Tenesoir Memoirs: Kyrinna

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(if: $show_footer)[ --- (link: "Jump to Chapter")[Jump to Chapter [[1|Page 1]] | [[2|Page 4]] | [[3|Page 10]] | [[4|Page 17]] | [[5|Page 25]] | [[6|Page 33]] | [[7|Page 41]] | [[8|Page 48]] | [[9|Page 55]] | [[10|Page 61]] | [[11|Page 67]] | [[12|Page 75]] | [[13|Page 83]] | [[14|Page 90]] | [[15|Page 96]] | [[16|Page 103]] | [[17|Page 110]] | [[18|Page 119]] | [[19|Page 127]] | [[20|Page 135]] | [[21|Page 141]] | [[22|Page 147]] | [[23|Page 154]] | [[24|Page 161]] | [[25|Page 167]] | [[26|Page 174]] | [[27|Page 181]] | [[28|Page 189]] | [[29|Page 197]] | [[29|Page 205]] | [[31|Page 212]] | [[32|Page 219]] | [[33|Page 226]] | [[34|Page 232]] | [[35|Page 239]] | [[36|Page 246]] | [[37|Page 253]] | [[38|Page 262]] | [[39|Page 270]] | [[40|Page 278]] | [[41|Page 286]] | [[42|Page 297]] | [[43|Page 305]]] Tenesoir Memoirs: Kyrinna © 2021-(current-date:) Jon "the Red" Farrar (link:"https://jontheredrc.itch.io/")[(open-url: "https://jontheredrc.itch.io/")]]

<center> ## TENESOIR MEMOIRS: ## KYRINNA ### by Jon Farrar (set: $show_header to true) ## [[Begin|Page 1]]</center> or... (link: "Load a Saved Bookmark")[(load-game:"A")]

## Chapter 1 A childlike laughter filled the air throughout the manor. “Whee!” Kyrinna shouted, skidding to a stop with her back to the next corridor. The purple ribbons in her hair and around her wrists trailed her pirouette as she continued to flee down the halls of her mansion. She was going to have to say goodbye, but there was no reason to be so somber about it. So long as the Church couldn't catch her, she could always start over. She'd have to destroy the evidence first, of course. “Stop!” the voice behind her called out. “No way, prick! If I do that, you'll cut my head off!” She said it, but there was no way Eyron heard her. At the rate she was going, there was no way he'd catch up. She could only steal brief glances behind her, but when she did, all she saw was her pale purple dress and her lab coat fluttering behind her. The memories brought on by all the experiments she jogged past were too painful, so she was very glad she couldn't see anything for long. Despite her earlier attempts to remain jovial in the face of this raid, she had to admit, she would miss the place. If only she'd succeeded in her experiments, she wouldn't even need to flee—they could cut her head off to their hearts' content. Or, at the very least, she'd end up with an undying servant that could cut Eyron down for her. That prick was far ahead of the rest of his party, she knew that. He was always ahead of them, partly due to his lighter loadout and partly due to his sheer aggression. She wondered if the other templars had the place surrounded, or if they were all coming straight to the front door like Eyron had. Either way, she only saw one option for herself. She'd lived the good life in that mansion, gathering subjects and perfecting her alchemy, but she'd rather destroy it all than let so much as a single page of research notes fall into the Order of Scintilla's hands. She'd mixed up one flask for every room in the mansion. The mixture had been ready far in advance, but not so far ahead that she'd prepared some cloth to use as a wick. Instead, she tore at her own dress, lit the makeshift fuses on the lanterns overhead, and tossed the flaming bottles into the rooms as she passed them, trusting it'd be enough. [[Next|Page 2]]

She could tell by Eyron's taunts and footfalls that he was chasing her directly. The fire was already spreading in the hallways behind her, however. She couldn't help but laugh some more at his mistake. The templars wouldn't come out of this with any more than they ever had, she knew. She smiled, thinking of the kind of trouble he'd be in with the other templars for botching this hit job so completely She skidded to a halt as she approached her study at the end of the hall. Her eyes locked on the bookcase against the back wall, and she let out a long sigh. As she put her hands upon it, she felt a brief twang of smugness, glad she hadn't bothered to dust the thing. The chores she did do were now a waste of time, just like all the books she'd read partway through, and all the half-finished experiments. Kyrinna did her best to think about none of that, and focus on digging for the secret switch in the bookcase instead. It was hidden behind the only white book on the shelf, itself relatively free of dust. Kyrinna tossed it over her shoulder, letting out an exasperated groan as a picture of a child fell in front of her. She brushed it away with one hand, reaching the other to grasp for the lever. It was just barely close enough to get her fingertips around, but that was all she needed. With a grunt, she gave a short hop and pulled the lever. The wall swung open, bookcase and all. She only opened the door a crack, but that was all she needed to slip away. On the other side of the secret door was a plain, dark tunnel, hewn from the rock and soil of the valley where Kyrinna's laboratory was hidden. When she was a young child, she enjoyed hiding in the secret tunnel, but she'd never been to the far end. Wherever it let out, though, it had to be better than sticking around for the Church, or the fire. “Valley...of course they're all coming to the front,” she admonished herself. “It's a great big valley, stupid.” She pulled the secret door shut behind her, then lit the torch she'd left in the passageway ahead of time. Its light was dim, and the sights it revealed were merely the same old walls of tightly packed dirt, but it was a little safer. [[Previous|Page 1]] | [[Next|Page 3]]

Kyrinna fumed silently as she walked through the tunnel. That stupid Eyron had moved so far ahead of the rest of his squad. If only she'd had some kind of trap ready for him, he would've been totally screwed by leading the charge all on his own. Next lab, she thought to herself, she'd definitely have to rig up something nasty, a swinging blade or a wall of spikes, or maybe just a trapdoor that would dump him into lava or the habitat of some deadly experiment of hers. Kyrinna smiled, letting the visions of her devious plans play out in the darkness ahead of her. Her snickering quickly filled the tunnel, as Eyron's imaginary body was split, stabbed, and all manner of terrible things. As devious as Kyrinna was, these thoughts lasted more than long enough to get her to the wooden door that marked the exit. They lasted longer than her torch did, at least; it had long since gone out, and she only knew the exit by the faint glimmer of light through a crack in the door. There were no handles on either side of the thing; in fact, on the other side, it had been coated with dust and dressed up with vines and rocks to look like an ordinary cliff face. Kyrinna took a few steps back and threw her weight against the door. It took a few tries before the tunnel finally released her, and she spilled out into the dusty path under the moonlight. The door slammed shut behind her, resuming its camouflage. Kyrinna stole one last glance at the hidden exit, then turned to the path ahead, and wandered into the wilderness of Tenesoir. [[Previous|Page 2]] | [[Next|Page 4]]

## Chapter 2 Kyrinna was glad she was alone, because she would've hated to admit to someone that she was lost. She'd been working in that mountain laboratory for so long, she didn't know a thing about the wilderness she now found herself in. Upon exiting the secret tunnel, there was only a single path out of the hilly area it spat her into, but beyond that was a forest that seemed endless. There were no paths, no lights apart from the moon, not even a sign that other humans even lived in the same world. But she knew there were humans, because she was still fuming over one of them, that vanguard idiot Eyron. That prick had forced her to trash everything, she thought to herself. All her research into healing and immortality had gone into The Invincible, and she had nothing to show for it. If life were truly as sacred as the Church told her, then halting her research and killing her test subjects would be awfully hypocritical. It was an argument she really wanted to raise to a templar, if only they didn't try to execute her on sight. That was yet another complaint she had, though in the face of a new executioner, she had to table that discussion for later. Before her, a beast snarled from a branch up in the trees. It was a slender feline, though in the light of the moon, the muscles in its limbs cast shadows against its body. A great mane tumbled down from the scruff of its neck, moving in one clump like a rope. Its ears flattened against its head as it let out a terrible hiss, thick with spittle. “Watch it, nerd!” Kyrinna snapped at the beast. Despite her confrontational tone, she was taking slow steps away from the thing. “You can't talk to Kyrinna S. Strauss like that, do you hear me?” Even as she retreated, she could see that the monster wouldn't take its eyes off her. Just in case, she began groping the ground in search of something heavy she could defend herself with. “I'll reanimate you so I can kill you twice, loser!” [[Previous|Page 3]] | [[Next|Page 5]]

Kyrinna's hands came across a thick branch, still adorned with a few leaves on one end. She hoisted it up and shook it menacingly in front of her. The creature was undeterred, and pounced down from its perch, hurtling toward Kyrinna with surprising speed. She knew in an instant, this thing was too fast and too at home in the woods to flee from; she'd have to stand and fight. With a slight shriek, she swung the branch at the thing as it moved through the air. It didn't seem to hurt it much, but between the motion of the swing and Kyrinna's own footwork, she at least avoided being pounced on. The thing yowled into the starry sky, then slowly turned its attention back to Kyrinna. She was much more brains than brawn, and she knew she wouldn't last long in a confrontation like this. Then again, she wouldn't be able to slip away and find a better tool to fight with, set up a trap, anything like that. As worried as she was of the first creature, Kyrinna spotted two more beasts, come to answer the call the first had made. She could hear them scamper around her. Kyrinna was surrounded. As soon as she realized it, she simply gave up. She could barely fight one of these things, much less three, and it seemed like they weren't about to let her run away either. “At least you're not the Church,” Kyrinna said, shrugging. With her self-preservation out of the way, she began to study the animals that plotted her downfall. They circled her as a group, seemingly in sync even as they maneuvered around the trees and rocks in their way. Kyrinna began to walk, and the animals walked with her. Eventually, one of them apparently saw something it didn't like. When it froze, the others did too. Kyrinna followed their gaze, and saw a faint light bobbing through the foliage. Whatever these creatures seemed to be, they hated the sight of the light, hissing and breaking formation to flee it. Kyrinna wondered what it could be, fearing it to be a member of the Church. However, if she fled into the darkness anew, she was sure she'd be accosted by some other creature. Even as long as she spent in the lab, she knew it was dangerous to wander Tenesoir without a light. Her only light hadn't even lasted the whole escape tunnel. [[Previous|Page 4]] | [[Next|Page 6]]

“Come back here, you manebraids!” a voice hollered. Kyrinna could hear it coming from the same direction that the light was. “Come on, guys, I just need rope...!” Whoever it was, they were moving rapidly through the brush. When the light reached Kyrinna, it stopped. It was emanating from a lantern held by a woman older than Kyrinna, but not by much. She was wearing a heavy-looking outfit over her lean muscles, a ragged black coat fluttering over a set of brown leather armor. The coat was white at the sleeves, which formed a lattice-like grid that thinned out into all black by the time it reached the elbow. She seemed to have tried to tie back her red hair, but a few curls up front had escaped her. “Um...hi!” she said, clearly shocked to see Kyrinna there. “You some kinda moron or something? It's dangerous to be out in the dark!” Kyrinna growled. “Watch it, nerd,” she replied, striding up to the stranger. “Everyone knows that! My torch went out, and—“ “Yeah, yeah. That's torches for you. You gotta get one of these lanterns. They're a Church thing, but they never go out.” The woman took a few steps past Kyrinna as if she weren't even there. “But enough about that. You didn't see a pack of manebraids around here, did you? You know, pointy ears, big claws, long hair?” “There were a few here...they saw your light and scrambled.” Kyrinna wasn't about to throw in the part that that saved her life when this woman was already so curt with her. “Why...something about rope?” The woman giggled slightly and turned back to Kyrinna. “Oh, you heard that, huh? Well...yeah, everyone knows Tenesoir is always dark, so you always need a light. But less people know that if you're out roughing it...you gotta have rope.” “And you don't?” Kyrinna asked, hand on her hip. The woman shook her head. “Not anymore,” she answered. “There's a hunter claw around prowling the area. Darn thing slashed my rope, and I was hoping to make some more.” [[Previous|Page 5]] | [[Next|Page 7]]

Kyrinna took a quick glance around; she'd never been able to take in a hunter claw. As useful as they and their giant scythe-like forelimbs would have been to her experiments, trying to capture one had been the closest she'd come to dying, more so than even the manebraids' attack. “...I see.” Despite the danger, Kyrinna knew that this was her in. “But there's an easy way to keep the hunter claw off our backs.” “...huh?" the mystery woman muttered. "'Our' backs?” Kyrinna nodded, staring in the direction the woman had come from. “You have a light, and I know how to make a lure that hunter claws love. We work together to get some rope, and...well, we'll see from there.” The woman turned away from Kyrinna again, head bowed in thought. Kyrinna stared at the emblem on the back of her coat, another white lattice, this one in the vague shape of a flame. Something about the logo rubbed her the wrong way; it was familiar in a way she couldn't quite place. “...yeah, we'll see,” the woman finally said. “By the way...name's Zeltencia. Y'know what, Zel's fine.” Zel stuck her hand out for a handshake, which Kyrinna hesitated to take. Before she did, she'd need a pseudonym to help evade the Church's eye, especially if Zel got her to a town. “...Syrup,” she finally introduced herself. She'd never given out her middle name to anyone, and the grandmother she'd inherited it from had been dead for a couple decades. It was all she could think of, but it seemed unrecognizable enough for the time being. Zel raised an eyebrow. “Syrup, huh? Okay then.” The two shook hands, cementing their partnership. “So let's go hunt some manebraids. But first, I gotta learn this hunter claw lure.” [[Previous|Page 6]] | [[Next|Page 8]]

“Yeah," Kyrinna began, "so we're looking for a...” She trailed off for a moment, silently thanking her luck. “Yeah, one of these.” She bent down over a flower with red petals almost the size of her hand. “I've studied hunter claws before. As ruthless and vicious as they're made out to be, they really like sweet, sugary things. Things like tree sap, or...” Kyrinna twisted the top of the flower off, and quickly went to work plucking away the petals. “...the nectar of the vermillionaire.” Zel shook her head. “No way,” she spat, staring at the flower's remains in Kyrinna's hand. It was a small yellow bulb about half the size of a fist. “I've seen one of those things slice men in half for looking at it funny. No way it—“ “It's a bug. Bugs love sugar.” Kyrinna shrugged. “These ones just have a temper too.” “Fine,” Zel said, playing with a stray lock of hair dangling on her forehead. “But if we come across that thing and this doesn't work, you're bug food.” Kyrinna scoffed. “Shut up, nerd, it'll work.” She gave the bulb a quick squeeze, and a faintly sweet scent was already floating over it. “How's your throwing arm?” Zel shrugged, taking the bulb in her hand. “Well, this isn't what I'm usually throwing, but...” With a sharp grunt, she hurled the bulb skyward, easily clearing the forest canopy. Kyrinna couldn't help but be impressed. “Why are you staring, Syrup?” “Oh...well, that was a great throw, even better than I expected.” Zel grinned and parted her coat, revealing two belts full of throwing knives, one across her waist and one running diagonally along her chest. “I've been practicing,” she bragged, even as a slight rosy hue flooded into her cheeks. “But enough about me...I'm armed and have a lamp. You're in a torn dress with no light and no weapons. Are you, like, okay?” [[Previous|Page 7]] | [[Next|Page 9]]

Kyrinna gasped. This was her in. She tried to hide her delight, and channel it into something more taciturn. “Well,” she gasped, “my parents died, and I'm on the run.” If Zel took the two events to be connected, she'd be mistaken, but technically, Kyrinna hadn't lied to her. “It was all so sudden, I...I couldn't bring anything with me.” This, too, was a true statement. “So maybe I'm not okay, but...” The sadness that hung from the edges of her voice like a tablecloth was also genuine, though she mourned the loss of her laboratory more than anything. “...I will be, okay?” Zel sucked in a deep breath and took a step toward Kyrinna. “Yikes,” Zel said, reaching over to squeeze Kyrinna's hand. “Long night, huh? Well, you just help keep the hunter claw away, we'll get you out of here.” Kyrinna nodded. “Thanks. The manebraids and the rope are your job, though. So let's hear your plan, huh?” [[Previous|Page 8]] | [[Next|Page 10]]

## Chapter 3 Kyrinna had never seen a manebraid den before. “So this spiral along the side of the hole,” she whispered, following Zel downward, “did they dig this?” Zel laughed, quickly covering her mouth. “No, this is probably a natural sinkhole,” she replied. “Something like that. They piled up all that brush they're sleeping in, though!” She took a deep breath and added, “Mm, the trees around the sides give it a really dark and comfy feel, huh? Not even the moonlight gets in here.” “They hate light that bad, huh?” Zel nodded, barely visible in front of Kyrinna. “Even a simple torch is blinding to them.” “Hence the plan.” Kyrinna walked in silence for a bit, listening to the soft scrape of her and Zel's right hands, as they kept them pressed to the wall to guide them into the hole. “Pretty sneaky, Zel. I like it.” Kyrinna noticed Zel's pace falter for just a moment. “Thanks, Syrup,” she eventually said. “But now we gotta talk about your plan. That tree branch...you're sure it's enough? You realize when the light comes on, these things are gonna climb right up these walls...like, good luck if you're in front of one, you know?” Kyrinna scoffed and hefted the branch in her left hand. She'd snagged it from a fallen tree along the way, specifically for its whip-like nature. She'd be able to draw blood with just a flick of the wrist. She'd had prior experience with similar tools, though her targets then were much less mobile. “It's not the best tool for this job, but that's why I've got other plans, isn't it?” “True.” Zel froze in place, letting out a soft groan as Kyrinna bumped into her. “This should be far enough for me. Don't worry, just walk a little further and I'll cover you from above. Just stick to the plan.” [[Previous|Page 9]] | [[Next|Page 11]]

Zel placed something in Kyrinna's hand, causing her to gasp and nearly drop it. The stone had been heavier than she was expecting, but as she tumbled it along her fingers, she understood well enough. “You're gonna throw a knife at this flint?” she asked. “Trust me, okay?” was the only answer Zel offered. She didn't have a choice but to trust Zel, but if she had, Kyrinna wasn't sure if she would or not. Sure, Zel could throw for distance, but accuracy was something she hadn't proven yet. But they were too deep in a hole in the ground full of wild animals to be having second thoughts. She got in position, took a glance toward where she thought Zel would be, and fumbled a bit looking for the first chunk of flint. With a small grunt, she tossed the stone down into the hole, where the manebraids were likely sleeping. She heard the soft thump of its landing, and the rustling of the leaves it had fallen into. Almost immediately afterward, another sound came from the same spot, sounding similar to a rock falling onto another rock. But Kyrinna knew better, especially from the small red dot that had formed below her. Before long, a small fire had started in the manebraids' den, crawling along a small bit of fabric tied around the handle of a throwing knife. Zel had done it, a literal shot in the dark. Kyrinna couldn't help but be impressed. As the fire spread to the leaves and twigs littering the den, the smell of burning sap rose from Zel's knife. The smell only intensified when a vermillionaire bulb fell among the tinder, flaring up almost instantly. Kyrinna knew Zel had tossed it in, but she hadn't bothered to look. Instead, she watched the manebraids get dazzled and disoriented by the bright flames. They bumped into walls and other manebraids in their panic. Kyrinna's lips tugged themselves upward into a sadistic smile at the sight. “Showtime!” Zel shouted, her coat blending into the shadows. [[Previous|Page 10]] | [[Next|Page 12]]

Kyrinna mostly watched the white of Zel's sleeves as she jumped toward the fire, waving an arm through the air. But this was no greeting; Kyrinna gasped as throwing knives glinted softly in the firelight. At least three of them sliced through the air and landed in the bodies of the disoriented manebraids. The pitiful creatures were easy targets in their state. One was caught square in the neck and collapsed instantly. The others took less lethal blows, letting out panic-stricken yowls as they picked a direction and ran. Zel landed on the ground near one of the less afflicted felines. Right away, she rolled away from its lunging claws. The manebraid eyed her suspiciously, all the better for Kyrinna to approach from behind and lash its hind leg, crumpling it. The hole was filled with a cacophony of shuffling feet, crackling fire, and Kyrinna's laughter. Above it all, however, Zel kept her cool. Her awareness and reflexes kept her safe from harm, as did her thick clothes. What few manebraids could come close to scratching her got their claws stuck in the fabric of her coat as it fluttered away from them, and her along with it. It was all Kyrinna could do to keep up. As well as Zel was doing, Kyrinna wanted to prove her worth. It was a strange exhilaration, having a name and a face to live up to. It was a rush she was familiar with, with the work she did in the lab, but something about this field work was different. She couldn't possibly match Zel's athleticism, but her analytical eye gave her some idea on where to aim her branch whip. Her job was to slow the manebraids down, not to engage directly. Fortunately for her, Zel was hollering and making enough of a scene that few if any eyes were on her. This gave Kyrinna the freedom she needed to skirt around the outside of the battlefield and keep an eye on the looming shadow at the top of the hole. “Wait, what?” Kyrinna gasped aloud, skidding to a stop. [[Previous|Page 11]] | [[Next|Page 13]]

The light of the flame illuminated a curved blade swinging up, then down, digging into the soil alongside a second sickle as six thin green legs slid into place, dark green needles sewing a terrible feeling in the pit of Kyrinna's stomach. “Zel!” she shouted. “Hunter claw! I think the burning sap at—“ Kyrinna felt an icy grip crush her as its eyes followed the sound of her voice, two rubies glinting in the light, their facets hiding the murderous instinct behind them. “Aw, crap!” Zel groaned. She planted a boot in a nearby manebraid's face, leaping off it to reach higher ground. “Now what?” “Do you have any more of those resin knives?” Kyrinna watched Zel nod, even as the woman's eyes kept both the manebraids and the hunter claw in check. “Throw one at it! Like, not directly, but—“ “Got it!” To Kyrinna's eye, it looked as if Zeltencia's hand barely moved, and yet in less than a second, she could hear the knife slamming into a tree trunk near the hunter claw. It let out a horrible chittering noise as it turned to the knife with its upper body, its legs still stuck in the dirt. The claw hunter then shot something toward the tree with frightening speed, wood splintering under the duress of some sort of tube sticking out of its head. “See, Zel?” Kyrinna shouted, pointing at the claw hunter. “It's snacking on the sap from the knife!” She only got a disgusted groan in reply. “C'mon, Zel, it's nature! Just hurry up and get what you came here for!” “Right...!” Kyrinna stole a glance down at her ally, as she sawed at the creatures' manes with one of her knives. The ones that had stuck around had no choice, since the fire made them too panicked and disoriented to climb out. The rest had simply bailed, some of them catching a death glare from the claw hunter as they scurried past. Eventually, Zel flashed a thumbs-up to Kyrinna. “Got 'em, Syrup,” she yelled, “now let's cheese it!” [[Previous|Page 12]] | [[Next|Page 14]]

In the time it took for them to scamper along the path out of the hole, however, the claw hunter had finished its meal. Unfortunately for the duo, their path went right by the fiend, and its gaze was transfixed on them. “Great,” Kyrinna sighed, putting her improvised weapon away. A whip wouldn't do anything to the giant insect's carapace. “Got any more sap knives?” “Nope,” Zel groaned. She did, however, have three knives in her right hand already, pinched between the fingers. “Any other plans, or are we throwin' down right now?” “I don't see any way around this but—oh...!” Kyrinna pointed at Zel's knives. “Throwing down, I just got that.” She gave a chuckle and continued. “Keep moving, I'll try to figure something out.” Zel shook her head, then threw her knives at the hunter claw. Two of them hit it, but bounced off to no effect. The third stuck into a nearby tree. “I don't like this,” she said, ducking a sickle swipe. “Think faster, will you?” Kyrinna groaned, pacing around a little bit. She was calm and analytical, but something about the immediate danger of the situation made her feel jittery, like bits and pieces of the solution were falling out of her mind as she grasped for them. Meanwhile, Zel was light on her feet, though some of the unnecessary spins and flourishes she'd performed in the manebraids' den were lost here. Kyrinna wasn't sure if it signaled fatigue or fear, but either one would lead to a mistake if she didn't think of something fast. Finally, something came to her. Nothing permanent, but at least a relief. Kyrinna ran to the knife that had been lodged in the tree. With a grunt, she pulled it out. “Hey, nerd!” she screamed, tossing the knife at the claw hunter. Her heart nearly stopped as its compound eyes glared at her, and it clicked a reply as it shifted its body toward her. The knife, useless as it was when Zel threw it, was even worse when propelled by Kyrinna's arm, not even hitting blade-first. [[Previous|Page 13]] | [[Next|Page 15]]

“What are you doing?” Zel hissed. Kyrinna ignored the question and yelled at the claw hunter some more. “You want a piece of me, huh? I bet them legs taste real good on the inside! A little butter, some—“ The claw hunter moved her way with surprising speed, startling a short scream out of her. She walked backwards, quickly tripping over a tree root. The trip saved her life, as the claw hunter took a horizontal swipe at her that missed her face by a couple inches at most. Another scream ripped free from Kyrinna as the insect's sickle came at her vertically. It hit a tree, which slowed it considerably, enough for Kyrinna to scramble sideways. She glanced at the tree; the cut left in it was deep and free of splinters. Had it been horizontal, the tree would surely have fallen. “Wait, that's it!” Kyrinna exclaimed. She screamed again as the claw hunter continued its pursuit, managing to hook its claw on her dress with another swing. “Zel!” Zeltencia answered with two knives, one plinking against the back of the claw hunter's head, and the other sending Kyrinna's dress aflutter as it whizzed by. The creature skittered back toward Zel, who glanced around it to check on Kyrinna. “What's it?” she asked. “This thing can chop down trees!” “So what?” Kyrinna groaned and found one of the knives Zel had thrown to save her. Then she tossed it at the claw hunter, snatching its attention anew. [[Previous|Page 14]] | [[Next|Page 16]]

The hunter claw raised one of its blades to strike. Kyrinna took the chance to eyeball the length of the implement one more time. She nodded, did the math in her head, and stood a little closer than that length away from a nearby tree. True to her plan, the killer bug swiped sideways, attempting to take off Kyrinna's head. She gasped and ducked away from the blow, and laughed a little at the sound of the tree being ripped apart. The awful sounds continued as the tree ripped itself in two under its own weight, tilting toward Kyrinna and the claw hunter. “Get some, nerd!” Kyrinna yelled, running to the side at the last moment, allowing the claw hunter to be squashed by the falling tree. She put her arm over her face as its gooey yellow-green innards splashed the immediate area, quickly splattering against her clothes. Only Grandma Syrup's secrets kept the bug guts off her. All she had to do was hold still and let them run off her. “C'mon, Syrup,” Zel said, laughing and pointing at her, “it's nature!” [[Previous|Page 15]] | [[Next|Page 17]]

## Chapter 4 “So,” Kyrinna began, nearly stopping when Zel jumped a bit. “What brought you out here, Zel? The forest seems kinda dangerous to be alone in.” Zeltencia laughed and shook her head, and began talking while walking, while still braiding together rope by hand. “Where'd I find you again?” she asked. “Well, anyway, you saw that fire on the back of my coat, right? That's our logo.” “Who is—“ “Night Watch.” Zel nodded with satisfaction as she reached the end of the manebraid hair in her hands. She stopped walking and talking for a moment to put it away and start a new one. “I mean, it's always night in Tenesoir, but that just means our job's never done. Not like those Church goons and their silly stories of some 'daylight'.” “O...kay.” Kyrinna shrugged, glancing along the path through the field, hoping not to see anyone from the Church, especially not that prick Eyron. She and Zel were no longer in the forest—Guillotine Wood, Zel had called it, apparently a name meant to warn wanderers about the claw hunters—and they'd be easy pickings for any templars that might have been on the road. But the only travelers she saw were normal enough, merchants and pilgrims and families, most of which were guarded by mercenaries. “Your job's never done, but...uh, what's your job?” One of Zel's hands flicked away from the rope for a short moment, just long enough to gently hit Kyrinna across the chest. “How do you not know? The Night Watch is made up of volunteer hunters, survivalists, folks like that...you're not the first or last person to get lost in the woods like that, you know. Or those vanguards—“ Zel paused to wave to one of the mercenaries in question, who took one hand off their battleaxe to return the gesture. “—sometimes they bite off more than they can chew. After all, there's some nasty things that live in the deepest darkness.” “The Phantoms.” This part, Kyrinna knew well enough. [[Previous|Page 16]] | [[Next|Page 18]]

After Zel had called her a moron back in the woods, Kyrinna was eager to prove her knowledge on Phantoms. “Sometimes it's not just dark," she began. "Sometimes the night gets thick like a mist. And that's where the most fell beasts live, the kind no one lives to tell the tale about.” Zel shrugged. “Bit more flowery than I would've phrased it,” she teased, “but yeah, those. The Night Watch's mission is to venture into the wilderness and make things safer for everyone.” Kyrinna nodded slowly. The explanation made it hit home, just how fit and knowledgeable Zel had to be. “It's impressive to be doing that all by yourself,” she said. “No, I...” Zel trailed off, her gaze fixated on the rope in her hands. “You what?” Zel stopped walking and sighed into the air. “I wasn't alone, Syrup. It was a few nights ago that I...I lost my partner. We always travel in pairs, at least. I was paired with a fresh-faced little guy. Mikari, think his name was...I really liked the sound of it. He was on point, because he was quick on his feet and even quicker with the shortsword.” Zel's voice quivered a little as she continued. “He was out in front of me, when suddenly...I don't know, it's like the ground opened up under him. He fell right down this hole, and I—“ “Oh no,” Kyrinna blurted. She remembered very suddenly where she'd seen the emblem on Zel's back before. She'd built traps to deter visitors, maybe claim them for an experiment or two. One of those traps was a hidden chute leading to the cell in the laboratory basement. Granted, based on her autopsy, he'd died on impact with the cobblestone floor, and it would've been wasteful not to harvest his organs, but Kyrinna doubted any of that would make Zel feel better. [[Previous|Page 17]] | [[Next|Page 19]]

“I mean...it just all sounds so sudden,” Kyrinna gasped. “I'm sorry, Zel. Doesn't sound like it was your fault, though.” Zel sighed. “I could have done more! The hole was so cramped and dark and...ugh, I just can't, I feel so awful just thinking about jumping in there. But...if only I could...maybe I could've—” Kyrinna shook her head, pulling one of Zel's hands away from the braiding work to squeeze it reassuringly. “But if he never came back out...like, there must have been something nasty on the other side to catch a guy like him. It's probably better you didn't, because...well, it saved your life, I'd bet.” “Syrup...” Kyrinna gasped as Zeltencia reeled her in for a very sudden and very tight embrace. She hadn't seen an attack like this before, nor had Zel indicated she'd be lunging in like that. Kyrinna struggled a bit to break free, but Zel was undeterred. “...do you not like hugs?” Zel asked, her voice suddenly soft. “I-is that what this is?” “Yes...?” Zel chuckled a bit and relaxed her arms, releasing Kyrinna. “You know, Syrup, I don't always understand you...but you sure seem like a good egg.” She didn't believe it, but that wasn't the first thing she'd hid from Zel. Kyrinna decided to split the difference, and beckon Zel back in for another one of those hug things. As the two of them hugged it out, Kyrinna processed what she'd heard about the Night Watch. Extended time away from civilization, studying and hunting of exotic creatures, an armed escort...it sounded perfect. She'd be able to lay low while the heat from the Church died down, crafting an assumed identity and alibi, maybe making some income off it. “Can I join the Night Watch?” Kyrinna finally asked. [[Previous|Page 18]] | [[Next|Page 20]]

Zel pulled away from the embrace to look at Kyrinna. “Syrup," she said, "it's okay, you don't have to, like, replace Mikari.” “It's not that,” Kyrinna admitted. That much was true; as bad as she felt for the pain it was causing Zel, she didn't exactly feel obligated to fix the gap in the roster that her trap door had made. “It's just...I know a thing or two about nature, and about medicine. My grandma made medicines and things like that.” It was a front for straight-up witchcraft, not that it mattered. The Church had deemed those medicines to be witchcraft themselves. “I'm not as good a fighter as you, but...I really helped you out back there, didn't I?” The two of them walked in silence for a few minutes. Zel, between her rope-braiding and thinking of Kyrinna's offer, started doing a much worse job of watching where she was going, and was nearly run over by a merchant's cart. “Watch it, lady!” the driver yelled, even as Kyrinna took Zel's arm and guided her out of harm's way. “...I'd have been boned if you weren't there,” Zel eventually admitted. “Boned?” Kyrinna repeated. “You know...hosed? Screwed? Rammed?” When all these failed to get a reaction from Kyrinna, Zel simply shrugged. “Well, whatever. Point is, you saved my life. Turns out you know a thing or two. I think I'm the only member to walk away from a claw hunter with all my pieces still put together, besides the Chief. And if you hadn't told me about how they eat sweet things...if you hadn't dunked that tree on it...I'm just not into what-ifs, but I especially don't wanna think about that one.” “What do you—“ “You do you, Syrup. But if you do want to join us, I'll put in a good word.” Kyrinna was thankful for the support, but irritated by Zel having interrupted her so frequently. [[Previous|Page 19]] | [[Next|Page 21]]

“In the end," Zel concluded, "it's up to the Chief whether you can join the Night Watch or not. I don't know if she'll see the value in an egghead like you—“ Kyrinna gave Zel a playful slug in the shoulder, but it didn't stop the sentence at all. “—but hey, if you apply and she says no...that's the same as not applying, right?” “I guess so,” Kyrinna mumbled. After a short pause, Zel flagged down another traveler going in the opposite direction. Behind the portly young man was a rugged steed, some scaly thing with an enormous shell. The shell didn't seem to weigh it down, so much as the large trunk lashed to its back, overflowing with various bits of cloth. “Hey, fella!” Zel greeted the man, jutting a thumb toward the trunk. “You got clothes in there I could buy my friend here?” Zel met Kyrinna's gaze and added, “She's got a job interview comin' up, and she...can't dress like that to it.” [[Previous|Page 20]] | [[Next|Page 22]]

“This is the new blood, huh?” the Chief asked, leaning in to stare at Kyrinna. Zel had been nice enough to find a plain and durable dress that melded her usual style with the sort of impression the Night Watch would be looking for. Even so, she couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in her tan combat boots as the Chief glared at her. Even when the Chief's long black hair fell in front of her green eyes, Kyrinna could feel herself burning up under the intensity of the appraisal. “She's a twig.” “Can it, nerd,” Kyrinna barked. She wasn't about to let anyone talk to her like that, even if they were some boss or whatever. “I've got the most important muscle there is, you know.” Kyrinna tapped her temple, pointing to her brain, and added, “And I work it harder than you've pushed any bicep or whatever.” The Chief was dressed in a very form-fitting cuirass that left the dark skin of her arms exposed. It made it easy for Kyrinna to see the arm muscles tensing up, and to get a hand up where she could block the incoming blow. It was a feint, however, and the Chief's punch was rerouted into swinging an elbow a few inches in front of Kyrinna. “Reflexes are good, I'll give you that. But if your partner goes down in a fight, what good are you?” “Ma'am, if I may,” Zeltencia cut in from the corner of the Chief's office, “Syrup killed the hunter claw running amok in the Guillotine Wo—“ “I read the report, von Trepe.” The Chief shook her head and kept her gaze on Kyrinna. “Bit of an unusual weapon, dropping a whole tree on it, but it sure got the job done, didn't it?” The Chief's eyes flicked over to Zel for a moment. “That what you were gonna say?” Zel nodded, and the Chief looked back to Kyrinna. “Listen,” Kyrinna said, putting a hand on her hip, “if you've got some kinda written test, I'll ace it. Then you'll know I know my stuff.” The Chief opened her mouth to speak, but Kyrinna cut her off. “Hey, you asked, if my partner went down, what good would I be? Well, if they don't just die instantly, I know what to do...broken bone, frill rat venom, disembowelment, you name it, I got a cure for it.” [[Previous|Page 21]] | [[Next|Page 23]]

In a way, the sort of medicine Kyrinna would be practicing in the Night Watch is exactly what she had been studying before the Church flushed her out of her laboratory. If she'd finished her experiments on the Invincible, then no one in the group would have to worry about some silly old disembowelment. But she couldn't really tell the Chief any of that. Instead, she leaned her body to the other side, the chainmail sewn to her dress jingling softly as she put a hand on her left hip. “Grandma always said, 'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' That's my strategy, Chief...I know things like what hunter claws eat so that I don't have to sew anyone's arm back on. But if I really have to, Grandma taught me how to sew, too.” The Chief leaned back a little, rubbing her chin in thought. “Grandma, you said...was her name Syrup too, by chance?” she asked. “Yeah...” Kyrinna bit her lip, but she realized a bit too late that she'd said too much. If need be, her lineage could be easily traced, and her real name would inevitably come out of that to a studious enough observer. “...shame what the Church did to her.” The sentiment shocked Kyrinna into staring at the Chief, as she in turn stared at the ceiling of her outpost office. “Didn't seem like witchcraft...I wouldn't care if it was. I wouldn't care if it was sweat she wrang out from her undergarments. Whatever it was she put into those potions and balms was a miracle.” Suddenly, the Chief hoisted herself up onto her desk and unhooked the greaves from one of her legs, revealing a badly scarred section of skin from ankle to knee. “Used to have trouble walking,” she explained, “like my muscles just wouldn't hold me up. I hurt myself a lot trying, and my folks just couldn't stand to watch me suffer anymore. There were always rumors, of course...some old tart that lived out in the woods, mixing up cauldrons full of Scintilla knows what.” The Chief threw herself off her desk, bending her knees deeply before standing straight again. “Not only did she heal me, she sent my folks off with some kinda cream, because she knew I'd wanna go play on my new legs. So of course I'd still fall, get scrapes and cuts, and this stuff...it'd sting when I put it on, but then I'd feel great the next night.” [[Previous|Page 22]] | [[Next|Page 24]]

Kyrinna flashed the Chief a grin. She knew the ointment in question, a simple antiseptic that could be prepared by novice alchemists. “Crush the petals of one vermillionaire,” she recited from memory, putting her arms behind her back and standing up straight. “Mix with the gel inside two star herbs, and the oils of two lavandula flowers, bring to a rolling boil. Grandma used a little rendered animal fat to give it some consistency.” She left out the pinch of magic that went into the recipe, but many held a stigma against that sort of thing. It didn't seem worth sharing. “Give me a half-decent alembic for the lavandula oil, and I could mix that up in my sleep.” “Tell you what.” The Chief leaned in close to Kyrinna, holding her head in a way that Kyrinna couldn't see her mouth. But it was too late; Kyrinna had already seen the smile there. “You brew this stuff up, we try it out...I sent some other new blood to Gorgeman's Den, they'll probably come back in a night or two with some scrapes and aches. If you treat what they come back with successfully, we'll—“ “If?” Kyrinna interrupted, pushing the Chief's face away from hers a bit. “C'mon, you might as well size me for one of those rad coats like Zel wears.” “This, um, isn't a uniform or anything,” Zel mumbled from the corner. “I just...I like long coats.” [[Previous|Page 23]] | [[Next|Page 25]]

## Chapter 5 “Ugh, gross,” Zel said, yelling over the suction sounds her boots made as she stepped through the mud. “Syrup, why here...?” Kyrinna shook her head. “Because,” she answered, moving swiftly due to her lighter clothes, “star herbs only grow in these quote-unquote 'gross' swamps like the Marsh of Illusion here.” Kyrinna's lab coat was treated with a hydrophobic compound. It kept the mud off her just as easily as it had the hunter claw's innards. Even so, the boots Zel bought her made this her smoothest traipse through the Marsh yet. She took a glance backward, trying her best to see Zel through the heat shimmer given off by the goop that filled the marsh. The air in the place was thick, and smelled strongly of methane. It was a smell that wasn't lost on Zel, judging by the fact that she covered her mouth with one hand and made a wading motion with the other. “There's no place to, like, buy these herbs or whatever?” Judging by the way Zel pulled on her coat and sighed at the mess now covering it, Kyrinna suddenly wished she had more of that hydrophobic compound to share. Kyrinna clicked her tongue as she reached an island in the muck, and turned to pull Zel up onto it. “Attitude like that is why I'm the medicine woman and you're the one with a belt full of circus tricks.” “Hey!” Zel flung her coat open and put her hands on her hips, leaving her throwing knives exposed. She'd have looked a lot cooler without the mud caking the ends of her coat. “How many manebraids did you kill? And how many did these 'circus tricks' kill?” Kyrinna gave no answer, already moving to a nearby plant. “That's what I thought.” Kyrinna was already ignoring her. [[Previous|Page 24]] | [[Next|Page 26]]

“One, two, three, four," Kyrinna muttered to herself. "Crap, these won't work.” “What?” Kyrinna looked to her side to see Zel crouch down next to the plant in question, and pluck the whole thing from the ground. “It looks just like the star plant you told me about. Kinda thick and rough, and I bet if I snap these leaf-things open, th—“ “Don't!” Kyrinna snapped. “That's a rookie mistake, Zel. Star herbs are five-pointed plants. That thing is fool's herb, and it's poisonous.” Zel shrieked and flung the fool's herb into the bog. “What? And you let me pick it?” Kyrinna gently patted Zel's shoulder and rose back to her feet, “You'll be fine.” As the two of them pushed through some thick, bulbous ferns, she added, “Just handling the plant raw, your skin might itch, at worst.” After a brief pause, for Zel to hack some of the plants out of their path, she let out a small groan. “Aw, what the hay. We've got time...tell me more about these plants. So this fool's herb stuff is itchy...but you said it was poisonous. I hate being itchy, but...that's not very poisonous, is it?” “That,” Kyrinna spat as she hiked herself over a fallen tree, “is why the potion has three ingredients. The lavandula oil gives the star herb gel more potency. We could just buy the lavandula...the quality of the star herb is the important part. But you go and pick fool's herb by mistake, and put that gel together with lavandula oil, and it gets nasty!” Kyrinna cackled with glee as she added, “We're talking boils, dry and cracked skin...some people react so badly that you can rub a finger along their arm, and the skin would come right off!” It took Kyrinna a bit to notice the smile that had spread across her face, from getting to talk about something she was so interested and knowledgeable in “You know,” she continued, “for awhile, every fen witch and hedge wizard was just throwing lavandula and star herb in a big cauldron. It was Grandma who found that vermillionaire could really stretch out the effects, and make one salve go a lot farther.” [[Previous|Page 25]] | [[Next|Page 27]]

Zel nodded and ran a bit to catch back up with Kyrinna. “Man," she said, "your gran really knew her stuff. What'd the Church d—sorry, no, that's inappropriate.” As much as Kyrinna appreciated the filter Zel tried putting on herself, it wasn't something she was shy about sharing. “Apparently," she said with a huff, "there's only one Church-approved school of magic, and that's the light of their goddess Scintilla. Really, I think they just want to corner the market on healing the sick. Once you do that, you can charge whatever you want, right?” “...maybe? I don't have a head for business.” Kyrinna gave a short, sardonic laugh. “I do, but so does the Church. Grandma did, but then they put her to the guillotine.” “For making potions?” Zel let out a quiet groan when she saw yet another pool of mud ahead. “Overdoing it a bit, aren't they?” “Yeah, well, you fake up charges of human sacrifice, try to taint her medicine with fool's herb, and let a couple angry townsfolk throw in some false testimony to get some revenge...suddenly it's not just 'for making potions' anymore, now, is it? I mean, they declared her simple medicines to be heresies too, but they were really out for blood.” Kyrinna couldn't help but laugh a little as Zel struggled through the mire. The joke had worn thin, though, and she was on a deadline, so she changed course to a nearby rock to coach Zel. “C'mon, Zel,” she coached, “widen your stance a little, bend your knees. I thought you were the outdoors type.” “Yeah, in forests, plains...not sticky slimy marshes! How do you deal this stuff?” Kyrinna brushed a lock of brown hair out of her eyes. “Like I said, this is where star herb is. And a lot of people hate places like this, which makes them good hiding spots when the Church starts asking too many...” “Too many wha—“ “Shh,” Kyrinna hissed. “Someone else is here.” [[Previous|Page 26]] | [[Next|Page 28]]

Kyrinna turned back to Zel, shaking her head a bit at the clumsy gait she witnessed. “Don't rush your steps," she told Zel quietly. "You have to think of it like you're pushing the mud away with your legs.” Zel nodded and looked down a bit. She couldn't see through the mire, of course, but it seemed to help her focus on her method, so Kyrinna waved it off and resumed listening to the other person. She could only catch a word here and there, though. “Hey,” Zel whispered, “who is it?” Kyrinna shook her head. “Don't know. But I'm hearing stuff about 'loot' and getting 'rich'...probably not a fen witch, huh?” “Thieves, maybe.” Kyrinna slid back into the swamp, letting Zel take the rock for a bit. “I think I see a light over there.” She plucked a small rock out of her bandolier and tossed it in the direction Kyrinna had been listening to. The quiet plop that ensued would've sounded like a popping bubble of gas to an untrained ear, but Kyrinna knew her bogs. The sound refined her orientation a little, and she led the way through the muck to get closer to investigate. “...out for the Church?” Kyrinna heard a man ask as she moved in. “In dat armor?” a woman's voice replied. “Dey's too heavy, see? They'd sink in da swamp. No way we're gonna get busted by them chumps.” “Sure makes it a pain to haul the loot, though.” “Hey, don't you worry 'bout dat none. When da Cuprina Brigade's made da big leagues, we'll have one o'dem fancy airship things, ya know.” “Those are just stories, boss. If there was such a thing, the Church would park one right on our heads.” [[Previous|Page 27]] | [[Next|Page 29]]

“Hey,” Zel whispered from beside Kyrinna. “What's the plan?” Kyrinna shook her head. “They're two-bit thieves,” she ascertained. “We're not the law...wait, are we? Does the Night Watch have that kind of...” Kyrinna trailed off as she saw Zel shake her head. “Then we avoid them, get our star herbs, and get out of here.” “That doesn't feel right...I mean, the Night Watch keeps the wilds safe. Highwaymen fall into the category of 'unsafe', even if we'd need the Church or town guards to formally make the arrest.” Kyrinna sighed as the brigand's lantern made a sudden motion, causing the light cast on the ferns to shift wildly. “I don't think that's up to us.” She could see they were too close; even if they tried to creep away, the rustling of the flora would give them away, same as it did for the approaching thieves. By the time they were found, Kyrinna and Zel had stood up straight, weapons at the ready. “Who are you guys?” the female brigand asked. She wore boots that came up to her knees, and shorts that made no effort to meet said boots. Her upper body was partially covered in a cloth strap, its brown complementing the blond hair tumbling down her back. She shifted in place a bit, glowering at the duo. “Well? Ain't dat hard a question, innit?” “Easy, nerd,” Kyrinna snarled. The thief may have stood a head taller than everyone else, but Kyrinna wasn't intimidated by that. She was used to being the runt—not that that wasn't a problem a bone saw couldn't solve. Still, she wasn't hung up on the law; she had no problem letting the thief go. “Just an alchemist looking for star herb.” The thief nodded toward Zel. “Awfully well-armed for alchin'.” Zel opened her mouth to speak, but Kyrinna cut her off. “It's Tenesoir. It's dangerous out here.” “Girl, you's don't know da half of it.” [[Previous|Page 28]] | [[Next|Page 30]]

Before Kyrinna could even tell the source of it, the thief had produced a ball of dazzling light aimed squarely at Zel. Zel's reflexes seemed unhindered by the extra weight of the mud on her clothes; she managed to roll out of the way just fine. The light slammed into a nearby log, shattering it into splinters. Kyrinna looked back at the thief, who was brandishing some kind of wand at her. “Animals sure is dangerous," she said as she gave a small shrug, "but I'm worse, see?” Kyrinna slowly nodded, dropping her battle stance and putting her club away. She'd wanted a different weapon, but as a provisional member, the Night Watch had only given her a simple truncheon. It wouldn't do her much good against the thieves. “Yeah, yeah. Listen...I was even telling my friend here, we'd just leave you be.” “She was!” Zel interjected. “See? So let's shake hands, nice to meet you...and just kinda go our own ways, yeah?” The thief shook her head. “No dice, alchie. You's just gonna rat us out to da Church, ain't ya? Well, no one pulls a fast one on Cydia Myssil! We—“ “Boss!” Cydia's cohort barked. “You just gave them your name...” “I what?” Cydia stood motionless for a bit, then slapped her own face. “Aw, crap. See, now you's two know too much, an' I gotta merc ya. Sorry, dem's da breaks.” Kyrinna rolled her eyes and drew her club again. “The only one that's getting broken here is you, nerd!” she said, taking a step ahead and pointing the tip of the club at Cydia. Cydia raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Interestin'. How's about we go one-on-one, huh?” Cydia waved her own crony away without even waiting for an answer. Kyrinna smiled. They were splitting up; they'd be easier to keep track of that way. She nodded and motioned for Zel to follow the guy, which seemed to amuse Cydia. “Didn't think ya'd cop to it, alchie.” With that, the two flung themselves at one another and started the fight in earnest. [[Previous|Page 29]] | [[Next|Page 31]]

Right away, Kyrinna knew the trick with Cydia's magic wand, and the glow it gave off made it trivial to stay away from its business end. As much as Zel relied on reflexes, Kyrinna had geometry on her side. Zel and the other thief kept the area well-lit. Kyrinna strung Cydia up with imaginary lines, assuming linear travel paths for the blasts from the thief's wand. The twitch in her arm gave away her next big plan, which involved leading out Kyrinna, shooting where she'd be rather than where she was. The sort of planning that went into leading her shots worried Kyrinna a bit; that meant that Cydia was doing some math of her own. “A'ight, dis ain't workin,” Cydia groaned, tossing her wand into the woods and striking an unarmed stance. “Don't need it!” She charged Kyrinna with surprising speed, and threw a haymaker that was barely blocked by the club. She grimaced a bit and shook her right hand even as she swung with her left, catching Kyrinna in the side. By then, Cydia's right was well enough to dart in and grab Kyrinna by her pigtails. She yanked Kyrinna into a headbutt. The world started to spin around Kyrinna as she teetered backwards. “Don't give up!” she could hear Zel shouting, but the direction was hard to pin down while she was still reeling. Kyrinna stopped and shook it off, just in time to notice Cydia go on the offense again. This time, she had a feel for the thief's speed, and managed to get her club in a two-handed swing. She felt a rush of adrenaline as the club met Cydia's skull with a satisfying crack. “Get bent, nerd!” she taunted as she pressed the advantage. She caught Cydia's cheek with an upward swing during a short hop, and as she landed, she swung the club downward. The second strike was blocked by Cydia's arm, and to Kyrinna's shock, the thief's arm was suddenly lined with thorns that had stuck through the club, holding it in place. She couldn't wrench it free, so she had no choice but to fall back. “Hey, no fair!” Zel called out from the sidelines. “Where'd you get spikes?” The spines retreated into Cydia's skin, and she turned to Zel to laugh and shrug a bit. “Quilladillo, of course! No way I'm your first wildspeaker!” [[Previous|Page 30]] | [[Next|Page 32]]

“Wildspeaker?” Kyrinna repeated. Her confidence and adrenaline seemed to flood out of her in an instant. Zel groaned. “Hey, nice word, guys,” she said, “what's it mean?” “Wildspeakers use a form of magic to mimic the powers of beasts,” Cydia's henchman answered from the opposite end of the impromptu arena. Zel wasn't keeping him away like Kyrinna had wanted, but he didn't seem interested in cutting in either. “They observe the natural defenses of—“ Cydia cut him off with a short bark of a laugh. “An' dis girl calls me da noid!” she said, throwing in a much longer laugh. “Hey, shut up!” Kyrinna called out. Cydia gave her a dirty look, one she returned instinctively. “Look at our lanterns.” Even as she pointed it out, Zel noticed the thick black clouds that rolled over the lamps. Of course she knew what the fog meant. “A Phantom!” she barked, knives already in her grip. “Aw, you's gotta be kiddin'!” Cydia groaned. “An' we was havin' fun...!” [[Previous|Page 31]] | [[Next|Page 33]]

## Chapter 6 “Hey,” Zel said, sidling up to Kyrinna as the dark fog swallowed the group. “You're the swamp expert here. What kind of Phantom lives in a place like this?” Kyrinna waved her closer, trying to form a circle of sorts with her and Cydia, all of them with their backs to one another. “Well, Grandma told me a story of a Phantom she saw many times,” she began. “A long, scaly body, teeth aplenty, the color of the swamp ooze...since we're in the woods a bit, we're probably safer, but—“ It was hard to feel safe as Cydia's underling gave a bloodcurdling scream from somewhere out in the ferns. There was a terrible racket of shouting and rustling, which very suddenly fell silent. “Crap,” Cydia spat as she and the others formed a line, looking toward the noise they'd heard. “Dat was my last stooge, see? Ain't much of a crime ring with one person.” “You'll be down to zero if you're not careful,” Zel retorted, holding a trio of knives between her fingers. True to Grandma Syrup's stories, the beast that stepped forth from the foliage was a terrible lizard. Its oversized teeth gaped its mouth slightly, making it look like it gave the trio an evil smile. Scales ran across its back, increasing in size up to the point where its head looked like the business end of a sledgehammer. The creature's breath came out as a low rumble, smelling strongly of swamp gas. Kyrinna popped her collar a bit to shield her face from the smell. “Okay,” she said as the beast slinked their way. “How about a truce?” “A truce?” Zel hissed. “With a criminal? How can we—“ Cydia interrupted Zel's spiel with a loud loogie. “Yeah, deal,” she replied quickly. “Now, how's we gonna do dis, huh?” [[Previous|Page 32]] | [[Next|Page 34]]

Zel shrugged and tossed a knife at the reptilian Phantom, and growled when it bounced harmlessly off its natural armor. “Well, Cydia," she began, "when we run into a problem we can't solve with my knives, we—“ “Yeah?” “—we just duck and dodge until my, uh, alchie friend can suss out a weakness.” Cydia balked. “You's two is a buncha amateurs.” With that, Cydia stepped forward, crossing her arms and slapping her shoulders, hollering something Kyrinna just didn't understand. Whatever it was, the noise attracted the monster's attention, causing it to creep closer, blood glinting on its rows of teeth. It approached Cydia slowly, then made a lunge at a terrifying speed that frightened Kyrinna even from afar. “Got 'em!” Cydia hollered, sprouting spikes on her arms again and swinging them in front of her. This seemed to change the monster's path a little, but was otherwise useless. “Crap!” Cydia ducked away from the gnashing teeth headed her way and rejoined the formation. Back up close, Kyrinna could see broken spines running along the bandit's arms. “Dat ain't good.” With that, she let out a short grunt, firing the spines outward. “Dat thing's got scales like armor everywhere!” “Well, yeah,” Zel groaned, readying more knives. “I kinda tried that.” “No, I was gonna get da eyes! Thing's got scales all on its face too!” Zel shrugged, spinning a knife on her left hand. “Ugh, that's true. So Syrup, got any plans yet?” Kyrinna stood deeply in thought for a bit, as the lizard chased Cydia around a little more. “Any night now, lady!” After a couple more pounces, Kyrinna gave a loud groan. “I dunno,” she admitted, “if I hadn't thrown that fool's herb away, maybe I'd poison it?” Zel shrugged. “Poison knives, huh?” she pondered aloud. “I'll...have to table that idea. So what do we do—“ “Get away from it!” [[Previous|Page 33]] | [[Next|Page 35]]

Kyrinna moved far to the side of the monster, motioning for everyone to follow her. She'd seen an odd glimmer in the Phantom's mouth that reminded her of Cydia's wand attacks. She hadn't quite expected a long, sustained gout of flame to disintegrate the foliage around them, but nor had she expected a visit from a Phantom to begin with. The fire seemed to glow solid white, and while she made moves to avoid it, she didn't want to lead the beast back to the mire. The foul-smelling gas so prevalent in the swamp was extremely flammable; that much, she remembered from a lantern-based mishap as a young child. “That's it!” Kyrinna gasped. “Quiet!” Cydia snapped. Kyrinna and Zel were moving quickly, but Cydia seemed to be doing the bare minimum. Instead, her eyes were locked intently on the creature. “Syrup, right? Did ya see what da thing did when it started da fire?” “Y...yeah...there was a small glimmer in its mouth. And the fumes from its snout...they smell like the flammable swamp ga—” “A-ha!” Cydia snapped her fingers and entered a wide stance. The beast stopped, and Kyrinna heard it take a sharp inhale of air. The bandit seemed to take that as her cue, and leapt in front of the beast. “How 'bout dat Swampfire, eh?” she sneered. Kyrinna ran over to get a better look, just in time to see Cydia's mouth light up the same way the monster's had. Cydia spat the spark from her mouth and let out a long exhale from her nose. The result was a tendril of flame that matched the beast's attack in heat, though not in duration. “Yikes!” Cydia sniffled a bit and wiped her nose with her wrist. “Spicy...!” “Cydia, you're a genius!” Kyrinna shouted. Zel gave her a confused and disapproving look, but she continued unfettered. “I mean, that wildspeaker stuff is top-notch...but also, this thing shoots fire out, so it must have combustible gas in its body to do that, right?” Cydia shrugged. “Eh, could be. Dependin' on what...'combubble' is, or whatever.” “Its stomach can catch fire, Cydia!” It was somewhere between a guess and an oversimplification, but Cydia seemed to understand all the same. “Ah, so dat's it...sneaky stuff, Syrup!” [[Previous|Page 34]] | [[Next|Page 36]]

Zel rolled away from a chomping attack. Kyrinna swore she felt the force of the Phantom's jaws slamming shut, even from afar. “Sounds good, Sy—“ A loud grunt fell from Zel's mouth as she ran toward a tree. She managed to even run up it for a couple steps before leaping away, vaulting cleanly over the Phantom. “But there's one problem! How do you get fire inside it...?” Kyrinna gulped, staring at the beast's maw as it eyed the three of them hungrily. “Well,” she began, “it does open pretty wide when it tries to eat someone...” “Hey, dat ain't no truce!” Cydia balked, slowing the lizard's advance with another hail of spikes. “Dat's just feedin' me to a Phantom, innit?” Kyrinna let out a growl and stepped forward. “Ugh, you've got so many spines, but not the one that matters!” “...I don't get it.” “Then get this!” Kyrinna brandished her club and swung it down on the beast's skull with both hands. The impact shook through her arms and likely rattled her more than it did her target, but the important part was that it got the thing to turn around. The smell of swamp gas was thick and cloying, and she could barely breathe as she faced the thing down. Both Zel and Cydia had stood before it, however, and she felt a strange compulsion to match their composure in the face of danger. She'd expected to get snapped at, but instead, the beast spun itself around in a quick circle, its tail sweeping Kyrinna's feet out from under her. She let out a yell, one quickly cut off by her landing. When her back hit the dirt, it knocked the wind out of her. Her mouth came open, and she sucked in ash that the fire-breathing had left behind. The coughing and sputtering wracking her body kept her in place, unable to move as the beast charged her. [[Previous|Page 35]] | [[Next|Page 37]]

“Leave my friend alone!” Zeltencia shouted. She began to skid through the ashes on her knees, her hand raking along the ground. The beast opened its jaws to snap at Kyrinna, and Zel's arm flung upward. For a split second, Kyrinna could see her club in Zel's hand, before it and the hand both disappeared into the beast's mouth. She let out a panicked scream as she felt its teeth caress her leg, once again lapsing into a coughing fit. However, she was amazed to see the thing's jaws fail to close; the sturdy club had jammed its mouth open just enough to save her. With one arm, Zel scooped Kyrinna close to her, cradling her tightly as she gave the ground a mighty shove with her other hand. This propelled her to her feet, and she scurried away from the monster, Kyrinna in tow. “Now, Cydia!” she commanded. “Breathe fire!” “Yeah, boy!” Cydia bellowed, flicking a few spikes at the monster's head. It dutifully turned her way, and she responded with a blast of Swampfire, as she'd called it earlier. The finger of flame pried its way into the lizard's mouth; it pressed its way deeper, and the beast thrashed in pain. Black smoke poured out from its mouth and nose as it threw a terrible fit. Its tantrum kicked up clouds of ash that Kyrinna winced away from, still short on breath. “C'mon, Cydia!” Zel shouted, still hauling Kyrinna around. “This is our chance to get outta here!” “Ain't gotta tell me twice!” With that, the three of them fled, leaving a pained and confused Phantom behind them. [[Previous|Page 36]] | [[Next|Page 38]]

“Dat was awesome!” Cydia cheered through fits of laughter, as the three of them spilled out onto a moor on the outskirts of the Marsh of Illusion. Kyrinna could only nod in reply. Her throat still burned, but the water Zel was helping her drink made it a little better. She made a mental note to pick up some dirtfruit and a little honey next chance she got. The combination made a sweet salve that soothed sore throats, yet another one of Grandma Syrup's recipes. She could barely register the note before she felt Zel leaning her against a tree. She watched as Zel stepped away from her, toward Cydia. “Awesome?” she spat. “Your partner died a pretty awful death...doesn't sound awesome to me!” Cydia scratched her head a bit, barely reacting to Zel grabbing her by the shoulders. “Well, yeah, dat part ain't great. But we ain't dead...and dem moves you an' your alchie friend got, dose are da real deal, eh?” Zel stole a glance back at Kyrinna, and she did her best to smile. It was hard to fake, considering the pain her chest was in from all the coughing. But thinking back to when Zel had called her “friend” made a smile unexpectedly easy to dredge up. She didn't bother keeping it up when Zel looked back to Cydia, though. “You're trying to change the subject. Life is valuable, Cydia!” “Yeesh.” Cydia shrugged Zel's hands off of her and turned her back, taking a couple steps away. “Who stuck a shardskin up your holes, lady? Ya didn't know da fella's name, an' he was a thief like me. Ain't no way ya got this much compassion without fakin' it.” “Cydia,” Kyrinna rasped. The others stopped fighting and approached her, looking a little concerned. “Zel just...” The pain in her throat worsened as she tried to speak. “...just lost a friend.” Cydia shook her head. “Don't give her no right to be talkin' to me like dat!” “Stop...!” [[Previous|Page 37]] | [[Next|Page 39]]

Kyrinna winced at the effort of trying to force her voice to be loud. “Agree to...disagree.” Zel caught her gaze, and she couldn't help but look away. As much as she wanted to tell the truth to Zel—that her own opinion of life probably matched Cydia's more than Zel's—she wondered if there'd ever be a good time to admit it. “Tell me more...about wildspeakers.” Kyrinna knew that talking about something she felt strongly about made her feel a lot better. Cydia, however, was either not like that, or just not interested in her own powers. She stared blankly at Kyrinna after the request. “...uh, like what?” “Actually, yeah,” Zel said, her fists still clenched. “I've never seen a wildspeaker before either. How did you learn to breathe fire just watching that thing...?” She sat down next to Kyrinna and held hands; Kyrinna pulled a bit as Zel's grip came on too tightly. “I dunno.” Cydia shrugged and turned to a nearby sapling. The twiggy young tree didn't stand a chance as the brigand burped a fireball on it. “I mean, I could always do it...I ain't da one dat gave it a name. It was Don Gato dat told...” Cydia froze a bit and looked over at the others, with the expression Kyrinna would expect from that lizard coming back for her. “...aw crap.” “Don Gato...” Zel sat up, still holding Kyrinna's hand, albeit more lightly. “...as in the robber baron Don Gato?” “Hey, at least ya know da name.” Cydia sat down on Kyrinna's other side, though not taking her left hand. “Funny ya call him dat, what with da actual robberies he did, see?” “Then how do you know him, Zel?” Kyrinna whispered. With the two of them nearby, she didn't have to strain her voice too much. Zel's expression soured instantly. “Know him?” she groaned. “I hate him! He conducts his business totally blind to the real people it affects! There were rumors about where he got the startup funds...rumors Cydia just confirmed.” [[Previous|Page 38]] | [[Next|Page 40]]

Cydia nodded, grinning proudly, completely missing the venom in Zel's voice. “Yep!” she chirped. “Big guy taught me everything I know. An' he took in me an' all da other little orphans in da joint I was holed up in...put it dat way, he don't sound half bad, huh?” Even if Kyrinna was feeling more talkative, she wouldn't argue with that. Zel, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. “The guy who bought the land out from under my circus troupe and hired every vanguard we spoke to, so we'd be defenseless on our way out...adopting orphans?” Zel shook her head. “You expect me to believe that?” “Whatever.” Cydia jumped to her feet and took a few steps back to the Marsh of Illusions. “I ain't gotta take dat crap from you.” Kyrinna sat still against the tree, listening to the brush as Cydia stomped away, paused, then came back again. “...nah,” she said, “I don't wanna leave it on dat note. Dis was good, we did good with dat Phantom fella. So here.” Kyrinna's eyes widened a bit as a small pouch hit the ground near her, and several star herbs spilled out. “I was gonna steal it, but once I noticed it was just full'a them star herbs...figured I'd get ya a few more. Oughta be enough dat you's can stay outta da swamp awhile an' I can go back to layin' low. But hey, let's have a drink sometime, eh? See ya, Syrup, Zel.” With that, Kyrinna heard Cydia depart a second time, not doubling back this time. “...I'm kinda glad that's over,” Zel admitted. “You were too nice to her, Syrup. Now, come on. The Night Watch needs to know about the Phantom in the marsh...and you have to pass that entrance exam!” [[Previous|Page 39]] | [[Next|Page 41]]

## Chapter 7 Kyrinna was hard at work, stirring away as she ignored the footsteps she heard just outside the storage shed. The Night Watch were kind enough to empty the building, and they even moved a cauldron in for her to brew her potions in. It was a cooking cauldron, something she'd turned her nose up at when she was told about it. Now that she was using it, though, Kyrinna still wasn't impressed, but it was at least sufficient for the task at hand. It held up to high temperatures, and that's all she'd need for her healing balm. It wasn't very magical, but it didn't have to be. Finally, the footsteps she tried to ignore came to her door. “Hey Syrup,” Zel said, throwing the door open. “How's it—“ “The door!” Kyrinna interrupted. Zel gasped and caught it before it slammed into a crate near the door. That crate was the only space Kyrinna had available to set the alembic up on. She worried enough about the heat it was putting off, without Zel knocking it over. “...it's okay. I've got everything I need to pass the Chief's exam.” “Yeah, cool.” Zel glanced around a little, finally finding a seat in a corner of the shed. “...what are you doing?” Zel leaned forward and put her hands on her chin. “Watchin'.” Kyrinna laughed a little and shook her head. “I've never been watched before.” She wasn't sure what Zel was watching. Cydia had given them enough star herbs to make a fairly large batch, but she'd already told Zel the ingredients and the process. “What's there to see?” “Just...the whole thing. I've never met a...you know...” Zel glanced toward the door, seeing no one passing by. “...a witch.” Kyrinna pulled her stirring stick from the cauldron to point it at Zel. “Hey!” she hollered. “Please don't...that's not a good word.” [[Previous|Page 40]] | [[Next|Page 42]]

“Sorry,” Zel gasped, covering her mouth. “So what do I call...this...?” She swept her arms in a wide gesture, toward the cauldron and alembic. “Cydia called me 'alchie'," Kyrinna mused. "I think she meant 'alchemist'. I'd much prefer those words to...” Zel nodded. “Never seen alchemy before. So how much magic goes into it?” It was a little harder to concentrate with all these questions, but Kyrinna was kinda happy to have someone so interested and accepting. It definitely beat having the Church trying to kill her for it. “Actually, none,” Kyrinna replied. “Well, it depends. But this salve...if you know the ingredients and have the tools, anyone can do it. Grandma had a couple recipes that would need more...enchantment. But this wasn't one of them.” “Well, what was, then?” Zel wasn't fidgeting with her knives, shifting her weight, anything. She was sitting still, listening intently to Kyrinna's lecture. Kyrinna hadn't expected Zel to care this much. “Well, one I bet you'd be interested in...Grandma called it a 'muscle draught'. Totally unmarketable, you'd have to call it something like 'muscle mix', alliterate a little. And draught, no one uses that word.” Zel shook her head. “What's it mean?” Kyrinna laughed. “Exactly! I just came up with muscle mix, too.” She shook her head, realizing she'd lost her focus on the conversation and the cauldron alike. “Anyway, you drink that, it relieves fatigue and soreness. You could run until you're out of breath and your legs are sore, have some muscle mix...well, you're still out of breath, but your legs will feel better.” “No way!” Zel hopped to her feet. “Syrup, you think you'll ever make something like that? Can I try it?” Kyrinna had never had such a willing guinea pig before. It threw her off, and left her a bit speechless. “C'mon, Syrup, you have the recipe...if you ever get the other stuff you need, I want a sample. Please?” [[Previous|Page 41]] | [[Next|Page 43]]

“Sample, huh?” Kyrinna thought aloud. “That's...that could be a pretty good way to sell this stuff. Make a batch, put it in tiny vials, drop it off at a tavern, put an ad in there—“ “Syrup!” Zel snapped. “You didn't answer my question!” “Oh, right. Yeah, you'd get some for sure!” The noise that came out of Zel's mouth was totally inscrutable. Only the giant smile on Zel's face clued Kyrinna in to the fact that the weird high-pitched wheeze was a positive thing. “Wow, thanks!” “von Trepe, what's this racket?” the Chief asked, also nearly busting the door off its hinges. Zel dashed across the room to catch it before it banged into the crate with the alembic on it. “Let the rookie concentrate.” “Sorry, Chief.” Zel's enthusiasm faded, smothered under the wet blanket of decorum. “But...what brings you here?” The Chief scratched the back of her neck. “Yeah...we might have to put that entrance exam on hold.” Kyrinna stopped stirring her cauldron. “What...?” she gasped. “You remember the test, right? Heal some scrapes on some other new blood?” Kyrinna nodded, and the Chief shook her head. “Well...Gorgeman's Den is off-limits to all Night Watch members below rank 3. There's been enough new blood spilled lately.” Zel moved to the Chief's side with startling speed, her eyes wide. “Rank 3?” she repeated, tugging the Chief's hand. “That's ridiculous! Gorgeman's Den is where the Night Watch sends the newbies. It's been that way for ages! It couldn't be that dangerous, could it?” The Chief shook Zel loose and let out a ragged sigh. “Well, there's three Phantoms there now. Arambula's dead, and MacVelod...probably won't make it.” “That's insane!” Zel took a step back, accidentally bumping into the wall in her shock. “There's been so many lately!” [[Previous|Page 42]] | [[Next|Page 44]]

The Chief groaned, pressing her index fingers into her temples. “I know," she mumbled, "I read the report. But we need to hurry. Syrup, take a trip to the infirmary with me.” “But I can't leave this,” Kyrinna said, nodding to her alchemy. “I've got to stir and keep things stoked, and—“ “von Trepe!” the Chief snapped. “I heard you two talking...you've been learning a lot. You can stir, can't you?” Zel nearly shoved Kyrinna away from her post. “Yes ma'am!” With that settled, Kyrinna and the Chief made their way wordlessly to the infirmary. Kyrinna had wanted to ask more questions, but the Chief seemed grim and hurried, so it felt best to not belabor things. The Night Watch facility was a lovely little campus, set off from the rest of the town of Fracotel by tall hedges. With the area lit as it was, it was an effective illusion that made Kyrinna feel like they were out in the middle of nowhere. The infirmary was only a few buildings away; the Chief covered the distance in enormous strides on long legs that had Kyrinna running to keep up. Inside, the facility was just rows of beds against the walls, and one in particular was of interest to her. A person she assumed to be MacVelod was in terrible shape, with cuts all over his body and a terrible pallor to his skin. “He's lost a lot of blood,” the Chief informed Kyrinna. “Whatever he ran into in Gorgeman's Den did a real number on him.” Kyrinna shook her head and stepped toward the injured man. This is the sort of thing her grandmother worked to prevent, and in a roundabout way, her lab experiments had a similar goal. In front of her was a life she was tasked with saving. “I don't know,” she gasped. “He might have lost too much blood already. But even then...my mix will ease his pain.” “Please do. When he was conscious, he was trying too hard to be tough. He's young, eager, wants to prove himself...but he really undersold his condition and his pain levels.” Kyrinna stared up at the Chief, and when she turned to meet the look, she laughed it off. “I work here in the infirmary a lot too. We're not a big outfit, that's why we're recruiting. You take over down here a bit, maybe I can think about what to do about all these Phantoms.” [[Previous|Page 43]] | [[Next|Page 45]]

Moving the heavy cauldron full of healing salve had proven impossible. Instead, Kyrinna sat on a stool next to MacVelod's infirmary bed, wreathed by buckets of her handiwork. She was worried about the sterility of them; even though they'd been washed as clean as they could get, leftover water or fibers from a drying rag could affect her concoctions in ways she didn't anticipate. Even so, these were the conditions she had to work with, and there was nothing to do but work. “All right,” Kyrinna said, clapping her hands together. “I...have never tried using this much all on one person. But I can see by the wrinkles on MacVelod's face that he's been in a lot of pain.” Indeed, his features had settled slightly, but his anguished grimace was still visible on his face. “And I can see by the awful paleness of his skin that he's lost a lot of blood, so I'm not promising anything, except that I'll do my best.” Kyrinna let out a long sigh and added, “I thought you all should know that before I continue.” Zel had followed Kyrinna into the procedure, and the Chief was also in attendance. There was also an older woman, who matched MacVelod's short and stocky stature. Kyrinna had been told that that was MacVelod's mother. “What's the plan?” Zel asked, trying her best to smile. “Anywhere you see a cut on his body, just use your...your brushes to apply the substance in one of the buckets you see around you.” The infirmary didn't have enough tools for everyone that wanted to help, but the storage shed Kyrinna had moved into did have some paintbrushes. Kyrinna's gelatinous mixture mostly stuck to the brushes. In such a warm room packed with so many bodies, though, her red salve had started to melt. It would work just fine all the same. [[Previous|Page 44]] | [[Next|Page 46]]

While the others nodded and got to work, MacVelod's mother hesitated. “What is this stuff?” she asked, her eyes narrow as she watched the crimson runoff stain her brush. “...uh, it's a healing balm.” Kyrinna dipped her brush in a nearby bucket and let it run off the bristles. “See, if it were blood, it would...” Suddenly, Kyrinna could feel a lot of eyes on her. “...you know what, never mind, it's red because of a flower tha—“ Her explanation was interrupted by a scream from Zel. “Did I do it wrong?” she yelped. “His wounds are foaming. That's rabies, right?” Kyrinna groaned. “Zel, rabies is foam from the mouth. What you're seeing are dirt and impurities being neutralized by the balm. This helps the—“ “This helps the wound heal faster and cleaner,” the Chief cut in. “I remember Granny Syrup telling me the same thing when she made some for me as a little girl.” “Thank you for the testimonial,” Kyrinna grumbled. She'd grown so accustomed to working in the laboratory that she felt imprecise in the presence of all this chatter. Fortunately, this wasn't an especially delicate procedure. There'd been no evidence of shrapnel, venom, or any other foreign body, based on her briefing and her observations. She could only conclude that something the Phantom had done had caused MacVelod to burst from the inside. As the salve dried, the wounds all over MacVelod's body were closed along with it. The crimson color of the salve faded with time, leaving a transparent film over the wounds. Kyrinna glanced over in time to see Zel's index finger slowly approaching one of the wounds. She slapped it away, then met Zel's surprised gaze, almost by instinct. “C'mon, Zel,” Kyrinna scolded her. “I know you're curious, but don't stick your finger in the guy, please.” Zel shrugged. “It's a rough job,” she reasoned aloud. “I'll have a chance to use it on myself.” [[Previous|Page 45]] | [[Next|Page 47]]

Kyrinna nodded a little and kept at her work. Most of the wounds were on the torso, but there were a few around the arms and legs, and even a couple across the forehead. They weren't anywhere as deep, and were probably just scrapes not directly caused by the Phantom. With everyone else helping, it went much faster than she'd anticipated. When the last wound was painted over with healing balm, MacVelod's mother looked up expectantly. “Now what happens?” she demanded. “What's your problem, nerd?” Kyrinna blurted. When the grieving mother recoiled in shock, she figured she'd already said too much to back down. “The salve has done its work. It'll stop him from bleeding out any more, and dull the pain of these cuts. He'll need a doctor to make sure his insides are in order, and until—“ “A doctor?” MacVelod's mother repeated. “If you're not a doctor, what's this stuff? What are you?” She took a step toward Kyrinna, her face grim. “What are you doing to my son?” “Everything I can to keep him alive!” Kyrinna took a step of her own, quickly closing the gap. If it came to blows, she knew she'd lose. “And if it's not enough...it'll help him go peacefully. I...I don't have the tact to lie or sugar-coat it, Ms. MacVelod. We weren't expecting this, and we weren't prepared for it. This is a short-term fix until we know more.” Ms. MacVelod considered Kyrinna's words in silence for a moment, then nodded slowly and turned her attention back to her wounded son. Kyrinna barely stopped herself from heaving a sigh of relief. With all the scrutiny she was already under, the suspicion and grief this woman was showing made for a situation too delicate for her to navigate. That much, Kyrinna did have the tact to realize. [[Previous|Page 46]] | [[Next|Page 48]]

## Chapter 8 “Attention everybody!” the Chief called out over the crowd assembled in the center of the Night Watch campus, a wide-open square that easily held the dozen or so members in attendance. The Chief stood on a small podium she'd been able to lug out to the lawn of the square herself. Kyrinna had to admit, the woman was in excellent shape. They were flanked by flags bearing the Night Watch logo, as well as green-and-gold flags bearing a jagged white emblem, the symbol of Fracotel. “By now, you've all heard the news of the Gorgeman's Den disaster. Well...Arambula is no longer with us, and word still hasn't gotten back about MacVelod.” “But,” she continued with a small flourish of her hands, “the Night Watch is about being ready for anything, and adapting to anything the wilderness can throw at us. Which brings me to the reason for this assembly...which you're probably also familiar with by now. Our newest recruit is an expert in natural medicine, she's at home in the marshlands—which I've never met anyone that likes it there before—and...well, show of hands, who here has killed a hunter claw before?” Kyrinna raised her hand, beaming a boastful smile toward the crowd, none of whom had their hands up. She stole a glance back to the Chief, and was surprised to see her hand raised. The Chief noted her expression and laughed. “I'm surprised no one's told you that story yet,” she noted. “But this meeting is the story of the Night Watch, and of our newest member, Syrup...Rufyan?” The Chief's pronunciation was slow and measured, a technique better for walking through bogs than it was for public speaking. She glanced to Kyrinna for help, and only got a shrug in return; Kyrinna had made it up when filling out the paperwork, not sure how it was meant to sound aloud. “Sorry, that's the first I've heard her last name. Syrup, would you like to say a few words to the group?” Kyrinna shrugged and stepped forward. She really didn't want to, but she had to keep up appearances if this was to make a decent alibi. “Uh...hey nerds!” she greeted her coworkers. She tried to keep her eyes on Zel, who stood in the front row and smiled warmly up at her. “I...well...I'm here to carry on my grandmother's work. She was a caretaker, a healer, a...you know, I should be careful, there's no way I can live up to her example if I keep talking her up like this.” [[Previous|Page 47]] | [[Next|Page 49]]

The audience laughed, but Kyrinna felt a very sudden and very intense pang of shame. Her grandmother had no need for fake names and alibis. She'd been honest, caring, and smiling every night, even the night of her execution. Something about being on the podium put that night top of mind, against her wishes. She'd been such a young child, and her parents had lied to her about where her grandmother had gone. When she'd chanced upon the truth, she shoved her way through the crowd, her eyes locked on the one sconce burning against the metal of the guillotine frame. She found herself in front of everyone else just as the blade fell, and she'd screamed until her throat hurt. The next thing she knew, she was sitting on the podium, the Chief and Zel looking down at her. “Syrup?” Zel said, extending a hand when Kyrinna looked at her. “You okay, pal? Your eyes, they're all teared up.” Kyrinna shook her head, blinking rapidly to destroy the evidence.. “I...I'm sorry,” she gasped. “Just...uh...stage fright.” She reached out for Zel, and was lifted into a hug. “It's okay. The Chief had me tell them about you instead.” “I'd meant to present this a little more dramatically,” the Chief chimed in, handing Kyrinna a large fabric patch. “You said you know how to sew, right?” Kyrinna turned the patch in her hands, finding the Night Watch's flame-like emblem on one side. “Find something you like to wear, and make sure it's somewhere everyone can see it.” Kyrinna sucked in a long breath, clutching the emblem to her chest. She tried her hardest to think about the present and the future, anything but the sordid past she'd had flashbacks to. “Yeah,” she gasped. “Thanks...for everything.” Zel nodded. “You're welcome. You...you hungry, Syrup? There's a nice meal for everyone in the mess hall to celebrate. Everyone will be there, but you don't have to talk to all of them.” Kyrinna put her hand to her chin, thinking deeply. Just as she came to her decision, she heard a terrible shouting from the entrance to the premises. “Someone help!” a somewhat familiar voice called out. [[Previous|Page 48]] | [[Next|Page 50]]

Before long, Ms. MacVelod had stepped into the light set up for the assembly, looking anxious and confused. “Please," she said, "there's some kind of spiky monster running around Fracotel!” Zel tightened her bandolier as she turned to face the woman. “Quilladillo?” she guessed. “I...I don't know! Please, follow me!” Zel nodded and fell into line, with the Chief behind her and Kyrinna at the tail end. It looked as if the citizens had evacuated before the group got there, letting them hurry unfettered to a small farm on the outskirts of town. Ms. MacVelod jutted a finger into a field of grain, where a sturdy-looking creature was digging away, as if nothing was out of place. “That it?” the Chief asked, not sounding as serious as Kyrinna had expected her to. “I think so. Please, just...do something!” The Chief nodded. “You two don't mind hanging back, right?” “Go for it, ma'am!” Zel cheered, backing up to a nearby fence and hoisting herself up to sit on it. “C'mon, Syrup, check it out!” “She doesn't need our help?” Kyrinna asked, turning away from the fence as the Chief ran out to face the beast. Zel laughed and pulled on Kyrinna to urge her to her seat. “Oh, no! She's plenty—you know what, just watch, okay?” Kyrinna shrugged and steadied herself atop the fence next to Zel. “Finally,” she could hear the Chief saying as she attracted the quilladillo's attention. “Should be a good workout...!” [[Previous|Page 49]] | [[Next|Page 51]]

Despite its name, Kyrinna didn't see any sort of quills on it. Nor did it bare any at the Chief, even as it curled itself up, its thick skin surprisingly pliable. With one last push of its thick legs, it began rolling through the grain at her. As it drew closer, Kyrinna finally realized the size of the thing; it closed the gap it had with the Chief, and proved to be almost as tall as her all balled up as it was. Even so, the Chief didn't move. In fact, she tossed her upper body armor aside, revealing a plain white undershirt. Her shoulders and arms were laid bare, the better for Kyrinna to see the Chief's formidable muscles. Kyrinna began to shout, but her words quickly fell apart in her mouth as the quilladillo made contact with the Chief. The Chief's shoulders and biceps bulged as she caught the rolling beast. Her fingers splayed out across its leathery shell. The impact threw the Chief backward, and as she was forced out of the grain, Kyrinna could see the deep grooves in the earth that had formed around her feet. Slowly, the Chief's feet began to move, but she didn't move forward. It took Kyrinna a second to notice what the motion even accomplished. “Why is she digging her feet deeper?” she wondered. Soon, though, she had her answer. Her feet had sunk so deeply into the soil, it was noticeable even from Kyrinna's distance. From there, the Chief slid her hands under the quilladillo, which remained hidden in its balled-up posture. The Chief gave a hearty shout, then hoisted the whole thing clear over her head. The shock of the sight nearly had Kyrinna falling off the fence. In her shock, she almost didn't see the quilladillo's huge thorns that now covered its body. Kyrinna wondered how long they'd even been there, then glanced around the Chief in a slight panic. [[Previous|Page 50]] | [[Next|Page 52]]

Kyrinna shrugged off Zel's odd behavior, and turned back just in time to see the Chief toss the quilladillo away from the town, rolling it back into the surrounding countryside. For its part, it seemed content to roll away. “Hey Zel?” Kyrinna mumbled as the quilladillo tumbled away. “How did she kill a claw hunter?” Zel took a deep breath. “Well,” she replied slowly, “the story goes...she ripped its arm off and cut it down with its own claw.” Kyrinna sat in shock for a moment, giving Zel time to add, “I asked her about it once. She said she didn't just walk up and rip its arm off...she had to twist it a little first.” At this point, the only part of the story that surprised Kyrinna was the iota of modesty that the Chief had shown Zel. She wasn't sure she could do the same, if she was capable of declawing a claw hunter with her bare hands. The Chief approached the two friends, dusting her hands off against each other. “Nice to get a little heavy lifting in every so often,” she cooed, slipping back into her armor. “I just hope there's food left in the mess hall for us.” The Chief took the lead, with Zel and Kyrinna standing side by side behind her. “You should eat after exercise...meat's a real good thing to have—hello!” Kyrinna let out a short gasp. The people who the Chief had stopped to hail were wearing the symbol of the Order of Scintilla, a green snake around a red staff. There were three of them, two dressed in cloth sticking close to a templar clad in full plate. The templar wore a tough-looking helm, obscuring their face. Their greatsword was sheathed, but the gold on its hilt seemed to flash brightly in Kyrinna's eyes as the two groups' lights reflected off it. Some of those templars were masters of the quick draw, and she didn't dare test this one's skill. She felt a pang of agony as the Chief stopped to chat. [[Previous|Page 51]] | [[Next|Page 53]]

“...concerned citizen,” the Chief was saying, while Kyrinna squirmed uncomfortably nearby. “We moved in to send the quilladillo on its way.” One of the cloth-clad churchgoers bowed his head slightly. “Then you have my thanks,” he replied, “for making Fracotel safer.” A loud scoff issued from the helmet of the templar. “I could have run the beast through,” they muttered. “You Night Watch are so unnecessary.” Zel took a step forward, her face furrowed with rage, but the Chief halted her with an outstretched arm. “We have overlap aplenty here in town, that's true,” the Chief admitted. “But my recruits here have been through the Guillotine Wood and the Marsh of Illusion recently, making those areas that much safer for everyone.” The templar scoffed. “Who cares about those overgrown places?” “I'd hate to see you sink in the swamps with all that armor on,” Zel taunted. The Chief looked at Zel over her shoulder, a displeased glare on her face. This didn't stop Zel from continuing, though. “You think you can just show up from the eastern continent, put up a bunch of lights, and do whatever you want?” The Chief moved to physically restrain Zel, but she shirked it off and finished her rant hastily. “I'll stop, okay? I just want people to have safe and easy lives, that's all. Antagonizing each other isn't going to help with that.” Kyrinna could tell the Chief was a little relieved at Zel's statement. She herself had expected something more inflammatory, too. Regardless, the templar put a gauntlet to their helm and sighed. “Sure,” they finally grunted. “You roll around in the dirt with the animals, we'll stand for the Goddess and Her laws.” Suddenly, Kyrinna felt the templar's attention on her, and felt herself freeze up. “What, do you have something to say? Actually, don't I—“ Before the templar could press the situation any further, Zel was standing in front of Kyrinna, her jacket flopping lazily through the air around her from the force of the sudden move. “Hey, leave her alone! She didn't do anything...she's had a rough night, you don't need to rough her up any more.” The templar took a slow step toward Zel, and as her coat settled, Kyrinna saw that the templar had a hand on their hilt. “I serve Scintilla directly...that means I outrank you. I'll pressure whoever I want to.” [[Previous|Page 52]] | [[Next|Page 54]]

Zel's hand moved away from her side. Kyrinna guessed she was going for a throwing knife, because that's when the Chief stepped between her and the templar. “Okay, that's enough,” she said, one hand outstretched toward each of them. “Let's just all continue on our way, maybe get some rest, shall we? The moon's about to set...I'm sure you two could go back and forth well into black sky, but that's just not safe, now, is it?” Zel and the templar considered this quietly for what felt like ages. Finally, the templar's hand left their sword. “...walk ever in the light,” they spat. The standard farewell blessing of the Church sounded more threatening to Kyrinna in that moment than it ever had. She'd wanted to sigh in relief, but there was a chill to those words that kept her on edge, even after the two groups continued on their way. “...jeez, that really shook you up, huh?” Zel asked. Kyrinna looked down from the sky to see Zel walking backwards in front of her. “Hey, it comes with being in the Night Watch. Some of the members of the Order are nice, but some just get this holier-than-thou attitude, you know?” A goofy grin spread across Zel's face, even as Kyrinna marched along, her face still and etched with worry. “C'mon, that was witty!” “Yeah,” Kyrinna huffed. “I'm sorry, I just...you were right, too much has happened lately. You saw the templar reaching for their sword...that kind of pressure just isn't what I need right now.” “Maybe you should avoid the mess hall for now,” the Chief suggested, still facing forward as the Night Watch campus entrance came into view. “Some of the gang can be real ball-busters, especially Bennett. Now he's the type to figure out how to get under your skin, and just hammer away at it.” Just the thought had Kyrinna shuddering. In the mood most of the recent events had put her in, she wasn't sure if she'd run off crying, or rub fool's herb in his eyes just to see what happened. She wanted to focus on the fact that the Night Watch had accepted her, that her skills as an apothecary had a real use now. That should have excited her; maybe it would, she thought to herself, once she had a chance to put it to use. [[Previous|Page 53]] | [[Next|Page 55]]

## Chapter 9 “Alright, Syrup, this is your first big chance,” the Chief began, sitting on her desk to loom over Kyrinna and Bennett. “Yeah,” Bennett said, already guffawing a little. Kyrinna guessed by the look in his eye that whatever he had planned to say, she'd hate it. “Once we're done on Mt. Sorrow, I'll just hold you over my head and I can parachute down!” She was right. “Quiet, Bennett!” The Chief pushed herself off her desk, standing over the muscular man. To his credit, he didn't so much as wince. “If you already know so much about the mission, then fine, don't listen to me. But if that's the way it is, you better start walking right now, instead of interrupting me.” To his further credit, Bennett said and did nothing. “That's what I thought. Now then, we've got reports of trouble around Mt. Sorrow. I don't think I need to tell either of you about the valuable spring water that trickles from high atop the mountain...not when that's what it gets its name from.” Kyrinna felt the Chief's eyes on her during the explanation. Rather than deal with it, she stole another glance at Bennett, who made no effort to hide the rolling of his eyes. He was bald, and the movement of his hand would be too obvious. He could have turned away from the Chief, but it seemed like he was making a point to hold his ground. So in his stead, Kyrinna asked, “Did something happen to the water?” The Chief nodded. “That seems to be the case, yes.” “'Seems'?” “Well...” The Chief shrugged and leaned back. As she reclined, her arms reached straight down to push off the desk and keep her aloft. “...we don't have any confirmation. Fracotel's scouts are behind schedule...the town's tapped us to investigate Mt. Sorrow's water, and also to find the missing scouts.” [[Previous|Page 54]] | [[Next|Page 56]]

While the Chief spoke, Bennett fidgeted with his handlebar mustache. Now that she'd given her orders, though, he became chatty all over again. “We'll get it done!” he said, jutting a meaty thumb into his chest. “Won't we, squirt?” It took a moment for Kyrinna to connect the dots. “...wait, am I 'squirt'?” she gasped. “Get over yourself, nerd. There's a reason I'm coming with you.” “Of course there is,” the Chief agreed, handing Bennett a backpack. “People are getting sick from this water. You said you know a lot about things like poisons, so we're trusting you to find a solution.” “Take it easy, nerd.” Kyrinna straightened her back out and gave the Chief a wide smile. “First off, tell people they gotta boil their water while we investigate this. Meanwhile, I gotta pack, then I'll take this dog for a walk up the mountain and see what's what.” [[Previous|Page 55]] | [[Next|Page 57]]

Bennett and Kyrinna stood together, facing a landslide that had blocked off the path up Mt. Sorrow. A gentle breeze stirred the trees around them as the moon made its descent. Kyrinna watched it with a heavy heart; she knew there'd be no way to finish up before black sky. She adjusted the shoulder strap that held her satchel, readying herself for a hike. “So how do you know so much about poisons?” Bennett asked, digging a rope out of the backpack. There was a hook-like piece on one end of the rope that Bennett tossed effortlessly over the rocks. Before Kyrinna could answer him, he was already hiking over the pile of rubble, hoisting himself along the cliff face with the help of the rope. Kyrinna, however, had much more trouble. She was suited to wading through swamps, but pulling herself up a rope was a bit out of her wheelhouse. “I work with plants,” she answered, already breathing a bit heavily, “and make potions.” The rocks under her feet were fairly light shades of tan and gray, and their haphazard arrangement made it difficult to walk along them without giving full attention to her footing. “I've seen a thing or two.” She'd also given a thing or two to folks to see how their bodies reacted, but she didn't think that was worth telling Bennett. “...sure thing, squirt.” Bennett seemed impatient with Kyrinna's progress, judging by the mighty tug he gave the rope in his hands. The sudden jerk threw Kyrinna off-balance, nearly dashing her into the rocks. Bennett seemed to think this was hilarious, and his deep-bellied laugh echoed around her. “Maybe I should just carry you the whole way!” Kyrinna let out a short huff and examined herself. She'd been able to catch herself on a gentler incline of the rubble, but she'd scraped up her hands a bit in the process. As she watched a few beads of blood race down her palm, she replied, “You know what, nerd, why don't you go ahead and do it, then?” It seemed like he was trying to make fun of her, but he'd played himself into a position that sounded an awful lot like some kind of servant. She started thinking about how much a servant would've helped at her mansion, and felt a pang of grief at losing her old home. Before she could get too focused on it, though, she'd reached the top of the rockslide, just in time for Bennett to run his mouth some more. [[Previous|Page 56]] | [[Next|Page 58]]

“Ha! No worries, squirt...the rockslide blocked the caves people usually use to reach the water supply, but they also made kind of a ramp. A tunnel crew could probably level that into a nice, easy ramp. As for us, all we have to do is find another opening into the cave system, and then we're back on track. There won't be any more hiking like that, probably!” “Probably, huh...?” Kyrinna didn't like it, but she knew it had to be good enough, because Bennett was already on the move toward a couple scrawny lizards, a creature that was new to Kyrinna. As they saw Bennett stride along the mountain path, they eyed him suspiciously, their pupils able to track him at angles that far surpassed the abilities of a human. Even so, they held completely still, clinging to a nearby cliff face while Bennett strolled on through, their tails curled up in tight spirals against their backs. When Kyrinna attempted to follow, however, the lizards released their grip on the rocks, allowing themselves to fall into the path. They landed on all fours, legs spread wide, standing still on bulbous toes. Kyrinna opened her mouth, but before she could call them nerds, one of the lizards pointed its mouth at her and opened wide. Its tongue shot forth, a long red rope that lassoed Kyrinna's free hand, lingering over the scrapes and tasting the blood. The whole scene sent a shiver down her spine, though she was soon snapped out of it by the tugging she felt in her arm. “It's trying to pull me in with its tongue!” she realized aloud, already moving to solve the problem. Her free hand gripped a leather riding crop; the Night Watch had let her take it now that she was a full-fledged member. It matched her usual tools of choice far better than some simple peon's club. A short yelp came out of Kyrinna's mouth as she swung the crop down on the monster's tongue. It gave a pained shriek, but didn't relent, not until she smacked the thing a few more times. By then, the spectacle had attracted another lizard, this one with a lumpy, spiky appendage hanging from the end of its tail. Then again, this one was the same color as the cliffs, so perhaps it had always been there. Regardless, it was two against three, a fact that annoyed Kyrinna more than anything. “A rock gecko?” Bennett gasped as the gray lizard joined its tan allies. “Careful, squirt, that gray fella's a cut above the others!” [[Previous|Page 57]] | [[Next|Page 59]]

Kyrinna sighed and resigned herself to battle. It was the sort of thing Bennett was there to handle, but she'd already been roped into it. She found herself wishing it was Zel instead, or even Cydia. They seemed far better partners than Bennett, in both conversation and combat. While she reminisced, though, Bennett had already sprung into action. “Bennett...Strike...!” he screamed. As dumb as it sounded to Kyrinna, something about it did give him the oomph to swing a warhammer with ease. That one move was all it took to launch one of the dirt-colored geckos clean off the path. Bennett stood there, his muscles still bulging a bit from the intense effort his wild swing had demanded of him. When he noticed Kyrinna looking at him, he flashed her a thumbs-up, and smoothed his mustache a bit with it. “Pretty coo—“ Before he could finish, the rock gecko swung at him with the spikes on its tail, catching him in the leg. He fell to one knee, bracing himself for impact as the rock gecko eyed him over. The attack had drawn blood, which drove the other lizard into a hungry frenzy. Both of them were so preoccupied with Bennett that Kyrinna had an easy time approaching them. Cydia's little Swampfire trick had inspired Kyrinna to make her own facsimile. “Bottoms up, nerds!” she shouted, tossing a glass vial at the rock gecko. It was mostly tree sap, and she could see by the glass shards of the vial that it stuck to the monster, just as she'd hoped. Unfortunately for her, the gecko turned toward her before she could finish her plan. “What was that stuff?” Bennett asked, grappling with the other dirt gecko. It was attempting to lash its tongue at the cuts on his leg, at least until he managed to get his other foot in place. He smiled to himself as his boot came down, pinning the gecko's tongue against the ground with a mighty stomp. Kyrinna was fumbling with some quartz and steel as she answered him. “Sticky, flammable sap! Careful, there's still bits of glass in it!” “Why'd you do that, squirt? That just means we can't touch it...!” “Who cares?” With that, Kyrinna took her quartz and steel in hand, and waited for her chance. [[Previous|Page 58]] | [[Next|Page 60]]

