Thirteen #2
I noticed we were moving a lot faster than the defenders, more than could be accounted for by our enhanced speed or their fatigue this late at night.
I could only guess the lack of food was getting to them.
We came around a bend in the cave, where suddenly everything was smooth, and the tunnel widened out, and finally ran into people who fought a lot more like you'd expect.
I could see the altar with four priests behind it, casting spells at their guards to help them fight. The problem, however, was that there were maybe twenty of them left alive by the time we got there, and they weren't any kind of match for us.
All the healing spells in the world won't work on someone who's missing a head, and as we'd all been in fights in temples and on holy ground before, we were making sure to cleave heads and chop necks, all while the three of us kept close ranks.
It wasn't easy, and it wasn't fast, but eventually we killed all the guards, then charged the altar and killed the priests.
"You two look for the items. I'm going to destroy the altar," I said.
"You sure?" Suzona asked.
I smiled. "Oh, I'm sure, all right." Putting my swords away, I got out the sledgehammer. But first, I took a piss on the altar.
"Hey, asshole, remember me?" I said as I relieved myself. "I'm the champion who was simply passing through that you tortured. For three days.
"Then when we came back—" I finished pissing and grabbed the hammer "—you tortured us again."
Winding up, I brought the hammer down and struck the altar.
"How many times did you do that to me?"
Slam.
"My friends?"
Slam.
"My girlfriend?"
Slam, and this time the noise changed slightly. The altar was cracking.
"Bet you never thought you'd live to regret it, did you?"
I wound up hard and brought the hammer down, and this time I could hear it crack.
"Yeah, if you hadn't guessed, my girlfriend's goddess set up your fall. Shouldn't have fucked around."
I wound up and struck the altar one more time; it cracked all the way through, and there was a minor explosion as it broke in two.
"Are you done?" Suzona asked as I looked around the room.
"Just about. Did you find the items?"
Suzona hefted the heavy sack she'd brought, which was obviously full.
"We should see if we can find one of the ward stones and dig it out," Evean said, looking around.
"That was his last altar and those his last priests," Suzona said. "It will all fade with time now."
"Still, we should at least make an effort."
"Sure, we can do that."
I stood there for a moment and tried to extend my senses to see if I could get an idea of where the ward stones were. Looking at the back of the cave—the back of the temple—I could see that it went further in.
"I'll be back in a few minutes," I said and, slinging the sledgehammer, I drew one of my swords and started walking further back.
"What's up, William?"
"Just want to make sure there aren't any others left," I said. Something was tickling at my senses, something faint, something I didn't think wanted to be found.
There were rooms as I went farther back; someone had built walls and sectioned off areas with hanging curtains, and even a few doors in some cases. The priests, and I guess the guards, had all lived back here, and I could tell it had all been built a long time ago.
I wondered if it might have been this god's first temple? Or perhaps church? Maybe they'd started here?
There was a storeroom at the very back, and I made my way through it.
I was looking for something, I wasn't quite sure what, until I felt a faint breeze.
Moving a rack that swung out of the way all too easily, I saw a small tunnel at the bottom of the floor.
I had to shift into my human form to fit, and even then, it was just barely.
I was no longer on holy ground as I crawled through the tunnel, which opened back up after a dozen or so feet.
It was maybe six or seven feet tall at this point, and I shifted back to my champion form, so I'd have the night vision, better hearing, and smell as I made my way forward.
After maybe ten minutes, I could hear it—someone was trying to breathe as quietly as possible to keep from giving themselves away. I stalked forward carefully, slowly, quietly. A slow footstep at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, step after step, as I drew closer and closer.
Suddenly, just as my foot landed on holy ground, I heard a deep intake of breath, and without hesitation, I thrust my sword directly at the sound. There was a brief shriek, then silence.
I felt it then: anger, extreme anger! Using a cantrip, I cast a light spell, and there it was, another altar! This one was smaller, older. The cave I'd been cautiously stalking through had gotten a little wider, and there were scenes, ancient scenes, in faded paint along the walls.
Looking over at the body, it was a priestess, a young woman, very young. I'd run her through the chest, killing her instantly. Wiping my sword off on her clothes, I sheathed it and got my sledgehammer back out.
"You know that I kill gods, right?" I said, smiling as I felt the rage building around me.
"Bet you're regretting what you did to me, ain't ya?
" I said with a cruel laugh and started hammering away at the altar.
This one didn't take as long to destroy; being old, it wasn't as well-built as the other one.
When it broke on the third hit, it literally exploded into shards of rock, and I had to cast a cure on myself as I got hit in the places my armor didn't cover.
I took another moment to piss on it when I was done, and I could already feel the sanctity of the place fading away.
The girls were waiting out front at the cave entrance when I caught up with them. The sun was starting to rise.
"What happened?" Evean asked. "We felt a sudden rage, and then nothing."
"There was a second altar with a young priestess secreted further down the cave. It was old, possibly his first one."
"How'd you even know it was there?" Suzona asked.
I shrugged. "Part of my myth is that I'm a godslayer. All I know is that I felt… something, so I had to go investigate."
"So now what?" Evean asked.
"Now we open up a gate, toss the items through, then go back to the city, thank the two gods, and head home," Suzona said with a shrug.
"Umm, about that…" I started.
"What, William?" Suzona asked with a heavy sigh.
"There's a sphere east of here—or the portal is, at least. I think I'd like to go check it out."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Because I think I have a couple or three children there I've never gotten to see."
"You vhat?" Suzona said, sounding exasperated as Evean laughed.
I wasn't sure which one bothered me more.
"It's a long story," I said with an embarrassed smile. "How about I tell you along the way?"
"Yes, please do enlighten us, Villiam."