Nyx did not look how I’d expected.

  On the other side of the door we found ourselves in a huge Roman bathhouse. Gigantic marble columns stretched up to the ceiling which adorned a painting akin to the one in the Sistine chapel. A beautiful, and very naked, lady spread out across the mural, reaching a lazy finger across to a group of odd-looking men who knelt before her. It was a good painting, weird place to put it though.

  A large, swimming pool sized, bath took up most of the room. Attractive women on goat’s legs spread out in sexualised poses across the sides of the pool. Naked men with horns and chiselled abs did the same. Some held pitchers of, what I assumed to be, wine and others held exotic platters of fruit.

  “Now this is my kind of place,” Bell said, raising her eyebrows lecherously at Rex, who completely ignored her.

  At the back of the room was a large, cushioned throne. That was where Nyx sat, being wafted by massive leaves held aloft by beautiful horned women, also sporting goat’s legs. The whole place had ancient Roman orgy vibes.

  Nyx was the odd one out in the room.

  A small, topless dwarven-looking man with a bushy beard. He had cropped hair with a wreath on his head, just like the pictures of Roman and Greek rulers. His nipples were pierced and his face and body were two-tone. With an almost even split down the middle, one half was jet black and the other half was snow white.

  The silver eyed man led us towards Nyx, seemingly unperturbed by the odd nature of the place. The god didn’t look up until we reached him, he was too busy laying back with closed eyes as the horned goat-women wafted him with the large leaves. I took the opportunity to focus on them, bringing up a notification in my HUD.

  You have discovered a new demon:

  Succubus

  I’m sure you know exactly what one of these is. One-part naked human female, one part goat. Imagine Mr Tumnus with tits and you’d be pretty close.

  These lovely ladies are demon in name only. Mostly harmless, they’ll get your goat in the most pleasurable ways imaginable. The more you enjoy their company the more life energy they’ll gain. Think of them as sex vampires, except the stuff they like to suck out isn’t in your veins.

  The succubus on the left noticed me eyeballing her and smiled seductively at me. I felt her charm immediately, a thought invasion forcing me to envision all the things we could do together. It didn’t last long, my soul churned within me, kicking the woman out of my head. It was good to know that it did that. She narrowed her eyes at me, baring fangs in a silent hiss.

  “Ah, so you’re the one who can resist my commands,” Nyx said suddenly, opening his eyes and staring straight at me. “Chrysus was right about you, how very interesting,” he turned to Silver Eyes and lazily flapped his hand at him, “you can go now.”

  The man complied, bowing slightly before taking his leave. Nyx clicked his fingers and a group of the horned men brought across a slew of chairs, a small table and a pitcher of wine with multiple glasses. There was even an ash tray for Panda.

  “Make yourselves at home,” Nyx said, “we have much to discuss.”

  We took our seats, Bell went straight for the wine, Panda lit up his bamboo pipe. Jack and Rex sat right on the edge of their chairs like the professionals they were - ready to jump into battle at a moment’s notice, their legs were like coiled springs.

  I felt on edge too, but something told me that this wasn’t going to be a violent encounter. I sat and examined the man next to me as he poured me a chalice of wine and passed it to me. As our hands touched I felt something from within him. Revulsion?

  You have discovered a new demon:

  Incubus

  I just gave you the rundown of the succubus, do you really need one for their male counterparts too? They’re the same thing, but male. Try working something out on your own for once.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  I shouldn’t have expected anything less.

  The incubus moved quickly away from me and I watched as he slid into the pool. I noticed that despite how many of the demons there were in the bathhouse, none of them had made a sound. Not even a grunt as they moved the heavy furniture.

  “So, what do you want with us?” I asked, looking defiantly up at Nyx.

  “You came to my house, not the other way around,” he replied, a playful glint to his eyes. “What makes you think I want anything from you? Can’t a host be good to his guests without an ulterior motive?”

  “Not in this place,” I said, disdain dripping from my voice. “The last time I was in a Morningstar I killed half the staff and found a vault that used to be full of skins. Pretty fucked up, your house.”

  Nyx let out a deep, throaty laugh as he sat up, leaning his elbows on the arms of his throne, and looked me straight in the eyes. His reminded me of portals, swirling and as deep as the ocean.

  “How audacious,” he snarled, still looking jovial but his face no longer matching his tone. “Consider yourself lucky that my boss has need of you, otherwise I might be convinced to add you to my collection.” He gestured sadistically at the incubus nearby who shuddered and slinked away into the shadow.

  “Well that’s all kinds of fucked up,” Panda murmured.

