Chapter 149 – Rescue Planning

(Denver) "What the fuck!? How the hell did you lot get in here!?!"

"Heh, you really wasted no time getting us to where we needed Ikarus"

"Hey! Where else would I go other than the throne room Petra? It saves loads of walking time, right? Even if we probably shouldn't be here right now though"

"Erk, that TP bullshit makes me feel sick"

"Uh huh, me a little as well Zeki. That's not a great feeling"

"You two should've trained your bodies more when you were in the empire"

"Be kind to them Nat, most people can't handle that training"

Having just arrived in Jarl Denver's throne cave-room in a split second due to the teleportation, all six of us are greeted to the kid jarl half-dressed clearly having just gotten out of the bath.

Almost instantly as well, the entire room fills with guards from Denver's scream and surrounds us within seconds. Literally none of us even bat an eye from the overwhelming response though, there's no reason for this to turn deadly. It's not like any of them could even do anything anyways, I singlehandedly could turn this place into a bloodbath...

"You can all stand dow-, screw it, you can all fuck off as well..."

The guards do immediately as asked by the kid not giving any complaints to the leader shaking them off. I think he's a little annoyed that we were so easily able to infiltrate his throne room but there's not much anyone can do against a literal TP ability though.

"...Erm... when I gave the invitation, I didn't expect you to arrive this quickly. How did you even do that?"

At least the kid is able to regain his composure pretty quickly but I'd rather not give him that information just yet. He owes us some information first before we start sharing secrets. Thankfully, Petra's perfect at distraction tactics.

"Heh, still cute as always kid, you keep getting bigger everyday"

"Your tactics won't work again like last time Petra... but thanks for the compliment anyways. I won't bother asking if you plan to change the topic then"

The kid goes out of the main cave into a tunnel while drying his hair with a towel quickly, then makes his way back into it now actually wearing something a little more appropriate. His hair is still really wet though.

Waiting for him to make himself comfortable on his throne, I'm the first to start the questioning barrage we have lined up for the leader so he better give us what we want to know.

"Now, you have some answers for us kid, and we want to know everything, don't be hiding shit from us"

"Must you still refer to me as kid as well Ikarus?"

"Then give me a different name, other than Denver because we all know there's something fishy about who you are. You knew about the volcano and even set it off, apparently only Gods have such an ability"

Judging from the kid's slight reaction, clearly my bluff just worked there. My father did say only a God would be able to mess with it and judging by his reaction, the old lizard may be right.

"Fine then, I guess things have now hit a point where it's unavoidable... does the name Hephaestus mean anything to you?"

"Wait, you're the blacksmith God? The fuck? That makes so much sense!"

Of course, I'm the only one who seems to know anything about Greek mythology so everyone else just looks clueless from this huge reveal that no one had any clue on... It actually pisses me off a little that I didn't get this earlier, of course it would be the God associated with volcanos that sets one off! He's a master smith as well, of course he'd be related to the dwarfs. Okay, I feel dense not noticing this sooner...

The kid seems pretty happy to be recognized though

"Hah! To think there's still mortals who remember me, I've been quieter longer than most so always assumed I was lost to history. It's not just blacksmithing though Ikarus"

"I know it's other things like volcanos and carpentry, but that's the main one that's remembered"

Didn't he also have some relation to fire that was separate to volcanos? Pretty sure Loki has some relation to fire in the old myths as well so maybe it's just pretty common among Gods.

"Excuse me God Hephaestus, but why did you set off the volcano in the first place?"

It's actually the quiet and reserved Ariza to ask that which is surprising to all. Normally, her and Zeki like to stay out of these sorts of conversations. We kinda already know what Ariza just asked but a little bit more from the direct source would be good to know as well.

"Didn't the gnome give you the memo or did Garry forget? Regardless, it was simply to limit the destruction it would have on the world. Leaving that another day of two could've made it last for years or decades..."

Like a child proud of his accomplishments, Denver seems really happy to discuss this.

"...If you wanted to know how I actually did it though, that I can't reveal. Not because I don't want to but mostly because the calculations I've mostly forgotten, it really is infuriating considering I created the blasted thing. The only thing I remember how to do is stop it from building up and set it off early unfortunately"

Heh, that proud child mentality has gone into annoyance now, I guess even the dwarf prodigy isn't as intelligent as everyone thought. I wonder if that's the reason why he's so obsessed with the volcano, mainly because he's forgotten how to fully optimize it?

