With no other options, the gods had no qualms about trying Tyche's method.
Shar immediately spoke, "There are quite a few beings who are both deities and lords of the Abyss, such as the god of gnolls, Yeenoghu; the god of cruel officials, Graz'zt; the god of slimes, Juiblex; the god of hobgoblins, Hruggek; the god of kuo-toa, Blibdoolpoolp; the god of gray dwarves, Laduguer; and the chief goddess of the drow pantheon, Lolth!"
Apart from Lolth, the other targets were all minor or lesser deities. As long as the right opportunity arose, subduing them would be effortless.
However, Yeager had his doubts, "Their connection to the Abyss is weaker than that of the pure Abyssal lords, making them unsuitable for testing this hypothesis! Moreover, these deities are all legitimate gods. If we attack their divine kingdoms without any reason, it will surely draw the attention of Iou and Helm."
After thorough discussions, the alliance members unanimously agreed to follow Yeager's plan to abduct an Abyssal lord.
The 222nd layer of the Abyss, Sinta-Krall, became the target! This layer of the Abyssal plane had two lords: the Faceless One, Juiblex, and the Fungus Queen, Zuggtmoy. After centuries of war for dominance over this layer, Zuggtmoy had always held the upper hand, driving Juiblex and his intelligent slimes into the deepest caves far from the Fungus Queen's offspring.
Yeager and Shar immediately formed an alliance to defeat Zuggtmoy and Juiblex together. The dispute over the dominance of the Abyssal plane was far from over, meaning the two lords of this layer would be weaker than those who monopolized an entire layer. What excited Yeager and Shar even more was that the two Abyssal lords were sufficient for them to divide, with no disputes arising.
Solinari and Mystryl prepared to go to Mount Celestia to find a breakthrough. This plane, which gathered all that was true, good, and beautiful, was the stronghold of the forces of order and goodness. The presence of Yeager and Shar on Mount Celestia would be highly conspicuous, but the Moon Goddess and the Goddess of Magic had no such concerns.
Tyche accompanied Mystryl to the Moon Gate's divine kingdom. It was time to start planning her ascension to a deity of great power. With Bane and Crannor as precedents, her consecutive ascensions would not be too conspicuous.
"Mystryl, I hope you can introduce me to your subordinate deity, Veyvan Fossever."
After all, the Goddess of Magic was an old deity of great power, and unlike the other three allies, the magical deities centered around her were no small force!
"Veyvan Fossever?" Mystryl was taken aback, then shook her head and laughed.
To Mystryl, the chief goddess, Veyvan Fossever, a minor deity, was just a peripheral figure not worthy of her attention. Tyche's request was entirely out of respect for her.
"It would be his honor."
Mystryl whispered something to Azuth, the God of Magic, who then left the temple to head to the divine kingdom of Veyvan Fossever, the God of Reptiles and Art.
Veyvan Fossever had ascended to godhood by inheriting the divinity of the God of Decay, Moander, who had poisoned the Goddess of Fortune, Tyche, and met a grim fate himself! He fell in a series of accidents, and even his backup plan for resurrection was unearthed to nourish his successors.
Fortunately, Veyvan Fossever possessed the portfolios of reptiles, art, and the cycle of life. If not for considering Mystryl's face and the stability of the anti-Iou alliance, Tyche would have found an excuse to storm his divine kingdom and seize the portfolio of the cycle of life.
Mystryl had always wanted to win over Tyche. After all, no matter how tightly-knit a group was, once it exceeded three members, smaller subgroups would form. Shar and Tyche were clearly growing closer, which worried Mystryl, who had a strained relationship with Shar. Although the Moon Goddess Solinari and the Night Goddess Shar were sworn enemies, most members of the anti-Iou alliance knew it was just a performance.
If Mystryl had to choose between herself and Shar, she had no confidence that Solinari would choose her! Yeager, on the other hand, was a lone wolf who did not even consult with the other members of the alliance when he induced the Death Three to steal the Tablet of Fate. Mystryl could not trust that Yeager would truly cooperate with her outside of opposing Iou.
Although Tyche had some grievances with Mystryl, she had not taken any real action, and Mystryl had indeed saved Tyche before. Their relationship was still salvageable.
Mystryl's enthusiasm was transparent to Tyche; she only saw the members of the anti-Iou alliance as pawns, but as long as it helped her achieve her goals, she was willing to maintain a superficially close relationship with her allies.