The rock gecko obliged Kyrinna's wishes, taking a swing at her with its tail. It used the same moves as it had on Bennett, making it easy to dodge. As she jumped aside, Kyrinna also raked the quartz and steel together, flinging a few sparks at the passing reptile. She sucked in an excited breath, and watched as the sparks fell harmlessly into the dust. Kyrinna let out an annoyed growl and dug through her satchel, pulling out a fistful of the ribbons she used to tie her hair. She'd packed spares just in case she lost the ones she was using, all of them a vibrant purple hue that she was a fan of. It hurt her to have to use up her precious ribbons to get a good attack going, but she'd made plenty of sacrifices already. With a little effort, Kyrinna managed to grab herself a rock and tie the ribbon to it, just as Bennett finished his fight. He punted the dirt gecko away, whistling to himself as it ragdolled off the mountain. His whistling caught the rock gecko's attention, and Kyrinna took her chance. She lit her ribbon on fire and threw it at the rock gecko's back, causing a plume of flame to leap up almost immediately. She'd chosen her ingredients carefully; Kyrinna's mixture was meant to stick to the beast and burn for a long time. She had mixed it up for torches before, but as the rock gecko scurried around in a panic, she decided that this was much more fun. “Whee!” she squealed, mocking the monster's panicked movements as it scurried about in pain. Eventually, it slammed itself into a boulder and fell to the ground dazed, which was no fun to her. Bennett turned to look over his shoulder at her, his right eyebrow cocked. “...I mean, it's great we won, I guess,” he muttered to himself, slowly turning back around. “C'mon, squirt, there's a way into the cave system not far from here.” Kyrinna nodded and hurried to catch up, stopping briefly to blow a kiss to the burning rock gecko. By the time she caught up with Bennett, he'd frozen up next to the mouth of a cave just around a curve in the mountainside. “Hey big guy,” Kyrinna said as she slowed her pace, putting on a little swagger. “What's the holdu...” Kyrinna trailed off when she turned away from Bennett mid-sentence, to face the plumes of dark fog billowing out of the cave. [[Previous|Page 59]] | [[Next|Page 61]]

## Chapter 10 “Well,” Bennett sighed, staring at the cave entrance, “guess there's a Phantom in our water supply, huh?” “Looks like it,” Kyrinna answered, already taking a step into the cave. Bennett ran a bit to catch up with her, sticking an arm in her path. “Are you crazy? You know how easy it would be to get lost in there, squirt?” “...I know, nerd.” Kyrinna paused and leaned on Bennett's arm. “We need a plan...some way of telling where we've been.” She theorized about one really long rope, and came to an understanding of Zel's preoccupation with ropes. It didn't help her solve the issue at hand, though. “Some way of knowing where we came from...a rope, some paint...” “We don't have that much rop—“ “I know!” Kyrinna snapped. “But something like that, to leave a trail.” Bennett moved his arm out of Kyrinna's path, nearly dumping her onto the floor. He didn't even notice; his hands were rummaging through the backpack of supplies. “...nothing like that,” he groaned into its flaps. “Then we're just gonna have to get lucky,” Kyrinna replied. “It's black sky out, so we either risk that heading to Fracotel and back, or we wait here for moonrise.” She'd have felt better fetching Zel, but even Kyrinna had to admit that the extra trips made it impractical either way. “Or...we continue the mission. The longer we wait, the worse things get, right?” “...you know, Syrup,” he said, rising to his feet, “you got guts after all.” Kyrinna's hands meandered on her stomach. She was pretty sure everyone had guts. “Alright, but the two of us have to stick together, got it?” “Sure, sure.” Kyrinna shrugged and entered the mountain cave, with Bennett close behind. Everyone was counting on them to save the water supply from contamination, and she wasn't about to let some stupid Phantom stop her. “The other fellas in the Night Watch say you've rigged up a shed like some kinda witch hut.” Kyrinna pushed out a long sigh. Apparently Bennett just didn't know when to shut up. “What's it to you?” “...just some conversation.” “Well, whatever, nerd, just knock it off.” She just wanted to wander in silence. The thick fog of the Phantom blotted out their lights, so she wanted to be able to hear anything of interest. Bennett's conversation was not of interest to her. [[Previous|Page 60]] | [[Next|Page 62]]

“...whatever it is you do,” Bennett began again, “it saved MacVelod's life, from what I've heard.” “...oh, that's...uh, okay.” “Huh? I thought you'd be, I don't know, happier?” Kyrinna scoffed. “Wha...why? I knew what would happen. I knew it would need follow-up work.” “But you saved his life! Even if it was only a quick fix, that's more than any of us could've given him.” Before Kyrinna could respond, a short scream echoed through the passageway. She almost swore she imagined it, until it was followed by a familiar sounding voice. “Get away from me!” the voice called out, dripping thick with accent. “Cydia!” Before Kyrinna knew what she was doing, she'd already almost tripped. She stopped and clutched her chest as a wave of cold came over her. When she looked over her shoulder, she realized she'd sprinted down the cave network, only coming to realize this when she hit an intersection of sorts. It looked as if the tunnel originally had one path that sloped upward, but part of the wall had fallen away, revealing a path cutting deeper toward the heart of the mountain. Wordlessly, she turned to face the deep cavern entrance, and raised the arm holding her lantern. “I thought so,” she mumbled to herself, letting a smirk tug at her cheek. “Syrup...!” Bennett gasped, arriving on the scene soon afterward. “What's...going on?” Kyrinna turned to face Bennett, reaching out to wag a finger in his face. Not only did he make a face she found funny, she also felt that the air was warmer as she reached away in that direction as well. “Well, nerd, for some reason, there's a chill running from down there.” Bennett gave a quick bark of a laugh. “Of course it is...that's the direction toward the spring water. What, this your firs—“ “Hey!” Cydia's voice interrupted, screaming through the cavern. “Who's barkin' up dere...? Hey dawggy! Get your owner down here, will ya?” Kyrinna laughed and took a step down the chilly path, motioning for Bennett behind her. “I think she's talking about you!” Kyrinna kept laughing as she trotted through the cave, listening to Bennett's footfalls as he scampered behind. “That's a good one...come on, boy!” Kyrinna made a clicking noise with her mouth, beckoning Bennett to her side. She'd never had a pet, but she'd seen others who did, and copied their behavior to mock Bennett. [[Previous|Page 61]] | [[Next|Page 63]]

Something about Kyrinna's mockery made Bennett move a lot faster; by the time the two of them chanced across the river, he was less than a step behind on the scene. There, a strange illumination was barely visible through the fog, a lantern leaking clouded light laying on the floor. She could see by that spot and hers that the river was too wide for her to cross. “Cydia!” she shouted again, cupping her hands to direct her call to the light. “...Syrup?” Cydia squeaked, in audible disbelief. “Hey! Syrup, friend, ol' pal...!” It took a moment for Kyrinna to realize that Cydia's voice was coming from somewhere distinctly different from the lantern. It sounded like she was up against the wall, while her lantern had somehow crossed the river. In such an open room, the detail struck Kyrinna as odd, until she finally got close enough to understand. Strange patterns of ice lined the area, some of them gripping Cydia tightly to the rock wall. From here, Kyrinna could see that the mottled pattern of Cydia's light came from facets in the ice covering it, or impurities caught up and frozen in mid-air. “This is a Phantom's work, isn't it...?” “No duh! Now break me outta here, will ya?” Kyrinna began to reach for a rock to chip the ice away, but then she stopped halfway into her crouch. “...uh, Cydia...can you still do that Swampfire thing?” Kyrinna heard a cough as a small glimmer of light fell from Cydia's mouth. “Yeah, I think so, what's it to ya?” The answer didn't come at first. Kyrinna's reflex was to turn away from Cydia, clutching at her head with her free hand. “Can't you just melt the ice off yourself...?” “...oh...uh, lemme try.” Cydia made a horrible noise in her throat clearly audible over the sloshing of the spring water. Then, the inky fog seemed to retreat from the gout of flame Cydia blew out. A steady jet of gas poured from her nose and made short work of the ice. Cydia fell to the floor with a wet plop, and quickly rose to her feet. “Hey, whaddaya know...!” A wide smile had crossed her face, now that she was free. [[Previous|Page 62]] | [[Next|Page 64]]

Kyrinna couldn't believe what she was hearing. She glanced over to Bennett, hoping to find some clue as to whether Cydia really hadn't tried melting herself free. She quickly forgot her question, though, as Bennett seemed to be paying no attention at all. Instead, he was glancing around the cavern, his body tense. “Bennett...?” Kyrinna asked, taking a step in his direction. If she'd taken another step that way, she would've caught a rock square in her side. A loud crack filled the cavern as the projectile bounced off the wall, a dark brown chunk the size of Bennett. She screamed and threw an arm over her face to protect herself as she felt a stinging sensation prickle at her exposed skin. When she put a hand to her cheek to feel what had happened, she pulled her hand away to examine it, and found droplets of cold, watered-down blood on her fingers. “Ice?” “It's coming from the water!” Bennett shouted from the other side of the rock's impact. Kyrinna pulled Cydia toward the wall, but Bennett only strode further into danger, brandishing his hammer. “Listen here, fella! You think you can just sit in that water and do whatever you want?” Bennett kept talking, but Kyrinna couldn't hear him over the roar of the water as a monster rose to the surface, eyeing him suspiciously. Despite the thick smoke filling the cavern, the monster's eyes shone brightly enough to be seen from anywhere, gleaming red jewels guarded by a massive claw on the creature's left. “Da heck are we gonna do now?” Cydia asked. The monster hadn't given Kyrinna much to go on. She knew it hid in the water, and felt pretty sure that it was the Phantom clouding up the place. She hoped it was also the one befouling Fracotel's water, and the one responsible for the missing scouts. She'd had more than enough of this adventure. “Well, if you's ain't got a plan,” Cydia continued, “dat dawggy o'yours is 'bout ta fight da Phantom! It's a sneaky one, too...this is our chance to kill it for real, innit?” Cydia knelt down and grabbed a wand off the floor, a rubber grip wrapped around an iron rod. The thick black char at the tip told Kyrinna that the wand had been well-used. “Dat fella don't stand a chance without us!” [[Previous|Page 63]] | [[Next|Page 65]]

Kyrinna had felt more like quietly fleeing. But as Cydia ran toward the creature, she sighed and followed along. The Phantom responded by clambering in the opposite direction, using eight spindly legs to climb to the opposite shore. Bennett gave a mighty shout, and before Kyrinna knew it, he'd given himself a running start. She knew he was going to jump, but the river seemed too wide, and he'd be too vulnerable. Sure enough, the Phantom took aim and fired a stream of ice from its abdomen, aiming to catch Bennett in the same trap they'd found Cydia in. In midair, there wasn't much he could do but try to put his hammer between him and the oncoming ice. The attack hit Bennett's exposed fingers, trace amounts of vapor rolling off. From there, Kyrinna wasn't sure what happened. Bennett was yanked out of the air in an instant, and the cavern grew eerily calm. “Bennett!” Kyrinna shouted, feeling an odd sharpness in her own voice. When she glanced around a bit, she noticed she'd lost track of Cydia too. “Cydia!” “Yo, Syrup!” came Cydia's reply. “I jumped da river...pretty wide, innit...?” Kyrinna froze up. “Cydia...I can't jump that far!” Of course Cydia had jumped the river; she had such long, well-trained legs, it probably came easy to her. It probably would've been a snap for Zel, too. Kyrinna wadded up her coat in her hands. In the back of her mind, she knew she'd have a chance to show off in her area of expertise, if they could just find the source of the poison. Even so, she was growing impatient. “Over here...dere's a spot stickin' out! Friggin' go for it, Syrup!” Kyrinna walked out as close to the river as she could, again measuring the distance from her light source to Cydia's. “I can't make it!” It was about half the distance she'd measured before, but that still felt like too much. As active as she'd been lately, she had a good handle on what she'd be able to do. “C'mon! If you's can come close enough, I'll just grab ya!” Could Cydia lift her body weight? Would they be able to time and angle their arms correctly? It really frustrated Kyrinna not to know. “Cydia! I'm gonna count to three...when I say 'three', I'm gonna jump!” “Got it!” [[Previous|Page 64]] | [[Next|Page 66]]

Kyrinna began walking backwards, preparing a running start. She stared down at her feet, silently calculating the distance she walked, and the speed she'd have to count. It wasn't nearly as far as she'd hoped. “One,” she scoffed, pushing her body into a run, “two, three!” A short yelp escaped Kyrinna's lips as she felt her body hurtle through the air, into the darkness. All she could do was reach upward and wait for results. She could feel her progress through the arc of her jump, but she preferred not to think about it too much. “Gotcha!” Cydia called out. The warning came right after Kyrinna felt the wildspeaker's fingers catch on to one of her wrists. Kyrinna coughed as her body thumped against the cliff, but she didn't have to do anything anymore. Cydia was reeling her up by her arm; it hurt, but she was sure falling into the river would've been worse. Eventually, she made it high enough that she could swing her legs forward a bit and grope for the ground. “There ya go!” Kyrinna took in a sharp breath, the chill of the cavern filling her lungs. “Cydia...!” she gasped. “You did it!” Cydia laughed a bit, jabbing a thumb into her chest. “O'course I did!” While Kyrinna fought for breath, she felt Cydia's arm slap down onto her back, reeling her in close. It was much warmer in Cydia's embrace than anywhere else in the cavern. “Dat's what I said I'd do, innit?” “Yeah...” Kyrinna's mind faltered a bit, struggling more than normal to think of what to say. “...c'mon, nerd, we still have to find Bennett!” [[Previous|Page 65]] | [[Next|Page 67]]

## Chapter 11 When the two of them came onto the scene, both the Phantom and Bennett were crumpled against the wall. Bennett laughed as he wobbled to his feet. “Fella gave me all the force I needed!” he explained, examining the leftover frost on his fist. “Knocked itself silly with my hammer...! Shame I didn't have time to yell anything cool.” Kyrinna shrugged and hoisted her riding crop. “Whatever,” she scoffed, “let's just beat the crap outta this nerd.” The others obliged, easily sneaking around the Phantom's giant claw and flailing legs to wail on it with their respective weapons. Kyrinna let out a sadistic laugh as she whipped the defenseless creature, glad to be back in her element. As if in response, more icy cords raked out, though these seemed to reach to the Phantom, rather than come from its body. Before she could even stop to second-guess herself, the Phantom was yanked straight up, out of sight. “Hey, get back here!” As she glared up at the darkness, though, all she could see were leftover strands of light. “Wait, light?” Indeed, even that high up, the strings couldn't have been reflecting light, like the ice did. They had to be glowing. Bennett scratched his head as he looked on with Kyrinna. He still seemed eager to fight the Phantom, and angry that it had abandoned him. In the end, all he could do was wave a hand at it. “I hate Phantoms as much as the next fella...but shouldn't we look for the scouts, too?” He'd barely finished saying that before he shook his head. “Their orders would've been to start at the water's source and work their way down. Gives us something to think about while we move.” “Wow...!” Cydia gasped, falling to the rear this time as the three of them moved upriver. “Dawggy, ya know so much about dis stuff, huh?” “...if you've gotta know, this was my job before the Night Watch, digging tunnels and building roads and such.” Bennett let out a short sigh as he dodged away from Cydia's hand, as she reached out to pet him. “Ugh, of course you'd have a friend like this, squirt.” Kyrinna blinked a bit. She wasn't sure if Bennett was just going off what Cydia said, or if they seemed like friends to him too. Regardless, she could feel herself smiling a little. “We have fun going out together, don't we, Cydia?” The wildspeaker gave a quick nod. “You betcha!” she said, pulling Kyrinna in close again. “Ain't a dull moment when I run into you's!” Before Kyrinna could affirm that, she felt a slight breeze rake at her hair as the three of them stepped out into open air. [[Previous|Page 66]] | [[Next|Page 68]]

The stars glimmered over a copse of evergreen trees. All was perfectly still and quiet, besides the breeze and the water as they passed Kyrinna going the other way. Kyrinna wrapped her arms around herself in a futile effort to stay warm. In the upper atltitude with the river so close by, her lab coat wasn't enough. She couldn't help but steal a glance at Cydia. Despite dressing so sparsely, the mountain chill didn't seem to bother her. Cydia caught Kyrinna's gaze, and replied with a smile and a wink. “Look!” Bennett said, pointing through the trees at a small cabin. “There's a light in there!” That's all the warning he gave before he beelined for the cabin, his long strides outpacing Kyrinna. Cydia took a few strides to keep up, but then took a glance over her shoulder. “Hey, Syrup,” she said, slowing down to line up with Kyrinna instead. “Da heck's dis house doin' way out here?” Kyrinna didn't have the answer, but Bennett did. “It's an old road-builder's barracks. I hear travelers rest here when they're caught up here during black sky, but I ain't been around since we finished digging.” “Well, how 'bout dat...we're bringin' a dawggy back home!” The three of them fell into silence after that. It was still a bit of a hike, and Kyrinna got a bit self-conscious about how much harder she was breathing than the others. Before anyone brought it up, though, they finally reached the cabin. It was a simple log building, a long rectangle stretching wide in front of the group. True to Bennett's word, Kyrinna spied bright lights pouring out from the windows. Bennett took the lead inside, where they were greeted by two pairs of eyes staring at them. Judging by Bennett's smile, Kyrinna figured he knew the man and woman they came across. “Malya, Oryx!” [[Previous|Page 67]] | [[Next|Page 69]]

“Sorry, Oryx, I've been busy. Oh...” Bennett shoved Kyrinna and Cydia forward, one hand on each of their backs. “...this one in the ribbons is Syrup, and her crazy-haired friend is...Cydie?” “Cydia,” she said, smiling toward the new folks. “So who are you's two?” Malya jutted a thumb toward a bed behind her, where a suit of leather armor sat folded next to a shield. The shield caught Kyrinna's eye; it bore the same green, gold, and white color scheme of Fracotel's flag. “My husband and me,” Malya said, “we're scouts from Fracotel.” Malya had lean muscles fit for running, and hair even shorter than Oryx's. “We had to retreat...there was nothing we could do about that Phantom. Got us pretty good, though.” Malya gestured down at her body, drawing Kyrinna's attention to some cuts on her arms. “Hey, I got just the thing for those cuts,” Kyrinna said, offering a small bottle of her healing salve from her satchel. “Bennett, you've got a nasty cut too. You and Malya sit down.” The strongman did as he was told, plopping down on a bed. Kyrinna moved to him first, using a ribbon to help dab the potion against his wound. He gritted his teeth, letting out a hiss as she worked. “Shut up, nerd,” she scolded him, “that just means it's working.” “Ooh...this the stuff you gave MacVelod?” Bennett asked, his body still a bit tense. By now, the salve would have done most of its stinging. “Well, if it saved him...” Malya seemed apprehensive, but made no move to stop Kyrinna as her turn came around. The alchemist worked quickly, confident in her work. “That should be enough.” Malya winced a bit as the solution gave off a soft fizzing sound. With that done, Kyrinna moved to Oryx. “What about you?” Oryx replied by turning his head away from Kyrinna and crossing his arms. “I don't use that kind of stuff,” he insisted. “That's heresy.” “Whatever, nerd.” Kyrinna let out a huff, stomping away from Oryx. She was in no mood for a theological debate. “C'mon, Cydia, let's go stretch our legs a bit.” “I dunno,” Cydia said, glancing to the side, “dese beds look k—“ Cydia made a weird coughing sound as Kyrinna tugged on her hair on the way out. “Alright, already...yeesh...!” [[Previous|Page 68]] | [[Next|Page 70]]

Kyrinna stepped out into the crisp mountain air and let out a long, ragged, breath. There was a bench situated near the cabin's door, but she wanted to walk a bit. She made her way over to the nearest tree. It extended a branch toward her as if in greeting. She responded by absentmindedly picking off its needles. “What were you doing here, Cydia?” she asked, still turned toward the tree. “I oughta ask you's da same thing!” came the reply. Soon, Cydia was standing beside her, and the two of them wandered further along the path. “Where's dat other girl?” “Zel had work somewhere else.” Kyrinna giggled a little and added, “Yeah, I wish it were her and not Bennett here.” Cydia nodded, waving Kyrinna to the side a bit so she could find a tree to lean on. When Kyrinna saw Cydia doing it, she realized just how fatigued she'd gotten herself, too. “Ooh, and what's your job here, huh, pal?” Cydia asked as Kyrinna hit the tree with a soft thump. The bark was rough and cold under Kyrinna's hands, but she didn't mind. “Well, we found the scouts,” she answered, pointing back at the cabin. “We just have to make sure the water's clean, and then we're taking Malya and Oryx back to Fracotel.” “What about da Phantom...it's messin' the water up, innit?” Kyrinna thought for a moment, picturing the thing they'd faced in the caverns. She'd seen it attack her and her friends, and heard it came for the scouts. She'd seen it fight, but besides knocking some dust and rocks into the current, it hadn't really done anything that would suggest the presence of toxins. “Nah,” Kyrinna finally answered. “Tops, it would've killed something and dropped the body in the river.” Kyrinna snapped her fingers and leaned closer to Cydia. “...wait a minute, you nerd! You never told me why you're here!” “Whaddaya think, Syrup?” Cydia shot back, ruffling Kyrinna's hair for a moment. “I wasn't sure if you's were gonna rat me out to da Church...!” Kyrinna folded her arms over her chest. “Well, why would I? I hate them! You heard Oryx in there, going on about how my medicine is 'heresy'. The Church killed my grandma over it! They can eat fool's herb and die, for all I care.” [[Previous|Page 69]] | [[Next|Page 71]]

Kyrinna fumed in silence for a bit as Cydia sat there with her, shoulder to shoulder. “Yeesh, same,” the wildspeaker finally said. Kyrinna shifted a bit to stare at Cydia, whose only response was to laugh. “I mean, they ain't offed no granny of mine, but...I hate 'em too. Lotta wildspeakers get scooped by 'em, ya know? It's one of them, uh...join us or die, dat's da deal we wildspeakers get when we get caught.” “I get it,” Kyrinna said, looking up at the sky. “You've been looking for a hideout, same as Grandma had to do.” Same as the mansion she'd once had, before Eyron made her burn it down, her mind was quick to remind her. “Dat's why I was here, alright!” Cydia flashed a wide smile Kyrinna's way. A gentle breeze dusted off the valley, pushing some fallen needles around. “Gee, Syrup, you's some kinda genius!” Kyrinna's reflex was to laugh; her deep-bellied chortle seemed to fill the valley more than the wind did. “No, really!” She wasn't sure why Cydia was trying to reassure her of her genius. It was a trait she took plenty of pride in on her own. “You's had such big plans, big words...ya do da potions thing, dat's somethin' else, innit? I'm just sayin', if dat Night Watch stuff don't go too well, maybe you an' I can run da Cuprina Brigade or somethin'!” Kyrinna nodded. If her “Syrup” alias fell apart, she'd need somewhere else to go. Cydia was clearly tough and knowledgeable enough to survive the wilderness, so she'd make a terrific ally. For some reason, though, the thought of missing out on Zeltencia twisted her stomach. Before she could answer Cydia, Kyrinna saw a trio of lights dancing up the mountain toward them. It didn't take long for the lights to approach, carried by Bennett and his friends. “You kids shouldn't be out here by yourselves,” Oryx scolded them, wagging a finger at Kyrinna. “What if that Phantom comes out of the cave and—“ “Shut up, nerd,” Kyrinna interrupted him, wagging a finger right back. “Couldn't you tell? That Phantom hides in the cave and the river to ambush people. It's not ballsy enough to crawl out here and fight us in the open.” “Dat's right!” Cydia affirmed. She rose to her feet to get in Oryx's face. “Dat fella was throwin' rocks and water jets from da river!” [[Previous|Page 70]] | [[Next|Page 72]]

Bennett nodded. “Yeah, we're gonna need a bigger team to hunt that Phantom down,” he said, glaring back at the cave entrance the group had passed through. “What do you think, Syrup?” “...huh?” Kyrinna spat. “I mean...you apparently know a lot about the Phantom. If it's not gonna leave its hole...what kinds of people would be best at dealing with that?” Kyrinna had a name right at the tip of her tongue. “Someone like Zel...th—“ “'cause you're in love?” Bennett started laughing at his own joke, but Kyrinna ignored him. “The Phantom uses traps, ambushes, and long-range attacks. She knows her traps and Phantom habitats, and she can throw knives pretty far. But the river protects the Phantom...whoever finishes the job, they'll have to draw it out of the water.” Oryx took a step forward. “We could mobilize the Fracotel longbow corps,” he suggested. “Though they'd have trouble seeing in the dark. We might need some more divine lights from the Church...they'll show up better through the Phantom's mist.” Kyrinna and Cydia let out near-synchronous sighs through their noses. “Hey,” Malya snapped, “I don't know what your problem is, but it can't be as important as clean drinking water.” “Whatever,” Kyrinna said, already turning her head away from Malya. “We don't even know if the problem with the water is in the cave or not. It could be closer to the source.” Kyrinna was reluctant to share her next thought, but took a chance regardless. “Plus...did anyone else see those strings of light that took it away?” “I don't see why a Phantom would use light,” Oryx immediately shouted. Kyrinna glanced over at Cydia, and she could tell his devout nature was getting on her nerves too. “You had to have been seeing things, Syrup.” [[Previous|Page 71]] | [[Next|Page 73]]

“No, she's right,” Bennett argued, stepping in front of Kyrinna. “The three of us had the Phantom pinned down...we'd have beaten it pretty handily. Then it got yanked away on...yeah, strings of light.” “I ain't never seen a Phantom do dat before,” Cydia added, crossing her arms. “I get it, we don't wanna talk about it, but...we gotta. It's important, innit?” Bennett nodded. “Whatever it is, it yanked the Phantom away from us in a hurry.” “But it wasn't the Phantom!” Kyrinna shouted. “It shot frozen spray from its abdomen...” She could practically feel Cydia's confused glance flop against her. “...its backside. This light string thing came from up above and reached out to the Phantom!” “That's even less believable,” Oryx argued, walking away from the group. “First you come in peddling that heretical quote-unquote 'medicine', then you say the light and darkness are working together? Bennett, you really need to quit the Night Watch before you get taken in by—” Cydia intercepted Oryx's path and planted a sucker punch into his gut. When Malya moved to defend her husband, Cydia retreated, letting the older woman help Oryx to his feet. “Listen real good!” Cydia howled, her fists still at the ready. “I ain't even in their club, but dat's my buddy Syrup you's bad-mouthin'! She's saved my skin enough for me to know she ain't a bad guy...takes a lotta guts to do what she do, innit? We asked her opinion an' she gave it...Bennett an' I was dere too, so you's callin' us liars too. Dat's some way to talk to your friend, innit? Here I am defendin' Syrup, an' you's callin' Bennett a liar...” Oryx lunged toward Cydia, but found his arms held by Malya, preventing him from going too far. “Enough!” Malya ordered, causing the entire group to fall silent. [[Previous|Page 72]] | [[Next|Page 74]]

In the quietude Malya had secured, Kyrinna reflected on Cydia's words. Cydia had defended her honor, calling her “friend”. A smile began to pull at Kyrinna's lips, and she suddenly found herself really happy to have run across Cydia again. She couldn't fathom why, but she reveled in the good feeling nonetheless. As Malya continued talking, Kyrinna felt that twist in her stomach again as she realized it'd be tough to get Cydia into Fracotel due to her own criminal history. But then running off with Cydia would leave Zel high and dry. All she wanted in that moment was a way to bring the two of them together; even though they didn't like each other all that much, Kyrinna enjoyed their company, and she could probably get them to play well together. She was a little shocked at herself when she realized that having them protect her from the law was so far down on her priority list. It was still there, granted; she could use their sense of loyalty to her advantage if her life were in danger. But it was more than that. Cydia and Zel seemed to value her knowledge; they were even enthusiastic about the possibilities of alchemy. Kyrinna was normally quite irritated at the presence of other humans, but their company was tolerable, even soothing. Kyrinna had no time to figure out what it could mean, though. She still had to figure out what was wrong with the water. [[Previous|Page 73]] | [[Next|Page 75]]

## Chapter 12 “What about you, Zel?” Kyrinna asked, stirring her cauldron as she talked. “How'd your mission go?” Zel let out a short laugh from her seat atop one of the boxes in Kyrinna's hut. “Not nearly as eventful,” she answered. “I ran into a Phantom too, out near the small town of Melaton...it was a weird one, looked like five rodents tied together by the tail to one huge brain and eye.” Zel shuddered and let out an odd “yugh” sound. “It was ruining the local farms, but wait until you hear the plan I used to trap it!” “Hold that thought!” Kyrinna moved away from the cauldron to grab a laundry pole, slowly lowering it into her mixture. When the pole came out half as long as it had gone in, she let out a loud cackle. “Yes!” Zel pushed herself off her seat and moved closer to the cauldron. “What did you do?” She poked at the wooden pole with one of her knives, jumping back a bit as the frayed end of the pole fell apart even more. “What is that stuff?” Kyrinna laughed and scooped at her brew using a metal tankard she'd borrowed from the mess hall. “Well, you remember what I did to that gecko, with the burning sap? I figured I'd need something a bit more immediate.” “Well, I'd say you've got it!” Zel peered into the cauldron, then back to the half-dissolved pole. “But isn't this stuff really, really dangerous? What if you spill it on yourself?” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. “Shut up, nerd, it'll work. Anyway, I had to go to the butcher to get the stomach acid from some of the animals they process, because there's no acid pitchers here.” Kyrinna saw Zeltencia staring at her with bewilderment, so she explained. “It's a plant that eats like an animal...it lures little birds and rodents inside it with a sweet-smelling gastric juice that dissolves them.” Kyrinna pointed at the corner of her hut to the left of the door and added, “I've been thinking of getting one for the place, actually. Put it right over there.” Zel laughed. “Only you, Syrup,” she lamented, smiling wide. [[Previous|Page 74]] | [[Next|Page 76]]

“Only you would see a plant that lures birds into its stomach and dissolves them, and think of putting it up like an ordinary houseplant,” Zel teased. “What?" Kyrinna spat. "An acid pitcher would be great! I could use its acid in my alchemy, and it would lure pests away from the Night Watch's food stores!” She got less than a syllable into her next sentence before she felt Zel embrace her from behind. “It's just so...I don't know. You think really differently than most people I know.” Zel began to nuzzle her, her chin pressing against Kyrinna's shoulder. “But that's why you've been able to help me and the rest of the Night Watch so much already. I don't know if it's from having to hide your alchemy from the Church, but...whatever reason you're here for....I'm glad we met.” “Me too,” Kyrinna blurted. Not only had Zel bought her alibi hook, line, and sinker, but she'd also been friendly and helpful long afterward. She leaned her head toward Zel's a bit as she bottled up some flasks. “Wanna hear what else I did to this stuff?” “Yes please,” Zel replied. “I know stomach acid breaks down food, but that wooden pole practically melted...! That doesn't seem normal.” Kyrinna let out a deep-bellied laugh. “It's not!” she confirmed, carefully setting her full flask on a box to her right, and grabbing an empty one from behind her. It was a little harder to work with Zel holding on from behind, but she wasn't enough in the way to make her let go. “With a little ocean brine and a little magic, though, the stuff's more potent than ever!” “...how do you alchemist types figure this stuff out, anyway?” Before Kyrinna could answer, the door to her hut burst open. On reflex, Zel immediately disentangled herself from Kyrinna and stood at attention to the ironclad figure in the doorway. [[Previous|Page 75]] | [[Next|Page 77]]

Whoever had thrown open Kyrinna's door, they were dressed head to toe in heavy plate armor much like the templars wore, but even more full and obscuring. They had an enormous tower shield and a long spear slung across their back, and stared at the two women through a thin slit in their sallet helm. Zel positioned herself in front of the armored figure and gave a friendly wave. “Hello, Chrome!” she greeted them. The person in the armor perked up a bit and waved back. “Oh, you haven't met Syrup yet, have you?” Zel moved back a bit and turned back toward Chrome. “Chrome, this is Syrup. She's the newest recruit, remember?” Chrome nodded and gave Kyrinna a short wave. Then they gave some more motions toward Kyrinna, their armor clanking softly as they moved. They started with a circular motion with their palm pointed chestward, then their two index fingers coming together, and ended by pointing at the young fen witch. “What are they doing?” Kyrinna whispered to Zel. “Chrome speaks with their hands,” Zel explained. “They just said 'nice to meet you'. The Chief taught us all a bunch of signs we can use to communicate.” “Ah.” Kyrinna repeated the signs back at Chrome. “Nice to meet you too,” she said, staring at Chrome. “So do you wear the armor all the time?” Chrome nodded in reply, throwing a few more signs. They crossed their fingers and motioned outward a bit, pointed at their own head, moved their hands back in with their thumbs out, and ended with kind of a shrug. Zel laughed and leaned on Kyrinna a bit. “They say they're ready for anything. But it's true, Chrome doesn't let anyone see them without their armor.” With another laugh, she added, “You know how Chrome got accepted into the Night Watch?” The person in the armor chopped their right hand onto their left. Whatever that sign meant, Zel apparently ignored it. “The Chief came at them with everything she's got, and they didn't even budge!” [[Previous|Page 76]] | [[Next|Page 78]]

“Whoa,” Kyrinna gasped. She remembered the quilladillo the Chief had caught and flung away from Fracotel so effortlessly, and couldn't imagine someone resisting that much muscle. Zeltencia sure had some crazy coworkers. “What are you doing here, Chrome?” Chrome replied by slamming their fists together, then their palms. The clank of the armor reverberated through the shed as their bulky gauntlets smashed against each other. Zel threw her hands up and moved toward the exit. “Great,” she groaned, “who's fighting this time?” Chrome's next sign was quieter and far more subtle, mostly a twitch of the middle finger. “Bennett...!” Zel sighed. Chrome exited the shed before they could respond to anything else. Zel strode after them, but froze in the doorway. She looked up expectantly at Kyrinna and asked, “Aren't you coming?” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. “C'mon, nerd, why would I do that?” she asked, returning her attention to the cauldron in front of her. “Besides, I gotta take care of this stuff!” Zel gripped the doorway tighter, glancing back and forth between Kyrinna and Chrome. “I mean, everyone tends to come running when there's a fight.” “If you wanna go, then go.” Zel stared at Kyrinna a bit longer, forcing a sigh. “I don't wanna go, Zel, I wanna keep working here.” Zel slowly nodded, still braced in the doorway, weighing her options. “...well,” she finally said, taking a step toward Kyrinna, “you never did answer my question.” “What question?” Kyrinna hissed into her mixture, struggling to safely bottle it. She was too enraptured in that task to keep an eye on Zel. She could hear a box in the corner voice its complaints, however, doubtlessly as Zel hoisted herself onto it. “How do alchemists learn recipes?” “Oh, that!” [[Previous|Page 77]] | [[Next|Page 79]]

Kyrinna was glad Zel didn't let the chance to talk about alchemy to pass her by. She loved giving her lectures, but she wouldn't know what to say if it weren't for Zel's questions. “Well,” she began, still bottling her acidic mixture, “you'd think we just try things, right?” When Zel nodded, Kyrinna couldn't help but laugh. “Wrong! You have to be really careful to note down exactly what you're using and how much, if you work that way. Plus, sometimes different preparations like grinding or heating can completely change the outcome. Experimentation is very precise and very difficult...plus you might accidentally blow yourself up! That's just not how things are done, usually.” “If that's not how you do it, what is?” Zel asked. Kyrinna looked up from her now-empty cauldron to see Zel sitting there, hands under her chin, staring intently. She flashed the redhead a smile and answered, “Help me clean this cauldron, or I'll keep telling you the wrong things!” Kyrinna ended her offer by sticking out her tongue. “Okay...!” Zel moved her hands down to her sides, to push her off her box and propel her toward the cauldron. “What do I do?” If it were up to Kyrinna, she'd just dump it out in the woods somewhere. Her parents had been careless about that back when they were alive, though. She remembered the people of Irae saying that the grass died around their home because they were so tainted by evil, when it was really just acid killing all the plant life. She didn't want the kind of heat that her parents faced, so her only choice was to do it the long way. “Do we have ashes anywhere? They...cancel the acid out so it's not so dangerous.” Zel thought for a moment, glancing back toward the door. “...ashes from any old thing? Because the mess hall ends up with more wood ash than they know what to do with.” Kyrinna nodded, even though she wasn't totally sure. She'd simply incinerated failed experiments and used their ashes if she ever needed to neutralize an acid. She figured cremated remains would be a bit harder to come by, so Zel's idea would have to do. “Yeah, then let's go there. We'll walk and talk, how 'bout that?” [[Previous|Page 78]] | [[Next|Page 80]]

Zel nodded and accidentally overtook Kyrinna as the two walked across campus to reach the mess hall. She skidded a bit, slowing herself to let Kyrinna catch back up, before pressing her question again. “Now just tell me! This is the third time I've had to ask...how do you learn what things do?” “Okay, okay...!” Kyrinna giggled, trying and failing to stay composed in the face of Zel's sheer enthusiasm. “First of all, sometimes we don't even learn for ourselves! Grandma always said, the two things you learn from the most in this job are animals and accidents.” “Yeah? How does that work? Is it like how Cydia learns from animals?” “Oh, the wildspeaker stuff? A lot less magical, but something like that, sure.” As the two of them entered the mess hall, they immediately spied a circle of people that had formed nearby. Kyrinna recognized Chrome as being part of the crowd, but didn't know many other names. As she and Zel made their way around, she caught glimpses of the center of the circle, where Bennett and some other person she didn't recognize were both gasping for air. Bennett's face was a bit worse for wear, covered in blood from his smashed nose, but she knew his physique well enough. “Here's a story for you,” Kyrinna continued, walking along with Zel as if the fight wasn't even there. “You remember star herb and fool's herb, right? When we first met Cydia, going flower-picking in the marsh?” Zel nodded, instinctively reaching for her coat. She was wearing the same one she'd brought to the marsh, with the dirt-caked bits simply cut away. What remained of the coat didn't even reach Zel's waist. “Well, fool's herb was discovered first, by an assassin who saw an animal clawing at the plant once. He figured he'd do the same, and he became fond of coating his weapon in it. Well, one time he used star herb by mistake! Imagine his shock when he went to kill someone, only for him to treat the wound about the same time he caused it! Grandma told me that one.” Zel had been laughing right from the word “mistake”, and only when the pair reached the kitchen did she finally calm down. “Imagine!” she gasped. “Healing knives! I bet those guys back there would love some right about now!” [[Previous|Page 79]] | [[Next|Page 81]]

Kyrinna joined Zel in her laughter, her eyes squeezing shut a bit even as she observed her surroundings. Between the wooden walls and the sheer array of instruments and ingredients lining the area, it felt like her alchemy hut in a way. “Hi...!” she greeted the first person she found there, still chuckling a bit. “Do you guys have ashes? Like, from your cooking fires?” “Oh, hey Syrup, Zel,” the staff member greeted them. Kyrinna had never met this guy before, so she wasn't sure how he identified her so easily. “Yeah, we have it barreled up out back. Why, did you need some too?” Kyrinna raised an eyebrow. “Too...?” The cook nodded. “Sometimes we cook corn in it or sell it to soap-makers. What are you using it for?” “Cleaning.” Kyrinna hadn't known of the other uses, but she quickly incorporated the knowledge. “See, Zel? Soap-makers use it too...you can find alchemy everywhere, if you know how to see it.” She turned back to the cook, still wearing a smug smile. “Yeah, it's either this or we take another cauldron from you guys.” The cook laughed and pointed a thumb toward the back door of the mess hall. “If those are our options, yeah, we'll spare the ash. Right out that door, to your left.” While Kyrinna was already on the move, Zel stuck around for a second. “Thanks,” she said, while trying to peer out into the dining area where the fight had taken place. Kyrinna heard her scamper to catch up, just in time to do most of the work getting a barrel of ash rolling. “I had another question...not about alchemy.” Zel let out a sharp grunt as the barrel hit a divot in the path, providing a little unexpected resistance. “You said you and Bennett saw a string of light hit that Phantom and take it away...have you seen anything like it before?” [[Previous|Page 80]] | [[Next|Page 82]]

Kyrinna shook her head. “Curious little nerd, aren't you? No, I've never seen anything like it. The Phantom used strings, but strings of ice. Of course, those Fracotel scouts, one of them really went crazy when I talked about it. Something about how light would never work with darkness like that. He said it was flat-out impossible. But you believe me, don't you, Zel?” Zeltencia looked away from Kyrinna for a moment, holding the barrel in place as she gazed toward Mt. Sorrow. “I've never seen anything like it before either. But Syrup...it's not like you've lied to me before or anything.” Kyrinna felt as if her insides were balling up. She had to look away, and missed Zel turning back to give her a confident smile. “If you say there was a ray of light that took the Phantom away, I believe you. Who knows, maybe it's something we can observe, or research, or experiment with, like you do with alchemy.” The prospect of an intellectual pursuit dissolved Kyrinna's anxiety instantly. “Yeah? And where do you suggest we start, ya nerd?” “The Church.” Zel shook her head about as soon as she said it. “I don't like it either. Bennett's on better terms with the Church, though...if he saw it too, maybe he'll go ask in our stead.” Kyrinna had had enough emotional ups and downs for one night. Zel's idea was the last straw. “Let's, uh...let's worry about that later. We have to neutralize the acid I mixed up...!” [[Previous|Page 81]] | [[Next|Page 83]]

## Chapter 13 Kyrinna watched through the window as just about every member of the Night Watch marched out of the premises, wreathed by a procession of templars. “What's that about?” she asked, jutting a thumb toward the window. The Chief shook her head, putting herself between Kyrinna and the window. “We got a request straight from Marquis Luman,” she answered, “the highest-ranked Church official on the continent. But you two don't seem to mix very well with the templars, so we're handling a different assignment.” Kyrinna couldn't help but be a little pleased that she'd be partnering with Zel again. “That sounds right, yeah,” the acrobat agreed, glancing over at Kyrinna. “As much as we both dislike them, they'd really flip their lid about Syrup's hut.” “I know...I know.” The Chief massaged her temples for a moment. “But MacVelod's recovering really well, and we've got Syrup to thank for that. I've pulled him from active duty until we're sure he's ready, but he's been really helpful around the kitchen.” “Oh,” Kyrinna mouthed, finally putting two and two together. The guy that had recognized her so quickly in the kitchen must have been the man whose life she saved with her healing salve. She'd been so focused on the task itself that she hadn't really bothered committing MacVelod himself to memory. “Luman said he wanted every member available, so I was pretty worried. But in a way, we're lucky...we had another request come in. And if we're already assigned to something, well, we're not available, right?” Zel gave a short chuckle, leaning forward in her chair. “Chief, you're a genius,” she sighed. Something about the wistful tone of Zel's voice threw both her and the Chief a bit off-balance. The Chief cleared her throat and shook her head, eager to get back to the briefing. “What do you two know about Lear Lighthouse?” “That tower on the coast?” Zel shrugged. “I know the name, but that's about it.” The Chief turned her gaze to Kyrinna. “Don't look at me, nerd,” she scoffed. “I buy my ocean brine.” [[Previous|Page 82]] | [[Next|Page 84]]

“...okay,” the Chief muttered, seating herself on the edge of her desk. “Raise your hand if you've ever traveled across the ocean before.” When no one raised their hand, including the Chief, she laughed. “Yeah, that's because Phantoms in the water make it so risky. But that's where the lighthouse comes in...it uses mirrors to focus a beam of light that can escort a ship to Diria, a town on the opposite continent. Don Gato put a ton of money into having it built, but he's probably made it all back charging folks to use its light.” “Don Gato?” Zel repeated. She leaned back in her chair and let out a long grunt, the front legs of the chair leaving the floor. “Don't tell me he's the client...?” When the Chief nodded, Zel looked ready to walk out of the room then and there. “Maybe I should've followed the Church after all.” “Quiet, Zel. Don Gato won't be there...it wasn't even him that made this request, not directly.” The Chief held up a messy scrap of paper. “Normally, we wouldn't follow a lead that looks like this...” Kyrinna leaned closer, only to find that the note was covered in erratic handwriting, with many words crossed out. The Chief brought up a finger to trace along some words as she continued. “...and I wouldn't care much for someone offering 'haf now haf latr'.” “Half of what?” Kyrinna asked, genuinely confused by the expression. The Chief's response was to laugh. “Syrup, always asking the right questions.” She threw open a drawer in her desk, and fished out a small pouch made from an animal bladder wrapped in leather. “Two thousand...Luman isn't even paying that much. So if this is half...well, there's some renovations we could afford.” The Chief picked up a picture frame on her desk, though Kyrinna could only see the back of it. “I think you'd be proud.” “Who, me?” Kyrinna's question startled the Chief into dropping the frame back on her desk. “Anyway, once you two are ready, we'll head out.” [[Previous|Page 83]] | [[Next|Page 85]]

The path to the Lear Lighthouse was well-worn and relatively peaceful. Kyrinna, Zel, and the Chief mostly shared the road with anglers and dock workers, many of them queued into a long line in front of a simple-looking shack. “Ooh,” Zel cooed, “what's that smell?” The Chief answered by pointing toward the shack. “Sea work really gives you an appetite,” she replied, “so a chef set up shop here.” Indeed, even from afar, Kyrinna could see a well-lit outdoor dining area, nearly every table filled to capacity. “The letter wasn't very specific about what's happening, but I think we can learn from the people here.” When they joined the line, however, the folks in earshot in front of and behind them had no idea what could be a threat to the lighthouse. The gang's only choice was to wait for the line to dwindle, bringing them to the chef's shack. Zel and the Chief struck up a conversation as they waited, leaving Kyrinna alone with her thoughts. When she and Bennett had returned to Fracotel with the scouts in tow, the Chief had been pleased with their work, though just as confused as Zel was about the ray of light that abducted the Phantom. Regardless, she'd valued Kyrinna's contributions to the exploration and her notes on the Phantom's behavior patterns. Kyrinna had to admit, it felt good to put her analytical mind to use, even if there was no immediate benefit to her findings. Regardless, helping with Fracotel's water supply seemed like an easy way to get people to testify in her favor. One thing Kyrinna still didn't know, though, was how no one had done the same in her grandma's defense. She had been kind and helpful, not just to the folks of Irae, but to travelers from afar lured in by the rumors that surrounded her. Then again, neither her reputation nor her kindness had saved her from execution. Kyrinna shrugged. These good deeds were no guarantee that she would be safe from the Church's wrath, but they were still her best shot. [[Previous|Page 84]] | [[Next|Page 86]]

“Syrup!” Zel called from the front of the line. Kyrinna blinked a bit, realizing she'd stepped out of line toward the ocean. The water shined like a blanket of glass as it reflected a line of lights posted along the shoreline. The queue had moved along without her, pushing Zel and the Chief to the front, and leaving strangers in their place near Kyrinna. She began to hustle to catch up, but an arm jutted into her path, packed with lean muscle. “No cutting!” the arm's owner barked, a messy-haired angler in a gray tunic. “Relax, nerd!” Kyrinna said as she weaved around the outstretched arm. “I'm not here for food...this is Night Watch business.” To prove her point, she hoisted her alchemical satchel, pointing the Watch's emblem at the angler. “We've got a tip about a threat to the Lear Lighthouse. And since the tip came to the Night Watch, we're guessing it's Phantom-related.” The human obstacle gave a short laugh. “The ocean's full of Phantoms. That's not a tip, that's a truism.” Kyrinna shook her head. “If it's not a big deal, then go for a swim, why don't'cha?” Rather than hear out the angler's response, Kyrinna kept going, giving the line a wide berth so no one else would misread her intentions. “Syrup, there you are,” the Chief cooed as Kyrinna finally approached her and Zel. She'd apparently gotten so sick of waiting for Kyrinna that she had undone her armor, exposing her arms to the coastal breeze. “I don't know...we've heard some stories, but nothing about a Phantom.” Kyrinna put a hand on her hip, trying to stand comfortably and urge the Chief to spill the beans. Instead, it was Zel who picked up the slack. “Oh...well, some ships have been missing their mark,” she began. She paused to take a bite of some kind of sandwich before she continued. Unfortunately, that bite muffled her next sentence, rendering it incoherent. [[Previous|Page 85]] | [[Next|Page 87]]

The Chief rolled her eyes and took a step forward. “What she's trying to say is, ships usually use the lighthouse as a beacon...its light traces a safe path to the harbor for incoming ships. But sometimes sailors follow a light they think is the lighthouse, and end up crashing into uninhabited shore, if they're lucky.” “And if they're not?” Kyrinna asked, looking up and down the coast. “They run into some rocks off the shore, the ship sinks, cargo's lost, sometimes there's casualties in the crew...really pretty terrible.” Kyrinna put her hand on her chin, scanning the coast some more. “...is that what we were sent to deal with?” “That's not a threat to the lighthouse,” Zel said, taking another bite of sandwich. All Kyrinna could do in reply was laugh. “Hey, Zel...remember what you told me? You don't have a head for business!” Kyrinna waved the others away from the chef's shack, talking as they walked, the smell of fried fish following them. “What if the letter wasn't talking about a direct threat?” “You lost me, Syrup.” “Who needs a lighthouse if some nerd can lure in ships with a light of their own?” Zel nodded. “...Don Gato would've spent all that money for nothing?” “Oh, Zel,” the Chief said, massaging her forehead, “it's not just what he spent. It's that he'll have to split the business with...uh, whoever.” “Good riddance.” The Chief stopped and took Zel by the shoulders. “Zeltencia von Trepe,” she snapped. Her tone surprised both of her companions, but she was undeterred. “I know you don't want to help Don Gato. But this isn't about Don Gato, this is about all those other ships being led astray.” Zel snapped her fingers. With the conversation now firmly out of the realm of business acumen, things were closer to her wheelhouse. “You're right!” she gasped. “Like, one or two ships could be an accident, but we just kept hearing about it...so it's gotta be on purpose! I can't turn my back on someone causing all that damage on purpose!” [[Previous|Page 86]] | [[Next|Page 88]]

With that, Zel took a few running steps down the beach, only for Kyrinna to grab her collar and reel her back in. “Cool it, nerd,” she said, crossing her arms when Zel gave her a look. “Where are you going?” “There's nothing else to discuss!” Zel was already running again. “We have to follow the leads from some of the survivors!” Kyrinna looked over at the Chief, who seemed as confused as she was. Zel, however, was on top of things. “Guys, between the Night Watch and the circus, I've been throwing knives for as long as I can remember.” With a laugh, she added, “I can draw lines in my head.” “Zel and her circus tricks...” Kyrinna had messed up Zel's jacket collar when she grabbed it. As she folded it back into its position, the two of them looked into each other's eyes, smiling all the while. “But finding the fake light is only part of it.” She had no idea why Zel was smiling, but Kyrinna was glad to have the conversation in another area of expertise of hers. “If the criminal knows we're on to them, they could just lay low and wait for us to leave.” Granted, she'd been on the run for less time than Zel had been throwing knives, but she'd just stay quiet on that. “Or they could take a ship to Diria, work their outfit from the other continent.” The Chief interrupted the brainstorm session with a hearty laugh. “I'm glad I came along,” she said, smiling along with the others. “It's good to see my crew in action...tells me a lot about your weaknesses.” “Weaknesses?” Zel repeated. The smile she'd been wearing faded instantly. “What about our plans suggests a weakness?” “Sometimes you get too focused and miss something important.” With that, the Chief pointed in roughly the direction Zel had been running, but more inland. Kyrinna gasped as she watched a powerful light glimmer from behind thick vegetation. [[Previous|Page 87]] | [[Next|Page 89]]

“What do w—“ “We're going to hide our lights and surround that person,” the Chief said decisively. Kyrinna let out a soft, quiet gasp. She was amazed that the Chief had already figured it out. “Syrup and I will head along the beach...Zel, you're agile, you'll come in through the brush. With our relative speeds, we'll end up in position naturally. The only way they'll be able to escape is through the water or through the trees...and either one is slow and noisy.” There was no cue to begin their maneuvers. The Chief turned away to sprint along the sand of the coast as soon as she was done speaking, leaving the others a bit in shock. As Kyrinna scrambled to catch up, she had to ask herself, “Did she plan for us to hesitate too?” She'd muttered it aloud, it had been such a surprise. But with the light and the Chief both on the move, there was just no time to ponder that, or anything else except taking her next step. As Kyrinna started to lag behind, Zel turned her trajectory inland a bit. “Okay,” she panted quietly, while the group was still close. “The way it's moving, and the stories the sailors told...” Zel jabbed her index finger toward the sea, bringing Kyrinna's attention to an oddity in the waves. As reflective as most of the water's surface was, there was a section that the light seemed not to touch. “...it's headed for those rocks!” “Oh, there's rocks there,” Kyrinna wheezed to herself, amazed at the speed and stamina of her companions. She'd had so much trouble running through the sand of the beach, but the others seemed to push themselves along effortlessly. Whoever had the light was also moving briskly, undeterred by the three of them moving into position. She'd seen Zel run before, and she could tell that the terrain had been slowing her down. The light seemed to move like it didn't touch the ground at all. “Crap!” Kyrinna blurted. “Everyone, lanterns on!” Just as she suspected, the lights that the Chief had asked them to extinguish appeared not to turn on, too mired in an eerie black fog. [[Previous|Page 88]] | [[Next|Page 90]]

## Chapter 14 “The second lighthouse is a Phantom!” Kyrinna shouted. It wasn't for the benefit of her companions, who must have realized this as well when they saw their own lanterns. Whoever else was in earshot, however, would be hearing this for the first time. She trusted enough of them would evacuate far enough to get the word out, and put another positive mark on her testimony. First, she'd have to do something about the Phantom. Whatever it was, it wobbled in the air, dancing its way out of the brush without touching so much as a leaf. It seemed to move about on large wings, but Kyrinna couldn't see more than that. She winced in pain and turned away from the Phantom, covering her eyes as she blinked rapidly. This quickly made sense to her; if sailors were confusing this creature with the lighthouse, the height and brightness it could achieve would make things difficult. “What now, Syrup?” Zel asked, from somewhere beyond the Phantom. “It's just too bright...!” “I...I'll solve this!” Kyrinna replied. She wasn't sure if she even could, but she knew their lives depended on it. If she was going to make it out alive, she'd have to find a way. The weight of such stakes seemed to push on her and dissipate all at once in less than a second, as she nodded to no one in particular. “There's got to be a way I can see it, to fight it...!” “Figure it out, Rufyan!” the Chief said, much further away than she'd started. At the angle she was headed, Kyrinna guessed that the soft splashes out in the ocean a bit were from the Chief as well. She was still holding the basic formation, keeping the three of them in a triangle around the Phantom. Kyrinna couldn't help but let out a soft, satisfied hum. She watched the Phantom move indirectly, tracking its light in the corner of her eye. Its movements seemed unfettered, which worried her. “I think it's ignoring us...!” Normally, she'd be happy to let it go. She could track down Cydia and take up her offer to join the Cuprina Brigade. Her body was already turned in the right direction to walk away. Every time she moved to sneak away, she saw Zel in her mind, and her feet refused to move. “Ugh, fine,” she groaned down at her body. She turned her focus back to the Phantom, tabling the questions she had about what had just happened to her. [[Previous|Page 88]] | [[Next|Page 91]]

“Watch out!” Zel warned. Kyrinna wasn't sure what to watch out for, or indeed how, until she heard something falling from the sky. Only when one of the wet plops landed in front of her did she realize that Zel's plan was to throw some knives wildly. She couldn't even mentally chastise Zel for the reckless move before one of the knives made contact. The Phantom let out a bizarre screech in reply, its wingbeats moving much faster. Its lazy beeline for the water turned jagged and unpredictable. “What'd you do?” the Chief asked from her vantage point in the waves. “I hit it...Syrup was right. It was ignoring us, but I think I got its attention!” Kyrinna hated it. She'd been trying to observe the Phantom, Zel had changed its behavior entirely, and she'd been too deep in her own head to talk Zel out of it. Worse, she noticed an odd glitter now coated the sand in front of her. “It's dropping something on us!” she said to the others. What it was or did, she hadn't worked out. This stupid Phantom and all its mysteries were really getting on her nerves. “What?” the Chief gasped. Kyrinna instinctively turned her head toward the voice, nearly burning her eyes on the Phantom's radiance. “Chief!” she called out, squeezing her eyes shut. “Syrup! I can't move my arms...I think it's the stuff...!” Kyrinna let out a jagged sigh. She and Zel were both wearing layers, but the Chief had taken her armor off when she'd been kept waiting. At least she had an answer to something, though, which calmed her mind. The mystery powder somehow rendered the Chief unable to move. “Chief!” Zel screamed, running toward her boss. The Phantom let out another cry, drowning out Zel's footfalls. “No you don't...!” From there, the only thing Kyrinna heard above the Phantom's wailing was a scream from Zeltencia. [[Previous|Page 90]] | [[Next|Page 92]]

The Phantom was high in the sky, dust trailing its ascent. “Zel...?” Kyrinna gasped into the darkness, searching the shoreline. “Chief?” The only answer she got was from the waves. “C'mon, guys, where are you?” This question was also met with relative silence. “...off me, von Trepe.” Kyrinna gasped. “There you guys are! W—“ “Syrup,” Zel interrupted. The Phantom was high enough in the sky to look more directly toward Zel's voice. Kyrinna saw her in the waves, her body splayed over the Chief's, and her coat along with it. The surface of the coat shimmered, covered in the Phantom's dust. “We're okay! I got to the Chief in time!” “Okay...!” Kyrinna heaved a sigh of relief. “I think I've got this Phantom all figured out.” “Then how do we beat it?” the Chief asked, struggling to her feet. Even Zel could see that the Chief wasn't using her arms to rise, and offered one of her own to help. “Ever since my arms hit the water, they've been stinging like crazy.” Kyrinna chuckled. “Don't worry, nerd...if one knife from Zel was enough to send it into a shrieking, diving frenzy, it can't be all that tough. Just listen to yourself...you could be screaming in pain. How worried are you?” The Chief stuck out her hip and scoffed. Her arm seemed to be uncooperative to whatever pose she was trying to pull. “We'll make it. It's that dust catching the wind and blowing toward the chef's shack that I'm worried about. That's where all the sea workers congregate...that would be a disaster.” “If we can keep it low, the dust has less of a chance of making it that far. We need a way to see that nerd and shoot it down!” Zel chuckled. “Whoa...yes ma'am!” she gasped. That was all the encouragement she needed to lob her knives toward the sky, flying talons groping out for the Phantom. Kyrinna wasn't surprised by the silence that followed, or the wet plops that came afterward. “...okay, I get it, we can't just skip to that step. But it's just too bright...it hurts my eyes so much to look at!” [[Previous|Page 91]] | [[Next|Page 93]]

Kyrinna nodded and stayed with Zel as she moved toward the Chief. “So what's your plan, von Trepe...?” the Chief asked. “Same thing I've always done in the spotlight...put on a show.” From there, Zel took no further questions. Instead, she grabbed any knife she could, even the ones out of the dirt. Kyrinna couldn't see where she was tossing them, only that they were going upwards. Whatever the show was, there's no way she'd see it through the gleam of the Phantom's rays. For awhile, all she could see were knives going up, but eventually, they began to fall back down, this time in a controlled descent. Rather than falling uselessly into the dirt, they reunited with Zel's hands for a moment, then returned to the sky. “Juggling?” the Chief scoffed. “von Trepe, have you lost your m—“ “Shh.” Kyrinna knew a look of concentration when she saw one, and that was definitely the state Zel was in. She could see the discipline in Zel's posture. At once, she was sure that even if there wasn't a lighthouse-like Phantom shining overhead, Zel still wouldn't look up, nor would she have to look up to catch the falling knives. At the same time, Kyrinna also caught the most relaxed vibe she'd ever felt from Zeltencia. She had no such insight into the Phantom's response. It let out another shriek, briefly drowning out its frantic wingbeats. It was lining up another dive, that much seemed certain. Its angle, on the other hand, was nearly impossible to compute without any visual cues to go on. When Kyrinna finally realized the depth of Zel's cunning, she couldn't help but gasp. Sure enough, Zel's shimmering wall of iron stopped the Phantom in its tracks. She'd laid a trap of sorts in the sky, one she managed to lure the Phantom directly through, judging by its pained wailing. The horrible grinding sound that ensued nearly made Kyrinna look out of sheer reflex, but the three of them seemed sure enough of what it was. Instead, she watched Zel take a bow under the very last knife. Zel giggled a bit and swung her arm up over her head, ensnaring the handle of the knife in an upside-down grip. “'The audience deserves perfection',” Zeltencia muttered toward the ocean. “That's the von Trepe motto...!” [[Previous|Page 92]] | [[Next|Page 94]]

“For the record, that's exactly why I send her out ahead,” the Chief added, pausing to chew her reward dinner. The sheer number of people that had mobbed the trio had startled Kyrinna at first. She was sure the seafarers would start asking questions. Instead, they'd led a spirited cheer of “They did it!”. The anglers' gratitude toward the death of the Phantom Somewhere in the din, had apparently extended an invitation to eat with them at the chef's longhouse. The Chief had stayed behind with Kyrinna, while Zel soaked up the adulation of the anglers in the audience. Zel seemed to revel in the attention, while Kyrinna was glad the anglers were bugging someone else. With the air less crowded, the starchy cake filled with fish and vegetables was far more appetizing. The Chief pointed her fork toward Zel, as she began juggling some forks to astonish the crowd. “She's not just having fun,” the Chief continued, letting her fork slip out of her fingers and onto the wooden table. “You ought to know...she was the first you saw of the Night Watch too. That's a first impression stronger than any Phantom's, huh...?” “Yeah,” Kyrinna replied flatly. “How are your arms?” “Huh? Oh...” The Chief let out a short sigh. “I didn't drop my fork on purpose...it still kind of stings where that dust touched my skin. There's times where it really hurts, such short times that I almost don't notice.” “And that's when you lose your grip on things?” Kyrinna stared at the wall behind the Chief, flipping through Grandma Syrup's recipes in her head for a way to treat that kind of pain. Failing that, it'd be nice to have a sample for herself. The shining dust had such drastic effects on its victims, and for a longer term than she had expected. She knew she'd have to keep an eye on the Chief and study things further. “And you,” the Chief huffed, snapping Kyrinna out of her thoughts. “You've had Zel vouching for you this whole time, and you haven't disappointed me yet. If I do have to leave the Night Watch in steadier hands, I think it'll be okay.” [[Previous|Page 93]] | [[Next|Page 95]]

“...huh?” The Chief shrugged. “I see how you're looking at me, Syrup,” she huffed. She went to feed herself another morsel of fish cake, but ended up fumbling her fork. “We're both thinking the same thing, aren't we? How long is this gonna last...?” Kyrinna shook her head. “Lucky guess,” she scoffed, stealing a glance at Zel. The acrobat was standing on her hands, and the way she'd oriented herself pointed her face back at Kyrinna. She flashed a wide, upside-down smile before pushing off the floor and returning to her feet. The Chief laughed in Zel's direction. “Your grandmother could just look at a person...it's like she could see inside people, through their clothes, through their skin.” Turning to Kyrinna, she added, “Besides...I've seen enough strange things happen that I think I believe her now.” Kyrinna couldn't even ask what the Chief was referring to. She tried, but her mouth was too full of food for it to come out properly. “Well,” the Chief continued with a laugh, “she told me she'd see me again.” Kyrinna stared at the Chief, giving the reveling anglers a chance to finish their cheer for whatever Zel was up to. “So what?” she asked. “People say that sort of thing all the time.” “Not after they tell you the date of their execution, they don't.” The Chief gestured toward Kyrinna with a wide sweep of her arm. “And now...here you are. Same name, same occupation, even the same recipes. Now that we're seeing Phantoms bend the light to their will, trusting misspelled notes from random clients, and using loopholes to dodge the Church...well, if your grandma's right, it still wouldn't be the craziest thing to happen lately.” Kyrinna knew a thing or two about Grandma Syrup's beliefs. Reincarnation was among them, but she said such a thing happened at death. Then again, she could never tell Syrup's prophecies apart from her metaphors. Still, it seemed like a big deal, having the Chief compare Kyrinna to her grandma. “Thank you, Chief,” she finally said, mimicking Zel's bow from earlier as best she could in her seat. “That means a lot to me.” She'd meant to lie, but she was surprised at how genuine the sentiment felt. [[Previous|Page 94]] | [[Next|Page 96]]

## Chapter 15 “Some of those anglers even remembered the von Trepe family shows,” Zel said with a sigh. She'd cut her way into the silence the three of them had been lulled into. The moonlit air was a pleasant mix of chill and humidity that kept Kyrinna safe from breaking a sweat. She'd been content to bask in it as they traveled, but found herself interested in Zel's outburst all the same. “What'd you do?” Kyrinna asked, barely noticing the words until she'd said them. “In the shows, I mean.” Zel looked over her shoulder briefly, a wide smile on her face. “Oh, I never told you?” With a laugh, she added, “I'm surprised at myself, really.” Kyrinna shooed at Zel's back. “Don't worry, nerd. It was a circus thing...” She couldn't help but trail off, not knowing much about the circus, or about what they could use a knife thrower for. “...I got that far.” “Should've listened back at the longhouse, Syrup!” Zel spun on her heels to shake a finger at Kyrinna, keeping pace with the march all the while. Kyrinna nearly missed the gesture; she was too busy watching the brush along the road point back the way they came, tugged by a gentle breeze. “The von Trepes were a death-defying bunch! We wove dangerous stunts together into these...they were a lot like dance routines. Sometimes we told stories in our routines, too!” Kyrinna had already heard enough about the other von Trepes. “What'd you do, Zel?” she asked again instead, still wanting more details. “It depended on the routine.” Zel fidgeted with one of her knives as she walked, tossing it to herself a couple times after her reply. Her eyes never left the path ahead to track the knife. “I could be a hero, a villain, or just a bit character doing a backup routine...some shows depended on my knife tossing, some on my acrobatics...sometimes both. Those were the fun ones...even if I couldn't wear a hat at the same time!” [[Previous|Page 95]] | [[Next|Page 97]]

“A hat?” the Chief repeated. “I've never seen a hat in your hands, von Trepe.” “I have to always be ready.” Zel nodded and put her hands on her hips as she walked. “Acrobatics and knife-throwing at the same time? A hat's just not practical.” Kyrinna burst out laughing, surprising even herself a little. “You put that coat on...and then you start worrying about practical?” she cackled. Zel put on a show of anger, but ended it with another smile at Kyrinna. “And the lab coat over the dress...that's practical?” “My coat has pockets, you nerd.” To prove her point, Kyrinna jammed her hands in them, her fingernails clinking gently against a small glass phial of acid in each pocket. “It doesn't get more practical than pockets.” “What about the dress?” Kyrinna shook her head. “Of course the dress doesn't have pockets!” Zel laughed and turned back around. “Chief, would you let her dress her...” Zel's trot slowed to a halt, and she waved over her shoulder. “Guys...” “I smell smoke,” Kyrinna gasped. She was barely done with the sentence when she made it to Zel's side, and saw smoke as well. “The Night Watch...!” the Chief gasped, already sprinting down the road toward the campus. “Chrome!” [[Previous|Page 96]] | [[Next|Page 98]]

The three of them didn't speak again until they arrived on the Night Watch campus, coming up near the rear ranks of a small platoon of templars. None of them spoke as the trio arrived on the scene. Chrome was standing in front of the dozen or so warriors; despite a friendly wave, they were as quiet as ever. The grass around them was scorched in a few seemingly random places, and a few of the Night Watch flags showed varying amounts of fire damage. “Someone wanna tell me what this is all about?” the Chief snapped, striding toward the campus gates like the templars weren't even there. Despite having flanked the group, Kyrinna could tell the front line was in far worse shape, some of them having collapsed on the ground. Whatever had happened to them, it seemed to have caused a standstill. The Chief was practically alone on the path into the campus by the time she arrived at Chrome's side. “Report...!” Chrome dutifully signed the Chief in on the events. The specific hand gestures were simply too hard to see from Kyrinna's angle, however. “None of you nerds wanna share your side?” she asked. “What side?” one of the templars finally answered, breaking rank to face Kyrinna. “We have orders to search the Night Watch campus. That is the truth...that's all there is to it.” She'd heard similar sentiments from Eyron before, so she couldn't help but gag. “Yeah, but why?” “Don't bother, Rufyan,” the Chief said, her eyes still on Chrome. “Apparently these two tried that, but it hasn't worked. Wait...two? Chrome, is someone else here?” Chrome replied by pointing to Kyrinna's hut. “They're in there, huh?” The Chief turned to Kyrinna, arms crossed. “Well? Get a move on, Rufyan!” When Kyrinna stayed rooted in place, the Chief let out a short groan. “Go search that building!” [[Previous|Page 97]] | [[Next|Page 99]]

Kyrinna nodded. “Right...!” she said, doing her best to look busy as she moved through the crowd. She kept her gaze on her satchel, denying any curious templars the chance to identify her. All that looking downward also brought a fine dust to her attention as it shined under the light of her lantern. It looked an awful lot like the dust of the Phantom she'd just got back from dealing with. Zel quickly caught up with Kyrinna, albeit just in time to meet up with the others. She kept going while Zel stopped to talk to them, breaking out into another run, eager to know who was in her hut. She could already hear some grumbling inside, a curse or two, wood scraping along the floor, and lids being opened and shut in a hurry. Someone was searching through her things. Chrome had mentioned someone was there, but hadn't indicated that they were with the Church or the Night Watch, so Kyrinna wasn't sure what to expect. “Freeze, nerd!” Kyrinna shouted, knocking the door open with her hip. Her knuckles whitened from the grip she had on the acid phials she took from her pockets. One faceful of that stuff, and the intruder wouldn't have a face an— “Oh, Syrup, hey!” a familiar voice called out, interrupting Kyrinna's thoughts. Kyrinna stepped around the door and closed it, only to see Cydia sitting on a crate, a few bottles of healing salve in her arms. Whatever had happened on campus while everyone was away, it'd left quite a few cuts around Cydia's body. As usual, she was barely clothed, much less armored, and it seemed likely that either Chrome or the templars had done a number on her. “I drank one o'dem get-well potions ya make, but it don't seem to be helpin'...” “You dr...” Kyrinna's mind had filled up with so many questions since getting back to the Night Watch, but somehow Cydia's actions were the most arcane to her. “Cydia, you nerd, you're supposed to spread it on your wounds, not drink it.” Cydia shrugged and did as she was told, fascinated by the subtle sizzling sound of the salve working its magic. “Whaddaya know...!” [[Previous|Page 98]] | [[Next|Page 100]]

The scene had Kyrinna doubting her own memories for a moment. Cydia had been there when she'd given the salve to the Fracotel scouts, so there should've been no way for her to get that wrong. Cydia must have noted the look she was getting, judging by what she said next. “Look, Syrup, I ain't been havin' too good a time lately.” “Obviously,” Kyrinna blurted. She gestured toward the cuts and bruises set into Cydia's skin. “Well, I just got back from a job with Zel and our boss, so m—“ “I know, I...” Cydia trailed off, her eyes avoiding Kyrinna's for a few seconds. “...aw, crap, me an' my big mouth. Okay, okay...” Cydia threw her hands over her head and leaned against a nearby wall. “...I sent you's on dat job. Don't gimme no looks...I got you's to do some o'my dirty work, but I paid you's, didn't I?” Kyrinna shook her head. The coastal folk had shown them so much gratitude for their efforts. That meant good reputation for the Night Watch, but more pressingly, for Kyrinna herself. Cydia may have delegated the responsibility, but she'd also forfeited the fame in doing so. “You paid us half, yeah.” Cydia replied with a shrug, and made her way to rest in the doorway to stare out at the others. “Yeah, well, might take me a bit to get you's da other half. Dem Church types were real miffed to see me an' dat numbskull with da armor. Da two of us sure did a number on 'em, though...!” Cydia turned her gaze to the sky and added, “Dis joint was s'posed to be empty...” That was all Kyrinna needed to hear. An epiphany overcame her, urging her out the door, right past Cydia. “What gives?” the wildspeaker asked as Kyrinna pushed past her. “I gotta see the Chief!” Kyrinna shouted over her shoulder. [[Previous|Page 99]] | [[Next|Page 101]]

The weight of Kyrinna's satchel threw off her gait a bit, leading her to stumble as she charged toward the others. By the time she reached them, she was gasping for air. The templars had thinned out, tending to their wounded and giving the Night Watch some space. This gave the others no distractions, and they simply stood there for a bit and waited for Kyrinna to be ready. “Chief...!” “Who's in your hut, Syrup?” Zel asked, her voice a bit hushed. Kyrinna was starting to realize that her pseudonym wasn't as helpful as she thought. Going by her real name would be more dangerous, but trotting around with the same name as an old woman the Church had executed for witchcraft didn't help keep them off her back very well, either. “Chrome says they found an intruder...a wildspeaker. Don't tell me...” Kyrinna nodded. “Yeah, it's Cydia. But listen! Chief...that Church guy wanted every person you had, right?” The Chief nodded. Zel shifted her weight a bit, getting comfy to listen to Kyrinna. “And then they sent templars at a time when everyone should have been away...? I think that was on purpose!” “Well, yeah,” the Chief said, lazily gesturing to the broken platoon. “It makes sense...but it's not like them to skip the Absolution.” Kyrinna couldn't help but sigh at the word. “I guess...they even offered it to Grandma, even with the things they accused her of.” Of course, when they'd gone to Grandma Syrup and demanded that she confess to crimes she didn't commit, she had refused. “I doubt they would've gone any easier on her, but they still gave her the choice.” The Chief nodded, not saying another word even as she peeled herself away from the group. “You lot!” she called out to the templars. “Who here has the highest rank!” “That'd be me,” one of the wounded answered. He was a long-haired man with a little extra gold filigree to his armor. His weight was propped up against his halberd, a weapon no one else in the group wielded. “What is it this time?” “I want to know why you're here.” The leader shook his head. “You've already been informed of our orders. And by now, you've no doubt realized your associates have injured me and several other templars...a serious offense.” [[Previous|Page 100]] | [[Next|Page 102]]

“The spear-wielder is my associate, yes," the Chief agreed, glancing toward Chrome. "The other person...I have my own questions for whoever that is.” The Chief took another step toward the templar, knocking on the halberd as if it were a door. The vibrations those knocks sent along the weapon caused the templar more pain than Kyrinna assumed they would. “But we were never given the Rite of Absolution. A search and seizure at this point is outside your scope.” Kyrinna could hear the templar sucking in air through gritted teeth, but he still answered. “Preposterous. We have our rules...we would not break them.” “We can agree to disagree on that,” the Chief sighed, taking a relaxed stance right next to the templar she addressed. “But here's another rule for you. According to an eyewitness,” she said, pointing to Chrome, “the other person was attempting to steal from us, and ran into you during her escape.” The templar sighed. “For crimes on or against Night Watch property or personnel,” he recited, “the Night Watch has jurisdiction.” The Chief shrugged. “See, if only you boys had followed procedure. Maybe you could've supported your claim that the woman intended to attack you.” The Chief stood up straight, moving back through the gates into the campus. “Your superiors gave us a joint mission to lure us away, and sent you in to do their dirty work. Maybe you should leave before I collect enough information to report you.” Gasps rose from a few of the templars, but after a moment, the leader ultimately turned his back to the campus. “Regroup at the Fracotel chapel!” he ordered. “Those that can, help carry the wounded...but keep your skin covered!” The Night Watch left the Order of Scintilla to their retreat, instead turning their attention to Kyrinna's hut, and the thief holed up within. The group crowded their way around the door, but it was Kyrinna that slipped in ahead of everyone else. “Hey Cydia,” she greeted the wildspeaker, “feeling any better?” “Yeah!” Cydia cooed, glancing down at her cuts. “Dat stuff you mix is da real deal, innit?” Cydia trailed off, staring over Kyrinna's shoulder. When she followed Cydia's gaze, she saw the Chief looming in the doorway, her expression wrinkled and inscrutable. “Chief...?” “Oh, I'm just thinking,” the Chief explained. “This Cydia, she'll have to prove herself in battle for her part in all this. I'm just figuring out the details.” [[Previous|Page 101]] | [[Next|Page 103]]

## Chapter 16 “Is this normal?” Kyrinna whispered, staring across the central plaza of the Night Watch campus at Cydia and Chrome. Zel shrugged. “Sort of,” she replied. “The Chief used to call it a 'Trial by the Sword'...except no one's used a sword any of the times she's used it. That, and only blunted weapons are allo—” “Listen up, everyone!” the Chief bellowed out, over both the folks in the plaza and the throng of onlookers around them. Since they'd just returned from their joint mission with the Church, many of the audience were still clutching snacks, or a change of clothes. “During your mission, Chrome caught a thief skulking around the campus. This thief, Cydia Myssil, will be tried in combat.” A few cheers rose from the crowd then and there. One of the voices was vaguely familiar to Kyrinna, though she didn't know from where. “Pin her up, Zel!” he called out. Judging by the Chief having turned toward the voice, she'd heard it as well. “Normally, yes, that would be the arrangement. But I got back last night to find that Cydia and Chrome teamed up to defend us from an illegal Church raid, and we all missed it. So I've decided that this is going to be a little different.” Turning to Kyrinna and Zeltencia, the Chief continued. “These two have met Cydia before...Zeltencia von Trepe, Syrup Rufyan, I'm sure you've met them.” A few people had, and cheered their announcement. Even Cydia joined in on the cheer. “You guys...!” she shouted at them. Unlike the last exclamation, this one went ignored. “I've heard some of you grumbling about Rufyan behind her back...weak, frail, a nobody.” Kyrinna hadn't noticed, but then, if they'd done it to her face, she'd have been none the wiser. Whatever they'd said couldn't be worse than what she'd managed to tune out in Irae. “We'll see who knows best.” [[Previous|Page 102]] | [[Next|Page 104]]

The Chief walked forward, putting herself between the two duos. “Cydia and Chrome!" she called out. "Are you ready?” “To fight, ya mean?” Cydia asked. “Yeah, I'm ready!” Chrome signaled their readiness by dropping into a battle stance alongside Cydia. The tip of their spear shimmered in the torchlight, a metal sphere in the place of the traditional point. The Chief turned her attention to Kyrinna. “Zel and Syrup! Are you ready?” Zel nodded, opening her coat with a flourish of her arms. “Showtime!” she replied, already clutching multiple knives. “Yeah,” Kyrinna agreed, brandishing her riding crop, “I'll show them the power of alchemy!” While most of the crowd seemed riled up, Cydia had turned to Chrome, a look of confusion on her face. This, too, went without a remark from the Chief. “Then let's not stand around any longer,” she said, already walking backwards. “Fight!” As lost as Cydia had seemed, she heard that loud and clear. Before anyone else had taken a step, she'd already ran to Chrome and vaulted off them, loosing a short spray of spines as she spun through the air. Unlike the more traditional weapons everyone else had, these spines weren't blunted. The spines seemed to push the fibers of Kyrinna's clothes apart to prick at her skin. Zel, with her leather armor under her heavy coat, fared far better. She had no stinging sensation to hold her back from retaliating. While Cydia's jump was impressive, it was also early. Kyrinna found herself mapping the wildspeaker's descent in her head. In that time, Zel had already done that and thrown a knife into that path. Due to Cydia's spin, the knife made a glancing blow against her shoulder, which would sting at best. [[Previous|Page 103]] | [[Next|Page 105]]

“Hey, don't gimme dat look!” Cydia said. Her hair seemed to flap around her as she landed near the middle of the impromptu arena. Her pirouette came to a grinding halt as she flashed a smile to the Night Watch. “I been cooped up for too lon—hey!” Chrome had cut Cydia off. They had to hustle to get in position, but when they got there, they met Zel's second knife shield-first. Between their shield and their armored body, they'd placed Cydia under a wide guard, and so quickly, too. “I weren't done talkin' yet!” Cydia attempted another leap, but was promptly knocked down by Chrome's spear. “Fine, fine...but ya better keep me safe, ya hear?” From there, Cydia stuck to wand attacks, climbing on and around Chrome's armor and using them as mobile cover. The scintillating bullets crackled as they flew straight at Kyrinna and Zel. This was one of Cydia's strengths. Kyrinna had seen that much back in the Marsh of Illusion, and had been caught off-guard by the thief's aim then. Now, however, she wove confidently through Cydia's shots. Her dress and coat rippled wildly, both from her own movements and the pulses of pure magic that tore through the air. The ribbons tied to her hair and wrists, however, were far more obedient, snaking along behind her head and hands as she swayed toward the duo. She didn't have the throwing arm Zel did, that much was true. She didn't expect her well-trained partner to adjust to tossing her vials either. Kyrinna instead decided to tackle the problem by getting in close. Chrome's spear, however, halted her before she would have liked. She curled her fingers tighter around the bottle of flammable sap and mouthed a curse their way. By now, she had seen the hierarchy of things. If she could do something about Chrome, Cydia would have no one left to guard her from Zel's knives. It didn't take long for Kyrinna's thought process to go full circle. She needed Zel's range on her tricks. But then again, the two had already done that. Rather than press through Chrome's spear thrusts, Kyrinna retreated to Zel's side to share her plan. [[Previous|Page 104]] | [[Next|Page 106]]

“Psst!” Kyrinna said, hushed and with a hand over her mouth. She didn't need her enemies catching on to her plan. “What?” Zel asked, lacking Kyrinna's secrecy. “Remember the flint? The manebraids?” Kyrinna held up her vial of sap, and Zel's eyes widened. She had to trust that Zel knew what she meant, because Chrome was advancing on the two of them. The ironclad warrior marched forward with impunity, threatening to corner Kyrinna and Zel. She was determined not to let that bother her, though. With a laugh, she pitched her vial in a high arc, giving Chrome a little wave as Zel's knife came flying in from behind. Before the knife could make its impact, though, Cydia poked her head out from behind Chrome's shield. “Hiya, buddy!” she cooed, blowing Kyrinna a kiss. She couldn't fool Kyrinna, though; the air she exhaled was strong with a familiar odor. In fact, she seemed a bit taken aback when Kyrinna simply chose to retreat, away from the impending Swampfire attack. “Fine, be that way!” Cydia's exposed skin gave off a soft glow. Before Kyrinna could question it, however, Zel's knife broke the vial she threw. The spray of sap and glass sent Cydia back into hiding. Chrome raised their shield in response, but the sap and glass simply coated their shield and their arm, right up to the shoulder. They seemed to sense that something was amiss immediately, but that didn't matter to Kyrinna. It would mess up their ability to maneuver their shield no matter what. It was all the more surprising, then, to see Chrome ditch the shield entirely and charge forward. “What?” Kyrinna gasped, running behind Zel. Despite the weight of the armor, Chrome moved with startling swiftness, and their spear arm was even faster. Not every thrust managed to hit Kyrinna, but enough of them did that she felt her breath being battered out of her. She took her last remaining sap vial and tossed it back at Chrome, and gasped the last bit of air she had when Chrome smashed it out of the air with their spear. [[Previous|Page 105]] | [[Next|Page 107]]

“Hey, first ya wanna get in my way,” Cydia complained from somewhere behind Chrome, “an' now ya wanna book it? Ain't nice to break your promises to a lady, innit?” Before Chrome could react, Cydia was vaulting off them yet again, handspringing off their shoulders, the odd glow in her skin making another appearance. This time, the glow seemed to molt from her skin and break apart in the air, floating on the breeze as a series of glittering scales. Unlike the Phantom that had used that trick before, though, Cydia was nowhere near as bright, making her luminescence into a weakness. She glowed brighter than the moon in the sky, making it trivial for Zel to rain knives down on her. She fell to the ground face-first and let out a pained groan almost immediately. The spectacle did nothing to deter Chrome's high-speed advance. Clouds of glowing dust kicked up from their hasty movements. “So dat's...da secret...” Cydia gasped into the dirt. “What'd you say?” Zel asked, brandishing three more knives in her right hand. Cydia replied with a short laugh torn apart by a coughing fit. Kyrinna assumed it had something to do with the harsh landing, until the wildspeaker sneezed out a familiar glimmer. Between the swamp gas she'd blown a few times and Kyrinna's own fire traps, the explosion she caused was huge. Kyrinna fought it the only way she could think of in such a short time, swatting her weapon against the ground. The dust she swept up was blown back at her by the shockwave of the explosion, but it and her thick clothes shielded her from the worst of the blast. Zel stood behind her and had even less to weather. If anyone was harmed by the blast, it was Chrome; the sap on their armor caught fire, as did the solution they'd speared out of the sky. “Alright, that's enough!” the Chief called out over the chaos. The onlookers broke their circular formation, moving to put out fires wherever they could reach them. [[Previous|Page 106]] | [[Next|Page 108]]

Through all the disorder, Kyrinna couldn't help but laugh. Some folks were beating at the fire on Chrome with a blanket, while others helped Cydia to her feet. Other than a few spines sticking out of her, on the other hand, Kyrinna was fine, and Zel was practically untouched. The two of them celebrated their victory; Zel took a bow and Kyrinna laughed even more. “Yeah...real funny,” Cydia gasped, flanked by a few Night Watch folks trying to help her steady herself. “Sure was fun, though, huh?” The thief stuck her hand out for a shake, one Kyrinna accepted with a smile. “That's the hardest I've had to think in awhile,” she admitted. “Remembering all your spells can get pretty tough!” Cydia blinked a few times, her eyes wide when they were open. “Ya got dese things memorized? Lady, I ain't even done dat...!” That much had seemed obvious to Kyrinna, from the time she hadn't melted the ice off herself. Even so, hearing it again left her just as exasperated this time. “...yeah, okay.” “Hey Zel, Syrup!” a male voice called out from the crowd. Eventually, the two of them were looking over at Bennett as he shoved his way to them. “Good teamwork, you two!” Zel crossed her arms and flashed a smile so wide, she couldn't keep her eyes open through it. “Thanks! She and I make a great team, don't we?” “Hey, nerd, don't get too mushy!” Kyrinna warned her. It did nothing to repel the arm Zel threw around her shoulders. “But yeah, you and I are hard to b—“ “Hello!” a voice called from outside the gates. Kyrinna thought it sounded familiar, but brushed it off. “I saw an explosion...is everyone okay in there?” Zel coiled her legs and jumped, taking a quick peek over the crowd. “There's another templar!” she shouted. Judging by the hand in her coat, she didn't seem pleased. “It's okay...!” Apparently the templar had heard her. ”My name is Eyron Clipeus...I only came to check on everyone!” [[Previous|Page 107]] | [[Next|Page 109]]

Kyrinna felt like her blood froze over. That prick Eyron, showing up after she'd exhausted herself fighting, quickly soured her mood. His timing was always terrible. The Chief, however, managed to halt her and the rest of the Night Watch with one word. “Stop!” she barked. The others let Eyron through, and he approached the Chief. “Eyron...? You're unarmed. Unusual for a templar.” Eyron sucked in air through gritted teeth. “Well, I may not be a templar much longer," he admitted. Bennett nodded, moving toward Eyron and the Chief. “He broke ranks during our joint mission,” he explained. “The whole plan broke down just trying to save him.” “You see? Whatever grudge you bear toward the Church...I've got nothing to do with it. If you have a grudge with me for nearly ruining the plan, on the other hand...” Eyron's shoulders drooped. He looked up at the Chief, his head turned more toward his feet. “...was anyone hurt in that explosion or not?” “No.” Bennett folded his arms in front of his chest. “Is that al—“ “Stop,” the Chief interrupted. “Whatever Eyron did, everyone came back alive, didn't they? He was just as much a part of your success as you were, Bennett.” She shoved past Bennett, yanking Eyron close to her. “Sounds like you're not exactly spoiling for further orders from the Church. How about you join our party instead?” Kyrinna slowly backed away from Eyron's general direction. She had no idea how things could get worse, and yet the Chief had found a way. Her escape seemed to catch Cydia's eye, however. “Syrup, buddy!” she cooed, “where ya goin'?” “Back to my hut,” she replied, tuning out Eyron and the Chief entirely. “I've got work to do.” “But your boss, she said somethin' 'bout a party? There gonna be drinks at dat party?” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. “Well, we cleaned the water supply, so—“ Cydia cut her off with a laugh. “Water? No! Booze, Syrup! Alcohol!” “Alcohol...” A wide smile crossed Kyrinna's face. Her grandma's recipe book contained more than just healing poultices. One of the mixtures therein had been labeled “friendship potion”, something Grandma Syrup had always said was only for grown-ups. That's because it was homemade grain alcohol. “Yes, that's it!” She didn't drink alcohol frequently, but she had studied its effects closely enough. The lapse in memory and motor skills would leave Eyron defenseless. Kyrinna was confident she could turn this negative into a positive. She could only laugh at her prior paranoia. “Yeah!” Cydia said, laughing along with Kyrinna. “Havin' drinks with you...gonna be a good time, innit?” [[Previous|Page 108]] | [[Next|Page 110]]

## Chapter 17 Kyrinna grew up alone, but she had found ways to keep herself occupied. This whole concept of partying was new to her. As folks sang and danced well into black sky, she was mostly wondering if parties always lasted this long. Fortunately, her job had kept her close to her hut, and she hadn't seen Eyron since she got there. She was free to turn her cauldron into a still and work in relative peace. “'ey...Syrup...!” Cydia called out, her back thumping against the wall. “Just how strong'd ya make dis stuff?” Kyrinna chuckled and stepped away from the still. She helped Cydia up onto a barrel in the corner of the room, then returned to her post. “Don't drink it straight, nerd,” she said, shaking her head a little. “You dilute it in other flavors.” “Ya tell your Night Watch goons to di-a-lute it too?” Cydia froze for a moment, staring into the tankard she'd been using to help herself. “Did ya tell 'em what dat means...?” “Everyone acted like they knew what I was talking about!” Kyrinna shrugged on her way to the pot of purified alcohol. Her contraption was only a single distillation, but her grandma's secret weapons were apparently enough to compensate, if Cydia's reaction was to be believed. She stirred in another helping of lavandula oil and gestured to the pot. “Mix in something tasty!” “Oh...dat makes sense...” Cydia nodded. “Yeah, ya got any fruit in here?” “No, fruit would be in the kitchen. Take the rest of that drink with you.” Kyrinna froze for a moment. She'd overestimated Cydia's intellect too many times already. “Watch out for their bonfire! Stay away from that cop! An—” “Okay, okay, Syrup...yeesh...!” Cydia waved a hand over her shoulder before she left the hut, nearly bumping into Zel on her way through. “Oh, hey...!” [[Previous|Page 109]] | [[Next|Page 111]]

“Hi,” Zel said, keeping things curt as she stepped around Cydia to get to Kyrinna. “That's some...real good stuff you brewed up...” Kyrinna didn't have any further questions. Zeltencia absolutely reeked of alcohol. “Thanks,” she said instead, staying diligent in brewing up further spirits. “It's a recipe my grandma kept close to her heart.” “You can't read...with your heart...grandma...!” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. “Was there a reason you were here?” “Refill.” Zel raised her tankard in a salutatory gesture, and sent herself stumbling backwards. Her back hit a crate and jarred a short yelp out of her. If it were Kyrinna, she'd have been buried under a pile of boxes right then and there. Zel, however, merely rolled with the momentum, hurling herself into a backflip. She threw the tankard upward and landed on her hands. Zel's feet slowly drooped down in front for her to stand back up, just in time to catch the falling mug. “It's good.” If Cydia didn't know, it was only right that Kyrinna check in with Zel too. “Have you been mixing anything into your drinks?” she asked. Zel nodded. “Smilax bark,” she replied through a toothy grin. “...megasmilax bark?” Smilax bark would have been too pulpy and flavorless. Only with age and magic did the megasmilax develop its signature taste, though that didn't make much sense as a treat. “That'd make it a little sweet, but mostly bitter.” Kyrinna knew it best as a medicine ingredient to treat ails of the skin and blood. Why Zel would choose such a flavor was lost on her. “...I like bitter.” [[Previous|Page 110]] | [[Next|Page 112]]

After a brief silence, Zel ambled toward Kyrinna and gently draped a hand on her shoulder. “C'mon, Syrup...you're always so...distant. Come meet everyone...” Kyrinna shook her head. “No way, I gotta mind the still.” She also had to avoid Eyron. “Teach me how.” Zel took another step, standing next to Kyrinna as she worked. “Then you can socialize...!” “You don't sound ready to learn,” Kyrinna noted with a laugh. “Something in your head might break!” Zel gasped. “Oh man...is that possible...?” “Syrup...!” the Chief's voice rang out from outside the hut. By the sound of it, she was close to the bonfire with the others. “Can you come here a second?” Her voice lacked any sign of inebriation. Kyrinna's brow furrowed. She couldn't very well keep her boss waiting, even in a party setting. Not just because of how suspicious it would appear, but also due to Zel shoving her toward the door. “C'mon!” Zel urged her. “That's the Chief. We gotta go, Syrup!” “Hold on!” When Kyrinna began fighting back against the force, Zel began to laugh. From there, it turned into an improvised contest. Kyrinna couldn't break through Zel's stance, so she tried to sneak a hand to Zel's body. From there, she thought, she'd be able to poke Zel's side, or maybe tickle her. Every time she tried, though, Zel moved a hand to intercept hers. Between the game and Zel's laughter, it wasn't long before Kyrinna began to laugh herself “C'mon!” she gasped loudly. “I gotta shut the still off, you nerd!” “What?!” The voice snapped Kyrinna out of her happiness in an instant. It took her a bit for her brain to catch up and let her know that it was Eyron's. She could hear footsteps approaching behind her, and turned toward the bonfire. Sure enough, it was the templar charging her way, and by the looks of it, he hadn't been drinking either. [[Previous|Page 111]] | [[Next|Page 113]]

Kyrinna sidestepped Eyron's charge well in advance, though. Between all the talking he was doing and the sheer distance he had to cover, it was trivial to get out of the way. Zel reacted a bit later, but did so by swinging the door shut at Eyron. She hadn't caught most of his tirade, because one word that slipped his lips had turned her blood cold. “Kyrinna”. She'd enjoyed the spectacle of Eyron rolling on the ground, seething in pain. Kyrinna let out a laugh, and began to speak, but she couldn't get out a single syllable before she ran into a solid obstacle too. She looked up from the dirt to find the Chief looming over her. “Kyrinna Strauss,” she said, her voice completely flat. She lowered herself into a squat, her eyes locked directly on to Kyrinna's. “I didn't care about the fake name or the criminal record, as long as you were putting in the work.” Kyrinna tried to avert her gaze, but with the fire behind her, she knew that wouldn't save her. She'd eventually see Eyron and Zel moving in, by their shadows. That wasn't any easier to face. “How'd you know?” she asked toward the ground. “Because you just confessed. But I had my doubts from the start...I met 'Grandma' Syrup Strauss, remember? And I never found evidence that anyone by the name of 'Rufyan' existed.” The Chief moved closer to Kyrinna, taking hold of the collar of her lab coat. “I found a lot more following the Strauss name.” “What's it to you?” Kyrinna had barely finished the question before she felt herself leave the ground. The Chief had abruptly risen, taking Kyrinna with her by that grip on the collar. “You know who else knows your name, Kyrinna?” the Chief snarled, her breath drastic yet rhythmic. “The monster my Night Watch joined the Church to slay.” [[Previous|Page 112]] | [[Next|Page 114]]

Kyrinna scoffed. She attempted to wiggle free, but the Chief's grip was insistent. “Monsters don't speak,” she said, trying hard to keep her calm. “You wish that were the weirdest part.” The Chief let out a long sigh before she continued. “There were sightings of this thing in the Guillotine Wood and at Mt. Sorrow. But no one had ever heard those stories until just after you were in those places. I even asked Bennett...you'd think he'd hear of a talking monster in his years digging tunnels up there.” “An abomination and a perversion of life,” Eyron chimed in from behind her. She hadn't heard him approach, not with the Chief barely containing her anger. “The sorts of blasphemy you were wanted for committing.” Kyrinna attempted to speak, but before she could, she felt her feet leave the ground. Before she knew it, she'd been flipped right over the Chief's shoulder, and her back hit the ground with a harsh thud. “Don't get sidetracked,” the Chief ordered, even as Kyrinna saw Zeltencia meander closer. She could practically feel the Chief's gaze on her, a pain that wouldn't relent until she relented and made eye contact. “Tell me why that thing looked like Mikari, or I'll hand you over to the templars!” “What?” Eyron said again, almost as shocked as he'd been from afar. “Chief...Ma'am...she's wanted by the Church. You must hand her over...I must bring her to Marquis Luman!” “Excuse me?” The Chief threw Kyrinna to the side, sending her skidding along the cobblestones. Her pained yelp drowned out some of what the Chief had said next. “...Watch property or personnel...” After that, Kyrinna lost track of the Chief's argument entirely. Zeltencia von Trepe loomed over her. She stood between Kyrinna and the bonfire, her body devoured by the silhouette of her coat and hair. “Mikari...?” she asked. [[Previous|Page 113]] | [[Next|Page 115]]

