Children of the Gods: Arc 2 [Game/Closed]

[Terratina.]

"Are you looking for something like that, Etna?"

The Annoying Andrew had asked that while pointing towards an almost a carbon copy of her cardigan. She simply dismissed that notion. Why would she want something like that in a situation like this? Like the others, she had chosen practical clothing. At the end of the shopping spree, they would probably look like army recruits or something. It would be fun to see whether that would make them more or less suspicious in the eyes of the authorities... If this was a game. It wasn't, and so Etna went for the plain pieces of clothing, rather than the ones covered in camouflage patterns. While some would call that paranoia, it was simply something born of caution - at least - to Etna. Black, browns, blues, greys... She didn't care, anyway.

She gave Andrew a stern look and said, "No."

 

[Dogmatic99]

Meh, meh, eeehhh... Able skimmed through the rows of clothing. Either it wasn't in his size or it wasn't his style. After all this was a rare time that he'd have options where it came to clothing. He didn't have to look like a strung out runaway. Which he might be at this point. How long had they even been gone anyway? He had no idea if time worked differently in Dis and frankly, time had all begun to blur together by this point anyway. He frowned to himself.

God I hope Mum's okay. You hear me?! He called out in his head. You better be hearing this! And you better be looking after her... and spend some time with her! I don't know why you left but you should at least try and do the proper thing! He willed the thought to reach Vidarr by sheer strength of will. That was how prayer was supposed to work anyway.

One of the pretty shop assistants edged up to him to see if he needed any help. Able couldn't help but notice her smile and shortly afterwards he caught himself staring and quickly turned back to the rack of clothing.

Yeah! That shirt would look good on me! Yeah! Then he looked down at himself, his clothes were still in damp tatters. Of course he didn't want dress nice. His clothes had been destroyed more regularly than anyone else in the group. Nice would only be ruined, he needed tough and practical. So he set about finding a wardrobe that would be the pride of any paranoid survivalist.

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus flicked loudly through racks of clothing, laying his favorites over his shoulder. In the end, he settled on a pair of black canvas pants, three brown shirts and a long, dark woolen coat. His backpack had survived relatively intact, though he remembered to pick up some garbage bags for water proofing. He abandoned his worn boots for a pair of heavy-duty hiking boots, that came up to the middle of his shin. Overall, he was pleased; he hoped it would give him enough versatility to traverse the continent.

He approached the counter, seemingly content with his haul. However, he couldn't pass up the pair of dark aviators, not unlike his former pair, that he scooped into his pile.

Avoiding chit-chat, he paid and returned to the group, his large shopping bag stuffed into his backpack. Evidently, he was the last to pay, and as they strolled out the metal shutter slammed behind them. The sun had set, and the Pillar stood silhouetted against the sky.

"Not far now; let's keep pushing on. Hopefully she'll have some sort of resting spot. Haven't talked to her in a while though..."

The Titan started mumbling as they walked, lost in thought.

 

[Deu Sex]

Remus made quick to get on his new clothes and dump away the old ones. He felt a bit bad about tossing away such a sharp suit, damaged as it was. "Don't worry. You can buy a new one once this is all over with." he told himself. He doubted they had any more time to waste for washing and dry cleaning.

"Not far now; let's keep pushing on. Hopefully she'll have some sort of resting spot. Haven't talked to her in a while though..."

The boy nodded his head groggily in agreement. He took larger, faster steps than the rest of the group. "Let's haul ass. I don't want to pass out before getting to visit Nike." he said, feeling the effects of Nicole's boost lowering ever gradually.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria was quick to discard her torched outfit once every thing was paid for and just followed the others to the pillar, occasionally trying to get her powers to work right again with little luck. She started hoping this would be a non violent encounter, cause if it came to a fight she was effectively defenseless.

 

[DarkRawen]

"No."

The stern look from Etna made it seem as if he had pointed at a catsuit or something a lot more revealing, not just a black sweater. However, he shrugged, and didn't stop smiling, keeping up the appearance of a helpful guy in front of the women working there. When everyone was done picking out clothes, and changing, they headed outside, towards the pillar. Remus especially seemed to be in a hurry, and Andrew kept the Italian's pace, although a couple of feet behind and to the left.

