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12 mos ago
Current That was the worst three months of my life. Health is close to normal again. Here's to making the insurance company cry!
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1 yr ago
"Your copay today is $20,000" How about no.
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3 yrs ago
Well, the "I am but an ally" to "queer af" pipeline is real.

Bio


I have gone by many names over my life, and the one I go by here is Nori.

I am a non-binary individual who has a love of participating in these stories and creating my own. I am incredibly chronically ill. If my illness flares up too much I may be pulled away.

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Victorian Village


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“You dressed,” Lynn shouted through the bathroom door, “mine is perfect.”

Lila smiled in response. She had her costume on, and she was excited to wear it out to the festival. It has been a long time since she had done something like this. Before the sealing, she had to always consider that she’d have a massive murder following her around. Sure, since the sealing she still had a massive murder, even bigger than before, but this was more normal now. These had to be regular crows and not a mystical, magical murder that the Maiden made available to her. A regular murder, numbering in the thousands, that followed her every move and watched her at every moment of the day. And it just so happened that this murder still did things for her when she asked. The Maiden was sealed. There was no way that these crows were anything but normal.

“Yes, and I think I’ll need to commission Faith myself for more costumes,” Lila paused as she checked herself out in the mirror. She had her buttercup costume on. It was much alike the show version however the skirt only fell to her upper thigh. She made sure to wear some bicycle shorts because the wind would be her enemy. Overtop the costume she had a black biker jacket, and her hands had fingerless leather gloves with a cutout heart on top. Black fishnets covered her legs while the black choker around her neck complemented both the ensemble, and the faint green makeup and glasses that framed her face. Lila checked herself in the bathroom mirror, before she turned her attention towards the door. “I bet you look hot.”. Lila turned back to the mirror and saw the maiden standing behind her, arm stretched out.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Lila shouted as she spun around. The room was empty behind her, and as she turned towards the mirror again it reflected the same.

The door swung open and Lynn quickly rushed in. Her blossom costume was more traditional. She had a red jacket on top, and had white thigh highs on her legs. A giant red bow overtop the meticulously styled hair.

“What’s wrong,” Lynn asked as she looked around the room. She quickly saw Lila looking into the mirror with a look of fear strewn across her face.

“I saw,” Lila paused as she took a deep breath, and looked around the room, “the maiden in the mirror”

“Babe, are you sure everything is okay? You keep seeing her, the crows keep doing stuff, and-”

“No, no everything is okay. I think I just have some lingering issues, where ever the maiden took me was… no no no I’m fine, I’m good, I’m okay” Lila paused as she remembered back to that night. To the realm of the Maiden. A tear began to well in her eyes.

“You need to talk to this therapist I found, I just scheduled an appointment for later in the week. They deal with us weird people, I can get you her information” Lynn paused as she walked up to Lila and gave her a hug, “I’m here for you though, that place sounds awful even if you won’t describe it.”

“Thank you,” Lila responded as she returned the hug, “You look cute.”

“And you look hot,” Lynn paused as she pulled back and placed her hands on Lila’s shoulder, “let’s get drinking, get a small buzz going. I can not wait to see the boys”

The two exited the bathroom and went to the living room to take a high number of photos together while knocking back some mixed drinks. Lynn was excited. The savage attack by Linqian had left a mark, but it had healed well thus far. She was able to conceal it enough that one would be able to tell she was hurt. Lynn truly hoped that Linqian would not come to the festival. Lynn truly hoped that she would instead spend the day under whatever bridge that troll called home, alone, and without anything that brings her happiness. And Lynn hoped that she would see that her attack did not phase her, and that she’d still have a good time tonight regardless of everything that happened.

Lila was not excited. Even now she could see the maiden in the mirror. She could feel the maiden reaching out to her, wanting something. How could this happen? Lila thought once the maiden was sealed it would make everything better. That she’d never have to worry about a fucking murder following her every step, or about a cheap horror movie jumpscare? Why was the maiden still present? For the first time, Lila wondered if something went wrong with the sealing.

“So.. how were your dreams last night?” Lynn asked as she drank some tea.

“You had one too?” Lila responded as she groaned. “Raven, the pit…. The snake?”

”The very same,” Lynn sighed. Dreaming was very much a forgotten experience. Every night she drank enough to truly never dream, at least remember the dreams. And this one was clear, even if the message behind it was not. ”I wonder if anyone else had the dream, and I wonder if anyone knows a Raven Jones.”

Eventually an Uber notification pinged her phone pulling their focus from the conversation. Their ride was here, and it was time to head to the ferry.





The Ferry


“Those costumes turned out so good,” Sypha spoke as they slid into the seat opposite Lila and Lynn. They were dressed as Jackie Kennedy, their pink suit completely accurate to the one worn on that fateful day. For some reason Sypha was carrying a small section of sheet metal.

“Did the boys chicken out?”

“They really did, and no, the boys are coming. They’re just running a little late. You going to the festival alone?”

“I am not,” Sypha paused as she pointed behind Lynn and Lila. There were four members of the 317 on the ferry with them. Alex, Zeri, Thomas, and Lori. Alex was dressed up as Bob Ross, complete with fake facial hair and the wig. Zeri was dressed up as a plague doctor, and it was obvious that it was more of a renaissance fair outfit as it looked quite expensive. Thomas was in a cheap wizard costume with a wobbly plastic staff, and finally Lori was dressed up as the White Violin from the umbrella academy. “They had to finish up a project but now that they’re done, they’re free to join everyone else!”

“Exciting,” Lila said with a small sigh. Her eyes had drifted to the window of the ferry and was watching as the murder made a halo over the top of the ferry. Why?

“Anyway,” Sypha paused as she pulled out a business card. The front side was just ‘317’ and the back had Sypha’s name, and all of the socials for the 317. “If you take a group photo feel free to tag us, get us trending! I’ll get back to the children but it was nice seeing you both,”

Sypha stood up, gave the two a weak wave, before she returned to the rest of her group.

“Jasper just texted. They’re at the dock waiting for the next ferry,” Lynn smiled. “Lila we’ll need to talk to Jasper about his manners. He won’t send me any photos.”

Lila simply smiled, then laughed, and returned to her phone to take another photo herself.





The Festival


“Fuck,” Lynn said as she huddled up to Lila.

“What,” Lila asked as she turned in towards Lynn.

“I’m cold,” Lynn responded as she tried to get closer to Lila.

Lila frog blinked at Lynn. “You were the one who suggested these costumes. I should’ve thought these costumes through, asked for more layers,” Lila paused as she looked around, spotting the 8th street plotting nearby. Great. The one group that Lila hoped would not show up. The one group that could turn a good day into a bad one. Then she saw Emily in the dragon costume. The one person that deserved to look stupid. The one person who’s misfortune could turn a bad day into a good one. She turned her attention back to Lynn “hopefully a couple drinks will make us feel warmer,” she smirked as she finished. They may have been at the back of this specific drink line but it was moving fast. And nothing made Lila feel more excited than overpriced drinks while wearing costumes.

“And hopefully the boys get here soon. I bet they’re warm.”

“And I bet they look amazing,” Lila smirked at the thought.

“Oh they do, Jasper texted me ‘get ready’ and still refuses to send any photos,” Lynn said as she pulled out her phone.

“Jasper was really quick to get on board with the whole costume idea,” Lila responded as she shifted her legs in place trying to warm them up.

“I think he’s been wanting to show off his legs for a while. This was his chance,” Lynn laughed as she finished, “I’m worried about the two of them.

“Me too, me too,”, like exhaled and looked around, “I wish they were just being gay together. And I wish they trusted enough to tell us what is going on.”

“They do trust us, but they can’t tell us for some reason. At least if the future is to be believed, I’ve been wrong before. I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.” Lynn paused as she lost her smile. She wished she could figure this out alone, but, she did not want to leave it to chance. She looked around and also spotted the 8th street nearby. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll keep trying to figure it out, but if it isn’t clear to me soon I’ll ask around. Maybe Britney, maybe Jack…maybe Sloane.”

“We’d never be able to tell him,” Lila responded as she shot Lynn a side eye.

“It’d be a secret,” Lynn returned the gaze. A chorus of caws from the area around the area pulled Lynn’s attention. “Lila…” She had noticed the murder the day after the sealing, she’s noticed it every day since, she noticed them as they got into the Uber, and she noticed it as they took the ferry. Something was wrong here, and the future was much more certain as to why. “Talk to Britney, promise me you’ll talk to Britney.

Lila looked around the top of the stalls, building, and trees spotting the murder once again. In her mind she felt that something was pushing against some invisible wall, trying its hardest to come out. She knew that there was something wrong. Something went wrong with the sealing. Something had to be wrong. Yet, those thoughts did not last for long. Lila did not let them linger for long. “I don’t think I need to, the bitch is sealed. I’m fine.”

“I’m worried, and I don’t want to worry about you and the boys at the same time. Just trust me, talk to Britney and see what she says. Okay? Please?” Lynn paused as she smiled a weak smile.