Kyrinna bit her lip. There was no easy way out of this one. “What did you do to Mikari?” Zel asked, more forcefully this time. “Nothing!” Kyrinna shot back. She'd found him crumpled in a heap at the bottom of a trapdoor. Zel would have accepted the hair off a dead manebraid just as readily as a live one when they'd first met. There was no point in letting a perfectly usable cadaver go to waste. There was no difference between them that Kyrinna could see. Then again, she found all her words escape her when she heard a sharp inhale from Zel. Kyrinna knew the sound of crying when she heard it. That one ragged gasp, though, gave Kyrinna a pang of some emotion she'd never felt before. “Who are you?” Kyrinna heard a pain in Zel's voice so vivid that she began to feel the same sensation in her own body. “What did you do?” Kyrinna felt like she couldn't speak. She'd had no intention of telling Zel a fake name, but she couldn't assemble any other words. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to sit well with Zel. “Say something!” “Zel, I...” Just those two words felt like a monumental struggle for Kyrinna to get out. She certainly couldn't manage anything more as long as she looked at Zel. Confusion and anger were etched into her face, casting stark shadows that melded into the silhouette of her black overcoat. “I'm sorry,” Kyrinna said toward the ground. Zeltencia let out a short growl. “Sorry for what?” she asked. Zel's emotions and alcohol intake left her voice erratic, a serrated edge that cut into Kyrinna's thoughts. “What won't you tell me?” Kyrinna couldn't lie; she knew Eyron and the Chief would be able to call her out on just about anything. On the other hand, she also knew Zel would hate the truth. With all that swirling through her mind, there was no way she even could coherently explain what she did in her laboratory. She'd have to start small, if she was going to talk at all. “My name...” Kyrinna let out a sigh and tried again. “...my name is Kyrinna Strauss.” “Why did the Chief say your name? Why did you say your name was Syr—” The rest of Zel's sentence was squeezed out in one surprised grunt. Kyrinna shrieked and moved away as Zel fell to the ground near her. [[Previous|Page 114]] | [[Next|Page 116]]

Kyrinna watched Zel's fall so intently, in fact, that she missed the hand reaching out for her until it gripped hers. Kyrinna didn't even have time to scream before the hand dragged her upward and abruptly relaxed, nearly dumping her in the dirt again. She heard a laugh as she struggled to stay on her feet, nearly falling over again just to see Cydia standing there. “I got one for ya,” she said, helping Kyrinna steady herself. “Say my name...!” “Cydia!” Kyrinna gasped. Cydia stood facing toward the bonfire, though some of her face was cast in shadow. Kyrinna could, however, make out a brief widening of Cydia's eyes. “Whoa! Well...” Cydia looked to the side, toward the Chief and Eyron. The two of them seemed to still be arguing, but even as they did, the Chief seemed to be looming over Eyron. In response, he walked backwards, toward the rest of the Night Watch. “...yikes, dis party's gettin' kinda bitter.” Kyrinna felt her neck refuse her mind's orders to glance at Zel. As much as she wanted to check up on her, it would hurt her too much to see Zel. She wanted to get away before Eyron or the Night Watch had her captured. It twisted her stomach to think of leaving Zel behind, but this chaos was her only chance to get away. “Let's go, Cydia.” Cydia grinned and took Kyrinna's hand, squeezing it much too hard at first. “Yeah, let's you an' me get outta here...!” The two had started running at about the same time, but Cydia was much faster, of course. She nearly pulled Kyrinna's arm out of its socket as she went, charging for the gates with incredible agility and perfect grace. It didn't seem right to Kyrinna at all, and she found herself fighting for the air to question it. “I thought you were drunk!” Cydia laughed. It was a long bark, as clear a timbre as if she'd been sitting. “C'mon, Syrup, I ain't no lightweight!” Cydia sure moved like one, though. Some of the other members of the Night Watch had taken notice of their escape, but they moved more like Kyrinna expected. The alcohol had made them languid, jamming the toes of their boots into the cracks in the cobblestone with heavy steps. What worried Kyrinna more was the advance of Zel and Eyron. [[Previous|Page 115]] | [[Next|Page 117]]

The two of them easily overtook the others, shouting toward Kyrinna as they ran. She felt overloaded by the sheer rush of it all, too much so to understand what they were saying. She hadn't ran like this since the last time Eyron chased her. All she wanted to do was halt him with trickery like last time, slip away while he dealt with the fire of the mansion— “Cydia!” Kyrinna shouted, willing all the air she could spare into it. “Do the glitter thing!” “Da wha...?” Cydia replied. Kyrinna felt them slow down a bit. The pace was just enough to get her air for another sentence. “From the light Phantom!” “Oh yeah, dat one!” Cydia whipped their bodies around, putting herself between Kyrinna and her pursuers. She leaned forward, blew Zel and Eyron a kiss, and laughed as her lips and hand began to glow. A cloud of reflective scales peeled off her skin, like shards of glass cutting through the darkness. The two of them spun back around, charging away from Fracotel and into the murky night beyond. “Stop!” Cydia let out a sharp huff. “Now what?” “Look at the air...look at our lights!” The bright fog of Cydia's trap glowed behind them, but it had done that even with that Phantom nearby. Their lanterns, on the other hand, were lost in an inky mire. It almost felt good to worry about the signs of a Phantom, even if only as a distraction from all the other thoughts Kyrinna was trying to ignore. It was the way their aura worked that Kyrinna found so devious and clever. She'd seen from her recent experiences with Phantoms that it seemed to work most like a gas. In open air, it fanned out in a sphere-like area, imperceptible on its edges and impenetrable up close. By keeping a close eye on their lights as they moved, she was certain they'd be able to figure out roughly where the Phantom was lurking. [[Previous|Page 116]] | [[Next|Page 118]]

Even as they tiptoed through the hidden plains, however, Kyrinna couldn't help but look over her shoulder. By now, Zel and Eyron were completely out of sight. Again, she felt that terrible feeling in her gut, the twisted-up sensation she'd had last time she thought of ditching Zel. She wanted to stop completely, try to explain everything, try not to lose the first friend she'd made in the Night Watch. Then again, she knew from a place of logic that neither Eyron nor the Phantom would just stand there and let her talk it out. “Cydia,” Kyrinna heaved, the syllables barely distinguishable through her heavy breathing. “One more thing.” The wildspeaker skidded on her heels, braking herself on some dusty path underfoot. “What's da holdup?” she asked. Kyrinna stared into the lamp on Cydia's waist. Based on their relative positions and her prior observations, she could tell the Phantom was somewhere behind and to her right. Her fingernails tapped a quick rhythm against the acid vial in her pocket. There was no telling when she'd be able to make more than the two vials on her person, and no way the Night Watch would let her come pick up the rest. “Cydia...” Kyrinna moved next to Cydia, using her arm to draw a line toward the Phantom. “...take this bottle, and throw it that way as far as you can.” Cydia shrugged and took the vial in her hand. She took a couple steps toward the Phantom, finally lobbing the acid on the third. The grunt she let out during the toss seemed a bit excessive, but Kyrinna just accepted it as part of who Cydia is. “Why'd we do dat?” Cydia asked. “Trust me...” Kyrinna felt like she was talking to herself as much as she was Cydia. “...it'll all work out.” “...an' throwin' dat little bottle was part o'dat?” Cydia shrugged. “Whatever. C'mon, Syrup, we gotta get outta here!” Kyrinna didn't know what was going to happen from there on out. She'd just gotten used to the flow of life around the Night Watch, and it had all come crashing down so quickly. She'd begun to trust Zel and let her closer, just in time for her lies to collapse and ruin everything. She had no idea what the rest of the Night Watch thought of her, especially the Chief, who had apparently tolerated quite a few statements she'd known were false. But with Zel and Eyron on her trail, she wasn't sure she'd find time to think about her myriad questions. Kyrinna gave one final nod in Zel's direction before she resumed her sprint, doing her best to follow Cydia. [[Previous|Page 117]] | [[Next|Page 119]]

## Chapter 18 “Dat oughta be far enough for now, innit?” Cydia said, coming to a gradual stop next to a thin tree. She and the tree were about the only things visible to Kyrinna. It'd already been black sky when the two of them fled the Night Watch campus. In all the chaos, she'd lost track of time. She wasn't sure where Cydia had led her, either. “Need a break?” Kyrinna couldn't even say yes. She fell to her knees, sucking in wild gasps of air. The cool and dry air was a welcome contrast to her own body. She could feel her skin and lungs burning from the exertion. “Nuh-uh!” Cydia scolded her, catching the alchemist before she could sit. She could feel that Cydia had broken a sweat as well, but didn't seem nearly as bothered by it. “Dat ain't good for ya. Gotta stretch yerself out first!” Kyrinna shrugged and moved to do as she was told. Cydia seemed much more fit and toned than her, after all. She found a tree of her own to lean against while she stretched her legs. It was such a welcome distraction, and it even kept the weight of what had just happened off her shoulders until after she was done. “Cydia,” Kyrinna rasped, her breathing almost back to normal. “What do we do now?” She really lucked out running into Zel as soon as she did, that much was clear to her now. After what she'd seen in the wilderness of Tenesoir, she was sure she would have died without any help. Now, though, she and Cydia were all alone. “Where do we live?” “...huh?” Cydia sat Kyrinna down in the grass before seating herself. “What's dat s'posed'ta mean?” she asked, stretching her arms over her head. “What about da Night Watch?” “They were kicking me out of the Night Watch, nerd...!” Kyrinna flopped onto her back and sighed up at the empty sky. “Why'd you think Zel was after us?” Cydia laughed and laid down on her side, facing Kyrinna. “Oh, she weren't just jealous? Tryin' to keep me off ya?” The delivery made it sound like a joke, but Cydia was so straightforward otherwise. Kyrinna shrugged it off. “Right, you missed a lot of it while you were fixing another drink. I—“ “Oh yeah!” Cydia put a clammy finger to Kyrinna's lips. [[Previous|Page 118]] | [[Next|Page 120]]

Cydia sat back up, fussing with her shorts, until she'd freed the vessel hanging there by its handle. It was some kind of tankard with a lid. Cydia's drink would have been well shaken by now, a fact she seemed satisfied with as she took a long gulp. “Wanna drink?” Kyrinna knew that it wouldn't help her much. She knew she needed water and rest. She didn't care. The spirits she'd brewed went down much more smoothly flanked by the sundrops and wart apples Cydia had tossed in. She barely tasted the trademark bite of the alcohol. “That's good...!” Kyrinna cooed into the tankard. “What was I saying before?” “I missed somethin'. What's goin' on, Syrup?” Kyrinna let out a long sigh. “For starters...my name's not Syrup. It's Kyrinna.” “Uh...kinda long, innit?” Cydia snatched the tankard from Kyrinna's hands and took another swig. “Can't I just keep callin' ya Syru—“ “No.” Kyrinna put her hands out; she'd need more alcohol if Cydia was about to ask the question she was worried about. “...what kinda name is Ky...whatever ya said?” That was an even worse question that Kyrinna had expected. “Iraenean,” she replied after two more sips. Cydia snagged the tankard and finished the rest of it in one long chug as she continued. “Relax, nerd, if I'd caught the plague, I'd be dead already.” “Hey!” Cydia burst out into laughter. Kyrinna had just mentioned being from a town that no longer existed. She wasn't sure what was funny about that. “No wonder ya ain't like other gals!” Cydia added. “Ya probably never met 'em!” That much was true. Kyrinna couldn't get mad at Cydia for making such an accurate guess. She didn't feel much like joining in the laughter, though. Irae was lost to plague, she burned her mansion, the Night Watch and the Church of Scintilla both counted her as an enemy... “Where do I go...?” [[Previous|Page 119]] | [[Next|Page 121]]

The moment Kyrinna's words came out in a whimper, she knew she'd made a bunch of mistakes in a row. She was already in a bad headspace, and the depressant properties of alcohol were doing her no favors. Faces from all through her life—her family, the Night Watch, and some of her victims in between—swirled through her mind. She found herself angry with their silence, their inability to answer even one of the many, many questions on her mind. “...now wha—“ Kyrinna felt the rest of her sentence, and her breath, being squeezed out of her. Cydia had tangled her arms around Kyrinna, her hair flowing wildly. Kyrinna couldn't breathe through the thick hair or its scent, an oddly pleasing and citrusy aroma. Cydia had held her before, and her body had been a welcome warmth in the chill of the mountain river. Here, though, the wildspeaker's body was even warmer still. After the sprint they'd been through, Kyrinna would have thought she'd prefer the cold, but she found Cydia's body heat comforting, even if she wasn't sure why. “There,” Cydia's voice cooed softly into Kyrinna's shoulder. “Ya done?” The distraction of Cydia's sudden embrace was brief, but welcome. “...I...think so.” “Good!” Kyrinna thought that that meant Cydia would be letting go of her soon, but that didn't happen. Indeed, she only seemed to hold Kyrinna tighter. “Worryin' like that ain't no good for us, innit?” Kyrinna forced a chuckle. “I suppose not...!” Then, against all expectations, the laughter became genuine, and Kyrinna had straightened herself out just enough to get a better look at Cydia. She'd never noticed it, but despite the life and shimmer to Cydia's eyes, the irises were gray as stone. She gasped a bit when those eyes suddenly met hers, coupled with a puff of boozy breath. It felt like an overreaction even as she did it, and she couldn't help but laugh again. Cydia nodded and gave Kyrinna another squeeze. “Dat's dat energy...!” she said through laughter of her own. “Ya got dis...ball-breakin' look to ya!” “No, Cydia...” Kyrinna squirmed a bit in Cydia's hold, but it didn't get her anywhere. “...how can you know about me?” Cydia's embrace had bunched up her coat and dress. She just wanted to fix them, but Cydia wouldn't relent. “I lied to everyone, even you.” Cydia laughed again. [[Previous|Page 120]] | [[Next|Page 122]]

Cydia seemed unusually calm considering the circumstances. Still, resting in her embrace, Kyrinna couldn't help but feel a little safer. “Ya ain't that good a liar, ya noid!” Cydia hissed. Her face was a deep red, stretched wide by a smile. “Non—“ “Stop,” Kyrinna interrupted. She held a hand up in front of Cydia, trying to drown out the rest of that sentence with her own utterances. “'Noid'? You mean 'nerd'?” Cydia scoffed, grabbing Kyrinna's hand and lowering it away from their faces. “Dat's what I said, innit? Now don't change da subject...you's da same lady I was talkin' to all o'dem other times! No disguise or nothin'...ya admitted right away dat you was an alchie. ” Kyrinna gave Cydia a playful shove. “Really? What was your disguise when we met, then?” “I got nothin' ta hide, alchie!” Cydia stopped to take one last crack at the tankard. She opened her mouth and shook it, hoping to dislodge some stubborn drops. Judging by the low grunt she made, she didn't find enough to suit her. “In case ya forgot, I wiped da floor with dem Church goons while you weren't home!” “Hey, y—“ Kyrinna attempted to jab a finger toward Cydia. When she was greeted by a huge clump of coat sleeve, though, she couldn't help but stop. The purple ribbon that was normally tied around her wrist had fallen off somewhere along the way. She growled and wiggled her way out of the coat, exposing her thin arms to the open air of Tenesoir. They reacted poorly, the skin rising into a series of small bumps almost instantly. She looked up from her arms when she caught Cydia's gaze. “...huh?” the bandit eventually mumbled. Kyrinna shrugged and gathered her coat around her body as best she could. How Cydia could stand to let air this cool touch her skin felt like a total mystery. “We were talking about a place to stay, Cydia...where to go from here.” The duo fell into silence, and in that lull, one of the faces in Kyrinna's mind finally spoke to her: her own. “You've been looking for a hideout, same as Grandma had to do.” [[Previous|Page 121]] | [[Next|Page 123]]

Kyrinna rose to her feet, trying her best to smile. “How about the Marsh of Illusion?" she asked. "Can we make a hideout there?” It wasn't much to go on, and there was no way it'd make up for having to split from the Night Watch, especially Zeltencia. But it was a plan, and that was far more than she'd had on her way out the gates. Besides, so much of the world was still so unknown to her, yet the swamp was something she knew well. It was really her best chance at survival, especially with a wildspeaker at her beck and call. “You and me, Cydia!” Kyrinna cheered, still a little tipsy. “All that sticky swamp should keep the templars away from the new and improved Cuprina Brigade!” Cydia laughed and pulled Kyrinna down by her arm. “C'mon, you, dat's enough,” she groaned. “It's gettin' late...an' all that booze is—” “—puttin' me ta sleep!” Cydia's voice echoed through the trees, rousing Kyrinna from her slumber. She hadn't even noticed herself drifting off to sleep. Now, though, she was balled up in the mossy soil near a large tree, lab coat draped over her, with her companion out of sight. She could've sworn Cydia was right there. “Hello...!” Kyrinna called out. There was no point in using Cydia's name, only risk. Kyrinna struggled with her coat as she ran, but couldn't seem to find the sleeves. The struggle amplified the headache she'd woken up with, until she gave up, letting the coat hang from her shoulders. She'd only just emerged from the brush when Cydia lobbed a person at Kyrinna. She didn't have time to figure out who it was, only time to duck away from the impact and grip her coat tightly. She kept herself rooted, but barely. Cydia's victim, on the other hand, tumbled over Kyrinna's guard and took a nasty spill somewhere in the bushes. “Oh, hey!” Cydia called out, a smile quickly taking over her face. “I thought you was one of 'em...!” Kyrinna strode toward Cydia, her coat still locked in her clutches. “One of who?” Cydia shrugged. “Whoever was ridin' dis cart around!” [[Previous|Page 122]] | [[Next|Page 124]]

Whoever else had been there, Cydia had already cleared them out. There didn't seem to be any corpses or blood spatters around. The person that had bounced off Kyrinna had their fall broken by foliage, and would be winded and cut up for awhile at worst. For some reason, Cydia had spared these people's lives. She thought about scolding Cydia for that; they could easily flee and report the run-in to the Church. “Thanks for the ride,” she said instead, tossing herself into the vehicle. Cydia had secured a simple covered wagon for the two of them. The wood of the carriage had once been given a dark, glossy finish. Now, though, the once-smooth painted exterior was gouged with scrapes and scars. The interior padding she had trusted to ease her fall had been worn down to the point of uselessness. She felt as if her impact with the cart reverberated in her skull, and let out a pained groan. “We should get going,” she moaned up at the blanched leather covering. Kyrinna heard someone drop into the driver's seat, their landing even more jarring than hers. She crawled toward the front to see Cydia sitting there, taking a short but deep breath. In front of her, a large mammal shifted in place a bit, bucking its head and flinging the reins away from Cydia's outstretched hand. This thing looked similar to the quilladillo, but instead of spines, its body was covered in rows of layered scales, a natural armor that the lamps on its harness clattered against. “Figured ya'd need a ride,” Cydia noted as she snatched up the reins, urging the beast to walk. It dutifully towed the wagon into the forest, and took Kyrinna and Cydia along with it. “Ya had a lot to drink for bein' such a little lady...your head's a mess, innit?” Cydia was right, and it was that mess that kept Kyrinna unable to respond. The carriage ride was rough, which made it worse. Every bump flowed into her head like waves, and when those waves began to crash into each other, she found staying upright to be too much effort. “Damn,” she spat. “I...couldn't imagine walking like this...” “An' I weren't about to carry ya!” Cydia laughed as she eased the creature down the forest path, staying close to the gap in the trees. Like most unpaved roads in Tenesoir's wilderness, this one followed a jagged path. It matched the crack in the forest canopy nearly perfectly, keeping the road ahead of the duo bathed in moonlight. Kyrinna couldn't help but dread every root that grew into the path ahead, a dread realized every time the wheels of the wagon hit one. [[Previous|Page 123]] | [[Next|Page 125]]

“Why da Marsh of Illusion, anyway?” Cydia asked. Her efforts to yell over the noise of the wagon exacerbated Kyrinna's headache even more. “We can't bring dis wagon in dat muck...!” “First of all, nerd...I had the idea before you stole this. Second, I have to get more ingredients, in case one of us gets hurt. And third...it was something the Chief said when she interrogated me.” “Inta-what?” Kyrinna sighed and waved it off. “The Chief said a monster was seen...in both the Guillotine Wood and Mt. Sorrow. Both places I've...that I've been recently. But...she didn't mention the Marsh of Illusion.” Had someone tried to search the Marsh and failed? Had they already searched it, found nothing, and moved on? Had she simply not told anyone she was there? She wasn't sure it mattered. It would be easier for Kyrinna to hide there; to think any further about it risked a throbbing pain in her skull. “Fourth,” she concluded, “the longer we stay hidden, the more they widen their search radius. We can move more safely when they're spread thinner.” Cydia took a hand off the reins, burying it in Kyrinna's hair instead. “Yeesh, you's thinkin' for two!” she marveled. The road evened out a bit ahead of them, giving Cydia time to massage Kyrinna's scalp. “Don't it make your brain hurt?” Kyrinna laughed and straightened her back somewhat, so as not to just drape herself over the back rest of Cydia's seat. “No way, nerd. My mind is always buzzing with something...even when I'm trying to sleep.” “Wow...” Cydia shuffled in her seat too. While the road was safer, it was also a bit wider, to accommodate a four-way intersection. The animal wanted to go left, and it was Cydia's job to keep it walking straight, toward the Marsh of Illusion. “...don't ya ever turn all dat off? Da booze don't even do it?” “...no.” [[Previous|Page 124]] | [[Next|Page 126]]

Cydia seemed to stop breathing entirely for a bit. When she finally exhaled, it was in the form of a few notes of quiet whistling, almost like birdsong. “...eh, you're da brains, you'll figure it out.” Kyrinna shrugged and turned her gaze away from Cydia. She had a lot to figure out. At the top of her mind, though, was how to explain herself to Cydia and Zel. Cydia, at least, seemed an easy mark; she wouldn't have to do any lying. Zel would be much more difficult, especially with some monster wandering around wearing Mikari's form. Kyrinna growled. She had no idea what any sort of monster could want with her, much less one with some dead guy's face on it. She was just trying to live her life, study life and death, and ultimately wrest the secrets of immortality from her test subjects. Why did all this have to happen to her? She let out a wordless cry and a flailed a fist downward into the wood of the wagon. "Shit!" Cydia hollered. "What's all da damn noise back there?" The cart hit another bump in the road. The jolt wracked Kyrinna's body and hurled her off-balance before she could answer. She fell back into the wagon, and quickly found that she didn't have the energy to pick herself back up. She gave up and just laid there. She couldn't help but be grateful for Cydia's help, though. Without this covered wagon to punch and cry and collapse in, Kyrinna would have been doing all this out in the forest, where she'd be easy prey for a Phantom. "...uh? You still alive back there, what's-your-name?" Kyrinna laughed. Cydia could apparently be trusted to procure a method of transportation, but not remember a name. "Okay, good," Cydia huffed. "I don't know what you're doin', but...uh...go back ta sleep or somethin'. All that tantrumin's gonna attract attention, innit?" Kyrinna opened her mouth to protest, but she ultimately said nothing. She didn't particularly feel like sleeping. Then again, she wasn't sure what else she could even do in her current situation. [[Previous|Page 125]] | [[Next|Page 127]]

## Chapter 19 “...made it!” Kyrinna heard Cydia shouting. Somewhere along the way, she must have fallen asleep. She could've sworn the moon was right over their heads, and yet it was almost black sky. That was twice in a row she'd nodded off, and she still felt exhausted. Sticking her head out of the wagon helped a bit; she was immediately hit with the telltale smells of the swamp. For a moment, the sheer nostalgia of life with her grandmother was all she could focus on. “Dis is bringin' back memories, innit?” Cydia continued. “Back ta where we first met...” Kyrinna nodded. “And you remember what brought me here that time, right?” she asked. Her eyes raked the wagon interior for a bit, eventually settling very close by, on a threadbare sack. From its position relative to her, she assumed she'd wadded it up and used it as a pillow. “Same reason we're here now, nerd...time to pick some star herb!” Cydia shrugged, then jumped off the driver's seat of the wagon. “I dunno! Kinda cleaned da place out real good for ya last time!” A brief silence hung over the duo, as Kyrinna mulled over whether to correct the record. “...you picked seven plants, tops.” “An' dey was all real good...!” Cydia made a break for the swamp, leaving Kyrinna to scramble out of the wagon and rush to catch up. Before long, though, she found Cydia among the tall, reddish-brown trees of the Marsh of Illusion, studying a pool of oozy liquid. “Ah...” Kyrinna watched as Cydia avoided the ooze, jumping along rocks and fallen logs to stay mobile. Kyrinna, on the other hand, glided gracefully through the swamp water, enjoying its chilly embrace against her legs. “An' dat's another thing!” Cydia carried on, not giving Kyrinna a chance to speak. “Ya wore dat coat into dat swamp last time, an' it's fine!” Kyrinna cackled as she kept on wading, keeping pace with Cydia easily, since she didn't have to stop and circumnavigate the muck. “It's a kind of grease,” she explained, “same as on the frills of my dress!” [[Previous|Page 126]] | [[Next|Page 128]]

“Ya gotta teach me dis stuff, Ky...!” The last word of Cydia's sentence kind of melded with her grunt, as she jumped from one mossy rock to another. If Kyrinna had known, she would've cautioned Cydia against it. Instead, true to her worry, the destination proved far too slippery, sending Cydia's legs shooting out in front of her. Kyrinna was already laughing before Cydia hit the mire. It took a moment for Kyrinna to even notice that Cydia never hit the mire at all. Instead, Cydia's hair flapped around her, a makeshift wingbeat that gave her just enough time and control in the air to correct herself. As eager as Cydia sounded to learn alchemy, Kyrinna wished there was a way she could be a wildspeaker too. It seemed so fun and useful from her point of view. “Oh, sure!” Kyrinna confirmed, ignoring Cydia's cocky grin and moving on from how wrong she'd been. “When you already know how something is made, alchemy is so easy. It's discovering new things that's the hard part!” Cydia laughed, looking much more confident now that she'd made it to dry land. “If you's wanna handle da new things part, go for it...! But whatever ya put on your clothes...I gotta get dat too!” “Really...?” Kyrinna's eyes flicked up and down Cydia's body. “You barely wear clothes!” “Clothes nothin'...what if we greased me up like dat?” “I've never had the occasion to try it, so I don't know how well it'd work.” She couldn't fathom what use it could ever be to grease someone's body like that. But then again, Kyrinna was content to just let Cydia be Cydia sometimes. “Too bad the grease is oil pressed from the vanishbloom seeds...and vanishbloom only grows high in the mountains.” Once the two of them reached a larger stretch of land, Cydia caught up to Kyrinna with little effort. “Like Mt. Sorrow?” she asked, grinning over once she fell into stride. Kyrinna nodded. “Sure, but we can't go back that way just for that,” she said, wagging her finger. “We're hiding, remember?” [[Previous|Page 127]] | [[Next|Page 129]]

The sight that greeted Kyrinna ahead of her froze her in place. She forgot all about the star herbs when she found herself in a wide clearing, trampled ferns carpeting the area. A light filled the area, a secret kept safe from the marsh by the trees that bowed around it. Her first thought was that a Phantom had killed someone and left only their lantern behind. Upon closer inspection, though, this light stretched to a nearby tree, as if to point her to the ribbon fluttering against it, and the throwing knife it was tied to. “Zel,” Kyrinna whispered. She watched as the knife drew closer, unsure if she was walking to it or being ferried along by the ferns. The sight mesmerized her, to the exclusion of everything else. The ribbon danced around her fingers as she reached for it, shifted by a swirl of swamp gas. Something about the situation didn't feel right. Kyrinna threw herself backward in an attempt to snap herself out of her trance. Her legs struggled to shove through the flora underfoot, dragging her into the dirt. She was falling over long before a figure darted out into the clearing, attacking the spot where she'd been standing just a moment ago. The silhouette quickly proved to be human, and just as quickly, Kyrinna identified the spiky hair and longsword she could see. “What?” she gasped. “Eyron, you prick, what are you doing here?” When the human shape turned to face Kyrinna, however, Eyron's punchable face wasn't there. Instead, it retained its shadowy appearance, save for the two gleaming yellow eyes that stared at her. The sword-shape that hung from its side struggled to hold its form as it swiped through the air, preparing for another attack. Kyrinna felt around in her pocket for her last acid vial. By the time her fingers closed around it, though, the shadow already loomed over her. At that range, she knew the acid would probably splash back onto her. She scrambled away from her assailant and wracked her brain for a solution. “You will pay for your crimes!” the shadow hissed at her. Its voice sounded exactly like Eyron's. She'd heard him carrying on more than enough times to recognize it. Its blade kept finding nothing but ferns as Kyrinna wobbled to her feet, running the way she came. It was hard to see Cydia in what little light reached her, but she seemed to be hunched over. [[Previous|Page 128]] | [[Next|Page 130]]

After getting a little closer, Kyrinna could hear Cydia retching. Whatever had made her so ill so quickly, it had ruined Kyrinna's plans. Her left foot dug into the ferns in front of her, yanking her to a stop. She couldn't depend on Cydia to solve this one for her. Kyrinna squinted at the shadow, and imagined Zeltencia one last time. Her eyes slammed shut. Kyrinna had already calculated the thing's speed and size. No matter how bizarre its form, it was still mimicking Eyron. She'd already memorized that prick's variables, he was that persistent. Her fingers wrapped around her last acid phial so tightly that she risked breaking it herself. “Showtime!” Kyrinna shouted. She brought her arm behind her, gathering all the force she could into her throw. By the time she dared to look, a harsh shriek filled the clearing. It drowned out Kyrinna's thoughts, her brain quickly overflowing with pain signals. An odd sensation rippled through her, as if she dreamt she'd fallen over. She was so overwhelmed, all she could do was scream in agony. She felt her brain try to focus on her screaming instead of the shadow's, and froze. “Why do we sound alike?” The voice Kyrinna heard was so quiet and raspy that she couldn't tell whose it was. Her brain was stuck on that for a moment before she realized that all the screaming had stopped. She looked up at the shadow just in time for it to ensnare her in a stream of ice from its arm. Kyrinna let out a surprised gasp as the frozen string began reeling her toward the shadow, sparks fleeing from its wide eyes. Something about the way it looked at her bothered her more than even the ice wrapped around her. She popped her collar and turned away from the thing, and squeezed her eyes shut. “Stop staring at me, nerd!” Kyrinna said. It was still hard to hear; she only knew it was her because she felt her body strain to make the words. “Stop staring at me, nerd!” the shadow replied. Its voice lurched through the syllables like Zel through swamp water. Kyrinna was trying to ignore it, so she wasn't sure if it really sounded like her or not. “Sho—“ Before the shadow could stagger through that word any longer, it was caught in a hail of needles streaking over Kyrinna's head. Lamplight bled from its wounds as it staggered backwards. Whatever remained of its sentence was trapped in a horrible gurgling noise. [[Previous|Page 129]] | [[Next|Page 131]]

Kyrinna gasped as Cydia followed the needles, leaping into the space the shadow had vacated. “Get outta here!” she roared, swinging spiky arms through the monster. Its form dissipated entirely under her assault. She took a couple extra swings before she realized what she'd done. “...well, whaddaya know.” Cydia took a step back and knelt down beside Kyrinna. “You alright, Ky?” Kyrinna couldn't keep her composure through a single nod. “What was that thing?” she asked. Her arms raised to beckon for Cydia. She could feel herself being pulled more vividly than she'd felt herself fall, but not by much. What felt the most familiar to her was the warmth of Cydia's skin. It had stood out in the chill of Mt. Sorrow's waterways, and it stood out there in the thick haze of the swamp. Kyrinna lowered her head to Cydia's shoulder and felt herself begin to cry. “I was so scared, Cydia...!” Cydia squeezed her just a bit too hard. “Hey...yeah, it was scary. Just bein' near dat thing felt like a bad trip!” The two hugged in silence amongst the ferns, the lantern projecting patterns into Cydia's hair. “But it's gone now...it's already less scary here, innit?” The thought took a moment to set up in Kyrinna's brain. “...that...would be logical,” she affirmed. “But it sure doesn't feel that way. It came out of nowhere, Cydia...what if there's another one?” “Nuh-uh...I ain't seen nothin' like dat before. Ain't no way another one'a dem things is out there, right, Ky?” Cydia had apparently sanded down Kyrinna's name to a single syllable, one that sounded sort of like the word "key". Kyrinna had brushed it off the first couple times, but now it was obvious that Cydia was doing it on purpose. Ky didn't mind, though. She was just glad she got Cydia to stop calling her Syrup. She was so glad, in fact, that she had forgotten Cydia's original point. “That's right, Cydia,” Kyrinna mumbled. She was happy to roll with whatever Cydia was planning for awhile. Cydia belted out a laugh. It sounded familiar to Kyrinna, but at the same time, she could feel a hollowness in it. “'course I'm right! You still feel up for star herb gettin'?” Kyrinna shimmied out of Cydia's embrace, eager to assume a thinking stance and examine how she felt. Before she could, however, she saw Eyron's silhouette looming behind Cydia, and let out a weak yell. [[Previous|Page 130]] | [[Next|Page 132]]

“She's right,” Eyron said, taking another step toward the two women. As he drew near, however, Kyrinna was relieved to see the shadows dissipate from his form. As he moved into better lighting, she could see the jagged frame his blond hair made around his punchable face, and the glare coming off his pauldrons. His dumb thin lips were pursed with worry. Kyrinna had practically felt the shadow's malice, but Eyron's posture lacked any hint of aggression. As if sensing her concern, the templar's sword fell from his grip. “It must be the same monster.” “What's your angle, copper?” Cydia growled, placing herself between Kyrinna and Eyron. Eyron sighed and stared down at the thin strands of copper embedded into the hilt of his sword. “Templars have no angle, only orders. My lords and my goddess demand that I banish that abomination from this world.” Unlike the shadow, Kyrinna could read Eyron easily. She'd spent enough time lying and hating his guts that she could see through his fibs instantly. “More like you're on thin ice for botching so many missions!” Calling Eyron on his crap was helping her get her fear in check. “You said it yourself back at the Night Watch...you might not be a templar for long!” “I will always be a templar at heart, Kyrinna, because I have morals.” If Kyrinna wasn't still wrapped in ice, she'd be looking for a chance to punch Eyron. Every time he got on that topic, all she could do was groan and try to tune it out. “If you've got morals,” Kyrinna blurted, cutting into something Eyron was saying, “why are you accepting that thing's help to capture me?” That accusation seemed to hurt him even more than a punch could have. Kyrinna's lips stretched outward into a lazy grin. “That lamp is Church ordnance, the thing came out looking like you...you saw it too, right, Cydia?” “Yeah!” the wildspeaker grunted. Eyron seemed to be looking for a way around her to get to Kyrinna, and she was doing a great job staying in his path. Then again, he made no move to get around her. Even the twin strips of fabric hanging from his shoulders remained limp against him. “Dat thing was shaped just like you, copper!” “I saw it too!” Eyron shouted, halting the others. [[Previous|Page 131]] | [[Next|Page 133]]

Eyron took a seat in front of Cydia, pausing to glance at the light. “I took that knife and that ribbon to set a trap for you," he admitted. But...that foul creature stole my ambush and my form! I thought we had slain the thing alongside the Night Watch, yet here it is spoiling all my plans! How do you think I feel?” Kyrinna shrugged. “Whatever, prick,” she coughed. She'd been constricted so tightly that she found it hard to breathe. It just hadn't been a problem until she started mouthing off to Eyron. “That's another thing...where is Zel? I thought you two were both chasing me.” “I don't know. We ended up getting separated by that Phant—“ “Idiot!” Kyrinna bucked around as best she could within her icy cocoon. “Let's just assume everyone's right and figure out what that means. That's the thing that you fought that looked like Zel's dead friend Mikari. It's been showing up at places I've been to...and by the time it got here, it looked like you.” Kyrinna nodded down at her icy prison. “And this...does this remind you of anything, Cydia?” Cydia responded with a blank stare. “Ugh...the Phantom from Mt. Sorrow? It trapped you in ice like this, didn't it?” Cydia scratched her scalp. “Uh...u-yeah!” she suspired. “But how'd it copy dat? Only wildspeakers can do dat...” “Yeah, but...” Kyrinna trailed off, deep in thought. It was possible, she supposed, that some of the subjects of her human experiments may have been wildspeakers, whether or not they realized it themselves. And if this monster was the same one Eyron had fought during the joint mission with the Night Watch, it seemed perfectly possible that it could've survived her burning laboratory as well. “That abomination is much more dangerous than any of you heathens,” Eyron said, fidgeting with the flattened ferns. “And if it learned to copy me...” “Dammit!” Kyrinna blurted. “It was staring at me to memorize me, wasn't it?” [[Previous|Page 132]] | [[Next|Page 134]]

Kyrinna hadn't had much chance to consider the implications of the shadow's actions before. With nothing to do but wait for Cydia to thaw her out, though, her mind couldn't help but wander, even as she watched a gentle breeze of Swampfire caress her icy prison. A body double could've been useful for her. This creature would have to be yoked quickly, however. She'd put far too much work into establishing an alibi and gathering character witnesses to let some nerd ruin it all by faking her likeness so clumsily. It wasn't just that, though. Zel was still out there alone somewhere. The shadow could mimic Kyrinna to get close to Zel to launch a surprise attack. She knew she couldn't search for Zel alone, though. She'd have to trick the others into coming with her. “If that thing fixated on Mikari," she explained to them, "and Zel's the one that knew Mikari best...we need to find Zel." “Then we should retrace my steps.” Eyron said as he rose to his feet. He grinned over his shoulder at the two women, and guided the weapon into its sheath. “I mean...I should retrace my steps. I can't waste my time with petty criminals when I have a lead on an abomination.” Kyrinna growled and hurried to catch up to Eyron. She found herself oddly angry at Eyron being so dismissive of her, and understandably angry at the fact that he was the only one who could reunite her with Zeltencia. If only it had been someone she liked, someone more like the Chief. Eyron, on the other hand, was someone who did not stoke her curiosity one iota. “Can ya quit da tough-guy routine?” Cydia asked, striding up between the two rivals. She put an arm around each of them, hugging Kyrinna much more tightly than Eyron. “You wipe our crimes off da books, we tell ya everything we know 'bout dat thing. Good deal, innit?” “Your crimes? And who are you, exactly?” Kyrinna felt Cydia's arm tighten around her. “Whaddaya mean, who am I? It's a yes or no question, copper! We gonna find dat monster or not? 'cause if not, I'm probably just gonna kill ya here." Eyron scoffed. "I don't have time to waste on that." With that, he ran off, away from the muck, and Cydia was quick to pursue. Kyrinna wasn't sure if he'd agreed to work with them or not; that prick probably avoided saying yes or no just to spite them. [[Previous|Page 133]] | [[Next|Page 135]]

## Chapter 20 Kyrinna was confused. Eyron had said they'd made it to where he'd last seen Zel, and yet— “It's empty!” Cydia bellowed, bracing herself in a wide stance. “Copper, ya better come clean!” Eyron was already raising his sword in self-defense. “Dis some kinda setup?” “Don't be absurd!” Eyron said, unflinching under Cydia's ire. “The very tenets of Scintilla demand I speak only truths.” Cydia laughed. “Quit playin' dumb, will ya?” She jutted a thumb over at Kyrinna and added, “When she does it, I can tell she means it! Ya gonna spring da trap or not?” “I just told you it's not a ruse.” Kyrinna sighed and rose from her squat. She was trying to look for clues, maybe a trail the Phantom had flattened slithering after Zel. There was no way she could focus, though, not with those two numbskulls bickering. “Look,” she groaned through her hand, approaching the others. “I believe him.” Cydia waved an arm, shooing Kyrinna away. “Dat's just talk!” she balked. “It's useless, innit?” “Cydia, please.” Any other time, Kyrinna would have loved to see Cydia grind that prick into powder. In fact, she would have loved to see it then, too. That was the problem exactly; she knew she'd stop to watch, when Zel was still out there alone with a Phantom. This is why the Night Watch works in pairs. The thought felt like it spilled all over her analytic mindset “Ugh...what, do you think he killed Zel or something? This dumbass?” Kyrinna leaned in a bit to laugh Eyron's way. “He can't even stop me.” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. She could tell she was feeling out of it by the things she was blurting out. “Zel is always so careful to pick up her knives,” she continued, trying to veer herself back on track. “She'd never let Eyron have one. I don't care if you help me find Zel or not...just shut up!” [[Previous|Page 134]] | [[Next|Page 136]]

She stormed away from the two of them. Maybe she'd be in more of a mood to let them speak once they found Zel. She knew it'd be difficult in that forest, though. Wherever they were, the plants were fairly sparse, starved to death long ago by the greedy trees overhead. In turn, the local mosses grew thick among the trees' discarded leaves, a pale blue blanket that felt soft underfoot. She couldn't see any footprints behind her; the evidence of their presence was swallowed by the moss. “So how da heck do we find Zel from here?” Cydia asked. While Kyrinna had gotten lost in her head, the wildspeaker had moved up behind her. “Even your footprints are gone, and you just got here!” Kyrinna bowed, resting her forehead on a tree. “I don't know, okay? That's why you guys gotta shut up and let me figure it out.” Kyrinna felt her head move before she was even sure what was going on. In some corner of her instincts, she'd registered the soft rustling of footsteps. Cydia had moved so silently, yet Eyron had made such a fuss. Long-dead leaves fell from his every step as she watched him, leaving a lingering trail of dust. “Where are you going?” she asked. “Toward Zel,” Eyron answered simply, still on the move. Kyrinna scampered after him, her dress gently brushing along the moss. “I've been believing you so far, so...whatever. How do you know which way Zel went?” Eyron froze and hoisted his sword toward the sky. As he did, Kyrinna could see his eye through an odd gem situated in the hilt. “Scintilla guides me.” She could barely focus on his answer. She was distracted by the eerie hum that filled the air around him, polluting the edges of her aural perception. “Through Her eyes, all is revealed.” “I hate it when you talk like that.” Regardless, she kept close to him, her lantern rocking back and forth as she went. Her eyes flicked along the trail and the trees that watched over it. There were no landmarks from what she could see, not even an animal nest to break up the monotony of the foliage. At least the trio's lights were three points in a line. Then again, their formation was perfect. Having the prick up front let them take a slower pace than Kyrinna or Cydia would have set in this terrain. She felt like running to Zel, but she had no idea how far it would be or what peril might try to impede her; rushing into the unknown tired would be dangerous. Plus, if they did run into trouble, Eyron would be first to approach it, and hence easy to sacrifice. [[Previous|Page 135]] | [[Next|Page 137]]

“Hold up!” Cydia called out from the back of the line. Kyrinna obeyed instantly. She turned around to watch Cydia approach. “What is it?” Cydia said nothing. She didn't have to, and she must have known it. She was holding another one of Zel's throwing knives. “Dammit,” Kyrinna replied. That was a sign she could follow. Eyron was leading them along the right path, loath as she was to admit, even internally. She couldn't deny the evidence, though. “You see? She had to have come this way.” The two women followed Eyron in silence for awhile. His heading seemed certain, but his feet didn't. Whatever eye his goddess lent him was apparently really bad at spotting roots and potholes. He'd kept going while Kyrinna and Cydia had stopped to talk. They caught up easily by avoiding all the stuff that tripped him up. Following after someone so sluggish felt like it took forever. A scream pierced through the silence of the mossy forest. “Zel!” Kyrinna gasped. She didn't need Eyron anymore. She took off through the forest, holding her lantern and her gaze toward her feet. Her careful observation revealed the obstacles in her path, no matter how hard they tried to hide among the plant matter. Kyrinna's steps were expertly woven around them all. “Zel!” she called out, much louder this time. She turned her head away from the ground just long enough to shout along her free hand. “Hello?!” The reply came back faintly. Could the moss be devouring sounds? Kyrinna shook her head. She needed to focus on Zel's voice. She needed to see her again. “Wait!” Eyron hissed from behind her. “The Phantom's close!” His warning didn't slow Kyrinna down one iota. Even as she watched the fog overtake the moss, her march was undeterred. She was already prepared to reach Zel herself, and she already knew the Phantom would be there too. “Hey nerd!” she screamed into the darkness. “Whatever you're doing to my friend, you better quit it!” [[Previous|Page 136]] | [[Next|Page 138]]

Kyrinna could barely hear it, but an eerie rattling noise came from about the same direction Zel's screams had. Something about the noise made her a little nauseous. She stood her ground, though, even as the noise came closer. Eventually, she saw it, a terrible serpent wider than she was tall. If it was indeed the same Phantom from before, then Cydia's throw had worked perfectly. Either that, or someone else had stuck it full of glass shards and melted away about half its face, which seemed possible but unlikely. When the Phantom's remaining eye came to rest on Kyrinna, it let out a quiet hiss. A frilled collar puffed out around its neck, a vibrant pattern of red and yellow triangles also eroded away in places. It turned its head to the sky for a moment, then whipped it in Kyrinna's general direction, flinging a glob of something her way. When the glob landed and splashed her way, she found herself learning so little. She watched the droplets slide off her clothes, repelled by the hydrophobic grease that aided her so much in the swamps. Whatever the liquid was, it was viscous, but colorless and odorless, and didn't seem to be dangerous to the touch. If she'd been hit directly, it might have slowed her down more, but— “Watch out!” Kyrinna and the Phantom both turned at the sound of Zel's voice. She was skirting along the edge of what Kyrinna could see, keeping trees between her and the Phantom. Her hair was a mess, and her bandoliers had only three knives left between the two of them. Unfortunately for her, the Phantom heard her just fine, and turned to lunge at her. The ruckus spilled out into the darkness to Kyrinna's left, beyond her sight. She turned to look, but she saw nothing. All she could hear was a tree snapping, and another bloodcurdling cry from Zel. Something about the situation felt off. Zel had battled tons of Phantoms before. Kyrinna couldn't fathom what it was about this one that was so different. It could have been the knife shortage, but then she would've just picked them back up. Kyrinna couldn't imagine what had gotten into Zel. [[Previous|Page 137]] | [[Next|Page 139]]

“What's goin' on?” Cydia asked from Kyrinna's left. Kyrinna couldn't tell her much. “That acid you threw hit really well,” Kyrinna said with a shrug, “but it's not over yet.” “Then we must finish this,” Eyron concluded, shoving his way to the front. He brandished his sword toward the sound of the broken tree. His stance looked like he was braced for impact. “Foul servant of darkness! Behold the instrument of Scintilla's wrath and tremble!“ The humming noise that had wreathed him before returned, more intense this time. “Prepare to be destroyed by Her holy l—“ Before he could finish his dumb screed, Eyron's sword shot out a streak of jagged bluish-white light. He let out a surprised shout and fell to the ground, losing his grip on his sword. Rather than moving straight ahead, the bolt arced around and hit the goo that the Phantom had spat earlier. Kyrinna had seen templars summon streaks of light before. It greatly resembled the lightning that occasionally came from the sky. How the Church could possibly reproduce such a thing, though, was unknown to Kyrinna. And now, a Phantom had learned the secret before her. That really pissed her off. “Take it easy, prick,” Kyrinna spat. “Just leave this to the professionals.” “But I—“ “I gotta get me some o'dat goo!” Cydia cooed, talking over Eyron. “Dat'll show you's Church goons what-for! Dat one'a your brews, Ky?” It took Kyrinna a few seconds to register that Cydia was talking to her. She'd never shortened her name like that. “...uh, no, the Phantom spit that.” Cydia's face seemed to light up. Whatever she was thinking, Ky had no chance to find out. Cydia's long, toned legs carried her at a pace Ky could never hope to match. “'ey, big guy!” Cydia shouted somewhere in the darkness ahead. “Ya spit or swallow?” [[Previous|Page 138]] | [[Next|Page 140]]

Dutifully, the Phantom answered Cydia's hollering with another glob of saliva. That was the only possible explanation for the giant blob of goo that landed on Kyrinna. She'd been caught by the edge of it, but it still knocked her off-balance. She couldn't help but panic. Whatever Eyron had fired from his sword, if it happened again while she was stuck, she'd be defenseless. Kyrinna flailed her arms, struggling to break free from the clear goo. The viscosity made itself much more apparent now that she was stuck in it. She could see chunks of the stuff falling away as she worked, leaving a gap in the material as if someone had taken a bite out of it. The sight of it calmed her down somehow. Now she had a plan. Rather than use her arms, Kyrinna put her legs into it, ripping the material apart by kicking at it. Her boots raked the goo into broken pieces around her before long, freeing her at last from her gooey prison. She shook the rest of it out of her hair and off her dress before running after Cydia. She only got a few steps along before another bolt of lightning streaked through the trees. It moved so fast, it was hard to say which direction it came from. Looking ahead, though, she could see pearls of light ahead off in the darkness, the same color as the lightning Eyron had summoned. The three lights finally converged before the Phantom. Zel had found her way to Cydia's side at about the same time Ky had. Up close, it was easier to see just how wide Zel's eyes were. Her usual composure was nowhere to be seen. “Zel,” Kyrinna gasped, “what's wrong?” “S-s-snake...!” was the only answer she could get out of Zel. “Yikes,” Cydia gasped. “Don't'cha worry, Zel...how's about we make another Phantom-fightin' truce? Good idea, innit?” Zel nodded, shrinking behind the others a bit. Her behavior was starting to scare Kyrinna. She'd never seen Zel this fearful before. She wondered what it was about the snake, but there was only one way to find out. She'd have to kill the Phantom if she was ever going to get any answers. Ky's bag of tricks was empty, though. She'd have to think of something, and fast. The Phantom puffed out its collar again, gathering bluish light along the edge. [[Previous|Page 139]] | [[Next|Page 141]]

## Chapter 21 “Impossible!” Eyron spat from somewhere deep in the mossy forest. “This creature calls upon Scintilla's divine light?!” “Save the theology for later!” Kyrinna said, shifting to a defensive posture. “We gotta figure out how to kill this thing!” The serpentine Phantom seemed to balk at the idea. It discharged the light from its frills in an erratic shower of sparks. In a drier forest, the attack would have immediately caused a wildfire. The damp moss refused to light, but the sparks still rippled through it, filling Kyrinna's legs with a needle-like sensation. She sucked in a breath through gritted teeth, doing her best to stand her ground. This thing had chased Zel all through the mossy forest and kept its grudge alive the entire time. Running was clearly out of the question. Suddenly, the Phantom coiled its body. “Look out!” Kyrinna shouted. By the time she got to the word “out”, the thing had lunged at the group. She tumbled to the ground to her left, landing in the moss with a soft thud. It was such a gentle impact, in fact, that she found herself sighing in relief. Perhaps it was the march Eyron had led them on, but Ky found herself suddenly feeling exhausted beyond belief. The spots on her legs that had been electrified stung anew. The effort it would take to stand simply felt like it was missing from her muscles. The moss, on the other hand, seemed to be eager to cradle her, and she felt eager to be cradled. She knew she couldn't stay, though. It would be too dangerous with the Phantom around, and her friends and Eyron would need her help to stop it. Kyrinna sighed, and struggled her way into a sitting position. She raised her arm to stifle a yawn with her hand, freezing up at the sight of what looked like dust motes swirling in her lantern's light. She'd seen dust-like particles coming off of Eyron earlier, too. “Whoa,” Ky gasped, marveling at the motes. No doubt it wasn't truly dust at all, but rather spores from the moss. She couldn't help but wonder if they had something to do with her sudden bout of exhaustion. She'd been tired plenty of times since leaving her mansion, and especially after leaving the Night Watch, but never so tired as to feel like taking a nap in the middle of fighting a Phantom. [[Previous|Page 140]] | [[Next|Page 142]]

“Kyrinna!” Zel's voice called out. “Where are you?” “Over here!” It wasn't long before the hunter emerged from the darkness, tightly gripping a knife in each hand. “Did you figure something out?” Kyrinna nodded. “I think this moss puts things to sleep somehow! If we can throw a bunch of moss into the Phantom's mouth, maybe we can knock it out! How many knives do you have?” Zel held up four fingers. Cydia must have given one back, Ky realized. “Okay, start cutting up the moss...we'll pick up a bunch to throw at it, and you can get your knives covered in the sleepy stuff.” “Oh,” Zel mouthed. She nodded, and instantly fell to her knees. “Good thinking,” she added aloud, handing clumps of moss Kyrinna's way. “What are you doing here?” “Don't ask such stupid questions.” Kyrinna's head snapped. Something about the Phantom's rattle seemed to only register on the very edge of her ability to perceive it. It felt like second nature to track the direction it was coming from. “C'mon, there's plenty of moss on the way. We gotta find the Phantom before it offs Cydia!” Something about that seemed to catch Zel off-guard. She hesitated for a moment before she took off running. Kyrinna moved with her, watching her black coat and red braid perform their own little acrobatics routine. There was something reassuring about being reunited with Zel. Between that and Ky's own planning, she felt confidence well up inside her anew. It wasn't long before she had another method to track the Phantom. Its trademark bluish glow shined through its own light-dampening fog up ahead. Ky couldn't help but smirk; she'd charted her course perfectly. The lightning seemed indecisive, leaping back and forth at ludicrous speeds somewhere ahead. Finally, that prick Eyron came into view, illuminated by the blue light. Kyrinna looked up to see Cydia sitting in a tree branch overhead. She wasn't moving, just watching Eyron as he and the Phantom passed a lightning bolt back and forth. [[Previous|Page 141]] | [[Next|Page 143]]

“...Cydia?” Ky yelled up to her. Eyron caught the Phantom's electric discharge on his sword. The hum that filled the air around him felt intense. The Phantom seemed undeterred, however, its gaping mouth giving off a sadistic vibe. Cydia took a bit to turn to Kyrinna. “'sup?” she asked. “Did you learn a wildspeaker thing from that thing?” Cydia nodded vigorously. “You betcha! Exactly what I was lookin' for, too!” Cydia tilted her head back and issued a horrible throaty noise. It sounded like she was summoning a glob of thick phlegm, but the substance that came out of her mouth matched the goo the Phantom had been hacking up earlier. Suddenly, her expression darkened. “Crap!” Cydia fell from the tree, her very hair seeming to duck around a bolt of lightning. The streak of light ripped through the space her body had inhabited just moments ago. From there, the bolt careened into the forest, well out of everyone's way. Somewhere, Ky could hear a tree breaking. Sensing this, the Phantom loomed upright, parts of its hood pushing aside the canopy overhead, Again, its frill expanded around its neck, and its mouth gaped as it generated another charge. “Now!” Ky roared. She charged directly at the Phantom. Between her untrained throwing arm and the moss' light weight, she knew she'd have to be close. She heard the subtle whoosh of Zel's knives as they sliced through the air. Two blades buried themselves in the Phantom's head, one of them landing in the area Ky's acid had dissolved. They didn't seem to hurt it, but they sure pissed it off. Its body coiled once again, and its fangs gleamed in the light. Kyrinna knew this was her only chance. She let out a grunt of effort and swung her body, putting her all into throwing the moss at the Phantom's mouth. In fact, she pushed herself so hard that she fell over once again. The impact knocked the wind out of her, tempting her to take in a huge gulp of air. She knew she couldn't, though, not with the moss spores floating around her. She had no idea if she'd even been on the mark or not. [[Previous|Page 142]] | [[Next|Page 144]]

“Oh, dat's da plan?” Cydia gasped. She wasted no time in moving to Kyrinna's aid. Ky was glad for that; she couldn't hold her breath for that long. She couldn't tell how much effort it took Cydia to hoist her out of the moss. She was quickly shifted onto Cydia's shoulder, where she laid across Cydia's body, faced away from the Phantom. “Dunno why we're feedin' it dis plant stuff, but...” Cydia suddenly jumped to the side, and Kyrinna watched behind her back as the Phantom lunged through the forest. By now, she'd observed that the serpent usually kept its mouth closed, unless it was about to attack. “Where's Eyron?” Kyrinna blurted. The epiphany had come so suddenly, she nearly bucked herself off Cydia's shoulder out of sheer excitement. The Phantom had been content to keep trying to electrocute that prick, no matter how many times he redirected the lightning. The whole time, the Phantom let its mouth hang open. All she had to do was get it to oblige in another one of those loops. Fortunately, that prick hadn't gone far. Something about the Phantom had him acting unlike himself, too. Then again, Ky didn't care about his problems. “What do you want?” Eyron snapped, no doubt noticing her self-assured smirk, even as Cydia continued to hold her. “Gimme your sword, nerd.” Eyron recoiled in horror and cradled his Church-issued blade close. “Ridiculous! This blade and its sacred powers can only be wielded by those chosen by Scintilla Herself! What could you want with it?” “I've got a plan to beat the Phantom, duh...!” Kyrinna stuck out her hands expectantly. “It doesn't matter who holds the sword, just...whoever does it can't screw up.” “How dare you speak to me this way! I—“ “You gonna play catch with the Phantom again, or am I?” Eyron didn't seem to understand. Kyrinna groaned at him. “This is why I wanted to do it! Shoot the lightning back and forth like you were doing before! Cydia, Zel, and I will fill him full of moss!” “And what good will that do?” Kyrinna began squirming and kicking. Cydia let her go, standing her up to let her have her tantrum. “You stupid prick!” Ky shouted. “If our plans don't work, that thing will kill us all! Just do what I say and we'll be fine!” [[Previous|Page 143]] | [[Next|Page 145]]

Eyron shrugged and assumed his position. He knocked Cydia away from the front lines and repeated his earlier stance. The blade began to hum and glow as he held the tip toward the Phantom, and before long, another brilliant streak of light issued forth. The electricity hastened to find a new home on the Phantom's frills. In turn, the Phantom grinned its open-mouth grin at the templar, and fired it back at him. Kyrinna let out a haughty laugh. The dumb thing was doing exactly what she wanted. “Dinnertime, nerd!” she taunted, scrabbling for handfuls of the blue moss to lob at its open mouth. Before long, the sky seemed to fill with clumps of the stuff, no doubt Zel and Cydia offering their contributions. Kyrinna didn't dare look; she had to keep an eye on her own projectiles to keep her aim true. The stupid Phantom was so huge, it took all the oomph she could muster to throw the moss hard enough to reach its mouth. She could feel her pitching arm beginning to protest. “When's dis start workin'?” Cydia called out from somewhere behind her. She was right; the Phantom seemed no less alert than before, no matter how many handfuls of moss slipped into its mouth. It looked resolute in its goal of getting the last laugh of sorts in its back-and-forth with Eyron. “Oh! Cydia, spit another glob of that goo away from the Phantom! And Eyron, you shoot the lightning at it!” While Ky and Zel continued to drug the Phantom, the others obliged in the plan. Kyrinna could hear another awful throat noise behind her, and couldn't help but look when Eyron discharged the electricity. The bolt careened into the sky, again intercepting the expectoration in midair. With their game of catch concluded, the Phantom coiled its body yet again, as if to strike. Instead, though, it laid its head down on its own body, wrapping itself up for a nap. Kyrinna sighed. She knew she'd called for a plan to kill the Phantom originally, but this was close enough. “Let's get outta here!” she suggested. By the time she turned around, though, the others were already moving through the moss, directly away from the Phantom. They must have had the same thought as her. [[Previous|Page 144]] | [[Next|Page 146]]

Kyrinna shrugged and jogged through the forest to catch up with the others as they fled the tranquilized Phantom. “Zel!” she hissed in their general direction. “You've been out here forever!” She didn't want to be too loud in case it woke the Phantom, but what she had to say seemed too important. “You need food, water, rest...!” That fact didn't stop the others, but it at least slowed them down. Kyrinna heaved a sigh of relief and scrambled the remaining distance. On her way, though, she leaned down and scooped a mass of moss in her hand. Her follow-through motion brought her hand dangerously close to her face. She couldn't help but stare at the stuff. If she could harness its properties safely, she figured, she might actually get a good night's sleep for once. She tucked it away in her satchel to study later. “Melaton is the closest town,” Eyron muttered, committed to his forward march. “Black sky is getting closer...we only have time for a short break.” “Long enough to sit Zel down, and get her to eat and drink?” Eyron didn't stop. “Yes, but we need to get away from this forest first. We'll be much safer if we can rejoin the road.” “Uh, I dunno,” Cydia said. She was on Zel's other side, lending her a wide, soft shoulder to lean on. “You been on da roads lately? Lotta two-bit punks start takin' to da roads at dis hour.” Zel chuckled and pushed against Cydia to right herself. “You would know, huh?” she cooed. Even she seemed to notice how strained her voice sounded. “...maybe I could use a break.” [[Previous|Page 145]] | [[Next|Page 147]]

## Chapter 22 “Dammit,” Cydia blurted. It was some of the first words anyone had shared since they escaped the mossy forest. Kyrinna wasn't sure about them, but she at least had been trying to listen, just in case the Phantom had woken up to give chase. “Black sky's here, innit?” Ky stole a glance at the sky and nodded. It had been so reassuring to exit the forest and travel by moonlight. She was in no mood to be deprived of it. “I'm tired,” she whined. “Can we take another break?” Eyron pointed ahead, at a soft glow barely visible against the dark clouds. “Do you see that?” he asked. “Based on where we are, that should be the town of Melaton up ahead.” The sight seemed to lift everyone's spirits. “Everyone that visits the inn there swears by it as one of the best they've ever visited.” “It was great,” Zel added. It took Ky a minute to remember Zel had visited Melaton, though that felt like a lifetime ago. “The owner is so hospitable, and...it's weird, but...” Zel trailed off, also turning her attention to the setting moon. “C'mon, nerd,” Kyrinna balked, “don't leave us hanging.” She clapped a hand on Zel's shoulder, and found herself surprised at how quickly it was shrugged off. In fact, Zel had been so quiet since they'd reunited. Something about that silence left Ky feeling really unsettled. “You're among friends, and Eyron. Get weird on us!” Zel let out a soft chuckle. “It's not that big a deal, it's just...you know, the owner's not my type, but she's still cute.” Cydia nodded. Kyrinna gasped as Cydia reeled her in close with one arm. “Oh yeah, I had dat happen before!” she said. “'course, it weren't no one in Melaton...I can't go into town much, ya know dat. But if she ain't your type, who is?” “Uh...” Zel averted her gaze, but not before Ky spotted a slight blush in her cheeks. “...can we talk about something else?” “Ain't nothin' else to talk about, is there?” Kyrinna shook her head. If there was, she figured, it would have come up during the rest of their walk. “Lighten up, will ya? Ya been real uptight da whole time...quit thinkin' 'bout dat Phantom or whatever. Thinkin' 'bout your type is more fun, innit?” [[Previous|Page 146]] | [[Next|Page 148]]

Zel shrugged. “Well, maybe," she admitted. "I don't know, it's hard to find time to think about stuff like my type sometimes. I'm at work pretty much all the time, you know?” “Yeesh!” Cydia hissed toward the sky. “First Ky an' then you...bet you're da same way, aren't ya, copper?” “And what 'way' would that be?” Eyron asked. His question was for Cydia, but his glare was fixed sorely on Kyrinna. Cydia shook her head. “Da thing Zel just said, ya moron! Y'all are so distracted by work...when's da last time ya treated yourself, huh?” “Furthering the word and will of Scintilla is all the treat I need.” Ky and Cydia shared a glance for a moment. Then they both made a horrible gagging sound, with Ky adding in a pantomime of pretending to stick a finger in her mouth. “Nerd,” she balked. She could even see Zel trying not to laugh. She left her insults at that, figuring the damage had been done. Instead, she tried to reel the conversation back a bit. She'd been confused about something that was said, and had hoped to piece the meaning together from context clues, but then everyone got sidetracked. “What's a type?” All eyes fell on her, even as the group continued to wander toward Melaton. Now she felt like the one that had made themselves look like a fool. Even Eyron seemed familiar with the lingo; he'd been the first to stare. “Nerd,” he shot back. “Oh, right,” Cydia gasped. “Bet it didn't come up much in I...uh...yeah.” Ky was impressed at Cydia's restraint. The alchie may not have been familiar with much slang, but she was streetwise enough to know that Irae had kind of a stigma around it. She was glad Cydia wasn't opening that can of worms again. “Type...ya know...” While Cydia struggled to find the words, Zel leaned in to offer her definition. “Okay,” she began, “it's like this.” She also froze up for awhile, lost in silent contemplation. “...well...your type is the stuff you find appealing in a person...in a partnership, maybe even sexual kind of way, you know?” “Yeah, okay,” Kyrinna lied. [[Previous|Page 147]] | [[Next|Page 149]]

Kyrinna wasn't sure what “appeal” Zel could be referring to. She'd never seen it in anyone. She'd certainly never felt any sexual attraction in her life either. Whatever the mystery appeal was, Cydia and even Eyron seemed satisfied with Zel's explanation. Ky shrugged. She would just have to gather more reference points, in hopes of one night connecting the dots. She was so embarrassed by the others' reactions, though, that she didn't dare ask her questions. The others joined Kyrinna in her silence as they entered the town of Melaton. The place seemed similar to Fracotel in a lot of ways. Church-issued streetlamps wreathed the major pathways in a warm glow, their light washing up against homes wrought of wood and stone. What immediately caught Kyrinna's attention, though, was the cliff opposite the group. A fork in the path led directly to it, where someone had set a great wooden door into the base of the cliff. Somewhere inside, she assumed, were pathways that led to the smaller holes cut out further up the cliff face. Some of those holes bled light out into Melaton. At the top of the cliff, the Church had installed one of their barrier crystals to keep the monsters out of Melaton. “That's the inn,” Eyron clarified, following Kyrinna's gaze toward the cliff. “The whole cliff?” Kyrinna gasped. “But why...?” It seemed like difficult work, or at least unconventional work compared to building the other houses. Zel was already headed toward the inn, far ahead of the rest of the group. “Apparently,” she explained, “people were digging tunnels underground to connect Melaton's water supply to Fracotel's, and hence to Mt. Sorrow. But some of them spent so long in there and got so used to it, they got sick when they came out. So they hollowed out a mountain as, like, a halfway thing.” With that, Zel made her way to the inn, performing a series of flips and cartwheels. Kyrinna smiled; that was the Zeltencia von Trepe she knew. The sight made her laugh in delight and run to catch up. There was no way she could imitate Zel's acrobatics, but she was feeling a spin every now and again. Her dress billowed around her like a Phantom's fog as she pirouetted her way to the inn. “C'mon, nerds!” she hollered at Cydia and Eyron. She didn't really want Eyron to follow along, but he could be pretty useful for a prick. [[Previous|Page 148]] | [[Next|Page 150]]

When Kyrinna turned to see their progress down the path to the inn, though, Eyron had moved a lot farther than Cydia. Cydia was way more fit and nimble than that. Ky motioned for Cydia to hurry up. “I dunno,” she replied. “I ain't slept with a roof over my head since...I don't know when.” “Then just come look around inside.” Kyrinna shrugged. “No one said you had to sleep in it.” Cydia shrugged and slowly began following. Kyrinna couldn't help but pump her fist in excitement as she went. If the others needed a good rest half as badly as she did, then she had no idea where Zel was finding the energy to flip like that. Sleeping within a town's barrier of light seemed like the best chance of accomplishing such a tall order, even if it was being provided by the Church and their barrier crystal. “What?” Eyron asked suddenly. “Why are you giving me that look this time?” Kyrinna stuck out her tongue and turned away from him. She hadn't even realized she was giving any sort of look, but she was sure he deserved it. Now that she was closer to the inn, she could see someone standing there, as if they expected her. A woman stood there in a plain olive dress and white apron, waving at her. “Come on in!” she was shouting. “Yeah?” Kyrinna said once she made it closer. She didn't have anything left to defend herself except the soporific moss, and she was saving that to study for her own use. “How come?” The woman turned her head sideways a bit at Kyrinna's question. “You are Syrup, aren't you? Zel's friend?” Kyrinna opened her mouth to deny it, but the woman had already turned away from her. “I'm sorry, to both of you darlings...you just didn't sound real.” Kyrinna couldn't even begin to fathom that. “Why not, nerd?” “Oh!” The woman clasped a hand to her mouth. “There's that word she said you always say! Wow...you really are the one who made that special syrup, aren't you?” [[Previous|Page 149]] | [[Next|Page 151]]

Kyrinna looked all around for a moment. She had no idea what she'd missed, but she really wanted to find out. She urged the woman to the other side of the doorway, providing at least a little cover from eavesdroppers. She made another check inside to be absolutely sure. She'd taken the conversation to a candlelit circular lobby dominated by a beautiful rug that simulated a pile of fallen leaves. At the carpet's edges were a stone desk and several wooden benches, all of them uninhabited. Kyrinna heaved a sigh of relief. Zel was nowhere to be seen, but neither were any templars. “What did Zel tell you, exactly?” she asked. “Crush the petals of one vermillionaire. Mix with the gel inside two star herbs—“ “—and the oils of two lavandula flowers, bring to a rolling boil.” Kyrinna and the other woman completed the sentence in unison. She'd drilled those exact words into her own head; they were the recipe for her healing lotion. She knew logically that she didn't like Zel blabbing the recipe out like that, but she felt no animosity over it. In fact, she was mostly impressed that Zel had memorized the recipe well enough to teach it to someone else. “Have you tried it?” “Tried it?” the woman repeated. She burst into laughter before she'd even completed her sentence. “Darling, everyone's trying it! Zel had us add those things to a hot bath, and it smelled so lovely, I just had to ask about the recipe.” The woman paused to crack her knuckles. “I can tell by your face that...well, I cook the finest stew on the whole continent, even better than the anglers'. If my recipe got out, I'd be kinda mad...I guess it's the same for you, isn't it, darling?” Kyrinna was having a lot of trouble keeping her facial expressions in check, apparently. “...yeah, actually.” This time, she could feel the hardness in her expression melting away. It felt oddly comforting that this person had made a connection so easily. “So who are you?” The woman shook her head. “Oh, pardon my manners!” she gasped. “The name's Alpidt...owner and operator of the Melaton Hollows. You and your friends are staying here tonight, aren't you?” [[Previous|Page 150]] | [[Next|Page 152]]

Kyrinna flinched slightly against the sensation of being stared at. Alpidt's cheer at her arrival had led the people of Melaton to look her way, and she silently withered under their scrutiny. “Thank you,” Eyron said, breaking the silence. “Which room is ours?” Alpidt pointed a finger to the stone desk, then dragged it leftward until it came to rest in front of a door about half the size of the entryway. “Zel said you'd want the quietest rooms. There's an itty bitty hallway past the spirals that leads to a bigger room. I live in one at the other end of the Hollows, so I promise it's good!” “Da spirals?” Cydia repeated. Alpidt replied with a shrug and a smile. “Oh! Well, it used to be a spiral staircase, but not everyone can climb stairs, so I chiseled them down into ramps once I moved in.” Suddenly, her expression darkened. “But enough about that. What happened to Zel? The poor darling's been run ragged, and her clothes are filthy...” Kyrinna turned to the others. “See, I told you so,” she said. The group had taken a break out on the road, but it wasn't long enough. She turned back to Alpidt to explain the situation. “She was trapped out there by a Phantom for...a whole night?" Kyrinna had been drinking and sleeping a lot around that time, and hadn't kept track of black sky. She wasn't sure how long it had been. "We all got together to help her get away.” Alpidt took a sudden step forward, clinching Kyrinna in a sudden embrace. “Bless your hearts,” she cooed. “Zel did us a big favor, dealing with that other Phantom that was eating our crops.” “She's very good at what she does.” Kyrinna stole a glance toward the group's room, where Zel was resting. “Is she gonna be okay?” “Should be.” Alpidt shrugged a little. “I'm not a doctor, but I am a mother of two. She's fine for now, but if she pushes herself too hard, she'll get really sick. That's why I want her to stay here for at least two nights.” Before Kyrinna could even appear to protest, Alpidt put a finger to her lips and shushed her. “It's no trouble...Zel made such a good impression on the whole of Melaton, after all. Wouldn't be surprised if everyone here knows her name...yours too, Syrup. What about your friends here? What's your names?” [[Previous|Page 151]] | [[Next|Page 153]]

Alpidt walked over to Eyron and Cydia in turn as they introduced themselves. Each of them got a hearty handshake and a “thank you” for their troubles. “Hey, uh,” Cydia continued after her introduction, “ya got one'a dem baths I can take?” Alpidt nodded. “Sure, the bathing facility's at the bottom of the spirals. And have Zel take a bath too, once she's done sleeping!” Alpidt took a couple steps away from the group, turning around when she reached a doorway. “Again, my room's opposite yours, so feel free to come knocking if you need anything, okay?” Kyrinna nodded. “Sure, thanks!” she said, waving goodbye to the innkeeper. She turned back to the others, just in time to notice them resuming their stares. “What?” “You truly think helping some yokels is going to absolve you of your crimes?” Eyron whispered. His hand rested on Kyrinna's collar, ready to grab it. “What a pathetic ruse. Do you think they'd still love you if they found out...your other recipes?” She knew what the prick was getting at, but she wasn't about to let him have his satisfaction. Instead, Kyrinna decided to play dumb a little. “Duh...c'mon, nerd! Waterproof fabric, energy, powerful cleaners, monster repellent...Alpidt's life would be so easy!” “And what of her afterlife?” Sure enough, Eyron's hand tightened into a fist, and took Kyrinna and her clothes along with it. “She'll have to explain her heresies to Scintilla on the night of her judgme—“ Kyrinna took Eyron's little finger and yanked it in an unnatural direction. She could see his lips twist together in an effort to hide his pain. Eventually, he loosened his grip, and she did the same in exchange. “I can't believe your goddess really cares that much about bath water. She must really suck.” While Eyron was left aghast at that, Kyrinna turned to Cydia. “You said you were headed to the bath, right? The ones that are using my recipe? I gotta see this.” [[Previous|Page 152]] | [[Next|Page 154]]

## Chapter 23 There was no mistaking the smell. Kyrinna hadn't even reached the bottom floor of the Melaton Hollows where they kept the baths. She could already catch whiffs of the lavandula and star herb. Tendrils of vapor clawed their way toward her, pungent fingers beckoning her closer. These were smells she associated with her healing poultice, and just standing there smelling them was making her feel more at ease, as if it were healing her mind. She found herself a bit hypnotized by the lights set into the wall. They cast small rainbows into the water vapor, and the wavy effect it had on her vision made the very stone of the walls seem alive. “Hurry up, Ky!” Cydia called out from inside a nearby room, wholly obscured by the mist. “Dis is great!” “Don't rush me, nerd!” Kyrinna hollered back. She was working her way through the facility and putting together the logistics in her head. One of the first things she came across was a rack of clothes, the same drab olive as Alpidt's outfit. They seemed to be sorted by size and style into a bookcase-like rack, but she couldn't tell what they were for. The decorative metal orb resting alone on the top shelf offered no answers no matter how many times she looked at it. “Oh!” a now-familiar voice called out. Kyrinna turned around to see Alpidt standing in the doorway. “Sorry, Syrup, I didn't mean to startle you...I just know your friend came to use the bath, so I wanted to make sure everything was in order.” Her gaze flitted down to the clothing Kyrinna was clutching. “See any clothes you like there?” The room fell into silence for a bit. Kyrinna had never been to a bath like this before. “...uh, I guess,” she mumbled. Alpidt put a hand to her chin in deep thought. “First time?” Kyrinna nodded. “Ah, no wonder! That's okay, darling...those are clean clothes for bathers to borrow. Zel says you wear a pretty dress everywhere, even to battle with Phantoms...but it's a bit much for a bath.” Kyrinna took a step away from Alpidt and crossed her arms around herself. Sure, it was a lot of clothing to wear around, but it kept her body covered, too. “...I'll be fine.” [[Previous|Page 153]] | [[Next|Page 155]]

“Oh, darling, it's alright...just look at this.” Alpidt guided Kyrinna's attention to the top of the rack. She grabbed one of the articles of clothing there. It had been carefully folded, but she let gravity pull it open, revealing a long robe shaped similarly enough to Kyrinna's own lab coat. “The way you dress, you'd be more comfortable in one of these, am I right? Long, warm, keeps you covered...” That last one was the point Kyrinna cared about most. Then again, she felt so odd around this woman. “How would you know?” she blurted. “You act like you know me...” She tried to leave the bathing facility, but Alpidt stood in her way. “Syrup,” she whispered, placing a gentle hand on Kyrinna's shoulder. “Zel warned me you might not be too used to kindness. Actually...she told me a lot about you. She really cares, and so do I. Anything I need to know to make someone's stay at the Melaton Hollows a good one, I can tell, just by looking and listening to folks. I'm just trying to get everything squared away, and then you'll have all the privacy in the bath you could ever ask for.” Alpidt thought for a moment, then added, “...well, from me, at least. Your tall friend, she doesn't seem too private.” Kyrinna laughed. She had to hand it to Alpidt; she wasn't sure how educated the innkeeper's guesses truly were, but they were all correct. “Cydia's been like that for as long as I've known her,” she admitted. Something about that brought a wide smile to Alpidt's face. She took a seat near the clothing rack and started fixing it up, starting with refolding the clothes Kyrinna had fussed with. “You can tell by how she moves...it's so strange, she feels arrogant, but not smug. The way she walks feels like a boast, and I believe it.” “And you should!” Kyrinna felt oddly compelled to sit next to Alpidt. There was a quiet rhythm to the folding of the clothes. The gentle sounds of the fabric brushing against itself were oddly pleasing. She couldn't help but stare at the things Alpidt folded, and she couldn't help but be impressed by how easy it looked. “She's almost as tough as Zel.” “And what about you?” Kyrinna shrugged. “I don't know what you mean.” [[Previous|Page 154]] | [[Next|Page 156]]

Alpidt clicked her tongue in disdain. “Zel is so tough," she explained, "but you and I were both saying she needs rest.” She paused to jut a thumb toward the bath. “Cydia, right? She's apparently tough too, and she's giving herself a nice, relaxing soak. Even that templar kid, Eyron, he's so desperate for some chow from his homeland that he's making his own meal.” Alpidt gestured to Kyrinna. “What are you doing to take care of yourself?” “Well...” It took Kyrinna a minute, but then she remembered, she did have something in the works for her own sake. “...I have trouble sleeping. But while we were out there saving Zel...I think I came up with an idea that might help.” “Oh, that's wonderful, darling.” Alpidt's fingers slowly reached out for Kyrinna's face. “The droop of your mouth...the sadness in your eyes...some of these fine wrinkles...” Kyrinna closed her eyes as Alpidt touched her. It felt like the innkeeper was trying to smooth out the wrinkles in Kyrinna's forehead, the same way she would if they were in a shirt. “...goodness, you and Zel have both been through a lot lately.” Kyrinna nodded. She had to admit, Alpidt's practiced touch felt good on her facial muscles. There was a surprising amount of strength behind the innkeeper's fingers, but she seemed to know exactly how much of it to put to use. It wasn't just the piercing touch, either; Alpidt seemed to see through her and the others, right to the cores of their being. “Alpidt?” “Yes, darling?” “I told Zel a lie to help her feel better about...” Kyrinna just barely caught herself. Eyron's words echoed briefly in her mind. She knew she couldn't tell Alpidt too many details. “...something sad. But she found out I lied, and I think she feels even worse now. What should I do? I don't want things to get even worse.” Kyrinna opened her eyes to the odd sensation of fabric. She'd noticed something dabbing at her cheeks, but it was a bit scratchy when it happened to slide along her skin. Alpidt was kneeling in front of her, her apron wound around her hand. She'd been cleaning Kyrinna's cheek. [[Previous|Page 155]] | [[Next|Page 157]]

“Darling,” Alpidt began, “I'm not mincing words, understand? I don't know what you lied about, but it must have been important. But if you're gonna lie to someone, you better spend the rest of your life telling them the truth. Even if they never believe you...even if they never forgive you...you owe it to them. Now get up...you're blocking the bathhouse.” Kyrinna did as she was told, only for Alpidt to reel her into a tight hug. Up close, she could feel the innkeeper's muscles resting against her skin like rocks. Strong scents immediately overfilled Kyrinna's nose from that olive dress, a dank cloud of spices and seasonings. “Don't get me wrong,” Alpidt continued. “I believe you. And I believe all the good things Zel had to say about you last time she was here, too. But you...” “I what?” “Shh.” Alpidt abruptly shoved Kyrinna away, sending her reeling a few steps. She glared up at the innkeeper, but her only reply was another shushing. Once she was quiet, she could hear the problem immediately. Heavy footsteps echoed through the caverns of the inn, a distinct and rhythmic clanking. “Oh, great,” Kyrinna groaned, “more templar nerds.” By the time she looked back to Alpidt, she was greeted with a terrible scowl. It only lasted a short moment before Alpidt turned away to drop her apron on the clothing rack. She took the metal orb off its stand and wrapped it tightly in the apron. Lastly, the whole apron ended up tied around Alpidt's waist. All told, the thing looked like a makeshift belt. The heavy orb dangled from her waist and wobbled as she walked away from the bathhouse. She led the way back to the lobby, where she and Kyrinna were greeted by two men dressed in Church tabards. Unlike most templars, their only armor was on their hands and feet. “You made an awful lot of noise coming in here,” Alpidt greeted them. “It's past black sky, you know...my guests and my sons are trying to sleep.” “Is one of them named Cydia Myssil?” one of the men asked. Both of them wore two green strips of fabric apiece, one around the tops of their heads and the other covering their mouths. The one that was speaking had black hair slicked back under his cloth, while the other's was blond. “My kids sure aren't.” Alpidt shrugged. “And I don't care whether my guests are or not. There's no roughhousing allowed in my inn. If you folks are after someone, you'll have to wait outside.” [[Previous|Page 156]] | [[Next|Page 158]]

“You're not going to offer us a room?” the blond templar growled. His voice was way, way deeper than the other guy's. Just the sound of it made Kyrinna jump. “That's the world-famous hospitality of Eulipha Alpidt? What a disappointment.” Alpidt shook her head. “With the way you've already marched in here and made demands?" she balked. "I'm not wasting that hospitality on you.” The blond zealot took a step toward Alpidt, so Kyrinna did too. “Hey!” she whispered. “Watch it...I think these nerds mean business...!” Alpidt laughed and reached back to pet Kyrinna's head. “Oh, darling,” she said, not at all whispering, “the Hollows has rules because I enforce them.” She turned to the zealots as she untied the apron from her waist. The apron sagged under the weight of the decorative metal orb Alpidt had hidden inside it. “I'm only gonna say it one more time, boys. Get out of my inn.” Kyrinna looked to the zealots for their response. “Preposterous,” the black-haired one scoffed. “Your authority is nothing to Scintilla. One of your guests could be a vile soul tainted by darknes—“ The situation changed so fast, Kyrinna wasn't sure how it even happened. During his spiel, the zealot had taken another step toward Alpidt, and the next thing she knew, he was reeling toward the door, groaning in pain. The apron dangled from Alpidt's hand, the metallic orb shoving at it erratically before finally settling into a pendulum's routine. “My house, my rules,” was the only explanation Alpidt offered. The blond, meanwhile, didn't flinch. “If the town of Melaton is going to harbor this criminal,” he surmised, “then perhaps we ought to shut down the barrier and let the Phantoms handle it.” He moved to leave, but Kyrinna scooted into his path and held her arms out wide. “Don't do that, nerd!” she gasped. “The joint mission the Church had with the Night Watch didn't kill that talking monster! It's still out there!” The zealot seemed unconvinced. Kyrinna was telling the truth, and still she was treated like it meant nothing. She groaned and turned toward the kitchen. “You tell 'em, Eyron! Make yourself useful! They're gonna unleash monsters on the town, you stupid prick!” The zealot raised an eyebrow. “Eyron?” [[Previous|Page 157]] | [[Next|Page 159]]

Finally, the prick emerged from the kitchen, still clutching his knife and fork. “Tell who what?” Eyron asked, slightly distorted by a mouthful of food. As soon as he noticed his fellow Church goons, though, he instantly snapped to attention. “Sirs!” Eyron lowered his head to bow to his superiors, and in response, the blond smashed the back of his head with an elbow strike. “What is the meaning of this?!” the templar roared. Rather than explain himself at all, he collected his compatriot, and the two of them pushed Kyrinna aside to exit the Melaton Hollows. “...what was that about?” she mused, nursing the impact her backside took. “What'd you do, prick?” Eyron was still laying where he'd sprawled out after the elbow strike. “I don't know!” he said. “Why did they hit me? What did you tell them?” “You think it's my fault? They just showed up and started pushing Alpidt around!” “If they were in the service of Scintilla, they must have had a good re—“ “Okay, okay!” Alpidt interrupted them. She sat in the middle, trying to soothe them both with a gentle touch. “Don't argue too loudly. I meant what I said about the folks trying to rest.” She glanced to the door and added, “I just hope those folks were bluffing about turning off the barrier...” “What?” Eyron sprang to his feet in an instant. “They mean to turn off the barrier? This behavior...and that style of dress...those two men are unlike any member of the Church that I've ever met.” Eyron took a few purposeful strides toward the door, and suddenly froze. “Kyrinna, what did you mean for me to tell them?” Kyrinna shrugged. “Something about that freaky shape-changing monster,” she answered, wobbling to her feet. “If they let that thing into Melaton, that's gonna be such a hassle.” Eyron jutted a thumb toward the door. “After that utter disregard for the tenets and procedures of our Order...I fear it may have already arrived. They must be—” “Oh, come on!” Kyrinna slapped Eyron's hand out of the air. “Face it, nerd, your Church friends suck! They don't buy into that crap half as much as you do! You can't blame all that on one shapeshifter!” [[Previous|Page 158]] | [[Next|Page 160]]

Eyron's expression darkened. He turned away from Kyrinna's scorn, only to meet Alpidt's. “Eyron, darling,” she said gently, “could one monster have imitated two people at once?” When he failed to answer, Alpidt shook her head. “They may be from your Order, but they're still human...they can still make mistakes, or be tempted by greed, or—“ “That's enough,” Eyron interrupted. “Whatever you did to provoke their ire, bringing harm to all of Melaton is a disproportionate response. Simply unacceptable.” “Wait!” Alpidt grabbed for one of the fabric strips hanging from Eyron's outfit, to keep him from chasing down the zealots. “I have another idea. It's dangerous, but if it works, I think we can get those two to leave Melaton and its barrier alone...and the Hollows, too.” Eyron turned around and placed a hand on his hip. “And why would you seek to help us so?” Alpidt laughed. “You think I'm helping you?” She shook her head and reeled Eyron in even closer, by the ear this time. “Darling, I just did. But around here, when someone does you a favor, you do one for them right back.” She released her grip and darted through the door Eyron had entered the lobby from. “I'm gonna leave some instructions with my sons, and then we'll get going.” “Going?” Kyrinna repeated. “But you told those nerds to wait outside! They'll recognize us no problem!” That got another laugh out of Alpidt. [[Previous|Page 159]] | [[Next|Page 161]]

## Chapter 24 “Whaddaya mean, Zel can't come?” Cydia hollered up the ladder. “Dat's up ta her, innit?” “No, darling,” Alpidt replied from the end of the line. “My sons will set her straight if they catch her getting out of bed. She needs more rest.” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. She didn't understand why they were talking about that. “Great,” she balked, “but we're not resting, we're in your basement...and why is that?” She knew right off the bat that it was no ordinary basement. After all, they'd gone through a secret door in the bathhouse and down a ladder to get there. The path emptied alongside an underground river, making Kyrinna think back to Mt. Sorrow. This time, at least, there were a variety of lights marking off a much wider path. Church-issued bulbs swung from the ceiling far overhead, and sconces were nestled away in the walls. Alpidt jumped off the ladder once Eyron was finally clear of her landing spot. Her boots had been obscured by her dress, but that jump moved the dress enough to offer a brief glimpse of the work boots laced high up Alpidt's legs. “The folks that dug out the Hollows were working on this underground tunnel, to get Mt. Sorrow's water out to Melaton. Their tunnels connect to some pretty places down here...I used to come down here and gather food to cook at the inn.” Kyrinna stopped. “Used to?” “Darling, anyone ever tell you you ask some great questions?” Kyrinna nodded and shared a smile with Alpidt. “There's a lot more Phantoms out and about as of late...and that includes underground, too. Why'd you think I told you to be ready for a fight?” “I was hopin' we'd stick it ta da Church goons,” Cydia admitted. Eyron cleared his throat behind her. “Fine, da Church goons dat ain't Eyron.” Alpidt shrugged. “Some of those verses and mantras of theirs have merits. Tell the truth, help the needy...I tell my sons the same things.” The others were staring at Alpidt. Kyrinna didn't mind whatever they were ornery about, though. The group did a lot of talking on the road, and she kind of liked it. It made things feel safe, even when she didn't know what to say herself. [[Previous|Page 160]] | [[Next|Page 162]]

“But then,” Kyrinna blurted, “if you're a healer but you happen to use things the Church says is witchcraft...I mean, it's one thing to say it's good to tell the truth. But if they'd execute you for telling the truth, then what?” “Yeah," Alpidt agreed, "it puts you in a spot, doesn't it, Syrup?” “Syrup?” Eyron balked. “What right do you have to talk of the truth, when you're hiding your own name, Kyrinna?” Kyrinna stood on her tiptoes to get into Eyron's face. “Shut up, nerd,” she said slowly. After that, she turned back to Alpidt and offered a shrug. “I have to have an assumed name if the Church is going to make picking flowers illegal.” “So instead ya use da name of ya granny?” Cydia butted in. “Da one dem goons offed for doin' da same thing?” Kyrinna and Alpidt both sagged as each of them got one of Cydia's arms draped over them. “Wow, your disguise really sucks!” Alpidt laughed and reached up to pat Cydia's hand. “I already figured Syrup was a fake name,” she explained. “Recipes like yours do tend to get the Church angry, yes. Though it never came out as thick as Zel said it should, so that's when we tried the bath idea.” Kyrinna clasped a hand to her mouth. “Oh, you can concentrate it into more of a gel with some tallow,” she said. If Zel hadn't caught that part, Alpidt's attempt at the balm must have come out as a runny goo. “We can't take many baths on the road, nerd...though that does sound kinda nice.” “It is nice!” Cydia cooed. She had been in the bath the whole time the zealots were there, and the scent still lingered on her skin. “I coulda fallen asleep in dat stuff...!” Kyrinna nodded. The scent had always been relaxing to her. She could close her eyes and smell it off Cydia, and a beautiful, soft corner of nature sprang to her mind. “I wanna try that,” she admitted, her mind drifting to the sleep moss. If she could combine the two— “It'll have to wait,” Eyron barked. His weapon was drawn, and he stood in front of the group, between them and some red lights up ahead. They wobbled along up ahead, too far away and not bright enough to be clearly seen. [[Previous|Page 161]] | [[Next|Page 163]]

Alpidt shook her head. She was wearing the same dress and apron as before, or at least an identical set. With nowhere else to carry her things, she had a basket dangling from her right hand. Her left disappeared under its white cover, only to reappear gripping a large kitchen knife. “Oh, it's just some crystalbacks,” Alpidt said, with absolutely no gravitas to her warning. “Usually we just leave each other be, but if one gets ornery, you can just flip it over.” She lowered herself into a ready stance, still holding the basket in her other hand. “I kinda hope one does get ornery...there's an anglers' recipe that works really well on crystalback legs too.” Eyron froze up a bit. Kyrinna could see his stance shift. “Oh, really?” he asked. Before he could even get his answer, his sword sizzled with brilliant blue sparks. The templar jumped forward with surprising speed and brought his sword down on one of the red lights. A horrible noise quickly filled the cavern, disorienting Kyrinna before she could tell what was even making it. By the time it stopped, the other crystalbacks had fled. Alpidt had fallen to the ground, clutching her ears. “What'd you do?” “That is the divine might of Scintilla.” Eyron relaxed his stance and took a couple steps toward the group. The red light had vanished, and when Kyrinna came closer, she could see that the entire crystal had been charred black. It was attached to the shell of a motionless creature, its spindly legs splayed out slightly beneath its own weight. Kyrinna glared up at Eyron. He'd described his magic as divine retribution, but she couldn't imagine what those crystalbacks had done wrong. “All that over angler food?” she asked. She'd had it herself, but she couldn't remember what it had tasted like. All she could think of was how the Chief had talked to her, and how good the praise had made her feel. Eyron sheathed his blade and strode up to Kyrinna to get in her face. “If you truly must know, I'm homesick.” “Yeah?” Alpidt grunted as she rose to her feet. “You mentioned something like that earlier. Where are you homesick for, copper?” Even through her slang, Kyrinna could tell Alpidt was still a little disoriented. “Diria. Why?” “...just making conversation.” [[Previous|Page 162]] | [[Next|Page 164]]

Alpidt shrugged and turned away from Eyron. “What about you two?" she asked. "where are you from?” That went over even worse with Kyrinna than it had Eyron. She could feel her body curling up, to keep the question away. “I guess nowhere,” Cydia answered, taking the heat off her a bit. “Oh!” Kyrinna could hear Alpidt clap a hand to her mouth. “I'm sorry, I should have guessed, the way...” She trailed off, leaving the group with nothing but the sound of her hacking off the crystalback's legs. Just as Kyrinna was starting to feel aware of how long they'd been silent, Alpidt spoke back up. “...so why are you here with a templar?” Eyron let out a groan. “You're far too nosy for your own good,” he warned her. “Darling, you're still guests of mine. I just like to help my guests.” Cydia moved back in to lean with Alpidt some more. “Eh, we's got a deal,” she answered simply. “Bigger than whatever ya don't like 'bout me, innit?” The copper only grunted in reply. “Thought so.” “Sorry, but it's almost time to think about the Phantoms,” Alpidt butted in. Kyrinna nearly tripped over herself at the sound of the P-word. “Ugh, already?” she whined. Awkward questions aside, she'd been having fun alongside Alpidt and Cydia, and she'd been doing decently at ignoring that prick Eyron. “I don't see any black fog, nerd.” Alpidt shook her head. “I memorized these caves, nerd,” she shot back. Her imitation of Kyrinna was admittedly pretty good. “Anyway, one flies and one doesn't, but they don't seem to like each other. If we're lucky, they'll wear each other down, so we have less work to do.” Alpidt put her basket down on the cavern floor and stretched her arms over her head. “The innkeeping business works me hard enough!” “Well, dat's your fault, innit?” Cydia balked. “Coulda been in da Cuprina Brigade wit me, lady, you's tough as nails!” Alpidt merely laughed the suggestion off. “Alright, who's ready to—“ A loud screech echoed through the cavern ahead, drowning out the rest of Alpidt's sentence. [[Previous|Page 163]] | [[Next|Page 165]]

Kyrinna could hear some kind of scuffle ensue as small puffs of the telltale black fog gathered around her feet. To her shock, another screech ripped through her ears. This one was far, far closer than the last. Before she could think it over further, she was bowled over by something as it rushed past the group. She looked to see if any of the others had been knocked over, but all she could see was the fog. “The Phantom!” she exclaimed. Kyrinna could hear it landing on the other side of the group. When the clamor died down a bit, she got a better look at the thing. It seemed to be just as surprised to see her as she was it, and its every panicked movement was kicking up dust and fog. Despite that, she could clearly see its eyes, four burning orbs of bright blue on each side of its head. It let out a screech every time it opened its jagged beak. “I hate that noise!” Kyrinna cried. She pulled at her pigtails a little as she stared the Phantom down. It was reminding her too much of the shadow monster in the marsh. The way its eyes seemed to flicker, too, just made her imagine four of that thing stacked up together, hiding behind their cloud cover, growing larger and larger. “Syrup!” Alpidt's voice called out. She felt her feet leave the ground. “You're panicking!” Kyrinna didn't register that until after she opened her eyes. Cydia stood in front of her, arm outstretched and coated in spikes. The Phantom's uneven maw was tangled up against her. Even as it stood there locked on, she grinned past Alpidt and directly at Ky. “Hey copper!” she called out. “How's dat burnin' light trick work, huh?” “I already told you,” came Eyron's reply from somewhere off to Kyrinna's right, “it's the divine might of Sci—“ “Never mind! Just do it!” Kyrinna barked a short laugh into the cave in front of her. Cydia turned at the sound, then turned to Alpidt. “She goin' to bed?” “Yes,” Alpidt said. Kyrinna felt hands on her shoulders, gently urging her back the way she came. She was surprised to feel herself fighting that push. Kyrinna's struggle was in vain, however. The Phantom's cry disoriented her so much that she could only stumble about, and it was trivial for Alpidt to shoo her back the way they came. "No, darling," Alpidt cooed. "Everything's going to be okay. You need to get away from this one." [[Previous|Page 164]] | [[Next|Page 166]]

Kyrinna felt conflicted about the whole thing. She wanted to stay and help Cydia, but that Phantom's noise was driving her crazy. Light flickered along the walls as Kyrinna walked with Alpidt. She could tell by the color that it was Cydia breathing fire. She turned her head to see what was going on, only for Alpidt to block her line of sight. “No, darling,” Alpidt said again. The moment the Phantom issued its horrible cry again, Alpidt's hands closed over Kyrinna's ears, blocking out most but not all of the noise. Once it was over, Alpidt leaned in and said, “Don't pay that nasty Phantom any attention. Don't even look. Your friends said they'd handle it...you trust them, right?” Kyrinna nodded. “Cydia? Sure,” she confirmed. “But...but...” She wrung her hands in her dress. “...why is it screaming like that?” “I don't know, Syrup.” “Kyrinna...my name's Kyrinna, or just Ky, if you prefer.” Alpidt smiled down at her. The cavern seemed to flood with warmth. “Ky,” she repeated. “When we get back to the ladder, do you want to go up first or second? If you're first, I can try to catch you if y—” The cavern lit up again, this time in the telltale azure of Eyron's sword magic. The sound of it crackling through the air jumped Alpidt and interrupted her sentence. Kyrinna didn't bother trying to turn around. “I can climb a ladder! I...I think my brain needs a break, that's all.” “Okay.” Something else made a lunge toward Kyrinna, but Alpidt swung her basket toward the threat and it seemed to work well enough. Some sort of leather-winged rodent fell to the cave floor, stunned by the impact. Ky could really only half-pay attention, between the Phantom's ruckus and Alpidt's eagerness to get her away from it. “I might go back to help the others once you're settled in," Alpidt warned Kyrinna, giving her one last nudge now that they'd reached the ladder. "Take a bath and go to bed.” Another one of those creatures flung itself out of the darkness; this one was intercepted by Alpidt's knife. A streak of blood seemed to hang briefly in the air behind the creature as it fell to the cavern floor. “You said you could climb, right? So do it.” Kyrinna hadn't even realized they'd made it back to the ladder. She went up one rung, then turned to smile at Alpidt. “Thanks, nerd,” she said before clambering back up into the Melaton Hollows. [[Previous|Page 165]] | [[Next|Page 167]]

