The Aviary. Different from the Beastiary that Tamaki frequently helped out in, this location is made for tamed and domesticated messenger birds. In truth, there were several throughout the city, and nobles usually had their own private one as well, but they were going to the main one. It was close to the guild, which meant it was the one they mainly used, and it had the best variety of birds. The ones the guild typically used were the fastest and most reliable, which allowed them to send and recieve messages with incredible speed. The birds were almost impossible to intercept and shoot down, and even intercepting them at the Aviary would be difficult since three different sealed documents would come regularly from each other city, detailing correspondence successfully received as well as summarizing what they sent. If they did not get this summary at all, that would indicate an issue.
And yet despite all this, somehow these requests to find people had fallen through the cracks. That said, it was possible they were listed in the summary but were not noticed to be missing yet, since the requests themselves typically were not high priority for the guild. It was easy for them to be listed on the document but not be noticed. Unless they were marked and paid for as high priority, or if they gave a specific region, especially one filled with monsters. Then they would often be noticed.
That said, due to all the squaking, the Aviary was rather isolated. It was placed on top of another building, a civil servant building incidentally, and was fairly isolated. Perhaps unfortunate for civil servants, although their building was decently insulated, but they would always end up having squaking of birds near the windows, as well as bird poop often around the outside of their building.
Once the three of them had arrived at the building, the birds were already rather excited, which caused Atari and Bastion to start barking. Armiaas Rell looked around, and seemed a bit disaproving.
"The Aviary sure is acting up. Not sure how they can stand this place".
"There might be something wrong" Tamaki mentioned. "They are really bothered by something about this building".
Akano looked over at Tamaki. "You sure?"
"Positive. They are warning us that there is something wrong here".
Rell unfastened the sheeth of his sword as he heard this. "Lets progress carefully then. Lets take the back way up to, so we can avoid being noticed immediately".
Hearing the vice guildmaster's words, the group decided to take the long way around, but the three dogs of the group if you included Tamaki could sense something was wrong immediately. As two dogs, and a dog beastkin, enhanced by the power of the Starfall, they had a sense for this. Tamaki prepared his dagger and bow, and Akano had his staff ready, as they ascended the back steps.
"I can kinda feel it too. Something about this place is given me the creeps".
"YOu didn't notice this before?"
"I send H and G Rankers to pick up the mail, like any other guild. The higher ups are far too busy to pick it up themselves".
"So they probably didn't notice something seemed strange then".
As they were ascending the stairs, they eventually came to the reception counter of the Aviary. A man was there with a slightly creepy customer service smile.
"Hello and welcome to the Aviary! Are you here to pick up or drop off?"
"Pick up. It appears some requests didn't make it to the adventurer's guild regarding requests to look for people. Additionally, it seems our own were not recieved, so we are here to check ourselves".
"Oh. I am very sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, with the birds so agitated, I am afraid no one can enter unless they are an Aviarist right now. Please come back later".
It was a very calm and customer service like voice that replied, but something about it didn't sit right with Akano and Tamaki.
"Hey Tamaki, doesn't it kind of sound like one of those automated response machines for a phone?"
"I was thinking the same thing. It sounds exactly like that".
"I have no idea what you two are talking about, but we need to check on this ASAP. We can't just leave requests, even low priority requests, unattended. Where is your boss? I am Vice Guildmaster Rell, and I need to speak with your boss at once".
"I am sorry, but my boss is currently sick and resting. Unfortunately, no one with the authority you desire is currently available".
Bastian proceeded to run around the side, and began barking at the man from behind the counter. Tamaki went after him, and that was when he saw it. It was hard to spot immediately, but there was a vine coming out of the ground, going up behind his pants leg, and seemed to run right up to the spine and neck under the clothes.
"Guys...I don't think we are talking to the customer service guy".
"I am sorry, but it appears it is time for my legally mandated break. Good day".
At that moment, he lunched across the counter and grabbed Rell, screaming some sort of hideoous and violent screech. Something seemed to flicker, and in the next moment, he was gone. Tamaki and Akano both raised their weapons, and Rell already had his out.
