Days earlier, while Zeus was still waiting for his turn to be received by Astarté.
Menrva, together with the members of Orniskem, except for Rodrigo, appeared in a beautiful wooded valley overlooking an enormous volcanic lake. A large island stood in the middle of the body of water.
The night sky was illuminated by hundreds of stars, while the full moon shone powerfully over the surroundings. Although it was night, some warmth could still be felt.
The area was filled with enormous pine trees, in a forest where the howling of wolves and the singing of owls could be heard. However, there was no human or divine presence.
“Where did you bring us, Menrva?” Ana asked, confused as she looked at the unfamiliar scenery.
Menrva sighed and looked toward the lake, while the moon reflected upon it.
“It is a region called Velnza in Italy. Near here, there used to be a portal to the kingdom of Man, but it has already been abandoned.”
“Why did you bring us here, Menrva? I thought we were going straight to Pallas,” Tania asked, confused.
“Yes, considering that during the whole trip in Vinland you kept bitching and bitching about how we had to return to Pallas,” Epona added sarcastically.
Menrva smiled and looked up at the sky.
“I believe that is precisely where Lel expects us to arrive so they can trap us,” the Etruscan goddess said while holding one dark curl of her hair.
All the members of Orniskem were surprised when they realized they had not considered that.
Menrva turned to look at them, puzzled.
“But that was the most obvious thing. How have you come this far without knowing where our enemies would try to trap us?” she continued asking, confused.
Ana, Tania, and Epona turned red and decided not to say anything. Anpiel nodded and smiled at the goddess.
“I thank you for having considered it, Menrva,” he said.
Menrva turned toward the forest and pointed deeper into it.
“There is a fief near here called Tuscania. I suggest we hide there for the time being. I have a small refuge there,” she said.
The gods nodded and began their journey through the dark forest. Tania understood that Menrva had done everything possible to hide herself from the gaze of the watching malakim, and from Italy’s possible grigori.
Tul looked fascinated by the enormous pine forest and by the animals she saw. She was surprised that the animals in that forest also existed in Mayapán and Tula. She also constantly stopped to look at the herbs and flowers growing in the forest. The gods understood that this was her passion, and they had the patience to wait for her.
“Didn’t you walk through these forests years ago when you invaded Rome, Tania?” Epona asked the Punic goddess in a somewhat mocking tone.
Tania turned to look at her and smiled.
“And we almost took the city!” Tania replied cheerfully.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, the red-haired goddess began recounting her adventures from Spain to Italy during the times of the Punic Wars.
Ana smiled when she saw that Tania had finally reconciled with her past and learned to accept it.
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Walking to the fief took more than two hours, but just as Menrva had said, there were no enemy eyes watching the area.
The fief of Tuscania was surrounded by a stone wall and several soldiers guarding the area. They were dressed in metal helmets and cuirasses, and carried a spear and a shield. Since it was night, the entrance gate had already been closed.
At that moment, Tul was amazed by the architecture she was seeing. She had never seen stone walls like the ones before her. In addition, in the distance, a castle could be seen atop a hill, with strange architecture. The rabbit goddess felt excited.
“I reckon it’s a mite too late for them to let us in,” Freyja said, puzzled.
Then the goddess began adjusting the breasts of her Otomí dress, but Menrva stopped her with her hand.
“We do not need to do that here. If you did, you would end up whipped for being considered a prostitute,” the Etruscan goddess said.
Loki then shook his head.
“But you just can’t help acting filthy like always, fertility goddess,” the Norse god said, disappointed.
Freyja puffed out her cheeks and looked defiantly at Loki.
“We gotta make use of our natural weapons,” the Norse goddess said.
Loki shook his head again.
“Sure. You almost ended up in bed with that Toltec god… Xochipilli,” Loki replied once more.
Freyja then shook her head.
“I wanted to get to know him, but I never wanted to sleep with him,” the goddess replied. “I’ve decided to be a better person by giving up that life.”
Loki raised his hands in a tone of not caring much.
“These kingdoms are Christian, and they give chastity way too much importance,” Loki said.
Menrva then nodded.
“Yes, here we are in the Papal States. Technically, the Pope of Rome governs these regions, and they are very strict with everything related to sex,” the Etruscan goddess added.
At that moment, Epona jumped.
“Wait a moment!” the Celtic goddess said. “Tul… they’ll think she’s a witch or a demon!”
Tul was surprised to hear that.
Tania was startled and nodded.
“We spent so much time in the New World, where she was not seen as strange, that we forgot about that problem.”
“But if we put a veil on her, they will think she is a Saracen,” Menrva said, annoyed.
“In any case, these clothes may be somewhat strange to them,” Anpiel interrupted.
Everyone looked at one another and realized they were still wearing the clothes they had received in the Otomí kingdom, which brought them some uncertainty.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the clothes,” Ana said. “I’m not an expert at sewing, but I can make very basic clothes, like the ones I made for the giant in Denendeh.”
Then Ana, using her dark abilities, stored her friends’ clothes in her pocket dimension while everyone changed their attire into something more appropriate for Europe.
Tania, Ana, and Epona then wore the same clothes they usually used. Although, in Tania’s case, she was wearing her white dress and not the Arab outfit she commonly wore in Ibiza.
Anpiel, like the goddesses, wore the clothes of a monk that he usually used in the human world.
For the other gods, the goddess created new outfits.
For both Susanoo and Loki, Ana created garments with a long tunic and capes tied to their shoulders, with a linen belt. Loki’s cape was red, and Susanoo’s was blue.
For Freyja, Ana dressed her in a pretty long Norse dress in blue and red. Once again, her dark feathered cape covered her back.
Tul was completely covered with a blue tunic that covered almost all of her head, and beneath it, she wore a brown dress.
“I took it upon myself to store your clothes for a moment like this,” Ana said. “But in Tul, Susanoo, and Freyja’s case, I had to make you new clothes.”
Freyja then turned red and protested:
“What’s wrong with the clothes I always wore?!”
Ana scolded her right back while pointing at her breasts.
“With those clothes, they definitely would’ve called you a whore, showing your monstrous tits to the public like you were in some nasty tavern!”
Loki then started laughing.
“But look at Tania. Her tits look huge too in that dress,” the Norse goddess complained.
“Do my breasts look huge?” Tania asked, confused, and looked down at her neckline.
“Tania’s tits aren’t even half the size of yours!” Ana continued complaining, until Anpiel stepped between the two.
“Freyja,” Anpiel said in a conciliatory voice. “I know you have never been in these territories, but here, sex is taboo, and Ana is doing this to protect you. If we cause a scandal, we could draw the attention of Lel or Italy’s grigori, and I am certain you do not want that.”
Freyja huffed and crossed her arms.
“Of course I don’t, but y’all don’t understand that this dress is squeezin’ my chest, and I feel uncomfortable,” the goddess answered in a bad mood.
“Endure it a little while we enter Tuscania,” Menrva said.
Then everyone was surprised by the Etruscan goddess’s dress, which she had stored in her pocket dimension.
Menrva wore a white dress bordered with golden crosses and a blue cape. Her head was adorned with a golden diadem.
“Are you nobility?” Epona asked, confused.
Menrva covered her mouth and looked up at the sky.
“Let us say… let us say the feudal lord of this castle believes I am his daughter,” Menrva said with a somewhat mocking smile.
Everyone was puzzled, but Menrva indicated that there was no time to waste and that they had to enter Tuscania.