I was deeply regretting saying yes to this deal.
I nearly gagged as I carefully stepped over a pile of rotting… something. I tried not to look too closely as I steered around it, one hand clamping my shirt over my nose.
Towering piles of metal, plastic, and junk rose around me in gigantic hills the size of buildings. Narrow dirt paths cut through the garbage like someone had made a maze out of it. There wasn’t anybody in sight, save for the rats, the bugs, and whatever else was crawling around.
I’d already been forced to crush a few of the little bugs under my shoe, but seeing as I was still here, I didn’t think those were the “vermin” he wanted me to get rid of.
Probably should’ve asked what specific kind of vermin he meant.
Still, as much as this place made me want to puke…
[Trickster’s Interest]
You’ve caught the eye of one of the most notorious trickster gods in the world. Yet in turn, there may be no better teacher when it comes to learning the ins and outs of gods and monsters. Be careful. A god’s interest can be just as much a curse as it is a blessing.
Complete Loki’s task and earn his favor.
Rewards:
[Beginner’s Guide to Runecraft]
|Rare|
A beginner’s guide on basic Nordic/Scandinavian runecraft, written personally by the Allfather Odin himself. Those who study it may learn the art of Runecraft.
Runes were magic, right?
That was pretty freaking awesome, at least. Not a bad prize for wading through the world’s worst trash heap.
Even I’d heard the name Loki before. I didn’t know how much of what I’d heard was true, but he didn’t exactly sound like the nicest guy around. The whole “trickster god” thing wasn’t thrilling either, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Still…
“How big is this dump!?”
I’d already been walking for at least half an hour with nothing to show for it except clothes that smelled like crap and shoes I was probably going to have to burn.
I stopped as I reached another crossroads, staring down the branching paths with a growing sense of annoyance. I could’ve sworn I’d seen this exact pile of trash before.
This wasn’t working.
Walking in circles wasn’t doing anything for me, which meant it was probably time to pull out my secret move.
“Oh, God, I don’t really wanna do this.”
I moved my shirt away from my nose and took a deep breath.
“Eugh…” I nearly fell to my knees as it hit me.
The rotting stench of trash, spoiled food, and rust flooded my nose all at once. Underneath it all was an overwhelmingly fatty scent, like someone was grilling something.
Except it wasn’t the delicious fat of barbecue.
It reminded me of Gabe whenever he came home sweaty from work, except ten times worse, layered with garbage juice. Beneath that fatty reek, though, there was something faint and misty, carrying a smoky edge that reminded me almost exactly of the gazebo.
I moved through the dump the same way again, following the path between the towering piles of junk, and the scent thickened with every step.
Nothing changed in front of me.
The same hills of metal and trash stood around me, but the smell kept getting stronger and stronger until it almost overpowered everything else.
Then, I was right back where I had started.
“Okay…” I muttered, staring at the same damn crossroads. “So… probably magic. Not just me having a terrible sense of direction.”
My eyes scanned the area as I tried to see through whatever was happening, but rapid blinking and squinting didn’t accomplish much beyond making me look stupid.
Alright.
Plan B.
Just like at the park, I closed my eyes and reluctantly pressed one hand against the giant pile of trash on my right.
It was damp.
Eww…
Using the trash heap as a reference, I shuffled forward slowly, keeping my hand against the uneven wall of garbage as I walked. The misty, smoky scent grew stronger again, almost overpowering my nose, even as I fought the urge to puke and tried to focus on the feel of my hand dragging over the wall of trash.
My head began to throb as I marched forward, doing my best to follow the fatty scent.
Something tickled the back of my brain, quietly insisting that I was walking towards a dead end.
But my hand hadn’t hit any turns or changes in direction, so I tried to ignore it.
My feet never stopped moving, but my brain kept getting louder and louder.
The smoky scent grew so strong I couldn’t even make out the fatty scent anymore.
Minutes passed.
Or maybe seconds.
I had no idea, only that the pressure kept building behind my eyes and I felt like I was gonna pop.
Then my hand finally slipped away from the wall of garbage as it reached its end.
The pressure vanished all at once.
