Curiosity had been a driving factor for most of Bryn's life.

What would happen if she asked the right questions? Generally, but not always, something good came from taking the time to wonder. The wrong questions? Significantly less success overall, but provided material to learn from. Where would she end up if she took that path? That one was harder, often leaving her with a lingering what if until something else captured her attention. It had the tendency to create an almost aimless cycle if left unaddressed. This time curiosity had lead her to a scorched and bubbling land. Towards something she'd never explored and, at one time, wouldn't have believed possible for her to find.

The home of a god.

As a child she'd been told to stay away from the matters of deities. It was dangerous. It was over her head. It was a duty left to her betters. Honestly, she'd been told to stay away from most of everything she thought could be interesting or fun. Bryn wrinkled her nose at the memories and continued on with a renewed sense of determination. Even though she hadn't seen any of them in close to a decade, family still had a way of getting under her skin. Maybe that was a part of why she had decided to make this journey. 

She passed one of the area's massive tortoises as she continued her trek and whistled. She'd never seen a beast quite like that before. Bryn wondered idly if they were suited to carrying passengers, or if they'd even be good travel companions. How much did it take to feed a creature of that size? The traveler quickly outpaced the creature and her focus returned to the approach on the towering castle that taunted her in the ever-shortening distance. Or did it beckon?

Bryn traveled armed, but light. She knew the ever present heat of the area would pull on her strength well enough without the aid of pounds of extra gear. One sword hung from her hip, ready for use at a moment's notice. Her secondary was on her back with her pack and buckler, out of the way but available for emergencies. If all else failed, a short dagger lived in her boot. The mercenary adjusted the weight of her gear and wiped her arm across her forehead, wicking away the beads of sweat that had begun to form. 

After a long list of songs whistled, the mercenary paused at the foot of the stairs that would take her to the castle's interior. Grey eyes squinted at the entrance at the top and she took a slow breath before taking the first step. It took a while, but Bryn made it to the top of the stairs. She glanced back over her shoulder at the distance she'd traveled that day and a wide grin spread over her face. Renewed by the small victory, Bryn straightened her back and strode into the castle.

The heat rose around her as she paused a couple steps in. There was a massive fountain depicting two dragons, flames coming from their mouths and pool of lava beneath them. More lava fell around the edges of the room and for a moment, the mercenary was struck still by the sight of it all. It only took a couple minutes of quiet observation for Bryn to make a confused discovery: There were no other doors. She circled the fountain of fire, eyeing the area. She was stuck. The mercenary knew that there was more to be seen and explored, but there didn't seem to be a good way to access it. She paused near one of the flows of lava, brow furrowed. Bryn hadn't traveled this far for her curiosity to be stifled so suddenly. Before forming or testing any theories about how travel in this strange castle worked or didn't, Bryn tried a more simple approach. 

"Hello?"

[OOC: R post, Bianca swears lol Should be the only time]

”What are you doing, Master?” The tiny succubus asked of the Deity.

”Trying to extract a certain part of this dragon blood, so I can combine it with a sample of my blood and fuse them together.” The Deity replied as they stood in their laboratory with a sphere of pure dragon blood floating in front of them. Tendrils of that blood floated out from it and Bianca carefully used their magic to extract the parts of the blood that they wanted. A second sphere floated a foot away from the dragon’s blood, it was Bianca’s, and the tendrils crept towards it and seemed inside.

”Is it working?”

”Hexa, please be quiet, I need to focus. I’m not a Deity of Blood, so I can’t use my Divine powers here.” Which greatly annoyed Bianca, but work had to be done all the same. More and more of the dragon’s blood seemed into Bianca’s and the Herald smiled, it seemed their experiment was working! Or was it? After a few moments Bianca’s blood sample started to turn black from the dragon’s blood. It roiled and bubbled before dropping to the floor in a sickening puddle as Bianca dropped control of it and the dragon’s blood. ”Fuck!” Bianca screamed, forcing Hexa to eep and hide behind a book on the table. ”What am I missing? Maybe I need some kind of catalyst to make the merge work?” Just as Bianca was contemplating this they sensed a new presence inside the volcano.

Good, a distraction from this failure.

”Go and find something to do, Hexa, I’ll speak to our guest.” Bianca spoke and walked towards the rooms lava falls.

