There was a strong sense of distaste in the goddess's mental speech.

Ada opened her mouth to inquire on more details but the goddess preempted her curiosity.

Leanne's mouth hung open and her eyes widened with shock. "Under attack? Who would dare attack the Goddess of Life?"

Ruciella merely looked pensive. "Hmm, is it Karren?"

Ayula scoffed.

Leanne's eyes were still wide with shock. "Why are they intruding into your temple, Goddess Ayula? Is anyone hurt?"

Ruciella rolled her eyes. "Criminals, ha. What a joke. The members of this city council has abused their power for years and no one have stood up to them. Those guards meant to protect the citizens really just protect the wealthy thugs who run the city. Now to know they're lackeys to a god as well...well, let's just say I'm not all that surprised."

Ada shook her head in disbelief. "Karren in the countryside and Yuano in the cities. Are all of the gods against you?"

There was an amused chuckle from the goddess. Leanne and Ruciella clasped their heads in pain.

"How many of these pickled fish gills are there for us to hook and gut?" Ruciella asked.

"I guess we're famous now. At least 18 people sent to arrest us." Ada said jokingly.

"What about my other followers? The Gunder family?"

Ada interrupted. "Wait! Were you watching us the entire time?"

Ayula pointedly ignored Ada's interruption.

Ruciella looked shocked. "Wait...what? Am I expelled?"

Ada heard the goddess stifle a chuckle.

"Does he know that I'm actually a goddess?" Ada wondered.

With a thundering emphasis on the word 'now', before any of them could react, there was utter silence. Everything around them shifted and turned into a blur. Before the platform started its gyrations, Ada thought she heard the goddess say something about how she has blessed the two mortals temporarily. That was probably what Ayula said for she could see that neither of them were suffering on this return trip. The three collectively sighed. The two mortals gazed around in silent wonder as the platform spun and flew. There wasn't much to look at since everything was a blur. After a moment, Ruciella broke the silence. "Well, that was interesting. I wasn't planning to have the conversation cut short though. I wouldn't have asked my questions if I knew that was going to happen."

"Not your fault. It doesn't matter. What we need to do is get ready for what's coming ahead. I feel like I have even more questions now."

"I concur." Leanne nodded.

"Do either of you know much about the god Yuano? We don't know what we're going to face once we're back." Ada asked.

Leanne shook her head. "I do not know much. I know many those with wealth worship him as the deity who would bless them with greater fortune. He is one of the few gods who do not have any actual temples but instead has altars of worship in financial and trading establishments. For his most devout followers, he sometimes appears in those rooms dressed in extravagant clothing giving them blessings and gifts of gold."

Ruciella smirked. "Well, he hardly sounds threatening at all if the only thing he can do is throw us money. I can use some of that. But then again, people are willing to do a lot for money."

Ada nodded in concurrence. "Money makes the world go around as some people in my realm would say. Let's not underestimate his capabilities."

"What will we do once we arrive back at Ayula's temple?" Leanne brought up the question on all their minds.

Ruciella's face glowered with anticipation. "Well, we can try to explain but seeing where this is headed, I'm expecting to fry a few ostrich brains."

"Violence begets violence," Luciella sighed. "There must be a better way. We should try to negotiate. This was a misunderstanding."

Ruciella rolled her eyes and said sarcastically. "Right, because negotiations worked soooo well for us last time. Accept our humble apologies and let's all be happy friends!"

"Sorry Leanne but I think Ruciella is right. Negotiations looks like it's out of the question. We need to leave the city as soon as possible. I don't want to see anyone else here hurt because of us or give Yuano and the City Council ammunition to close this temple."

"Ammunition?" Ruciella and Leanne asked in puzzlement.

"Giving them ammunition here means giving them a reason." Ada quickly explained. Then she continued. "We need to be ready for anything."

