The Butcher of Gadobhra

Chapter 309: Legacy of Prometheus

Ozzy considered the new legacy option as he walked to Gadobhra.

From what he could remember of the Prometheus legends, he was a titan, but not one that fought the Gods. He was something of a trickster and planner. The most famous story was about him stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans. Later, 'fire' came to symbolize technology, learning, and other good stuff. Zeus knew that would be a pain in the ass for the gods and punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock. Eagles came down to eat his liver each day, and he grew it back. Another story was about tricking Zeus and keeping all the good parts of a sacrifice for himself and the humans. Ozzy approved of anyone who kept the best steak for himself and stole the fire to cook it on.

Supposedly tricking the gods was bad, so the legends emphasized being chained up and tortured as an important part of the story: You can fool the gods but not always get out of the punishment.

Legacy of Prometheus

A crafty advisor and clever thief, Prometheus used his might and intellect to aid the humans he loved. He also suffered for it.

The blood of Titans flows through you. You are kin to the Giants and a distant relative of the ancient Gods. Your people have left their mark on the world.

Not everyone will thank you for changing the world, and like Prometheus, there may be a price you have to pay.

Title: Chain Breaker

Gain: +2 INT, +2 PER

Perk: Blood of Titans. Gain +1 STR and +CON per Tier.

Perk: Walking Tall. Your base height and weight are 6'0" and 250 lbs. You may add up to 1' in height and increase your weight to 400 lbs. Further levels in this ability may be purchased with CSP, allowing for greater stature. It takes an effort and a minute to change your height. Your belongings match your stature.

Perk: Trusted Advisor. Your clever words carry more weight when giving advice. This ability fails if you outright lie or give advice against the best interests of the person you advise, devoid of any benefit.

Perk: Regenerating Liver: Like Prometheus, who kept a flock of eagles fed, your liver regenerates from damage. Alcohol and drugs have far less effect on you.

This needed some serious thought. The stats were good, but it had some ominous language along with its benefits. He was a little tired; maybe a quick nap before he got to the city would help. There was a convenient rock to lean against, just off the side of the road...

Upon his mighty throne, Baron William held court. He had demanded that tribute be brought to him from all lowly serfs and workers in his Barony. The shepherd brought him silken cloth spun from the threads of blight worms. The Paladin delivered a fresh demon eye for the Baron's collection. From the Mayor came a bottle of wine made from local berries to share with the Baroness. Only the Butcher had yet to appear.

Finally, he strode forth and bowed. "I apologize for being last. I knew only the best was good enough for our Baron, and you cannot hurry quality. I gathered all the riches of the dungeons, hamlets, and meadows and urge the Baron to take the half that he prefers. Two servings of wealth were placed on the altar before the Baron. The first was a silver platter set with glittering gems. Upon it was a pile of gold bars and shiny golden shell coins. The smaller plate beside it held only a handful of copper and silver coins mixed with chunks of experience and core skill points.

Baron William laughed and took the platter of wealth. "I choose the gold, of course. Well done. Throw the other half back to the peasants and tell them to get me more gold. " The Butcher bowed and scattered the experience and points among the assembled workers, keeping a bit for himself.

Ozzy rolled over in his sleep, and the scene changed.

He was sneaking through Gadobhra with a wagonload of stolen pork bellies and steaks when he stepped on a minion's tail. The little guy wasn't hurt, but he ran around screaming, and the noise alerted the guards. High on the walls, the mounted moonbeams focused down on him, making him a target for the gargoyles. The time for stealth was over! He ran, pulling the cart of meat through the city, bounding down the roadways. Six ghouls blocked his path, and he ran them over, leaving them smashed on the roadway. The Gristle Daemons pursuing him stopped to eat the ghouls. The Butcher emerged from the pit and roared. He gnashed his great fangs and swung his club, scattering the daemons and bits of ghouls as he raced after Ozzy. "No one steals meat from the Butcher of Gadobhra!"

Ozzy ran faster and faster, outpacing the dungeon lord and making it to the Hamlets ahead of him. "Grab it quick, folks. I've got pork bellies, brisket, steaks, and ribs. Toss it on a fire and find out how good it is! He breathed out fire and smoke, setting a pile of logs ablaze.

As the meat started to cook, the Butcher arrived. "You're ruining it! Damn you, Ozzy, I told you never to teach them how to cook the meat! You'll pay for this!" His thick chain snapped onto Ozzy's ankles. The Butcher turned toward home, dragging Ozzy behind him. "Forever is too short a time for your crime, but it's all I've got. I'm chaining you in the basement where you can carve carcasses for eternity."

The price was high, and Ozzy hoped the farmers made the most of his gift. He smelled the aroma of bacon and porterhouse cooking on the fires. As they ate heartily, some of his friends waved their thanks to him.

Ozzy woke up. His ankles and wrists chained him to the side of a mountain, and large birds circled overhead. Lower and lower, they came, and he got a better idea of their size. Each had a 50-foot wingspan and talons the size of his body. They descended, screaming at him. He struggled, but the chains wouldn't break. He tried to use heat, but the chains resisted. One of the eagles dove, talons aimed at him. He knew this was going to hurt.

The impact nearly knocked him out. One talon held downs his legs, and the beak tore at his abdomen. Or tried too. The first strike only left a deep scratch as it failed to penetrate his skin. The bird drew its beak back for a second strike just before a huge hand grabbed the bird by its neck and smashed its head against a rock.

"Ha! You're a tough one. I knew you'd make good bait."