My knees buckled before I could stop them, and I dropped hard onto the dirt.“Success!” I grinned.
Now I just needed to find it, and then this would be—
“Oh?” A rumbling voice filled the air. “A little morsel throws himself onto my doorstep?”
A massive claw reached out from the trash pile. The earth shook as a long, sinuous body covered in orange scales followed, piles of garbage collapsing as the huge form dragged itself free.
Waves of hot air rolled over me as a gigantic head lowered until it was barely inches from my face.How in the world did this count as vermin!?
“I asked you a question, little demigod.” The giant dragon opened its mouth, revealing rows of massive teeth. “How did you breach my lair’s defenses?”
…What? Demigod?
Something to figure out later.
I tried to reach out and pull the same trick I’d used with the water before, but the feedback I got wasn’t good. I wasn’t really sure how it worked yet, but I could tell there wasn’t enough water nearby.
Sweat slid down my back as I very much realized my answer might determine whether I became dinner.
“Uhhh, you know, just here to send a message,” I said. “Unless any other big monsters are hanging around?”
Couldn’t exactly say I came here to kill you.
The giant dragon looked momentarily taken aback before growling. “Who sent you, whelp?”
“Ohhhh…” I crossed my arms. “You know… him.”
“Him?”
“Yeah!” I nodded. “Him! You’ve gotta know him, right?”
The giant dragon stared at me for a moment before a look of realization entered its eyes.
“So it is him…” The dragon growled. “They dare send some whelp to recruit me for their great rebellion? Me? The Great Ophionyx! I was old before even Athens’ first stone was laid! How dare they send some whelp without tribute. Does he think so little of me? I was the scourge of—”
Did I just make things worse? Slowly, I started to inch away from the giant dragon. Maybe I should–
A clawed hand slammed down, crushing an old refrigerator beneath it like an empty soda can.
“I should devour you whole for such disrespect.”
“You could…” My brain scrambled for anything that sounded even halfway convincing. “But that would be a terrible idea.”
“Pleading for your life, little demigod?” The dragon laughed as gigantic claws landed dangerously close to me. “Come then. Tell me why I shouldn’t devour you here and now. Your master isn’t here to save you, boy.”
“Well… you said it yourself.” I pointed around us. “If you devour me, who else would know? We’re all alone out here. No one would be around to witness your greatness.”
The crazy dragon actually seemed to stop for a second.
I pushed on. “For all anybody knows, some other monster could’ve found me and killed me.” The dragon bristled as I put forward the idea. It was working! “Then you wouldn’t get a single bit of credit. In reality, some other monster might even steal it instead!”
“Unacceptable!” the dragon roared. “No one will steal from me, the Great Ophionyx!”
“Totally!” I nodded rapidly. “That’s why you should let me go back to my master. I’ll tell him all about your greatness and the big mistake he’s making. A win-win for both of us.”
Ophionyx stared at me.
My body was on a hair trigger, ready to run.
Thankfully, it seemed I’d lucked out.
The dragon snorted and pulled back from me. “You have a glib tongue, whelp. But you do not speak untruth. Very well. Run along to your master, little demigod. Just this once, I shall be merciful.”
Ophionyx lay back down and looked away in disinterest.
“Thank you! I’m sure my master will give you the best deal ever.”
I bobbed my head rapidly as I shuffled backward out of the clearing. There was no way I could beat that thing right now, much as I wanted that quest. Figuring out what to do could come later, after getting away from the giant dragon that might eat me.
“No doubt only the best for such an amazing dragon as yourself!”
“What?” Ophionyx’s head snapped back toward me. “Did you just call me a dragon? I am a drakon, you ignorant little wretch!”
A growl of rage rolled out as the giant, apparently not a dragon, stared at me. Maybe I needed a better poker face because Ophionyx’s eyes narrowed.
“You…” His voice lowered. “Do they employ imbeciles now? No… little demigod, who is your master?”
“Ya know, him—”
The clawed hand smashed into the earth, nearly causing me to trip.
Ah crap.
“What is the name of your master?” he demanded, lizard eyes locked on me.
