Vortex Quest B. 04

== VORTEX QUEST 4-3 ==

== ENLIGHTENMENT AT REAPERVILLE ==

The devil wasn't as tall as a full-blown demon but his 7'2'' build still had Goro looking up. At six foot, the bodybuilder-turned-magic-berserker had of course encountered guys taller than him, but having to crane his neck had not been a part of his life.

When Goro didn't try to look at Diego's edgy, horn-topped face and its oddly twisted human features, his eyes naturally settled on the devil's abs.

On earth, Goro might have felt envy of the physique -- although it was demonblood roided beyond his aesthetic preferences -- but now his gaze was drawn down by the v-line to Diego's tool, which was massive even when soft.

Naked, save for some simple jewelry around his neck, the devil conjured a pale, transparent orb. "My divine gift was ward-magic. It's not what it used to be but it's saved my hide plenty of times."

His little orb expanded to an upside down semi-sphere -- a bowl, hovering before his hip. He raised his dick and pissed the bowl full with what had to be a gallon.

"Ugh," Marcus made. "I guess that's that issue solved."

"Could have taken that down my throat," Xane said. "S-so I wouldn't taste it as much," he quickly added.

Goro knew the pantheon wasn't as hydrated so their piss would taste worse than the demons. He didn't spell it out, since everyone seemed to understand as much.

They took turns drinking. Goro focused his mindset on being a rabid fuck-beast, which made piss drinking perversely joyful. Stoicism and abyssal sex had mingled into an outlook about embracing his situation.

Diego let the ward vanish and half his remaining piss splashed on the concrete and the demigods' legs.

"Normally I'd use the crawlway," Diego said, "to get a good bit of distance from my lair before engaging flight, in case my enemies are waiting for my departure, but I think we can risk it."

He created a new bowl, much larger and flatter, hovering beyond the edge of the building. "Diego's chariot service, all aboard, hehe."

The devil put his loincloth utility belt back on and attached a rolled up whip with a red-gold handle. "Tinder whip, check, runic wristlets, check." He stepped into the bowl, which had expanded to a comfortable ten feet across.

"Open up, Big G," Xane said and shoved two fingers into Goro's mouth. "Gather..."

Dutifully obeying, Goro felt his gym buddy collect moisture and the piss taste vanished for a neutral mouth feel. He gave an approving grunt and playful finger-suck that made Xane chuckle. They slapped each other's asses while boarding the devil's chariot.

Goro sat down cross legged, his two maces in his lap. The nubby iron weapons had already been bent enough to require Xane's shaping and would eventually break. For now, having throwables was fun.

Below the apartment building was something suggestive of a hospital -- white slabs, red markings -- with the roof mostly gone. Rows of bunkbeds towered five or more beds high, iron clusters formed a mockery of medical equipment, Kobolds labored at workbenches.

The devil closed the ward, a pale shell bending into a dome above them. They were trapped. Shit. Goro had failed to pay attention.

"Ready?"

Their vehicle took off. Riding in lurches, the ward oblong bounced atop the overgrown skyline. Unable to gain much height, the ward transported them in arching hops between ruined roofs, grinding along wall pieces like rails. Awkward, but not the worst way to travel.

It was the pantheon's turn to relay their adventures, Marcus doing most of the chatting, giving Diego a rundown that was as detailed as it was exaggerated.

Diego found an actual rail to glide along. As a mere mockery of an overground metro, it made sharp turns, doubled back on itself or lead straight into walls. The devil seems to know the path. Nesting Sliverlings that weren't evading fast enough slammed into the dome, causing ripples on the translucent surface.

Chay crouched next to Goro, groping him with the leader's head on Goro's shoulder. Goro wasn't good at cuddling but if Chay wanted to...

"Diego is not trustworthy," Chay whispered, his lips tapping Goro's ear as the ward lurched again. "In his current state, he'll turn on us if we try to leave."

Goro felt his heart beast faster. "Plan?"

"He's eager to help for now. I hope we'll get an opportunity to separate, if not, we'll need to incapacitate him quickly. Spread out so the ward can only trap one of us at a time. I think Hole could get through. Otherwise, it's unbreakable."

"Got it," Goro mumbled. "Anything else?"

"Yeah..." Chay pulled away, his hands still rubbing Goro's mighty pecs. "Are you okay? I'm not sure I'd be able to tell if you weren't."

Goro grinned. "I'm good. Actually, I feel like I've achieved enlightenment. Pure sexual bliss without having to hunt for pussy."

