Lucienne headed past Juno on her way downstairs to join the others at the bar without saying anything. That was fine, however, Juno wasn’t in the mood to talk to her anyway. Nothing in the mansion was quite adding up, and she didn’t feel much closer to solving what had happened downstairs.
As if on queue, Slender and Shade both came running upstairs to provide her a distraction. A servant walked past and headed into Xavi’s room to dust, and as soon as she was gone, Shade stooped down next to Lucienne’s bedroom door. Slender waved at Juno, then brought his finger up to his lips in a shushing gesture. Juno rolled her eyes at the two of them.
Shade extended his claws to fiddle with the mechanisms of the lock. His tail swished back and forth as he worked, and his ears tucked back when he got it close.
“Almost,” he breathed. Slender kept an eye on Xavi’s room to make sure the servant wasn’t going to catch them.
“You two are going to get caught,” Juno said from where she was watching. “It shouldn’t take that long to open a simple door lock.” Both Shade and Slender flashed her a middle finger.
“You could help,” Slender retorted, but the door made a satisfactory clink as the final pin fell into place. Shade stood up and opened the door silently. Juno followed them over to Lucienne’s door and leaned in the doorway.
“And make you split your loot? No, no. By all means,” Juno mocked and gestured for them to continue. “I’m curious to see what the time controlling demi-god does when she finds out you broke into her room. I’ll watch.”
Shade approached the sword case that the two of them had already failed to open. The sword inside the glass was old and damaged, but it was beautiful. The blade was an old marbling of steel and bronze that had begun to tarnish in spots. There was an engraving in the blade in a language lost to time. The pommel of the sword was a tiny bronze hourglass with twinkling black sand in it.
Shade rested his paws on the glass and called Slender over to look at the object. The bard asked if he thought he could get it open. In answer, Shade opened his palm and extended his claws. Juno quietly closed the door behind all of them when it was taking him a while to get it open.
“Are you sure you got it?” Slender asked again.
“I’ve got it,” Shade snapped back. Sure enough, the lock opened, and the tabaxi picked up the sword to examine it. He swung it a few times, but it wobbled like it was about to fall apart. “Not a very good combat weapon.”
“Looks ornamental, but I bet that hourglass does something cool. Might as well take it– not like Lucienne was using it.” Slender shrugged. Juno badly stifled a laugh.
“You’re stealing the ornamental sword from the daughter of the time god?” She managed through her laughter. “She’s going to kill you, and Jadeth isn’t around to bring you both back.”
“Hey now! We don’t need anyone to bring us back. Talon already has a taste for demi-gods. I bet Olaf’ll handle it for us if we give him enough booze as payment,” Shade argued. He was probably right. Olaf didn’t really see Talon as a problem, and Talon would definitely gobble up anyone that threatened the dwarf it had grown fond of.
Slender yanked on a locked drawer of the nearby desk. It didn’t budge, but SHade moved him aside to work on it. He made a sudden hiss and pulled his paw away from the lock.
“Ah, damn it! Broke a claw.” He stuck it in his mouth and tried again with his other hand, not having much more luck. Slender watched him work, then eyed Juno again.
“Come on, aren’t you a thief?”
“Aren’t you two?” Juno replied as she pulled her lock picks out and tossed them up and down. Slender made a face at her as Shade continued working. The tabaxi pulled away again and tucked his ears down. “Still stuck?”
“I think I might’ve made it worse,” Shade said. Slender facepalmed as Juno smirked.
“Fine. I’ll help, but I’m only doing this to find out what Lucienne is hiding. No one actually uses the locks on their desk unless there’s something really good hidden inside.” Juno moved the others away and opened the lock with no trouble at all. She stepped back and let Slender open the drawer. He pulled out a coin purse and eyed Juno. “Just give me a couple pieces. I’m not exactly hurting for money right now. It’s just the fee for getting it open. I’m more interested in whatever those are.” She pointed at the stack of papers shoved further back in the drawer.
Slender pulled them out and flipped through them. There were pictures and names with red scribbles over most of them. Full bios of each of the targets were written out in ink. Liches, necromancers, vampires. The dates ranged from a little over 40 years ago to more recently. The newest was from 3 years ago, but there was something strange about it.
“Xaviox the Wardancer?” Slender read the title aloud. “She did kill him! Does that mean she’s been playing us this whole time?”
