Odam Haji of Alamut

As the cup shattered, a deafening explosion reverberated through the room, and Rufus was momentarily blinded by the fog that billowed out from the broken pieces. He could feel the female assassin's grip on his arm tighten, holding him steady as the fog descended around them. It was the same fog he had seen before when the assassins were nearby.

Slowly, the fog started to dissipate, and Rufus could see that the tiles of the palace were gone, replaced by rough stone bricks under his feet. Confused and disoriented, he looked around and found himself in a dusty room with the female assassin still holding onto him.

Rufus struggled to break free from her grip, but she held on tight, and he couldn't escape. "Who are you?" Rufus demanded. "What do you want from me?"

The female assassin remained silent, dragging him towards a door. Rufus stumbled behind her as they made their way through it and found themselves in a dimly lit corridor.

"You were supposed to bring him to this room, but somehow you ended up in the janitor's closet," a voice said, dripping with sarcasm and fatherly disappointment.

The room lit up, and Rufus could see a group of assassins crouched around an elderly sassan, sitting on a large pillow. "Well, well, well. Look who finally made it," the sassan said, smirking.

Rufus was terrified as he stared at the group of dangerous-looking people. "What is going on? Who are you, people?"

"We are the Odam Haji of Alamut, or as most people know us, the Order of the Assassins. And you, my dear Rufus, are very valuable to us," the sassan said, his eyes glinting in the dim light.

Rufus's heart pounded in his chest. "What do you want from me?" Rufus asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

The sassan leaned forward, his eyes locked onto Rufus's. "We want you to do something for us, something very important," he said, a hint of menace in his voice.

Rufus felt a knot form in his stomach. He knew he was in serious trouble. But before he could react, a door opened behind him. All the comrades and friends of Rufus. Edward, Doreen, Joan, Yosef, Liana, Gwon, Pema, Amala, Gadaric, Satifa, and Suomi. They all were there and rushed at Rufus.

"RUFUS!" they all exclaimed, relieved to see him alive and well.

Rufus was overjoyed to see his friends, but his happiness was short-lived as he realized they were still surrounded by the assassins. "What's going on? Why are they here?" Rufus asked, his eyes darting around the room, looking for a way out.

"We were saved by them," Liana explained, trying to calm Rufus down. "They're not the enemy."

~~

Weeks before, right when Rufus had entered the temple of Perizad, his friends were waiting anxiously outside. The air was thick with tension as they stood in front of the ornate structure, wondering why they had been called there.

"So, why are we here anyway? Shouldn't we be looking for those records of that Boba or something instead?" Edward asked, fidgeting with his sword hilt.

"You idiot," Doreen snapped. "Who do you think knows of that? We are lucky we were asked here."

As they spoke, a powerful divine aura suddenly swept over them, making the air tremble. Joan could feel the presence of a god, and it was clear that this was not a friendly encounter.

"This is not good. This aura is not friendly," Joan said, her voice trembling.

Suddenly, ten bodies of the god Perizad materialized on the walls of the palace, and the group sprang into action, drawing their bows and aiming at the divine figures.

Without warning, they let loose a hail of arrows, but before the arrows could even hit their targets, Gadaric snapped his fingers and created a deafening blast of sound. The force of the blast blew away the arrows and hurt the others' ears.

"Fuck, Gadaric. Watch what you are doing," Edward yelled, clutching his head.

"We do not have time to complain. We need to flee now!" Gadaric shouted as he urged everyone to follow him.

The ten bodies of Perizad descended from the walls upon Rufus's friends, brandishing their melee weapons with deadly intent. Even though each body seemed equally formidable, the sheer number of them was overwhelming. The air crackled with tension as the group frantically searched for an escape route.

"What about Rufus!" Liana asked.

They all knew Rufus had gone alone and had no idea what had happened to him. Or if he was even alive.

"Rufus is fine, I am sure of it," Edward reassured everyone, said," And I am sure he would want us to stay alive as well."

Amala, thinking quickly, fired an arrow high into the air and bellowed, "NOW!" The arrow transformed into a torrent of stone projectiles, raining down upon the god's army. Perizad raised its shields to protect its soldiers, giving Rufus and his friends a brief respite to flee.

As they sprinted through the streets of Babylus, their hearts pounding with fear, they could hear the unmistakable sound of Perizad's footsteps getting closer and closer. "What the hell did Rufus say, to anger a god in such a way? I thought provoking people was my job," Yosef yelled in frustration.