“It’s a waste of time,” Lila paused as she looked down, “but I promise.”

The line moved further and Lila and Lynn took another step forward. Lynn heard a ping on their phone. “Jasper and Luca are here, but they’re grabbing food… they’ll make their way to us after. Dicks.”

The night was still very young, and there was a hope of great fun ahead of them.
@CollectorOfMyst

Approved! I’m working on a few npc sheets currently, and I’ll work on something to bring your character into the story.








Lila and Lynn exited the elevator and both took a step backward at the sight that greeted them. Across the wall, across the floor, and somehow even across the ceiling tiles above Jasper’s tell-tale sign of his abstraction was visible. Oil. Jasper had used his abstraction since they were here, and whatever it fought had defeated it. Lila looked down the hallway, following the ink, and saw that the window at the end was broken as if something had jumped out. Lila looked back to Lynn, and the two mouthed a “what the fuck” before a sinking look befell both of their faces. “Father Wolf,” they said in unison before they took off down the hall toward Luca’s apartment. Lynn had already pulled up her phone and was trying to pull up the contact for Auri as she ran. As they reached the door, the sight of the door itself being open made their heart drop further. Lila, paying no mind to any potential danger, ran through the doorway and ran straight into Jasper who held a broom in his hand like a makeshift weapon.

“Fuck,” Jasper shouted as he raised up the broom to strike before he noticed his friend on the ground below him, ”fuck it’s Lila, and Lynn, Luca they’re here,”Jasper shouted to the other room. Jasper was missing his shirt. His pants were half there, cut from the thigh down on the right leg with three lacerations visible and bloody. His face was battered, and bruised, and his nose was broken even worse than it was yesterday. His face also had numerous cuts, gouges, and bruises. His chest had visible rot marks, as if Luca held him in a tight embrace.

”Thank god,” Jasper said as he turned around to look for a chair. He sighed as he remembered he had broken them all in the fight. His back had more scratches, bruises, and appeared to have even more rot than the front.

”Lynn, Lila!” Luca appeared behind Jasper, keeping his distance and peering around them. He dropped the wooden stick he’d been holding, rotting underneath his hands. Unlike Jasper, Luca was fully clothed - but he didn’t look any better. His bare arms were covered in long, ugly cuts, as if his skin itself had just torn. Almost every bit of visible skin was covered in dark bruises. He didn’t have any visible gouges, just tears and bruising all across him. He looked exhausted, eyes missing their normal spark of joy - though it was slowly reappearing from seeing Lila and Lynn. ”I’m so glad to see you, you have no idea!”

“What the fuck happened,” Lynn started as she held a single finger over the call button. “Were you attacked? Was it Father Wolf?”

Luca opened his mouth to reply. It would be easy, he’d tell them about the terrifying apparition they’ve had to fight off last night, how Jasper had bravely battered if with chairs while Luca weakened it, until it fled with their precious gifts, then they’d help find it- ”We got scared watching a horror movie, and I jumped into Jasper’s arms, causing us both to fall over and hit our heads on the table.”

What? Luca clenched his fists. That wasn’t what he wanted to say. He looked over at Jasper, eyes desperate. Maybe he could say it?

”What,” Jasper paused as he looked over and something felt off about Luca’s response. ” What Luca was trying to say was we were watching a movie, and during the movie a scary scene came on and Luca jumped into my arms, I lost my balance, and we fell down to the floor below.”. As the words left his lips his eyes filled with fear. He did not intend to say that. He wanted to talk about this monster that had attacked them, about how Luca held it off long enough for him to summon a knight to beat it back, and how it had a surprising amount of comedic timing.

Lila looked at Lynn with her mouth a slight bit agape. Did the two of them just lie? Lila wanted to ask them a few questions. Why did their fall to the ground cause all this damage? Why was the only thing not broken a laptop? What truly caused Luca to embrace Jasper? And why did Jasper summon one of his constructs? A tap on her shoulder from Lynn pulled her from her thoughts. Lynn had a different look on her face. Her eyes, full of excitement, and her mouth fully opened in a smile. She mouthed a “did they” and the question lingered with Lila for a second. Her eyes darted back to Luca and then to Jasper. She thought for a second before she looked back at Lynn and shrugged her shoulders with a smirk.

“Sooooooo…. You just.. jumped into Jasper arms, fell to the floor, and caused this much damage… just by jumping into his arms and falling to the ground.”

No. ”Yup! That’s exactly what happened!” After saying that Luca turned around, and walked away - towards the window. He stopped at it and looked outside, wanting nothing more than to open it and just scream outside as if that would help anything. What the fuck?! Of course they didn’t just fucking fall to the ground. There was an apparition there! A fucking demon taunting them all night! He’d barely slept! ”We- we- we kept falling over! That’s why there’s so much damage.”

Luca slammed his mouth shut, pressing his forehead against the window. It fizzled lightly underneath him, incredibly slowly - it would take hours for him to rot his way through glass. Thankfully. ”We didn’t sleep much last night, sorry.”

“I bet you didn’t,” Lynn said as she elbowed Lila, and the two chuckled, “and the scratches on the door? And we saw the remnants of Jasper’s construct out there as well. Did those happen when you two,” she paused as her smile grew wider. Good for them is the only thought that dared cross her mind. “Fell,” she paused as she took a step closer, “multiple times?”

”No,” Jasper nearly shouted as he took a step forward, ”I know what you’re thinking. That… Is... Not… what happened here last night,” he paused as he took a deep breath. ”After Luca jumped into my arms, I had to throw out the trash so I painted my knight to throw it out the window and it stumbled through the door. It’s blade caused those scratches.” Jasper stopped as he groaned loudly. ”Luca,” Jasper's eyes betrayed his concern as he looked at Luca. Whatever was happening to him was happening to him. Why couldn’t he speak?

”I don’t know,” Luca pathetically replied, still leaning against the window via his forehead. He didn’t want to turn around and see Lynn and Lila’s expressions… He could tell what they were thinking. Jasper probably didn’t, because he was straight, but Luca did and shit! It was so embarrassing. ”I just can’t explain how awful it was last night when- your knight destroyed my front door to throw out the trash.”

”Listen, Listen, you two take those thoughts you’re thinking and push them away, that is not what happened. It’s hard to say what happened last night, but we didn’t fall across the floor breaking everything,” Jaspers eyes lit up for a second. He was able to tell at least some truth and his words were his own. Whatever had compelled him to lie was gone. He could tell them what happened. He could erase all doubt. He was free. ”Okay. Okay okay. So he jumped into my arms and I just decided to danc-” he threw his up in the air. He wasn’t free. He wouldn’t be able to erase all doubt, nor could he tell them what happened. Whatever was compelling him to lie was still going strong.

”I just wanted a fun, safe evening,” Luca complained, closing his eyes. Everything hurt so much more than normal, his already fragile skin was extra sensitive and he had a headache coming on. But not being able to tell the truth was the most frustrating thing. ”But then we fell- oh fuck it! I can’t explain anything!”

Luca finally pushed himself off of the window, making his way round to the barely holding together couch. He sat down on it and stared at his computer. At least he’d been able to protect it. He wasn’t going to lose his job. ”It’s going to take ages to tidy everything up.”

”I’ll help,” Jasper responded with a smile that read as kill me.

“Good”, Lila paused as she nudged Lynn, “cause we don’t know what’s safe to touch”

”WE DID NOT FUCK,” Jasper shouted as he slid down the wall and rested on the floor.

”You think I would do that,” Luca gestured to all the rotten skin across Jasper’s front and back, ”by choice? Really?”

[color=F08080]“Oh… of course not,” Lynn paused as she pondered the words and found there to be a nugget of truth there, let me just,” Lynn paused as her eyes glazed over as she slipped into the possible future to get the answer.

”Maybe the future will be truthful,” Luca murmured, looking over at Jasper. He’d know what he meant. With a sigh, Luca stood up again. Alright! So this was a weird, shit situation where they were being haunted (possibly) by something they couldn’t talk about! But that was fine! He wouldn’t let something like that get him down! He was just tired. Being positive again started now! ”Alright, alright, let’s get cleaning- wait.” He turned to Lila, smiling at her - seeming to be back to the normal, bright Luca. ”Have you guys eaten yet?”

“We did but I could go for another bite. We stayed up late drinking last night, thought about doing something stupid, instead we drank some more. Lynn made breakfast for us again this morning, but I’m still hungry. Whatcha got in mind?” Lila patted her stomach as she allowed Luca to change the subject. She in truth did not care what they did last night, and she knew that they’d tell her the truth in time.

”There’s a nice little bakery down the road. They do delivery, so I normally get that, but we can pop down… Should be quiet around now.” Luca smiled, relieved they could move past the awkward topic of them definitely not having sex but instead having the worst night ever. Plus, he was hungry. He’d used a lot of energy last night and then had barely slept. It meant he felt incredibly run down and nauseous, but he knew he needed to eat. ”Pretty cheap too, I’ll treat everyone!”

