Ancient Catacombs District of Profaners, Third Ring

Tharia looked at the small sprite on the ground and felt guilty. In that final moment, when their memories had started to blend, something inside of her had thrown the elemental out with brute force. She scooped up the small creature and placed it inside the staff. The tiny curtain around the cage had been stolen from some dollhouse and they looked just as cute on Sisis makeshift home. Conflicting emotions raged within the girl. There was gratitude for what the sprite had done.

She stretched her lower back and tested the range of motion in her legs. It was still limited as it had been for years but a key difference remained: No more pain when the spark was at work. Yet she also felt envy. In that short moment, some of Sisis memories had imprinted on her. Now it felt like she herself had once lived in cities built beneath the canopy of trees and she remembered the feelings of pure joy from racing up mountains on wings of flame. She was envious of the childish joy the sprite could feel at the simplest of things.

An indeterminate amount of time passed until Tharia realized she had zoned out. Annabelle stared at her with her doll-expression and feeling like teasing the girl, Tharia walked towards her with a wobble. Just as she was about to reach her love, she faked a stumble and then fell into her arms by sheer, totally planned, accident. Once Annabelle caught her fall with a look of panic on that pale perfect face, Tharia quickly stood on her toes and pressed her mouth on those inviting lips.

It wasn’t sexual. Honest, the only reason she did it was to give back the essence that Sisi had taken. Not even her own subconscious believed her as she made up the lie in her mind. It didn’t matter. The kiss did. A soft warmth ran up her body and then poured out of her in the form of divine energy. It was over in seconds, much too fast for her tastes. When she felt Annabelle pull back, she instead clung closer. Her arms tightly wrapped around her and for a split second, Tharia could have sworn she saw a large fluffy bed appear out of nowhere. She blinked in confusion and concentrated on the by now literally breathtaking beauty. Only when she felt the air in her lungs grow painful, did she allow for the kiss to break. A fine trace of saliva hung from their lips that Tharia quickly gathered up with an apologetic smile.

Annabelle was just plain irresistible. It didn’t matter that they stood in a nearly lightless catacomb and that something was dying a few meters away. She didn’t care that it was most likely the aura of the goddess that increased the intensity. It was a slightly weird and convoluted proof that they had chemistry. When she put both her hands on Annabelle’s shoulders to invoke a touch of healing magic, Annabelle shivered and then pushed her away.

“The cuts will heal easy. Don’t exert yourself”

Tharia answered with a broad grin and stepped away from Annabelle. She had insisted enough on being close already. The lightness of her steps still amazed her and she was half tempted to do a little jig when she heard a scratching noise come from directly under her.

“There’s something else”, Tharia said and tapped a foot on the ground.

“It’s been there since the temple”, Annabelle replied and suddenly placed the wooden sight of the Scythe onto the ground.

“It’s not one of them is it, Annie? They were creepy enough, I’m never going to look at tongues the same way. Gross, creepy, disgusting. Of all the things in this gods-cursed capital. Let’s head back and find a place to rest. I’ve had enough monsters and lunatics for one day.”

“Fairy”, Annabelle said while turning around, “Do you think I’m a demon?”

Tharia followed in her footsteps while observing her gait. She couldn’t help a small appreciative glance along the edges, although a deep bath was necessary before appreciation could turn into anything more. Annabelle looked like a bloody mess.

“You’re dripping in viscera and I still get tempted. There’s some truth to it, isn’t it?” Tharia began and saw the shadow of an emotion on Annie’s face. It was one of those signs that were only visible when you knew a person really well.

“You know Annie, it’s an odd question”, the human girl changed her tone and accelerated her pace to walk next to the goddess.

“Demons are an odd concept. It’s just a way to shift blame and look away”, Tharia began her monologue with another interesting difference. Usually, Annabelle tended to only half-listen, this time she was all there.

“If something horrifying happens, it’s just easier to claim demonic possession. My brother certainly didn’t need demons to break me. He did it with a flourish, a smile and a perverse pride in his work. Look, I know why you’re asking. No, I’m perfectly fine of lusting for you on my own. Don’t take away my agency by thinking it’s all just mind magic”

Once silence fell upon them, Tharia switched her attention to their surroundings. They reached the central mess with the dead Godbeast. Their path led out the other way and this was just the quickest approach. With a coldness that surprised herself, Tharia disrobed several of the priests on their way out and then picked up planks of wood. Wrapping the robes around the wood, she created makeshift torches that gave them enough light to safely navigate the catacombs without stumbling around in the darkness.

The catacombs struck Tharia as eerie. With rows of strange looking statues assaulting the central pyramid, it seemed like a depiction of a last stand. The artwork was quite intricate and in some cases, she was convinced they were petrified monsters and Godbeasts, instead of just statues. At their heart, the Profaners had a simple believe-system that was based on three tenets. First, their cult had existed since the dawn of creation. Two, demons broke creation and declared themselves god. Three, this had happened many times over.

In a way, these fit with what they had learned about the world. Creation was broken and gods weren’t all they were made out to be. Cities underneath cities, hidden by a layer of obsidian did hint at it happening before. But Tharia was at an impasse in understanding how they went from denial of gods to outright cultish murder and doctrine.

