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Mt. Olympus - Great Hall of the gods

"Uuuuuuurrrrrp!!!!" Dionysus burped heavily, after taking another sip, he asked, "What was so urgent that it couldn't wait for the next meeting, father." Murmurs of agreement from the other gods present in the hall followed this.

The hall was huge, almost the size of a soccer stadium. It was open to the breeze, having only columns running the along two longest sides to hold up the peaked roof. They had built a wall to hold the ornate door, made of bronze and silver. While they built another wall opposite the entrance, fitted with a huge plaque made of gold engraved with the images of an eagle and a peacock intertwined. They built the whole hall from marble with granite flooring. In the centre was a giant, rectangular pool. Situated around the pool were a series of equally large thrones that the twelve Olympians occupied. There were five on either side of the pool and a larger pair beneath the plaque.

Sitting stiffly in his marble throne, Zeus looked around at each of the gods present before answering, "I have received a prophetic vision from the mortal realm."

"I I didn't know you were moonlighting as Apollo's oracle, brother." Poseidon said snidely, "I would have thought the god of prophecy, would be the one to receive visions." Zeus started to feel himself turn red, "This is not the time for your inane jokes. There is a threat to our thrones, and we have to take action..."

Athena took this moment to intervene. "What Is this threat you have found, Father?" Taking a moment to reign in his emotions, Zeus replied, "I was gazing into the mortal realm through one mirror in Apollo's, trying to get a feel for these adventurers." "I would hope father had passed his days philandering after the last debacle," Ares whispered loudly to Hermes. Zeus continued after throwing a quick glare at the god of war, and an even quicker, more careful glance at Hera.

"As I was saying... I was watching the adventurers when the mirror fogged over to show a scene of a giant battlefield under a storm. It was a battle between a group of humans and a group led by what I at first thought was a beastman. Near halfway through the battle, the full-moon broke the clouds. That's when I saw what he truly was. One adventurer will, or has already, become a shape-shifter. To make matters worse, that shifter had gained a large pack that made up a major part of their armies fighting force." There was a moment of silence before Artemis shot up off of the throne in a flurry. As the goddess of the hunt and the moon, it seemed she had a vested interest in this matter. "Do You mean that Lycaon's brood still haunts the plains?" She asked in disbelief, "I'm sure my Kori and I had hunted them to extinction. There's no way any of the adventurers could have come into contact with any of them." There was murmuring among the gods, until finally Athena stated the obvious, "All Right then my fellow immortals... anybody got any ideas on how to deal with this?"

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Helion village, Katagarian Principality

Adarius appeared at the village gates in a bright flash of light and particles. For a moment he stood in place gathering his bearings. Ahead of him was a beautiful little village between a mountain copse and the beach. It was a quaint little Hamlet on the coast. There were a few small wood cabins that he could see through the gates. Further in he could make out the village square, which seemed to have a fountain in the centre. Beyond the fountain was a building that looked large enough to be the town hall. While taking in the view, he noticed an envelope flashing in the corner of his vision. Focusing on it, a window opened.

The Curse of the Were:

You are a "Therianthrope" a race of savage creatures that once plagued the continent. However, because of your rare condition as an adventurer, you have caused the were-gene to evolve. Also, that you are naturally a beastman negates the usual intimacy penalties, weres usually get when dealing with NPCs.

-For being a pack/pride-less were you suffer a 10% penalty to physical states (debuff remove when in a party) -When leading a pack/pride (not exclusive to weres) gain 30% boost to base physical stats.

For being an evolved-hybrid were: can shift at will after the first full-moon; can shift into the leopard or tiger form at will; can only shift into a hybrid form on the full-moon night (form locked until sunrise).

*If the user proves to be strong enough to lead a "pack/pride" will receive Turning Bite ability, to create new weres (bitten players may choose their animal, profession will decide NPCs. [e.g. Tank = Werebear] However, beast-man players will maintain their animal senses and features, irrespective of their class.)