He then glanced over at Jasper, and down at himself. He could at least cover his arms by putting on a jumper, and he had enough plasters for his face… probably. He could totally go outside like this. ”Hey, Jasper, did you bring a change of clothes?”

“I did yes,” he paused as he pointed to his bag, “give me a second and I’ll get one, and then let’s fucking eat.”

Fifteen minutes would pass before Lynn returned from the possible future. She marked her return with a gasp and a step backwards. “I don’t think they did,” Lynn said, a disappointed look fell over her face before a look of concern replaced it. “You had a different excuse in every future. What happened last night,” she wondered to herself. Finally. A puzzle. Lynn loved puzzles. “My favorite lie was from Luca. You said that a large tiger broke in through the door, and it just wanted some cuddles but it didn’t realize that it had sharp claws and that it was too big to fit in the room so it kinda destroyed everything.”

“The fuck,” Lila responded as she looked over to Lynn and saw that she was serious. “Let’s talk about it more over some more breakfast, I’m still hungry.”

Luca opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Maybe it was best to just not talk about it, rather than risk saying that a tiger had broken into his apartment. Which honestly… he would have preferred over what actually had. ”Alright, follow me!”

Luca led them out of his ruined apartment, and back out the building. The bakery he talked about was indeed just down the road, only a few buildings along. It was thankfully quiet, with only the two staff members busying themselves behind the counter. Luca carefully opened the door with his clothed elbow and stepped in, making sure to hang towards the back rather than close to all the breads and pastries.

”Order whatever you want, on me,” Luca turned back to the other three with a grin.

“Luca you’re the best,” Jasper said as he went up to order. He kept it simple and ordered a few buttered croissants, a large black coffee, and some tasty-looking Danish pastry. He did not care if it was not a full meal, he was simply hungry and wanted some quick relief from confectionery treats. As he got his order he stood off to the side, awaiting the rest of the group.

“Oh the generosity,” Lila responded as she ordered a few different baked goods, and grabbed a coffee of her own. She took a spot next to Jasper.

“Any other day and I would eat you broke,” Lynn joked with a wink, “but today all I will take is a coffee”. She grabbed her coffee before she took a spot next to Lila. As she did, she chugged at the coffee for an uncomfortable long time before she looked towards the wall and slipped back into the possible future. She lingered there for another minute before she returned. Her eyes narrowed and they darted between Jasper and Luca.

”Next time, then,” Luca laughed. He ordered himself a variety of pastries, and then paid. He turned to the rest, holding up the paper bag his food was in (that he was concentrating very hard to not disintegrate). ”One of you mind taking this for me? Since I paid.”

He couldn’t exactly say in front of the blind bakery staff the real reason - the others would get it.

Lynn shot her hand out and grabbed it before the rot sensation truly set in. “So Jasper, after we eat you’re going to say that you want to check out the 317 to figure out the costumes,” she said, still trying to decipher what the future was telling her.

Jasper’s eyes narrowed for a second before it clicked in his mind. He wanted to wait to bring that up. He wanted to wait until they got some food, a chance to decompress, and maybe a quick nap. How far did Lynn look ahead this time? “Yeah, I figure after the destruction our hugging caused last night I’d want a distraction,” he winced as his words were stolen again. How hard was it to say we were attacked by a fucking skeleton? If he ever saw that skeleton again he would make sure he finished the fight, right then and there. “I know the leadership there well, we can get the friends and family discount. You down Luca? It’ll be before they get busy, so it should be mostly clear.”

”Of course!” Luca nodded. He made his way out of the bakery before continuing to talk. ”The sooner we get our costumes started the better! Wouldn’t want to rush them… If it’s going to be quiet, I should be able to avoid doing any damage.”

He then frowned thoughtfully. ”Uh, they won’t have to measure us for the costumes, will they? That might be a bit difficult…”

“They won’t, but their abstraction will,” Jasper said with a wink, “it’ll be a second at most, and then they can get to work on the costume itself. Maybe a day or two from measure to completed. He paused as she shuddered. We might run into Sypha while we’re there, if we do just be prepared for a free heal. It is…a process. You might be safe, but you won’t be safe from the visual.”

”Alright, that’s good,” Luca let out a sigh of relief, then tilted his head. He had no idea who Sypha was, or why he needed to be prepared… Did she heal in some really weird way? Generally he couldn’t get healed by others anyway due to the whole rotting thing. ”Is it worse than the sight of rotting flesh?” He asked this half jokingly, half genuinely, suppressing the memories of the two agent’s who’s skin had rotted off the day before… and Jasper too, though that was more difficult to suppress when it was visible in the present. ”I’ll keep it in mind… Are we heading right there, or going back to my place to eat?”

“I need a break from the crazy so your place.”

“It is entirely… too bright outside right now,” Lila said as she grabbed some sunglasses from her bag. “I can help you guys clean or something while you two eat. Lynn, you down to help?”

“No,” Lynn paused as she looked well past the group, deep in thought, “the possible future is a place I need to be right now, I need to find some clues.”

“Please,” Lila pleaded for a second, trying her best to guilt her into helping. Yet, she knew the point was moot. Lynn had caught the scent of a particularly interesting puzzle. Lila still thought the obvious answer was the correct one, but it had been a long time since she saw Lynn this invested in looking forward. Usually, that meant there was more to the equation than what was provided, and she would allow her friend to seek out that missing information.

”You don’t need to help too much, Lila, since it’s our mess,” Luca waved his hand. He didn’t want to annoy them by making them help clean up, especially when he and Jasper couldn’t even explain what had happened. If Lynn was going to look into the future that was great, because hopefully she’d see all the futures where they hunted down the skeletal apparition and realise what had happened!

Luca led the other three back to his apartment… Before looking around at the damage and realising the few chairs he had were pretty much destroyed in the fight last night. Awkwardly, he turned back to them. ”I think there’s still some chairs in Olivia’s room? We didn’t go in there last night.” He glanced around the room and sighed softly. ”Let’s eat first.”

“Yeah I’ll go grab us a few,” Jasper ran and grabbed a few chairs for everyone. As he returned he spotted Lynn near the doorway running her hands down a slash mark on the wall. He remembered that the monster and his knight fought for a minute inside the apartment, and his knight tried to strike the monster but missed.

“Thanks,” Lila said as she sat down. She looked over to Lynn. “With them not telling us what happened I hope you’ll be able to fill me in.”

“Oh I’m going to figure this out,” Lynn said with a determined grin on her face, “but I think it’s going to take a long while. The future is very unclear.”. She finished and slipped to the possible future.

Luca glanced over at the girls, nipping in to grab his pastries, before sidling over to Jasper - getting as close as he could without hurting him (again). He lowered his voice to a whisper that they couldn't hear. ”Why can't we tell them anything? We didn't have a shared fever dream did we?” After asking, he shoved a piece of a croissant in his mouth. ”You don't think we're cursed, do you?”

“I don’t know why, I’ve tried to tell them about the skeleton,” he paused as he looked over towards Lynn, “i don’t know. I think we have to be. We can talk about what happened freely between the two of us, like we were attacked by a four armed skeleton who had comedic timing,” Jasper paused as he leaned back, “and then the man with the top hat walked through the door,” he said loud enough for Lila and Lynn to hear. He pointed as he finished his words. “See? We have to be cursed. I don’t know much about curses but I think if we see that skeleton again we fight first and ask questions second”

”Agreed,” Luca nodded, frowning. ”We can't just let them get away with it… we'll beat it down and then ask how to break the curse! I wonder if it's just Lila and Lynn we can't tell… no, that would be weird. The whole things weird, why did that skeleton even appear in the first place!”

“Maybe? We’ll have a chance to test it soon, we’ll be running into a few people I know and they’ll ask what happened for sure,” Jasper paused as he pondered the final question, “I don’t know, I really don’t. Like why us?”

”Hopefully it's just them and we can explain to someone else…” Luca shrugged, before his lips tugged up into a slight smile, tone turning slightly more joking. ”Y’know, maybe it saw us and thought ‘wow those are two really cool guys’ and wanted to take a closer look. We’re just suffering from success.”

“Just the nicest guys on the planet, you know what they need? To be visited by a used car salesman in the middle of the movie,” Jasper looked confused for a second before he looked to the side and saw Lila had drifted too close to the conversation. “Hey, at least we’re dealing with this together. I think I’d be dead if it wasn’t for your help last night, thank you for holding it off for me.”

”Of course, I couldn’t let the used car salesman get the better of you!” Luca gritted his teeth in frustration… But at least Jasper would get what he meant. With Lila so close there was no point talking about what had happened last night, since they straight up couldn’t. With a smile, he turned to include Lila in the conversation, finishing off the croissant he’d been holding in one bite. ”Alright, cleanup. If we just pile up everything over there,” he pointed to the far corner, ”I can get rid of it easy. Uh, I don’t have a broom anymore, kinda destroyed it last night… Guess if we just fix the worst of it, haha.”