“I don’t know,” Juno said and grabbed the paper from him and clenched it in her fists, “but I’m going to go find out. Stay safe. I’ll yell if something goes wrong.”
She pushed out of the room, not really caring if the servants saw her anymore. She walked to the bar where Lucienne was sitting among numerous empty ale mugs. Olaf and Yore were both sitting at the table next to Liliana. Dorric was passed out on the floor, snoring away quietly. Juno cleared her throat and the dwarves turned to look at her.
She approached the sticky wooden bar and slapped the page down in front of Lucienne. The woman stared at it in silence, her eyebrows bunching together.
“I’ll ask you one more time. What did you do to Xavi and Jadeth?” Juno kept her voice low and steady.
Without answering, Lucienne let out a soft laugh. Juno recoiled. An echo appeared on the other side of the bar in a burst of gold light. She grabbed her shadowy sword and swung it in one quick motion– splattering the bartender’s blood across the room. Yore and Olaf both stood up in an instant, weapons ready. Lucienne sheathed her sword again and picked up another drink. She looked over her shoulder at Liliana.
“Get. Out.” It was a growled command, and Liliana stood up and fled out of the room immediately. Yore raised his staff at Lucienne’s head.
“She was innocent!” he shouted and cast a fire spell that engulfed Lucienne in flames.
She snarled and turned to him, eyes seeming to glow pink from the way the fire was reflected in her bright glasses. She raised a hand to the ceiling like she was reaching for something that wasn’t there.
“Father,” she said. The flames extinguished in an instant, and the burns immediately began to heal. She pulled the rose glasses off her face and wiped the lenses with the rag on the bar counter. “If you think anyone in this house is innocent, you’re a fool. You don’t strike me as a fool, Yore Goldbeard.” Yore lowered the staff just slightly.
“Why then–” he began.
“I couldn’t very well admit this to you in front of one of the vampires’ servants, but yes. I was sent here to kill Xaviox. The mission became more complicated than I initially realized, so it was taking me much longer than usual. Was I supposed to kill him? Yes. Did I actually get my chance? No, and I had nothing to do with your stupid princess’ disappearance. If you don’t know who did kill Xavi, I would suggest you leave before it’s too late to do so.”
“We’re not leaving without Jadeth,” Juno said, and Olaf agreed with her. She turned and stormed out of the room, now having to look elsewhere for answers. As if in answer, her sending stone buzzed with a message from Alexander asking if she’d like to join him for some tea up in his bedroom.
She passed Matanza and the other kenku on her way up while the two of them sat on a bench and chatted in a notebook. Spectre was lying under their bench, but he came happily trotting towards Juno as she walked by. She bent down and gave him a few pets before the two of them headed back up the staircase.
Alexander opened his door as soon as she knocked, and stepped aside to invite her in. His room was clean with decorative plants and a huge bookcase. He had a pot of tea heating itself over a magical flame on the table in the corner of the room. Juno sat down across from him.
“I had a chance to read your thesis, Doctor, and I was very interested. Your ideas of how magic can positively impact those born without a natural gift is a cause I greatly believe in.” Alexander leaned forward to rest his head in his palm. “Taking magical items and sharing them with the people truly worthy of their power is a noble goal.”
“I’m glad you agree,” Juno replied and swirled the tea around in her cup. “Do you have any questions about my study that I could answer?”
“Multitudes, but I do have one that’s been at the back of my mind. Have you considered immortality? It would be beneficial to your research, and it comes with some other nice perks as well.” Alexander trailed off and smiled a warm, genuine smile. Juno’s heart raced as she considered it. “It’s an offer. If you’re interested. I would, of course, never pressure you.”
“Immortality? I… I don’t know if–” A knock interrupted Juno mid sentence. Alexander’s nose wrinkled at the distraction. He gracefully got to his feet and opened the door to the bedroom. Doric was waiting on the other side with a bottle of wine, he still seemed pretty intoxicated with how he was swaying.
“I heard you two were talking, and I was wondering if I could join you.” Doric offered out the bottle of wine. Alexander brushed it away and looked back over to Juno with a raised eyebrow. His scowl from the interruption didn’t fade.
“I think… I’d prefer it if you didn’t.” Juno set her cup of tea back down and crossed her arms. She was already a bit wary around the elvish vampire, and for him to have followed her upstairs– she didn’t care for that either. Doric looked hurt, but he nodded.
