“WHERE IS SHE?”
The gold-horned, gold-robed, all-round golden demon bashed on the front door of the mansion. It was a Voidborn, and one hat was a little to big to even fit inside the main entrance hall. Yet it demanded the attention of the Life Goddess that supposedly lived there.
After a few more loud, grumpy knocks, the front door creaked open and a head peeked out. The Voidborn seemed to smile briefly, but its anger quickly returned.
“YOU ARE NOT ATHANATEA!”
“I’m not. Who are you?” The Voidborn wasn’t sure what this being was. It looked like a Decay Lord but smelled like a Life Goddess.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN ATHANATEA’S HOME?”
“Oh, did you not get the memo?” the being asked. “She moved out. Sold this patch of space to me. She doesn’t live here any more.”
“WHERE DID SHE GO?”
The little creature hesitated and crept back inside briefly, before opening the door fully. However, they remained in the doorway, barring entrance to the Voidborn.
“I’m… not supposed to say…”
“WHY? I WANT TO APOLOGISE TO HER. I HAVE FLOWERS!” The Voidborn waved his hand, summoning a large bouquet of pink and white lilies. “I WAS WRONG. SHE WAS RIGHT.”
With some more hesitation, the little creature peered behind her. The Voidborn knew she was not alone, but the other beings it could sense were Decay Lords, probably bodyguards or something.
“I… I shouldn’t… But I could, like… give you an idea?
The look on the Voidborn’s face lit up. “YOU CAN?”
“Yeah, let me just…” A hand that seemed to be on fire reached in from the little Life Goddess’s side, shoving a piece of paper into her own hands. “Thanks dear… Here you go. This should help you find her. But I’ll admit, this is just where she was, she may have moved on and gone elsewhere, she wasn’t exactly clear.”
The Voidborn beamed, very pleased to at least have some information. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP, STRANGE, UGLY LIFE GODDESS!”
Before any more words could be said, the Voidborn vanished, taking the paper and bouquet with it.
With a snarl, Arkay slammed the front door shut, then locked it up, double-checking the chain and dead-bolts.
“You are not ugly, Arkay…” Retvik muttered.
“Yeah, to you, maybe. That’s the third Voidborn today who has stomped around, asking for our protection target, and I’ve had to lie through my teeth to! And it’s the SECOND one to call me an ugly Life Goddess!”
The sound of gushing air whispered through the room as Athanatea descended, her hand outstretched towards Arkay.
“Your friend is right, dear, you are not ugly at all!” the true Life Goddess smiled. “The issue is that most Voidborn are, to put it politely, selfish assholes, set in backwards ways.”
“They are all interested in you though!” Arkay protested. “How many ex-boyfriends are we going to have to deal with?”
Athanatea simply continued smiling. She touched down next to Arkay, gently patting him on the head. “Oh, only a couple more at most. They are all crawling out of the woodwork. Must want to help me with my Xanagenysis. I do not need their piddling help though. Just the protection Decay Lords provide!” The Life Goddess’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Although if you want to help, Arkay…”
“I’m good thanks, I don’t want to help…” Arkay tutted, changing the subject. “Anything we need to know about these other Voidborn beings that might pay you a visit?”
The Life Goddess shrugged, not bothered by Arkay’s annoyance. “Oh, no. Your cute lie should work on them both no problem. I was sceptical when your application form said you had two psionic Decayons and a halfling, but you’ve all been very, very good so far! Carry this up, and I might give you a fat, juicy tip.”
The way Athanatea phrased that last sentence bothered Arkay slightly, but he decided to let it slide, if only for the benefit of his friends.
“Alright…” Arkay sighed. “Guess we’ll get back to standard protection duty in the mean time…”