Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Dawn was a big city without a city wall. Like the light of dawn, many houses were built of sandstone with red, yellow, and purple hues. The outer residential areas were mostly compromised of one-story houses with thatched roofs.

Only the shops along the main streets were slightly bigger. There were also guards at these major roads, but it wasn't a problem, as they didn't hold any big interest in Seth. He was easily able to enter the city.

Towards the center, the buildings grew in size with colored tiles for roofs and were built from more precious stones like marble. The architecture overall seemed a lot more ancient, than the medieval cities he visited on his travel.

The streets were bustling with people who led their lives in peace. Most faces bore smiles as they pursued their work. It fit well with the myth that Hyperborea was a kind of utopia. To Seth, it felt like he had traveled to another time. It was one thing to witness that meshed with fantasy movies, novels, and games like he did on his journey to Ora and in Chrona.

This was completely different. The closest thing he had seen were the temples of the Olympian gods in Chrona. Still, facing a completely new culture felt intriguing and a little confusing. In other places, he would have looked for the adventure guild to get information. But that didn't exist here. Without the advice from the village elder, he would not have known what to do.

He asked his way towards the temple and all the passers-by he asked, actually answered him friendly and patiently. With their advice, he quickly found the temple. Well, it was the biggest building in the center of the city, so it wasn't hard to reach once he knew where he was going.

Still, the streets of such a naturally grown city were labyrinthine and he appreciated the advice of the locals when he lost his way. It was early evening when he finally entered the big temple.

The heavy oak gates, covered in decorative carvings, stood wide open, welcoming all visitors. The middle of the temples was occupied by a wide basin of water. At its end stood a tall statue of Apollo riding his chariot.

N almost 8-meter tall masterpiece carved from a smooth white stone. The detailed carvings and metal inlays of the statue bore witness to immense craftsmanship. It was so lifelike, that Seth was almost afraid it would start moving and scold him.

After his experience in Chrona, he knew this was no unfounded fear. Following the village chief's instruction, the blacksmith started looking for one of the priests.

Sitting around the basin and peacefully playing music, were a lot of musicians. They were staring in the distance, lost in thought. Before he could find a priest, one of them approached Seth.

"How may I help you?" he asked friendly with a soft voice.

From the village elder, he knew, that some of these musicians were actually priests of Apollo, like the man in front of him.

"I'm looking for Information on Scorpio," Seth stated and explained the task given to him by Apollo to the priest.

"Subduing the Scorpion that defeated Orion. That is quite the task. Please wait for a moment. I will have to talk to some people."

Looking after the priest leaving, Seth sighed and sat down. It couldn't be helped. He would have to wait for now. He used the chance to eat a meal. He watched the surroundings. All these musicians sitting around with unfocused gazes.

Some were practicing their instruments, others played together music together. Many of them were alone standing around or sitting at the basin as if waiting for the muses to bless them.

It was very different from the scenes at the college of demonic bards. Especially the kind of music they made. The blacksmith had to admit, that he didn't only have a talent for demon music, but also a preference.

Waiting wasn't hard, but listening to their music was almost aggravating. It made him once again think about how he might have been a little harsh when taking the satyr's soul. Mostly because he was tempted to take all of theirs to have some peace and quiet.

"I'm back. I'm sorry that I took a little longer, The young master of Lady Eos and many of the resources a bound by the search," the priest apologized to him.

"I talked to some of our wandering minstrels and bards. According to them, there were rumors from both Day and Dusk, about events in the Garden of Apollo." he began.

The priest talked of beasts from further in the center of this sacred forest being displaced making the outer rim more dangerous. Reports from hunters finding the carcasses of big beasts mutilated and cut in half. Swathes of destruction all over the place.

"These are the only changes I was able to find in the recent time. In my opinion, Scorpion probably appeared at the center of the sacred forest."

"Urgh, why did it have to be another forest?"Seth thought to himself.

"Where is this sacred forest?" he asked out loud.

"It's between Day and Dusk. The quickest way to find it would be if you leave Dawn and follow the street southwest from here to reach Day. The forest is west of Day." the priest explained,

I seemed that they were only a few paved roads on the island and they connected the three major cities. He couldn't get lost as long as he stayed on the paved roads. He thanked the priest and left the temple.

He doubted he would get any better clue anywhere in the city. If it ended up not being the sacred forest, he would, at last, be close to Day and Dusk, where he could visit the temples for more info.

"Follow the yellow cobblestone road, Seth " he joked to himself when he stepped on the road leading to Day.

"Phew, you are finally back." Ceres greeted him as the bird landed beside him outside of the city.

"You know, I do like flying, but it becomes a little boring to stare down at a city full of happy people." the elemental complaint.

"Are you really wishing for their misfortune, just because you are bored? And someone like that dares to scold me for punishing a robber." the blacksmith said sarcastically.

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" it cried out indignantly.

"Yeah, yeah. " Seth said with a grin and called out Puffles.

"Let's continue this road trip. Maybe we can reach that forest before nightfall."

~Challenge accepted~ the Ivicer answered.

The blacksmith almost fell off the centipede's back, when it suddenly accelerated like a race car.

~Wouldn't we be faster if we cut through the landscape to get there instead of following the road?~ Puffles asked curiously.

The Ivicer was not wrong. Surrounding the neat road was mostly flat open land. Grassland, fields, and some forest. Maybe there was a small village somewhere off in the far distance. Nothing that would stop them from taking a shortcut.

Despite all that, it made Seth suspicious. It wasn't big, but he felt an aversion to leaving the road.

"I can't explain it but I would prefer to use the road."

Although Puffles seemed unconvinced, he didn't object. But it wasn't like Seth himself was convinced. It was then that he remembered one of the functions of the Cloak of Hekate. He had only really used this feature back in the stronghold.

Putting the hood deep in his face, his view was completely obstructed. Howe veer, in the darkness of the hood he saw small stars, like in the night sky. Some were brighter than other and some were dimmer than most.

The bright stars gave an indication of the direction he should to reach the goal he was looking for. Thinking of Apollo's sacred forest he turned his head left and right. Most stars dimmed when looking to the side of the road, straight down the road was the brightest.

The cloak supported his gut feeling that staying on the road was the best way to his goal. He now felt a lot more confident in his decision, even if he didn't know what exactly was lurking in this peaceful landscape that would hinder their travel.

Maybe more illusion-wielding satyrs...

"We stay on the road!" Seth reinforced his decision by screaming it into the airstream.

~No need to scream, we have telepathy...~

~Sorry, I forgot.~