There was a rustling sound coming from the bushes, a light came out and two figures emerged. One of them was tall, muscled, with short black hair and dark brown eyes, he wore a dark green cloak over a white shirt and tight pants. He carried a sword on one hand, and an axe on the other. His feet were bare and covered in ice.
The second figure was smaller, younger, wearing a pale blue cloak and a pair of armor made of iron plates on his chest. His arms were covered with metal plates and his legs with chainmail. He wore a helmet over his head, and carried a shield on his right arm.
"Ah, good, you've come" the first man spoke, "the girl is close by"
"Are you sure about this?" The smaller one asked, "we are entering a dangerous place, it will be difficult to get out again"
"If we don't hurry she'll be gone forever. She won't be able to travel far before she turns back into a ghost" the first man replied
"Then let her turn into a ghost, and then we're done with this"
"No, this girl is important, she holds the key to defeating the gods"
"What does she hold the key to"
"To destroy the gods, to end their tyranny"
"Is that why you brought me here? To defeat the gods?"
"Yes"
"You can't expect me to fight against my own kind"
"Don't worry, we will help you"
"Who are you anyway?"
"My name is Jaliel"
"Ok, and who is this girl ?"
"She was a half-angel, and she is the key to victory against the gods"
"You must be joking"
"I'm afraid I am not"
"Why do you want to kill the gods?"
"Do you see the ice around me ?"
"Yes"
"It's because of the gods"
"They are too powerful, they rule everything"
"We have to stop them"
"How?"
"That's the plan"
"But how"
"I'll explain later"
"What if the plan fails?"
"That's not included in the plan"
"Well…"
"Just shut up"
<–>
Jaliel continued to walk through the forest until he found something interesting: a bunch of bones lying under an oak tree.
He grabbed one of them with his gloved hands and examined the skull carefully. It looked similar to a human's but had a few differences; the eyes were bigger, the jaw was more square and a thick ridge ran along the back of the skull.
"Interesting" he said and placed it on top of his staff, "let's go"
Jaliel followed him through the forest, avoiding the bone piles left behind by the gods. They walked past a group of trees and Jaliel stopped there.
"This is it" he said, pointing at the ground. He took off his glove and pointed to a spot under a tree. His finger moved slowly over the grass and the dirt. There it was, a small hole.
"This is the entrance to the cave where the artifact is kept" he whispered.
"Let's go" Jaliel said as he pulled the glove back on.
Jaliel started walking towards the tunnel and the dwarf followed him. Jaliel found a strange creature living in the cave, it looked like a cross between a lizard and a snake. The thing crawled at Jaliel's feet and he picked it up, placing it on his shoulder.
"Hello" he said, "my name is Jaliel."
"I am not interested in your name" the creature replied, "just tell me what you want and I will grant it to you."
"I need passage to the city of Chaleven"
"No problem" the creature croaked and a large door appeared near the wall.
<–>
"Wait what ? i was just joking !" Jaliel said as he pushed the door open and they stepped on the other side.
He could feel the cold air hit his face, he put his hand on the wall and it felt like stone, "this is cool" he said.
"You can't stay here" Jaliel said, "we don't know when the mountain god will wake up"
"We'll have to find another way" the creature said as it crawled down his arm and disappeared into the cave.
Jaliel walked deeper into the cave and found a bunch of strange creatures roaming around. They looked nothing alike and some of them even seemed to be made of light, like Jaliel. One of the things came close to him and he reached out to touch its head, it was warm.
"Hi" Jaliel said as he petted it.
"Do you know how to get to the city of Chaleven?" asked the creature.
"Yes" Jaliel said, "but it will be hard to move through the mountains because we can't use magic"
"That won't be a problem" said the creature, "you just have to come here and ask the god of the mountains to guide you, I'm sure he'll help you."
"That's exactly what i won't be doing" said Jaliel, "I told you before, I am not going to beg for help from anyone."