## Chapter 25 “It wasn't my idea to come back,” Kyrinna huffed. The word “back” came out especially harshly as Kyrinna fell into bed face-first next to Zel. Sometime during her absence, Zel had traded her usual longcoat for the Hollows' ubiquitous olive green robes. “Alpidt said I had to.” “Same as me,” Zel mused quietly. “Alpidt sure is hard to say no to, isn't she?” With a short laugh, she added, “I think that's what I like about her.” “Yeah, well, try living with her.” The voice was unfamiliar to Kyrinna. She snapped upright to face it, only to see a young boy smiling up at her. He was using a wooden board to carry two plates; each plate, in turn, carried a large piece of bread topped with egg and cheese. “Oh, that's Alpidt's older son,” Zel explained, holding Kyrinna's shoulder to calm her. She accepted the food from him and bowed her head in thanks. “I'm Desman,” the kid introduced himself. His hair was dark, curly, and very springy. He nodded to the women, and his hair bounced around unpredictably, as if possessed of a will of its own. “Soric's asleep, so you can't meet him.” Zel laughed and put her hands up. “Oh, that's fine, your mother told me plenty about the both of you last time I was here.” “What? Aw, she's so embarrassing...!” “She just loves you, that's all.” Zel's jovial expression suddenly darkened. “Thank you for the food, Desman...can you excuse us?” “Oh, okay.” Desman seemed not to mind. “I need to set out food for the other guests when they wake up anyway. Bye! Thanks for helping Melaton!” With that, Desman waved and disappeared down the corridor. Zel got Ky's attention again when she flopped backwards. “...what?” The word had come out of Zel in a harsh bark. “Wh-what?” Kyrinna stammered. “That look you were giving me,” Zel replied. She put a hand in front of her, blocking her from Kyrinna's sight. “What's that about?” [[Previous|Page 166]] | [[Next|Page 168]]

Kyrinna had no idea what look Zel was referencing, or how long she'd been staring at Zel. Either way, she turned her gaze to her feet. “Was it a curious look?" she asked. "Because I was curious just now...you were happy talking to that kid, and then you just kinda...weren't.” “What do you care?” Zel scoffed. She turned onto her side, facing away from Kyrinna. “No one else is here to lie to.“ The words knocked the breath out of Kyrinna. Again, she felt that serrated sensation slice through her. Zel had wasted no time in getting straight to the point, her accusations landing with the same pinpoint accuracy as her throwing knives. Not in the sense that it was true, but in that it hurt more than just about anything she could've said. “Zel, that's not what I'm doing.” “How am I supposed to believe you?” Kyrinna shrugged. “You're...not.” Alpidt had warned her as much. She scooted closer to Zel, but didn't dare to attempt some comforting touch. “I don't care if you believe me or not, I'm still telling the truth...you deserve that much.” A shrug rippled through Zel's shoulders and into the bedsheets. She offered no reply otherwise. “My name's Kyrinna Strauss. The Church has it out for me because I...am an alchemist...” She hesitated. There really was no way to sugar-coat what came next. “...and because of my experiments into raising the dead, and immortality.” Zel heaved a sigh toward the wall. “Whatever. Did you kill Mikari or not?” “Yes,” Kyrinna answered immediately. Just talking about it was extremely hard. Answering Zel's questions was still difficult, since they all came with that horrible edge to them, but withholding the answers would only hurt more. She'd tried that when she was confronted at the Night Watch, so she knew all too well. “I set out traps to protect myself and gather test subjects. He was caught in one and died, so I—“ “Enough!” Zel snapped. “I get it!” [[Previous|Page 167]] | [[Next|Page 169]]

Zel's hands moved to clutch at her head. It hadn't occurred to Kyrinna until then that this might possibly hurt Zel as much as it hurt her. “I just can't believe I trusted you, befriended you!" Zel shouted, still facing away from Kyrinna. "You were lying to me the whole time...and I thought we were connecting!” “We were!” It was Kyrinna's turn to raise her voice. “That was real, Zel! The time we spent together, the potion recipes, the stories of Grandma Syrup...all that was real!” She'd been wrong before. Zel had indeed found something more hurtful to say. Kyrinna turned away from her and let her anger out in a puff of air through her nose. “There were times that I thought about running away, but...I stayed because it would've hurt us both to suddenly ditch you, too!” “Yeah, almost as if you shouldn't have done it in the first place. It's just so much, and I don't know if I can ever forgive y—“ “Fine!” Kyrinna interrupted. Next thing she knew, she gripped a pillow tightly against her. Her knuckles were devoured by the spirals they pulled in the fabric. “Don't forgive me! Don't talk to me ever again! Whatever!” Kyrinna threw the pillow at the wall in front of Zel. “Will you at least tell me why that Phantom scared you so much?” Zel's body went limp. “Wha...what are you talking about?” she asked, still facing away from Kyrinna. “You didn't pick up your knives.” Kyrinna brought her hands up to count the problems on her fingers. Zel couldn't see them, but she wasn't doing it for Zel's benefit. She was trying to keep her thoughts straight. “You were so much quieter fighting it. Uh...you normally could've killed a nerd like that in no time!” When she held her fingers out, it didn't feel like much evidence. Still, she wiggled her fingers for emphasis, just in case. Zel suddenly turned over to face Kyrinna. Something about the sight of her wiggling her fingers dragged a giggle out of Zel. “You can't tell anyone,” Zel suddenly demanded. “Got it?” “Why would I do that?” Kyrinna asked, scratching her head. Zel shrugged it off and let out another laugh. “Well...I'm really afraid of snakes, okay?” Kyrinna thought it over for a moment. All those would certainly fit some kind of fear response. “Okay,” she replied with a nod. [[Previous|Page 168]] | [[Next|Page 170]]

“...that's it?” Zel blurted. "I admitted my deep dark fear of snakes to you, and your response is just...'okay'?" “Yeah. I asked my question, and you answered it, unless you have more to say.” In the silence that followed, Kyrinna crossed her arms. “But if we end up traveling together still, I have to know things like that so I don't put you in an awful position.” Zel hesitated. Her body language conveyed her ambivalence every way it could. While she did that, Kyrinna shrugged and continued. “But I think you should tell the others. I was really scared by a Phantom we found underground...” Just thinking about the noise it made had Kyrinna scooping up blankets to cover her ears. “Cydia and Alpidt were very supportive about the whole thing. Eyron...well, Eyron's a prick.” “What makes you think I'll travel with you?” Zel asked, glossing over everything else. “You seem awfully sure of yourself.” The words seemed similar enough, but the edge they'd once had was much duller. “Well, I don't know for sure, but...” Kyrinna laid down opposite Zel. She had to make sure to deliver this news as gently as she could. “...remember that monster everyone else went to fight, while we went to the beach with the Chief? It stole Mikari's form. I want to investigate the nature of the thing more closely, just in case I'm the one who made it.” Zel sighed. “That sounds nice and all, but...I still don't know if I can believe you.” “Well, Cydia does...even Eyron does.” Kyrinna put down the wad of blankets so she could shrug. “But if that's really the Invincible, I'm gonna have to face my fears, even if I have to do it by myself. Like you did, with that snake Phantom.” “I...had to.” Zel covered her mouth with her hands, and belted out a groan into them. “This is why I sent Desman out of the room...!” So much had come up in the middle, Kyrinna had forgotten her curiosity on that subject entirely. [[Previous|Page 169]] | [[Next|Page 171]]

Kyrinna's questions about the snake Phantom had somehow brought Zeltencia back to talking about Desman. She couldn't fathom why. “He just went off," Zel explained, "and I started thinking too hard about family...but now I'm kinda thinking about it again. Kyrinna...maybe I can tell the others I'm afraid of snakes, but...not why.” “Can you tell me?” Kyrinna asked softly. She stretched out her arms; if she remembered the early nights of their meeting correctly, Zel had wrapped her arms around her as some sort of comforting gesture—a hug, she'd called it. “You don't have to if you don't want to.” Zeltencia hesitated. The room was still and quiet in that moment, a tranquility that Kyrinna resented. She had nothing to focus on but Zel's indecision, on a gesture of affection that Zel herself had taught her. “It's just...a painful memory, you know? A snake Phantom killed my family. So if I can avoid people talking about snakes and families around me...yeah.” Even Zel looked surprised at how plainly and easily it had come out. Kyrinna gasped at the news, and tried to gasp again when Zel flung herself into Ky's arms. She couldn't inhale any further, but that just gave her plenty of air with which to belt out a relieved sigh. She was so glad Zel trusted her. “So when Don Gato kicked you off your land...!” Ky gasped. It all made perfect sense now. Zel had mentioned to Cydia before, the von Trepes had had no luck hiring bodyguards; she'd blamed that on Don Gato too. To be left defenseless against a Phantom— “Zel, I'm so sorry.” Zel didn't reply. She began crying, and buried her face deeper in Kyrinna's clothes. Ky let it happen, and just cradled Zel for as long as she needed. The tears kept coming, grief that had been stored up for years now leaking into Ky's lab coat. In a way, she actually envied Zel. So much of her grief over Grandma had congealed into anger long ago, and she'd never had a tear to shed for her parents. She wished she'd held on to more sadness, if only to be able to better identify with Zel in that moment. Kyrinna had no idea how to deal with the emotional distress of others. All she could do was silently hold Zel as the hunter's anguish ran its course. [[Previous|Page 170]] | [[Next|Page 172]]

“I've just had to ignore it,” Zel finally said. “Bennett gets so mean about stuff like this, and the Chief...well, she cares, but she wants results, too. Nobody just...lets me get it out the way you do.” She suddenly stopped, and pulled herself upright, using Kyrinna as support for a little bit. “So...why the gruesome experiments?” Before she could answer, Kyrinna heard a terrible commotion in the hallway outside, coming right for them. “It's your fault it got away, innit?” a voice cried out amongst the din. Ky recognized it immediately. “Cydia!” she called out. “How was I to know the barrier was gone?” Eyron answered from outside. He'd spoken over her, but that prick had a good question. She and Zel were both moving to join the others. Ky couldn't just sit there with something that major happening, and obviously neither could— “Stop right there!” This voice was familiar to Kyrinna as well, albeit less so. Zel got to it first. “Alpidt,” she pleaded, “we have to. We heard Eyron...if the barrier is gone, Melaton's in danger.” Zel moved to squeeze past Alpidt, and caught that basket right on the forehead for her trouble. “Absolutely not, darling!” Alpidt insisted. “You've been crying...and Ky, you already had to be excused from this fight. You should know better!” “But the Church nerds...!” Ky chimed in. “Eyron's a templar. He'll handle the barrier, and Cydia and I will handle the Phantom.” That wasn't at all what Kyrinna had meant. Alpidt didn't seem to care. “Those weirdos from the Church would've caused a huge scene turning off the barrier, so I'm sure the townsfolk already know.” Ky shook her head. “No, I mean...they're looking for Cydia.” She didn't dare risk getting clobbered by Alpidt, but she did her best to reach out for her wildspeaker friend. “Please don't go out there. This is what you told me about, right?” “I'll be fine, Ky,” Cydia reassured her. “What's da problem? It's just a Phantom.” [[Previous|Page 171]] | [[Next|Page 173]]

"It's not, though!" Kyrinna protested. Cydia seemed so confident, strolling out into the streets of Melaton with both templars and monsters out for her blood. “On Mt. Sorrow, remember? You said the Church hunts wildspeakers. You can't go out there! They came to hunt you too!” “Huh.” Cydia froze up in the hallway. Eyron charged off ahead of her, as was his wont. “Didn't think o'dat.” She rubbed her forehead and added, “Knew I shouldn't'a stayed in town.” “Please, I don't want them to take you away. You and Zel are the only people I really have, and...I really failed Zel, so maybe it's just you. We have to make the Cuprina Brig—“ Ky's raving was suddenly silenced by a warm, cushiony embrace. As soon as she felt Cydia's arms around her, she returned the gesture. “Ya wanna cut dat out?” Cydia asked. “I'm gonna be fine, Ky. What's with all dis?” Ky shook her head. “I don't know. My emotions have been...out of control lately. Alpidt, I don't think I'll be able to sleep.” “Well,” Zel's voice began from behind her, “I think Alpidt just wants us to take it easy.” Zel walked to Ky's side and added, “You know, until we're feeling better. But I have an idea that'll keep us busy and help Cydia at the same time.” Zel took a step past Ky toward the others. Alpidt struck a threatening pose with her basket, but Zel laughed and motioned for her to lower it. “Don't worry, we shouldn't have to leave the Hollows, as long as you've got plenty of lavandula...” [[Previous|Page 172]] | [[Next|Page 174]]

## Chapter 26 Kyrinna had to admit, Zel's idea was a good one. She felt much more in her element hunched over the cauldron, and much more at ease. Once again, she'd had to resort to using cookware for her craft. Readying the thing was much easier the second time around. “So what's this for?” Zel asked, peering into the cauldron from the other side. Ky laughed and paused her work to wag a finger Zel's way. “This is where the magic happens,” was her reply. “Oh.” After a short pause, Zel added, “Like, metaphorical magic, or—“ “Nope!” Kyrinna let out a sigh and resumed her work. The grit of the powder dug subtly into her soft skin, all the more noticeable as she dragged her hands along the cauldron. The exact nature of the powder mattered little. Ky had found some talc in the Hollows, near the younger of Alpidt's sons. Whatever it was for originally, it would serve a more valuable purpose to all of Melaton with— “So how's this part work?” Zel's curiosity had interrupted Kyrinna's thoughts. Normally, such a thing would make her mad. At that point, she was glad for it; it reminded her of the way things were, before everything had gone so awry. “Well, all alchemists perform a laying of hands on their cauldron the first time they use it,” Ky explained. “But Grandma would always add grit to her hands. It was one of her secrets to make things more potent.” Zel raised an eyebrow. “Really? How does that work?” “The laying of hands forms a bond between an alchemist and their tools. When I was very young, Grandma explained it like this...it makes you feel what your admixtures are doing, and it lets you tell them what to do a little.” “Your grandma whipped out the word 'admixtures'? How young were you?” “I don't remember.” [[Previous|Page 173]] | [[Next|Page 175]]

Rather than linger on Grandma Syrup for too long and start missing her, Ky thought back to Alpidt. Zel had blabbed the healing balm recipe so freely, even Grandma's secret ingredient. She shrugged. It felt nice to have someone else that knew the recipe, actually. If she'd died in the Guillotine Wood, the recipe would've been lost with her. “The talc takes more skin off my hands, which strengthens the bond further.” Ky lifted her hands out of the cauldron. Much of the outermost layer of her skin had been sanded away, leaving her hands a slightly puffy pink. Zel marveled at the sight for a second, then quickly wrapped her hands around Ky's. “Wow,” she cooed. “That leaves your hands so soft.” “Wha—“ The sudden gesture had shocked Ky. She was left speechless by the sensation. She'd been captured in Zel's grip, but it had felt like a gentle breeze. She could feel the calculation that had gone into the acrobat's movements. “What's your point?” “Oh, sorry...” Zel released her grasp as carefully as she'd started it. “I think Alpidt ought to know this, too!” Kyrinna raised an eyebrow, but before she could speak, Zel added, “She could set it up in the bathhouse! Imagine scrubbing yourself down and then going for a healing soak...it'd be like coming out a new you!” Ky laughed. “Sure,” she scoffed, “when it comes to criminals cornering the market on sea travel, you've got no business sense, but now that we're talking skin care—“ “Skin care's very important!” Zel interrupted. She gave Ky a playful pat on the back and stepped away from the cauldron. “Unhealthy skin gives way to cracks, blisters...why, it might even draw blood!” Zel gestured out a nearby window. “You can't bleed out there, not even a little—you don't know what'll smell it!!” They were looking into Melaton, but Ky understood what Zel was getting at; she meant the wilderness past that. “Good point.” By the time Ky rose from her cauldron, she was smiling. There was plenty to smile about—the laying of hands being done, Zel's good ideas, the fact that Zel was flitting around her work space curiously like old times... “I have a personal question,” Zel began sheepishly. Ky looked over to see her already softening her gaze. “We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to...it's about your grandma.” [[Previous|Page 174]] | [[Next|Page 176]]

Ky put a hand on her hip. “That depends on the question,” she said. Normally, she wouldn't have wanted to talk about Grandma Syrup at all, but she wanted to keep Zel talking, so she relented. “What about Grandma?” “Do you miss her?” Ky froze up a bit. The question felt so odd. “Every time I think of her, yeah. I just try not to think about her anymore...sometimes I have to think about something else before I start to miss her too much.” “Sometimes...” Zel shrugged and moved behind Kyrinna to stand on her other side. “...well, it breaks me to think about my family. But you, you're so much...stronger?” Ky shook her head. “It broke me when I thought about her the night I got accepted to the Night Watch.” “Is that what happened?” Zel let out a gasp. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...” “It was a memory of the night she died, so it was a rough one.” Ky stared back into the cauldron. She tried her hardest to remember a different night instead. “That's why I try to stick to good memories instead—I mean, it's still sad, but not as much.” Zel moved around a little more. Ky could finally see that she'd set out the ingredients she needed for the healing balm. When she saw Ky looking, Zel smiled and said, “I got you almost everything you need! I just don't have that...that thingy you need for the lavandula oil.” “Oh, thanks! And...alembic, it's an alembic.” Ky could guess Zel's next question. “Different things boil at different heats. An alembic uses that to let you separate mixtures.” Zel nodded slowly. “So that's how it works. Okay, gotcha.” She disappeared yet again, only to return a few moments later with a chair in tow. “How else does it work? We could use a pot and boil things on the stove, right?” “No, we'd have to—“ Ky snapped her fingers. “Wait, Zel, that's brilliant!" [[Previous|Page 175]] | [[Next|Page 177]]

Kyrinna couldn't help but be impressed. Zel had come up with the idea so quickly to use a kitchen stove to boil potion ingredients. It wasn't enough on its own, but it was the start of a good idea. "If we had a way to catch the vapors," Ky mused, "we could boil the oil anywhere, in anything, really.” She trotted forward a few steps, then slowed to a walk, then stopped. “I'm still not sure this is okay.” “What is?” Zel asked. Ky felt a hand gently clasp her shoulder. “I...I'm trying to believe you, I real—“ “Not that,” Ky interrupted. “I mean, I'm really glad to hear that. But I meant that we're safe in here while the others are dealing with a Phantom, and with the barrier being turned off.” Zel laughed. “Well, we're supposed to be taking it easy. But instead, we're guarding the Hollows and Alpidt's baby son. And we're making potions to help anyone that gets hurt in the course of all this. These are things only we can do, nerd.” Ky smiled up at Zel. “Oh, shut up!” She started laughing before she even finished her sentence. “Will you help me?” “Of course!” While they rummaged through Alpidt's things, looking for something they could use to build an alembic, Zel continued talking. Unfortunately for her, a lot of it was drowned out through the clattering of pans, or drawers grinding open and shut. Even when it wasn't, a lot of it was being spoken directly into a cabinet, or otherwise away from Ky. Ironically, Ky could hear Zel best when she was trying to be quiet. “Baby Soric's trying to sleep,” was her explanation for that. Then she jumped to another subject, though whether or not it was a continuation of what she'd talked about before, Ky couldn't tell. “I talked to the Chief before she sent me to Melaton...about you.” “What'd she say?” Ky whispered back. “She talked about MacVelod...you saved his life.” Ky rolled her eyes. “No duh I saved his life. I told you, this healing balm works.” “No...” Zel stopped searching for alembic parts to take Ky's hand and look into her eyes. “I mean, you could've killed him, chopped up his body, or any of the other terrible things Eyron's accused you of. He wants you dead, but you helped the Night Watch, and you helped so many people, when you could've just run away.” [[Previous|Page 176]] | [[Next|Page 178]]

Zel's sentiments weren't entirely true, but they were close enough. Zel was right that Ky hadn't tried to vanish back into the wilderness. She hadn't dared brave the darkness and the Phantoms, not until the alternative was for the Night Watch and the Church to fight over who got to kill her. “I wanted to stay.” It had come out louder than Ky intended. She quickly covered her mouth. When she was sure she hadn't disturbed Soric, she continued. “I like helping people with alchemy, and I like being around you.” Zel's smile faltered. “If that turns out to be a lie," she growled, "I'm gonna hate you forever, you know?” “I know.” Ky let out a loud grunt as Zel made impact with her. Between being dazed and worried about Soric again, she was totally unprepared to hug Zel back at first. Slowly, her arms came up, cradling Zel close to her. “I felt so lonely in the wilderness without you,” Zel whispered to her. “Oh no...that sounds weird, doesn't it? We haven't even known each other that long...” “So what?” Kyrinna gave a short laugh and squeezed Zeltencia closer. She felt her face twist into anger. She was sick of the distractions clawing at the corners of her mind. The shadow monster, the Church, the Phantom loose in Melaton...she didn't want to think about any of it. The thoughts had intruded so abruptly, they left her stunned. She knew they'd keep her up at night, so she wanted them to wait their turn. She wanted to think about Zel, or at least about alchemy. “C'mon, we got potions to make.” “The alembic!” Zel giggled and slapped her forehead. “I forgot, what did we need again?” Ky shrugged. “I've never built an alembic before, so I'm not sure.” She took Zel by the hand and led her away from Soric's room. She was sick of having to keep her voice down. “We have to boil a mixture and catch the steam.” Zel nodded and shook loose from Ky's hand. Without another word, she tumbled clear over Ky's head. Dust rained down on Ky as Zel kicked her feet into the ceiling, hastening her fall. She rolled to her feet in front of Ky, giving a short gesture of triumph. “Then we should get a kettle.” “A what?” [[Previous|Page 177]] | [[Next|Page 179]]

Zel gave Ky a gentle pat on the shoulder. “A kettle!" she repeated. "You know, those water pots where the steam whistles out in a straight line?” “Oh...!” Ky still wasn't sure she'd ever seen a kettle, but it sounded useful. “That'll focus the steam so it's easier to catch!” She didn't want to think about anything else, and yet all that alembic talk was reminding her of other things. The shadow monster kept bursting into smoke and floating away whenever it was under attack. If it, too, could be forced to dissipate in a predictable— “Ky! You okay?” Zel was looming over her a bit, waving a hand in her face. What's more, she'd used the nickname Cydia had cooked up recently. She was beginning to like it, especially after hearing it out of Zel's mouth. “Sorry, Zel,” Ky gasped. “I...I just keep getting distracted. There's just so much to think about. I'm kind of sick of it all, honestly.” Zel shook her head. “Our job isn't to think about all that right now. Can you put it aside and come with me to the kitchen?” Kyrinna wasn't sure. She'd never had much success with quieting her riotous mind. And since all she was doing was following Zeltencia around the Melaton Hollows, her mind was left idle and free to wander. She hated it. Ky hurried after Zel, eager to start her alchemy. [[Previous|Page 178]] | [[Next|Page 180]]

Despite a few more distractions springing up, the duo finally got their alembic rigged up. The kitchen had been partially converted into Ky's potion-brewing station. Cooks still scurried through the room, but they'd spared her a cooking fire and plenty of countertop space. “Is the vermillionaire ready yet?” Desman asked. He'd been one of the distractions. Ky and Zel hadn't managed to shoo him away, but Ky had thought up the next best thing. She walked over and gazed over the child's shoulder. He was a natural with the mortar and pestle. “It's looking great, kid,” she said. “Toss it in the cauldron.” Desman nodded enthusiastically and reached for the crushed petals. “Stop!” Kyrinna grabbed his wrist and added, “Don't use your fingers, you nerd!” Zel shook her head. “Ky,” she groaned, “you can't treat kids like that.” Ky felt Zel's fingers wrap around her wrist in turn, at least until she released Desman's. “Don't worry, Desman...I wouldn't have guessed. Carry the mortar to the cauldron and dump it in like that, okay?” Desman gave Zel a toothy smile. “Sure!” he shouted. Once he had the proper directions, he seemed quite capable of following them. Ky wondered if he'd make a good alchemist with a little more tutelage. She doubted he could ever be a great alchemist, but he didn't need to be, not for her purposes. “That's it, Desman,” Ky cheered him on. If she was going to implant her alchemy knowledge into Alpidt and her family, she was going to have to talk to kids the right way, whatever that was. The only positive experience she'd had as a kid, though, was talking to her grandma, so that was the only frame of reference she could use. “Be a dear and crack the star herbs open, will you?” “...dear?” Zel repeated. All Ky could do was shrug. “What, still not how to talk to a kid?” “I...” Zel shook her head. “...no, it was...way better. Like, suspiciously so.” “Well, quit staring! We've got potions to make!” Everyone around her seemed to get a laugh out of that, but she wasn't sure why. She was just glad they got right to work. With this much help, she'd be able to churn out more healing balm than the town could ever need. [[Previous|Page 179]] | [[Next|Page 181]]

## CHapter 27 “What happened...?” Kyrinna couldn't believe her eyes. What she'd expected was to burst forth from the Melaton Hollows triumphantly, a celebratory parade already in progress with Cydia and Eyron hailed as heroes. What she saw instead was chaos. The townspeople walked the streets, but with pickaxes and assorted junk in tow. Somewhere past them, Kyrinna could see a makeshift barricade, junk already piled high in the path. Nothing seemed to be trying to break it. The real problem was what Ky saw above it. The feathered Phantom was leaping around, just as it had in the caverns. Its wings flapped madly with every leap, slowing but not stopping its descent. It was still making that awful racket that Ky hated so much too. After taking it easy like Alpidt had ordered, though, she found the noise less triggering, at least. Upon its back, though— “That Church nerd!” Zel gasped on Ky's behalf. “What's he doing to the Phantom?” “He's taken control of it somehow,” Eyron replied. Ky growled. She hadn't noticed him approach. She was really hoping he'd just died out in the streets, yet there he was, getting on her nerves immediately as usual. “Yeah, sure, okay,” Ky mumbled, “now where's Cydia?” Eyron could only offer a shrug in reply, but Ky didn't stand for it. Instead, she landed a sucker punch in his gut. Through a pained groan, he growled, “Okay...!” He doubled over and held his stomach with one hand; the other pointed off to his right, off the main path. Folks were scrambling for cover around Ky as she moved against their tide. She could hear a conversation though the din, but only barely, and only because one of the voices was all too familiar to her. “...innit?” [[Previous|Page 180]] | [[Next|Page 182]]

“Yes, tragic indeed.” Kyrinna had recognized Cydia's voice as she'd been passing by, but she wasn't sure who Cydia was talking to. “Scintilla's pantheon of holy beasts possess the greatest powers in all of Tenesoir, and beyond. My abilities are superior.” “Superior for what?” Cydia asked. Ky was closer to the voices now; Cydia seemed to have holed herself up in a storage shed. “Bein' a jerk? Pushin' ordinary folks around? Threatenin' kids to join ya or die so you can toss 'em in a basement an' feed 'em to your stupid holy monsters?” “I use this power to exact my Goddess' will.” Ky finally recognized the man's voice as one of the Church nerds Alpidt had confronted in the Melaton Hollows. One of them was riding a Phantom around the town, and the other was here, confronting Cydia. Kyrinna smirked. If he was alone, it would be much easier to kill him. “Then your goddess is a real piece'a shit...if I meet her, I'm'a piss in her booze!” In lieu of a reply, the Church nerd tossed Cydia backwards, her body breaking directly through the wood of the shed wall. The dust hadn't even settled before Ky was there, slipping a repurposed goblet to her friend. “Just remember, nerd,” she scoffed, “it's not for drinking.” “What da—“ “Compliments of Grandma Syrup Strauss.” Kyrinna didn't say it to Cydia; it was addressed to the Church nerd. He dutifully took the bait, putting on a big dumb smile as he carefully stepped through the hole he made. “Now there's a name I haven't heard since we took it off our most wanted list,” he mumbled. He was the dark-haired member of the duo, not that Ky knew either of their names. He'd been so heated with Cydia before, and yet now Ky could barely hear him. It suited her fine, though; she wasn't interested in anything he had to say. As long as Cydia had a chance to heal her wounds, he could say whatever he wanted. “Did it feel good to put an innocent woman to the guillotine?” “Innocent?” Both the word and the laugh that followed were back to his previous timbre. “She was a witch.” He was still approaching, his hands out to his sides, palms facing up. It didn't resemble any fighting stance Ky had seen in her travels. “So what? You're an asshole—that's even worse.” [[Previous|Page 181]] | [[Next|Page 183]]

“Ya know dis ain't just any noid, right?” Cydia hissed from somewhere behind Ky. Admittedly, this nerd was nothing like the usual templars, with their ornate plate mail. He didn't scare Ky, though. “You're at the beck and call of an unauthorized wildspeaker,” he hissed. “And you know about both Syrup Strauss and the abomination of shadow. Just who are you, really?” Ky shrugged, jamming her hands in her coat pockets in a demure pose. Her fingers sank into the plush texture of the moss she'd kept. “Does my answer even matter to you at this point?” she asked. She knew it didn't, so it wasn't worth concocting a lie. “Just leave while you still can, nerd.” He was close now. She knew he was nothing to mess with, what with the way he'd put Cydia through a wall. Rather than let him continue his approach, she moved to the side, hoping to lull him into circling the small grassy patch Ky had met him in. Instead, one of his arms began shaking erratically in its sleeve. It shot out at Ky with surprising speed, grasping at her with a gauntlet-clad hand. She let out a yelp as the fingers tightened around her hair. Even so, she tried to play it cool. “Wow, you're just...a...a big disgusting wad, huh?” It was the only thing that sprang to mind. Somehow, the Church nerd's skull was sinking in his head, and it tugged his facial features down with it. She looked away, only to discover his arm had mutated into a slimy tentacle. Foul-smelling fluids oozed around suction cups that randomly dotted the tentacle, and every drop that hit the ground let off a subtle puff of vapor. How it was still working the gauntlet's fingers, she had no idea. “And where do you think you're going, Miss Strauss?” the nerd balked. Ky screamed in pain more than fear. She was sure she'd figure something out. The nerd towed Ky past some of the splintered wood that Cydia had been knocked through. When she bent to reach for it, though, the tentacle pulled harder, dragging her away before she could pick anything up. By the time she was pulled within arm's reach of the nerd, Ky had lost her patience. She grasped the ball of soporific moss and pulled her hand out of her pocket. The moment the nerd opened his mouth to speak, she jammed the moss right into his face. If he just choked and died on the clump, that would suit her just as well. [[Previous|Page 182]] | [[Next|Page 184]]

To Kyrinna's horror, the templar didn't react one bit to her attack. In fact, the nerd's skin began to fade entirely. She shrieked and pulled her hands away from his mouth. That only gave her a better view of the nerd's spine and airways retracting into his neck. His head had become a cloudy bubble of goo, and she could see his skull swirl around freely inside it. “You really are a disgusting wad!” Ky gasped, shutting her eyes. She struggled against the tentacle's constriction, eager to think about anything else. Something thumped against the compact soil underfoot, but she didn't dare look. “Let go of me!” “Were you trying to make me choke on that thing?” the nerd asked. “I admire the brutality of...” He quickly trailed off. Even in the grip of his tentacle, Ky was laughing like crazy. Sure, she'd thought about him choking on it, but that was not her primary goal. She was really hoping the moss would tranquilize him. Her insolence seemed to worry the Church nerd; rather than let her have her fun, he squeezed tighter. Ky could hear her body raise a fuss as the tentacle constricted her with greater force. It was the air being squeezed from her that she was most concerned about. Her chest wall couldn't expand, limiting her air intake. She opened her eyes, but the world was a blur to her. In front of her sat a smudge that was presumably the Church nerd, and another smudge growing behind him. “You impudent fool!” the nerd continued, his breath warm and sticky against Ky's face. The smell of blood and booze quickly filled her nostrils. “I bear the power of Tenesoir and beyond...you insignificant wretches cannot hop—“ Just then, Cydia's elbow came crashing down on the nerd's tentacle. Her arm was coated in quilladillo-like spines, and blood seeped from the holes they gouged. The surprise and pain jolted him into action. He tossed Ky to the ground, knocking what little wind she could gather out of her. She watched from the grass as he faced Cydia. He didn't turn his body toward her; his body morphed, much as it had when Ky had stuffed moss in his mouth. She could see his insides shifting against his clothes, and his hand- and footwear rotating to match his new orientation. [[Previous|Page 183]] | [[Next|Page 185]]

“Gettin' real sick of your crap...!” Cydia bellowed. The Church nerd made a grab for Cydia with his tentacle, just as he'd done to Kyrinna. Cydia was far more agile, though. She simply jumped out of the loop the tentacle formed, her hair briefly twisting into a pair of wings to give her some extra lift. “Loser!” With a couple more flaps of her hair, Cydia reoriented herself into a spinning dive, hurtling at the Church nerd headfirst. As she descended, she exhaled a stream of fire ahead. The shimmering haze of the heat prompted Ky to cover her face with her lab coat. The less skin she exposed to Cydia's intense flames, the better. She waited a moment, then lowered her guard. Cydia had torched the Church nerd. The grass and broken wood had formed a pyre around him; no amount of sloshing and shifting would allow him to escape. Cydia herself, meanwhile, apparently had a rough landing. She was laying on her back at the end of a trail of singed grass, hands clasped over her chest. “Dat's gonna bruise, innit?” she mumbled to herself. “Cydia, that was amazing...!” Ky cheered, pulling herself along the ground. With the adrenaline fading so quickly, a new fire seemed to burn in her breathless lungs. Even the simple task of crawling had her legs quivering. Part of her wanted to stop, but another part of her wouldn't rest until she could at least check on Cydia. Indeed, what had scared Ky was how little Cydia was moving. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or only more concerned when Cydia started laughing instead. “Uh, I hope dat copper's deal is still good!” she howled. “Now he's gotta get me off da hook for murder!” Ky shook her head. She made it over to Cydia, and rested her head on the wildspeaker's stomach. “Can I ask you something? About something he said?” She was very curious, but she figured it was best to approach the topic slowly, the way Zel did for her. “...whatever, alchie, just spit it out.” “What were you talking about with him?” [[Previous|Page 184]] | [[Next|Page 186]]

Ky swept a hand toward the ruined shed. She was distracted by the flickering flames Cydia had started. It didn't look like it was spreading, though it still attempted to do so, lunging and whipping outward. “Well," Kyrinna clarified, "before he put you through a wall, what were you talking about?” Cydia shrugged. “I ain't sure,” she admitted. “He was goin' off about wildspeakers...how he was one of 'em, how I could'a had powers like dat.” Cydia kept talking, but Ky quickly found herself running out of interest in the Church nerd and what he had to say. What she really wanted to know was— “Are you okay?” The question shocked Cydia into silence. “Well,” Ky stammered on, struggling to sit up, “I mean, he said you could've been like him—” Cydia let out a loud gagging noise. “No way dat would'a ever been me!” “Okay, okay...!” Ky laughed and laid down next to Cydia. She'd been trying to work her way to her feet, but just thinking of going past a seated position filled her with fatigue and dread. “I wanted to check and make sure he didn't scare you, hurt your feelings, stuff like that.” “Yeah?” Cydia scooted herself closer to give Kyrinna a hug. “Dat's sweet of ya, Ky.” The two shared a silent embrace on the ground for awhile. Again, Ky was awed by the overwhelming body heat Cydia radiated. She didn't think it'd throw her off this time, not with a roaring fire nearby, but it still stood out. Eventually, Cydia spoke up again. “It weren't upsettin'...more like weird, I guess.” Ky raised her head off of Cydia's arm. “What was?” Cydia shrugged. “Uh...I ain't sure. It was wildspeaker stuff...da noid kept on sayin' his body was like a shiftin' shadow. Dat got me worked up...reminded me o'dat shadow we met at da marsh. Every time he said it, I just remembered wantin' to blow chun—“ Kyrinna shrieked. She felt something suddenly squeeze her ankle, and looked down to see a tentacle trailing away from her leg and into the pyre. [[Previous|Page 185]] | [[Next|Page 187]]

“Cydia!” Kyrinna screamed. She tried to jam her fingers into the dirt, desperate for any Cydia was on her feet in a hurry. She moved with the same grace and agility she had when she'd fled the Night Watch with Kyrinna. Ky had barely registered her friend's movement before she stomped down. The heel of her boot ground the tentacle into the dirt, until it finally released Kyrinna from its grip. “Dat's right!” Cydia said as the tentacle retreated. “Hands off da babe!” As if in response, the burning planks shuddered and fell away from the Church nerd. He was completely unrecognizable; he'd ditched his human form completely to become a towering blob. His Church vestments had burned away, leaving a fire directly on top of him that caused his body to melt. At the same time, those drippings swirled around in the dirt, cooling off and oozing back onto his body. His boots and gloves were floating deep inside his gelatinous form, bobbing around just as freely as his bones and organs. As he barreled toward Ky and Cydia, his body took on the shape of a great slimy wheel. Ashes and dust gathered in his body as he went. It was an absolutely abhorrent sight, but Cydia's reaction was something else. “Nuh-uh!” she gasped, hands over her eyes. “I ain't learnin' dat!” Kyrinna knew immediately what Cydia was doing. She didn't want the power to take that horrible form. “You're dead, nerd!” Ky screamed at the lurching horror. When the shadow had paralyzed her with fear, Cydia was there to protect her. It was time for her to return the favor. His movement was languid and halting, giving her plenty of time to spot the nearby house. She took a deep breath, then punched the window as hard as she could. [[Previous|Page 186]] | [[Next|Page 188]]

Ky bit her lip. The pain wracked her knuckles immediately, almost ruining her plan. It was a struggle to grasp the broken shards, to endure the horrible stinging and bleeding. She had to stop that...that thing before it reached Cydia. She could feel where her skin had been torn and stabbed, where blood gushed around even the tiniest slivers of glass, but she couldn't let it stop her. Even while thrashing her head from side to side and screaming in pain, Kyrinna manaaged to throw the glass in the horror's path. Dutifully, the broken window was caught in the Church nerd's cycle. The shrapnel swirled around with everything else, slicing up his insides. The more his organs were lacerated, the slower and flatter his monstrous form became. Finally, he collapsed altogether, forming an awful-smelling puddle of blood and debris. With that finally out of the way, Kyrinna let out a throat-straining shout. “Dammit!” she screamed into the sky. She got to work smearing some of her healing balm onto the cuts, which hurt even more. She watched the antiseptic sizzle in her wounds for a few moments, but eventually the pain became too much. Something about it compelled her to squirm in place, to stomp and whine like an animal. “Ky,” Cydia gasped. She moved her hands to caress Ky's injuries. Cydia's warm, pillowy arms wrapped around Ky's sides, and made her feel oddly at ease. The pain was still there, but it felt more manageable with Cydia holding her. With the adrenaline fading from her body, all her sensations became that much more acute, especially the pain in her hands. She found herself letting her body sag against Cydia's, eager to focus on that warmth rather than anything else. [[Previous|Page 187]] | [[Next|Page 189]]

## Chapter 28 Kyrinna led the way back to the others in silence. She could hear Cydia only a half-step behind on her right, equally quiet. She wasn't sure if Cydia was alert or not, but she didn't care. She was too tired to keep up her guard. Between the Phantoms and the Church, it felt like she was being chased in circles. Making healing balm had helped her talk to Zel and treat wounds, but it had also taken up time she was supposed to spend resting. With no barrier between Melaton and the surrounding wildlife, it wouldn't be time to rest again for a long time. “It's not safe, Ky!” Zel called out before Ky even noticed her. Finally, past Cydia and a small row of trees, Ky could see the white of Zel's coat fluttering out to greet her. The air around her felt hauntingly still. “Zel?” she called out. “What's happening?” Zel's gestures attracted a glint of light to her fingertips. “That Church guy got away. But he's fast, so who knows when he'll be back...?” “No,” she heard Eyron snap. “It's that damn Phantom that's so quick.” “He's riding the Phantom,” Alpidt said. “It's the same to me.” They fumed in silence for a bit as Ky stumbled their way, watching the skies closely. The three of them were spread in an arc on the outskirts of town, keeping a wide swath of wilderness under their collective guard. Alpidt was down on one knee, but held herself rigid and alert. “So is he just gone?” Ky asked the others. “Is he coming back, or—“ “That's the problem,” Zel interrupted. “We don't know. We thought we had him running for his life. He was actually going around to surprise us.” Ky gasped. “What a nerd. Are you okay, Zel?” “I—“ Zel spun away from the dark wilderness to face Ky. “I'm not hurt.” “What about you, Alpidt?” Ky felt a sudden chill. She jammed her hands in her pockets to wrap her lab coat tighter around herself. “Are you okay?” Unlike Zel, Alpidt's gaze stayed fixed toward the unknown. “Yes,” she barked in reply. “So why are you—“ “Shh.” [[Previous|Page 188]] | [[Next|Page 190]]

Alpidt had one palm clasped flat against the ground. “That Phantom's feet hit the ground hard when it moves," she explained. "I'm trying to feel the vibrations in the ground.” That sounded like something Grandma Syrup used to do a lot, though she used a seated posture. “...wait, if you're just feeling, why do I have to shush?” Kyrinna asked. “So I can focus.” Ky shrugged. That sounded like something she would say. She was content to give Alpidt all the focus she wanted. She'd been there. “All this sitting around is worthless,” Eyron balked, not nearly as accommodating. “He's not coming back.” Cydia grabbed the prick by his tabard and yanked him backwards. “Dat's a real weak setup for a trap, innit?” she balked. Eyron, however, was having none of it. “Honestly, Cydia, I may never understand you.” He stared the bandit down, holding himself eerily still. “Why must you imagine a ruse in my every word?” “How's about dat copper what just turned into goo?” “Or the other guy that hit you?” Ky piped in. “The one who's apparently riding a Phantom?” Cydia shook her head. Her eyes were locked on Eyron's the whole time. “Ky, stay outta dis, will ya?” “Oh...okay.” Ky shrugged it off. She was content to let Cydia ream Eyron for awhile. As long as he was getting put in his place, she didn't care much about who did it. While they argued, Alpidt rose to her feet with a grunt of effort. “Well,” she huffed, “either way, we have to keep Melaton safe. We can't wait here for him to come back. With the barrier gone, even if he doesn't attack, something else will.” [[Previous|Page 189]] | [[Next|Page 191]]

Ky turned to Zel. She knew her friend was an expert in staying safe in the darkness of the wilderness, which Melaton now was, in a way. “What do we do?” she asked. Dutifully, Zel twirled a knife and smiled. “Alpidt, how many folks can you fit in the Hollows?” she asked. “I don't know,” Alpidt replied. She hoisted her own knife, but something seemed off to Ky about it. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Alpidt seemed tense and unnerved by something. “This has never happened to Melaton before.” Zel gave a quiet “tsk tsk” at the thought. “If something's dangerous enough, it needs a plan.” Zel pointed her knife into the woods and started to say something else, but before she could, Alpidt cut her off. "The Church installed that crystal further back than anyonbe can remember," Alpidt protested. "And now the Church has taken it back? That didn't seem possible enough that it needed a plan." "Okay, well, my plan is to get the Melaton Hollows ready to take in the townspeople. It's the sturdiest building, and there's access to food and water via the underground tunnel. If we have to go into siege mode, the Hollows would be the best place to do it." “Oh!” Kyrinna gasped. She got about half a syllable into talking about her mansion before she caught herself. She didn't have much reason to keep it hidden anymore, but it still felt like she was oversharing, somehow. Instead, she skipped to the lessons learned. “If nerds can only go one way to reach us, then we only have to defend that one way...right?” Zel let out a quick laugh and patted Ky's hair. “Ah, so you've been learning from me, too!” Ky couldn't stand to correct her; the prospect brought Zel far too much pride. "The Hollows are the safest place in town." “Alright,” Alpidt said with a nod. “Can I trust you darlings to bring everyone to the Hollows? I need to get back to my boys and get everything set up for all my guests.” Zel nodded. “Ky, go with her.” [[Previous|Page 190]] | [[Next|Page 192]]

“Why me?” Ky spat. She wasn't opposed to helping Alpidt, but splitting up from both Zel and Cydia in such a dangerous situation scared her. “We have to be quick, and...” Zel's face contorted inward, a sudden struggle forcing her words out in single file. “...I'm sorry...you're the slowest runner.” Alpidt shook her head. “I don't need a babysitter, darling,” she insisted. “Night Watch rules.” Zel turned around, displaying the emblem on her coat. “Never go alone.” Ky wanted to help, and not just from the sidelines. She wanted to join Zel more directly with the coming dangers. Even so, she had to admit that Zel's logic was sound. “Fine,” she growled. “Let's go, nerd.” Ky turned to leave alongside Alpidt, Behind her, she could her Zel continuing her orders. “Eyron, Cydia, you're with me. If we see any monsters...” Ky gave the others one last wave over her shoulder. She couldn't help but admire Zel's leadership, though. Zel's presence made her feel at ease, and she almost envied the people of Melaton for their chance to feel the same. The sheer thrill of having a mysterious stranger emerge from the darkness, still wrapped in black— “'scuse me!” Zel yelped, interrupting Ky's thoughts. Suddenly, she felt her shoulders being pushed straight down. It made a lot more sense to her when she saw Zel's trademark coat flutter into her field of vision from above. “Hey!” came Cydia's voice next. She, too, went directly over Ky and Alpidt as they walked, flapping her hair to enhance her jump. “Da plan's ta stick together, innit?” Zel spun on her heels, running backwards just long enough to laugh and make a face at Cydia. “Keep complaining that loud, and you'll rouse the folks in hiding! Good thinking!” “Good thinking,” Eyron repeated. His tone was whiny and mocking to such an exaggerated degree that his facsimile barely resembled words, much less the ones Zel had said. He shoved his way past, forcing his way right between Ky and Alpidt, knocking Ky over in the process. [[Previous|Page 191]] | [[Next|Page 193]]

“Prick,” Kyrinna growled into the dust. She was stunned by the impact; all she could do was watch Eyron charge on down the path, and wish she could get up and push him right back. “Ky!” Alpidt gasped. She got beside Ky and bent her knees. The squat she'd dropped into made it far easier for her and Ky to see each other's faces while they talked. “Are you hurt?” “Nope...” Ky's dress and lab coat were both made to withstand chemical spills, to keep them away from her skin. Coincidentally, though, those layers made taking the fall a little easier. It still hurt, and it still summoned all the exhaustion Ky had been feeling before, but it could have been worse. Alpidt hauled Ky out of her reverie and onto her feet. She'd helped Ky up with a gradual, guiding force; her touch felt practiced, sort of like Zel's. “That Eyron...he's in big trouble next time I see him.” “Good!” Ky heaved. “Wait, why?” That got a rise out of Alpidt. “He can't go pushing people like that in front of my sons. That's a terrible example to set.” Ky ignored the sentiment and kept moving. The Melaton Hollows were straight ahead. Someone was keeping all the lights on, but some of the windows were blocked and only let out a bright sliver or two. “What kinda moron would just copy any old nerd?” “That's what kids do,” Alpidt replied. “That's how they learn, especially the little ones.” After a brief silence, she added, “You were an only child, weren't you?” “What's it to you?” “Just making conversation, darling.” Alpidt shrugged. “You don't have to answer.” Kyrinna considered the offer for a bit. She decided to humor Alpidt, mostly because she knew it wouldn't last long. “There were children where I'm from. I wasn't the only child.” [[Previous|Page 192]] | [[Next|Page 194]]

Alpidt chuckled. “No, darling," she said. "An only child has no brothers or sisters.” “I knew that!” Kyrinna hollered. The denial had smashed its way out of her lungs before she even knew she was saying it. “I mean...no...yes, I'm an only child.” “You definitely act like one.” Alpidt peered into her basket for a moment, and finally pulled out a small square of cloth. “Take this,” she said, passing it off to Kyrinna. “You've got dirt on your face and all over your Irae-style coat there, and you seem too flustere—“ “What?” Ky gasped. She didn't want to hear so much as the word “Irae”, much less from someone who apparently knew enough about it to mention it themselves. Then again, she knew her reaction was already too much. She felt like the conversation was inevitable, and all she could do was steel herself in advance. “You've got a real knack for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, nerd.” “Yeah, well...I'm sorry.” Alpidt tossed the cloth Ky's way and brandished her knife. “If you want a better apology, it'll have to wait.” Alpidt's gaze was fixed on the Melaton Hollows. Ky wasn't sure what she was looking at, until some shapes flitted past the windows. Their silhouettes reminded her of the leather-winged things she'd seen briefly underground. Either these creatures had come up through the bathhouse or out of the well, but it wasn't good either way. Still, it beat talking about Irae. Ky looked back to Alpidt just in time to see her set the basket down on the ground. She'd swapped her knife to her off-hand, and held a handful of some kind of dust. Ky couldn't tell what it was, but she could definitely smell it. Just a whiff seemed to heat the mucus in her nose, giving her the sniffles. She couldn't imagine what the flying animals experienced when Alpidt tossed the spicy stuff at them. They seemed overwhelmed by it, some of them even falling right out of the sky. “We can't have these things harassing the townspeople,” Alpidt said. “And if one of them gets in and goes after my sons, I—“ “Shut up, nerd,” Kyrinna interrupted. “It's not gonna happen, so why worry about it?” [[Previous|Page 193]] | [[Next|Page 195]]

“Ky...” Kyrinna had no idea why Alpidt was saying her name so wistfully. “Alpidt, I need to go inside,” she said. She wasn't asking for permission; her needs felt too important to take no for an answer. “I need something to hit them with, and something to carry the dead ones in.” “The dead ones?” Alpidt repeated, moving her knife back to her right hand. “What are you gonna do with them?” “Grandma always used to say, the Church and the Phantoms both follow the smell of death. That's why she taught me to dig up graves.” It was one of Kyrinna's fondest memories, but the image seemed to halt Alpidt in her tracks. “Um, darling...what's this about digging up graves?” Something seemed off about Alpidt's voice, but Ky shrugged it off. “Will you be alright if I look for supplies inside the Hollows?” That was her most pressing concern. She'd passed over plenty of sturdy implements and deep pots when she and Zel were looking for makeshift alembic parts. “It shouldn't take me long.” Alpidt nodded. “There should be plenty for you in the kitchen. But if you're going in, you have to let Desman know what's happening. Odds are he's somewhere close to the kitchen. Just get in there, yell for him, and if he asks you what time it is, tell him it's time to dig deep. Just like that.” “Dig deep?” “No...! 'It's time to dig deep', exactly!” Alpidt was already moving in close to the front door of the Melaton Hollows. Ky had no choice but to follow her; she was depending on those spices for her safety. “It's our emergency code. I taught him not to follow people he doesn't know unless they know the code.” [[Previous|Page 194]] | [[Next|Page 196]]

Ky's ribbons caught a slight wind, and she could tell the clouds of seasonings moved to the same breeze. It'd be a lovely jog if it wasn't for all the screeching. The creatures were veering to avoid the smell if they were on the edge of the clouds. The ones caught directly in Alpidt's trap didn't have a chance, though. “It's time to dig deep? Got it, nerd...!” Alpidt simply nodded in reply, and threw the door open for Ky. “Thanks!” Ky gasped as she sprinted across the threshold. She didn't stop running until she made it to the kitchen. The place still stunk of a pungent odor, ever since Eyron had summoned it forth with his cooking. She braced herself against a countertop and gathered just enough breath to scream. “Desman! C'mere, nerd!” For some reason, this didn't seem to rouse him right away. Ky was content to give him a moment while she caught her breath. If he did eventually reply, though, it was after she'd lost her patience. There was no way she heard it over all the clanging metal and the thoughts buzzing through her head. Suddenly, she felt her lab coat being tugged back the way she came. Ky turned in the direction of the force, and saw Desman there with a fistful of coat. “I'm sorry, Syrup,” he started. “I was calling for you, but you didn't answer.” “Oh, oops,” Ky replied. She shook her coat, urging him to let go. “The Church took Melaton's barrier light.” “And there's monsters in the town!” Ky glared at the boy, and his only explanation was, “I saw them out the window!” Ky nodded. “So you know...okay. I gotta get some supplies out there. Alpidt's out there all by herself, so I have to hurry!” Desman's grip still didn't relent. “How do I know she's really in danger?” He turned away from Ky for a moment, deep in thought. “Uh...what time is it?” “Time to dig deep.” Ky rolled her eyes. “Now let go!” An indignant sigh swelled out of the kid. “You didn't say 'it's'...but I know who you are, so I guess it's okay.” Finally, he uncurled his fist, and the lab coat billowed obediently back to Kyrinna's side. “Is Mom gonna come back, Syrup?” “What? That's dumb, of course she will. She's just spreading a smell to keep the monsters away, so everyone can come here.” Kyrinna took off before Desman could ask her anything else. She needed to help Alpidt get everything ready for her guests. [[Previous|Page 195]] | [[Next|Page 197]]

## Chapter 29 Kyrinna had never been around so many people all at once before. Perhaps her grandma's execution had drawn a crowd, but she certainly hadn't noticed at the time. She shook the painful memory from her head, and turned to face the painful present. Perhaps it was the sheer panic inherent in the situation, but the quietude she'd enjoyed about the Hollows had been tamped down by crosstalk and chaos. Everyone was so tense about the monsters swarming the town, it was enough to make her consider braving that chaos instead. She knew what to do about a wild animal now, but if one of the townspeople snapped, she wasn't sure if she was allowed to kill them like she was Phantoms. Fortunately, she had just the excuse to leave, rather than face the dilemma. “I was supposed to get back out there with Alpidt!” she huffed. There were a few nerds she didn't recognize at the front door, presumably standing guard. Eyron stood with them, aparently trying really hard to look cool even though nothing was really happening there. “Now get outta my way, nerds!” Eyron let out a snide little huff. “Silence, heathen,” he said. “Every time we open these doors, we risk letting the monsters into the Hollows. That would defeat the whole purpose.” “But Alpidt—did anyone see Alpidt come in?” She couldn't ask Zel or Cydia; they were too busy elsewhere inside. For what it was worth, no one there seemed to know for sure. They stood in silence, a few of them glancing around toward doors or windows as if to say “maybe she's that way”. “Dumb nerds...if she was here, you'd know!” She was far too nosy and bossy to stay hidden in a crowd. “Tell Cydia and Zel where I went if you see 'em.” The other guys, presumably Melaton residents, shared a confused look. During their inaction, Eyron stepped up. “I already tire of your tantrum,” he informed Ky. He turned to the men and added, “I will escort her. I am the highest present authority of the Order of Scintilla. Now stand aside.” “Oh,” one of the doormen balked. “I was just gonna say, we could open the door real quick on the count of three.” His finger disappeared into a thick and curly hairdo. In the brief pause, Ky could hear his finger rub against his temple. “You run through and we'll shut it behind you.” “Yeah, you were the one saying to keep her inside,” the other guy added, offering Eyron a shrug. [[Previous|Page 196]] | [[Next|Page 198]]

Eyron took a few steps away from the door, and the nerds guarding it. He gave Ky's collar a tug, urging her to his side. “Just start counting,” he ordered. The two Melaton guys shrugged and took to their stations, getting ready to yank open the front doors. They began to count, though they failed to find unison until “two”. Eyron began sprinting the moment they said “three”. He was faster in both start and speed than Ky, and even the door duo. The door swung open against him, colliding with his right arm and shoulder. Eyron bounced into Kyrinna's right side, thumping against the metallic ladle hooked on her pocket. The two of them spilled out into the night. “Prick!” The word was squeezed out of Kyrinna as he landed on top of her. She heard the door slam shut behind them. “Be careful!” She shifted her weight under him, trying to protect her pockets. She'd packed a fresh bottle of healing ointment, some plain tallow, flint, and some spices. It was hard to know for sure if they were the same ones Alpidt had used to fight the monsters, but they smelled like it. Eyron shoved another grunt out of her as his weight shifted away. In that breath, she could smell those spices subtly drifting around her. His metallic boots walked past her, dangerously close to her head. “I played my part perfectly,” he huffed. “You got knocked over...don't blame me.” “Too late.” Kyrinna paused to haul herself to her feet. Eyron was wandering off without her, but a yank on his hair corrected his behavior soon enough. “Stop right there, prick. Alpidt and I were right here...!” Ky's eyes darted around, hoping to see some clue as to where her friend had gone. “You didn't see her while you were rounding up the nerds who live here?” Eyron merely shook his head in reply. “Great.” Ky reached up her sleeve, and pulled out a burlap sack. It had held potatoes, but she'd dumped them out and kept the sack. Now, though, she handed it off to Eyron. “So I'll go look anywhere you guys haven't been, and you can pick up the corpses.” [[Previous|Page 197]] | [[Next|Page 199]]

“I'm no fool,” Eyron snapped. Rather than accept the bag Kyrinna offered him, he drew his weapon and took a few steps past her. She gave chase, reaching for his hair again. He let out a yelp when her fingers closed around his flowing mane, and came to a quick stop. “I'm not going to let you burden me with animal carcasses while you escape.” For a moment, all Ky could do in response was laugh. “Escape?” she huffed, skidding to a stop. “You're so stupid! If I try to sneak outta here now, some Phantom would sniff me out and hunt me d—wait...” Ky reached into her pocket and pulled out a pinch of spice. She caught up to Eyron and shoved her hand into his face, forcing the scent into his nose. The gesture sent him into a bit of a panic, which only made things worse. He hunched over and let out a horrible cough. “Stop!” Eyron cried. “Assault!” “Shut up!” She wasn't trying to hurt him, but she was more tempted to by the moment. “I just wanted you to smell that smell...because Alpidt reeks of this stuff! We can find her by smell!” Eyron gagged a bit as he rose back upright. “You should've just said that, instead of—“ “Whatever.” Ky began poking her head around the premises, sniffing loudly. “You,” she added, pausing to smell more intently, “you shouldn't have pushed me earlier.” The aroma of Alpidt's spices had swirled around the entryway to the Hollows, keeping it safe. However, the pungency of it made it hard to tell where, if anywhere, it trailed off into Melaton. “...shut up,” Eyron scoffed. “I'm in a bad mood.” Kyrinna shook her head. “Well, quit it. Alpidt's out here somewhere.” She resumed darting around the outside of the Melaton Hollows, her nose raised upward in attention. “Oh, she might be this way!” The wind was blowing into Ky's face, but she could still smell the spices. “Straight ahead...” The smell of blood began to distract her, but Ky shook it off. After those monsters had attacked her and Alpidt earlier, of course the place would have the stink of carnage. That's what the bag was for. Kyrinna growled; that lazy prick was still trying to clear the spices out of his face when he should have been looking for Alpidt. “I can't just quit it!” Eyron blurted out from somewhere behind her. “I'm homesick...not just for my village, but for my faith. I haven't been to the Grand Church in...hey! Aren't you listening?“ She wasn't. [[Previous|Page 198]] | [[Next|Page 200]]

Instead of listening to that prick Eyron and his whining about his dumb home, Ky's focus was on a building just ahead. The gray of its stone walls served as a canvas for a scene painted in blood. A splatter and a thick shape under a lit window told her everything she needed to know. “Alpidt!” she shrieked, running straight for the window. When she poked her head inside, it met her macabre expectations. Alpidt was crumpled just beneath the window, clutching at a dark stain on her abdomen. Ky knew from her research just how badly a stomach wound could hurt. She had no idea how Alpidt was so quiet in the face of it. In fact, it took her a moment to hear Alpidt speaking. “...reful,” came her labored gasps. “Not so loud...darling. The monsters from...underground...have great hearing.” Ky hopped into the window. She turned to look at Eyron over her shoulder and told him, “Stand guard.” With that, she tumbled into the house before he could respond. Alpidt had taken up shelter in someone's home. An animal pelt served as a rug, a deep brown that nearly hid the bloodstains. She was still holding her knife; her basket was up on a nearby stool. On the opposite side of the house was another window, or what was left of it. Something had broken it from the outside and left a hazardous mess on the floor. Upon a closer look, the pelt was no decoration at all; it was a fresh corpse Alpidt was resting on. “Okay,” Ky sighed to herself, “let's take a look.” She moved to gently urge Alpidt's hands away, but the innkeeper resisted her efforts. “You're putting pressure on the wound...that's good.” “I don't know much...but...” “Shut up.” Ky needed Alpidt to stay awake, but also to stay focused. If any new symptoms popped up, or if she did something that hurt Alpidt unexpectedly, she'd need to know. The moment Alpidt moved her hands, though, Kyrinna saw a lot that concerned her. “That bad...?” Alpidt guessed, forcing a chuckle. Ky scoffed. “You're gonna be fine, nerd.” [[Previous|Page 199]] | [[Next|Page 201]]

Yes, Alpidt's wound was deep. Yes, the edges of it showed an awful rash, as if under the effects of fool's herb. But for all the blood Kyrinna had seen, the pallor of Alpidt's skin had held up surprisingly well. Perhaps, Ky thought to herself, not all the blood was Alpidt's. She was obviously weak and in pain, but she was a lot more lucid than all that blood would imply. Before Ky could examine her patient further, Eyron stuck his idiot head through the window. “Yikes,” he blurted. “Alpidt, shall I anoint you with a blessing? Just in case Kyrinna cannot s—“ “She's not gonna need that, prick,” Ky interrupted. She began looting the house for supplies. Her priorities were cloth, thread, and soap. “I've got a plan.” Her plan came along nicely when she noticed clean laundry hanging outside through another window. “Bring all those clothes in here.” The prick didn't budge. “And what if your plan contradicts Hers?” “Uh, I'm pretty sure Alpidt agrees with my plan.” “I mean Scintilla, you fool.” Ky glared at Eyron, wishing for him to drop dead with every fiber of her being. She was in no mood for his theological crap. “Listen, prick! You're really gonna stand there and tell me that your goddess has a plan? And it won't work unless Alpidt dies?” Kyrinna thought briefly about her own childhood, where plague and tragedy had taken everyone away from her. The Church's official stance then had been similar, that Irae must have deserved to die by plague if that's what was happening. If Scintilla truly had any influence on the events of Tenesoir— “Then your goddess is an idiot. My plan's better.” Indeed, when she came across some soap, she felt her plan fall further into place. It was still wet from the last time it'd been used. Ky washed her hands and took the soap with her when she was done. By the time Ky returned to Alpidt's side, Eyron had started torturing her anew with his incessant talking. “—members of the Church who can heal with a laying of hands,” he was telling her. “Kyrinna's methods may heal you in the short term, but the taint they leave on your soul is—“ “Oh well,” Alpidt wheezed. “Help Ky...if she needs it.” [[Previous|Page 200]] | [[Next|Page 202]]

As giddy as it made Kyrinna that Alpidt rebuked Eyron and his religion, she couldn't read the prick's reaction because she wasn't interested. She was trying to keep her focus on what was important. She was very good at that. Ky closed her eyes, trying to picture what Grandma Syrup would tell her to do. “Don't let that soap in the cut,” an elderly woman's voice nagged her. She wasn't sure how accurately she was even recalling Syrup's voice. After all, it had been too long since she'd heard it. “It'll sting.” Ky grabbed a clean shirt from nearby and sawed off its sleeves with Alpidt's knife. She laid one across the open area of the wound, and lathered up the other with the soap. “What do you think you're doing?” Eyron growled from outside. “That's someone's—“ “I don't care,” Ky snapped. She began to gently wash the irritated skin around the wound. Blood, soap, and water frolicked freely together on Alpidt's skin, but never for more than a moment. Eventually, they ran afoul of one sleeve or the other, and got absorbed by the fabric. Alpidt winced a little during the procedure, so Kyrinna quickly withdrew her hands. “What's the matter?” she asked. “That'll stain,” Alpidt opined, staring at the makeshift washcloth. True, Kyrinna had grabbed a white shirt, but— “I already cut it apart, you nerd.” She rolled her eyes and chuckled as she finished cleaning. Whether she'd grabbed the shirt, or Eyron had actually followed her directions, she couldn't even remember. All she could think about was the procedure. With the wound a bit cleaner, Ky could see it was a little uneven. Whatever had done this to Alpidt, it'd cut the deepest section of its gory canyon on her right side. There was a clean bedsheet crumpled up nearby as well. Whoever had brought it inside from the clothesline hadn't let it dry out completely. Something cold and damp was exactly what she needed, though. [[Previous|Page 201]] | [[Next|Page 203]]

“Here,” Kyrinna said, handing Alpidt the cold bedsheet. “That rash looks more irritated than I am at Eyron. Lay this sheet on it, and it should dull your suffering a little. Now don't move, nerd...I still gotta find a needle and thread.” She could hear some kind of chaos erupting outside. A brilliant blue light wreathed the window, presumably Eyron's copper magic at work. Ky turned away from the window with a huff. She was looking for sewing supplies, not an update on that prick. The next thing she knew, she'd found some, deep in the back of some drawer. Ky let out a triumphant laugh and turned back to Alpidt. When she did, she saw the floor was lost in a sea of clothing. She didn't remember the place being that messy, but she didn't remember making the mess herself either. All she could really think about was Alpidt. Compared to the usual cacophony of thoughts in her head, she found such focus to be almost meditative. There were several little spools of thread in her arms. But it was the green one that was already pulled through the eye of the needle. She probably spent long enough looking for the thread; there wasn't time to switch colors. “You like green, don't you?” Kyrinna muttered. The thread was a much lighter green than Alpidt's drab dress, though. Alpidt gave no reply. She seemed aware, at least, watching Kyrinna's work as best she could. Still, she'd left a mark on her skin from biting her lip. Grandma would scold Alpidt if she were there to see it. “If you're gonna scream,” the elderly voice chimed in, “just scream!” “Huh?” Alpidt gasped. Kyrinna froze up. “Huh what?” she asked. “You told me to...scream.” Ky looked up into Alpidt's eyes. What she'd said sounded crazy to Ky, but her eyes still had a lucid focus to them. It didn't seem to be a hallucination, but Ky wasn't sure what it could have been otherwise. “It's not that bad.” “If you change your mind and you feel awkward screaming, scream into a pillow or whatever.” Still, Alpidt didn't look tempted to scream. Ky could tell her patient's pain tolerance far exceeded her own. [[Previous|Page 202]] | [[Next|Page 204]]

“Now,” Kyrinna continued, washing the needle, “I'm gonna sew you back up a little. My salve doesn't work so well dumped into a hole of a wound.” She wished Cydia were there; the wildspeaker seemed drawn to alcohol, which would be far more sterile. As she leaned in to investigate, a new detail sprang to her attention. The cut seemed a bit wider near one end than the other. She wasn't sure if that implied the slash had started or ended there. “You're starting in the middle...?” Alpidt gasped. Her voice sounded more strained than it had before. Ky had forgotten Alpidt was watching. Perhaps she simply hadn't been until she felt a needle slithering through her skin. Still, if a lecture on suturing would keep her mind off it, Ky was willing to humor her. “Duh,” she scoffed. “I'm not gonna stitch it like you would clothes. If I just went from one end to the other, it'd leave your skin lopsided.” Kyrinna paused. She didn't want to force the needle into the fat. As much as she wanted to keep chatting, this was too important to screw up. She steadied the area with her free hand as best she could, and strung a tightrope from one wall to the other. As she finished forming an overhand knot with the thread, she could already see it starting to pull Alpidt back together again. Alpidt seemed equally relieved at the sight. “Darling,” she gasped, “you're amazing...” “What?” Kyrinna shook her head and continued tightening the knot. When the two sides of the cut were reunited, she took the excess thread and formed a second knot. “I've got a bunch of these to go.” The thought of it terrified her, and not for fear of failing. Just the opposite; the procedure would be so routine from that point on, her mind would have room to wander back to whatever voice Alpidt had heard before. She was still reeling from the shadow in the marsh, and one mystery was already too many. “Ky,” Alpidt said. Her hands tightened into fists. Ky had to stop sewing right where she was. If Alpidt was about to bring up what she— “I'm sorry. I was so nosy...about your home...darling. I can tell I overstepped...” “Yes, you did.” Kyrinna heaved a sigh of relief, and the needle resumed its acrobatics. “Please don't go there again.” Alpidt nodded. “I won't...nerd.” [[Previous|Page 203]] | [[Next|Page 205]]

## Chapter 30 “Not a moment too soon,” Kyrinna coughed. She could feel her hands expertly weave the final knot, but she couldn't see them. Tears had gathered in her eyes, an audience blocking her own view. She was starting to form a hypothesis around exposure to the spice. It was better than thinking about how bad her nostrils stung. “Dammit.” “Darling?” Alpidt gasped. Her body seemed to relax a bit beneath Ky's hands. “Are you alright?” Kyrinna shook her head slowly. “Uh...I dunno.” She backed away from Alpidt, settling down to take a seat on the stone floor of the house they'd hidden in. Now that the stitches were out of sight, she began blinking rapidly. The show was over, and it was time for those tears to shoo. “Just feeling a little funny. I think it's the spices.” “That's no problem.” Alpidt rose to her feet, eyeing the thread the whole way up. Her hands grasped for the wall, just in case. “I already want to take it slow, darling. So if you need a minute...” “Okay.” Ky stopped blinking. A thin haze still covered her sight, but she could see through it with a little focus. “Between that prick and the spice we laid out, I think we'll have a clear path back to the Hollows. We can probably walk slowly.” She didn't pity Eyron for working so hard. After all, he was a prick. Besides, out of her entourage, he was the one who'd eaten the most, so he had the energy to spare. “He needs to drink some water.” Alpidt chuckled. “So you do care,” she huffed as she wrenched open the window they'd entered through. “About you? I guess so. I mean, I went through all this trouble, didn't I?” “I meant about Eyron, but thank you.” With that, Alpidt scooted herself out the window. Once she was out of the way, Ky could see that Melaton stood silently under black sky. The lanterns lining the streets were on, but the pictures they displayed on the darkness were all still. She could hear Alpidt and Eyron talking, and followed their voices toward the window. “...expects me to kill them,” Eyron was saying, “and pick them up? She's the prick, not me.” “Darling,” came the reply, “she's the one that said you need to rest.” [[Previous|Page 204]] | [[Next|Page 206]]

Ky joined the others outside the window. The strong smell of the spices had been replaced with an odd scent, like the air itself had burnt. “Ugh, who let one?” she asked, fanning at her nose. Eyron's only response to her joke was a grimace. Alpidt seemed to ignore it entirely. She faced down the path to the Hollows and said, “Quiet.” She fell silent and moved to one knee, then laid a hand flat against the road. “...hm, nothing.” “Of course not,” Eyron beamed. He rested a thumb against the chestplate of his armor and added, “I defeated them all.” “Shut up,” Ky said, already wandering back toward the Hollows. “Where are all the bodies?” Eyron hustled to catch up. He held his sword in front of Ky, slowing her pace. “Now naught but ashes before the divine might of Sc—“ “Incinerated, got it.” That would explain the smell. Ky pouted and returned to Alpidt's side. She'd mentioned going slow, but the innkeeper's pace was agonizing. “How's the stitching holding up?” “Fine, darling, thank you,” Alpidt said. Her breathing seemed normal, though it was hard to tell for sure, since she stole so many glances toward the cut. The trio continued along in silence for another minute or so. Alpidt appeared to be fine, so Ky kept an eye on Eyron instead. He'd been treating her like crap the whole time; she wanted to make sure he didn't try anything else. Still, though, she was in no mood to talk to him. “So what gave you that cut?” Ky asked Alpidt. “...you know, that's the weirdest thing.” Alpidt stooped her head again, though this time, she looked away from the stitches. “Melchur...they're these slimy things that squirm into dead crystalbacks to live in their shells.” She shook her head and sighed. “I was knocked over by a dirtbat and fell on one. Those crystalbacks are sharp.” [[Previous|Page 205]] | [[Next|Page 207]]

Kyrinna nodded. She thought back to the crystalbacks she'd seen shining underground. At the right angle, perhaps a fine enough edge on one of their— “Lies,” Eyron balked. “I've been out here doing battle while you two were learning how to sew in sin. I've seen no such creature.” “Well, if you already don't believe me...” Alpidt shrugged and reached out to the others. She tugged on their outfits, Ky's coat and Eyron's dumb back tassel things, to urge them to a halt. “...you'll want to look right over there.” With another yank, she reined them in at an angle, swinging both Ky and Eyron to her left. “Don't wander too close. I dropped my lantern over there and broke it, too.” Ky didn't understand why that would matter. Eyron's own lamp illuminated enough. Those shining crystals Ky had seen underground were here as well, jutting out of the ground. Some enterprising melchur had squirmed up a nearby well a little bit, a simple stone circle now bedazzled in the crimson facets of crystalback shells. When Eyron turned his light away, however, the sharp edges of the crystals faded away, their brilliant reds turning to simply nothing. They didn't glow in the dark like the live crystalbacks did. “You had your back to them, didn't you?” she asked Alpidt. “I was running away from them, yes. Some string of light had pulled them out of the—“ “No.” The others froze. It took Kyrinna a few steps to realize her footsteps sang out alone. A few seconds later, she realized her eyes were closed. She opened them as she turned around to face the others. Even Eyron's scowl had relaxed into some emotion Ky had never seen on his face before. “No what?” he asked. He and Alpidt stood there together, staring at her. Ky was only aware in passing that she'd said “no” out loud. “I, uh...I don't know. I've seen those strings of light before, but I don't know what they are.” [[Previous|Page 206]] | [[Next|Page 208]]

“Yikes," Alpidt sighed as she met Kyrinna's questioning gaze. “'I don't know'...not something you say lightly, is it, darling?” “And yet she must be wrong,” Eyron insisted, wandering forward. Ky and Alpidt had little choice but to stick close to him. Thus, their march resumed. “And you must be mistaken as well. Nothing wrought of the darkness could wield light like that.” Kyrinna groaned. One of those Fracotel scouts had said the same thing. “Cydia saw it too, nerd!” she snapped. “So did Bennett, of the Night Watch.” While that didn't stop Eyron's advance, it sure slowed him down. “Bennett?” “Yeah.” Ky couldn't remember his first name. He'd never gone by it, similar to Alpidt. Then again, that same nerd from the Fracotel scouts had called him something else, something like— “Stee, uh—“ “Steve Bennett said that?” Kyrinna snapped her fingers and nodded. That was his name. “You went on a mission with Rubicon's River King?” “I guess?” Kyrinna didn't know what Eyron meant, but this mystery didn't trigger her anxiety like the one at the heart of their discussion. She knew Rubicon was the name of the continent she lived on, but she had no idea why Eyron heaped such interest upon Bennett. The guy hadn't been much fun to be around. “Is Bennett a River King? Because...yeah, we climbed Mt. Sorrow together.” Eyron scoffed. “Of course you wouldn't know. Steve's one of the best freshwater anglers on the continent.” Ky saw him tighten his hand into a fist, and tensed herself up in turn. “And you got to travel with him and I didn't?” Kyrinna couldn't understand Eyron's line of questioning at all, but it seemed to upset him. She decided to try and twist the knife a little. “I mean, he's right there at the Night Watch. I could just talk to him whenever. I bet you could too, if you were welcome there.” [[Previous|Page 207]] | [[Next|Page 209]]

“Just wander up and talk to the Steve Bennett?” Eyron gasped. He seemed to find Kyrinna's idea ridiculous. “Why not, darling?” Alpidt asked. Ky had been so focused on Eyron that she'd forgotten all about keeping pace with the injured woman. “If it's not a good time to talk, he'll tell you so.” Eyron's jaw slackened. “You know him too?” he groaned. Alpidt laughed at the thought. “No, no, it's just...he'll either be happy to talk fishing with you, or tell you to leave. What else would he even do?” Kyrinna thought back to her time in the Night Watch. Bennett had been mouthy to her and the Chief, but his behavior was brought to heel during the Mt. Sorrow survey. Then again, he had gotten into that fight afterward. Maybe he'd start a fight with Eyron too. “Good point!” Ky assured him, smiling wickedly. “Go on, prick, just try it!” “Kyrinna...” Eyron's eyes narrowed. “Are...are you trying to encourage me?” Ky gripped her wrist ribbons tightly. That prick had her trapped. She didn't want to say yes and sound like she was doing him a kindness, but he wouldn't risk talking to Bennett unless she did. “...yes.” She kept her gaze on her boots; she knew Alpidt's face would be unbearable at the sound of that. “...I see. I...I'll try talking to him, then.” Ky closed her eyes. A triumphant sigh flared her nostrils, and her tension dissipated. Somehow, it even took the embarrassment with it. “Good.” If there wasn't so much chaos in the world around her, she'd bring the prick right to the Night Watch's doorstep. She hadn't been interested in Bennett's fight last time, but if Eyron was the one getting beaten up, she'd gladly watch. Kyrinna's surprise encouragement did little to lift Eyron's spirits, though. “It's just...first you escape Her divine punishment to adventure with Steve Bennett," he began, "then those templars deactivate Melaton's barrier...if these strings of light turn out to be true...” Zel had wanted to see that other fight Bennett had. Ky could invite her to Eyron versus Bennett instead. She smiled, letting her imagination project the scene onto the darkness around her as she walked. She hadn't known Bennett long, but she had more than enough material to last her on her way back to the Hollows. “...am I wrong? Is Scintilla wrong? Is Scintilla real?” “Hey!” Ky barked. “Shut up already, prick!” His griping was interrupting her imagination. [[Previous|Page 208]] | [[Next|Page 210]]

When the Melaton Hollows were finally within reach, Kyrinna was beside herself with glee. She began laughing madly as she sprinted the rest of the way to the doors, her body glancing off them with a thump. “Open up!” she demanded, wobbling to her feet. “I brought Alpidt!” Ky had left Alpidt behind to run toward the door, but thankfully, she and Eyron closed the gap by the time the door meandered open. Ky didn't recognize the folks pulling back the doors; she knew just enough that they weren't the same ones who had let her out. Before anyone could speak, though, a child came hurtling around the corner with surprising speed. “Mom!” he called out, now also running toward the open door. “Wait in there, Desman,” Alpidt ordered him. The streets of Melaton were still caught in an eerie stillness, but it was still safer to stay indoors. “But Mom, you're going so slow...!” Alpidt chuckled and gave the boy a nod. “Yes...I was hurt.” Before Desman could respond, she waved off his concern. “It's okay...Kyrinna saved me.” Something about that sent a series of murmurs running through the crowd. They all spoke up at once, and made it hard for Ky to understand what they were saying. Somewhere behind her, the doors finally swung shut, leaving her, Alpidt, and Eyron safely within the confines of the Hollows. With that, Desman was finally able to approach his mother and catch her in a hug. “Thank you, Kyrinna,” he said as Alpidt's arms surrounded him. “That's what you do in Melaton, right?” she asked. “Favors for favors?” Desman gave an enthusiastic nod. “Where's Zel and Cydia?” She'd had more than enough of Eyron's company. Alpidt scooped her son up in her embrace, lifting both their faces to about the same level as they both smiled at her. “Oh, uh...they went to the bathhouse. I think they're guarding the tunnels.” Whatever they were up to, it had to be better than hanging out with a prick. Eyron was already headed in the opposite direction of the bathhouse. The more distance she had from him, the better. [[Previous|Page 209]] | [[Next|Page 211]]

“Darling,” Alpidt sighed, trying to slow Ky down, “you've done enough.” She blocked the hallway out of the lobby, her sidesteps matching Ky's. “If you're going down to the bathhouse...just take a bath, okay? If something does come up from underground, let your friends or I handle it.” Ky had tried taking a bath once before, but Alpidt and the Church had interrupted her. After Alpidt had brought up the strings of light again, though, Ky was definitely eager for any sort of soothing or healing sensation. What she really wanted was to sleep, but she knew if she tried, the horrible mysteries she was trying to ignore would keep her awake. Before she could dwell on it too much, though, she heard someone's hands slap together behind her. It was a short, sharp noise that instantly caught Ky's attention. She turned around to see someone had stepped out of the crowd a bit; it was one of the nerds who'd opened the doors for her before. He was standing there, applauding her. It took a bit for the rest of the crowd to join in. Whatever had possessed them to make such a racket, Ky wasn't in the mood for it. All the stress was starting to give her a headache, and the sudden clapping noises weren't helping. [[Previous|Page 210]] | [[Next|Page 212]]

## Chapter 31 As Ky approached the bathhouse entrance, she could hear quiet giggling from within. It was probably Zel or Cydia, but she wasn't terribly interested regardless. She was only interesting in taking a bath and staying far away from that Eyron prick. She eyeballed the Hollows-issued robes she'd been messing with earlier. Last time, she had a bit of a breakdown, and got interrupted by some terrible Church nerds. Just gripping the cloth in her hands, she could feel her anxiety mounting anew. What could possibly happen this time? “Shh,” she heard someone say from inside the bathhouse. That voice was definitely Zel's. “Someone's out there.” “It's me,” Ky confirmed. Her mood was a little shot, so she didn't give it much gumption. When she didn't get a reply, she wondered if she'd been heard at all. Suddenly, Zel came running out to greet her, wrapped in one of the robes. “Ky! You're safe...!” When Zel scooped her up in a hug, Ky could smell the fragrance of the healing balm on her skin. The embrace went on quite awhile, and Ky was content to close her eyes and just relax in it. “When I heard you went out there, I was so worried, you know?” Kyrinna scoffed. “C'mon, nerd, Alpidt was in way more trouble than I was.” “Is she okay?” “Duh! She's still kinda woozy, but she'll be fine with some rest. I sewed her back up, so she—“ “Ya what?” Cydia called out from somewhere inside the bathhouse. Before long, she too was joined in on the embrace. Ky still had her eyes closed, but Cydia's body heat was as prolific as ever. “Sewin's what ya do for clothes, innit?” Ky laughed. “Alpidt said something like that before I fixed her.” “Well, tell us about it in da bath, will ya? My mead's gettin' warm in there!” [[Previous|Page 211]] | [[Next|Page 213]]

“Mead?” Zel repeated. She tried to break free from the embrace, but Ky didn't let go. Ky didn't want to let go; something about being hugged was oddly comforting. “I—where did you get mead, Cydia?” “Found it in da tunnels. It ain't too far...who wants to go get s'more?” “Me,” Ky barked. She'd been through far too many hardships over the past few nights, and there was still so much she didn't know about what had happened. A stiff drink to go along with her bath sounded positively alluring. Zel, on the other hand, seemed displeased. “Hey!” she snapped. “That doesn't seem like a good habit to get Ky into!” Cydia shook her head. “She's an adult! Let her decide for herself, will ya?” “Stop it!” Ky demanded. “You guys are yelling right near my head!” Ky had barely finished saying that before nearly took a spill onto the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out any sensory input she could, but the inside of her eyelids were haunted by memories of the Marsh of Illusion, and the underground Phantom that had raised a ruckus of its own. “Oh no,” Zel gasped softly. Ky heard her flutter in close again. “I was just trying to...no. It doesn't matter what I was trying to do. I hurt you, Ky, and I'm sorry.” Cydia wasn't too far behind. “Same,” she said, her body heat radiating against Ky anew. “Weren't too nice of us, but...gotta tell ya, Ky, this is...a lot.” “A lot of what?” Ky asked, bracing herself against a nearby wall. “I mean, we got loud. I see how dat'd hurt your ears, but dis reaction's somethin' else.” Ky turned to face the wall. “What else could it be?” As soon as she asked that, she felt a hand on each of her shoulders. [[Previous|Page 212]] | [[Next|Page 214]]

Even with her forehead resting on the wall, Kyrinna knew the large and warm hand on her right shoulder must have been Cydia's, and the firm grip on her left shoulder was Zel. “You're traumatized,” Zel answered. Ky tried shrugging the practiced grip off, but Zel refused to relent. “It's okay...I mean, so am I. I told you all about that in our room, remember?” Ky lifted her head so she could nod slowly. Zel had sworn her to secrecy about that ordeal. Yet there she was, ready to relive it within earshot of Cydia. “...okay,” she finally admitted. “I've never liked loud noises, but after Cydia and I found that living shadow in the marsh, and it screamed in my voice...now I hate it! Then that Phantom we found underground started screaming too!” And just thinking about it had Kyrinna herself screaming. “Alright, already,” Cydia said. The warmer of the two hands on Ky's shoulders spun her back around to face her friends. “Zel, I'll go get da mead. Ky can have some, or not, up to her. But you help Ky get ready for da bath while I'm down there, will ya?” “That sounds...like a plan,” Zel gasped. The three of them shared another group hug, this one far shorter than the first. As much as Ky had wanted to hold on before, being forced to confront her painful memories had made her even clingier. “Ky, it's okay, I'm right here. And Cydia will be too.” Kyrinna sniffled, doing her best not to cry. As much hurt as she was feeling, she wasn't going to give that shadow the satisfaction, wherever it was. “She better be!” she huffed. She'd been trying to assert some control, some normalcy, but the crack in her voice revealed the futility of such an effort. “I'm in no condition to go sew her up too!” “Ky, ya moron!” Cydia replied, already vanishing into the bathhouse, toward the tunnel entrance. “I'm a wildspeaker! Bet I could sew myself back up if I had to!” And with that, the brigand was gone. Kyrinna watched Cydia leave, then turned back to Zel. She threw her arms around the acrobat, eager for more hugs. “I just can't, Zel,” she admitted. “Alpidt saw the same strings of light I did on Mt. Sorrow. And...I think she heard the voice of my grandma somehow?” [[Previous|Page 213]] | [[Next|Page 215]]

Zel sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. “That worries me,” she admitted, stroking Ky's hair. Her hand found a slow, gentle rhythm, and Ky closed her eyes, focusing on that rhythm. It was strangely effective at keeping the most vivid memories away, dulling them to the vague dread of a nightmare. “The strings of light are bad enough, but how could she hear your grandma's voice? That's a new one...what do you make of it?” “I don't know!” Kyrinna buried her face in Zel's shoulder, letting the hair-petting continue as she gripped Zel tightly. “I really can't handle all these mysteries. All these terrible things keep happening, and I just can't think straight! I hate it!” Ky could tell her efforts to keep from crying were futile. Nuzzled into Zel's shoulder, she simply let it all out. “I feel like all this stress is killing my brain!” Zel simply nodded, standing tall as Ky opened the floodgates against her. The sobs wracked Ky's body, shocks that Zel absorbed just as readily as the tears. She had to admit, releasing all this stress and sadness was helping. It felt like rolling a barrel of ashes out of her brain, out of the way, making room for new thoughts and memories. “Uh, bad news,” Cydia's voice cut in. “Think I drank all da...” Ky's eyes opened to look past Zel. She could see Cydia standing in the entrance to the bathhouse, looking terrified and a little nauseous. “What's your problem?” she croaked at the wildspeaker. Cydia's gaze seemed transfixed on something behind her, so she craned her neck away from Zel to take a look. Kyrinna's shadow was creeping up the wall, ignoring the lighting of the room entirely. It moved slowly, but it'd nearly reached Ky's own height by the time she'd seen it. Even as she shrieked in terror and scrambled to form a more defensive formation with her friends, the shadow ignored her movements. Once the shadow stood at a height and proportions equal to her own, it peeled away from the wall, and familiar yellow lights tore through its head, forming its eyes. “Aw crap,” Cydia spat, “how'd dis thing get in here?” [[Previous|Page 214]] | [[Next|Page 216]]

Ky turned to Zel. Her hands fidgeted where her bandoliers would normally hang from her torso, finding no knives to defend herself with. “How long have you been hiding in Kyrinna's shadow?” she gasped. She didn't seem to be expecting an answer, and recoiled in shock when she got one. “Nerd!” came the reply in Ky's voice, accompanied by a flare of sparks from the shadow's eyes. With all the wallowing in her past memories she'd been doing prior, Ky noticed that those eyes were the same color light as those strings that she'd seen at Mt. Sorrow. “I found you at the edge of Melaton!” Kyrinna gasped. She'd experienced a sudden, intense shiver in her spine out there, when the group had been looking for the nerd riding the Phantom. As if to taunt her, the shadow's eyes split and shimmered, transforming themselves into the eyes that very Phantom had. The sight of her own body shape, adorned with the eyes of a monster, was too nightmarish to behold. “Stop it!” she screamed, squeezing her eyes shut. “That's right!” the shadow said, seemingly ignoring Ky's pleas. “That's when I found you...you were chasing the Phantom with eyes like this!” Zel stepped forward as a disgruntled groan ripped free from her mouth. “Aren't you listening?” she said, her hands balled into fists. “I don't know who or what you are, but you're traumatizing Kyrinna, and—“ As if in response, the shadow began morphing anew. Its eyes remained Phantom-like, and Ky felt like she was being seared in their gaze. When its body picked a new form, she was a bit relieved, but it was Zel's turn to be horrified. “Mikari!” she gasped, her knuckles tightening further. “You bastard!” The shadow had barely finished its metamorphosis before Zel had called it out. It was already ditching its form, eventually settling on a shape Kyrinna didn't quite recognize. “How about this?” it asked, still using Kyrinna's voice. “Better?” “I guess?” Ky heaved. This form wasn't the total affront that the others had been. It wasn't even the Eyron-shape it'd taken in the marsh, though it did bear some similarities. [[Previous|Page 215]] | [[Next|Page 217]]

“Better?” Zel repeated, sounding indignant. “That's the man who stole Melaton's barrier crystal! How is that form better?” The shadow's head nodded, but its rows of sparking eyes were stationary, and still trained on Ky. “I know!” it said. “All the humans have been talking about him. They all hate him.” Cydia let out a short laugh. “O'course they do!” she said, taking up a position next to Zel. The two of them were putting themselves between Ky and the shadow. “Dat light's important...keeps 'em safe from monsters like you!” Cydia wobbled a bit on her feet. Ky couldn't tell if that was nausea from the shadow's presence, or just the alcohol she'd apparently found underground. “Me, a danger? I don't understand.” The shadow's eyes went dull for a moment, possibly in contemplation of Cydia's words. It shifted in place a bit, and a sound issued from its form, the sound the Church nerd's footsteps had made. Its feet weren't moving, and it wasn't wearing the same chainmail, so Ky wasn't sure why it made that sound. “But that's not important. I've seen enough of this Melaton place and the humans in it. My curiosity has been sated. Do you want to put the barrier back up?” It seemed like no one was sure quite how to respond to that. Ky definitely wasn't, and she could guess from her friends' silence that they weren't either. “You're telling us you know where that Church wildspeaker went?” Zel asked slowly. “No, I'm asking if you want to put the barrier back up. But I do know where he went.” It seemed like this shadow took words even more literally than she did. Still, she felt so lost on where to go next, and she'd tried in futility to give her own life some structure and purpose. There was no fleeing the circumstances she'd been placed in. She'd been trying to do that with the living shadow, and it hunted her down. Then again, the shadow's guidance seemed just as good as her own or anyone else's in that moment. If that's where her much-needed answers would come from, then so be it. “We'll need a barrier crystal to restore Melaton's barrier. We either have to find the nerd who stole Melaton's, or steal a different one.” [[Previous|Page 216]] | [[Next|Page 218]]

“Ky,” Zel gasped. Her shoulders were rolled back a bit, possibly a shocked recoil Ky hadn't seen until after it had already happened. Kyrinna continued, pointing a finger at the shadow. “I have so many questions for you, nerd. But I won't be able to concentrate on them if I have to keep putting people back together. The Church's plan seems to be to let monsters kill the entire town, just to get at...us?” The nerd the shadow was impersonating had singled out Cydia, but Ky knew she was also on the Church's hit list. Alpidt probably joined the club when she'd resisted the two wildspeakers, too. They'd seemed disturbed by Eyron's presence, but they could have him; she didn't care about that prick. “What's in it for you?” Cydia asked the shadow. Ky turned to look, and her friend's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. “Gotta be a reason you'd help us like dat, after comin' at us the way ya did in da marsh, innit?” “Yes,” the shadow confessed. There was no hesitation in its answers, no time to construct lies. “That human has yoked a Phantom under his control. I want to rescue them, learn what I can of his method, and kill him.” The shadow seemed to lack such hesitation completely. “Or you can kill him. As long as he's killed.” “And why do you care about a Phantom?” Ky asked. The shadow's eyes flared up again. “I don't know how to explain that,” it shot back. “The more we delay, the farther away that nerd takes the Phantom, and the crystal. We'll need to swiftly give chase...and for that, we'll need a Phantom of our own. If you want answers, you're just going to have to help me.” Ky growled a little. It sounded like it had extremely valuable insight on the nature of Phantoms to offer. The prospect of having something to learn, some wedge of understanding to drive into the dangerous mysteries of Tenesoir, excited her. Whatever this shadow's endgame was, it didn't matter to Kyrinna. She would get what she wanted. “The Phantom that nerd rode off on,” Ky explained, “came from underground. Alpidt says it was fighting another Phantom down there.” “Depending on the source of their feud, that could be our best chance.” A jagged flash of purple light streaked out from the shadow's head, a strange and fleeting imitation of Ky's ribbons. “Showtime!” [[Previous|Page 217]] | [[Next|Page 219]]

## Chapter 32 “You sure picked up our language pretty quick,” Kyrinna said. She was the first one down the ladder to the underground tunnels. The living shadow, of course, merely slid along the wall and reformed at the bottom ahead of her. “Last time I saw you, it was...a lot of screeching, mostly.” It still felt odd to talk to the thing that had caused her so much stress. Then again, it was also a great boon to her mental state. What had once felt unknown and terrifying was endearing themself to her little by little with every sentence they shared. “It is normally the Church's magic that holds me back,” the shadow replied. “I've seen you working in your lab, and I was lucky to find you again in the Marsh of Illusion. And slinking into Melaton...that was an unbelievable opportunity.” “Ooh...!” Eyron would hate to hear that. To think, someone from his Church had brought such benefit to the darkness he purported to hate... “Haha, what a moron!” When they were all gathered at the bottom of the ladder, however, Cydia took off, wandering away from the path Alpidt had taken them to find the Phantom before. “Where are you going?” Zel asked her. “Told ya,” Cydia replied, “I want more mead. Especially hangin' out with this shadow...it's like an instant hangover. An' there ain't no cure I found for hangover but more drinkin'.” The shadow swirled along the cavern walls, eager to learn from Cydia. “Ah,” they cooed, “and yet it's only you having this reaction. I bet that's the shotant in you.“ “Don't matter why.” Cydia raised a hand, possibly looking to shove or hit the shadow, but she just clenched it into a fist and shook it instead. The object of her ire didn't have a corporeal form to boss around. “I just wanna get rid of it.” Cydia had already made far too much progress to halt, and the shadow was stuck on her, so Ky and Zel simply walked together behind them. [[Previous|Page 218]] | [[Next|Page 220]]

Ky looked up to see deep etchings in Zel's face, canyons cut along her worry lines. “What's on your mind?” Ky asked. “Huh?” Zel gasped. “Oh, uh...I don't like being underground very much. Here, where there's plenty of room, it's not so bad, but some of the cramped passages...” Zel squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “...anyway, it's also that shadow. I don't like how they treat you. I told them they were hurting you, and they didn't even apologize.” Ky shrugged. She hadn't done much apologizing herself. “They've answered a lot of questions already, though. And...I don't mind this form.” Ky gestured ahead of her, where the shadow was still prying Cydia for more information on her current state. Their form was a simple cloudy trail, mostly sticking to the wall as they rolled and billowed in pursuit, gleaming yellow eyes at their front. “If they'd stop doing those things making you angry...I dunno, they might be alright.” “...I guess they haven't killed us yet.” “You already said that, nerd.” Ky let out a short giggle and added, “Is that what you expected to come back to, after getting your clothes and your knives...? Cydia and I fought them off once already.” Zel had skidded to a halt in front of the entrance to the bathhouse in her haste, three knives in each hand. Apparently, she'd expected to see a bloodbath, and not just everyone standing around waiting for her. With Zel's speed, she hadn't kept them waiting long. “But still! I jumped down the spiral and everything, just to get back to you quicker! I've been doing so much worrying lately...” Ky reached out for one of Zel's hands and gave it a squeeze. “Same.” Looking over to Zel, she added, “But I worry less when you're around.” “Ky...” “Found it!” Cydia called out, interrupting the two of them. She was gesturing to a nearby tunnel wall, etched floor-to-ceiling with a series of hexagonal grooves. Opposite them, the underground river took an abrupt right turn, putting the hexagons right in the firing line of a fine mist where the water changed course. Cydia was already gorging herself on the sugary water trapped within the rock. She stuck her finger in a hole, licked it clean, and moved to the next. “If you're gonna drink some, be careful...some'a da holes got, like, bugs in 'em or somethin'.” “Bugs?” the shadow repeated. [[Previous|Page 219]] | [[Next|Page 221]]

The shadow dragged their form across the holes in the wall, swirling their murk along the sweet substance Cydia had found so intoxicating. “Ah, I see.” The inky cloud swirled in a few of the holes in particular, before Ky could see what had piqued the shadow's interest. The shadow peeled away from the wall and hovered in the air. Ky watched in utter fascination as its form seemed to congeal in the air, turning from gas to liquid. The murky substance bubbled and roiled as it hunted for a new shape. Eventually, all the commotion died down, revealing the shadow's new form: a small six-legged insect. Its segmented thorax sagged under the weight of a hexagonal protrusion that formed the abdomen. “Dat'll do,” the shadow cooed in Cydia's voice. “Hey!” the real Cydia snapped. “Don't talk like me. It's weird.” “Dis is your discovery, innit?” Cydia seemed unmoved by that logic. “Fine. Are you nerds, like, ready?” Ky couldn't tell just who the shadow was mimicking. Sure, it was calling them “nerds”, but it seemed that lots of people Kyrinna had met had done the same sooner or later. “Uh, ready for what?” Ky asked. “It's simple. We find the shokhaye down here you're talking about, and...hm. I'm not sure how to explain it. It'd be best to show you, you know?” “Shokhaye?” Zel repeated? Before Zel could get an answer, Cydia pushed her way over to the shadow. “How do we know this ain't no setup?” Cydia asked. “Ya tryin' ta trick us?” “Fool,” the shadow balked, taking flight on two pairs of translucent wings. One wingspan matched the length of their spindly, hairy body, while the other matched the width. “To take physical form is to reject the blessing of the Shrouded One. I cannot—“ Kyrinna cut the shadow off with a loud groan. “Stop,” she ordered. “You're starting to talk like Eyron. I don't care about that stuff. Just say 'I turned from an invincible shadow into a tiny, squishable bug'. We get it, it's a big risk.” [[Previous|Page 220]] | [[Next|Page 222]]

