The gods of Olympus are nearly forgotten, and worshipped by very few. However, a number of phenomena confirm that they once existed, and may still linger on. A beautiful temple standing at the peak of a mountain is one of these phenomena. This temple is said to have been constructed by the God of the Forge, Hephaestus. Around the sides of the mountain spirals a giant stairway, with steps so huge, only the gods could have climbed them.
People constructed a corridor for human use beside the stairway of the gods, for those who came to worship at the mountain peak. A short way up the stairs stands a temple marking the entrance to that corridor, named Eurydice Shrine.
It was this shrine located near the base of the mountain that Siegfried, Tira, and Ivy were approaching. They hoped that they would not have to climb the entire mountain to speak to Hephaestus - and tried not to think about the possibility that he would not hear their words.
As they ascended the stairs and the shrine came into view, they were awestruck by the beauty they beheld.
Through a fantastically decorated gold and white arch, there was a multi-tiered fountain spraying clear water out of a golden vase. Similar arches and more golden vases lined the path to the entrance of the shrine. Where the arches ended, water poured forth from the mouth of beautifully crafted stone griffins, and more water cascaded out of the vases of masterfully crafted stone statues, which in turn rushed down steps to fill a moat-like area around the entrance of the shrine.
The area before the shrine itself was a semi-circular platform, one half if it square in shape, and the other half like a circle. Its tiled floor was just as beautiful as every other aspect of the wonderfully decorated shrine. Siegfried found himself wondering what sort of beauty was to be found inside of the shrine.
Standing at the entrance to the shrine was a very tall grey statue of a bearded man clothed in a short robe and holding a shield and sort sword. Standing before this statue was a woman. She was dressed in a similar robe, although wearing two metal plates covering her breasts, and holding a sword and shield identical to that of the statue behind her. She was an extremely beautiful woman, almost making the shrine around her pale in comparison.
Once Siegfried stepped off of the stairway and into the platform before the shrine, he turned and spoke in a hushed tone to Ivy and Tira. "Stay here. That woman would not be armed if she did anticipate a battle. Although I shall try to avoid that at all costs, it may be unavoidable." Tira and Ivy nodded, and stayed on the stairs.
Siegfried raised his hand in greeting to the woman standing before the statue. "Hello! We come here in peace, and mean no harm. We seek an audience with Hephaestus, if this is possible."
The woman raised her sword and shield, held them together, and bowed her head forward. Siegfried saw her lips move slightly, and a wisp of breath appeared on the cold air before her lips as she spoke, but Siegfried could not hear what she was saying. She almost seemed to be praying to herself, but Siegfried wasn't sure. Perhaps she was bidding them welcome with a custom he didn't know of. She didn't seem hostile at all, so he assumed that it was safe to proceed.
His assumption proved to be very wrong. As Siegfried approached, the woman stretched out her arms, and rotated them around herself sweepingly, as if to stretch or limber up her body. Then, she bent her body forward, placing her hands on the ground, and did a forward flip! When she landed, she preformed another flip, this time propelling herself through the air. Her next jump carried her all the way to Siegfried, and, faster than he could react, she preformed a backflip, staying in place, but kicking Siegfried in the jaw as she flipped. She followed this flip with another, higher one, her foot slamming into Siegfried's jaw again, this time harder, with the force of the blow knocking him back. He landed on his back on the edge of the stairs. If he'd been standing a few inches back, he might have gone tumbling down the stairway.
"Master!" Tira cried.
"So, it's a fight she wants, eh...?" Ivy said with a smirk, unsheathing her sword.
"No! Stay back!" Siegfried said, getting to his feet. "I don't want any meaningless bloodshed. If we can just explain ourselves, I'm sure we can avoid a battle." He turned once again to the female warrior. "Please, listen to us! We don't want to fight!"
The woman seemed unsure for a moment, but did not falter. She leapt forward and preformed a thrust with her sword at Siegfried. When he parried the blow, she spun around to his right and slashed parallel to the ground. The blow struck Siegfried in the side, but his armor protected him from fatal damage.
Siegfried raised his sword to block her next attack, but it would not help him. The woman held up her shield, and, to Siegfried's great surprise, it suddenly began to spark with electricity, and glow with flames. She thrust it hard at Siegfried, and although it struck his sword, the strange attack hit him with an extreme amount of force. The woman spun around, her shield coming into contact with the side of Siegfried's sword this time, knocking it aside. With Siegfried open, the woman preformed an amazingly strong uppercut with her shield that knocked Siegfried upwards into the air.