Joan snapped back, her voice sharp with urgency, "No time for jokes now. A murderous god is chasing us." The friends of Rufus ran for their lives, their minds racing with fear and confusion as they tried to come up with a plan to escape Perizad's wrath.

As Perizad's bodies leaped onto the roofs, their weight caused the structures to groan and creak. Rufus's group scrambled to stay ahead of their pursuers, their hearts pounding with fear. Perizad hurled spears that whistled past walls when they missed their target. "Seems like the god doesn't care whether he hurts his people or not," Amala observed, her voice tight with worry.

On the streets below, the Sassan people watched with growing concern as one of their deities chased outsiders. Murmurs of confusion and fear rippled through the crowd. "We have to do something. Soon the populace will turn on us as well, and I really don't want to start cutting down random people," Joan urged, her eyes scanning the faces of the onlookers.

Satifa conjured a swarm of locusts that engulfed the area, causing the crowd to scatter in confusion. But Perizad was relentless. The flying fortress of the ten thousand gods began to move, and more warriors leaped off to join the pursuit. "It's not looking good," Amala muttered, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.

As they ran, an elderly Sassan suddenly waved at them, gesturing frantically. "Psst, this way," he whispered urgently, motioning towards a narrow alleyway.

"Wait, that's the" Joan said and Yosef finished by ending," the lady who was selling relics and stuff in the market."

They turned to the corner and said. "What is going on? You know this sassan?" Doreen asked.

"There is not much time. In here," the lady said and opened a hatch that led down underground.

"What should we do?" They were not sure if should they trust her.

"Fuck it," Suomi said and jumped in.

As the group followed the elderly sassan into the hatch, the stench of sewage overwhelmed their senses. The damp walls were slick with slime and moss, and the sound of rushing water echoed in the darkness. The lady led them through a labyrinth of tunnels, the only source of light coming from the small stones embedded in the walls.

As they huddled together in the dimly lit corridor, the sassan produced a small cup and began lit up a fire. Suomi couldn't help but voice her skepticism. "Oh great. We followed a crazy old lady into a sewer so she can make soup for us."

Doreen rolled her eyes. "You were the first one to jump," she reminded Suomi.

But before they could argue any further, the cup suddenly exploded, sending a thick haze into the air. The group coughed and spluttered as the haze filled their lungs, and as it cleared, they found themselves in a completely different room.

The walls were etched with strange symbols, and the air was heavy with the scent of incense. Edward rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "What the hell just happened?" he muttered.

But before anyone could answer, the elderly sassan took hold of her face and pulled it apart with a sudden jerk, revealing a completely different figure underneath. The friends stared in shock and confusion, unsure of what to make of this surreal turn of events.

The elderly sassan was one of the assassins Rufs had met previously and the room the friends had entered was filled with more of the dark figures. Edward unsheathed his sword and Doreen summoned her spear and shield. Gwon turned into his Seng form and Pema quickly, with pure instincts, slammed and restrained the assassin who had disguised himself.

The assassins didn't even flinch. Not one of them moved. It didn't even look like they breathed.

"Okay, this is weird," Yosef said.

"Now, now. No need to get aggressive. We were the ones who saved you," an old man sassan said who walked, with the assistance of a cane and a female assassin tailing him.

"What is this?"

"What this is is your safe place. A place where those crazy gods can't get to you? I would have wanted Rufus to come along with you all, but it seems he stumbled into the temple and was captured by the hound of Xerxes before my men could get to him," the old man said.

"Rufus was captured!" Liana yelled and the rest of them were shocked.

"Well, you quickly came here without him. Surely you didn't leave him to die," the old man said.

"Do not provoke us, old man. We know Rufus and that Perizad is not the first god that tried to kill Rufus. We all knew he was going to be fine," Edward said, feeling insulted.

"Hahahahahaaa, Edward. The dumb but strong one of the group. Always ready to defend Rufus no matter what," the old sassan said.

"You...how...."

"Well, he was right about you being dumb. He must be pretty smart," Joan noted.

The old man chuckled and hobbled closer to the group. "Ah, Joan. Always sharp as a tack. But let's not waste any more time with idle chatter. We need to focus on the task at hand."

"What task?" Doreen asked.

"To save Rufus of course."