For now, I'll just keep smiling, I suppose,

He told himself. Even though it was just the group again, most of them were rather... touchy, and besides, smiling was just an innocent action. No lies, no deceit, he wasn't even pretending to be in an okay mood. Good food, new clothes, and for him, a good night's sleep. It was better than it had been in days, although a shower would have been nice as well.

We got plenty of water yesterday, though. Makes me relieved I didn't bring anything electronic with me, although I do believe several others brought their phones. Not my problem, though, they were the ones bringing them.

Besides, he didn't need a phone, all he ever used his for was to contact the hospital, and he had no reason to now. He knew the number in his head, if the two weeks ran out, he'd just have to call again.

I wonder how it seems from that angle. One day I'm there, the other I just drop off the surface of the earth, apparently, saying something about family business. Heck, if any of us were to die, who would know? It's not like we would fight somewhere out in the open, it could take years till the bodies are found, if not longer.

Not that he was leaving anyone behind. His mother? Perhaps, they were bound by blood and memories, although he had broken off contact when he had found out that she had been deceiving him. But who else? No one, he never let people get close, he disliked them too much, and they couldn't be trusted.

Now, that's a nice and uplifting thought. No one'll miss me, and to be honest, I don't mind that.

Andrew thought to himself. He really didn't care, because he wasn't going to die.

 

[IFS]

"Not far now; let's keep pushing on. Hopefully she'll have some sort of resting spot. Haven't talked to her in a while though..."

Nicole nodded as she finished packing away her purchases, those that she hadn't already started to wear already that is. She had put on the new boots as they would make climbing easier, and changed into a clean shirt and pants, stuffing the dirty clothes into her backpack. Kinda doubt we'll ever stop to do laundry on this trip, but hey you never know. She quickly fell in line with the others as they began to walk, most of them seemed rather quiet, though Remus spoke up.

"Let's haul ass. I don't want to pass out before getting to visit Nike.

She glanced over at him, he was starting to look tired, like he had earlier in the morning after keeping watch all night. I guess my blessing is wearing off, that's not good.

She walked over to him "Hey, you another blessing to help keep you going? I don't know how well it'll hold with the old one wearing off but it can't hurt," she said, smiling slightly.

 

[Deu Sex]

"Hey, you another blessing to help keep you going? I don't know how well it'll hold with the old one wearing off but it can't hurt,"

Remus turned around briefly to face Nicole, slowly down in pace. He didn't smile back at her and merely shook his head. "No. You need to conserve your energy, not waste it on me. I'm fine." he said, although he quite the opposite of fine. He didn't want to look weak though by needing to rely on Nicole's help to keep him going. "Maybe when we meet your mother, she'll be willing to give us all a little boost."

 

[IFS]

"Maybe when we meet your mother, she'll be willing to give us all a little boost."

"Yeah hopefully," she said, thinking about the boost she had received before they entered the underworld, wonder why she didn't just bless everyone then... maybe she wanted to be somewhat covert or something? Might be worried about being tracked down by Dio.

"It's really no trouble if you need one though, so if you do just let me know," she finished, "Or I guess if there's anything else I can do to help, heh, I might end up having to airlift people if we run into any obstructions on our way up."

 

[Green Shoes]

The sun had set as the group approached the Pillar. It was a tall marble column, with several friezes around the base; each with a different depiction of the God. It stood alone in a courtyard of stone atop a mountain, overlooking the city. Not hugely popular with tourists, it lacked the roped boundaries other places had. Apart from them, it was empty.

Prometheus set his bag down next to the column and scratched his head. Having never really spoken to his relative, he shuffled his feet, before lightly knocking on the column and talking in Greek.

Pausing and listening, he shrugged when he received no reply. Turning to Nicole, he was about to speak before a heavy, armoured hand fell upon his shoulder, turning him.

Before him stood a dark man, rather like Ahriman, but with soft features and a smaller build. He wore a loose, navy long-sleeved shirt with large buttons, matching equally flowing trousers. His hands and feet, however, were adorned with dull, golden armour. His hair flowed to his shoulders, and his eyes matched those of Vera's. As he moved, his skin shimmered, as if it was made of tiny, golden scales.