“Jun– ah, Dr. Graves… Just… Don’t make any choices you’ll regret,” Doric muttered and pulled down the collar of his shirt to gesture to the fang marks on his neck. He gave Alexander a very pointed look, and the other vampire offered him an innocent smile in return. “Contrary to what this one would tell you, vampirism is nothing more than a curse. I’d recommend you think things through before–”
A crashing noise cut him off. Alexander and Doric both flinched in the doorway. All eyes drifted downwards towards the source of the noise. It sounded a lot like the wall coming down when Olaf had hit it with Talon, but it almost seemed to be right below them.
Everyone down in the bar heard it too, and Lucienne knocked her drink to the floor as she spun towards where the sound had come from.
“Gods damn me,” she hissed. “What now?!” She led the group from the bar towards where the sound had come from.
Upstairs, Alexander pushed Doric back and stepped into the hallway. He looked back over his shoulder.
“Stay here, Doctor,” he told her. “We’ll make sure things are safe down there. I promise that I will be right back.” He shut the door and locked it in spite of Juno’s protests. A few minutes passed before her sending stone buzzed with a warning from Alexander. First a full sentence: “Dorric tricked us, he’s coming back towards my room.” Then a much shorter: “Run!”
Juno stood up quickly enough that it woke Spectre from his light sleep. He sensed she was scared and came running towards her. Heavy frantic footsteps were echoing down the hallway. Spectre growled at the door and let out a few ferocious barks, but him and Juno wouldn’t have stood a chance against a powerful vampire on their own. Juno shoved the door open to the balcony and scooped Spectre up into her arms.
The other door flung open, and Dorric emerged into the pouring rain shirtless and covered in blood. He snarled at Juno, but she jumped off the balcony and took flight above the courtyard that the others had come out into.
They all looked up to see her and Dorric. When he realized he had witnesses, he growled and headed back inside. Juno landed in the middle of the group and set Spectre down before collapsing onto her knees and catching her breath. She pulled out the sending stone to check on Alexander, but no response came.
Liliana had joined back up with them, and she was looking around the courtyard wildly. Juno watched as she spun around, checking the bushes and behind the trees.
“I swear it came out here!” She exclaimed.
“What came out here?” Juno asked, and Slender helped her back onto her feet.
“Something destroyed Lucienne’s statue of The Aeon. Liliana said she saw whoever it was float out here. Man, what happened to you? Looks like your date didn’t go so well.” He frowned. She weighed the sending stone in her palm.
Olaf got everyone’s attention when he pried the lid off of the coffin in the middle of the courtyard. It kicked up a cloud of dust from the inside, but fortunately it didn’t reek– not for a coffin anyway. Everyone gathered in a circle around the mummy inside the coffin. It had a metal mask on its head that looked like a tentacled face. Yore read the inscription.
“Here lies Krosis.”
Olaf poked at the mummified body with Talon.
“Krosis is… pretty squishy,” he remarked.
Yore leaned over the body and made a face. He lit a fire in his palm and let it drift down towards the bandages. They ignited, and everyone backed away from the bonfire. It still didn’t smell like a body. Soon enough, all the bandages turned to ash, and the mask laid there amongst it.
Olaf reached in and lifted the mask up, but as he did it began to glow. It shot out a bolt of necrotic energy that struck him in the face. He recoiled, but managed to hold on to it. Even after it attacked him, he placed it on his face and smiled.
“How’s it look?” he chuckled and struck a few poses.
“Dope,” Liliana acknowledged.
“Pretty slick,” Shade replied.
“Magical,” Slender added.
“Very. Very cursed,” Juno finished. Not that Olaf really minded cursed objects. He practically collected them.
“It would explain the whispers,” Olaf said, but he didn’t take it off. Yore took his notepad out as they all walked back into the house. He began quizzing Olaf on the things the voices were saying, and Olaf translated what he could– which was very little.
Juno left Spectre with the others and began to look for where Alexander disappeared to. She crossed to the other side of the mansion before she found a body– the kenku woman. She laid in the middle of the ballroom in a pool of blood with her eyes wide open. Juno sighed, now worried about Matanza too, but she closed the kenku’s wide sparkling eyes and apologized for leaving her alone when there was a killer on the loose.
There was also a pile of ash a little ways away from the kenku. It resembled what was left behind when Xaviox was slain in the foyer. Juno bent over and picked up the sending stone next to it, now increasingly worried about Alexander. She prepared to head back to the others when a voice caught her attention.
