"Idiotic curr." If looks could kill, Kat might be dead. Such was the look of disgust and annoyance shot Kat's way by Elizabeth. Why her father dealt with this....'mans' stupidity and incompetence were beyond her. Perhaps her father just found him amusing, for she doubted it was out of kindness. Her father was a ruthless man after all.

Megu ushered her out of the room before she could really say anything at Kat, who was scolded for being late along with the others. The fox boy visibly shaking, saluting the Supreme Being. "O-of course Lord Volaris! I will endeavour to do so!" Bless the Supreme One's that Volaris didn't smite him for having been late to his summoning. It wasn't like Kat had been napping at the time or anything, nor was it that the shock of Baron's voice had made him tumble out of a seat and knocking over all the boxes in the mail room at once so he had to clean up the mess before he got here. That was absurd. It was definitely because he was the weakest of the guardian NPC's and had lower movement speed. Yep, that was totally it. Anything else was a slanderous lie!

Having received his orders, still with little to no understanding of the situation bar the fact that it was obviously a severe one, Kat nodded like he understood everything and made his way over to Baron. Not only was he spared, but he had orders to boot? Today just got better and better despite the....poor start. And maybe he could learn more about the situation from Baron or Anna...
"Uh, so Baron, what exactly are we looking for?"

---

Having left the Scrying Chamber, Elizabeth teleported the duo back to their floor to make their preparations. First, Megu made sure the security had sealed the place down tighter than Alcatraz. While the Demon went about that task, Elizabeth made sure to get changed into more...'plain' attire. Seeing as Lord Volaris wished for her to be more of the stealthier approach. She simply just got into the clothes which her father had given her for her birthday, the 'Magical School Clothes' as her father had dubbed them. Why it was so, was beyond her understanding. She never believed she could understand such an intellectual creature such as a supreme being, let alone her father, so there was no need to. Instead, she had taken the clothes with glee and wore them on almost every occasion that didn't require some of her more formal or flashier attire.

Surely this was 'plain' enough? If not, Volaris would have a hard time convincing her to wear anything else. Though she did throw a dark, hooded cloak over the top. By this time, Megu had returned and had changed herself. Both in attire, and physical appearance. Her horns were gone, and her usually duo coloured hair was instead just plain jet black. Her skin was no longer pale with black veins pulsating throughout, but instead a much healthier shade that was almost even tanned. Though her red eyes remained, they looked less..evil and demonic and more human than before. Her attire consisting of a simple tunic and adventuring trousers. She also wore a matching hooded robe to that of Elizabeth.

Yes, that was right, despite her usual form being more human than not she had felt the need to change to an even more human form. She could've kept her hair the same or changed it to pure white, but she had decided this stood out far less than either of the other two options. Besides her unnatural beauty, she seemed perfectly human.

"I have finished adding the additional security measures my lady, as well as having instructed the maids to begin preparing some supplies for the road. You just need get anything you think they or myself may have overlooked, or take a few moments to clear your mind. I will come for you when we are ready to depart or Lord Volaris calls for us." With a bow, Megu then left the room so as to oversee the preparations. Some of the maids were questionable in their effeciency after all, at least to Megu.

Towering trees with massive trunks surrounded the grand Cathedral, a bright and burning yellow sun shined through small gaps in the tree-top. The cathedral rested at the center of a near-perfect, circular clearing where it seemed its sudden appearance had displaced all the local flora. The density of the trees and the undergrowth suggested that this forest was seldom visited, if at all. If monsters or beasts did inhabit this forest, they were avoiding the strange structure for now. However, there did appear to be movement not too far into the treeline around the guild house if the scent and muted steps were anything to believe.

Outside of the forest, there did not appear to be any civilized settlements of any kind. That was except for the semi-decayed fort to the North-West, which had been the site of a very recent battle. Two individuals were heading in the direction of the forest and would enter it within a few minutes. The ebony armor with red accents suggested they were soldiers, however both were leaving behind drops of blood. A large army was heading south, towards a landscape of jagged hills and little foliage. In the East, the forest transitioned into a lush, green plain with long grass that swayed with the gentle breeze. There is a single carriage in the distance, pulled by a large, lizard-like monster called a Dracolisk. Dracolisk were low to mid level mounts in Yggdrasil depending on a complex breeding system. This one appeared to be of the lower tier and was being escorted by two paladin-looking individuals riding on horses. In the West, was the large army that had just completed besieging the fort to the North. This army consisted entirely of knights with black metal armor and red cloaks in a tight formation of roughly six hundred strong. At the forefront of the formation, was a man with far more elaborate armor and a crown made out of silver or a similar material. His armor was embellished with a intricate design, using the same material as the crown, but was similar to the armor of the knights following him.

So, as per orders, the two Guardians were to proceed to the West, as carefully as they could, as stealthfully as they could. Morningstar reached the outside of the castle and hovered fifty feet in the air to have a brief look around. No Garlock. He was already on the move. She wouldn't find him easily until he blew something up, most likely. She sighed at this.

Never liked that cat, no matter WHAT kind of powers he contained...

From here, she immediately soared into the sky, gaining more and more altitude. The higher she went, the harder it was to see her, and soon she was just a tiny dot up there, maybe less so. Most importantly, she was up here alone. No dragons or other creatures around. It was peaceful and pleasant, allowing her to relax a little, and let the tension from before drain away.



I will find the answer to this, somehow... But for now, I've a mission to perform.

Now, she could see ALOT from up here. From her point of view, not only was a vast distance of the west visible to her, but also the north-west and the south-west. Star spotted the heavily-decayed area to the north-west, but it was more north than west, to be handled by one of the others, no doubt. She focused her attention ahead and down, keeping her eyes on the forest and what lay beyond it. That was when she spotted it. Even from this height, it was difficult to miss that army. They were like ants to her from up here, but they were an army. The hellspawn looked from the army to the area that was more northern for a moment.

Ahhh... They just came from a battle. Hmmm. Now, do I watch and see what they do, for a while? Find out where they go? Or...do I crush them in order to keep the Cathedral safe from discovery?

Quite the conundrum for the great harbinger, but then...she remembered that Garlock was going to come across these guys. That being the case, it was probably best to see what HE was going to do with them. If the explosions started, or if for some reason she thought any of those people could see her from way down there...she would attack.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Stealth was something that a cat could accomplish, especially when alone. As soon as Garlock had teleported to the surface - in front of the westward-facing wall - he changed into a small black cat with sleek fur. There were movements in the woods, some of which might flee from the disturbance, while others would not. If any presence in the woods were feline by any means, they would not be panicked. All creatures of this type would feel comfortable around the Bakeneko, and never threaten him or BE threatened. It would be in their blood and instincts to understand that he was the big cat, the head tom, numero uno gato, and so on. So, he embarked into the woods and...



...ummm... Well, he didn't really sense any observers, so he decided to treat the order of stealth with a bit of 'Meh', and started singing in a deep tenor voice. Garlock leapt from branch to branch, to forest floor, to zipping around trees, and repeated as needed. Now, we will agree with you that having him doing this might be something of an attention-grabber, but...as soon as his ears grabbed the distant sound of unnatural movement - armored figures - he stopped doing this, and was all "Meow! Mrow! Brrreeowr!" from then on, and observed that there were a number of soldiers on the move. They didn't seem like anyone that he knew about from the world so-recently gone. These were new...

From his hidinng place, Garlock grinned...and then vanished.

He teleported to a point in the woods that was ahead of the whole entire army by at least a hundred feet. From there, he came out into the open...as a cat in play. He hopped and bounced, chasing at bugs, and then chased his own tail for a moment. Then, he plopped onto the ground as the army was on the approach, squirming around as cats do. Basically, he was giving them the cute cat routine.

Volaris regarded the arrogant child with fond amusement. Despite his clashing nature or rather because of, Volaris couldn’t help but be reminded of Latada. “I see your creator bequeathed her hubris unto to you. Curiously, I find some small measure of solace in that. I pray it does not find you in the rather unfortunate situations it found her, as amusing as they were.” Hopefully, she didn’t program her recklessness into the child. That could become a burden the specter didn’t particularly wish to bear.

“Now, Tatter and Lexicon. We’ve come to a world we know nothing about. Its people, its traditions, its magics. I will not suffer to sit blindly by on any account and so I give a task to you, the dedication and ingenuity of a scientist and the brilliance of a prodigy. Magic is arguably our greatest asset and will always level our playfield and so it is our priority to determine the rules and regulations of this world. Does our magic still work as it should? What has changed, if anything, that will help or hinder us? And ultimately, how do the denizens of this world perceive and harness magic? Our goal is to discover what guidelines exist and then push them further than any mortal creature could possibly conceive. And once we have, their world as they know it will be redefined in our image whether they wish it or not.” Volaris’ mouths all twitched into grotesque smiles. A world where rules were a concept of the past, where nothing was fixed or certain, where anything could change on the smallest whim- it sounded like a dream.

“You two will work together on this project. Start by confirming the magics of the cathedral, the guardians-as they return from their missions-, our items, and myself still work with our expectations from Yggdrasil. From there, you will expand your searches into the outside world to study their magic and methodology and periodically bring back specimens for study. For now, establish a baseline method for consistent data collection. I will be sending the Guardians to the arena so you may observe them once I have returned from my task.”

From the moment the ghoul commander's team set foot outside the Cathedral, its leader knew that Yseult's first creation had been hard at work. Already a rich, megalithic assortment of flora, the part of the forest that constituted the Cathedral grounds now swelled to burst with the dread aspect of Halloween. Masses of thorns and briars, enormous vines, bizarre fungi, thick grass, and piles of leaves filled it, not to mention the vast army of pumpkin monsters that occupied it, whether secreted away in discreet niches or hiding in plain sight among the vines that flourished with their non-sentient cousins.

Of course, with the illusion cast by Anna, Jack's defense system now appeared to be a haunted ring around ordinary forest, but their collective work satisfied the Supreme Lord's orders to conceal and protect. With a witch, a naga, a troll, and a humanoid aberration in tow, Helena made her way through Jack's territory and into the woods beyond.

The squad set out at a brisk pace. Helena based her direction on the position of the sun, operating under the hopeful assumption that it determined direction the same as in the world she left behind, though it occurred to her that even if it did not there existed no way to tell otherwise. Not too long after exiting the Pumpkin Patch, her ears picked up the quiet rustling sounds of movement through the undergrowth, but a quick examination turned up nothing more than rabbits on the run. Still, Helena reflected, Just because it's only animals here doesn't mean the perimeter is totally safe. Our assignment remains; those stationed at the Cathedral must see to its immediate surroundings.

