I may be a goddess of fate, but even I question what that word is or means. Most of those that become powerful enough can recognize its pull, but what about simple mortals? Are they unable to sense their trajectory and cannot therefore change? Or do they need a catalyst to push them off course to find a more suitable path for themselves? In the end, the only certainty I have is that fate is what we make of it. Either fate defines us, or we define our fate.
~Morrigan, The Mysterious Goddess of Fate
“You were fast, but she was faster,” Coyote said. He raised his arm and pointed a furry finger at Mara. “But the difficulty of your challenge was not equal. Only one other challenger may have had difficulty on par with you. However, his situation was unique.”
“What door did they choose?”
“The Door of Prey, heh. He chose a mouse hole for his door and has been running non-stop ever since. It wasn’t even a door originally, but he demanded entry, and the Clocktower gave it to him.”
“Please say it wasn’t Acco,” Crow sighed.
“No, it wasn’t him. If fate—err, chance allows, you may meet in the future. It seems their destiny has similarities to you, but time will tell. Is there anything you want to ask me?”
Mara came over and stood by Crow.
“Why are you the guardian of a place like this?”
“Trickster gods remain true to their word. At least for me, it is a compulsion to be sly with what I say. You can imagine that almost everything we say may have a dual meaning. It is in our trickster nature. There is little challenge in lying or being deceitful. Rather, we thrive on when our victim realizes that we’ve kept every word of our promise and they can only lament their lack of intelligence. It is thrilling watching their faces fall as they grasp the truth.”
“You are evil, and that didn’t really answer my question.”
“Hah! No, it didn’t. If you must know, the bastard that built all the Clocktowers outsmarted me. I wagered a hundred thousand years of my life in service to him, and here I am.”
“What was the bet?”
“As if I’d tell a child like you.”
“Are you a god of the Tribe?”
“You’ve heard of the Tribe?”
“Beastlords were once part of that group, and the Druids have recently formed an alliance with them. We have allowed them to relocate to the northern continent and even given them a large section of land to the north of Father Oak. You could say you and my people are now allies too.”
“The Tribe are not simple people. They are underestimated because they refuse to build permanent structures that mar the land. To outsiders, this seems primitive, and even the Druids may call them Rootless, but they have a rich and complex history. While they are generally xenophobic, it is because outsiders view them as weak and easy prey. The bloody wars that occurred in the Golden Sea of Insanity were because their lands were invaded. If you ever come across them, you should learn about the different nations within the Tribe. It may save your life.”
“Is there any way to tell outwardly?”
“The fiercest nation and the most powerful will kill all outsiders without hesitation. The fastest way to tell if you’ve come across them is to offer a trade. If they agree, you got lucky, and if they don’t… prepare to die or fight. If it is a war party, they take trophies. I’m going to warn you again, they are not simple people, so do not treat them as idiots.”
Crow nodded. The nations among the Tribe looked similar, but they had their own culture, rituals, and styles. Most of their cultivation methods were practiced outdoors in various locations and weather—even the moon and sun had different aspects and meanings to their people. The Tribe’s xenophobia was for their own safety, and Crow felt it was justified. He had always wondered what it would be like to travel with them and live off the land the way they did. But knew that was never likely to happen because it was taboo for their people to have relationships with outsiders. Still, he always respected their wild and free nature.
When Crow was a child living at his clan’s ancestral lands with his father, they often camped out in the wilderness. While Crow wasn’t able to cultivate at that point, his father did. It was probably why Crow had a strong affinity toward the wood element. Even with his Soul Burn and overpowered affinity toward fire, he still retained most of his wood affinity, but it was overshadowed it.
“Follow me. It is time for your rewards.”
“We aren’t waiting for the others?”
“I’m a trickster god. You really think I’m standing before you right now?” Coyote chuckled. “You are like a newborn traveling in this big bad world. I even saw how you spared your enemy. I can respect why you did so, but you’ll learn mercy is weakness.”
“It wasn’t mercy.”
“Oh?” Coyote stopped walking, and his cowled head turned toward Crow. The yellow eyes from within that hood glittered coldly. “Then what would you call it?”
“Self-preservation.”
“Explain.”
“Don’t you know the answer already? Are you not also tangled with my fate—or lack thereof? Are you also not an agent of chaos like myself?”
“Interesting. You spared him because of karma?”
“Yes. I believe that while fate and karma are not the same, lacking one will emphasize the other. Isn’t that why you assisted me, because you believed me previously?”
