Arnold’s house was surprisingly modest for a captain of a Guild. It also needed a really good clean. While it had been abandoned for a little while due to his supposed death, and hence had likely already been ransacked by Tourin, it still could have been in a much tidier condition. But everyone had their own ways of living, and the large collection of carrier pigeons that Arnold had kept at the back of his house probably did contribute to the mess. The cages were mostly empty now, their doors having been carelessly left open, and those birds that had returned were quite happily making themselves at home in other areas of the building.
Myne woke up about an hour later, Velvet having already carried her down to the house so that at the least they could be away from the scene of devastation. Velvet had been consistently paranoid that Byron might strike again at any moment, staying on edge the entire time, but no attack had come. Following Myne’s collapse she had tried her healing magic on her lover, but there didn’t seem to be anything wrong, and the magic hadn’t had any effect on her. She had been left unable to do anything for her other than worry, so going to their original destination seemed like the best idea. Myne looked around quickly as she woke, still tense from the battle, relaxing a bit once she had sent her sensing magic out.
“He’s still on the far end of town,” she said, sinking her fangs into Velvet’s neck as she sat beside her.
“Divine,” Myne then purred, blood trickling down her lips as she pulled back, a contented smile on her face.
Velvet smiled in return, tenderly touching the bite marks as she then embraced Myne protectively. While she was used to the feeding it was still a strange sensation. But it made her feel closer to Myne, reaffirming that she was hers. While Myne could feed from anyone, she always chose to fed from Velvet when able.
“What happened to the blade’s energy?” she asked of Myne.
“It’s sleeping within me. Hiding almost. It hasn’t tried to merge with the Hellfire, not that I think it could, as my magic would likely consume it. Instead it seems to be using it as camouflage.”
“Any idea as to what it is?”
“It feels like a product of the Demon King’s blood magic. Not sure how I know that, it just feels that way.” Myne looked thoughtful. “It doesn’t seem hostile to me though.”
Velvet looked at Myne carefully, but she couldn’t see any chains on her. Hopefully it wasn’t in anyway bonded to the Demon King. Not that they knew anything about blood magic at all, beyond Lyrissa mentioning that the Demon King had used it during the last war.
“I’m so glad your okay,” Velvet murmured as she held her close again. She didn’t know what she’d do if anything serious happened to Myne, but the risk was always there given what they were involved in. After all, they were going to be facing the Demon King.
The did a quick search of the house, but as expected there wasn’t any hints as to Arnold’s current location. Not that they had expected any, nor was that they real purpose of their search. The presence of the carrier pigeons was also a bit confusing. While it was an effective method of communication and quite commonly used, there would be a lot more elaborate methods available for a Guild Captain. Granted he was semi-retired, so he would have been doing some of his work from home, but having to live with the mess that they create? Velvet couldn’t help cringe at the thought. There were also a lot of small circles inscribed on the floor and wall of the carrier pigeon rooms, but neither of them had any idea what they were for. Alice would know, as that was her thing, but she wasn’t with them at the moment.
“Is there anything here you can use?” Velvet asked.
“Plenty. But interestingly enough, the house itself is probably going to give me the best material.”
Velvet sat and watched as Myne focused on the residence, sending her magic around it and creating a signature for Arnold. With all the practice she had from creating the previous ones, she seemed to have picked up what the essence of the magic was and what was required, and Velvet marvelled at what she was currently doing. It was also an unusual aspect of a magic that was so heavily aspected towards destruction, but then you could argue that you do need some way of finding your prey. Myne smiled as a compass like object appeared in front of her, the needle pointing roughly in the direction of the capital.
“Bingo.”
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It didn’t take them long to determine Arnold’s location, which turned out to be in the vicinity of Adles Lock, one of the larger towns between Bluemoon and the capital. Collecting Alice, as she had been the one that he had been specifically asking for, they headed there, arriving discretely under the cover of night directly at his position. He had set himself up in a long abandoned mining settlement on the outskirts of the town, most likely what the town had been originally founded for, though its purpose had since changed. There hadn’t been any fuss from that point in getting to see him, as after all, he had been expecting them.
