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

[Not G. Ivingname]

Steven was going to yell in surprise at the sudden grab, till he noticed that the bird tattoo was faded.

"I assume that isn't normal, right?" Steven asked Prometheus.

Steven turned to Verathragna, "Do you or Nick happen to be experts on binding of souls, or reasons why the marks they leave would disappear?"

 

[IFS]

"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."

Nicole made a concentrated effort to ignore Andrew's initial sarcastic reply, though she felt the now familiar urge to slap him pass over her. He's too good at giving me a reason to hit him, but he might be able to help here. She was about to reply when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. She's not dead, which means she'll be fine."

She nodded, Remus had a point the gods wouldn't have lasted this long if they weren't resilient, besides Nike had fought in the war against the titans she could handle a little poison. Vera soon added her own support, seeming to set aside her dislike for the gods out of concern.

"-if anyone can help her, it's Andrew."

"Yeah, we should get to her as soon as possible then," she said, then smiled. In spite of her concern for her mother and everything that had happened she couldn't help but feel grateful for all the support she was receiving she looked up at each of them "and guys, thanks, I don't know what I'd do without you all."

 

[DarkRawen]

"Don't worry. She's not dead, which means she'll be fine."

Yes, because it's not like poison can kill someone after the initial hit.

Of course, was this the sort of poison that could kill a god?

What can I do, in that case? I'll just have to find out.

"-if anyone can help her, it's Andrew."

Andrew glanced over at Vera, but his eyes didn't linger. It almost sounded like she believed in that he could do this. Obviously, it wasn't so, it was more the fact that, in the group, he was the only one capable of healing.

"Yeah, we should get to her as soon as possible then. And guys, thanks, I don't know what I'd do without you all."

Andrew ignored the last part, he doubted she was saying that to him. However, from what people had said, he found out the thing he had expected. It seemed they were all intending to go, not doubting anyone for a second.

Is this really okay?

Could they really just go like this? Could they afford to trust someone in a situation like this? A single mistake, and it was the end of the world, if Prometheus was to be believed.

"Do you or Nick happen to be experts on binding of souls, or reasons why the marks they leave would disappear?"

Normally, Andrew would have ignored what Steven said now, it wasn't his problem. However, he had realized what they seemed to have neglected to think about.

Wait. The Persian god mentioned something about stuff happening to the Morrigan. Then, there were these bodies covered in feathers. A young woman, and an old one; there was an old and a young woman, among the Morrigan when we met them, I don't know which Etna's mother would count as. And now, the mark made by Etna's mother is disappearing?

From what Steven said, it sounded like that, at least.

"What happened to the Morrigan?" he asked. "You said you weren't sure we'd make it out alive because of what happened to the Morrigan." It was starting to sound like they had been murdered. If so, he wondered how Etna felt about such a thing, although he didn't really care.

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus shrugged at Stephen. His knowledge of binding magic was limited; certainly not extending into whatever Celtic ritual bound the two together. He also doubted Verathragna knew much; but he had been surprised before.

"Personally? I have no idea. However, I doubt whatever happened to the Morrigan and your mark are unrelated. I'm sure we'll have answers soon enough."

The God looked over at the pair.

"I do not, unfortunately. However, I have a few books lying around at home; and a few friends I can call when we get there. You can tell me everything."

Andrew's question froze the God, and he stared at Prometheus as if to ask how they didn't know. Turning to Andrew, he spoke slowly.

"They were attacked; roughly the same time as Nike was. Two of the three were killed by an old God; very, very old..."

His face became drawn and distant, and silence fell upon the group. Prometheus spoke up, trying to draw attention away from the sad news.

"How do we get to Nike? Can you take us?"

The God cheered up and began moving around.

"Of course, of course. Nike and I share Pillars, among other things. Come!"

He tapped the marble pillar, and a blinding flash of light erupted from the crest. A similar flash could be seen in the distance; impossibly bright, shooting high up into the sky. The group were thrown off balance, landing not onto the stone base in Sicily, but short and rough grass, in the heart of Turkey. A similar Pillar rose high into the sky, though without a frieze at the base; instead, swirling script crept up, all the way to the top.

