[God Quest] the reason that the show rolls on

// nothing is as simple, I worship, you're my temple //

True to his word, he does spend the next few days upon returning to the Grounds squirreled away with his fiancé. But today, once he’s glanced at the bag that the cockatrice’s remains are in, the butcher decides to change his original plan for the day. He should turn in the quest, now that it is completed and he’d taken what felt like forever to get it accomplished.

He doesn’t think Dygra would hold it against him, thankfully.

He arrives dressed up in his splendor, as usual, this time with a golden theme that joins the black and scarlet. His waistcoat is a deep scarlet with filigree of golden accents and floral twists, worn over a dark velvet looking shirt with his sleeves rolled up, hair brushed back and put together to round out the outfit with his usual dark pants and boots.

It’s with reverence that Asta opens the bag once he reaches the shrine, setting the corpse of the cockatrice on the surface of the slab of obsidian, fingers trailing along the edge of it as he adds the villi lace to set beside it, neatly folded as he was prone to do. To the ruby’s sharp edge he turns his attention, this time pressing his wrist to it to draw his blood to the surface, letting it drip across the shrine and the lace and the cockatrice – because honestly? What’s some more blood between them when he has plenty to share.

“Darling Dygra, I must apologize for the delay. The Feirw shift had been.. A surprise last Leafchange, so I was not as much on time as I prefer to be.” There’s a soft huff that leaves him, the smile in his voice and the twitch of his lips. “Time has a strange habit of slipping away, it would seem. Anyway, I have completed what you have asked for.” His head bowing in his prayer, the butcher continues to let his wrist drip slowly as it begins to clot.

---

Villi Lace Armor turn in! Quest received here: skeleton man

• 1. Complete a thread spilling enough of his own blood to soak the villi lace with it.
  ― I've got scars that can't be seen
  
• 2. Complete a thread striking/hitting someone important to him without pulling his punches.
  ― [Training] a conversation about identity
  
• 3. Complete a thread blindfolded, embracing the chaos of not knowing what might happen next.
  ― sweetest tongue has sharpest tooth
  
• 4. Complete a thread fighting and slaying a Cockatrice in King's End.
  ― [SE] bury me face down
  

Astaroth

// and heaven, hold your gates open, all the hell we've been through //

Dygra

"A little unexpected chaos never hurt anyone, sweet butcher." Dygra's voice, sultry and amused, thrums out from the slab of obsidian and echoes off the walls, reaching deep into Asta's bones and pooling there like volcanic warmth. Before him the corpse of the cockatrice will seem to twitch, the bloody lace will seem to lift, and a sigh of satisfaction follows Dygra's words.

"It may not have been to your usual punctual standards, but it is nonetheless suitable for purpose." The butcher will feel hands, searing warm and weighty with purpose, clasp his shoulders. The cockatrice and the lace are gone now, the sensation of hands encircling his neck briefly as if to choke, before the presence simply melts away.

In its place, a delicate choker sits around Asta's neck.

Another deity might have warned him not to keep it against his skin unless he intends to do harm with it. Dygra, though, is not another deity, and Asta can learn that lesson for himself.

---

Asta has completed his quest and has received the following:

Type: Dark | Style: Defensive | Level: Mastered 

Spectral Villis Choker| A lace choker crafted from the cloak of a Spectral Villis, providing Mastered physical protection but causing the wearer to attack whoever is closest to them while wearing it. Speciality armour, no cooldown.

Table coding by Sky <3

// nothing is as simple, I worship, you're my temple //

“You are always right.” The butcher purrs in response, his tail wagging slightly with the deep thrum of his goddess’ voice that pours through every ounce of his being and caresses his soul. He breathes a breath of fresh air, soaking it all in and watches in quiet delight as the cockatrice twitches and the lace begins to lift.

Drawn back to his full height, Asta murmurs a soft little laugh of agreement – his standards were often much more rigid than he imagines Dygra preferred – but he thinks he makes up for it in the times his strict plans get interrupted and the chaos that would often ensue.

