Josh held the looted short sword in his hand. Rusted, dull, and pitted with a mostly molded and rotten leather handle. He couldn’t keep his smile from stretching ear to ear as he inspected his first interface box.
Weapon: Short Sword
Quality: Poor
Increasing the quality of weapon will increase damage.
Bladed Weapons
Skill Level: None
-
Damage:
Poor mundane
92% probability of 236% increased damage compared to unarmed damage. Increasing skill level will increase damage capabilities.
They also looted the salvageable armor from the two downed draugrs. Now, they each sported bracers and greaves, a studded leather cuirass, and a studded pauldron covering the left shoulder. The pair then endured ten minutes of small-volume breathing caused by wearing the extremely fragrant gear. It smelled of rotten mayonnaise and sunbaked roadkill. But, as with all things... after a relatively short period passed, Josh had to admit he was getting used to the smell. After donning the chest gear and pauldron to complete the set, Josh was overjoyed when a second box from the interface popped up.
Armor equipped. Draugr studded leather, quality poor. Protection increased from negligible to poor. Partial blocking options available. Do you wish to continue with this as your new armor?
After mentally picking yes, they received a second text box.
External Armor Equipped:
Draugr Studded Leather
Quality: Poor
Increasing the quality of armor will increase protection and probability of damage reduction.
Armor Skill Level: None
Increasing skill level will increase probability of interface guidance for optimal usage.
Protection:
Poor mundane
54% probability of 15% damage reduction from physical attacks from mundane weapons.
Increasing skill level will increase probability of damage reduction capabilities.
Sen, having skill in wearing armor, received the same text box with slightly enhanced probabilities of protection.
External Armor Equipped:
Draugr Studded Leather
Quality: Poor
Increasing the quality of armor will increase protection and probability of damage reduction.
Armor Skill Level: Advanced
Increasing skill level will increase probability of interface guidance for optimal usage.
Protection:
Below average mundane
99% probability of 25% damage reduction from physical attacks from mundane weapons.
Increasing skill level will increase probability of damage reduction capabilities.
Josh couldn’t help but feel pretty badass despite the smell of years-old, slow-cooked, dead ass lingering in his nose. For the first time since this had all started, he wasn’t wishing he could be anywhere but here... just most places instead of here. For instance, Josh would much rather be here than at Miranda’s mom’s house for lunch... he considered it a start, at least.
Following the melee encounters, wrapping up the archers was anticlimactic. Having grasped Josh’s ritual of the aggro, Sen lured them into the blind stairway with another classic line-of-sight pull. He then sprang back down the stairs as the archers were reloading. Two decapitations later, they had free reign of the landing and the five doors surrounding it.
Quickly checking their interfaces showed their free Essence levels—Sen at 54 percent and Josh at 64 percent. Their health bars were 100 percent after a few cycles to heal several minor scratches and one streak on Sen’s back from an unlucky arrow ricochet.
Josh was a bit taken aback when he looked through the open doors. There was just a white shimmering barrier instead of rooms. The mercurial apertures constantly rippled like the surface of a still pond after tossing a rock into it.
“Portals.” Sen had said and then looked around as if having a doorway filled with roiling quicksilver was the most normal thing in the world.
“Portals?” Josh repeated. “What do you mean, portals? Portals are small doorways through walls in buildings and boats! These weird glowing barriers could do anything! They could electrify us as we pass through... or...or give entry to thousands of grasping appendages from a groping tentacle monster or... a million other things!”
Sen must have sensed through their Bond that the dimensional aspect of the passageways was freaking Josh out. He took the time to explain, “Relax, Joshua... these are just like portals that lead through walls in buildings and boats. But instead of leading into an adjacent room, they lead to other nearby pocket dimensions attached to this iteration.”
“Right,” Josh practically shouted, throwing up his hands in exasperation. “Exactly the same.”
Then Sen narrowed his eyes and added slyly, “... If you were going to lose it, I would have thought it would be against the undead remnants, the dark specter, or the furry-cannibalistic humanoids... not dimension portals...”
“Are you really trying to shame me like a thirteen-year-old at the skatepark?” Josh pointed his finger accusingly at Sen.
“If this skatepark is a place where people gather to compete and test their courage as well as to strengthen the fearful, then yes. I suppose I am.” Sen’s smile reached feral proportions. “Whatever works, brother... whatever works!” Then he left Josh to accept that he wasn’t in Kansas anymore as he stepped closer to inspect a portal more closely.
Seeing Sen had moved on, Josh lowered his raised index finger and chased after him. But whatever Josh would have come back with remained unspoken after he noticed the titles etched in boldface script above the mullion on three of the doorways.
The first one on the right side, where the clacking sound came from, read: TARTARUS.
The next on the right side read: ELYSIUM.
And the first on the left side: OLYMPUS.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The last ‘portaled’ door, farthest on the left, had no title.
The doorway at the end of the landing was still closed by a thick wooden door banded in iron and barred by a sturdy beam bolting it from this side. There was no other locking mechanism.
