Godsforsaken

 

Chapter 18: Mythic Quest

 

“Olympus has fallen,” Athena said.

Stunned silence followed.

The first one who found her bearings again was Selene. “What do you mean Olympus has fallen? How? When? Why?”

Athena sighed. “It happened two months ago. I was thankfully out at the time, investigating reports of this Holy Maiden you told me about. While I was gone an army invaded Olympus from an entrance nobody but us Olympians knows about.” She paused. “An entrance none but us should know about.”

“We had heard there might be a traitor among the gods," I muttered. “Guess it was one of the Olympians after all.”

“Where did you hear...?" Athena began, then shook her head. “No, wait, never mind. That's not important now. What is important is that my kin were caught completely unaware and were quickly overwhelmed.”

“That's what I don't get," Alisha said. “The Olympians are gods. What kind of army did it take to beat an entire pantheon of gods?”

“They aren't unbeatable," I said, looking Athena dead in the eyes. “They will revive if you kill them but that just means you have to restrain rather than kill them.”

Alisha, Selene, Anna, and the receptionist all stared at me. Yume just looked bored. We'd had this conversation before.

Athena, for her part, gave a grim nod. “It's as he said. They captured my kin, tied them down, and now they are torturing them, every day without end... That's what I need your help for, to save them from this torture.”

I snorted, then said, my voice cold as ice: “Poetic justice.”

“What?!" she snarled.

“So, those invaders restrained the Olympians and are torturing them day in and day out?" I asked, then spat: “Just like you lot did to Prometheus.”

Athena flinched.

Alisha, Selene and Yume looked beyond confused and Anna took pity on them:

“Prometheus is the god credited with stealing fire and knowledge from Olympus and giving it to the mortal races. Some legends also claim he was the one who created humans but last I checked every faith has a god that claims credit for that so it's best not to put too much stock in such claims. Either way, for his crimes Zeus had him tied to a rock where an eagle would peck out his liver every day. As Prometheus is immortal he would have healed by the next morning only for the ordeal to start all over again.”

“That's horrible!" Alisha said.

“It is," I said, then turned back to Athena. “So excuse me if I fail to see this as anything other than you lot getting what you deserve.”

Athena looked like she was on the verge of tears. “You're wrong," she said quietly.

“Wrong about what?" I asked. “This time it's different because it's the wrong people who are suffering?”

She shook her head. “No. I mean, Prometheus isn't being tortured.”

“Pardon?" I asked.

“Father did have him chained up, yes. And the eagle did eat his liver, yes. But most of us saw what a horrible fate it was and knew that the same thing might happen to us one of these days. So we petitioned father to cease his torture. Almost all of the Olympians agreed and so father relented. He converted Prometheus' sentence to imprisonment, but under the condition that we had to keep perpetuating the story that Prometheus was still being tortured every day, to deter others.”

“And I'm supposed to believe that?" I asked.

Athena took a deep breath, then placed a hand on her chest and said: “I, Athena of the Olympians, daughter of Zeus, hereby swear upon my power that Prometheus' torture only lasted a single day and that he has since been imprisoned on Mount Olympus.”

The oath settled into place... and nothing happened to her. She'd spoken the truth. Though it did make me wonder what would have happened if she'd lied. If you lied while swearing upon your own power that same power would start to rebel against you and this effect became more and more severe the more power someone had at their disposal. Would a lying god cause a cataclysm? How many catastrophes in our world had happened because of this? And what would it mean for the god in question? Would they simply revive and everything would be fine? Or would the turmoil of their power persist between revives, ruining their status as a god entirely?

I shook myself out of it. It was a fascinating topic to ponder but highly irrelevant to the matter at hand.

“So how is he being treated in prison?" I finally asked, assuming the Olympians were treating him like dirt.

“Not much different from any other god on Olympus. We each have our own part of the realm and so does he. The only difference is that, unlike us, he cannot leave Olympus when the mood strikes him. Him and I used to play chess together before...” Her eyes began welling up with tears and I was slightly surprised that she was capable of producing anything but crocodile tears.

“So, to bring us back on topic," Selene said, “what is it you expect us to do? An army capable of subduing all of the Olympians without killing them isn't something the five of us can handle.”

I was very curious about that as well. Charging in there as we were was essentially suicide. As I mentioned before the survival rate for Mythic Quests wasn't too terribly high but this was a bit beyond the pale even for Mythic Quests.

“Right," Athena said, clearly happy to change the topic. “What I want is for you to accompany me down into the underworld. I wish to ask the Heroes on the Elysian Fields for their support in taking Olympus back. Only then will we march on Olympus, accompanied by the strongest warriors this kingdom has ever seen.”

I considered that. “Not a bad idea. It helps even the field. Even all the Heroes on the Elysian Fields probably wouldn't be enough to make up for this army's numerical advantage but every one of them is strong enough to take a dozen weaker foes, so we'd have quality over quantity. Hold on, did you say we would accompany you? Not that you're sending us?”

“Of course," Athena said. “I can't stay here. Not only would it be unacceptable to send you down into the underworld alone, I also want your protection. If I die I reappear on Mount Olympus, where, I have no doubt, a group of enemies is waiting to grab me.”

