A ripple of murmurs went around the table.
"We also found inscriptions," I continued, following the cover story Malachi had prepared. "Warnings left by the original builders. They spoke of a goddess named Thalassa—a deity consumed by jealousy and hunger for power. According to the inscriptions, she's been searching for divine artifacts to increase her strength and challenge the other gods."
"A power-hungry goddess," Lady Ashira said slowly. She was a broad-shouldered woman with iron-gray hair and the scarred hands of a career soldier. "That's quite a claim."
"It's more than a claim," Kai said, his voice hard. "We were attacked by masked terrorists inside the mountain. They demanded we hand over the staff and said their 'mistress' had been waiting for it. We barely made it out alive."
Lord Evani Arden leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Kai with the intensity of a general assessing a battlefield report. "You're certain they were hostiles?"