The sun overhead, though filtered somewhat by the leaves and branches of the canopy, proved uncomfortably hot after a while spent marching, but the group pressed on until it reached the forest's eastern edge. Beyond the rather abrupt end of the treeline, a vibrant prairie stretched into the distance beneath a cloudless blue sky. At the edge of the two biomes, the monstrous crew stopped to rest in a patch of shade. Though not as splendid as the colorful Field of Flowers on the fifth floor, it bore a serene pleasantness. It might not have impressed many, but the nation of Helena's birth bore no such open, rolling stretches of untouched pasture, so her hazel eyes lingered for a good while.

A couple seconds later, she became aware of some movement, and straightened up against the three beneath which she'd taken shelter. Even from this distance, she could make out the shape of a carriage and what appeared to be a reptilian creature pulling it along at a swift clip. Mounted warriors of some kind preceded the carriage, and the whole ensemble left a trail of dust in its wake. “Commander!” came the rumbling bass of Tungus to Helena's left, “I see...”

“As do I,” Helena interrupted, cutting the troll off. She kept her eyes on the unknown group, considering her options. With how desperately the guild needed information, she felt the temptation to stage some sort of assault for the purposes of capturing interrogation subjects, but she could not disobey her current master's prime directive. “Do not attempt to engage. We will follow them, using the hills an grass, until they stop or I judge we've gone far enough.” Without waiting for acknowledgment, she spoke to Gretchen, then Psugeoth. “To keep up I need you to Wide Warp the entire party, and you to cast Spatial Haste on us to continue after them until Warp can be used again. Go, now!”

Gretchen through her arms wide, a tide of darkness sweeping forth from her robe. It enveloped the part and then coalesced, taking all five creatures with it. About one thousand feet to the north the dark cloud reappeared, depositing the group with minor disorientation. Psugeoth, the silent astrologian, took the chance to cast a spell that increased the party's movement speed, and the next moment the squad launched into action, sprinting through the grass with as low a profile as they could manage until Gretchen could cast Wide Warp again. The cycle continued, again and again, keeping the group roughly parallel to the carriage as it traveled.



Still brimming with curiosity, Tatter could scarcely sit still as Volaris began to speak, though her energy dulled as he went on. As best she could tell, the vital task that would be hers and Lexicon's to fulfill appeared to be research. Sure, research could be fun, but what the superb specter desired sounded more like schoolwork. Of course, Tatter never darkened any schoolhouse's door, but she did know about the institution among humans.

However, Volaris' murmurings of a world redefined in the guild's image rekindled her excitement. A guild without limits. Images ran through Tatter's head of not just waiting for intruders to enter the Cathedral and hoping they reached her, but going out into the world to let her nightmarish abilities run wild. Twisting body and soul alike on a massive scale if she so chose, infiltrating any society she pleased, setting up situations of heart-wrenching emotion and overwhelming tragedy...the more she thought about it, the more her spirit quivered with anticipation.

“Hmm! ...Okay!” She replied, her voice high and bright, filled with childish energy. “Well, milord, I've got tons of paper around I can have some minions use to record spell names and results. If that suits you for data collection, we can start our tests right away using who we have on hand: you! The arena would be great, of course, but if you like we can down to the bottom floor of the Thaumaturgium. It's pretty clear and open, and there's husks and other creatures everywhere we can test on. While we're at it, Lexicon and I could try out our magic to make sure it works fine.”

Smiling ghoulishly, she floated up into the air, her forearms and lower half unraveling into strands in preparation for flying. After a moment she gave a shrug. “Or, I guess we could head straight to the arena. Sturdy as this place is, the power of a Supreme Lord might be too much for it to handle, and there's a bunch of stuff that could break, or fall off shelves...um, providing you're okay for testing in the first place?” The consideration hit her suddenly, as through her enthusiasm kept her from thinking the whole proposal through.

@FalloutJack



The grim and solemn expression of the kingly-looking individual did not falter at the sight of Garlock. Garlock, on the other hand, would now be able to plainly see that these soldiers were not human. While the majority of the soldiers wore enclosed helmets, the king only had his crown. Black horns jutted out from just above his temples and then curved backwards with the the tip bending upwards. Behind him a black, leathery tail with a spade-like head swung back and forth in a memorizing pattern. All of his other features were reminiscent of humans.

It was clear that the king did not buy the 'cute' cat act. In fact, he seemed to be highly suspicious of the whole situation. He held up his hand in such a motion that caused the entire of battalion of soldiers to stop on a dime. A behemoth of a woman broke from the front of the formation, towering even over the king, and stepped to his side. Her right fist was held against her chest in reverence as she began to speak "King Lucius, forgive my ignorance but why have you stopped? This is but a mere cat. I can remove it if you wish." As she spoke, her hand moved to the sword on her hip and slid the blade out slightly. King Lucius gave her a scolding look that showed minor disappointment "For the captain of the Burning Valkyries, you are none too observant." He said sharply. The captain lowered her head in shame as she slid the sword back into its sheathe with a soft click "My apologies, your grace." The pride in her voice shrinking by a degree.



The king now turned his attention back to Garlock fully "I find it highly suspicious that a mere house-cat would approach a large band of soldiers that have recently tasted blood. Even more so is the fact that the nearby forest is plagued with man-eating plants that would easily devour a small beast such as this." His eyes, which were the boldest color of red, squinted firmly "I have lived far too long to fall prey to such tricks. Tell me cat, what matter of spirit are you? Or perhaps you are someone's familiar meant to spy on us? I do not wish to play games at this moment." He was well-spoken and his voice carried with it an undeniable authority. Not that would have any affect on the destructive Garlock.

Mostly, he had wanted to see what they would DO, and the answer was that apparently...they would stop. A whole entire legion of warriors - six hundred strong - had come to a grinding halt because a cat had just intersected their path.

Today was a good day.

It all started with the man in the lead, their king...according to the burning lady. Yes, yes, the word used was valkyrie. Garlock didn't care, not unless she was actually a bird woman and she tasted like chicken. Truth be told, however, he began to wonder about these people. Not one of them was human. A form of demon? Semi-minotaurans and satyr-kind? The possibilities were endless. He couldn't just kill these people yet. Not only did he have no idea if they were take-on-able, but he wanted to know what they were, especially since King Lucius wanted to engage him as an equal, having reasoned out that he was not a simple cat, maybe not even just an extraordinary cat. Besides, there was a third reason... For now, though, let's keep to this little encounter. The burning captain, who was probably skeptical of her king's assessment, would now hear Garlock's voice, clear as day. He was laughing as he straightened up into a sitting position.

"I guess you can't fool a king with instincts as sharp as yours. Who'd survive your line of work without 'em?"

That was a bit of a dig on the lady who apparently HAD been fooled by his innocent play.

"But even still, curiosity doth prod me forwards."

A swirling flame of darkness engulfed the cat as Garlock made his proper entrance, changing forms into a humanoid shape, clad in his robe, his belt, his gauntlets and boots, and so on. He crossed his arms and the red eyes gleaning from the darkness of his hood glared at the army of potentially-demonic-people.

"I am Garlock the Wandering Mage of the Black Staff. I go where the muse takes me, and any man who would hire me as a mere spy is wasting both his time and mine."

And just a little 'Take That' to the Lords of the Cathedral. Now, the cat smiled as he said...

"So, was it war, or merely pest control? Your battle, I mean."

Of course, at this point, we can't really tell if Garlock is following the orders that were given to him or messing around with the king for funsies or planning to go on a little trip or WHAT. You can't really get a read on him, EXCEPT for the fact that he is some kind of dark magus who seems interested in this army of six hundred demons and whatever war they were in. It's one of those things.

Lexicon

Lexicon listened to the Supreme Being speak, dutifully noting the task that was being given to the two. The child wondered to himself if his innate magical abilities would still be prevalent or whether he would have to study more to try and get his brilliant powers back so that one day he may rule. However, that was still to be debated as he was sure that his Magic’s were not being inhibited, he would feel that presence upon his very soul would something be blocking his ability to channel mana. It was merely something he would be able to know that was happening, granted he could try and cast detect magic to see if everyone’s mana was still there, which would probably be a good idea now that he thought about it, though he did not bother to learn the spell.

He then listened to Tatter speak and felt a bit of a different vibe than wanting to test his offensive abilities against the likes of Lord Volaris, that would seem disrespectful towards someone of Volaris’ caliber. ”I would suggest testing our ability to summon the lesser minions first, as well as my own ability to raise the dead,” Lexicon interjected, wanting to know more about their abilities to replenish their forces to aid in keeping the Guild safe more than anything. Though that was his only concern as he could agree with Tatter’s suggestion of using their current minions to record the data that they collect from their experiments, though how tedious the process would be.

”I recommend that we carry on our studies without bothering Lord Volaris, after we have been teleported to a new world, I don’t think that he will have time to do such minial things like be an experiment for us,” the child explained to Tatter, before going on, ”I believe we can use some poor unfortunate cultist instead. Though they would most likely need to be replaced after being torn apart, but it would be a good chance for me to see if I can raise the dead.” Lexicon looked back to Lord Volaris for a moment before he bowed, ”Forgive me if that sounded out of place, I merely do not wish to waste your time,” he explained in a more innocent voice.

“Prepare your methods and do not worry about involving me in your research.I will make myself available to your inquiries after we have confirmed we have a few moments of respite. I trust the pair of you will exceed in this task. As tedious as it is, I will not have one of ours sacrificed to carelessness. And once we’ve established the existing rules, we can continue onto the fun,” the word was accompanied by giggles, cackling, and howling laughter, “part of this particular activity. Now go. I will return with what I discover to add to your data.” Volaris dismissed the pair. Once they understood how the world around them functioned, they could expand their field of research and keep the pair occupied with more gruesome inquires. The rings shimmered and he felt the now familiar tug as the Cathedral changed around him.

