Chapter 23: Apollo

The inside of the collector’s business looked nothing like an ordinary shop. There were no wares to be viewed, or advertisements of any kind. It was not a kind, welcoming place that screamed commerce. It was dimly lit and quiet, with the muttering of people in individual rooms barely audible. It had the feeling of a crypt.

“This is the place?” Adriana whispered. She didn’t know that she had to, but it felt right.

“This is the place,” said Davos. “I know how it looks, but privacy is one of the biggest things they sell. We get an office, deal with one of Apollo’s underlings for a little while, and then eventually we’ll get brought up to the big man himself. He won’t be able to resist.”

“You ask me to trust you on faith a lot,” Adriana pointed out.

“And how often have I led you astray?” Davos winked.

“Synto.”

“Right. No use living in the past.” Davos whistled and moved on. Adriana rolled her eyes and followed him.

There were open windows along the left side of the room, where tellers worked. They went there, and before the sleepy looking woman behind the glass could say anything, Davos said, “We’ve got over a dozen pieces of high end Bestia we’re looking to offload. We’re going to need a private room and to see Apollo.”

The woman snorted. “You and everyone else. Any Divinity, or just Bestia?”

“Just Bestia,” Davos repeated with a snort of his own. “Fuck off, we both know that Builders and Brewers will pay top notch for the rare stuff, and Apollo won’t be able to resist talking to us specifically. Adriana? Show your hands.”

Adriana held up her non-flaming hands. Her Godmark appeared in the sun, which was appropriate and temporarily inconvenient. The teller was unimpressed. She pointed behind them. “You’ll get the same rates as everyone else. Go to the fourth room from the right and wait inside. An agent will be in to see you shortly.”

“Thank you,” said Davos, bowing his head and retreating.

The room itself made Adriana want to run, but not because of anything about the room itself. It was small, and had enough space for two simple stools in front of a desk. There were no decorations, no windows, nothing other than what was needed in order to conduct business. The grandest thing was a chest built into the wall behind where the agent sat. It looked secure enough to withstand even the greed of Demigods and above.

“We’re really supposed to wait in here?” Adriana demanded. “For how long?”

“As long as it takes for someone to be free. It’s a shame it’s been a few years. I didn’t recognize that woman at all, and she clearly doesn’t recognize me, otherwise we would’ve gone right upstairs.” Davos sat backwards on one of the stools, watching the door. “I recommend just relaxing and catching your breath. You’re not fully healed yet, so enjoy a rare moment of not fighting for your life.”

“What if I like fighting for my life?” Adriana muttered, but she sat down with her arms crossed over her chest.

It took all of five minutes for her to be ready to start a fire just to get someone’s attention. It wasn’t that she was impatient, she rationalized. It was that the room was too small, too tight, too bare. It felt like being stuck in a prison instead of offloading loot. Davos’ leg jiggled as they waited, and she soon joined him in the nervous movement.

Months later, the door opened, and a sharp looking older man with a pointed beard came in. His eyes scraped over Davos, who smiled, and Adriana, who scowled. With a scoff, he snuck past them and sat in his chair. Leaning forward, he steepled his hands and said, “My name is Dag. What do you have for us?”

Davos unslung his pack and motioned for Adriana to do the same. They set both down on the desk and opened them up to reveal sixteen Bestia orbs of various, sometimes shifting colors. Each was the size of an egg, just small enough to pop into one’s mouth and change. While Divinity was more valuable, Bestia was big among those who needed to convert it or Divinity into more power. Builders would always need materials, after all.

“Mm,” Dag grunted. He reached out and picked up a yellow orb and examined it. His dark brown eyes flashed and turned orange as he looked into it, and then the others. “You took down something big, didn’t you? These are all individual qualities of a greater piece. More stable, less likely to turn one into a beast.”

“How do you know?” Adriana blurted it out. “What Divinity lets you see it?”

Davos shot her a look, but Dag sighed and answered, “Orobaal. You’ll find that most of us here serve Orobaal, at least in part.” He tapped his eyebrow and said, “No one knows quality and rarity like the Lord of Greed, and he passes his hunger on to the rest of us.”