The uppercut carried the woman into the air, as well, much higher than she should have been able to jump. She spun her body around, swinging her sword as she did so, slashing it across the still-airborne Siegfried. At the zenith of her ascent, she swung her leg in a downward kick that connected with Siegfried's head and sent him crashing to the ground below.
She landed before Siegfried as gracefully as a dove. He groaned in pain, but quickly scrambled to his feet and shuffled away from her.
"...Why..." He paused to wipe blood from his mouth. "Why are you doing this? We don't want to fight!"
The woman seemed confused, and faltered a little, but soon returned to the way she was before. She spun around, slashing her sword as she did, and then preformed a thrust. Siegfried, now more on guard for attacks, was able to block the blows, but did so with great difficulty, as a result of both his wounds and the woman's agility.
The woman preformed a number of attacks at Siegfried with both her sword and her shield. Tira and Ivy called out, offering and insisting to help, but again and again Siegfried refused. Before long, however, even he could see the foolishness in allowing the woman to continue to attack him. She refuses to listen to me. I'll have to stop her. I'll hit her just hard enough to stop her...
After assuming a defensive stance, Siegfried surprised the woman by suddenly attacking. He slammed the flat part of his sword's blade into her side, and she went flying through the air.
But, when she landed, she exhibited no signs of pain at all. She quickly leapt to her feet, and charged at Siegfried again.
...What? What is this woman? How is she able to perform these extraordinary attacks, and take a swing from my sword only to get up as if nothing happened?
Siegfried defended her ensuing attacks, and when he saw an opening, he attacked her again. The result was the same as before - she would take the full force of a swing from Siegfried's Zweihänder, fly through the air like a ragdoll, but then leap to her feet and dash at him no more than a second later.
I'll have to strike her harder...but any harder and I'm sure I'll hurt her badly..."Listen to me! If you don't stop attacking me, I may end up hurting you!" Siegfried shouted, even as he wondered if the woman was able to become hurt.
The woman did not respond. In fact, as the battle went on, it seemed like her resolve to fight grew even stronger.
The woman held her sword vertically. Siegfried swung his sword back, and then slashed it horizontally as hard as he could at her sword in an attempt to knock her sword out of her hands. The woman moved her sword to the side to perform an attack, and Siegfried missed but the blade of his sword slammed into the side of her head!
The woman gave a cry, was flung to the side, and laid there unmoving. Siegfried gasped. No...! I've killed her! ...If only she would have listened to me, instead...if only I would have thought up something, instead of-
The woman stirred.
"...What?"
The woman rose up, rubbed her head, and then turned to face Siegfried. She looked surprised as she patted the spot where Siegfried's sword had hit her, but she bore no wound.
That's impossible! A blow like that would have sliced right into her head! Yet, there is no wound, no blood...Is this woman a god?
The woman smiled, and closed her eyes. Siegfried saw her lips move again, and was able to make out her words this time. "As long as I am on these grounds...I understand now. Thank you, Hephaestus..."
...Hephaestus! She really does have the protection of the gods!
The woman charged at him, moving even faster than before, and seemingly brimming with confidence.
How can I defeat her? What did she mean by 'on these grounds'? ...Perhaps...she cannot be harmed while on this shrine's grounds? ...Perhaps I can lure her away from here? No, she wouldn't fall for that. ...Fall. Fall...
Siegfried's eyes darted to the water that surrounded the platform. He gripped his sword tighter with a new plan in mind. He had no idea if it would work, but if there was a chance, he had to try...
As the woman approached him, Siegfried stepped to the side, circling her, until, from where he was positioned, the edge of the platform was located in front of him, and behind the woman. Then, when she charged at him, he pointed his sword at the woman, brought the hilt of his sword to his torso, and thrust it straight out towards her.
Using a slashing weapon in the manner that one would use a rod caught the woman off guard, and she was caught by the blow and flung backwards. She flew through the air, off of the platform itself, and landed in the water!
Siegfried stood at the edge of the platform, looked down into the water, and waited for the woman to resurface.
He waited.
She did not resurface.
An expression of concern came over his face. ...What if she can't get back up? Can't swim? Maybe...maybe it's those metal plates she was wearing over her breasts? Too heavy to swim with?
Siegfried quickly began taking off his armor.
"Siegfried! What are you doing?" Ivy called out.