A hand suddenly interrupted him on his shoulder. Flinching Adarius turned to find a tall and elderly cougar-beastman chuckling at his reaction. "Calm yourself young one." He said, "I am elder Clawden. Welcome to Helion Village." "Pleasure to meet you, Elder! My name is, Adarius." "It Sure is rare to see young adventurers appearing in these parts. Take a moment to explore the village. If you need anything, I'll be at the square." the elder said before he walked passed to the village. Watching him walk away, Adarius went to check out the local wildlife before trying for a quest. Checking his inventory, he found:

Inventory

50 rabbit jerky

1 Beginner sword

20 Silver coins (1Pl=100G; 1G=100S; 1S=100C)

1 sleeping bag

After that, Adarius thought to check his status when he was interrupted by a new quest window.

Quest: Rise of the Were-beast!!!

Type: Racial Quest

Difficulty: A

You are a rare breed. One of a kind to be exact! A creature that even the gods fear. As the first "Therianthrope" to appear since the great purge of the gods. It has fallen to you to dig your race out of antiquity. However, be vigilant, the gods on Mt. Olympus will not sit idly by should you make yourself known to them.

Objective: Create a pack large enough to keep a kingdom.

Failure: Gods strip you of your ability to shift.

Reward: Alpha status, Therianthrope (A/N: check Wikipedia) race unlocked,???

"Great." Adarius sighed, "The first day in-game and I may already have a target on my back."

Looking through the quest window, I could tell that most professions that tied to a certain god of Olympus were out of the question. From the research I could find online, it seemed players had to gain the approval of the god with influence in that class to get it. Though you could get the class without it, the blessing made the class that much more powerful. This also meant that a class that is not blessed had greater skill and level requirements for class advancements. They could also get blessings during these advancements or they would cause the original blessing to evolve with the class.

Besides, I would try for the older gods, anyway. I had a feeling that Titan blessings had greater rewards though they might be weaker in the beginning. I was sure that wherever people went for their blessings a temple for the "Titans" was present. I could guess that their priests were especially rare. Of them, only those that sided with Olympus were to be more easily accessed, if I guessed correctly. After thinking longer about it, I decided that for now, I'd put that to the back of my mind. Right now was the time to test how hunting worked before moving on to more complicated problems.

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Foxes and raccoons inhabited the plains around the village, though there were a few horned rabbits here and there. Taking a measure of the creatures nearby. I was thankful that all the creatures with a maximum of 5 levels greater than a user would have their basic stats visible, but that was just their health, mana, and level. Named and elite monsters, chaotic humanoids, and players were probably exempt from that rule or had other requirements.

The rabbits and raccoons were between levels 2~4, while foxes began at level 4 and climbed higher. Going with my gut, I tried to single out a raccoon that had straggled from the group. However, it seemed they always placed the weaker ones in the middle with the stronger ones stationed around them. Taking a moment to rethink my strategy, a scent that caught my attention during a shift in the wind distracted me. I froze for a second trying to get a sense of where it came from. It took a few seconds before I caught it again. After wandering for a minute, I finally found the source.

A fox was being harassed by two others that were trying to steal its kill. Watching this battle it seemed the one on the defence was dealing more damage per strike while the others were quicker. It took about 2 more minutes for the 1st of the attackers to enter a critical condition. The other two weren't that far behind with only 2~4% more health. When the defender entered a critical condition, I took that as my cue to strike.

Thankful for being downwind of them, which allowed me to enter striking range without triggering their aggro. The game seemed to take such things into account when dealing with PvE scenarios. Drawing my dagger mid-stride I struck at the fox with the most health, stabbing it through the back of its skull. Luckily, that earned me an instant kill. Turning to my next opponent, I found both momentarily frozen in shock. That gave me enough time to kick one fox away before slashing the other. Having come back to their senses, the foxes tried to rush me. I dodged the 1st fox to reach me. Then grabbing its tail, I used it to knock the 2nd one-off course. After which I slammed it into the ground, following up with a stab to the neck. The last one left was the second attacker. Countering its charge with a roundhouse, I stomped and kicked it to death.

*Ding*

Battle Report:

Enemies Defeated:  

Fox lv4 x2          

Fox lv8

Plunder/Loot:

Fox pelt x3

Fox claw x12(x3)

Rabbit pelt

Rabbit horn (ingredient)

Level up x3

Thankfully, I survived with only minor scratches. With my level up, I gained 15 stat points. Deciding that that was enough excitement for the day, I returned to the village to sell my loot.