Earths Pawns (reboot)

Old Man Nejat shrugged as she ranted, then enjoyed the view as the got changed, and finally hauled Axel over his shoulder as if he weighed nothing so that he could bring him back to the living room and dump him on the couch.

 

Brad's head was spinning-- almost literally-- from everything that was happening around him so suddenly. With his new jar of hair gel in hand, he smiled awkwardly at Beatrice and the old man before the latter left the room.
"Crazy night, huh? I'm sure that Ella's got everything under control upstairs."
Then, with a speed that Brad never imagined he was capable of, the old man bolted upstairs leaving a confused Brad looking at Beatrice and an unconscious "Adolf." He chuckled and continued.
"So, like, you wanted to know what happened tonight or something? Well, we heard the church bells--"
He was interrupted by the very loud CRASH of shattering glass, which made him jump a little and also made him look even more unsure about what was happening above.
"Yeah, they've totally got it handled. I think. You know...probably."
Try as he might, he couldn't hide how worried he really was. He heard a commotion coming from the kitchen and breathed a small sigh of relief, figuring that whatever happened had been taken care of now and things were back to business as usual. After a brief period of awkward silence, he tried making small talk with Beatrice.
"So...honest opinion, does my hair really look that bad right now? You know what, never mind, I'll just check and see if Ella needs any help in the kitchen. You can come too if you want, but..."
He glanced over to "Adolf."
"...Is he gonna be alright? That was a pretty nasty hit."
He couldn't help laughing a little.
"It was kinda awesome."

OOT: Lully, where'd you goooo? If I don't hear back from you pretty soon, I'm gonna have to start moving Terios along on his own story. I'll probably have him doing stuff in my next post so if I don't hear back from you by then, you could always catch up and say that Helen followed along.

 

OOT: Wall of text, sorry, but this is what happens when you get stuck working on a post for too long without being able to post it.

“I see. Thanks for that. “
The crashing that started when Brad was talking sort of killed her want to talk more at the moment.
Beatrice left to go get changed in the restroom. She was at about the same time Ella got done venting. Afterward, she walked to the kitchen, seeing Ella preparing something to eat.
"Care if I help? It's the least I can do, especially since we are the only women here."