He floated alone in his personal quarters. He never did bother decorating much. Some musty and cobweb covered trunks, a few ripped books,and blood stains but nothing extravagant. Just the basics. It was refreshing to return to a quieter spot after wandering the Cathedral's extravagant halls. Volaris absently floated towards a hat rack that had seen better days. A single hat, dust and cobweb free, hung. Volaris picked it up and took of his glowing head piece, placing it gently on the rack. He took a moment to himself, contemplating his plans. If it wasn’t his imagination, his considerations for the future were rather disturbing. Or maybe that made it even more disturbing. Perhaps he should get a therapist when he woke up.

The specter reappeared in the Scrying Chamber and fit the hat on his head. It felt like a sheen of plastic wrapped tightly around him, over and over and over until his original shape could no longer be seen. He tested his fingers and his arms, turned his head and stretched. He moved forward and back, left and right. He was unable to move vertically however. The same as usual. He glanced in the still water and raised at eyebrow at the man staring back at him. Not his usual disguise but unassuming, plain, and very nonthreatening. He shrugged, satisfied.



“Create lesser magic item.” He held out his right hand and a magic circle descended. A simple wooden cane appeared in its wake and he hunched over as he leaned on it. He brought the image of the two soldiers scurrying into the forest. Still on track. Once Elizabeth and Megu returned, they would approach the pair.

---

While possessed of very little interest in whatever Lexicon might have to say, Tatter dutifully fell silent when he began to speak, though her woven face took on a snarky blend of derision and boredom. Truth to be told she couldn’t fathom why Volaris wanted the kid around, since it should’ve been obvious that Tatter needed no help in this task, but there could be nothing so unconscionable as questioning a Supreme Lord. Tatter could do nothing more than put up with the snake-eyed hindrance.

Despite her contempt, however, she did-half listen to the boy, and when he suggested that Tatter thought of Volaris as an experiment of hers the geist’s eyes went wide. With frantic energy she shook her hands back and forth. “Ohnononono, I never thought…! Not for a moment, Lord!” Her loose strands wriggled incessantly, writhing in the air like dying serpents, giving silent voice to her distress.

A moment later, Volaris spoke again, his overwhelming cacophony of haunted voices causing Tatter to freeze in place. Fists clenched by her chest, she took in everything the horrific chorus uttered. When he mentioned the singular word ‘fun’, a chill swept through her unnatural body, and she steeled herself just in time for the nightmarish laughter that followed. Though shaken, she composed herself enough to nod furiously following his last imperative. “Yes, Lord! We’ll get right on it!”

Volaris vanished. In an instant the atmosphere of the room felt less heavy, and though she did not need to breath Tatter couldn’t help but to release a sigh of relief. Yet, when she turned her face toward Lexicon a moment later, it bore only cold anger. “Catty suckup. You trying to make me look bad?” Her eyebrows narrowed. “Keep it up if you’re tired of having just one curse.” With a final look Tatter floated toward the door, pushed it open, and glided through across the balcony and into the open air. “Anyway, I guess we better get busy. There’s plenty of test subjects locked up in the rooms on the bottom floor. The center area’s perfect.” She glanced back at Lexicon to make sure he was coming.

Lexicon could only chuckle at the ghost’s feeble threats, knowing that she could do nothing to truly harm him, at least not currently. ”I suppose it is in my nature to maintain a high degree of relation with the Supreme Ones, after all they are the most powerful beings we know of, save for the Mad One,” the child stated, slowly walking along with Tatter before stopping next to her and giving a sadistic look. His face morphed into something of pure evil, a face that would chill most normal men and cause those who were more weak willed to merely flee. ”As a child of Lady Ladata, you should know the power of the artifacts that I can possess, for instance…” He reached down into his satchel and pull out an eye. It floated in the palm of his hand before looking at Tatter.

Lexicon laughed evilly as the eye grew red for a split moment as the corrupt child willed for it to not use its power on someone as worthless as a bookworm. ”The Eye of the Mad One was her latest gift to me and with it, I have become one of the most powerful guardians,” a threat most vile made to the floating tapestry. Without another word he continued forward, the same scary look on his face as he continued.

The Necromancer’s display made Tatter snicker, although she couldn’t declare herself unimpressed. “Nice of you to dampen the effect, but I’m pretty resistant. Still, gotta appreciate the hustle. Maybe we can have some fun together.”

”Regardless, your intellect is needed on this task, though not of my own volition. I must ask, would you not feel as if your magical essence were being suppressed if we were not able to cast our magic? Lord Volaris was able to teleport, I assume, which means our magic does still work, and the eye that I possess can still be used,” Lexicon explained as he went down the hall before continuing, ”I do not believe that our magic is hindered, at least not in any noticeable way.”

Hovering alongside him on the other side of the dusty wooden railing with arms crossed, Tatter shrugged. “Yeah, that seems right. The material this body’s made of is only malleable when magic flows through it. But we’ll see for sure in a minute.” Eyes glinting, she unraveled into a shapeless spear of cloth and shot downward. Her disembodied voice echoed across the Thaumaturgium. “First there, first cast!”

For a moment, Lexicon looked over the edge and judged the velocity one would gain to have to splatter against the ground. Though such dark thoughts were for another time, as he simply walked off the age in a nonchalant fashion, diving down and feeling the wind rush past him on the descent to the Thaumaturgium. He could see the magical glow of Tatter and he was tempted to cheat a bit so that he may be the first one down, however, it may prove better to let the inferiors have their morale boost.

However, that did not mean the child was going to merely let Tatter win, it would be too obvious if he threw the game now. And yet, there he was, feeling that childhood glee that most commonly came from playing a game so simple as race. ”Fly,” he simply commanded, a magical aura encompassing his form as he then willed himself to go faster. He was right behind her now.

”I have you now,” he laughed.

Tatter’s giggle reverberated through the air. “I might not be as fast as Fly, but you have nothing, kiddo!” One of her woven tendrils flicked out and brushed against one of the many tapestries on the wall as it passed, and without a second’s delay her body went limp, unraveling to drift slowly down.

---

At the base of the Thaumaturgium, the towering central pillar split into four, the arches pyramid in formation, and beneath the great beams lay an open area of checkered tile and stone walls. In the center of the square space the floor gave way to ringed stairs, a pool of what appeared to be water in the middle. Sixteen doors lined the four walls, and between them stood tables laden with equipment both surgical and alchemical, as well as a number of their labors’ fruits.

Above one of the tables, a silken tapestry stirred, surging with ghostly energy. Its threads sprang to life, exploding outward from the wall and knitting itself into the shape of the sixth floor’s guardian. Not quite fully formed, the vaguely humanoid bundle flopped off the table’s edge and onto the floor.

”Now that’s just not fair,” Lexicon grumbled to himself, narrowing his eyes at the still forming mess that he viewed Tatter was. Gently drifting into the ground, the effect of fly dissipated and he merely looked away from the girl, though he did remember he had wanted her to win for morale’s sake. He let out a sigh before he walked to one of the tables and sat down, watching the girl for a few moments. ”Where do you believe we should begin? We both know that the great evil Magics that hold the Cathedral together are still active. Perhaps it would be in our best interest to catalog a number of things before we come to the conclusion that our magic does indeed still work the same.”

Her new shell complete, Tatter floated off the ground and dusted herself off. “Sure. We can run the gamut of our spells of all kinds. Should be a pretty good starting point. ‘Course, gotta get ready to record first” She reached out a strand toward one of the locked doors, using it to undo the latch before yanking on the handle. With a pronounced creak it swung wide open to reveal a medium-sized hospital bedchamber. “Out, now!”

A jolt of movement could be seen inside the dark, windowless room. Seconds later four figures emerged, three orcs and one elf. They looked diseased, pale and malnourished, their leather garb threadbare and ill-fitting. As they shuffled out, sunken eyes wild with fear, Tatter cast a glance at Lexicon. “Helena caught this bunch while on patrol, before we moved. Far as I can tell the orcs kidnapped the elf, then escaped into our marsh for cover. Huh, talk about bad luck! ..There were two more originally.” Her sepulchral emerald gaze returned to the prisoners. “Can any of you read and write?”

The elf’s hand shot up, though the orcs’ weren’t far behind. Recognizing the desperate ploy for what it was, Tatter rolled her eyes. “Alright, elfie. Sit down at a table with a stack of paper and a quill. We’re going to be using magic, and I want you to write down spell name, spell type, and our comments. Got it?” Tripping over herself, the elf complied. Once she appeared ready to record, Tatter began again. “Alrighty. Utility hex, Fetch!”

Above the geist’s hand, a swirling eddy of magic sprung to life and resolved itself into a disk-shaped instrument in a flash. Tatter affixed the Crystal Dial to her chest, then held out her hand again. “Fetch!” A brief moment later, a 50-pound totem of carved wood popped into existance and crashed down on the floor in front of her. Unphased, Tatter nodded and spoke again, “Fetch!” This time a wand manifested in her hand, and she pointed it at the totem. With a little concentration it lifted into the air, and with a flick of her hand she moved it out of the way. “Alright, Fetch works perfectly. Add a line saying that the Steward’s Wand works too.” With a swift motion she passed the wand to one of her free strands to hold.

She then eyed Lexicon. “Guess you want a turn, huh? Use the orcs if you want. There’re more guinea pigs in the other rooms too.”

A mere utility spell did not interest the likes of Lexicon, it was not in his nature to be interested in spells that were minimal in the grand scheme of thing. He looked to the orcs for a moment before stepping towards them, before pointing a finger at one, a crooked smile coming onto his face. One word was uttered, ”Death,” and from his gloved hand came a small, dark bolt came from his finger and struck one of the orcs. Suddenly, the pale orc dropped dead without a word, causing the others to back away from the corpse out of fear.

”Glad to know that works,” Lexicon mused before walking up to the corpse, laying a single hand upon it. ”Raise Dead,” he uttered as an almost holy light enveloped the corpse, for a moment nothing happening. The child took a step back and the once dead orc took in a violent inhale, sitting up in shock and confusion as he looked at his hands then up at the child.

”Now then back to business,” he said before he suddenly jutted out his hand and said ”Gravity Maelstrom.” A dark ball launched itself from his hand, energy striking out at the ground as it flew directly back into the orc that had been revived. The poor thing was practically disintegrated upon contact, letting out a last howl of pain before being sucked into the black hole. ”Gravity Maelstrom works as intended, along with Raise Dead and Death,” he mused before looking back Tatter, with his crooked smile as wide as can be.

”Back to you then.”

