Two things were for certain, they definitely weren’t just humans, and they had royally screwed up their quest. At least 10 of them were sent there, maybe more, and only 4 of them had survived. Worst yet, on top of that, they had failed their mission. They didn’t get the Heart of Winter. They didn’t get any Frost Giants. Even things that weren’t mission objectives, like don’t become terrorists, they couldn’t do. It hadn’t really sunk in just yet, but it was what they were now.

People would call them monsters.

Well, not all of them. Those with a silver tongue could get away with being called something more flattering. Gavriil and Lucky wouldn’t be monsters, they’d be something else. Demons? Who knew.

Such thoughts were heavy on the group. Who they were, and what their failure meant. Did it mean that the Heart of Winter had never been there? Did they all die for nothing?

Taking up lodging in a cheap motel, Soraya and Lucky were left to marvel at how much they had healed by themselves. Eshna and Gavriil had to just shrug and thank the gods.

They were still very much on the outskirts of civilization, and it would be easy to pull into the country and the wilderness to avoid dealing with people for a while, to lay low, if they had the supplies for it. Their mission in case of this failure wasn’t clear, Hugin and Munin had not shown up again with any news of what was next in store.

---

Unbeknownst to them, there was a group of terrorists in the next room.

Things had been relatively calm since their time at the church, and that was good. They knew that the Ravens would be able to find them again when they were needed for something, and hopefully fewer people will die as well. Not all of them were content with sitting idly by, and so they took to making trips out to enjoy themselves without gallivanting. 

It had been days for them, and the days in the motel were long. There were some others that in the neighbouring rooms that they had interacted before, but they weren’t able to open up too much, and the others seemed to not want to either. They were probably drug dealers or druggies, or maybe just reserved people in poor straights.

It wasn’t until one morning that Gavriil found himself with the neighbours, alone. He had felt strange surges in divinity, but always thought it was just his fellows. This time, however, he was with them, and not the others. The feeling was distinct, and it was them.

It was a strange and awkward meeting for the two groups to merge. They shared some stories, and raised a glass to those who couldn’t make it. Less than a day into their meet and greet, Munin arrived alone to the group. He was the most sombre they’d ever seen him, and he wouldn’t say where Hugin was. All he could do was to say that the Heart of Winter was not lost in Bodie, it had been removed a couple days before the group had arrived, they were too late.

The gods were not confident to use their abilities to discern where it was immediately, for fear that it would just push Fate to force it into the hands of the giants faster for their knowing it. Instead, another group of newly awoken demigods were going to investigate the whereabouts while they still had some degree of cover. The two groups at the motel were to be contacted as soon as they knew where it was to come in with some fire power and get the Heart of Winter to safety. However, if they couldn’t just sit still, there was an opportunity to do at least a little good available.

Munin told the group of the edge of society and what was beyond, of other small towns with problems. Dark forces are equally afraid to act in the light as the gods were, but were growing bold on the fringes of society. Perhaps some investigating of the small towns around would lead them to discover more issues to face? Or, if nothing else, it would kill some time.

After Munin took his leave, it was almost an hour later when there was a knock at one of their doors, and a card slipped under through a crack. It was an invitation, with instructions to a small suite in a plaza, a very small law firm was located there. The one in charge, a Daniel Drakeman, was offering legal counsel to them, and most unsettling was that he knew they were demigods. Perhaps a trap? Or perhaps just another mythical being, like the witches or dwarves, knew of them, and wanted to get in good with the young demigods. Either way, they could recall seeing him on some ads around town, he looked like the type of lawyer who spent all his time chasing ambulances.

Not necessarily a lead on a new quest to pass the time, however, was another more pressing issue. Their descriptions were not yet known to the authorities, but they were on the look out. For all intents and purposes, this was a stealth mission and anyone and everyone could be someone dangerous to them. A civilian could inform the police, or could be a cultist or vigilante. Pressing on that, was a car that seemed to follow them if ever they left, and when glanced inside in passing, was full of cameras. Someone was following them, and was trying to get a picture. Worrisome.