“On it,” Lila said as she began to pick up the debris and carry them over to the designated corner. She used her feet to push some of it over but mostly relied on her hands for it. Jasper got up from his seat and flashed Luca a smile as he also began to help. As he grabbed broken pieces from broken chairs the images from the fight flashed in his mind. There was something off about the way the monster fighted, was it playing with them? Eventually the two managed to get the worst of the mess to the mess corner.

“Time to go?” Lynn asked the group as she returned from the possible future.





About a half hour later the group had arrived at The 317. The building itself did not have any parking spaces open to it so Jasper had to navigate to the side road and find parking there. Thankfully the area was still waking up and he was able to find parking decently close. The group would immediately notice that they were in an arts district. There were no chain stores in the area, and the restaurants and bars that did dot it had various well designed murals on the sides of the brick buildings. There were vintage clothing stores, antique stores, and flyers on every telephone phone advertising some showing in the nearby area. The 317 was not alone in the arts space here, it was simply the biggest and most visited place to buy, sell, and experience the arts.

Jasper led the group from the car on a short five minute walk down the block to the industrial complex. As the group approached the smell of the various food trucks would fill the air. They had just opened, and soon they would be swarmed, but for now they simply sat at the ends of the lot waiting. The air was filled with the sounds of the nearby birds, and stray conversations from the early birds at the gallery. The group would find their way to the side of the building where the door was already open.

As the group entered, Lila noticed that the hallway was much more wide than she suspected it to be. On either side of the hallway there were doors that led to the artists rooms, and most of the doors were open. As she followed Jasper she saw a room filled to the brim with clothing, paintings, rock sculptures, crystals, and more. It seemed like this place had a bit of everything and anything in the middle.

Luca looked around the room with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. He’d never seen anything like it. Honestly, he’d gotten used to off coloured, peeling walls and nearly bare rooms. He wanted to go take a look at everything, but also knew that he could - making sure to stay far enough away from everything so he didn’t damage it. ”Holy shit, this is amazing.”

Eventually, Jasper found himself in front of a locked door near the middle side of the hallway. He knocked three times in a slow pattern, and as he waited he turned and flashed a smile to the group. A second later the door opened and a man walked out from behind the door.

“Jordan,” Jasper said with a nod.

“Jasper,” Jordan responded with a grin. He was Jordan Fuchs, brother of Sypha, and one of the resident artists in this space. He held his arms out wide and pulled Jasper into a hug. “You doing good buddy,” he asked, eyeing up the numerous bruises, cuts and rotted spots visible on his body, “you don’t look good.”.

“Yeah, yeah, we had an accident last night rustling cattle,” Jasper said as he groaned, “It’s a long story but I’m good”

“Good, good,” Jordan said as he stepped out of the way, leaving room for the group to head downstairs, “stop by Sypha’s office, she'll get you to actual good, stop by there first.”

“Greeeat,” Jasper said with a sigh as he motioned for the group to follow him down the stairs. The downstairs was very much similar to the upstairs, however there were only four rooms one in each corner of the basement. The middle section was open, well as open as it could be as the various support columns dotted the area. These columns were decorated with various art and string lights. There were various benches arranged in a circle around a central circular table. Around the benches and table various candle holders littered the area. Over the treble a banner featuring their symbol hung.

Once he got to the bottom of the stairs, he paused before he took three more steps and found himself in the open doorway of the first room to the left of the stairs, knocking on the frame. His shoulders slouched as his hands shot out and a “wait, wait, wait,” escaped his lips. Three seconds later several tendrils of blood impacted him all across his chest, slamming into it with force and cutting through his shirt, before he was lifted into the air and dragged inside.

”Holy shit!” After last night, Luca was immediately on edge, looking around for something he could use as a weapon to beat whoever was attacking Jasper. He reached over for a candle holder, and raised it with a determined look.

Lila and Lynn stood in a stunned silence for a second before they looked at Luca, and back to the doorway. Lynn went to the possible future for a brief second before she exhaled with a chuckle. “That's Sypha.”

”... Oh.” Luca put back down the candle holder - thankfully undamaged, since he’d put on a pair of lycra gloves before they’d left (and brought plenty more with him). Carefully, he peered round the doorway, calling out, ”Jasper, are you alright?”

“-ut things are good? You’re doing okay?” Sypha asked as she leaned across the desk towards Jasper. “You’re not doing..” she paused as her eyes rose and eyed up Luca, and the injuries visible on his exposed skin. Her eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, I’m okay!”. Jasper spoke as he looked back on the group. He was sitting in one of two open chairs in front of an antique desk. “Guys, this is Sypha, Sypha” he paused as he pointed back at his friends, “That is Luca, Lila, and Lynn.”. The group would notice the cuts, bruises, and even the rot heal in a rapid pace and before their eyes. A few seconds more would pass before the tendrils released themselves from Jasper. They left behind a blood stains around the point of impact. Jasper was almost fully healed. Some remnants lingered but he felt good to go.

“Luca,” Sypha spoke as her blood tendrils danced in front of her. Speckles of blood fell to the ground. Thankfully, it was a concrete floor so cleanup would not be an issue. The tendrils shot out towards Luca and they flew across the room at a frightening pace. They aimed for his exposed skin all across his body.

”Huh?” Luca didn’t have time to react before the tendrils hit his skin, burrowing in. The immediate impact hurt, before it started healing… But after only a few seconds, the tips of the tendrils where they touched his skin began to darken and rust. ”Please take them out! Not cause it's scary or anything, it’ll just hurt you!”

Sypha left them in for just a brief minute as she watched the rust spread up the tendril slowly. Her eyes opened more in surprise at the sight. She looked Luca in the eyes and said “you’re right, I’m sorry but I won't be able to get you topped off.” she finished as she pulled the tendrils out of Luca’s body and moved them over to the corner. There was a trash can there and she hovered the tendrils over it before she released the ends of the tendrils, causing the rusted blood to drop into the can below. “Luca, I need your help. Jasper told me a wild tale about how the two of you got hurt. Mind telling me what actually happened?” As she finished she pulled the tendrils back into her body, allowing her wound to close with nary a drop of blood dropped on herself. She pulled open a drawer and grabbed a small plastic container filled with sugar cookies, grabbing a few before she put it away.

”Don’t worry about it, I’m used to it,” Luca shrugged with a smile. He was glad she hadn’t gotten that hurt… Like the agent yesterday. His smile froze, though, when she asked him about what had happened. So Jasper hadn’t been able to tell someone else.. Maybe if you knew someone, you couldn’t. That would mean he could tell her! Hopefully!

”So we were watching a horror movie last night,” Luca started. So far, so good. ”When a clown walked into my apartment and terrified us so much I jumped into Jasper’s arms. Then he valiantly fought the clown off with all of my furniture, but kept tripping over the clown’s massive shoes and hurting himself.” Fuck.

“That’s funny because Jasper just said you two were working on a competitive ice skating routine,” Sypha paused as she groaned, leaning back in her chair as she did, “I don’t have time to figure this out, whatcha doing here Jasper”.

“Faith owes me a favor, calling it in for some costumes for the four of us.”

Sypha took a bite of her cookie before she looked and Lila and Lynn. Her eyes held a question, and she did not let it linger for long “should I worry about this one.”

Lynn immediately shook her head ‘no’. She slipped into the possible future and this time, she projected it out for the whole room to see. The group would see a possible version of themselves, transparent and with a green filter overtop , but visible all the same. In these future she would turn to Jasper and ask him first what happened. In each one, Jasper responded with a different response each time. Yet there was one common theme plain to see in them. A slight wince after he finished speaking. “Not sure what’s going on but I am looking into it. We’ll figure it out.”

“Good. I like these friends better already Jasper. Faith is in her office, she paused as she swiveled in her chair, taking another bite of her sugar cookie. “Your sister is in there. Good luck.”

Jasper let out a soft groan as he looked back across the group. He felt better, healthier, and strangely lightheaded, and the day was already looking up. Yet he was about to have an impromptu meetup with his sister. It’s not that he hated his sister, or even disliked her, she just tended to be…. Overprotective. “Just don’t tell her how hurt I was, okay?”

“Too late.” Sypha tapped send on her phone.

Jasper moaned and motioned for the group to leave the room. As they stepped out he turned to Luca. “How are you feeling?”

”I’m all good,” Luca gave Jasper a thumbs up, smiling. He’d taken his regular painkillers before leaving, and another that he took when his pain was worse than normal. So really, he wasn’t lying, because he was used to being like this. Just tripping over something would cause bruises to flower across his skin, and moving wrong could tear it. It was just a bit more extreme than that today. ”It looks a lot worse than it is!”

He then leaned in slightly. ”But dude, I didn’t know you had a sister. What’s she like?”

