Fortuna

John didn’t waste any more time and fired off an Observe at the intruder. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, a sharp spike of pain lancing through his head. He was vaguely aware of several cries of his name, but the haughty laugh of their unwanted guest cut through them with supernatural precision.

“Ooo, sorry, you rolled too low to meet my DC. Crit failure too,” the floating figure gloated. “Your modifiers are a bit too low right now for that.”

Verida took a step forward, the air growing heavy. “Who are you!?” she demanded.

“Now you’ve got the right stat spread to get an answer for that,” the woman noted. “Behold, my fellow and her mortal coterie, for I am Fortuna, goddess of luck and fate!”

“I thought as much,” Verida growled. “I can tolerate the Highest Star’s intrusion for several reasons, but you have no such privilege to waltz into my domain without permission. Speak your intent or be gone!”

“My, my, so protective,” Fortuna giggled as John, with the aid of Senka, Anita and Beth, got back to his feet, his thoughts racing.

‘Are we about to see goddess vs goddess?’ he pondered as the situation grew tense at the pink haired deity’s flippant dismissal of Verida’s demands. Given how Observe failed, he wasn’t confident that being at ground zero for such a conflict was a good idea. ‘I never even tried to Observe Verida, so I can’t even guess her level. Is she low because she’s newly spawned or high because of her nature?’

John didn’t know how things were going to go down, but he hoped Verida had the presence of mind to not call down divine wrath while they were in the blast zone.

Fortuna grinned. “Now, now, let’s not be so cold, sister.”

“You are not my ‘sister’,” Verida shot back. “Just because we are both divinity does not give us familiarity.”

Fortuna pouted. “Aw, you’re no fun. I just wanted to see what Gaia’s newest plaything was all about.”

John didn’t like being called a ‘plaything’, but kept his mouth closed, wisely deciding that speaking up would shift the goddess’ attention to them unnecessarily.

Sadly, his thoughts must have shown on his face, as Fortuna’s green grin turned to them.

“Got something to say, hmm? No need to be afraid of a little roleplay,” she said, looking over Verida at them.

Verida let off a pulse of mana and Fortuna held up her hands. “Jeez, no need for that. I’m no hostile GM.”

“You have a weird way of showing it,” Aeolia muttered.

“At least one of you's found her voice box,” Fortuna sighed. “Gaia said you’d be more fun than this.”

“I’m not sure anyone would be in an excited mood after the stunt you pulled,” Verida retorted.

“Oh, come on,” Fortuna whined. “It would have been a great reveal if one of you didn’t pick the disguise artist background and picked up my trick ahead of time.”

“Why are you speaking in game terms?” John couldn’t help but ask.

Fortuna grinned. “What are games but a way for luck to play out in a way that doesn’t run the risk of causing harm? Though, I suppose in your case, that danger is still there. Speaking of, Gaia said if I do this, then… Ah, there we go!”

John felt a jolt run through him and a display appeared before him. Instead of the usual soft green, it was hot pink, matching the goddess’ hair.

New Quest: New Mines of Pruzonia
The Great Goddess Fortuna has deemed you interesting enough to design a game for you to play. And it will even link back to the task you already are set on. Isn’t that nice?

Beneath the very ground you stand upon, a network of caverns sit with resources undisturbed, the gems and ore within waiting to be claimed. However, the very magic of the land has given rise to animated golems that patrol the dark passages and expand them. And within this maze of stone and crystal, three lost members of the Golmerk clan wander, unaware of the dangers around them. Can you get to them and back out against these odds or will you get distracted by whatever treasures may be found within?

John’s eyes widened and he snapped his attention to the invading goddess, who smiled deviously.

“Quite the incentive, right?” she asked.

Before John could say anything, the pressure around Verida increased dramatically, the trees around them groaning as if moved by a great wind. Her hands were curled, undergoing a transformation to claws not unlike Kiera’s.

“You dare!” the dragon growled, her usual soft voice now like an approaching storm. “You dare to put those under my protection in danger?”

John shivered from some primal sense of fear, as if Verida was some lurking predator just outside of sight but giving off enough of a presence for his subconscious to notice something wrong. The impending threat of ****, however, didn’t seem to phase the other goddess.

“Sorry, your intimidation check failed,” Fortuna said lazily. “Want to roll for initiative? I’ll even give you a surprise round.”

Verida didn’t respond with words. With a gesture of her now clawed hand, she called forth the forest. From the treeline, roots shot out of the ground, spewing dirt and stone like an eruption as they raced towards Fortuna, growing to close the distance aglow with Verida’s magic.

The goddess of luck tsked and shook her head. “Suppose being a nature aligned goddess is fitting, what with you being this green,” she said as she raised her hand towards the approaching roots. A flash of pink light halted the attack, the roots stopped by a countering ****.

Verida didn’t stop her **** and directed the roots to swarm around Fortuna, striking at her from multiple angles. The multi-vectored attack didn’t faze the goddess of luck, each wooden spear blocked by a flash of pink light.

“You aren’t going to beat my AC with moves like these,” Fortuna said in a bored voice. She sighed. “Guess those limiters Gaia’s got on you are keeping you nice and debuffed. Oh well. Guess it’s time to get this show on the railroad.”

John couldn’t even form a thought of resistance as Fortuna mimed rolling dice, motes of hot pink energy spilling out of her cupped hand. When they hit the ground, everyone vanished in a pink flash, leaving the rocky landscape empty. The roots animated by Verida’s power limply crashed back to the ground, contracting to their natural size in the absence of the goddess’ magic.

The shift in location didn’t disturb Verida’s focus, even if the complete lack of foliage she could extend her powers to left her without much resources to employ. She barely paid any attention to the room she was transported to and launched herself at Fortuna, claws ready to tear into divine flesh. The smug goddess didn’t react to her lunge, and Verida was ready to show her what she would do to any trespasser when she was frozen in mid air.