A willing victim and a willing perpetrator made for a warm atmosphere. By the time the God of Magic, Azuth, returned with Veyvan Fossever, the two goddesses were already arm in arm, calling each other sisters.
"Your Grace Veyvan Fossever, the Goddess of Mercy wishes to acquire the portfolio of the cycle of life that you possess and has entrusted me to inquire about your thoughts."
The portfolio of the cycle of life was not highly valued by Veyvan Fossever; it was merely a byproduct of inheriting Moander's divinity, mainly serving to complement his reptilian portfolio. However, the preciousness of a portfolio was incomparable, and Veyvan Fossever instinctively wanted to refuse. But the mediator of this transaction was his chief goddess. Seeing Tyche, who was on intimate terms with the Goddess of Magic, how could Veyvan Fossever risk embarrassing his chief goddess?
The hesitation and struggle on Veyvan Fossever's face did not escape the two goddesses. Tyche immediately noticed Mystryl's displeasure and had already abandoned the idea of using force. Naturally, she did not want to create any complications.
"Your Grace Veyvan Fossever, I have no intention of forcibly taking the portfolio of the cycle of life. This is the swamp portfolio I have condensed, which is more compatible with your reptilian portfolio. I believe the swamp portfolio will enable you to quickly become a deity of minor power."
Tyche produced a gray-green portfolio. For Tyche, who had once been the Ocean Queen and the Earth Goddess, condensing a swamp portfolio derived from the domains of earth and water was effortless.
The portfolio of art did not provide much combat strength to Veyvan Fossever. His followers relied on taming reptilian creatures for battle. Snakes and crocodiles were the main forces of his church, and the swamp environment was suitable for their habitat. For Veyvan Fossever, the swamp portfolio was indeed more suitable than the portfolio of the cycle of life.
In the presence of Mystryl, the two portfolios exchanged owners.
Declining Mystryl's invitation to stay, Tyche returned to her own divine kingdom to transform the portfolio of the cycle of life.
Neither the Greek world nor the Faerûn world had the concept of reincarnation. After death, souls would return to their origins and reappear in new forms. Even the votaries protected by the divine kingdoms of the gods were rarely able to exist eternally with their deities unless they were truly devout believers who, after becoming votaries, deeply understood the teachings and philosophies of their deities and became quasi-divine saints. Otherwise, they would gradually lose their emotions over a long period and become part of the divine kingdom.
Tyche had a vague premonition that the portfolio of reincarnation would be a potent elixir for the already fragmented laws. Whether it was Mount Celestia, the Abyss, or Hell, there were invisible wills observing.
This was troublesome! The disturbance of the laws would surely draw Iou's attention, which did not align with her plan to quietly amass wealth! They had agreed that the other allies would take the lead, but if Iou really shifted the focus of their attacks onto her, the anti-Iou alliance would likely turn on her to silence her.
With no choice, Tyche had to suspend the creation of the portfolio of reincarnation! The emergence of this portfolio required an appropriate moment. Once the allies broke through their limitations and became Old Gods, attracting all the firepower, Iou would naturally not be distracted by the portfolio of reincarnation.
Fortunately, there was Plan B. Since the portfolio of reincarnation could not appear for the time being, they had to take another path.
The children taken in by the Church of Mercy were usually taught by retired adventurers and soldiers, but only a few were suitable to become professionals, whether assassins, thieves, mages, or priests, all required certain talents.
As for those without enough talent, they still had to make a living through hard labor. After Tyche obtained the portfolio of Talos and converted it into health and herbalism, these children could make a living by picking and processing herbs. The church also established large herbal plantations, which solved the livelihood problems of some children.
Some children, with the support of the church, engaged in small businesses, and herb shops with the emblem of the Goddess of Mercy appeared on the streets of Deepwater. Whether it was poison or medicine, there was no lack of market demand, and with the care of former companions, many of these shopkeepers had surplus money to support the church's public welfare projects.
Waukeen's escape from the Abyss did not cause much of a stir. The Goddess of Joy, Lierala, kept her promise and returned the portfolios of commerce and wealth. However, Waukeen's prolonged silence caused many profit-seeking merchants to transfer their faith, and the one who benefited the most was the temporary custodian of Waukeen's portfolios, the Goddess of Joy!