“I haven’t brought her up? She’s a few years older than I am, closer to Lynn in age. I don’t know if I had time during the old days to bring her up. She’s…” he paused as he sighed, his eyes caught sight of her already waiting for them outside the door of the room on the opposite corner of the basement “Well you’re about to find out. She is intense, strong willed, and-”

“Jasper, let him form his own opinions of me,” Octavia yelled as he began to cross the gap between the two. Her hands were clenched into fists, her eyes burned holes into Jasper’s face, and her mouth was curled down into a near snarl. She got into Jaspers face before she inspected him for injuries, and once she was content with what she saw her expression softened. “Hi, I’m Octavia,” she said with a tired voice. “Calling in a favor for costumes? This early in the morning, what the fuck man. You’re looking good, you doing okay?” Octavia crossed her arms, but did not let Jasper answer. “You’re up first,” she pointed to Luca, her voice barely hiding the venom that wanted to come out, “follow me”

”Ok,” Luca’s voice raised a pitch, eyes widening. Was he about to get murdered by Jasper’s sister? Did she think him getting hurt was his fault? It kind of was- but he didn’t want to die. He glanced at Lila, then Lynn, then finally Jasper. It was fine. He could survive this. He nodded to the other three, like a soldier about to go to war. ”Wish me luck.”

He then followed Octavia into the room.

“Good morning sycamore,” a woman from inside the room talked in a pleasant tone. ”You all have been busy since you came together again. Don’t worry, a friend of Jasper is a friend of ours, right Octavia?” Faith looked over at Octavia and stared at her for many seconds, eyes flicking between Luca and Octavia. Octavia had grabbed a can of spray paint and had moved towards the wall, behind the chair Luca was in. Eventually Octavia sighed and said a soft ‘yeah’. “And Jasper is asking us for a costume set. He’s simply trying to have fun with friends, and he’s asking us for help with that. I think that’s good, Octavia. Tell me, sycamore, what costumes are you looking for today?”

”Morning,” Luca smiled at the much less murderous appearing woman. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on with Jasper’s sister, but at least it didn’t seem like someone was going to knock him over the back of the head! That was nice, his head was quite fragile. ”It’s Luca! My name, that is… We’re doing the powerpuff girls. Well, me and Jasper are gonna be the manly versions. I’m looking for a manly buttercup costume!”

”Also,” he glanced behind him at Octavia. ”I’m sorry about Jasper, some of it was my fault… I got scared when we were watching a horror movie and hugged him. I really didn’t mean to hurt him, I normally try avoid touching anyone.”

Octavia raised an eyebrow and looked towards Faith, who also had an eyebrow raised. The two kept their gaze locked on each other for a second before Octavia returned it to Luca. Her expression softened further. “You guys… hugged. While watching a movie. Must’ve been a scary movie for Jasper to allow someone to hug him.”

“He’s hugged me plenty of times, Jasper just has reservations around hugging his family. Luca, Sypha let us know that he had injuries… beyond… the one your hug caused. Ones that made us feel a bit worried about what Jasper was up to, we all care dearly for him you now? I will not press on it further, and I do not believe it was you that caused those injuries, but I wanted to.. let you know that if you, or anyone, hurts him intentionally…. I won’t be there to stop Octavia… and she’d be the least of your worries…. now, powerpuff girls,” Faith hit the table as she stood up and grabbed a pad of paper, before she conjured a few tape measures and a pencil. “You can keep your clothes on, I’ll get a perfect measure regardless. You ready?”.

”Yeah, pretty scary movie, seemed real… Don’t worry, I’d never hurt Jasper on purpose! I care about him too, he’s one of my closest friends… Even if we haven’t seen each other for a while!” One of his only ones, but that wasn’t Luca’s choice… it was difficult to go out how he was. He then nodded. He had no idea how this measuring was going to work, but hopefully he couldn’t damage those tape measures. ”I’m ready!”

Faith’s pencil floated to the pad of paper and stood at the ready. Faith dropped the tape measures to the ground, and the sound of a slithering creature soon filled the air. From across the room the two tape measures quickly moved, until they finally began to wrap themselves around Luca. They circled up his legs, crossed over his hips, climbed up his chest before they excited down the arms. They were fast, but not fast enough to avoid the rot. They were half decayed as they fell to the ground, before they dissipated back to nothing. As they moved, and as they dissipated, the pencil was furiously writing down the exact measurements for each section of Luca’s body. Faith looked down and checked the numbers by her eyes and smiled as she deemed it accurate.

“I’m happy to hear,” Faith said as he looked to Luca. “You have a very unique abstraction. What material works best for clothing?”

”You could say that,” Luca’s smiled, hints of pain flashing across his eyes. They were gone just as quickly as they’d appeared. Unique was probably the nicest way you could describe his abstraction. ”Anything synthetic… Polyester and the like. It doesn’t degrade as quickly, lasts a good few days of wear. I’ll layer up underneath too!”

The pencil continued to write, making a note about the material before it too dissipated. “I’ll be able to accommodate, you’re free to go Luca. Send in the ladies.”

“If Jasper ever needs any help come find us, we won’t get involved in coven drama but we’ll help wherever else we can.

”Got it,” Luca nodded. He didn’t want involved in coven drama either, if he could help it. ”I’ll make sure to! And I’ll protect Jasper too!”

He nodded, puffing up his chest slightly but still looking very unthreatened. With that said he walked back out. ”Hey Lila, Lynn, she said you two are to go in.” He then turned to Jasper with a grin. ”I’m pretty sure your sister wanted to knock me out with a spraypaint can, but I managed to convince her that I’m a really nice guy.”

Lila looked to Lynn. The two made their way inside without a fight. The door closed behind them soon thereafter

Jasper’s eye twitched as he heard mention of the spray paint can. “No, no she wanted to do a lot more than knock you out” Jasper exhaled, “her abstraction involves art as well. She’s always been protective of me……I’m being saved for last for a reason I think” Jasper said as he shook his head. “Faith is a treat though, as long as you follow her rules..”

”Ohhhh, a spray paint can did seem like a weird weapon of choice.” Luca didn’t look put out at all that Octavia had been essentially threatening him. It really didn’t bother him. It was just a sibling thing, right? Of course she wanted to make sure he wouldn’t hurt Jasper! He could understand, especially when it came to someone with an abstraction like his. ”Heh, is your sister going to chew you out? I can kinda understand, considering we can’t explain what attacked us last night…” He sighed. ”Faith was lovely! Even asked me what type of material to make it out of.”

“Not chew out, ask a lot of questions that I won’t be able to answer, and that’ll prompt another line of questions..” Jasper paused as he sighed. Should he bring up more of his past? Jasper knew that it would make things a bit more clear as to why Octavia was ready to hurt Luca. Octavia, Faith, and Sypha put a lot of time and energy helping Jasper get sober. That would require him to bring back some painful memories, and he wasn’t ready for those to come out to this group. He flashed Luca a smile. “I’ll be fine though, it’s all coming from a place of love. They just care a lot about me, you know?” he paused as he smiled even bigger. “I’m excited to see Faith at least, I haven’t seen her in a while. I figured she’d be flexible, she’s big into making her own stuff you know?”

”Hopefully you won’t end up saying a completely ridiculous lie,” Luca rubbed the back of his neck. The whole thing was annoying enough with Lila and Lynn, but not being able to tell his sister the truth as well? That was difficult. ”Course, I get it. My big brother used to be the same with me… Well, maybe not quite the same. But I get it! I’d be upset too if someone I cared about was hurt.” Luca shrugged, returning Jasper’s smile. ”Oh yeah, it’s great, I was worried I’d have to wear tons of layers under my costume just to not destroy it… And then I’d die from overheating. Now I should only need the one underlayer! I really can’t wait for the festival.”

“You and me both Luca,” he paused as his smile widened, “Though I do hope we can finish that movie, I was enjoying watching it with you.

The door opened and Lila and Lynn exited the room, each had a look of fear on their face. Jasper knew those faces well. Octavia had threatened them, apparently more than she threatened Luca. Jasper did not wait for his name to be called back, instead, he accepted his fate no matter what it entailed. Jasper was in the room for thirty minutes. Eventually he returned to the squad, and his smile did not falter. Faith had told Jasper that she’d rush their costumes, and they’d have it within the next couple of days.

The squad made their way back to Lucas’s apartment from here, stopping at a hardware store first, and then the gas station to buy Luca some of the treats he liked. Jasper bought a new broom for Lucas, but also bought a sledgehammer , two claw hammers, and numerous other tools that could be used to fend off a skeleton. Jasper knew these tools were useless in the hands of Luca, he’d rot through them faster than he could swing them, but Jasper did not like the idea of being unable to defend Luca, and himself. No, if that skeleton fuck showed their ugly faced again Jasper would be ready. Lila and Lynn would hang out at the apartment before they left, leaving the boys alone once more.

“So, how about that movie then?”