They were amid rolling hills, with a narrow, dirt track twisting between them. A city could be seen in the distance, through glass windows, yet their eyes were drawn to the small yet beautiful house that surrounded the pillar. The pillar was in a small, square courtyard of grass. The house itself looked to be made of terracotta, with large, glass windows looking out in every direction. The inside was well-lit and furnished minimally; many works of art hung from the walls, as did numerous exotic weapons.

Verathragna opened a dark, wooden door leading inside, and welcomed them.

"Come in, come in! You all need to rest. Make yourselves comfortable in the kitchen; I shall take Nicole and...the healer to see Nike. I don't want to stress her."

Turning left down a hallway, he motioned for Nicole and Andrew to follow. Prometheus, taking the cue, turned right, and found himself in a huge kitchen, complete with a large, round table that could seat 15. His stomach grumbled, and he began sifting through the various cupboards for food.

 

[Lunar Templar]

"Pretty swanky place" Aria commented as she found a seat to occupy once they arrived in the kitchen. She just looked around, taking in the sights of of the room she was in. "So .." she started, not really aimed at any one particular "Any one have an idea who's killing goddesses or is that the 'after epic nap time' topic of discussion?" Aria knew the group was tired, even though she wasn't, least not like them, having passed the night before she was fairly well rested compared to say, Remus or Steven. Being tired wasn't really her concern though, it was her powers not working correctly and she wondered if it was the Wraith and her going nova on it, or something else she hadn't thought of yet.

 

[Deu Sex]

"They were attacked; roughly the same time as Nike was. Two of the three were killed by an old God; very, very old..."

Remus? eyes went wide again as he soaked in the news. This was more shocking than finding out Nike had been poisoned. ?Two of the Celtic deities killed...that must have been what that agent was asking us about.? he thought, remembering the mention of black feathers. ?Something powerful enough to kill two Gods, and ancient enough for a Persian deity to call old...? Remus felt goosebumps along his skin at the thought. ?And it wasn?t too long after we ran into Etna?s mother...it can?t just be coincidence that they died so shortly after our encounter.?

He groaned as he felt his head aching again. All this bad news was getting the exhausted, depressed demigod evermore agitated. After being teleported into an entirely different location, Verathragna guided the group towards his pillar. If he were in a better mood, Remus might have admired the beautiful art or even more beautiful weapons that covered the walls of the God?s home. But he simply walked along with the others, sighing under his breath and rubbing his brow.

"Come in, come in! You all need to rest. Make yourselves comfortable in the kitchen; I shall take Nicole and...the healer to see Nike. I don't want to stress her."

Remus took his hand off Nicole?s shoulder as he parted ways to follow Prometheus. After entering the kitchen, he took a seat on one of the many chairs and tiredly laid his arms on the table. He looked around and frowned at Prometheus as he saw him pillaging the cupboard. ?Really? We just got back from lunch, you glutton.? he said, feeling more bitter than usual thanks to his mood.

"Any one have an idea who's killing goddesses or is that the 'after epic nap time' topic of discussion?"

He then faced Aria, shaking his head. "No clue." he said, then thought for a moment and said something stupid. "Maybe Etna's mother killed the rest of the Morrigan? She certainly seemed like the pragmatic *****. Maybe she was tired of sharing power, damned Gauls are like that."

 

[IFS]

"Come in, come in! You all need to rest. Make yourselves comfortable in the kitchen; I shall take Nicole and...the healer to see Nike. I don't want to stress her."

Nicole nodded and followed him, glancing back at Andrew to make sure he was doing the same. As relieving as it was to finally be in what was hopefully a safe place she still felt as though they needed to be careful and stick together. God I just need to go for a run to take my mind of things, or something, I wonder if Vera's dad has a track around here...

Of course she needed to check on her mother first, she couldn't deny that she was worried about her, more so than she might have expected. At this point a track or a run would just be something to make her feel in control again, but it wouldn't help Nike. I wonder if my own powers could do anything to help, give her just a slight boost or something. Probably not but I've got to try it if it might work. We'll see how well Andrew's magic works first.