Adolph regained consciousness in the middle of Ella's rant.
I have to wake up to this?
He decided to act like he was still unconscious, until he could figure out where everyone was by sound. After hearing Beatrice's voice in the kitchen, he decided to get up, and sneak past her. He sensed the general agitation of Ella, and remembered Beatrice's recent agitation.
Confrontation will be hazardous to my health right now.
He left the newly acquired cloak behind on a seat, since it was no longer needed and he intended for Beatrice to have it. His gun was probably still outside, as well as his decoy gun. Upon coming to his gun, he realized his left hand was missing.
"Blast it. Left it in the house. Not going back right now."
He picked up his gun with his remaining hand and slung it over his shoulder. He decided to leave the decoy behind, to ease his load. However, he decided to see what went wrong with it the night before.
...The string was untied. Must have been that old bastard.
He trudged back to the town.
I'll need to return to the abandoned house and collect our things. I especially need the gun maintenance supplies if I want this gun to work right. And my spare parts for my hand. Beatrice's clothes as well. It surprises me that I somehow missed seeing ...certain parts of her. That's good, I don't want to know too much about her, not like that.
His appearance was quite ruffled, from being thrown into the mud to getting KO'd by Beatrice after that. It was thanks to these events the townspeople looked at him, seeing a strange young man toting a 5' gun, missing a hand, dirty and ruffled damp clothes, and a bruise across his face. He stepped into the abandoned house, and began collecting everything. The fire had died down to just embers, so it was apparent it was no longer a threat.
"Fires should always be supervised. We are fortunate something did not happen."
"They are fortunate, but not you."
Adolph jumped from surprise, dropping what he had just picked up. A woman entered the house, staring at him coldly. Her stature was 6', and her clothes revealing. It was the same woman from the night before, who made him promise to protect Beatrice.
It was Lust.
"What do you mean?"
Adolph kept his composure, or tried to. His tiredness and hunger was wearing on him, and this woman was not a normal human, fashion sense aside. This much he could sense from the night before.
"You made Beatrice worry needlessly for you. You could have stayed with her, or waited until the rain had ended before leaving her alone. Instead, you left her naked, scared and worried for too long."
She strode closer to Adolph as she spoke, closing the gap between them with no signs of stopping, as he backed away from her.
"And for this reason, I am angry."
She grabbed him by the neck, and lifted him into the air, slamming him into the wall, crushing the plaster. Only then did she stop walking. He grabbed at her hand, trying to get her to let go, or at least alleviate himself. But this was hard to accomplish, without an extra hand.
"Any suffering she has to go through, will be blamed on you, and I show my approval for your failure like this:"
With her free hand, she began slapping his face, steadily, with no sign of slowing. The bruise he had only made the pain worse. Adolph lost count of how many times he was slapped, but he guessed it to be about sixty times.
"You made her cry!"
Lust threw Adolph to another wall, the impact causing its plaster to crack and drop. His face was now bruised all over, and his nose bled freely.
"Get up!"
She strode once more to him, and began kicking him in the ribs. Each kick elevated him as he fought back the tears.
"I did not say you could stay down! Now get up!"
Adolph rose up shakily, the wind knocked out of him. He tried to speak, but words can't be made without any breathing. Only silent mouth motions saying he had not meant for anything to happen to Beatrice. Lust, however, did not care about his attempt to speak. She gripped his head with both of her hands, and slammed it into the wall, causing stars to burst into his vision.
"How could you make her cry for you like that!? That brute could have killed her when she begged for your life!"
She slammed his head into the wall again, causing a greater dent in the wall to appear.
"If I give you something, I want you to use it! And if you can avoid a fight, avoid it! Her safety is your utmost concern!"
She brought his head back for what seemed to be another slam against the wall, but instead, she threw him down. He began to get up, but a stomp on his back forced him down.
"Stay down!"
Her hand gripped his gun, and with a forceful yank, she tore it from the sling, which would have been no easy task for a human.
Adolph had finally caught his breath from earlier, and was breathing hard, trying to hold in the screams of pain and fighting back the tears.
"I will make you shed as many tears as she did. Stretch out your arm, the one with the hand!"
Adolph refused at first, but a heel being ground into his back forced him to obey, and in the next instant, his outstretched hand was stomped on.
"Gah!"
Adolph sharply yelped from the pain and surprise, but held back for his pride. Another stomp came down, then another. Eight stomps later, Lust paused as his tears slowly leaked out.
"You are trying to hold back. That is good, it means I can take my time. Go to the fireplace, now."
Adolph began to stand up and obey, but a swift kick in the side made him drop.
"Did I tell you to get up!?"
"..."
Another kick to his side pushed him along.
"Answer me! Did I tell you to get up!?"
"...No."
"Then crawl!"
Adolph tried crawling, slowly but surely. When he got to the fireplace, a stomp on the back and a command made him stop.
"Stop! Now turn over!"
Adolph turned over, and saw Lust grabbing something from the fireplace. His tear-blurred vision, in addition to Lust blocking his view, prevented him from seeing exactly what it was. When she turned around, she set down an ash bucket with something inside, got down and tore his shirt open, giving flight to the buttons. She pressed her knee into his abdomen, digging in, and pinning his arm with the hand down with one of her own hands, digging her nails into him. With her free hand, she pulled out a red-hot ember that had been buried in the ashes.
"This is the burning pain I feel in my heart when she is hurt, when I must worry for her!"
Her hand, impervious to the burning ember, pressed it down onto his bare chest over his heart, grinding it as she did so.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
It was at this point, Adolph's tears began to flow freely, his limit breaking.
"This is what happens when you make an error! Imagine how much worse your punishment shall be for completely failing me!"
She pressed the the ember harder against him, and began raking it up and down, burning the untouched skin. After ten seconds, she threw the ember back into the fireplace. Adolph's screams died down, leaving him panting and exhausted. Lust stood up, pushing the ash bucket aside with her foot. She began gathering the things Adolph came for, putting them away in a cloth sack. After she was finished putting away the things, she placed the sack by the door and walked back to Adolph. His body tensed as she neared him, and he braced himself for the next round of beatings.
Lust knelt down next to him, and to his surprise, lifted him up into a gentle yet firm embrace, pressing him against herself.
“I am done now. It's over, don't worry now, you can relax.”
She gently stroked Adolph's face,who was now too worn out to protest at the sudden change of her actions.
“I am worried for her, and I can't be there to always protect her, which is why I am depending on you to protect her.”
