Rhiannan woke in a tangle of limbs, her head squished between Elisha's chest and Sable's demon sized thigh. Someone was drooling. Probably Liam.
She groaned. "Why do I feel like I just got hit by a freight train full of dicks?"
Kaleb appeared shirtless at the edge of the bed, holding coffee. His smirk was lethal. "Because you did, goddess."
Rhiannan gave him the middle finger and snatched the cup. Elisha stirred, muttering something about treasure and biting.
Before she could take a sip, Sasha crackled through the air.
"You've got... ninety two million, four hundred seventy six thousand, one hundred nine messages."
Rhiannan spit her coffee out. "WHAT?!"
Coins rained down in a magical notification explosion. Liam stretched beside her and yawned. "You break the divine realm once and they just won't leave you alone."
Fan mail poured in. From nobles, beggars, witches, fanatics, and horny bards. A siren queen offered an underwater palace. An elf prince swore he'd give her his left nut for a smile. Rhiannan was... flattered? Horrified? Confused?
But one scroll stood out. It had a silver wax seal, glowing softly. Power rippled from it.
Arwen leaned over her shoulder. "That smells ancient."
"So does your attitude," she muttered, and broke the seal.
The scroll unraveled itself, ancient script glowing in divine ink. A map formed, the Temple of Echoes, buried in the Whispering Marshes. Said to hold the Crown of Reflection, the second relic.
Rhiannan's heart thudded.
"This is it," she whispered. "We find the crown... maybe we find the truth."
Kaleb frowned. "Truth comes at a price."
Liam elbowed him. "Oh great, we have broody doom prophet AND a map to hell. Fabulous."
Then Sasha's voice glitched. Metallic. Wrong.
"I-I-I s-eeeeeeeee something... w-w-w-watching..."
The lights flickered. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the walls.
A mounted deer head over the fireplace twisted, its glass eyes glowing red. It spoke.
"She is MINE."
Everyone froze.
Liam chucked a chair. "NOT TODAY, YOU TAXIDERMY TWAT!"
The head exploded into shadow goo. Elisha snorted smoke. Arwen grabbed a sword. Sable hissed.
Rhiannan pinched the bridge of her nose. "I hate it here."
Sable grinned. "I kinda love it."
They gathered supplies. Magical gear. Swamp boots. Elemental weapons. Spiked coffee.
Sasha created a training room illusion of the Whispering Marshes. Slippery vines. Ghost moans. Arwen got stuck in a tree. Again.
Elisha growled. "If that vine grabs her ass one more time, I'll burn the entire forest."
Rhiannan: "Your jealousy is showing, flame boy."
Sable: "...I think the vine is into me."
Liam: "Must be the dick with a mind of its own."
Kaleb: "Alright, enough. Weapons. Gear. Pack your emotions."
As Rhiannan stared at the glowing map, she steeled her resolve. They could, and would do this. Together.
A portal shimmered to life. The team stepped in, weapons strapped and sarcasm loaded.
Kaleb: "Bet 50 coins the temple tries to seduce us."
Arwen: "Make it 100 and I'll let it."
Rhiannan: "Can we not get dicked by a building for once?"
Sasha: "Statistically? No."
With a final burst of light, they vanished, onward to the Whispering Marshes and the chaos waiting in the Temple of Echoes.