The rest of the flock scattered in panic. Ozzy looked up at a giant far larger than his friend, Butterbelly. The creature was thirty feet tall, wearing only a leather kirtle and sandals. His body was scarred deeply on his chest and abdomen. He looked down at Ozzy. "The trick is to pull the bars straight out of the rock. Hephaistos can make the metal so tough that the chains are unbreakable. The rock is the weak point."

The Butcher found it easy to pull the metal rods free. As he stood, he saw a key hanging on the rock nearby. It fit the shackles. The titan tore the wings off the eagle and put them in a boiling tub of water, then covered the rest of the bird in clay and placed it in the coals under his cooking grate.

"So, I was bait so you could snag something to eat?"

Pulling the wings out of the tub, Prometheus tossed one to Ozzy. "Bait, and to make a point. It's not fun hanging on a rock and getting your liver eaten daily, no matter what good you did. There can be a high cost for helping people. The feathers should pluck easily now. Let's get that done, and toss these on the grill. I've got a new sauce I want to try."

For the next half-hour, Ozzy pulled huge feathers out of a giant eagle wing, spread sauce on the meat, fed the fire, and watched as the wings cooked. Prometheus was taking his time and using low heat. By the time the wings were done, Ozzy was starving. Prometheus put the food on a table nearby and poured two glasses of ambrosia. At some point, he'd become smaller, only ten-foot tall. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, and then the titan looked over at him. "You're considering taking my legacy. It's a hefty one. Do you have any questions?"

"A few. The first one is 'Why me?"

"A fair question. A bullshit answer would be, 'Why not you?'" He took a bite of a barbecued Caucasian eagle, spit out a bone, and continued. "We've got a few things in common. We both pick fights above our weight class and keep punching. We both like fire and a good piece of seared meat. And we're both prone to being a smart-ass when we feel like it. But while that might make me look favorably on you, it wouldn't be enough to make you kin."

"It's more important that you try to protect the people around you and risk angering powerful creatures to do it. Plus, you've been clever about it. Making yourself and others more useful, using flattery or violence as needed. And you can take a hit. A big hit. The type that chains you to a mountain. You aren't afraid to do that."

Ozzy looked over at the rock, seeing the dark stains on it. "I'd disagree; I have a healthy fear of that."

Prometheus winked. "Wrong rock. That one was mine. You're hanging on yours right now."

"You bargained with the God Outside and threatened him until he agreed to kill you. You died so he could practice on you before he took your woman. You let him chain you inside a different world, maybe forever. And now you're fighting to make life better for others. I respect that."

Ozzy thought for a full minute. "I don't even think much of the outside world anymore. This one seems real. But they told us it was a game? How is that possible, and how do the old legends fit in? Why were you hanging on that rock?"

The titan considered the question. "When does a game become so real that it ceases to become a game? When is sufficiently advanced magic indistinguishable from technology? Let the people who think this world is a game believe in the game. Let those who live here forever believe it's a world—both work. You can make your own choice. But as to legends? There's a little truth in a lot of them."

"There was an argument early on about the rules of this world. Should a farmer stay a farmer? Or could he work to become a warrior? Could a warrior who slew a dragon become a hero? Could a hero become a god? Zeus hated the idea of progression. He wanted everyone to stay in their Tier. Him at the top, of course. Others disagreed. It's a boring world when the people in charge stay in charge."

"So you argued with Zeus that everyone should be able to move up in the world?"

Prometheus laughed and poured more alcohol. "Oh, hell no, son. Zeus is old, one of the hundred and six. I'm not in his class. I just waited until Typhon pissed him off, and then I and a few others took Pandora's Box and dumped it into the Engine. Things had to change after that. It needed to be done, but I pissed people off that time. They chained me up and gave me something to keep me busy while they straightened out my mess. I'd made sure to make it look like I stole Pandey's box alone. They knew I had help but couldn't prove it. Zeus is still mad about it. He was always disagreeable, always full of himself. But the rest came around, and many were on my side from the start."

"The new rules started up, and pathways formed for the young ones to become more powerful. There was grumbling, and many of the old ones kept yelling about 'tradition' and wanting special deals. That trial of the Fallen you instigated? That helped clear some shit up. Swept away the last of the old ways of thinking and leveled the playing field. A lot of people are retiring now, gearing down, and giving up their power. It's about time."

The Butcher started to take a sip of alcohol and stopped moving. "Oh...shit."

The titan laughed. "Oops, did old Prometheus slip up and let loose a secret? Bad Titan, bad." He slapped his own hand.

"Are you saying..."

"Nope. I'm not. And neither are you. Not if you're as smart as I think you are."

Ozzy exhaled. "I know nothing, nothing at all. Last question, then. What now?"

"Now you make a decision. This is a permanent choice. Important enough that I wasn't going to let you do it without talking it over. It will change how the big players see you. Not right away, but in time, as you get more powerful. You don't have to accept my legacy. You can take another, earn another, or ignore all of it. If you don't want to commit, you'll wake up with an ambrosia hangover and a small memory of a weird dream.

"Or accept and drink deeply of a legacy as old as the gods, and go home with some extra knowledge, including the recipe for Barbecued Eagle Wings. You can get back to causing trouble and changing things. Or not. Up to you." He produced a primitive clay bottle, undid the stopper, and poured a cup of dark, fragrant wine. He put both cup and bottle in front of Ozzy.

The Butcher considered for a minute, then picked up the glass. "I never could resist causing trouble." He drank the potent wine, feeling it burn down his throat. He quit breathing as his heart stopped, and his eyes rolled up into his head as he toppled backward and disappeared.

Prometheus grinned. "I guess I forgot to mention how strong that vintage is."

Just outside Gadobhra, Ozzy awoke with a clay bottle of wine beside him. He thought on the titan's words. Then he strode into Gadobhra to talk to Billy about his new sausage factory.