Mountain of the Immortals

At that exact moment, Ares pushed the heavy wooden door open, and we both slid inside the temple. The interior was very dark and while Ares slowly closed the door behind us, I tried to acclimate to the new light conditions. Within a few seconds I understood that the reason everything was so dark was because we were standing in a sort of pre-chamber, surrounded by heavy velvet drapes.

Once I parted them, I could see the entire interior of the building. It looked even larger from the inside and we were at almost the complete opposite side of the main entrance. The temple was filled with dark, heavy wooden beams that were covered in etched runes and magical lights hung from the high ceiling. As lively as the festivities were outside of the building, the atmosphere inside held a certain level of mysticism and devoutness.

Ares peeked out of the curtains from right underneath me and once we were sure that nobody was looking, we stepped out and hid behind one of the largest wooden pillars that was thick enough to obscure both of us.

Pressing our backs against the wall, we were faced with a large stained glass facade that--despite the darkness outside--still managed to throw colorful shades of light on the ground before us. The window depicted a man holding a double axe very similar to the one the guards had been holding. The man was standing on top of another man who looked like he was crying.

"Is that--" I whispered to Ares.

"Modi standing on top his brother, Magni," he replied, before I even finished my question.

"Wow," I mouthed. "These two really don't get along."

"And they act like brats," he said.

"You guys are inside?" Aphrodite asked in the guild chat.

"We are," I replied. "What were you guys thinking, stabbing each other like that?"

"We didn't," Artemis responded. "Those were retractable blades."

"Just tell us when you want us to get their attention again," Aphrodite said.

"Okay, going in now," I said. I focused back on Ares who was talking to me.

"You see that altar?" he said, and pointed further down the corridor to the point that was illuminated by the tallest point of the stained glass window. "I'll go and leave the weapon there."

"What about that big fucking rune in front of it?" I asked, looking at a colossal symbol carved into the floor just behind the marble altar.

"I've got no idea what it can do," he said, "and that's why I need you. I'll need to go from one column to the other to avoid stepping on it. But I won't be able to keep an eye on all the followers and priests that are walking around further down the temple at the same time."

"So you need me to tell you when you can move and when to stop?" I said.

"Exactly right," he replied, and knelt on the ground. "Ready?"

"Sure, go," I said.

I rolled my eyes as I understood that this had been his exact plan all along. He didn't just want to see how I would behave in a situation like this. He just needed someone to do exactly what he'd tasked me with doing. As much as I didn't like it, we did need him for my cause. Still, I made a mental note to iron out his shortcomings when we returned to Mount Olympus.

Ares moved behind the next pillar and looked at me, waiting for my signal to move on. I looked at the mass of followers conversing with the priests and giving them gifts of all sorts and sizes--from weapons and armor to vegetables, fruit, and even some live animals that I didn't recognize.

"Now," I mouthed.

As he rushed forward, one of the priests happened to turn to place a large helmet on a table behind him. He almost caught sight of Ares, who was only able to avoid it by falling on his knees and sliding to his next bit of cover, which was now only two pillars away from the altar. As soon as the priest turned his back to us again, I let Ares know the coast was clear and he moved a few steps closer to it.

Since nobody now looked like they were paying any attention to the back of the temple, I signaled to Ares again and he rushed forward. Luckily, nobody turned to look and Ares was soon standing behind the last pillar, only a few steps away from the altar.

He then proceeded to take the knuckles out of his inventory and waited for me to give him the go-ahead. To my surprise, one of the priests walked further away from the tables on which they were placing the offerings of the followers, and headed straight toward the altar carrying a chain-mail shirt.

I opened my eyes as wide as possible and tilted my head, trying to make Ares understand that someone was coming. I tried to mime the action of him hiding back behind the pillar again and he seemed to understand. As the priest got closer, I slowly moved my hand around the other side of my other arm, showing him that he should move around the pillar to avoid being seen by the priest. There was of course the risk that anyone else in the temple at that moment might have been able to see him instead. Luckily, Ares understood exactly what I was trying to communicate and he moved exactly how I showed him, keeping as low as possible to minimize the chances of being seen by the other people at the front of the large room.

The priest walked up to a small basket right next to the pillar Ares was hiding behind, threw the shirt into it and turned his back, making his way to the main entrance again. Ares, who was still looking at me via a small piece of mirror he was holding around the corner of the pillar, moved back to the other side at the rate I indicated to him.

To my satisfaction, nobody caught him and we were finally able to continue with his reverse stealing plan.

"Go," I mouthed, and he went to the altar, placed the weapon on it, and swiftly made his way back.

We had to be faster than before now, because if someone noticed the new addition to the offerings to their god, they would no doubt flock around it and find Ares. Having made sure that nobody was looking, I signaled at him and he started across the open space between the last pillar and the one before it.

Just as he hid behind it, a bright cyan light shone from the rune on the floor, and the sounds of something activating echoed around the high walls of the temple. Ares' face was a mix of surprise and shock, and I glanced at the rest of the people in the temple to try and understand what was going on.

All of them, followers and priests, without a single exemption, had fallen to their knees with their foreheads touching the ground. I didn't like the look of this at all but as Ares had said only a few minutes ago, I could see the situation as either an opportunity or a hurdle.

"Come, come, come," I whispered to Ares loud enough for him to hear me, since I was sure my voice wouldn't reach the ears of the people at the front due to the rune activating.

The god of war stepped out of his cover and sprinted toward me with all his might, not trying to keep low at all. Together we stayed behind the largest pillar, trying to work out if it would be safe to move back to the curtains and out of the temple. But only an instant after Ares took cover next to me, the rune stopped glowing and there was a large collective gasp from the mortals as their god graced them with his presence.

* * *

Name: Modi Thorson

Race: Aesir Minor

Class: Storm of Axes

Level: 53

* * *

The man who had just appeared above the rune looked like he had been sculpted by one of the master crafters we employed in Mount Olympus to create statues of terrifying proportions. Every single muscle on his body had been buffed to levels I hadn't seen before. And the majority of them were on open display.

Just like the two guards that stood outside the temple's side entrance, he was bare-chested, his body filled with scars, burns, and stitch marks. But he took it one step further since he wasn't even wearing proper pants. Instead he wore a triangular piece of woolen cloth that seemed to serve as underpants, and a pair of furry boots.

He did look intimidating, but I could see his level as well as his weapon. The double axe strapped on his back was humongous and covered in gold carvings. I wasn't sure if this was his fighting weapon, but it certainly wasn't a fast one.

His hair was shaved on the sides and long, blond braids along the top and back of it were embellished and held together with golden rings. For all his muscles, menacing-looking blue eyes and long, rugged beard, I knew he was nothing but a low-level god who looked much tougher than he really was. He looked slow, and slow got you killed any day.

"Master! Master! Master!" the crowds chanted as their god turned to look at the depiction of himself on the stained glass window behind him.

He still hadn't noticed the knuckles on the altar, and was instead reveling in the sight of his likeness stepping on that of his brother. The chanting continued and the god of the Norse closed his eyes, taking in the warmth of the sunlight focused on him by the colored windows, and breathing deeply.

"Now," I whispered into Ares' ear.

We both ran to the curtain-covered entrance on our tip-toes.