Adolph had been wondering what was so special about Beatrice since last night, in his walk through the rain. Meeting this woman a second time under these circumstances, left him wondering what made Beatrice so special. He decided now he would ask.
“Tell me: Who are you, and why does she matter so much to you?”
He tried to speak in a clear, strong voice, but he was only able to do a weak whisper instead. His body felt weak, sore and tired.
When her hand came across his forehead, her expression changed from being gentle and worried to being apologetic and worried.
“Wait, have you been running a fever? No wonder you haven't been thinking straight recently!”
She sighed, now feeling awful and guilty for being so hard on someone who has not been completely functional mentally. She felt like she had judged an insane man without mercy. After setting him back down gently, she removed a piece of cloth (it was Beatrice's sock) from the sack, and soaked it in a clean puddle that had formed from the storm earlier. She resumed her position, placing the cold cloth on his forehead to ease the fever.
“It is only right for me to tell you, now that I have put you through this much. You have the right to know now. I am the Goddess of Lust, and I draw people together... or apart. I cause them to be distracted with one another in sinful ways, or for an innocent love to bloom into a lifelong relationship. I have existed since the dawn of creation.
About twenty years ago, I decided to come down among the people, as you can see right now. It certainly wasn't the first time, but this was the first time I met a man worth loving. He was a traveler, much like you, and he learned my identity of being a deity. He tried to give me the cold shoulder, but was too soft to do it. We decided to travel together for some time, and after a while, we grew to love each other. It wasn't for my appearance, and somehow he was able to overlook the part of me that liked to cause trouble for other people. Eventually, we decided that we should be married to one another, and we lost our virginity to one another.”
Adolph raised an eyebrow in questioning, surprised by the irony of the Goddess of Lust being a virgin for so long.
“It does sound odd, I know.“
Upon seeing his expression, she laughed gently.
“About a year later, our daughter was born, and we decided to name her... Beatrice.”
His eye's widened, and he started in surprise at the revelation, but was unable to really move much because of the embrace he was in and how low his strength was.
“What! That is the truth?”
“Calm down, calm down. Yes, it is the truth. Beatrice is a demigoddess, who is both my daughter and your traveling companion. She has yet to learn what kind of powers she has. Part of her powers will be like mine, to seduce people and cause love to bloom, but the other part is unknown, since she is part human. This what I am certain of. There is the chance that she has no powers, but that will be hard to know, if her powers are just dormant.”
Adolph soaked in her words, still surprised by the truth.
“I think one of her powers are superhuman strength, like you. She smacked me once, and I was out.”
Lust laughed at this, amused by the report.
“Or maybe she was just angry with you.”
Adolph smiled weakly.
“Do continue your story. There has to be a reason why she doesn't know much about her mother, except that she was beautiful and kind.”
“Ah, yes. After she was born, we all settled down in a small town. One that would get plenty of travelers passing through. We opened up a shop, and started our lives there. However, I became aware of the other deities begin vying for control of this world, using the King as a pawn for their will. I realized that, to protect Beatrice and my husband, I would have to leave them and deal with the other deities myself, either convincing them not to attack a certain place or to at least warn my husband of any danger to come. He still traveled from place to place, leaving Beatrice with trusted friends. It was in these travels we could reunite. I wanted Beatrice to have a normal life, as a human. I didn't want her life to be burdened with the worry of her being different from other people, that she had powers that they could not have.
That is why I need someone to guard her now. She has taken a liking to you, and you have taking a liking to her. Don't give me that look, you know it is the truth. However, unlike my husband, you are a skilled person, able to defend from a distance without your enemies ever knowing what happened. You might have no experience having a person to defend, but you can do that as well. This is why I trust you to stay with her, here on the ground and by her side to defend her while I defend her from the deities.”
“What other deities are there?”
“Many, such as Wisdom, Youth, Nightmares, Darkness, Death and Existence. In fact, a few have made a pass through this town recently, one being in a human form like me. And you got to see the handiwork of the Deity of Existence himself. Remember that town that vanished, when you met Beatrice?”
Adolph's breathing halted for a moment, before asking, “Why would a whole town vanish?”
At this, Lust's expression saddened.
“That was my fault. I asked for him to bring you and Beatrice together, by causing a hindrance of sorts. He removed the whole town from existence. The psycho was in a bad mood, and went overboard. He was only supposed to blot out Beatrice's stay at an inn or something like that, but he removed the whole town, since it was easier. However, it could be possible to convince him to return the town, but that is not going to happen for a long time, coming from me, at least.”
“...I see. Is there any more to the story?”
“Yes, but that is because it has yet to be finished. Right now, what is left to the story is the present and future. Right now, you are one of the authors, young man. I want you to keep this a secret from Beatrice, our talk and what is happening with the deities. But if she learns of her powers, then tell her what you see fit to tell her.”
“It shall remain a secret, promise this in all of my power.”
Lust gripped him tighter.
“Thank you. And now, I bestow my blessing to you, to aid your own powers that you have and for being Beatrice's companion.”
She leaned forward, and kissed Adolph on the forehead, surprising him. She held him there, allowing for him to rest for a few minutes, before gently pulling him back up to his feet so that they were both standing.
“I am sure that everyone will be wondering where you went. Hurry on back to them. Your fever should be down a little bit, but you will still need to rest.”
Lust helped the things back onto Adolph, so he did not need to use his hurt hand, making a makeshift sling for the gun by using a belt. She examined the battered young man before he could leave. His hair was a mess, face bruised and scratched by nails, hand bruised and cut, and perhaps most notably, his torn-open shirt revealed his clawed chest that had been burned up by embers through a heart-burning situation.
"I regret going overboard on punishing you. I wish I had known the reason for your recent errors earlier, else I would not have been so hard on you. Allow me to walk with you back to Beatrice, in case something happens."
"No, no. You dressed as you are, and me as I am, it would not look good for either of us."
"I see then,"
“I hope that we may meet again, under better circumstances,” Adolph quietly spoke as began to leave.
“We shall, Adolf, we shall.”
With a final wave, Adolph stepped out of the abandoned house, and made his way back to Ella's house. If anyone thought he looked odd earlier, he definitely looked odd now.