  “Your boss?” I asked, keeping my face as neutral as I could. “Would that be Chrysus? You mentioned him a minute ago.”

  “Bingo!” He said enthusiastically, all malice leaving his tone once more. I wasn’t sure what to make of this guy, it was like talking to two different people inside one body. He was the personification of multiple personality disorders. “Chrysus is my close ally and he wants you alive for now. No idea why really, you don’t seem all that special to me. But he’s given us strict orders not to kill you until after the High Priest Tournament.”

  My mind flashed back to the cloaked man in the Havarian alleyway. It felt like years ago, though it had only been about five months or so. Digging around in my inventory, I found what I was looking for.

  You have been granted the honour of being allowed to compete in the high priest’s tournament.

  The winner will be granted the riches of Chrysus, God of Wealth.

  The tournament will take place in six months’ time.

  The note brought back memories. I thought back on the time I stood face to face with the god himself. Honestly, I was lucky to get out alive. Knowing what I do now, I wouldn’t have spoken to him the way I did… actually, that was a lie. I never was very good at holding my tongue.

  I had declined the offer at the time, having no intention of ever becoming a god’s servant. Still, I felt like there was more to it than that.

  Keeping the note in my hand, I held it out towards Nyx. One of the succubae took it gingerly and passed it to him.

  “Are you talking about this?” I asked.

  “I am, a chance to be showered with the riches of our lord. How lucky you are.”

  “I have no intention of becoming one of his priests,” I replied. “Thank you for your hospitality but if this is all you wanted to discuss then I think we’ll take our leave.”

  Jack and Rex both tensed and Jack eyed me strangely from his seat. At first I thought Bell was oblivious to what was going on, simply indulging in the wine, but on closer inspection I could see that she had her eyes trained solely on Nyx.

  “The audacity!” Nyx explained and I mentally hovered over my daggers in my inventory. “This is not an invitation to become a high priest. This is an invitation to attend and participate in the high priest tournament. Are you dense?”

  “What’s the difference?” I asked, suddenly taken aback. I had been sure that the offer was to compete to become a priest. What else could it be?

  Nyx sighed loudly, chuckled, and then threw a pitcher to a nearby incubus, knocking him into the bath. “The High Priest Tournament is a time-honoured tradition observed by the entire pantheon. Chrysus’ previous high priest died and so he needed to choose a new one. The entire pantheon, some of their followers, and some prestigious mortals are invited nay, honour bound, to attend this ceremony.

  “They will watch as Chrysus’ chosen fight for the top spot. The new high priest will be crowned, and then the real fun begins. Each god and each king will be encouraged to field one champion to fight in their honour. It’s a tournament after all. The official purpose is so that the new high priest can show their power off on the world stage. However, we all know that really it’s just a good excuse for a piss up. Not to mention all the political games that will be going on, but you needn’t worry about that.

  “That invitation allows you to enter the tournament, fighting for…” He looked over the note and furrowed his brow, “well it doesn’t say who you’d be fighting for. How odd. Either way though, it means you can enter and fight against the rookies in the service.”

  I took a long moment to take in what he was saying. Some of it didn’t make any sense to me, but I got the general idea.

  “I’m only a bronze ranked adventurer,” I said in low voice. “Why would I risk my life fighting high priests for the amusement of some gods I don’t even know?”

  “Glory? Honour? Riches? Need I go on?”

  “Surely this high priest and the people being fielded by the other gods are level cappers though,” Bell said, looking up from her chalice. “Kaleb wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  “Actually,” Jack interceded, causing a sly smile to flicker on Nyx’s lips. “From what I’ve heard the contender’s level is capped at level eighty-nine. Anyone above phase three isn’t allowed in.”

  “I’ve heard of this too,” Rex added with a solemn nod. “Though there hasn’t been one in my lifetime. I’ve heard that you’d be a fool to reject it. Supposedly, merely competing practically guarantees you a chance at power.”

  I looked between them, and then over at Panda who shrugged. I was surprised he didn’t know about it but then again he wasn’t as clear on continental issues. This was his first time here too.

  “As your party have wisely said,” Nyx continued, “you would be foolish to say no. In the past, the winner has unlocked the first step of soul ranking through battling in the tournament. The system looks kindly on those who make a good showing.”

  Their arguments were convincing, though it seriously felt like a trap to me.

  Panda: Say you’ll think about. We’ll talk later. Something Jack said is bothering me.

  “I’ll think about it,” I said, “that’s the best I can do right now. This is a lot to take in.”

  Nyx’s smile widened.

  “That’s all I ask.”