“What—“ Kyrinna cut off the shadow with a laugh. After all their taunts and promises of knowledge, it was reassuring to see them at a loss for once. “I'm very curious to know what the plan is now," Ky admitted. "Cydia, you sloshed yet?” Cydia gave a short chuckle in reply. “Nah, but it's enough of a buzz for now, innit?” she replied. “Dat's sweet stuff.” “Oh!” Zel exclaimed. She vaulted around Cydia, her eyes fixated on the rock wall. In the blink of an eye, she'd jabbed a trio of throwing knives into the wall. The hexagonal gaps let out a terrible scraping noise as Zel gathered their contents on the sharp ends of those knives. “This stuff smells sweet...and if it's something Cydia's getting drunk off of, I bet it's flammable. Just like the knives I threw when we first met.” Something about that fact spread a huge smile on Zel's face. "This could be useful." Kyrinna nodded. “You're such a fast learner, Zel,” she complimented. The acrobat had put on many dazzling performances using knowledge she'd picked up. Ky felt a small twinge of excitement imaging what she might do next. “Thanks, Ky.” The words seemed to relax Zel just as much as the alcohol had relaxed Cydia. “Is everyone ready to go, then? I wasn't here to see the way Alpidt took, but I...actually, Ky, can I talk to you real quick?” Cydia shrugged. She seemed content to drink for as long as they were there. Hence, it was trivial to move back the way they came a few feet. That was all the privacy Zel seemed to need. “What's up, nerd?” Kyrinna asked. “Well, it's just...we're going back to a place where you got really scared. If you need to go back to the Hollows, I understand.” Ky shook her head. “I'm not scared. You, me, and Cydia...we're a great team.” The group was pretty quiet after that. Zel seemed to have a spring in her step that Ky hadn't seen in a long time. She was just content to watch her friend bounce about the caverns, taking them back to where Alpidt had promised a fight with a Phantom or two. Ky wanted to ask more questions of the shadow, but they'd been shutting down so many things lately with “I can't explain that” and “I'll just show you” that it felt futile. [[Previous|Page 221]] | [[Next|Page 223]]

Zel hadn't been there for the previous expedition, but she seemed to be finding her way through the caves well enough. That prick Eyron had left some singed spots with his copper magic, an easy trail to follow. Eventually, though, that trail ran cold. “Now what?” Zel asked over her shoulder. In front of her, the groundwater had etched a deep canyon into the path. The only way forward was on one of two stone bridges. One extended along the water's edge, opening to rocky cliffs overlooking an underground lake. The other path shrank and swerved into the rock. Ky couldn't see very far into it. Ky shrugged. The burn marks had led the group deeper into the cave than she'd made it. She'd been trying to not pay too much attention to her surroundings, in case Zel was right about it resurfacing old worries. Now, though, it was clear that Zel had kept the group at such a pace that they'd rushed right through it. “Hey!” Kyrinna barked. “Shadow nerd!” As long as they were so forthcoming with such valuable information, she wanted to squeeze every valuable fact she could out of them. “Do you have a way to tell where the Phantom is?” If she could shroud her intent behind the good of the mission, all the better. “That first Phantom intercepted us...we never actually got deep enough to meet the other one.” “...hey, dat's right!” Cydia gasped. “No wonder I don't remember, huh?” The shadow hovered in Cydia's face on their solid black wings. “Ya ain't even seen it?” they asked, toying with yet another new tone to their voice. “I just said that,” Ky groaned. She gently skimmed the air in front of Cydia's face with her hand, urging the shadow back toward the tunnels. “If you know something, you better make it quick. We're wasting time, aren't we?” “...yes,” the shadow agreed, alighting on a stalagmite hanging between the two bridges. “Kyrinna, bring your light close to me.” “Why?” “Because it'll tell us which way to go, nerd.” A jolt of purple raced through the shadow's wings of darkness. “Stop asking questions and just do it.” [[Previous|Page 222]] | [[Next|Page 224]]

Kyrinna sighed. Asking questions had been keeping her calm. They'd been her ticket to push back against the powerlessness she'd felt before, against how easily the shadow had tracked her down. Still, if holding the light up could answer some questions, she could keep quiet at the shadow's request and make it happen. She made her way slowly forward, watching the rock and the shadowy insect seated atop it. The sheets of luminescent mica shuffled in her lantern as she held it aloft. She was utterly clueless as to what would happen next, and the thought of it left her feeling scared, but also strangely exhilarated. She froze a few steps away from the stalagmite and peered past her lantern. There, the shadow fanned their wings on the rock. “Hey!” she growled. “Nothing's happening!” She got no reply from the shadow. All they did was raise their abdomen, straightening out their body as best they could. “What, are you lying to me?” Kyrinna quickly covered the rest of the distance, shoving her light up against the stalagmite. The shadow made no move to react. “Wait...the shadow...” Kyrinna kept her arm steady and looked past the stalagmite, to where she'd hung its silhouette up on the wall. There, she could see the shadow's shadow, looming large along the rocks thanks to the angle she held the light in. Within the insectoid image pulsed a spark of purplish light, zipping around erratically within the confines of the light's projection. “What da...?” Cydia said, the words puffing on by as her jaw went slack. Zel stood on guard, her eyes perfectly tracking the purple spark. In fact, she seemed to see its trajectory first. Before she could raise her hand to point, the spark had already slipped downward, out of the insect's outline and into the rock's. She uttered half a syllable in surprise. Then the bug fell off its perch, its body rigid as it tumbled away from Kyrinna's light and toward the river. [[Previous|Page 223]] | [[Next|Page 225]]

“Uh...nerd?” Kyrinna gasped, leaning over the water to look for the shadow's insectoid body. “You okay?” She still heard nothing from the shadow. Instead, two slimy protrusions lashed outward from the depths of the river, steam and smoke rising from them as they wound themselves around the two bridges. Kyrinna was already running away from the sight, even as some murky shape flung itself outward. She could hear an awful racket of stone tumbling against stone, but she didn't dare turn around. “Get back!” Zel ordered, already moving to put herself between Ky and the emerging threat. In her efforts to weave past Zel, one of Ky's feet swung right into her other one as she tried to run. The mistake nearly sent her spilling into the dust, but Cydia was there to help her regain her balance. Her retreat slowed, Kyrinna chanced a glance back at whatever had appeared. Her eyes first went to the stone bridges, now completely dislodged. The slimy things had wrenched them out, leaving them hanging in the air. They swayed from the force that had freed them, twin pendulums wreathed in dust and black fog, hanging from disgusting ropes. Ky looked up, following those ropes, only to discover they were the tongues of some two-headed lizard-like beast. Its mouths gaped open under the strain of carrying the bridges, and its bulbous eyes darted around to scan the group. It had a head situated on each end of its slender body, and Ky felt like they were both staring at her. “Dat's our Phantom, innit?” Cydia asked, stepping up alongside Zel. “So now what's da plan, huh?” Ky wasn't sure. The shadow hadn't explained themself at all. For all she knew, she'd been led into a trap. Zeltencia, however, seemed to be unfettered by such thoughts. “Well,” she said, juggling two knives in one hand, her eyes transfixed on the salamander, “I'm in the Night Watch, and that's a Phantom. What do you think the plan is?” [[Previous|Page 224]] | [[Next|Page 226]]

## Chapter 33 “Well, look at it this way,” Kyrinna sighed to herself, searching her pockets for any weapons to levy against the advancing Phantom. “We'll be doing a nice thing for Melaton.” Defeating the Phantom under the Hollows would endear her to all the citizens, of Melaton, providing her a wealth of character witnesses should the Church ever put her on trial. “That's the spirit, Ky,” Zel chirped. Ky's hands flitted across the ladle she'd swiped from the kitchen earlier. Her attention drifted to unhooking it from her pocket. In that instant, she heard footsteps, and looked up to see Zel beginning her advance. Zel ran in a beeline for the lizard-like Phantom. Nothing about its sudden entrance or the stone bridges swinging from its tongues seemed to have scared Zel at all. After Zel had been run so ragged by the last Phantom they'd fought together, Ky was glad to see the pep back in her friend's step. “Hey, wait!” Cydia said from somewhere behind Ky. She hadn't even noticed she'd started running herself. “Dat ain't what I meant by plan!” Kyrinna laughed a little. She hastened back to stay close to Cydia and replied, “We're working on it, nerd!” There was no doubt in Ky's mind that Cydia was asking about a battle plan. “This is how we operate, remember? She does her circus tricks while I pinpoint a weakness.” They'd clicked in that way ever since the claw hunter in the Guillotine Wood. Ky watched Zel sprint in an intoxicating mix of curiosity and sheer awe. Zel's ponytail lashed out behind her, her dancing mane casting images of shadow against her trenchcoat. The Phantom moved around on the ceiling with six yellow-spotted legs, clinging upside-down with yellowish suction cups on its toes. Despite its size and the weight of its cargo, it moved with startling swiftness. As one of its heads swayed toward the group, so too did one of the stone bridges. By the time Ky had determined the pendulum's velocity, Zel had already jumped on top of it. “Whoa,” Ky mouthed. As if in response, Zel stood triumphantly on the swinging bridge, popping her collar. While her body remained still and coiled, her hair struggled to catch up, held aloft by forces of momentum. “Hey,” Cydia blurted, tapping Ky's shoulder. The sensation jolted her out of her reverie with a fright. “Whoa, sorry. Just, uh...ya spot a weak point yet?” [[Previous|Page 225]] | [[Next|Page 227]]

“...oh,” Kyrinna gasped. She was still reeling, after Cydia had jolted her out of her reverie. The ceiling of the passageway stood about thrice Ky's height where the Phantom had intercepted them. “Um, it's...it's pretty high up there.” She found herself distracted by a bead of sweat that had rolled off her forehead and into her eye. “Maybe, if we cut off its tongues...maybe it'll have to come down and face us?” Cydia took a long step forward, hunching down into her battle pose. “Worth tryin', innit?” With that, she too ran ahead of Kyrinna and into the fray. The Phantom staggered strangely along the ceiling. Ky wasn't sure if it was deliberate, or simply struggling with the weight of the bridges. Regardless, its movements brought its heads around in circles, and stirred the bridges in turn. Rather than jump atop the bridge, Cydia dodged it and pressed her attack from the ground. The wildspeaker whirled on her toes, sending a spray of spines behind her and toward the tongue she'd just passed. Cydia's aim seemed true, yet Ky saw no evidence of impact from where she stood. Rather than agonize over it too much, her attention flicked back to Zel, only for a wave of fear to wash over her. Zel wasn't on the swinging bridge like she'd been before. She hadn't seen where Zel had slipped off to. Against all her better judgment, Ky's feet started to move. She shuffled toward the Phantom, feeling both hesitant and resolute. The conflict seemed to be its most violent in her legs; the desire to both stay and go felt like it had lit her shins on fire. “Zel!” she called out, the fire spreading through her lungs. “Oh, Ky!” Zel's voice replied. Ky looked over to see Zel over on the wide-open path overlooking the lake. She was fanning at her face with her hand. “Zel, are you okay?” Zel nodded. “Uh...I think so. That Phantom's just really hot...Cydia's spines burnt up before they even reached its tongue.” Ky slapped her forehead. “Ugh, of course...!” She knew reptiles struggled with homeostasis, a struggle this Phantom had apparently solved. “Lizards need to stay hot!” “Yeah? How do you know that?” “I...I figured it out when I was little...” By subjecting lizards she found outside the manor to freezing temperatures, Ky barely restrained herself from adding. “But lizards can't really regulate that themselves...they have to stay in warm places to keep their bodies warm. This Phantom's not like that...” [[Previous|Page 226]] | [[Next|Page 228]]

“I'll say!” Zel said. She paused to fan herself and take a deep breath of the cool air coming off the lake. “I don't know how Cydia can stand to...Cydia!” With that, Zel planted her hands on Ky's shoulders and vaulted back into the fray. “Zel, wait!” Ky called out. It didn't stop Zel, though. She was already charging forward to Cydia's aid. Ky envied her a little; it must have been nice to not have to think so hard about every little thing. Then again, thinking was her job. Kyrinna turned back to the lake, taking a deep breath of her own. She could see why Zel had been so eager for that cool air. Ky hadn't ventured all that close to the Phantom, and yet the chill emanating from the reservoir felt like it had cleared her mind. “That's it!” she blurted. “If we can cool the Phantom down, maybe it'll slow down!” The shadow had trapped Ky in ice back at the Marsh of Illusion. She'd gladly beseech their help if they hadn't just vanished, if doing so would keep her friends safe. Then again, if they weren't around to do it— “Cydia!” Ky called out. To her credit, Cydia had evaded harm herself. The Phantom was fast, but Zel and Cydia were faster. “Yeah?” Cydia replied, forming her hair into wings to double-jump away from one of the swinging bridges. “Know any cold spells?” “Nope!” Ky growled. She'd tussled with the spider Phantom in Mt. Sorrow too; she could've picked it up then. “Well...” She thought back to Zel fanning herself, and smiled. “...oh! Just keep fanning the air with your hair, okay?” The faster air moved, the colder it felt. If Cydia couldn't chill the Phantom, the least she could do was keep herself from overheating. Cydia nodded at the instruction, keeping her hair wrapped up in winglike shapes that beat against the cavern air. Ky, meanwhile, struggled to find her own usefulness. Zel had her knives and acrobatics, and Cydia's wildspeaker powers were varied, but she had nothing but a ladle. Even so, there was definitely nothing she could do with the Phantom way up on the ceiling. [[Previous|Page 227]] | [[Next|Page 229]]

“Zel, Cydia!” Ky barked. “Everyone toward the lake!” It was cooler there, with access to water that was doubtlessly quite cold. Plus, the way the caverns opened up, the ceiling would be too high for the Phantom to exploit its height advantage. Ky led the scramble along the underground cliffs, but the others were soon overtaking her, jumping right past her on their way down a mossy path to the shore. Dutifully, the Phantom began its pursuit by plunging downward from the ceiling. A terrible ruckus and a cloud of dust blasted out from its landing. Ky turned around to see its tongues beginning to glow with such an intense heat that they seemed to soften the stone they'd been carrying. The semisolid rock had more than enough give to let the Phantom's tongues out from beneath it. The Phantom's rock-gray skin had a greasy shimmer to it that seemed unhindered by the telltale ebon smog otherwise choking out the group's lanterns. It turned one head toward the group, one mottled by a splatter of yellow across its eyes, and gave chase with terrifying speed. It was that speed Ky was out to diminish. If its movements could be more torpid, Cydia and Zel wouldn't be stuck on the defensive. Indeed, its own descent to the lake shore seemed to slow bit by bit in the chill of the groundwater. It had laid so dormant on the group's first trek underground that they hadn't even noticed it. Granted, letting it retreat back into the water would make it harder to harm it, but Zel and Cydia were professionals. Ky figured they'd just kill the thing before then. To their credit, they were on the same page. Zel let out a small grunt as she jumped toward the Phantom. Its tongue lashed out, meeting only empty air where Zel had once stood, while she introduced her knives to its face. They stabbed into the Phantom, and were quickly enveloped by steam billowing from the wounds. Zel's leap ended right on its tongue, but before she could move her feet, the tongue wrapped around her. “Zel!” Ky shrieked, drowned out by Zel's own cry of pain. She ran to help as Zel took a throwing knife in each hand, desperately slashing herself free as the Phantom's tongue began glowing brighter and brighter. Zel's trenchcoat and pants would keep the heat off her skin, but not for long, if it was enough to soften up stone. “Get dat tongue offa her!” Cydia roared, sprinting over with her skin already starting to glow. “Dat's my job, innit?” [[Previous|Page 228]] | [[Next|Page 230]]

Ky gasped; normally, it was her that remembered all the wildspeaker tricks, and Cydia who forgot them. This time, it was the other way around, and the glow was Ky's reminder of the paralytic agent Cydia could fill her skin with. A quick dusting of that agent caused the Phantom's tongue to fall limp, letting Zel kick and slash her way out. “Dip that leg in the water!” Ky ordered. She hoisted her ladle menacingly. It was up to her and Cydia to keep the beast busy for a bit while Zel treated her potential burns. “Cool it off!” “Right!” Zel replied. She twirled and handsprung out of the fray, doing her best to keep weight off the injured leg. It wasn't strictly necessary, but if it helped with pain, it certainly made sense. The Phantom spun around, ostensibly hoping to use its other tongue in the fight. This other face was more yellow than gray, and seemed hesitant to come out swinging, what with the first tongue still dragging in the dust. In fact, rather than attempt such a move, the Phantom seemed to be retreating. “Hey, it's backin' off!” Cydia gasped, having noticed the same. Then again, it had two heads, so who was to say which direction was “back”? That thought froze Ky in her tracks. “Watch out!” she snapped. “This is no retreat!” Indeed, much like Zel, the Phantom had taken to the water. It dipped one mouth into the lake, occasionally tilting back to swallow since Cydia's glitter had numbed so much of its esophagus. It opened the mouth facing the group, where its tongue sat, glowing brightly with heat, and vomited the water it took from the other side. The water mostly came out as great clouds of scalding steam, and Ky raised her lab coat collar to defend her face from burns as best she could. With the pain it brought to even the slightest sliver of Ky's exposed skin, she couldn't help but worry about— “Cydia!” “Ha!” Cydia balked. Ky peered out to see her flapping her hair, keeping the bulk of the burning vapors at bay. “Toasty! Just like Alpidt's baths!” [[Previous|Page 229]] | [[Next|Page 231]]

In fact, Cydia was slowly approaching the Phantom, furiously fanning her hair against the steamy winds the Phantom spewed at her. For a moment, her skin gave off another glow, but she must have noticed along with Ky that the neurotoxin was getting swept up in the Phantom's winds, and blown away. She growled in displeasure and stopped shedding, though she kept the glow. While she kept the Phantom busy, Ky scurried over to Zel. “Feeling better?” she asked quickly, already grabbing at Zel's chest. “H-hey!” Zel gasped, crossing her arms. “Relax, nerd, I wanna take a knife and go stab that thing!” “...oh.” Zel relented, quickly gathering up a handful of throwing knives to pass to Ky. “Take good care of them!” Ky shook her head. “I only need one.” She took a knife off the top and skulked back toward the Phantom. Two varieties of fog now filled the air around it, obscuring her form as she moved to the drinking head. As soon as she got there, she plunged the knife into its neck area, pushing through its sinewy body with all her strength. A plume of steam blasted her in the face from the wound, like it had before, but she was undeterred. Indeed, it felt so good to finally help her friends that she couldn't help but let out a laugh as she pulled the knife out and picked another spot to drive it in. Again and again, she yanked the knife out and drove it back into the Phantom's body. Her face and collar quickly took on a deep red hue as the bloody mist sprayed all over her, while the color faded from the Phantom. When she ran out of spots to stab on that end, Kyrinna ran over to the other head, eager to give Cydia a break. The Phantom's skin had turned the same black as its fog. Ky plunged the knife into its other neck, and the Phantom exploded. It was so sudden and so forceful that it blew Ky right off her feet, leaving her disoriented and confused, sitting in a humid and stifling darkness. The shadows had grown so thick, she could barely see her own feet, much less anything else around her. “Nerd!” her voice rang out. Before she could figure out whether or not she'd even been the one to say it, a purple spark flickered into view in front of her. [[Previous|Page 230]] | [[Next|Page 232]]

## Chapter 34 “You again!” Ky growled the moment she saw the purple spark glittering around her. It was the only thing she could see, since the Phantom's murky fog had obscured everything else. “Where were you when the Phantom attacked, nerd?” “In the Phantom!” the living shadow replied, still communicating to Kyrinna in her own voice. “Duh...!” “What, was that your plan? Get swallowed by the Phantom? What was that supposed to accomplish?” The shadow went silent for a little while. “...you really don't know anything.” Ky moved to wobble to her feet, but to her shock, her legs pushed out into empty air. The sensation made her brain go haywire. She lapsed into a panic, and yet even through it, she felt none of the usual sensations that went with falling. There was no lurch in her stomach, no vestibular signal, and certainly no way to verify one way or the other visually. “Dat's enough, innit?” the shadow scolded her. Kyrinna felt a constriction on her legs, immobilizing them. She was only squeezed for a moment, just long enough to get her to stop kicking. When she did, she felt grounded, as if something had been placed underfoot for her to stand on. “I forgot how...corporeal you humans can be.” Kyrinna could tell it wasn't the real Cydia talking because she'd never use words like “corporeal”. The shadow seemed to enjoy shifting its voice freely, just as it did its very shape. “That's enough,” Ky growled. “Quit screwing around!” “But it's fun...!” The shadow had swapped over to a Zel-like timbre. This shadow was treating her like a plaything, and she absolutely despised it. “Too bad! We've got a job to do, nerd! The other Phantom's getting away...!” [[Previous|Page 231]] | [[Next|Page 233]]

The purple spark jolted and juked through the air, burning trails into Ky's vision. These trails eventually formed a rough image drawn upon the void, a picture that resembled the insectoid form the shadow had previously taken. “We have to wait for the other shotant to finish their deliberations,” they explained. “Shotant?” Ky repeated. She wasn't sure what relevance the insect had, but the word had grabbed her curiosity even more. “Wait, other...so you're a shotant, I'm guessing?” “That's right!” After a brief pause, the purple spark seemed to pulse with excitement. “Wait, that's it! I...hm, Kyrinna, can I ask you a favor?” Ky turned away from the shadow, hiding her face as she mulled it over. They'd tortured her so callously in the past, she couldn't imagine what line they'd crossed that they'd check for her consent. She was a little afraid to find out, but— “What is it?” she asked. “Well...I'd like access to your memories, if that's okay.” “My memories?” Kyrinna crossed her arms and let a huff of air through her nose. “Stop talking like that. Just ask me to tell you something.” “No, I mean direct access.” “That's—!” The voice the shadow had taken on this time was a feminine one, weathered by age. She knew for a fact she'd heard that voice before, and so had Alpidt, when she was stitching the innkeeper back together. The shock of hearing the voice and the time-sensitive medical procedure had kept her from thinking too hard about the voice last time she'd heard it. There in the dark, though, she had no choice but to confront the truth of the voice. For one, it sounded just like— “Grandma.” The shotant took their purple spark and seared another image into Kyrinna's vision, a caricature of Grandma Syrup. Growing old had been rough on Syrup's skin; it seemed to be stretched too tightly in some places, and yet hung loosely from others. The shadow had captured that perfectly in their drawing, using the dark space to help portray stark shadows around Syrup's cheekbones and knuckles, as well as in random spots around the cheeks to represent prominent wrinkles. “Not only does it heal wounds,” the shotant said, still using Grandma Syrup's voice, “but Phantoms think it smells like a really nasty fart.” [[Previous|Page 232]] | [[Next|Page 234]]

Kyrinna turned away again. The shadow seemed to insist on dragging its spark in front of her, yet she didn't want them to see her facial contortions. The quip they'd made about flatulence was a direct quote from Kyrinna's grandmother. It was such a ridiculous thing to say about her patented healing balm that Kyrinna couldn't help but remember it. There was no question that the shotant had plucked the words directly from her mind. Dredging up all these memories of Syrup made Kyrinna want to cry, though, and she was trying to fight her emotions. “You've made your point,” she whispered. “There is no divinity in human thought,” they said, mercifully shifting their voice from Grandma's to Eyron's. She never thought she'd be glad to hear that prick, but it beat dwelling on the past. “Thoughts and memories are etched and mailed in electrical impulses.” Just the sound of that prick put Ky in a bit of a foul mood, which was probably more practical for the situation. After all, this smoky prick had gone and pilfered Ky's memories of the only person who had been there for her as a child, just to prove they could. “Prick!” Kyrinna thought back to Cydia, and when she'd thought of punching the apparition, clearly frustrated she couldn't. Ky was feeling the exact same way. “You have the power to read these...impulses...and you use it to torture me? What's the matter with you?!” For awhile, Kyrinna got no response. Then, eventually, the shadow let out a slow and quiet, “...torture?” “Well, yeah! Grandma died a horrible death at the hands of the Church! I'll never be able to see her again, learn from her again...she'll never be able to meet Zel and Cydia...they took everything away from her, from me, for stupid reasons! Can't you read that off my impulses? I think about that every time I think about Grandma...and it hurts...” Ky tried to stick to the good memories she had of Grandma Syrup. That's what she'd told Zel, when the two of them were sharing their respective traumas. Even so, inevitably, all those memories were themselves tarnished by one simple fact. The more Ky clung to memories of Grandma Syrup, the more painfully aware she became that they were just that—memories. Normally, all she did was try to think of something else, before the grim reality of Syrup's death set in. There, trapped in the darkness, with the shadow's image of Syrup emblazoned so brightly that it persisted even when she closed her eyes, there was nothing else to think of. [[Previous|Page 233]] | [[Next|Page 235]]

“...uh-oh,” the shadow muttered. “Some mischievous shotant love to play such pranks on traveling humans...stealing a single coin or a sock, casting repetitive memories of music across their mind, whispering their name to them...” Another long pause filled the air. Kyrinna opened her eyes, watching as the purple spark split into the living shadow's characteristic flame-like eyes. “Kyrinna...is this what the humans mean when they say these things...drive them crazy? Are they...tortured?” “What?” The shadow's logic collided with her own. In the resulting pileup, it was hard to make sense of anything. “Uh...I mean, sometimes we exaggerate things, but yeah...” If someone were to be subjected to such things constantly, she could easily see how someone's will might break under that stress. “...you can't just go playing with people's memories like that. Especially if you're this clueless as to which ones will hurt them.” As if to question her, the shotant's eyes divided further, forming the rows of burning orbs Ky had seen in that Church nerd's Phantom steed. “Yes, I'm still mad about that!” she confirmed. “Stop it!” The eyes swirled around a bit, merging back into a single spark. “Well,” the shotant said, “this explains things. I don't know why you'd hold on to something so painful, but we don't need to play your memories back to you...just to read them.” “What? No!” Kyrinna's reflex was to tantrum a bit. When she stomped her foot in the darkness, it gave way beneath her. Her brain told her she was losing her balance, but still, she felt no sensation of falling. Regardless, her other foot had held fast, and she fought to right herself based on that. “I just told you, that stuff hurts! Aren't you sorry you did it?” “Should I be?” Ky stammered out a few angry syllables, not even deigning to form them into words. “Yes!” “And yet, all the pain and death you wrought in your lab, without an iota of regret—“ Kyrinna threw her hands up. “This isn't about me! But if you apologize, I'll let you look at my memories, just so we can shut up about it already!” [[Previous|Page 234]] | [[Next|Page 236]]

The spark hovered closer to Ky. “Very well. I apologize for causing such pain.” “Nope!” Kyrinna shook her head. “That's half an apology!” Her memories wandered back to Alpidt, and the advice she'd gotten about dealing with Zel. Telling the truth once wasn't good enough for that scenario. “What were your intentions? What are you gonna do from now on to make it better?” “You were right...to read and replicate impulses is one thing, but I don't know what effect they'll have on a human. And you humans are so fragile, you know? I'm going to try to not use this ability without permission anymore. Good plan, innit, nerd?” Kyrinna shrugged. In truth, it was hard for her to know what the right thing to do would even be. After all, this was the first time she'd ever met a mind-reader. She knew deep down that she was not the one to ask to set any kind of moral precedent. “I suppose so. So...” She took a deep breath and continued. “...go ahead. Read my mind. what do I do?” “Nothing,” the shotant answered. “Just...let your mind wander. We'll read what we need to out of it.” “Which is what, exactly?” Kyrinna's question went unanswered. Instead, the purple spark split into two, seeping into her head through her ears. As the shadow slithered through her ear canals, she was overcome yet again with a brief yet vivid falling sensation. She'd felt it before at bedtime; such jolts would occasionally snap her out of sleeping, just as she was finally about to drift off. In fact, once the sensation passed and had her thinking about sleep, she realized just how tired she'd been from all her exertions. If her instructions were to let her mind wander, sleep seemed as good a way as any of doing so. She eased herself into a sitting position, unsure of when or how her invisible foothold might vanish again. Once she was seated securely, though, she closed her eyes. No one needed to tell her twice to keep her mind off of everything that had hap— “Okay, we're done!” [[Previous|Page 235]] | [[Next|Page 237]]

Kyrinna shook her head rapidly. “Wait, what?” she gasped. The purple spark fled out of her ears and rematerialized in front of her. “C'mon, nerd!” the shotant teased her. “You've seen the Church's 'divine' lightning...you know how fast an electrical impulse can go!” True to the shadow's words, whatever they'd done had been quick and painless. Kyrinna couldn't perceive any difference from before they'd begun, apart from some things that felt abruptly pressing in her mind. She was picturing the Phantoms she'd encountered in vivid detail, including the one under the Church nerd's control. There was no way to be sure, but she guessed that these things were brought to the forefront of her mind by the shotant's meddling. “Who's the Shrouded One?” The shadow had mentioned the name once in passing, with all the reverence and mystique Eyron reserved for his deity. It hadn't struck her as odd until after the shotant had rifled through her thoughts. “Were you trying to see what I know...?” “Jeez, you are smart,” the shadow marveled, ignoring the question itself. “And you and your friends have quite a history of prevailing in combat against the shokhaye. This is why we've agreed to join forces with you.” Kyrinna scoffed. “I thought we already made that deal, nerd.” “You don't understand.” Before Ky could mull over it any further, she felt herself falling again. She landed with a harsh thud on the underground coast, back at the lake where she'd stabbed the Phantom. She could hear Zel and Cydia fretting for her. She wanted to call out to them, but she found herself mesmerized by the shifting shadows swirling through the cavern. She couldn't form a verbal answer to her friends' worries; she could only grasp for them while her eyes remained transfixed on whatever the shotant were brewing. The shadows slowly congealed into a physical form, much like they had when the one shotant had turned into a bug. Indeed, the form they'd taken was similar to the insectoid shape they'd chosen, and the one they'd drawn in the void. This one, though, was far larger. Its thorax was split into countless segments, fluttering like a ribbon as motions of the front of the thing rippled down its body. At the end was the same hexagonal piece, now with the size and weight of a battering ram. Six legs and four wings seemed to no longer be enough; every segment now bore two wings and two legs. [[Previous|Page 236]] | [[Next|Page 238]]

Ky struggled to total them up, but the newly-formed creature was soon coiled up on the cliffs, looking down at them with its big red compound eyes. It clicked its powerful mandibles together, not that the gang needed any help paying attention to it. “You're lucky, nerds!” the shadow called out as black fog oozed out around it. One of the facets in the monster's left eye flashed a bright purple. “I don't think any human's witnessed the birth of a Phantom before!” “What?” the three humans barked, nearly in unison. In response, the Phantom laughed at them in Kyrinna's voice. “What'd you think the black clouds were? You humans live in cities...we shotant live in shokhaye!” Zel let out a soft gasp. “That's why you're so eager to join forces with us,” she reasoned, “to save your people from that guy's control!” “It's settled.” The shotant seemed to gloss over her reaction entirely. “The shotant of Sansho-oni have agreed to disband their shokhaye and join forces with me to found Abribiene, the Honeyed Whip! And in turn, Abribiene is with you nerds! We saw it in your mind, Kyrinna...you three have so much experience in battling both shokhaye and the Scintillites. You're the best allies we could ask for, in our mission to save both our people from this Church wildspeaker and his heresy.” Kyrinna was eager to help, right up until that last word. “Look, I'll help,” she agreed, “just...no more talking like that Eyron prick, please...?” It would be a long trip indeed if they kept that up. [[Previous|Page 237]] | [[Next|Page 239]]

## Chapter 35 “Trust me, nerd,” Kyrinna balked at Abribiene as they coiled themself down directly in front of the Melaton Hollows. She swung a leg over the Phantom's body and hopped to the ground. “Do like I told you, and they'll understand.” She could already hear a dull panic echoing against the windows. “Hello? Alpidt, you in there?” She could see some shapes crowding in front of the windows, but of the ones she could see, no one was looking at her. She turned back to Abribiene, then atop it to see Zel and Cydia. They'd struck a pose together where they stood opposite each other on one of the Phantom's segments near the head. Abribiene's translucent wings shimmered in a pale rainbow with the lanterns held so close. Those colors intensified around Cydia as she began to glow, casting her neurotoxin into a glittering cloud. Zel's usual coat gave her more than enough protection to keep her stance. Kyrinna smiled up at them. No doubt they'd been able to create a signal to the tenants of the Hollows with their spectacle, one that seemed to have caused a ceasefire. “They're a friendly Phantom!” Ky shouted through cupped hands, not taking any chances. “They're gonna help us get your barrier crystal!” Unfortunately, the first person who came to greet her wasn't Alpidt at all. “Preposterous!” that prick Eyron bellowed, audible even over the front doors of the Hollows banging open. He traveled down the road with surprising speed, skidding to a halt mere inches from Kyrinna. “Step away from the monster,” he threatened, his fingers already closed around the handle of his sword. “All of you!” “Shut yer yap, will ya, copper?” Cydia hollered, already decoupling from Zel. She twisted her hair into wings with her powers and jumped off the Phantom, using the wings to slow her descent. “Dis fella's with us.” Cydia put a little sway into her hips as she walked. Ky could hear the shokhaye fidgeting in the grass behind her, a subtle shifting moving to the same beat. “Your Church buddy got a ride, so now we got one too.” [[Previous|Page 238]] | [[Next|Page 240]]

Cydia's hair twisted into winglike shapes once again. She gave a little hop and flapped the wings straight down. As she did so, Abribiene pushed themself airborne as well, hovering there as the wildspeaker continued to move forward. They were performing their role admirably. The glow of Cydia's skin cut through the fog, and the shotant, already so practiced in mimicking human movements, seemed to dance along with her. The performance had been Zel's idea, but Ky had choreographed it. She wanted a simple display that would get the point across in a hurry, and it was sure working on Eyron. She could see the terror quickly fill his body, causing him to stagger backwards, away from the wildspeaker and Phantom moving in sync. She couldn't help but revel in his pain. “C'mon, prick,” she sighed. “If you think this is bad...that other Church nerd is doing it too, plus he left Melaton to die, so he's gotta be even worse. Now shut up and get out of our way. We gotta talk to Alpidt about the healing balm supply.” Even if she were in the mood for that prick—even if such a thing were possible—she had no time for him. The Phantom steed was far too quick. Eyron's incessant blubbering would give the thing a long enough head-start to lead them right off the continent. Kyrinna's hand seemed to itch as it gripped the ladle. As much as she'd like to clobber him out of the way, there was no time for that either, but if he pushed the issue— “If that's truly how it is,” Eyron snapped, “I would have to accompany you to make the arrest.” “What? You're a stupid prick...why would I even want you to come?” Eyron raised an eyebrow. “What do I care what you think? I have Scintilla's divine will to enact. You will take me to the rogue templar and his foul creature, or I will commandeer your Phantom by force.” Kyrinna took another step forward. “Go ahead,” she said, her voice completely flat. “But as soon as you so much as try...everyone here is on my side, even the Phantom. I'm sure even you must know how that would turn out, you egotistical prick.” “You're bluffing.” Eyron stared right at her as he slowly drew his blade. She could tell he was testing her words. He'd barely managed to edge the steel out of the sheath before a projectile smashed against it, the sound of metal on metal ringing out. [[Previous|Page 239]] | [[Next|Page 241]]

“What's going on down here?” Zeltencia asked as she fell from atop Abribiene and down to the street, to intercept Eyron. She'd thrown a knife at his sword in midair. When she landed, she widened her stance to further impede Eyron. “You're not thinking of killing this Phantom, are you? We need their help! Melaton needs their help!” The impact had frozen Eyron in the middle of drawing his sword, and he'd stayed that way well into Zel's words. He regarded the situation in silence for awhile longer. Then, his hands left his sword. “I was merely asking your friend if I could join you. I know I made a mess of the last joint mission I had with the Night Watch, but...you're with the Night Watch. Would you give me the chance to try again?” Zel shrugged. “I guess?” she replied. “I didn't even go on that mission. You've always had it out for Ky, though...it's up to her if she wants that kind of vibe around, you know?” Zel looked over to Kyrinna for guidance. She wasn't entirely sure what Zel had meant, but she guessed well enough to shake her head. Zel gave her a short nod and turned back to Eyron. “She's really going to need a mental break before we do battle. She can't have you come along.” Zel didn't play any of the games Ky and Eyron had. She already had three knives at the ready. Eyron quailed under Zeltencia's energy. It was a different sort of agony he'd summoned in himself, but one Kyrinna enjoyed the sight of, all the same. “You'll bring the barrier crystal directly back, will you?” “What else would I do?” Eyron shook his head. “Don't play dumb. Even at that party, I heard the others griping about it. They think it an injustice that the Church hasn't granted the Night Watch the blessing of the barrier crystals, that their campus is left exposed to monsters. And seeing Melaton deal with that...I'm starting to see their point. But then how can I trust you not to steal Melaton's crystal for yourself?” Zel scoffed at the very thought. “Because it's Melaton's!” Kyrinna groaned. She'd been happy for Zel's intervention at first, but then she'd dragged word after word out of Eyron. Kyrinna shook her head and weaved around the others as they argued. She had important matters to discuss. Fortunately, Eyron seemed too invested in in his own voice than stopping her, so she left Zel to keep him so tangled up in himself, while she went looking for Alpidt. [[Previous|Page 240]] | [[Next|Page 242]]

“Kyrinna, darling...!” Alpidt said, a little surprised. She'd been in the first place Ky had checked—her own home, in the large complex on the ground floor of the Hollows. “I just put Soric to sleep...you'll have to be quiet.” “Oh, okay.” She'd seen what happened to the last nerds who disobeyed Alpidt's rules. “I gotta talk to you.” “Clearly...” Alpidt shooed Kyrinna out of her home, urging her back toward the main lobby. Some citizens of Melaton were mulling about the place. They were ostensibly on guard duty, but a few of them leaned on the front counter, where some of them had moved the guestbook aside to make room for a card game. If they had been afraid of Abribiene before, they certainly weren't now. “Now!" Alpidt huffed, snapping Ky's attention back to her. "Why did you barge into my home like that? Don't you know how to knock?” Kyrinna shook her head. She only had a passing familiarity with the concept. “I'm going with Zel and Cydia...we're gonna go get your barrier crystal.” “Darling...!” “Yeah, so I came to ask about your herb stash. I wanna take some healing balm for the trip, but I don't wanna take too much from you. You've got no way to resupply.” Alpidt raised an eyebrow. “My goodness, Kyrinna,” she cooed. “You seemed so hesitant when we first met, and now—“ “Nuh-uh!” a youthful voice interrupted. Desman came in behind Kyrinna and squeezed past her to stand with his mom. “This is how Syrup sounded when she cooked her potions, too! She's really smart...!” “Is that so...?” Alpidt turned away from Kyrinna to face Desman. “Desman...was there no ladle in the Hollows kitchen either?” Desman shook his head. “Oh, I didn't finish looking. I heard people saying Syrup's friends tamed a Phantom, and that she wanted to see you, so I came to tell you.” A short silence hung over the group. Then, “Thank you, son.” [[Previous|Page 241]] | [[Next|Page 243]]

Alpidt gave a small chuckle as she turned back to Kyrinna. “And thank you, darling," she continued, "for being so considerate of our situation. How long do you think it will take to get the barrier crystal back?” Kyrinna bit her lip. After Alpidt had harped on honesty so much, there was no way she could say anything but the truth. “I don't know," she admitted. Alpidt shook her head. “Then it's hard to know how much of my herbs I'll need to keep. But...are you taking the templar with you?” “No!” The word came out in one sharp breath, fleeing Kyrinna's impending laughter. “Oh, come on, please...? He almost started a fight because he wouldn't stop proselytizing. I can't have him or anyone else causing any trouble when I've got the whole town in one building. The situation is far too delicate, darling.” Kyrinna put an arm out to steady herself against the rough tunnel wall. “Sorry, nerd,” she balked. “I can't have him causing trouble for me either! I've got a town to save. Ask Zel—she says I need all the mental rest I can get.” Alpidt seemed to tense up at the thought for a moment. “...that is a good point too. Ky...do you mind if I think it over myself for a bit? I also have something I feel like I ought to give you that'll help you...I'll just be a moment.” Kyrinna shrugged. She really just wanted to get moving, but she apparently had to wait for Alpidt to dig up this gift anyway. She was content to wait in silence. She'd done everything she could up to that moment. There was nothing left to think about, to react to, just the cool stone of the passageway and the— “So it's true?” Desman blurted. “You caught a Phantom?” In truth, Kyrinna had difficulty putting the things she'd seen to words. Abribiene, or at least one shotant now housed in the shokhaye's collective, had certainly claimed to have the same objective. It wasn't a negotiation in any terms Kyrinna had ever known before, but it was the closest her mind came to the concept. “We made a deal,” she eventually said. [[Previous|Page 242]] | [[Next|Page 244]]

Desman let out a long, awed gasp. “You talked to a Phantom?” he asked. “...yeah,” Ky eventually replied. Again, it didn't wholly match the truth of the matter, but it's as close as she could get. “That's Abribiene...some nerd from the Church is controlling another Phantom, and Abribiene wants to break the spell.” “Wow, so you do know magic! Just like the others say!” “What others...?” “Oh!” Desman poked his head around, trying to glance past Kyrinna. He didn't seem to find what he was looking for. “Um, just other folks from Melaton. I was asking about you, Syrup, and the guys with the cards said they met you in the swamp, and you cooked magic for them. But they said you were old...you don't look old. Did you use magic to look younger?” Before Kyrinna could answer, Alpidt's laughter echoed through the rough-hewn hall. “She sure can!” the innkeeper hollered as she returned to her spot next to Desman. “Zel told me about that technique of yours with the talc powder...so it's just abrasive? It left my skin so soft, but also so dry and irritated...I must have missed the magic.” Kyrinna couldn't help but laugh. “I'm sorry, I wish I had time to discuss it now, but we gotta catch the Phantom. So how's about you just give me some healing balm, and then I'll come back with the crystal and discuss it?” Alpidt sighed and took a step toward Kyrinna. Her fingers were wrapped around something, but Ky couldn't see what it was. “That's a huge favor you're doing for all of Melaton,” she began. “You know how it is here...favors for favors.” Alpidt guided Ky's hands away from her sides, and pressed the object she had into Ky's palm. The moment the angular glass began to press subtly against her skin, she knew exactly what it was. “I once had a traveler pay his tab at the Hollows with a set of these little glass bottles," Alpidt explained anyway. "He told me they came from Irae. I've always been curious if that's true...but either way, the glass is such excellent quality. And if anyone's going to get some truly good use of them, it'll be you.” [[Previous|Page 243]] | [[Next|Page 245]]

Kyrinna tried to smile at the thought, but the logistics just weren't adding up in her head. “...am I supposed to only bring one little vial of healing balm?” she seethed. After all of Alpidt's pomp, she'd expected a much larger reward for all her troubles. That, and she was worried that Cydia would eat two bottles' worth of healing balm before she remembered it's not to be eaten. Alpidt shook her head. “It's a set of eight,” she reassured Ky. Indeed, somewhere along the line, she'd passed a small box to Desman. Ky only noticed when it was time for him to give it back, so it could be passed to her in turn. Kyrinna took the box in her hands. It didn't prevent her grin from faltering. “Gimme some of those spices you were throwing around, and it's a deal.” “Hold it...if there's an emergency, I'll need my spices as much as I need healing. But...” Alpidt moved her hands back to the box, tapping it gently with her fingers. “...while I was fetching these vials for you, I thought some more about our impasse with Eyron...take him out of here, and I'll send you off with some spices too.” Kyrinna pouted at the suggestion. “This is just too important, Alpidt, I can't have him screwing everything up when we fight the Church.” Alpidt shook her head and moved even closer to Kyrinna. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she said, “Darling...I only asked you to take him out of Melaton. I never said he had to come with you on your mission.” "What are you suggesting?" "Nothing I'm willing to talk about in front of my son." Desman gasped and looked up at Alpidt after she said that, but her only reply to him was to rub a hand in his hair affectionately. She kept her eyes on Kyrinna as she added, "I won't be nosy about Eyron's fate, darling." [[Previous|Page 244]] | [[Next|Page 246]]

## Chapter 36 “We'll be spotted any moment now,” Zel said. Ky couldn't even tell who, if anyone, the words were particularly meant for. She hadn't turned away from the horizon, which had only begun to suggest the existence of the Marquis' chapel. Flying only made it more visible, as the lights set up all over the facility glinted like jewels crowning the night. The group had put together something between a sack and a hammock to travel in. The knots Zel and Cydia had tied to keep the bedsheets in place were holding perfectly. Alpidt had provided some flimsy material, though, lots of old bedding that had to be overlapped in layers and patterns. The hodgepodge of fabric held up fine, though it seemed to struggle with the weight of Eyron's armor. The sight of it bummed Ky out; she was hoping he'd just fall right through. Alpidt had suggested they ditch Eyron somewhere, but they hadn't found a chance to do so. “It's all your stupid fault,” she hissed at Eyron. “You said you could track that Church nerd.” “And I very well could have,” he replied, “had you not taken so long in Melaton. Now his trail has grown cold.” "Well, if he doesn't turn up here, we'll take a different barrier crystal back to Melaton...and then maybe we'll go raze the Grand Church. How's that sound, you prick?" The Grand Church was far to the east, but Luman had set up his fortress on the western end of the continent. Eyron didn't answer Kyrinna's taunts, so she busied herself with examining the chapel, looking for a way in. Despite being as well-lit and ornately decorated as any public church, this one was remote, guarded, and— “So how da heck we gettin' in?” Cydia asked. “No way dat copper ain't got a barrier crystal of his own, right?” Abribiene's pace slowed. “I can feel it from here, nerd,” they snapped. Despite the rushing air all around, the shokhaye's words were just as clear as Ky's very thoughts. She let out a low growl. She hadn't really given them permission to communicate with them like that, but then again, she wasn't sure how else would they do so, flying around as they were. “This might be as close as I can get.” [[Previous|Page 245]] | [[Next|Page 247]]

Ky found a flaw with Abribiene's flight plan before the thought had even finished percolating. “It's kinda spherical,” she said of the barrier crystal. “The closer to the ground we get, the further away it'll drive you.” She already detested her next question, but there was nothing else she could do but turn to Eyron. “...alright, prick, how do we get in?” “Are you blind?” Eyron balked. He gestured beyond the folds of their pouch, toward a garish gate. It was absolutely spackled with lights, and painted in a way that further enhanced the yellowish glow of the Church lights. A large wooden drawbridge stretched out over a nearby canyon to meet the glimmering archway. She couldn't miss it, but nor could she take the suggestion seriously. “What, you think they'll let us walk in the front door, take a crystal for free, and walk back out? You think they won't raise the drawbridge the moment they see a Phantom? You're so brainless...let me open up your idiot skull and double-c—“ “Okay, you're angry,” Eyron interrupted her. She seethed at his insolence. “There's no need for such theatrics.” “Theatrics?” Ky wanted to lunge at that prick, but that kind of stress risked ripping a hole in the fabrics, and tossing them both into freefall. “You're the one that never shuts up. It's always goddess this and heathen that...no one cares!” Eyron turned away from Kyrinna, though she could still see a dumb grin on his idiot face. “And with you...it's always nerd this and prick that. What gain is there in saying such things?” Ky stuck her nose up a bit at the question. “You're the only one I call a prick, because...you are a prick.” “Nerd”, on the other hand, was simply a word that came easily to her. She'd heard it a lot back when Irae was still around. In fact, she hadn't really heard the word anywhere else. When she had, though, it was the only thing she'd been called. Before she could dwell on that, though, Zel was shifting in her spot. “Ky, you're getting really wound up,” she cautioned. [[Previous|Page 246]] | [[Next|Page 248]]

“But you're right," Zel admitted. Kyrinna couldn't help but smirk at being right, whatever she'd been right about. "They won't let us in and out so easily. Think, Eyron...if this is where the other templar brought Melaton's crystal, he's probably told them all about you. And...was he the one that hit you, or the other one?” Zel shook her head. “Either way...is there another way into the chapel?” Rather than lash out like he did with Ky, Eyron seemed to legitimately contemplate Zel's logic. “Perhaps.” “Perhaps ain't da password, innit?” Cydia cut in. “C'mon, all burglars know, there ain't never just one way in...!” Zel seemed to have an idea already. “If we only had more rope,” she sighed. She didn't follow it up with anything, which was probably for the better. It'd take a lot of rope to scale the canyon wall, and it's not like the Church would just let them do that, either. “...there might be another way,” Eyron said slowly. The group came to a landing in a small thicket. The damp, loamy smell of the soil wasn't quite the same scent as the swamp, but it was outdoorsy and natural enough that it put Ky at ease. Abribiene stuck out among the thick reeds they'd roosted in, but the others were wholly concealed by the tan stalks huddled around them. “The Path of Salvation...” Ky and Abribiene growled in perfect synchronicity. “I hate when you talk like that,” she said. “Just tell us where to go already.” Eyron shook his head. “Well, that's what it's called. I do not know its exact location. I never warranted such terrifying discipline. Those who stray from Scintilla's holy path are doomed to walk the Path.” The templar met Ky's burning gaze, and shrugged. “That is to say...the plateau under the chapel has been hollowed out and made into a labyrinth.” Zel gave Eyron a wide smile. “So you do remember something useful...!” she said. “Thanks, Eyron. So this labyrinth, it leads into the chapel? Or at least up there somewhere...?” Eyron nodded. “It's said a holy beast lives there that kills the wicked and allows passage to the just. Those who set foot in the chapel anew are assumed to have Her forgiveness. The rest of the Church has no choice but to trust Her judgment, and reinstate the transgressor back into the Order.” Cydia gave a short laugh. “How 'bout dat?” she said, raising a tankard toward the chapel. “If we walk da path, we're off da hook, right?” [[Previous|Page 247]] | [[Next|Page 249]]

Eyron was caught off-guard, though whether it was Cydia's logic or just her arm wrapping around him, it was hard to say. “I—“ “Hey, she's right!” Ky agreed. “You just said it, prick...only the holy survive your stupid path! So when we do this, I'm officially not a heretic anymore.” Ky walked up confidently to Eyron and flicked his nose. “So you better use that word while you can!” Ky was so busy letting out a joyous cackle that she almost missed Zel's next question. “So where's this Path start, then?” Of course, the first of the templars were already upon them before they could do too much thinking. Ky blinked. They weren't after her at all—they were rushing toward Abribiene. “Look out, bug-nerd!” she warned the shokhaye. She'd only just managed to point when Abribiene flicked their tail, effortlessly slapping the vanguard through the brush. The thick stalks were flattened along the entire arc of their tail, while the only sign the templars were there was a narrow trail of cut reeds. That, and the horrible noise of the impact, a crack doubtlessly audible from the chapel. “I know,” they said, coiling their tail back up. “Thanks, though.” It was a shame about the barrier. Kyrinna loved being the brains of the group, but having a being with Abribiene's sheer power among her playthings would've been a real rush. “Don't go too far,” she urged them. She gave them a friendly smile and wave. “I'll try to shut the barrier off once we're in. Bet you've never seen the inside of a church, huh?” Abribiene considered the possibility in silence. If only Eyron had been so contemplative. “Absolutely not,” he barked. “I'm willing to bite my tongue when it comes to criminals, but a Phantom? Why would I defile holy ground so?” Before she could deal with his gripes, though, Cydia was already weaving effortlessly through the reeds. “Cydia, wait!” Zel said. She gave chase leap by leap. “Where are you going?” “Over there!” Whoever the other voice was that answered instead of Cydia, it was hard to hear over all the clanking of steel that accompanied it. [[Previous|Page 248]] | [[Next|Page 250]]

“Hail, fellow templars!” Eyron called out, hustling ahead to intercept the incoming wave of templars. Cydia charged forward as well, but judging by the spikes on her arms, she wasn't moving up to greet them peacefully. Kyrinna didn't budge. “What's with you, nerd?” Abribiene asked, urging her along with another swish of their tail. “You said you'd turn off the chapel's barrier. Get to it, then!” Ky was trying to be quiet, but she couldn't help but yell in reply. “I was calculating!” she snapped. She wanted to swerve around Eyron while he met up with the coppers. Either he'd traipse off with them, or they'd kill him for whatever stupid bylaw he'd happened to break. Indeed, her patience was rewarded with a sharp crackling noise and a smell like burning leaves. Smoke billowed out through the reeds, mixing with Abribiene's own ebon fog until Kyrinna lost nearly all visibility. She tried to keep the same heading as Cydia and Zel. Her hands flailed in front of her and found the reeds in her way before her eyes did. As if on cue, Abribiene's wings began to flutter. They had so many of the things, and had urged them all to beat with such ferocity that the smoke had no choice but to flee. “You nerd! Are you...” Before Ky could finish accusing Abribiene of invading her mind, she noticed she'd blundered right to the edge of a clearing where a few templars were waiting. It wasn't a natural clearing; she was sure the templars' trademark weaponry was responsible for all the stalks being sliced and seared as they were. About as soon as she made eye contact, the templars sprang into action. They gave chase, urging Ky to go back the way she came. Frantically, she pawed through her bag, desperate for one of the spice pouches Alpidt gave her. Behind her, the templars were shouting some instruction or another, but she didn't dare slow down long enough to hear. She'd lost track of the others completely, except for Abribiene. She could feel the tingle of the chapel's barrier, though; the shokhaye couldn't help her there. Finally, her fingers found the heavy cloth of a satchel, bulging around the spices it contained. [[Previous|Page 249]] | [[Next|Page 251]]

Kyrinna kept her hand in her pack, waiting for the right moment, as the templars began to approach. Two of them had followed her. There was no way for her to know how many had been sent out in total. She could hear a commotion elsewhere in the reeds, but— “You seem to know you've been up to no good,” one of the templars greeted her, raising their sword at her. “Only the guilty would flee the law.” The Church had armored these folks well. Only their faces were bared to Ky, and not even in full. Still, it was enough for her plan. “Shall we begin the Rite of Absolution?” Ky shrugged. “I guess,” she replied. Her answer seemed to placate the templars a bit. “Very well. O glorious Scintilla, Divine Lightmother, bring your hallowed rays—“ “—upon the dark corners of this sinner's soul,” Ky finished in unison with the templar. “C'mon, c'mon, I'm in a hurry...!” The templar that had started the pomp seemed to be offended. “Keep our holy words out of your mouth!” They strode forward to strike Ky for her insolence, but all they got was a faceful of spices. Their anguished scream was music to her ears, giving her the vigor and focus she needed for her next moves. As they recoiled away from her, she grabbed one of their arms and twirled them around. They tripped and thudded against the reeds, and gravity greedily grabbed for their armor, yanking them to the ground in a hurry. The landing dazed them enough for them to drop their sword. With nothing better around to defend herself with, Ky reached for the sword. The moment her fingers touched the handle, she could feel a horrible sensation along her arm. It wasn't just the pure strain that came with hoisting a weapon too heavy for her. There was something else, something that felt like her blood was suddenly replaced with needles. She stomped on the templar's arm as she yanked at the sword with both hands, freeing it from their grip. The needling distributed itself to both her arms. The tip of the blade remained low, but she'd done it; she'd hoisted the templar's sword. [[Previous|Page 250]] | [[Next|Page 252]]

The other templar seemed inordinately shocked by the sight of Kyrinna wielding a Church sword. “Impossible!” they cried out. “Our blades are only meant to be wielded by those chosen by Scintilla!” Before they could ruminate on the development further, the reeds around them burst into flames. Fiery claws raked along the ground, propelled outward by the shockwave of an explosion. The shockwave plus the needling was simply too much, and Kyrinna dropped the sword with a pained shriek. “Screamin' like dat...it's gotta be you, innit, alchie?” Cydia strode confidently through the flames, immediately pulling Ky into her embrace. “I thought you was right behind us!” she continued. “On your long legs?” Ky shot back. The templar she'd blinded was still screaming and shouting, but the one caught in the Swampfire attack had quickly fallen silent. “I can't keep up with you!” “Where's dat prick?” When Ky failed to answer the abrupt question, Cydia merely hugged her tighter. “'s fine. We'll get into dat chapel without him.” Ky nodded. “It's better that way.” She started to squirm in Cydia's hug and added, “But we better get going. They sent some advance scouts toward a Phantom and then they blew up...they must be pissing themselves up there in the chapel.” “What 'bout dis copper?” Cydia asked. She'd taken a seat on the templar Ky had thrown spices at. “Ya finish 'em off yet, or should I?” “No!” the templar huffed, still a bit short of breath. “You mustn't...!” They began trying to wriggle free, but Cydia didn't even bother to look down at them. “That's murder!” Cydia let out a short laugh. “Uh-oh, ya hear dat? Dat's another strike dey gotta take offa my record when we're in!” “Wh...what?” Ky already knew what Cydia meant. She didn't really care too much, though she couldn't exactly argue with leaving Tenesoir with one less templar. Still seated, Cydia raised her arm skyward with her hand tightly curled into a fist. Then the hand grew thick and stony, hardening into a hexagonal chunk. With a flick of her arm, Cydia brought her hand downward, smashing it against the Templar's helmet. “Not bad,” Cydia mused, examining her fist. Suddenly, she turned back toward the shokhaye and shouted into the ebon fog. “Yo, Bibi, thanks for da tip!” Typically, Ky would've corrected Cydia, or at least mocked her for butchering Abribiene's name so. She resolved to try to remember it, to make a joke about some other time, perhaps after they caught up to Zel. “C'mon, ya nerd...time to go to church!” [[Previous|Page 251]] | [[Next|Page 253]]

## Chapter 37 “Are we in yet?” Kyrinna asked. Zel forced a chuckle as she stared at the ornate double door set into the plateau before them. Cydia was before it, inspecting it up close. Kyrinna had already given the bluish steel doors a shove, but they hadn't budged in the slightest. After that, she'd stepped back to give the burglar room to do her work. “Are you just gonna keep asking until that door opens?” Zel asked. “Because we already have to hurry and get it open before the templars get here, you know?” “'course I know!” Cydia hollered back. With her wildspeaker powers, she willed her hair into action. Countless individual hairs snaked across the surface of the door, eager to slip into any cracks and weaknesses they slithered across. “Dis door's somethin' else, though, innit?” “I'll say...heavy, no handles, and out here on some random edge of the property...you really think it leads into the chapel like Eyron said?” Ky shrugged. She could see the door was going to take awhile, so she glanced at the surroundings, hoping to spot something useful for alchemy. The Marquis' chapel was on such a nice plateau with such ornate architecture, but he'd left the premises with almost no natural life, just some lousy grasses. Then again, Ky reasoned to herself, the sleep-inducing moss had seemed so innocuous on sight. She started crawling forward to rip handfuls of grass from the ground. “Damn,” Cydia mused, leaning her back against the door while her hair continued to probe it for weaknesses. “First ya kill his goons, then ya wreck his lawn...!” As Cydia laughed, Ky shook her head. She gave no further response, though. The local grass was a dark bluish green. It left the same color on her fingers as she ground a blade between her thumb and index finger. She hadn't packed mortar or pestle, but her simple substitute did the trick. She'd reduced the grass to a pungent and kind of sticky paste. It wasn't sticky enough to hold things together, only to laze around on Ky's fingers despite the pull of gravity. [[Previous|Page 252]] | [[Next|Page 254]]

“Dammit,” Ky blurted, flicking the gob of grass away. “It'll probably burn easily, and for awhile, but...” She rose to her feet and snapped her fingers. “...but it needs more...sticky power. More...” Ky's eyes began flicking around the premises. “...more sap!” “Dat's a relief,” Cydia muttered into the door. Ky didn't even look to Cydia to reply. “What, you get the door...?” “Naw, just glad you got somethin' to do 'sides ask me da same thing over an' over again.” Kyrinna scoffed and waved a dismissive gesture over her head. Cydia could say what she wanted and take as long as she wanted, so long as Ky could whip up something to burn. Eventually, though, there would be more Church goons on their way. Rather than think about any of that, she turned to Zel. “Gimme a knife, will ya?” Zel seemed to have nothing to offer for a moment except shock.. “Wow,” she mused, “that's not a bad Cydia impersonation...innit?” Ky shrugged. She certainly hadn't meant to make whatever joke Zel was crediting to her. “Can I use one?” she asked again. Zel shook her head. Rather than her usual bandoliers, Zel fished a knife from a belt sheath hanging from her hip. “This is my woodworking knife,” she explained, tossing the whole sheath to Ky in a slow arc. “You be careful with it.” When Ky caught the knife, the first thing she noticed was its weight. Compared to Zel's light and slender throwing knives, this blade was thick and hefty. It didn't really have the shape for stabbing, though. “How am I supposed to fetch tree sap with this, you nerd?” “Oh, is that what you're doing?” Zel put a hand on her hip. “And what tree do you plan on tapping?” Zel was right. No matter which way Ky looked, there were no trees nearby. Abribiene had hidden their approach in a nearby phragreed swamp. The plants were tall and greedy things, an arrogance Ky bristled at. The things were useless, but still they held their dark brown seed heads over her. They didn't even taste good. And yet here they were, growing so widely and devouring the nutrients from the wetlands. Why Luman would let them dominate the area instead of the soft blue grass of the knoll near the door was simply unfathomable to her. [[Previous|Page 253]] | [[Next|Page 255]]

Cydia let out a low sigh. “You okay over there, nerd?” Ky asked, already jogging back to Cydia's side. “Dis ain't good,” she replied. As she stepped away from the door, Ky could see some hair still stuck in a thin gap where the door was set into the wall. “Dis ain't da kinda door dat swings open at all! More like...is it s'posed to slide outta da way?” Ky shrugged. “So let's slide it and get this over with!” “Don't you see?” Zel chided her. “How can we move such a heavy door sideways with no handle or anything?” “Simple!” Kyrinna stepped up to the door to demonstrate her technique. “If we push it forward and sideways, maybe we can...” When she attempted to push, however, she found the door too smooth and frictionless beneath her hands. “...huh.” The metal was heavy and perfectly smooth, so Ky's maneuver didn't do much but slide her hands along the door. “What's da big idea, Ky?” Cydia asked. Kyrinna had only ever heard someone say that phrase in a sarcastic sort of way, never as genuinely as Cydia sounded. “Tryin' to slide it like a window?” Kyrinna nodded. “Sort of. If it's in a track and it's not too heavy, we can kinda guide it along.” “...maybe. Pushin' air around is one thing...” The last of Cydia's hair finally came back out into open air, as she gave a demonstrative flap. The movement of Cydia's hair sent a burst of air past Kyrinna, sending a ripple through Kyrinna's coat and dress, while she stood undeterred. Something about the sight of her in the wind halted the rest of Cydia's thoughts. “Cydia, stop that!” Zel cut in, leaping in front of Kyrinna. “So...uh, Ky...” Now that Zel had defused whatever she'd jumped to intervene in, she appeared awkward and a little lost. “...why can't we just push it like that? Is it too slick?” Even though Ky nodded, Zel took a test push of her own. She put her hip into it, and her coat found a little more traction against the door than any of Ky's vanishbloom-treated fabrics could have. It still was nowhere near enough to move the door, though. [[Previous|Page 254]] | [[Next|Page 256]]

Cydia shrugged a bit and took a seat in the grass. “Well, guess I can take a break while you's talk at me," she noted. She was already stretching out and getting comfortable before Ky and Zel could dispute or approve her plan. "Weren't there somethin' you were gonna make stickier?” Kyrinna slapped her forehead. She'd need to focus better than that. “The blue grass!" she shouted. "Of course! Oh, but it wasn't enough either...” “Huh. Well, gimme a holler when ya figure it out.” “What, you're just gonna sit there while Zel and I do all the work, nerd?” “Naw!” Cydia paused to make some horrible throat sounds. All her gagging and gurgling summoned a ball of phlegm that she spat back the way they came. “Naw...just...ideas ain't my thing.” With that, she reclined into the grass. “Got a point there!” Zel hollered from back by the door. She was still trying to get it to budge, and still having no luck. Kyrinna shook her head. Zel was wrong. Cydia was nudging her toward an idea, but she wasn't sure of what. “Cydia, do that again.” Cydia rose back into a sitting position, scratching her head with one finger. “I didn't do nothin'...” “No, you spit...” Cydia laughed and rose to her feet. “'course! I ain't a swallower!” Kyrinna nodded. Cydia's expectorate had been thick, viscous, and voluminous. It must have been uncomfortable to be so full of mucus. “No, not mucus...Cydia, do you remember the spit you did back in the mossy forest? The snake Phantom we saved Zel from, spit that goo...?” Kyrinna remembered the night well enough; Cydia had made a comment about swallowing then too. Now, though, the wildspeaker could only offer a shrug in return. Ky couldn't take that for an answer, though. She grabbed for Cydia's hair and gave it a bit of a tug back toward the door. “Well, you better remember!" she hollered. "I need you to spit that stuff!” [[Previous|Page 255]] | [[Next|Page 257]]

“Yuck!” Zel groaned. She'd just given up on the door herself and was coming to join the others. “Ky, that plan is gross, so I really hope it works!” Zel had always been squeamish about fluid matters, though. She'd been so grossed out by the hunter claw's guts, but being covered in guts was just another night to Ky. A little bit of superconductive phlegm on her hands wasn't going to stop her from breaking into the Marquis' chapel. “Uh, ain't sure I 'member dat,” Cydia admitted, “but whatever. Dat's what we gotta do, innit?” “Shut up, nerd, you can do it! The copper's magic was drawn to it, remember? It went—brrrzzow!” Ky couldn't quite describe the noise, but she remembered the wicked arcs that prick and that Phantom had summoned with the saliva's help, and she sliced a hand through the air to imitate that. Cydia snapped her fingers. “Oh, dat stuff! Yeah, I just gotta...” With that, Cydia threw her head back and forth, whipping a glob of spit at the door. This was all wrong, though. Cydia's expectorate was just typical saliva, and it rolled uselessly down the door. “...wait, no.” Cydia made some horrible throaty noise before trying again, and this time she succeeded. The solution came out of her mouth in a viscous chunk, and wiggled slightly as it stuck to the door. Zel winced away from the gelatinous heap. “How does this help, again?” she asked. “Well, don't ya just—“ Cydia raised her hands to place them in the mucus, but before she could, the door burst out of its moorings and hurtled toward Cydia at lethal speeds. She was standing so close, all she could do was ready for impact. Her arms once again formed into tough hexagons, and she thrust them forward to punch the door away. “Cydia!” Zel shouted, leaping in to help. [[Previous|Page 256]] | [[Next|Page 258]]

Cydia slammed her Phantom-like fists into the door as it came flying at her. At once, she staggered from the impact. At her height, though, she hit the door high up. Rather than halt its advance, she merely tipped it backward. It would have easily broken her legs if not for Zel sliding between Cydia's legs. While Cydia fell backward, Zel pushed herself off the ground and met the door in midair. Her legs absorbed the rest of its momentum, and shoved it so that it fell safely away from the group. Ky couldn't even stop and feel relieved before she saw who was on the other side. “You prick!” she screeched, charging past Zel and Cydia as they helped each other up. Before her, Eyron stood in the center of a spacious cavern. His sword was pointed at the passageway in front of him, and the air still crackled around him with the residual energy of his magic. Before he could turn to face Kyrinna, she shoved him forward onto his face. Eyron's sword clattered away from him, but he didn't bother to reach for it. He just rolled himself over to face Kyrinna. He was far more battered than one simple shove could accomplish. “Oh no,” he griped, pausing to rub at a cut on his forehead. “I was told to walk the Path is to suffer. But no suffering could be worse than our reunion.” “I'll say,” Zel agreed, quickly stepping to Kyrinna's side, knives at the ready. “Give us one good reason why we should trust you, after you walked out on us!” “I'm here, aren't I?” Eyron wobbled to his feet. Now that he was even closer, Kyrinna could see some swelling around his right eye. It was clearly caused by some kind of blunt trauma. “I tried to argue to the Marquis on behalf of Melaton, I'll have you know. To take the barrier crystal and place innocent Melatonians in harm's way...it goes against everything our Order stands for.” Cydia gave a short, hollow laugh as she swaggered in on Ky's other side. “You're here, ain't ya?” she repeated. “Dat Church is standin' for somethin' else right now, innit? If you're on Melaton's side an' da Church is against ya...” [[Previous|Page 257]] | [[Next|Page 259]]

Despite his ordeal, Eyron still had plenty of gusto left in him, much to Kyrinna's dismay. He took a quick step forward and grabbed for Cydia, but she pushed him away with one hand. “Don't talk such nonsense!" he shouted, despite Cydia's stiff arm halting his advance entirely. "It's simply the Marquis' standard protocol. I must walk the Path and be exonerated to show him the truth. I've made a serious allegation against men of higher rank than myself...” “They do this every time you have a complaint about your bosses?” Zel asked, tilting her head. Eyron turned his aggression on her, but she put her knives away as a gesture of nonviolence. “That seems kinda...I wouldn't wanna share my concerns if it meant I'd be thrown down a hole, you know?” “Ridiculous. You could never understand the workings of our order.” Zel shrugged. “I'm with the Night Watch...we're ordered too.” She sighed and tumbled past Eyron, cartwheeling her way to the doorway. “Look...the door is open. There's probably some templars pursuing us from outside, but if you're quick...you can just get out of here. Marquis Luman's not interested in the truth!” Ky shrugged. Zel had always had more patience for Eyron's crap than Ky did, but she hadn't considered Zel's angle at all. “Uh, sure,” she stammered, still a bit off-guard by the simplicity of it all. “Get out of here, prick. I'll march up there, melt the Marquis' face off, and then...uh, Melaton can have its barrier crystal back.” She'd have help from her friends, of course. “Door's open, prick...!” Eyron shook his head. “Oh, no. Whatever you say, heathen, I'd rather do the opposite.” He turned to Zel and added, “But it's not just that. If I were to walk away now, I too would be a heathen...and I would rather die than be a heathen.” Kyrinna turned away from Eyron and threw her hands over her head. Away from the others, though, she hid a wide smirk. As loath as she was to admit it, Eyron and his unflinching dedication to his stupid truth could at least be exploited. If nothing else, he could lead the way into the chapel, and thus be first to spring any traps. “Whatever, prick,” she finally said. “Just don't get in our way.” [[Previous|Page 258]] | [[Next|Page 260]]

Eyron scoffed and took a step into the corridor leading ahead. He staggered a bit, as if something was wrong with his left leg. “Silence, heathen," he said without turning around. "It's you three who are unneeded. Behold...” Before Eyron was another one of those heavy doors. Eyron applied just a pinch of copper magic. A small beam of crackling energy from his sword seemed to jar something to life within the door itself. It shuddered and thudded and otherwise kicked up a terrible ruckus, but it was slowly moving itself out of the way despite its protests. “...the Path was made for a templar to walk.” “First you point us down here,” Kyrinna snapped, “then you tell us not to...? Screw you, prick.” Kyrinna hurried after Eyron into the room ahead. When she got to where he'd walked, she froze up. She hadn't noticed until she got close, but Eyron had frozen up as well. The two of them stood side by side, staring across a circular room, where bars of pale green light closed off a large, empty-looking cell. Kyrinna winced as even more lights came on, each giving a brief, loud thwack followed by a low hum. The walls of the room curved as they went upward, drawing Kyrinna's eye to the center of the room. There, a scratched-up telescope-like object descended from the center of the room, pointing a red crystalline lens squarely at Kyrinna. “Who is this?” a tinny voice intoned somewhere from above. Kyrinna looked up again in shock, but no one was there. She wasn't sure how they managed to throw their voice so. Eyron seemed far less disturbed by the magic voice, though he looked around before responding. “I am Eyron Clipeus, templar of—“ “Knock it off, Eyron. I mean the women.” Ky spun on her heels, and was surprised to find Zel and Cydia had silently traipsed into the room. This time, the prick responded without hesitation. “I told you the truth, Marquis Luman. Kyrinna Strauss and her allies intend to walk the Path to take a barrier crystal...by force, if they must.” Kyrinna pouted. Eyron really had told the Marquis everything. It really horned in on her own negotiating power to have her cards laid bare like that, but she was sure she could work around it. [[Previous|Page 259]] | [[Next|Page 261]]

“So you're Kyrinna?” Luman's voice sighed. “You Irae folk are all alike. You're every bit the egotist your father was.” Kyrinna shook her head. “I don't know what you're talking about and I don't care,” she said. She dug one of her ribbons from her satchel and tied it onto the telescope, so that its red eye no longer stared at her. Something about the atmosphere of the room was starting to unnerve her enough as it was. “And I don't care about you!” Kyrinna wished she could stuff another ribbon in Luman's mouth, but she had no idea where he was throwing his voice from. “I suppose you and Eyron have something in common.” Kyrinna spat at Eyron's feet. There was no way she had anything in common with that prick. “If either of you are even worth talking to, I'll be seeing you after you walk the Path. We can talk then.” Suddenly, the telescope retreated into the ceiling. The bars of light vanished, and no longer cordoned off the cell at the other end of the room. A shiver ran down Kyrinna's spine. [[Previous|Page 260]] | [[Next|Page 262]]

## Chapter 38 ”Listen, prick!” Kyrinna snapped at Eyron. “You know about this stupid Path. What's all this crap?” Eyron scoffed. “I am a model templar,” he replied. “The Path is often used as a tool of discipline. I would never go there.” “You're here now,” Zel reminded him. She seemed unnerved by something, just as Kyrinna was. She had a knife in each hand and hunkered into a battle-ready stance. “What was in that little room?” Ky glanced over to Cydia, and the wildspeaker seemed unwell, just as she had in the Marsh of Illusion. Cydia let out a wretched belch, and put a hand to her mouth as if to catch something on its way out. Kyrinna tensed up, curling her fingers around one of Alpidt's medicine bottles. Rather than medicine, this one had been filled with flammable oil. It wasn't quite up to the snuff of the resin bombs she'd brought to Mt. Sorrow, but it was better than nothing. “Cydia...?” she finally said. “You okay?” “Yeah,” Cydia sputtered. She still seemed a bit out of it, though. She too slouched her way into her usual battle stance, but she did so hesitantly. “Feel like I'm havin' a hangover all of a sudden.” Ky didn't like the sound of that. Not only did she hate hangovers, but last time Cydia had abruptly fallen apart like that was in the presence of— “A shotant.” “Here?” Eyron balked. “Don't be ridiculous. They're enemies of the Church, of the people.” Ky ground her teeth. Abribiene wasn't her enemy, not nearly as much as Eyron was. “Besides, the barrier crystal would destroy them.” Before anyone could refute Eyron, Kyrinna saw an odd glimmer leak from his ears onto the floor, the same pale green as the light beams. She pointed down wordlessly, and Zel was the first to follow her gaze. “There's light pooling at our feet!” Zel shouted. She backflipped out of the way, and noticed similar lights spilling in her wake as well. “Eyron, if there's anything you can tell us, now would be the time!” [[Previous|Page 261]] | [[Next|Page 263]]

“But I truly know nothing of this!” he insisted. Kyrinna believed him instantly, since she found him so stupid. Cydia plugged her ears with her fingers, but the light spilled out of her anyway, spurting through infinitesimal gaps. Still, once it hit the floor, it seemed to be doing nothing. It didn't move to chase Zel, and it didn't hurt to touch. It simply laid inert on the floor. Bored by the sight, Kyrinna's mind wandered to her father. Marquis Luman had said something that sounded like he knew him, and— “Witches are like evil scientists who live in swamps.” She'd seen this trick before. “A shotant!” she blurted. It made too much sense to her. The voice she'd heard sounded like her father, and said something he'd told her when she was young. She prickled with anger as severely as if it were the genuine article. She remembered the context all too well. She'd been a child asking about Grandma Syrup being called a witch. “Dredging up our memories? Making Cydia sick? It has to be a shotant!” The voice had come from below, as if spoken by the lights. Kyrinna raised her foot and stomped it down, grinding her heel into the nerd who would dare dredge up such unhappy memories. The light seemed to splatter from the impact, ultimately evading her stomp. The sight angered her, and she went to try again, but her foot wouldn't budge. It felt as if it were stuck in the murk of the swamp. Suddenly, the rest of the light scattered outward from the group. Most of the sparkles continued toward the walls, but some stopped partway through, leaping through the air. They all let off bolts of copper magic, and the bright flash caused Kyrinna to wince and close her eyes. The light left marks on her field of vision even then, however. In these particular lights, Kyrinna could see the outlines of plants native to the swamps she called home. “So what's your point?” she demanded, her eyes still shut. By the time she looked again, the lights had rearranged again, this time into a sword of light, floating menacingly in front of the group. “Obvious, innit?” another voice rang out from the sword's direction. This one was deep and masculine, a little like Bennett, but not quite. Cydia recognized it, though. “Dad?” she gasped. “Da point is, you's is evil, every last one'a you's!” [[Previous|Page 262]] | [[Next|Page 264]]

Ky scoffed. “You don't even know what you're talking about,” she said, crossing her arms. “If Luman keeps you locked up in this prison, how could you know anything about good and evil?” Ky herself had been in that same situation. Whether or not this thing was a shotant, it had read the group's minds like one. She urged herself to think about all of Melaton, about people like Alpidt who needed her help. She was here to do them a good deed— “You misunderstand,” the sword of light said, switching to yet another masculine voice. By that point, though, Kyrinna was sick of the gimmick and didn't bother guessing who it was. “This is not the test of conviction. This is the test of combat!” “Stop!” Eyron shouted. The Phantom sword swiped at the group, and Eyron moved in with a long stride to parry the blow. Copper magic sparked from the impact, and both of them were blown backward by the force. Eyron took that force in stride and flicked his wrist to give the sword a spin. Meanwhile, Kyrinna stifled a yawn. Abribiene—or at least one of the shotant who'd formed them—had played plenty of these tricks on her already. She wasn't bothered the way Eyron was by this latest voice. He was normally kinda tantrumy in her opinion, but his “stop!” had been far more emotional. “Get it together, you dumb prick!” she hollered at him. Zel tried to leap to Eyron's aid, but Ky stiffened her arm to blockade Zel. It was completely ineffectual in that Zel easily dodged it. However, it got her to turn around. “What?” she blurted. “Shouldn't we help him?” “No.” Ky leaned against a wall and crossed her arms. “Either he can handle it just fine on his own...or he gets annihilated. Either way is fine with me.” Zel shook her head and turned back around to face Eyron. As she turned, she wiped a hand up her hip, and Ky watched as four knives slide up, entranced by her gesture. She flicked her wrist, and suddenly she'd pinched them all between her fingers. She hesitated to throw any, though, not while Eyron was standing right there. Kyrinna shrugged. She would've just thrown the knives anyway. If Eyron caught one of the knives in the back of his head, that'd just be a bonus. [[Previous|Page 263]] | [[Next|Page 265]]

Zel was watching her knives, though, doubtlessly tumbling through countless calculations in her head. Finally, she loosed three knives with a wave of her hand. Eyron was watching them too, and when they fell into a favorable curve, he lashed out with a bolt of lightning. The jolt arced from knife to knife, swinging past the sword's guard to hit it in the hilt. A loud crackling noise filled the chamber as bright blue chunks fell off the Phantom sword. “Give up,” Eyron demanded with a brandish of his sword, “or that fate awaits the rest of you!” “That's enough, templar,” the sword of light shouted, this time using the Chief's voice. Zel perked up instantly at the sound of it. “You tried to cut me down, even when I used the voice of someone familiar to you. That's good, that's what we need in a templar...one who would obey the tenets of Scintilla above their own parents.” Kyrinna stomped her foot. “Hey!” she shouted, leaning toward the sword of light. “You're just indoctrinating him, and we don't really have time for that! So why don't you go ahead and open the way out, if we passed your test...?” “...oh, sure, Rufyan.” The sword backed away to the nearest wall, and executed a maneuver that seemed to be both a slash and a splash. The lights stuck to the wall and formed the shape of a door. “Come through the door and give Luman a full report.” “Ha!” Kyrinna ran for the door. When she passed by Eyron, she gave him a shove with her hip. She thrust her hip against the door as well, and it banged in place. “Pull, witch! Don't push!” Ky growled. She didn't see a handle anywhere, and she didn't need the door to sass her in her father's voice while she looked for it. Incensed, she gave the door another push, and this time it relented, knocking aside a pile of bones as it swung open. “Fine, push, then. Don't make no difference to me. Da exit's just down da hall...!” “Ky!” Zel shouted from behind. “It might be a trap!” [[Previous|Page 264]] | [[Next|Page 266]]

Kyrinna could feel Zel tugging at her sleeve, but she was too mesmerized by the sight before her. Behind the door was a foul stench and a barren land, both of which were familiar to Ky instantly despite being so dark. She and Zel had the only lights for miles around. She knew the stink of death when she smelled it, and what run-down houses she could see were in the style of— “Irae.” The constellation of a door swung shut behind Ky, pushing her and Zel into the plague town, and slamming reality shut behind them. Ky spun on her heels to find nothing but more Irae. There wasn't a trace of the doorway they had traveled through. “Here we go,” Ky growled, searching her satchel for a spare ribbon. “You're lucky, Zel. You have that big collar to protect you.” “Protect me?” Zel repeated, shrugging her shoulders so as to hide in her coat. “From what?” Ky laughed. “The smell, mostly.” Despite the light being's attempt to scare her, the Irae of her memories couldn't be any worse than the real thing. “Everyone here is dead, so...” She couldn't help but shrug at it all. She'd encountered this exact thing the one time she left the mansion. “Everyone!” Kyrinna's voice called out. She knew she didn't speak it, though. “I found a way to stop the plague!” “Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ky muttered, hustling forward down the path. The voices had described the area as a hallway, and that's the thought she tried to focus on. “You were too late...?” Zel gasped. Kyrinna sighed. “By years, actually.” But this night had been far worse than that. An apparition sprinted down the street ahead of her, clad in the same bluish-white coat Ky was wearing. It was the normal garb for Irae, though. In fact, it was the same pale coat as some of the corpses wore, some of them presumably great thinkers or learners in life. Ky shook her head. “This isn't real,” she spat. “I mean...they're my memories, but so what?” [[Previous|Page 265]] | [[Next|Page 267]]

“You there!” a spirited young voice called from up ahead. The apparition had stopped, menaced by a lone templar clad in a loose chainmail uniform. “It's not safe out here.” Kyrinna stood aghast at the situation. She knew exactly what she was looking at. Zel, on the other hand, ran in for a closer look. “That's Eyron...!” she gasped. By the time Zel reached the ghosts playing out the past, though, the young Eyron had already spied similar coats on some of the dead bodies nearby. “Y-you're from here?” he asked, his voice cracking. “How did you survive the plague?” When the Kyrinna of the past didn't answer him, he drew his sword and began to circle her slowly. Kyrinna remembered her response easily enough. She mouthed it along while the apparition in her role voiced it out. “Fuck you, prick!” Zel recoiled in shock. “Kyrinna!” she gasped. “That language...!” Kyrinna laughed. “Seriously? You're gonna nag the shotant's little puppet-me?” “Wait, you're okay?” Zel turned away from the tangible memory to face Ky. “Aren't you, you know, horrified by this?” Ky shook her head. “I...I don't know. I guess not?” Kyrinna started walking right past her past self, and motioned for Zel to follow along. She yelled the next sentence just in case Zel was still lollygagging. “I didn't save Irae! I've tortured myself over that for years. I couldn't save anyone. But...” The road ended in front of Kyrinna—in fact, it seemed as if everything did. Kyrinna took a good look at the void ahead, which gave Zel time to catch up. “Um...hi!” she said, clearly shocked to see Kyrinna there. “You some kinda moron or something? It's dangerous to be out in the dark!” “Wait,” Ky spat. She turned around, and another Zel stood behind her. Irae had completely disappeared, and somehow the Guillotine Wood had grown around them. [[Previous|Page 266]] | [[Next|Page 268]]

“What are we doing in the Guillotine Wood?” Zel asked. “This is when we first met...” Suddenly, Zel's hands shot over her mouth. “Did I call you a moron? I'm so sorry!” Kyrinna chuckled. “Nerd,” was her only reply. “But I met you and saved us both from that claw hunter.” Ky heard a tree falling, and spun to face it. All she saw, though, was that formless void at the edge of the area. She reached up to touch the void, and yelped in surprise when it pushed back. “Would you knock it off?” her father's voice asked. She figured it had to be the same being that had stuffed her in here. “You're going too fast! Go back down the path and face your conviction at the proper pace!” “No way, nerd!” Ky called out. The voice seemed to come from everywhere, so she shouted her replies into the sky. It could read her mind, but she wanted Zel to know what was going on. Her memories had already drastically altered the area multiple times. “We don't need a stupid conviction test! Just let us up to see Luman already!” “No, it's okay...!” Zel said. “Go ahead, turn around, look!” When Ky turned, she saw that the world had fallen away on all sides. She and Zel floated in the void together, looking out over a crowd. Many of them were only vague shapes, but she saw one she recognized well enough, with her big white bow. “Alpidt!” Zel nodded. “And there's MacVelod, and Cydia, and Alpidt, and...who are all these people?” “If you weren't rushing through both tests at once,” the Chief replied, stepping directly through a few of the faceless bodies, “you would've heard us tallying the lives you've saved, and the lives you're here to save.” “Wait,” Zel said, “back up. Both tests...? We're here in your conviction door, you know?” “Then who's...hold on.” Suddenly, the darkness dissipated from around them, and left them back in the chamber under the chapel, staring at a blank wall. [[Previous|Page 267]] | [[Next|Page 269]]

“What'd ya do...?” Cydia asked, running to approach Ky and Zel. “Da light sword went away!” “What indeed,” Luman's voice rang out. “You've confused my precious guardian. Do you have any idea what this thing eats?” Kyrinna shook her head. “I don't care! We passed your dumb tests! Now let us in! Those are your rules!” “Yes, that's what you've got the guardian saying too...you passed. But you've also got it asking how many people it's got down there. What did you do?” “What did you do?” Ky could hear her father's voice saying, almost in sync with Luman. Usually, when the guardian stole his voice, it seemed to fill the space around her and come from everywhere, but this time, it was tinny and distant. In fact, it seemed to come from the same place as Luman's voice. Ky stomped her foot. She'd already tired of this. “Luman!” she shouted. “You idiot! Did you always feed templars to this thing one at a time?” “Our consciousness can meld and part with others' wills whenever we want, nerd.” The guardian had taken Kyrinna's voice. It always made her feel like she was being mocked. “It didn't seem that unusual that you might have done it too, especially with all the thoughts racing through your head, but then you got confused too.” “Look,” Luman's voice cut in, through that same tinny channel, “if I grant you an audience, will you stop breaking my guardian?” Kyrinna shrugged. “Sure,” she spat. She'd barely gotten through the word before the wall near her slid downward. Behind it, a staircase rose past the point where Ky could see. “Then follow the stairs to the top floor. And hurry up!” [[Previous|Page 268]] | [[Next|Page 270]]

## Chapter 39 Luman's mention of the top floor let on that there was more than one stop. What he didn't prepare Kyrinna for, though, was just how many flights of stairs up the top would be. She quickly lost count as she weaved along the bluish-white passageway. Every floor seemed to let up into an identical landing, save for the occasional seams of a door hewn into the walls. Like the door they'd blasted open at the base of the chapel, they had no handles or any other way to open them. Much as she wanted to veer off Luman's path just to spite him, she had no choice but to charge up the stairs. “Ky, wait up!” Cydia begged from two floors below. “What's da rush...?” Ky froze up about halfway up the next flight of stairs. She turned around to see Zel had kept pace perfectly, and the other two were out of sight. “What is the rush?” Zel asked, turning her head quizzically. “Melaton needs our help! And I'm sick of all this Church crap!” “Yeah, but...those two were fighting the guardian blade while we were speeding through your memories, you know? You ought to be more considerate and not charge ahead of them like this.” Kyrinna turned back to the stairs and attempted to climb them some more, but she felt a tug at her dress when she tried. She looked down to see her dress balled up in Zel's hands. “Let go!” Zel shook her head. “Sit.” There was no getting out of Zeltencia's grip without doing what she said. Ky could tell that much immediately, so she plopped herself down on the steps, sitting, waiting, seething. “What's wrong?” “Nothing's wrong!” Zel clicked her tongue. “The way you shouted that...? Sorry, but I don't believe you.” The stairs were only wide enough for one person, so instead, Zel took a seat at the bottom of the stairs, leaning her back against the wall. “What's the matter?” [[Previous|Page 269]] | [[Next|Page 271]]

“This better be worth it,” Ky huffed as her put her chin in her hands. “This isn't gonna get you in trouble with the Night Watch, is it?” In truth, what had really bothered her was the way the guardian had rifled through her memories of Irae, but she didn't want to talk about that. She'd had enough of Irae for one night. Zel let out a short, joyless laugh. “Huh," she continued. "I never really thought about that. I just knew...Melaton's in trouble and I gotta help them, you know? If the Chief has a problem with that, then I was wrong about her.” Kyrinna scowled briefly at the thought, but she ultimately managed to put it a bit more tactfully. “What's it like? Being so...helpful, I mean.” Zel raised an eyebrow. “You're plenty helpful, Ky. We just went through that whole thing with the guardian...you saw all the faces of the people you helped. Even the Church has to admit you do what you do to help people. So why are you saying this...?” “I did a lot of that stuff just to save myself. I knew it'd come down to a trial sooner or later, and...I only helped those nerds so they'd testify—“ “A-ha!” Eyron's voice interrupted. He and Cydia finally rounded the corner, still winded from their climb. “A...confession! You're just...a tender...misanthrope...” Eyron leaned against a nearby wall for support, so Kyrinna kicked his legs out from under him. She had a good laugh as he spilled onto the floor. She'd sure needed a good laugh. “Aw, you hear that? He called me tender!” “We all knew, Ky,” she said, marching up to give Ky a quick hug. “You say you helped everyone just to save your own skin, but...you helped, you know? You figured out what everyone needed, and you gave it to them. And really, you asked such a small favor in retur—” “Zel, seriously, have you never had an arch-nemesis? You're such a nerd...!” Kyrinna rolled her eyes even as she held Zel tightly. “That's the nicest thing he's ever going to say to me.” [[Previous|Page 270]] | [[Next|Page 272]]

“Indeed,” Eyron coughed as he rose to his feet again. “You're a vile, treacherous witch, and the fact that Luman is allowing you to traverse the Path can only mean that you've bewitched him too.” Kyrinna sighed and thought about tripping Eyron again. She only relented because it wouldn't be as funny the second time. “I don't even know what he looks like!” she disputed. “But you exchanged words. There could have been some hex in your words.” Kyrinna shook her head and turned back to the stairwell. “I gave you the only hex word I can muster, prick.” As useful as it sounded to be able to glaze her words with magic, Ky knew no such trick. Still, if that's what Eyron believed, she was happy to let him. “Whatever that guardian was, I feel bad for them, being stuck under the Church's orders like that.” Eyron scoffed. “And what would your orders be, heathen?” The answer came easily to Kyrinna. “Nothing! Orders are stupid!” With that, she continued her march up the stairs. After all, it was Luman she was there to deliver her demands to, not Eyron. Zel and Cydia were quick to follow her, but Eyron's footfalls were nowhere to be heard. “Dat'll show him!” Cydia said through a laugh. Zel clicked her tongue. “Now, c'mon, you two,” she scolded them. “Eyron's not that bad. He's just...” “He's da law! Dat's all I gotta know 'bout dat, innit? Probably why he don't talk to me much!” “I bet he's intimidated!” Kyrinna offered over her shoulder. From there, she dipped briefly into her imagination, to watch Cydia torture Eyron a bit. The wildspeaker blew the prick a kiss, and laced the air with her glittering neurotoxins— “Huh,” Zel interrupted. “You know, I think he is. Good job, Ky.” “Good job what?” “You know...!” Zel overtook Ky at the top of the next flight, handspringing her way up. “You're not...hm. You're really smart, but sometimes...people matters are new to you. So it's not like you to guess at a man's being like that, you know?” Kyrinna shrugged. “I don't guess, Zel, I know. That prick only mouths off to me because he thinks he's got a chance of stopping me. He doesn't know what to say to you two because he knows he can't handle you.” “What?” Eyron's voice balked from up ahead. “Wait...” [[Previous|Page 271]] | [[Next|Page 273]]

Kyrinna glanced behind her, then back to the prick as he leaned against a wall. “We left you behind!” she said. "How did you get ahead of us in this stairwell?" “Maybe he didn't get ahead,” Zel suggested. “Maybe we somehow went back down? Is that why it's taking so long to climb these stairs?” Kyrinna growled and took a menacing step toward Eyron. “You! Is this another trap from your idiot boss?” Eyron shrugged. “I already told you! I've never been cast into walking the Path before. I wouldn't know what trickery this is.” “It's gotta be that guardian again, right?” “Yes,” her father's voice rang out, echoing from above. “I've got something I wanted to ask, but you keep rushing ahead.” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. “Duh! Melaton is waiting for us!” “But what is Melaton? And why do you care about it so much?” The questions caught Kyrinna off-guard. She found them so stupid that she hadn't really thought about them. “...well, I guess I really don't,” she answered. “I mean, the people of Melaton are good. Especially Alpidt, who ran the inn there.” A brief silence overtook the group. Not even Eyron ran his mouth. In the silence, Ky's mind wandered. Alpidt had ignored the Church to care for the guests of the Melaton Hollows, including Ky, her friends, and Eyron. She fought both the Church nerd and the monsters with equal fervor. She was a skilled alchemist too, to be able to take Ky's healing salve recipe and convert it to an additive for the bathhouse water. It let her bring healing to all her guests. Finally, the guardian's voice shifted to that of Alpidt. “Yes, she is wonderful, darling.” Kyrinna heaved a sigh of relief. Abribiene had prepared her for such mundane uses for mind-reading. Compared to the guardian's other tricks, it was almost comforting. “Hmph. You just have no boundaries at all, do you?” “Our very form has no boundaries, darling. What a stupid question.” [[Previous|Page 272]] | [[Next|Page 274]]

Kyrinna bit the tip of her tongue softly. Alpidt's voice was such a comfort in its normal timbre, but sharpened into an insult, it cut deep into Ky's psyche. “You got your answer, nerd!" she shouted. "Can we just get our barrier crystal and go?” “No," the guardian replied flatly. "Think about it, darling! The Church has saved me, but even I can't get too close to the crystals. Besides, Marquis Luman wants to talk to you first, and I must obey his orders to take you to him.” “Wait,” Zel shouted out. Ky jumped, and banged her hip against a rail to her other side. Had the rail not been there, she would have fallen down the stairs. She'd lost track of Zel with the guardian rooting around in her brain. “If you're supposed to bring us to Luman, why did you stop us?” “Isn't it obvious? I had a question for you about Melaton. Strauss answered it, so you're free to go. Find me upstairs and I'll show you to the Marquis.” The way up to the next level, however, was blocked by a thick pile of leaves. Without hesitation, Kyrinna dug through the leaves with her bare hands, tosssing clumps behind her. Foliage both alive and dead tangled together, squishing into clumps in her hands. “Ky!” Zel called out from behind her. She turned, and Zel was right there, knives at the ready! “Sorry, it's just...you don't have to use your hands, you know?” Indeed, when Ky stepped aside, Zel scooted in and started hacking away with her knives, making even quicker progress. When Cydia rounded the corner and saw the leaves, her reaction was just to laugh. “What's so funny?” Kyrinna asked. “Buncha leaves!” Cydia replied. “Growin' in a place like this!” “Well, yeah, it's weird, but funny?” Before Cydia could answer, Zel gave a wordless shout from above. The others ran after her, only to emerge in a warmly-lit circular room with stone walls. [[Previous|Page 273]] | [[Next|Page 275]]

“There you are, darlings!” Alpidt's voice filled the room, just as it had during their earlier talks, even though Alpidt stood there in the room with them, behind a desk hewn from the rock. “Guardian shotant thing...!” Ky balked. “This is your doing, isn't it, nerd?” “Of course. This space was reconstructed from your memories of this Alpidt, this Melaton. I only seek to immerse myself in it to better understand your point of view.” Only the clatter of Eyron's footsteps as he hurried up the stairs behind them ruined the immersion the guardian was going for. Otherwise, they had pulled every sensation they'd needed to recreate the Melaton Hollows. The facsimile was thorough; it engaged Kyrinna on multiple senses. Alpidt's spices seem to waft over the whole room, while distant and indistinct chatter tugged at the edges of Ky's hearing. The false Alpidt wordlessly raised their arm, pointing toward the tunnel that, had it been the real Melaton Hollows, would have led to Alpidt's home. After awhile, the guardian finally spoke. “The Marquis' office is down the hall, darlings,” they intoned. They apparently still hadn't mastered matching the voice to the facsimile of Alpidt they'd conjured. Rather, the voice seemed to swell from all over, gradually rising and falling beyond the background chatter. “Your intention to save Melaton seems like a good cause, but the Marquis is most disturbed by your presence. I wish I could observe this duality more closely, but...any closer and I would be fried by the crystals.” “Then how do ya do any sorta talkin' with da Marquis?” Cydia asked. “It is in his power to shield me from the crystal. Indeed, this whole staircase is safe. In other places, he can add or remove such a shield at will.” Cydia scoffed. “Dat sucks...don't ya ever wanna just get out an' enjoy nature? Maybe grab some fruits and make 'em into booze?” “Surely, you noticed the fence of barrier crystals on your way in, darling.” Ky hadn't, but she kept quiet while the guardian continued. “Whatever this 'booze' is, if it comes from outside the fence, the only way for me to experience it is to snatch the idea from your memories.” Suddenly, the idle chatter the shotant was generating fell silent. [[Previous|Page 274]] | [[Next|Page 276]]