“Hmph. Didn’t you say you wanted to try many different kinds? And not even bothering to help out our poor little scribe, tsk tsk…” Tatter’s composition made the clucking of her tongue sound more like the hiss of sandpaper. Her attitude, remarkably casual given the traumatizing circumstances, led her to almost miss the two remaining orcs as they made a break for it. Of course, she could only titter. “You dolts don’t even know where to run, while I know this place inside and out.” She sighed as her strands shot outward, snaking through the air after the fleeing orcs. “Primal instincts, I suppose. Can’t be helped when dealing with such base life-forms.” Shrieks of terror echoed through the Thaumaturgium as the strands coiled around the orcs’ legs, tripping them before dragging them back. Their jagged, yellow fingernails scraped against the tile as Tatter hauled the pair her way. “Status curse,” she intoned as they grew near, the words resounding above their cries. “Bloodcurdle.”

The orcs spasmed, reduced to no movement except for a frenzied twitch. “Success,” Tatter noted as she let them go. Her strands moved to make loops around their middles, picking them up into the air. Tatter came closer, a pleasant grin upon her face. “Status curse, Merge.” The air in front of her shimmered as though in a heatwave, and the orcs’ very bodies appeared to fluctuate in a similar fashion. With deliberate slowness the Soul Twister brought the two together, back-to-back, and when their skins touched they fused together.

Still gripped by total paralysis, the orcs couldn’t so much as scream as their bodies sunk into one another, until all that remained was a single monstrosity with a face on either side of its head, an arm that split into two forearms in different directions, and a single two-sided torso with four legs.

“Success.” Tatter seemed pleased with the result, although her lack of satisfaction suggested that such a horrific accomplishment was, for her, rather mundane. Meanwhile, the elf looked as though she’d been struck by Bloodcurdle as well, too traumatized by the sight to move her quill. Not noticing, Tatter released the creature to fall stricken upon the floor before approaching it
To lay a hand on its head. “Status curse, Vital Extraction. Siphon!” A muddy greenish substance surged from the monster’s head, making it jerk violently. The jelly-like vapour pooled in Tatter’s hand, and the more she took the less distinct her victim became. It lost color, feature, and definition, until it nothing remained but a goopy-looking gray horror of the same bodily layout as what came before. Its melted faces could barely be categorized as such, being little more than recessed holes and slits where eyes, nostrils, and mouths had been.

Vitae in hand, Tatter floated back. “Success! And what a funny-looking Failure. Almost like a spider. Yep, works as good as before. Maybe even better!” She glanced at the elf, who appeared to be hunched over on the table, hands clasped over her face. “Hey!” Tatter called. “You get all that? I’ve got the essence of two orcs here, so unless you wanna be big and green I’d get writing if I were you.” Behind the geist, the gray husk stirred. Moving with an idiotic, bumbling simplicity, it staggered to its feet and began to wander away. It tripped on the stairs in the center of the room and rolled into the ankle-deep pool of water at its center, making Tatter chuckle.

”Poor thing, lost and afraid…” the child began before raising his hand a hex forming on the floor, ”Let’s exploit it’s essence. Create Greater Undead!” From the giant, black hex that formed in front of the child, two death knights rose. Their dark armor giving a polished gleam, their shields and swords ready to serve their master. ”Success. Bring another to us, alive,” Lexicon ordered.

The knights moved forward, marching as one to one of the cells that held another orc, who was now trying scrambling to his feet to try and back away from the large undead beings only to put his back against the wall. Making a mistake, he began to stagger away only to be hit in the back by the massive shield of one of the knights. The two sheathed their swords and grasped each arm of the orc and dragged him back to the two sadistic casters, Lexicon with his smile and Tatter with her laughter. The undead threw the orc onto the floor, the pale figure knowing not to fight the knights.

”I suggest an experiment. Why not inject this fighter with that essence and see what comes out of it? I believe, that if it is useful then it can be used,” Lexicon requested, looking at the poltergeist with a gleeful look on his face. After a moment he looked back at the orc, stating ”I hope that it will be painful for it.”

A smirk greeted Lexicon’s stated wish. “Pff, physical pain is so basic,” Tatter explained. “But I’ll give it shot. Other overdoses I’ve done have been interesting.” She laid herself down on the ground beside the pinned orc, elbows on the floor with her hands propping up her head. “You look scared. Weren’t you the leader of that little band? Courage is important for leaders. But then again, you look pretty generic. Consider this a blessing. Instill!” Without a moment’s hesitation she slammed her palm into the orc’s head, pumping him full of vitae.

The demihuman cried out, more shock and discomfort than agony, and began to change. He swelled up in size, muscles bloating as his green skin grew darker. His snaggletoothed fangs extended upward, lengthening past his eyes until they were halfway up his forehead. The orc’s cranium shrunk, while his jaw grew larger. As he writhed on the floor his entire bone structure changed, arms lengthening and legs shortening while his torso bent into a huge humpback. As the changes slowed, Tatter remarked, “The essence of orcs--brutishness, barbarism, savagery. Much stronger, I’m sure, but slower, and dumb a sack of bricks.” Fairly nonplussed, she hopped up and looked around.

”I am sure we can use it as a laborer, no doubt we have some heavy things that need lifted. Yet, I would love to see how this thing performs in a battle. If it can lift a club or weapon then no doubt it can be used as an attack dog, if needed.”

Out of the fourteen remaining doors, one led to a staircase downward, two opened into elevators upward, and at least three served as storage for samples, equipment, books, and research. “Don’t think I have any more of them,” Tatter mused. “A couple random monsters and a bunch of Failures. But husks are fine for experiments.” Another strand shot outward, unbarring one of the doors before pulling it open. Inside milled a handful of Failures, two humanoid and four quadrupedal. As the door opened, they turned to fixate on the orc leader, hungry for his vitae. In the pool, the spider-husk also seemed intent on somethough, though it seemed more fixated on the terrified elf.

Lexicon looked over the husks for a few moments before looking back to Tatter, never having actually seen Tatter work before. ”I find it impressive that you have made all these. Perhaps you are not the mere bookworm I thought you were,” he commented before stepping towards the husks, his knights turning to face them as well. ”Line them up,” he commanded, watching the knights step past him to do the bidding of their dark master.

They did not draw their swords instead grasping them with their decrepit hands, to drag them against the wall. Granted the husks rarely stood in place for long but it was certainly a sight to see two large behemoths rush back and forth we to try and line them perfectly. Though, through look of Lexicon, it was enough of a line for him to look at the spider husk. ”Undead Flame,” he said flicking his hand out and forming a green, fiery circle in front of himself before it spread in the ground around the husk. When the husk began to walk towards the elf, it came into contact with the flames, which jumped onto the form of the creature to engulf it. In mere moments the creature died to the flames, though not before letting out horrid screeching of pain.

”Success. Anyways, I suspect this is enough on personal magic. Perhaps it is time to start on our items? Or shall we have some fun on experimenting?”

Tossing her woven hair in a smug manner, Tatter replied, “Already on it. The Steward’s Wand work, and this diadem…” she tapped the Crystal Dial on her chest. “...Lets me know whether or not my spells work on my targets. Hasn’t shivered yet.” She punctated the explanation with a wink at Lexicon, then stroked her chin. “That said, there is one thing. Another type of magic we haven’t tried. The Deepwood Idol’s been collecting leftover magic all this time, so we’re good to go.” She sped over to the totem and heaved, picking up with with both arms. With it secure she headed for the biggest, most ornate door. As she passed the elf, the curtain of strands that composed her lower half reached out and grabbed her, wrapping her up in a cocoon and bringing her along with minimal struggle. “Deal with the Failures however you want,” she told Lexicon. “Then follow me.”

”Slaughter the failures and put the orc back in its cage, I wish to run some tests on that one, after that go up the Cathedral entrance and guard it alongside Xirphi and Sagi,” Lexicon told his knights, walking to Tatter so that they may continue their task. Behind him the death knights drew their swords and set about slaughtering the failures. Their sword cleaved through them, cutting them in and or decapitating them. They were wordless and completely obedient in their objective, completing the slaughter in no time at all against the likes of the failed experiments. The knights went back to the orc, this time finding it harder to force the creature to move, granted it was still malnourished and weak, but it was stronger than before. Yet, they did their job.

Meanwhile Lexicon walked alongside his floating companion, commenting in a persuasive manner, ”You are a curious being Tatter. Also powerful in your own right, and smart. The Cathedral is not a place of trust, Xirphi does what she wants and I doubt that she will allow either of us to continue our fun without attempting to destroy us, nor can I guarantee that Lord Volaris will be able to protect us from that brute. Among her there are other unstable types, such as Rule34, and Garlock who is far too unpredictable to be trusted.”

He paused to allow Tatter some time to process his words before continuing on in his same tone, ”I suggest that you and I form a sort of alliance to aid each other should those types turn against us. We are both some of the brightest minds within the cult, and so it would be advantageous for us to work together. It would also allow us to further advance our positions so long as we remain on the side of Lord Volaris.” His offer was made so that he would not have to worry about the likes of Xirphi, knowing that if it came down to a battle between them, he would win with the help of Tatter. Though, he knew having Tatter’s mind on his side with allow him to progress with his ambitions, after all, she was a bookworm with vast amount of knowledge to help her.

As the pair descended, the style and architecture changed. Stone and wood gave way to gold-bronze metal, emblazoned with bizarre patterns and alien designs. Tatter, focused on her burden while making sure not to drag her captive elf, did not respond for a moment, but when she did she began with a derisive titter. “Look at you, being all conniving. Proposing a secret alliance when we were threatening eachother ten minutes ago? Well, first let me say what, are you some kinda idiot? Volaris can do whatever he wants. It’s not trust that binds us guardians together. It’s the will of the Supreme Lords.” Eyes-half shut, she slid Lexicon an insufferable grin. “But then again, it sounds like you don’t even get along with Ladata’s other Guardians. Meanwhile me, Helena, and Jack are a great team, but even if we weren’t, I can fend for myself. Besides, it’s not the dumb ones you need to watch out for. It’s the smart ones, especially the ambitious ones.” The geist’s implication rested for a moment before she flashed a smile and started to move on. “Heehee! Maybe if you tried being likable up-front you wouldn’t have to worry so much about being stabbed in the back.”