 

[DarkRawen]

"They were attacked; roughly the same time as Nike was. Two of the three were killed by an old God; very, very old..."

I was right then, although this is unsettling.

There was something about how the Persian god said "Old God" that made it sound ominous. After that, they dropped the topic, and went back to Nike. They used the pillar to transport from Italy to what Andrew would guess was Turkey, before the Persian split the group.

"Come in, come in! You all need to rest. Make yourselves comfortable in the kitchen; I shall take Nicole and...the healer to see Nike. I don't want to stress her."

"Dr. Andrew Miller," Andrew said in response to being called a healer, as he followed the god to where Nike was resting. "Call me Andrew, or even just Dr., but calling me a healer is grouping me with the likes of Rasputin and the people who think they can treat injuries and diseases by focusing their spiritual powers and through prayer. It's insulting."

Normally, he wouldn't have spoken, but something like this was too offensive for him to keep his mouth shut. Call him a nitpick, but he hadn't spent 4 years in med-school to have someone call him a healer. Even if he now had the ability to actually heal through magic, or powers or really, whatever it was.

In the end, I couldn't have used them this well without the knowledge I have.

That was what it felt like, at least. There was always things he needed to know, and because medicine was so familiar, he didn't need to spend a lot of time thinking about what to do.

Know the cause, and you'll have an easier time figuring out what to do, after all.

"So, Vera Senior, or whatever you prefer to be called, what do you know about the poison used? How quickly it worked, color, smell, symptoms, anything would make this easier."

Especially symptoms. If I know what those are, this becomes much simpler.

Hopefully, he hadn't made the god annoyed with the things he had said before, thinking back on it, it might be seen as slightly more annoyed than he had intended for it to do. Worst case scenario, he'd have to ask Nike herself about these things.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Able felt as if his blood had gone cold as he heard the news of two out of three of the Morrigan having been killed. It must have been what the officer from the restaurant was talking about. One old and one young, that's what he'd told them right? Was that Etna's mother? No, no she as the middle one right? It was a horrible thing to hope for, it felt like he was hoping someone else died in the place of another (in fact it was exactly what he was hoping for). His heart went out to Etna, if only he could have expressed that in a proper way.

What the hell could even take two gods out so easily and wound another? It had taken everything Vera had and a deal of help from the others to take on Ahriman and even then it had taken a nasty toll on her. At least her dad seemed nice, if a little eccentric.

*****​

His house was even nicer even if the heat and the light hit Abe like a flash-bang. Once he'd recovered from the jump into god knows where (which at least one of them did, what with it being his house) he meekly followed the group into the villa and leaned up against the wall in the kitchen as everyone else got back to talking.

There had been a lot going on over the course of this whole trip and it had been easy for Able to get left behind by it all. Sure he could of put more effort into trying to join in but he didn't even have a notepad anymore since the lake and trusting that people could understand facial expressions alone had lead to some stupid situations in the past. Besides he'd already accepted that he couldn't be a leader kind of guy here. But he could tag along with his weird spear and help make sure everyone made it back from this messed up adventure, it wasn't like they asked for it anyway.

Oh screw that! Able tried to shake it off, summoning his inner stereotype and stiffening his upper lip. He had enough stuff gunning for him without getting himself down. Moping wouldn't help anyone. He left Remus and Aria in the kitchen and set about searching the house for a notepad or something like it. He may as well use the chance to explore too. He couldn't even begin to pronounce Vera's dad's name but he had a really cool place. Able eventually found a room that looked something like a study and set about casually rummaging.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Steven got up from the ground, throwing up again.

"Please WARN us when your going to do that."

He followed through the wooden door

"May I ask where these books are?" Steven asked, "I rather know what is happening with my soul."

 

[Green Shoes]

Speaking to Stephen, the God didn't even turn, but shouted as he kept moving.

"Try the study! It has a black bookshelf; anything at the bottom will be of use!"

Verathragna walked briskly, correcting himself as he went.