“You may call me Chirich,” Coyote finally said. “I’m positive we’ll meet again in the future. I’m just not sure yet if we’ll be allies or enemies.”
It was Chirich’s way of acknowledging Crow, and he accepted it for what it was. No matter which side the other was on, it was not personal. Mara watched from the side, amazed at how calm Crow was at facing a god head-on. Even now, her heart trembeled just looking at Chirich.
They followed the god and reached an intersection with five open archways, and each had a long hall filled with velvet-lined cases. Each wall had three rows of those cases, and each row was carefully organized. The dark wood cases had a copper plate anchored onto their sides. On the plate was a description of the items within, but the details were fairly generic. Only someone with extensive knowledge of ancient treasures could identify most of these items. Crow was tempted to take quite a few things, but he had a mission and couldn’t indulge his curiosity. Nor did he want to attempt to take more than his reward because Chirich seemed to punish those that overstepped the line.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Where is the Python’s Tongue?”
“Since I promised, of course, I’ve saved it for you. And young lady, the spear haft is down that hall over there.”
“Spear haft?”
“That wooden staff you were asking about. It isn’t a staff but part of a legendary spear. The wood was once simple oak, but since it has drunk the blood of its enemies, it has evolved to something else. I recommend stashing it away and not touching it. You lack the power to contain its thirst.”
“Thank you,” Mara said and bowed with her fist over her chest.
“Ah, stop. This is what I should do,” Chirich replied while watching Mara’s departing back. After she left, he handed the Python’s Tonge to Crow.
It definitely looked like it had once been the forked tongue of a snake, but the process of shaping the key had crystallized it. The forked tip was shaped before it had solidified to look like the teeth of a skeleton key. At the end of the long cylindrical shaft was an artistically designed loop. Crow couldn’t help but admire its craftsmanship while afraid the thing may shatter. It was apparent it wasn’t a simple item, but he’d expected to feel evil or cursed.
Mara returned not long after he finished admiring the item. Crow wanted to look around but felt the temptation of this place was dangerous. Each treasure had a barrier around it, and they were similar to what he saw in the False Dawn Workshop, which protected the techniques and spells.
“Now, how do we leave?” Crow asked.
“You don’t want to pick out a treasure?”
“We did…?”
“No. The tongue was something I promised you. A way to balance our karma. You still get to pick a treasure.”
“You aren’t trying to trick me, are you?”
“No. I keep my word. I said if you reached this place, the tongue was yours. That is the deal we reached and has nothing to do with the reward for successfully completing the challenge.”
Crow and Mara went window shopping. Three of the five halls were full of weapons and armor. Crow wasn’t too interested in those, so he eliminated them from his choices. They were not bad, but he felt those were like red herrings, designed to pull the simple-minded away from the real treasures.
After exploring the two remaining halls, Crow only found a few dozen items worth mentioning. While that might seem like a large number, it was out of thousands and thousands of items, so those twenty or so items had to really stand out to make him interested.
The first item to catch his attention was Branna’s Sculpting Blade. The description claimed it could carve any material—even stone and metal. Crow assumed this was raw metal and not forged blades. While it wasn’t explicitly stated, Crow felt the blade was only good on mundane materials. Not to belittle that, in fact, he found it very impressive if it did what it said.
An orb caught his attention next, and it was a type of focus for those that used wind-based magic. It didn’t do him any good, but he felt it was an extremely rare artifact.
Of course, books were the things that caught most of his attention. While he couldn’t tell what most of them were, there was one that specifically caught his eye. It was titled Henge - The Celtic Knot Transport System. After walking for a while, Mara finally stopped.
“Dumb ass. If you keep hesitating, this mommy is going to kick your ass. You know you want the book, so go get it,” she snorted as if it was the most obvious decision in the world. “Even I know how important that is. Didn’t we both go through a Henge for the Hunt? How could that kind of knowledge be a waste?”
Crow sighed and stopped fighting himself on it. In the end, he ended up with a book he couldn’t even read—no, he could read it but didn’t understand a damn word. Creating a Henge was beyond complicated. Still, the parts he could understand left him reeling with excitement.
“You are like a little kid,” Mara chuckled. “Let’s go.”
“There is one problem,” Chirich told them as they approached him once more.
“Dammit, what are you up to now?” Crow asked.
“Nothing you didn’t already know. You just neglected to pay attention to it.”