This should probably be concerning but at the end of the day, if he wanted it to erupt and kill everyone, he had the perfect opportunity and didn't do it. I'm pretty certain this God wants best for humans, him creating the volcano kinda goes against that theory though.

(Ikarus) "Why did you even create a volcano that powerful in the first place though?"

"Ah, that was an old favour for father back when we were on speaking terms, it was supposed to be a prideful accomplishment until he kept using it as he pleased anytime someone apparently offended him. Oh, he coincidentally is also the God trying to wipe you four out"

'Damn it, please don't be who I think this is...'

"Your father... you mean Zeus, right??"

"You know his name as well? Yes Ikarus, the God you've managed to piss off and is currently trying his hardest to erase you from existence is Zeus. Albeit, he's doing a terrible job with all the meddling going around against him but he's at least trying what he can"

...

Fuckkk! It could've been any God we've pissed off, any being of higher power but it has to be that one? It's safe to say, we might be a little fucked if we have to fight the God who rules all...

Out of all of us six, the only one who seems to understand the gravity of our situation is Zeki oddly enough. I guess he probably watched some film and knows the name from that.

"Even I know that name orangey, looks like we've managed to annoy the lightning bearded guy. He's got to be stupidly powerful so how do we fuck up the grumpy bastard up then?"

Heh, at least Zeki's willing to see this like it's nothing. It does feel like he's forcing the optimism a little.

"You don't, but that's not a conversation for right this moment, that stupid prophecy drives everyone mad after all. As of this current moment in time, none of you are even close to being powerful enough to defeat him so don't even think about it"

(Ikarus) "So, what the hell are we supposed to do then? Just let him keep trying to destroy us?"

"No, but in time you hopefully will be strong enough. Thankfully at the moment, he's completely distracted with the civil war going on up there so has probably forgotten about you right now. That should present more than enough time to get plans into motio,n but like I said, it's not worth discussing just yet"

Well, this just sucks. We've somehow managed to piss off one of the most powerful Gods and can currently do nothing to deal with it? Sighhh, no moaning Ikarus, you already knew targeting a God or demon would be difficult enough. Just because it's the most powerful one means jack shit; we're going to destroy him after all. Asmodeus and Zeus, those are the targets on our kill list...

There are so many questions to ask Hephaestus yet I'm not actually sure what to ask now. Getting to speak face to face with an actual God and one that isn't through a crystal ball or is mad has made me a little tongue tied. Maybe I could just focus on something simpler right now, no one else seems to know what to ask as they seem to understand the gravity of the situation as well.

"Look Hepha-, Denver, I feel weird calling you by that name. How comes you're so easily able to hide your level?"

'Status'

[Name: Denver | Species: Dwarf | Level: 1]

[Health 35/35]

[Stamina 28/30]

[Magicka 35/35]

See? It's the exact same as last time so what God would be a level one? If priestess is able to get five hundred from just being a God's incarnate, you'd think it would break the scale a little.

"What do you mean by level Ikarus?"

Oh, the God doesn't know about our system thing? I guess he's giving us important information so it might be okay to give him some back.

"Above your head, it's a reflection of how many things you've killed and things like that. Us phoenixes use it to determine if someone is strong or not"

I may be giving away information I probably shouldn't to the God but the other phoenixes seem interested in my questioning as well, all of their eyes are glowing slightly blue from checking his status as well.

"So, you have some way of determining power? That would be pretty useful if it wasn't completely flawed based on only killing. I personally haven't killed a single thing in this life so maybe that's why it looks hidden?"

'I mean, it's not only based on killing that if you look at Charlotte or Geld's but I'll let him believe that...'

"Bullshit! How the fuck have you, one of those bastard Gods gone through life without killing a single thing!? What's the point in living if you only play pacifist!?"

Zeki seems to take offence from what was just said, I actually agree with a little there. Pacifist in certain RPGs can be so boring depending on the game, I'd say that applies to real life as well but my mindset is slowly getting twisted with this sort of thing. It's irritating I'm actually agreeing with Zeki on this.

"The red one was Zeki, correct? Not every God, or in this case dwarf has to prove themselves by killing. I can still defend myself well enough without the downside of causing blood with my own two arms. I'd still fight in self-defence but I've had no reason to yet"

(Petra) "Knowing you kid, you're more protected than we can comprehend, right?"

"You're right Petra. This entire cave in particular is rigged to collapse if I so desired with the only safe spot being this throne, of course there's no real need for it and boasting about such dwarven architecture is unnecessary, but it's nice to know there's some protection I can achieve"

I think we're all starting to go a little off topic and thankfully, the knight is actually the person to realize it before everyone else.