”Yes, let’s finish it off,” Luca grinned, jumping up to turn on his computer - thankfully still completely fine. It booted up and he found the movie, quickly finding where they’d been last night when they were rudely interrupted by a fucking monster. He sat down on the couch, grabbing the snacks. ”We better not get interrupted this time.”

“I got protection just in case,” Jasper said as he grabbed the sledgehammer with both hands. Thankfully the two were spared from another monster visit for the duration of the movie. The movie finished, the credits played, and Jasper started to hope that the monster was just some bad luck from the night before. “Finally,” Jasper said as he looked over to Luca, “That was a good movie. You want to watch another?”. Jasper hoped he would. There was something nice about watching the movie with Luca, monster attack excluded, and he let his eyes linger for a second too long as he hoped for a second.

”Hell yeah,” Luca grinned, turning to look at Jasper with eyes crinkling with sheer joy after they finally finished the film. No skeleton attacking them! Nothing else to worry about! ”Want to watch one of the ones you suggested last night? Somehow managed to download them even with all the chaos last night.”

“What about-“

The sound of nails dragging across the wall behind them filled the air. It was a very familiar sound to Jasper. It was the sound of a monster that had come back for round two. It was the sound of a fate that the two now shared. It was the sound of a fight at hand, and the sound drew closer with each passing second. Jasper gripped the handle of the sledgehammer tight, looked to Luca, and slowly turned around.

Luca froze, mood instantly plummeting, and he carefully twisted his head around to look behind him.

There the monster was, stalking towards them, nails raking through the wall below the marks made yesterday. It almost seemed to be smiling at them.

This time, Luca wasn’t scared. He was just pissed off. ”Oh for fuck’s sake!”

“Oh I’m going to break your bones,” Jasper said as he stood up, readying his hammer for war.

“Talk to me,” the skeleton laughed as it lunged towards them.


@CollectorOfMyst

So it’s not too late if you’re interested!


"KEEP MOVING," Captain Roth shouted to his soldiers, "WE DO NOT STOP UNTIL THE MOUNT."

Captain Roth led his soldiers down the relatively narrow cobblestone path towards the Mount. The path was flanked on both sides by an old forest, while there was still some life in their branches there was more dead growth than new. While the leaves that did dot the canopy above started to show the first color of the autumn season, it was, by in large, a dead section. This dead section would stretch for the last leg of their journey, and this made Captain Roth nervous. His eyes darted from side to side, scanning the tree's and the canopy itself for signs of a thief. There had been a few attempts made by various groups already on their treasure, and he did not want to lose his prize this close to home. He did not want to lose his prize this close to fame.

"HURRY, HURRY, WE'RE ALMOST THERE."

Captain Roth had reason to worry more. This was the perfect spot for an ambush. The trees could be felled, stoping their advance, the branches could be dropped, crushing his soldiers, and the narrow path meant they could get blocked in easily. While his cavalry could maneuver still, the carriage couldn't. Captain Roth shifted his eyes back to the carriage. It was a metal monstrosity of locks, chains, and chained-up locks. It would take thirteen keys to fully unlock the door, and another one to get to their stolen goods. He knew that if an ambush were to happen, it would take longer for a would be thief to open the door and get the artifact than it would for reinforcements to arrive. He knew that he had completed his mission, but a single thought still lingered.

What if the thief was good?



An eerie calm falls over Ordan and his traveling crew despite the sight of bodies littering the roadside and strewn across the village around them. These corpses were in a fight, they all wore some facet of armor and a litany of weapons littered the area around them. Their blood painted the road, the houses, and even the grass and it was evident that they did not die without a fight. Yet, despite the chaos and despite this bloodshed, there was one thing missing that Orban could easily tell. The villagers. The only bodies were the soldiers, and there were footsteps in the blood-stained mud that suggest that whoever once called this place home was led away from it towards the nearby forest. What’s more, there are several canine tracks unlike anything seen before in the mortal realm. These footprints were big, bigger than any dog or wolf and even bigger than some of the monsters that Ordan would have faced.

There is also something off about the air. It is as if something powerful lingers within it. Some unspoken word, some unseen threat, or some unknown presence. If they look carefully they may even see an eye peeking at them from the windows, from the forest, and every direction and yet there is nothing there.



A most peculiar sight awaits Taiji. As he travels down the road a small caravan of wealthy-looking, but upset, businessmen will begin to pass them. They are dressed in fine linen, and carry expensive-looking crates and chests however they struggle to take each step. It is as if none of these people have actually worked a day in their lives, and this little effort of labor is too challenging for them. They all have the same look of sadness mixed with anger in their eyes, and Taiji may hear a few curses whispered under their breath at their misfortune.

“You, you look like you are up for a challenge,” one of the men shouted as she walked up to Tiji. He was tall, fat, and looked like he was used to commanding an aura of respect. He wore no jewelry however the tan lines on his finger suggest that he typically does. His eyes carried a look of contentment.

“What if I could promise you riches beyond measure,” he asked Tiji, “the name is Kaito, and I run the village of Hurrin,” he paused as he sighed with anger, “or should I say ran. A musical demon entered our village last week, and he has fought and killed his way through our militia until he forced us out. We called him,” he paused as he shifted his eyes from side-to-side, “the singing demon, the maestro of our misfortune. Will you help us?”



“GET AWAY FROM MY MOTHER,” a young boy screams as he charges towards Bren.

He is young, maybe seven or so years of age. He has a small dagger in his hand but it looks like it might as well be a sword. He has small cuts and scrapes across his face but is otherwise okay. Behind him, a younger girl is holding onto his clothes. Fear is present in both their eyes, a fear that is directed to the sight of Bren.

“I WILL STAB YOU, MONSTER,” the boy will scream again but as he continues his charge he will trip over a branch that had suddenly blown in with the wind, falling to the ground and sending the knife sliding across the pavement towards Bren. The boy is not hurt, at least badly, but he still screams. The boy scoots backward, trying to now put distance between Bren and himself, but also keep himself in between Bren and his family. Bren would notice that there is a woman in the ditch on the side of the road who is hurt badly. She has been attacked by a sword and a long laceration is seen across her chest. Her eyes flicker open, but they don’t stay open for long and she drifts back to sleep.

The family sits on the side of the road at a crossroads. The post has three signs on it. The first points towards a nearby village. Smoke fills the air coming from that direction and Bren would smell the blood that was spilled there. The second points towards a nearby city called Goldrun. It was a larger city, and they would have healers and possible help for the young family. The third pointed towards another village, and Bren may notice a familiar track in the mud heading towards it. A gnoll footprint.



“So, you must be why I am waiting here,” a well-dressed man whispered from behind Eve and his group.

From seemingly nowhere this well-dressed man appeared and began to walk towards the fated one. He was well dressed, with an expensive robe that was covered in fine trims and details that would make even the vainest nobleman blush. Despite the robe being closed the trio could easily tell that the man was strong. The longer they looked at the well-dressed man, the more a sense of unease would fall over them. There was something off, something wrong, with the person walking towards them. And if sight alone was not enough, the air began to carry with it the faint hint of sulfur.

“I was told that I could expect someone of great power to face the coming darkness on this road, but even I could not have guessed that would be the Citadel’s first love,” a slight grin fell across the face of the well-dressed man as he sized up Eve’s traveling companions, “don’t worry, I don’t bite,” his voice a mix of sultry and sweet, “I am here to join up on your merry escapade,” he paused as he leaned in, “on your fated quest.”

The well-dressed man’s smile only grew larger, warmer, and more inviting. His eyes seemed kind, gentle, and compassionate.



“Wait,” a single voice cut across a sea of bodies.

“Wait, don’t,” the man coughed and blood followed, “don’t go you must help them.”

All around Iveus was death. A battle was had recently, and it was a battle that this human patrol lost. A hundred bodies dotted the landscape, all in some different state of destruction. Some were cleaved in two, some were thrown into the rocky landscape breaking their bodies, and others found a merciful death with a stab through the heart. However, there was no sign of whomever or whatever attacked them. The only bodies that dotted the landscape were this human faction, and they died fighting something other than themselves.

“I feel myself fading,” the man whispered. He had a look in his eye, a determined look. “I don’t know what it was but it cut through us, it was humming some twisted song as it swung…” The man gasped for air for a brief second, “it’s heading towards the village of Koi, it’s heading..” the man leaned his head back as a few more pained breathes filled the air. “It’s heading…” his voice grew weak. “It’s…” He grew silent as his chest ceased movement, and his head slumped to the side.

Iveus would notice that the air hung heavy with a strange energy. It was not magic, but it held a power he never felt before. Whatever cut through these soldiers was strong, and it was heading towards a village that would not be able to protect itself.



“Are you a paladin, please tell me you’re a paladin,” a man shouted from ahead of Zarathia. He was bloodied, and as he ran he held his hand over his right shoulder. He did not give her a moment to respond.