 

Nejat moved towards the window, waiting for everyone to leave before leaping off. His landing was graceful compared to his previous actions - he bent his knees and tilted his head, allowing himself to roll over the nape of his neck and thus reducing his overall momentum and thus any damage to himself or the ground. He moved swiftly, granted it wasn't as fast as before. The cane he had launched stuck up mostly embedded in a dirt mound ahead; he yanked it out, only to see that it was snapped from the force and began to make his way out. Whilst leaving he saw Adolph sneaking off and began to follow him instead.

...

Old Man Nejat waited behind the crates, grinding his teeth as Lust revealed everything about them. He almost didn't wait for Adolph to leave before confronting her, Younger sister, as per usual you fail to keep that mouth of yours shut. How dare you reveal to a mere mortal?" He spat the words out, "We've become accustomed to your infidelity to those you love, but don't you even for a second, ever, tell anyone about the rest of us. If you don't agree with what's happening between the family, then deal with it, do not create pawns to fight for you."

 

Lust glared at him, responding to him with a voice dripping with acid.
"These feuds should remain among us deities. The humans and any other beings here should not be made to suffer over some argument over land, land that should be used for enjoyment instead of being fought for. And what makes you think he is my "pawn"? I only appointed him to be the lone guard I put my faith into to protect my daughter, unlike the others who wish to have pawns to cause destruction to this world. If he is going to be protecting such a valuable person, he should at least have an insight to what is happening.
Especially since he is not the "mere mortal" that you think him to be. At the very least, there is one odd detail about him."
Lust turned away from him, and walked to the door.
"Oh, and Old Man, do wash up. It is impossible not to smell you when you try to hide."

 

He smiled to himself, turning to also leave yet stopping momentarily, "You know I'll have to tell the others that a mortal knows. And you also know they won't let him live, nor your precious child. It's a shame, really." And with that, he jumped out the way he climbed in.

 

"You always were the tattle-tale among us."
Lust shot back that final statement as he left, her body shaking in anger. She thrust open the door, and began to run after Adolph. Men stopped working to watch her run, and jealous wives smacked them to get the men's minds back to work.

 

Old Man Nejat travelled back to his home, dashing through obstacles however it was needed. In his still ruined house, he went to a darkened corner, and knelt down whilst pushing aside his carpet, unlocking multiple metallic latches before pulling a square section of the ground up and aside. He slowly hauled himself down the pit, pulling the square section back over.

The man moved in the darkness without worry of tripping, flipping a switch to entirely illuminate the room. The darkness didn't just vanish with the oncoming of light; it seemed to peel away as if scared. He began scribbling runes around the cellar, including a large one on the ground. The room itself was still void of much other than a surgical table, a few metal tray stands covered with old and rusted tools, and heavy manacles in the corner of the room. He began a simple incantation, initially summoning the Deity of Travel, Lunara.