"Don't mean to be rude your majesty, but could we maybe get to a different topic now? Me and Lotte have been quiet so far"

"Ah... the new royal knight... Nathan, correct? Putting the distractions aside now, it's time to finally discuss the reason I invited you all over here. Please keep in mind this task will also help the phoenixes as well"

"Yay! Can you tell me where my Lord is then?"

"My Lord? Oh, the famed priestess, sometimes it's difficult to remember that my brother is your esteemed Go-..."

"He has always been the strange one in the family taking much longer to grow up than others. It has always been a joy to know he has adopted a mortal and taking her on like he's her own"

Without giving an introduction, a womanly figure walks into the throne room taking everyone's attention while continuing her monologue. Wow, she really is stunning...

Long brown flowing hair, radiant blue eyes and dressed in a skimpy white robe almost dressing like a game character, she really is a beauty. Her aura is pretty strange as well with a slight graceful vibe to it, it really reminds me of someone standing by my side.

Imagine if Charlotte were mixed with Petra, just more emphases on the Petra vibe and that's how stunning this barely dressed beauty is. I'm purposely trying to steer my attention away from her but it's a little difficult.

----------

https://i.ibb.co/nfCH6RX/Athena.jpg

----------

Almost as if Petra can sense my gaze, I find one of her arms wrap around mine almost as if she's signalling that I'm hers and I should look away. There's no real need to be concerned, Petra still looks way better but actually having someone look that close to her is pretty eery. She's even got that lifeless stare Petra sometimes does, stop it now Ikarus...

For some reason though, Nathan has taken extreme offense from something that was just said.

"Adopted a mortal? You make it sound like Lotte's an unfortunate child or a pet"

"Nat is right, my Lord isn't my father. He's more like an advisor or... tutor?"

"Apologies, my choice of words could've been chosen better but from brother's perspective, it would be similar to an adoption"

I'm pretty sure both Nathan and Charlotte seem a little uncomfortable with the joining lady but then again, she is treating Dionysus like he's priestess's father or something.

'Let's see who she is then, I'm getting godly vibes here... status'

[<No can do Ikarus, status doesn't recognize figure as any target. Assuming that is another God like Lyssa we met back in a previous dungeon>]

'It's pretty strange how we can view her but not Denver, maybe it's the body that causes it? Their base bodies can't be status scanned or something?'

Not being able to view Gods and Goddess level seems a little shitty if I'm being honest but there's got to be some reason, right? Doubt anyone in this room would know why though.

"Who's the eavesdropping women anyways?"

Petra's the person to ask this time around but it seems like Hephaestus was about to present her.

"That'll be my sister Athena, the Goddess of wisdom... and being a complete pain in the ass really. There's only so much wisdom in the form of advice you can take"

That's the Goddess of wisdom? Huh, I guess that makes a little sense as well, I'm starting to become numb to this sort of thing. And a little bored and impatient as well.

"If it wasn't for my advice Hephaestus, you'd have ended up under father's boot ages ago"

"You really believe that sister? Sometimes that wisdom of yours makes you as oblivious as a rock"

It's obvious these two have a complicated sibling complex, am I really surprised that two Gods from those types of myths have this sort of relationship? It was always obvious they would be as goofy as everyone else, even if I just kinda want them to get to the point now.

"Can we just hurry this up? I'd love to spend hours asking what rumours are true or false about your history but we've got your brother to save apparently? And then defeat Zeus? Even if that could take forever though"

(Athena) "Apologies orange phoenix, I will no longer delay then. What you six brave souls must do is complete three dungeons in order to possess tokens upon completion as payment"

(Hephaestus) "Once you gotten the tokens, you'll need to head into the underworld in search of him as the tokens are for the ferryman. We presume he's been locked up in Tartarus as father still has a way of sending prisoners there despite Hades and his best efforts to lock him out"

You know, this quest has actually started to sound pretty dope, we get to complete more dungeons again and even go into the mythical Underworld!? This sounds quite epic, can't be appearing too eager though. At the end of the day, we're looking for their brother after all.

"We'll need to? Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure we're all willing to help, stay quiet Zeki but why can't you two do this task?"

That gets a scoff out of Zeki but he wanted to come along on this adventure so he's being helpful whether he wants to or not. I will kick him where I know it hurts if he slows down this conversation any further now, his manhood did return a good time ago.

