“So, before we go off gallivanting across the universe in my ship, we need a plan.”
Phovos was clearly a little excited. She’d invited everyone round to her newly rebuilt home, ordered in some sort of takeaway meal for everyone and bought plenty of drinks.
“Kayen, what’s the mission?”
Kayen looked around the room nervously. He’d had no idea where to begin with this whole thing he had to do for the nice Goddess and spent the last day or so just worrying.
“We, uh, need to find Arkadin. And convince him to come out of hiding. If that’s why he disappeared.”
Kohra blinked. “We have to find Arkadin? He could be… literally anywhere.”
“Anywhere in the entire universe…” Timik added.
“I know, I know!” Phovos smiled calmly. “It sounds like a daunting task. Especially since I don’t have that much money for fuel. But we’re not completely stumped!”
“We kinda are…” Kayen murmured. “Kinisis gave me this impossible task because she seems to think I’m the only being who cares about him. But she’s, like the Goddess of Everything and even she doesn’t know where she is.”
Timik reached for a plastic tub filled with meat and sauce and scooped out a serving with his spoon. “She wants you to find him with the power of love. Clearly.”
“Love doesn’t come with a tracking device or a map, Timik!” Kayen snapped. “This is why I’m still fucking single at 26. I should be out working a real job and spending time with other Skyans, looking for a boyfriend, rather than doing this!”
“Well don’t do it then!” Timik shrugged. “What’s she gonna do to you if you can’t find Arkadin? Kill you?”
“She might…” Kohra muttered.
“The Thantophor’s missing!” Timik smirked.
Phovos grunted as she helped herself to some food. “Kairos is doing the job instead. That’s why I haven’t seen him much lately.”
“Can a time god do that?” Kohra blinked. “He’s… He’s the Whenvern. He doesn’t… deal with that sort of thing.”
“Death and decay are just the results of forward time!” Phovos tutted. “I mean, it’s better that Kairos do it rather than Kayar-Yisini. She seems the most unstable out of all of them. Anyway, we’re getting distracted. Yes, sure, Arkadin COULD be anywhere but there are places we should check first. Just like most beings, Arkadin isn’t welcome everywhere and he has places he lives and places he likes to go.”
“So we make a list of those places and check them first?” Timik asked.
Phovos smiled. “Essentially, yes! We’ll most likely find him somewhere where he normally goes anyway.”
Kayen sighed. “So we start at the old Dessaron HQ, then we check his own place via the magic key thing… then what?”
“Well…” Phovos thought for a moment. “There are places that worship the Thantophor, places he might consider to be safe spaces. Not just Ksithan temples but the odd ancient Threavok Kklisias maybe. And then there’s Banikan territories-”
“We’re NOT going to Banikan worlds!” Timik snapped. “That’s dangerous as fuck!”
“We could go to that cult that helped us up after we escaped Yisini’s place though?” Kohra suggested. “They seemed like they had a pretty good connection with the Thantophor.”
“Alright…” Phovos started writing things down. “So we’ll try around here first, since Arkadin likes my city. Then we’ll try his place. Then we’ll try some temples in Ksithan areas and some stuff like that, then worst case scenario we try the Banikans.”
“We should also take a load of things that Arkadin likes, maybe try and lure him out!” Kohra added. “He’s probably hungry and lonely, out there on his own.”
“Cool!” Phovos clapped her hands together then turned to Kayen. “So, we all happy with the plan?”
Kayen grunted. “Yeah, sure…”
“You don’t sound happy about it…”
“I’m fine…” Kayen sighed. “It all just feels like a waste of time, that’s all…”