In front of the pair, the curved hallway opened up into a larger room. The sickly light of the yellow braziers washed over undulating walls adorned with spikes, pillars festooned by primeval embellishments, and a rounded altar beneath the inverted dome’s heinous sculpture. An otherwordly, noisome vapour filled the air. Tatter flew over the rail and into the center of the Ritual Chamber. “Here we are.” She deposited the elf on the dias before rising up to insert the Deepwood Idol into the pupil of the hanging sculpture above. Magic flowed from the object into the structure, and the very room seemed to inhale in anticipation. Tatter then flew off with great haste, muttering something about materials.

”Likeable,” that was a word that he had not considered for himself for a long while, and while sure he could pull the appearance of a “likeable” child enough, however, it was never in his cursed nature to be that way. The book does not like hiding its dark nature and Lexicon knew that well enough, after all he and the book were practically one in the same at this point. He contemplated it for a moment before looking over at the elf, simply waiting as Tatter went off to get her materials. He approached the elf who took a step back out of fear, and he merely stared at the elf with a more than neutral face. It wasn’t until he suddenly pulled his knife did he make a noise of anger, not a roar of attack but merely a grunt as he stabbed the poor elf through the stomach.

When he pulled the knife out, he merely extends his palm forward and uttered ”Open Wounds,” and watched as the area around the elf’s wound grew and grew until the elf collapsed. Still breathing and alive but accepting death in silence as the knife’s effect took place. Lexicon snarled for a moment before snatching the paper from the dying elf, writing down the success of both his spell and his blade. However, in the middle of writing, he stopped for a moment as the feelings of a scared little boy came back to him, a scared boy in a cursed cathedral. It took effort for the curse to will itself over the mind of the boy once more but for a moment he had felt true fear and sorrow for his actions enough for tears to have formed in the edges of his eyes. Wiping those tears away, Lexicon refused to show that side to the damned poltergeist who had the gall to call him an idiot.

He would make sure to get back at her, teach what it meant to not accept this conniving boy’s offer. Though he would need to make sure that no other soul would find out, but then again, who’s word would most likely be trusted when he was a master at manipulation. Lexicon looked back down at the now dead elf before laying a palm upon the corpse and using the Raise Dead spell. The elf eventually came back to life, looking worse than when he had killed her.

”Your duties may continue,” Lexicon said to the elf, handing it the paper back, and silently contemplating the best way to deal with Tatter.

A minute later the other Guardian returned, carrying with her a veritable horde of materials. Crystallized demon’s blood, a branch from the Bloodwood tree, a black heart, a jar of undead cinders--all high-level ritual catalysts. The moment she laid eyes on the elf, however, her look of anticipation turned to digust. “Ugh. Well, if I didn’t think you were short-sighted, impulsive, vengeful, and petty before, I do now.” She bundled up the materials and placed them on the ground between the staircase and the nearest pillar. “Here I was, gonna make a new servant to put that gross orc to shame, all while testing ritual magic, and you turn that poor elf girl into a stinkin’ zombie.” A strand snatched the paper from the undead’s hand, at which Tatter leveled her palm as she approached. “Useless.”

”Far from a mere zombie, Tatter. I control both life and death, and thus I am able to retire those lucky few back to a full life. Such as this elf. She has all her cognitive functions and can understand your rather rude gestures. However, I would not expect a mere ghost to understand the concepts of bringing things back to life,” Lexicon snickered, glaring at Tatter before looking once more at the elf. He walked forward and gestures to the elf, ” However, if you do not wish to try and one up me, as pointless as it is, I guess I’ll just destroy her,” he sighed readying the gravity maelstrom at the elf.

Something Lexicon said seemed to disturb Tatter, and she froze mid-cast. Her eyes, false though they were, seemed to be focused on something far away. “Ghost…” For the first time since returning she noticed the terror on the elf’s face, and her fearful cowering. “...Oh.” Only when Lexicon mentioned destroying her did Tatter jump into action. “Wait, hold on, you ass,” she blurted out, waving him off with furrowed brow. “I didn’t know, okay? Treat!” From her hand came a beam of soft green energy, sending countless tiny sparks of life into the elf. Immediately her wounds began to heal, her skin and hair regaining their color and vitality. After a moment Tatter cut off the stream and floated backward, and the elf collapsed in relief.

The child suppressed a smile coming out, noting her distant gaze for the time being, but not saying anything to allow her to go on with what she wanted to do.

Tatter avoided eye contact with her counterpart. “...Guess that spell works too.” A number of her strands extended to grab the ritual ingredients and start placing them. She fixed her eyes on the elf and in a clear, firm voice asked, “You can speak, can’t you? What’s your name?”

A few seconds passed before she could begin to stutter a reply. “S-S...S-Selussa.”

Nodding, Tatter told her, “Well, Selussa, I’m not going to torture or kill you. Or do what I did to the orcs. I want to know where you came from...who you are.”

Still shaken, Selussa got to the point quickly. “Daughter...of our clan’s lord. Orcs invaded. So many elves killed...I was taken as...as a prize. After father was slain.”

“I see. You’ve lost so much. Think of this, then, as giving you something back. New purpose, new strength. You might not be able to take revenge on your dad’s killers, but you won’t be broken...anymore.”

The last ritual ingredient fell into place, and Tatter backed away, murmuring incantations. Dark energy welled up within the icon above the elf’s head, and a moment later it flooded outward upon her and into the floor. Closing her eyes, the elf bore it in silence, and her body disappeared in the deluge of purple, red and black.

Lexicon merely watched the proceedings of the ritual, finding it dull, but flashy. He supposed that there may be a chance that Tatter would fail hilariously. He waited for that moment in silence.

When the arcane energies died down, Tatter rushed forward. The elf lay upon the dias, though not exactly the same. Her skin had turned a blackish purple, and from her head sprouted long, thin horns that turned a burned gold toward the tips. A similar tail stretched behind her, as well as the braid of her much-longer rose-red hair, and when her eyes opened their irises shone a brilliant, uncanny white. “A more ‘interesting’ demon would have resulted with more sacrifices, but she’s not half bad,” the geist commented. “Best I can tell, she’s a bit over half as strong as you, Lex. Without items, at least.” Tatter reached out a hand and helped pull the new demon to her feet, looking closely as she did. “Hm. Not quite the same as usual...in the old world, a ritual with no extra sacrifices would make a generic demon, but she’s totally unique.”

”Unique, eh?” Lexicon pondered for a moment before merely shrugging at the fact, continuing on, ”I suppose that it is worth writing down.” He walked towards Tatter and the demon looking her over before letting out a yawn, ”I guess you are good at making things, but you lack the knowledge over the power of life and death. You merely alter the living and change them to things you desire, perhaps stronger and more useful, but ultimately all roads lead to the same place...”

He contemplated killing the newly born demon for a moment, merely to upset Tatter, but he restrained himself. ”Death,” he finished simply, with no extra theatrical stunts that one might expect to happen at the point in time. ”Or they become ghosts like you, which I guess is a form of torture somewhere but that is something I don’t know of yet.”

Though tense for a moment, Tatter seemed to relax. She threw up her hands idly, as if to say what can you do. “And you lack knowledge of biology, alchemy and the occult. Gee, it’s almost like we were have different jobs and were given different skillsets by our creators. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.” Tatter clasped a hand on the demon’s shoulder. “I’m sure this is all a bit much for you, but don’t worry. I’ll find you a room for now and eventually send you to Helena. She’s a lot more personable and can figure out what your gifts are. For now, just get used to the new you. And welcome to the winning team, Es.”

---

A few minutes later, Tatter was back in the Thaumaturgium. Beside her, Es stood nervously by with a small stack of papers, unfamiliar with her new body. The ubergeist stretched, unraveling her arms as she did. “Guess we’ll be giving Volaris a report of complete success when we see him again,” she concluded.

”Indeed. Though I do believe that our next task will be to survey the guardians and then the outside world,” Lexicon commented before casting fly on himself. He narrowed his eyes at Tatter before going on in a far colder tone, ”I look forward to playing with you some more.”

With that, the boy flew upwards from the base of the Thaumaturgium and away from Tatter and her play thing.

@Lugubrious

You are able to make out more details of the caravan as you approach. The carriage itself seems to be of fine quality, its white color adorned with silver and gold decorations that possibly suggested some religious ideology. The two paladins who rode on horses in the front wore similar armor. Glittering plate armor hidden underneath a talbard, however the were a few differences between them. The right-most one had his talbard outlined with red frills and a depiction of scales, a common symbol of justice, was displayed on his chest. A hood made observing his facial features difficult. The paladin on the left side had a different colored talbard, with his being outlined in a rich purple and a symbol of a raven on his chest. His hood was down so there was no difficulty seeing his face. Medium length blonde hair touched his shoulders, tucked behind a pair of long, pointed ears. A youthful energy filled his eyes as he rode forward.

There was also the carriage driver, of course. He did not bear any likeness to the two paladins but wore a light grey robe, a piece of rope tied at the waist. His black hair has a sleek style and his eyes watched the road with fierce vigilance. A crooked nose, large cheeks, and pronounced chin did little to help his appearance. The caravan was moving at a steady, but quick pace. Dirt from the road was kicked up behind, creating small clouds. A small village laid up ahead in their path, consisting of no more than a few buildings. Outlines of people indicated it was still inhabited. The largest structure was the cylindrical silo most likely used to store grain.

@FalloutJack

The captain's eyes sharpened into a glare at the slight, but ultimately said nothing. As Garlock changed forms, a large amount of the soldiers adjusted in their stance. It was only Lucius who did nothing but watch, the sight not appearing to shock him in the least "I see." It was clear by the way Lucius kept shifting his gaze slightly that he was studying Garlock, perhaps trying to read his intentions. "Well met, Garlock. I do not know of this muse you speak of, but I'm rather surprised you would be travelling in times such as this." The small emphasis on the last few words hinted that there some dangerous forces around, at least for them.

He raised his right brow "You sure are a curious cat." A small smile grew on his lips "It was nothing more than a bit of house cleaning. Now that it is finished, we must return back to the capital." He stated firmly and gave a glance to the captain "All soldiers prepare for flight! Assume formation 'Rook'!" Her loud voice covered the distance well and the soldiers moved into squads of five aligned in a triangle. Large, black wings covered in feathers erupted from the backs. Lucius too released a similar pair of wings, but the feathers were tinged with silver at the tips "I am going to be generous today and assume you are not an Amali spy. Thank you for the amusing distraction." With that said, the whole army began to take off into the sky.