He spoke with a deep, Turkish accent.

"What took you so long? Nike and I had begun to worry."

Turning him aside, he locked eyes with Vera, and laughed heartily.

"Veronica! How nice it is to see you!"

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Since the incident at the restaurant, silently buying some basic jeans, jacket, and backpack. HE was to disturbed and deep in thought to do anything but go through the motions.

Steven followed Prometheus up to the pillar. He saw the golden man, and sighed.

"What took you so long? Nike and I had begun to worry."

"We ran into problems," Steven said flatly, "We have not been having a good week."

 

[Lunar Templar]

"What took you so long? Nike and I had begun to worry."

"Traffic coming out of Hades is a *****" Aria said totally straight though should have been clear she was making a joke, though, she was really eager to get a move on, sooner they got up north the sooner they could finish this, least she hoped they could finish it when they got there.

 

[IFS]

"Veronica! How nice it is to see you!"

The man who greeted them was clearly a god of some sort, his appearance and his addressing Vera though, is this her dad? What's he doing here? She wasn't sure if she should speak up or not, Prommy seemed to have been about to say something when the golden armored stranger showed up. She had to squint a bit as her eyes adjusted to all the glittering light coming off of the strange god's skin, didn't know the Persians were so into body glitter...

She glanced at Prometheus and then back to the god, "Where is Nike?"

 

[hiei82]

When they reached the pillar, Vera had been quite relieved. Now that they were going to be within the domain of a friendly goddess, they'd finally have a chance to regroup and figure out how to track a wolf.

Her relief was short lived however as Verathragna - her father - appeared. She could only sigh; he always seemed to show up just when things were getting back to normal, dragging craziness in with him. "Veronica! How nice it is to see you!" he called out while looking at her.

"Hi Dad" she replied half-heartedly. "What brings you to Nike's Pillar?"

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus chuckled at Aria cracking wise. However, Verathragna's attention was caught first and foremost by Stephen, whose comment betrayed the fatigue in the whole group. At Nicole's question, his brow furrowed, and he sighed deeply. Clenching and relaxing his fists, he addressed both Nicole and Stephen.

"Yes, we heard you had some difficulties. When we saw what happened to the Morrigan we couldn't even be sure you were alive. Yet here you are. As for Nike..."

Prometheus' eyes widened and he stepped forward. Verathragna bowed his head at Nicole.

"She's been poisoned. I came to find her early this morning and she was wounded atop her column; an arrow through her shoulder. Right now she is in my home, across the sea, resting. I have yet to identify the culprit, but when I do..."

The god's kind features were momentarily clouded by fierce rage; yet it passed as quickly as it had come. He stepped forward and embraced Veronica, before stepping back and laying hands upon her shoulders.

"I am sorry we meet under such horrid circumstances. You look well though."

Addressing the group, he attempted a brave and welcoming tone.

"You are all very welcome to come and see Nike, and rest; you all look like you need a good sleep."

Prometheus flipped over Stephen's hand quite suddenly, with no word or warning. The bird was still there, though fainter than earlier. The meaning of this was unknown to him, and he cursed, before releasing Stephen's hand and apologising.

 

[IFS]

"You are all very welcome to come and see Nike, and rest; you all look like you need a good sleep."

Nicole's eyes widened, "What, poison?" she had never gotten along with her mother that well but all the same this caught her off guard, Nike had always seemed untouchable to her in the past, and she had no wish for her mother to die. Poison arrows... like the sort Andrew uses, could it be his father then? I really hope not, I'd rather not fight a sun god, maybe I should ask him later he might know if his father might do something like this.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and looked up at Verathragna "Take me to her please," she paused and looked over at Andrew "Do you think your healing powers might be able to help her?"

 

[DarkRawen]

When they had arrived at the pillar, the sight that met them was not a goddess, like they had expected, but rather a dark-skinned, gaudy looking man. From his reaction to seeing Vera, he was obviously her dad.

Who was her dad again? Some Persian god, right?

Whatever he was god of, Andrew kept his distance. Vera hadn't been very fond of the Greek gods, if he remembered correctly, so he doubted her father, an actual Persian god, was either. He didn't speak, however, others did, one of them beng Nicole, asking where Nike was.

