“You…”
Kayel heard the low growl before he could properly react. He was just standing in a random dark hallway, on his way to the canteen to grab some drinks, when something green and furry grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall. Instincts kicked in, and Kayel pulled himself through the nearest shadow, dragging his attacker with him, reappearing on the other side of the room. This disorientated them enough for Kayel to break free and properly assess what was going on.
“Uh, you know you’re not supposed to attack your employees, right?”
The Raptor shook her head, then turned back to Kayel, still snarling.
“You. You know the Thantophor, yes?”
“Um… I wouldn’t say ‘know’ but well, we’ve chatted a few times…” Kayel didn’t like how exposed he was. Sure, he had an out if he needed it, but there was something off about the Raptor. She seemed scared almost.
“You know where to find the Lord of Decay though, right?”
“Kinda? What is this about? Is something wrong?”
This time, the Raptor backed down a little bit. She stuck her hands in one of the pockets of her overly large hoodie, fishing around for something. She then pulled out several sheets of paper, which looked like cheaply printed flyers.
“I was woken up at midnight by my phone beeping at me, despite me having it on silent. I had forty messages, all saying the same thing, that I have been chosen. Chosen for what, I don’t know. I had to turn off my phone so I could go back to sleep. I wake up, there are forty flyers in my letterbox, saying the same thing. I check my email, there are forty messages also saying the same thing. I have forty missed calls from a number that makes no sense. But I call back and get nothing but static, and replying to the emails gives me a mail delivery error.”
The Raptor adjusted her hood. Kayel caught a glimpse of her eyes. She was clearly stressed out.
“You think Arkay is trying to contact you? Because, if I’m honest, he’s normally a lot more direct than that.”
“He is?”
Kayel nodded, doing his best to appear friendly. “Yeah, he kinda just knocks on the door politely like a normal being. Doesn’t mess around or anything, although he does kinda just disappear when he’s done with whatever he wants.”
The Raptor sighed. She wasn’t feeling any better. “So one of the other deities is trying to contact me…” The Raptor paused. A loud racket could be heard, some sort of deranged ringtone that Kayel couldn’t place. She pulled out her phone, glanced at the number then sighed before answering it. “Hello?”
No sound came from the phone, apart from an awkward static. The Raptor waited for several seconds before hanging up.
“That’s just weird…” Kayel muttered.
“I can’t even track the number. It just says ‘2’ and that’s it. That’s why I need your help. You know the Thantophor, you can help me find Him, help me get some answers.”
“It’s kinda not that easy though. Arkay just kinda pops by whenever he feels like it to keep an eye on us four. That being said, I haven’t seen him since he disappeared after we celebrated our first win.”
“When was that?”
Kayel thought to himself. “The fourteenth? Huh, that was like over a week ago. Arkay normally checks in on us at least once a week.”
“Why does he check in on you? Is it because of your abnormal healing abilities?” the Raptor asked.
“Something like that, yeah…”
Both the Skyan and the Ksithan trailed off. The Raptor’s phone started ringing again, but as she glanced at the number, this time round, she opted to decline the call. After a couple more seconds, the phone rang again and, again, she declined the call. Two more attempts, and the phone went silent.
“What is it with this universe and the number four?” Kayel muttered under his breath, unaware that the Raptor had heard him.
“It is the holy number. There are four deities, after all.”
“Still, it’s kinda obnoxious…”
The Raptor couldn’t help but agree. She sensed that Kayel was not at all religious, the way she was. A loss of faith, perhaps. The Raptor may have calmed down over the recent decades, but she did still visit the local temple and leave offerings to each of the deities.
“You no longer worship?” the Raptor eventually asked.
“Having met the gods in person, I kinda don’t want to any more, they seem as petty as the rest of us. Arkay in particular seemed to not like being worshipped.”
“It must be… unusual, knowing a divine being on a first name basis. Can you take me to meet Him?”
Kayel sighed. “It’s… uh… complicated.”
“How so?”
“Well, uh, like, I know where he lives, he literally lives down the road from my apartment. But, like, he kinda requested that we not bother him in his private space.”
The Raptor simply tutted. “I have some sort of deity pestering me about goodness knows what, rather than coming to me in person. I know the Thantophor has connections here in Palaestra, you are proof of that. If you can get the Thantophor to speak to me, maybe I can… work out what the gods want with me. Because this is getting… silly.”
“Heh…” Kayel found the Raptor’s choice of words pretty amusing. “Alright, I guess I can take you to see him. But before we go, I want to bring the guys with us.”
“You mean your team?” the Raptor seemed confused. “Why?”
Kayel laughed nervously. “We’re going to visit the God of Death. We ain’t going on our own. Like, Arkay is nice and all, but he did specifically tell us to not go to his apartment again.”
The Raptor sighed, then relented. “Fine. Go grab your team and meet me at my office. I want to go as soon as possible.”