far corner.
Maya glanced towards Sophia and asked. "What in the world was that?"
The Paladin shook her head, her gaze fixed on the last remaining devotee. "Not sure. But more importantly, how come one is still around?"
Maya's gaze shifted to the last devotee. "Beats me, but they're still praying."
Sophia nodded. "I'm going to take a closer look," she then began to walk towards the devotee with Maya walking beside her.
But as they got closer, they saw that the last devotee was not just all bones like the others. Instead, she looked like a living person: an elderly woman with deep wrinkles over her face.
As they stopped in front of the woman, Maya couldn't hide her astonishment. "I'm not seeing things, right?"
Sophia crossed her arms. "This one does look different."
Suddenly, the old woman glanced up at Maya with a smile, a gesture so unexpected that it made Maya instinctively take a step back. Despite this, the woman then moved closer and knelt in front of Maya's feet. Her voice seemed filled with reverence as she spoke, "Lord Munin…it has been too long."