Dance of the Gods

The night was a bit chilly as they walked towards the inn. It was currently about 1 or 2 am, which was the coldest part of the night and since Hammon was a port city, it was always a little windy.

As they walked along the street some people were still stumbling around trying to find their way home. Others were already too drunk and just decided to sleep on the street.

At the brothels the whores were making a lot of money, these were their golden hours, when the people were too drunk and easily gullible. Father Martin explained that their prices go up after midnight and if you don't pay enough attention they will get scammed.

Veronica just stared at him suspiciously, but he was way too shameless to care and she was way too shy to ask more.

While walking she soon realized why the father insisted of accompany her home. The streets were really unsafe at this hour, but even the most delusional criminal has a fear of gods, and no one could mistake his purple robe with the Clock of Time sewed onto it.

People only took one look at him and moved on, even though their eyes lingered on Veronica.

They walked on and she tried to hide her fear, but the small trembling of her hand gave everything away. Without much thought she linked arms with Father Martin. He didn't even pay look down at her, just tapped her hand a couple of times for comfort.

It took them a long time to reach the inn on foot, but eventually they got there. The lights in the main room were still on and there were shouts originating from there. The windows were made in a strange way, they were kind of smoky and you couldn't see through them clearly.

The two of them looked at each other. His gaze seemed to ask if she was sure about this decision, and at this point Veronica had no idea. Before she could convince herself from leaving, she went to the door and tried to open it.

...

Suze was freaking out. She couldn't believe how much of an idiot Alex was. After letting Veronica see a corrupted he just let her run away. And if that wouldn't be enough it happened near the Dirt District, which was full of rapists, murderers and cultists.

The two of them were in a shouting contest for hours. Everyone else from the family were already asleep, but she just couldn't let it go.

"I will tell you again, she literally ran away! I tried to go after her, but there were too many people around!" Alex was very annoyed, it's not that he didn't went after her. But somehow she was way faster and agile than him.

"Then why didn't you divine her location?! Isn't that one of your strong suits?!" She made this argument and heard his answer dozens of times, but her anger couldn't be dismissed so easily.

"I already told you, I have tried but she has some kind of protection against unwanted divination. I don't even understand how she survived the encounter with the corrupted! But you as well as I do, if we find her she is either permanently insane or..."

He couldn't finish the sentence when Suze got up and slapped him. She stayed in his face as her voice turned threatening.

"I don't care what you believe, you caused so much pain for that poor girl already. Tomorrow you will go outside and won't come back here until you find Veronica!"

The air between the two of them changed and Alex pumped out his chest to make him seem taller then said, "Or what? You're not even ascended. What can you actually do?"

His voice sounded very threatening, but weirdly enough not angry. Suze just laughed into his face, then moved towards the bar to pour another drink for herself.

"I can do lots of things. For example let the nice people at the police station know that you are a pirate captain, they usually bite to that bait. Or I can just ask someone down bellow to kill you for good money."

In one gulp she drank the whiskey, then without any sign she threw the glass at Alex. From reflex he raised his hand, but when he heard the click of a revolver's hammer, he realized how much of a fool he was.

Suze was holding a revolver with a wicked grin, her hand didn't tremble even one bit, she knew exactly how to use a gun and it wouldn't be her first kill. Slowly she closed the distance between them and stopped just about three meters away.

"Or, I can just kill you and save myself from the hustle. What do you say Alex? Do you want to find Veronica, or do you want to end up in the Remote Sea with a bullet in your skull?"

The expression on his face was bored for a few seconds, then he began clapping and they both burst out laughing. Suze put the gun back into its holster on her thigh and they both went to the counter for another drink.

"It was a nice performance! For a second I actually thought you might shoot me!" He said with a smile, Suze just shook her head before answering.

"I might still shoot you if you don't wipe that stupid grin off your face! And I was serious about Veronica... I know the chances are low, but please just try to find her... She had nothing before ending up here. Now she has nothing and she is somewhere in the Dirt District!"

There was a tear running down her face, this whole scenario reminded her of Sofie and those hollow eyes when she came home. Veronica was very similar to how Sofie was before the disaster, and now something even worse could be happening to her.

Alex sighed next to him and took a sip of his drink before replying.

"Of course I will go... And unlike what you think of me I do feel responsible... *sigh* I should've just shot Pete, it would've made everything easier... It won't happen next time..." He whispered the last part to himself, but Suze heard it all the same.

They stayed silent for a few seconds, then something very unexpected happened. Someone tried to open the front door, but since it was already very late the door was locked. The person outside stopped after a few tries and instead began knocking.

Suze motioned Alex to take out his revolver, but keep it hidden. She did the same then walked to the door and opened it to a crack. When she saw the person who knocked the gun fell out of her hand, and she just stood there in total shock.

In the door stood Veronica, she looked okay if you ignored the tired face, ripped dress and strange sandals. Before she could even say anything Suze quickly hugged her and ushered her inside.

"Thank the Goddess you are alright! We were so worried about you..." Only now did she notice the priest behind her, and she quickly understood how did Veronica managed to survive.

"You are quite right Mrs. Miles. My Goddess did help in this case, you can thank her with a quick prayer before going to bed." His smile turned mischievous before saying something that stunned Suze again.

"Or you can give her something with a sacrificial ritual."

What he said was nothing special to her, it was a ritual even people who aren't ascended could conduct. But he said it before Veronica, and she knew how much the churches disliked regular people knowing about the supernatural world.

And what was the icing on the cake is that Veronica didn't even look surprised, which could only mean she had prior knowledge about such things.

Suze quickly knew what the father wanted from her... He wanted her to explain the world further, than they did. She turned around and walked to the counter to drink the rest of her whiskey. Behind her Father Martin was saying goodbye to Veronica.

"Now that you are back here I will go. I do have to sleep at some point as well." He said with a yawn, but before leaving Veronica gave her a last hug and a small kiss on the side of his face.

"Thank you for everything again."

The old man just smiled and began walking out. As he was closing the door he quickly put his head back in and said, "Don't forget to bring back the book, I'm dying to know how it ends!"

Before anyone could say more he was already gone. At the bar Suze was just shaking her head with a happy smile.

'What a weird old priest... And very kind, but still... way to give the heavy lifting to others! How much did those idiots at the Unbroken explain anyway... Knowing them probably not much.'

When Father Martin left, the three of them stared at each other silently, and to subvert their expectations even further Veronica spoke in a tone very unlike her usual light and peaceful voice.

"I think you two owe me an explanation!" She said with furrowed eyebrows.

Suze and Alex looked at one another and both of them sighed at the same time... There was no going back from here.

"Fine, but not here. Let's go downstairs, it will be easier there." Replied Suze, then began walking towards the basement door. Veronica was a bit reluctant to follow, but she steeled herself and went after the two of them.