“Vesk! Vesk? Deary, is that you?” An older woman’s voice called out from a room just north of the ballroom. Juno headed over to find an older gnome sitting on a couch next to her behemoth of a warforged. She pulled the pipe from her lips and squinted at Juno. “Vesk is that you? I gave Zilla those gloves you found, is that okay dear?”
The warforged that must have been Zilla raised its fists to show off the smoldering magical gauntlets. Juno nodded, but tilted her head.
“Who’s Vesk?” She came closer to the woman to help her see.
“Why, you are, silly! You’re Vesk, and I’m Evalyn.” She raised her arms, and Zilla lifted her up to get her eye level with Juno. Juno realized that the woman must have been losing her mind. “What’s the matter, Vesk?”
“I’m not Vesk. Who is Vesk?”
“He’s my grandson. Here, let’s go look for him together.” Evalyn extended her hand and Juno took it in her own.
The trio made their way back over to where everyone was helping Lucienne clean up the rubble from the Aeon statue on the other side of the house. She was grumbling under her breath furiously.
“Is this what you wanted, father?” she said as she swept up bits of the god’s statue. “You send your stupid royal champion in to show me up, and she messes up a three year plan. All she ever does is mess things up. That’s why you took me in, wasn’t it? Then why bring her into the equation now?”
“You’re talking about Jadeth?” Juno asked. Lucienne spun around with wild eyes.
“Jadeth. Ugh, Jadeth was sent here to babysit me. Which is comical, given her history. The Aeon grew weary of how long this was taking, so he thought I needed backup. She only got in the way, and now she’s gone. I don’t know where she is, but I hope she’s dead. This wasn’t some standard assignment. There was a lot more going on here than some vampire and his friends throwing house parties and killing mortals.”
Evalyn and Zilla walked past the women and approached Slender.
“Oh, Vesk! There you are. What an interesting mask you’ve found, dear.” She smiled weakly and Zilla set her down next to Slender. Slender didn’t bother correcting her. He smiled and nodded along with everything she was saying. He knelt down, and she pulled the mask off of his face to get a closer look at it. “Oh, goodness me. You’re not my Vesk, are you? You do look like him though…” She leaned around him and looked at Shade. “My goodness, look at you!”
“I am also not Vesk, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He bared his fangs until Zilla came to stand next to him. The giant machine towered above Shade.
Evalyn waved her hands, and Shade’s hesitation melted away. She approached him and he flopped over onto his side to let her rub his belly, loudly purring the whole time. Slender put his mask back on and took a good look at the tabaxi.
“Evalyn,” Lucienne demanded, and the older woman turned to smile at her. She had sharp vampiric fangs with an otherwise soft innocent face. “Please don’t charm the other guests. We’ve gone over this.” She massaged her temple. Shade snapped back to his normal self, putting extra distance between himself and Evalyn. “What are you doing out and about?”
“Have you seen Vesk? I haven’t seen him lately.” Evalyn climbed back into Zilla’s arms.
“I have no idea who that is,” Lucienne replied and looked at the others. They all shook their heads. She waited until Evalyn turned around and whispered that she was losing her mind.
“Oh, that’s okay dear, I’ll go check his room,” Evalyn said and began walking away.
Juno beckoned for the others to follow her, wanting to find out more about Vesk. Evalyn led them up the stairs and stopped outside of Alexander’s room. Zilla reached out to twist the knob of the door, but it was still locked. When it didn’t immediately budge, he pushed until the lock ripped through the old wood on the other side of the door. It fell forward with a thump.
The group followed Evalyn in as she started looking around. Juno stayed quiet as she held up Alexander’s sending stone and rubbed the rune. Was Evalyn’s friend dead, or was something else going on.
“Isn’t this–” Yore began.
“Alexander’s room? Yeah,” Juno said quietly. “Think the old woman is actually crazy?”
“She certainly gives off that energy,” Lucienne said and grabbed the hilt of her sword again. “I’m keeping an eye on her.”
Juno started looking around the room for any sort of clues as to who Alexander actually was. Yore followed her and picked up a bracelet off the old oak dresser. The 27 dark stones seemed to trap light in them. Yore held it up to get a closer look. Juno recognized it immediately and swiped it from his hands.
“Jadeth’s bracelet? She was missing this yesterday, but she never takes it off.” She looked down at the other jewelry and picked up the two rings as well. “These are hers, too.”