The once insignificant Church of Joy saw a surge in influence supported by the wealth donated by merchants. Although Waukeen's return reclaimed some of the faithful, the lost faith and influence were not so easily recovered.
Waukeen performed a sisterly act in front of the other gods with Lierala, seemingly having no grudges against the goddesses led by Sune. But the first thing she did after stabilizing the church was to move her divine kingdom away from Brightwater to the Hall of Knowledge, a clear signal of her withdrawal from the Goddess Alliance.
Waukeen's return was welcomed by the God of Knowledge, Gond, who even mobilized all the absolutely neutral deities to send their avatars to help Waukeen relocate her divine kingdom. Tyche, who wanted to inquire about the adventurers, quickly responded to Gond's call.
The golden-robed and golden-booted avatar of Waukeen left a dazzling first impression on Tyche, too dazzling! Everywhere she looked was gold, even the eyes of Waukeen's avatar were shaped like gold coins.
"Thank you, Your Graces, for your help."
Waukeen also wanted to mend relations with the absolutely neutral faction, and her method was simple and crude: throwing money around! The churches of the various deities received a large sum of donations. Even the usually silent and aloof God of Craftsmen and Smiths, Gond, showed a smile under Waukeen's financial onslaught, indicating that this wealth was no small amount.
Tyche received a land deed. A rough estimate indicated that this land, from the Great Rift to the Riverside District, occupied almost one-fifth of Deepwater City!
Even Tyche was shocked by Waukeen's generosity. Although it was not in the noble or commercial districts, the value of this land could buy a duchy in a remote area!
The Church of Mercy immediately received a divine edict from the goddess to build a school on this land. Tyche's Plan B was to shift to the field of education. The God of Knowledge, Gond, had not ventured into this area, but Tyche saw the considerable potential in education.
Tyche's plan received strong support from Gond and Mystryl. Books and scrolls were continuously transported, enriching the library of this school.
This was of great benefit to Gond's domain of knowledge, so his support was not surprising.
What astonished Tyche was that both the God of Knowledge, Gond, and the Gods of Song and Literature believed that knowledge and art only existed in the hands of nobles and scholars! Under their control, knowledge was almost completely insulated from the common people! Even the scribes who held clerical positions were the second or third sons of noble families, completely blocking the possibility of class mobility.
Moving a divine kingdom was a troublesome affair. Even with the help of a deity of great power and two deities of moderate power, it still took Waukeen's divine kingdom a considerable amount of time to return to the Hall of Knowledge.
Interestingly, Waukeen's divine kingdom was adjacent to those of Gond and Tyche, but at a distance from the gods of knowledge. To an observer, it seemed as if the three deities of moderate power were forming a clique.
Waukeen's style of conduct was impeccable, and all the gods received her warm hospitality.
During the feast, before Tyche could speak, the God of Literature, Dionysus, eagerly inquired about the adventurers, saving Tyche the effort.
"I do not know their identities; perhaps they are similar to planar travelers."
The humiliation and despair suffered by Waukeen in the Silver Palace were experiences she did not want to recall, and she was happy to shift the focus to the adventurers.
"All the gods know that the Weave has a very weak influence on the Abyss, where there are the most dead magic zones. But one of the adventurers was able to cast a spell in Graz'zt's domain that repelled him!"
Thinking about it, Waukeen still found it incredible. That was the Abyssal Prince, who was comparable to a deity of great power! After the God of Magic, Karsus, attempted to ascend to godhood, leading to the death of the Goddess of Magic, the higher levels of the Weave were sealed. Unless the Goddess of Magic lifted the seal or a spellcaster ignited the fires of magic to become an Archmage, ordinary spellcasters would not have the ability to cast spells that could harm deities!
"Has the presence of Iou been seen?"
Gond also couldn't help but ask.
"On the way, I have not seen the presence of Iou, and even the adventurers disappeared when they left the Abyss and entered the Underworld."
Waukeen paused for a moment as if organizing her words, then said in a strange tone, "There was no spatial fluctuation; they just disappeared bit by bit right before my eyes!"
The gods exchanged glances, all understanding what Waukeen was trying to convey.
It was not an accident, nor the use of a teleportation spell or the like; rather, the adventurers had disappeared without a trace right before the eyes of Waukeen, a deity of moderate power!