"But if you do, the road will be easy"
"I don't believe that" Jaliel answered
"Then you're in trouble" the creature warned.
Jaliel started to go deeper in the cave, suddenly, he see out of the corner of his eye a golden door, in this oh-so natural cave.
"Why would a god leave a door in the middle of nowhere?" he wondered, he walked closer and saw a small figure standing there, but it was so quick and vanished as soon as he got close enough to make out it shape.
Jaliel continued walking, he passed several doors, all of them were golden, one of them had a giant pair of scissors next to it and another had a skull wearing a crown. He passed more doors until he reached the last door, it was plain, like the others but it had writing carved into the wood.
"Let me guess, the answer is… 42" he said
He read the words:
'A secret known to the chosen.'
"Or maybe 43" he said as he walked away.
The door opened
***
The city of Chaleven was a massive city built on top of a mountain, it was surrounded by gigantic walls and towers, most of them were occupied by sentries, keeping an eye on the surrounding lands. The buildings were of a dark grey granite and the whole city was illuminated by magical lights, giving it the appearance of being surrounded by fire.
As Jaliel and the dwarf entered the gates, Jaliel felt like he was in a dream, everything looked surreal. He almost forgot he was in the real world, he saw children playing in the streets and people carrying food, probably heading for market. He noticed other things too; the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the air and the sound of music coming from a nearby tavern.
The guards stopped them and demanded they state their business. They knew Jaliel, since he always visited the city, they didn't know about the dwarf.
"We need to see the mayor" Jaliel explained.
"What brings you to our fair city?" the guard asked.
"You already know" Jaliel replied, "we want to see the mayor."
"Well then" the guard said, "let's go"
They followed him in silence, their feet making soft sounds on the cobbled stones, the guards marched along the corridors and eventually turned at a wooden door. They went in and found themselves in a long hall, wide enough to fit a carriage and lined with columns. On the right side, a large desk stood, behind it was a man dressed in a white robe, with a big hat covering his face. It took some time for Jaliel to recognize the man, he was the mayor of Chaleven!
"Mayor!" Jaliel shouted,
"Ah yes, the priest!" the mayor exclaimed, "what can I do for you?" he asked,
"I have come here with my companion" Jaliel said, "to request your help."
"Weren't we supposed to find the artifact in the cave ? and where is the girl ?" the dwarf asked, interrupting him
"Yes, yes! We'll tell you later, so let's go" the mayor said, "follow me!"
He led them to a room, richly decorated, it seemed to be a study, there were bookshelves filled with volumes and papers everywhere, scattered across the floor. The mayor took a chair behind his desk and gestured for Jaliel and the dwarf to take chairs opposite.
"So, what exactly is it that you want?" the mayor asked.
"The more this goes on , the less i understand" says the dwarf.
"We want to kill a god, we need your artifact, can you hand it to us ?" Jaliel asks.
"We don't have it anymore, it's been hidden in the cave when the demons attacked it" the mayor said
"Well then, where did it go?" Jaliel asked,
"No one knows" the mayor answered,
"Who took it?" the dwarf asked.
"Nobody knows" the mayor replied,
"Why would anyone take it? What kind of fool would dare to steal from the gods ?" the dwarf exclaimed.
"That's just it!" the mayor said, "nobody knows, not even the gods!"
"How can that be possible?" Jaliel asked,
"It's an ancient relic, the only one left in existence, it must have been hidden by someone" the mayor answered
"What kind of relic?" the dwarf asked,
"I don't know, it wasn't a weapon, it was something else" the mayor said
"How do you know it was stolen?" Jaliel asked,
"Because the gods aren't omniscient, they didn't know anything about it" the mayor explained,
"That doesn't mean that some random person didn't take it" Jaliel objected,
"Exactly! That's why we came here to ask you for help!" the mayor said
"Help for what ?" Jaliel asked.
"You'll see" the mayor smiled,
After talking to the mayor for an hour, Jaliel and the dwarf decided to work with him, he had promised to give them the artifact if they helped him to find it.