"What the hell was that?!"
"I have no clue. I have never seen anything like it..." Rell muttered. "Looks like it gave up trying to hide itself from us though".
Tamaki then looked back the way they came, and spotted something disgusting looking on the ground. It was almost like a large pile of something pitch black, that was inbetween looking oily and mucasy. Obviously, it was very much disgusting.
"I wouldn't recommend trying to go back down that way".
"It must have established a Domain or Overlap. We are in its territory now...that is probably what that scream was. It wasn't that it disappeared, but we did".
"That fast? It was able to bring us all here in an instant?"
Akano found that hard to believe, but Rell just nodded.
"It would have taken a long time to set up, but yeah. If this is the case for our Aviary, when we are not even an important city unlike the merchant city to the north of us, or the far more major frontier city of Azralia...they probably have set this up in multiple spots across the region. That said, I doubt they were able to expend it much further. No way they could set this up in multiple major cities without anyone noticing".
"How long do you think it would have gone unnoticed if we hadn't arrived today?"
"Not long. Eventually it would have been noticed. Still, best we show caution".
Ciel was already ready, with a dagger in each hand. As the group advanced forward, the Aviary came into view. Right now, all of the birds were quietly watching them. Akano felt a bit disturbed.
"They really dropped the facade fast".
"They knew we already knew and wouldn't be tricked or dissuaded. They had no reason to hide, and instead decided to chip away at our psyche by creeping us out like this. They are trying to weaken us through psychological attacks now, before they attack us head on" Rell mentioned, as they reached a sort of entrance hall. The aviary might have had mostly glass windows, but it did have some parts that were a building proper, like the Beastiary.
As they pushed through the doors and entered the entrance hall, they came face to face with the severed head of Akano's mother, put on a spike. Akano flared up with rage, while Tamaki recoiled with shock, and Rell immediately cut through it instantly. The moment Rell did, it turned into a sort of black gas and disappeared.
"An illusion that invades the mind as well. How sickening".
"...that was an illusion? It seemed so real..."
"That was...horrifying".
Not only that, but when they were distracted with that, the doors had sealed shut behind them.
"This is a trap, isn't it?"
"Naturally. They want to maintain this as long as they can, so they plan on eliminating us here and now. I am sure they hope to keep this up for at least a bit longer. Although I must admit, I have no idea what could be the reason for this".
Akano pondered something. "Me and Tamaki thought some human trafficking organization was behind it, keep everyone isolated and find prime targets who are isolated, but this seems rather extreme for that".
Ciel nodded, clearly agreeing with that statement. The Guildmaster gave him a look.
"You know Ciel, if you see something major, you do have to speak up and describe it to us right?"
Ciel seemed alarmed by that. His face was hidden under the dark of his hood, but somehow from his body language alone Akano was perfectly able to imagine an exclamation mark and a question mark appearing right above his head.
Either way, the group of four people and two dogs continued forward. The entrance hall was eerily abandoned, and it looked like no one had cleaned up here in a long time. The group continued forward, and everyone felt a chill run down their spines. It was clear that something had gone horribly wrong here. As they pushed forward, it felt like each step they took was heavier, as if they were trudging through thick snow. The only one totally unaffected was Ciel, and Rell was only somewhat bothered by it. They went through the next doors, only to see a sort of large grandiose room. It had a spiral staircase in each corner of the room, located an equal distance away from the walls they were closest too. The middle of the room dropped down a bit, with steps bordering it one could walk down and up, although the incline was rather shallow in the first place. There was a second story to this room with rails and bannisters, and the walls were adorned with all sorts of bookshelves and filing cabinets. It also had various cubbies for other purposes. That said, everything was in a mess, and plants were starting to take over the room somehow.
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However, their eyes were fixed to a humanoid shape, sputtering something they couldn't make out or comprehend. It seemed to totally ignore them at first, but once all four of them entered the room it suddenly turned to them. A black mist covered it, with only its glowing red eyes visisble from them.