As if on cue, the platform suddenly stopped moving and the world arrived back in view. Everything looked the same as before except that there were no longer any priests in sight. Everything was eerily silent. The only person there was Sçæaisøh who stood like a zombie with mouth open drooling. Ada said the obvious line that came to her mind. "This is really weird. Where is everyone? Where is "

Leanne arched her eyebrows while Ruciella just shrugged. Ruciella said. "Let's just get going. I'm sure we'll find something unsavory if we stay here too long."

Ada started walking towards the temple entrance as she tried to wrack her brains on how they're going to leave without being seen. Maybe there was another gate that they didn't notice? Or maybe they can climb the walls? Aloud, she didn't express her concerns yet. One step at a time. "Yeah, let's get going. Sçæaisøh, follow us and try not to make a sound."

The man's mouth closed and he started crawling on the ground. Ruciella giggled. "Is that what you wanted him to do? I guess I have discovered the limits of your Compulsion. He can somehow understand the Divine Tongue when he's in Compulsion but he can't make any rational mental decisions."

"Sçæaisøh, I release you from my Compulsion but you will not harm Ruciella or Leanne here."

The man blinked and awareness returned to him once more. He trembled and jumped back a step from the three of them. Leanne spoke and the man replied. There was a rapid exchange of dialogue before Leanne jumped into a long monologue. The man's eyes grew wider. Perhaps a little terror though she was glad to see that he had stopped trembling. Ada groaned. "I really wish there was a babel fish around."

Ruciella looked at her curiously. "Babel fish? Is that edible?"

"No, not edible I don't think. Yeah, in the divine world, there's a story of a mythical fish which could translate any language. You stick it in your ear and it'll translate everything for you into your head. You'll never have to learn another language."

"Holy mackerel! That would have saved me a lot of headaches and time learning the Divine Tongue."

"It's mythical though who knows? The universe is vast in the divine realm. Maybe there's one here too."

"Sure, wonders abound on Urth. I'll translate and be a babelfish for now."

"Thank you, Ruciella."

"It's just a boring catch-up conversation where Leanne explained that you're a Goddess of Computation. Briefly what that means. Then, moved on to the Temple of Ayula here and our recent talk with the Goddess Ayula. That's when his eyes grew huge by the way. And that now we're under attack by the City Council who are probably secretly following the God Yuano's orders. His eyes grew wider here and he started stuttering."

Leanne spoke. "He is ready to follow us now. I told him that with the city guards gathered here, we must make haste and depart immediately. I also told him that his dog is safe."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to translate that part about the ugly mutt," Ruciella casually remarked.

I wonder if he has any attacks or abilities, Ada thought. They were definitely not the typical MMO RPG party. She supposed that she herself would be the tank and crowd control whereas Ruciella would be DPS and healer. Hmm, by this logic, Leanne was essentially useless in battle. What slot in the party did the thug here fulfill? Well, this world isn't shaped like an RPG game with hitpoints and damages clearly laid out so there's no need to dwell on it, Ada thought.

Suddenly, there was a human scream from the direction of the temple's front entrance. In the eerie silence, it was clearly audible. Leanne's face blanched and her lips quivered. The man's reaction was worse and Ada saw that he had fallen on the ground with soiled pants. Okay, this guy is going to be useless in a fight, Ada thought and groaned inside. Leanne has recovered her composure. She furrowed her brows and said with determination. "We should help them."

"I thought you're the one who wanted to avoid bloodshed? Sounds rather hypocritical to me." Ruciella smirked. Then with a scowl, she added. "I hate to back off from a fight with obvious ostrich heads who need some good thrashing but it may be best that we leave before more of them shows up. I'm pretty sure we stand a better chance if we leave now. Ada, what do you think?"

"Ada, we should stay to help them. They have done so much for us," Leanne said.

Ada thought for a moment. On the one hand, she should help Ayula since her followers were putting themselves at risk to help them. On the other hand, if they reveal themselves and get into a fight, the Temple of Ayula here would be held as culpable as them. This would be especially bad if any of the guards were killed. To stay and possibly fight now or leave and fight another day? She debated on the best course of action. The three mortals looked at her for the final decision.