“Jadeth’s engaged to someone from the New Baharuth Empire? Huh. With how you were talking about her, I had assumed that you were…” Yore began, but Juno silenced him with a glare. “Ah, I see. There’s more to the story that I’m missing. I don’t suppose that’s also her bag?” He pointed at the brown rucksack in the corner of the room.
Juno opened it to see that most of my stuff was left untouched, but the scroll to Spike’s house was missing. That meant no magical mansion until they could find it.
Evalyn began yelling for Vesk suddenly, not finding any trace of him. Everyone covered their ears except the warforged. Zilla tilted his head down to stare at her. It may have been impossible for him to show emotion, but he was clearly just as annoyed as the others.
Yore cast a spell on the old woman, and she stopped yelling for a second. Zilla let out a hiss of steam in what could have been his version of a sigh. She turned to him and her cheeks flushed slightly.
“Oh, Zilla. It happened again,” she said quietly. “Can you assist me to the bathroom?”
The warforged helped her into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. It let out another breath of steam before grabbing a table and moving it in front of the door. It spun around and stared at the others.
“What’d you cast on her?” Slender asked Yore. The dwarf grinned.
“I made her shit her pants,” he answered proudly.
Juno pushed aside the potted palm in the corner of the room, finding metal tracks next to the bookshelf. She looked over her shoulder and called for the others to help her investigate. Matanza stepped into the room and joined up with Mole as Olaf, Yore, Shade and Slender investigated the bookshelf for a hidden lever.
After nearly clearing it of all its books, Olaf sighed and smashed Talon through it. It broke apart into wood and metal machinery, revealing a room on the other side. He stepped into it and found a couple of chests and a full room of fabrics and equipment to craft outfits.
Juno opened one of the chests, finding a jar of pickles inside of it. She tried to get it open, but the lid didn’t budge. She squinted at it, but stuck it in her bag to let Olaf try to open it later. Olaf ripped open the chest on the other side of the room and found a cape in it. He put it on, and it immediately began blowing like there was a strong gust of wind.
“Ah, Shade– Slender– how do I look?” Olaf flipped his hair back and gave them a toothy grin. Shade swatted at the flowing fabric a few times. Slender gave him a thumbs up.
There was a note cast aside on the table next to the chests. Juno picked it up to see that it listed all of Ashen Cabaret’s names as well as what magical items they had. A few of my items were crossed off next to the same misspelling of my name as before. The way the note was written almost seemed like I must have told him everything about you all. If I did, I apologize.
“Alexander, or Vesk, whatever his name is… He was trying to trick me,” Juno grumbled. “He charmed Jadeth into giving him this information. That’s why she was acting weird when she came to the tavern to get us. She wasn’t drunk. She was under a spell. He was going to steal our magical gear. He must have paid Rozug to kill us off when Jadeth disappeared so he could collect the loot.”
“At least now we know he’s no good.” Slender held up some of the fabrics and tilted his head. “You know, back when I was shifting into other people as a way to make ends meet, I had a room that sort of looked like this. All these fabrics and outfits remind me of that time of my life…” Slender trailed off and his pointed ears tucked back. “Wait. You don’t think this vampire guy is a changeling?”
The room went dead silent for a moment.
“That means he could be any of us!” Shade exclaimed and looked at Olaf pointedly. “Quick, say something only Olaf would say.”
“Uhh…” Olaf thought for a moment. “Ale?” Everyone else let out the breaths they were holding in.
“Yeah, that’s definitely Olaf,” Slender said.
The group headed back into the bedroom, and Yore asked if Matanza could cast a detection spell to make sure everyone was who they were supposed to be. Matanza used the spell and began investigating everyone for good and evil creatures.
They pointed at Talon and made a quiet peep. Olaf pulled his new cape over to hide the warpick. Then they pointed at Lucienne, who tilted her glassed up on her head and flashed her golden eyes. They pointed over to the door where Evalyn had disappeared to and peeped once more. Then, they paused for a moment like they were thinking, and finally they pointed at Mole and peeped.
All eyes shifted to Mole in an uncomfortable moment of silence. Olaf readied Talon and Shade pulled out his pens. Mole took a step back and raised their hands.
“Me? But–” Olaf tackled them to the ground, and they tried to squirm away. “This is crazy. I’m Molilios– I have the badge to prove it!”