"Starfallen! You stole them!"
The shout put everyone on edge, for obvious reasons. The thing lunged at them with beast-like movements, its eyes bright and full of hunger. The fact that it had said Starfallen had caused Akano and Tamaki to freeze up for a moment, but Ciel jetted forward before they had frozen up even. Perhaps even before the shaded figure lunged at them. He drew his daggers and clashed with the shaded creatures shade claws, sparks flying as the two collided. Rell then move to the side and and tried to cut its head off, but the figure sensed the attack and hopped backwards to avoid it. It released some sort of black smog wherever it went, which Rell avoided so he couldn't give chase and follow up. Whatever it was, they all figured it wasn't anything good.
Ciel however ducked below it, running at it and slashing at it with both daggers in a flurry of blows. It deflected the attack, releasing a sort of smog from its mouth. And yet, a powerful wind seemed to sweep up the surroundings, capturing it all and sending it upwards as Ciel continued his attacks. Bastion released a fireball, while Atari grew in size and used its tail to blow away the smog that tried to creep towards them. The Shade avoided the fireball with even more speed then it avoided Ciel's attack, looking off balance for the first time. Ciel used that moment to cut through the smog surrounding it and stabbed it. As he did, his daggers erupted with light that rivaled the sun itself, blowing away the smog and shaded figure, who became a corpse that fell onto the ground.
"The hell...why does a D-Rank Kid have High Quality Solarite daggers?"
"Solarite?"
"Supposedly the stuff is a special metal that is soaked in sunlight on high mountains. It is said to absorb sunlight from its surroundings during the day, and then one can unleash it at night. They are weapons often used by Vampire slayers, but for it to shine that bright...that is high quality Solarite. They must drain lots of sunlight around him constantly to be able to emit a flash like that, and that was a directed flash. He actually directed the sunlight away from himself and purely into his enemy. They must be enchanted with something special. There is only one place you can get Solarite at all, and that is Mount Reilnar in the north. And High Quality Solarite is an especially rare acquisition. Those daggers would fetch a high enough price to afford a high quality inn for several years. At least a hundred gold coins".
That was alarming to them all. As they had been pinching pennies, Akano and Tamaki truly marveled at the weapons that were so far out of their reach it was mind boggling.
"Still, we cant stay here gawking. Its a good thing he has them, it looks like these things dont like bright light, especially when its focused like that".
"In that case, here, I have a spell that Granny taught me" Akano said, as he placed his hands on Rell's sword and Tamaki's weapons.
"From the grace of the gods, who bathed the world in the light of life. Let these objects glow with their brightly warmth. Solar Enchant".
Suddenly, their weapons began to glow, enriched within the light of the sun itself.
"Perfect. Now we can keep going".
"Fire might work well too. Bastion, make sure you can fireball them at a moments notice! It really tried to avoid your fireball fast!"
"Woof!"
And so, the trio pushed forward into the dark building. The entire place was creepy, but they had to clear the entire thing, and they all knew better then to split up in such a situation. Ciel seemed almost hypervigilant, as he turned his head so much it looked like it might twist around a full 360.
"Have you ever seen anything like these shaded people?"
"No. I have never heard of anything like this in all my years as an adventurer. Whatever they are, they are probably extremely dangerous, but also something caused by some magic that someone especially developed for this occasion. Be warned, if this is the work of a truly dangerous mage, we could be entering a very dangerous territory. However, this doesn't feel magic. More...supernatural. And different, almost alien. And I have been to Runecrest Forest".
Apparently, it didn't feel even remotely natural, even by his standards. Akano was a bit curious about this Runecrest Forest place, but that could wait for now.
Either way, they soon made their way into a large, central room of the place. This time, something new was there waiting for them. If the first was a figure shaded in smog or black mist or whatever, then this was just black mist and smog in a humanoid form. There were various gaps that could be seen through, where it was obvious that there was nothing physical under there. It was just black smog in a humanoid shape.
It turned to them again, and glared right at Akano and Tamaki.
