A little while later found Orochi settled down in their usual spot at the bar, briefly fighting a conflict between asking for a drink and holding off to be sure that they would all remember this conversation. After a meeting like that, and considering that the Wanderer, Teller, and Viracocha were staying the night before heading back out, things were certainly bound to be interesting.

            They didn’t have to wait long for Hina to show up, the moon goddess coming around the eight-headed dragon’s coils with practiced ease and settling down at the bar proper. Silap Inua wasn’t too far behind, the wind and ice spirit taking the stool next to Hina, drawing Pater down now that there was a small crowd starting to form. Even though there was a request for sake on Ni’s tongue, the others shushed him and Ichi asked for water instead. It didn’t take long for the adherence to their plan to pay off, as Wanderer appeared in the bar maybe a few moments later.

            “Hello!” She said, somehow giving off the impression of peering down the table at them all even through a blindfold. Though Wanderer had been about to take a stool a few paces down, Hina quickly broke in.

            “Why don’t you come join us down here?”

            “Oh…really? You don’t mind?”

            “No, come on. We have room.”

            Nearly jumping up onto the stool next to Silap, Wanderer let herself spin a little on the seat before asking Pater for a cider, if he had one. To which the bartender gave her an upraised eyebrow and immediately cut off any uncertainty cold.

            “Right, of course, sorry. Been at too many places these past few years, used to going through a few different choices…”

            “Where have you been? And, actually, where’s Teller? Aren’t the two of you rooming together?” Hina asked, the question getting an excited smile.

            “Oh, all over the place! Seen lots of worlds, ones with more technology, some with less, lotta stories rattling around the ‘Verses lately, that’s for sure! And Teller’s resting. She’ll probably be down in a minute.” There wasn’t too much of a shift in the carefree, happy-go-lucky tone dominating Wanderer’s body language and voice, but at the mention of Teller, it did grow just a little more subdued. Hopefully the elder goddess was alright, granted a meeting like that would drain anyone. There’d certainly been a good reason that a number of Orochi’s heads were craving a drink right now…

            “Should I send something up?” Pater asked, catching the tail end of the response as he came back with Wanderer’s drink.

            “No, it’s okay. She just seemed tired, really. Needed a bit of a break. Doesn’t seem like things’ve gotten much worse there. Dunno if it’s better, though…”

            Honestly, the dragon was collectively in the same boat. Wasn’t as if Teller was around often enough to really make an informed decision on her health, shadowy possible illnesses or no. And, really, either Teller would be down or she wouldn’t. Not to mention the conversation was moving right along again, the eight heads hastening to keep up.

            “Wasn’t sure if you all would be too happy considering the…topic of discussion today. I know I can get a little ahead of myself…” Wanderer said, considering the golden cider in her glass. Not that the others really let that go on for two long, Hina speaking up first.

            “No, it was…important, certainly.”

            “Kind of enlightening to see the others’ responses…” Ich murmured from overhead, projecting a bit to include the rest in the thought.

            “Big project though.” Silap pointed out with a low, whispering rumble, Wanderer answering with a nod.

            “Yeah, but also a worthwhile one, if we can get it to work. Kind of why I brought it to Hephaestus. Would’a been nice if Thoth had been there too, but…”

            A brief, heavy silence filtered in at that, the name bringing in the shroud of past death. Not that anyone really could have said what exactly happened to the Egyptian god, but in times of war, and given that there’d been no sign of the god again since, it was certainly easy to assume.

            “Hephaestus will be able to do something. His work on the reliquaries more than qualifies him for this.” Hina pointed out, either in an effort to move things along or chase out the possible specter. Not that any of Orochi would have begrudged her in either case.

            “Yeah, yeah…” Wanderer hummed, before suddenly straightening up and turning a little to “look” behind her. The reason for her abrupt redirection came strolling into view not a moment later, the dark, well-covered frame of Kur stepping up to the bar. As Pater went to get the god’s order, Wanderer spoke up.

            “Didn’t know you were staying.”

            “Hmm, just for the night. It’ll be easier for me to get back in the morning.” Kur rumbled, sipping at the dark liquid in his glass. None of Orochi had really heard the order, so the exact name was something of a mystery. Still looked good though, even if the moment the thought of a drink was quietly entertained by someone the rest of the dragon’s heads determinedly smacked the notion down. They wanted to remember this, damn it, as clearly as possible. It would not do to get drunk right now. 

            “Where will the Circus be settling down tomorrow?” Silap’s whispered question came as more obvious; the Circus itself obeyed the same rules as the Bar, though given who ran it there was an extra layer of ruthlessness that came when those rules were disregarded. Tiamat was hardly a forgiving person. Personable, surprisingly so considering her origins and legend, but not very forgiving.

            “Somewhere within Kitezh’s limits. It’s their warmer season and we do like to stop there at least once every so often.”

            “Ah, I was there a little while ago.” Wanderer distractedly piped up, gently revolving on her stool. “I think there are some new faces there, maybe you’ll see them.”

            “These new faces have names?” Kur mildly answered back, thankfully not seeming too off-put by the sudden distance the Wanderer seemed to have when it came to the conversation. Not that anyone else really minded, her attention seemed to ebb and flow more often than not. And, with the change of topic, she was drawn right back into the conversation anyway, eagerly ready to tell Kur all about the “new faces” she’d apparently met.

            “Oh, yes! I’m actually rather surprised in some cases that they’ve settled on them so young, but honestly, they do suit them. The first is, well, called Nemo or Nimo. I caught them wandering around the city at night. The poor thing unfortunately has a natural cloaking glamour that’s hard to turn off, but their presence can be felt in one way or another. Chances are Tiamat might notice, figured I might give you a heads up before they get curious and try to wander in.”