Arnold Crispwater was an interesting character, and certainly not at all what Velvet had expected of a Guild Captain. He looked more like an old farmer, with his loose fitting and weathered clothes, his build solid but well muscled, though still on the larger side as what you’d expect from a man with a healthy appetite. His hair was a silvery grey, not that he had a lot of it left, looking to be well over sixty, and he definitely could do with a shave. But then again his appearance did fit with what they had seen at his house. He had a very jovial demeanour, but behind that was the spark of a very clever intellect. Arnold had gotten his position not by money, but by knowing what to do, and being able to do it, even though his magic was just of the gem grade. Just, in this case, as while gem grades weren’t that common, there were a few Lattice Souls amongst the Guild leaders. Over the years he had built up a large network of contacts, and even when he had semi-retired he had still kept his finger on the pulse, so he was well aware of much that was going on, even if he couldn’t always effect it. While his capacity was currently reduced, given that he was meant to be dead and also not in his home, he was still quite well informed.
It ended up being Alice who did all the talking once she had introduced Velvet and Myne to him. While she only knew him in passing acquaintance, as she had not had much to do with the senior members of the Guild at Bluemoon, Arnold was a lot more familiar with her and her activities, and talked to her like she was an old friend. Everyone knew about the wedding it seemed, and while a lot of the people in the kingdom were excited about it, he was among the number that were not. He knew too much of what had been happening in the background over the years, and was very suspicious as to what the true intention behind it was. Not to mention that word was starting to leak to other kingdoms, and they certainly weren’t joyous about it either. Arnold was certain that Lady Knight Sylph had left the kingdom, and while she had been heading in the direction of the Empire of Nine Citadels, he wasn’t certain if that was her final destination. Both the Empire and the Southern Peaks would be concerned about what was happening in Avaraline given that they were the neighbouring kingdoms, but there had been no official word from either, and that in itself did not bode well. There would be no doubt that there would be corrupt factions in the Guilds and Clans of the other kingdoms, but were they as large as the ones here? That he had no idea. He did know that the Queen was in the process of sending out envoys to the other kingdoms, but their purpose had yet to be made known.
Arnold made it plain that in whatever battles lay ahead he wouldn’t be able to help. He was a Caster after all, and not suited to combat. He could send some men to help, but he was not willing to send them to their deaths for no reason. They would probably need to seek that kind of help from elsewhere. Intel on locations, people and events he may well be able to provide for them, given the appropriate amount of time, but it was all going to be quite tight, given that the wedding was just over three weeks away. As for the aftermath of it all however, that he could certainly help with. Defeating the Demon King would not be the end of it, but rather the beginning and where the real work started. On that Alice certainly agreed. Help like his would be invaluable, and she did trust him.
And that was the extent of the meeting. Velvet wasn’t quite sure if it had been worth doing straight away, as she was quite keen on attacking as soon as possible, while they knew that Byron was absent from the capital, and while the Demon King’s preparations were likely incomplete. Alice on the other hand was dead set on them waiting till they were fully prepared and knew as much as possible about what was ahead. They currently didn’t know where Zorthac was hiding, as where Kyla and Melody had run into the younger him had not matched where Melody had seen him previously. While the general area had been familiar, the specific location was not, and fighting under the city was a major disadvantage for Velvet. Nor did they know how they were going to be able to deal with his damage redirection, or even what its full extent was. Was it only useable if people were close, or could he target anyone in the city or wider? They needed as much information as they could get, and Arnold should be able to provide some of it. While Kyla and Melody might be able to make another trip in, no one was keen on having them do so at this stage. As for having a primal sneak in, there was as many risks as rewards for doing so, and the last thing they needed was for one of them to get wounded before the final fight when their power would be most needed.
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In fact a surface battle would work the best for them. While it did mean that the other Riders were likely to interfere, Velvet’s dragons would be able to take their full forms, and they had shown that they were more than capable to dealing with their smaller cousins. Myne would have plenty of space to use her powers, and they would have better knowledge of the terrain and layout, and hence dealing with the other Masks would be viable. They could also drop in at the last minute, and battle him on their terms, and not his. Yes, he would be well aware of this as well, so whoever prepared the best would have the edge. Fighting underground just had too many risks, and Zorthac would likely find them well before they found him.