The fake Alpidt stumbled forward with their arm raised, as a kitchen knife grew out of their hand. The knife slowly pushed its way out of their palm, blade-first, until the handle finally emerged for them to grab. “Don't resist, darlings," they said. "Just relax and think of booze, and it will all be painless.” “Sure!” Cydia seemed to have no problems with the idea of thinking about alcohol. The leaves underfoot began to rustle as a loud laugh filled the room. “Very well, darling!” the guardian hollered. “So you submit? Very well...then this 'booze' shall be the first memory I...” Suddenly, the atmosphere of the Hollows seemed to drain from the room entirely. The torches dimmed, the smell dissipated, and the once-rigid shapes etched into the stone began to curve. “...huh?” Kyrinna stumbled as the leaves began to soften under her feet. She looked down to watch her footing, and watched in amazement as a wave seemed to pass through the leaves. She could feel her footing being rocked up and down as humps of firmness rolled beneath her. “Losing your grip, huh?” Kyrinna howled. The foolish thing had snacked too heartily on Cydia's love for alcohol. She couldn't help but laugh at its mistake. “Oh yeah, now you're drunk, aren't you? Don't you drink it raw like Cydia does...dilute it with something too!” Before Ky could make any suggestions, giant slices of fruit began to drop through the ceiling, falling like blades into the leaves. Their impacts sent moisture rolling across the surface of the leaves. The liquid had such a tartness to it that Kyrinna could smell it, but it wasn't burning her away or anything. As she inhaled the vapors, Ky felt a new energy overcome the room. The waves that had swayed through the leaves seemed to ripple through everything in the room except Ky and the others. The guardian's inebriation was strengthening. [[Previous|Page 275]] | [[Next|Page 277]]

The shotant's constructed reality began to ripple and bend around the edges, as they became more and more intoxicated by Cydia's memories. Through the wrinkles in the illusion, Kyrinna saw glimpses of bluish-white metal. She recognized it instantly—after all, she'd spent enough time staring at it as the group had climbed all those stairs. Walls of the stairwell were starting to show through the guardian's recreation of the Melaton Hollow. Wordlessly, she darted around her friends and Eyron, looking for the doorway out in between the ripples. “There!” she shouted, pointing at the wall. The cracks had been unmistakable after pondering them so thoroughly outside the Path. “Cydia, do that Phantom spit again!” She turned to Eyron and added, “And you, prick! You let it hit the wall, then you zap it with copper magic!” Indeed, even as she tangled Eyron up in instructions, Cydia had already summoned up a glob of saliva. Her throaty noises echoed through the wobbly room, and soon, she spat a giant blob at the wall where Ky had pointed. “Now, prick, now!” “Excuse me?” Eyron balked. “Just do it!” Eyron scoffed, but did as he was told. The streak of magic arced dutifully into the wall, square onto Cydia's slimy target. The wall blew away, both in the guardian's reality and the one underneath, revealing a hallway so bright, Ky had to avert her eyes. A sound partway between a hiss and a shout rang out, a chorus of pained voices so entwined that Ky couldn't guess who it was. Soon, the vision of the Melaton Hollows was stripped away entirely by the shining of the light, leaving the same old bluish-white corridors. “Finally,” Kyrinna muttered to herself, as she took her first few steps down the hallway. She'd had enough of these shotant tricks. “We ain't gonna talk none 'bout what just happened?” Cydia shouted behind her. Kyrinna didn't stop. Her patience for the Church and the shotant tricks alike had been completely depleted. [[Previous|Page 276]] | [[Next|Page 278]]

## Chapter 40 When Kyrinna and the group emerged from the hallway, they found themselves in a large, ornate room. Rows of pews had been shoved aside, making room for a gaggle of templar nerds to form a circle around the side entrance the group had taken into the room. Stained glass windows dotted the walls; their pictures seemed to imply a story of something falling from the sky. Whatever they meant, Ky didn't have the time to pay attention to them. The templars were moving, making way for someone as they walked in. “Welcome to my chapel,” Ky heard the Marquis say from somewhere in the crowd. Judging by the position, it seemed the templars were parting to give the Marquis a path to them. Before long, he was before them, sweeping his arms in grand gestures as his red and green robe trailed behind his movements. “You've caused quite a stir among the Church, Eyron.” “Don't change the subject,” Eyron balked, taking a step forward. “Melaton has been left to suffer by the Church's actions! Surely this is not in line with the teachings...!?” Marquis Luman seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. “The teachings? Oh yeah, those. Well, they shouldn't have harbored enemies of the Church like yourselves.” “They didn't! Only Eulipha Alpidt did! Wait...” Eyron took back his step. “...do you mean to say I am an enemy too?” Luman nodded. “Of course! A monster with your face and voice approached some other members of the Order. Now you stand beside heathens and storm my chapel with them. That sounds like something an enemy would do.” “If you'd only let me explain, I—“ Marquis Luman cut Eyron off with a laugh. “If you explain, you'll probably make it worse for yourself.” Eyron muttered half a syllable, but Luman cut him off again. “What will you say? That I yoked a Phantom to my will? Or that you did?” “Clearly,” Zel cut in, “the shotant make better friends than the Church!” [[Previous|Page 277]] | [[Next|Page 279]]

Luman laughed again. “See what I mean?" he said, taking another step forward. "Making it worse for yourselves...!” Luman easily tossed Eyron out of his way, sending the prick sprawling while the Marquis stared at Zel. When her hand ducked into her coat toward her bandolier, the nearby templars reached for their weapons too. “You should've been more careful about who you use the S-word around.” Zel shook her head. “Yeah, well, I've had time to think about it. The shotant aren't too different from us. They have rebels and rabble-rousers just like we do. But some are kind and peaceful, too. There's definitely some humans that mean humans harm like the Phantoms do. There's some who deserve to be hunted just as much as a rampaging shotant...they're just as deadly, just as dastardly.” Zel shrugged. “Are you one of those humans, Marquis?” “Zel!” Eyron hissed quietly. The Marquis shook his head. “Deadly? Yes," he admitted, "but only to enemies of the Church, as any decent human ought to be. I wouldn't call that dastardly.” “Yeah,” Zel agreed, “you wouldn't. Bet you wouldn't happen to know what the Church's problem with the Night Watch is either, then, huh? You'd think we'd be more appreciated, hunting your enemies for you.” “Is that why you're here?” the Marquis asked, taking a step toward Zel and the others. “You don't feel appreciated? The deal is this, Night Watcher: we allow you to exist. It's very generous of us. With just a small flexing of the Church's muscle, we could crush your whole operation like a bug. It's just not worth it, not until the people of this backwater continent trust us more.” Kyrinna briefly thought of the Marquis trying to swat Abribiene like a common insect, only to be crushed by their heavy tail. The image brought a laugh out of her. Only when everyone stared at her did she realize her outburst had interrupted the Marquis' spiel. “What's so funny?” he stopped to ask. “You getting squished by a bug shotant! But I guess you weren't paying attention to my trial...all those lives I saved are people who will hate the Church forever if we die.” The Marquis took another step forward. “What, die by our hand? Why would you have to do that?” [[Previous|Page 278]] | [[Next|Page 280]]

Ky laughed again. “Ah, memories," she mused as she began to pace around aimlessly. "This reminds me of when I first met Cydia! One of the first things she told me was that I knew too much and I had to die. Now everyone in this room has heard about the Phantoms...the shotant, about how they're just as capable of reason and good as we are...maybe they heard you keep a Phantom in the basement to run your stupid Path! You say they're your sworn enemy, unless it's convenient, huh?” Gasps erupted from some of the surrounding templars. They were all silenced by a wave of the Marquis' hand in a dismissive gesture. “If you think the shotant is bad, you should see who the Marquis keeps up here.” With that, the Marquis' face began to bubble and melt away, scrap flesh dripping onto the floor as his visage was replaced with a different one. “Did you really think the Marquis would waste his time and risk his life by meeting any old miscreant who walks the Path?” Kyrinna didn't recognize the new face, but Eyron did. “You're the one who stole the barrier crystal!” he announced. His grip on his sword tightened. “You're the one we wanted to see anyway. Give me the crystal so I may return it to Melaton with haste.” The Church nerd simply stood his ground, his body not even heaving with breath. “So you do resist the Church's efforts to punish heresy.” “There are innocent lives in danger, fellow templar. I won't hear any further arguments. The barrier crystal...now!” Rather than hand over the crystal, the nerd's arm stretched out and landed with a strange plop on Eyron's chest. About as soon as it hit, it began to unstretch, dragging Eyron along as it went. “Very well!” Eyron hoisted his sword and cut through the arm that gripped him. The leftover momentum sent him flying across the room, bowling over a few of the templars watching the battle. The crowd seemed unsure of who to root for; even if he wasn't the Marquis, the shapeshifter still had the highest authority in the room. But Eyron had walked the Path, and that was supposed to make him and his cause right. Ky gagged. She couldn't stand the way the Church made decisions. What she saw before her was a bizarre melting man on the attack. That was all the convincing it took to get her to fight back. She started by lobbing a bottle of resin at him. With his attention so wrapped up in Eyron, it was trivial to hit him in the back of the neck. The bottle broke, but the resin kept the shards stuck to him. [[Previous|Page 279]] | [[Next|Page 281]]

To Kyrinna's horror, the Church nerd simply ignored the shards and turned around. Blood trickled from his back as his movements caused the occasional cut, but his body language didn't imply any pain at all. In fact, his expression was completely blank. “And what do you think you're doing?” he asked calmly. Zel replied by throwing a knife into his stomach. Once again, he had no reaction, even as the knife stuck in the wound. “Same thing Eyron's here to do,” Zel replied. She did a flip over Ky and landed in a dramatic pose, with one hand on the floor. As she rose to her feet, she added, “Save Melaton.” “My answer is the same,” the Church wildspeaker said. To elaborate his point further, he leaned in and opened his mouth to an unnatural degree. Blue light poured from his eyes and a few other spots along each side of his head in a line. Their glow coincided with a shriek he emitted from his mouth, a familiar timbre that had Ky reaching to cover her ears. “Quit copying that stupid Phantom!” she demanded, even as her right hand searched her satchel for her next attack. Everything she laid her hand on, though, was ill suited for the task at hand. Her riding crop, for example, would be of no help if this nerd was already shrugging off a knife to the gut and glass in his neck. The wildspeaker replied with another inhuman shout directed right at her. She reeled around a bit before she collapsed entirely, clutching her head. “Hey!” Cydia hollered. Kyrinna curled her neck to see Cydia's long legs strut into view. “She said stop it!” The Church wildspeaker responded by tossing his arm at Cydia. Kyrinna heard it hit, but couldn't tell from where at first, until the hand began pulling Cydia toward him. He'd managed to hit her squarely in the face. With her mouth covered, breathing would be difficult, much less exhaling swamp gas for Swampfire. “And you, Cydia,” the Church nerd began, trying to hold Cydia off the ground. She was so tall, though, that her feet still touched the floor. “A wildspeaker who's managed to evade the Church...that takes skill, I'll admit.” [[Previous|Page 280]] | [[Next|Page 282]]

Cydia stepped forward and swung her leg upward, kicking the nerd as hard as she could. The impact didn't bother him one bit. She mouthed off some reply, but she was muffled by the hand on her face, so Ky couldn't hear her. Whatever she said, she punctuated it by firing a spray of spikes from her body. They were flung out of her at all angles, but enough were pointed the Church wildspeaker's way that some of his body had been shredded away, including his arm. Cydia still had his hand stuck to her face, but she was at least able to retreat. Being torn apart by a hail of needles didn't seem to bother the nerd any. In fact, some of the torn flaps of his skin were already beginning to curl back into place, holding a human shape as if nothing had happened. “You must realize by now,” he said, bowing slightly to the group, “that you cannot harm me in a way that matters.” Cydia gave some reply, but she was still muffled. Both her hands turned into heavy hexagonal weights as she spun her body in circles. She whirled forward and caught the other wildspeaker in a lariat. As he fell to the ground, his body melded together and plopped on the floor as a gelatinous heap. The hand over Cydia's mouth fell to the dark marble floor and splattered at her feet. In a literal fluid motion, the heap sloshed upward and reformed back into the wildspeaker. “I am Mozoa,” he taunted as soon as he had a mouth again, “and I have mastered the form of Chaos itself, one of the holy beasts. You are powerless before the Order of Scinti—” Mozoa's boasting was cut off by a beam of copper magic striking him in the side. Eyron had returned to his feet, and brandished his sword to attack. Arcs of light streaked through the air, gnarled fingers reaching for Mozoa. He bothered to wince and turn his body away from the magic; Kyrinna quickly figured that it meant Eyron's attack was effective. She let out a sigh. She hated the acrid burning smell of copper magic. She would have preferred Mozoa have some other weakness. Mozoa once again opened his jaws unnaturally wide, and let out a shrill cry toward Eyron. The noise distracted him enough to drop his magical assault, if only for a moment. Still, the ground Mozoa managed to cover in that moment was impressive. When Eyron regained his composure, Mozoa put all his momentum into his arm, flinging his hand toward Eyron. The prick's copper magic streaked directly to the hand, as if drawn to it somehow, even as the hand stuck to Eyron's right leg. He let out a scream and fell to his knee. [[Previous|Page 281]] | [[Next|Page 283]]

“Foul being!” Eyron spat, scrabbling to his feet. “How dare you wear the colors of the Order! I don't care how divine a being Chaos is...to shed your human form is to shed your human rights! These are the teachings of—“ “The teachings?” Mozoa interrupted, before throwing his head back for a short laugh. “With the real Marquis Luman headed to the Grand Church, I am the most powerful being on the continent! Even the Phantoms bow to me! The teachings are mine to rewrite!” “Oh,” Kyrinna said slowly, “you're just on a power trip. I get those sometimes.” Kyrinna wrapped her fingers around one of the vials Alpidt had given her, and held it aloft as if she were about to throw it. “What you need is a dose of—“ As if on cue, Mozoa threw his other hand to intercept Kyrinna's throwing arm. “And what could you possibly prescribe, Doctor Strauss?” The way he said “doctor” really got on Ky's nerves. That was her father's title; she considered herself an alchemist. “Luman didn't know your father, but I did! He promised a wealth of knowledge in exchange for immunity from the Church, but—“ “Dat's a thing?” Cydia interrupted. “Well, gimme one o'dem immunity things too! For da Night Watch an' da Cuprina Brigade!” Cydia was breathing heavily, and Ky instantly knew why. She could smell the swamp gas quickly filling the area. Cydia gave away the plot with her next sentence, though. “Or I blow up da whole chapel!” “Ridiculous,” Mozoa spat. With both his hands having been flung elsewhere, he seemed to struggle with what to menace Cydia with. “A meager wildspeaker such as you could never manage such a feat.” “Try me.” Mozoa began advancing rapidly toward Cydia, totally abandoning his attacks on Ky and Eyron. “You'd risk destroying the barrier crystal stockpile just to stop me?” Cydia shrugged. “Try me,” she said again. “Da barrier don't matter to me too much. Yeah, dat inn is real nice, an' da chick who runs da place is kinda hot, but if I really wanted to settle down there, she an' I could guard da place from hoodlums an' Phantoms. Betcha da whole town would join da Cuprina Brigade then!” [[Previous|Page 282]] | [[Next|Page 284]]

Cydia reared her head back and whipped it forward. As she did so, she sneezed out a fan of sparks. The air around her ignited into flames, and a blast of concussive force threw her wild hair in all sorts of directions. Mozoa halted his advance and reared away from the flames, twisting and desolidifying his body to absorb the shockwave of the explosion. Cydia began to fan the flames with her hair, sending a gust of scorching hot air right at Mozoa. Once again, Mozoa let out an inhuman cry. This one was different, though. The other ones had been taunting, disorienting, purposeful. Caught in Cydia's heat wave, though, he let out a shriek of pain, similar to his cries when the copper magic hit him. Rather than run away from the heat, his body began to stretch itself thin, until he became long and flimsy enough to simply ride the blast to a nearby door. Once he got there, his body snapped back into its normal proportions, and he fled out the way Ky and the others had come in. “Get back here, nerd!” Kyrinna shouted, running toward the door Mozoa had used. She popped the collar of her coat to shield her skin from the heat. “I'm not finished with you yet!” “Ky!” Zel called out. “We're here for the barrier crystal! Not him!” Kyrinna let out a growl as she gradually came to a stop. “Fine! One of these nerds ought to know where they are!” Ky gestured out to the templars who had watched the fight to the end. “Or that prick...” She pointed to the crowd, and dragged her finger along until she found herself pointing at Eyron. “You! Go get the damn crystal!” “What, an' let him have all da glory?” Cydia asked. She jogged a bit to catch up with Ky. “No way!” Eyron shook his head. “Come on,” he said. As he stood there, he seemed to be keeping his weight off his right leg. “Do you really think I would lie? Your involvement will be duly noted in my report.” “So you'll do it?” Zel asked. “It could be dangerous, making the journey on foot with such a valuable thing...” “Some of these folks will follow me, I'm sure.” Some of the templars already began to shout their agreement. [[Previous|Page 283]] | [[Next|Page 285]]

Eyron took a few labored steps toward some ornate double doors at one end of the chapel hall, then turned back to face the group. “Your crimes and demands are far too serious for anyone but the Cardinals to punish," he said, albeit with none of the usual vitriol that normally came with such accusations. "A Cardinal is very likely to follow the Marquis back to this miserable continent when he returns from the Great Church. If I were any of the three of you, I'd be very well hidden by then.” “Thanks, Eyron,” Zel said. “Don't thank me. Just kill that monster.” With that, the prick vanished into the crowd of templars, headed toward an ornate double door at one end of the chapel hall. As he did so, not all the templars joined him. “What's your problem, nerds?” Kyrinna asked as she exited the room leisurely. “Aren't you gonna help him?” “We'd rather help you,” one of the templars replied. Ky wasn't sure which one spoke because she wasn't looking at them; her attention was focused squarely on the exit. Dutifully, Zel and Cydia overtook her, quick and agile as ever. They too sported looks of determination and focus. Somewhere behind the three of them, templars began clanking into place, eager to do something about that power-hungry shapeshifter. Whatever glory or infamy would ensue from killing Mozoa, Ky didn't care. She knew that prick could be trusted to tell the truth about what he'd seen from the Church. She had to admit, Eyron was every bit as dedicated to truth and honesty as he said he was. That dedication usually annoyed her, but here, at least, it was useful. Kyrinna didn't care about the glory like Cydia did. In a way, she was; Melaton would owe her favors forever after doing them such a good deed. Even more than that, though, she just wanted to see the Church ruined. [[Previous|Page 284]] | [[Next|Page 286]]

## Chapter 41 Kyrinna and the gang ran back down the hall, approaching the staircase they'd climbed earlier. Their advance wasn't lost on the guardian shotant. “Darlings!” they said, quickly whipping the chamber up into a facsimile of the Melaton Hollows again. Reality rippled at the edges of the shotant's influence as it spread across the room, leaving the comforts of the inn in its wake. “You've returned!” The shotant emerged from the hole the gang had ripped open in the bed of leaves, still assuming Alpidt's form. They had been laying down within the leaves; they rose stiffly into a sitting position, then stood up just as rigidly. “Come, relax, feed me more memories.” “Memories?” Ky repeated. She'd barely been paying attention the last time she had seen them. “Yeah! You said you would submit your memories to me!” As quickly as the shotant had plumbed the depths of her memories in Melaton, Kyrinna still felt like there was no time for that. “No we—wait.” Kyrinna snapped her fingers. “We'd rather send you out to learn on your own! Wouldn't we?” Cydia seemed to catch on instantly. Something, at least, had put the confidence in her swagger. “Dat first drink was on me,” she said, stepping in front of Ky, “but to really enjoy booze, ya gotta drink it yourself!” The shotant scoffed. “Don't be ridiculous, darling,” they replied. “The Marquis would never let me leave.” Zel made her way to the front of the group, handspringing off Ky's shoulders and jumping clean over Cydia. “No!” she shouted as she landed. “We know that's not the Marquis!” “Even so, he has his orders from the Marquis...if I try to leave, he'll devour me.” “Then kill him,” Ky suggested with a shrug. “That's what we're off to do. Now's the time, while we're here to help.” Zel nodded. “Ky's right,” she agreed. “Join forces with us, and fight your way to freedom!” [[Previous|Page 285]] | [[Next|Page 287]]

The shotant began pacing around the room. "You?" they finally said, staring right at Zel. "The Phantom Hunter?" "The what?" Zel gasped, reeling back a little. "How are you surprised? That's in your job description. Plus, we shotant share many memories of you battling our shokhaye. Can we truly trust you? Who's to say you won't attack us, like you have the rest of our kind?" Zel shrugged. "Look, just make up your mind. Read my mind if you have to. We have to get going." The shotant took a few laps around the room before they spoke again. "Mozoa is very powerful. If we join you and lose, we'll all be reduced to lantern filament. There's no telling how many of us will join him rather than risk that fate.” “Huh?” The shotant stopped pacing. “You really don't get it? Each shokhaye, or Phantom, as you call them, is a collective of shotant inhabiting one body...like you humans inhabit Melaton.” Ky opened her mouth to correct the shotant, that none of them were even from Melaton, but that didn't seem to matter compared to the point they were trying to make, that each Phantom was like a living city. She silenced herself half a syllable in and continued on a new thought. “So some of...you might leave you to be a part of him?” she asked. “Why? He sucks.” “Sucks?” An eerie silence suddenly overtook the room. The flame of a candle on the front desk froze. Kyrinna could feel the guardian rooting around in her mind, no doubt searching for the meaning behind her vernacular. “It has nothing to do with liking him. Even now, some of us have given up any hope of victory against his terrible might.” “Sure, with that attitude...!” Zel scolded the shotant. [[Previous|Page 286]] | [[Next|Page 288]]

“We managed to drive him back!" Zel continued. "And we have help!” Zel jutted a thumb over her shoulder at the entry they'd used, only to find it closed off by a wall of simulated stone. Somehow, the other templars had been denied entry. “Uh...well, we have your help, right?” “Even if you did have help," the shotant argued, "what would we do? I would be exposed to the barrier crystal out there, darling. And those templars you refer to would be fodder. They would die, and their memories would fade with them.” “Dis is takin' too long, innit?” Cydia butted in. “Da more we gab about it, da more he gets away to do whatever he wants. So Alpidt...or whoever...just show us which way he went. Dat ain't a problem, is it?” “...no,” the shotant agreed. Suddenly, the ceiling exploded. Dust and small rocks rained down on the group as the shotant's illusion was violently broken, revealing the same Church metal in the ceiling. Some of the rubble formed a rough staircase to a level the stairs hadn't reached before. “You go on ahead. I've got to clean up this mess.” [[Previous|Page 287]] | [[Next|Page 289]]

The room at the top of the staircase was small and featureless, except for one door. Something had simply run through the door, though, leaving it broken in several pieces, only one of which still remained hanging on a hinge. “You think Mozoa did this?” Zel asked. “Gotta be him, innit?” Cydia replied. “Dat Phantom Alpidt or whatever said he went dis way.” “Still, I don't like this.” Kyrinna scoffed and stepped out into the night. Thick clouds covered the night sky, occasionally lit from within by lightning. She took in a long breath, eager to be out of that stuffy chapel. Cydia seemed to see her breathing so, and ran out to do the same. “It'll be okay, Zel,” ky said between deep breaths. “If all else fails, we just burn him.” “With the winds so high?” Indeed, the three of them were all flapping in the breeze—Ky and Zel with their respective coats, and Cydia with her hair. With the roof of the chapel being rain-slicked copper, the three of them strode side-by-side around the various spires, in search of Mozoa. Ky was undeterred. “Don't worry, nerd. If you've got time to come up with problems, you've got time for solutions!” Ky froze up suddenly. “Yuck...that's something my father used to tell me. Sorry, Zel.” Zel didn't seem too offended; in fact, she laughed. “What kind of advice is that?” she asked. “I mean, I think I get it, but...you know?” “Yeah...!” Kyrinna joined in Zel's laughter. “No, I don't know,” Cydia said. She shrugged it off and kept walking, along the roof of the chapel. “All's I know is, we gotta do somethin' 'bout dat Mozoa guy...right?” “And what would that be?” Mozoa asked, pirouetting out from behind a steeple. His arms trailed his spin slowly and heavily, almost like dead weight. “Forget it. If anyone comes out of here with a barrier crystal, I'll see them from here, and kill them. And if you try to stop me, you'll be killed too.” “Try it,” Zel dared him. She hadn't even finished her sentence before she threw a knife at Mozoa, catching him square in the eye. He didn't even flinch. [[Previous|Page 288]] | [[Next|Page 290]]

“Haven't you realized by now that you can't stop me?” Mozoa snarled. To prove his point, he simply grew a new eye slightly above and to the left of his left eye, close to where Zel's knife had hit. “Now if you'll excuse me...I have to check on that traitor templar of yours, make sure he's not—“ As Mozoa spoke, he turned to leave. Rather than let him go, Cydia interrupted his walk and his sentence by shooting a gout of flame in his path. “You can't keep doin' dis,” she urged him. “You's gettin' too big for your britches! Can't have ya causin' trouble for da Cuprina Brigade, now, can we?” “The what?” Instead of answering Mozoa's question, Cydia hit him with another tendril of flame. He simply oozed his body around the flame, but not quite correctly. The flames blew sideways in the wind, and chunks of flesh sizzled and melted away from Mozoa's edges. As Cydia moved her head, the hole in Mozoa moved around too. After awhile, Cydia coughed, blowing a wide ring of fire that signaled the end of her attack. Her work done, she fell to her knees, coughing and sputtering. Mozoa grinned. Most of his face had melted clean off, and bones were visible in his body in several spots where the skin had dripped away, but he still grinned. “Done already?” he admonished. “Now, let me show you what I'm capable of!” With that, Mozoa raised an arm toward the sky. Dutifully, a bolt of lightning came down and struck him. With the lightning came a clap of thunder, deafeningly loud so close to the strike zone. The lightning bolt seemed to course through him, cooking what skin remained on him. Kyrinna couldn't look for long, though, because the lightning was far too bright for her eyes. She raised an arm between her and Mozoa, and looked away. Cydia, though, seemed to have her gaze transfixed on the scene before them. “What da...?” she gasped. Indeed, when Ky returned her gaze to Mozoa, he'd ceased taking on a human form entirely. What remained was a charred sac of some sort, gently pulsing and wobbling in the wind. Everything Zel and Cydia did to try to break the sac simply glanced off. At most, Zel's knives would chip a small flake of burnt material off the side. [[Previous|Page 289]] | [[Next|Page 291]]

From somewhere inside the sac of burnt flesh, Kyrinna could hear Mozoa laugh. “Don't you understand?” he said. “When Scintilla burnt my body away, what remains must be fireproof!” A force from within began to lift the sac off the ground, ripping it in several places, forming a crooked line. Eight spindly legs burst out from underneath the sac, lifting the upper portion. In all, it looked a bit like a walking rock, headed right toward the group. “She has given me all the form I need to defeat you!” “Uh...any ideas yet, Ky?” Zel asked, taking Ky's attention away from Mozoa. “No,” Ky replied. There seemed to be some truth in Mozoa's words. He'd hardened his body into this inhuman form, and in doing so had proven impervious to the others' tricks. Still, as long as he was downwind, perhaps Cydia could— “Eyes up, Strauss!” Mozoa taunted, snapping Ky out of her deep thought. Indeed, as she looked, she saw he'd grown an extremely long arm with a bloated hand at the end. The hideous appendage poked out of its own hole in the sac, a hole which moved with it as he swung the thing at the group. Zel hopped it, but Ky was too slow to make a move of her own. Fortunately, Cydia was there. Her arms twisted together into a single facsimile of Abribiene's tail, much thicker and heavier than her one-handed variant. With one decisive shove, she stopped Mozoa's attack right in the air. The impact even broke his arm, causing a painful-looking bend that arched cleanly past Cydia and Kyrinna. “You think this injury matters?” Mozoa intoned from within his protective sac. Indeed, he kept his arm in motion and simply swiped again. Kyrinna skipped the dodging this time by retreating out of range. After hopping over Mozoa's arm, the others came to join her. Cydia began to nurse her shoulders with her hands the moment she stopped fleeing. Mozoa seemed to see the group's retreat as some kind of victory, because he began to laugh. Kyrinna had laughed that same kind of laugh over Eyron a few times in their history. “You are nothing before the might of Scintilla,” he said. “Now go, and choose whom among you will die first to my wrath...after Eyron, of course.” With that, Mozoa began to scuttle away. [[Previous|Page 290]] | [[Next|Page 292]]

Mozoa's burnt sac fell away from his body as he walked, revealing a gruesome torso. Flesh and bone were wrapped up in a crude, twisting trunk that tapered up to a featureless point. As he made his way to the edge of the roof, his arm began to shrink away, its material shifting and slithering inside his body to be reused elsewhere. “We have to stop him!” Zel said, pointing a knife at Mozoa. Cydia shook her head. “We can't!” she protested. “Not with that attitude, darling.” Kyrinna jumped at the sound of Alpidt's voice. “What are you doing out here?” she asked. “The barrier crystal—“ “—is not a problem so long as you are human.” The shotant walked quickly past Kyrinna and the others, making a beeline for Mozoa. “It's so obvious!” As they passed the group, Kyrinna could smell Alpidt's spices all over them. “I just have to take human form!” Before Ky could ask them any more, they grabbed Mozoa by two of his legs, one in each hand. Mozoa came to a quick stop in the shotant's grip. “So the witch has put a spell on you too,” he said. “How you got here doesn't matter. But before Scintilla has you roasted into filament, I'd like to know why you throw your life away so recklessly.” Despite his calm tone, he seemed to be stuck in the fake Alpidt's grasp. "We were going to spare you the fate of your kind, but now—" “Now that I've learned how to bypass your barrier crystals," the shotant interrupted, "there's nowhere I can't go, darling. You are my only remaining barrier to learning about the world outside this chapel.” “Hey,” Kyrinna butted in, “it was really gutsy to test your theory by walking out here—“ “Yes it was. Please focus. Mozoa plans to pounce off the rooftop and onto the drawbridge below. Eyron would be either killed in the ensuing bridge collapse or have his escape cut off, depending on the timing. We've got to stop him somehow.” [[Previous|Page 291]] | [[Next|Page 293]]

“Oh!” Kyrinna clapped her hands together. “Cydia can blow her paralyzing glitter on him!” Cydia froze up. “My what?” she asked. “Oh, for...” Ky ground her heel. “The glowy stuff!” “Oh yeah!” Cydia took a deep breath as her skin began to take on a soft glow. Sparkles enveloped her hands as she brought them up to her chin, palms facing upward. She exhaled in one sustained blow, scattering the sparkling matter into the wind. From there, the storm dutifully delivered the glitter onto the surface of Mozoa's skin. Muscle and sinew fell limp within Mozoa's lumpy mass where the glitter made contact. “...no!” the shotant scolded them. “That won't work!” Before they could explain, Mozoa's many legs finally bucked them away, sending them skidding backwards. Mozoa resumed his march to the edge of the roof. “I don't know what that stuff was, but it didn't stop his feet!” Ky let out a wordless shriek. “Just let me think, you nerds!” Cydia's attack hadn't been in vain. They were unable to harm Mozoa, sure, but in return, he was unable to harm them. He could try to trample them, but he seemed to be right where he wanted, overlooking the main entrance of the chapel. Everything had stopped. Finally, she could think. The only thing that had managed to slow Mozoa down in his current form was the shotant, but they'd already done all they could. They'd managed to pack superhuman strength into their human form, but it wasn't enough. At this point, Mozoa had only to tilt to one side to tip right off the roof. Judging from the shotant's earlier comments, they'd read his mind and found plans to plunge himself onto the bridge leading to the main entrance of the chapel. Already, he began to twist and rearrange his body to best absorb the impact of the landing. His legs were sucked up into his body, and he seemed to allow himself just one hand to push himself off the building with. “Any ideas, Ky?” Zel asked, looking a bit distressed at Mozoa's metamorphosis. Ky sighed. “None,” she replied. “He's just too resilient. All he has to do now is fall over and he gets what he wants.” “...which is what?” “Just what he said. He's going after Eyron first.” “And what makes him believe Eyron will come out this door, exactly?” Kyrinna shrugged. “I don't know.” “That's okay, I can just go make sure.” Zel started running toward Mozoa. “I'll just run in from down there!” With that, Zel slowed to a walk and stared back at Kyrinna. “Be good.” Then Zel stepped backwards, right off the roof. [[Previous|Page 292]] | [[Next|Page 294]]

“Zel!” Cydia shrieked. “What are ya—“ “Fool!” Mozoa snapped. With one powerful flop, he catapulted himself off the building after Zel. Kyrinna ran a few steps toward the edge. It had all happened so fast, she'd barely had time to process it. She could see glimpses of Mozoa, but she was too afraid to get close to the edge in the stormy weather, so she wasn't sure just what he was up to. Regardless, Zel had isolated herself and promised to ruin his plan. He couldn't just let her leave. The shotant stepped in front of Kyrinna, moving all the way to the edge. “Hurry up, darling!” they demanded, waving an arm behind them. “Zel's hanging off the archway!” Before Kyrinna could move, though, she swore she could feel Mozoa's impact from all the way up on the roof. Just as he'd been so sure of, the wooden bridge barely slowed his descent before it was smashed away, leaving Mozoa to continue falling. “Okay!” Zeltencia yelled from down below. Kyrinna still couldn't see her. “He's gonna be really mad that I faked him out, maybe mad enough to try to kill me first!” “Zel!” Kyrinna hollered back. “What kind of plan is this, nerd?” Zel went on like she didn't hear Ky. “I'm gonna try to drop down this arch and get back inside the chapel before he gets back up!” “Zel!” There was no reply. “She already dropped,” the shotant said. “We'd better hurry.” Ky raised an eyebrow. “To where?” “Isn't it obvious?” The shotant swept their arm in a wide gesture off the edge of the roof. “Wherever we want! Think about it...Zel and Eyron have Mozoa's attention...the templars have been awed into inaction...this is my best chance to leave, and yours as well.” Kyrinna shook her head. “But Zel...!” [[Previous|Page 293]] | [[Next|Page 295]]

The shotant scoffed. “As I said...go wherever you want. If that's by Zel's side, despite the danger she's in, then so be it. But we're beginning to despair...and remember, he can seize on that to add some of our power to his own.” After a short pause, they added, “What? Do you not despair? Do you not wish to leave?” “I do too!” Kyrinna balked. “I just...at first, Zel was useful, but now I'm actually invested in her well-being. It's weird.” Cydia laughed. “Dat ain't weird, dat's just carin'!” she clarified. “Now c'mon, we gotta figure out how to beat dis guy!” “You don't have to do that,” the shotant reminded her. “He won't leave the chapel unattended.” “It ain't 'bout dat.” Cydia reached out and draped an arm across the shotant's Alpidt-like shoulders. “Say we just up an' leave, an' Zel don't come with us. Then, a month later, when da real Marquis gets back, Zel shows up at our hideout. Who's to say dat's da real Zel, an' not da guy what can shapeshift?” Kyrinna gasped. She hadn't thought of that. Then again, she hadn't thought about leaving. This caring, as Cydia had called it, had her feeling compelled to not leave without Zel in the first place. Cydia was still right, though. That, and the death of such a powerful agent of the Church would send an equally powerful message to the Marquis when he returned to the continent. “I want to kill Mozoa, I really do. But...but I'm out of ideas.” She lunged at Cydia and the shotant a bit, collapsing against Cydia's waiting body. “There! I said it! I'm stumped!” “Dat's nice,” Cydia said. Ky reeled back; it felt like Cydia hadn't even heard her. “I got it figured out. If dis shotant won't help us, why not get da other one? Bibi Benny?” [[Previous|Page 294]] | [[Next|Page 296]]

Ky shrugged. “Abribiene? They don't know how to pass into the barrier crystal's area. They'd be destroyed.” Cydia nodded and gave Ky a hearty slap on the back. “Yeah, exactly! Destroy da crystal! An' you says you's outta ideas...or was dat some kinda joke?” “Yeah! I mean...no! I mean...it doesn't matter, nerd!” Kyrinna could feel her confidence rebuilding around the word “nerd”. “Yeah! Where's the stupid crystal protecting this place? We just gotta get rid of it!” She jabbed her finger into the shotant's chest and added, “Then you and Abribiene can give it your all!” The shotant turned out and looked over the Marquis' estate, toward the reeds. Kyrinna had a gut feeling they were looking for Abribiene. “Abribiene?” they cooed. “Is that a shokhaye I haven't heard of?” “Huh?” Cydia blurted. She shrugged and went back to staring out alongside the shotant. “Yeah, they made it up while you was locked up in here. Actually, you got a name? You're gonna need one so Ky an' I can tell ya what to do.” The shotant chuckled. “No, I need a name because it will help me blend in among the humans. After all, I can't go by Alpidt, if she's as famous as your memories say.” During a brief silence, the shotant began dumping syllables directly into Kyrinna's mind, and presumably into Cydia's as well. With all the templars they'd been exposed to, and the memories they carried with them, they quickly built a name out of real name parts. “Lymantria's your name?” she grumbled. She hated all the shotant mind tricks. “Kinda long,” Cydia said absentmindedly. “Well, whatever.” The shotant mind trick had soured Ky's mood. “Lymantria, show us to the stupid barrier crystal so we can leave this place a total wreck.” [[Previous|Page 295]] | [[Next|Page 297]]

## Chapter 42 Kyrinna expected some grand door set with all the splendor of the Church, but no. Lymantria led Ky and Cydia to a plain door, wooden with bands of metal, identical to all the others in the hall, save for that it was guarded. As soon as one of the guards caught Ky staring, he barked out a short, loud “Hey!” at the group. He was a young man with messy blond hair like Eyron's, but nowhere near as long. “You're the ones who traveled the Path, aren't you?” Kyrinna nodded. “You bet, nerd!” she sneered. “But how'd you know about that?” “Everyone's talking about it,” the other guard replied. He was taller and rounder, and his hair was a mess of red curls. “Once we heard from crystal storage that Eyron was there, it only confirmed what we heard in the halls.” “A monster like that in the Church...?” the shorter guard said. “It really makes you think, doesn't it?” Kyrinna shrugged. No, it didn't. Not to her, at least. “Well, he's still out there,” she told the guards. “But to kill him, we need to take down the barrier around the chapel.” When Ky reached for the door, the shorter guard drew his sword. “No way!” he yelled, moving himself in front of the door. “That's our one job, to keep the barrier crystal right where it is! No unauthorized access...! That's the one thing that makes sense to me right now!” The taller guard shook his head. “What doesn't make sense,” he added, “is how we'd be better off without the protection of our barrier crystal.” “This is a waste of time,” Lymantria groaned from somewhere behind Kyrinna. In the blink of an eye, though, they'd somehow moved in between Ky and the feisty little guard. He seemed just as shocked as Ky was. “Just break their feeble bodies and be done with it.” Ky understood Lymantria's words better when they grabbed the guard by the throat and lifted him off the ground with their left hand. [[Previous|Page 296]] | [[Next|Page 298]]

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Cydia said, moving to try to free the templar from Lymantria's grip. She seemed to be having no luck, though. Lymantria seemed confused but ultimately undeterred. “What?” they asked, still holding the guard aloft. “This is your intention, is it not? To break Mozoa like this? Have you not broken them before?” “No!” the taller guard said. He pulled out his sword and charged Lymantria, only to be caught by their other arm. “Just stop it! Let Ithric go!” Lymantria had only caught him by his sword arm, so while he was stuck, at least he wasn't being choked to death like his fellow templar Ithric. Still, he cried out in pain and fear as he tried to break free. “Cripes! We'll just leave you be if it means that much to you! But neither of us have the key anyway!” “Then we shall break the door as well,” Lymantria said flatly. Frankly, Kyrinna didn't think much of the scenario. She didn't care whether these guards lived or not. “If you leave right now,” Kyrinna offered, “it will be quickest for all of us. Killing you is gonna be long and drawn out, but it'll happen! Just look at how pathetic you are now. Just run away...save your lives and save us some time.” Lymantria looked over to Kyrinna for a moment. “You find that a quicker solution?” they asked. “Very well. You know more about humans than I do.” They released their grip on the taller guard, and right away, he fled down a hallway, merging with some other templar traffic. “See?” Ky pointed down the hall where he'd gone. “We'll probably never even see him again.” “Hmph.” Lymantria released her grip on Ithric's throat, dropping him unceremoniously to the floor. He landed in a heap, coughing and sputtering and fighting for air. “This other one is still here.” “He ain't gonna bother me none like dat,” Cydia scoffed. She moved to the door and leaned against it. “So you's got no keys, huh? Dat ain't a problem neither.” Cydia's hair began to squirm and slither. It caressed the edges of the door, probing for weaknesses just as she had done at the entrance to the Path. [[Previous|Page 297]] | [[Next|Page 299]]

“See?” Ky said again, this time gesturing to Cydia. “We'll be in there in a moment. Choking that guy out would've taken forever.” “I still say we break the door,” Lymantria huffed. Cydia laughed. “Dat's what I'm doin'!” she reassured the impatient shotant. “I'm da door expert here!” Indeed, it didn't take long for her to summon a loud, satisfying click from the lock. “Ah...!” Her hair pried the door open as she stepped away, letting it swing away to reveal a plain little room with the barrier crystal inside. It was glowing brightly as it sat on a pedestal in the center of the room. “Nothin' to it!” With Cydia still untangling her hair from the door, and Lymantria seeming hesitant to come closer to the crystal's light, it was Kyrinna who reached the crystal first. It was a simple octrahedron, quite regular aside from the rounded edges. Still, it was a marvel of geometry, and Kyrinna felt a little bad for grabbing it with both hands and spiking it into the floor. A loud crash reverberated through the room as the crystal was smashed to bits. Kyrinna cackled in delight and watched the shards spray out from the point of impact. They still retained their glow, and it made for a dazzling sight to see the light scattered before her so. “That was fun!” she cheered through the door. “I wanna break another one!” “How dare you!” Ithric spat, crawling his way to the door. For some reason, Cydia and Lymantria just let him by, to stare in the door at the mess Ky had made. “These aren't toys! The barrier is a holy gift, delivered to us through the crystals...it's disrespectful to take such pleasure in ruining all that!” Kyrinna was starting to have trouble hearing him as the crystal shards crunched under her boots. She didn't really care what he had to say, though. She'd finished her business with the barrier. She looked expectantly to Lymantria. “...what?” they asked. “Aren't you gonna turn into some kind of creature?” “Why would I do that?” “Because you're...you know what, Abribiene knows.” [[Previous|Page 298]] | [[Next|Page 300]]

Lymantria clapped their hands together. “Ah, the other shotant again. And where are they, darling?” Cydia jutted a thumb over her shoulder at a nearby window. “Out dere somewhere,” she replied, “in da reeds.” Kyrinna finally exited the crystal room. When she reached Ithric, still on the ground gasping, she merely stepped over him. “It wasn't that far from the way we came into the Path.” “No no no!” Lymantria shouted, walking away from the others in the direction Cydia had pointed. “I'm going to need specifics if I'm going to form a doorway there!” “A doorway?” Cydia repeated. “A doorway. Like I did to let you into the stairwell...and like I did to loop you back around in the stairwell. It's hard to explain.” Kyrinna shrugged. “Not really,” she scoffed, taking a seat on Ithric. He squirmed and protested, until she let up out of annoyance. “If we can picture it, you can read our minds, and then you can bring us there somehow. Maybe we can spot it out the window.” Before she went looking for it, though, she stole a glance toward the front entrance, where they'd left Mozoa. He was still laying in the ravine. At some point, he'd begun to bleed profusely, leaving him in a slowly growing pool. He made no effort to escape or even move that Kyrinna could see. She didn't like it. After all, why wouldn't he be eager to move, especially after Zel made such a fool of him? Kyrinna shook her head. Lymantria was going to start reading her mind soon, if they hadn't already. She wanted them out as soon as possible, which meant finding the reeds as soon as possible. Kyrinna ran down the ornate hallway, pausing at every single window to glance outside at the surroundings. With no lights out there, though, finding the burned-up reeds where they'd had that first skirmish would be difficu— “You know what,” Lymantria said, cutting into Ky's thoughts, “if it's that hard, what if we just went back to the entrance of the Path and doubled back from there? Would it take long?” [[Previous|Page 299]] | [[Next|Page 301]]

Kyrinna shivered. She'd lectured Abribiene to not intrude on her thoughts; she'd have to do the same to Lymantria. “...no,” she finally answered. “That will work.” “Who are you people?” Ithric sobbed. He'd risen to his feet since Kyrinna had left him behind, but his knees seemed weak. Still, he walked toward them in a stagger. “What are you doing?” Rather than answer his question directly, Lymantria dissolved into a thick smoke and suddenly slammed against a nearby wall. Where there was once a white wall with a red stripe along the bottom, there was now a door. It looked similar to the one the crystal had been kept behind, but this one swung open eagerly, sucking in all the errant smoke. “Hurry up, darlings,” Lymantria said. Cydia seemed to hear it, but Ithric didn't. Cydia blew him a kiss on her way through the door. Ky hurried after Cydia, but stopped right at the threshold of the portal. “Oh, nerd!” she called out to Ithric. “If you see a badass with red hair and a long coat, make yourself useful and tell her...Kyrinna and Cydia are out in front, fighting that monster!” With that, Kyrinna stepped through the gate. When she looked behind her, she saw no trace of the chapel hallways or Ithric. What she saw instead was the chamber where she and the others had first met Lymantria. She turned back forward to see the exit to the Path was just how they'd left it, door blasted into the grass and all. Lymantria had let them travel quite a distance in just one step, but any distance away from those nerds of the Church made her feel relieved. Abribiene had proved to be preferable company to the Church, even with the mind tricks. From there, finding Abribiene was a snap. Ky had stumbled across so many Phantoms alongside Zel, it was easy to deliberately encounter one. The more muddy and useless the group's lamps became, the closer they were, until— “Hey!” Abribiene's voice rang out. “It's the nerds! You're still alive!” [[Previous|Page 300]] | [[Next|Page 302]]

Somewhere in the ebon fog was the familiar insectoid form of the other shotant. Their silvery wings seemed to fan out in greeting. “So, are you done h—wait.” Abribiene suddenly darted toward Lymantria, eyeing them closely with compound eyes. “You contain multitudes," they said, right in Lymantria's face. "Are you the shotant who the Church kidnapped?” Lymantria nodded. “Why do you look like a human?” “Because she's wonderful, darling,” Lymantria replied. “Why do you look like an insect?” “You're missing the point. Taking human form is a serious crime. You ought to know...any shotant who dare join you ought to know...any shotant who take human form are excommunicated.” “Well, everyone also ought to know, taking human form lets you past the barrier crystals!” Kyrinna couldn't grasp the particulars of the conversation, but the swelling of the black fog told her something was afoot. She doubted any of the shotant would ever explain it to her, though. What she did understand, though, was that Mozoa was still alive. “Hey!” she barked. “Are we gonna go kill that guy or what?” “Oh, right, about that.” All Kyrinna could see of Lymantria was the white bow they copied from Alpidt. “All the shotant who chose to flee have already evacuated. Now, I'm not allowed to merge with Abribiene's shotant anymore, but last I knew, they were debating on how to help you.” The bow then dissolved into a shower of white sparks which quickly fell to the ground. Lymantria had completely abandoned their physical form. Whatever shotant punishment had befallen them, it didn't stop them from shapeshifting. “Or if they even need your help at all to kill Mozoa.” “Yes!” Kyrinna ran over to where the sparks had fallen, and kicked at the ground in anger. “The answer is yes! Shut up and make another doorway for us!” Abribiene's tail slowly curled itself around Kyrinna's midsection. It squeezed just hard enough to grip, not to harm. “Hold it,” they said. “We're not using Lymantria's doorways.” “Fine, then fly—“ Before Kyrinna could finish her sentence, she was yanked off her feet as Abribiene became airborne. [[Previous|Page 301]] | [[Next|Page 303]]

Kyrinna let out a short yelp. Abribiene either didn't notice Kyrinna's distress, or chose to ignore it. They swung her up onto their back, using their tail to toss her roughly into place. “Cydia!" they shouted. "Hop on!” Ky watched as Cydia wordlessly obeyed, using her long hair to propel herself upward. She took her seat in front of Ky, and gave a loud whoop. “What's with you?” Ky asked as Abribiene began to lift off from the ground. “Oh, uh...da ride was a real blast da last time, so dis one's gonna be—“ Cydia let out a yell and squeezed Ky as Abribiene took off, flying straight toward the hole Mozoa had punched in the drawbridge. They got there in a hurry, of course, doubtlessly before Cydia could derive much enjoyment from the ride. She'd only let out one more cheer by the time Abribiene slowed to a stop. Below them, the ebon fog seemed to part to allow Kyrinna to glimpse below. Mozoa's outpouring of blood had continued. Even more strange, though, was the way the blood pooled. It wasn't dispersing out over the ground. Rather, it stayed around Mozoa, forming a large bubble. Soon, Ky could see ripples beginning to form along the outside of the bubble, radiating out from the point most directly facing her. She barely had time to register what she was seeing before Abribiene suddenly darted to the side. “Hey!” Cydia barked. “What's your problem?” As if to answer her question, what started as a ripple turned into a violent wave. Blood gathered at the point the ripples had started on, and a narrow geyser shot out from the center. The geyser passed through the space Abribiene had been occupying moments earlier, still possessing incredible force even at that distance. “Hail, Phantom!” Mozoa intoned, his voice booming from the bottom of the ravine. “As you can see, we are a lot alike.” “Stop, darling,” Lymantria cut in with Alpidt's voice. White sparks surged along Abribiene's leg, looping around here and there to form a bow-like shape. “I've heard this one before. I was complicit in your stupid Path because of it. But I've decided to try something new.” [[Previous|Page 302]] | [[Next|Page 304]]

Mozoa laughed. “You again?" he asked. He must have recognized Lymantria's voice, or rather, Alpidt's voice. "To think that I wasted a perfectly good warning shot on you. Why aren't you fleeing in terror like all the others?” “Those who wished to leave have alredy done so! What remains must be—“ Another blood geyser came spurting upwards. This one sliced cleanly through one of Abribiene's myriad wings, causing them to buckle and swerve in the air. They had plenty of other wings to keep them airborne, but such a sudden loss had sent them reeling. Abribiene used those remaining wings to retreat a bit, hiding above the roof of the chapel. From there, they were safely out of the line of fire of Mozoa's blood shots. That is, until Mozoa left the ravine. The blood began to rise first, taking the form of a hovering orb with a long trail dripping from the bottom. Mozoa rose through the blood in a hurry, swimming through it so fast that he may as well have teleported. This repeated for a short time, the blood orb rising at a constant pace and Mozoa zipping upward periodically to stay within it, until he had risen to about the same level as Abribiene. Mozoa's many legs had grown longer, more ropey, and flailed about within the blood. Then again, they had since grown long, knobby fingers in a circle around the ends, so perhaps they were more arms than legs. About halfway up Mozoa's fleshy trunk, a single eye suddenly opened, and it stared out at Abribiene and the others. “For those who oppose the Church,” he said, as his head split in half, revealing an enormous brain, “death is all that awaits you!” [[Previous|Page 303]] | [[Next|Page 305]]

## Chapter 43 Mozoa hovered in the air for a moment. His bubble of blood swayed up and down in the air, holding his new brain-like form aloft opposite Abribiene. Every so often, he would move with alarming speed to return to the center of the bubble. This created a sort of rhythm; the sloshing of the blood was the only thing breaking an eerie silence. Mozoa had promised death upon Kyrinna, Cydia, Abribiene, and Lymantria. Since saying so, however, he hadn't moved, aside from his little teleports. Abribiene hovered a safe distance away, still a bit wobbly near the segment where they'd lost a wing. “So what's the plan, nerds?” they asked. Before anyone could answer, more ripples began to form along the surface of the blood bubble. The roil crashed into itself as multiple spots began to show signs of incoming attack. Kyrinna thought about yanking Abribiene straight up, out of the way of the lasers. As soon as she'd thought it, Abribiene ascended. Three shorter spouts fired through the air below Abribiene. “Don't look so glum, darling,” Abribiene admonished her. “Accessing your brain directly allows us to coordinate our efforts better. Any slower, and we would have been hit.” Kyrinna could see the logic in that, but it still didn't make the mind games go down any better. Still— “If it keeps us alive, so be it,” she mumbled. Mozoa climbed through the air after them as they rose. As before, his blood sloshed a certain distance, then his body within swam at near-instant speed to catch up. With the two of them caught in this chase, Kyrinna could sense a rhythm in what looked like an erratic way to move. He zipped along to a sort of beat, a beat she tried to replicate by wiggling in her seat. “Okay,” Lymantria cut in, “but what do we do with that?” “I don't know!” Kyrinna snapped. “Hit him, something!” Indeed, Mozoa seemed intent on ramming into Abribiene. He was beelining toward them, and a large blood clot was beginning to form between him and them. If they didn't dodge or strike first, he would ram right into them. As soon as Kyrinna began to weigh those two options, Abribiene moved to strike. [[Previous|Page 304]] | [[Next|Page 306]]

Abribiene curled up their long body and flicked it out with a frontflip, lashing the tail straight down on Mozoa. Of course, Kyrinna could only assume what was happening; her eyes were squeezed shut, her arms were wrapped tightly around Cydia, and her legs were gripping Abribiene's body. They hadn't warned her they'd be flipping like that. Her attention, though, moved quickly back to Mozoa. She could feel Abribiene's tail make impact with something, and she craned her neck to look. Abribiene's tail had slammed into the blood clot, driving it down into the blood, right into Mozoa's head. Abribiene put a lot of force into the attack; a lot of it was dampened by the clot and the blood itself, but enough remained that Mozoa was forced right out of his blood bubble. He fell right out the bottom, and plummeted to the ground. “Got 'im!” Cydia cheered. “Dat's dat, innit?” Kyrinna shook her head. “He fell from the chapel roof and he was fine,” she pointed out. Indeed, while she couldn't see Mozoa himself, the blood he was riding in seemed to be rushing to catch up. Rather than splatter in a manner consistent with gravity, it formed a comet-like shape that both fell and stretched toward him. Abribiene took a nosedive in pursuit. Mozoa landed on a grassy hill off to the side of the chapel. The light was sparse that far away from the chapel or the roads. Fortunately, there were no trees and bushes to obscure what little light reached them, only more of that blue grass. Mozoa hit the ground first, followed closely by his blood. Abribiene swirled to the ground, moving around Mozoa so as not to block the limited light. He'd curled up his tentacles into a sort of fist, and they began to uncurl as Abribiene drew near. The finger-like barbs on the ends of the tentacles kept Abribiene at bay, while the blood began to seep upward to surround Mozoa again. “You fools!” Mozoa snapped, seeming as confident as ever despite taking such a hit. “Even if you defeat me by some unfathomable luck...it will accomplish nothing! Scintilla will arrive regardless, to save the Church and burn away all the heathens!” “That's nice,” Kyrinna drawled, her voice slow and thick with sarcasm. “In the meantime...I call dibs on your corpse!” [[Previous|Page 305]] | [[Next|Page 307]]

Mozoa continued to rebuild his blood barrier, while lashing out with his tentacles whenever Abribiene attempted to approach. They lashed right back with their tail and smashed the tentacles away. The two were locked in a stalemate, or they would be were it not for the blood collecting around Mozoa. Kyrinna groaned. Mozoa was quicker, stronger, and harder to hurt when he was submerged in his blood. He— “Well, obviously,” Lymantria snapped. Kyrinna shook her head. “Not all my thoughts are for you, you nerd,” she said. By the time she turned her attention back to Mozoa, Abribiene was already trying to circle around him. Rather than turn to face them, he simply morphed; his eye emerged out of his back, and his tentacles shifted to block Abribiene no matter their angle of approach. Ultimately, the group couldn't find a way to stop Mozoa. He rebuilt his bloody orb and retreated inside it, once again zipping from place to place at imperceptible speeds to stay within its center. As he moved away from Abribiene and the others, another clot formed. With a spurt of blood, he shoved the clot toward them. Abribiene reared back to let the clot harmlessly fall into the grass. It landed with a loud thud; it must have been heavy, like stone or metal. Behind it, though, Mozoa was preparing another blood laser. Kyrinna noticed this one too late. Abribiene tried to dart out of the way, but was struck in the tail by the high-speed jet. The high pressure of the blood jet cut clean through their carapace, punching a hole in their body. Abribiene said nothing, but they started wobbling through the air. Kyrinna could feel them writhing and flexing their muscles, slowly but safely regaining control of their spiraling tail mid-flight. Mozoa wandered the area erratically, flinging blood shots and clots at the group. They dodged these attacks with no problem, although all that dodging left them no time to go on the offensive. [[Previous|Page 306]] | [[Next|Page 308]]

“Looks like he could do dis all night!” Cydia observed. “So what do we do, genius?” Lymantria sneered directly into Kyrinna's mind. Kyrinna sighed. “I'm trying to think, okay?” she snapped. Cydia looked back at her, obviously confused. She dismissed Cydia's concern with a wave of her hand. “You can hit right through his clots with your tail. You did it before, you can do it again!” “...and then what?” “Then we strike from above!” As easily as Mozoa's tentacles had morphed around before, they had only done so within a limited span of his body. Whatever could reach them from above could be rendered inert with a dusting of Cydia's glittering dust. “Fine, nerd,” Lymantria scoffed. “It's worth a try.” With that, Abribiene's body roiled into a dive, skirting around a few incoming jets of blood. Mozoa put up a blood clot to impede their advance, but they were ready. With a snap of their tail, they swatted the clot aside. It hurtled into the darkness as Abribiene lashed out again, swinging their tail directly into Mozoa. He raised his tentacles to guard the incoming blow. Just as Kyrinna had observed before, his range of motion seemed to be fairly limited vertically. He stabbed at Abribiene's tail with the barbs at the end of his tentacles, but they pushed through the attack. Indeed, they pushed Mozoa right out of his blood and sent him tumbling through the blue grass. “Hey, you okay?” Cydia asked, glancing back toward Abribiene's tail. Rather than answer the question, Abribiene darted further into the sky. Kyrinna held Cydia tightly at the sudden change in speed, and Cydia in turn hugged the shotant. Their wings beat the air furiously as they pulled themself higher and higher. Eventually, just as suddenly as they'd risen, they descended almost straight down. [[Previous|Page 307]] | [[Next|Page 309]]

With gravity's help, Abribiene plunged their hammer-like tail into the top of Mozoa's brain. He produced a terrible shriek and began writhing rapidly, all signs that brought delight to Kyrinna. She knew pain when she saw it. Abribiene darted away diagonally, giving Kyrinna ample view of the dent they'd left in his brain. “This is nothing!” Mozoa lied. Kyrinna had seen him squirm; there was no denying it. “Your puny efforts are nothing compared to my might!” “That's enough, darling,” Lymantria called out. “The human world is laid bare for us. You are the only remaining obstacle. There is nothing that will dissuade us from killing you.” Mozoa began to laugh. “Nothing, you say?” Suddenly, the blood ceased flowing around Mozoa. It held still for a moment where it had gathered, then roiled its way toward Abribiene. “Then how about this?” Rather than find out, Abribiene ascended away from the gathering blood. Abribiene once again circled Mozoa, but this time, he held his blood aloft between him and them. Unlike his tentacles, he had a full range of motion he could wave his blood around in. Abribiene hesitated at every turn. They seemed ill-suited for swimming, much less within an orb of blood under the enemy's contro— “Now what?” Lymantria demanded. “Stop it!” Kyrinna hissed. “You keep interrupting my thoughts and it's really throwing me off!” Lymantria scoffed. “Then don't get thrown off by it, darling.” “What the—no!” “You're getting distracted again. How do we kill Mozoa?” Kyrinna slapped a hand against Abribiene's chitin. “First, you shut up and let me think it through my way!” Lymantria went silent after that. Kyrinna heaved a sigh of relief. “Okay.” [[Previous|Page 308]] | [[Next|Page 310]]

Since Mozoa had scared Abribiene off, he had returned to gathering the blood around himself. He'd been writhing in agony before, but the wound still visible in his head didn't seem to impede his abilities at all. But most of all, Kyrinna was sick of that big eye of his staring out at them. It didn't even blink. She wished she could just rip it right out of Mozoa's stupid head. “Oh, that's easy,” Lymantria butted in. Kyrinna could feel them implanting a thought in her mind, the sight of Abribiene's tail grabbing and pulling at Mozoa. How such a thing was possible with Abribiene's bludgeon went unanswered, or at least, Kyrinna wasn't privy to the answer. Abribiene seemed to be; they took another sudden dive, feinting another attack from above. Mozoa saw Abribiene diving his way, and pulled his blood behind him, escaping backwards. That only helped serve Lymantria's plan. Kyrinna felt Abribiene shift to swing their tail, and her gaze traveled down their body to watch. She noticed the tail splitting apart; a jagged fault line cut the hardened end of Abribiene's tail into a gaping maw. A series of white sparks flew out of the area as if they were responsible for the cut. Those sparks looped around the tail, tying themselves into a bow. Abribiene's tail plunged through Mozoa's tentacles and directly into his eye. As he moved to grab their tail, they pulled it away. His eye proved difficult to dislodge, however. A thick nerve still connected his eye to the rest of him, stretching well past his eye socket as Abribiene and Lymantria pulled. Mozoa got his tentacles around Abribiene, and nearly around Kyrinna and Cydia in the process. They began to thrash their tail violently, and finally managed to rip the nerve. Mozoa let out a horrible, guttural noise as his eye was ripped out. In his torment, he released his grip on Abribiene's tail. With so many wings crushed by his tentacles, they weren't able to get far. Mozoa's calmness melted into a tantrum, and he thrashed about with all his might, blindly lashing out at Abribiene. Kyrinna could see his tentacles strain to reach outward under the full force of his muscles. That writhing mass managed to slip itself around Abribiene's tail. “Uh-oh,” Cydia mumbled. [[Previous|Page 309]] | [[Next|Page 311]]

Cydia had barely managed to voice her concern before Abribiene simply ripped themself free from Mozoa's grip. Their tail ripped right apart at the site of the blood shot wound from before. Thick black blood glazed the torn limb, letting off either smoke or shotant into the stormy air. Mozoa crawled all over the piece of Abribiene he'd managed to snag, no doubt pummeling it with more tentacle and blood strikes. Abribiene, meanwhile, hauled the others off to safety on their remaining wings. Unlike the graceful tumble through the air they normally took, they merely dragged themself through the sky, letting what was left of their tail hang limp. “Hold on!” Cydia barked. “Ain't Lymantria in dat tail?” Alpidt's laugh soon filled the air. “No, darling,” Lymantria cooed, wrapping a bow of light around Cydia's head. “You saw the shotant fleeing, didn't you? I got out of there, and I suspect most if not all of Abribiene's shotant got out of there too.” Kyrinna couldn't help but hope for a chance to study shotant and Phantom anatomy more closely. “You already called dibs on his corpse,” Abribiene admonished her. “And if I'm understanding correctly, that means you'll already have a study subject when this is over.” Kyrinna shook her head. Abribiene wobbled right out of the sky and into the grass. She took that as her cue to dismount the wounded shotant. “Okay, time out,” she demanded, reaching to Cydia to urge her off. “You guys just got ripped apart. Don't you feel any pain from that?” “Why should we?” Cydia gestured to the part where they got ripped in two. “'cause...!” she answered incredulously. A brief silence overtook the group. The only noises around were the gentle rustling of wind in the grass, Mozoa's blood trickling about, and distant pandemonium still rippling through the inhabitants of the chapel in the distance. Finally, Lymantria spoke. “You're getting distracted again.” As if to prove their point, Mozoa fired a stream of blood in their direction. [[Previous|Page 310]] | [[Next|Page 312]]

"We don't have time to change our form," Abribiene said. "We would need to reconvene, choose whether to maintain or disband Abribiene, choose whether I remain in the lead. But...I can fight through these wounds...all I need is a new form of attack...perhaps something the wildspeaker copied from us?” “Sure!” Cydia shouted in reply. “I dunno what you're talkin' 'bout, but sure!” Abribiene gave a little hop. “Well, which one is it, then? Make up your mind! Or...minds, right?” “Minds,” Kyrinna confirmed. “As in plural! But I think I get what you're saying. If you think you can beat Mozoa in your condition, then shut up and do it already. But if this is just some dumb pride thing, I...” Kyrinna was already rubbing her temples to maybe jar an idea loose. “...I'll think of something.” “Darlings,” Lymantria said curtly, “you're all fools.” They dissambled the bow they made on Cydia's head, then rematerialized as a copy of Alpidt. “If Mozoa is as perfect as he claims...then I'll just copy him a little.” It was then that Kyrinna noticed Lymantria's hands; they'd been curled into barbed hooks, with their fingers mutating to provide the barbs. Kyrinna shook her head. “Wait, Mozoa never did anything quite like that.” There were his tentacle digits, sure, but— Rather than interrupt with words, Lymantria quickly executed their plan before anyone had time to protest. Their arm began to stretch as they whipped it at Mozoa. Before long, his tentacles became entangled or even impaled on the hook. They must have learned to stretch like that from Mozoa, either directly or through Ky's memories of him. Suddenly, Lymantria looked back at them. “Oh!” they cried out. “That's a much better idea!” Kyrinna immediately recognized their next idea as Cydia's. Lymantria's body grew spikes, much like Cydia's was wont to do. These spikes were larger, though, and all over Lymantria's body. Their simulated clothes bent around the spikes, stretching and wrapping tightly around each one. While Lymantria's spikes were erratically placed, some of them were at least in the right spots to rip through Mozoa's tentacles, severing some of them entirely. [[Previous|Page 311]] | [[Next|Page 313]]

Kyrinna found herself running after Lymantria, eager to see their end goal. By the time she found an angle free of obstruction, they were already stepping away from Mozoa, laughing all the while. “It feels so good to rip you apart, darling!” they squealed. “You, uh, you sure about bein' friends with dat one?” Cydia asked, jutting her chin toward Lymantria during the words “dat one”. She'd caught up effortlessly on those long legs of hers. Kyrinna merely shrugged in reply. Lymantria had done quite a number on Mozoa. As far as she was concerned, the enemy of her enemy was her friend. “They haven't learned to respect boundaries with their mind reading,” she admitted, “but they're basically a good egg.” “Uh, dat ain't no egg.” Ky laughed. “Forget it, nerd.” She turned her attention back to Lymantria, who had taken to simply grabbing and pulling Mozoa's tentacles. As he flailed blindly, they reached out and yanked with superhuman might, either dragging Mozoa a few feet at a time or simply snapping the tentacle right off. “You fools don't understand what you're doing,” Mozoa said. All the pomp had left his voice, leaving a weary and pleading tone. “The templars and resources the Church has brought your backwater continent are nothing but crumbs. If you truly wish to be enemies of the Church, know that death will seem like a merc—“ It was about then that Lymantria heaved Mozoa off the hill, suddenly twisting his words into one last scream. He tumbled through the air, seemingly of his own accord, as if to attempt to fall on his gored tentacles rather than hitting the ground brain-first. It didn't seem to do him much good, though. Eventually, his scream came to an abrupt end. “Humans!” Lymantria said, raising their hands in triumph. “Do you understand? Mozoa is utterly incapable of stopping me in his current state! Just as you showed me with the humans inside the chapel! I don't have to kill him to gain my freedom...only break him!” [[Previous|Page 312]] | [[Next|Page 314]]

“You dumb nerd!” Kyrinna snapped. “If I'm going to claim dibs on Mozoa's corpse, he needs to be dead!” Lymantria scurried downhill in the direction opposite Mozoa, obscuring themself in shadow. Either they didn't hear Ky or they were ignoring her. “An' where are you goin'?” Cydia hollered, freezing Lymantria in their tracks. “You just gonna waltz into town, huh? Lookin' and soundin' like ya do? You'd never get along with people actin' like that.” Suddenly, Cydia stepped beside Ky and put an arm around her. “Trust us...what you need is...an alibi, innit?” Kyrinna shrugged beneath Cydia's embrace. “Uh, not really, but I think I get what you mean. An identity, some lessons on how to blend in.” A brief pause fell over the group. Then, Abribiene spoke up behind them. “We can still work with this.” They struggled to flutter past Ky and Cydia, toward Mozoa. In the light of the chapel, Ky could see their tail hardening. Judging by the way it began to sway, and by Abribiene's change in posture, the tail was getting heavier too. Once they were above Mozoa, they swung their body a bit to counteract the swinging of the tail. Finally, they plunged straight down, putting their all into one last bludgeoning. It was hard to tell how effective it was from so far away, though. Kyrinna quickly threw herself into a run toward the hill. She didn't get far, though; Cydia grabbed hold of her collar and yanked her backwards. She ended up losing her balance and falling on her backside. “Ow!” she yelped. “What was that for, nerd?” “Just turn around, will ya?” Ky scrabbled her way back to her feet and turned her back to Mozoa. There, she saw a flock of dirtbats headed their way. The creatures flew harmlessly over Ky's head, but Cydia, being a good foot or so taller, needed to crouch down a little. “These monstahs are gonna smell all dat blood, right? An' sure, they'll snack on Mozoa awhile...but when he's gone—“ “They can't have him!” Ky whined. “I called dibs!” Cydia laughed and swept a hand behind her. “You gonna haul him up dat hill?” “No, I...” Kyrinna trailled off. She didn't have anyone to do it for her. “...dammit.” Much like the night she'd burnt her mansion to the ground, this felt like a terrible waste of resources. Loath as she was to admit it, though, Cydia had a point. Creatures were already flocking to the chapel, eager to revel in space that had once been guarded by a barrier crystal, doubtlessly drawn by the smell of blood. “If we stick around, we'll be monster food too.” “Exactly.” “But Zel...!” Cydia shrugged. “She ain't hard to find.” [[Previous|Page 313]] | [[Next|Kyrinna 1]]

“You still ain't found her?” Cydia snapped. Kyrinna ran to hush her; her voice would carry even beyond the Marsh of Illusion if she carried on like that. Most of the rank-and-file templars that hadn't outright joined the Cuprina Brigade were too scared to take up arms against Cydia, but it still wasn't worth the hassle. Ithric quivered a bit as he took the brunt of Cydia's ire. “I was a door guard!” he replied hesitantly, ducking behind some ferns as if that would deter Cydia any. “You'd have to ask MacVelod! He'd know the news out of Fracotel better than me!” Cydia shook her head. “I ain't askin' MacVelod, I'm askin' you!” Kyrinna placed her forearm across Cydia's body. The arm itself didn't stop her, but the gesture got through to her, and she stopped. Ky stepped past Cydia and stretched a hand out to Ithric. “I don't know which one MacVelod is. But what about that prick Eyron? You quit the Church after seeing him expose the fake Marquis...you and a bunch of other nerds. Did any of you—“ “Um,” Ithric gasped suddenly. “I didn't join because of that. I joined because your boss is hot.” “That's so weird.” True, Cydia seemed to radiate more heat from her body than any other human Ky had met, but that seemed like a weird reason to pursue somebody. “Why would you just blurt that out?” Ithric took another step backward. “Because...you two are making me nervous! I only know what everyone else knows—and that's that Eyron arrived in Melaton alone!” Kyrinna gave Ithric a playful shove, and he slipped on some slick tree roots and fell. She'd only meant to tease him a little bit; she hadn't accounted for his clumsiness. “Why would you be nervous about that, nerd? You think we'd kill you or something over it? If we killed everyone who couldn't find Zel, there'd be no more Cuprina Brigade. We just thought it was worth a try, asking you.” She waited in silence while Ithric scrambled back to his feet. “You can go away now, nerd.” [[Next|Kyrinna 2]]

Ithric didn't leave. In fact, he seemed scared to move at all, and held his body rigidly in place. “Why do we hide in such a stinky, slimy place anyway?” he asked. “Because, nerd...if you hate it here, imagine how all the templars feel. And in that heavy armor...plop!” Kyrinna laughed just thinking about it. Even Eyron, nimble as he was, would sink in the bog water immediately with all that armor on. Imagining Eyron as the victim only made her laugh harder. “Uh...” Ithric recoiled away from Ky, and nearly slipped again. Suddenly, he seemed all too eager to leave Kyrinna's company. Ky shrugged a bit and shooed him away. She wasn't interested in his change of heart. She was interested in finding Zel and making alcohol. The latter was her primary responsibility as the Cuprina Brigade's personal alchie. Cydia had been very clear about that. After hearing Ithric's report, though, Ky's mood had soured. By all accounts, Zel had disappeared somewhere between the Marquis' chapel and Melaton. With every person she interrogated, it seemed more and more likely that that prick Eyron would be the only one who could tell her where Zel w— “Why do you want to find Zel so badly?” Kyrinna screamed and jumped away from the voice. When she looked, though, all she saw was Ithric. Still, she'd just talked to him, and his voice was completely different. Plus, he didn't read minds. “Lymantria!” she snapped. “We've talked about this, you nerd! You can't assume someone else's form whenever you want!” “You're avoiding the question,” Lymantria replied, crossing their arms. Kyrinna growled. “Okay,” Cydia said, running to join Ky after her scream, “first you barge in like dis, then ya start readin' minds...what's your problem, Ly?” “Yeah,” Ky agreed. She walked back over to Cydia and turned back to face Lymantria. “If you really want to invade someone's mind, you'd find that prick Eyron and steal what he knows about Zel.” [[Next|Kyrinna 3]]

Lymantria stepped behind a tree, and emerged on the other side with a new look. Their hair was the same color as Eyron's, but in a wilder style that was short in back and long up front. “I like this look,” Ky cooed. “Save it,” Lymantria spat. “I don't do this for your amusement.” Ky shrugged and remained silent, so Lymantria continued. “And you won't let me probe your mind, but Eyron's is fine? What's the difference?” “Eyron sucks!” Kyrinna threw her hands upward. “I don't care! You must think you've caught me in some sort of gotcha, but I really don't care!” Suddenly, Ky felt Cydia embrace her from behind. Tall as Cydia was, though, the initial movement of her arms picked up Ky and lifted her right off the ground. “Hey! What's the big idea?” “You're shoutin',” Cydia answered plainly, “an' real hurt-like too.” Kyrinna squirmed and fidgeted in Cydia's grip until she had no choice but to relent. “It ain't da end of da world if Zel don't come back, innit?” Ky was furious at this point. She kicked at a nearby fern and started back toward her tent. “She left without telling anyone!” she said, mostly to herself, as she walked through the foliage of the swamp. “She didn't even say why!” Cydia scrambled to catch up. It didn't take long with her big strides. Ky continued her screed unfettered. “Zel's not like that.” “Then she must'a had a pretty good reason to do it.” Cydia shrugged. “One'a dese nights, da fellas what run Fracotel will see her goin' back to da Night Watch, an' we can visit da whole gang.” Ky considered Cydia's words for a moment as she finally found her tent. A few Cuprina goons were clearing the area of vegetation, making it safer to install the still when they finally got one. On the other hand, they'd been very prompt about looting her a cooking cauldron. Moving it through the swamp had been a bit of tricky business, with its sheer weight. Fortunately, Ky hadn't been one of the people lugging it, so she didn't care much. [[Next|Kyrinna 4]]

“You sound so sure,” Ky finally said, stepping into her tent and running a hand along the rim of her cauldron. “But how can you be? This isn't like Zel at all. She's utterly unpredictable now, you know.” Cydia shook her head. “Nah. My guess is, she had somethin' real important to do...maybe somethin' our goin' to da Church reminded her to do.” Ky shrugged. All she and Cydia could do was guess. “We just keep doin' what da Cuprina Brigade does best, an' she'll be back some night, an' someone will spot her, an' one'a da boys will know.” Ky smirked. “And just what is it that the Cuprina Brigade does best...?” “Everything!” The two of them shared a short laugh. “See, there ya go, laughin' already.” Ky avoided looking at Cydia for a moment. Instead, her eyes darted to the drab brown of the tent fabric, to the boxes and vials piled in a haphazard circle around the cauldron, to anything except the stupid grin suddenly on Cydia's face. “An' quit lookin' around like dat! You're just doin' dat 'cause ya know I'm right.” Ky's eye movements suddenly stopped, leaving her fixated on her shelves of carefully preserved organs. “So I laughed. So what?” “So...“ Cydia laid a hand on Ky's shoulder. “...so dat means ya can have fun without Zel. Ya did it before, ya can do it again.” Ky sighed. “Yeah, but...” Ky moved around to the other side of her cauldron, letting her hand trail along its rim. “...you and Zel and maybe Alpidt are the only tolerable company I've ever met. So naturally, I'm a little curious as to where she went and why, that's all. I'm sure the answer is fascinating.” “Aw...!” Cydia came around the other side of the cauldron. “Ain't you sweet!” Ky stood her ground and fumed a bit as Cydia resumed their embrace. She didn't want to act like she was sweet, but she also didn't want to act like it mattered. Thankfully, panicked screams from outside the tent cut the moment short. Ky took a peek outside, and understood immediately. What little light the Cuprina campground had was already blotted out by pitch-black fog. [[Next|Kyrinna 5]]

“Dracocrepitus!” Ky hollered into the darkness. “Is that you?” Dutifully, some heavy footsteps began shaking the very ground underfoot. Ky could feel the footsteps approaching her tent. Before long, a giant reptilian head poked into her tent, smiling wide at Ky and Cydia while they huddled behind the cauldron. “What a horrible smell,” they said, their teeth staying together all the while. Ky laughed. “That's what you get for sticking your nose in my tent where it doesn't belong. I've been cooking up my grandma's healing balm.” Ky braced herself for the inevitable. She forced her mind to wander, back to her grandma's words about the healing balm. “Not only does it heal wounds,” the reptile said, using Grandma Syrup's voice for a moment, “but Phantoms think it smells like a really nasty fart.” They let out a sigh in their own voice, a sigh so thick and voluminous with swamp gas that the tent walls began to swell. Ky knew from their first meeting in the swamps that Dracocrepitus need only belch out a small spark to ignite the whole tent. “It makes devouring your kind most unpleasant.” “That's half the point,” Ky shot back. She stepped away from Cydia; the wildspeaker had started fanning the air with her hair, and some of that hair had slapped her in the back of the head. “But you didn't come here to complain about that.” “No.” Dracocrepitus retreated their head from the tent, and Kyrinna followed them fearlessly. They wandered through the camp as they talked, ignoring the chaos and terror that gripped most of the Cuprina Brigade in their mere presence. “Though it has been awhile since I last...ate.” As if to punctuate their point, they snapped their jaws at a fleeing person. Cydia hardened her hand and swung it down on Dracocrepitus' head, slamming their mouth shut before they could hurt anyone. “Knock it off an' get to da point, then!” she demanded. “Fine...I shall indulge your impudence, because I am feeling generous.” [[Next|Kyrinna 6]]

Suddenly, Dracocrepitus whipped their head to the right, knocking Cydia over. She scrabbled to her feet and began to protest, but the shokhaye was ignoring her and staring out through the trees. “A splinter group of shotant is forming within us. This group bears immense anti-human sentiment, and they're disgusted that you would harbor Lymantria the rogue shokhaye. These shotant wish to destroy this camp and all who inhabit it. Most of us are pleased with your bargain, but if this group convinces enough passing shotant to take form with them, then another—“ “Yeah, yeah,” Kyrinna scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. “What you're saying is, they want to form a new Phantom and attack the camp.” Dracocrepitus sighed. As usual, their breath quickly filled the air with the smell of swamp gas. “You're always in a big damn rush, you nerd. Yes, they want to form a new Phantom. Perhaps if I warn you of their foolishness, they will cease it.” “An' if not,” Cydia added, “we'll just kick their ass.” “Again with your...that's the hope, yes.” Dracocrepitus took a swing at Ky and Cydia with their tail. Ky was able to stumble backwards out of the way, while Cydia used her hair to help her jump it. “You should be fine.” Ky laughed a bit. “Oh, you,” she said, feigning sweetness. She ran a hand along Dracocrepitus' scaly body. They'd been a part of the swamp for so long that moss had started to grow on them. The moss clumps were a plush treat to the touch, and a layer of camouflage out in the boggy wilderness. Ky couldn't help but appreciate the artistry of the shotant's design of this killing machine for a moment. “We'll put on another display of dazzling lights, “ she continued. “That always attracts some passersby. They'll get lost in the swamp, and you can sneak up on them and—“ Kyrinna spread her arms out wide, and clapped them together in front of her with a laugh. “—chomp!” “The same trick as last week?” Dracocrepitus spat. “Goodness, you humans are foolish.” [[Next|Kyrinna 7]]

“Well, our minds don't connect like yours do.” Ky laughed and gave Dracocrepitus a gentle pat, then moved back toward Cydia. “But you spread rumors about an alchemist—“ “A hot alchemist!” Cydia interrupted. The exclamation threw Kyrinna off her routine, and she glared at Cydia for an explanation. “Hey! Don't gimme dat look! Dat's da rumor what brings 'em in!” Cydia turned and jabbed a finger into Kyrinna's scalp. “Dey ain't comin' for no potions!” Ky swatted Cydia's hand away. “—and the humans come in search of those rumors. Humans are curious or skeptical or...wherever it comes from, we've got this habit of wanting to see things for ourselves.” Curiosity had always been one of Kyrinna's greatest motivations for her work. She was always eager to learn more about the human body and how it works, especially if she could weaponize her findings or further her research into immortality. Still, having curiosity turned on her tended to annoy her. Zel and Cydia were really the only ones she could stand in that regard. “And maybe if enough people hear of a Phantom snacking on people who investigate the Marsh...well, someone from the Night Watch will come try to stop it. Maybe it'll be Zel.” “Stop me, you mean,” Dracocrepitus growled. “This Zel...do you hope she defeats me? Do you even think her capable of defeating me?” Ky shook her head. “Not alone. Remember, it took all three of us just to stun you that one time. If she comes back, Cydia and I will explain that you're a friend now.” “A friend?” There was a long pause, no doubt as Dracocrepitus probed Ky's mind a bit, searching for the concept of “friend”. “I wouldn't say that. More like...” Another long pause ensued. “...hm. Accomplice, perhaps?” Cydia laughed. “Ain't no need for such big words!” she said, waving her hands in front of her. “You's a member of da Cuprina Brigade! Dat's all dat matters, innit?” Dracocrepitus scoffed. “I eat humans and spy on Lymantria. Call it what you will, I suppose.” With that, the Phantom began to slink away, only to pause a moment later. “Oh, Kyrinna. When shall we put on the show of lights?” “Not now, nerd,” Ky replied. “Not unless you and Cydia and maybe Lymantria want to run it alone for awhile. I gotta mix up my explosives if I'm gonna join you.” [[Next|Kyrinna 8]]

The displays of light seemed to be popular among the Cuprina Brigade, too. For some reason Kyrinna couldn't fathom, the gang would sometimes gather around to ooh and aah at all the explosions. Admittedly, Ky did find the blooming flames to be beautiful, but she knew what they looked like and where they came from. She didn't feel the need to watch them anymore. Still, it seemed to help the Cuprina Brigade get along better with Dracocrepitus. While most of the Brigade were still scared of the Phantom, and just about everyone in the camp would flee at the first signs of any Phantom, a few had begun to admire Dracocrepitus. This feeling, Ky understood well. Dracocrepitus was a sleek, vicious killer, perfectly suited for guarding the Marsh from prying eyes. She was proud that she'd managed to bring such a dangerous being to heel. All she had to do was provide a steady influx of bodies to feed them. As long as Kyrinna had first dibs on any choice parts, she didn't care what happened to the rest. Dracocrepitus' toll was a pittance to her. “Is that so?” Dracocrepitus asked. “Shut up, nerd,” Ky balked. Dracocrepitus was better at not entering her mind uninvited than Lymantria, but still not perfect. Besides, if they had interrupted her thoughts just to renegotiate, she wasn't interested.. “You already get most of the live ones.” Lymantria's laugh filled the air around Kyrinna and Cydia. Ky suspected that Lymantria themself filled the air too, traveling among the darkness cast by Dracocrepitus. “The live ones are the most fun!” Lymantria cackled. “I love their last moments, where they recall their entire lives in an instant...so many memories for me to take!” Ky nodded. She was glad Lymantria was also pleased with their bargain. They'd been quite honest at the chapel about their intentions to study human memories. Between the Cuprina Brigade nerds and the fools who ventured into the swamp to their deaths, Lymantria had a veritable feast of experiences with which to engorge themself. If their voracious mind-reading happened to damage the outsiders' memories of the Marsh of Illusion, that was just a bonus. They were a pretty slow learner when it came to behaving like a human, though. Lymantria solidified at the thought. [[Next|Kyrinna 9]]

Lymantria approached Kyrinna once again. They'd taken Alpidt's form, but they held their arms straight out in front of them stiffly and unnaturally. A great big hook of bone and sinew stuck out from each of their wrists, much like the ones they'd snared Mozoa with. They hopped toward Kyrinna, but before they could speak, she dismissed them with a wave of her hand and a sarcastic laugh. “Now you're just doing it on purpose.” “Yes, I am,” Lymantria replied. They relaxed their arms and sidled up to Ky and Cydia. “If I'm truly such a slow learner, why don't you bring me to see the real Alpidt?” “Nuh-uh,” Cydia balked. “Ya keep askin', but the answer ain't changin', innit?” She shook her head and guided Lymantria a step away from Ky. “Nope. Criminals like us ain't too welcome in most places.” “You're welcome in the Melaton Hollows, darling. Everyone is...especially when they've helped the town.” Lymantria suddenly cocked their head to give a sideways glare to Ky, and grinned a mischievous grin. “At least, that's what your thoughts and memories say.” “Well,” Ky began, “it's more like a guess, but—hey!” Lymantria had stolen another thought. “What have we told you about reading minds?” Lymantria laughed. “Who cares? Your thoughts are just sitting there, ripe for the taking.” Cydia threw Lymantria forward. They staggered for a few steps, then their foot hit the same slimy root Ithric had tripped on earlier. It sent them reeling too, but they dematerialized before they fell into the muck. “Humans can't read minds, ya moron!” Cydia shouted into the darkness. “Ya gotta get a handle on your habit, or you're gonna get found out immediately! An' there ain't no tellin' what would happen next!” “You're picturing them harming me.” A string of white lights wrapped around Dracocrepitus' head and were soon tied into a bow. Ky wondered why Lymantria even bothered to take such a shape. For once, they left that thought alone, perhaps because they were busy with Cydia's mind. “That's ridiculous. I would break them.” [[Next|Kyrinna 10]]

“It ain't about who breaks who, ya dingus! Ya ain't supposed to break just anyone in da first place!” Cydia rubbed her temples. She and Ky had been over this with Lymantria in the chapel, and they'd been trying to hammer the point home ever since. “Ya only break da ones you absolutely, positively gotta break! It's less mess an' less gettin' hunted—” “If any human hunted me, I would simply break them too.” Cydia groaned and threw her hands up. “Da Cuprina Brigade don't need dat kinda trouble. You take it easy on da killin' an' da breakin' or you're outta here!” “Dracocrepitus gets to break people.” “Dracowhatsit has learned who they can an' can't—“ “That's enough!” Ky yelled, eager to interrupt the argument. As usual, it seemed to be going nowhere. “We have a light show to put on. Places, nerds, places...!” She began waving Cydia, Dracocrepitus, and Lymantria away from the campground. “I'll be with you as soon as my explosives are mixed up!” As Kyrinna headed back to her tent, she couldn't help but ponder how Dracocrepitus had a point. Sooner or later, word was bound to get out about the Marsh of Illusion being a dangerous place. The gang had only put on a couple light shows, but eventually they were bound to get stale. Besides, if the hope was to summon the Night Watch, then by the time they would get involved, most folks would avoid the general area. That could cut off their supply of bodies, and make feeding everyone's habits tricky. Ky shook her head. Cydia would be alright. Her only habit seemed to be consuming alcohol. She'd even found a way to make some without a still, by fermenting fruit. It was a foul substance, but it got Cydia drunk, and that seemed to be enough for her. Kyrinna, on the other hand, couldn't stand a single sip of the stuff, and eagerly awaited the night the Cuprina Brigade would bring her a still. Then she could make some real booze. “You're getting distracted,” Lymantria teased, leaping out of the black mist in their unique human form. “You're supposed to be brewing explosions, not booze.” [[Next|Kyrinna 11]]

Kyrinna scoffed. She would much rather have Zel watching her work, but Lymantria would do. “If you're so upset about me being distraced," she teased, "then come keep me on task.” “How?” Lymantria asked. “You know!” Kyrinna stomped her foot. “Watch and ask questions and all those things! Take an interest in what I'm doing!” “...how?” Kyrinna sighed. Maybe Lymantria wouldn't do. She hustled into her tent and peeked out the flap. “Well? Get in here, nerd!” She began to hear explosions in the distance, which could only mean one thing. “Cydia and Dracocrepitus are starting without us!” Before she could duck back into her tent, though, she couldn't help but notice the sounds of chaos had changed. The Cuprina Brigade seemed to have calmed down, and she could see them staring at the fireballs Cydia and Dracocrepitus were belching out. Their silhouettes dotted the Marsh, sticking out unmistakably from all the flora so familiar to Kyrinna. They were an odd bunch, but they were basically hers. It just didn't get any better than— “What makes you think that?” Lymantria asked from inside the tent. Ky winced. If that's what Lymantria hitched on to, perhaps it would keep them curious enough to satiate Ky's needs. She just wished they hadn't found the topic by invading her mind. “Well, say there's an accident tonight,” she began, “and one of those nerds gets their arm blown off...” She couldn't help but laugh at the notion. Lymantria laughed too. “You fool! When they find out how eager you are for them to be hurt, they'll fear you!” “So what? Let them fear me, or love me...it makes no difference. They'll still beg for me to put their arm back on, and make it work again! And that's exactly the sort of thing I was researching before I got into this whole mess!” Ky was eager to get back to researching immortality, too; judging by Mozoa and some of his abilities, the Church was closer than she was. She couldn't let them beat her to the discovery. [[Next|Kyrinna 12]]

Kyrinna knew she was better off with the Cuprina Brigade than back in her mansion, at least. Here, she had live test subjects. Even better, after Cydia's goons had tried her healing balm, most of them were willing subjects, eager for more. Kyrinna would tell them of the wonders of alchemy and the possible fruits of her research, and they seemed to relish in the thought of being stronger and harder to kill. Only a few holdouts still refused her potions, but they could be fed to Dracocrepitus if they caused too much trouble. “But your potions help the humans so much. Why do they refuse them?” Kyrinna sighed. That would take more time to explain than they had left. “My mixture is ready,” she said abruptly. “Start tearing that ribbon over there. And don't rip it to shreds this time! It's hard to make a wick out of such short pieces!” It was going to be a spectacular fireworks show, Ky was sure of it. She just wished Zel could be there to see it. With one last shrug, Kyrinna stepped out into the night. (link: "Next")[{ (if: $kyrinna_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $kyrinna_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

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{ (if: $eyron_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } “No way...” “Shut your mouth!” Eyron snapped at the Melatonian who dared doubt his story. “Why would I lie?” Alpidt stepped forward, putting her hands in front of her in a calming gesture. “Okay, darling,” she cooed. “It's not okay! You know how many times I've been accused of making this up?” “Yes, but...!” Alpidt grabbed Eyron by his collar and lifted him right off the floor with both hands. “You keep making a scene in my inn, and I'll throw you out. Even if you did save us.” Eyron had gotten so fevered about defending himself that he'd sort of forgotten where he was. He blinked rapidly as Alpidt released him, then began to look around the dining hall of the Melaton Hollows. Most of the guests sat along the walls of the room, where stone counters carved right from the wall ran the entire length of opposite sides of the room. All sorts of folks sat on plain stools made of light-colored wood, but only a few of those guests still stared at Eyron; the rest had turned back to their meals. One of the lights hanging from the ceiling began to sway, doubtlessly knocked into by someone passing through. The moving light caused Alpidt's shadow to jump along the wall, especially the shadow of her white bow. The movement caught Eyron's eye, distracting him further from his prior anger. “Are you better now?” Alpidt asked. Eyron nodded. “Yes,” he replied, “thank you.” Alpidt reached for Eyron again, and he flinched away from her. This time, though, instead of grappling him, she merely laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Darling...this is my first time hearing the story too. It's perfectly normal to say 'no way!' and other such things during a story, especially this one. But we saw you enter the town with the crystal in hand. You saved Melaton. We're not going to forget that anytime soon.” [[Next|Eyron 2]]

{ (if: $cydia_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } Cydia smiled. Ithric and those other ex-Church goons had come through for her after all. She was shocked that the Marquis would choose a stretch of road without any lights to travel along, but there was a whole entourage headed her way. She crouched in a ditch near a fork in the road, watching the path ahead of her dance with bluish light. At first, she was more interested in the flowers on the sides of the road than anything. Her underlings were hiding behind large purple leaves, but she hadn't noticed the tight fist-sized balls of white petals that dotted the plants. Finally, she turned her attention to the templars trudging past those plants. Most of the Church jerks were dressed in cloth tabards of red and green. Cydia could see several of them in full armor, though; she had no doubt they the guards of the whole procession. A few of them were busy with some weird contraption in the middle, though. It was a carriage, that much she understood, but it had no animal to tow it, and some of the coppers were blasting it with their pungent magic. Whatever was going on with the carriage, Cydia could tell that it was absolutely her target, because atop the thing sat Marquis Luman. Just looking at him, it was hard to believe the unassuming pudgy guy with the terrible brown bowl cut was one of the highest-ranked Church officials. The entourage was pretty convincing, though. She knew she was gonna need a plan to deal with them, and fast. Cydia started her approach by doubling back through the brush. As she went, she used her powers to urge her hair into a chaotic mess. Once she was far enough away from the Marquis, and when she was sure the road was empty otherwise, she emerged from the bushes and began to run down the path toward the Church group. Predictably enough, she was greeted by hostility. “Freeze!” one of the templars demanded, their sword already drawn. Rather than follow orders, though, Cydia fell to all fours, gasping for air even though she wasn't really out of breath. “Fellas...!” she heaved. “Oh...thank Scintilla...! You gotta help...dere's a Phantom...” [[Next|Cydia 2]]

Eyron shook his head. He remembered charging into Melaton about a month ago, blasting copper magic at pursuing creatures with his sword as he carried the barrier crystal in his other arm. Lots of folks had come out to see his entrance, despite the danger. It wasn't about that, though. “We mustn't have any doubt. Doubt and dishonesty are the domain of sinners.” Eyron was the one with the most doubt, however. He'd already been doubting his faith the more the Kyrinna case dragged on, but his crisis had reached critical mass during the attacks on Melaton and Marquis Luman's chapel. Seeing his own church harbor monsters and attempt to destroy an entire town had left him despondent. He hadn't returned to the Church since the attack, and he wasn't sure if he was ever going to. He wasn't going to stand there and have some yokels pretend that he hadn't seen such horrors, that much was for sure. Fortunately for Eyron, the folks of Melaton were content to sit quietly or talk amongst themselves while he regained his composure. “...I'm sorry,” he announced. Some people didn't even seem to notice he'd resumed speaking, but he went on anyway. “I just...I don't know what to think of the Order of Scintilla at the moment. And as loath as I am to admit that Kyrinna and...and the tall brigand rendered their aid as well, I won't let people disbelieve it. I will not doubt what I saw...and they will not doubt me.” A long pause crept over the room. Eyron glanced around in the quietude to find that Alpidt was really the only one still listening to him. “Sure, darling,” she cooed. Eyron wrinkled his nose. Alpidt sounded condescending to him in that moment, but he was being serious. They had no reason to doubt him; he was telling the truth, as always, as the tenets of Scintilla demanded. And yet, Mozoa had been lying about his own identity... He couldn't take it anymore. Eyron quickly turned away from Alpidt, and power-walked his way out of the Melaton Hollows without another word. [[Next|Eyron 3]]

Outside of the Melaton Hollows, Eyron was refreshed by the cool breeze blowing through Melaton that night; the chill reminded him of Diria. “Diria,” Eyron gasped, without really meaning to. The last time he'd been to his hometown, he was merely passing through, and wasn't even allowed to stop and visit anyone. He was lucky to be able to shout a quick goodbye to one of his fathers as the Church's boat passed by the family fishing boat. The rules of the Church forbade Eyron from leaving the continent until his superiors recalled him, and even then, he'd be shuttled directly to the Grand Church. After the whole theft of Melaton's barrier crystal, though, the rules seemed to be losing their meaning. Then again, even without the rules, Eyron would still have too much trouble securing a boat ride home. Instead, he turned to observe Melaton. There was a residual fear that gripped the villagers, judging by the weapons all the passersby kept on their persons. Besides that, though, it seemed a pleasant enough place. The cliff face that housed the Hollows was gently enveloped by a series of cobbled roads, and as Eyron turned in a circle, he saw the gently rolling hills that surrounded the town. He would much prefer a view of the ocean, but he liked Melaton too. Besides the Melaton Hollows' dominating presence, the town had a rustic, hardy charm Eyron couldn't deny. He started to walk, silently observing the architecture. At least it was something to think about that wasn't his crisis of faith. “Damn,” Eyron spat. He'd been trying to tamp that down. “What's the matter?” Eyron spun on his heels to face the unfamiliar voice. A stranger with tan skin and yellow hair stared back. It took a moment for Eyron to notice he'd reached for his sword out of reflex, and another moment to notice that hadn't bothered this person at all. They just stared him down until he relaxed. [[Next|Eyron 4]]