Adriana repressed a shudder. Out of all of the well known and widely worshiped Gods, the Titan Orobaal wasn’t considered a good one. He’d give power and wealth to anyone for a price, and that price was always too high.

“I appreciate ambition and cunning,” said Davos. “Even if it took me entirely too long to value them myself. If you wouldn’t mind an additional question for my curious apprentice?” Adriana managed to keep her mouth shut, as she was curious.

“You may,” said Dag with an imperious wave of his hand.

“What are the terms of your contract? Dealing in power for others, why are you not tempted to take more of your own?”

Dag nodded, as if he expected the question. “Five years of service, in exchange for the standard suite of abilities granted by our Lord. Analysis and appraisal, mostly. When those five years are up, we give back what was given and are raised to the level of Demigod. And yes, I will reach Demigod older than most, but in my opinion, it’s better to slow aging when you’ve got the wisdom to make use of a long life.

“Now, are there any other questions, or shall we get on with things?” His smile told her he was more amused than annoyed.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Davos looked to Adriana, who shook her head. “No, I think that does it for questions,” he said. “Other than how long it’s going to take for Apollo to get his ass down here and offer me a drink.” He laughed, but Dag didn’t.

“Master Apollo doesn’t have time to waste today, I’m afraid. As for your current lot, I think that three hundred haemar is more than fair --”

“Hold on a second!” Adriana started, but Davos was already on it.

“That’s not a terrible price, but Apollo will likely double it. Of course, we’ll also take payment in Divinity.”

Dag rubbed his eyes, which had returned to brown. “I’ve already told you, Master Apollo isn’t going to be handling this today, and if you insist I can always refuse to deal with you.”

Davos smiled. He jerked a thumb at Adriana and said, “take a closer look at her. When you do, I’ll be expecting an apology for wasting our time.”

The agent sighed but did as he was told. His eyes glowed orange for a second, and then he flinched. “Oh. Oh my. Yes, I’ll get him right away. I’m…sorry, for wasting your time.” Dag stood up, bowing once, squeezed past them, and shut the door behind him.

Adriana raised an eyebrow.

“He saw your Greater Divinity,” said Davos. “Since it doesn’t show outside of direct sunlight, apparently. Within five minutes, we’ll be led upstairs, poured a drink, and then Apollo is going to try very, very hard to get you to part with your Divinity in exchange for some trinkets.”

“Fat chance,” Adriana said. “I like my Divinity, and I’m not giving it up for anything.”

He nodded, expecting her answer. “Then be prepared to make a counter offer, if you want anything good. Including doing a job or two. He knows me from way back, and I’ve made him some money in the past, so this should go smoothly.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Sure enough, just a couple minutes later the door opened, and a young teen gestured for them to follow him. They did, moving through the quiet room and up a guarded set of stairs to the second story.

The first floor had been utilitarian and hushed, and the upstairs proved to be one hallway that led into a single enormous room. The teen opened the door and bowed, waiting for them to go inside. Davos led the way, with Adriana in tow.

The room was luxurious, as befitted an agent of greed itself. The building itself was made of sturdy wood, a rarity in the area as lumber was expensive. A giant exotic rug of some behemoth that had been slain was spread out in the center of the room, in front of a polished desk filled with orbs of Bestia and Divinity in extravagant gilded racks. Behind the desk sat a man who projected power and confidence.

Apollo, Adriana assumed, radiated power on a level even she could feel from coming in. She didn’t need to be told that he was a Demigod, and had stopped aging in his early forties. He had slicked back black hair that went down to just behind his ears, sharp green eyes, and plush lips permanently tugged into a smirk. He stood up, eyes flashing orange, and he laughed.

“Dag wasn’t kidding. Davos, it’s been years! Please, come in and sit down. Can I offer you some wine? Something stronger?”

His apparent friendliness was offset by the half a dozen armed guards who flanked the desk, the door, and the window, of all places. If Apollo was the kind of rich and powerful Adriana expected, he didn’t need the guards to defend himself. They were there for intimidation and presence more than anything. Adriana and Davos ignored them and sat down.