Juno grabbed her amulet of thoughts and confirmed that Mole was in fact who they said they were. Which meant that perhaps they weren’t the fake paladin. Everyone turned around, but both Matanza and Lucienne had slipped out of the room while everyone was interrogating Mole.
Everyone ran out into the hallway with their weapons ready, but the two were nowhere to be seen. It seemed that they had found their killer, which just left the sound in the basement as the final thing to investigate.
Yore led the way down, and they discovered that the grinding sound they had heard was some mechanical fake walls being moved. A new room had opened up next to the cattle chamber– a mostly empty and freezing cold stone bedroom. A note was cast aside on the lone desk in the corner, addressed to Xaviox.
Yore pulled out the cipher he had gotten out of the demilich’s mouth and began to translate what the coded message said. As he finished, he turned to look back at the spell circle on the floor behind them.
“The activation phrase is ‘Forget-Me-Not.’” As soon as Yore said it, a glowing green trap appeared around the spell circle. It was powerful binding magic. Yore repeated the phrase, and it vanished. “The code says that it’s the only way to truly kill that lich we saw in the green chamber, Krosis. I think he made a pact, but with what, I’m not sure. Maybe this is what Lucienne was trying to get more information on from Xavi.”
“All this, and we still don’t know what happened to Jadeth,” Slender sighed. He made his way back into the cattle room and ran some fingers across the dried blood on the stone tile. “It looks like a trail, sort of. Like someone dragged a body that way, but it’s just a wall.” He walked over to it and scowled. “Olaf can I get a hand, or rather, can I get a Talon?”
“Say no more.” Olaf came running at the wall and jumped into the air to swipe Talon at it. He went right through it like nothing was there. Everyone looked at each other, then back at the wall. “Uh, you guys. I found your green chamber,” he shouted. “There’s a really ugly thing in here!”
Yore dispelled the magical wall, and sure enough, everyone was now staring down at the tentacled monster from before. It was the lich, Krosis. He growled at them, once more demanding that they leave, but a voice chuckled behind the group.
They turned and saw Alexander, but he shape-changed as they were looking at him to have pale white skin that matched the shard necklace he had around his throat.
“Well, well,” Vesk started. “I have to give you all credit. You’re a lot smarter than Jadeth had me believe. I hate to admit it. You learned my secret, you found Krosis, and now all that’s left is for you to die in this basement just like she did.” He extended his hand for necrotic magic to swirl around in his palm. “It didn’t have to end this way. You could have just killed off Lucienne and survived to fight another day. It seems you’re leaving me no choice.”
“Fuck that!” Olaf shouted and charged at him with Talon in a full blown rage. Right as he came close, Alexander vanished from sight. “Damn mages– where?” Something struck Olaf in the side and he grunted. A trail of blood shot out from his side, but he smiled. “Ah, there you are.” He swung Talon ferociously, causing Vesk to gasp as he retreated away from the group.
“Invisibility, huh? Well, two can play that game!” Slender called and casted his own spell to help Juno vanish.
She retreated deeper into the room with Krosis, and Yore and Mole both followed her. Mole called upon a gleaming light that glowed around them in a sudden bright flash. The tips of Junos arrows began glowing with divine energy.
Krosis floated closer and blasted a bolt of lightning through the group that sent everyone diving in different directions. Juno fired off an arrow that caught him in the shoulder, and his gaze turned towards where she was invisible.
“I trusted you, Alexander! You tricked me!” She yelled.
“Everything I offered to you was real. You just wouldn’t take it. We could have been immortal together! Then that idiot, Dorric, got in the way, kept trying to keep me away from you.” Vesk hissed, and Mole charged at him to strike him with their longsword. His invisibility dissipated, and his eyes grew wide. He stepped past Mole and began to approach Juno in spite of her invisibility. His eyes didn’t leave her face. “The tiefling said you were the smartest of your group, so I took a form she thought you’d like. The only thing I underestimated was how much you’d care for that murderer even after she was gone!”
Vesk charmed Lil’ Mole, and their eyes became distant. He asked them to drop their aura and heal him, and they looked like they were going to listen.
Shade ran at Krosis and jabbed his pens into his tentacles frantically. Olaf followed him over and drove Talon into the parasitic mouth on his chest. He lashed out at the two of them with his tentacles, then fired another bolt of lightning. Most of the team dodged out of the way that time– except Mole who was jolted back to reality.
