Intruders

“So what’s up with you anyway?” Artemis asked. The two of you are out for a stroll down the streets of Tarentum, the midday sun still providing plenty of warmth, despite the fact that it had recently crossed over into winter. You say nothing to your vulpine lover, letting the warmth of the sun wash over you as you walk. Something was wrong with today, you’d noticed it a couple days ago and it was only getting worse.

“Oooh, the butchers have some meat on display” Artemis cooed, all but skipping her way over. The markets of Tarentum, once having had a deluge of luxurious commodities grace it’s busy halls, was only just now starting to rejuvenate. The few stalls that were open needed to hire criers to shout over the empty space of the markets so that people knew what was actually open.

The meat market was a rather new addition, pork had been the majority of what graced its counters but today they had some new type of meat, one you hadn’t seen before.

“Where has this come from?” you demand, noting immediately the dark skin colour of the flesh on display. The woman behind the counter of the stall started for a moment before fixing a trade standard customer service smile.

“It’s from that new beast that the legion brought with it” she told you as happily as she could.

“I’m aware it’s quiphant meat, but where did you get it?” you demand, striving hard to keep the sheer rage out of your voice. Beside you, Artemis gave a startled gasp as she realised what had happened.

“I don’t see what the problem is?” the woman asked, a frown on her face.

“The animal is sacred!” Artemis said, stepping back from the stall. The woman snorted in derision as she turned away.

“Only to heathens” she retorted “As the bible says, all creatures are at the mercy of man to be done with as we please” she explained.

“Perhaps” you say “And this is the only thing sparing you right now” you add, causing the woman’s eyes to widen as she looks at you in disbelief. “All quiphants belong to me for a start, I loan them to people to use” you explain. “I’m aware of your beliefs, I’m aware of your philosophies, but we do not possess an overabundance of these beasts of burden upon the backs of which we are reconstructing this city’s economy!” you continue “A creature such as this can be used to plow an entire field of grain come the spring” you state “Would you rather the harvest of that field next year? Or a bit of meat today that will spoil before the week is out? Especially since salt is at a premium, and has already largely been used up by the housewives salting the pork in the fall” you ask, staring directly into the eyes of the woman until she flinched and looked away.

“I hadn’t realised” she muttered quietly. “I don’t know where it came from, My husband came home with a haunch” she told you “he wouldn’t tell me where he got it either” she added “I thought it strange, but I also thought it would sell” she said, looking up at you.

“It would be . . . wasteful to not use this now,” you say, wanting desperately to say a lot more to that end. The thought of eating what you’ve been seeing as practically your children made you sick to your core, like you’d throw up at any moment. “Nothing too high above cost, don’t make this mistake again, we didn’t gift our animals to the city, this is poached meat at the best” you tell the woman who nodded grimly, she knew she had inadvertently committed a crime.

“Well what are we to do now?” asked the silver goddess.

“You are the goddess of the hunt are you not?” you ask, turning to look at your lover “We hunt”.

****

“Why should I tell you anything!” the man snapped. You had cornered the husband of the meat seller and now had him against a wall. The best part about being a god is that you could get as loud as you wanted and nobody around would hear, to the man, they would look apathetic.

“Because YOU, my friend, are a poacher” you say, folding your arms as you stare the man down, your eyes burning with the apocalyptic rage building up inside of you.

“You got any proof of that?” the man asked, a smug grin on his face.

“Your wife sold you out in seconds” Artemis replied, casually leaning against the wall while pretending to test the edge of her sword.

“Hah! Gonna let your woman talk instead?” the man jeered only to gasp in pain as you jam your fist into his gut.

“You should pray she is the one to speak” you whisper into the man’s ear while he’s bent over. “I like to talk with my sword when I’m angry” you add.

“The fuck is wrong with you!” the man gasped, desperately trying to get air into his lungs.

“SOMEONE HAS STOLEN, KILLED AND BUTCHERED MY ANIMALS!!!!” you roar. The man was positively shaking now as you grab him by the chin and lift him up until he’s eye level. “The meat is in your shop, and since I haven’t gifted or sold my animals to the city or any butchery in it, THAT is proof enough of your crime and the punishment for poaching is time spent in prison” you say, a sneer on your face as the man realises he might not make it out of this alleyway alive. “I will give you a chance to tell me what I want to know before I hand you over to Dumont and ask HIM to give me the information I want” You tell him “Where. Did. You. Get. the meat?” you ask, though quite, your voice hammered home as if you had shouted every word.