Her mind wandered back to the snippet of memory she had gotten from Sisi. In the world today, there existed no city in the trees. Valarn dominated existence from one end to another. Every city was in servitude to Valarn and only a few pockets of stubborn Turesai and some Skypeople enclaves denied subjugation. Her wandering mind was dragged back when a skittering sound drew her attention. Something was crawling underneath the floor. Like before it sounded like it was close by. Annabelle seemed to have heard it too, the goddess had ever so slightly narrowed her eyebrows.

“It hasn’t done anything yet, maybe it’s just observing what we do?” Tharia suggested and Annabelle nodded. She still kept the blunt side of the scythe close to the ground while her arm muscles were taut, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. With tense anticipation, they finally reached the large tower connecting the underground with the world above. Just like in the Understadt, it showed a variety of symbols Tharia had never seen. One, in particular, was the image of the Dreamreaper and Tharia felt tempted to mark it with a scratch. What a wretched thing that god had been.

With a shrug, she followed Annabelle into the tower. For the first time ever, she enjoyed walking stairs. It was exhausting and the goddess in front of her got more grumpy with every step but for Tharia, just the sensation of not feeling pain was intoxicating. She noticed a spring to her step and immediately corrected it to walk in a normal fashion. Just a few steps after, she was back to basically bouncing up the stairs. Not even the noise of something scratching along the walls from outside the tower could stop her.

“Mashed potatoes. With a cover of Xonro Herbs, just to add that bittersweet note. Give me that and you could roll me down a hill like a cannonball. Oh, wait, wait! Hoh, Fungfel Garn with sea star grass. I would lose it, Annie. Right there”

Annabelle let out a sigh and replied, “You already have”

“Sweet girl, was that cynicism? “

“A bit”, Annabelle said and gifted her the smile of the day. Now Tharia really had a spring to her step as she pranced after Annabelle in, particularly high spirits. Uninhibited by any obstacles, they soon reached the top of the tower. Just as Tharia glanced back down the staircase, the sound from the walls intensified. Everything happened so far. One moment, she gazed down at the tower beneath her. Then loud rumbling was all that remained of it. A gigantic creature had swallowed up the whole of the tower. Hundreds of tiny eyes looked up at the hole in the ceiling but instead of giving pursuit, the creature melded with the ground far below until only the skittering sound remained.

“Well, that’s one way of saying fuck off”, Tharia said with a flat tone. The odd sound stopped moments after but where once had been a path, there now was a hole in the floor with a tumble several hundred meters down. The two girls exchanged glances with each other when a sudden sound made her heart miss a beat.

“Oi wai there’s something here”, a male voice shouted from upstairs. Moments later, the ceiling opened up and a bright light blinded her. She held a hand in front of her face when something sharp touched her fingers. As her eyes accustomed to the light, she realized it was the tip of a spear that pointed directly at her skull.

“Don’t move, you”, the voice said, “let’s trade eyes, mai?”

Tharia gulped. The tiny ring in her back pocket felt like it had started to burn a hole through her. She kept perfectly still and so did Annabelle. Soon, intense warmth washed over her as a lantern was guided down.

“Two strati femani”, he said and grinned towards someone else up above, “Oi la Ravid. Come help. They look shit”

Another second voice with a thick Thalaron accent reached her ears, “Your accent is gruselbar, just terrible”

The second man that stepped to the ledge was a muscular young man in a dirt-covered armor. The symbol of a rose had withered underneath specks of blood and other monster remains. He leaned down and suddenly beamed a wide smile.

“Well would you look at that, you’re alive!” the young man said and let out a laugh. Ravid Liektensein, Tharia recognized. She looked up at him and even felt a bit of joy at seeing him again. Joy and insurmountable guilt at having been the cause of death for the girl.

“Relax”, Ravid said to the other man, “I know these two. Annabelle and Tharia Linde. Sweet and slightly insane mercenary couple. They helped us out with Farian a few weeks ago. They’re good people. Let’s give them a hand. Aren’t many left of us these days.”

Tharia raised an eyebrow but didn’t correct Ravid. The young man would have a reason to lie so blatantly. She exchanged another glance with Annabelle, but her lover had put on her best doll expression. It looked so cute but also so very teasable. When they put down a ladder, Annabelle gave her a gentle push and then helped her up the ladder. Even without the pain, her limited range of motion made it difficult to climb otherwise.

They were in a storehouse of sorts. The sigil of the Verholden family was beveled into the large wooden pillars that held up the ceiling. Ravid walked next to her and gently patter her on the shoulder.

“A family of monsters, those are, right Frau Linde?” he said and once he spoke the last name, he gave her a subtle squeeze with his hand.

“You remembered us”, Tharia began and Ravid grinned.

“I could never forget the name of two beauties such as you. Skilled too. Look, if you want to, we’re gathering supplies for our camp up ahead. We’ve got much to talk about”

Tharia pursed her lips and saw the subtle nod from Annabelle. She then shrugged her shoulders and smirked.