Lunara appeared in almost an instant, staring at Old Man Nejat, "Hi! How may I help you?"
The Old Man was short and concise, "I need pathways for all willing Deities to travel to here, then back to where they were before."
Lunara nodded, "I will contact you with the payment in due time. For now, consider it done." All Deities feel a slight tug at the back of their minds, a simple notification that they may use 'The Path' to come here. For now, 'The Path' manifests itself as any staircase.
"I also need you to stay here to talk about the issue at hand," said Nejat, "it's important."
She nodded again, moving to sit on the surgical table whilst she waited.

The old man didn't expect any with an alliances to the Deity of Death and Destruction to show since their agenda was clear and ergo they could not be trusted.

Venefica appeared soon after the call, her body shimmering with the usual overflow of magic, "What is the meaning of this summon?"
Mid-way through her sentence, Getränk popped into existence, pulling out a pint of beer, " 'elo love, fancy seeing you here." He spoke to Lunara directly, uncaring about the rest. As per usual, she gave zero cares about the buffoon.
"I shall start momentarily, wait for the others to arrive, then we can talk."
Leree appeared in the shackled corner, standing tall and watching the other, waiting patiently.

 

name: Oswald
age: 20
sex: M
weapons: Survival Knife
power (if any):
special characteristics: is an herbalist and alchemist. Doesn't particularly fight.

name: Jon, Deity of the hunt
age: infinite
sex: male
weapons: Bolt Action sniper rifle, Repeater, Dual Revolvers
power (if any): can command wild animals
special characteristics: is a deity

 

*knock knock* Oswald had knocked on the door and let himself into Ellas house. Looking around He saw that there brad, and others he didn't know were hanging around the house. He waved over at brad before he continued in, He saw Zillis sitting in the living room with Zoe and let them be. Last time he interupted them Zillis almost knocked the living daylights out of him. Heading into the kitchen and smiled and waved at Ella.

Oswald was a tall figure and wore glasses. Had short black hair and green eyes, generally wore button ups and black pants from jeans to khakis. He sat down at the table and finally spoke up.

"Hello love, How is everything this morning? I heard a racket last night and one this morning. Is anyone sick? Do you need any help?"

He waited for Ella to respond.

Zillis looked down at the game board and Zoe before he conceded his loss to her. "Fine you win." Zillis smiled but he wouldn't accept defeat so easily so he did what any sensible sore loser would do... He tickled Zoe and forced her to laugh.

After a few moments of doing this and her saying stop he did. And picked her up again bringing her to the kitchen and sitting her at the table next to Oswald. Zillis walked closer to Ella as she was cooking and and though he could have waited he didn't.

"So, are we packing up and moving on?" he said it simply and without any demands. He was just curious what they would be doing. Oswald now was looking over in a sort of confusion.

 

Existence heard the summon, broken out of his meditation by it.
What now?
He traveled to the summoning point, appearing with the other deities. Though faceless, it was apparent by his aura he was displeased.
"What do you want, that would require me to be disturbed?"
Ex sat down, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the table, impatiently awaiting a response.

Beatrice helped in the kitchen, glad to aid Ella and reduce her agitation. When she was asked if Adolph was alright, she took a peak into the other room to find he was gone.
"Well, he's up now. Not sure where, but he is up at least, not causing trouble I am sure. Maybe. Probably not causing trouble. What you don't know won't hurt you."
She went back to preparing things for the meal, glancing at the pancakes every so often, eager to eat.

"Adolf!"
As Adolph neared the house, he heard his voice being yelled. He turned around to see Lust charging to him. His eyes widened, thinking that maybe she was not going to stop. He braced himself for impact. However, she did manage to stop without plowing into him, though some parts of her took a moment to completely stop moving as well.
“What's wrong?”
“The Deities are going to learn about what I told you. The Deity of Wisdom, the old man, he overheard what I told you back there, and now he has left to report it to the other Deities! I need you to get away from her as soon as you can!”
“How are they going to come after us? With the King's soldiers, or themselves?”
“Probably both, I don't know. I will try to meet up with you occasionally to give you more supplies, like those canisters I gave you last night.”
“I'll get Beatrice, and try to leave a smoothly as we can. But I will need to fix up my gun and my hand.”
Adolph held up his stump, showing where his hand used to be.
“Get that done as soon as you can. It will take a little while for them to all assemble, so you should be able to have a meal and probably get your hand functioning again.”
“What about you, where will you go?”
“I don't know. Wherever would be a good place for a goddess to hide.”
“Probably not very many places like that.”
“...”
“Perhaps you could tag along. Come with us as you are now, like a human.”
“What!? Has your fever hit you that badly!? Being around Beatrice would...it would give me away to her!”
“She should find out some day, especially when she catches on. Besides, it will be incentive for me to keep my promise with you breathing down my back. Come on, let's go.”
He tugged Lust by the wrist, but could not really pull much with his battered hand. It was quite pitiful
“We could use someone else to accompany us.”
“...Fine, since you insist.”