I bit my lip. “If you accompany us, would we be able to count on your support in battle?”

“Of course," she said. “I cannot risk myself on the front lines but I would of course assist you in battle.”

“So essentially we'd be doing for her what my mother hired you all to do for me," Anna mused.

“So," I said. “What kind of army was it?”

“All kinds," Athena said. “Most of what I saw was orcs and goblins.” I shuddered just thinking about some of the goddesses being 'tortured' by goblins. Even if I couldn't stand most of them, no woman deserved the attention of goblins. “Except they looked weird.”

“Weird how?" I asked and then I remembered the last time I'd seen weird-looking orcs and goblins. “Yume? Can you show her the corrupted orcs and goblins that Dark Lord had with him?”

“Of course," the little fox said and a blue haze wafted from her to Athena. “Did they look like this?”

Athena's eyes went out of focus for a moment before she said: “Yes, that's exactly it. Those orange eyes... I could never forget those...”

As I feared, goblins with goat eyes. Yeah, that settled it. The cultists had found their next target.

I took a deep breath. “Well then, ladies. I suppose we just found out what Wilhelm's new prank was.”

“What do you mean?" Athena asked. “Who is Wilhelm?”

I frowned. “It's still the talk of the town. Are you seriously that out of touch?”

“I've been lying low, not sure who I could trust," she said, a tad defensively. “For all I knew everyone was against me. It took me quite some time to decide to trust the Adventurer's Guild even. So, what are you talking about?”

I looked back at Anna, asking with my eyes if she wanted to be the one to tell the story, and she nodded so I shut up and let her explain.

“I met Felix, Alisha, Selene and Yume because mother hired them to be my escorts. There had been something wrong with the Crystal Crown's dungeon and she sent us to investigate. We found out that a group of cultists of the Black Goat had been trying to corrupt one of the dungeon bosses so that it would spawn them an unlimited number of beasts loyal to their foul goddess that they wanted to overrun the capital with.”

By this point Athena's face had become white as a sheet.

Anna continued: “We managed to stop them, but one of the cultists got away. He seemed to know me personally and told us to look forward to their next prank. The day after we learned that this cultist was none other than my youngest brother Wilhelm, who had become one of this Holy Maiden's most powerful subordinates.”

“Prince Wilhelm is an Outsider cultist?" Athena asked.

I winced. Nobody was allowed to call him by that title anymore, but apparently nobody wanted to bring that up in front of Athena.

“So it would seem," Anna said quietly. She still hadn't quite come to terms with him trying to kill her.

Athena shook her head. “Be that as it may, it doesn't change anything about what I'm asking. So, will you assist me in saving Olympus?”

I took a deep breath. “Miss receptionist?" I asked.

“Yes?" she replied immediately.

“Would you leave us for a moment, so that we can talk terms with our client?”

She blinked. “Um, of course," she half said and half asked. Either way she made her way to the door and exited the room.

“Was it really necessary to make her leave the room?" Athena asked.

“It was, in fact," I said. “Why us?”

“Pardon?" she asked.

“Why ask us for help?" I asked. “Why would you ask us, of all people, knowing the history we share?”

She sighed. “As I said, I'm not sure who I can trust right now. And for all the differences we've had, you and your partners are the only people I absolutely know for a fact are working against these cultists.” She pressed her lips together and I was going to ask her if that was all but before I could she added, very quietly: “And of all the people I could have asked for help you are the ones I believe would be most likely to succeed.”

“I see," I said neutrally, but inside I was jumping for joy. Finally, after almost a decade of having her insult and belittle me and mine at every turn I finally had her right where I wanted her, right where I thought I would never, ever get her.

“So, will you help me?" she pressed.

I gave Athena a smirk. “You know, I just remembered something you said to me once.”

“And what would that be?" she asked.

My smirk turned into a wolfish smile. “You said, and I'm quoting you here, 'One of these days, Felix Tailor, you will kneel at my feet and beg for my help'.”

Her face paled and she stared at me, shock on her face. I had to give the goddess of wisdom credit. She knew exactly where I was going with this. “You can't be serious.”

I gave a quiet chuckle. “The Fates must be having a grand laugh right about now, wouldn't you agree? In all your arrogance you never expected that one of these days you would be the one to come begging for my help, did you?”

She ground her teeth.

I might have mentioned that I hadn't been very happy about the way we'd been interrupted tonight. Was it entirely fair to take it out on Athena after everything she'd been through? No. Was it right and proper to finally get some revenge for the way she'd been treating me the past decade? Absolutely. “So, what are you waiting for?" I asked. “You already know the proper way to ask for someone's help, don't you?”

I could see Selene, Yume and Anna staring at me wide-eyed, clearly wondering if I had a death wish. Alisha was smirking instead. I didn't know if it was just her unshakable faith in me or if she just enjoyed the reversal of fortunes. She had been there when Athena had told me that, after all.

