Apostles of Doom

He would like to believe it a trick, a deception by a dark goddess. It had to have been. However, the memories were so real, it was as if he had lived them himself. The depth, the details were too much. How would one fashion such a lie? Of course, given that she was a dark goddess, it had to be within her power to do such things.

When he finally escaped this place, this prison, he would need to investigate. There would be records in Justicia that could render these memories transparent as the falsehoods they so obviously had to be. He needed to clear the accursed things from his memory.

I am not so sure. A voice said in his head. Ruiden’s voice.

Why not? Talarius asked, surprised that the sword had been listening to his thoughts. Had it always been listening? While they had shared a true bond, they had never spoken. Talarius had not even known Ruiden could speak before he had shown up as a sword golem. This was going to take some getting used to.

Hephaestus corroborated the story with Sekhmekt and my father trusts Hephaestus; they are best friends, Ruiden said. Further, my father did not disagree with their statements. Surely, if he knew these visions and the statements to be false, he would have objected. Father is not averse to speaking his mind when he disagrees.

Talarius frowned. Is your father also a heathen deity?

No. Why would you think that?

Well, he is best friends with a heathen god and since he helped build Mount Doom, he is apparently immortal, Talarius replied to his sword.

Ruiden did not say anything for a moment. Well, he is remarkably long-lived, but I know he does not have a high opinion of gods, other than Hephaestus. I think he is jötunnkind, which would mean he is definitely not a god.

Talarius shook his head. The last day had been too much to process. He had been reunited with his sword, Ruiden, and discovered that his sword could shape-change into a sword golem. Then there was the fact that Ruiden was a demon-slaying sword forged in the Abyss, forged right here in Mount Doom by the resident smith. He had battled incredibly rare and powerful beings of myth, and then found out he was fighting alongside a pagan deity. It was too much to process. At the moment, all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball. However, Knights Rampant of Tiernon did not do that, so he got out of bed and began dressing himself. It was time to face the day and whatever new insanity it might hold.

The Outpost (Abyss)

“Usiris?” Bess said, looking up from her breakfast in the rooftop garden of the Outpost. “What a pleasant surprise!” Bess stood and gave him a kiss on the cheek, as did Astet, who had joined her for breakfast.

“What brings you down here? Were you racing with Charon on the Styx again?” Astet asked.

Usiris chuckled. “You know I only do that when trying to retrieve someone from the Beyond. He does not believe in return trips and so likes to give chase.”

Bess smiled. Charon and Usiris had a long history.

“I have come because I have gotten word from Merit-Ptah,” Usiris said.

Astet looked puzzled for a moment and then remembered why he would have heard from her. “She is working with you on the incubus project,” she said.

“Exactly, and she has located your Greater Demon,” Usiris said looking directly at Bess with an enigmatic smile.

Bess sat up very straight in the chair where she had just sat down. “Really? Amazing! Where, pray tell, is this mana-stealing demon that has thwarted our most hated enemy?”

Astet nodded in agreement.

Usiris chuckled. “As of last night? He was waging war alongside Sekhmekt and pêTah against Knights of Chaos here in the Abyss!”

Bess gasped.

“You can’t be serious?” Astet asked in shock.

Usiris nodded. “I am serious. He is the new Master of Doom. Lilith tried to do a preemptive strike using a Chaos Maelstrom and he rallied the D’Orcs, pêTah and Sekhmekt to defeat them and a few thousand demons.”

The two goddesses simply stared at Usiris in shock. “How does Merit-Ptah know this?” Bess finally asked.

“Well, it turns out that her incubus is a close friend of the new Master of Doom, and is also on a privy name basis with pêTah. The incubus, Sekhmekt, pêTah, Völund the smith and various D’Orcs were having celebratory drinks when she summoned the incubus.”

Bess chuckled. “I suspect that information set her back a bit.”