 

The Old Man started, "I summoned you all here today due to the rash and unsought actions of Lust." He waited momentarily, "She has told a human of not only her existence, but also our own as well as created an offspring with a mortal. These actions are unforgivable - she puts us all at risk ergo her, the mud-blood demigod, and her accomplice must be removed from the equation. The balance is at stake here."

Lunara shrugged at what Nejat had to say, "You worry too much! I have work to do and I have never been of an aggressive nature. If you need to travel anywhere, call me. I will leave the passages open for your return once you are complete with your talk; each will only support the passage of one person before collapsing." She allowed herself to slide off the surgical table, seemingly sinking through the ground. She popped up directly beside Lust, "Hey there!"

Getränk on the other hand nodded, "I will create a brew that'll intoxicate them and maybe even throw in one of Lust's own tricks and turn the tables of arousal against her. Let's see what she thinks of her accomplice in a less self-controlled way."

Venefica shook her head at this, "If you wish to fight, do it. Me harnessing the natural flow of magic would be, in theory, tip your own understanding of balance."

Leree kept silent, listening.

Nejat waited patiently for everyone to state their opinions.

 

Spoiler: Lust's picture

It is possible for her to change proportions (in case you do not approve), but this is her natural state:

In her goddess dress. Possibly, I might something more fitting of the Victorian era.

Ex sat, silently listening to the other Deities. At last, he spoke in his rumbling voice.
"It makes no difference to me that our presence has been leaked to a human. Even if this human were to tell others about our existence, who would believe him? For millennia, prophets of false gods came and went, with these prophets being dismissed as madmen. It is likely that he will get the same treatment, especially when greater religions are followed. If anything, he will be slaughtered for his heresy."
Ex stood from his seat, still tapping the table rhythmically.
"However, if Lust were to start showing signs of our existence, that could prove to be an issue. To counter this, let it be known that for every secret she divulges, people shall be blotted out of existence."
At the word "blotted", Ex caused the chair he was sitting on to fade from existence.
"That should keep Lust at bay. I will only allow the secrets she speaks to be divulged to her offspring. After that, for every spilled secret people will vanish. The loss of environment-destroying humans should also be able to allow Nature's domain to return to it's former natural state. This is all the help from me you will get."

"Eek!"
Lust gave a short shriek of surprise when someone new popped up next to her. Adolph and tiredly gave a delayed jump.
"Stand back! This is one of them!"
Lust spun around, so that she was blocking Lunara from getting to Adolph, guarding him from the goddess. She prepared herself, shifting into a fighting stance. Defensively, she confronted Lunarra.
"I won't you harm them. Why are you here? Tell me!"

Beatrice was slowing down in her help, focusing more and more on the pancakes that still sat there.
Pancakes... pancakes... pancakes...
She continued making pancakes, causing them to accumulate on the counter. She wasn't told how much they needed, so she kept on making them, wondering if she should stop.

 

"Oh calm down sis!" Lunara gave a friendly smack onto Lust's shoulder. "I'm here to warn you that you're probably going to die soon! Although I'd much rather you didn't so I'm going to help you and obviously the best person to help you run would be the Goddess of Travel!" She did a small twirl, the seam of her dress rising slightly with the wind. "Now come on! Let's go on and pick up lover boy's babe!" Lunara brought her hands together flat and pushed outwards whilst opening out from her finger tips. The air sucked itself in. She then stuck her upper torso in, looking around momentarily before grabbing something and pulling it back through the vortex. Her hands rested on Beatrice's shoulders, "You're a pretty one!" The vortex closed in on itself almost directly after.

Old Man Nejat nodded, "Punish those who she trusts enough to tell the secrets to... diabolic."

The ground beneath them ruffled as the shadows seemed to melt back into the room, concentrating to an area. It began to bubble.
"Dang, the runes aren't holding. We need to leave now."

 

OOT: Just dropping in my characters before figuring out how I'm going to post.