“The Church! They said it was a blow against the heathens! It would bring them into the light of the church! I was just doing my bit!” the man explained in a panicked voice.

“Thank you” you say, a smile that was decidedly not nice playing across your face. “But the punishment for poaching is still imprisonment” you add.

“No please! My wife needs me!” he begged.

“Should have thought of that before you committed crimes” Artemis piped up “Criminals are always so surprised when they get arrested for their crimes” she added, shaking her head.

The stamping of hobnailed boots drew your attention as a squad of legionnaires arrived.

“This the trash?” the lead legionnaire asked, looking over the man you are still holding to your own eye level as if he was a shit someone had taken on the barracks floor.

“Get him to Dumont, make sure he knows what the crime was” you order, throwing the refuse at the Legionnaires’ feet. A pair of soldiers rushed forward and grabbed the man by his tunic, hauling him to his feet before dragging him off while the leader snapped a salute.

“So now we go to this church” Artemis said as the legionnaires rounded the corner and out of sight. “This feels like a problem,” she added.

“Churches do tend to have association with angels and Christian rituals” You reply as you send a message out to both Fortuna and Andraste.

“You don’t think there’s an angel here in Tarentum? Under our noses?” Artemis asked, eyes wide in surprise.

“We shall soon see” you reply, summoning your armour. Artemis hurriedly followed suit.

****

“The sun is setting” you comment as you observed the church before you. It wasn’t a cathedral or anything, but the two towers that framed the three story entrance arch were at least six stories tall. Of course, a pair of large wooden doors barred the interior of the church from your eyes.

“I’ll be stronger” Artemis replied, her bow in hand and an arrow already notched. “Should we wait for the other two?” she asked.

“They’ll be here when it matters most, Fortuna has a tendency to arrive exactly when it’s most fortuitous” you reply, giving your drawn sword a look.

“Then there is nothing more to it but to . . . see what’s inside” Artemis said, a hitch in her voice.

“We have the numbers, but most importantly you have me” you say, trying to assure the girl. You put a hand on her armoured shoulder and look deep into her eyes. “This won’t end badly” you declare. Artemis took a deep breath and then nodded. With this out of the way, the two of your strode with purpose towards the double doors of the church.

With a creaking groan, the two of you push open the doors in unison and reveal what awaited you inside.

“Welcome!” chirped a friendly voice from the other end of the church. This, combined with the sounds of the dozens of people having dinner, instantly put you on guard. The pews inside of the church had been removed and, in their place, two long tables ran either side of the walk way. Behind these tables were men and women, all with glassy eyes as they ate, freakishly empty smiles on their faces. You noticed some were even drooling slightly as though they hadn’t even the mental faculties to stop this. At the other end of the church, where the altar should be, was the cheerful man who had greeted you. Sitting at a king’s high table with a golden chalice of wine and a heaping portion of quiphant meat, just like was on the plates of every man and woman present.

“I would offer you some but I think you’ve plenty already” the man said with a malicious grin.

“I hope you realise that you aren’t running back to your master” you say in a surprisingly calm voice.

“Hah! You think to kill me? ME?” the man retorted, slamming his chalice down before bursting out in psychotic laughter. You and Artemis exchanged looks before focusing your attention back on the man.

“You live, therefore you die” you declare “So it is written, so shall it be, all that begins, must end” you say. A distant gong strike accompanied your words as if an unseen weight had put itself behind them.

“Bah!” the man responded “All that is created by my Master is all that shall remain!” he declared but no gong or gavel gave his words weight.

“Meaningless air driven before a meaningless servant of a meaningless god” you say. The man growled as he slowly rose from his seat. You grip your sword tightly as you prepare for a fight but then the man slammed back into his seat with a roar of laughter. He stopped after a moment and noticed he was the only one laughing before looking around at the mind blanked people.

“Laugh, you miserable lot! Laugh!” he commanded and, as one, the assembly all began to laugh in a mechanical unison. The man sat back, putting his feet up on the table and getting his shoes in the steaming pile of quiphant meat. You took a deep breath as your anger became too much.

With a roar you dash forward, using your god power to propel yourself at hyper velocities. You crash through the table near instantly only to find that the man wasn’t there. The clang of a sword parrying an arrow sounded from behind you and you twisted around to see the man flying, white wings flapping casually beside him.