(Hephaestus) "Because, the second one of us willingly steps foot inside a dungeon, things start to become complicated and lives are lost. No God is allowed in another Gods dungeon with a few tiny and rare exceptions, Tartarus is a tad different but you'd still have to go through the Underworld to get there"

(Athena) "A dungeon is essentially a God or Goddess's home or influence on a mortal world. The same rules apply to the Underworld as well, we cannot enter without causing huge problems for anyone involved"

(Petra) "Heh, slightly ironic how we're rescuing a God from a place Gods can't enter"

(Hephaestus) "That's simply because Zeus has a secret backdoor entrance down there. Believe me, if we could have done this ourselves, we would've. Every God knows why that prison has been so effective all this time"

Both of them seem pretty adamant on this so best not to question too much on why we have to be the ones entering the Underworld. Maybe a God internally combusts when they step foot into another's dungeon? I'm just getting bored so trying to imagine something funny right now, this conversation is taking way too long.

"So, where are they at then? The tokens I mean, might as well hurry this up or we'll be here all day"

(Hephaestus) "In the land of the ancient and forgotten mortals, or its common name being Maladonia. Like your islands, that land doesn't discriminate on species... I'm still unsure what to even call your islands"

Maladonia, the fourth continent which we've only really visited on a brief gambling trip. Sierra, Jötna, Krieger and now Maladonia, the four continents of the world which I swear I don't mention enough anymore.

Our island is technically located in Jötna so between that and the empire, we've spent most our time in human or elven lands. There's been no reason for long visits to the desert or the fourth continent so this is going to be quite the adventure then. Combine that with admin privileges, getting back is going to be a breeze.

"We'll name them another time, let's keep it on topic right now. So, after that, we just stroll into the Underworld with the tokens and we're good to go?"

"Heh, we should probably find a name at some point Ikarus. We could name them after you as well"

I just ignore Petra and that stupid suggestion. Just because I'm now overpowered as fuck doesn't mean my concentration span has gotten any better so discussing what to name our islands is just annoying. This quest actually interests me, not saying being alongside Petra doesn't as well but there's only so much humping we can do. Every time it gets cold or snowy now, I'm going to get PTSD by how often we did it throughout those months...

"Well... there's a little more to it than just that but you've got the gist of it right Ikarus. I'm not sure what you'll expect on the journey but you're more than capable to handle anything thrown your way"

"Brother's right. Can't forget to mention the matter of five tokens being needed to enter the Underworld as well but we've been guaranteed the other two will be there already"

(Ikarus) "What do you mean they'll be there already? Someone's already paid for a portion of the ferry?"

...

Both of the heavenly beings seem a little unsure about that question, why do we only need to get three if we need five? Who else is involved?

(Hephaestus) "We're not actually that sure, just an anonymous contact has that side of things sorted"

(Athena) "Yes. We believe they're an ally but also they've been extremely silent in revealing their existence. We have a Gods guarantee they'll be there though"

So, we've got an ally even these two are unaware on? Ah, let's just not question it too much, maybe it's another God who's with these meddling lot as well? I just said not to question it...

(Ikarus) "Anything else we need to discuss or can you give us the locations then?"

"Yes. Before you children leave, there is something I must gift upon one of you though"

The Goddess Athena walks up to Petra, places a hand on her shoulder and precedes to softly talk to her. I'm really not sure what to do here but inner Ikarus is telling me she need to get her paws of my women! I'm going to file that under intrusive thoughts that need to be locked away though.

"You've been having problems with your sword art, correct?"

"..."

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot Petra had that telekinesis ability thing with her samurai sword. Only really seen it being used in exceptionally rare cases so just assumed she didn't like using it or something.

Anyways, magic seems to flow from Athena into Petra and it really is quite colourful witnessing whatever it is she's doing.

"This should allow you to use it a little more freely to your liking. It will still cause pain like the rest of your afflictions but it may help just a tiny bit"

That sword art caused Petra pain? No wonder she only used it once or twice then, it was pretty dope seeing that sword fly around like that but it makes sense to ignore it if it hurts. Can't be having my little lovebird in pain, I have got to wrap her in bubble wrap especially until the revive works again...

"Thank you... I guess"

Look at Petra being as awkward as I, I'm normally the person giving odd thank yous so looks like my idiocy is rubbing off on her. I'm strangely proud about that...

"Let's wrap this shit up then. Give us what we need and we'll make our leave..."

Not really since I've still got to wait a day before teleporting again but dwarven booze is exceptional for a day off...