Cobalt stood with his back flat against the cliff face, eyes wide with fear as the edge of the path crumbled away into the abyss below. Harsh mountain winds threatened to topple him over, and the ground underfoot was covered in slippery scree. Gritting his teeth, he sidled along the rocky wall, trying his hardest not to look down.
"Come on, Mista Traya!" Lottie called from up ahead, sitting cross-legged upon a rock.
He swallowed hard. It had been a rough climb from the get-go, and he had almost fallen more than a few times. There were rips in his shirt from where it had gotten caught on rocky outcrops, and his knees were covered in dirt.
Lottie, on the other hand, took to mountaineering as a fish took to water. She hopped gracefully from one rock to another like a mountain goat, having seemingly memorised where to put her weight and where to avoid standing. It was honestly rather jarring seeing such a usually-clumsy girl act so gracefully. The path itself was downright ancient, having fallen away in places and repaired using only wooden planks and poles. Yet she carried merrily on at a steady pace, even as the route they took grew steeper and less accommodating.
"I- I'm coming, Lottie. It's just I'm not great with heights," he called, feeling the sweat run down his back as another gust of wind buffeted him.
"It's okay! We're only halfway!"
They had been climbing for what felt like hours and they were only halfway there?!
The Incubus blanched and looked out over the cliff edge. Far below, the countryside was spread out before him like a map. The town of Slomba sprawled out chaotically across the foothills with the rail line leading back west along the ridge, as well as the various fields and paddocks dotted around the stony landscape. In the distance he could see remnants of old ruins, but as his balance began to wave, he shut his eyes and focused on maneuvering himself along the edge.
"Makes you wish your wings worked, huh?" spoke Lilith, prompting him to clench his teeth tighter.
Of course Cobalt was painfully aware of how vestigial his wings were, but he didn't much enjoy being reminded of that fact.
"I told you to be quiet..." he murmured, the wind whipping his voice away.
"Just ditch the ditz already. This is a waste of time."
"Absolutely not. I told you, I'm going to help her."
"And what is it exactly that you're helping her with...?"
He shook his head. He was not reopening this argument.
That being said... he was getting a little tired of being left in the dark, and what Malcolm had told him didn't sit well. With a heavy sigh, the Incubus finally reached solid ground and collapsed to his knees, clinging to a large rock for support. Lottie applauded him and reached into her satchel, retrieving two paper packages.
"Yay~! Here you go!" the Golem announced joyfully, pushing it into his face.
Thanking her breathlessly, the Incubus sat against the rock and unwrapped the package, his face falling upon seeing that it contained what appeared to be a loaf of bread.
"Lottie?" he asked, looking up at her.
The Golem sat on the rock above him, showering her teacher in breadcrumbs as she tore into her lunch. Eyes wide, she peered down at him, her cowlick waving in the wind.
"Mm?"
"I'm getting a little worried. I'm willing to help you with whatever you need, but I don't like getting kept in the dark like this. Really, what is it that you need me for?" he asked, picking at the loaf.
Lottie frowned and wiped her mouth, her face screwed up with concentration.
"Um..." she began, trying to find her words.
Putting her bread down, the Golem looked out to the edge of the mountain.
"My family lives here. Me and Mummy and Daddy and my auntie and my other auntie and sometimes my cousin and my granny. And lots other families too. At the very tippy top," she explained, craning her neck to look up at the mountain peak.
Cobalt took an experimental bite of his bread, only to discreetly spit it out as the taste of ash filled his mouth.
"I gathered as much," he said, setting it aside.
"Everyone's very nice. They taught me how to speak to Sandy."
The Sandlady. Cobalt had only ever encountered her once, but it was something that occupied his mind often whenever he thought about Lottie. Just what was it, exactly? Was the Sandlady still Lottie, but a different part of her? Or was it something else entirely?
"Sandy's nice too. She said that we do things differently to everyone else, but we still do them because it's addition."
"Tradition," Cobalt corrected.
"Yah, that. And there's something I've been wanting to do for a long time, so I have to go home to do it."
The Incubus looked back at Lottie. She had a strange, nervous glint in her eye. All of her happy-go-lucky charm was briefly overcome by uncertainty.
"What is it?" he asked carefully.
Taking a deep breath, the Golem stared out into the distance.
"I gotta find a rock," she announced in a resolute tone, more to herself than to Cobalt.
He stared blankly at her.
"... I'm sorry?"
"Let's go, Mista Traya!"
Jumping off the rock, the Golem flashed him a bright grin before taking off up the path, her hooves kicking up the gravel behind her. Now more confused than ever, the Incubus just left his bread for the birds and ran after her, hoping that the second half of the climb would be less daunting than the first.