“My village, my village was attacked,” he paused as he used his bloody hand to point down the road. The man was shaking, and it was clear that he had been through an ordeal unlike any other. “A necromancer, it was a necromancer. It killed everyone and then raised their corpses, please you have to save them, please save them,” the man begged and pleaded.

Zarathia would feel a change in the air. Something was calling to her from up ahead and it was a sensation of power different than any she would have felt, but at the same time, it was oddly familiar. This necromancer must be carrying a powerful relic or tome on them, and this powerful item could be theirs for the taking.


“What a strange land,” Lys spoke to no one in particular as she watched a singular yellow leaf fall in front of her. This was her first time in the Empire of Man before winter hit, and it was her first time seeing the sea of colors all around the road. From the red, yellow, and orange leaves that dotted the canopy in the forest above, to the snow-capped mountains that filled the horizon, there was much that filled her with a wonder that she had never experienced. And thus far, she was enjoying what she was seeing. They did not have trees like this back in the Frost Tribes, no theirs were tall and prickly and always the same shade of green year-round. As well, she rarely got to see the mountain peaks back home as they were always in the clouds, and she was neither brave nor foolish enough to attempt that climb.

As she admired the scenery around her, movement ahead on the cobblestone road caught her eye. In a quick motion, she had a hand on her weapon and her face towards the unseen threat. A second later, she relaxed her grip and her expression softened as she watched a few small children running up the road towards her. The sound of laughter could be heard even from the distance she was at, and it brought a small smile to her face. These lands were much different from her own. While she thought that it was entirely too warm out, she loved the sights, the scents, and even the sounds of children feeling safe enough to run down the road even as a stranger walked them. As she continued her walk she noticed the children catch sight of her for the first time. It appeared as if the two children discussed what to do next before they turned away from Lys and began sprinting down the road.

“That is trouble,” Lys said with a frown. She knew that there was a village nearby. She knew this because she had led a small raiding party into it the previous winter. And she knew she may have stolen quite a bit of their needed food. While she was not dressed with the sigil nor the colors of her tribe today, she was still overdressed for this area and looked very much like one of the pale raiders. She knew the children would alert the local garrison, and they would come looking for her. Her eyes darted from side to side. She knew she had to keep traveling south, however, she would need to find a new path that would take her in that direction. As she thought, the wind carried a burnt piece of paper into her face, covering her vision completely. “The fuck,” she whispered as she ripped it from her face and looked at the writing on it. “Darmor,” she once again scanned the area around her, “is Darmor where I am meant to go,” she asked as she awaited an answer from The Fates. Silence was her only response. Silence, and then the ringing of a bell ahead of her.

“Shit,” she muttered as she took off to the side and into the woods. She held onto the burnt parchment like it was the most important piece of paper she had ever held. And she ran, running faster than she had in recent years, and trying to push through her own limits to run faster some more.




“Shit,” Grove muttered as she jumped over a fallen tree that blocked the path in front of her. She held onto the fated stick she was given like it was the most important sick she had ever held. And she ran, she ran faster than she thought she could but she knew she needed to run faster than even this.

Behind her, she could hear the shouts, the cries, and the frustration brewing in her pursuers. They were close. Much closer than they had been the past few days and much closer than Grove ever dared to fear. She could smell their anger, their desperation, and Grove needed to get away from it. Her eyes darted across the woods ahead, and she searched for whatever path would take her away from her pursuers. Eventually, she spotted it. There was a windy path that led towards a canyon, and Groves intuition and spirit birds told her that was the only way she’d get away. She turned her run towards that direction and set off down the windy trail.

Grove knew that there was something off about these woods. The leaves lacked the same vibrant warmth of her home, the trees looked old and sick, and there were as many dead trees still standing as alive ones. Everywhere she looked she felt like there were hungry eyes locked onto her, like she was the next meal to walk into their dinner plate. This was a place of danger. This was what the stories warned her about. This was a place where she could die. But yet, her smile never grew smaller. This chase, these woods, and these spooky sights were all new to her, and she was ready to face these new challenges.

Grove danced through the windy trail, avoiding every snag, every branch, and every fallen tree. Eventually, she had made her way to the edge of the canyon and was about to look for the trail when she heard a voice from being shout to her. “GROVE NO.” Her head turned slightly, trying to see who it was and only caught a glimpse of the scout Amara before she suddenly began to fall. The trail did not continue down a hill, or snake its way down the cliff side. Instead, the trail ended at the edge of the canyon before it gave way to a steep decline. It wasn’t a straight drop but it was a very steep slope filled with rocky outcrops and other sharp and dangerous objects.

Grove began to tumble down the side of the mountain. Her descent began to speed up only to be slowed down by collisions with the rocky structures that dotted the hillside. Again and again, she would tumble, fall, slip, and try to catch herself before she once again slammed into another rock. She curled herself into the tightest ball she could, protecting both her head and the fated stick with everything she had.

Eventually, the descent slowed and Grove found herself near the bottom of the canyon. She was bloodied, her bones were broken, and she would be crying in pain if it were not for the sheer adrenaline rushing through her veins. Grove attempted to stand up and the pain nearly pushed her back down. She tested each leg in turn and sighed as none appeared to have been broken in the fall. She had numerous broken ribs, that much she could tell, but her legs were the most important thing. She checked her bag and whispered “fuck” as she realized all her healing potions and jars were broken, however. She coughed, and with the cough, she winced in pain.

“STAY THERE GROVE,” Amaras faint voice shouted. Grove looked up and her eyes went wide with shock. She had fallen a great distance. The scout up top looked like little more than a baby deer in the distance as opposed to a roll-grown member of her species. “WE’LL GO TO TOWN TO SEE IF THERE’S A SAFE WAY DOWN. WE CAN HELP YOU,” Amara started.

“Leave me alone,” was all grove could shout back before the pain took her words. She scanned the area around, looking for healing medicines and plants. She knew that she had been given a blessing with this fall, and it was up to her to make the most of it. “What a strange land,” Grove finished with a smile.


“Ignis,” Eros shouted as he reached across the Obsidian hall with a hand stretched out trying to grab his friend. Yet, it was too little too late as Ignis was pulled across the hall and towards Malakith, and his symphony filled with heralds. Eros took a step back as the anger that filled his eyes slowly gave way to confusion before that too gave way to sadness.

“Alaria what do we do?” Eros asked as he looked back. She was in the middle of her protection song, her fingers becoming raw from the sheer amount of music she’s had to play. Alaria did not respond as she continued playing. Eros looked back towards the front and his eyes settled on Ignis. He was on the ground now, his back pressed downward by the darkness of the maestro's hand. The Maestro opened its mouth and began to sing its incomprehensible song, causing the entire area to shake violently. The song continued for several seconds before the maestro rose back up. The chains that binded him had begun to fail, and it was only a matter of time very he ripped himself free of them. A second later, Ignis began to clap his hands and applaud. “ALARIA,” Eros shouted as he took a step back. Ignis began to stand up, turning around as he did, and faced the group. His red face bore the tell tale signs of corruption as black tendrils began to snake under his skin.

“WHAT DO WE DO-,” Eros started but stopped as he turned and saw the Fates behind his friend. They were whispering in her ear, guiding her hand with a new song, and each had their eyes locked on Malakith. “Alaria..” Eros started as he lowered his guard.

“It’s okay, my friend,” Alaria said as tears began to stream down her face, “we can still seal him. We can buy the fates more time” Alaria finished as she began to pluck the strings.

“How much-“ Eros paused as he looked back at Ignis. Ignis had retrieved his weapon and had begun to walk towards the remaining two fated. “I can hold him off for a bit, how long do the fates need?”

“Years,” Veidia whispered to Eros, her voice in guts head alone.

“Centuries,” Chrona responded with a sad tone.

“More.” Eclipses finished as she pulled at invisible fate strings around them.

“We’re going to lock him in here Eros,” Alaria spoke in a singsong tone, “we’re going to finish the mission.”

Eros felt his mind grow cloudy, his strength begin to falter, and a deep desire to lay down and embrace the eternal sleep began to fill his waking thoughts. “I guess that means that I won’t be able to do my hero’s whoring then,” Eros joked as he turned to face Malakith. He knew what was happening. He never considered the possibility of it, nor did he know exactly what the fates were doing. But something in his mind told him that he and Alaria were about to die. And that this moment was Fated. “Oi, you’re a proper cunt for taking my friends.. You’ve lost to the fated five once,” Eros paused as he felt the strength fall away from his legs, “and you’ve lost to them again.”

Eros fell to the ground and as he hit the ground he was gone. Alaria too began to slump over but she continued the song. Alaria rested her eyes on Eros before she shifted them to get corrupted friends and gave them one final smile. Eventually her music slowed as did her breathing before she too found herself on the ground next to Eros.