That essentially meant that the best time to attack would be the wedding itself. To have any effect, the wedding had to be done in the public eye, and the more people that attended, the better. While the particulars of how the royal blessing worked weren’t known, it was common knowledge that the bigger the population the better, and ditto for the wedding itself. If the Demon King was going to leverage on that, then it would need to be performed on the surface at a minimum, and an open air wedding would be even better. If there was one thing that the Demon King was, that would be confident (and also evil, etc).
Given that, that would leave them time between now and then for now much needed training. Alice informed Velvet and Myne that while Lyrissa had died, she wasn’t dead. Sort of. Lyrissa had made a promise, and it was now time to make good on it, and she would do the best she could to teach them how to use their powers. The magics of the Primals were all very unique, but there were shared fundamentals between them all that she would be able to pass on. It was an edge, and they would need all that they could get. It was also enough to sway Velvet. They had three weeks to make the most of that they could. After that, it was all on.
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In a strange way the place was comforting. It was odd feeling for a city that was very foreign, almost void of life, floating in the sky a very long way from home, filled with its own assortment of dangers, and looked after by beings that she knew nothing about. But yet it was. To Kyla, Odinsphere was like another home for her, and it was good to be back.
Following their accidental run in with the Demon King it had taken Melody more than an hour to settle Kyla down, Kyla being distraught that she had almost gotten both of them killed. She had no idea how they had ended up there, Melody postulating that perhaps her fear of running into the Demon King had somehow influenced the destination of the rift, given that they were bonded by Kyla’s magic. Thinking about it, Kyla could see some truth to that even though she really had no clue at all as to how the magic actually worked. It would mean though that they would have to be even more careful when walking between locations. Lesson learnt, but at least they had survived that one, and they had come away with some vital intel that they may not have gotten otherwise.
Fang had requested that they return to Odinsphere. The battles in the capital had not gone as well as he would have liked, and as a result he was in need of repairs. The damage he had taken had been unexpected, given the material that he was crafted from, and meant that some of his weapons were unusable (at least that’s what he’d said. Kyla still had no idea what most of his weapons were or did). The environment had also rendered one of his other ones useless, and he was hoping that Engineer might be able to do something about that. He was a machine of war after all, so his pride had also probably taken a hit. Again what exactly he was, Kyla had no idea, but he certainly acted like a person and not a machine. Melody had tried asking him at one point about what actually made him tick, and if he had a soul, and he just ignored the questions. A mystery it remained.
The Walk to Odinshpere was without issue, Kyla’s rift opening up just outside the Ark. Melody just stood in awe, staring at everything around her, while Kyla felt some pride in that she had discovered it first. She knew it didn’t belong to her, that she was just an accepted visitor, but even so she did feel some form of claim to it. Which wasn’t all that surprising given that Fang now travelled with her.
“NEW LIFEFORM DETECTED.”
“PROCESSING...”
“RECOGNIZED AS PARTNER OF CF773-SN013 KYLA. CLASSIFIED AS FRIENDLY, DESIGNATION CF774 MELODY.”
‘Huh? What’s going on?’ That hadn’t happened last time she was here. In fact, Kyla had never heard that voice before at all.
‘That’s Mother. I’d say she’s welcoming your lover, in her own way,’ Fang replied.
‘How did she find out our names?’
‘I told her.’
‘I should have guessed. Not that it matters.’
“Oh. Wow.” Melody’s eyes lit up as they walked into the Ark, the massive array of magitech animals still filling it’s entirety. “You really weren’t kidding when you described this place.”
“It’s awesome, isn’t it?” Kyla replied with pride.
“That’d be an understatement.” Melody’s tail swished, reflecting her excitement.
Fang took them to the far side of the Ark, to what he called the Workshop. Instead of pedestals of unique animals, the workshop seemed to be just be an open space. Fang sat down, and Kyla jumped as a dozen spider-like creatures appeared out of the wall and started crawling all over him.