And here, in the presence of his goddess, he does not worry when it comes to the feeling of pressure – pressed around his shoulders and his neck. Always one to be wary of touch, there are always exceptions made for those he absolutely adored, especially Dygra.

A smile plays on his face, softening as the presence falls away. His hands lift to it, brushing across the choker with reverence to feel its designs against the pads of his fingers. He dips his head, his gratitude flooding through him as he tempers himself. “Thank you.” He murmurs, lowering himself a touch more into the sweep of a small bow. “There is one more thing, if you do not mind.” He pauses, drawing up to snag the threaded cane in his possession, setting it on the table top of the shrine and feeling the aura of his goddess amongst it.

“What must I do to upgrade this lovely cane?” He asks, straightening up again and awaiting his bloodsoaked goddess’ answer.

---

Asta is trying for another quest to upgrade the Threaded Cane!

Threaded Cane | A metal walking cane which, at the press of a button, breaks into conjoined shards to form a serrated whip. The range of the whip is 10ft. Should the cane be used as a weapon on its own, it will only ever do Basic damage.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic | Cost: Action

We’ll try to roll for it but if he doesn’t make it, I’ll pay MP for it :3 (I believe it’s 450?)

Racial Feat

Ancients roll with +10 at all shrines. Include this at the bottom of all shrine posts.

Citizenship Ability:

Regional Score bonus: +5 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +5 should be included). Residents cannot be cursed at shrines in this region.

Astaroth

// and heaven, hold your gates open, all the hell we've been through //

Dygra

The heat persists in the air with Asta's remark, lingering and swirling about him as if rippling out from some unseen bonfire, and though Dygra cannot be seen, there's a sense of dark curiosity that accompanies her continued presence. "One more thing," she repeats, sensual and interested, and the moment he sets the gleaming cane upon her altar it will spring apart as if alive, the bladed whip writhing in the air around the butcher. 

"Ah, yes. Quite an innovation on your part, my dark one," she recalls, her laughter swelling through the shrine as the whip continues to encircle Asta, threatening at any moment to kiss his flesh with the razor sharp edges. It never does, of course, not unless he moves to quickly or without being sure of himself.

"It has not seen as much use as it could," she laments. "Let us see what we might do to change that." At last the handle of the whip presents itself to the butcher to grasp hold of, and as Dygra delivers her instructions it will snap back together, innocuous as ever.

---

Asta has received a quest to upgrade the damage on his Threaded Cane! (The roll was not high enough, so 450MP has been deducted for a quest from a god).

He must:

1. Complete a thread killing a flora/fauna of his choice with the cane in its whip-form.
2. Complete a thread killing a flora/fauna of his choice with the cane in its cane-form.
3. Complete a thread using the threaded cane (in either form) as anything other than a weapon.
4. Complete a training thread where someone else wields the threaded cane against him.

Table coding by Sky <3

// nothing is as simple, I worship, you're my temple //

Watching with quiet amusement and absolutely zero apprehension as the cane springs apart, the bladed portions zipping out and writhing like vines around him, he hears the laughter in his goddess’ voice and his grin brightens a touch further. “I could not have done it without you.” The gratitude seeps out of him with aching ease, his posture relaxed even as he stays completely still, the blades close enough that if he moved just right they’d shave off a portion of his beard or slice deep into his skin.

It’s true, it hasn’t seen as much as it could have, and part of that is the butcher’s own stubbornness to use his shifts and magic more than the cane – which is why he thinks the upgrade should help him. As it stands, though, the hand presents itself to him and he reaches out to take it – watching as it snaps back together and she gives him her instructions for upgrading it.

His smile is sharp, a devilish thing as he dips his head and the cane clicks against the hardwood of the floor. “It shall be done. Thank you, Dygra.” He bows his head, and with nothing else to say and a new task to set out on, the butcher offers his quiet goodbyes to his goddess before she departs, and slips out of the Temple feeling rejuvenated.

- FIN

Astaroth

// and heaven, hold your gates open, all the hell we've been through //