“Of course.” I raised a finger. “Obviously, it’s…”
I turned and ran.
“TRICKERY!”
Ophionyx’s roar shook the clearing as I booked it the hell out of there. —If I lived through this, I wasn’t sure how, but I was going to punch Loki in the face.
A drip of stale milk landed on me, and I held back a gag. The giant icebox I was hiding in was a good place to hide, but… urgh.
“COME OUT AND FACE YOUR PUNISHMENT, LITTLE DEMIGOD!”
Another resounding crash echoed through the dump as the obviously pissed-off monster wrecked another pile of trash and junk in the distance.
Gross as it was, I took back every bad thing I said about this place.
Turns out, trying to chase someone through towering hills of trash and junk as a giant lizard wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.
Hell yeah for giant trash mazes, I guess.
My ability to smell Ophionyx’s magical scent let me stay ahead of him, but there were only so many places I could hide. Trying to make a break for the fence was a no-go too. Whenever I got close, I could smell some kind of magic wafting from it.
I wasn’t sure what it was, but it made the back of my neck tingle, so trying the fence was staying firmly in the last-resort category.
Ultimately… I needed to kill this monster.
Even if I escaped, I’d be right back to fricking square one.
Plus, while there wasn’t anything listed for failure in the quest, I wasn’t looking forward to facing a supposed god after completely botching his request.
That left me with only one real path forward.
“Come on. Come on.”
I cupped my hands and closed my eyes.
Pockets of liquid were hidden all around me. Slowly but surely, I could feel them start to move as I tried to emulate what I’d done before.
But unlike attacking the minotaur, where it just felt right, pulling all this liquid toward me was like pulling teeth.
I must’ve gotten a good amount by now, right? It should’ve—
Fuck.
A churning ball of strange liquid sat in my hands, barely the size of a bowling ball.
All that effort… just for that.
Okay, I could work with this. If I had a little more time, I could gather—
A burst of gunfire rang out, followed by a roar of pain.What?
Slowly, I climbed one of the trash piles to get a better view.
A man was wearing a black priest’s robe, standing in the clearing. That was weird enough. The shotgun in his hands was weirder.
Golden light erupted from the shotgun and slammed into the drakon as the priest blasted the monster like there was no tomorrow.
Ophionyx screamed, and his tail whipped out.
The shotgun priest was fast, but not fast enough.
He went flying on impact, smashing into the ground hard enough for red to stain his black robes.
“Wretched dogs of the Church!” Ophionyx roared as his clawed hand scooped up the priest, raising him toward his mouth.
No!
I threw my ball of liquid right at his face.
A glob of trash juice wasn’t going to stop this guy. It needed to be faster. Sharper.
Instinctively, I pushed as hard as I could.
The ball of liquid shifted and hardened into a javelin, ripping through the air.
Ophionyx reared back in pain as the liquid javelin pierced one of his eyes. The priest dropped from his claws as the monster writhed.
I got him!
“…You.”
One very pissed-off eye instantly locked onto me.
“I will rend the skin from your bones and devour your soul!”
The ground shook as the drakon charged at me with everything it had.
Shiiiit, I needed to—
The scent of incense mixed with spring water filled the air.
It was so strong it instantly snuffed out every other scent around me, yet somehow, it wasn’t overpowering.
A hand touched my shoulder.
“I’ll take it from here, young man,” a deep voice said. “Thank you for assisting my comrade.”
My head turned, and I was forced to look up at a towering man. He wore simple black priest robes as well, but the bulging muscles underneath looked like they were one wrong move away from tearing through the fabric.
The giant drakon leaped at us with its maw wide open.
Mr. Bodybuilder didn’t even flinch. He simply pulled his fist back. The scent of incense and spring water grew even stronger, and I swore I saw his fist glow for a moment.
“Holy Fist.”
There was no sound.
No bright lights.
But the next thing I knew, I was staring at the drakon’s corpse.
Its entire upper half was just gone.
…What?
“Are you alright?” the towering man asked softly.
I could only numbly nod.
“My name is Vasco Strada.” He shot me a bright smile. “May I have yours?”