At this point, the Incubus was well-used to jinxing himself whenever he got his hopes up about anything, but this time he was surprised to find out that he was right. The poorly-maintained pathway soon gave way to steps neatly cut into the rock, easing the pressure off his poor ankles. With even footing, their pace greatly improved, and before long the pair reached an altitude where snow began to blanket their surroundings. The sun provided a little warmth upon his back, but with every step he took, Cobalt began feeling colder and colder.
One problem for another, he figured.
"My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandad made these!" Lottie explained gleefully, pointing to the steps underfoot.
"G- Good to know, Lottie," Cobalt responded, rubbing his arms.
Noticing her shivering teacher, the Golem rooted through her satchel and pulled out a woolen coat, handing it to him with a smile.
"It's okay, we're nearly there," she said softly.
He accepted the coat with a weary nod, too cold to argue.
The steps seemed to wind all the way around the mountain, and the higher they climbed, the more decorative they became. Cobalt began to notice carvings etched into the stonework, and decorative pillars began to line their path, each topped with a blazing brazier. They carried on in comfortable silence, which was occasionally broken up by unneeded comments from Lilith.
At last, with the sun beginning its descent overhead, the pair arrived at the peak of Mount Musoito.
At first glance, it looked like a fortress. Huge slabs of granite stood upright in a circle around the tip of the mountain, forming a massive perimeter wall around the monastery that housed the Sunmos Sect, each covered in countless passages etched in ancient Tongues. Smoke from cooking fires and torches rose from beyond them, but they were so tall that he couldn't even begin to imagine what lay beyond. Lottie grabbed his arm and jogged it excitedly, pointing to a set of doors cut into the frontmost section of the wall.
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"There! That's the entrance chamber!"
She didn't give him any time to reply, as she latched onto the the sleeve of his coat and dragged him through the door into some kind of antechamber. The ground beneath his feet was comprised of hard-packed earth, and the walls were lined with statues clutching bowls of burning oil, filling the chamber with dancing firelight. A single Golem stood before the great stone doors that lead into the monastery, quietly humming to herself as she swept the floor. She was wearing simple fur-lined robes and a granite necklace, reminding the Incubus of how Lottie's parents dressed whenever they attended the PTM last year.
Letting go of the Incubus' arm, Lottie rushed forward, arms spread out wide.
"AUNTIE BESSA~!"
The Golem looked up, eyes wide behind a pair of half-moon spectacles. Dropping her broom, she opened her arms wide to accept Lottie's hug.
"Ah! Charlotte, you're back! What a surprise!" the matronly Golem laughs, hugging her niece tightly.
"Yah! I'm here to..."
Lottie leaned in close to whisper something into Bessa's ear. Her aunt held a hand to her mouth and nodded slowly, raising both eyebrows.
"Oh, I see. My, you have grown, haven't you?"
Trotting back over to Cobalt's side, Lottie took his arm again and hopped up and down.
"Look, Auntie Bessa! This is Mista Traya!" she cried excitedly.
With a gentle smile, Bessa trotted up to Cobalt and gave him a respectful bow.
"Ah, Cobalt Traya, we've heard a lot about you. You all have our utmost thanks for keeping Lottie safe," she said in a soft, kindly voice.
Nervously scratching the back of his neck, the Incubus just returned her smile.
"It's nothing, really. I'm just her teacher, so..."
"I imagine she hasn't really explained much, has she?"
The Incubus shook his head.
"Well, you'll be glad to know that Charlotte has brought you here to bear witness to a celebration. It's a very high honour, especially for the Rotainmos," she explained, hands clasped before her.
Cobalt raised an eyebrow. A celebration?
"I thought you said you were here to find a rock?" he said, glancing down at his student.
"It's a Sunmos ritual, so it'll require a symbolic icon, that being a stone handpicked by the Rotainmos. It's a little hard to explain to outsiders," Bessa sighed.
He shook his head.
"No no, I understand. I was raised with Fesserites, so I know a thing or two about complicated rituals."
She laughed at that before nodding to her niece, who let go of Cobalt's arm and took up a position by the doors.
"That's good to hear. So I hope you'll understand when I say there's something of a, um... trial for outsiders."
"Sorry?"
"I- It's nothing dangerous! Usually, anyway!" Bessa quickly added, waving her hands.
A little alarmed, the Incubus glanced back at Lottie, only to find that she had fallen asleep right where she stood.
"Before we can let anyone into the monastery, I'm afraid they must first be judged by the Sandlady. I assume you know about her...?"
Cobalt swallowed hard. The last time he came face to face with the Sandlady, she tried to choke him. She nearly succeeded, too.
But he was here for Lottie's sake, so taking a deep breath, the Incubus nodded resolutely.
"Very well. I'll leave you two alone while I go get Charlotte's dress ready. It was lovely to meet you, Cobalt Traya."