"Apologies, Dr. Miller. And you may call me whatever you wish, as long as I am not offended! All I know is that the poison was black; I have placed the arrow and poison in a glass container, as you will see."

They were fast approaching a set of wooden double-doors, decorated in a lion-hunt motif. The God flung them open to reveal a large room, the opposite wall made completely of grass, overlooking the hills. Up against the left wall was a huge bed, with both posts and hanging drapery. Opposite the bed was a long table, upon which was a glass box with the dripping arrow, several bloody towels, a small basin of water and several weather-worn books, none of which had covers.

Upon the bed was Nike, dressed in a white bath-robe, with a large, red stain upon her left shoulder. Her hair was long and black, though at the moment it was matted and dirty; her skin pale and flushed at the cheeks. Her eyes fluttered then and now, and she was murmuring in some unknown language.

Verathragna walked up to her and began stroking her hand, talking softly and slowly.

"Sweetheart, Nicole is here to see you. Her and Dr. Miller are here to help you. Do you understand?"

Nike made no movements that indicated she understood. He ran his hands through his hair, his eyes slightly watery. Turning to Andrew, he spoke.

"Just tell me if you need anything, anything, and I will procure it. The arrow is atop the glass cabinet. Take care of her."

With that, he stepped out of the room, and began wandering about the house.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prometheus returned from the cupboard with a can of tinned fruit, frowning at Remus.

"You never know when your next meal is. I went a few hundred years with nada, you know."

Prying open the can, he found a fork and began eating, sitting himself down at the table. He set his backpack down next to him, intending to change after he had a hot shower. Thinking over Aria's question, he didn't like the possible answers.

"Whomever shot Nike does not necessarily have to be who killed the Celts. He said an Old God, which doesn't make me feel good. Could be Phoenician, Mesopotamian, Egyptian..."

He stood up briefly and retrieved a pen and paper from the kitchen drawer. He drew up two columns; one labelled Celts, the other labelled Nike.

"I'm guessing whoever shot an arrow is familiar with a bow..."

He grimaced as he wrote the twins of Leto under the second column...

------------------------------------------------------

Able opened a draw and found a relatively empty notepad, with a lines in a language unknown to him. Beneath that was a battered journal, written in a similar language, left open on a page with a sketch. The sketch depicted several figures falling from the sky, while others flew up simultaneously. Each figure had a name, though again, in Arabic.

 

[IFS]

"Sweetheart, Nicole is here to see you. Her and Dr. Miller are here to help you. Do you understand?"

Nicole was somewhat surprised by how Verathragna was talking to her mother, are they lovers? If so has she told dad? I know she was always distant with me but I always thought she still loved him, he still loves her I know that much... she felt a knot form in her stomach at what the news might do to her father, assuming he hadn't already known. It's possible he knows and is okay with it, but... whatever its not important right now! She shook away the thought for the moment, and approached her mother slowly unsure of what to say or do.

She let her wings unfold behind her, as if to prove who she was, feeling their power fill her as their light spread across the room. She walked closer and sat next to the bed, placing both of her hands around one of Nike's and just holding it before speaking.

"Mom it's me, I'm here with a friend of mine, a doctor," she said "Hopefully he can help you get better. I know... I know we never talked much before, but all the same I don't... you're my mom you have to live," she forced a smile "when you wake up I'll have lots to tell you."

She turned to Andrew "If there's anything I can do let me know," she said, then turned back to her mother. She focused and released the blessing, the golden aura settled over Nike, she wasn't sure if it would help but some extra luck, strength and energy couldn't hurt.

 

[Deu Sex]

"You never know when your next meal is. I went a few hundred years with nada, you know."

Remus simply sighed tiredly. He got off his chair and approached the cupboards at the opposite end. Inside one he found a bottle of exotic-looking wine. After snatching up the bottle, Remus attempted to pop off the cork with his own fingers. Tired and frustrated however, he let his strength slipped through and caused the top of the bottle to shatter off. Although only a few drops of wine spilled out, Remus' fingers were cut by the glass and bleeding. He sighed again and shrugged. "Fuck it."