“Boy, if you’ve got a way for us to clean up ourselves, we’ll do almost anything for you”, Tharia said. Ravid looked them both over and nodded.

“That’s good to hear. Then kindly grab those crates and help us load them on the carriage”, the young knight said.

Verholden Storehouse Wanderland Constructions, Third Ring

A few hours had passed. All things considered, Tharia was too exhausted to be much of a help and so was Annabelle. None of the two-man asked why they were covered in dried blood or where they had come from. At the end of all days, details such as these mattered little. Soon though they had piled plenty of crates on an old carriage. It creaked under the weight and the poor horses in front looked just as old as the vehicle seemed. Ravid suddenly pulled her aside. With a smile towards Annabelle, he spoke.

“Can I kidnap your wife for a bit? There’s one last crate I want to get”

Annabelle reacted with a nod and that left Tharia with little choice in the matter. She handed Annabelle her staff and Ravid then pulled her back into the building. Once they were out of hearing distance, he leaned in closer than was comfortable for her. His pitch of voice changed and he whispered into her ear.

“Listen to me. Forget who you really are. You’re Linde now. Sorry for the lie but the truth would have cost your life. Hide the Sigil Ring, better yet, lose it if you haven’t already. Trust me on this. You do not want to be recognized”

She narrowed her eyebrows but the young boy was dead serious about it. He fixed her with his gaze until she nodded in agreement. A voice echoed from outside.

“Horlarma deos! Are you two done in there?” shouted the second man with an annoyed tone in this voice.

“Almost”, Ravid answered. He grabbed a random crate at the corner and then nodded towards Tharia. She, however, walked close to the edge they had come up through. With a heavy heart, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the Sigil Ring. It burned in her fingers, like a cursed object. Twice she tried to throw it away and twice she couldn’t do it. Only when Ravid suddenly snatched the ring from her palm and then tossed it down the hole, could she get rid of it.

“There Miss Linde”, he said and put special emphasis on the name, “Now help me please?”

A strange mood had taken over Tharia. That old woman from the enclave, Mayleen, had warned her too about getting rid of the ring. She had found herself unable to do it and now that it was gone, she felt naked and vulnerable, yet also strangely free. The crate was surprisingly heavy and she struggled in keeping up with Ravid. When they finally reached the carriage, she needed Annabelle’s help to keep standing.

“Make yourself at home, let’s meet the neighbors”, Ravid said and made a gesture towards the other man, “Not everyone is as grumpy as he is.”

“Oi wai cheeky bint”, the man replied and held out a hand towards Annabelle. The goddess took it and found herself pulled up onto the carriage. She had to snuggle between various crates and moments later, Tharia was simply lifted off the ground by four pairs of hands and then placed on top of Annabelle’s lap.

“It’s not far ahead. Sorry for the inconvenience”, Ravid said. He stepped onto the entry ladder of the carriage and then held onto the ceiling. He gave a signal to the man in front and with a crack of the whip, the carriage started moving.

“Marriage, huh?” Annabelle said and prodded Tharia’s neck with her nose. The human girl smiled.

“Something I could get used to”, Tharia replied.

“Me too”

The idea of spending the rest of her days with Annabelle didn’t scare her. That said the way it was going it wouldn’t be a terribly long time all things considered. Still, she liked to think they would spend their days together.

“Have you ever wondered what kind of life we would build for ourselves?” Tharia said and poked Annie’s nose.

“Personally, I want my own tavern. We’d grab one of those monster skulls we killed and put it above the bar”, Tharia added with a grin.

“A tavern?”

“Could I get that with a complete sentence, Annie?”

“No.”, came the curt reply of the goddess.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, mostly I’d like to see you in the uniform. I think you’d fill it... ouch”

Tharia rubbed her head. It had been a gentle smack from Annabelle but the glint in those eyes told her to shut it. Of course, she complied, it was in her nature to never tease Annabelle further than was good for anyone involved.

“You know with a sexy miniskirt, maybe a garter belt and...”

“Fairy”

“Yes?” Tharia said with the most innocent of smiles. Instead of words, Annabelle simply kissed her. That was one surefire way to shut her up. Outside, they passed what remained of the third district. Several blocks were burned down rubble. As far as Tharia could see, these were ruins caused by humans, not monsters. Annabelle grunted angrily. They had been kissing for a while, really it was mostly just brushing close and savoring their proximity. However, the impression of human-made slaughter was confirmed when they reached their destination. Loud drums echoed into the dark sky. A handful of observers stood around and gazed up at the false star but what really caught Tharia’s attention were rows of impaled corpses.

She recognized many of them. That old man with the bloated stomach had been her family butler. A young maid had doubled as a gardener, she had been a sweet young thing but a gnarly Verholden Sigil had been brandished into her forehead with enough force to kill her. All of them had signs of affiliation with her family and they all died gruesome deaths. They had not been granted modesty or respect.

As they got closer, she started to make out details of a song that accompanied the drums of the nearby war camp. Annabelle stubbornly pulled her back into the kiss and then placed those pale hands over Tharia’s ears. She still heard just which family the camp had it out for. Hers, naturally.

End: Something in the Walls | Coming up: Calm before the slaughter