‘These ones belong to Engineer. They do repairs and modifications. A lot more technical than the housekeeping ones. Like all of us in the Ark, they’ve been asleep for a very long time, so I’m sure they’re happy to have something to do.’
‘Engineer’s approved your repairs then?’
‘Of course.’ Fang grinned.
‘On the other hand they are still discussing my requested upgrades. I think they’ll agree to them though.’
‘If you’re one of the more powerful ones here, why did you not already have the upgrades?” Kyla was curious.
Fang shrugged. ‘Some of it is still in beta stages.’
‘Huh?’
‘They haven’t been finished,’ Fang elaborated.
The spiders worked methodically over Fang, carefully removing the damaged plates as new ones appeared out of the wall nearby, to be put in their place. Kyla was having difficulty understanding exactly how they were managing to do so, their bodies so small and delicate. Yet manage they were.
“Am I allowed one?” Melody asked suddenly, as she gazed over the expanse of the Ark, her ears twitching in anticipation.
Kyla looked at Fang with a questioning gaze. While she had just taken him, he had given her permission. However, now that the minds of the Odinsphere were being openly active, it was probably wise to ask them first.
‘Mother approves. The upgrades have been approved as well.’
Kyla nodded to Melody.
‘That was quick.’ she commented back to Fang.
‘They will take a while to install though.’
Kyla took the hint.
Kyla and Melody walked around the ark, looking at all of the animals there. It almost seemed as if there were more there now than when she had last been there, but she had no way of confirming that, as she only had a rough recollection of her original exploration of the Ark, and she certainly hadn’t made a list of what had been present then. There were a lot of powerful and dangerous creatures amongst them, but they weren’t the ones that took Melody’s interest. Instead it seemed to be the smaller and more delicate ones that she spent the most time looking at. She was also being unusually quiet, likely because she too was still recovering from their brush with death.
“This one.” Melody reached out, lightly touching one of the creatures. “I’ve made my choice.”
The creature lit up as magic flowed into it from Melody, stretching its wings, and coming to life.
“We will call you... Vlad,” Melody then declared proudly.
“What is it?” Kyla asked. It looked like a cross between a cat and a bird. A bat was it? It was on the larger side of what Melody had been looking at, and while its body wasn’t that large, its wingspan was easily their height.
“It says that it is a Flying Fox. A species of Greater Bat,” Melody answered. Her tail was swishing back and forth, probably without her realising, as she was still getting used to her new form. At least it confirmed that she was indeed happy with her choice.
“Cute.”
‘Child? Can you hear me?’
Kyla jumped. What was with all this mental communication? It was also a voice that she hadn’t heard before.
‘I can... Can you? Who are you?’
‘I go by the name of Angel.’
She hadn’t heard that name before. ‘Who or what are you? That isn’t one of the names of the minds.’
‘Let’s just say that I am a guest here.’
‘Is that true Fang?’ Kyla asked of Fang. She was sure that he could hear the conversation. As strange, and even perhaps unsettling, as it was, Fang could sense any of her thoughts that related to him, or the Odinshpere.
‘It would appear so. That’s the first that I have heard of her, but Guardian confirms that she is a guest. She arrived when you first did.’
‘Oh.’
‘What is it that you want of me?’
‘I want to offer you aid. As it stands, you cannot defeat the Demon King when he has home advantage,’ Angel stated.
‘How do you know about him? He’s not here in the Outerlands.’
‘I know a lot of things.’
‘You’re not going to elaborate?’
‘No. I assure you tho, you can trust me. The minds here have at least.’
‘I don’t know that they had a choice.’ chimed in Fang. That didn’t help much, but it didn’t seem to be hostile from what she could tell, which admittedly wasn’t a lot.
‘What is this aid that you offer then?’ queried Kyla. Melody was oblivious to the conversation, engrossed in watching Vlad as he flew around the Ark.
‘For you and your bond mate, training in how to use your magic. For your companions, a message. Tell the Dawn that she needs to look at the matrix on Fang’s Mana Cannon.’
‘Dawn? Oh, you mean Velvet?’
‘Is that the name she goes by? Yes, Velvet, the host of the Dawn magic.’
‘More importantly though, how do you know about my magic?’
‘I gave it to you.’