He sat back down at the table, lifting up the wine bottle and letting its contents waterfall out from the broken neck. After ten seconds, Remus pulled himself away from his drink to throw in his two cents. "Maybe Vera's dad can give us a hint instead of making us play the fucking guessing game. He clearly has some idea on who killed the Celts. He knew enough to tell us it was an old bastard."

 

[DarkRawen]

"Apologies, Dr. Miller. And you may call me whatever you wish, as long as I am not offended! All I know is that the poison was black; I have placed the arrow and poison in a glass container, as you will see."

He wasn't sure if the god was sarcastic or not, but Andrew chose to ignore it. Instead he tried to keep his mind on the patient, the person he had to try to treat. This was really not going to be easy.

Black poison...

He didn't know of any man-made poisons that were colored black. Andrew knew that natural venom had a wider spectrum of color, but he still couldn't recall every hearing about any of those being black.

Am I not remembering it? Should I just go with the assumption that this is made by a god?

Andrew looked towards Nike, as the Persian god whose name he still didn't know, spoke to her.

"Sweetheart, Nicole is here to see you. Her and Dr. Miller are here to help you. Do you understand?"

No response, from the looks of it. The goddess didn't react when Nicole spoke to her either, her eyelids flickered at seemingly random, and she spoke gibberish, or at least a language he didn't understand. Andrew first went closer, making sure not to be in the way of the Nicole who was using her powers to cast a blessing on her mother. Honestly, he wasn't sure what it would help at this time, but it was worth the attempt. Both the Persian god and Nicole told him that they would bring whatever he needed, but he ignored them for now. At least until he needed them.

Fever, semiconscious, possible mental confusion accompanying the fever. Black poison. It's likely to have spread through her whole body. The arrow hit the left shoulder.

The wound was big, some of the poison most likely exited through the wound at some point, when removing the arrow.

Even with that, she's in this state. Whatever this poison was, to leave a goddess like this...

He stopped that train of thoughts. After all, he had no way of knowing whether or not a god really was that much resistant. Besides, he was a demigod, there had to be something he could do.

He went to check on the arrow, carefully picking it up. Although he doubted the poison could enter through his skin, he didn't want to take the risk, and tried to examine it, whether or not it had a smell, if there was anything at all his powers could pick up. He felt a bit strange doing so, normally it would've been brought to a lab and examined, but he somehow doubted they had the time and possibility to do that. Besides, what would they even find out? He kept examining the arrow.

Was that...?

Although it wasn't much, almost nothing, he thought he could feel something. Perhaps. Andrew put the arrow back, as carefully as before, he had nothing else to go on. Besides, if he couldn't get rid of the poison itself, attempting to rid it of a symptom might help as well. Still, usually it wasn't the fever that killed.

I have to try.

He had no choice. Andrew put his hands close to the entrance wound, but not directly on it, before letting partly instinct, partly knowledge, lead him. Hopefully, that was enough. He used his powers.

 

[Terratina.]

It still hadn't stunk in, that two members of the Morrigan had been killed. Nevertheless, Etna bit the inside of her lip. It was somewhat ironic that they were hearing that piece of bad news from Verathragna, not that Etna knew who he was: her knowledge was limited to commonplace stuff when it came to the other pantheons, after all. Still, two out of the three had been killed... She wanted the names. She wanted to know if her mother was dead. Last time they had met, Badb had been as cryptic as ever. She had talked of taking sides, of something coming...

But, with the way she had said it, she had said so little and yet so much. Etna was stuck with riddles. The mystery of the goddess-killer, the riddle engraved on that tablet, and the larger conundrum of Dionysus and his allies. Just what were they trying to do? At least Verathragna had a decent selection of books, maybe one of them held the key? Walking past the pile of puke, she went into the study and began to flick through the books there. Regardless, bitter thoughts entered her head. 'At least Nike has a chance and if he fails, at least you'll be able to see her off.'

