Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

I shouldn’t have expected otherwise, but since I was tasked to play the role of a disposable, albeit valuable pawn, I wasn’t privy to the next part of Q’s discussions. Once the gods saw that I wasn’t some horrible eldritch nightmare creature, I was escorted away from the gathering and placed in a secure holding cell separate from both the gods and the other prisoners that we kidnapped. Ashwin was taken somewhere else separately, there was more that needed to be done with him, but I did know that his friends were kept in a separate cell close to me. At least mine had decent bedding and provided food and drink.

And so I just sat there waiting for the meeting between my friends and this world’s strange gods to finish. I tried to use that alone time to sort through all of my new memories, but that was futile. I had no idea what kinds of information were missing, and the parts that I did know were missing were so mind-numbingly corrupting that I couldn’t think too hard on those topics at all. So I just waited, and I waited for quite a bit.

Hours turned into what seemed like days before one of the various servants of the gods finally came to take me out of my prison cell. The feeling of being free from that small confined room was unmistakable, and I’m pretty sure that my seemingly irrational hatred of being confined had something to do with my true self. I mean, there must be a reason why I had to start this weird soul transfer experiment in the first place.

“Apologies for the delay,” Q said first as he saw me, “But we had a lot to discuss, and the adjustments that we wanted to make to the Chosen’s companions took longer than anticipated.”

Everyone, gods included, was gathered in the same place we first met them, they even managed to clean up the chaos that Xalla had first caused. The only difference was the lifeless-looking aliens slumped in a corner, those were Ashwin’s companions, and I really didn’t want to know what kinds of adjustments the evil gods made to them.

“Our original plan was to have them go back with you to help out,” Q continued, pointing to the semi-conscious individuals, “But there were some hiccups when it came to our attempts to… convince them to join our cause. We can still use them to bolster your legitimacy, however.

I nodded, even though I wasn’t exactly sure how a bunch of unthinking individuals could be of much help.

Q saw my confusion and explained further. “Just say that you were able to escape the grasp of the cultists, but at a high cost. The condition of your teammates will legitimize that claim, and it can also explain a change in personality or behavior when you take over for the Chosen.”

“Right,” I muttered, careful to still assume the position of a lowly servant since the native gods were present, “Anything else I need to know before I go in?”

“You’ll only take two of the original party members with you.” Q gestured for one of the servants to bring over a pair of the red aliens. Those two did look slightly more animated than the others. “These two were the most successful out of the batch, and we’ll need the other here to experiment on. You can decide to save them to further bolster your position as a hero if you wish then, or leave them for later if that’s not feasible.”

I nodded. It was just like Q to think about ways to help me out even with the limitations in place. I owed the man too much to fail here.

Q continued. “Aside from that, there’s not too much else to know. We were able to get some of the most basic information out of the Chosen and his friends,” Q then handed me a neatly bound notebook. “That pertinent information is all found on there, including names of key figures and places, but the Order gods have been very good at keeping their inner workings secret. We weren’t able to extract anything else out of them without breaking this dimension, so that’s unfortunately all you have to work with.”

Xalla’s voice entered my bead just then. I had almost forgotten that she could communicate that way with other Xollon. Sorry Walter, there really wasn’t much we could do with the limitations in place. You’ll have to go in mostly blind, but I know you’ll pull through somehow. Call out to Malice if things go really bad and we’ll get you out immediately, and she’ll also let you know if we learn anything else from the three remaining people here. We can’t be sure if you’re monitored, so just listen to her if she calls, you don’t have to answer.

I gave her a barely concealed nod and continued to focus my attention on Q. Although it was nice to know that there was a safety net in place, I knew that if I did call on Molly for help, then any plans we had here were basically over. I don’t think Q’s getting his trial when we destroyed an entire dimension, and this Stanton individual probably won’t want to help us out if we did that. Really, failure wasn’t an option, but with the Absolute Luck Skill fully charged and ready to go, I think that I could work something out.

“Take some time to familiarize yourself with the book,” Q said, “We’ll get the last-minute preparations ready, and then you’ll be on your own.”

Good luck, Walter!

“Thank you, lord,” I said quickly, then sat down on a pillar to quickly pour over the notebook.

True to Q’s words, there really wasn’t a lot of information there. There were the names and a drawing of each of the Order gods, along with what they were like and what abilities they had, along with info on their mortal champions and other minions. The same could be said about information on general locations, the structure of their organization, and the Chosen’s unique standing within the holy army.