"Kay. But tell me if you ever-"

"Shit," Diego called out. "Sorcerer."

Ahead was a guy in a long robe, standing on the edge of a fully overgrown building. He was seemingly human, a white beard hanging to his belt. In his hand was a lantern, within it a glowing... thing, rapidly cycling through geometric shapes and colors.

"Who?" Xane asked.

The devil was busy pulling the ward off course. "Specter of the king. Don't let him- oh."

The lantern fired a blinding shot and the ward melted like the squashed sphere was liquefying where the light hit it.

The demigods floated to the ground while their demonblooded ally crashed into a wall and his fingers dug a path in the concrete as he slid down.

Xane fired a mote at the Sorcerer, which exploded the structure underneath the enemy. The old man simply floated, his robe fluttering in the explosion without taking damage.

"Pointless," Chay shouted. "Just run."

The lantern's light raced at them and Goro pushed himself behind the remains of a too-tall, too-skinny telephone booth. He heard Marcus scream and fall over.

Another lantern beam followed, this time blocked by Diego's ward which melted on impact.

Marcus screamed again.

"It's temporary," Diego shouted. "Keep running."

Goro rushed from his hideout and followed the group at the speed of his enhanced legs.

Marcus was armless. His shoulders were mere suggestions on his torso. His chakram hovered next to him.

The lantern shot again and Goro evaded. The solid ray veered up from the road and hit Xane, who vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Goro shouted. He wanted to fight. But he knew running was their only option, if Chay thought so. He had to channel his mania-power into flight.

Diego had a dome ready to cover them as they crossed a boulevard, briefly in view of the Sorcerer again.

"Get Xane," Chay shouted.

"Where..." Goro stopped as the leader shoved an imp into the berserker's hands. The headless creature with a maw for a neck fluttered clumsily, five butterflies panicking around it.

Xane had been transfigured. Goro let out a groan and rushed for the ward just as a lantern hit turned it to fading goo.

Chay was hit by the follow up. The leader was flung in the air by the force of- no, he was levitating uncontrollably.

"Grab me," Chay shouted as he flew past Diego.

The devil held Chay's wrist and the umbralist hovered as if gravity had been turned off for him. He summoned his fan and made the many little clouds he had left behind rise into the air. A dark multi-level barrier formed in the Sorcerer's sightline.

"Let's keep moving," Chay said.

Diego headed for a crawlway entrance, pulling Chay along like a helium balloon. Marcus was jogging strangely with his arms missing. Goro carried the imp in his arms like a toddler.

"How long is this going to last," he asked as they entered darkness.

Diego was projecting a ward ahead to fend off critters. "A day at most. The Sorcerer doesn't kill directly, although if you don't get away you'll eventually be turned to dust or some shit. I spent a day with my head separate from my body once. All temporary."

Chay pulled his aegis from the jockstrap and tuned it to greater illumination. Being weightless let him sit on Diego's head, legs clamped around the neck, serving as a headlamp. "Any more of those Specters?"

"Plenty," Diego said. "I'll give you a rundown when we're out in the jungle. Now let's see if I can remember the route."

===***===

Navigating the 'jungle' -- a wide shrubland and tree clusters too dense to bother entering -- had taken them far enough from the canyon that Diego risked air travel again, grinding along bushes dense enough to cushion the ward chariot's path.

Chay was pinned to the back of the ward bubble, still unaffected by gravity. Marcus' left arm had explosively returned to existence, which was great because Goro was sick of scratching all the kid's million psychosomatic itches.

Xane was still an ugly imp but had learned to use his wings, herding his butterflies which seemed to keep forgetting he was still their master.

"Guess he can't use magic like this," Chay said, "or he'd have used a sound illusion to speak by now at the least."

"Yeah," Goro said. "Sucks. But we can put up with it until the curse fades. Uh, how are you doing?"

"Feeling like an astronaut," Chay said and pushed himself off the ward and onto Goro. "It's just not an ideal way to meet the Reapers."

"Almost there, by the way," Diego said and pointed ahead.

"I don't see a building," Marcus said. "Some cave?"

The devil chuckled. "No, the tree."

"I don't see a tr- Ooooh."

Goro squinted at the hills that rose gently toward the cavern wall. They were lightly forested with the weird, exotic bulbs and shrooms and wiggling stalks that passed for trees in this realm. Which one was Diego talk-

Not hills. *Roots*.

