-The Gods, 9 Mornis. The Goddess of the bargain. The goddess is revered even today for her ability to affect bargains to make sure everyone gets a fair cut. In her days as a human, she was able to broker amazing deals that benefited everyone. Her negotiation skills were the best in the world. She used her powers to benefit everyone and no one ever complained of one of her contracts. Today she is prayed to by merchants and sellers whenever a tough negotiation comes around. Her name can often be heard in government halls when new laws must be written.-
Erust and Ashra stopped and watched Chester hurry as quickly down the mountain as he could. They felt grateful that he had walked with them as long as he did. The normal human being would have been terrified of so much divine power in one place even on a bright calm sunny day. They hoped that when this was done they could go visit him in town and thank him properly.
Erust and Ashra had started up the mountain hand in hand. This more than one purpose. The first was that they couldn't get separated from each other as Rennish had. And it also let them help each other up the mountain. Erust was climbing up over a particularly rocky section of the path and holding onto Ashra to help her navigate up around a boulder.
"Do you think they will spring the trap on us before we get to the top?" Erust said as he pulled Ashra up over the large rock they were both navigating.
Ashra took a deep breath as she got up to the top of the rock before replying. "Well, this would be a good place to drop a rockslide on us and just wipe us out. They must be pretty confident that they can handle the two of us."
They both looked up at the side of the mountain together. They waited to see if a rock appeared as if summoned by their suggestions. Nothing came and they decided to get moving as quickly as possible.
"Do you have a plan for this soon?" Ashra said as she helped Erust over a section in exchange this time.
"I have an idea. I will have to wing it as best as possible if that doesn't work. The real question for me is how much of a threat will they see us as?"
Ashra nodded. "Yes, how cocky they are will determine how many opportunities we have to get a good result."
Erust sighed. "Yeah and we really haven't been able to get much besides the rumors. The god is against the other gods, he is out to help the humans and demi-humans of the far south live together. And that the wants the far lands across the ocean to join the humans and demi's here."
"No powers, no gifts, no weaknesses," Ashra muttered out loud, mostly to confirm what they were both thinking.
Erust sighed and looked further up the trail. It made a sharp veer around a corner a few dozen feet ahead and the blind switchback was a prime place for an ambush. They both knew that their presence was no longer a surprise to anyone and the tension was wearing on them as they climbed further up the mountain.
They kept climbing for almost an hour, Rennish had been gone for more than two hours at this point and as they got closer to the top his whereabouts were less of a concern. Erust had to just trust that Rennish could handle any problem himself.
The trail finally smoothed out after one last large outcropping of rocks where they had to let go of each other and both climb as best they could. Ashra's cat-like features gave her a slight advantage in lithe mobility and Erust did his best to not let her get too far ahead or below her.
Ashra stopped at the top of the outcropping with her arms crossed at the top, her face didn't move as she looked forward. Erust guessed she was catching her breath due to the thinner air this far up the mountain. When he finally got his head above the edge with one final push he saw what had stopped her from climbing any further.
The rocky terrain opened up into a palatial veranda almost immediately. The random mountain weed popped out between pave stones for the first few dozen feet but after that it was immaculate.
A soft breeze was blowing through the opening and Erust almost enjoyed it as he reached down to help Ashra up across the threshold into what had to be enemy terrain. White drapes blew lazily in the breeze across the open windows that lined the side of the mountain.
The stone in the veranda was snow-white, giving it the eerie look of being carved from snow. The sun and the unnatural weather gave the whole area an unnaturally comfortable feel. If they weren't about to jump from their skin waiting for an attack they might have enjoyed the area ahead of them.
"Well that's the most unsettling thing I have seen yet," Erust said as Ashra walked to his side.
"It's gaudy, I know it is meant to impress but it's a bit much for a Divine being that is against the status quo," Ashra said looking around for signs of threats.
Erust shrugged a little. "They say appearances are everything. If you want to show you are a real god them I guess you have to play at being one."
Erust looked at Ashra as she nodded in agreement. She had moved past amazement and was back to looking for threats. She lacked Mana or Divine power so she would have to rely on agility and reflexes to survive in a pinch.
As they moved towards the open windows and doors that were carved into the side of the mountain a voice spoke to them from the air around them, "I welcome visitors but I feel that you might be here to do me harm."
"If you can be killed then are you really divine?" Erust spoke to the air around him. He turned his head to look for the speaker but assumed it was another divine trick they all used.
Hatsheput couldn't have been seen by either of them even if they wanted to. As Hadres main apostle she had access to some of his power. That power had let her create this whole compound as a way to give the appearance of power. The actual rogue god had lived in the cave they had stopped in to escape the snow.
"What could one god-like me do to challenge the likes of your great pantheon of divine beings?" Hatsheput said as she floated around behind Erust and Ashra.
Ashra spun her head around quickly, she felt the voice move around her and her feline hearing was acute enough to know that if only for a second someone was standing behind her.
Hatsheput looked at them and admired the characteristics of the two of them. If you had to choose patsies these two were at least good looking. It would make them an easier sell as prophets. No one wanted to trust an ugly prophet. When the traveling salesman came to town he was always a charismatic good looking man. No one bought from the sketchy dirty salesman, no matter how good the wares and prices were.
"What kind of god hides from simple humans?" Ashra spat out angrily in the direction she had heard the voice.
A soft chuckle filled the air. "What kind indeed... maybe the cautious kind..." Hatsheput was setting a trap for the already murdered divine. The rogue god's body was already dead, its spirit had been trapped and sent to Hadres domain for interrogation and investigation. It would suffer for the crime of existing. Hatsheput felt a little sorry for it. The crime of existence was something every living being committed, the punishment shouldn't be eternal torture but she didn't make the decisions for her diety.
Hatsheput worked her way inside the front room past where Erust was standing. She hoped they would follow the voice. The rest of her plan hinged on them at this point. Humans were gullible and easily led to conclusions, especially when they felt that they had found the truth on their own. They never stopped to assume that the truth was fabricated.
The rogue god had been a hybrid human and demi-human named Axil. He had been meditating and working his mind alone on this mountain, looking for a way to combine the realms of the living. He had worked on the lands and seas. He had seen the far-lands as a pirate and trader and had seen what happens when gods weren't involved. The people who lived their were far more tolerant if not a little more savage at times.
Now the corpse of Axil was staged inside the waiting area in a chair. It was dimly lit to give off the effect of someone trying to be sinister. The truth was that the body was being kept alive through magic. Hatsheput used her own gift to complete the next part.
When she was a young girl she discovered that she could assume any number of voices and faces. It helped her survive. She was almost entirely human, but at some point, her ancestors had bread with something else. She could morph her own looks to a small degree and change her voice by changing parts of her body. With Hadres power infused into her own unique physiology, she could assume control of a body that had no willpower, namely this soul-less corpse.
On cue, Erust and Ashra walked into the room as soon as Hatsheput became Axil. She opened the body's eyes and smiled with sinister intent. "Welcome to my home. You are my first uninvited guest in quite some time. But I did make arrangements to make sure we would have the place to ourselves. I figured you would be coming sooner or later, prophet."