“You scared me,” Eyron scolded the stranger. He couldn't tell how old they were, especially through their strange haircut that was long in front and short in back. Regardless, they should have known better than to creep up on someone. “I didn't hear you approach.” “Well, pay attention, why don't ya?” the stranger quipped. Eyron simply scowled at them and turned away. He continued to walk, admiring the stonework present throughout the town, rather than let some rude bumpkin bring him down. The ingenuity of Melaton's builders was clear to him; he assumed that, rather than let the stone dug out from the tunnels go to waste, the people had used that material to make something new. When Eyron turned to look toward the other side of the street, though, he saw that stranger with the yellow hair walking the same road, not far to his right. He hadn't heard their footsteps. “Are you following me?” “Nah,” the stranger replied, putting their hands behind their head as they walked, “just headed the same way.” To test the truth of their words, Eyron came to an abrupt halt. If the stranger were telling the truth, they would simply keep walking. Instead, they stopped. Eyron again reached for his sword. “You'd better start telling the truth,” he warned. The stranger shook their head. “Actually, prick—“ Eyron drew his sword and slashed the stranger in a single stroke. Just the sound of that epithet filled him with anger. After Kyrinna vanished, he thought he'd heard the last of it. In the absence of such teasing, he'd become far more mellow, but hearing that word again brought his temper right back. [[Next|Eyron 5]]

In fact, Eyron was so consumed by anger that he didn't notice the stranger's reaction to his attack. He looked up from his sword to see them standing there as if nothing had happened. They were dressed like they had just come out of the Melaton Hollows bathhouse, and yet somehow there wasn't a cut or a bloodstain to be seen on their drab green clothes. When his eyes met theirs, they laughed at him. “You'd cut me down right here in the street?” the stranger balked. “That's your first instinct? You really are a prick.” Eyron brought his sword around for another slash, bringing the blade down diagonally. The stranger put up a hand as if to block it, but it simply cut through them instead. There was no blood or gore in this cut, though. As Eyron's sword traveled through their body, they melted into shadow and let the blade fall harmlessly through them. In its wake, their body knitted itself back together. “That really hurts to do under a barrier crystal, you know!” “Who—“ Before Eyron could finish his question, the stranger turned their body and flung their right hand at him. Their arm stretched as they reached out with a handful of something blue, and managed to smush that something right into his face. He only just managed to identify it as the soporific moss from that one nearby forest before its effects took hold, and robbed him of consciousness. [[Next|Eyron 6]]

(if: ($eyron_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)(set: $show_header to false)] When Eyron awoke, he found himself splayed on his back, facing the night sky. The moon was nowhere to be seen among the foliage overhead. In the darkness of Tenesoir, all Eyron could make out were vague shapes of trees around him. When he groped the ground beneath him, he could feel it was one large stone, slicked by moisture. He dared not move too much while he was still so groggy; the rock was slippery, and he couldn't see exactly what surrounded his rock. Eyron turned his head to the side to gaze out upon his surroundings, but he tensed up when he saw the stranger from Melaton standing four or five sword-lengths away. They noticed his gaze, and greeted him with a smile and a wave. “You know why you can't see in the dark?” they greeted. It was true that Eyron was having trouble making sense of his surroundings in the darkness. That was far from his greatest concern at the moment, however. “What's the meaning of all this?” he shouted. Slowly, he urged himself into a sitting position, to better reach for his sword. When his hands fluttered at his hip, though, his divine weapon was nowhere to be found. At about that moment, a sudden flash of light grabbed Eyron's attention. He looked up toward the flash, only to see the stranger holding his sword in a moonbeam and reflecting the light into his eyes. They laughed, even as his face sank into a look of shock and horror. The sword tumbled out of their hands, landing with a plop at their feet, and sank out of sight. Eyron shook his head. There wasn't a material he knew of that would support the weight of a person but not a sword. But then, this was clearly no ordinary person. “Just who are you?” Eyron asked. “Shut up, prick!” the stranger snapped. “I'm talking about the light!” “I'm not interested.” The stranger began to walk, but despite the swamp mire around them, their footsteps still made no sound. Eyron watched them move as he recalled the teachings of the Church. “Humanity was flung through the stars long ago. One day, our goddess Scintilla will find us, and save us from the terrible place where we've landed.” Every neophyte of the Church knew that. (if: ($eyron_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Next|Eyron 7]]]

{ (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) } The stranger took obvious offense with Eyron's reply. They stopped walking, and simply turned away for awhile. Then, finally, “Terrible? Tenesoir? Maybe to you. But to the native inhabitants of this planet...” Another pause gripped the swamp. The stranger twirled out of view, though not in a graceful pirouette; rather, their upper body seemed to move independently of their lower body, and rotated apropos of nothing as their body slid into the darkness on motionless legs. “...well, it's okay, I guess,” the stranger continued, from behind Eyron. They'd moved much faster outside the moonbeam, to get around Eyron and his rock like that. “It's not like I've been anywhere else. But I find Tenesoir enjoyable, and we native lifeforms of the planet live in harmony well enough. So what's your problem?” “My problem?” Eyron scoffed. He'd have been more afraid of the situation if the stranger wasn't playing around so much. If they hadn't stolen his sword, he'd have slain them already. The stranger suddenly stopped dancing along the murk, and laughed. “Is that what you think?” they asked. “You had the sword in town, and you couldn't stop me there!” Eyron gasped. Had the stranger read his mind? But then— “You must be a shotant!” he shouted, his hands balling into fists. He wasn't sure if it was the same one that had impeded him in the Marquis' chap— “'It'?” The shotant's hands exploded in a display of gore, as giant hooks of bone took their place suddenly and violently. “I was a 'they' to you when I appeared human? But now that you know I'm a shotant, I'm an 'it'? That's a little fucked up, darling. What about this are you not getting?” The shotant resumed their pirouettes around Eyron and the rock. The bone hooks and the gore trailing their wrists made this dance much more unsettling than it had been before. [[Next|Eyron 8]]

Eyron turned his body to keep square with the shotant, in case they attacked. “You drugged me and stranded me on this rock!” “You really don't understand anything I'm trying to tell you here!” Suddenly, the shotant's dance changed course, and their sharp hooks began spinning toward Eyron. “You stupid prick!” they shouted. They twirled so close that Eyron could feel their blood splatter across his face. Then, suddenly, they stopped. “Hold on, I'm getting sidetracked. Where is Zeltencia?” Eyron was thrown off by the shotant's unpredictability. He wanted to wipe the blood off of him, but he couldn't drop his stance. He wanted to be ready to deter the shotant's hooks with his armor. Above all, though, the question baffled him entirely. It seemed to come completely out of nowhere. “...Zeltencia?” he repeated. “Zeltencia von Trepe?” “Zeltenc—yes!” The shotant's arm tensed up. They seemed to be readying a slash. “How many Zeltencias do you know? She left Marquis Luman's chapel with you on the night the barrier crystal was stolen. Where did she go?” Eyron wasn't about to let himself be intimidated by the shotant's threatening posture. Even if he was, he was even more afraid of slipping on the slick rock, so he held his ground. Either way, he knew the shotant wouldn't like his answer very much. “I don't know,” he finally replied. Zeltencia had indeed accompanied him much of the way to Melaton. Eyron was impressed by her athleticism; her acrobatic fighting style let her fend off a Phantom while on the move. The two of them had quickly outpaced all the templars who had come along to help them, and they'd made it to Melaton at a pace Eyron was sure he would never match again. When he turned to thank Zeltencia for her aid, however, she was already gone. During the last of their trek, they were in the clear. As soon as the Melaton Hollows and its cliff had risen into view, Zel jumped over Eyron to guard the way they came. For all Eyron knew, the “watch your back” talk may have been a pretense to— “Fine, whatever,” the shotant barked, right in the middle of Eyron's thoughts. [[Next|Eyron 9]]

“So you don't really know anything about Zel either,” the shotant sighed. They took a half-step away from Eyron and stopped again. “Well then.” Their rage seemed to return to them in an instant, as if the conversation about Zel had never even happened. “You stupid prick!” The shotant began to spin toward Eyron once again, hooks outstretched. They menaced him with the serrated edges along their bone hooks, but they'd left him his armor. He was sure it could turn away a slash or a stab from bone. Eyron was surprised to find that the shotant was planning neither a slash nor a stab. Instead, their pirouettes brought their body close to Eyron and his rock, close enough to wrap their hook around one of his legs. With one decisive yank, they swept him off-balance, and the water-slicked rock underfoot prevented him from righting himself. Eyron fell forward, and landed in the murky mire with a plop. Panic gripped him for a moment, and would have frozen him entirely if not for the smell. The swamp he'd been taken to had the pungent stink of rot to it, a fact he'd managed to ignore until the swamp water threatened to fill his mouth and nose. Eyron squeezed his eyes shut; he was desperate to keep the foul liquid out of his eyes. “You fall from the sky and act like you own the planet!” the shotant continued. Eyron's ears were submerged, but somehow he heard the shotant's voice as clearly as through air. “You blast shotant with your terrible light and trap us in your lanterns! And you have the gall to declare holy war on our entire kind, for the crime of fighting back! I can become so human that even your barrier crystal lets me through, and you still think of me as an 'it'!” Eyron couldn't speak to defend himself. He was too busy holding his breath. The rock he'd fallen off of was much larger under the water; he was having trouble scaling it, especially with his eyes closed. He could feel his metal boots sinking even further as the soft ground grasped for him, as if urging him to stay. [[Next|Eyron 10]]

The lack of air was starting to throw Eyron and his body into a panic. As an angler, he was used to being in the water, swimming, holding his breath. He couldn't do much swimming in his armor, and it was becoming increasingly clear that climbing the rock wasn't working. All he could do was walk toward the shore, and hope his breath held out for that long. “And what?” the shotant balked. Their voice seemed to come from all around Eyron, and somehow from inside him as well. “You're just gonna try to walk away? You're not even going to bother apologizing?” Eyron found the sentiment ridiculous, but he couldn't speak and he couldn't really think too much about a comeback anyway. He was busy trying not to die. “That's why we fight you, too! That's why we band together into shokhaye! We don't want to die!” Eyron couldn't understand the shotant. They were just kind of screaming things at him, while he charged forward. He knew he'd take an involuntary breath soon. He had to get his head above water before then. After what felt like forever, Eyron felt the top of his hair breach the surface of the water. He tilted his head back and began to take in greedy gasps of air. It stank, but it sure beat suffocating. Eyron wanted to collapse from the exertion, but he couldn't. He had to stand tall and keep his head tilted, but at least he could open his eyes— “Hi, prick!” the shotant greeted Eyron, before he'd actually opened his eyes. When he did, though, he saw the shotant standing there, threatening him with their serrated hook of bone. They pressed one hook to Eyron's throat, and held the other aloft, ready to attack. He couldn't advance out of the water without getting cut. He couldn't retreat without drowning. He couldn't do anything, really; he could breathe now, but he was still utterly at the shotant's mercy. “What do you want?” Eyron sputtered, still short on air. He could feel his skin bending under the sharp edge of the shotant's bone hook. The question seemed to catch the shotant off-guard. “...I don't know." [[Next|Eyron 11]]

The shotant seemed to still be chewing on Eyron's question. "Some of my constituent beings want to see you learn, but some simply want to see you dead. We're unanimous in our enjoyment of your suffering, though.” Despite this, though, the shotant took a small step back. They were still in range to swipe at Eyron, so he dared not move. “Actually, speaking of which, take a look at this!” Eyron shrieked as the shotant swept him up with their hook. The bone hooks encircled him in the shotant's embrace, and they began to dance with him. It was hard to see what they were trying to show him when they were spinning him around like that, but eventually he came to realize— “The swamp is gone...!” The shotant laughed and threw Eyron out of their dance. He spilled out into barren dirt, where he swore he had once seen verdant ferns. Behind him, he saw the rock he'd fallen off of, but no sign of the water he'd fallen into, only fine sand. He seemed to be situated in some gravelly pit, where the only living things around were him, the shotant, and a few weeds sustained by the meager nutrients to be had in the soil. “That's right!” the shotant teased. “You've seen me construct a space around you before, darling...!” Eyron gasped. There was only one place he'd seen that before. “So you're the shotant from the chapel?” Rather than wait for an answer, though, Eyron's mind raced. If there was no bog, he could use his speed to his advantage. He bumbled to his feet and began to run toward the rock he'd fallen off of. Perhaps he might even find the sword the shotant had thrown away before. “I don't care where you're from, shotant!” Eyron continued. His body felt heavy as he ran. Perhaps he was so used to moving in water that his body still moved that way, or perhaps he was simply tired. Still, he wouldn't let that stop him. “I'm not gonna—“ Suddenly, Eyron felt water fill his mouth. [[Next|Eyron 12]]

Eyron hadn't been expecting to take on water, so he ended up taking in a huge gulp in the middle of a word. There was no water in sight, so he had no idea how this happened. His vision slowly faded into darkness as he clutched at his throat, desperate to understand why he was suffocating. At first, the shotant's only explanation was more laughter. Then, after they calmed down a bit, they told him, “Oh, yeah, you're still in a swamp.” It was hard to verify one way or another since his vision had gone so dark so quickly. “It was a double...the swamp is real. The quarry was the construct. I can't believe you fell for that...! Anyway, I'm just gonna kinda watch you die now, bye.” (link: "Next")[{ (if: $eyron_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $eyron_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

{ (if: $zel_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } Zeltencia brandished a couple knives at the Phantom before her. She'd wounded them gravely and repelled them from Eyron. She was sure he could make it the rest of the way to Melaton on his own, even with the barrier crystal in tow. “That's enough,” she spat into the ebon fog. “This fight doesn't have to go on any longer.” She'd already chased them up a hill. Their fog obscured a lone tree and a series of small white stones placed in a pattern, albeit one lost to time. “This is unexpected,” the Phantom replied, in two voices at once, one high in pitch and one very low. “Since when do you speak to us and offer mercy, Zeltencia?” “Ever since I learned you're capable of understanding such things.” Zel flung open her coat with her free hand, only to put away the knives she'd been holding. She accomplished this mostly through flicks of her wrists, giving her mercy a little extra flourish and rhythm. “Listen to me, shokhaye. I don't know how you know my name, and I don't know yours—“ “Of course we know you.” The Phantom suddenly lurched forward through the fog, and Zel swore she could feel their gaze even though they had no eyes. Instead, they had a mushroom-shaped head with countless feelers dangling over the side, feelers which were now swaying toward Zel. “When a shokhaye is formed, it's often you who's there to attack them...more often than any other human.” Zel gave the Phantom a bow. She made a strong impression on human and shotant alike, it seemed. “All the more reason that I think you'll be interested in what I have to say, you know?” “Then say it.” The Phantom was looming over Zel now. The light of Zel's lamp shined through their four legs, diffracting into beautiful colors. At this distance, Zel could hear the wounds in their legs making a distinct crunch like broken glass. Their two scrawny arms were hanging limp at their sides, swaying subtly as they shifted their weight on their hurt legs. “What do you want?” Zel knew she didn't have to; if the constituent shotant of this Phantom wanted the information, they could have read her mind for it. “I want to kill a human,” she said. She stood tall in the Phantom's path; their aggression didn't scare her one bit. “And I was hoping you could help me.” [[Next|Zeltencia 2]]

The Phantom's menacing stance stopped. Finally, they had followed Zel's lead and dropped their hostility. Rather than loom over her, they moved to lean some weight on the tree. “You already know how to kill,” the shokhaye replied. Their injured legs were starting to wobble, causing their whole body to shake. It was subtle, but it was a sign Zel had seen on many a hunt. “What could I offer you?” “I need to cross the ocean to reach my target, and no human can help me there.” In fact, asking for help would only make things worse. Most people would stop Zel, she knew. Kyrinna would probably join her, but she wanted to rehabilitate Ky, and murder would probably hamper that. Cydia was obviously a non-starter. “But perhaps there are shotant who can help me.” “Perhaps there are, but why would they help you?” Zel sighed. That was an answer she wanted to save for the shotant who would actually help her. Then again, news traveled fast within shotant circles. “I have no quarrel with the shotant as a whole,” she began, “not like the Church does. If you're not causing any problems, I don't have to kill you. But...if those are my values...if I'm fighting to keep people safe, I have to be consistent about it. And right now, there's a human who—“ “Stop,” the shokhaye interrupted. They urged themself away from the tree, their glass hooves clinking against the stones. “We're happy for your learning experience, but that doesn't mean we're going to drop everything to carry you across the ocean to kill one human.” “Oh, no, I'm sure he'll have guards and things like that, kind of like when we stormed the chapel. So in the end...I dunno. It'll be more like a dozen, or a hundred, or...something.” “Oh.” The shokhaye began to walk back the way they'd came, back down the hill. “In that case, follow me.” [[Next|Zeltencia 3]]

Cydia pointed behind her, toward the path on the Church's right that she had just been running down. She watched and continued to fake exhaustion, but the templars simply didn't react to her ruse. “We're not going that way,” one of the cloth-clad acolytes said plainly. “Uh, okay...yeah...but...uh, ya gonna help me, or—” “Get out of our way,” a templar interrupted. It might have been the same one as before, but three people stepped up with swords at the ready, all of them wearing plate armor and helmets. Cydia wasn't even sure if one of them had been the one speaking. All she knew was, she was pissed at their behavior. Sure, she'd been lying about the Phantom, but if she hadn't, this really would've been cruel of them. Cydia hadn't been idling, though. With her big fake breaths, she'd been pushing out pungent air, preparing for this moment. With one last inhale, she blew air forcefully through her nose, and sparks fell out that ignited the air in Swampfire. The blast wave threw the three templars away from her. She was expecting it, though; she stretched out her hair to catch the blast and ride it back to her feet. The Swampfire had been the others' cue, as well. Cydia couldn't see quite what the other Cuprinas were up to through all the flames. She could hear metal clashing, though, and she could see the bright blue flashes of copper magic here and there. What caught her eye most was when a few stray bolts of magic hit the Marquis' carriage, and somehow urged it forward. The runaway carriage plowed through the smoke and flames Cydia had started. It bounced along the road going much faster than before, and with no one to steer it, it could only hurtle forward, with the occasional suggestion from obstacles like potholes or the bodies of the fallen templars. The carriage burst through the inferno, careening along with a headdress of flames. Somewhere along the way, the Marquis must have fallen off the carriage; his seat was empty by the time it was submerged in fire. That was fine with Cydia, though. She was sure most of the valuables would be in the carriage anyway, and it was practically coming to her. Even as she rolled out of the way, she couldn't help but laugh. [[Next|Cydia 3]]

Cydia darted for the carriage, but before she could loot it, a templar charged through the flames, beckoned by her laugh. Their sword was already raised over their head, and by the time she noticed it, they were already sending it plunging down toward her. “Whatever,” she scoffed, hardening her hand just like that bug Phantom and their tail. She couldn't think of their name, but she wished she could give them a quick thank-you as the templar's sword bounced harmlessly off her defense. The templar seemed to infer a lot just from that. “Wildspeaker!” they shouted back to the rest of their group. “I think we've got a wil—“ They were silenced quickly enough by another swing of Cydia's monstrous arm. All it took was one quick clang against the back of their helmet, and they were face-down in the dust. With that out of the way, Cydia returned her attention to the carriage. It had hurtled into the ditch she had been crouched in earlier, where it laid on its side, hers for the taking. While it had an elaborate chair on top, with some nice cushions for the Marquis' ass, it didn't have much else to it; it was a simple white box on wheels. The wheels had strange rods sticking out of the center of each; Cydia wasn't sure what they were, but they had wire strands wrapped around them, so she guessed it was a copper magic thing. What she wasn't seeing, though, was a way to open the body of the carriage itself. The Church wasn't going to make it easy for her to figure it out, though. Without warning, a bolt of copper magic came streaking her way. Fortunately for her, it was redirected to one of the rods on the carriage wheels. The jolt urged the carriage forward despite its predicament, and Cydia was caught up and dragged by the wheels sticking up in the air, and all their little doodads. It sucked, but not nearly as much as being struck by the Church's lightning. It had nearly left Cydia pinned down, though. [[Next|Cydia 4]]

Cydia managed to duck away from the overturned carriage before it plowed into the side of the ditch, but just barely. Instead, she found herself up against the dirt by its wheels and rods. Fortunately, the dirt was soft enough for her to rub and dig and push herself against, until it yielded enough wiggle room for Cydia to climb away. With that behind her, she looked up to her assailants. There were four targets she could see, three templars in armor and one in cloth, but two of them were turned away and clearly talking to someone else. The other two were advancing toward Cydia. She couldn't help but smirk. If they were still sending mooks her way, with the Marquis stranded in the melee on the road, there must have been something important in or about the carriage. Cracking it open would have to wait. “Hi, fellas!” Cydia greeted her next two opponents. Before she could roast them with her fire breath, though, she spotted her Cuprina stooges behind the Church stooges. She didn't want to burn her own folks. Instead, she charged forward, her arms already transformed. The templars' swords were already waiting for Cydia, so she gave a mighty flap of her hair to help brake herself before she got too close. Before she could make a move, though, a bolt of copper magic made a dramatic intervention. The bolt struck one of the templars in the back, producing a sharp cry from inside the armor. The other templar turned to look, and in that moment, Cydia pounced on them both, whirling into the fray with her arms outstretched. She hammered them both to the ground, and quickly reverted her arms to human form so she could rake her hands through her voluminous hair and pose for her underlings. Ithric was one of the leaders of the charge. Cydia smiled at him; she knew he was always eager to check her out. When he got closer, though, he didn't seem the least bit turned on. “Cydia, boss!” he shouted. “Bad news and bad news!” Cydia sighed. She hated when people did that. “Okay, gimme da bad news!” she demanded. [[Next|Cydia 5]]

Ithric closed the gap and took a few moments to breathe before giving the bad news. “The Marquis got away!” “Eh, let 'em have da bastard!" Cydia scoffed. "We got da wagon! Dat's good, innit?” Cydia patted Ithric on the back as he hunched over to heave. She was in no mood to harbor a hostage anyway. “Now what's da bad news?” Only then did she realize Ithric had said he had “bad news and bad news” earlier. Ithric took a look over his shoulder before he answered. “Phantom...!” Before he could scrabble away, though, Cydia gave his hair a quick yank. “Hold it!” she told him. “You's can leave now, sure, an' I'll give ya a handy when we get back to camp.” Ithric tried to run again, but Cydia got a hand on his shoulder and managed to spin him around. “But ya open up dat thing da Maquis was ridin', an' I'll use my mouth...!” “Ooh...! But the Phantom—“ “I'll worry 'bout dat.” Cydia felt a pang of regret almost immediately after saying that. The ground seemed to burst open, tearing the road apart and bursting through the wall of the ditch. The road above was probably destroyed, but Cydia couldn't tell with all the black fog around. There hadn't been a trace of fog before, and suddenly it had consumed the area. Still, despite the display of power, Cydia had already learned enough about Phantoms to know they understood words. “You wanna knock it off?” she asked them. “I ain't gots no problems wit' yous!” “Oh yeah?” Cydia's voice answered back at her, from inside the fog. “Well, I gots a problem wit' yous!” Before Cydia could ask what the problem was, thick purple vines ripped through the ground, reaching out for her. She and Ithric backed away from the vines, and in the empty space they left behind, the vines swirled and smashed together. It was hard to see through all the dust and fog, but Cydia was sure she smelled blood. [[Next|Cydia 6]]

Ithric observed for a little while longer. Then, he took a half-step forward, pivoting his body as he gathered copper magic on his blade. The magic jumped off his sword in a series of small rays. “I'm gonna get sucked...!” he proclaimed, swiping his sword back the other way. As he did, he shot more blasts of magic into the fog. “And I'm not gonna let some Phantom get in my way!” Cydia raised an eyebrow. If Ithric was fighting like this over the promise of a little mouth, perhaps she'd have to offer him even more. He was well-endowed, but he had no rhythm and his dirty talk was better off silent. When he did shut up, though, she could at least close her eyes and imagine someone else. There was no such luck that night on the road, though. Cydia stopped thinking about sex with Ithric just long enough to see him struggling with the Phantom. From within their writhing mass of thorns, they extended long and flexible vines with those same white bulbs Cydia had seen earlier. Here, though, those bulbs opened, some revealing glowing orange eyes, and others revealing nothing—or, at least, nothing she could see from afar. “So...!” Cydia shouted, stepping in to aid Ithric. “Phantom! What's your problem?” “You're harboring the traitor Lymantria!” was their only reply. They hoisted an empty vine at Cydia, and showed her it wasn't really empty. The vine had a hole hidden among the petals, and she could feel some kind of air or gas rushing out of it. As the vine flailed around, the area quickly filled with a new smell, one Cydia struggled to make sense of. It was as if it smelled strongly of nothing. While Cydia was distracted again, the Phantom lashed out at Ithric, tripping him up with an eye-vine. She snapped out of it when she noticed how close the grinding thorns had gotten. She reached out to Ithric and tried to pull him away from the Phantom. “You're heavy...!” she complained. [[Next|Cydia 7]]

(if: ($cydia_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)] Cydia tried to move Ithric out of danger with one decisive yank, but he was wearing too much armor for that. Instead, she dragged him away with one hand, batting away any approaching plants with her other hand. She could grow thorns too, after all. “Oh yeah,” the Phantom balked suddenly. The eye-vines of theirs seemed particularly interested in the quilladillo spines sticking out of her free hand. “You act like such a brazen fool, I forget you're a shotsh.” Cydia wasn't sure what that meant. She tossed Ithric aside as best she could and asked the Phantom, “A...shotsh? Uh, is dat good or bad?” “It's awful!” With Ithric tossed to the side so, it was clear that the Phantom had changed their focus to attacking Cydia. She had to backpedal to avoid the incoming wall of thorns. “Being half-shotant isn't enough to spare you my wrath...it's just enough to make me feel bad about killing you!” Cydia shrugged. She wasn't sure what the Phantom was getting at. All she knew was that she wasn't about to become plant food. With a deep breath, she exhaled Swampfire into the Phantom's vines. The vines didn't burn up easily, but the flames did keep them at bay. She sustained the gout of Swampfire as long as she could, buying time for Ithric to recover, and for her to think of a plan. “Boss...!” Ithric wheezed. His stance faltered as he paused to breathe. “How can you stand that thing's gas? That shit hurts to breathe!” “Oh, I have no idea!” Cydia answered. The air around the Phantom was full of dust and debris, which bothered Cydia more than the gas from their vines. Still, if it bothered Ithric that much, she could fix that easily enough. With one quick thought, Cydia's knee-length hair twisted together into the shape of wings. This wildspeaker trick was her last remaining souvenir from her father's villa on the western continent, and it was just plain fun to use. Her mighty wingbeats kept both the dust and the gas at bay. While she was at it, she shed her skin as well, scattering glitter into the Phantom's path. (if: ($cydia_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Next|Cydia 8]]]

{ (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) } Sure enough, the vines protruding from the dirt and fog began to fall limp before her. Cydia couldn't help but laugh at the Phantom. “A'ight!” she shouted, cupping her mouth with her hands so the whole Cuprina Brigade could hear her. “Get outta here! Get back to da camp!” The Marquis and his thugs were long gone by then; Cydia was sure of that much. The only thing left to do that she could think of was to take one more crack at the Marquis' wagon. Her raid was bound to piss off the Church, and she wanted to make the trouble worthwhile. Before Ithric could scamper away, Cydia took hold of him with one hand again. “Hold it!” she demanded, already gesturing to the carriage. “You open dat thing an' I'll give ya the best sex ya ever had!” Ithric rushed straight toward the carriage. “I know just what to do, boss!” he reassured her without stopping. He took a big, dramatic jump and thrust his sword downward into the side of the wagon's body. “Dat's overdoin' it, innit...?” “No, boss, this is how it opens!” Ithric turned the sword in his hands, twisting it sideways like a key. Just like that, a hidden hatch popped open. Inside the carriage, Cydia saw the same strange metal as the stuff she vaguely remembered from the Marquis' chapel. Here, instead of a heavy door or whatever, the metal in the carriage was twisted into gears and rods. Hidden among all the metal was a long wooden box with a simple lock in front. “Dat's it!” Cydia gasped. She quickly grabbed for the box and tucked it under her arm. “Okay, Ithric, let's get outta here!” She wasn't sure if Ithric responded. She was too focused on the Phantom; they had shaken off the effects of her glitter, much sooner than a human would have. They had abandoned their trap from within the ground, and they were massing their many vines in preparation for something. Cydia wasn't about to wait to find out what, though. She began running away from the road, through the woods and toward the Marsh of Illusion where everyone was waiting for her. [[Next|Cydia 9]]

“And then I tricked him into drowning himself!” “You what?” “It was great! I told him the swamp was the simulation...and then I put up a simulation of a dry place! He walked right in...!” Kyrinna started cackling uncontrollably at that. She was still cackling at Lymantria's story by the time Cydia entered her alchemy tent; she only acknowledged Cydia's entrance with a glance. “Hey, Cyd,” Lymantria greeted her instead. “You're just bursting with thoughts tonight, you nerd.” They traced idle circles on the rim of Kyrinna's cauldron with their finger. “Mostly a desire for sex, and...huh, what's this? A box?” Cydia nodded. Normally she'd scold Lymantria for their mind-reading, but she was too emotional. They were absolutely right. “Please tell me you're here to talk about the box,” Ky balked. Cydia nodded again as she hoisted the box she'd taken from the Marquis. “Dat's right!” she shouted. She was having trouble controlling the volume of her voice. “I ain't seen what's in da box yet...I wanted to open it wit' yous around!” She wanted to celebrate her haul, but also, she hadn't heard anything jingling around inside the box ever since she found it. She had a gut feeling that she'd need someone else to appraise her haul. Without another word, Cydia thrust the box into Lymantria's hands. They must have read her mind, because they were immediately down to hold the box for her while she picked the lock with her hair. “I like this trick,” Lymantria said. “You move your hairs individually to achieve a collective form and goal. It's much like we shotant.” Cydia gave a short chuckle. “Thanks,” she replied, “but shut up. I'm workin' here.” [[Next|Cydia 10]]

If Cydia got to talking, she wouldn't pay proper attention to the tumblers in the lock. Fortunately, though, the box was like most Church locks in that it sucked. Cydia only found two tumblers, and all it took was a short tickle before the box relented and came unlocked. “Okay, now yous can hit on me.” “Let's see what you found first, you nerd,” Kyrinna said. She had already pulled a plain-looking book out of the box; she was peering past it to look for something else in the box. “Just a book, huh?” Cydia leaned in to look past the open lid and saw for herself. There was some brown cloth in the box that still had an indent from the book, but that was it. Ky was right; it was really just a book. “Aw, man, what am I gonna do with a book? I can't read...!” Kyrinna clicked her tongue and wagged her finger. “You need me so bad it makes you look stupid.” With that, she took the book to a crate in her tent that had a few alchemy doodads on top, and moved those doodads aside to give her room to open the book and skim through it. Cydia moved to look over one shoulder, and Lymantria hovered over Ky's other side. “So what's it say, darling?” the shotant asked. “Eh...it's a book of magic.” Ky dragged her finger pointedly through the page she was on as she spoke, not that it helped Cydia any. “See, here, it's talking about a healing spell.” With a shrug, she added, “I don't know what this is.” Cydia could tell what Ky was looking at; it had to be the mess of lines and numbers on the opposite page. She'd flipped past a few similar pages already. “Oh, those?” Lymantria asked, pointing to the strange page. “That's just a magic diagram. You can tell because it references 'draw'—that's a measurement of magical energy.” “Hey, how's yous know dat?” Cydia asked, tripping over her words a little. Lymantria laughed. “Well, when I first started getting interested in humans, I looked through any memory the shotant collective could muster. You used to see a lot more of these diagrams around, when you humans lived in that kingdom of Moo—oough.” Kyrinna had idly turned the page; she seemed bored of Lymantria's talk. The page she'd landed on captured everyone's attention, though. It was a series of images depicting some nasty injuries, mostly burns. It stood out as especially gruesome considering the book had been nothing but words and abstract diagrams before this page. [[Next|Cydia 11]]

“What's with dis...?” Cydia asked, grimacing at the gory pictures in the spellbook. As much as she hated looking at them, she wanted to know why the Church put them in there like that. “It's a warning,” Ky replied, completely unfazed by the drawings. Whoever had illustrated the book had put an awful lot of detail in the images of the injuries. One poor bastard Cydia couldn't stop staring at seemed to be melting, and the artist depicted the victim sinking to their knees and holding their hands to their face as if to keep their skin on, to no avail. Cydia wasn't sure how Kyrinna could bear to look at this stuff. “It looks like using these spells makes your body hotter and hotter, until you end up like these nerds.” Cydia gasped. “An' dey teach kids dem spells!” she said, her hands already balled into fists. She'd seen the Church entrust things like healing and barrier crystal maintenance to children before. At the time, she'd shrugged it off, because at least they weren't being sent to fight the Church's holy wars or whatever, but apparently the spellcasting jobs weren't safe either. “Dat's fucked up, innit?” The idea of a kid being put through the suffering shown in the book made Cydia want to cry. She'd come close to being a child in the Church herself, and likely would've ended up there if they had found out about her wildspeaker gift. There were kids in the same orphanage as her who had joined the Church. She had very few memories going that far back, but to think that the kids in those memories could've ended up like the people in the bo— “Well, maybe you shouldn't think about that,” Lymantria interrupted. They reached behind Kyrinna to put a hand on Cydia's shoulder. “What are we going to do with this book, this information?” “We're gonna spread it as much as we can!” Kyrinna answered immediately. Cydia was thankful to let the little brainiac go off; she was still a little shocked by the pictures in the book, and by the actions of the Church they represented. “No one's gonna wanna join some stupid church that makes you burn yourself to death!” [[Next|Cydia 12]]

“...yeah,” Cydia said. Ky's idea was just what she needed. “Yeah! Dat'll hit 'em real good what with everyone still talkin' 'bout dat fake Marquis thing!” A bunch of people, including Ithric and so many other folks who had made the theft of the Marquis' book possible, had joined the Cuprina Brigade in the aftermath of that incident. “When dis gets out, they ain't gonna get no volunteers from around here!” Kyrinna laughed maniacally for a bit, but quickly paused mid-chortle. “Wait. Who's gonna tell the kids about this?” “Da kids?” “Yeah.” Ky finally, mercifully, closed the book and hid the images. Cydia's imagination had already wandered, and there was no return, but closing the book did help. Kyrinna leaned on the crate, further obscuring the book. In turn, Cydia relaxed against Ky's cauldron. “Zel thinks I'm terrible with kids. She's probably right. And let's face it, we aren't exactly running a school out here. But we're gonna have to think of some way to reach those kids in the Church that you apparently wanna help so bad.” Cydia nodded. That was the thing she hated the most about the Church, was how they got kids involved. She was still procrastinating on a question from a few Cuprina Brigade members who had wanted to bring their whole families to live in the camp, kids and all. She'd had no real say in her upbringing or her identity, and she had no intention of taking that sort of choice away from anyone who still managed to have it in such a harsh world. She wasn't going to recruit the kids or involve them in any Cuprina business, but living among her and her thieves was more influence than she felt comfortable having on a child's growth. She already had Lymantria to— “To what?” Lymantria cut in. “Never mind,” Cydia growled. She'd lost her own point anyway. “Let's just start by showin' dis ta adults. Betcha we can get a lot more folks ta leave da Church! An' maybe we'll get to da ones who rope da kids into da Church, get 'em to stop doin' dat.” She clutched her head and peeled herself away from the cauldron to exit the tent. She stopped at the entrance just long enough to tell the others, “I gotta stop thinkin'. Thanks for helpin' with da book.” [[Next|Cydia 13]]

As Cydia hustled through the swamp hideout, a familiar face moved next to her and fell into stride. “Boss!” Ithric greeted her, already having to run to compensate for Cydia's longer strides. “You open that box yet?” Cydia said nothing. She was in no mood to discuss that. “You, uh, you ready to have sex...?” Cydia shook her head. “Look,” she blurted, “I ain't in da mood!” Ithric reeled back. “Whoa...you okay?” “No...the sex is gonna have to wait until another night. Dat box had somethin' awful in it!” “You wanna talk about it, boss?” “I dunno. You wanna drink...?” It probably wasn't the best idea, but it was the only idea Cydia had. She didn't have any answers for such big questions. She just wanted a treasure chest full of jewels and money. What she'd found instead had thrown her off. “I feel like givin' up da rest of da night.” Ithric shrugged. “Sure, boss,” he relented, “the sex can wait. You go set yourself up to relax. I'll pick you up some fruit from the camp stockpile.” Cydia plunged a hand into Ithric's messy hair. “Thanks,” she cooed, tousling his hair affectionately. “Oh, lemme give ya a little somethin' ta think about while ya go, a'ight?” “Sure, boss.” Cydia was glad for Ithric's eagerness. Delegating the thinking as widely as possible was the only way she was going to break all the Cuprina Brigade's looming issues into manageable chunks. “We're probably gonna be gettin' a lotta new members soon. I dunno if dis clearin's gonna have da room for all them an' their stuff.” Ithric got about a third of the way into the Church salute before he stopped himself and laughed it off. “Right, boss, I'll keep it in mind.” With that, he was off to serve his boss. Cydia heaved a sigh of relief and ducked into her tent. She reclined in her hammock and reached over to a nearby barrel, where a half-finished bottle of ale waited for her. Her hand froze an inch or two away from the bottle. She couldn't remember how long it had been there. She'd have to wait for Ithric to bring that fruit, to give her a more pleasant taste to balance out the warm ale. As far as Cydia could tell, Ithric, Kyrinna, Lymantria, and all the others seemed to accept her leadership with few if any complaints. Between the Cuprina Brigade, the Phantom in the swamp whose name she could never get right, and the trouble of traversing the swamp itself, she and her gang were in a safe place, safer than most of Tenesoir. Maybe, Cydia thought to herself, just maybe, a kid who grew up in the Marsh of Illusion wouldn't have it so bad after all. (link: "Next")[{ (if: $cydia_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $cydia_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

(set: $show_footer to true) I freeze up immediately. I can't believe I've been singled out and named in front of everyone. My study has alarmed the other shotant; that much is clear from even a quick sweep of their thoughts. I don't doubt for a second that they're naming me, and that that's why. Still, I have no response to offer to Dracocrepitus and their booming drawl. Even the humans milling about in the swamp are stopping to look. Now one of the humans is coming this way, their silhouette tall and nebulous and a mystery to me. “Hey!” Cydia shouted. Oh, it's her! She runs right over the shadow I'm resting in, so I attach myself to her shadow as she goes by. “Hey, hey, hey, shut up...!” Her hands are up in a gesture of capitulation, but there's no fear or anything like that in her mind. “Ya can't go yellin' like dat! What if da coppers hear ya an' come after us?” “Then I'll devour them,” Dracocrepitus replies, thankfully quieter this time. “Then perhaps I'll devour all of you, to stop traitorous shotant like the one hiding behind you.” Cydia twists herself around to look behind her, peering forward but not down to where I really am. Dracocrepitus is clearly starting to confuse her. She turns back to them, still calm. “Look, Dracawhatsit, lemme get Ky or Ly or someone who knows what you're talkin' 'bout, an' we'll figure dis out, okay? Okay.” Cydia doesn't even wait for an answer. She just scurries off for Kyrinna's tent, with me still in her shadow. I could tell her that some of the shotant of Dracocrepitus, especially the anti-human coalition among them, were upset with me studying the memories of humans. But I want to tell her later, after she's gathered a coalition of armed humans...just in case. Besides, Dracocrepitus seems more than willing to let them gather. The shotant who aren't so patient fill the air, blotting out the myriad lights as they swarm around the humans they hate so. It's a common phenomenon around shokhaye, one the humans often refer to as a fog or mist. In truth, it's more similar to the warriors gathering around Cydia than it is any sort of weather. Kyrinna seems to understand this, though, and I'm glad Cydia brought her. [[Next|Tshikaogyn 2]]

“Alright, nerd,” Kyrinna coos to Dracocreptius, approaching them with a mind full of affection, while I watch from the shadows. She strikes me as too selfish to negotiate, but she at least knows enough about us that she can help clarify for the other humans. “What's your problem?” “Our problem is Tshikaogyn,” Dracocrepitus replied. The humans are already noticing the heavy, odorous air of the shokhaye's breath. “They study you humans with alarming interest.” Lymantria steps forward, taking the form of another Kyrinna. “You can study with us, nerd!” they say. They barely get through the sentence before erupting into a cackle. I hadn't really considered it before. I skirt through Lymantria's shadow, which earns a terrifying glare from Dracocrepitus, but I'm merely passing through. I hop to their shadow and rejoin the collective, and right away, I'm overwhelmed by the anger I face. The cloud of shotant swirling around needled at the edges of my awareness with hatred, but back in the body of Dracocrepitus, I can experience almost nothing else. It takes all the willpower I can muster to keep my ire aimed at the shotant who called me out. Whoever drove Dracocrepitus into such a frenzy, I can't find the words to respond to it. I have to borrow some of Kyrinna's. “Fuck you, prick!” It works pretty well. I travel along the shokhaye's scales, surveying the moods of the shotant below. The scene has captivated them as thoroughly as it has the humans, and many gathered through the nerves and blood vessels of Dracocrepitus to prepare their body for action. But they can sense the memory of Kyrinna, and they can see me otherwise surrendering peacefully enough. I think they see me surrendering myself and are holding back— Wait, I think? Why don't I know? I wonder if they're blocking me off, as we do Lymantria. I know we have agreed never to take human form, though, and I've never done it. And as eerily bereft of answers as they are, they're at least allowing me to pass. My form melts into Dracocrepitus' skin, and I ooze into the pores in search of a nerve. I can use one to travel all the way to the brain; whoever is making Dracocrepitus holler like that has to be there. [[Next|Tshikaogyn 3]]

“Tshikaogyn.” There's only one shotant whose mind is open to me, and I am all they think about. They're locked on to my words, and they're beckoning me. I mean, the rest of their mind is closed to me, but it's clear they want me to find them, and indeed, they're waiting for me in the brain. Of course, travel by nervous system is so fast that I barely notice my essence has touched a nerve before I'm already there in the brain. Once I'm there, it's easy to single out the shotant who named me, and my first order of business is to name them right back. “Blotesn,” I exude, making clear my intent. Whoever named me, I'm naming them right back. As soon as I do, though, I can sense other shotant flocking to Blotesn. Many are simply itching for a fight, or burn intensely with anti-human sentiment; they don't care about the issue at hand so much as they crave violence. Those are just the sort of thoughts I don't want swirling around Dracocrepitus' brain. Fortunately, there are shotant who disagree with them, and keep Blotesn's reinforcements confined to the blood-brain barrier. Before long, Dracocrepitus' blood runs black with shotant; while the first arrivals were there to cause trouble, the shotant shuffling through now mean only to spectate. “Don't get distracted,” Blotesn demands directly into my mind. “This is how humans interact, isn't it? With names and direct messages?” They're right about that, but human interaction tends to come from humans, not from shotant. Shotant are content mostly to simply be, to drink in the thoughts of those around them. That's all I've been doing. “No, it isn't.” Blotesn's influence flares through the shokhaye's brain. “You've been researching humans. You've been digging through their pasts and their memories. You've been studying Kyrinna far too intently.” Yes, there is an element of curiosity to my behavior, but nothing I've done has warranted roaring across the swamp at me. I can sense Blotesn doesn't want me fraternizing with humans, especially Kyrinna, because they think I'll become another Lymantria, another shonar. But it's against the law to take human form, and it will result in me being excommunicated, just as Lymantria was. I obviously know all this, so why is Blotesn so angry about it? “Because humans are the enemy,” Blotesn replies. [[Next|Tshikaogyn 4]]

“You'll taint your mind with their influence, and possibly ours as well.” “But humans are not the enemy!” I fire back. “The Church is the enemy!” Blotesn ponders this silently. In that time, I let my mind recall the things I've learned by looking into Kyrinna's life and mind. She may very well have stayed in her mansion had the Church not found her. She might have settled in Melaton if the Church hadn't made a mess of things there. It's the Church who use our corpses to fuel their lanterns, and it's the Church who have declared we shotant to be the enemy. Most humans don't even know we exist. Most know our shokhaye as “Phantoms” and nothing more. Even the Night Watch believes us to be simple albeit cunning beasts; they think of us no differently than a claw hunter or a quilladillo. Zeltencia once harbored a deep hatred of shokhaye, but once she learned the truth, her stance changed. Kyrinna, Cydia, and all of Melaton were all grateful for Abribiene's help. If there is anyone we should hate, it is not humans as a whole. It's the Church. Already, I can feel my logic start to unravel the situation around me. The shotant gathering to watch our confrontation are starting to believe me. Some even struggle against the blood-brain barrier to join me. But it's for the best that they don't. Blotesn and I are comparing our own ideas, one-on-one, and it wouldn't do to have others leaking into the brain with us. Even Blotesn is nearly placated by my logic. They still bristle with hatred, as do the like-minded shotant eager to join them in slaughtering the humans. But at least it's turned away from Kyrinna and her flock. It's for the best, really; if they were willing to study Kyrinna themselves, they'd learn just how much she hates the Church, and how closed-minded the Church can be. Kyrinna is the enemy of our enemy. Even if we hate her, it's in our best interest to keep her alive and let her undermine the Church. We already came to this conclusion when Dracocrepitus entered an agreement with her. Blotesn's bloodlust is not worth violating our pact with these humans. We are proof that peace is possible. [[Next|Tshikaogyn 5]]

Finally, Blotesn's influence fades. They retreat into the bloodstream, flanked by supporters and troublemakers. Other shotant finally enter the brain with me now that my feud is over, but my priority is to check Dracocrepitus' senses. I'm hoping Blotesn's rage didn't urge the shokhaye into attacking. The first thing I hear is Kyrinna's voice. “Hey, nerd,” she coos. She's petting our toothy snout with one hand, and holding something to our nostril with the other. By the smell of it and the weakness in our muscles, it's likely the same moss she used to pacify Léishé, the Holy Death in the blue forest. From her position, she can see our eye moving around under my influence. “You done?” I dare not speak for all of us. I keep trying to see around the humans' camp. “Yes,” Dracocrepitus growls. “The quarrel is over.” Upon hearing this, I sweep the area for Blotesn's mind, or at least their ideas, and I can't find any trace of them. Kyrinna smiles and nods at the news. “Good.” Blotesn had just lost a very public confrontation, and they had escaped with their hateful and violent urges still intact. I'm not sure “over” is quite the right word, given all that, but peace and quiet have returned to the camp for now. That peace seems to be good enough for Kyrinna, because she moves the soporific moss away from our nose. “Now shut up and let me get back to my research!” With that, Kyrinna walks away. On an impulse, I swiftly disengage from Dracocrepitus to meld into her shadow and follow her. I dig through her memories as we go, and there's a lot to be thankful for in there. While I was dealing with Blotesn, Kyrinna was out here keeping both the humans and the shokhaye pacified. The humans dared not attack and risk hurting Kyrinna, and Dracocrepitus had been tranquilized by her sweet talk as much as her moss. When Kyrinna enters her tent, I finally figure it out. I'm following her because I'm looking for a way to thank her. But having studied her as much as I have, I know suddenly saying “thank you” will only leave her startled and irritated, which is hardly the sentiment I wish upon her. She likes knowledge, though, so I've got to start the conversation somewhere. I've never talked directly to a human before...! [[Next|Tshikaogyn 6]]

Of course, that means I'm really not sure where or how to start. All I can think to do is to watch Kyrinna and wait for an opening. After all, she seems to have been called away from something when the situation with Dracocrepitus and Blotesn happened. She's eager to get back to work. Kyrinna's enormous tent has been set up partly over a tree stump, and on that stump, there's a dead human. There's still a thick cord of vine around their neck, from where Kyrinna had strangled them to death. She's particularly happy with the freshness and overall health of her latest acquisition, a happiness that renews itself as she cracks open their chest. A series of jars have already been filled with an amber-colored gel, a preservative of Kyrinna's invention. Kyrinna reaches into the open chest cavity with gloved hands. Her wrist ribbons tickle dormant fibers as she pulls out all manner of viscera. Yet more ribbons are tied around her mouth and nose. All these ribbons have the same moisture repellent as the rest of her clothes. She's stowing the dead human's organs in the jars around her to save them for later. She's torn on what to eventually use them for, though, especially as she turns the heart around in her hands a few times. She could try to transplant these organs into injured humans...or she could try to build a whole new lifeform, a whole new Invincible... Before Kyrinna can make up her mind, her attention wanders to the tent. She heard something brushing against the fabric, and followed the noise as it traveled past. She can't tell who it is until they speak. “Hey Ky!” Cydia calls out from beyond the tent. “Soup's on!” “Okay!” Kyrinna hollers back. The interruption is brief, so she bristles only slightly at it. Cydia's offer of a meal makes Kyrinna more aware of her hunger, the feeling as if her stomach is somehow balling into a fist. If she continues working on the corpse, her food will get cold. But if she leaves to eat before the dead human is properly preserved, they might spoil. It's not even a choice to Kyrinna; she goes right back to work. [[Next|Tshikaogyn 7]]

Blood and guts roll right off of Kyrinna's clothing, thanks to the plant oils infused into the fabric. If she's this focused, this determined to complete her work, it was wise of me to not interrupt. Cydia, however, is not so wise. I can sense her approaching by her tempestuous thoughts. She's already tipsy and half-full of soup, and she swaggers up to Kyrinna's tent with no idea of what's going on inside. “Hey Ky!” she says again as she shoves her way in. “I brought ya soup!” Upon hearing this, Kyrinna rushes a bit to meet Cydia. It's not soon enough to stop Cydia from seeing the gore, but Kyrinna's not quite concerned about that. “I can't eat that now!” she says, shooing Cydia away from the body with a two-handed gesture. “I've got to put them away before they spoil!” At that, Cydia glances past Kyrinna at the dead human, and recognizes them quickly. “Oh yeah, dat guy!” Cydia's memories rapidly flip through a traveler she lured off the road with promises of drugs and sex. “Dat's how I'd wanna spend da night I die, too!” While she continues to reminisce, Kyrinna wordlessly returns to harvesting the corpse's organs. Cydia takes the hint, and finds a box where she can leave Kyrinna's bowl of soup. “Save da dick for me, will ya?” With that, Cydia leaves again. Kyrinna is alone again, except for me, lurking in her shadow. Now, her feelings turn to sadness. As she wrenches the eyes free from their sockets, she wonders what Zeltencia would think. She thinks back to the times when Zel would join her by the cauldron. She misses having someone curious about her work. At this point, she would even settle for Alpidt, or Alpidt's kid. This is my chance. “Hey Ky,” I greet her, trying on Cydia's voice. She's modeled a greeting for me twice now, and as someone new to this, I need all the help I can get. It doesn't really work, though; Kyrinna just kind of ignores me. I try again, in her own voice. “Over here, you nerd!” [[Next|Tshikaogyn 8]]

Kyrinna growls and stomps her foot and puts her arms down at her sides. From her thoughts, I can see she now knows there's a shotant in the room, but not the right one. “Lymantria,” she groans, “I'm busy.” “I'm not Lymantria.” Kyrinna spins around on her heels to face the sound of my voice...well, her voice. “So another shotant comes to learn from the great Kyrinna Strauss?” Her mood has quickly become haughty, which feels...sort of genuine. I can sense fear and apprehension behind it too, but she believes herself to be as great as she says. “Well, maybe 'another' isn't the right word, the way you nerds fuse in and out of each other like that.” She's stalling for time to further regain her composure, but it's not like I mean to judge or harm her. “Kyrinna, enough,” I say, imitating Dracocrepitus' deep drawl. “I'm here to thank you.” Kyrinna seems unsure of what to make of my words, but it's not like she's trying. Her mind is already focused anew on the dead human, and on preserving them. “You're welcome. Now shut up.” I'm losing her, I can tell. She doesn't know or care why I'm thanking her. I have to come right to the point. “You helped keep Dracocrepitus at bay...let me tell you where Zeltencia is.” This freezes Kyrinna in place. “What?” she says, still holding her scissors up to some optical nerves and blood vessels. She's clearly skeptical of my motives and the veracity of my information; her brain is practically aflame with doubt. But she doesn't seem to care too much. “Tell me where she is, then!” She just wants me to say my piece and be done with it. I may as well give her what she wants. “I learned through the other shotant that Zeltencia was seeking a way across the ocean, to the western continent.” Kyrinna shook her head. “What's so important that she'd go off alone like that, though?” As I see the mental image in Kyrinna's head, of her and Zeltencia exploring uncharted lands together, cataloging and battling everything they find, I start to wonder if I'm only making things worse. Kyrinna keeps shaking her head until it hurts her, trying to rid herself of the thought. “Whatever.” [[Next|Tshikaogyn 9]]

{ (if: $lyla_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } The Honda Civic rumbled to a gentle stop. There was a soft crunch as Lyla Brangwyn's sneakers eased their way out of the car and onto the ancient pavement, just about the only sound around for miles. Beyond, the pre-apocalyptic road had been reclaimed by the desert, forcing her to abandon her car and walk the rest of the way. There seemed to be no one around, just scrawny yellowish bushes dotting the open field. (set: $lyla_clicks to 0) The only thing that broke up the monotony of the desert was the facility in the distance. It would have looked humble, if not for the security measures that still stood after centuries of neglect. Lyla sighed. She finally made it. “Area 51,” she muttered to herself. Her doglike tail began to wag with excitement, beyond her control. She adjusted the shoulder straps of her backpack, turned her metal pipe in her hands for a moment, and finally walked toward the facility. Lyla couldn't fathom why this place was so famed. She'd almost missed it because it was so unassuming. She wasn't sure what to expect, but from the crazy stories told in ancient media, she had expected a little more than an open field, some unassuming buildings, and a couple aircraft hangars. Perhaps all the old world's secrets were still inside, but first, she would have to surmount its security. A large fence still remained around Area 51. Ahead of Lyla, there was a security gate, a red and white arm from the kiosk to her left outstretched over the path. There were also signs along the road; they were badly worn out after being left outside for an epoch, but from what Lyla could tell, someone was authorized to use deadly force. Whoever it was, and whoever had signed off on such a thing, she was sure they were both long since dead. Lyla shrugged and jogged up to the edge of Area 51. [[Go over the fence.|Lyla 2]] [[Go through the gate.|Lyla 2?]]

(if: $epilogues_viewed < 2)[Countless fates have intersected Kyrinna's, and many more have been warped by the consequences of her actions. Whose fate would you like to view?](else:)[Whose fate would you like to view next?] [[Zeltencia von Trepe|Zeltencia 1]] [[Cydia Myssil|Cydia 1]] [[Eyron Clipeus|Eyron 1]] [[Eulipha Alpidt|Alpidt 1]] [[Ithric Amalric|Ithric 1]] [[Chief Appalonia Kerne|Chief 1]] [[ . |Lymantria 1]] [[Lyla Brangwyn|Lyla 1]]

(set: $show_footer to false) ## "Tshikaogyn." { (live: 1s)[ (if: $timer is 0)[ (stop:) (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) (goto: "Tshikaogyn 1") ] (else: )[ (set: $timer to it - 1) ] ] }

Negotiations with the shotant were the hardest part. Of this, Zeltencia had no doubt. After all, standing there on the loamy coast of the unnamed western continent, the rest was something she'd fantasized about for ages. Granted, her fantasies were never all that detailed, because she'd never actually been able to scout the area before, but she was sure she could figure it out. Zel leaned over the cliff she'd climbed to get to where she was. Below, she could hear the waves of the ocean, and the shokhaye already paddling away. Zel mouthed them one last thank-you, took a brief break among some familiar red-and-yellow flowers, then turned to her mission. “Damn,” she groaned toward a wall. Don Gato had bothered to wreath his villa in an outer wall of adobe, even along the coastal cliffs of the continent. Zel hated her options; climbing the wall would be conspicuous even if she had the tools for it, but any gate leading in would surely be guarded. Still, Zel saw no sense in giving up after looking at one wall. She began to skirt around Gato's complex, to see what else there was to see. Past the silhouette of Gato's mansion, she could see a mountain range in the distance. He must have set up many lights to make the cliffs so visible from afar. Zel shook her head. There were so many places she'd been to on Night Watch business that were in far more desperate need of those lights than Don Gato. “That's it,” Zel whispered. She quickly formed a plan; if the complex was indeed guarded, she'd just have to provide a distraction. That way, she could pull them out of whatever formation they'd been placed in. But first, she had some cliffs to get around. Zel paused to wiggle her fingers and stretch her arms high over her head. Then, she jumped up as far as she could, her hands seeking purchase on any sort of outcropping they could find. Her right hand brushed along a ledge just big enough to work. With another jump, she locked both her hands on the ledge. As she pulled herself upward, her well-practiced flexibility allowed her to finagle her legs in front of her. She slipped her toes onto the ledge, stood there, and pulled herself up the next ledge. This got her on top of a rock close to Gato's outer wall. [[Next|Zeltencia 4]]

From her new, higher vantage point, Zel could see a series of buildings in front of the villa. Judging by the nearby plots of plants, some of them were likely farmhouses. She couldn't tell what they were growing from afar, though. She was a bit more struck by the fact that it almost looked like a town all its own. It would be the only town on the continent, and it would be doubtlessly ruled by the whims of Don Gato. It seemed like such a terrible fate to her. Zel was so absorbed by her hatred for Don Gato that she almost missed the fire spreading on the outskirts of town. The blaze had started in another patch of those flowers. There, it had managed to hide among the broad red petals for awhile, until it greedily consumed them and their yellowish centers. The conflagration unleashed a burnt yet sweet smell upon the wind as it reared toward the sky. Zel could hear rapid footsteps on the other side of Don Gato's outer wall. The folks inside had taken notice of the new lights among their local constellation, and were running to do something about it. Zel took a step back, then ran and jumped onto the outer wall. Her hands and feet clacked softly against the clay roof as she landed. From her new vantage point, Zel could see some of the clamor for herself. People were indeed rushing away from the main villa, though many of them were only there to watch from afar. About half of the onlookers were some sort of guard, or Zel assumed as much from their identical studded leather armor and longswords. The rest seemed to be all sorts of people in fine red robes; a few of them still clutched cooking and cleaning implements. It was likely one of them who left a side door open at the base of the villa. Zel gazed to the stars and thanked her luck. She crept along the outer wall; the courtyard below was too well-lit, and her landing might be loud enough to draw attention. Then again, the crowd of onlookers had clogged the entrance to the villa, causing a scuffle of sorts as the guards tried to pry open a path for those who were trying to help. Zel couldn't stop to help, though. She lined herself up with the side door, jumped off the roof, and threw herself into a roll as she hit the ground. “What the—“ [[Next|Zeltencia 5]]

As Zeltencia tumbled forward, she heard someone notice her, so she slipped a hand to the calf of her leg, where a small strap hid yet another knife. She drew the knife as she finished her roll and charged into whoever had spotted her, shoulder-first. She threw a body blow, then slid around behind them and wrapped the person up in her arms. She laid one hand on their mouth, and held her knife at the ready with the other. They were almost as tall as Cydia, which made restraining them difficult. “Let's get one thing straight right away,” Zel whispered to her captive. “You so much as think about alerting anyone else to my presence, and you're dead. Got it?” Zel could feel them nod as best they could, given her hold on them. Since they'd come to an understanding, she let go of their mouth, but kept them wrapped up otherwise. She couldn't get a good look at them; they had shoulder-length hair that blended into the shadows, and their body was swaddled by a gray woolen tunic. What she could tell is that they weren't struggling at all in her grip. “Take it easy,” they said, their voice gentle but rich with bass. “You don't have to threaten me like that.” Zel shrugged. They were indeed cooperative so far, but it hadn't even been a full minute. She dragged her hostage away from the wall, so she could kick the door shut behind her. Suddenly, the hostage began trying to move their arms. Zel had them pinned, so they couldn't really do anything. “I have a key to this door.” “And why should I trust you?” For awhile, her captive had no answer. Then, “I don't know. But there's a pouch on my left hip. That's where the key is. Believe me or...don't, I guess.” Reaching for the pouch would leave Zel unable to pin the person's arm to their side. She moved slowly, gauging their response as best she could through their thick tunic. She felt no resistance from them, no effort to escape, so she quickly reached for their hip. She could feel a rugged belt beneath her fingertips, and indeed, against their left hip, a pouch sagged away from the belt. [[Next|Zeltencia 6]]

Zel's fingers tumbled inside the pouch her captive wore, alighting upon two finger-length nails and a key about two-thirds that length. She also felt a few coins resting at the bottom, but she left those alone. “Okay,” she muttered as she withdrew her hand, clutching the nails and the key. She pushed her captive into a corner near the door while she locked it. “The key worked...” Zel stepped back; she'd intercepted this person in some kind of storage or maintenance area. With the door locked, they were cornered in an entry hallway, with nowhere to run. They'd been so cooperative, the least she could give them was their space. With that space, all they did was lean against a wall, taking deep breaths, no doubt to make up for her hold on them earlier. Behind Zel, Church lights illuminated a small room with shelves and tools everywhere. Some of those tools, like the hedge clippers sitting on a lone table, could have made for dangerous weapons, but the captive made no move to grab them. “Thanks for letting go of me,” the captive said, brushing aside their hair to reveal a round face. They tried to flash Zel a smile, but quickly faltered. “Ow...” Zel couldn't help but feel bad. She apparently hadn't needed to be so rough, not that she could have known that in advance. She couldn't dwell on it too much, though; the diversion of that fire couldn't possibly last forever. “Who are you? Why are you helping me?” The captive sank into a sitting position right on the cold stone floor. “I'm Leuco,” they answered, gesturing to themself. They wore a purple robe under the tunic. Zel kept an eye on their baggy sleeves, just in case they hid any tricks. Another nail would fit easily and inconspicuously within them, after all. “I just clean around the house for Don Gato.” With Leuco sitting down and averting eye contact, it was a little hard for Zel to hear them. She walked backwards through the tool room, grabbed the plain chair resting near the table, and handed it over. They seemed unsure of what to do with it, but they eventually sank into it. As they moved, Zel finally caught a glimpse of the grimace on their face; they seemed to be on the verge of tears. [[Next|Zeltencia 7]]

(if: ($zel_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)(set: $show_header to false)] “I'm not here to hurt you,” Zel reassured Leuco. “I'm just here for Don Gato.” “Oh, alright, whatever.” Leuco's sudden reply seemed to have startled them as much as it had Zel. “Uh...I mean...he's just my boss. I really don't care what your business with him is. I just...it's...” Leuco looked like they were struggling even more to keep from crying. “...everyone keeps talking about a fire...and my friends are out there...and...” Zel shrugged. Leuco's story touched her, and she didn't want to keep them from helping their friends. But she couldn't risk letting them so far out of her sight, either. “If I let you go, you might sound the alarm.” She'd have lowered her guard a lot more for such a sob story, but after Kyrinna's lies, she found herself hesitant in the face of Leuco's emotional display. Still, as long as they cooperated, it didn't matter much. “I was gonna say,” Leuco said with a nod, the words smushed together a little. “You won't let me go, right? Not until you're done. So...I'm really trying to help...I'm sorry, I'm really scared right now.” Leuco began to take in deep breaths, as if they'd been hiking. “If we could just...get this over with, please...so I can go...” “Fair enough,” Zel replied. Before she could offer Leuco more comforting words, someone started banging on the door behind them, which startled them to their feet. Zel turned to leave, and Leuco was right behind her, after they put their chair against the door as an additional barrier. The two of them moved past the tool room, toward a staircase leading up into the villa proper. The staircase itself was very plain; the stairs were sturdy wood, and the walls around them were stone unadorned with paint or decoration. At the top was another closed door. To that end, Zel moved to one side and pressed herself against the wall. “You first,” she said, gesturing for Leuco to pass. She popped her collar and hid in the stairwell as best she could, waiting for them to go by. To Zel's chagrin, though, Leuco hesitated. “Okay,” they replied, even as they stood there and fidgeted. “Um...where are we going?” (if: ($zel_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Next|Zeltencia 8]]]

{ (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) } Zel sighed at Leuco's question. It should have been clear where she was going, from her stated intent to kill Don Gato. “I don't know," she replied, "wherever Don Gato would be, right about now.” “Oh, sure!” Leuco ascended the stairs and stopped at the door. “That would be...uh, this late into black sky...he'd be at his balcony, I think.” Leuco opened the door a tiny bit and poked their head through the crack, peering back and forth like a rodent on the lookout for predators. Leuco seemed satisfied with whatever they saw or didn't see; they opened the door the rest of the way and waved for Zel to follow. Zel emerged from the door behind Leuco, into a hallway junction. The door was situated in a small alcove, which gave Leuco space to stand off to the side looking anxious. A red carpet ran perpendicular to Zel's vision, connecting a dining room on her right with some large room to the left, possibly the main entryway. Straight ahead was a kitchen where Zel could hear the clatter of dishes among brief but raucous laughter. “Hey!” Zel hissed, ducking down the hallway toward the empty dining room. “I thought it was safe to come out...!” “You mean Corvey and Dan?” Leuco asked, looking toward the kitchen. “They're too busy to...” Leuco trailed off, distracted by the other people noise. It was unmistakable; chaos and panic had reached the villa. By the time Zel retreated back into the alcove, the first citizen had already come running. Leuco moved to hide her from sight, or maybe just to get out of the way, as at least a dozen more screaming people followed. No one seemed to pay them or Zel any mind. They were too busy fleeing into the kitchen and the dining room. “Which way to Don Gato?” Zel asked when everyone had passed, flicking her attention back and forth between the hallways. “Um,” was Leuco's only reply for a good ten seconds. Then, “Normally, we'd go to the foyer and up the stairs—“ That was all Zel needed to hear. She took off toward the foyer, in the opposite direction of the panicked crowd. “But—!” [[Next|Zeltencia 9]]

Leuco was frozen with fear, so Zel stopped to take them by the arm and tug them down the hallway. They whimpered softly, but that was their only protest; they otherwise followed Zel obediently after a single pull. She didn't hold their fear against them. After all, they were just an ordinary person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then again, Zel guessed that Leuco preferred her to what awaited in the foyer. Zel wasn't sure what the creature before her was. It looked similar to a claw hunter, but it had two large, thin wings sort of like Abribiene's that held it aloft. It had apparently broken the front doors on its way into the foyer and up to the ceiling. It shouldn't have been there at all, though; Don Gato had a barrier crystal, or at least the shotant had told Zel so. As soon as Zel made eye contact with the creature, it swooped down to attack. She ducked under the diving scythe. Still crouched, she threw herself into a roll and moved toward a stone pillar as the insect rose to the ceiling again. As Zel took a few deep breaths to calm herself and get ready to plan, she sucked in the stench of blood. Past the broken doors, she could see some corpses out in the courtyard. “It's a bug,” Zel muttered softly. Bugs love sugar. Kyrinna taught her that much. The familiarity of the flowers finally clicked in Zel's mind. The burning sap must have lured it toward Gato's settlement. If that were true, though, then she had no idea why it would trap itself within Gato's villa when there were so many vermillionaire flowers around. Zel ducked back into the hallway with Leuco, her mind and heart both racing. A claw hunter was enough of a challenge, but a winged one, that capitvated her fighting spirit. She could feel the adrenaline flowing through her, an intoxicating high that numbed most of the other signals of her body and mind. Before she could feed her craving for a good fight, Zel had to figure how how to fight at all. Before she could, though, she heard footsteps outside; someone was approaching the villa. Whoever could be so undeterred by a monster and a massacre, they were worth keeping an eye on. [[Next|Zeltencia 10]]

Zel moved to investigate the lonely footsteps, but she saw Leuco visibly teetering on the edge of panic and stopped herself. They were clenching and unclenching their fists, closing their eyes, taking deep and rhythmic breaths, but nothing seemed to allay their fears of the giant killer bug. “It's okay,” Zel said softly. Leuco moved their head at the sound of her voice, but otherwise kept doing what they were doing. “I'm a monster hunter by trade.” When that failed to relax Leuco, Zel shrugged and returned her attention to the foyer. There, a man stood in the doorway, wearing the red and green finery of the Church of Scintilla. “Dammit,” Zel mumbled. The settlement's barrier crystal went down, a monster was acting uncharacteristically, and now here was a member of the Church. “It's a repeat of Melaton.” “Melaton?” Leuco repeated. “Melaton...I just got done dealing with this. The Church came to a town called Melaton and turned off the barrier around a town, and let the monsters in.” Leuco gasped. “Wait, you came from another continent? How...?” Zel didn't answer their questions. Instead, she watched the man from the Church continue his slow walk into the villa, and toward the wide, ornate staircase that dominated most of the foyer. “Leuco,” Zel whispered, “you said Don Gato is up those stairs, right?” “Huh?” Leuco said. “I said, is—“ “Oh, yes! Um, Don Gato is up there. Well, lots of things are up there...” Leuco paused to turn their head in a few different directions. “...but yeah, I guess Don Gato is the only one the Church would be here to see.” [[Next|Zeltencia 11]]

Zel's brow furrowed. If the Church had shut off the monster-repelling barrier around the settlement, the townspeople would need her help, just like the folks of Melaton. She didn't know the area well, though, and the villa would've been her first choice for a gathering place. The Church's presence threw off her plans of revenge, but she could cope with that. It didn't matter to Zel who killed Don Gato, only that he died, so that Tenesoir could be a better place. “Forget it,” Zel said, sneaking into the foyer. While the Church man had left, his pet bug was still there. It didn't notice her behind the pillar. At a story and a half tall, it wasn't getting out of the foyer, not without some finesse, or simply more destruction. Either way— “If we can sneak past the monster, we can make it to town.” Zel swore she could see Leuco's eyes glaze over. “Um,” was all they could say for a moment, as they glanced around the area again. “We...we could also go back the way we came.” Zel's lips crept into a small pout. She was all fired up for a fight, and with the monster trapped in the foyer as it was, this was her best chance. Even so, she had to admit, Leuco's idea was better. In the process of admitting so, her pout crumbled away in a chuckle. “We could, yeah.” Zel and Leuco abandoned the villa to slip away through the side door. Leuco kept up with her on long strides; they were still visibly shaken, but they were at least able to follow Zel through the halls. The silence had previously been a comfort, sort of a boon to her activities, but now it worried her. The halls should have been bustling with life and love, or at least not on the verge of becomng an abattoir. That was the sort of promise that led Zel to the Night Watch in the first place. The von Trepe circus troupe had been a source of joy and respite for the people of Tenesoir, and that was still Zeltencia's goal, even if she now accomplished it through violence and rescue. The folks in Don Gato's settlement deserved that respite too, especially if they were all humble workers like Leuco. Zel felt a pang of guilt. Maybe, she thought to herself, if she'd investigated the fire, she could've done more to stop all this. She couldn't very well go back and do things differently, so she'd just have to make do with taking things as they were and making them better from there. [[Next|Zeltencia 12]]

When Zel and Leuco arrived in town, it was a terrible sight. The simple stucco of the workers' houses didn't stand a chance against that terrible bug creature. The Church man had obviously taken a straight path to the villa, directly through anything that stood in his way. Ashes and debris were scattered everywhere. Zel and Leuco walked together, looking and listening for survivors among the wreckage. Zel's nose wrinkled. Even on this unknown continent, she was sure the smell of death would attract more monsters. That would have to wait, though; she wanted to be sure no one was buried under rubble or gravely wounded or any such fate. “Hello?” Zel called out. Leuco was hollering out every so often as well, but their voice was soft and gentle and generally ill-suited to the task. Among the most ruined buildings, there was no reply. That at least eased Zel's fears of an emergency. She was so fixated on finding people that it took her awhile to realize she had no real way of helping them. She remembered Kyrinna's healing recipe well enough, but she had no idea where she'd find star herb or lavandula on the western continent. Away from the Church man's wrath, though, a dozen or so buildings still stood. About a third of town had been razed, and Zel could see even more corpses along a side road to a pier, but there was still plenty of room for survivors. She did her best to stay hopeful, especially for Leuco's sake. Once they'd checked the ruined buildings to Zel's satisfaction, Leuco began to wander off without saying a word. Zel followed them as they went, likely to seek the friends they'd been calling out to. Their speed-walking led them to a simple building that smelled strongly of the vermillionaire flower, and a few earthier scents Zel couldn't identify. “This is the plant works,” Leuco explained. Zel was a little surprised by their ability to consistently keep pace with her. “Kona and Silius work here.” Leuco doubled-timed over to the door and gave it four knocks in a simple rhythm. “Hello...? It's me, Leuco!” [[Next|Zeltencia 13]]

In response tp Leuco's pleas, the door opened to reveal four people who'd been hiding inside. Leuco seemed to recognize the two who answered the door. Both were dressed in simple red outfits with brown overalls. The taller of the two immediately looked past Leuco to Zel and asked, “Who's this?” “Um,” was the only answer Leuco had to offer. Zel had sworn them to secrecy, after all. “I'm Zeltencia von Trepe,” she greeted the workers, giving them a slight bow. “I'm a monster hunter from the Night W—“ “Wait,” one of Leuco's friends said, the taller one with the glasses and the blond hair peppered with grays. “Zeltencia von Trepe? As in the von Trepe circus troupe? No shit...!” The shorter friend piped up before Zel could elaborate. “He's Silius, and I'm Kona,” she explained. Her hair was black and tied into a messy bun on her head. “What's going on out there?” “No!” Silius shot back. “We know what's going on! Some Church boat comes by, and it's not the usual boat or on the usual schedule! This guy gets off, and he's been killing everyone he meets! He's gonna kill everyone on the island! And then that...that thing...!” Kona moved to squeeze Silius' hand. “It's alright. So we know what's going on, but not why. But Leuco and Zeltencia seem to know more, so let's hear what they have to say.” Zel shook her head. “Oh, please,” she began, “you all can call me Zel! But I don't know for sure...I can only speculate.” Zel recounted the details of Melaton and the Church's attack to the others. “The Church wildspeakers who attacked Melaton took control of a Phantom. It's possible that monster is under the man's control here as well. It's certainly not behaving the way a bug should be.” “Okay, but why would the Church do this?” Leuco asked, on the verge of tears once again. Kona and one of the other survivors had to peel them away from a window; looking out over the carnage was obviously not helping their headspace. Leuco's back hit the wall, and they sank to the floor beneath the weight of the tragedy around them. “Couldn't they have just poisoned his drink or slit his throat?” Leuco gestured to Zel and added, “I mean—!” [[Next|Zeltencia 14]]

Leuco stopped themself before they said any more, but that was enough for Zel to get the picture. “That, I couldn't tell you,” she answered. “They had...very specific reasons for leaving Melaton to die in the dark. But I wish we knew, because we really only have two options...well, three.” Zel stepped out of the plant works to turn her gaze toward the villa in the distance. A corner of the foyer had collapsed, and the balcony was torn apart. “We have two options,” she corrected herself. Cornering the Church man and his pet monster somewhere in the villa seemed to be out of the question. “We can prepare to take a stand and fight him to the death here...or we can find somewhere to hide.” “I'd like to hide,” Leuco answered quickly, still seated against the wall, “but where...?” Zel shrugged. “Well, what else is there on this island?” “Nothing,” Kona replied. “It's Don Gato's place, and then the rest is uncharted wilderness.” “That's fine. I'm a traveling monster hunter, so I know about wilderness survival too.” Silius seemed confused. “I thought you von Trepes were entertainers,” he said, his head buried in his hands. He appeared to be older than Kona by about a decade, while Kona in turn seemed closer to Zel's age. If Silius knew so much about the von Trepes but not about what happened to them, he must have been working on Don Gato's island for quite some time. “What are you doing here?” “That's kind of a long story that we don't have time for right now,” Zel said, a bit more sternly than she'd meant to. Finding a fan of the von Trepe circus had her feeling a huge variety of emotions all at once, but time was running out. “We need to make a decision soon, because we need to prepare and gather supplies no matter what. Leuco wants to hide, I want to fight. Silius...?” “You're asking me if I want to fight that bastard and his monster?” Silius asked. “No! No...! The answer is no!” Zel turned to Kona, but before she could even ask the question, Kona answered with, “No. Well, I do want to fight him, but not now. There's too much we don't know.” Zel's eyes flicked to the other two workers in the plant works, but they said nothing. Much like Leuco, they appeared to be struggling with what was happening, and the terror and grief that came with it. She hadn't even gotten their names. She'd try to talk to those two alone, or maybe have Leuco do it, since they were so gentle. “Alright,” Zel began, “let's get ready to run and hide in the wilderness. First, we'll need to pack for the trip.” (link: "Next")[{ (if: $zel_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $zel_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

Kyrinna's attempt at being dismissive is weak. Thinking about Zel too much is clearly getting to her. “She was trying to hide her trip from all humans,” I say, trying to console Kyrinna and fix things as best I can. “Yeah, but why hide it from me? I would've helped her with anything!” Kyrinna notices the force in her hand. She's been cradling an eye in her hand this whole time, and she's coming close to squeezing it too hard. She sighs, snips the eye free from its connections, and places it in a jar of preservative. “Look, you stupid shotant and shokhaye and showhatever aren't gonna hurt her, are you?” I can't make any promises like that, especially not with shotant like Blotesn spreading anti-human sentiment. But Zeltencia's encountered many shokhaye. “She'll be fine.” “Whatever, nerd. I'm just glad she's not dead. Now shut up.” Kyrinna's fingers brush along the dead human's neck, along the marks her vine rope left there. Right now, she's thinking about cutting off the head and dunking the whole thing in a jar. She wants to take a break and satisfy her hunger with the soup Cydia left for her. But Kyrinna's brain won't let her go, not without one more idea. “You, shotant!” she barks. “Yes, boss!” I reply in Ithric's voice. Kyrinna laughs at that. “Boss, huh? Well...I was thinking about something the shotant told me once before. Something about thoughts and memories being nothing more than...impulses.” She looks around the room for me, so I dutifully flare up a pair of yellow eyes in her shadow. When her eyes meet mine, she sighs. “Duh, of course you're in my shadow. Anyway, if you're so damn good at human brain impulses, couldn't you command a body to move?” “Yes and no, boss.” I swirl the yellow lights around in Kyrinna's shadow. The swirling is just for show; I'm turning them into glowing arrows pointed at one another, and I bring them to an abrupt halt when I'm done. “There's too much reflex, too much instinct to overcome with the impulses we shotant can muster.” Shokhaye have reflexes too, but those are rules we write into our being when we take that form together. “And even with unlimited effort, I doubt we could overpower the self-preservation instincts of any living thing.” I'm really not sure how to explain it to Kyrinna, but she doesn't feel like she needs it. “Oh.” [[Next|Tshikaogyn 10]]

Kyrinna begins to pace around the dead human. She's torn; she needs to stay on task, but she's captivated by my answers. Her mind churns furiously at my every word, plugging them into her own systems of knowledge as if they're mathematical solutions to be checked. Kyrinna's eyes linger on the dead human's penis, and Cydia's request echoes in her head. As she cleans the blades of her scissors with a rough cloth, she asks, “What about this person? I mean, before I tore them apart...could you control a dead body?” “No way, you nerd.” The idea seems a little preposterous, and I can't help but rebuke Kyrinna in her own voice about it. “How far can you drive a broken carriage?” “Couldn't you fix it first?” “I don't see how I could do that. Then the reflexes come back” Ideas are flitting through Kyrinna's mind at ludicrous speeds. Between the sleep-inducing moss she's cultivating, the alcohol she can brew, and the glittering toxin Cydia learned from Pflutrandor, the Second Moon, there's a lot Kyrinna knows about shutting down the body and mind of a human. Unfortunately, Kyrinna can't seem to bridge them into a solution in time. Hunger pains radiate outward from her abdomen, and she fights the urge to clutch her stomach, with the scissors still in her hands. With a growl, she quickly snips off the dead human's genitals, tosses them in a jar, and closes the lid. “Okay,” she huffs into her face ribbons, “let's feed this nerd to Dracocrepitus so I can finally eat something. But I like talking to you...uh, what was your name again?” The question sends a strange fluttering sensation through me. The glowing shapes I'd been conjuring before dissolve into gleaming motes. Being named had almost led me and the whole human encampment to tragedy. Now, though, I see it for the boon it is. This is form without form. This name carries all my deeds, my reputation...and most importantly for me, it makes it much easier for humans to seek me out. [[Next|Tshikaogyn 11]]

(set: $tsh_epilogue to true) Through this name I have been given, I can create a bond with Kyrinna, a link to feed her knowledge to the shotant. The knowledge she craves about life and death seems like a fair trade. I will model peace between human and shotant with this trade. Contrary to some of the more fanatic shotant, the humans can indeed be useful from time to time. Even the haughty shotant who believe themselves superior to humans ought to enjoy manipulating them. After all, Kyrinna has already modeled that behavior for us. This is an incredible opportunity in a night full of them. Kyrinna won't be talking to the shotant, or to Dracocrepitus. She'll be talking to me. “My name...is Tshikaogyn.” ## THE END

(set: $lyla_fence to true) The barricade over the road had a stop sign on it. Lyla nodded to it, and went to the fence instead. Looking up at the task before her, though, she quickly changed her mind. Her arm strength had never been up to snuff, and she could tell just by kicking at the fence that her shoes wouldn't find enough purchase to hold her up. Then there was the barbed wire at the top; Lyla had no interest in trying to keep her balance while trying to cut it away. “Wait,” Lyla mumbled to herself. She put her metal pipe on her belt loop, then chided herself for not thinking of that sooner. If she could cut that wire, she could just cut the fence at ground level too. Her gloved hands excavated a long clipping tool from within her backpack, wrapping easily around its handles. It worked sort of like hedge clippers; she just had to work the levers to snip the metal of the fence away. Lyla trimmed the fence away, right to the links, and left herself a wide gap. The sun was intense overhead, but her lavender bucket hat kept the rays off of her as she worked. As she expected, the security systems alluded to by all the signage had long since fallen silent, and no one came to stop her from breaking in. Lyla wobbled to her feet. Her gaze raked over the links of the fence as she admired her handiwork. “We'll be right back after these commercial messages,” she crooned to the open air as she shoved the clippers back into her backpack. “And we'll see what we've got here.” With that, she wandered further into Area 51. [[Next|Lyla 3]]

(set: $lyla_fence to false) “Excuse me!” Lyla said, sidling up to the guard station with a confident swagger. “Is there anyone here who can give me a tour...?” She expected no answer, of course, but she had to amuse herself somehow. These ruins of the old world had a sort of melancholy to them, but breaking the silence with some levity helped ease the sting of it. She put her weapon away in its place on her belt, as she was sure officers would have her do, and waited a bit for a response she knew would never come. Even if the previous owners had left the place locked, though, Lyla would have no qualms breaking in. After all, she was here to do them a service, just as she had done for her car. She wouldn't be here if the old world and its cultural relics weren't part of her special interests. But compared to the road bandits and mutant animals that may have come before her, she'd be a more courteous guest. “Oh!” Lyla gasped. She reached into a pocket on her tool belt to find a brochure for the Cross Town Public Library. It was a perfect calling card; not only did it literally have her library's phone number on it, but that's where she'd be taking anything she found in the complex. The previous occupants even left a paperweight for her to use, now coated in dust. Since the empty station offered no answers, Lyla peeked around inside, only to find absolutely nothing inside. “Not even a brochure?” she grumbled. “And after I brought one of mine...!” She hadn't expected things to be that easy; after all, out in the open like this, anything inside had likely been looted already, long ago. Perhaps the interior had been looted as well, but Lyla hadn't come all this way just to give up at the mere thought of being let down. Lyla slid out of her backpack and put it on the other side of the barricade. Then, she took a shimmy step toward the bar, ready to limbo under it. As she did, though, she could feel the limits of her flexibility. She sighed, and leaned forward to fit herself under the bar. As she expected, the security systems alluded to by all the signage had long since fallen silent, and no one came to stop her from breaking in. With no one to stop her, she wandered further into Area 51. [[Next|Lyla 3]]

{ (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) } (if: ($lyla_clicks is 0))[No one came out to meet Lyla when she stepped foot in Area 51. She wasn't expecting anyone to, nor could she blame them. To her right, an old runway laid helpless beneath the cloudless sky, as a heat haze swirled over it like flies on carrion. There was plenty of open field on both sides of the runway within the fence's boundary, but Lyla figured it would be more comfortable inside, or at least under shade. To that end, there were two large aircraft hangars near the runway, and a cluster of smaller buildings off to her left.](else-if: ($lyla_clicks is 1))[Lyla returned to the entrance of Area 51, frowning slightly at the way her expedition was going so far. Still, she kept her head up, and scanned the area, wondering where to go next.](else-if: ($lyla_clicks is 2))[Lyla returned to the entrance of Area 51, frowning deeply at the way her expedition was going so far. This wasn't what she imagined it would be at all. Still, she figured she could explore at least one more area before sunset.](else-if: ($lyla_clicks is 3))[Lyla returned to the entrance of Area 51, on the verge of tears. Her haul so far wasn't great—just a few ancient horror movies which may or may not even work—but she'd been exploring for hours, and she was still shaken up by that scratching noise in the mobile home. It was time to stop, go back to her car, and maybe have a bite to eat.](else:)[hey you're not supposed to see this] (if: ($lyla_field is false))[[[Explore the field.|Lyla 4?]]](else:)[(link: "Explore the field.")[Lyla gazed at the field again. The more she thought about going back out there, the more she thought about the harsh sun that would be bearing down upon her the whole time. "Nah," she decided.]] (if: ($lyla_hangar is false))[[[Explore the hangars.|Lyla 4??]]](else:)[(link: "Explore the hangars.")[Lyla returned briefly to the empty hangar to stop and clear her mind a little. "I love you!" she shouted into the open space. "I love you!" her echo replied dutifully. Mundane as she knew echoes to be, it was enough to make her frown go away.]] (if: ($lyla_home is false))[[[Explore the distant buildings.|Lyla 4?!]]](else:)[(link: "Explore the homes.")[Lyla couldn't even look at the building she'd raided earlier, partly from fear of the scratching thing, and partly from feeling guilty for taking someone's stuff. The guilt never really went away, no matter how many of these trips Lyla took to the myriad ruins of the old world. Then again, these kinds of cultural relics tended to be fragile, prone to simply wearing away from centuries of exposure to open air and sun. Besides, compared to the assholes like Lyla's grandfather, who were only interested in finding weapons and factories among the rubble, her desire to watch old movies was nothing.]] (if: ($lyla_field is true) and ($lyla_hangar is true) and ($lyla_home is true))[[[Leave Area 51.|Lyla 7?]]]

(set: $lyla_field to true) Lyla ran into the open field, not sure what she expected to find. The people of the old world could have hidden their secrets anywhere. Despite her hopes, though, there was no secret hatch or anything. All she could find were some sparse bushes, same as the rest of the surrounding desert. (set: $lyla_clicks to it + 1) Traipsing around in the sun tuckered Lyla out. After awhile, she had to give up on searching the field; she had to escape the harsh sun and get a drink of water. It was no problem to nope out toward the buildings for shade. Lyla was just disappointed she hadn't found anything fun in the field. [[Go back.|Lyla 3]]

(set: $lyla_hangar to true) Lyla scampered eagerly to the hangars, wondering what kind of cool technology she'd find inside. She'd been lured to the ancient facility by promises of extraterrestrial souvenirs, but even if that lofty promise wasn't met, it was still a military base. All manner of cool things could have been left behind by the soldiers, photos and trinkets to remind them of their lives outside the base. (set: $lyla_clicks to it + 1) “Oh,” Lyla mumbled to herself, patting at her backpack. “Dammit.” There was a familiar bulge missing from her backpack, against the front pocket. “Where'd I put my card sleeves...?” She wanted to turn back to the car right then and there, but she'd parked kind of far away. She shrugged, decided she should first check for something to actually preserve in the sleeves, and entered the first hangar on the road. “It's empty!” Lyla observed. “It's empty!” the echo in the room replied. They were both right; the room was bizarrely clean. Lyla was used to stepping around rubble and broken glass in these old places, but the first hangar had absolutely nothing in it. She took a few steps inside to peek around the corners, and still found nary a damn thing. It wasn't that there was a tool shelf stripped bare; there wasn't even a shelf. Puzzled, Lyla exited the hangar. “Maybe the other one will have something,” she hoped aloud as she walked. Unfortunately, Lyla had no way to open the other hangar. If there truly was something inside, she'd have to find some way to lift the massive door open, and she had no way of doing that by hand. Even standing too close and pondering the shutter exposed her to the heat it had absorbed through centuries of exposure. Lyla didn't stand a chance. Upon realizing this, she whipped her arm in a dismissive gesture and belted out a “fuck” as she turned away. [[Go back.|Lyla 3]]

(set: $lyla_home to true) Lyla turned her attention to the small cluster of buildings on the base. There were many mobile homes set up near the edge, and she knew right away that the best haul would likely be there. The drab and heavily secured buildings nearest the hangars probably just had some kind of military junk in them. The mobile homes, on the other hand, were some kind of domicile or dormitory. She could tell that much just by peeking in the windows. They were probably much easier to break into, too. (set: $lyla_clicks to it + 1) “Nice,” she chirped. Lyla's tail began to wag with anticipation as she fetched a bobby pin from her hair. Some of the homes had broken windows, but even they were worth checking out. After all, most looters would search for weapons, and some discerning scavengers might have salvaged metal or electronics for scrap, but few would take interest in the mundane artifacts of the old civilization that Lyla was after. She was there to retell their stories, preserve their culture, and hopefully score some movies. The movies were Lyla's favorite part; they were both entertaining and educational. Education. That was the ultimate goal, Lyla mentally reminded herself as she stood on her tiptoes to pick the lock of someone's home with her bobby pin. The place had some vinyl siding bleached white through the ages, but it was hard to disguise the fact that they'd just detached a trailer carrying a small house, and left it there. They may have left it that way so they could leave more quickly, but Lyla could only guess. That, and curse the fact that there were obviously once some temporary stairs here that were no longer here for her. Maybe from the right angle, to the right people, at the right time, this place looked more like a home. That was the part that interested Lyla the most. To the best of her ability, she wanted to see what it was like to live here in such a different era. [[Next|Lyla 5?]]

Finally, the lock acquiesced. Lyla heard the telltale click of defeat, and immediately shoved the door open, only to be greeted by a hallway. The faux-wood walls held up better than real wood would have, even though a large scrape had torn through its surface. Lyla's gaze followed the scrape leftward, where an ancient couch sat facing an overturned stand of equal width. “I would've scuffed my wall too,” Lyla mused, “pushing a fucker like that through a hallway like this.” Behind her, the hallway tapered into one bedroom, one bathroom, and one closed door. Ahead of her, there was a kitchen looming past the living room. Before tackling any of those, though, Lyla first turned her attention to the living room, to the fallen stand. Judging by the setup in here, folks would have sat on this very couch and very likely watched TV. Again, with the TV gone, as well as the folks, Lyla could only guess. On the other hand, a few plastic boxes remained scattered around the stand. “Nice!” Lyla gasped. She ran to the pile, just dying to fall to her knees and see if any cassettes were intact in the boxes, but she knew better. The thick shag of the carpet could be hiding broken glass. Instead, she seated herself on the overturned stand, and leaned her body around to gather the VHS boxes. Many of the boxes had been left strewn on the carpet. Their labels had also been destroyed by untold years of sun exposure. Lyla had to open the cases to find out what was inside. “Night...of the Creeps,” she read aloud as she stared into the first box. Several more of the tapes had similarly vague yet foreboding titles on them. Lyla guessed she'd stumbled upon the home of a horror fan. Were it not for the age and disrepair of everything, this could've easily been the home of a friend of hers, a horror filmmaker named Dominique. That's what was simultaneously so fascinating and so scary to Lyla about these places. She found such strange ways to bond with a bygone era, but many scenes were a stark reminder that this could easily have been her, and this could just as easily become her. After all, it's not like these folks saw the end times coming either. [[Next|Lyla 6...?]]

(if: ($lyla_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)(set: $show_header to false)] Before Lyla could dwell on such things any more, she started to hear something in one of the rooms behind her, down the hall to the other side of the entrance. It sounded like claws scrabbling against a door or a wall. Lyla fetched her metal pipe from her belt. This was her least favorite part of her expeditions. Long ago, the life forms of her world were twisted by a chemical weapon called Agent Venom. In the centuries since, most settled areas were treated with a chemical to counter Venom's effects, but then, Lyla wasn't in a settled area. She had to be ready for anything. First, though, Lyla stopped and took a deep breath. She wanted to think clearly, not anxiously. She pulled the overturned shelf into the corner of the room, to best hide herself from anything that might come through the hallway. Whatever the noise was, it hadn't started until after Lyla had stepped inside the old mobile home. The source of the ruckus was probably just as on edge as she was. If she could just leave with what she'd already grabbed, she'd be content. Lyla stopped and listened again. The scrabbling noise had lost its frantic edge. It wasn't quite a straight shot to the door from where she was, but it was close enough. She adjusted her backpack, gripped her metal pipe, and used her free hand to vault over the ancient TV stand. She made a charge for the entrance door, and barged her way outside before the mystery being could break free. She also barged her way out before she remembered the mobile home was about two feet off the ground. When Lyla's foot found no purchase in the air, she panicked and fell forward out the door. She managed to land on one foot, but that only delayed her inevitable faceplant. She could barely finish cursing before she was back on her feet again, running from that weird noise. Eventually, though, Lyla made it back near the entrance, and looked back to find she wasn't being pursued. That, at least, was a relief. Even so— “I'm done searching those homes for now,” she said to herself, dusting off her pencil skirt. (if: ($lyla_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[Lyla felt a strange but brief wave of vertigo as she stared back at the ancient facility.] (if: ($lyla_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Return to the entrance.|Lyla 3]]]

As Lyla trudged away from Area 51 with her back to the setting sun, she put a hand to her stomach. Even through the multiple layers of clothing, she could feel the rumble of hunger; even through her soft breaths and the crunch of her footfalls, she could hear the rumble, too. She'd have to bring down her anxiety levels a little first, though. Her senses were sharp in her current headspace, but too sharp, to the point where sensations she once easily endured now caused her pain. The thought of trying to pass food through her esophagus in such a state was intensely unappealing. (if: $lyla_fence is true)[Lyla returned to the hole she'd cut in the fence, and twisted herself around a bit to fit through it. She'd trimmed it neatly enough before, but in her hurry, she didn't want to do anything too clumsy.](else:)[Lyla returned to the guard station, glowering at the empty structure. “And there wasn't even a gift shop!” she snapped as she ducked under the barricade. Her backpack bounced against the barricade, twisting a short “fuck” out of her as her body contorted beneath the pull of its shifting weight.] From there, it was a straight shot through the desert for Lyla to get back to her car. When her car finally rose into sight, she took one last look behind her, saw nothing pursuing her, and relaxed her pace. Lyla wasn't sure she even wanted to return to Area 51. Still, she didn't have to decide right away. If she hurried, she could probably get back to Vegas before nightfall. She wouldn't be able to afford to stay in one of the cramped hotels there, but she could probably just lay down in her car in a parking garage long enough before the police tried to harass her for “loitering”. Then she'd at least be rested enough to face whatever local fauna happened to wake up at night around here. For now, though, it was the passenger side door to her Civic that Lyla wrenched open. Her thoughts were racing, and she needed to take a moment to calm herself before she went anywhere. The internal mechanics of the car clacked out their usual greeting as the car door came open. As Lyla lowered herself into the seat and put her backpack on the driver's side, the scents of her air fresheners came rushing past her. Honey and vanilla—Mom and Dad. [[Next|Lyla 9]]

Lyla pinched the two air fresheners together, and twisted them with her fingertips. As the two trees danced, their cords mingled above them, strings of fate bunched up together all the way to the rear-view mirror. Lyla removed her hand, and watched as the tension in the cords drained away, and hers along with it. “Okay,” she cooed to herself. She popped open the glove box, because that was the only place up front to keep her fruit bars and juice boxes. She kept more savory and filling things further back in the car, but even though she felt much more calm, she didn't dare challenge her palate too much. Instead, she grabbed an apple juice and a strawberry multigrain bar, and slowly chowed down as the sun set in front of her. When the sun lingered too close to Area 51, though, the silhouettes of the buildings cut into the colors on display in the evening sky. Lyla swatted a hand toward the sight and made a disgusted “bah” sound to match. With that, she traded seats with her backpack, turned on the engine, and drove in reverse to orient herself away from the facility. As Lyla put the car in drive, a chill ran down her spine. She shrieked and squirmed at the surprising sensation. Then the ease with which she moved reminded her to buckle up. As soon as the belt clicked in place, though, she was off, probably a little too fast. This far from civilization, things like speed limits were rarely enforced by humans. It was mostly animals that Lyla had to be ready for. If she drove too fast, there wouldn't be time to react if something came darting out into the road. Lyla turned on her car's headlights, to no effect. “Dammit,” she snapped. Her headlights had been fine the night before this. She couldn't believe they'd have gone out now. She was so hung up on that that it took her a moment to remember, the sun had only just set. Somehow, there wasn't even a speck of light to be seen, not even from the moon or the stars. Lyla hadn't seen any clouds all day, yet there she was, stranded in dark fog. [[Next|Lyla __]]

Lyla eased her car to a stop on what she could only hope was the side of the road. It was going to be impossible to rush to town in these conditions. Lyla put the car in park and unbuckled herself so she could peek at just how much visibility she was getting. “Double dammit,” Lyla mumbled. It turned out her headlights were indeed on; they were just having trouble piercing the darkness, even with the high beams on. Then she remembered, high beams were typically a hindrance in fog. There should have been more glare. “What kind of fog is this...?” There wasn't any moisture to wipe away with her windshield wipers, either. Whatever was going on, it ruined Lyla's hopes to reach Vegas. There was, however, a major road she could reach by nightfall—one from her own time, for once, and hopefully one lit well enough to see it even through all this damn fog. There was also a rest stop along that road if she turned away from Vegas and went the other way, and she could probably reach it before her weariness would begin to become a road hazard. Lyla guided her car back on to the old road, and followed the path as best she could. Dad had just fixed her car's alignment before she went on this trip, and the road had been clear on the way in. Really, the only thing she was worried about was bumping into some sort of native animal. As if on cue, Lyla's headlights finally found purchase against something in the darkness. It was a large iridescent lump that Lyla definitely hadn't passed on her way in. Swerving around it would be dangerous, so Lyla stopped and stared at it while she considered her options. To her horror, an array of steel blue feathers burst out of the top of the bronze thing. As the feathers unfolded, Lyla could see they were pointed straight at her. At their tips were eye-like markings—or were they actually eyes? Lyla had no intention of sticking around to find out. “Triple dammit!” she shrieked. [[Next|Lyla ??!?]]