Goro had been to New York twice and been struck by the sheer scale of skyscrapers each time. This 'tree' had a trunk tall enough to encroach on Mockery's ceiling miles above, its branches running between the stalactites they rivaled in girth. The trunk was thick enough it could have enveloped a town or two. And that was just the visible part, more than half the tree was sunk into the cave wall.

"A world tree," Diego said. "Never been to Evpnekh, huh? It's full of those."

"How did it get here?" Chay asked, upside down, holding onto Goro's shoulder.

"If a place in any realm does enough to displease the local king it can get shunted into limbo, as a last resort. Some things in limbo end up in Mockery."

"So you're telling me," Marcus said, "this place is a dump."

Xane the imp swatted him with a bat wing and evaded one-armed retribution by hopping into Goro's lap.

Just as they collided, Xane turned back into demigod form, the ward filling with transfiguration smoke. The gym buddies collapsed in a tangle of limbs, Chay dragged onto them and bouncing off.

Diego opened the ward bubble to let the smoke out, coughing.

"Hey," Goro said as he found Xane's face above him. "Good to have you ba-Ah!"

"Sorry," Chay said, pulling on Goro's hair as the air draft threatened to suck him out of the ward. "Pull me in?"

The berserker-wizard duo held one of Chay's arms each as the ward bowl landed on a stone mosaic between towering roots and faded away.

"World tree guardians," Diego said loudly, "Djegnoth wishes an audience in the upper dwellings."

The root to the left moved, pink moss dropping off it with every jiggle. Bark peeled itself from the root, a large enough chuck to fit a car.

"Hop on," Diego said.

Goro carried Chay on his back as the four jockstrap hunks and their ally were carried up by the creaking wood.

It was a fast ride, but a long one still, since they aimed for a tear in the bark half a mile up.

It was a wood cavern in its own right. The place wasn't just lit by orbs but filled with decadent lantern arrangements, the ceiling practically covered in swirling orb patterns. There was even air conditioning. Elevator platforms waited in their shaft. All powered by Psychaceous Rubinite generators. The Reapers had human souls to waste.

They were greeted by a full grown Wretcher in a burgundy robe, his vampire features emphasized by the high collar.

"Pcedfoth!" Diego shouted. "How's the world tree guarding business? Many customers?"

"Back so soon, Djegnoth?" the Wretcher asked, giving Goro the usual shiver with his spine-haunting voice. "Those slaves... not some of ours?"

"Well noted, old demon," Diego answered. "These are demigods."

Pcedfoth's eyes widened. Demons didn't display surprise by accident. Goro knew that a half dozen schemes were instantly getting plotted behind those dark eyes.

"This one's missing a limb," the lord said.

Xane stepped forward. "Run-in with the Sorcerer. Can we skip the bullshit?" He glanced at the hovering Chay for approval and got a nod. "If there's a vortex in the technarium we're going to smash it. If you can get us there, we'll try to make it an equitable trade."

Pcedfoth was clearly not used to slaves making offers, although again, any display of surprise was likely calculated.

"I see," the demon said and turned to Diego. "I can't just let demigods waltz into the battery pools, obviously, but you can go check whether Lelthnu is too deep in his books to talk."

The group walked deeper into the lavishly lit wood tunnels.

"Weapons stay here," the world tree's watcher said, pointing at a rack. "They'll be here when you come back."

Goro dropped his maces. Not like he was reliant on them. Marcus' scimitar was missing since the Sorcerer attack. The devil left his whip behind. Chay made a show off putting down the knuckle. Was he inviting the demon to secretly try it on as a powerplay?

Diego walked ahead, while the pantheon was directed to a waiting room where five naked athletes were drooling on their knees. Before them were plates with runes.

"Freshly hatched shades?" Chay guessed, pulled along by Goro. The leader was slowly getting gravity back, able to stand if he didn't take a step. "The numbers indicate how many cycles they've undergone?"

"Yes," the Wretcher said. "Well noted. They're up for purchase, if you're starting your own little empire here."

Chay hummed. "I was under the impression that Mockery doesn't have the usual lordship governance."

"Oh," Pcedfoth said, dismissively. "It's much more anarchic here, yes. But human souls cross through every part of the abyss, so we needed a presence here to make sure we're not letting any slip. Of course, transport is tricky, which leaves us with a certain overflow. In no other realm would Djegnoth enjoy such an advantageous deal of receiving the most advanced figments for his human pleasures."

