Return
Jhaan was horrified. Nalaea and the gauntlet both disappeared, and they'd been gone for over an hour at this point. Just what happened to the Captain? Was she dead? Worse? Three of the more mentally unstable rangers were just sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth. Jhaan was wondering if they should stay in this tavern, or return home, but his thoughts were interrupted by shouting.
"Jhaan get over here!"
"Jhaan!"
"The Captain's back!"
Jhaan rushed over, and saw Nalaea laying in the floor, clutching the gauntlet in her hands, and moaning in pain. Kneeling down next to her, he placed his hand in hers, and she squeezed it tightly.
"Captain, I'm glad you're safe." Jhaan said, placing his other hand on top of hers.
"Summon her." Nalaea whispered.
"What?"
"Like I taught you all. Summon her now. I refuse to just walk home after what I saw." Nalaea said, as she slipped out of consciousness.
"Clear the area! Arryn!" Jhaan shouted, motioning for tables and chairs to be pushed back.
In mere moments a space big enough for a casting circle was drawn, and after slitting his wrist slightly, Jhaan added his blood, the component so that Vordea would know who was calling her. After a moment, black ink started to spill out of the circle, and Vordea's tentacles slithered out, followed shortly after by the Goddess herself climbing out of the hole in reality that had been formed.
Vordea was quite amused, when she saw Nalaea passed out and clutching the gauntlet. But then she smelled it. She knelt next to Nalaea and sniffed her. There was no mistaking it, not even for a moment. The smell of home. Fighting tears, Vordea curled her tentacles around the thirteen rangers, and pulled them with her through the summoning circle, leaving behind nothing but some inky stains on the floor, and some very confused Dwarves.
---
Nalaea woke in a bed, which was nice for a change. When she opened her eyes, Vordea was sitting by her bedside, in a form that she had never seen before. She looked like a sleep deprived young human woman, with bags under her eyes, and a tangled mess of medium length black hair that didn't look like it ever got brushed. Yet, she smiled when she saw Nalaea look at her. Vordea stood up, and pulled Nalaea into an embrace. Inhaling deeply, Vordea could still smell Demhe Station on Nalaea's clothing. A place so far away and yet for a brief moment, she could remember her childhood again.
"Oh Nala..." Vordea said, her voice cracking. "I thought I would be strong when this day came, but I failed."
"So I was really..." Nalaea said, trailing off.
"Uncountable years ago, in a place that no longer exists, yes." Vordea said, still hugging Nalaea tightly.
"No more games, Lady Vordea." Nalaea said, patting her on the back. "Where was I? And where am I now?"
"Do you promise to never tell anyone? No matter who asks?" Vordea asked, still holding Nalaea.
"I vow."
"Very well. You were in a place called Demhe Station, in the place I call Carcosa."
"That was really Carcosa?" Nalaea asked, shocked.
"It was. And that was me. I was nine years old at the time you met me."
"How old are you now?"
"I can't give you a straight answer." Vordea said, finally releasing her grip on Nalaea. "But only because the number does not exist. I have destroyed and remade the universe more times than can be counted, and thanks to my perfect recall I remember every single time. I was created to defeat entropy, to make sure the death that fell upon my home could ever happen again."
"Who was that woman I met?"
"That was Fleet Admiral Mira Frost. The Last Commander of the Last Fleet. The final ruler of humanity. That was before she became The Corpse King. But I believe I skipped a question." Vordea said, pausing to give the briefest of smiles. "Where am I now, you asked. Look around you, what do you see?"
Nalaea for the first time since she woke, took in her surroundings. It was a bedroom of sorts, that much was certain. Though, surely any room with a bed in it qualified as such? The decorations were of human design, but beyond the windows lay an inky blackness, darker than any night. The curtains were a bloody red in colour, and the candle placement for lack of a better word, seemed designed to produce ominous lighting.
"I don't know. Where are we?"
"The Umbral Keep, on the continent of Cleyix." Vordea answered, with a gentle tone. "This will be your second task for you and your rangers."