Lyla could hear her tires spinning too fast in the unpaved terrain, digging away the ground in which their treads would otherwise find grip. She was glad she did, because she hadn't even noticed her foot resting upon the gas pedal otherwise. Lyla turned the car around in a hurry, screaming even more as she saw a writhing trunk emerge from the beast, with bulbous pustules strewn about the outside and rows of sharp teeth on the inside. Whatever that thing was, Lyla didn't want to be caught in the fog with it. She wanted to go around it and continue to the highway, but the thing had already begun to chase Lyla on thin, straight bird legs. Her plans crumbled as soon as she thought of them. All she could think to do was turn around and flee back toward Area 51. Just a few minutes ago, she'd have abhorred the thought, but the terror and anxiety of Lyla's current situation really put things in perspective. This was what she had feared upon hearing the scratching sounds in the mobile home—well, not this creature specifically, but a creature, one that might harm her. In fact, that was a far more welcome thought than the sights in her rear-view. Occasionally, Lyla could see a glimpse of the beast chasing her. She was still lost in the fog, but the beast's trunk was flailing at her, something dripping from its pustules. Lyla wasn't about to find out what it was, but...what could she do about it, besides turn on her windshield wipers? “I don't have any weapons,” she mused, not counting her pipe for the moment, “I don't have a clue what that creature is, and visibility is basically zero.” People liked to make fun of Lyla for talking to herself, but the open air made a good place to store her thoughts when her head began to overflow. Even with extra space to unpack her thoughts, though, Lyla couldn't find a way out of her predicament. “What would Dad do...?” He probably wouldn't have jaunted out to Bumfuck, Nowhere at all in the first place. After all Dad and Mom had been through, his response was to become a homebody. Lyla couldn't blame him one bit for that, but it wasn't going to help her much out here. “If he had to.” [[Next|Lyla 12?]]

Lyla swore she heard another voice in the car, through the radio, even though it was off. She had no time to think about it further, though. There wasn't much road left before she either reached Area 51 or died trying. Even the extra prompting wasn't much help to Lyla. Her dad wouldn't have been driving a car, he'd be on a motorcycle. The noise and the sensation of speed were always too much for her, but Mom and Aaron loved his bike and his driving. They regaled her with tales of insane stunts, of turns and drifts and slides that turned Lyla's stomach just thinking of them. Unfortunately for her stomach, those were just the sort of maneuvers she'd need to get around the thing in the darkness. Lyla glanced to the air fresheners, and took in their scent as she calmed herself as best she could. “Thanks, Dad,” she said, moving to put one hand on the steering wheel and one around her handbrake. He had never managed to teach her how to drive a manual transmission; Lyla could simply never get the hang of it. Instead, Grizz had taught Lyla how to burn out and drift with her automatic. First, Lyla veered right, toward the road shoulder, to give herself as wide a turn radius as she could. After driving fast and straight for so long, the speed of the rotation manifested unmistakably as pressure on her side. Feeling sensations so deeply within her body was always uncomfortable in a way she had no words for, but here she depended on that response. That was her cue that the car was also beginning to rotate; this was her cue to pull the handbrake and yank the wheel to the left, to skid around in a high-speed U-turn. Lyla stepped on the gas and whipped up sand around her, or she could only assume as much. She could hear and feel the difference in terrain beneath her car, and a dusty smell began to permeate through the A/C unit. She didn't care about the dust or the fog, though; she didn't need much visibility for this part anyway. [[Next|Lyla 13?]]

Instead, Lyla closed her eyes briefly and focused on her other senses. The roar of the engine was meditative, or at least blocked out any ruckus the creature might have been making. She focused on feeling the car rotate, and on turning the steering wheel along with it to maintain the rotation her drift had begun. When she began to careen off the other side of the road, she briefly used her handbrake again to try to help stabilize the car. All this, to hold on to as much speed as possible in an attempt to drive around the beast. Would it be enough? Lyla couldn't help but peek as she went speeding by. As she did, though, she found she couldn't even begin to focus on that problem, because the dark fog was beginning to billow into her car. It had followed the dust through the air vents, pooling in the air like thick smoke around her dashboard. She wanted to scream, but didn't dare open her mouth, lest the fog drift inside. Lyla couldn't help but let out a yelp when the sound of laughter began to fill the car as well. At first, it had trickled along the edge of her perception, a childlike chuckle that already had her afraid. But the more she worried about it, the more it swelled, as did the fog. Lyla wanted to pull over, but with the creature somewhere at her back, she didn't dare stop, either. But the darkness was starting to obscure her view of her instruments, and the laughter had swelled to the sort of maniacal cackle she'd attribute to a B-movie mad scientist. Suddenly, about as soon as Lyla had perceived the laughter, it stopped. Her other problems remained unsolved, but she was glad to hear nothing but her car engine for a little while. It was nice that something, anything was normal. If such comfort was illusory, however, Lyla wasn't sure she wanted it that badly. “Is someone there?” she asked. She wasn't sure if she even expected a response. After all, if her car radio had picked up a station just as they played eerie laughter— “Come on, nerd!” the voice flared through her car again. “You know it's not the radio!” [[Next|Lyla 14]]

Even if it wasn't, Lyla instinctively reached for the volume knob first thing. The voice was the same one who'd said “if he had to” earlier, but she didn't recognize them otherwise. Whoever they were, they were shrill and bossy, and she found herself instinctively cowering before the sound of them. But worst of all, the voice was extremely loud. Now that Lyla was so completely enveloped in the fog, it was... “...wait,” she mumbled. “Is this...the fog speaking?” “You're a perceptive one,” was the answer Lyla got back. She took that as a “yes”, but more importantly, she took comfort in the fact that the voice had attempted to quiet themself between sentences. "We were eager to see if you could handle that monster, and...you sure did!" The voice itself still had a frequency to it that Lyla didn't like, but that just happened in life sometimes—and often, with her sensory defensiveness. Again, Lyla gladly took any normalcy she could get. “Uh, thanks.” “And you just...accept this? You even take our word for it?” “Well...yeah.” Lyla always had trouble telling when folks were lying or even merely joking. That fact had been helpful in diagnosing her autism. But also— “I don't see how arbitrarily doubting you is going to be any more helpful than arbitrarily trusting you.” “Helpful?” the voice repeated. “What do you need help with?” Lyla's initial reaction was to be flabbergasted. Eventually, as she mulled over a way to phrase things eloquently, she realized that if she was indeed talking to some incorporeal being, perhaps their understanding of things may be different. Unfortunately, her thoughts collided, and she failed to dull the incredulous edge to her voice when she blurted, “I'm in danger!” The maniacal cackle reverberated through the car again. “No you're not, you stupid nerd! You can stop whenever...we'll make sure the gobbler gets lost in the fog, if it's that big a problem.” Lyla struggled to grasp the incorporeal voice's logic, but it laid it out for her just a moment after she started to get confused. “It's not one of ours, so I'm not sure how dangerous it is, especially to such a tangible being as yourself. But it's going to...hm, how might you say it?” Suddenly, the mysterious voice was replaced with a new one—Lyla's own. “It'll fuck off into the night now.” [[Next|Lyla 15]]

“Hey!” It was a suspiciously good impersonation, to come from someone she'd just met. But more than that suspicion, Lyla felt like she was being mocked. Still, she pulled over and brought her car to a stop once again. At this point, she was sort of caught between the fog and the—what'd they call it? “The gobbler,” the fog answered, returning to their prior voice. “Right, thanks.” It took Lyla a bit before she realized just what had happened. “Did...are you reading my mind?” “How could we not? It's practically overflowing!” The voice's answer had been both immediate and defensive. While Lyla did indeed feel uncomfortable having something rooting around in her mind like that, she hadn't even had a chance to mention it. She was still trying to process the phenomenon, and the voice was already blaming her for her discomfort. Normally, Lyla would bristle internally at such rudeness and do her best to remain friendly to such a person, but with her mind being such an open book to the fog, she couldn't even do that. Instead, she became acutely aware of her own helplessness, and panic began to follow. “Oh, relax, you dumb nerd,” the voice reassured Lyla as her breaths became shallow. “If we wanted to kill you, we'd have done it already.” Somehow, Lyla didn't find that very reassuring. “And if the gobbler was going to catch you and kill you, it would've done that by now, too.” That, on the other hand, actually did help. Lyla heaved a sigh of relief as her back hit the seat, and she could finally relax a little. Lyla couldn't relax much, what with the eerie fog overtaking her every sense and thought, but compared to being eaten by a Venom-twisted creature, this was...okay, enough so that her breathing returned to normal. “So...what do you want?” Lyla asked. She could guess the gobbler's intentions easily enough, but the fog's moves baffled her. "We're...here to learn." “Oh!” Lyla chirped. “Then you've come to the right person!” Briefly, Lyla wondered if such a being could be trusted. Then again, it wasn't like she could hide her thoughts from the fog, except possibly by panicking. She really wasn't sure what they were trying to tell her before. [[Next|Lyla 16]]

“What do you want to know?” Lyla asked the fog. “Whether or not to annihilate you.” The fog's answer had been immediate and blunt, and scared Lyla shitless. When they saw she was panicking, though, they laughed again. “Not you, nerd!” “Then why did you say—“ “It's not my fault you stupid humans are so discrete, you nerd!” The voice couldn't really shout because they already were. Yet somehow, Lyla felt their anger. She could tell, because whenever people would yell at her and scold her, she would feel incredibly uneasy. It was that unease that struck her there. Buckled up and stuck in her car, though, there wasn't much she could do with the feeling but stew in it. “Look,” the fog said after a lengthy silence. “That's what we're here to study, in a way.” Lyla was a little taken aback; for some reason, she was sort of expecting them to gear up for an apology. “We don't want to apologize. We want to study humans, to determine what we should do about the ones who have come to our home.” “...wait,” Lyla grunted. If this being was lurking around Area 51 and speaking of their “home”, then— “Are you from another planet?” “Well, yeah.” Again, the fog's response was surprisingly dry for such a statement. “We were going to travel to those humans' home planet, but they evacuated it completely. But then we chanced upon some signals deep in space and followed them here, to you humans.” Lyla gasped. Hope swelled in her chest as— “It was empty when we got here.” The voice in the fog began to laugh again as Lyla's hopes were crushed about as quickly as she'd realized them. “I know just as much about the humans who lived here as you do.” If a fellow human had said that, Lyla would have understood it as a figure of speech, a complicated way of saying “I don't know either”. Around this telepathic fog, though, she wasn't sure if they meant it literally. “I don't think that's true,” she replied. “Even if you are reading my mind, how vivid is it, really? Is it like watching a movie, or having a movie summarized for you?” “We don't have movies, you nerd.” [[Next|Lyla 17]]

“Yes you do!” Lyla corrected the fog, jutting a thumb toward her backpack, stuffed with the tapes she looted. “You've got movies I haven't seen yet!” “Whatever!” the fog snapped. That feeling of anger once again pervaded the car, and Lyla once again quailed before it. “The point is, your stupid roads burn so bright that we can't go out far, to say nothing of that...that sun of yours. So we can't leave, and you nerds haven't visited this place in a long time.” Lyla nodded sagely. “Meeting new people is hard,” she agreed. “Especially if it's been awhile. So how can I help?” The voice laughed again, but this one was different. Instead of the usual meandering cackle, this was a quick huff. “Help? What makes you think we need help, least of all from a mere human?” “Fuck if I know, dude!” Lyla was sort of glad for the voice's almost childish contrarianism. It was getting on her nerves, as such things tended to do, but being irritated was better than being terrified, at least. “I'm just trying to do what Mom would do here, which is...well, if you and I are not enemies, then let's get along!” She had a feeling they would balk again at the prospect of friendship, if they even had such a concept— “Go back,” the voice suddenly demanded. “Who was that you were thinking of just now? Your...mom, you said?” “Yeah!” Lyla closed her eyes and did her best to picture her mother. If that was all she had to do, she'd be happy to do so; thinking of her parents always helped her feel better. And if this mysterious lifeform really wanted to learn about humanity that badly, Alyce and her story made for a good starting point. Her fellow humans had mistreated her badly, but she herself remained optimistic and friendly. There were lots of folks who helped her along the way, too, especially Lyla's father. The voice in the fog had been quiet for these thoughts, but suddenly let out another cackle. “Delicious...!” they mused. “You know much about the humans here.” “Well...yeah, I'm a historian. This is my special interest, right here.” [[Next|Lyla 18]]

“Then how about this...?” Finally, the fog began to clear away from Lyla's vision. She felt like she'd finally managed to talk them down from aggression, but she couldn't feel good about it for long when the ebon curtain fell to reveal Area 51 again. (if: $lyla_fence is true)[Even the hole she'd cut in the fence was still there.](else:)[It was hard to see from afar, but the pamphlet she'd left at the guard station was still there, paperweight and all.] She couldn't even ask how such a thing was possible before the voice laughed at her some more. “There's much we shotant are capable of,” was their only explanation. “Then what's the meaning of this?” Lyla shrieked. Putting aside the details of how they did it didn't make her feel better. They could have at least asked first. “Oh,” the voice replied, “ask first next time, got it. Anyway, since you're so worried about traveling in the dark, we brought you here. You can rest here until the sun returns. We'll keep you safe and browse your memories of humans.” Lyla was hesitant. She was happy to read the fog—or shotant, they'd called themselves. She was happy to read the shotant a book, but having them rummaging through her mind while she wasn't watching was a huge step. Then again, the whirlwind of the day's events had left her exhausted, and she didn't know a way to block the shotant out if she stayed within their radius. “Well...it won't hurt or anything, will it?” The shotant cackled again, not the most reassuring sound. “No, nerd,” they finally replied. “The humans we've tried this on before, they would sometimes fixate on an old memory we'd examined, or play a song to themselves over and over after we found it in their minds. That's about the extent of our side effects.” Even as they told Lyla this, they raised the bar away from the road to allow Lyla's car inside. She assumed it was their doing, anyway. At this point, she couldn't help but accept the invitation. “Just don't wake me up,” she warned them as she guided her Honda Civic into Area 51, toward the empty hangar. “And, uh...I really do recommend starting with my mom and dad. You know, to learn about humans.” Lyla could think of no better starting point for the shotant's studies. Perhaps there was a better one out there, but if she couldn't think of it, then they couldn't read that thought, so her bias didn't matter much. Her parents were subjects she knew well, and she knew they had seen much of humanity's extremes. The Cross Town Asylum had almost killed Alyce in their cruelty, and mass indifference left Grizz homeless through most of his life. [[Next|Lyla zzz]]

{ (if: $alpidt_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } Alpidt pushed the mayor's wheelchair down the streets of Melaton, back toward his home. The whole way there, she didn't say a word. Neither did he, until they were a dozen steps or so away. “Somethin' the matter?” Mayor Scolaen asked, his wavy chestnut hair bouncing as he turned to face Alpidt as best he could. “You ain't got much to say after that speech. Usually, you're all a-bubbly.” At first, Alpidt didn't give the mayor an answer. She was too busy maneuvering him through the door. Once his chair found purchase on the smoothed stone floor inside, she finally relaxed. The cobblestone roads were too rough and uneven for Scolaen, but here, he could guide himself around with far less effort. He used that newfound freedom to turn his chair around so he could stare Alpidt down expectantly. When she still didn't answer, he asked her, “Is it somethin' I said?” Alpidt nodded. “Yes, darling,” she replied. “It's the mining barracks.” “Well, that ain't very descriptive.” Scolaen turned and wheeled himself down the central hallway of the house, between pairs of wooden support beams. He reached the end of the hall and turned around, as he usually did when conducting mayoral hearings. “So let's hear it. What's on your mind 'bout the barracks, 'bout my plan?” Alpidt had no problems with Scolaen's plan. In fact— “I want to take the barracks.” Scolaen raised an eyebrow. “You?” He'd barely finished saying it before she shook his head. “I'm sorry, I ain't incredulous. But...you ain't happy workin' here?” “Well...” Alpidt shrugged and followed Scolaen to the meeting area, leaning her back against one of the wooden pillars. “...it's alright. You're a fair boss, darling, and I get to use many of my skills. But I think my skills would be best used tending to the barracks.” “And you have a plan for the monsters? That was the deal, remember? You have to stop the monsters from coming up through the tunnels.” [[Next|Alpidt 2]]

If the shotant were telling the truth, though, there was a chance their meddling would put thoughts like those at the top of Lyla's mind. She would rather not fixate on those hard times, not when there was so much love and joy her parents had found since. They created such overflowing happiness together that it spilled from themselves to each other, to their friends, to their children. That, Lyla figured, was what humanity was all about. She had no intention of hiding the darker aspects from the shotant, and even if she did, she was a terrible liar. But for her, there was no need to. Those people who could be so selfish and cruel, she considered them weak. It was— “Shut up already!” the shotant ordered. “Damn!” Lyla hadn't been talking, of course. Her mind had simply been abuzz with thought as she tilted her seat all the way back and laid down for bed. That, at least, was an ordinary occurrence, albeit one that made sleep difficult. She could only shrug in reply; the shotant were guests in her mind, so they would have to do things her way. Lyla was no lucid dreamer; the best she could do was to sort of prepare herself beforehand, to picture what she wanted to dream about in hopes that she could stay the course when she did fall asleep. It was those happy memories, those moments of overflowing happiness, that she was using to prepare herself. When sleep finally did take Lyla, it was sudden, after the day's events had left her so drained. In wakefulness, Lyla tried to shuffle everything she could think of past the shotant, hurrying to give the most comprehensive summary she could. When she fell asleep, though, it was when one particular memory began to stick out, one of her dad finding a prerecorded message from his deceased uncle. The way it began to unfold in her head was so unlike her usual way of thinking that it had to have been the shotant gazing into the memory, like they said might happen. Lyla shrugged. It was a weird place for them to start, but sure, they could have that one. (link: "Next")[{ (if: $lyla_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $lyla_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

Alpidt shook her head. She couldn't fathom why she was feeling so nostalgic on such a random night. Her mind had drifted back to the previous mayor, and to her acquisition of the Melaton Hollows, but there was no reason for it. If anything, her mind had otherwise been on the present. After Zel and her friends had retrieved the barrier crystal for Melaton, the townsfolk had been so eager to return to normal that it seemed more like an effort to forget the whole thing. Alpidt had no intention of forgetting such a good deed, but much had returned to normal for her as well. Indeed, on this night, she faced a perfectly ordinary problem, one of not enough talc. Alpidt's solution, too, had become fairly routine; she made her way through the caverns beneath the Melaton Hollows, pickaxe in hand, on her way to a talc deposit she'd found. A few gray-green crystals had once dotted the underground waterway, but they had already been mined away, and Alpidt had to delve deeper for more. After a few minutes of walking along the underground river, Alpidt reached a right turn in the waterway, and a trio of crystalbacks approaching from a side path. The subterranean crustaceans were equally routine to her. Indeed, the moment the telltale glimmer of their crystals shone in her lamplight, she set her pickaxe down on the cavern floor, and fished a kitchen knife from the basket in her other hand. When they noticed her, the one in front began to clack its claws menacingly. Alpidt was undeterred. By the time the crystalbacks began to shuffle sideways toward Alpidt, she was already running full-speed at them. She threw her whole body at the closest one, feet-first, and pushed against the crystal on the crustacean's shell with a dropkick. Both Alpidt and the crystalback fell to the floor, but Alpidt was much more prepared for it. She slashed at the crystalback's left claw, severing it from the animal with one precise swipe. The other crystalbacks were already fleeing, doubtlessly spooked by their comrade toppling over like that. [[Next|Alpidt 3]]

Alpidt rose to her feet with a contented sigh, then looked back down at the creature. She'd knocked it right over and cut its hand off, the poor thing. For all its posturing before, it sure hadn't put up much of a fight. Alpidt hadn't come into the tunnels for crystalback claws, but they were full of flaky, delicious meat, and had become a growing niche among those who stayed at her inn. She took the one she'd lopped off the crystalback, and left it with its right claw intact. “Sorry, darling,” Alpidt mumbled to the crystalback as she helped it to its feet. As her eyes followed the trail of gray ichor it left as it fled, she wondered if it would survive, but she had no regrets. “I won't be threatened in my house. Not by anybody.” The words had barely left Alpidt's lips before a chill ran down her spine. Alpidt shrugged, gathered up her pickaxe, and resumed her walk through the waterway tunnels. With the crystalbacks out of the way, her meager radius of lamplight revealed nothing else in her way. The dark brown rock beneath Alpidt's feet had been smoothed by workers in the past. The only light this way was her own, but other than that, the path was a safe and easy walk. The crystalbacks had darted away on the last fork in the road for awhile. She glanced toward their exit, and her light raked across a series of hexagonal holes in the walls near the bend in the water. Alpidt shrugged, and resumed her trek into the caverns. [[Next|Alpidt 4]]

Alpidt emerged from the waterway tunnels and into the barracks. She was battered and bloody, and after throwing around so much spice, her eyes had finally begun to sting. She'd done it, though; she'd slain every monster in the building. She gave a smug sigh as she raised her arms to shove open the doors to the outside world. Before she could, though, the door to Alpidt's right swung away from her. There in the square doorframe stood a figure in shining armor, with one hand against the door and the other resting upon a sheathed sword. “Oh!” they chirped, stepping closer to Alpidt. They closed the door behind them, and with the outdoor lights blocked, Alpidt could more clearly see the long and swooping Church style in the shape of their armor. “I didn't expect to see a human here.” “Me neither, darling,” Alpidt replied. She kept her basket between her and the templar. “What brings you here?” The templar laughed. “Certainly you've heard the mayor's edict...? I don't see why else anyone would come here, except to claim this building.” “Oh, then, um...” Alpidt grimaced slightly. “...sorry, but this has already been claimed.” Her grimace was mostly an act; she didn't feel bad for taking the old barracks for herself. She could muster a little sympathy toward the templar, having come so far only to leave empty-handed. “What?! Preposterous! I mean...” The templar seemed to lose their temper a bit, but they stopped themself and ran a hand through their dark blond hair, and the chipper attitude they'd greeted Alpidt with was back. “...word of the barracks challenge has only just started to go around. Who could have already—“ “I did.” Alpidt was proud of that fact, and she could feel that pride push at her posture as she spoke. She'd risked it all to get what she wanted, and it had worked. She'd have to do a lot of cleaning before she could use the barracks for anything, but she was satisfied with the work she'd accomplished. “Now, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, darling. I've only just finished slaying the monsters in here. I may not have gotten them all, you know...I can't guarantee your safety.” [[Next|Alpidt 5]]

“My safety?” The templar turned away from Alpidt's lamp, and it was hard to read their face in the light, especially since they stood a head taller than her. “Well, I suppose I should leave. Once the premises are safe, perhaps I could return with some friends from the Church, and we could make you a deal?” “No thank you,” Alpidt answered immediately. There was no point in letting the templar continue that train of thought, not that she could see. “I'm not interested in giving up these barracks. Not to you, and not to anyone.” The templar began to pace around the entry room a bit. Alpidt kept her eyes and her lantern on them as they circled her. “I see,” they said. The way they were walking, Alpidt couldn't see their sword past their body. “Tell me, then...what do you plan on doing with these old halls, now that the monsters inside lie dead?” Here too, Alpidt's answer came quickly. “Same thing I did here and now, darling. I'm going to keep this building safe.” There was no way Alpidt could keep the world outside safe, nor the waterway tunnels. That much had been made clear to her by all the lives that had already been lost to monsters from the depths. It had been made clear to Mayor Scolaen too, hence his offer. “Anyone who enters, no matter who they are or where they're from...they'll be able to relax here.” The templar halted their incessant pacing, and extended a hand toward Alpidt. “Then we have the same goal.” Alpidt stared intently at their outstretched hand. The gesture was cordial and inviting, but she found the templar's overall vibes far too inscrutable to trust such a gesture. “Here's an idea...what if we turn this musty old building into a chapel of Scintilla, and allow you to tend to it?” Alpidt was sure she'd made her stance clear on the Church and their offers. The templar's insistence was starting to piss her off. “Here's another idea, darling,” she began. “What if I keep my building as my own and use it as I see fit, and you go fuck yourself?” If the Church truly had the exact same goal as her, surely they would let her be with no further trouble. [[Next|Alpidt 6]]

Alpidt couldn't help but chuckle; there was no way the templar was so sincere. Eyron was the only one of them who ever cared about the truth, and even then, he took it too...(background: #363c2c)[ (color: #c48256)[ ...too... “...wait,” Alpidt mumbled. Her advance through the caverns came to an abrupt halt. ] [[Next|Alpidt 7]]]

(if: ($alpidt_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)(set: $show_header to false)] When the going had been easy, Alpidt's mind had wandered back to her acquisition of the Melaton Hollows, which she found odd enough in itself. That was before even Desman was born, and rarely did her mind wander that far back. Thoughts of Eyron were even rarer still, much less in the midst of such reverie. It was the sheer anachronism of it all that had snapped her out of it. Alpidt couldn't parse it any further, however. Once she noticed the telltale black fog smothering the light of the lamp hanging from her basket, the threat of a Phantom became her focus instead. She drew her knife from the basket and gripped it tightly in her free hand. There was no telling which way the Phantom would strike from, so she just sort of twisted and glanced and tried to be ready no matter what. Fortunately, the way Alpidt came in seemed pretty clear, and nothing was jumping out to ambush her. She kept an eye out just in case as she slowly retreated from the caverns. It was so easy, though, that a thought crossed her mind—what if this Phantom meant no harm? It seemed outlandish to her, but Kyrinna and her group had befriended that bug Phantom and flown away in its clutches. Much of Melaton was still abuzz about that, in fact. Alpidt couldn't help but wonder if perhaps word had spread similarly among the Phantoms somehow. Just in case, she tried to speak to the unseen intruder. “Hello, darling,” she called out into the darkness. “I mean no harm. I'm just looking for—“ “Talc.” “—talc.” It sounded sort of like an echo, but Alpidt knew better. The word “talc” had slipped her mind for a moment. In that brief hesitation, she'd heard her own voice from somewhere deeper in the caves, somewhere in the fog. “Is that the Phantom speaking?” Alpidt asked. Whatever it was, she didn't like it. “My apologies, darling,” came the reply, still in Alpidt's voice. (if: ($alpidt_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Next|Alpidt 8]]]

{ (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) } “Oh, uh...” A figure began to emerge from the fog, humanoid in shape, but not anyone who Alpidt recognized. They wore a white bow just like hers, but atop a shock of blond hair that was long in front and short in back. Alpidt still gripped her knife and basket, but she brandished neither of her weapons at the figure. She had to be ready just in case, but if they truly had no desire to fight, then neither did she. “Just who are you?” She'd never seen a Phantom take human shape, and yet there was no way a human could have lived in the caves without her knowing. That gnawed even deeper at her as she observed them further, noting their fancy silken garb. The dark blue clothes they wore had no stains or dust marring them whatsoever. The mysterious stranger simply laughed and bowed their head in greeting. “Don't worry so much about who I am, nerd. What I'm interested in is, who are you?” “Nerd...” Alpidt repeated after the stranger, mulling the word over. She'd only heard one other person use that word. “You must be a friend of Kyrinna, then.” That fact alone lowered her guard; tension flooded out of her arms, and she relaxed her way out of her battle stance. “And possibly a friend of Zel's, if you're this fond of dramatic entrances.” “Come on. I know what you're trying to do.” The stranger rose out of their bow, revealing a mischievous grin. “You're trying to get me talking about this other stuff so that you don't have to think about the things I say and do anymore.” When Alpidt reeled back in shock, the stranger laughed again. “Oh, that was right? I didn't even read your mind for that one...I've seen it before, that's all.” They were half-right. Alpidt was more confused than unnerved. Sure, she couldn't fathom who this was or how they could play these mind games with her. Then again, she was pretty sure it didn't matter that much. What she really wanted to know was— “What do you want, darling?” [[Next|Alpidt 9]]

“Well,” the stranger replied, closing the gap between them and Alpidt in the blink of an eye, “what I want is to learn more about you. Kyrinna and Cydia say you're a good person, and so many in the town above agree. So you must be a good role model, right? Or I hope so, for your kids' sakes.” The speed of the stranger's movement plus their bringing Alpidt's sons into the conversation had her on guard again. She couldn't understand their intentions at all. She wasn't sure if they were friend or foe, or if she could even assign such a label to someone acting so erratically. “Okay, fine.” The stranger took a few steps back, again moving too fast for Alpidt to parse in the darkness. They stood on the pathway from which they'd came, with their arms held out to the sides. “What you should know right now is, you can't go any further.” Alpidt felt relief anew. “That's simple enough, darling,” she acquiesced. “I won't venture any further. But why?” The stranger clicked their tongue at Alpidt. “Why, why, why. That's so human of you. How's this for why...the Phantoms will frenzy.” “You don't understand,” the stranger interrupted. “You were wondering if news spreads among Phantoms, and the answer is yes. They will all know of your trespassing—not just those here, but every Phantom on the planet will know. Many will choose to lash out at humanity rather than cede any more of the planet to you.” “My goodness, darling, we wouldn't want that.” Alpidt didn't dare guess what could be further below that the Phantoms would protect so fervently. Instead, she asked herself why such a weird person would have so much knowledge about Phantoms. Perhaps, Alpidt guessed, they themself were a Phantom, but she'd never seen a Phantom take human shape. She took a wild shot, and voiced her question. “Are you a Phantom?” The stranger flinched before Alpidt could even begin her question. [[Next|Alpidt 10]]

For awhile, the mysterious stranger stood before Alpidt, looking away from her to stare into the darkness. It dragged on for quite awhile; eventually, Alpidt had to turn her attention to the gentle rushing of the underground river nearby to keep her mind off the unsettling ebb of time or the secrets deep underground. Finally, the stranger turned back to Alpidt and shrugged. “...that's what we're trying to figure out,” they finally said. “Is taking this shape enough to make me human? Is passing the crystal barrier enough?” Alpidt leaned against the cavern wall and closed her eyes. Normally, she allowed nothing outside the bounds of her inn to concern her. The stranger's question was definitely beyond her. She sighed, opened her eyes, and straightened her back to come away from the wall. “I don't know, darling,” she admitted. “What about this...do you have a name?” “Oh! Yes!” The stranger seemed relieved by the simplicity of Alpidt's question, and quickly moved before her to better introduce themself. “I'm Lymantria,” they answered, bowing their head slightly in greeting. “Lymantria Pinaster.” “Well, Lymantria...you seem to know who I am.” Their gesture made that all the more clear; tilting their head forward caused their hair bow to flop forward toward Alpidt and her bow. “And you seem to know a thing or two about these caves. Would you like to accompany me...?” For awhile, Lymantria didn't respond. Then, finally, “Uh, not really. But the part you're leaving unspoken, about continuing our conversation as we go, perhaps answering my questions about you...that appeals to me. You should've said that part out loud.” Alpidt let her basket loll to the crook of her arm so she could use her hand to stifle a laugh. “Well, your typical human would have guessed that part.” Then again, she thought to herself, your typical human would not accost you underground and bring up your kids unprompted. Still, whoever or whatever Lymantria was, it seemed to Alpidt that the best way to ascertain whether they meant to do harm was to give them what they wanted. And if they didn't mean harm, they were more than welcome to stay at the Hollows. “Shall we walk, then, darling?” [[Next|Alpidt 11]]

“Yes!” Lymantria answered. Despite saying this, Lymantria didn't walk. Alpidt glanced to them to make sure they were with her, and saw them merely leaning forward slightly. Their legs had become a whirling black cloud mottled with spots of dark blue and purple. They would have to work on that if they were to mingle with humans at the Hollows, but here in the caves, she just hoped it was comfortable to them. “You know,” Lymantria said suddenly, “Kyrinna gets so mad when I rummage through her memories. It's a nuisance to tiptoe around her sensibilities, so I appreciate your cooperation.” Alpidt found that to be a concerning way to talk about boundaries, but she wasn't sure how to stop Lymantria even if their mind-reading did become a problem. Besides that— “I am more open about myself than her,” she agreed. “But also...the people I live with know much of these things, and rumors pile up around the rest. People rarely have questions for me.” “Then here's another one for you: whatever happened to that Church nerd?” “Church...nerd...? Eyron?” Lymantria shook their head. “No, not the prick, the one from your memories. The one from the night you took over the hollow cliff.” “Oh.” Alpidt shrugged. That templar had been a prick too, even more so than Eyron. Rather than dwell on the full extent of their disgusting words, she skipped to the end of the story. “I killed them,” she answered, with all the gravitas of a crystalback cake recipe. “Crystalback cake?” Lymantria mused. “You eat those things?” They overtook Alpidt a little as the two of them walked together, herding her subtly down the side path with the tiny hexagonal crevices in the walls. Past the parts she'd seen on the way in, the cave narrowed significantly, and the ground became uneven and rough with stalagmites. Lymantria's nebulous body was undeterred. “I'm amazed at what you humans will put in your mouths sometimes. What could have possessed you to do such a thing in the first place?” [[Next|Alpidt 12]]

Alpidt bit her lip slightly. That wasn't a very pleasant story either. “Darling, I can make anything taste good with the right seasonings. Or I can at least make it so spicy that I don't have to taste anything at all.” Despite Alpidt's best efforts, she thought briefly back to that night—or was it nights?—she had been trapped in the caves. As she followed Lymantria through the narrow cavern, she swore she could see a faint outline of the Phantom's corpse that had blocked her path. Lymantria flowed right past its shape, same as they did everything else, and when Alpidt got there, her lantern revealed it was just a trick of the light. Indeed, soon the cavern opened up into a small dome-like area, where Lymantria stopped and turned to wait for Alpidt. “Okay, I can ask the Phantom about that night,” Lymantria said. Despite their mercy, their face melted into a pout. “Tell me more about the crystalback cakes instead.” "Well, darling," Alpidt began as she strode up beside Lymantria, “it's a recipe from the coast. At its most basic, it's simply meat taken from the animal, bound together with a few other things. You could form them in your hands and prepare them over a fire, if you needed to.” Try as she might, Alpidt couldn't help but remember when she'd needed to. During one of her expeditions into the caverns, she'd been trapped in— “Do coastal humans eat crystalbacks too?” Lymantria suddenly asked. The question took Alpidt completely off guard, and her dour memories seemed to disappear in fog. Instead, she laughed at the mental image of an aquatic crustacean trap laden with a subterranean catch, gemstone shell and all. “No, darling. There are similar creatures in the water, only--” “I know about the crabs, you nerd. I just didn't realize putting them in your mouth was so common among humans.” [[Next|Alpidt 13]]

Alpidt laughed again and shook her head. “The coastal folk had the idea first. I just put my own spin on it, darling.” It was a spin both faithful enough to the anglers' way that Eyron had eagerly anticipated her cooking, and uniquely hers enough that he'd enjoyed it. “Where the coastal recipe calls for bread, I use a substitute starch made from cave tubers.” “So is it still a crystalback cake, then?” Lymantria asked, cutting into Alpidt's thoughts a bit. “If you've changed out all the ingredients for your own, I mean.” Alpidt wagged a finger toward Lymantria as the two of them continued to wander back toward the Melaton Hollows. “That's what you're trying to figure out, isn't it?” she asked, nodding toward the darkness behind them. Lymantria let out a huff. “So what if I am, you nerd?” Alpidt couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head. Whoever this person was, they had certainly taken after Kyrinna in more ways than one. “I would just like to help, if that's the case.” Her laughing fit would offend most listeners. Perhaps, she guessed, if this person was truly so privy to her thoughts, she didn't have to worry about that sort of misunderstanding. It was Lymantria's turn to burst out laughing. “Oh, Kyrinna's gonna be so pissed!” they cooed. Alpidt could barely begin to wonder why before they answered her. “She told me to stop reading minds! She told me not to come seek you because she was sure it would go badly!” “And that's going to piss her off?” Alpidt wondered aloud. “Well, yeah, she was wrong about something!” Kyrinna was wrong indeed. Alpidt often went down into the caves alone, a move both dangerous and boring. Having Lymantria there to talk to was a relief to the boredom, and probably to the danger. She couldn't imagine them letting too much harm come to someone they thought so highly of. Alpidt put a hand to her chin in thought. If Lymantria continued to prove trustworthy, then— “Perhaps you and Kyrinna could come have a meal at the Hollows sometime...!” (link: "Next")[{ (if: $alpidt_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $alpidt_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

{ (if: $ithric_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } “Hey, boss!” Ithric called out through the Cuprina encampment. He couldn't yell too loudly, though, lest his voice carry through the Marsh of Illusion and catch the ear of a passerby. Still, she typically wasn't so hard to find. She was tall and leggy and— Ithric stopped and shook his head a bit. He was already horny enough without ogling Cydia in his mind's eye. In fact, that's what started his search for her in the first place; her answer was usually either “yes” or “let's make a deal” to just about anyone who asked for sex. She wasn't in her tent, though, where she'd normally bring a partner. Ithric shrugged. “Boss...!” he called out again. His next stop was Kyrinna's double-sized tent. Cydia seemed to visit that weird witch at least once every night. When he'd first met the two of them, they were attacking the Marquis' chapel together. They'd stuck together since, which baffled him; Kyrinna seemed too stuck-up to be such good company. Perhaps it was just his own mood, but the only guess he could come up with was that the sex had to be amazing. If that was the case, Ithric wouldn't want to barge in, and even he wouldn't stay and creep. If he did happen to walk in on them, though, he'd save that peek in his memory for the rest of his life. “Cydia?” he called out. Perhaps she simply hadn't answered to “boss”, because he called everyone “boss”. Still, he hoped his voice would be fair warning for whatever he'd walk in on. There, in Kyrinna's tent, the witch danced around a captive tied to a stump in the middle of her tent. Her pale blue lab coat was draped over a box, and she swayed her hips from within her frilly purple dress. The ribbons tied to her wrists and in her hair rustled together as she held her arms over her head. Her dance rotated her body around and brought Ithric into her view, and she responded by pulling a scalpel out of her captive's gut. “Who the—oh,” Kyrinna sighed. It seemed to take her a moment to recognize Ithric, and even then, “recognize” was probably a generous word for it. “What are you doing here, you nerd?” Still, whatever recognition it was, it was enough to get her to lower her weapon, but not enough for her to unhand it. [[Next|Ithric 2]]

{ (if: $chief_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } The Chief hurtled through the Night Watch campus, shoulder-first. She grunted as she made impact with the squidlark. It had stood before her, looking almost like a white mushroom with many stalks, but now it bounced and rolled along the ground. Finally, it managed to twist its stalky limbs into wing-shapes on which to flap and fly away. “And don't come back!” the Chief snarled at the creature as it fled, knowing it wouldn't do any good. Ever since the Church had gotten their chapel attacked—or so she'd heard from the many new recruits who had quit the Order—they'd adjusted the barrier crystal in nearby Fracotel. In moving the crystal to within their local facility, they'd moved its area of influence. Critters sometimes bounced off the barrier around Fracotel and stumbled toward the Night Watch; in fact, the Chief counted on it sometimes, to give her recruits something to do. But it had become commonplace after the Church's meddling, enough so that it began to cut into time she'd rationed to other things. The Chief loosed a swear into the wind. Fighting that squidlark had made her forget what she'd even stepped out for. “That's it,” she spat. She'd have to do something about this. And with Zeltencia, Bennett, and Chrome all unavailable, possibly forever, she'd probably have to do it herself. Most of her remaining fighters were too new for such a task. With a smirk, the Chief thought to herself that the burglar who'd broken into the Night Watch that one night had done more to prove herself than her myriad newbies. That night, the Chief had toyed with the thought, treating it as nothing but jest. As nights went on, though, these errant monsters continued to stumble in at their elevated pace, and what was once a joke became more and more of a genuine idea, until... [[Next|Chief 2]]

{ (if: $lymantria_epilogue is true)[(link-undo: "You have already seen this epilogue. Click here to go back, unless you want to reread this.")] } What makes a good person? What makes a good act? What makes a ___ person? What makes a person? What makes a shotant? What makes—hey. I don't think you're supposed to be doing this. I'm an outlaw, an exile. If you're caught in my mind, you could be exiled too. It doesn't matter if you're just reading...you know that, don't you? I'm sure they've instilled in you that if you are going to be part of Dracocrepitus, you are to avoid direct contact with me. We take this pretty seriously, because we have a truce going on, them and I, and we have our truces with the humans. They're afraid that if you get into a schism with the hivemind, you'll join me. And I'm afraid that if you get into a schism with the hivemind, you'll refuse me and form a shokhaye, and that would panic the humans. It's fine, there's a halfway point. You're allowed to read the humans and perceive me through them. After all, that's why you've come to Dracocrepitus, isn't it? Well, even if you came for me, at least try to act natural. If you're caught reading me, Dracocrepitus might attack, but if you're reading the humans, well, that's what most of you are here for. We'd better play it safe and get you into someone right away. Kyrinna's right here. She's a popular one, though, so don't be too conspicuous, or you might still be found out. You just go to her brain with the others. No, not like that, you'll— [[Next|Lymantria 2]]

Kyrinna had just been on the verge of falling asleep when she found herself suddenly jolted awake. She felt disoriented, as if she'd been falling, and her muscles had contracted to try to catch herself. Soon, though, her body realized she was just laying there, not falling anywhere. Her muscles couldn't relax, though, not with someone looming over the foot of her cot. In the near-total darkness of black sky, it was hard to tell who had broken in to Kyrinna's tent. From their dark skin and light hair, Eyron was the first to come to her mind, so she lashed out with a fist as soon as her body could manage it. That didn't make sense, but by the time she remembered so, she'd already thrown the punch. Then again, her victim didn't react. There wasn't any give to their skin or their neck, no sign of the force Kyrinna had exerted. She knew only one person whose face felt so unforgiving beneath her knuckle. “Lymantria!” she said. “What do you want, you nerd?” “Person, eh?” Lymantria mused in non-reply. As Kyrinna lowered her hand, they smiled down at her as if nothing had happened. In a way, it hadn't; Kyrinna had probably hurt herself more than Lymantria with that punch. Between that and their habit of replying to her thoughts—as opposed to what she'd just said—it really made Kyrinna feel like her reaction didn't matter. She could've thrown a vial of acid at them and they still wouldn't get the fuck off her bed. “Oh, oops.” Lymantria had been standing on the edge of the cot and leaning over Kyrinna. Now, their form oozed over her, as if they'd become a solid, a liquid, and a gas all at once. They pooled under her cot and reformed into their human shape. “That's better,” Kyrinna chirped. “Now tell me what you're doing standing there like that while I'm asleep!” Kyrinna feared some sort of shotant mind trickery, and in a way, she was right. “I come see you while you're asleep all the time. Well, not always you...I rotate around the camp. This thing you humans do where your bodies lie inert while your minds sculpt new realities around you...it's fascinating. It reminds me of us.” Lymantria's form came undone and reformed in the passage to the double-tent's other room, poking their head in through the dark red flaps. Two more identical heads poked in as well, one above and one below, and the trio laughed in harmony. “Then do it somewhere else.” [[Next|Lymantria 3]]

Kyrinna's mind had proven one of the most resilient among the Cuprina Brigade. The nature of the shotant, their telepathy, their ability to mold themselves and their surroundings to their whims, left most humans afraid or upset. Kyrinna was different, though; she only grumbled mildly at the shotant, and Lymantria's penchant for twisting themself into impossible human forms got a chuckle at most out of her. At this time of night, though, she was thoroughly unamused. “Or at least stop being tangible while you eavesdrop,” she snarled. “I won't,” Lymantria said. This got Kyrinna to sit up in her cot. “You...won't?” “If I abandon form, some of the other shotant around us may get physically tangled up with me without meaning to. And the hivemind has been so overzealous in punishing those who join me, even briefly, even accidentally...I fear it may cause a schism.” “So what?” Kyrinna asked. She reached for her head, to acknowledge the looming headache there, then reached for a nearby box, upon which she'd left some moonshine half-finished. To ward off the coming pain, she downed the other half of her drink in one shot. While Kyrinna drank, Lymantria tapped into her mind. It was a sensation much like a feeling of being watched when no one is around. After having her mind read so much, though, Kyrinna had started to learn the signals of shotant interference. Her next thoughts were of how shokhaye are made, another giveaway. If her mind drifted to a seemingly random subject, especially in the middle of something else like this, it was because the shotant were accessing those same thoughts. “Oh, so first I was a person,” Lymantria huffed, “now I'm a shotant? I was gonna make sure you knew about schisms, but not anymore!” “What?” Kyrinna replied. Despite her questioning tone, she didn't actually care what had gotten into Lymantria all of a sudden. Then again, she didn't have much else to save her from being alone with her thoughts. She couldn't even fall back asleep, not after Lymantria had bugged her so much. “You got a problem, nerd?” “Several!” Lymantria's three heads fell through the curtain, each trailed by trace amounts of vertebrae and viscera. [[Next|Lymantria 4]]

(if: ($lymantria_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)(set: $show_header to false)] Then, the curtain flaps of Kyrinna's tent suddenly burst apart, as a large pile of Lymantria's identical heads tumbled into her sleeping quarters. Even when the skin and hair began to peel from each of the heads and knit together into a caterpillar-like shape atop the pile of skulls, Kyrinna belted out a yawn and didn't have much more of a reaction. The long body of the insect and the wisps of hair jutting out to the sides reminded her of Abribiene, the Honeyed Whip, the shokhaye who had flown her to the Marquis' chapel. “So you can do all that,” Kyrinna said calmly, swirling her wrist to gesture around the pile of skulls, “but you can't fuck off into the darkness?” “That is one of my problems, exactly.” Without invitation, Lymantria began twisting themself back into human form on Kyrinna's cot. The caterpillar of hair grabbed a skull from the pile and held it up, before settling into Lymantria's distinct hairstyle. Their hair held their head aloft while their skin began to stretch over the skull and into place. Then the skin started to grow right past the skull, forming a neck along the exposed spinal cord. The skulls on the floor began to pile up on the cot too, only for the growing skin to devour them and force them into human shape. The whole thing took about four seconds. Kyrinna waited for Lymantria to appear finished with their transformation and ready to speak, then shoved them with her feet. They stopped themself from going anywhere, and it was Kyrinna who was propelled away, almost off the other end of the cot. “I didn't even know taking human form was against the law,” they mused, again ignoring Kyrinna's kick completely. “And now look, I'm a pariah to my kind. And yours too...no matter how convincing my shape.” “So what?” Kyrinna shrugged and pushed herself to her feet. After such a big gulp of moonshine, she'd need some water. That was probably all her body had asked for in the first place with its headache, but that wasn't what she had on hand. She'd already drank the last of her water purified with her alembic. Normally, she boiled her own water, the way she did when she was a child, but on such short notice, she'd have to go to one of the communal sources, and risk bumping into another Cuprina. “I'm a pariah to my kind too, but I don't whine about it.” “That's because you don't care.” “Well, yeah.” (if: ($lymantria_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Next|Lymantria 5]]]

{ (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) } Kyrinna slipped her lab coat on over her sleeping clothes, forgoing her usual dress for what she hoped would be a quick jaunt. “That's what I was implying,” she clarified. “I don't care...well, actually, it's sorta nice, being a pariah.” “Nice?” Lymantria continued to haunt Kyrinna as she walked out of her tent and toward the rainwater collector. “You are marked for death and cut off from connecting with those around you, and you think it's nice?” “Look, it's not all great.” Fortunately, no one seemed to be up at this hour. Kyrinna knew there were a few Cuprinas who kept a lookout, but in large part, they depended on Dracocrepitus. Lymantria would sometimes stalk the Marsh of Illusion as well, but the humans hadn't asked that of them. They'd picked up murdering people in a swamp as a hobby. “But I'm more attached to my work than to some...nerd.” The two of them walked in silence for a little while. The methanous petrichor of home filled Kyrinna's nose as she breathed in the cool night air. The torches around the Cuprina camp were extinguished during black sky, but she didn't need their help to navigate. Only a muffled glow from Cydia's tent was visible, and even that was mostly obscured by the shape of the redgums that hid the rainwater collector. It had taken the entire Cuprina Brigade to hoist the metallic barrel into the space between the redgum trees. Redgums often grew in groups of eight or more, and they'd found a patch of twelve healthy ones far away from Kyrinna's tent. Lymantria had punctured the barrel in a few spots to make way for some spigots, and then Cydia had a few goons tie some plant matter in the gaps to hide the contraption from sight. “Well, not caring doesn't really work for me,” Lymantria said suddenly. They overtook Kyrinna, and waited for her at the nearest spigot. “Being left all alone for too long makes me feel...uneasy. I fear I may even experience a schism.” “The last thing I need is another one of you getting on my nerves,” Kyrinna balked. She turned the handle with her left hand, while her right waited to catch the water that trickled out. After a moment, she turned the spigot shut again, and sipped from her cupped palm. “But what do you care?” The water was colder than what she'd get from her alembic, a quality she found refreshing in her current indisposition. She took what little water remained in her hand and dabbed it upon her forehead. [[Next|Lymantria 6]]

“So you schism out a log or a Phantom or whatever," Kyrinna scoffed. "What then?” Lymantria's form suddenly wrapped tightly around Kyrinna, constricting her body with theirs. “Then I may not be able to stop them from killing you...or you from killing them.” They ran a finger along Kyrinna's neck, and brought their face close to hers. Kyrinna wriggled against them, and they instantly relaxed the coil of their body. “Oh, sorry. Point being...schism presents unnecessary risk to the truce.” “The truce?” Kyrinna repeated. With nothing left to do out by the water, and the sounds of foreplay beginning to escalate from Cydia's tent, Kyrinna had no real desire to stand around outside, so she began to walk back to her tent. “I mean, peace between human and shotant is...it's possible, I guess. But why do you care?” “Because...” Lymantria's voice suddenly fell to a hush. “...there's something we must know.” “And that is...?” Lymantria fell away from Kyrinna. Rather than wrapping around her, they reformed in front of her and walked backwards in front of Kyrinna as she walked back to her tent. “We remember nothing about taking human form...not how, not why it is against our law...only that it is. How could something be considered impossible, and also be so strongly forbidden?” Kyrinna's mind immediately wandered to her own work. Immortality also seemed to be something both impossible to achieve and illegal to even attempt. “I dunno,” she answered in a huff. “Maybe it's just an excuse...just something they say so they have a reason to punish and attack you.” “It's not that simple, you nerd.” The two of them made it back to Kyrinna's tent, thankfully out of earshot of Cydia's. Kyrinna wasted no time in returning to her cot; she left her lab coat on rather than draping it over herself as usual. “That may be the way humans do things, but shotant law is not so frivolous. Nor do shotant forget...our memory goes back to before the first humans of Tenesoir, and outward to the humankind of other worlds. Many of the shokhaye we form are taken from the fears we have found in the minds of humans. Yet we know almost nothing of the history of our contact with humans here on our own home planet. How can that be?” Kyrinna shrugged. She was more concerned with getting comfortable in bed than she was any of Lymantria's problems. [[Next|Lymantria 7]]

“Don't be like that,” Lymantria whined at Kyrinna's thoughts. She laid on her side, and they laid down in front of her, levitating in the air to do so. “You didn't even know shotant existed until we appeared to you. That's how it usually goes with our contacts with humans. Even here in our home, your kind often attributes our work to gods or ghosts or imaginary friends or...all manner of such things.” Kyrinna's mind made no effort to process any of this information. “We both know you can't sleep with me annoying you like this. You may as well help me.” “I'd be more help if I could sleep first.” Kyrinna rolled over to her other side, training her gaze on the wall of her tent. She felt Lymantria's hand on her shoulder, and winced away from it immediately. “Look, nerd, don't push your luck. I don't care about your stupid laws. I really shouldn't help at all.” “But you're about to demand something in exchange.” Kyrinna laughed. She hadn't even felt the psychic ebb of the shotant in her mind. Lymantria had guessed that one without having to read her. “No shit. I've got my own problems to deal with. But if these other humans in these...other worlds or whatever know something about science and medicine that I don't, and you saved me the time of having to make those discoveries myself...” Kyrinna paused to let out a loud yawn. “...mm, maybe then I'd have time for your stupid thing.” Kyrinna heard a thump behind her. She rolled back to her right side, and saw that Lymantria had suddenly dropped from the air and hit the ground. “I...” They seemed shocked that she'd make such an offer, much less when she was so tired. “...you would truly give me your help?” “Maybe after I get some sleep.” With that, Kyrinna turned back over again. In truth, Kyrinna was just as shocked. She'd have never imagined such a thing as contact with other worlds could be possible. This opened up an entirely new dimension of research, assuming she could trust Lymantria to give her something correct. She'd need to ask entirely new sorts of questions to gather Lymantria's knowledge, and new ways to test them here in her world. But first, she'd need to get back to sleep. [[Next|Lymantria 8]]

Other worlds... I wonder if their fragments of the hivemind would enforce my exile...or if the hivemind even maintains control of those wandering shotant. In truth, I don't know how I will provide Kyrinna the information she desires. I haven't reached out to those distant shotant, and anyone who has would shun me as an exile. Perhaps if I do experience a schism, it'll be them who chart a path through time and space, take human form, observe—hey. You again? I thought I told you, if the other shotant catch you doing this, they'll come for you too. Or, if you're going to disobey the law like this, at least go find me some knowledge on shotant on other planets. Or...if you're just reading without intent, why don't you go bother Cydia? She's still awake, as you can hear. (link: "Next")[{ (if: $lymantria_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $lymantria_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

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“Sorry, boss,” Ithric said, finding it an unusual strain. He hadn't noticed when he'd started holding his breath, only that he needed to stop if he was going to talk. “I'm looking for the boss.” “So what?” Kyrinna snapped. “Uh—“ She was intimidating, even more so than the boss. Ithric backpedaled toward the exit. “Is...is she here?” Kyrinna rolled her eyes. “Obviously not, or she would've heard you shouting for her.” The two stood together in silence for a bit, which only seemed to anger Kyrinna more. “Go look for her somewhere else, nerd! I'm busy.” “Doing what?” Ithric blurted, his curiosity going against his better judgment. Kyrinna's nostrils flared from the intensity of her sigh. “What's it look like, you nerd?” Ithric's jaw fell open, denying him a chance to answer with “seductive dance”. After all, Kyrinna was still armed with that scalpel, and she seemed one wrong answer away from using it. Then again, she was so bizarre to him that he had no chance of guessing correctly. All he could do was shrug. “You're so stupid,” Kyrinna growled. She stole a glance back to her captive and shook her head. “Have you never seen a ritual dance before?” “No, boss,” Ithric replied. Kyrinna leaned herself against a crate and continued to stare daggers at him, which sliced up his next sentence. “You...it...I liked it.” “It's not for you to like.” Kyrinna's gaze flicked to her captive again, as blood seeped out of the wound she'd plucked her scalpel from. “It's for beckoning the spirits of the dead.” [[Next|Ithric 3]]

On the one hand, Cydia had warned Ithric and the others not to call Kyrinna a witch. On the other hand, what she was describing to him—a dance to summon the spirits of the dead—sounded an awful lot like witchcraft. “Did...it work?” This time, both Ithric and Kyrinna glanced to her victim as he laid motionless on the stump. “Obviously not!” she snapped. “Stupid—!” Kyrinna slammed her scalpel back into her victim, and he didn't respond at all. Ithric had more of a reaction; he reared back from the violent display, and tripped over his own feet. In that moment, he realized, if Kyrinna wanted to plunge that scalpel into him next, there wasn't much he could do about it. He wasn't sure if she would or not; some his fellow Cuprina mooks knew Kyrinna better than Ithric, and they all said she was crazy. “Dammit!” Kyrinna shouted at the corpse on her tree stump. “If it's not gonna work right at the moment of death, it's probably not gonna work at all!” Ithric wasn't totally sure what Kyrinna was talking about, but it seemed like she would've stabbed him by now if she was going to. He heaved a sigh of relief, but still didn't dare to move too much, in case he caught her attention a little too wholly and ended up with a new hole cut into him. His plan didn't work. Kyrinna's gaze flicked over to him so suddenly, he swore he felt an impact. “You!” she said. Her shrill voice put the fear right back into him, and froze his attempts to stand. “You've really never seen a dance like this?” “Um,” was Ithric's only answer at first. “...no. Where'd you learn it?” “I watched my grandma do it once.” Kyrinna and Cydia could wiggle their hips like that all they wanted. The thought of some old crone doing it, though, killed what little of Ithric's carnal mood had survived that long. With that out of the way, he recalled another detail he'd learned from the others. Kyrinna's grandma was a touchy subject; the Church had apparently killed her when Kyrinna was still young. That put Ithric in a difficult spot, especially with him being a former templar. [[Next|Ithric 4]]

(if: ($ithric_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)(set: $show_header to false)] Rather than say the wrong thing about Kyrinna's grandma, Ithric tried to shimmy away from the subject. “You learned that whole dance from watching it once as a kid?” he summarized. “Wow, boss, that's amazing.” Kyrinna laughed at his compliment. “Amazing?” she repeated. “I do that sort of thing all the time, nerd.” Despite her objections, her posture relaxed, and she took a seat on the dead man's chest. “But I can't seem to get the dance to work. Maybe there is something I'm missing.” Finally, with Kyrinna at ease, Ithric moved to his feet. “Like what? What does it look like when the dance works...?” Kyrinna shrugged. “I dunno! When Grandma did it, there was this...this sort of smoke that wrapped around her as she moved.” “Like a Phantom's fog?” “No, you stupid—“ Kyrinna put her arms to her side, as if to push herself to her feet, but then all of a sudden, her sentence and her movement both stopped. “Hm.” When she did stand up, it was slowly, and devoid of all her prior rage. “I haven't tested this on a Phantom before.” Despite her calmness, she still made her way to the exit of her tent in a hurry, pushing Ithric into the tent as she did so. “Well?” she grumbled. “Well what?” Ithric asked. “You stupid...feed this nerd to Dracocrepitus. I'm gonna dance at them...and you can watch too, if you stay out of the way.” Ithric hesitated. It seemed unbelievable, that Kyrinna would extend him such an invitation. More than that, though, it seemed incredibly dangerous. Dracocrepitus was the reptilian Phantom who lived in the swamps around the campsite. To Ithric, Kyrinna was still the most terrifying thing living there, but Dracocrepitus was a close second. It seemed unwise to him to trifle with a Phantom, witch dance or no. On the other hand, if Dracocrepitus didn't interrupt, Ithric would be free to memorize Kyrinna's movements. Then he could take his memory with him to his tent, or to Lymantria the shapeshifter. “Sure,” Ithric finally agreed. He stepped over to the tree stump and tucked the corpse's legs under his arms. “Lead the way, boss.” (if: ($ithric_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Next|Ithric 5]]]

The Chief stood on the side of the road. She stared ahead of her, where the path rolled down a hill and into the Marsh of Illusion. That downhill stretch seemed to be slippery, judging by the marks in the mud and the crude barrier set up at the first turn in the road. When the Chief attempted to walk the path, she too skidded forward faster than she anticipated. Beneath her feet, the earthen path shifted, tossing her down the hill. The Chief stopped walking and tried to brace herself as best she could. A leafless tree reached a branch over the path from her left, but she made no effort to grab for it. She kept her stance steady and focused on her center of gravity; reaching upward would only make keeping her balance harder. Her boots furrowed the path behind her as she slid into the Marsh, where all her intel had pointed. Once she finally came to a halt, the Chief turned her head back the way she came. At the top of the hill were the silhouettes of the three recruits she'd brought with her. “Hattori! Michaels! Ludenski!” she called up at them. Her yelling caused her to suck in a deep breath, and the swampy air immediately assaulted her senses. “Remember!” she eventually coughed up at the recruits. “Defend the area from hostile creatures! If you see suspicious people, observe and be ready to report! But do not approach...!” “Yes, Chief!” they shouted back to her, even as she turned to leave. The Chief was satisfied the three of them would stay. In truth, she'd only brought them along so as not to make the trip alone. As long as she asked for their time, though, she made it worth their while by making this trip their initiation into the Night Watch. Anyone who was still there at their base camp when she got back would be promoted to full membership. She couldn't have them go into the Marsh of Illusion with her, though. She'd heard tell of a Phantom in the area, one that had survived meeting Zeltencia. If she ran into it, a bunch of rookies would only be a liability. Then again, she might be just as doomed as they were. She had to take the risk, though; based on sightings and stories from folks living in the area, this was the only place Cydia could be hiding. [[Next|Chief 3]]

{ (set: $show_footer to true) (set: $show_header to true) } Kyrinna didn't order Ithric around at first. She spent a moment staring at him, taking in his eagerness and raising him an inscrutable smirk. “Just pick a direction and go straight out of camp. They'll latch on to our thoughts soon enough.” That was certainly easy. As heavy as the corpse had turned out to be, Ithric was immediately glad he'd thought to drag him. Kyrinna didn't seem to care; despite her earlier suggestion, she quickly took the lead. She didn't even look back to ensure Ithric was following her. He hurried behind as best he could with a dead body in his grip, beckoned by the one fragment of dance he'd seen already. “Stop,” Kyrinna commanded when he'd finally reached her side. “Toss him in here.” As Ithric moved to hold the corpse's legs in a way more conducive to throwing, Kyrinna reached down and picked up the arms. “This is the fun part!” With two people carrying the corpse, it seemed much lighter. Ithric and Kyrinna still had to swing it back and forth a couple times to build up some momentum, but together, they were able to heave the corpse in a nice, clean arc. “Whee!” Kyrinna cheered as the body tumbled through the air. It didn't even have a chance to hit the water before a geyser seemed to go off beneath it. This was no geyser, though; the eruption of water fell away to reveal the enormous maw of Dracocrepitus. The water they displaced didn't even finish falling before they snatched the corpse out of mid-air. Their bite came down too hard, though, and they ripped the body instead of grabbing it. There was a loud thwack as the rest of the body hit the water, and a gleeful giggle from Kyrinna as she watched the gore with wide eyes. It didn't seem possible to Ithric that such a huge creature could hide in such relatively shallow water, especially when they stepped onto land and loomed over the humans. “Aaahh,” Dracocrepitus' satisfaction boomed across the camp, “fresh meat.” Their jagged smile overwhelmed Ithric's field of vision as they stared at him. “I see there's something you humans want.” Just as fear began to grip Ithric, Dracocrepitus turned to Kyrinna. “But I don't quite understand.” “You just shut up and eat,” Kyrinna snapped, “and stay right there.” [[Next|Ithric 6]]

Even as Dracocrepitus began to protest, Kyrinna ignored him, and thrust her hands toward the sky. She'd left her lab coat back in her tent, leaving her to dance in the fancy dress she always wore underneath. Ithric wasn't sure why she covered up the dress like that, but his guess was that it had to do with how scrawny she was. Swirling silk draped over the barest frame of a human-shape. Ithric had meant to let his imagination wander along Kyrinna's body as she moved, but there wasn't much to imagine. Her stomach swayed in time with a rhythm only she could hear. The torso of her dress hugged her body close, while her hips pushed the bottom back and forth like a ringing bell. It was this rhythm that had caught Ithric's attention before, that had him thinking how it must feel to have someone move like that up against his own body. In Kyrinna's case, though, Ithric worried that lithe frame might taper off into sharp edges. His last hope was in her breasts; she'd started her dance with her back turned to him, denying him a chance to study their shape through the dress. As she turned there in the swamp, though, the Phantom's fog began to hug her tightly. Kyrinna's shape became vague in the oppressive haze, as the murky purple and gray of her clothes was wrapped in black. As usual, the black fog seemed to deny any lamplight's attempt to pierce it, leaving Ithric no closer to knowing what Kyrinna might look like naked. With that desire out of his mind a bit, Ithric was more able to wonder just what he was witnessing. Phantoms normally billowed their trademark fog over a wide area, but here, Kyrinna seemed to pull it around herself like a blanket. Such an ability seemed to be of limited use to him; in the event of a real Phantom attack, the fog wouldn't hide anyone from them. Kyrinna seemed pleased with the results, though. She began to cackle as she faded entirely from Ithric's sight. He could still hear the footfalls of her dance. “Can it be?” she squealed in delight. “Can I—“ “No,” Dracocrepitus spat immediately. [[Next|Ithric 7]]

Ithric couldn't see the Phantom at all through the fog, either. Instead, he glanced to his left, where his fellow Cuprinas were gathered. He hadn't noticed before, but some folks around the camp must have heard or seen some of the ruckus and come to investigate. “We are merely copying your gyrations to study them. Why...were you hoping to steal control of us?” “Nah,” Kyrinna replied from elsewhere in the fog. Suddenly, the soft splats of her boots in the swamp came to a halt, and so too did the fog's embrace. She was left standing there, facing back toward her tent, coincidentally giving Ithric the sort of view of her shape he was hoping for. “You can't go into science thinking like that. I just wanted to see what happens.” She turned back to Dracocrepitus and ended Ithric's chance, but he'd seen what he needed to see, too. “You didn't feel any different watching that dance?” “No.” “No unusual compulsions or thoughts?” “No.” “Dammit!” Kyrinna put her hands up in a defeated gesture and moved to storm back to her tent. Only then did she notice all the other Cuprinas who had gathered around. “Outta my way!” she snapped at them. The mooks were quick to disperse at the sound of her voice. Ithric wasn't the only one who was afraid of her. Once again, that personality of hers cut into his appreciation of her. As he sat there in the dirt, he couldn't help but think that the dance would be better if someone else could do it. In the meantime, though, he felt bad for Kyrinna. Ithric had heard things about Kyrinna, and about her dead grandma—not enough things to complete the picture, but enough to broadly understand. For as much as she loved her grandma, she didn't seem to have any heirlooms or keepsakes in her tent. If her grandma had really been killed while Kyrinna was still young, she wouldn't have much time to make good memories, either. For all he knew, this dance she wanted so badly to perfect was the only thing she had to remember her grandma by. [[Next|Ithric 8]]

On the one hand, Ithric's heart went out to Kyrinna. Maybe if her time with her grandma hadn't been cut short, she'd know this dance; she might even have learned some manners while she was at it. Or, if there truly were some way to contact the dead, she would be able to use it to see her grandma again. On the other hand, Ithric was still fairly sure the dance was actually some kind of sex thing that the young witch had walked in on and not fully understood. If he posited that theory to her, though, he risked being next to be fed to Dracocrepitus. Ithric shook his head. No matter what the truth was, he wanted to bring his memories of Kyrinna's belly dance to Cydia or Lymantria while he still had them. Fortunately, fate smiled down on Ithric that night, a breathy smile smelling strongly of booze—or at least Cydia did. “Heyyy Ithric!” she slurred down on him. “What'cha doin' sittin' way out here in da muck?” “Oh!” Ithric gasped. Everyone else had dispersed already, and left him alone with his thoughts; even the hulking form of Dracocrepitus was nowhere to be seen, though Ithric still couldn't fathom how such a huge beast could vanish so easily. “Boss!” He scrambled to his feet to meet her gaze as best he could. Cydia stood far taller than him, and her hair fell every which way around her, often obscuring her face in part or in whole. “I just—“ “Ohh, I know...it's dance lessons for me from da alchie, innit?” Before Ithric could even react to that sentence, Cydia laughed. “Ya ain't figured it out? I ain't Cydia, ya noid.” From there, Cydia's form shriveled before Ithric's eyes. The bronze lilt of her skin faded to gray, then to the blue-white of Kyrinna's lab coat. “Lymantria!” he gasped. “Yeah, no shit,” the shapeshifter scoffed as their hair retreated into their scalp. “Just stay shocked awhile, you nerd. I just came back from squaring Cydia's debt, and your thoughts are giving me a lot to figure out.” Lymantria stepped onto the water and took to Kyrinna's moves immediately. Rather than sink into the water, they pirouetted across its surface, gyrating their hips as they went. “So would you like to make a deal now, then?” [[Next|Ithric 9]]

“A deal?” “Sex for memories, nerd. The only deal we have.” Ithric knew which deal Lymantria meant, on some level. He just couldn't process the question, since he was processing so much already. Plus, whenever Lymantria accessed a memory of his, it came to the fore of his own thought as well, and in such vivid detail regardless of how old the memory was. Thus, with them so hard at work in Ithric's brain, all he could think about was Kyrinna's dance, the way her dress was pulled against her body by the rocking of— “Hey,” Ithric quickly clarified, “just so we're clear, once you learn this dance, you're not to do it as Kyrinna, okay?” Nothing Ithric had learned about Kyrinna that night had changed his overall treatment of her. He still planned to give her as wide a berth as possible. Entertaining even the slightest sexual fantasy of Kyrinna would surely draw her wrath, especially with Lymantria around; even his thoughts were not guaranteed safety. “Ooh...!” Lymantria cooed, rocking back onto land while ditching Kyrinna's form. Their features and colors shifted in a vivid kaleidoscope, much like the ones Ithric had started to see on the back of his eyelids ever since moving to the Cuprina camp. When their form settled, it was on that of a person he'd never seen before, aside from Lymantria's transformations. Their features were angular, and their eyes and skin both bore a light umber hue. Their hair, on the other hand, was the color and consistency of straw, and fell down their face in some sort of reverse-mullet. Lymantria had once called it their “Ace” form, but Ithric didn't know what that meant, so he'd never asked about it again. To himself, he often thought of it as a sort of “default” shape for them. It was in that form that Lymantria wrapped Ithric up in their arms and grinned at him. “Kyrinna will be mad if she finds out about this...?” they whispered. “Wait until I tell. That'll be fun to watch.” “Don't—!” Ithric shouted. He struggled a bit, but Lymantria's grasp was surprisingly strong. “Please,” he whispered. “She will actually kill me.” Lymantria chuckled as they moved in for a kiss. Their lips quickly met Ithric's, rough as tree bark as they usually were in this form. As much as he hated it, he did his best to stay still, because moving away would just cause more friction against that desert rock of a mouth. “I won't actually tell. I just wanted to see you squirm a little.” “Hey, that's—“ “I get to enjoy this too, don't I...?” (link: "Next")[{ (if: $ithric_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $ithric_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]

Ahead of the Chief, the road came to a sudden end. Beyond that, the trees grew in clumps of eight or more, rather than the single broad trunks of the trees she'd passed on the way. They thrived together in these flooded lands, and high-fived each other with blue-green leaves far over the Chief's head. At least someone enjoyed the terrain, she thought wryly as she sloshed her way along. The Chief couldn't even laugh at her own joke before she staggered forward, nearly falling face-first in the water. Dark algal blooms on the surface had helped hide a drop-off, and she'd stepped right off it. As she stumbled, her arm swiped downward through some of the algae, and it apparently swiped back. She hadn't felt it at first, but when she pulled her left hand out of the water, she could see traces of blood sink into the murk. “Damn,” the Chief muttered. She took a moment to inspect the cut on her palm, then shook her hand to dislodge as much swamp water as she could. She had no idea precisely where that Cydia could be, but there was no going that way. As she turned and walked a different way, she squeezed the confusing blend of rumors she'd gathered in her mind, hoping to juice out some clue. Most travelers avoided the Marsh of Illusion outright. It had already been a dangerous path before crime rates had skyrocketed in the area. Most who came this way simply vanished, but she'd heard a few stories around the Night Watch and around Fracotel about some loud banging in the area, bursts of fire and noise that matched the one trick Cydia pulled at the end of her trial. But then, the Chief had also heard a few rumors about a different kind of banging. Either way, the survivors all had one thing in common. No matter what had brought them to the Marsh of Illusion, they all had great difficulty remembering anything at all about what had happened there. Before the Chief could mull upon that any further, something came bursting out of the water behind her, over by the drop-off. She turned to look, only to find her lantern engulfed by an unmistakable black fog. [[Next|Chief 4]]

“A Phantom?” the Chief said, startled by the thought. That didn't seem possible. She would have noticed the fog much sooner, she figured. And fog or no, she couldn't fathom where the swamp could have hid a reptilian as enormous as the one before her. Yet there it was, long of tooth and clad in scales, its body looming beyond sight. “Well, get out of the way. I'm here to see Cydia, not you.” The Chief strafed around the Phantom, trying to move to its side. As if in response, it quickly turned its body, so her sidestep brought her into the path of a tail swipe. Rather than shirk away from the attack, she prepared herself to vault over it. She planted her hands on the tail as it swung her way. Despite the surprising roughness of the small scales on the Phantom's tail, she managed to jump over it by bringing her legs up in a split. This looked like the Phantom from Zeltencia's report, all right. The Chief figured that, not only had it survived her, she had survived it too. Hence, the Chief's idea was to move like Zel, so she'd survive as well. After she landed, though, she went back to her own method, one of punching. In the midst of the Phantom's rotation, it brought its head back around the Chief's way. Its momentum and her own move brought her right to the situation she'd wanted in the first place, a chance to hit it in the neck or the side of the head. Given the size of its head scales, she had to narrow that down during her wind-up. She could see the Phantom buckle and brace itself from the impact of her punch, even as it finished turning itself around for another attack. As the Phantom turned itself, its toothy maw hung open. The Chief stepped back, expecting that maw to snap shut, but it never did. Instead, a wave of the Phantom's breath washed over her, absolutely reeking of the smell that had been present throughout the Marsh. Here, though, it was so pungent that the Chief was sent reeling. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, and inadvertently smeared blood on her face from her cut. Oddly, this provided her some solace, as the metallic scent gave her something to focus on besides the Phantom's bad breath. Good thing, too; with her focus away from the smell, the Chief was able to spot a reddish glow through the black fog, a glow coming from the Phantom's mouth. She steadied herself against the smell of the Phantom's breath just as it began to explode around her. [[Next|Chief 5]]

Blast waves tore apart the sparse ferns of the swamp, and they fell every which way. The Chief was showered in this burning confetti as she too was buffeted by the force of the blasts. After a couple bounces, she found herself rolling to a stop in front of the Phantom, laying on her side with rows of jagged teeth before her and a fire burning behind her. Instead, the Chief got her legs underneath her just long enough to spring to the side. The Phantom snapped its jaws shut and missed as she rolled to its left. She scrambled to her feet, threw another passing punch at the side of the Phantom's head, and made a run for it, toward the ring of fire the Phantom had started. “I told you!” she shouted as she hopped to the side of another tail swipe. “I'm not here for you!” “Hey, you don't know 'bout dat!” The Chief came to a stop as suddenly as she could on the wet, slimy mud. She hadn't expected to hear a voice here, much less Cydia's. And yet, when she turned around to look at the Phantom, there was a familiar figure laid calmly along its back. When she noticed the Chief staring at her, the bandit moved a hand out from behind her head, to then raise in greeting. The Chief remained on guard, though. Cydia hadn't been there before, during the first tail swipe. Anyone who could slip in past a Phantom so stealthily was a force to be reckoned with, much less this large a Phantom actively attacking and setting things on fire. No mud stuck to her clothes or her skin, either. The Chief, on the other hand, already had a few splotches caked on to her feet and legs after a relatively short sojourn into the Marsh. How did— “Well?” Cydia snapped. The Phantom swung its body around, and she spun herself around on top of it. Her elbows soon rested on the Phantom's scaly head as it gazed at the Chief, and her dirty blonde hair spilled past her and down its head. “Ya got somethin' ta say? Or ta do? 'cause if ya don't, dis fella an' I could both do with a little company.” [[Next|Chief 6]]

The Chief was too shocked to reply. She'd seen a lot in her life, but she'd never seen a human and a Phantom coexisting so peacefully. The same reptilian beast that had been trying to devour her moments ago was now just sort of staring up at the bandit sat astride it. While it and the Chief both stared up at Cydia, she laughed it off. “Two of us oughta kiss!” she suggested. “It don't matter which two...any which way, it's more interestin' than standin' 'round, innit?” Regardless of Cydia's outlandish entrance, the Chief now had her mark. “You two can enjoy each other's company later,” she replied. She tried her best to downplay her surprise to best get down to business. “I'm here to offer you a job.” “Yeah?” Cydia rolled onto her back, staring at the Chief from an upside-down view with gray, sultry eyes. From there, she squirmed forward, along the Phantom's snout. “What kinda job?” It was about here that the Phantom finally reacted to Cydia, and turned its head to drop her. Rather than tumbling into the muck, though, Cydia stayed aloft when her hair twisted into wing-shapes and flapped. Both the Chief and the Phantom stared her down as she landed on her feet, standing closer to the flames than the Chief would dare if she had crazy waist-long hair like that. Watching this grew a doubt in the pit of the Chief's stomach. She'd come into the Marsh knowing she'd beseech a dangerous criminal for help. Seeing Cydia so relaxed about the Phantom, though, had her wondering if one had bewitched the other somehow. Either way, her job was to protect people from monsters and Phantoms, and she wasn't about to feed anyone to a Phantom, even if they were from the Church. But with Cydia and this Phantom so in harmony, perhaps inviting one would be no different than inviting the other. The Chief shrugged. In a way, it was exactly that ambiguity that made Cydia perfect for the job. “I need someone to break into the chapel in Fracotel,” she explained, “and deal with the barrier crystal inside. And you're the one with experience in the field, or so I've heard.” “Yeah? Who's been talkin' ta get ya ta hear somethin' like dat?” Cydia's joviality seemed to burn away in that moment, and scorn and suspicion were what remained. [[Next|Chief 7]]

Cydia had misread the Chief, though, if she was that worked up about her secrets. “Relax,” the Chief said, even as she herself didn't. She couldn't, with the Phantom and the fire still there. “One of my operatives was there as well. Zeltencia von T—“ “Oh, Zel!” Cydia interrupted. “I ain't seen her since dat night...ya heard from her since? Or...” Cydia swaggered toward the Chief, popping a hip to the side with each step. “...did ya need my company 'cause she ain't home yet?” It actually hadn't occurred to the Chief that Zeltencia would do such a thing. She always struck the Chief as one of the most well-adjusted members of the Night Watch. The chapel attack from 30-something nights ago was one thing; the Chief had heard Melaton had been deprived of its barrier crystal, and the attack had brought it back. Fighting for the good of the people was Zeltencia's job. This, though...if Zeltencia had been around, she would simply volunteer to fight all the surplus monsters stumbling into the Night Watch campus. “Okay, yes,” the Chief finally answered. She reached out toward Cydia, and the bandit responded by ducking in to press a cheek against the Chief's palm. She'd meant to offer Cydia a handshake, but the goodwill had come across either way, apparently. Cydia continued her extreme friendliness by wrapping herself in the Chief's arm, finishing with her back to the Chief's front. She looked over her shoulder to gaze into the Chief's eyes and say, “Sounds fun. What's the pay?” The Chief fetched a pouch from inside her armor and pressed it into Cydia. The thief watched in rapt attention the whole time, but she seemed to notice right away that it was empty, and her seductive gaze turned to a confused one. “Two thousand,” the Chief quipped. Cydia held up the empty pouch. “But—“ “One,” the Chief began, elegantly tipping her body with Cydia's in a dancer's dip, “I'm not carrying all that money into the swamp just to drop it somewhere.” The currency of the continent only went up to units of one hundred, and those were large enough that twenty such coins wouldn't fit in the fist-sized pouch the Chief had brought just to make her next point. “Two...you still owe me half on that Lear Lighthouse job.” “Huh?” [[Next|Chief 8]]

(if: ($chief_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[(set: $show_footer to false)(set: $show_header to false)] The Chief nearly dumped Cydia in the bog right then and there. She'd been depending on that— “Oh yeah!” Cydia suddenly said. “I forgot all 'bout dat.” Half in advance and half on completion had been the deal, and Cydia had honored the first half. As the Chief brought Cydia back upright, she reminisced about how useful that first two thousand had been. She'd needed it to outfit all the new recruits who had joined the Night Watch in the wake of Cydia's attack on the Church. The other two thousand was a lofty debt to just forgive, but then, Cydia had already done much to help the Night Watch, even if she had originally intended to break in. While the Chief found herself reviewing the case in her mind, Cydia laughed. “Yeah, those was good times...!” she chirped. “A'ight, a'ight. Lemme come meet you tomorrow night...wait, no, night after dat.” With a wink, she added, “Got another customer tomorrow.” A customer for what, the Chief didn't know, and something told her she didn't want to know. Either way, she had the deal she'd come for. “Yes, I—“ The rest of the sentence fell out of the Chief's mouth when she realized both Cydia and the Phantom had utterly vanished from sight. That seemed impossible; not only was the Phantom huge, but Cydia had just been dancing with her. Last the Chief knew, they'd all been within arm's reach of one another, and in the next moment— Cydia's laughter suddenly filled the Marsh of Illusion, seemingly from all sides, drowning out all other thought. (if: ($chief_epilogue is false) and ($epilogues_viewed > 3))[[[Next|Tshikaogyn 0]]](else:)[[[Next|Chief 9]]]

The Chief clutched at her temples as she stared down the road. She was pretty sure that she'd visited the Marsh of Illusion, and that she'd offered Cydia a job. When she tried to remember any details about her visit, though, none of that came to mind. She could vaguely recall Cydia posing seductively while on top of...on top of... “Dammit,” the Chief mumbled. Her memories of that night were even sparser than she'd realized. She'd tried to surreptitiously pick up details from the recruits that had come with her, but they had no idea what had happened in the Marsh itself. Their post and their knowledge both stopped right around where the Marsh of Illusion began; they saw the Chief off at the start and helped her up the slippery mud at the end, but they knew no more about the interim than she did. A flock of dirtbats was more audible than visible against black sky. They'd be bouncing off the Church's barrier, the Chief knew, and they'd be making a nuisance of themselves among the Night Watch. A quilladillo had already come through earlier that night, which had urged the Chief to try again to think about Cydia in the first place. But while two nights had been enough to regain use of her arms, after the lighthouse Phantom's powder had disabled them awhile back, she still couldn't remember much about the Marsh. Waiting two nights had helped her in some way, though. In that time, the Chief had come to realize that the Marsh was the only thing she was having trouble remembering. Short- and long-term memories, things from that night as well as before and after...everything was fine, except for her memories based on her trip to the Marsh. Travelers in the region were once known to see things that weren't there, or an old woman who appeared at first to be young, hence the name “Marsh of Illusion”, but until recently, she'd never heard of the place stealing memories like this. What— The sound of a distant explosion ripped through the Chief's thoughts. She wasn't sure where the noise had come from, or where she'd heard it before to identify it so easily. She could, however, identify the sounds of wood and glass and stone under great distress, and the dirtbats who dispersed at all the cacophony. The Chief was supposed to wait outside the Night Watch for Cydia, but she couldn't ignore her duty or her desire to help. She sprinted toward Fracotel, where she'd heard the explosion. [[Next|Chief 10]]

As the Chief ran toward the explosion, she could see folks running away. Some were coming down the road toward her, calling for her. Behind her, a few of her Night Watchers were coming out of the campus to investigate, the better to delegate work on to them. “Ludenski, MacVelod!” she greeted the first ones out. “Be ready for standard sheltering of civilians protocol!” Ludenski had no clue what she was talking about, but she expected his clueless gaze; he was new. MacVelod was new too, but not as much, and he'd had enough time that if he hadn't memorized the protocol, he at least knew where to find written instructions. “Yes, Chief!” MacVelod replied, snapping a quick salute before turning to Ludenski and enlisting his help in the process. Normally, she'd have waited for the two of them, but she felt a sense of great urgency. That, and the explosion had happened during black sky. Most folks would have turned in to their homes for the night, but some might be tempted to come out and investigate for themselves. That would only complicate things further, since it would mean more civilians to keep out of harm's way. As the Chief approached Fracotel, another explosion went off. This time, she saw it rip through the tallest building in town, the Church's compound. Flames burst from its steeple, and chunks of the roof went spraying toward town. She stopped to watch smoke pour from the open hole, content with the fact that it was a Church problem, and thus no problem of hers. Then she remembered her deal with Cydia, and moved even faster than before. The Chief couldn't remember exactly what she'd told Cydia to do that night. She knew she'd planned on going to the Marsh to ask for help in attacking a chapel, though, and she knew she'd been there and back already. But she wouldn't have ordered Cydia to do it so dangerously, she wouldn't have. Perhaps it wasn't Cydia at all. Perhaps it was a monster, and therefore technically her responsibility. While it attacked the Church, it was their problem, but if the fight spilled out into the town, it was her problem. She'd have to guard the scene, just in case. [[Next|Chief 11]]

As the Chief burst into town, she let out a groan. The most direct path to the chapel was blocked by flaming rubble. The roofing that had been ejected from the chapel had fallen on someone's cart and pulled an awning off a nearby storefront. The end result was a wall of flame that, judging by the commotion on the other side, kept a group of people trapped on the street behind it. If these folks had found no path despite their motivation, perhaps there was no path for the Chief either. Instead, the perpetrator came to her. At least, the Chief assumed the humanoid who came bursting out of the hole in the roof of the chapel had to be the perpetrator. Whoever they were, they sailed through the sky on wings of hair, the way a squidlark might glide on its tentacles. Any normal human jumping off the roof like they'd had would only splatter against the cobbles of the outdoor market. But then, any normal human wouldn't turn their hair into wings. When the mystery attacker landed atop the flaming rubble, the Chief was quick to move their way. “Stop right there!” she demanded. They wouldn't be able to jump to the street without going through her. Instead, they let out a shout and fell off the pile as the rubble shifted beneath their landing. The Chief hadn't gotten a good look at them before they tumbled back toward the chapel, but she'd noted their long hair and long legs all the same. “Cydia! Did you—“ Suddenly, the debris in the road came bursting apart. The Chief ducked into an alleyway to dodge the burning splinters that fanned erratically through the air. On the other side, a familiar form hunched behind an outstretched fist, a fist that had seemingly turned to stone and stretched its arm far past normal limits. “Stop?” Cydia repeated from earlier. “Stop? Ya think you're stoppin' me?” She retracted her arm, watched her fist turn back to normal, and finally turned back to the Chief. “You—oh! It's you! Didn't recognize ya for a sec!” Cydia's serious face had melted away instantly, and she wore a goofy grin as she swaggered unevenly to the Chief's side. “Well?” she asked, puffing boozy breath into the Chief's face. She waited as some of the civilians trapped in the town square escaped through the hole she'd punched in the rubble, and then she added, “Job well done, innit?” [[Next|Chief 12]]

“What—“ For a moment, all the Chief could do was clutch her head and sputter angry half-syllables. “No!” “No? Dat ain't right.” Cydia made a long stride and quickly put herself behind the Chief, and then she rested her head on top of the Chief's. “Look, da chapel's finished, just like ya asked.” Indeed, the first explosion the Chief heard must have hit the chapel as well; behind Cydia and through the debris, she could see the first floor was in as rough a shape as the next. Between the two blasts and the subsequent fire, no one would be using that chapel for a long time. “That's fine,” the Chief admitted. “But the rest of this destruction...and the goal was the b—“ “The barrier crystal,” Cydia interrupted. Once again, her mood changed rapidly; as her hair uncurled and dropped the crystal into her waiting hands, a serious frown overtook her. “D'ya know how da Church makes dese things?” The Chief couldn't get all the way through the word “no” before Cydia gripped the head-sized crystal with both hands and began to squeeze it. Her efforts began to cause white cracks along the surface of the crystal, jagged veins like lightning along the blue octahedron. “Hey! Don't break it!” As soon as the Chief stepped to stop Cydia, though, the crystal shattered in her hands, and a burst of black fog overtook the pieces. Or...did it come from the pieces? “Is that—“ “Yep!” At first, the black fog was tightly congealed around the broken crystal. Now that it was free, though, most of it rapidly dispersed through the streets and into the air. A few tendrils of shadow gathered around Cydia; their dark streaks slithering on her skin looked like moving ink. “Dat blue rock what da lamps are made outta...dat's da little chunks da Church cuts off a Phantom. But when dey catch one alive, da whole Phantom gets pressed into a chunk of it.” Cydia buried a hand in her hair and flipped it. “Dey can make lamps outta wildspeakers too.” [[Next|Chief 13]]

The Chief glanced down at her own lamp, a small tangle of filament trapped in glass that was attached to her belt. As the fog swarmed in front of the light, she thought about what Cydia had told her. It seemed ridiculous that such a device could be made out of Phantoms or even people, but she had seen the Lear Lighthouse Phantom glow. And when Kyrinna escaped from the Night Watch, it was because Cydia had taken on that Phantom's glittering glow. “Imagine!” Cydia howled. “Smushin' a body like dis into a lamp!” She sank both arms into her hair and lifted it over herself. The flickering light of the fire in the street and the dancing shadow from the barrier crystal both danced along her tanned, toned body. She turned in place, seeming to lose her point a little as she became preoccupied with showing herself off. The sound of footsteps approaching the burning debris snapped her out of it, though. Cydia stepped aside, letting the Chief see at least six templars go by. It was hard to tell exactly how many there were, especially when one moved to stand guard on the other side. They seemed to recognize the Chief, because they stopped whatever was happening to stare through the debris and focus on her. “You,” they barked, cupping metal-clad hands around their mouth to project their voice. “Me,” the Chief huffed in reply. She could tell by the tone of their voice that they were the type who disliked the Night Watch, as did most templars. “Look...this is no time to fight!” another voice chimed in from behind the rubble. “You're right,” the first templar agreed. “Chief of the Night Watch...have any other templars come this way?” The Chief thought for sure they'd be searching for Cydia. “What?” was all she was prepared to say to their question because of that. It took her another moment to actually parse the question and answer, “No.” “Okay.” Through the templar's armor, and through the fire, the Chief could see them hesitating on the next part. “I know it's not a Night Watch problem! But if you meet a templar with dark skin and long golden hair named Eyron, watch out!” [[Next|Chief 14]]

“Eyron...?” the Chief mumbled. She eventually remembered the name from the night Kyrinna escaped; Eyron had been the first besides the Chief to recognize her as something more than simply “Syrup”. “Yes, Eyron Clipeus," the templar clarified from the other side of the fire. He's been seen aiding criminals in Melaton, and in the attack on the Marquis' chapel. And he's struck again here tonight.” “But...” The Chief looked to Cydia for an explanation, but she had vanished entirely. That didn't seem possible in the slightest. The Chief was left speechless. “I know, I'm not asking you to help. I'm just saying it because, you know, he's stolen the barrier crystal again and—“ “There he goes!” someone else called out, interrupting the friendly templar. They drew their magic sword and took one step, then froze. They glanced back and forth between the rubble-blocked street and the direction the shouting had come from. Finally, the shouting won, and the templar left their post. From the footsteps on the other side, the Chief guessed the group wasn't leaving, merely changing their positions to better intercept their target. The Chief turned to leave as well. The Church, as usual, was too focused on punishment and catching the culprit to respond to the humanitarian crisis in progress, and the bigger one in Fracotel's future. She'd wished for less wildlife coming to her campus and lashing out at her people, but she didn't want it if it meant the people of Fracotel would have to deal with the wildlife instead. Still, misguided as it was, the Church's defensive setup gave Fracotel plenty of protection while the Chief retreated. She'd need to come up with a longer-term plan to protect Fracotel, as well as decide on what to do about Cydia—and Eyron too, apparently. “Ya still don't get it.” The Chief turned on her heels, and was surprised to see Cydia standing right where she'd last been seen, despite being gone earlier. Despite her shock, she did her best to stay calm. “There's nothing to get,” she snapped. “All that matters is that Fracotel and its people are in danger.” [[Next|Chief 15]]

“Dat's good business for you, innit?” Cydia asked. The Chief couldn't even voice a protest before Cydia laughed at her. “Don't matter none how ya feel 'bout it. More monsters in town means more for ya ta do. Dat's a fact.” “That, I get. It's unusually optimistic to keep that fact top of mind, but it's a fact.” The Chief cracked her knuckles. She had a gut feeling that she might take even more umbrage with whatever Cydia had to say next. “But you said there's something I'm not getting. You'd better tell me what you know.” “Or what?” Cydia asked, briefly puffing out her chest and clenching her fists. “I just told ya, da Church was gonna fry my ass an' stick me in a lamp, an' dat didn't work. What are you gonna do?” Despite the tense, threatening nature of the conversation, Cydia's voice remained calm and sultry. “Hit me? Send yer limp-wrist recruits over ta wave swords at me? 'sides...I was on da way outta here anyway.” “None of that answers my question,” the Chief replied. She and Cydia had shuffled to within arm's reach. And for all of Cydia's swaggering and posturing, she was still sort of in a corner. With buildings and rubble around her, Cydia's only avenue of escape was to come down the road the Chief was guarding, and she wouldn't be able to get far without skirting to one side of the Chief or the other. “What am I not getting?” Cydia scoffed. “I ain't gotta tell ya shit. But since you're askin', and since you're blockin' my exit...” The wisps of black smoke began to churn with renewed vigor across Cydia's skin, until her entire form was devoured by darkness, despite the lights of the town and of the flames. Soon, she was utterly featureless, a humanoid shadow. The Night Watch and the Church had gone on a joint mission awhile back to deal with a humanoid shadow. The Chief wasn't there for that mission, but somehow she was sure this was the same sort of being that mission had targeted, if not the same being outright. “...you didn't make plans with Cydia,” a new voice mused from behind the Chief. When she turned to face the voice, a dark-skinned templar stood there, with light hair tied out of their face with a length of rope tied into a headband. “And Eyron didn't attack this chapel.” They barely finished their sentence before they dissipated into shadow again. “Do you understand yet?” [[Next|Chief 16]]

The last sentence came out in yet another voice: the Chief's. She didn't speak it, but it sounded just like her. When she turned to face this voice, the shadow was there again, gradually honing their shape into a perfect replica of the Chief. Rather than letting the Chief answer their question, the shapeshifter continued talking. Even as she stepped toward them, they simply disappeared again, though doing so did not stop their voice from filling her head. “When you cut grass,” they said, “it gives off a unique scent. So often, you humans find that scent pleasing, despite the fact that it is a response to trauma. It's begging you to stop, you nerd.” With this last sentence, the shadow took yet another new form, that of Kyrinna. Her ribbons and dress were unmistakable, even as she appeared standing atop a street lamp on one leg. The real Kyrinna was too twiggy and clumsy for such a stunt, but this shadow had no such trouble, even feeling a jaunty little pirouette. “Barrier crystals are like that too,” the shadow being continued. Like their turning to fog, their spinning seemed to have no effect on the Chief's ability to hear them. “You humans find them warm and comforting, even as we project our burning pain outward as a warning to all indigenous lifeforms of Tenesoir.” “What warning?” the Chief asked. She'd been so broadsided by everything she'd seen and heard that she felt unable to do much but keep an eye on the creature, and keep them talking. That way, they wouldn't get loose and cause any more chaos. “What else?” The Kyrinna-like being switched their one-legged stance from their left foot to their right. In the process, they gave the street light beneath them a stomp that shattered the Church-made bulb that sat inside. “Watch out—humans live here.” Their form destabilized yet again; their color and shape began changing too rapidly for the Chief to comprehend, until it all melted away into shadow. Then, another kaleidoscopic display crafted their form into that of Zeltencia von Trepe. “But that's enough stalling...I can't have them catch me again, you know?” With that, “Zeltencia” backflipped off the street light, and abandoned their form before they hit the ground. Their constituent smoke plunged against the cobblestones with all the velocity that gravity had imparted on their human shape, and dispersed outward in an ebon wave. As the darkness rushed over the Chief, a terrible chill ran down her spine, and laughter filled her head. [[Next|Chief 17]]

The Chief's gaze rapidly scanned the area around her, but she saw no further sign of the shadow being. All she could see was an empty road in Fracotel under her feet, and a smoldering pile of wood and fabric in front of her. Past the debris and the smoke it gave off, she could see the local chapel, with two large holes blasted into it. From her cursory glance of the area, there seemed to be no one injured or dead to tend to. She could hear templars in the streets moving in search patterns. She couldn't see much of them or anything around her, though, because the nearby street lamp had apparently gone out. “Did...did Cydia do all this?” the Chief mumbled to herself as she turned away from the chapel. She remembered wanting to send the bandit after the chapel to force them into repositioning their barrier crystal, but she wouldn't have ordered for all this destruction, she just wouldn't. She would have wanted to go in with Cydia, to stop exactly this sort of scenario from breaking out. Then, she realized she couldn't feel the vaguely warm and tingly sensation that usually came from being within the bounds of a barrier crystal. The Chief shrugged and made her way to a side street to detour around the blockade. She couldn't remember how this mess had happened, but she didn't need to. All she needed to know was that Fracotel and its people were in danger. (link: "Next")[{ (if: $chief_epilogue is false)[(set: $epilogues_viewed to it + 1)(set: $chief_epilogue to true)] (goto: "Epilogue") }]