However, critically, information of any kind was missing about who Ashwin was and what he was sent here to actually do. In fact, there was practically no information on the Aspirant in that notebook at all, no talk about his personal relationships, or even what abilities he had at his disposal. Now that would be the critical problem going forward; Ashwin had shown some insane feats of agility and strength, not to mention his various blessings, and Walter, unfortunately, had none of that at his disposal.

I could say that he - or me in this case - was weakened considerably due to the capture and escape, even that I was under the effects of a curse, but how long would a lie like that last before someone finds it suspicious? In fact, only an idiot would think that nothing suspicious happened during their capture, and I would be under a lot of scrutiny when I infiltrated the Order gods. I’ll have to rely heavily on the Absolute Luck skill going forward, and making wise use of the charges would be something critical to my success.

“Are you finished reading over the notes?” Q asked.

I nodded.

“Good, then let’s get the final touches finished. We’ll have to disguise you as the Chosen, so bear in mind while we suit you up.”

I’m not sure where Q managed to get a skin suit of Ashwin, but then again, he was an accomplished Alchemist, so making something like that even with limited materials probably wouldn’t have been too hard. I allowed him to stick the suit on me, acting like a demure servant the whole time, and by the time he was satisfied with my appearance, he gestured for one of the local evil gods to come over. They had removed Ashwin’s armor and gear - I really hope they washed it first - and stuck that on me as well. It was significantly battered and dirty, which suited my needs perfectly.

“Remarkable,” the spindly god said, “There really is no difference between your servant and the Chosen. If only we have that kind of magic…”

“Them being the same species does help,” Molly remarked, “Now please stop wasting time and do your thing.”

I gave Molly a questioning look, but then remembered that I couldn’t exactly ask questions.

Um, don’t worry Walter, Xalla explained for her, We’re having the local gods weave their magic into your skin suit so that it looks like you were critically injured during your stay here. It shouldn’t affect your performance at all though.

Ah, looks like my friends thought of the same issues that I did. This will help me escape immediate notice at the very least, I doubt they’d try to interrogate me right off the bat if it looked like I’d fall dead at any moment, which gave me some time to learn more about my situation before things got really serious. I’ll probably also need the extra time to recover the undoubtedly high amount of luck charges that I’ll use when I first meet the other side.

“We’ll toss you in one of the hidden tunnels underneath the city we were in,” Q continued, “To ensure that your escape looks real, you’ll have to make your own escape from there. Remember, the main battle might be over, but there are still skirmishes going on outside between the cultists and the Order paladins.”

“I thought all of the cultists were dead though?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Q shook his head. “The ones in the city are, but we had to send in more troops after, and the gods here didn’t hold back this time. It wouldn’t make much sense if their Hero and his party were captured even after they’ve won the battle.”

That made sense, and that probably explained why it took so long for the gods to get me out of that stupid cell. There was a lot of work going on in the background to ensure that my part of the plan, at least the beginning of it, went as smoothly as possible. I’ll have to ensure that my friend’s work wasn’t in vain.

“Once again,” Q reminded, “The area around the town is still a battleground. You’re now going in as the Chosen, cursed and weakened, yes, but the Chosen still. Ensure that you act like one the second you are out.”

“I understand,” I answered solemnly, “I am ready to go when you need me, lord.”

Q and the rest of my friends whispered something to the evil gods before they escorted me to a big portal. I was about to step into it with the two semi-conscious companions when Molly stopped me.

“Almost forgot,” she said before taking out a strange metal handle, “But here’s the weapon that the Chosen had on him. We’re unsure how it works, but every record the locals had stated its importance to the Hero, and it would be suspicious if you didn’t have it on you.”

I took it from her and examined it in detail. It was just a smooth metal bar, about the size of a remote control, and except for the cool feel of the thing, it didn’t look like the cool transforming weapon that Ashwin had used. I even tried to use my Arbiter skill on it, but it wasn’t central-made, so nothing showed up, and I couldn’t understand how to use it at all. Either way, I stashed it away, there was a perfectly shaped spot to hold it on the armor I was wearing and nodded to let Molly know that I was ready to go.

“Enter the portal when you’re ready,” she said again, “And remember, you are on your own from this point forward. We have trust that you will do what needs to be done. Good luck.”

I gave her a thumbs up, a gesture that I hoped the local gods didn’t understand, and stepped into the glowing blue passage. The familiar feeling of disorientation hit me, and when I got my bearings again, I was in a dark, underground tunnel. The other two, I believe their names were Nova and Erdic, popped up beside me a few moments later, and that signaled the beginning of the infiltration. I took a deep breath and steadied my nerves, let’s get this done for Q’s sake.