Back down in the gallery, from one of the falls around the room Bianca stepped as though it was a curtain of cloth. ”Greetings.” Bianca replied as they appeared. At the moment Bianca was wearing a simple cloak of the finest material, primary fire red with purple trim and the tie strap around the waist was purple. Bianca’s hair was done in their usual style, right half was long and lose while the left was done in dreadlocks, their hair a fiery orange as their eyes glowed with an inner light of the same hue. However, at first glance it was difficult to tell if Bianca was male or female, as with each movement their body seemed to shift one was or another slightly. ”I am Bianca Bathory, what brings you to my castle this day? Are you here to study Fire? Help spread Chaos perhaps?” Bianca asked, their voice neutral in tone. Since becoming a Deity and while classed as an evil one by many, Bianca was trying to be nicer, at least around their Castle as not to scare anyone away. They might be useful.

Bryn's hand fell to the hilt of her sword as a figure stepped through one of the flows of lava, a reaction trained by the years spent being hired for violence. Just as quickly, her grip loosened and dropped at the individual's introduction. The mercenary adjusted her posture and gave a short bow at the waist, manners not completely forgotten. “Herald.” She straightened and tucked a fallen chunk of hair behind her ear. Bryn wasn't entirely sure what she had expected to happen when she called out, but it wasn't for the master of the castle themself to greet her. “I'll admit, I didn't think I'd meet you face to face.”

Adjusting the collar of her short sleeved tunic, Bryn was suddenly very aware of how at odds her appearance was when compared to the deity's. Dark blues and worn greys offering a distinct contrast to Bianca's vivid reds and purples. The dirt on her boots and pants, the ever present sheen of sweat from the heat and travel, and the messy pile of dark hair on her head. It all suited both of their respective stations and duties quite well. There was a momentary flash of concern that her appearance would convey disrespect, but it was too late for that problem to be adjusted. Best to just act like nothing was wrong.

“Fire? Not so much. I'm more suited to campfires than, well, all this.” Bryn made a vague gesture to the lava flow Bianca had come through. Her talent for magic had always seemed to lean towards less flashy disciplines, like heightening senses or a momentary push of extra strength. The mercenary had long ago accepted that turning into animals and conjuring items from thin air were beyond her reach. “Chaos though. That sounds like something a bit more up my alley. Why, you hiring?” A lopsided grin split Bryn's face. She enjoyed a good ruckus, even more so when there was coin involved. Perhaps this self indulgent journey would become something more lucrative.

Grey eyes wandered back to the fire fountain in the center of the room, then back to the deity. “If you don't mind the asking, what happens around here? What are the, ah, rules you have for your followers?” Bryn had grown up in a family that valued appearing pious, but had little regard for actually being such. As she'd struck out on her own Bryn had drifted away from religion. She'd been more occupied with feeding herself and other survival related concerns. Now, though. Now she was more established as a person. Maybe it was time to start looking a bit closer at the deities.

Bianca gave a small smile. ”I do have an attendant that would normally greet newcomers, but, at the moment, she’s busy with another project. Besides, I do like to know who comes into my territory.” Bianca explained, Hexa was probably somewhere she should not be having fun on her own. She was a mischievous little thing, but despite her size still a succubus so she still tried to act like one, even if it was somewhat ineffective.

When Bryn asked if Bianca was hiring the lopsided grin was returned in kind. ”Oh, I’m always looking for those willing to help spread a little mayhem around the lands… sometimes a lot of mayhem.” When Bryn asked what happened around the place Bianca grinned. ”I cannot divulge any future plans, unless you’re willing to join in them, but, besides that, lots happens. The Hall of Helios is on the second level, it’s where my Agents, those of Fire or Chaos, or both, learn their trades. Those who have magical talents get trained in Fire magic, but also some other magics that might help them hide, or escape, same with those of Chaos. Anyone unable to learn magic we’ll teach in the art of stealth and how to counter magical detection, and I can provide charms, blessing and boons in my role as Deity.”

”Personally, I’m a natural blood mage, so I do research here and for my Agents that show a talent, an interest and suitably impress me, I may teach them blood magic. I teach it to carry on the tradition so it doesn’t die, as frowned upon as it might be, and because it helps to reinforce the basics for me. My Divine powers don’t extend to my blood magic so that’s a field I have to keep working on.” Bianca thought a moment, Bryn showed some interest in the Chaos side of things, perhaps Bianca could get a new Agent out of this? ”As for rules, they’re simple; fulfill your duties, don’t get caught, don’t talk if you do, and if I say something, do it.” Bianca grinned. ”Would you like to see the Hall of Helios?”