@Achronum

The two individuals, a male and a female, that were now trying to make their way through the forest wore slightly different armor. The female wore the same armor as the army, whereas the male soldier wore a variation with more leather padding than metal plates. The male soldier was being supported by the other, his injuries looking much more severe. The female soldier had his arm around her and was taking much of his weight, despite being much shorter. Despite having a clear limp in her right leg, she was moving them rather quickly. Blood covered the right side of the male soldier's head, soaking into his red hair, as he struggled to remain conscious. While in a comparably better condition, the female soldier had a large open wound on her right thigh. Her short, blonde hair had a mixture of mostly dirt and a little blood, sullying its color. Blue-grey eyes showed exhaustion and fear as both their lives were running out.

Baron bowed to his Lord in silent respect before retreating back a few steps in order to carry out his orders. He looked at Kat who had come up to him with a question. While Baron was the patient type, he had to admit that he was ever so slightly aggravated how Kat had asked him a question that had an obvious answer. But Kat was young, a mere boy compared to the others.
"Cause of current situation." Baron's comment was short and simple. Without saying more, he gestured for Kat to move closer to him. Once he had done so, he put his hand on his shoulder despite their massive height differences, a feat possible due to Baron's unnaturally long limbs. Within a split second they arrived at the Akashic Records. Baron's teleportation powers within the Cathedral was superior to all other modes of transportation; quiet, instantaneous and never missed the mark. Upon arriving in the Akashic Records he peered his surroundings, looking for Anna. He was certain she was around here somewhere, he could feel it. Baron knew the approximate location of every being in the Cathedral at all times, however he could not pin-point their locations. Contacting Anna through magical communication would have made the job much easier, however it was forbidden by Lord Volaris. That fact alone was enough to put Baron himself on alert; the Supreme Being must be anticipating trouble if he suspected that their communication was being compromised.
"Locating Anna. Proceed to draw materials out of the Records. Initiate with History of Yggdrasil, volumes 1 through 6. Find and acquire any information that indicates an entire Guild being transported to a completely new location." Without even glancing at Kat, he issued his commands to the errand boy. Baron knew the contents of those particular set of books as his creator had bestowed upon him great knowledge of the world they used to live in. And as far as he was aware, there were nothing in those pages that shined light upon their current, mysterious situation. However, Baron concluded that giving the pages a detailed look couldn't hurt.



'Hmm... no magical communication...' Skout scratched the back of his neck, making an uncomfortable metal-on-metal sound. While that command made his job more difficult - as he was then forced to run about between the 3 parties in order to keep in communication - Skout was determined not to disobey his Lord any further, as the shame of being tardy to his summons and light chastisement still remained in his system. Skout was fast and durable, a good balance physically. His mechanical body would never tire for as long as he had fuel and he was capable of running at great speed for a long time. Part of him wished he could have access to teleportation-type spells like some of his colleagues but that thought didn't linger for long, as Skout was more than proud of being created by one of the Supreme Beings. He was sure that his creator, as wise and powerful as he was, had created Skout just the way he should be. And it would be heresy to even think otherwise.
Skout sheathed his blade and holstered his pistol. He would need them out of his hands in order to run full speed. First would be Helena in the East. While Helena didn't bother to leave Skout with her whereabouts, with his tracking skills he was convinced he would be able to find her without much trouble.

Oh yes, kingy boy. You're right about that. No one from Amali sent him. Certainly not. It seemed as though he had passed himself off well enough as just a traveler, which for Garlock was fine. After all, the Cathedral was hardly in any sort of danger if a load of soldiers just saw him and were like 'He's just a wandering lunatic', and that would be just fine. Besides, making the acquaintence of a battle-hardened king was interesting, right? And he was just on his way back from a bit of bloodshed against some others in what he could only assume was some kind of war. What? You don't bring six hundred to a mere raid or rounding up of bandits for the slaughter. Well, unless you do, in which case, what a waste. Now, Garlock was having trouble deciding if these were the kinds of people that the souls of the dead would ask him to revenge upon or simply kindred spirits with horns and tails when...they all formed wings and began to take off.

Uh oh.

Let's understand something here. This army had been content to trudge along before he intersected their path. Now, after some quick banter, they were all going to fly away. That was not normal... At least, he was pretty sure of this fact. Nobody changes tactics without good reason. But then, that is not really why Garlock thought 'Uh oh'. It wasn't a case of 'Oh, I may have made an error in telling these people anything' or 'I seem to have caused a stir and now they're making a break for it'. No, this was a different kind of reaction, on his part. This was 'I'm pretty sure that Star could see that.'.

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Way on up in the sky, Morningstar had been watching. There wasn't exactly much TO watch - Alot of dark little shapes moving around - but she could most-certainly see down there. For instance, when the whole 600-strong army of dots came to a halt, she noticed that. And when the black flame erupted and that she could see a blackish dot, she knew that that had to be Garlock. Oh, what was wrong with that cat? He was revealing himself to a huge load of strangers when Volaris had asked specifically that they prevent anyone from learning of their presence! He must've been playing one of his cat-and-mouse games or something, but then Star saw something else of interest.

They were lifting off of the ground.

That made some very clear connections in her head. People - armies, it seemed - could gain flight en masse, people could fly up and spot the Cathedral with ease, and they were now trying to leave the presence of Garlock in a hurry, which was surely a bad sign. If this army had been the cause of whatever happened up north that she noticed before, then they were at war and in a campaign of conquest. That put Dead Moon Cathedral in the middle of something, and it also meant that if these people had pushed this far, they would be coming farther, perhaps to their doorstep. This was not acceptable. It must be stopped.

So saying, Star pulled out her mace and her shield and prepared her opening attack. Probably better start with whoever had that silvery, sniny glint down there. That could be a leader, and without leaders...armies lose their focus. Prepare to dive!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



They couldn't possibly know what was coming, but Garlock had glanced up and seen the tiny little speck up there moving all of a sudden. He saw that speck getting a whole lot closer. The army was airborne in their triangular formation, and as Morningstar came down, Garlock could see she had gone Heat Riser as she wound up to smash right at King Lucius! She must've seen the glint of his crown in the sun from way up there. It would have stuck out especially, giving Star a definite target as she made to slam her Shockwave Assault right into him and let the blastwave fan out amongst all the troops that were nearby!

Garlock acted shocked and taken aback, before shouting in bloodthirsty manner...

"Demon, you shall face my wrath!"

A huge ball of flame flew out of his hands, in Star's general direction. He was putting on a show to make it look like it was helping, and he WAS actually aiming for Morningstar. However, there would be loads of soldiers in the way...and it was Hecaton Pyrum that he let loose in all their direction...and Star was immune to fire. And with that spell being high-explosive...followed by the deployment and explosion of alot of other fireballs...this was going to get very messy, and in a bloody hurry!

With a combination of Wide Warp and Spatial Haste, the scouting team made easy work of keeping up with the carriage. The five continued moving across the grassy hills, using the terrain as a barrier to avoid detection, until they came to a higher knoll a half-minute ahead of their quarry. Helena barked out a break command, and her squad fell to its collective knees. Psugeoth and Gretchen hurried to regenerate their mana, while Odile and Tungus stood by. Their commander, however, crept up the side of the knoll on her belly until she could peer over the top at the process coming into view.

Though her subjects moved with haste, her keen eyes took in what she could of their features. Wealthy, she observed, not just by the make of the vehicle but by the armament of the paladins. Even normal full plate cost a pretty penny for humans, and the gear of these two -while laughable compared to even the dinkiest armor found in her Guild- stood above standard human fair. Then again, she couldn't presume that this world operated by the societal rules of the one that came before. One rider's face she could see, and noticed by his ears that he seemed to be an elf. The carriage's driver she could also see, a homely man fixated upon the path before him with a baleful sort of rigidity that, to Helena, suggested anger. As the entourage flew past she attempted to spy inside, but opulent curtains blocked her view within. From the carriage wheels a great plume of dust flew up to obscure the vehicle's passing, but before she lost the view she spotted a few buildings in the direction her quarry appeared to be headed.

Helena allowed a short time to pass before she straightened up and waltzed down the knoll. “Nothing much of interest. Somewhat better-off compared to the average human. Settlement ahead. We should hurry.” A billowing darkness spread over her the next moment, and the scouting party disappeared, its pursuit re-engaged.

Before long Helena's squad came to another stop inside a small ravine, and the five either jumped up to the edge or stretched to see what lay beyond. A few hundred meters away, the pitiful cluster of shoddy huts stood like a huddle of old men, lost in the middle of nowhere. The carriage and its escort would arrive only a moment later. Sound would carry through the still air, Helena knew, and afford her team a chance to sate their curiosity. As insignificant as this village seemed, it proved the new world's first glimpse of civilized life, as well as their chance to get an idea of what sort of place their organization found itself.

Some time had passed since Megu had left Elizabeth to her own devices. She trusted the Fire Demon to make the preparations with little hassle and fuss. Normally in this time, she might've taken the time to think on their predicament, but instead that was the last thing she wanted to think about. At this moment she barred her mind from thinking about anything remotely related to her Father, which was certainly far from the norm for the girl. The less she thought about him, the more she could stay composed and in control. She could think about this more when she wasn't about to go on a potentially important mission. Especially one that required her to journey with a Supreme Being. Showing any sign of weakness would be unforgivable, especially after her showing in the Scrying Chamber.

So she did the only thing she could at this moment, she read. She just pulled out a book and read. It was good to pass the time and distract her thoughts, a 'kill two birds with one stone' type solution. She was close to the end when she heard a knock at her door and looked up from her novel, a little irritated by the interruption but upon seeing it was Megu the young mage managed to stop herself from voicing said annoyance. If she was back, then it was obviously time to get going.

"I apologise my lady, but the preparations are on schedule. Not even the servants can feasibly mess this up from here on out so I was coming to suggest that we make our way to Lord Volaris, but if you are busy then that can wait." With a respectful bow, she went to leave.

"It doesn't matter Megu," Elizabeth said with a sigh, standing up and shutting the book in the same motion. "It can wait, it would be best not to make Lord Volaris wait if he is ready himself." Pocketing in the book, Elizabeth strode past the bowing Megu who soon followed suit with a brisk, to the point response.

"As you wish then."

---

With the use of Teleportation magic, getting back to the Chamber took very little effort and time. When the cloaked duo came into the beautiful chamber, they expected to find the Supreme Being in his usual guise. Not this frail looking old man in his place. At first, Elizabeth didn't realise it was him. But luckily, Megu had already walked forward and addressed him.