"Starfallen! You thieves! You stole them!" it hissed violently.
"Alright, we clearly need to have a discussion about this later" Rell mentioned, as he took the lead. The figure began to walk towards them, but in the span of a blink it seemed to teleport a bit closer to them, and its walking looked distorted and wrong. As if it was a program bugging out. Rell tried to slash at it, but it teleported behind him the moment it did, and reached towards Akano and Tamaki. Ciel intercepted again, unleashing another beam of light. This time however, it dodged the beam, but it was pushed back. Tamaki then fired an arrow right into it, imbued with light, which seemed to harm it, while Bastion unleashed a fireball which it purposefully avoided. Rell had turned around by this point however, and he cut through it...only for it to reform right in front of them.
This spooked them all, which gave it the chance to grab Akano and Tamaki.
"Reclaim! The thieves shall pay! We shall reclaim!"
"Whatever you think we stole, we didn't steal it damnit!"
Bastion unleashed a fireball, forcing the shade to drop the two boys as it dodged. This time, Rell cut it straight down the center, while Ciel unleashed beams of light at it. Both attacks seemed to work this time, as it evaporated instantly...but some of the smog seemed to run off into a vent and disappeared.
"That thing seems far more resiliant then the shaded corpse".
"Its a straight up shade" Tamaki muttered. "But what the hell? Who does all this just to get back something stolen? What could even be stolen that was so valuable to do all this?"
"That is a good question, Starfallen" Rell mentioned, clearly acknowledging it this time.
"Can we get into this when our lives are not in peril?" Akano asked. Rell nodded, and the group shaped up.
"This isn't good though. This is clearly and blatently an issue that is far greater then we realized".
Ciel nodded to Rell's words, and the group decided to figure out where to go next.
"How do we break this spell and return to reality?"
"Typically, there should be a core or center to the spell. An Arcane Anchor, that anchors the spell to the world. For a spell this big, you would absolutely need at least one if not several. If I had to guess, we will find the central anchor within the Aviary proper. Destroying the central anchor should break the spell, however it will be the most heavily guarded...and it looks like that fight drew some unwanted attention".
As he said that, several shaded corpses began to emerge in the rooms around them. They were already rushing right at them in a beast like state, clearly intending to capture or kill them. Rell cleaved through a few with his sword, while Ciel darted around to get various targets in rapid succession. Akano meanwhile used holy power to charge up his staff, releasing a beam of light that the Shaded were having absolutely none of, as they bent themselves in weird angles to avoid. This left them vulnerable to rapid attacks from Ciel and arrows from Tamaki however, as well as the occasional fireball from Bastion. It was finally revealed why they went out of their way to avoid fire, as the moment the corpse was lit up, the fire weakened the other shaded bodies around as well. It didn't quite kill it yet, but it left a whole lot of them weaker from being near the burning light. Even though they might has well have been clad in thick yet translucent smoke, fire was not their friend.
Furthermore, when they were on fire, any weapon attack, imbued with light or not, worked on it. Their best defense was basically negated. While light was clearly more effective at ending them, fire was not bad either. After all, a single hit from Akano's light beam or Ciel's Solarite daggers were enough to essentially turn them to ash.
Had they been up against normal adventurers, they would have undoubtedly won. But Akano was a Shrine Maiden, Bastion was a fireball shooting dog, and Ciel had crazy expensive Solarite daggers. There was also the fact that Ciel was a vampire, but among those there, Ciel was the only one that knew that. This meant though that his reflexes and strength were beyond the norm, even if he was hiding it from the others.
It did not take long for the entire group to be defeated, although it had been rather grueling. After all, even if they were well set up to face them, these things were still ridiculously fast and strong. Still, there was a possibility they might reform if they just sat around there, or that more Shades would appear, so they had to push forward. Charging through the dark, they quickly made their way into the Aviary proper. All sorts of dark birds watched them, their eyes clearly hungry. And at the center of everything, there was a strange, floating black crystal radiating a dark aura. It seemed almost protected by it.