Josh looked to Sen. “These portals go to mystical places? Even the home of the Greek gods?”
With the patience of a mother toilet-training a toddler, Sen spoke through a small smile, “Yes, brother... it would appear so.”
“Well... okay then...” Finally accepting the dimensional aspect of the portals, Josh mentally moved on and re-engaged his brain. “I bet that the storage room Gaia mentioned is the one without an ancient mythical title.” Josh said, wagging a finger at the blank portal.
Sen nodded. “Agreed.”
After discussing the titles, it turned out that even Sen had heard of all three places. It seemed that the ancient Greek mythical locations had almost complete multiversal penetrance. However, the robust warrior traditions all three locations and mythology were associated with were the source of Sen’s interest.
The tapping they had heard from the door marked Tartarus chose that moment to restart with enthusiasm. For an unaccountable reason, Josh felt compelled to go through that portal. Something was calling him from the other side. Thinking about it, Josh wanted to go through and see what was over there. All he had to do was to walk through the shimmering portal... to right an injustice that ... only he could set it right on the other side—
Josh immediately stepped back and cleared his mind with a quick head shake. Refocused, he stretched out his arm and pulled Sen back from his own unconscious inching toward the door. Sen jolted and looked up, startled. Then he also backed up, shaking his head, and nodded once in appreciation.
Josh nodded back. ~I got you.~
Sen again inclined his head. ~Gratitude.~
Josh narrowed his eyes at the portal. It disturbed him to realize they had both been slowly edging toward the open portal... Some very shady mind games were afoot at the Circle K... bad things were sure to follow if they went through there. However, if their path took them through the Tartarus portal... they would go. If Josh’s feelings were accurate, and they could right a great injustice, they’d likely even want to go... but right now... Nah... Josh didn’t want to risk any more confrontations before they checked on the possibility of better weapons and maybe even obtaining our Earth Attunement.
Without better weapons, he and Sen were eventually going to be overwhelmed. Without an Attunement to keep their Essence filled, they would always need to be killing spirit beings for their Essence. An option to keep their Essence tanks full without having to stalk prey unworthy of continued existence would be invaluable. So, these two things needed to come first before any extracurriculars. Particularly so in the case of an interdimensional portal with the ancient Greek word for ‘Underworld’ engraved in six-inch letters on it.
Josh realized more and more with every step he took that getting stronger and advancing his cultivation was going to have to be his way of life. That meant putting that goal first above what he merely wanted. In short, he needed to take care of business. It needed to be that simple from now on. Why would I even want to go to Hell anyway? Whether it’s the ancient Greek variety or otherwise.
Nodding to Sen, they stepped up to the unmarked door. Sen walked through first, and Josh followed. There was no doubt that Josh was less skilled with the sword and armor. Sen, with an advanced rating with his weapon and much higher protection scores with the armor, meant he was acting as their tank for now.
Phasing through the portal was a non-event. It didn’t feel any different than walking through any standard doorway. However, being on the other side gave Josh the feeling that he was somewhere more than one door jamb away.
Tall, wooden shelves marched off into the distance—way, way, way beyond what they could see, even with their enhanced sight. The marble floor was gone, instead replaced with dark, polished stone. The exotic, rich blues and greens of mother of pearl flashed to their eyes when the light from the braziers reflected off the floor at the right angles.
Directly in front of them, seated behind a small counter blocking the narrow entryway to the wide-open spaces of the room before them, was a man in the same bleached white chlamys they were wearing... Only the man was wearing the absolute hell out of his, if Josh was honest. His body was extremely well-muscled in classic heroic proportions. A suit of armor, similar to the one worn by the enforcer they had fought, could be seen poking above the low top of the counter, and the long shaft of a dory leaned diagonally against the dark cuirass.
The man behind the counter set the cooked leg of the humongous bird he was eating down and pulled what looked like a flat carpenter’s pencil from behind his ear and a clipboard from the countertop as he finished chewing.
Flipping through several top sheets, he raised his eyes to them and said unassumingly, “I’m Achilles... you guys looking for the storeroom?”
Josh’s mouth hung open, and he said the first thing his knee-jerk reaction brain forced out of his throat. “You... you are... the Achilles... from Troy... that Achilles?”
Achilles stood up so fast that his stool shot out from under him and flew off into the distance... then, out of sight.
Pointing his finger at Josh, waves of force radiated from its tip. “Listen, mister...” A pained look of old memories came over his face. “Troy was a low point and a long time ago for me... okay? Gaia pulled me out of there and gave me this gig protecting her storeroom...” He looked around at the vast spaces around him. “... For which I am very grateful... so...” He pursed his lips and made a fist with his right hand that space seemed to shrink and solidify around. “... What can I do you two for?”