Vesk hissed, seeing that his opportunity to win was growing more and more slim. He looked at Krosis, and the lich nodded to him. He nodded back and ran for the back of the room. Before he could escape, Yore blasted him with a fireball that exploded him into a cloud of dust.
However, that didn’t seem to be the end. The dust swirled around and flew out through the crevice in the cave wall. It seemed that Vesk had escaped this time.
Krosis wasn’t looking much better off, but instead of pulling him to the spell circle, Olaf rushed forward and smashed him with his spiked armor. Krosis wailed and fell to the floor. His body began to collapse in on itself until the only thing staring back at them was a parasitic worm. It made a tiny hiss, and then, before they had a chance to react, it vanished with a faint popping sound.
Matanza and Lucienne both stumbled into the room, free from their vampiric charm. Lucienne asked if the group managed to kill the vampire and the lich, but Yore shook his head since both creatures managed to escape. She cursed and slammed her fist into one of the nearby pillars, stating that she would need to keep looking for them.
Lucienne walked to the far side of the room and asked about the strange door next to the altar. Juno followed her to find the door to Spike’s magical mansion. She pushed Lucienne aside and swung the door open, terrified of what she’d find on the other side.
There I was, passed out in a pool of my own blood. Juno ran for me to check my pulse, but I was fine– well, fine is subjective. I had been in worse situations, we can put it that way. She yelled for Slender, and he used his magic to patch me up.
I woke up in Juno’s arms again; I really should stop waking up that way. Slender asked me what happened, and I told him about the changeling. He let me know that Vesk had escaped, and that made me feel a little sick. Especially after learning how he had toyed with my friends.
I was properly introduced to Yore and Lucienne on our way back upstairs. Evalyn and Zilla joined everyone outside in the thunderstorm as well. Yore seemed a little too eager to make my acquaintance, but it was sort of comforting compared to the cold glares Lucienne was offering me. I wondered if he was going to end up tagging along with us, but Lucienne was already interested in a job offer for him.
“Yore, you’ve proven yourself more than capable here,” she said as we walked outside the mansion to meet up with Liliana. “You need help finding out more about these temporal anomalies, and I need help tracking down Vesk and Krosis. Maybe we can help each other out? I’ll pay for whatever you need with Xavi’s funds. Doesn’t seem like he’ll be needing them anymore. I need to meet up with my cousin, and then we should be set to begin hunting for answers.”
Everyone on my team began exchanging concerned looks. I looked between them all, lost on what I missed.
“Oh, Lucienne… Ukko–” Juno was cut off by Slender.
“Ukko died fighting a huge blue dragon with us. He saved us all, and I have this egg to remember him by.” Slender acted out an epic swishing of a blade, then he pulled the dragon egg from his bag and held it out, feigning sadness. I looked between him and Lucienne, too stunned to say anything. She didn’t say anything at first, like she was still trying to process it. Was she really going to believe any of this? She couldn’t have been that stupid, could she?
“Ukko–” her voice was quiet. I took a few steps back, already having a very reasonable fear of demigods. Ukko was a menace when he was in a good mood, and I didn’t really care to see one upset. Juno elbowed Slender hard in the side. Lucienne kept herself composed, but she turned away and wiped a single tear from her eye. “Thank you. For telling me. Seems Yore and I can get right to work then.”
“You guys offering free food and housing? Mind if I tag along too?” Liliana asked, she then grinned at Olaf. “You could come too, handsome. We can become the best touring band this side of the Serpent’s Back.”
Olaf looked like he wanted to– like really looked like he wanted to, but he cited still having a job to do in Khem Dural. I was relieved he was staying with us. I would have really missed having him around. He was definitely the strongest of us, and he was easier to talk to than most of the others.
Instead of being sad, Liliana laughed and promised they’d meet up again. She took his hand and the two of them headed back into the mansion for another burst of passion and a parting gift. Liliana, apparently, made him into a wereboar too. Olaf promised her he would take good care of Cake, and she gave him one final kiss and told him she would write.
Lucienne approached me where I was hiding behind Slender and Juno. She was a lot taller than me and had an heir of authority to her that I knew I would never command. She slicked her asymmetrical blonde hair back and wrinkled her nose at me. Slender and Juno stepped aside to let her look me over. She pulled an intimidating black metal sword from her hip and angled it under my chin. I was glad my mask was hiding my face– I doubted I looked very intimidating under it at the moment.