Malakith chuckled in response. He looked out and saw only victory here today. Three of the fated five had joined his symphony, and the remaining two were about to be dead. What ploy were they working on, what did the fates whisper to them? A second later the chains that bound him pulled taught. He watched as stands of fate itself made its way into the metal itself, blessing them and making them fated. What’s more, these fated strands were powerful. The maestro began to feel weakened, tired, and ready to sleep as well. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“A year, a century, or eons more time will free me forevermore,” he laughed as he commanded his heralds to sleep. The chains that bound him pulled themselves tighter, and tighter, and tighter until each of his limbs were locked into place. The dull red glow of the maestro went dark, bringing himself, the heralds, and the fated five into darkness.




Deep within the heart of the desolate mountain, The Maestro lay bound in chains. Its ancient and powerful form is bound by enchanted restraints. The cavernous chamber echoed with a low hum, the very essence of the mountain pulsating with latent magic. The air was thick with the weight of centuries, and the only light emanated from the glow of mystical runes etched into the walls. Various golden strands of fate wove their way up and across the metal of the chains that bound The Maestro, and these golden strands had begun to dull in intensity.

As another tremor shook the cavern, The Maestro stirred from his seemingly eternal slumber. His eyes flickered with renewed vitality. The chains that bound him rattled with an echoing resonance as the mountain itself seemed to respond to his awakening. The Maestro shifted his vision to one chain in particular, and a rumbling laugh shook the area as a rock had fallen and broken a link. Without the enchantments of the fates, The Maestro was able to free the hand from its containment and he stretched it out in front of his face. A smile equal parts wicked and alluring spread across his face. He began to slowly raise the hand, palm open to the roof, and as he did The Maestros' music began to play once again. It was a silent symphony, with the music beyond the ability of our collective understanding but the power behind the composition was felt as the mountain rocked with another quake. It was a fraction of his power, but it was enough for him to begin his plot for freedom.

The Maestro raised his hand further, causing a red glow to fill the area around him revealing seven statues kneeling in front of his form. As he raised his hand even further, several tendrils formed in his palm and they shot out across the cavern and impacted the stone figures, burrowing deep as they hit. The red glow that emanated from The Maestro raced down the tendrils and began to fill the stone figures from the inside out. In a moment, the figures began to move. The stone cracked, letting arms and legs move freely of their prison, and within a minute the seven figures stood up, each with a wicked smile on their face.

“My most vocal heralds,” The Maestro spoke. His voice was somewhere between a thousand individual whispers and a full choir singing. “It is time to spread my music once more, you must return,” he paused as he raised his hand even higher, bringing the unheard music to a level that vibrated the entire area, shaking even more rocks free from above. As it reached its crescendo, two portals opened up behind the heralds. “Igai, Agor, venture forth. The realm yearns for our music, play it for them once more. Spread my influence, my whispers on the wind," The Maestro commanded, his voice a sinister lullaby. "Let the Fates know that I have awoken."

With that, the two heralds got up and vanished through the portal, leaving The Maestro and the remaining five heralds in his dark chamber. The echoes of their departure lingered, and as the last portal closed, The Maestro began to hum an eerie tune – a haunting melody that resonated within the very essence of the shadows. The cavern responded to his song, the stones humming in harmony with The Maestro's malevolent melody as he began to envision a world under his rule, a world where everyone listened to his symphony and a world where the fates were forced to. The remaining five heralds began to swing their weapons at the thousands of chains that bound him. Their magic was weakened by the broken link, and they weakened further with each subsequent blow.




“Mom, I saw something I swear,” a young girl pleaded as she cuddled up next to her mother.

“Honey, you can stay in bed with us tonight,” the mother smiled. This was a nightly occurrence for the small five year old child. The parents would put her to bed, they would turn out the lights, they would lay down, and then fifteen minutes later the child would come in because they saw a monster in the dark. “Eventually you will never see these monsters again, they are remnants of an old terror called Malakith,” the mother paused as she looked over to the husband and winked. The husband smiled, shook his head, and rolled over in the bed.

“Malakith?”

“The Maestro,” The mother responded.

“What’s a maestro?” The child asked.

The mother frowned as she thought for a second. Maybe she chose the wrong story to tell this night. “It’s a guy who composes music,” the mother guessed, “anyway, the maestro was an evil force that came to our world many years ago. His music was evil, and it filled the children with a fear of the darkness, made them see monsters in it that weren’t there. The monster was defeated, by a group of hero’s known as the five fated, and his monsters were banished from our world forever.”

“In the shadows deep, where darkness creeps,
Lurks Malakith, where the blackness seeps.
But fear not, dear child, for he's not all bad,
In the darkest corners, there's light to be had.
He may wear a cloak of night so cold,
But even evil has stories untold.
For in the end, even darkness can spark,
A glimmer of hope in the deepest dark.”

The mother looked over to the father, who had decided to chime in with a rhyme. Everyone in this village knew the story of the maestro, though what they did not know was just how off they were. To the children, this story was meant to show them that the dark held no monsters while they were safe behind their walls, inside their homes, even though the story and rhyme were originally meant to tell the heroic tale of the fated five. Time has a funny way of changing things.

“So, there’s no monsters in the dark?”

“None,” the parents responded in unison.

*knock*

The sound of a fist delivering a singular knock at the door. The parents looked at each other, and the father reached down and grabbed his sword.

*knock*

The sound of an individual waiting for them outside. The father stood up and walked to the main room of the house. The mother looked at the daughter and smiled, though her eyes betrayed her worry.

*creak*

The sound of the front door opening, with the father asking who’s there. A quiet followed, but a low hum soon filled it. It was jovial, it was happy, but for some reason it was a sound that defied definition. Then the sound of footsteps approaching from the door. A second later the father returned, black tendrils of corruption snaking across his face. His smile was wide, pained but excited, and he motioned for an unseen guest to join them.

“You have to hear this music, dears,” he said, before the screams of his wife and child filled the air for a moment before it was replaced by all three humming together, and the sound of footsteps back towards the door.




The fates huddled together in their realms. Around them was a frozen forest, with broken trees and snow-covered fields surrounding them. In the distance, a wolf howls at the moon. Throughout the area golden strands of fated thread run over and across the landscape. These fated threads represented much to the fates. Where they converged represented the centers of life, cities and forests and places of the sort, and where they did not cover was the deserts, the tundras, and the volcanic fields where life did not thrive.

The three fates jerked their heads at once to the side. Two convergence points, one in the Empire of Man and a second in the Silvermoor realm, began to shift in color. The golden stands began to adopt a red hue. The fates scurried together and ran from one point to the next. The heralds had started their conquests, and the fates needed their champions to counter. Veidia reached out and began snatching the threads off to their sides before she channeled her magic into the threads. All across Eldoria people, creatures, and events began to make subtle changes.

“The fated are ready,” Veidia spoke as she grabbed several fated stands and held them up to view.

“They will face much trouble,” Chrona responded as she grabbed the fated stands, examining them closely.

“The Maestro has been busy,” Eclipsis responded as she grabbed hold of the fated stands.

“Several heralds have been sent,” Veidia spoke as she began to look over the stands of fate that dotted the path ahead of the new fated warriors.

“Corruption spreads in their wake,” Chrona said as she examined them closely. The fate strands that she looked at were different than the ones away from the heralds. Instead of a pristine, golden glow, they had a more reddish hue. The Maestero's corruption ran deep, not only corrupting the victims' minds and bodies it also corrupting their fate.

“His music,” Veidia said with a hiss.

“His melodies,” Chrona said with a growl

“His corruption,” Eclipsis spoke softly. Eclipsis used her fated magic to lift the fated strands into the air, and then used the magic as she started twisting the various strands together into a single rope. The end of the rope remained imperfect, with each fated strand still sticking out in its own, however from this point on the fated fellowship would be drawn to each other. Whether through luck, outside interference, or the actions of the fated they would be together before long.

“They will fight,” Veidia said as she examined the corruption in the fate strands.

“They will save,” Chrona responded as she examined them closer.

“And they will purge this corruption,” Eclipsis said as she tried to cut the blighted strand, yet her blade could not cut through.

“We need them together,” Veidia spoke with excitement.

“After some time apart,” Chrona said with a neutral tone.

“And after they meet,” Eclipsis responded with sadness.

“They must finish what they started,” Veidia spoke with sadness

“Our Fated Five,” Chrona continued with her neutral tone

“Our departed friends,” Eclipsis finished sharply.

Veidia resumed the process of pulling together various other threads of fate and began to use her magic to influence the world outside. Winds would blow, factions would fight, and despair would befall the lands. This plight will be like beacons in the dark for the new fated champions. They will be drawn to these areas of fated energy, and they will have many decisions to make as they traverse them. Will they save those in trouble, and begin the process of etching their names onto the legend of this reality? Or will they ignore it and simply try and face the heralds of Malakith on their terms? Regardless of how they go about these next few weeks, they will be drawn to two towns, Dalvinwood in the west, and Nightingale Thicket in the east. As each day passes, the Fates know that more monstrous creatures will await them as the Maestro's music spreads unchecked.

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