Realizing that he was on the verge of pissing off an immensely potent demi-human from the age of heroes that could likely turn them both into grease spots without breaking a sweat, Josh reapplied the capacity for intelligent thought to his mouth—or at least he tried. “Ahh... sorry about that... really... really sorry! I’m fanboying a bit over here. Gaia sent us to get some things that her ‘kids’ used... when they were kids. Swords and things... said to tell ‘the custodian’ that Gaia said so... I’m guessing that’s you... um... Achilles...” Josh trailed off, squinting his eyes and ever-so-slightly turning away in preparation for the pain that was sure to come.
But Achilles, apparently placated by the apology—and the fact that they had real business there—pursed his lips and nodded. Then, he snapped his fingers and sat back down on his rematerialized stool. “... Why didn’t you say so in the first place? One sec... Let me scan your tags.” He held his hand up to the bronze brooches, clasping their capes, and flipped through his clipboard again. “Okay... that’s a box that has been down here for a while. It’s in the back... I’m uploading its location into your interfaces. Take a look at your interface map. But... are you sure about this?” Achilles scratched the top of his head and looked them up and down with no judgment in his eyes but what felt to Josh’s spirit like a piercing assessment. “I’m just sayin’ that for two guys with your... limitations... it might be tough.”
“Tough?” Josh and Sen both said in unison.
“Hey... listen, it’s not my place to tell you guys your business... but take a look over my shoulder... there is a Kraken loose five aisles down.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb to a mass of giant tentacles waving over an impossibly high self, grabbing things randomly and alternating between crushing them and flinging them over the horizon. “A flock of Badger-Phoenix got loose this morning, and the animal guys haven’t gotten them under control yet.” Another thumb over his shoulder, and they saw faint lines of smoke rising even further in the distance than the tentacles. “And we’ve been having a rash of draugr popping up all over the place the last few days. On top of that... everything in this place can, and many sincerely want, to kill you... dead. Though I admit that for most of them, it’s not personal or anything. They just want to eat you.”
“That’s…” Josh drew the word out, thinking of how to reply. “… Comforting.”
“Good,” Achilles beamed. “Wouldn’t want you holding a grudge or nothin’ and coming back as the restless undead or some such. Best if you two go back the way you came.”
Josh and Sen blanched at the picture Achilles had just painted for them. But there was no question they needed the weapons if they were going to face the chimera.
Sen spoke first. “We need what is in that box... without it, we will likely fail against the chimera... and I will break an Oath to get my friend back to his daughter. Sen put his fists together and bowed his head to the great warrior. “... We have to try. Is there truly no way?”
Achilles scowled and seemed on the verge of sending them packing when he puffed his cheeks and blew a breath out, tossing his clipboard down on the countertop. “Cry me a pota’mi, why don’t you? His kid?”
He pointed at Josh.
When they both nodded, he shook his head once.
“Damn. I’m a sucker for kids,” he muttered, just barely audibly. Sighing, he said, “Let me see what I can do...”
A map of a vast area appeared, seemingly taken from a satellite in low orbit. It zoomed in, zoomed in, and zoomed in again until Josh and Sen could see city-block-sized areas of shelves. “Your box is here... I can get you… here.” Two points of golden light appeared approximately two blocks apart. “I’m going to color-code the area based on Essence density.” Achilles looked at them with sincerity. “You can substitute the term ‘Essence density’ for ‘danger’, because to you guys–it’s the same thing... Anything in red is a no-go zone... guaranteed ticket to a one-on-one with Thanatos... You get me?”
They both nodded.
“Anything in yellow... I would do my best to avoid it. Well, not me, exactly, but if I were you, you know?” He raised an eyebrow, and they both nodded. “You want to stay in the green areas... believe me on this. I can leave the temp portal up for twenty minutes... you guys gotta be quick, right?”
“The quick or the dead…” Josh whispered, swallowing back some saliva.
“The quick or the dead.” Achilles repeated, nodding. “I like that. I think I’ll use that. In your guy’s case, it couldn’t be any more true. If you don’t make it back to the portal before it closes, I wouldn’t bet on your odds with someone else’s money, got me?”
Sen and Josh swallowed a hard lump in their throats and nodded again.
“Here... I’m sending it over to your interfaces. Good luck.” He waved his hand, and their interfaces chimed.
Color-coded Threat Assessment Map Received. Display?
They both selected yes. And true to his word, Achilles’s map showed a very narrow and winding path of green through an ocean of red with what looked like small islands of yellow across the two blocks of shelves. They would have to pick their way through the middle of the stacks in one place–
Achilles’ urgent tone brought them back to the present. “Guys! The clock is ticking on this maintenance portal... get a move on!”
A miniature portal appeared to their left, and they both jumped through after fiercely thanking Achilles, who smiled warmly at them. “I’d do the same for my kids. Go, be a good dad!”
And then they were in the stacks of shelves. The wild cry of animals came from the distance, and a humid pressure like it was about to rain settled over them. Before looking around, they noticed that the interface had shrunken Achilles’s map to one-eighth of their visual field and decreased its opacity, making it transparent. There was also conveniently located a timer counting back from twenty minutes, now at 19:45, and dropping.