“Oh how fun! This will be just like the last time around won’t it dear?” the man said, staring right at Artemis.

“Last time you had us five to two” the silver goddess spat.

“Last time you had Mars . . . now I have mars . . . he was fun to break and so shall you be,” the man said before rounding on you and flicking his hand in a contemptuous wave. A blast of energy slammed into you, attempting to wash over your godly power like a blanket, but alas, he was far too weak to consider doing that.

“Is that how you do it? Smother your enemy in your power and then slowly squeeze them until you are in their mind?” you ask. The man froze before slowly twisting in mid air to look at you.

“How are you not incapacitated?” the man asked “Artemis almost broke the first time we fought, I’d completely caught her in but a moment and here you are as if it didn’t even bother you” he commented. You take a brief glance at Artemis who shuddered in disgust before notching another arrow and letting loose. The man caught the arrow, still not paying Artemis any attention as he studied you.

“If you want that answer, then I shall give it” you say, unleashing your full godly might on the man. Normally, you’d expect this to vaporise a small planet, but this man took the hit in a stride. Or at least, he was only blasted through the front wall of the church.

You and Artemis wasted no time in chasing the man down, finding him in a small trench dug into the paved ground outside.

“This brings back memories” Artemis quipped as she watched the angel groan and pick himself out of the hole you had dug him into.

“You seem to have found yourself in a rut, do you need a hand?” you ask in a monotone voice

“How horribly amusing the both of you are!” the angel retorted, flapping his wings and taking to the sky. As you are watching, two streaks of white appeared on either side of him and suddenly two more angels were present.

“This just got a little bit more even” you comment idly as you glance over the newcomers.

“Hah! More even? We have you outnumbered now! Three to one!” the psychotic angel called out. You frown at this before turning to look at Artemis, concerned he did his thing to her. You saw the silver goddess begin shaking and worry flickered in your chest. It was needless though, a blast of moonlight erupted from the girl and rage shone in her eyes.

“That only works once” your lover growls.

“Artemis?” you say, putting a hand on her shoulder. The girl looked at you in surprise “we’re fucking tonight” you say casually. A peal of the most magical and beautiful laughter escaped the girl as the two of you readied your weapons.

“I’m afraid our much vaunted leader is correct!” a new voice sounded out “It is only a little more even than before!” and the psychotic angel narrowly avoided a thrown spear, the tip slicing his cheek ever so slightly. As the spear point passed him, a flash of light took its place and Andraste appeared, holding her spear. Twisting in mid air, she slammed the shaft of her weapon into the angel and sent him back a few meters as she fell.

You observed the woman and noticed she was wearing trousers, maille over padded leather and a Celtic helm with two feathers stuck on the top.

“And where have YOU been hiding my dear?!” the angel sneered, his own sword flashing to hand.

“Hiding? I do not hide” Andraste stated “For I am Andraste! Goddess of Victory!” she declared.

“Never heard of you” the angel replied with a deadpan.

“Yes, I get that a lot” Andraste replied with a sigh before deflecting the gleaming spear point of one of the two other random angels. “YOU” she snapped “Should learn your place” she said before disarming the angel, kicking his knee out, slamming the shaft of her spear into him and then jamming the point into his torso, killing the angel in a couple of seconds.

“Victory indeed” The psychotic angel commented, a grin you didn’t like forming on his face.

“Don’t bother with such magics” Andraste scoffed “such magics are known in my part of the world” she added. “And I AM the goddess of rebels after all” she said with a grin.

“You’re the reason that accursed island is never truly conquered!” the psychotic angel sneered before abruptly grinning “another one?” he asked as Fortuna stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight. “My it seems I am now outnumbered,” he said with a giggle. “Or am I dear Fortuna?” he asked.

“Yes, you are” the spitfire said calmly. The angel’s expression changed immediately and, with a roar of pure rage, he charged Fortuna. You stepped in and slammed the creature with your godly power, smashing him into the ground.

“Outnumbered and outmatched” You say with a deadpan. The angel picked himself up from the ground, golden ichor seeping from several wounds he’d acquired in that last slam.

“It t-took everything I had just to stop you the last time!” he gasped, obviously in a lot of pain “how do you have the strength to do that again?” he asked, eyes wide in fear as he realised he was actually outmatched. You glance over at the other angel only to see Andraste spearing the poor thing.