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria frowned Remus's comment, stress and fatigue where clearly getting to him. "I don't think it works that way, Don't 'group' deity's need the whole group to just function? Anyway, you should be taking this opportunity to rest, not get hammered"

 

[Green Shoes]

Nicole's blessing settled gently upon Nike as Andrew attempted to heal the Goddess. Andrew could feel his power being drawn into her like a vacuum; attempting to repair the rot that had spread from her wound. The poison felt natural; not a man-made chemical, perhaps more like a venom. Nike arched her back in pain as Andrew pressed on, Nicole's blessing drawing his power further and further in.

Andrew's vision blurred as he felt his power drain away, and Nike's eyes opened in terror when she saw him. She screamed in a frenzy, clawing the bed sheets as she tried to get away.

"No! They're here! Help! Please, no!"

Andrew felt as if he was going to pass out, and leaned wearily on the bed-frame; the blood in his head near deafening. Thundering footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway, and Verathragna burst into the room, gilded sword gleaming in the light. He looked from Andrew to the cowering Nike, to Nicole.

"What's going on?!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prometheus shook his head at Remus, both in disagreement and disapproval.

"I'm sure he has told us all he knows. Old Gods make me think Egyptian. Or Phoenician. Mesopotamian..."

He wracked his brain trying to think of specifics. Anyone that would side with Dionysus; though that was difficult, as they still had no idea what he wanted to do. Looking over at Aria, he wondered if one of her kin was responsible. He knew little of the Northern Gods.

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and he set down his food and sprung to his feet.

"What now?! Quick, come with me!"

He left the table and began running towards the room, following behind Verathragna.

 

[IFS]

"What's going on?!"

Nicole ignored Verathragna and went to her mother, wrapping her arms and wings around her in a careful embrace "Mom it's ok, you're safe now."

Her reaction to Andrew made it seem rather clear who her attacker was, Apollo was known to use poison arrows after all. Then again it could just as easily have been an impostor making himself appear as Apollo, would certainly be an excellent way to sow discord among the gods. We can question her later, about that and other... things. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder at Verathragna before turning back to her mother. That doesn't matter right now though, we need to focus on the big stuff first.

 

[DarkRawen]

He wasn't sure why, but his powers were sucked into healing Nike, draining him before Nike woke up. She was terrified when she saw him.

"No! They're here! Help! Please, no!"

Andrew stepped back, but found himself unable to steady himself, and had to lean on the bed-frame. He was exhausted, sort of disoriented, and... slightly shocked. He hadn't been in control of his powers at all, not when he had been in the process. In his condition, he wasn't able to think straight, just keep himself from passing out or acting upon the urge to leave. Nike had tried to get away from him. Was it because of his father? Or had he done something wrong when healing her? Heck he didn't even know what he'd done!

The Persian god and the others came into the room, Andrew didn't turn around to see them, just tried to stand up a little more. It backfired, and he fell down on his knees. Someone asked what was going on, he wasn't sure who. If he had been able to answer, he would, but he didn't know. He didn't know anything, at all. His heart-beats kept booming in his head. If the others said anything, he didn't hear it, he just glanced up at Nike, in order to see if she really had been cured. If she was still afraid. Nicole seemed to be comforting her, and that was good and all that, but for a slight moment, he felt like he'd need someone to tell him it was okay.

 

[Deu Sex]

Remus almost choked on his wine when he suddenly heard someone scream. He put his hand over his mouth, hacking a bit as wine spluttered from his lips. His instincts kicked in and he tossed the bottle aside, Dan's sword taking its place in his hand. Remus practically jumped out of his seat as he drew the blade, expecting anything terrible to have happened.

"What now?! Quick, come with me!"

He hurried after Verathragna, matching pace with Prometheus at first but then outrunning the titan. Remus darted into the room shortly after Vera's dad.

"What's going on?!" he shouted, echoing Remus' own thoughts.

He eased the grip on his own blade as he surveyed the area. There didn't seem to be any danger present in the room. Remus then noticed Nicole hugging a woman who he could safely assume was her mother. Did something happen to Nike. Maybe Andrew botched his healing attempt, as unlikely as that was.