            “That would be nice, yes,” Kur teased, voice lilting somewhere between the same mild tone and something more injected with humor. Honestly, it made Orochi collectively look between themselves, had there been some word of a young god attempting to sneak into the Circus before? Well, hopefully the heads up would keep this “Nemo” from being the first, at least…

            “And then there’s Hallows—”

            “Hallows is in Kitezh?” Hina spoke up from around Silap, leaning to look Wanderer in the metaphorical eye as she tried to clarify.

            “Yeah—”

            “Who is Hallows?” Silap’s softer voice hissed, caught off-guard by the sudden interest of his drinking buddy, but Wanderer beat Hina to the explanation.

            “Oh, a very nice death god! A little young and new, but very nice! Has a sort of old Eire motif about him?”

            “Eire?” Silap echoed, not sounding any more brought up to speed. Thankfully, before Wanderer could charge onward, Hina managed to slip in with a quick nugget of information.

            “Old Ireland. They call it Ireland now. You remember Mac Lir? Goibniu? Aine?”

            “Oh, Goibniu. Wasn’t he the one that wanted to create his own…smaller ‘Verse?”

            “A small, simple world, yes, that’d be him! He has kids now! Talked to one recently, think she’s still traveling the ‘Verses last I checked.” Wanderer went on happily, though suddenly a small detail seemed to catch up with her, drawing her attention to Hina. “Wait, so how do you know Hallows?”

            “…I was helping during Singularity, he was one of the gods worst affected.” The moon goddess finally came out, eyes turning pensively to her drink. “After his friend, the mortal, went home, he came by here. Said he was trying to find where in the ‘Verses her home was. Couldn’t tell him very much, and he left not long after. You were right though. He is a very kind soul.”

            “I think they’re calling that mortal ‘Angel’ now,” Kur murmured, the other members of the group snapping to attention at the reminder that the dark god was present. “It does make sense though. What better name for someone who exposed one of the worst atrocities the ‘Verses have ever seen? I was honestly under the impression it was an actual angel, though. It did seem the sort of thing one would do. You’re sure it was a mortal?”

            “Hallows was adamant. And I do remember her. A very young thing, to be so far from home,” Wanderer replied, tone distant again right before she snapped back to attention, remembering something. “There’s one last one, and this one’s…kind of a sensitive case.”

            “Oh?” Kur asked, tone suggesting a raised eyebrow as he sipped at his ichor. Still, Orochi hardly had it in any of them to be too focused on that right now, not when the gossip was getting particularly interesting.

            “Yeah, he’s…he’s kind of a…” It was not that Wanderer simply wouldn’t waffle, she would from time to time, but sometimes it seemed like the more she waited and searched for the “right” term the stranger the eventual words coming out of her mouth would be. After a moment, she appeared to grasp a description from the air, twirling a little on her stool with her colorful wrap billowing slightly.

            “He’s like the Shadow.”

            And that truly made the group collectively bristle. No one present was ignorant of the power that name held, but in a time of deathly shades, ghosts, and smoldering war-time regrets, he was not an entity that was called upon, or even named, lightly. Though he had been seen a few times during the War, his presence simply exploded back into public memory when Singularity had. No one had known how or when the elder god had gotten there, but he had been. Wanderer had somehow worked with him, in tandem to dredge the lost souls up from the depths. Not a mean feat in and of itself, the Shadow tended to have a very…mentally corrosive presence about him, many saying that he was a harbinger of doom.

            The idea that there was another being out in the ‘Verses like the Shadow definitely made them all sit up and take notice, even Kur lowering his drink a little at the implication. Still, his words hardly shook as he queried Wanderer.

            “Like the Shadow in what way?”

            “Well, they call him Bloody Truth. He’s a sort of guilt-based demiurge. So, as long as you have no guilt regarding anything, you should be fine.”

            “Might stir up some of the performers, the mental strain could be a problem, but distance could help if he does show up. The lower levels might be a problem too…Or not. Depending on how he works, I suppose.” The words immediately brought to mind Kur’s earlier comments about Chaotics, Orochi briefly exchanging looks that bespoke of a silent understanding; the unstable beings likely would be agitated by such an entity, sane or no. The mention of the lower levels was a thing that, while interesting, they would be forced to let go. Apart from a word here and there, Kur was remarkably cagey about what was under the Circus, and they’d never had the pleasure of asking either Tiamat or Kur directly. Given the gods running the place, no doubt there was something, a little less than savory down there…

            Granted, the elements at play were the morals of the old religions and chaos. Of course there was going to be something less than savory there. Not that Orochi was unfamiliar with how such a thing worked, they had once had a beautiful princess simply thrown at their feet…

            “Where is this Bloody Truth now?” Silap asked, voice relatively calm considering that the eight-headed dragon was fairly certain that he was just as nervous by this bit of news as the rest of them.

            “Honestly, dunno. Last I saw him he was in Kitezh, but that was awhile ago. He could have easily left…And really, we should do better to at least keep an eye on the new gods, especially ones like him.” Wanderer’s voice ended on a ringing note, though for all the determination Pater had an equally firm reply. Though, it was one that they certainly all had on their minds. 

            “How do we do that when their presence is difficult for most to tolerate?”

            “Not everyone has to. We just…need to find the right kind of help for them. Look, I know the previous idea didn’t work, I understand that, but if we let new gods and spirits simply spring up unchecked, then sooner or later, someone will start molding what we won’t touch.” Wanderer pointed out, blindfolded eyes turning to each and every one of them with a familiar, ironclad conviction. And it wasn’t as though she did not have a point, that Orochi had to concede. It was a tall order though, especially for this particular situation.

            The first to break the moment was Kur, the dark god giving a not-quite sigh before turning back to his drink.

            “Don’t know exactly how much a day at the Circus will help, bright eyes.”