Furthermore, there was a figure there. It was a Shade, but it was different. It was wearing a dark robe, and a skeletal translucent face was visible underneath. It was also floating in the air next to the crystal, watching them from above. It made no move to communicate, but instead just glared at them with glowing red eyes. It flickered in and out of existence occasionally, much like the other Shade they encountered.
It raised its hand, and spoke words that not one of them could understand or hear. Yet in the next moment, Akano and Tamaki fell to their hands and kness in extreme pain. A voice spoke inside of their head with fragmented orders. Atari as well collapsed onto the ground, unable to resist the power at all.
"Obey me. Kill the other two. Serve".
Something inside of them raged forth, demanding they compliantly obey with all commands. The very power of it was greater then any other time Compliance had been triggered by sheer magnitudes. Already, despite their resistance, they could feel themselves preparing to attack Rell and Ciel from behind. Ciel noticed the oddity first, and rushed towards the Shaded Mage. His daggers radiated with sunlight, as he went to strike at the creature. And yet, the creature just held its hand out, and suddenly Ciel was frozen in the air, unable to fall or move in any way. He wasn't petrified or anything however, as he could still move his hands and legs, but it was like his body was locked into that space.
Rell however had already moved behind it and brought his large sword down upon the creature. It raised out its other hand, and the sword this time was what was frozen in the air. It was unmoving, even after Rell let go of it, it remained still within the air. Locked in place.
However, that was when Ciel raised out a palm towards it. At the same time, the very shadows underneath it began to try and consume the creature. This finally seemed to alarm it, forcing it to break its concentration and freeing its hold on Akano and Tamaki, who had been about to attack their allies.
"Whew...that was too close".
"Bastian, Atari, attack that thing!"
Tamaki released an arrow of light, while Akano released a beam of light. FInally the creature raised a sort of shaded barrier to block the attack, but the moment it did, it lost its hold on Ciel, who came right towards it with his solar charged daggers. It got in several slashes, harming the creature as it howled, but not defeating it as easily as the other shades and shaded creatures. It raised its hand again, and Ciel was lifted into the air again and locked there once more. Clearly, it was most wary of Ciel, who seemed to hit all of this things weaknesses.
Two more Shades appeared behind it though, joining the attack. Ciel manipulated the shadows once more, having shadowed tendrils rise up and grab them, pulling them into a dark abyss. They tried to escape, but their teleportation abilities did not work while restrained by the tendrils. The Skeletal shade sent a ball of red energy right at Ciel, but Ciel just swatted it away with the back of his hand.
Noticably, even the Greater Shade looked almost perturbed and freaked out by such a thing.
Unfortunately for it, such a move had freed Rell's sword, which he now grabbed and used to cut through the Shades. Apparently while restrained, a single slash was enough to wipe them out, as they were turned to dust instantly. It glared at Ciel, before raising its hand and snapping its fingers.
In the next moment, the Hooded Shade...or rather, the Greater Shade, teleported away. Clearly, it had no desire to continue this fight. It had forseen its own defeat, and instead decided to escape to terrorize them another day. Rell and Ciel immediately turned the anchor to smithereens, which suddenly released the spell. The air became brighter and fresher, and the birds returned to normal. They found themselves standing inside of the Aviary, which was now back to normal...or rather, they had returned to normal space.
"What the fuck was that..." Rell muttered. "One wrong move, and we could have all died...and Ciel, how the hell did you backhand that attack away?!"
Ciel just made an X with his arms, probably indicating he had no intention of telling.
"...And you two, what is this about Starfallen?"
"Ummmm..."
"...its kind of a long story..."
"Talk. Now. We have time".
The moment Rell said this, bird poop landed on his shoulder.
"...okay fine, we can leave the Aviary first".
"Thats probably for the best" Tamaki said, as he was already being swarmed by birds vying for his attention. In that moment, Akano thought he heard the giggle of a young boy when he gazed upon the scene, but all he could see was Ciel.
Was that his voice just now?
With that question, the group decided to move elsewhere in order to continue this conversation in a more peaceful and less dropping filled environment.