Marcus' right arm exploded back into existence, toppling him. "Oof, oh fuck yeah, I'm back in one piece." He noticed all eyes on him. "Uh, so... can we see?"

"See what?" Pcedfoth asked.

"How people get made," Marcus said. "I've been curious as fuck for so long. And why are there no chicks?"

"I don't think leading *demigods* around the premises is appropriate," the Wretcher said, his wings lightly swaying to emphasize his displeasure. "We'll wait here."

"Aaaand," Chay started, "how long might that take, assuming Lelthnu has some calculations to finish first?"

The demon's face stayed neutral but his lack of a response was indicative. He gave a theatric sigh. "A tour then. Touch nothing. Speak in whispers only. Follow close."

As Pcedfoth headed out, Marcus turned to the group. "Now why was he only looking at me when he said that?"

Xane drew a crossed out speaker in front of Marcus' face. "Good judge of character."

While the bickering couple flipped each other off, Goro let Chay hop onto his back and the jockstrap hunks followed deeper into the world tree.

===***===

"I can confirm," Pcedfoth said as they wandered through winding wood caves, "that the vortex builders in Mockery are Reapers themselves. Before I came to Mockery, there was a schism. The vortex projects -- if successful -- would have cut into the Reapers' profits and influence."

"So some jumped," Chay said, "to what looked like the winning horse, uh, winning vark?"

The leader was weaving Goro's hair into three braids as he asked for details about the schism. If there was strategically valuable intel, Goro couldn't see it. Just another case of demons betraying each other for power, Reapers abandoning the soul collection in hopes of a revenue stream from earth's surface.

The demigods had been lucky to stumble over this seventh portal -- unless the sky fucker had the ability to engineer fateful coincidences.

The Wretcher in red led them through several intersections, protected with force fields he swiped aside with a gem bracelet.

They entered a hall the size of a stadium. Several organically grown wood bridges ran through the space, often colliding at little knotted platforms. The pantheon walked across such a bridge, about a quarter of the way to... the ceiling?

There was little artificial lighting, yet the space was drenched in a blue and purple glow from a dense swirl of clouds at the ceiling far, far above. The actual upper bound of the space was obscured by the quietly sizzling thunderstorm.

From the cloud hung long black threads that ended in bundles of hundreds of dark, foggy tadpoles.

"Souls," Chay stated. "What's that maelstrom they're hanging from?"

"A psycho-arcanic funnel," Pcedfoth said. "Drawing on a dozen or so aether siphons to collect whatever souls are passing through Mockery from earth or, more likely, slipped from soul stones somewhere in the realm itself after their charge was spent."

Goro watched with mild fascination as a soul dripped from its bundle and fell into the pool below, into knee high ectoplasm. Reapers with leather thongs, headlamps and butterfly nets waded in to examine the dropped ones. Pentagrams appeared on crystals in their hands.

"If the soul is already known," Pcedfoth said, "it's processed immediately. If a new one gets caught, it has to be examined for strength first. No use pressing it into a body if it's going to dissolve a day later."

"What happens is it's found wanting?" Xane asked.

The Wretcher shrugged. "Shoved into a soul stone immediately to wring out what work it can give, then funneled into the waste soul siphon so it moves on without clogging up the conduits."

The pantheon moved on. Chay was weighing quite a bit again, but Goro left him riding his back, still braiding his hair. The weight was negligible with a minor tap into mania-power.

Their next stop was one of many cocoon rooms. Big fleshy pods full of ectoplasm each held a soul in various stages of physicality, from tadpole to full human. The in-between state saw the naked, hairless hunks transparent with their skeleton solidifying first.

"-and after three months," their tour guide Wretcher finished, "the plasmic bodies fray on their own, so if the soul's not been used by then, it'll just dissipate. For anything more precise you'll have to ask an actual Reaper."

Goro glanced outside the room, into the corridor of many such cocoon rooms, some of them having Reapers in togas pull finished shades from their pods. Part of him wondered if they'd let him suck and fuck his way through a few dozen of them, if he asked politely.

"The bodies themselves," Chay started, "are how they were in life?"

"The Reapers are mostly going off soul memory, yes, but there are some errors on the surface, like missing follicles, scars and birthmarks. Also, adjustments like improved bone density make better workers out of them. And we don't bother manifesting most fat since the slaves don't take sustenance, only using up the plasma until it fades."

"For real though," Marcus said, "Why no chicks? And I don't mean poultry, I mean pussy. Girl humans. The booby kind. This adventure could have been a lot different, you know?"