Deity of Storms – Killesius. A serious stern figure with a long beard and fierce electric eyes, he moves like a ballet dancer despite wearing mostly metal armour. He gives off the impression that when the proverbial dung hits the air conditioning, you want him on your team.
Deity of Deserts – Thoneva. A rational, practical woman who knows which way the wind blows. She is dressed sharply and openly, a tight regal garb which shows off her body and her indomitable will. She cares for very little, except Killesius’s wellbeing and the status and respect due to the gods.
Deity of Instinct – Gustante. A cheerful, practical behemoth of a man, more animal than anything else with horns, fangs, claws, wings, scales and spines adorning him as he hulks over even the tallest man. (Imagine a faun on steroids and with the predator’s side of things.) Insanely straight-forward – his ability to politically intrigue and plan ahead could be placed on the head of a pin, but his conviction and drive for what he DOES end up wanting is second to none.
Deity of Passion – Surrelsa. A waif who seems like a simple breeze would floor her, but she is far more deadly and cunning than she looks. Despite her garments being simple and her opting for a more relaxed approach to godhood, she is fiercely pro-mortal and is one of the main advocates for staying out of their affairs and letting them run themselves.
Deity of Madness – Aberl. The most “human” of the deities, he resembles a simple, ordinary man who has simple clothing and a very average and unremarkable appearance. He doesn’t really talk much, but when he does talk, people listen. It’s impossible to tell precisely what he’s thinking, but every now and again he will look around as if searching for something that he’s spotted, but fled the moment he moved to investigate. Usually doesn’t speak much in the ways of meetings, but turns up to be polite – though many suspect he’s furthering his own agenda...

Mutton Mathuselah: A somewhat dim-looking chap, not exactly the smartest man in the world and far from the most graceful. With a big belly and slightly-unkempt facial hair, but with a kind heart and decent stature, he seems like the sort of man you'd see working in the fields, though he definitely has more to him than meets the eye. Friendly and somewhat naive, his problem is that he's somewhat... too trusting.

The 7-Armed Man: Leader of a show of freaks, all of whom possess strange abilities. Knife-thrower, fire-breather, juggler, etc. They follow the 7-Armed Man in pursuit of Mutton Mathuselah on the orders of the Deity of Madness.

 

"What is what?" Asked a somewhat feminine voice from above Terios. "Hopefully it isn't a spider. I mean, I hate spiders. They're all creepy and crawly and they spin webs and gobble up good folk. I mean they're actually disgusting. But in a really fun way. Can something that's disgusting be fun? For that matter, why are they called Spiders? Are they actually spies? If they're spies, then what is the Der for?" The voice went rambling on without any signs of stopping. At the current moment is was telling a story about how it once filled a king's pantry with bug meat patties. No one survived, having all been eaten alive from the inside out.

"OH OH OH! I KNOW I KNOW!" It shouted suddenly, driving both Terios and Helen to their knees at the sudden ferocity. "The Der is for Deer! Spy Deer. So that means they must have shrink rays! I'd love to have a shrink ray. Unless it's a Shrink Ray. Would a sea animal even be qualified to be a shrink? Anyway I've gotten way way, waaaaay, off track. I'm a giant spider."

At this an unseen light lit up the inside of the ruined church like a dance club. In the glow from the spotlights, covering the entire ceiling of the church, was a giant neon pink and purple arachnid. As the two stared up at it, in presumed horror, the giant spider waved a limb at them.

"Hiya, my name's Laeta! Let me come down and eat you -- I mean meat you! Come down and meet you." The giant spider named Laeta began to contort its vast bulk in an attempt to clamber down the side of the church without crushing the two of them into paste. The whole time she was muttering, "Hang on, no no no, this time for sure, this leg goes there... and this leg goes here... no no no."

The spider had apparently wedged itself so expertly into its current position that the only way it could get down was by utterly destroying the already ruined church. Then with a look of a giant arachnid having an epiphany, a truely horrible sight I won't try to describe, the spider named Laeta began to convulse from within. The tremors began small but within the matter of moments the giant bulk was shaking so badly that it threatened to bring down the structure it hung from. Chunks of masonry fell from the exposed parts of the ceiling to crush pew below. Finally, with the sound of an industrial sized whoopee cushion, the spider burst...

Into a million-bajillion tiny spiders that fell to the floor of the church like snow. As Terios and Helen watched, the spider scuttled about, quickly growing to the size of deer wearing spy gear from the trademarked Splinter Cell franchise, plus four additional limbs, and quickly and quietly stampeded from the building. All except one that was standing right behind Terios.