"Lord Volaris? This was not the guise I nor my lady expected." She stopped a few steps away from the player, taking a few moments to study his current form. She wasn't sure why he had taken the form of an old man, but it certainly gave off the air of a harmless, senile elderly man. "I mean no offense of course my lord. I believe choosing such a form was wise, not that I expected any less of course, for not only can you blend with other humans but they tend to ignore the elderly and weak. And you give off the current impression of both." Summing up her thoughts with a light bow, she took this moment to also gesture to Elizabeth to come over.

"Tch. I knew it was him." Clicking her tongue in annoyance, the young mage walked straight up beside Volaris and began to study the scene of the forest before them. Despite the disapproving look Megu gave her. Of the two armoured figures, both seemed gravely injured. If left to their own devices, they would surely pass soon. It was of no consequence to them, but nontheless had these two had gained the attention of the Supreme Being. She also couldn't deny her interest, she rarely saw any humans. She didn't count her father or Lexicon, one was a Supreme Being and the other....well, one could barely consider him human to be honest.

"Shall we captu-I mean, 'save' these two?" She asked, gesturing to the image "I assume that's what you are thinking? That they could hold vital intel?" She failed to see what else could interest Volaris, for it was really her own selfish personal reasons that they caught her own. With her magic, healing them would be easy enough and make the duo in debt to them. Meaning they could gather information much easier and faster. Best case scenario, they knew everything about what had caused their situation and anything else they wanted to know.

Highly unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless.

Worst case scenario, they could give them some information about their surroundings and the world in general. Didn't really see how they really lost here. But, it was up their Master to choose.

---

That was such a wonderful response. Because he totally knew what the situation was. Well, he did kinda know that it wasn't a good one and that they were searching their surroundings? Besides that, not much really.
Gah, why did he have to be late? If he hadn't been, he would've known everything. Suppose he could only blame himself, also taking a mental note to try and increase his speed stat some more. Or maybe get one of the others to teach him Teleportation magic. God, he envied that so much.

Noticing that Baron was gesturing for him to come closer the Kitsune did so, though tenatively. The next moment he felt one of Baron's long and skinny limbs grab onto his shoulder. Another moment passed and they were suddenly in the Akashic Records. Kat took a moment to regain his bearings, blinking a few times as he readjusted to the change in lighting.

Oh thank god, Baron had finally explained what was going on. For a moment Kat thought he was going to have to make himself look like an even bigger idiot by asking, though he visibly flinched when he heard that he was going to have to read not one, not two, but six whole volumes of History of Yggdrasil. Wonderful.

He always got the best, funnest jobs didn't he?

"Of course Baron sir! Consider it done!" Giving an enthusatic salute, he mentally shook off the gloom he felt. He had his orders, no use moping about. He could consider this task a punishment for being late. First things first, he needed to get said books. With that thought in mind, he turned on his heel and proceeded to make his way over to the shelf that contained said volumes to begin his task.

Volaris watched the pair a moment more and considered Elizabeth’s question. Everything in this world was worth more than they could possibly imagine because everything here was beyond all they expected. They had no concept of what was happening in this world, how they held others, what their wars were about. What could be done to destroy everything they accepted as truth.

“I expect they have some information on the surrounding area at the very least. If they have nothing else, they will be useful for our experiments and rebuilding our undead defenses. As for this,” He glanced down at himself and turned to the demon, “I find people underestimate the elderly far more than than the young. There is a certain degree of...satisfaction in taking advantage of the ignorance of others.” He dragged his finger down slowly in the air and the gate flew open on his command. “We’ve waited far too long as it is. Let us not make our guests wait longer.” He stepped through, expecting the pair to follow.

The Gate opened in front of the exhausted soldiers and Volaris stepped out, ignoring them for a moment. It struck him as odd, the vibrancy of this world. How full and deep the greenery around him was, how loud and heavy the noises of birds and creatures in the underbrush were. His world was a nightmare compared to here. Even trees were mostly pictures in books, programs in games, and drastically restricted to specialized farms. In lessons, people were taught of the wonders and importance of progress, of development, of necessary evil sacrificing the world for humanity’s benefit had been. So why was his imagination so vivid? He shook his head and turned back to the injured parties.

“Lost are we?” Volaris asked cheerily, “And quite the worse for wear I see. Elizabeth, patch these sad souls up a tad please.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




“Decided to bring along the pet, Baron?” The older changeling rounded the corner, a few books in hand and an old scroll tucked under her arm. One book was open already, Spacial Magicks and Its Effects on Reality, and she thumbed through it after putting the other items down gently on the table. She settled in at the table she placed her things on and began pouring over the items she collected.

Elizabeth nodded her head absently at Volaris' response, still watching the pair. Almost as if she wasn't paying full attention. Not that she really needed to, seeing as he was simply confirming what she had already believed to be his motives. Though she did eventually tear her gaze from them and towards Volaris as he began to respond to Megu.

"Ah of course my Lord. I should've expected no less from a Supreme Being to be so wise. Excuse my ignorance." Nodding as she spoke, the fire demon gave an exaggerated bow of her head. He had thought far ahead indeed with this disguise in mind. This was the difference between their planes of existence!

When Volaris activated his gate spell, Megu finally stood up. "Of course my lord. We mustn't keep our...'guests' waiting." With a smile that didn't quite match the tone she used, the black haired demon followed suit through the portal. Gesturing to Elizabeth to follow suit. Not that the girl needed the prompt, but such was Megu.

When the trio exited the portal, at first the change in lighting was blinding for the demon. Taking a few moments, and a lot of blinking, to adjust. Gah, she had forgotten how bright the surface world was when one actually went outside. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was looking around, taking in the scenery around them. When one was practically raised in a forest, such greenery and beauty was nothing. Especially in comparison to the mighty forest that dwelled within the great Cathedral. Though it held a certain charm of its own and wasn't quite as dreary. Her attention was bought back to the task at hand when she heard Volaris speak her name, frowning for a moment. She knew this was coming, but it didn't mean it pleased her.

"Of course Mas-uhh....grandfather." She had begun her customary response, but upon the realisation that it might be best to hold a certain amount of cover for time being managed to catch herself and made a somewhat hesitant correction. He certainly seemed old enough in appearance to be the young lady's grandfather. Though she didn't quite feel at ease calling him that, it should serve it's purpose. With a quick glance at the duo, she approached with her hands raised. "Greater Healing." Placing her outstretched hands on the female soldier, she felt the familiar rush of magic through her body. In an instant, the woman's wounds were completely healed. Not even a scar remained, her body having been restored to peak condition with Elizabeth's magic.

"Insolence." Anna's playful comment didn't sit too well with Baron. Although his voice was still monotone and he stood absolutely still, it was easy to tell Baron's displeasure by the change of atmosphere about him. "To even jokingly imply that we, those created from nothing, would attempt to own another as 'pet'. You forget that our eternal servitude and allegiance only belongs to the Supreme Beings." Baron walked a few steps towards Anna, as his shadows grew into sickening, elongated shapes that enveloped her. "Punishment for such heresy is..." He stopped less than a meter before Anna. "Unspeakable."
While it was true he was displeased, Anna's punishment would have to wait. Without doubt, the guild itself was in a mysterious predicament currently and Volaris' orders stood. Baron made a mental note to himself to address this issue at a more suitable time. "... nevertheless, Lord Volaris requires your service for now. We are to analyze all materials in the Akashic Records for any instances of a Guild being teleported completely to an unknown location."

@FalloutJack

A sharp grimace appeared on Lucius's face as he spotted the airborne attacker and heard the words yelled by the mysterious mage. Before he could get a word out, the captain of the Burning Valkyries surged forward in front of her king. Loyal to her dying breath, she took the initial blow of Morningstar's attack and was obliterated in the process. The shield she had tried to block with was shattered completely, the shards of black metal piercing her flesh. As the motion of the strike carried through, her hand up to her shoulder was rendered a gory mess. Pained and almost inhuman screams pierced the air shortly before the shockwave effect of Shockwave Assaualt silenced her forever. Meanwhile a red aura with a black outline engulfed Lucius, his right hand tightly wrapped around the hilt of his sword. He managed to drop several feet in the air, avoiding the large fireball, but was still struck with the tremendous force of Morningstar's strength. His body fell sharply to the ground, his wings becoming limp in his free-fall.

The rest of the army did not fare nearly so well. A chorus of breaking bones and rupturing organs played out, a downpour of dark red blood falling to the once lush green landscape below. Those unlucky enough to survive those first moments were incinerated by the first stage of Garlock's Hecaton Pyrum. Six hundred voices all cried out in terror as their life was violently torn and burned into nothing but ash and blood. Once the second stage of Heacton Pyrum activated, it removed any signs of their existence and much of the rich green foliage that laid beneath them. The wild inferno scorching the ground black and leaving nothing behind save for the army's shattered equipment and the severely damaged body of Lucius.

Struggling to stand, King Lucius propped himself onto his knees using his sword that was now out of its sheathe. The sword itself glowed in the same aura that covered Lucius, a undeniable amount of power flowed from the blade. The majority of his armor lay scattered around him, broken beyond all repair, revealing much of the light-skinned flesh of his upper body now decorated with several serious cuts. Remarkably, the crown upon his head was completely intact and showed no signs of damage "I..." A hearty cough sent blood shooting out of his mouth. Weakly, he wiped his mouth with his right shoulder. His eyes widened with horror as he looked around him to a field of ash, fire, and blood before turning his sight back on Garlock and Moringstar "I ask...of you, please spare me." Despite the strong aura, Lucius was clearly in no shape to fight back. In fact, the aura that had seemingly protected him faded away "Anything...anything you desire I shall give...just let me live." The once beautiful raven black wings on his back were torn and split, large patches of feathers were missing from each wing.

@Lugubrious

The somewhat solemn faces of the villagers lit up as the carriage approached with the younger children practically looking on in awe. It was easy to tell that hard times had fallen upon them as both their clothes and homes were in poor condition, and several had old wounds that had not properly healed. The speed of the carriage gave no indication this was their intended destination, however as the small convoy entered the edge of the village it came to a swift stop. Confusion gripped the two paladins in front who had to make their way back to the carriage. Before they reached it, the door opened.

