Just as Azoth was about to name me, her eyes widened, then she quickly cast a spell on me to make me look human, covered me in some strange clothes, grabbed me by the arm, and rapidly flew to the location I fell from based on my memories, despite my protests and screams. Winding through the tunnels, the many twists and turns threatening to send what little lay in my stomach out of my mouth, Azoth suddenly stopped, only to rapidly ascend.

By the time I realized that the shaft was looking rather familiar, we had already landed on the same ledge the wind mage threw me off of. An old man with wrinkles covering his face was waiting for us, as if he knew we would be here. Then, she grabbed my hand, and rattled a bunch of instructions to me through the mental connection.

“For now, keep any questions you have about why I made you take a human form to yourself. Do not remove your hand until I teach you the language of the nation where the Goddess of Fortune resides. Do not mention to anyone that the two of us are not human. Finally, I will explain things to you once you speak with the Goddess.”

Language Detected: Coptic

Language Learning Progress – Coptic 17.93%

Language Learning Progress – Coptic 32.47%

…

Language Learning Progress – Coptic 100%

Coptic Language Learning Complete

Coptic Language Learning Complete; You can now speak, read, and write in Coptic!

Concerned, I looked to the old man to distract myself, who genially smiled toward us.

***

“Aren’t you curious why you see two strange people instead of a dungeon monster?” I asked the man walking beside me.

“Regular people like me don’t live for very long if they ask questions they don’t need an answer for, particularly from individuals powerful enough to make it through layers of the Abyss.” Shrugged the old man.

“Besides, I am a follower of the Goddess of Fortune. If there’s anything I can rely on, it’s at least not being unlucky enough to meet disasters unprepared.”

“But if you didn’t need to worry about trouble, then why are you concerned about asking questions?” I asked back.

He chuckled and answered me.

“Well, it’s one thing to avoid stumbling into trouble. It’s another to go looking for it. Besides, the Goddess of Fortune is a distant existence while a rather unhappy mage is walking with me right here, right now.”

Azoth snorted and asked her first question to the man since we met him.

“I thought followers of the gods like you were more pious than that.”

Rubbing his scruffy beard with his hand, the man smiled.

“Well, the Goddess of Fortune is not like most of the other gods. She does not care for gathering power, wealth, or worship, and grants her favors based on unknown reasons. Given that there aren’t any particular benefits to worshipping her, those who follow her tend to be the desperate, the gamblers, and the eccentric; Often, all three.”

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“Hmm…” Azoth hummed with disinterest as we began to approach the exit to the first layer.

***

We turned a corner, only to be met with a dead end, with a shaft before us. This time, however, there was a rope ladder extending from the floor to the void of the obsidian walls at the limits of my sight. The old man then turned around and addressed us.

“Please climb after me and stay by my side after we reach the exit. As you are not registered with the Adventurer’s Guild or the Tameryian Military, we will have to use the name of the Temple of the Gods to pretend you had the permission you needed to delve into the Abyss through Tameryian entrances. If anyone asks, you entered through some other entrance.”

He then proceeded to climb up the ladder, with Azoth and I soon after him. A light began to shine at the end of the shaft, and it approached rapidly. Soon enough, we reached the end of the ladder, and a hand was offered to me above my head. Taking it, Azoth pulled me to my feet, and I began to take in the surroundings.

Mouth gaping, I look at the blue skies, the large, fluffy clouds, and the fiery twin orbs in the sky.

“Stop staring at everything like a newborn pup or you will raise suspicions towards us.” Azoth gently tugged at me, pulling me along with her.

We were surrounded by a large steel fence, with a number of stone towers surrounding it. Atop these towers, giant weapons were installed.

[Tameryian Siege Ballista]

At the gate of the fence, two human-like creatures stood before us, that is, if they could even be called that.

“What’s the matter boy, never seen a beastman before?” chuckled the first guard.

“She's not a boy, Nahi, you absolute moron. Also, stop referring to us by that name. We are the children of the gods. The term ‘beastmen’ is being phased out by the Pharaoh’s decree.” The other guard said grumpily.

“I am not going to say a mouthful like that every single time, Mesi. Who cares what the Pharoah said, we’re not even in Tamery.” Nahi shot back.

“Her majesty issued that decree to stop people from thinking of us as separate from humans.” Mesi grumbled.

“Well, I don’t care for being looked down on or being put on a bloody pedestal; who cares about pedantic crap like that anyways? It’s not going to actually solve anything. Besides, maybe Amsi wouldn’t have broken up with you if you managed to pull that stick out of your- Ah, seems like we’ve kept our guests waiting. You can yell my ears off later, we’ve got a job to do.” Said Nahi.

Before Mesi could explode at him, Nahi turned to us.

“May I have your permits please? Sorry about that display just now. Mesi is just a bit too uptight for her own good.” He snickered, while Mesi chose not to dignify him with a response.

“Just a moment, I’ll dig it out of my satchel.” Said the old man beside us.

The two guards seemed to be a lot less intimidating once you get to talk to them. Also, if you're going to argue about my gender, why don't you just ask me?!

I don't know the answer to that myself, so I shouldn't be complaining about that? Get out of here with your logic!

In the meantime, Nahi looked at me and smiled.

“I suppose you really did not see a beastman before, kid. Did you live abroad in the Republic or something?”

Nodding eagerly, I responded.

“I’ve never seen a beastman before. Are all beastmen like the two of you?” I asked.

“If by like us you mean as handsome as I am or as uptight as her, then no, not really. Is every human just like you?” he asked me back.

“Well, I don’t know, I didn’t speak to many humans either.”

Nahi blinked twice, then started laughing.

“Well, bless your heart kid, were you born under a rock in the Abyss or something?”

I chuckled nervously.

“Well, I was just messing with you. No, not all beastmen are like me and Mesi. I am a jackalman and she is an owlwoman. Beastmen are the creations of the Goddess of Fertility, who took the traits of beasts and merged them with men to create men with the powers of the various beasts, or so the stories say. The Goddess herself hasn’t really elaborated on it much, and the temple keeps quiet as well.” Nahi lectured.

“Usually, you refer to beastmen by the beast they have traits from and the gender they belong to, such as ‘Jackal’ and ‘man’ in the case of your friend here.” Azoth added for my benefit.

Mesi then faced Azoth and asked her a question of her own.

“Pardon me, but shouldn’t this kind of thing be taught to the girl a while back?”

"The kid's a boy you stupid bir-"

“There’s a first time for everything. Besides, how I raise my child is completely none of your business.” Azoth said, answering Mesi and interrupting Nahi's attempt to bicker with Mesi.

Once again, before Mesi could respond, the old man spoke.

“AH, there it is. I am sorry it took so long! Damn thing was buried beneath my rations…”

“Well, it was nice talking to you, kid. Take care not to trip yourself up on the stairs.” Waved Nahi, moving back to his post.

Shaking her head, Mesi nodded towards us and followed him.