"I've never heard of a place called Cleyix." Nalaea replied, looking at Vordea suspiciously.
"Indeed. I can only promise you are still on Karand. Make your way back to Gilnas City from here, no matter what you have to do. No matter who you have to rape, murder, kill, or worse." Vordea said, a gentle smile on her face.
"Can I at least get a map? Karand, Tel Hazan, Itari, and even Gheddan are quite well mapped. But an unknown continent?"
"You may have everything within the confines of The Umbral Keep." Vordea answered, without actually answering the question.
"That's not an answer and you know it." Nalaea shot back, punching Vordea in the arm, who only laughed in response.
"There is one more thing, Nala." Vordea said, her tone still soft and gentle. "As a thank you, for coming to see a lonely little girl." Vordea curled her tentacles around Nalaea and squeezed her gently. "You know, I could kill you so easily. Just a quick pop and you would be gone. Forever."
"Please don't." Nalaea said flatly, but looking vaguely concerned.
"While I enjoy our play times together, Nala." Vordea said, coming in close and licking Nalaea's face. "One day you will die. You are not special, you will not live forever, and what I've done to your soul means you can't become a demon either."
"My Lady you're squeezing too tightly." Nalaea said with some alarm, as Vordea began to squeeze tighter.
"I could consume you." Vordea said, her eyes looking at Nalaea hungrily. "You could live forever, as part of your Goddess."
Nalaea listlessly stared back at Vordea, as if caught in a spell. Vordea's words were like honey, and ensnared her.
"Just say yes, and all your suffering can end." Vordea urged her, licking her lips. "Become one with me."
"Ye-No!" Nalaea said, suddenly snapping out of it and shouting, struggling against Vordea's tentacles. "Let me go! I want to live!"
Vordea gave Nalaea a sinister look, and squeezed Nalaea even tighter. "Why should I? You look delicious and I'm famished."
Nalaea's mind raced as she panicked. Was Vordea really going to kill her here? No, she wasn't going to let it end like this, no matter who threatened her. She already abandoned everything she knew once, she wasn't going to do it again. She would fight this time. Void stepping across the room, she had her bow nocked and arrows flying in less than a second, prepared to fight for her life against Vordea. To her dismay, the arrows broke against Vordea, like they hit a wall.
Vordea was intrigued and also concerned. Why did she have a sudden urge to eat Nalaea? She turned her head around 180 degrees in a horrifying reminder that she didn't follow basic biology and looked at Nalaea. She walked her memory, why was she acting so aggressive toward Nalaea? Then it dawned on her, but Nalaea spoke first.
"Stay away from me, Lady Vordea!" Nalaea shouted, more arrows already nocked in the bow.
"That would be for the best." Vordea answered, retreating to the far side of the room. "The Umbral Keep amplifies natural urges for all who enter. Even Gods. My desire to eat you is overwhelming when I smell you." Vordea saw Nalaea's shocked expression and smirked. "Don't look so surprised. When the time comes, I will eat you, make no mistake about that. It is your fate, and fate of all Void Rangers. There will be no afterlife for you, except as part of me." Vordea said, licking her lips again as she coiled her tentacles around herself.
Nalaea didn't express any emotion to this revelation, but internally she sighed. Vordea really was an evil god after all, she supposed, so it didn't come as a complete shock. Still, why did it feel sexual when Vordea expressed the desire to eat her?
"There was a lot of... sexual undertones to your desire to consume me." Nalaea said, still leaving one arrow in her bow.
"Of course there is. There is no other way that two lovers can become closer than for one to consume the other. To become part of their lifeforce, forever." Vordea replied, uncoiling her tentacles again. "You sure you don't want to do it right now? The ecstasy experienced at the moment of death is... unmatched."
"I'll pass, thanks." Nalaea said, quite flatly. "You did say you had a thank you for me, but I don't think trying to eat me was it."
"Oh, you're right. We've gotten completely sidetracked." Vordea said, remembering.