Neither of them could see the god’s face, but Crow just knew he had a shit-eating grin on his face. This guy loved nothing more than a good prank. It took several long seconds before Crow finally realized what they’d overlooked.
“Are you referring to gaining our Shields?”
Mara’s head snapped toward him but lacked Crow’s excitement. For her, she only felt fear. Not that she didn’t want to get her Shield, but that she’d never heard of any method of subverting the trial. Besides, the Trial of Ascension was supposed to be relatively safe, so even if a person failed, they could just attempt it in another two years. It just seemed like a bad idea to do this.
“I am. The first five of you to complete the challenges will go through one more challenge, and should you succeed… you’ll officially enter the first floor of Tur Briste.”
In the silence that followed, everyone heard Crow’s gulp. His Source wasn’t where he’d like it to be, and he feared it wasn’t enough to succeed. He had his doubts, and they were founded on sound reasoning. While conflicted, he felt Mara’s hand snake around his waist and felt infused with courage. Mara’s strong presence always radiated confidence these days, and just her presence was enough to settle his mind and clear away his doubts.
Crow looked over at her and smiled. A simple smile smoothed away his furrowed brow and quelled his turmoiled thoughts.
“I should be clear. Just like the Trial of Ascension, you face this challenge alone. The time to clear and where you end up when it is all over depends on you. So you should say goodbye to your girlfriend. It’ll probably be months, or even longer before you see her again.”
“How long before we start?”
“I’ll give you some time to talk, but only for thirty minutes. I suspect the other three will arrive soon. Whenever you want to go, use the right door over in the corner. If you don’t go within thirty minutes, I’ll send you through the door to the left of it, which you won’t enjoy.”
Mara and Crow didn’t need to say much. She gave him a fierce hug and melded her body tightly to his. Crow buried his face in her hair, trying to memorize her smell, taste, and feel. After a short but intense kiss, they broke apart.
“I’ll meet you at Sunstar.”
“That may not be true,” Chirich said. “You aren’t going through the Trial of Ascension, so you could end up anywhere on the first floor. It could be difficult for you to navigate back to that place. Especially since the entire realm is a beast-infested forest. The beasts are all weak, but you’ll be in their territory. I recommend setting a secondary destination for Rosdoe. It is on the Tavanach Loch, which is a little over three-quarters of the way to the stairs leading to the second floor. It is a bigger city and easy to find since the terrain sort of pushes everyone toward it.”
“Why are you helping us?” Crow asked suspiciously.
“Since you know what I am, I doubt you’ll trust anything I say. But let’s just say I’m still using you. The more I help you, the more I bind us together—as I said before, I’m attempting to undo my fate.”
“I actually believe you,” Crow said and then turned toward Mara. “Not sure if we can pass that information on to the others, but if you find yourself closer to Rosdoe, just hold there. I’ll find you.”
“You too,” Mara said.
Crow walked to the door and didn’t stop as he passed through. Before Mara could follow him, Chirich started laughing.
“Oops!” Chirich kept laughing, and Mara stomped her foot angrily, her eyes narrowed to pinpricks as they stared the baying coyote down. “Did I say the right door? I meant he should have taken the left.”
Mara stared at him and had even drawn her sword as if she wanted to cut him down. That only made Chirich laugh even harder. “Calm down, little girl. He’ll survive. Didn’t I tell you this is a reward? He has a higher chance of success than if he went through the Trial of Ascension. I just sent him through the trial that can mutate his Shield. Normally, that’s a death sentence, but not to the unfated. Well… I mean, the Heavens just have another reason to kill him. Don’t go in that door.”
Mara growled, and ignoring the stupid god, she ran into the same door as Crow.
Coyote stared in shock, not expecting her to take an unconventional path. But after thinking about it for some time, it made sense. She was the lover of an unfated, so it stood to reason she’d eventually become unfated herself. So this wasn’t a terrible choice for her either.
Still, he found Crow was always full of surprises. If Chirich could escape his indentured state to the Clocktower, he’d have to find that boy to have some fun.
Not long later, the final three appeared. No one was more surprised than Chirich when the fifth person who walked into the treasure room was Acco. Like the other two, the coyote god tricked him into entering the mutated trial.
The other two winners were the Vodun—one from the Hex and one from Vodou. The Hex Vodun looked old and frail and was missing an arm, and he didn’t look too happy that someone had already taken the Python’s Tongue. Chirich didn’t hesitate to tell them both who acquired it.
Some temptations were too much for a trickster to pass up.