“I am Solus Augustus, Lord of the Sun” you say “And master of this Pantheon” you add. You collect your godly power once more and slam it into the psychotic angel again, and again, and again. After a while, Artemis simply loosed an arrow into the mess of what used to be a recognisable human and you finally stopped beating him. Of course, by this point there was a massive creator in the courtyard outside of the church but still.

“I think he’s dead dear husband of mine” Artemis commented, lightly putting a hand on your arm.

“He killed my quiphants” you replied, getting ready to slam another blast of your might into the corpse.

“They have been avenged,” she told you, pressing herself into your side. With a sigh you sheath your sword and wrap your arms around the silver goddess.

You cast your attention over towards Fortuna who still stood at the edge of the crater, staring down into it at the bloody mess that used to be the angel.

“We will have words about this later” you tell her. It hadn’t escaped your attention that she had watched the angel die. She hadn’t blinked or looked away, and even now, stood stoically like she was at a funeral. The girl merely nodded before turning around and walking off.

“That was most . . . unpleasant,” Andraste said calmly, her spear resting on her shoulder as she surveyed the damage.

“We won” Artemis replied “How is that unpleasant?” she asked.

“The inhabitants of the church are all dead” Andraste informed you. “They look like puppets with their strings cut,” she added.

“Unpleasant” you say quietly. With a flex of your godly power, you begin searching for Sabine, wondering why she wasn’t at the church. The answer to that question revealed itself rapidly in the form of a barrier you hadn’t noticed. Even as you observe it, the barrier fades, suggesting it was being held by the angel you had just killed. “I’m going to go find Sabine” you say quietly. Artemis nodded “Coming with?” you ask, nuzzling her head. The girl nodded again and the two of you teleport in a flash of gold and silver.

****

“What have we here?” you ask as you enter what looked like some kind of ritual chamber. Sabine and her father were sitting in the middle of the ritual circle. Both looked somewhat tired, but upon hearing your voice, Sabine leapt to her feet, eyes tearing with emotion.

“You’re here! I knew you’d come!” Sabine told you, tears now spilling down her cheeks. You noticed she wasn’t wearing her headdress and that her amulet was out as if she had been clutching it.

“I was slightly distracted” you comment, “I’d have noticed sooner otherwise” you add.

“All is good,” Adrien said, slowly getting to his feet. Sabine caught his arm and helped him up, concerned in her eyes. “I fear our new friend has been a little harsh, but I suspected his demise when whatever devilry he had cast was swept aside” the priest told you.

“What happened?” you asked, looking down at the ritual circle, it almost looked like Hebrew script.

“The angel came to me . . . he revealed my daughter’s hidden faith and thus I confronted her” Adrien told you “We spoke at length and every moment a voice in my head told me I had to stop her, to shut her up, to bend her to my will” he explained “When the voice turned into a scream in my head I knew it was not god, but the devil” he said, stopping to gather his breath. “It took some doing but I banished it from my mind and my daughter continued speaking” he continued. “You are a pagan god then?” he asked. You nod in response. “Is god real?” he asked.

“The Jews have the right of it, Christ is a pretender” you say and the man nodded.

“Well obviously that path isn’t open to me . . . they don’t accept converts” he said with a tired grin. “What of the church?” he asked.

“You’re it” you say. Adrien sighed, leaning on his daughter more heavily.

“The nuns?” she asked in fear.

“Only the adults were killed” you say “I don’t know the number of you but there didn’t seem to be many youths and young adults” you add.

“We will have to see, and . . . account for the dead,” Adrien near whispered.

“The terror has been slain, I will work on countermeasures to ensure this never happens again” you say. Adrien nodded but you could see he was dead on his feet. “Get some rest, things won’t happen if you collapse anyway” you instruct. The man merely nodded again.

“Come father, I’ll . . . get you someplace warm” she said with a moment of hesitation. She glanced in your direction and you nod in approval, making sure that the Dawn Pavilion was converted into a small house with seperate rooms.

“At least they were safe” Artemis commented.

“Yeah” you reply. “I can’t tell if we won or lost” you add.

“We won, that was one of His greatest lieutenants, it was a major blow” the silver goddess replied

“I guess” You reply “Let’s get some rest” you say “It’s been a long day with a lot of power being thrown around” you add.