A reasonable question. This is her pillar.

"Yes, we heard you had some difficulties. When we saw what happened to the Morrigan we couldn't even be sure you were alive. Yet here you are. As for Nike... She's been poisoned. I came to find her early this morning and she was wounded atop her column; an arrow through her shoulder. Right now she is in my home, across the sea, resting. I have yet to identify the culprit, but when I do..."

A poison arrow?

He didn't care to assume anything, not yet, but from what little he knew of Greek mythology, he knew of two gods who could have done it.

Apollo and Artemis. They did say anyone could be on the oposing side, so I'm not surprised if it turns out to be either.

That was a lie. Honestly, he hadn't expected Apollo to take either side. And now he might be the enemy.

If it was him, that is. This might be a lie as well, wouldn't be the first god to have attempted to deceive us.

"You are all very welcome to come and see Nike, and rest; you all look like you need a good sleep."

Andrew wasn't sure about what he thought of that. Firstly, wouldn't it put them further away from their goal? If this guy knew about what they were doing, which it seemed to be so far, why would he ask if they wanted to see Nike? Because they needed to? What could she do while she was poisoned?

I don't trust this, not at all.

However, he wanted to see what some of the others thought. If they all wanted to go, then whatever he said would be ignored, and they would have wasted even more time.

"Take me to her please,"

Nicole said. It was obvious that she wasn't going to refuse the chance to see her mother. She even turned to Andrew.

"Do you think your healing powers might be able to help her?"

"Do I think my power might be able to help her?" he asked, the question was worded stupidly, and he sounded sarcastic. "Yes, obviously. Whether or not it could help her depends on a lot." He then realized that she might not be in the mood for something like this. Andrew sighed, and changed the tone of his voice.

"I mean, I'm not sure, but I do believe it would have an effect. If we end up going, I'll try my best."

 

[Deu Sex]

After arriving at the pillar, Remus was surprised by two revelations. The first was gold-coated, Arabic-looking fellow who approached the group and seemed to be Veronica's father. The second was him revealing to the group that Nike had been poisoned. Remus stood large-eyed, biting his lip a bit as he processed the information. He hadn't caught the subtle bit about the Morrigan, not being awake enough to have noticed such a detail.

"You are all very welcome to come and see Nike, and rest; you all look like you need a good sleep."

Remus nodded his head eagerly at the mention of rest. He thought for a moment on what Vera's father said, about Nike being poisoned. Although his body was feeling tied, his mind still had enough energy from Nicole's boost to get his mental gears grinding a little. "Why an arrow?" he thought. "If I were to assassinate a deity, I would have done it with something like a sniper rifle. Whoever it was, they must have been more confident in their abilities with a bow..." Remus' eyes shifted to gaze at Andrew momentarily. "But why use poison then? Surely they would have been able to get a killshot through the heart or head, if they were confident enough to use a bow in the first place..."

He groaned a bit and rubbed his forehead again. All this thinking was making his head ache. "Save those thoughts for later. Now's the time to rest, and attend other matters." he told himself.

Remus' eyes were drawn away from Andrew and to Nicole. He knew the news must have been hurting her more than anyone else. Remus placed a hand down on her shoulder, and mustered a slight smile. "Don't worry. She's not dead, which means she'll be fine."

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria just frowned when, what turned out to be Vera's dad told them Nike had been poisoned. "Well that can't be a terribly short list of culprits, I mean, how many gods and goddesses use bows? That kinda was the end all be all ranged weapon back in your guys hay day" Aria thought out loud. "Anyway, a secure place to rest would be welcome, thank you." she added, thinking maybe she just needed a better rest then 'pass the fuck out', besides most the group was pretty ragged at this point, they needed a good solid rest.

 

[hiei82]

"I am sorry we meet under such horrid circumstances. You look well though." her father said. She wanted to say "Don't we always?", but her concern for Nicole overruled. Instead she said nothing; not really wanting to deal with him at the moment.

"We should go see Nike." she said quickly. Turning to Nicole, she spoke up again; wanting to help her friend all she could. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She's a goddess of victory; it's not like she's gonna let poison get the best of her. Besides-" she said, turning to look at Andrew for a moment "-if anyone can help her, it's Andrew."