“I told you she would react like a mama bear,” an all too familiar voice to Verida’s ears spoke up as a door opened up, revealing Gaia, clad in rather casual clothing, walking out of what looked like a kitchen, drink in one hand, a bag of chips in the other.

“Still had to see it,” Fortuna responded, before her eyes shifted between her two fellow deities then down to her hands. “Hmm, think I’ll change to better match the room.”

Locked in place, Verida could only watch as Fortuna took on a more human appearance, her green skin fading until it was the sort of pale one only got from never venturing outside, her ears shrinking until they were as round as any human’s.

“Mmm, that’s about right,” she murmured as she surveyed herself. “Think I’ll keep that look for special occasions.” She looked over to Verida. “Do you mind if I make my case to your goblins? I think your Kingdom’s big enough for the both of us to be revered.”

“What is the meaning of all of this?” Verida growled, vainly struggling against Gaia’s hold.

“Relax, we’re not going to hurt your underlings,” Fortuna said as she sauntered around to a leather couch Verida hadn’t noticed in her rage. Stuck in place, the dragon goddess took in as much of the room as she could. It was a modern looking chamber. A pair of armchairs flanked the couch, all facing a large blank wall. A low table sat between the couch and display, already laden with bowls of snack foods and drinks.

“You certainly have a way to show it.” Verida glowered before turning her gaze towards Gaia. “I suppose you can let me down now. But I want an explanation.”

Gaia smiled. “Of course. Suppose it’s only fair.”

Verida felt Gaia’s hold over her weaken and shift, turning her upright and gently placing her feet on the floor. Reluctantly, Verida willed her claws away. With Gaia involved in this, she knew there was no chance displays of power or **** would get her the outcome she desired. Calmed down a bit, she tried to reach out to Kiera, only to find their link strained. That did not improve her mood.

“So,” Verida said, crossing her arms over her chest, “explanation?”

“Hey, no need to jump right into it. Take a seat, grab a snack or drink. Relax,” Fortuna flippantly remarked as she flopped onto the couch.

“Hard to do when my friends have been whisked away to some underground maze filled with dangers,” Verida growled.

Fortuna chuckled. “Fair, that’s fair. But how am I going to get them invested if they think they’re going in with guard rails?”

“Forti, don’t poke the dragon,” Gaia chided the pink haired goddess as she settled down in one of the armchairs. “You’ll have to forgive her, Verida. Fortuna has interesting ideas on how to get the best out of people.”

“If they think they’ve got good luck on their side, they don’t think right,” Fortuna complained. “Thinking they’re on the knife’s edge makes them better.”

“Assuming they don’t panic and flail about,” Gaia cut in. “You remember that party in Luxor, right?”

“Hey, them summoning that sphinx was how the dice fell,” Fortuna laughed. “Would there have been such a fight if they thought things were weighted in their favor?”

“Don’t worry, I’m making sure they’re not in any more danger than they would be in a normal barrier,” Gaia assured Verida, turning Fortuna’s grin sour.

“Playing favorites,” the goddess of luck sulked. “Man, it’s no fun when things can’t swing all the way.”

“You’ll be fine,” Gaia said, wagging a finger at Fortuna. “John’s Gamer powers mesh well with yours, so things will still be a challenge. Plus, they don’t know I’ve got the safety net up, so they’ll be tackling things seriously.”

“Couldn’t you have just given John a normal quest?” Verida asked, weariness entering her voice. While she was still angry and ready to throw down to protect her friends and charges, Gaia hadn’t given her any reason to distrust her word, beyond keeping quiet about how she was keeping her tethered.

Gaia shrugged. “I was going to, but Forti wanted to see how he’d react to a ‘real’ situation.”

“If he knows it’s part of his powers doing it on their own, he’s got no reason to think anything’s going to be different,” Fortuna explained, her grin returning. “Now he thinks an ‘enemy’ is pulling the strings and will be a lot more serious. Which makes a far more interesting show.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with how cavalier you are with their lives,” Verida snapped, earning a pair of stares from her fellow goddesses.

“Right, you’re a more personal god,” Fortuna said after a moment. “Limited scope and focus.”

Verida’s eye twitched at the unintended insult.

“You have to understand, we’ve got a lot more people feeding into our powers,” Gaia remarked. “And we’ve been around for a long time. Getting attached to mortals, even ones that can have centuries-long lifespans, gets old after a while.”

“Then why the interest in John?” Verida asked. “Why give him powers that have you connected to them?”

Gaia laughed. “I think you’re reading too much into it. I didn’t give John his powers, no more than anyone else who develops magic. You could say his powers were calling out to some higher power to serve as an administrator, and it was a bit intriguing. Don’t want to say what could have happened if I didn’t plug myself in. Most likely, John would have had a lot less features until he leveled up enough.”

“So you're a cheat code?” Fortuna asked with a grin.

“I suppose that’s a way to put it,” Gaia admitted. “Now, are we going to keep chatting or shall we see what is happening down in the mines?”

As much as Verida wanted to continue to protest this, she knew it would be fruitless. And she wanted to see with her own eyes that everyone was unharmed at the moment. Holding back a sigh, Verida walked to the unoccupied chair and sat down.

“So how is this going to work?” she asked tersely.

“Glad you asked!” Fortuna said in a cheery voice, a pink light manifesting around her hand, fading to reveal a remote of some kind. The goddess of luck pressed a button and a number of screens appeared hovering in front of the blank wall. Within each, Verida saw her companions, all of them alone except for Teri and two of her clansmen. Confusion was clear on everyone’s faces.

“Seems everything’s up and running,” Gaia said with a grin. “Now, who should we focus on first?”