“Jadeth, huh. I’ve heard a lot about you from my father,” I got the feeling I knew who she was talking about. There was no chance The Aeon had anything good to say about me. No wonder she looked like she wanted to gut me. “I’ll be in touch when we find anything about Vesk and Krosis. I’m sure you and your group want some closure too. Just try to stay alive? I hear that’s… difficult for you.”
Lucienne pulled her sword back swiftly, leaving a light scratch on my cheek that burned like nothing I had ever experienced. She regrouped with Yore and Liliana, but Yore stepped away from them and spun his staff around.
“One final thing. I think we all want to burn this place to the ground,” he said. Me, Slender, and Yore all took turns lighting different parts of the mansion ablaze. It would take a lot of fire to keep it lit through the rain, but we definitely supplied the inferno. Liliana backed the fireshow with the loud blare of her thunderlute while everyone else watched the mansion begin to crumble in on itself.
We bid farewell to Liliana, Yore, and Lucienne, and the three of them started down the road away from the mansion. Evalyn gave Matanza the stolen gauntlets before the two of them left as well. It was just Ashen Cabaret, together once again.
We started to make our way down the road, but we didn’t get very far when a figure dressed in all black emerged from the treeline. It didn’t seem hostile, but it was definitely approaching us with purpose. It came right up to Slender, but didn’t say anything.
“Uh, can I… Help you?” He stepped back towards the rest of us. The cloaked man reached into his bag and pulled out a letter. He offered it towards Slender. Slender was very hesitant to take it, and I understood his caution. We had just had a bad encounter with the fae. Whatever strange magic this was, it seemed just as suspicious.
He pulled out a dagger and ripped open the letter. He read it in silence, then handed it over to us with the softest expression I had ever seen him make.
“What?” I asked.
“You guys… I’m– I’m a father.” A tear ran down his cheek.
I snatched the letter and skimmed it. Feeling as though it could have been a ruse, although I suppose the bard had allegedly gotten into some mischief before we met up with him. It really felt like a ruse when she called Slender “beautiful.” We had seen him without his mask. Although, I guess as a changeling, he could have been the most handsome man in the world if he wanted to be. It read:
Dear Slender Bard,
I hope this letter finds you well. It has been two and a half years since we last saw each other, and much has happened in that time. I am writing to you today because I am in dire need of your help.
You do not know, But we have three beautiful children together, and I have been raising them alone in my manor on the edge of Nythlhone. However, recently, some thieves broke into our home and stole the fortune that I had amassed from my adventures before I met you. I was unable to stop them as I had to stay with the children in their rooms to keep them safe.
The loss of my wealth has been devastating, and I am struggling to provide for our children. I know that you have been successful in your trading business and have acquired a great deal of wealth. I am writing to ask if you could send some financial help so that I may continue to raise our children in the way that they deserve.
Our children are growing up quickly, and I am doing everything I can to give them a good life. They are smart, kind, and beautiful, just like you. I want to make sure that they have everything they need to thrive and succeed in this world.
I know that we only spent one night together before you left to resume your adventures, but I hope that you are the man I believe you to be and care for our children and want to see them grow up happy and healthy. I am not asking for much, just enough to provide for their basic needs.
Please consider my request, and let me know if you are able to help us. I will be forever grateful for any assistance you can provide.
Sincerely, Deanlyn
I scoffed as I passed it over to Juno. Slender? Paying child support? The very thought of it was hilarious, but to my shock, he reached into his coin purse and began counting out some funds. The strange courier watched him in silence. Maybe I had been wrong about him?
He passed a thousand gold over to the courier, and it took it before fading into the ground. Juno grabbed my arm.
“That thing… It didn’t have any thoughts,” she whispered. “What do you think it was?”
“A bad omen,” I muttered back. Nythlhone wasn’t far from Ravenspurn. If we were planning to go to Acheron any time in the near future to retrieve the medusa head for Argos, we may be near where Slender’s children were. Maybe we’d have to visit. I wanted to see these children of his.
For now, we just began heading back towards Port Battleborn. I was safe with my friends again, and we were about to purchase our boat. As much as I had trouble staying upright, I was excited to be back on the seas on our own ship. It would be nice to be able to take my hood and mask off for a while and feel the fresh seabreeze on my skin. Things were finally starting to look up.
I’ll write again, really soon,
Jadeth