“I would never say no to a bit of wine,” Davos said with a laugh. He clapped a hand down on Adriana’s shoulder. “This is my apprentice Adriana, and as you can see, she landed quite the treasure.”

“Why yes, she did.” Apollo grinned at her. It was much too familiar for her liking. “Dag told me you two are in here for some money or Divinity.”

“Obviously,” said Adriana.

“You’ve come to the right place, of course, and I am willing to offer you enough Divinity to make it to Demigod, right here and now.” Apollo grabbed a bottle from his desk and poured three glasses of wine. He slid two forward on the desk and leaned back, upright and unblinking as he watched.

“How do we know these aren’t poisoned?” Davos asked, lifting his glass for inspection.

“Would I waste good wine?” Apollo asked.

“If it meant killing us and taking our Divinity, you might.” Davos smiled pleasantly.

Adriana took the wine and drank it anyway. She set the glass back down and said, “Wouldn’t say no to something harder.”

The agent of Orobaal chuckled and poured a topaz liquid into the wine glass. “I assume you don’t care about a fresh cup. Tell me, Adriana. What do you want?”

Adriana took the new glass and sipped it. The burn pleased her. She nodded in appreciation and said, “What have you got to offer?”

Davos sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked amused, and he didn’t move to take control of the conversation again. It was as good an approval as he’d give in mixed company.

Apollo picked up a green orb. “Huntsman Divinity, good for survival. One of these will keep you in beast hunting for the rest of your life.”

Next came one the color of steel. “Warmaster, at least ten percent Divinity. Guaranteed to make you competitive on its own, let alone paired with others.”

The third orb was a baby blue with clouds. “The Unfettered, for those who need to be on the move.” His eyes flickered over to Davos, who Adriana knew had at least two solid pieces from Angela, the Goddess of the road. “And these are just what I have on me. If you have a specific request, I am sure I can accommodate you.”

Adriana sipped more of the alcohol before setting it down. “The problem is, I really like what I have. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it, and I want to enhance it. Why would I give up a treasure like this?” A mostly forgotten memory flashed to the surface. Three spinning faces, laughing at her. As quick as it appeared, it was gone.

“Many reasons,” said Apollo. “The big one is how much of a target you are right now. I’ll assume you don’t know what you have.”

“Greater Divinity, right?” Davos pointed to her hair. “She’s got a Godmark when she’s in the sun. Flaming hands and hair.”

The demiGod burst out laughing. “Do you think I would care this much for mere Greater Divinity? No, what you have, my friend, is True Divinity.”

Davos sucked in air. Adriana didn’t recognize the term. “What does that mean?”

“It means that you have no obstacles to becoming a God,” said Apollo. “A true God. A Greater God, in time. Anyone can reach a Demigod, and for most, that will be as far as they climb. I myself am one. But in order to become a Lesser God, one needs Greater Divinity. And to become a Greater God, one requires what you have.”

Adriana shuddered. No wonder Synto wanted it so badly. She doubted he knew exactly what it was, but his damned mystery granted him an edge on opportunity. “Then that’s even more reason for me to keep it,” she said. “Not the best sales pitch I’ve ever heard.”

Apollo cocked his head to the side. “Not even if I gave you enough Divinity and Greater Divinity to become a Lesser God within two weeks?”

She flat out laughed. “If you had Greater Divinity, why haven’t you used it yourself?”

He laughed as well. “Because I don’t have it on me, and because I want it to be the right kind of Greater Divinity. You hand that over to me, we can ransom it to the Sun Temple for their treasures. What you have is the last remnants of their God. There’s nothing they wouldn’t pay in order to get it.”

“Then maybe we should go talk to them,” said Adriana, standing but not leaving just yet.

Apollo smiled. “They’d kill you and take it. I’m making you the most generous offer you’ll find.”

“Oh well. I’m not selling it.”

The smile only grew wider. “Well, I tried. Sorry Davos. Men? Kill her.”