Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
We wait at our camp until it’s late at night so it’s less likely other players will be in the temple.
Then we head back to check in with our deities.
Even at midnight, there are some stragglers.
They look weary, probably because they’ve waited all day to do this.
That makes me feel extra spoiled by my shopping trip and time at the bathhouse.
Fortunately, there’s only one other person in line at the Aphrodite statue. I guess people aren’t doing very sexy or romantic things on their first day in Peripeteia. Not that I did. She’s my deity because my “holy fuck” amused her.
The guy in front of me is big on expressing his thoughts through hand waving.
I can’t hear Aphrodite’s side of the conversation, but he definitely has a lot to say to her, most of it not good.
He’s griping about how he can’t complete the “Inspire Lust” quest because women are too picky and don’t like “nice guys.” He sounds exactly like guys I block on social media.
I absolutely hate that he and I share the same deity.
“Okay, I’ll keep trying,” he says in a sheepish tone, making me think he got berated by the Goddess of Love.
He turns around to leave. Of course, I’m the first person he sees when he does. He waggles his eyebrows and bites his bottom lip.
“Looking for a bang?” he asks.
I cross my arms. “Sorry, I’m already dating a really nice guy.”
He rolls his eyes and mutters, “Slut,” before walking away.
I stick my tongue out at him behind his back and step up to Aphrodite’s statue. “Dear Aphrodite,” I say. “I’ve come to check in with you and offer my thanks.”
The breathtaking goddess pulls away from the statue and shrinks down to my height.
“Your gratitude is most welcome after my last worshipper,” she says and takes a moment to glare at him as he exits the temple.
Then a wicked smile spreads across her face.
“I’m going to make his manhood fall off tonight. ”
Yikes. Note to self: do not piss this goddess off.
“Well, I’m certainly thankful,” I say. “Beguiling Eyes seems to have helped me in the spider village.”
“Oh, no, that was all you,” she says. “Your charisma score helped, of course, but Beguiling Eyes has only lowered vendor prices for you so far.”
“I…I really negotiated that on my own?”
Aphrodite nods. “I’m thrilled about that, by the way. I’ve been holding it over everyone’s heads at Olympus. So far, only one of my worshippers has found another way to fulfill that quest.”
“I think I broke it,” I say.
“I know! Isn’t it marvelous?” Aphrodite’s smile is bright, and her eyes gleam with excitement.
“Well, I’m happy the villagers there don’t have to go through that again,” I say, though I’m not sure I want to discuss that quest anymore. She may not take to my thoughts about freeing NPCs of their programming as kindly.
“As for the quest Alexander gave you,” she whispers. “That’s still very important, but don’t skip out on your other quests. Trust me when I say you’ll want to level up as much as possible before you get there.”
“Why?” I ask.
“You’ll see,” she answers and then brings her voice to a normal volume. “In the meantime, I have things you’ll need to do while you’re here in Thebe.”
“Should I take notes?” I ask, even though I have nothing to take them with.
“No need,” she says. “I’ll put them in your menu with as much detail as needed. Don’t let anyone tell you they’re unimportant side quests. If you want to improve your faith score with me, these need to be completed.”
I nod. I very much want to improve my faith score. According to Cait, it makes it much more likely that I’ll get favors.
Cait believes the gods are also NPCs, but Aphrodite clearly knows this is a game. All our interactions are organic. I wonder how she and the other gods wound up here. I think about asking, but I have a feeling that would cause her to put up walls between us.
Aphrodite has had plenty of information to share with me, but I still came here with a list of questions that I intend to get answers for. Working up the nerve to request anything from a goddess is difficult, so I clear my throat and take a deep breath.
“I have a few questions,” I say. “Is that okay?”
“Of course,” she says.
“I’m kind of dating a party member.”
She tilts her head and crosses her arms while smiling. Is she impressed? “That was quick. Especially given that you were so against love when you came here.”
I shrug. “I’m still not love’s biggest fan,” I say, prompting a sigh from Aphrodite. “But if I could die any day, I might as well enjoy myself.”
“Die?” she says, her eyebrows pressing together in confusion. “I won’t let you die.”
“But Cait says—”
Aphrodite waves a dismissive hand. “I’m sure some gods are fine disposing of their followers, but I’m not—and definitely not one that’s special like you.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” I say with a laugh, not wanting to admit how good it makes me feel to be special to a goddess.
