While the castle’s exterior had been rather soft and pink, the interior was far more brutal in design. Cold, grey brick illuminated by dim, pink flames just floating against the walls. At least the floor was rather cosy, consisting of pink, fluffy shag rugs scattered all over the place, in no real order or fashion. Few other decorations were seen, although a handful of shelves had been nailed to some walls, and each one was overflowing with cute, colourful plushies.
The castle’s main dining hall seemed no better. A stark contrast between feminine and heavy, cruel designs. As if the castle’s owner, the incredibly fleshy and feminine Calohxaa, had never quite finished redecorating.
“Why are we doing this again?” Litvir muttered as they traipsed down various hallways, making their way to the castle’s centre.
“To get permission to put this… place on general maps, so no one else has to come here…” Galyn explained. The way he was speaking however suggested that he both did not want to be here either, but nor did he want to upset their Life Goddess host. “We will sit down with her, discuss this topic and get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Hmph!” Retvik interrupted, crossing his arms in bemusement. “Your tone suggests you are at unease, Galyn!”
Galyn grunted. “Because I am. Life Goddesses can be insanely dangerous. Calohxaa does not seem so, but, well, there is a reason why we keep Arkay far, far away from his mother… Anyway, should Calohxaa offer us anything to eat or drink, simply ask for water. Just in case…”
“Just in case what, dearie?”
The Elder Decay Lord paused. Calohxaa had stopped in her tracks, turned around and was now staring rather menacingly at Galyn. She seemed pretty insulted by Galyn’s recommendation.
“Because… because these two are former mortals, and have rather sensitive stomachs. Unfortunately, what you may call a cup of tea might not be very healthy for them.”
“But they are immortal Decay Lords, like yourself!” Calohxaa didn’t seem to believe Galyn.
“Yes, but that does not make them immune to stomach infections.”
The gigantic Life Goddess continued to stare. There was a very obvious snarl across her face. “You have no trust in me? And please, do not lie.”
Galyn sighed, then shook his head. “You want my honesty?”
“Yes.”
“Very well. Unfortunately, Life Goddess and Voidborn attacks on Decay Lords has increased ten-fold in the last period, so we cannot automatically trust other beings, as much as we would like to. At least, not until they prove themselves… unwilling to immediately try and kill us. And, if I am truly honest, I have met quite a few Life Goddesses in my overly long past who have tried to poison or corrupt us.”
The nude Life Goddess was not amused. She grabbed Galyn by the neck and effortlessly threw him across the grand dining hall, sending him flying into a pile of silverware and chairs.
Immediately, Litvir and Retvik drew their weapons, stepping away from the pissed off Life Goddess.
“Well now, you are just proving Galyn’s point!” Litvir tutted, readying his gun-staff. “We had our concerns about trusting you and you went ahead and proved we could not!”
Calohxaa snarled, snapping her fingers at the two Decaylings. “You could have at least given me the benefit of the doubt! I only wanted to invite you in for tea because I wanted some visitors! But no, you had to judge me!” The Life Goddess blinked, then giggled to herself. “Why would I try and poison you dearies anyway? This domain in its entirety is mine to control, so I can just bend both you and it to my will!”
Again, Calohxaa snapped her fingers. For the Decay Lords, everything briefly glowed pink and billowed in purple dust, before fading away. At least, it did for Litvir, as he shook his head to clear the purple plumes away.
“Oh. You are a little Psion…” Calohxaa frowned, rolling her eyes at Litvir. “Awkward little being to mind-control. Oh well…” The Life Goddess turned her attention to Retvik, whose eyes were now glowing that same shade of pink. “Retvik, dear, are you under my control now?”
There was a brief moment of hesitation, as Retvik clearly seemed to be trying to fight off Calohxaa’s influence. The struggle didn’t last long though. The fire-born Decay Lord nodded his head, looking confused but compliant.
“Yes, my Lady.”
“Ah, good!” Calohxaa’s mood immediately perked up. “Anyway, I’m gonna go and play around with your mentor. Would you mind killing your buddy here for me, dearie?”
“Why?” Retvik asked.
“Oh, I don’t know, little one. I’m sure you can probably think of a reason though…” Calohxaa beamed, patting Retvik on the head. The Life Goddess then turned to the other Decaylinig and- “Oh. Where did he go?”
Litvir cursed under his breath as he raced down the hallway and disappeared around the corner, desperately trying to remember the path back to the entrance.
“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck…”