Chapter 3: Return of Cthulhu
She padded quietly through the cave. One hand lay on the engraved hilt of the great sword, the other on her flail. Her frozen blue wings protruded out from her curtain of blond hair so pale it was white and her amber brown eyes cast about for the illuminant monsters, glowing pink in the dark Hallow caves. A noise sounded behind her and she unsheathed her huge sword, spun around, sliced the monster in two and re-sheathed the sword in one smooth motion.
Nice, said a voice in her head.
"Monavelle, is that you?" she said absently, readying her flail.
Yeah, Ramisse, it's me. Listen, Calythé says we should gather. Get out here asap, understand?
"Kind of busy right now," muttered Ramisse, throwing her flail. It punched a hole in the monster nearest her and then drew back. The monster waddled around, confused.
Can't your slaughterfest wait?
Ramisse sighed. "Plantera's Bulb, you're impatient. Is it important?"
It's extremely important. Calythé figured out what the message said. Get here fast.
"Fine," growled Ramisse, and she engaged her icy wings and flew out of the cave.
Emi was crying.
She had cried a lot over the past few days, though. She had so many tears leaking down her face that her cheeks were stained green. Now she put down her head on the table and wept, her green hair disheveled and tangled and her back heaving convulsively. Topaz and Saffa, on either side of her, gently scooted away. It was lunchtime at the Magicians' Guild and the pumpkin pies and mushroom soup on the table steamed invitingly, but nobody felt like eating. Even Topaz, with his huge appetite, picked halfheartedly at his lunch. No-one was talking; only Emi's sobs broke the silence.
Finally, Embrea sighed and attempted to make conversation. "I heard an interesting bulletin from my correspondent at the Archers' Guild this morning," she said tentatively. "He told me that a number of recruits were found dead in their beds a few days ago. There was one living recruit, but he seemed possessed, muttering about the return of Cthulhu."
Everyone stopped. Even Emi stopped crying and raised her head above the table, green eyes red-rimmed from crying and wide with shock.
"Who's Cthulhu?" asked Saffa innocently.
"Cthulhu is - or rather, was - an evil god," said Embrea gently. "He brought destruction upon Terraria Land in the early days of its creation by appearing in the form of a demonic eye and terrorizing the heroes of the land. Only those with special armor and weapons were able to fight the eye, though there was a bozo named Maxx who fought the eye using a fairy and a bottle of shampoo. Don't even ask."
"So, someone eventually defeated the eye, right?" asked Saffa.
"Right. However, the defeat of his eye only made Cthulhu mad. So he began to appear to the heroes of Terraria Land as a brain as well as an eye. That's when he was exiled," Embrea continued.
"How did he get exiled?" asked Saffa.
"Good question," said Topaz. "You see, Cthulhu's brain and remaining eye were so powerful that only the three most legendary heroines in the whole history of Terraria Land have ever defeated them. You may have heard of Calythé, Ramisse, and Monavelle," he finished.
"The Book, the Blade, and the Bow," breathed Saffa incredulously. "They defeated the eye and the brain?"
"Exactly. Once the brain and the eye were both defeated, Cthulhu was exiled into an even more terrifying place. He was warped to the sixth dimension and thought never to return," said Embrea. "And now… now this." Suddenly Thunder stood up, slammed his chair into the table and stormed angrily off to his quarters.
"What's with him?" asked Topaz in alarm.
"I don't know," continued Saffa, "but I think it has to do with Cthulhu."