Athena's face grew redder and redder and her breathing got more and more ragged. I was almost certain she was about to leap over the table and strangle me when she instead stood up stiffly and began to walk around the table. Her steps were very deliberate and with each one of them the redness spread further until nearly all her exposed skin was a rosy red color. I was sure she was about to slap me so hard my head would come flying off but then she slowly, deliberately, went down to her knees. She swallowed hard, then did it a second time, and then she leaned forward until her forehead was touching the ground, right in front of my booted foot.

“Please," Athena said in the most broken voice I'd ever heard from her. “Please help me. I can't do this on my own. I need your help.”

I swallowed hard. Despite the way I treated Alisha in bed I didn't consider myself to be cruel. What I did to my beautiful elf was, for the most part, for her benefit. Oh, I liked to get rough with my women and they liked it when I did, but we all knew that, at the end of the day, it was all just make-believe and that we cared for each other no matter how rough things got.

But seeing Athena debasing herself this way, begging in the most pathetic pose a person could take, made me rock hard, the frustration of being interrupted in the middle of sex entirely forgotten as I gazed at this goddess... no, this woman, groveling before me.

It was in that moment that something in me snapped.

I'd spent my entire childhood praying to Athena. After that I'd spent most of my adult life spiting her at every turn. But right then, right there, she was no longer an untouchable goddess. She was no longer an all-powerful deity who could destroy anyone who truly gave her reason to be angry. She was no longer the person I'd spent a decade loathing.

Right now she was nothing but a piece of meat. A filthy piece of meat groveling in the dirt before me. And I relished it far more than I had expected, far more than I should have.

I moved my boot closer to her face, not saying anything, not wanting to ruin the moment. The headspace she was in right then was perfect and saying anything would have ruined it.

She raised her head a little, just enough to look up at my boot but studiously keeping her gaze low so she wouldn't need to meet anyone's eyes.

Clearly there was still a bit of pride left in her because her breathing was growing more and more ragged, more and more furious, until her entire body was shaking. And then she craned her neck a little and lapped at my boot. It was a tiny lick, the kind a cat might use to test out if that milk you just served it had the perfect drinking temperature, but soon she followed it with another. And another. And then another.

Soon enough she was giving the tip and top of my leather boot long, slow licks with most of her tongue, the kinds of licks one might give a lover's slit.

I felt close to cumming in my pants just watching her debasing herself, my cheeks warm and my breathing hard and ragged.

She had clearly lost herself in the activity, letting the simple task of licking my boot occupy her mind so that she wouldn't have to think about her situation. It was a good tactic and likely necessary to make it through such humiliation with her sanity intact, but when she'd degraded herself enough for me I decided to remind her of her situation.

“That's enough," I told her, surprising myself with how gentle my voice was. “You can stop now.”

Her entire body jerked and even though I could barely see her face I could see it in her entire posture that the whole situation had just come rushing back to her. The redness had mostly receded but, reminded of her situation, it came rushing back with a vengeance, an almost crimson blush spreading over her cheeks.

It took her a moment to gather herself but once she had she sat up stiffly, then stood up, and then she walked all the way back to her chair and sat down in it again. She was beet-red and her eyes were darting around as if trying to anticipate who would be the first to make fun of her, but nobody did.

When she had regained a bit of her composure she finally asked: “So, will you assist me?”

I considered, long and hard, deliberately taking my time, her blush growing darker and darker. With each passing moment I could feel her embarrassment festering, turning more and more towards anger.

If I refused her now I was dead, no questions asked. If I told her to fuck off after humiliating her like that there would be no way she wasn't going to tear me limb from limb for my insolence. But I still considered it. Right now I had more power over an Olympian than any mortal had ever had and I could snub her in a way nobody had dared to snub a god before.

But... It wasn't just my decision, was it?

“Alisha? Selene? Yume? Anna? What do you think? Should we assist her?”

I had expected Athena to get angry at the question, but she actually looked a little impressed with me. Had she thought I didn't value their input?

Selene was the first to speak up. “We've been looking for these cultists for months and we've barely found a trace. Now we know for sure where they are. We aren't getting a better opportunity than this. I say we do it.”

“I think mother would be more than a little impressed with me if I managed to win the gratitude of the Olympians," Anna said. “I'm in.”

“You once told me fending off the Outsiders and their spawn is our duty," Alisha said. “So of course we are going to.”

I nodded and looked over at Yume. “Ares," she said quietly. “I will not, under any circumstances, help Ares. I'd rather die than lift a finger to help him.”

“Understandable," Athena said.

“Then so long as we are understood, yes I am willing to help as well.” I knew of course that Yume was hoping that Ares might be the traitor who had sold the Olympians out, but it wouldn't do to level such accusations. Wishful thinking made for poor evidence.

I looked at all of them once more and nodded. Then I asked into my mind: Syr, how about you?

There is a chance that she might be there, Syr replied. And we still don't have a way to deal with her that doesn't involve destroying my body.

I winced. That could be bad.

Yes, she said. But it would be even worse to let them go unchecked. So don't hesitate on my behalf.

… Alright, if you're sure, I said.

I am, she said.

I looked back up at Athena, hoping she hadn't thought anything of my weird pause in the conversation. “It appears we've all accepted your quest. I suppose now we can discuss payment.”