No longer hidden by curtains, the cargo of the carriage was finally revealed: A short woman dressed in a long, white robe with a makeshift belt around the waist made out of a light brown rope. By appearance alone, she had the look of someone who in their early twenties. Light blue eyes were rich with color and shined like a pair of radiant gems. Her hair matched the color of her eyes and framed well against her rather pale skin. The pointed fox-like ears that jutted from underneath her hood, through specially cut holes, and the puffy tail behind her made it clear that she was not human. Even so, the entirely human village did not hesitate in running up to her. First the children and then the adults soon after them. To a human, she would have a goddess-like beauty complimented by the grace in her movements.

The two paladins dismounted from their steeds and forced themselves through the crowd that now gathered. Once in the presence of the woman, they appeared to argue with her about something. It did not last long as the woman quickly went from a soft expression to one of scolding and fury. Shame, and frustration, appeared in both of the paladins' faces before they backed away. A bright smile returned to the woman's face as the villagers all gathered around and spoke with her. Before long, the injured and sick of the village began to be brought before her in a line. The woman would hold her hands over their injured parts while a white light emitted from her palms. After a short time, the sick and injury were cured of their condition. The players of Yggdrasil knew this spell as 'Healing Touch', a third tier healing spell commonly used by starting clerics for its excellent ratio of healing to mana cost, and the ability to cure low-tier status effects. The main drawback was that the caster must be in very close proximity.

@Achronum@Lunarlord34

Suspicion and fear filled the faces of the two soldiers as the gate opened and Volaris emerged along with Megu and Elizabeth. At first, the female soldier lowered the male to the ground and drew out the short-sword attached to her hip. Despite her own heavy wounds, she stood in a protective stance over him. The short-sword shook in her hands as she barely raised it in front, her eyes full of determination to save her comrade. Once Volaris made his intentions known, tears swelled up in her eyes and eventually fell down her cheeks as the sword fell to her side along with her arms "Please...save us." Her soft voice trembled. While the male was too weak to move on his own, the female soldier's muscles tightened up in response to her moving closer but did not try to resist. Her eyes closed tightly as Elizabeth cast the spell on her. Every single wound and abrasion closed and disappeared from her body, the same occurring to the male soldier next to her.

Her pale blue eyes went wide with amazement as she held her arms in front of her to examine them, then glanced over to her comrade. She dropped onto her knees by his side and began to look him over hysterically. The male soldier, while having been healed to full, appeared to have fallen asleep. Once it was confirmed the male soldier was not longer in mortal danger, she turned her attention to Volaris, Megu, and Elizabeth. Shifting on her knees, she prostrated herself before the three of them with her head faced towards the ground "I..." Once again her voice trembled, but a different emotion caused it this time "T-Thank you! I thought w-we were...we w-would have..." Tears once again fell from her cheeks but against it, she smiled softly and lifted her head to meet Volaris's eyes "We o-owe our lives to you. I am Cisna and this is Rath." Her voice suggested that she was rather shy for a soldier. Now that you had a chance to look at them up close, Rath seemed a few years older than Cisna. Both had horns and tails similar to ones that the other soldiers and King Lucius had. However, the entire back of Rath's armor was missing. Before Elizabeth healed him, there two areas of his back that was missing skin and had several bones sticking out of open wounds. They have since been healed over leaving behind a few lumps going down in two lines from just below his shoulders blades.

From their hidden position, the scouts of Darkmoon Cathedral peered intently at the decorated carriage as its trek came to a halt. For her part Helena made sure not to watch too intently, for even in this important moment she remembered from experience that some people tended to 'feel' the eyes of dire onlookers upon them, and even the slightest chance of giving away her position could not be tolerated. The vehicle, once stopped, divulged a somewhat pretty woman with inhuman features in what appeared to be semi-ceremonial garb. Curious, Helena observed as she approached the woebegone village with an aura of serenity, drawing people to her like moths to a flame. Before she could take action, her paladin escort confronted her about something, and despite the relatively short distance and the party's generally keen senses they could not discern any hint as to the sudden conversation's contents save the momentary outrage on the woman's face.

A few seconds later the warriors seemed to relent, and with a warming smile once more the woman began her task. One after another villagers went to her, and health radiated from her palms to wash away all their ills. Healing Touch? Helena ventured to guess. As a Cantor, Tatter most likely used it at some point, but such a paltry restorative magic paled in comparison to Recover, which could heal a huge burst to even a Supreme Lord, or Treat, which provided a constant stream of health at range.

The process of healing continued, and Helena pulled herself down from the ravine wall where she'd hoisted herself to get a clear view. Hypotheses swam through her mind but, wondering if her subordinates could provide, she whispered to the other four, “What do you surmise?”

Odile spoke first, perhaps trampling Gretchen, who seemed ready with an answer as well. “Some sort of priestess, with her paladins. They look pretty weak to me. Since she came from the south, there could be an established church of some sort down there, or maybe another village and she's making the rounds with her escort.”

Without a moment's delay the witch Gretchen continued. “None of the envoy are human. The paladins are elves and the priestess a beastkin, most likely kitsune, if the species also exists here. May have something to do with that squabble between them. Humans and demihumans are often at odds. The envoy could be trying to curry favor with the human populace by ministering like this.” She tapped a wizened finger against her mask's chin. “Or perhaps demihumans are the ones in power here, and they're trying to make peace.”

A snort resounded from Tungus. “Hmph. Could just be that they're good people. We shouldn't over-analyze.”

Helena shrugged. “True, but not useful.” She hoisted herself up again to see if the situation changed. If this woman did represent some sort of religious establishment with region-wide influence, she could be a tremendous source of information. Out of her group, only Helena herself looked human -if a bit sickly- so she could head over and inquire. However, that meant thinking up a story and potentially dealing with bothersome questions, and more definitively, it would mean risking disobedience to Volaris' imperative. As tempting as squeezing the priestess would be, she could not risk it.

“If nothing happens, we'll head south,” she declared. “See if the caravan's last destination is near enough to scope out.”

Something happened.

In the distance there came a rumble, rather like a thunderclap. Helena whirled around to look at the forest and saw a trace of orange light over the trees. An instant later a wave hit her, raising the air temperature by a couple degrees. Her allies felt it too. “Commander, I'm sensing a tremendous magical discharge,” Gretchen reported, her whisper low and urgent. “To give off a wave like that from so far away we can't even see it...the power must be immense.”

Helena's muscles tensed, and her mind raced. An explosion at the Cathedral...? Impossible! That could mean only one thing. “One of the fools has gone and attacked something,” she muttered, her voice sharp enough to make her underlings flinch. “No change of plans. We have our mission.” Hopefully, the ambient disturbance wouldn't disrupt things here.



An immediate dilemma—how could one survey the guardians when most of them had left the Cathedral and dispersed who-knows-where? Tatter floated back and forth over the hallway's carpet while Es, still plagued by the shock of her demonic ascension, sat against the wall nearby hugging her newly-purple legs. Even here, halfway up the lofty Thaumaturgium, the drop on the other side of the wooden railing made Es even more sick to her stomach. At first Tatter scorned her for it, but looking back, it made sense in a medieval world where few buildings ever soared above three floors. How grand the Cathedral of the Moon must seem!

After a few minutes of ghostly pacing Tatter decided where to proceed. Hooking a few strands around Es, who gave a small squeak of protest given what happened last time, the ubergeist grabbed her and flew back into the open air, up to the Thaumaturgium's top, and through the door leading farther upward still. One corridor stairway later, the pair reached a room of countless candles and melted wax, where on the floor a teleportation ring drawn in the hardened milky substance took them to the Fallen Kingdom.

Having never seen it before, Es could only stare wide-eyed at what appeared to be an immense expanse of sunny fields. In one direction stood a structure of incredible grandiosity, and in the other lay a small hut. Tatter made a beeline for it, and after pushing open the door revealed another teleportation ring to take her and her demonic captive upward.

The pair appeared in the entrance of an utterly gargantuan arena, the warp spitting them through the darkness of its main gate. “Well, we're here,” Tatter remarked to Es, who looked more overwhelmed than any being the Soul Twister could remember. “Perfectly place for testing magic. I hope you'll continue to write down our results.”

Still dizzy from the trip, Es found it in herself to nod. “Uh...uh huh...”

Tatter released the former elf and surged toward the battleground. As the reached the edge of the seating area, she spotted a familiar figure out on the sand, sitting at a table of roots and vines. “Jack!” she cried as she threw herself over the railing and floated down toward him. The pumpkin gentleman stood up from his table as the lady approached and gave her a bow.

“Hello again, my dear!” he greeted her warmly. “Care to join us?” He motioned his hand at the table, and Tatter noticed that a few of her ally's pumpkin monsters were standing around it, all decked out with stylish hats and bow ties, and bearing cups of tea in their tendrils.

“PFFFFFAHAHAHAHA!” Tatter wailed in laughter. A moment later she composed herself, wiping a pretend tear from her eye. “That's hilarious. And so you. How have you never done anything like this before?”

Jack gave a polite smile. “I'm glad I could entertain, though I'm afraid I personally fail to grasp what's so amusing about my garden party.”

“Right.” After glancing back to watch Es making her way down the stairs into the arena, Tatter asked him, “Why'd you come here?”

Seating himself, Jack replied, “After setting up a perimeter with the esteemed Rule34, I endeavored to seek Lord Volaris out for new instructions, yet neither I nor my entourage can seem to find him anywhere. As such I decided I would patrol the entire Cathedral in the other guardians' absence and make sure my sentries are in place. I invited Rule34 along, though he got left behind somewhere. Still, he may arrive at any time.”

Tatter nodded. She drifted over the table, flipping about, and lay herself upon it. Jack looked annoyed, to which the geist yawned in reply. “...Yeah, Volaris went somewhere. He's having me and that creep Lexicon test people's magic. He might be coming too.” Es appeared in her peripheral vision, inviting a cautious look from Jack. “Oh, that's Es. Prisoner from before the guild moved. Tested the old Beast Within on her. Don't know if she's useful yet, but since I used the guild's resources I guess I gotta make sure they don't go to waste.”

A quiet laugh in disbelief could be heard from Es. “W-what a candid explanation...”

Turning her attention back on Jack, Tatter stared into his eyes from her upside-down position. “So, wanna help? Actually it's not optional, so I don't know why I asked. If Rule comes he should help too. Your spawning abilities'll be super helpful.”

Jack put down his cup of tea and sighed.