"I think she needs to be rescued." Siegfried replied.
"Why the hell would you want to rescue her? She tried to kill you!"
"That doesn't mean that she deserves to die." Siegfried said, before jumping into the water.
The water was extremely cold, but not cold enough to prevent Siegfried from being able to swim through it. The depth of the water was about 12 feet, not as deep as he'd expected, but more than deep enough for someone to drown in. The woman was at the bottom, desperately attempting to swim upward, but doing so in vain. The strain on her face showed that she was nearly out of air.
Siegfried swam downwards towards her, and the woman's eyes became wide. He grabbed a hold of her wrist, and tried to pull her upwards. He had enough strength to wield a giant sword in combat, but dragging a woman upwards while in water was a different matter. She was too heavy. His eyes went down to the metal plates strapped to her chest.
...Forgive me.
Siegfried reached towards the woman's chest, and began to attempt to unfasten the clasps that kept the metal plates on. Even in the water, he could see her cheeks grow bright red, and she attempted to bat away his hands. When he worked off the plate covering her right breast, exposing it, she tried to slap him, but it was impossible to achieve the force necessary to do so underwater.
Once Siegfried had removed the plates, she was instantly much lighter. He grabbed her wrist, and tried to swim upward. She wasn't offering him any assistance. When he looked back at her, he saw that she was limp, and her eyes were closed.
...Oh, hell!
With much effort, Siegfried was able to succeed in bringing them both out of the water, moments before he would have been out of breath. He pushed her up onto the platform in front of a dumbfounded Tira and Ivy. Siegfried laid the woman on her back, saddled her, and placed his hand beneath her breast.
"...Master! What-"
"She has a pulse, but she isn't breathing." He said quickly. "I'm sorry, I don't have time to explain this!"
Siegfried tilted the woman's head back, raised her chin, pinched her nose shut, and then sealed her mouth with his own. He sharply exhaled into her mouth twice, and then pressed his ear to her throat. With a worried look on his face, he placed the heel of his hand just above her left breast, and pushed down on it repeatedly.
Suddenly, the woman spasmed, and then coughed. Water, as well as a small amount of blood and vomit, came out of her mouth. She rolled onto her side, coughing, and wiped her mouth. Then, she jerked her head in Siegfried's direction.
"...What..."
"You nearly drowned. I was able to save you."
The woman seemed mystified at first, and then suddenly much more interested in the fact that her breasts were exposed. She quickly adjusted her garb so that her chest was covered, but still looked embarrassed.
"...Thank you. ...And...I'm sorry." She said in a very humble voice. "...My god...I wasn't sure if...my children..."
"...What?"
She shook her head. "I'm so sorry. I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but I can barely think right now. ...I need to rest, I..."
"It's alright. I understand. Do you live nearby? We could take you home."
The woman's mystified expression returned. ...Who is this man? I try to kill him, and he fights back only with great reluctance. Then, he saves me from nearly drowning, and now he offers to help me...
"...I live...very close by. You most likely passed by the town I live in on your way here. I live in a smithy with my sister and my..."
The woman tried to speak again, but then she seemed to lose her train of thought. Her eyes slowly began to drift shut, and then she stopped talking.
"...Is she dying?" Ivy asked.
"No." Siegfried said, noting her breathing. "She has merely fallen unconscious. We should take her home."
"...Ha. You sure are a sucker for beautiful women."
"It's not that. While we were fighting, I heard her speak as if she was talking to a god. Not only that, but some of her attacks were...there was something almost magical about them. And you saw her near-invincibility in combat just now. I am sure that this woman is in contact with the gods. It would be in our best interest to make sure she is safe, and have a thorough discussion with her."
"...Humph. Alright, I understand. ...One question, though. How the hell did you bring her back to life by molesting her?"
"She wasn't 'dead', and I wasn't 'molesting' her. ...When I was in the Schwarzwind, there was a time when a friend of mine nearly drowned. Another friend revived him using the technique I used just now. His father was a doctor, and had taught him the technique. In turn, he taught the rest of is how to perform it. It has an extremely low success rate, but it's all you can do for someone who has stopped breathing. It is seldom heard of, but it has actually been in practice for hundreds of years."
After hearing Siegfried's explanation, Tira seemed to breathe a long sigh of relief.
Siegfried had put his armor back on, and hoisted the woman over his shoulder. "I think I saw the smithy of which she spoke in the town we passed through earlier. ...Come. Let us take her there."