Until this point, her tone and expression have been sweet, appreciative even. As though she was talking to her teacher’s pet. However, my response to her calling me special flips her from lighthearted to stern in a flash.
“Do not question my words, even in jest,” she says “If I tell you that you are special, that is the truth. You have achieved something that no other player has before, and you’re the top contender for bringing me the offering I wish to receive.”
I consider asking her for a hint about what offering she wants, but she looks cross already. I don’t want a body part falling off me like that dude who just left.
“Okay, I believe you,” I say, holding up my hands in surrender.
“What question do you have about your romantic life?” she asks, suddenly as sweet as she was just a moment before she got onto me.
I’m grateful that she’s redirecting our conversation back to my questions. I don’t want to press the matter after getting on her nerves.
“Well…is it wise? What if things end badly?” I ask. “I’m supposed to be working with this group, and a falling out could spell disaster.”
Aphrodite laughs. “I think I’ve slept with half of Olympus. Yet, we still rule this world and work together on many things. You can do the same.”
I really hope she only means that I can still work with someone I’ve been romantic with. As great as my friends are, I don’t want to sleep with all of them. This brings me to my next question, though.
“Am I able to control whether people are attracted to me?” I ask. “I can see life getting difficult for me if I’m constantly having to turn down suitors.”
The goddess sighs. “Yes, that’s a problem that I understand. You’ll find that it is not your association with me or even your gifts that will cause this, though. Anyone may be pursued by those they don’t want in return.”
That wasn’t what I was hoping to hear, and by the look on her face, it’s clear that she understands that, but she offers no comfort. This is just a fact of life that I’ll have to learn to deal with, hopefully not within my party.
“Did you have any other questions?” Aphrodite asks.
“Well, I was wondering about the quest to see K—”
Aphrodite snaps her fingers, and suddenly my voice is gone. I touch my throat on instinct. Nothing’s missing, she’s just silenced me. And she looks…scared?
“There’s a reason I gave you that quest in that fashion, why I refer to it as Alexander’s,” she whispers. “We will not go into details here where anyone can hear you. If you have questions about it, direct those to Alexander. Nod if you understand.”
I nod obediently, and she snaps her fingers again.
“Sorry,” I say. “I didn’t know.”
“There’s much I won’t tell you. Even more that I shouldn’t tell you. You will simply need to trust me on these matters.”
“I will,” I say, as I bow my head.
“It’s very late,” she says in almost a motherly way, “and it seems your friends have already finished speaking with their deities. Go to your camp and rest. You will have much to complete, and you’ll need all the energy you can get.”
In a blink Aphrodite is gone. I turn to see my friends milling about the exit.
Cait’s leaning against the wall, playing with her nails.
Sylvia is sitting on the floor with her head resting against the wall and her eyes closed.
Joshua is tuning his fiddle. Guy and Tara are playing some sort of coin flipping game.
I walk over, and they all sigh with relief when they see me. Guy rushes over to give me a peck on the cheek, acting like he hasn’t seen me in days. How long was I talking to Aphrodite?
“How’d it go?” Tara asks me.
“Well, she really seems to like how we handled the spider village,” I answer.
Tara arches a brow. “Interesting.”
Cait shakes Sylvia’s shoulder. “Time to go, Sleeping Beauty.”
Sylvia responds with a weary nod. “I can’t wait to leave such a crowded city.”
I wince. “Well, about that…”
“Oh, no, what?” Sylvia responds.
“Aphrodite says she has stuff I need to get done for her in Thebe.”
Joshua laughs. “Oh, that? Yeah, all the gods give you Thebe quests, but they’re not really important.”
“Hey, now, they’re fun!” Guy says. “Let’s take a break from all the danger and just enjoy ourselves while we’re here.”
I remember what Aphrodite said about not believing it when people say these are just side quests. Given her tone and overall secretiveness, I feel like I need to take her word seriously on this matter.
“I really need to improve my faith score,” I say. “It’s at bare minimum now, and that’s not good enough if I’m going to be an effective healer for you all.”
Sylvia nods. “I hate to say it, but she’s right. As much as I’d rather be out in nature, XP is XP, and we need to do everything we can to ensure Lauren’s scores are where they need to be as a cleric. Besides, maybe we’ll find a clue we missed the first time we did the side quests here.”
“But first, sleep!” Tara says, waving her hands in the exit’s direction. “Hermes gave me quests, too. Can’t hurt for us all to get some XP having fun. What quests did she give you?”