The Grand Catastrophe

…

Arche stepped into the camp that had been set up for the Workers. The rest of her party looked around the are where they were supposed to meet up after the whole thing, and walked over. There, they all noticed that they were the only one’s who had come back.

Sure, they had noticed that Dragon Hunt had gotten into a fight with the undead residents of the tomb, and had died. Yet they didn’t think that would be the case for the rest of the parties. Arche grimaced, somewhat happy that they chose not to go down into the tomb.

It was then that Hekkeran shrugged his shoulders, and decided on something. He spoke. His tone was as light as it could be, given the starts of the implications as to what happened.

“Everyone, I’m going to check around the tent areas, to see if they went there or anything. None of the adventurers seem to be unnerved, so I might just ask them as well. One of us should wait here, just in case they’re late,” he planned aloud.

Imina nodded her head. When Hekkeran started to go off, she started after him as well. Looking back, she said something as well.

“I think I’ll ask around as well. Arche should stay here. Roberdyck, you should ask the employees of anything,” she said, and he nodded his head.

“That’s a good idea,” he said, nodding his head as well.

He then looked to her, nodded his head in affirmations, and walked off to the side. She side as she was left alone. She looked at the bundle of papers and twine in her arms. There was so much stuff that they had documented. There were so many details from whatever civilization had left them.

The first things that they had found: money, tools, chemicals, and diagrams on how to prepare the dead. It all reeked of people. It all made sense. This wasn’t some place that they could rob silly. It was a tomb, a place of the dead.

She sighed as she placed the bundles on the desk in front of her. The person who was manning the desk, or was supposed to be manning the desk in this tent, had gone off. Maybe he had to do something else, he was an employee of the count, after all.

She went and sat at one of the chairs near the desk. There, she opened a journal that she had started to scribble in. Most of the doodles were of her sisters, though, some of it was of the depictions of the things from this tomb. From the context of the things that they had gathered, they seemed to be the different people and gods from the scriptures from Calvaria’s faith.

She sighed as she drew one of her favorite gods, “Lord Touch Me If You Can.” He was a paladin in shining white armor. He was often depicted in the tomb and the scriptures, saving Lady Momonga when she hadn’t been a goddess.

She sighed in slight wonder, hoping that something like that would happen to her family, so she wouldn’t have to be the only one holding up her sisters’ lives. Then again, she had Calvaria and her friends. That was enough most days.

She then noticed something. There was no more background noise. A weight had settled on the world. The air was heavy, the magic in everything seemed to be suspended for a second. Her mind stopped, for but a moment. She looked up, She was there.

There, sitting in one of the chairs opposite her, was the Goddess. There, there was Momonga. The undead deity locked her eyes with Arche’s. in that second, Arche might have died. There, in that second time seemed to stop.

“Hello, little Arche Eeb Rile Furt, how have you been?” she asked, her voice deep and rich like chocolate.

Arche couldn’t speak. So, Momonga spoke for her. It was so strange and ethereal, to hear her speak of her own life then.

“I know you have been well. My Champion has been spreading word around your empire and the kingdom. I have been listening to her, and the people that walk through my church. You have worries,” she intoned like a judge.

“I don’t know why you’re speaking with me personally,” Arche finally said, “but I was simply wondering what will happen to us now. I know that that must be some sort of important tomb. Maybe an important leader of your faith was buried there. I just want to ask, what will you do to us?” she asked finally.

“Nothing,” she said simply, as if that was obvious, “I simply want you to tell the people here to not disturb my family here. This is my home, you see. When my worshipper’s homeland fell shortly after Calvaria left, my tomb shifted places. It shifted places to where Calvaria had made a name for herself, and my faith.”

Arche let that sink in. A deep darkness settled in her gut. Fear for what had happened to those that he tried to genuinely rob a deity for what amounted to paltry cash. It made her soul hurt.

“Your group was the only group that didn’t try and fail to rob me blind. Have faith that you and your sisters will remain safe as long as they are within my hallowed lands,” she said, and smiled.

“What of my parents?” Arche asked.

“Are they truly your parents, if they treat you more like a bank?” she asked, and stood up.

Arche gulped as the tall woman walked towards her. She looked down at Arche, and Arche felt her cheeks redden at the thought of those thighs wrapped around her. She blinked the thought away. Now was not the time.

“They have peeved me. They die. Is that clear, young mortal?” she asked, and Arche nodded her head, but then was startled when Momonga cupped her chin.

“Hm, I wonder how you got so adorable? I can’t keep someone with such a rare talent though. You’d die before a month passed in my perspective,” she mumbled, probably not realizing that she said that out loud.

Arche blushed, and Momonga let go of here chin. The woman then sat back down on her chair. Now, she seemed to have thought of something. She eyes weren’t really looking at her, and she seemed to be mouthing words but no sound came out.

Arche wondered what was going on now. Yet, her mind didn’t seem to care. Momonga, the actually goddess that a fair bit of people that she knew were worshipping now, had seemingly awakened something in her. She wasn’t so sure that she liked that thought. Then, she vanished.

…