"Hiya, I'm Laeta!" The deer exclaimed wrapping Terios in a big hug that felt like he was being pulled into the arms of his dream wife.
"I don't know your names, but I bet we'll all become the bestest of friends!"

For her part, Helen took the encounter with a giant spider quite well. She knew she should be appropriately terrified - Look, we get it. She has no soul. Well, no but... wait what? Stop. Reminding. Us. We. Know. But No butts. Just stop. Think of better sentences. Fine. Helen took the encounter with the giant spider just on the interesting side of boredom. Oh I'm boring to you? Helen took the crucifix from behind the altar, tied rags around one end and doused the cloth with wine. She then lit the rags that burned with the power of ATT +50 and began stabbing the giant Spy Deer until it was a shriveled up pile of ash. If this is you trying to be funny, it's stupid. Spiders don't catch on fire, they evaporate. What. Trust me. We run the CIA Spiders run the CIA? The Concerned Inflammable Arachnids. You said spiders evaporate. Because they burn so fast. There's a reason why spiders hide in the corners of your house and under your pillow. We burn easily. Can I get back to the post now? Sure, fine. Just remember to be considerate.

Helen had felt the presence arrive at the same time Terios did. The aura, which felt like a cloud of pure sugar and cocaine frosting and the liquid iron taste and smell of blood, enveloped her senses. She was nauseated by this aura and she felt something within her bristle at the gentle probing from an uncomprehensible mind. "So that's what she is. Fascinating. I mean I had suspected but... I won't spoil it for others. As the presence began speaking to them, a large tomb with a cover so black that it hurt to stare at, appeared in her lap. It was the book from the library, and it made Helen shiver at the touch of its leather bindings.

When the Spy Deer fell on her and Terios, she didn't scream. She wanted to, but didn't really see the point in it. She stood up among the fleeing spy deer, leaving the tomb of darkness on the pew, and went to where Terios was being hugged by a rather voluptuous woman.

"My name is Helen," she said in greetings to the bizarre shapeshifter.

 

"Ack!"
Beatrice was suddenly yanked, and discovered she was no longer in the house, holding a pancake.
"Wait, what? Why am I here? I didn't even get all the pancakes I wanted!"
Turning around, she saw a cheerful girl, a beautiful woman with a bountiful bust, and a battered and burned young man. After a moment, she realized it was Adolph.
"Adolf!"
She rushed to him, pushing Lust out of the way. She carefully hugged him, forgetting the other women entirely. Lust began to get nervous around Beatrice, having nor been around her own daughter for so many.
"Adolf! What happened to you!? Your face! And your chest... oh, just what happened to you!?"
Adolph looked away, feeling embarrassed by her attention.
"It was just a bad run-in I had with an old lady and fireplace."
At this, Lust's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the subtle verbal jab he made on her.
"Well, don't worry, I'll heal. I just need to get my hand from the house."
"About that, why didn't you ever tell me your hand was fake!? I thought you wore that glove because you liked it!" Beatrice paused a moment as she pulled something from her dress pocket. "Oh, and here is your hand. I didn't want it to get lost while you were...'sleeping'...earlier."
"I didn't want you to worry about it, that's why."
"Idiot."
Finally, Beatrice began to take note of the other women.
"Who are they? And why are you with a woman like... that?" She pointed at Lust, growing defensive and pulling Adolph away from Lust slightly.
"She's a woman I met earlier, she's the one who got my little accident resolved, and the other is a friend of hers. Would you two care to introduce yourselves to Beatrice?"
When Adolph directed his last statement to the two women, Lust was unable to be speak for a moment. However, she did find her voice.
"Hello, Beatrice. My name is... Cassandra."
Lust smiled warmly to Beatrice, causing Beatrice to quiver slightly from the warmth of it. Lust decided to go with the name she used twenty years ago.
"I am glad to meet you. You are as beautiful as Adolf has told me."
"Don't say that..."
Adolph looked away, blushing through the bruises as he did so.
"Adolf... your so shy."
She smiled at Adolph as blushed from Lust's little lie.
I do think she is beautiful. I guess it would be the truth if thoughts were telepathically spoken.
"My name, as you know, is Beatrice. You are quite tall and beautiful yourself. And your name, it is the same as my mother's. What a coincidence."
She turned her head to Lunara.
"And who are you?"