With that, Lottie's aunt bowed one more and trotted up to the doors. One of them opened ever-so-slightly, just enough for her to squeeze through to the other side. Alone with his slumbering student, Cobalt just watched her, his legs shaking a little. It was silent, save for the crackling of the braziers and Lottie's gentle snores.
All of a sudden, Lottie's posture straightened as her face darkened. Her eyes slid open, their glazed glint hinting that Cobalt was no longer facing his student. She sighed and cracked her neck, muttering beneath her breath in fluent Tongues.
The Incubus cleared his throat. He had to get her approval if he wanted to be Lottie's witness to... whatever it was she was going to do.
"M- Munob et erediv mureti," he said aloud, hoping that a polite greeting would be a good place to start.
The Sandlady fixed him with a piercing stare. It was so bizarre seeing Lottie behave like this.
"Oge inimem et," she replied, her voice low and serious.
Well she remembered him, at least.
"What the fuck...? What's with the split-personality?" Lilith muttered in the back of his mind.
"I don't think it's that. I think this is still Lottie, just a... different side of her," Cobalt murmured beneath his breath so as not to arouse the Sandlady's suspicion.
"I thought Lust demons were supposed to be masters of the mind."
"I'm not a psychologist, okay? Lottie's a conduit for her people's deity, let's just leave it at that."
"Sicid diuq?" the Sandlady asked aloud, narrowing her gaze.
"L- Lihin!" Cobalt lied.
She scrutinised him with a suspicious glare, slowly circling the chamber as she inspected the Incubus.
"... Cis siv mutcnas muem erartni. Erauq?" she asked, clasping her hands behind her back.
Why did he want to enter? He wanted to bear witness to whatever Lottie needed him to bear witness to, though he wasn't sure how he would word that. Tongues was a fickle language.
"Olov muilixua Lottie," he answered simply.
The Sandlady scoffed.
"Mauq silibon. Ensebah seriv da mudneicaf?" the Golem deity asked, raising an eyebrow.
Cobalt's heart lurched. Had he the strength? To what? To stand by his students? His friends?
He grit his teeth and nodded as confidently as he could. The Sandlady's eyes briefly widened, as though she wasn't expecting him to confirm. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes.
"Lottie te oge munu te medi tnus. Ae mutlum tse da em. Is erev tis douq sicid..."
They snapped open, gleaming dangerously in the firelight.
"... CNUT ERABORP MAE!" roared the Sandlady, raising a fist.
Cobalt staggered back, startled by her sudden outburst. She wanted him to prove himself? How exactly?
Before he could say anything, however, the Incubus was provided with an answer of sorts.
"Ocov et! Amra ilobaid!"
Dust and stones began to circulate around the Sandlady's arm, forming into the shape of a large Granite Shield. It was edged with rough diamonds.
Eyes wide, Cobalt raised his hands. She wanted him to fight her?!
"Arret! Murtsac!"
The dust storm intensified, causing a miasma of rocks and stones to swirl around her entire body. The Incubus was forced to shield his eyes as a large rocky plate formed upon her chest. More pieces jutted forth from it, gradually forming a shell of stone around the Golem's body. They were shaped into well-formed pieces of armour; pauldrons, greaves, gauntlets... like a knight from Cobalt's history books. Jagged diamonds formed along the edges of each individual chunk of stone, and by the time the Sandlady's head was encapsulated in an intimidating great helm, the Incubus felt ready to fall to his knees.
"W- Wait...!" he squeaked, raising his hands.
The stone knight pointed at him.
"Etamra et!" barked the Sandlady, demanding he bare his arms.
Cobalt swallowed hard.
This was not good.
-----
Bestimorphosis was a tricky thing. Quinn was taught in her Applied Demonics classes that while most of the process was magical, it still put a lot of strain on the body. As a result, she was taught not to remain transformed for too long, otherwise she might start suffering adverse effects. The Imp never really paid much heed to those warnings.
Well she was certainly beginning to feel those adverse effects. Her wings screamed in pain as her heart strained within her avian chest, and with every panicked heartbeat her wounded eye would throb. But Quinn kept focused, ignoring it all as she followed the railway line far below. She had been flying for hours, and could see a mountain range up ahead. A town was built amongst the foothills. Slomba.
Lottie had to be there.
Spying an outlying road at the edge of the town, the transformed Imp swooped low and readied herself for the landing. However her heart suddenly twinged painfully, causing the transformation to wear off mid-flight. In a flash of reddish mist and black feathers, the Imp returned to her regular body as she descended, prompting her to scream as she crash-landed against the dusty road.
"AH FUCK!" Quinn cried, tumbling to a stop.
As the dust settled, the Imp took a moment to let the pain wash over her, wincing as her cuts stung and her chest burned. Something was definitely wrong with her; her entire body was shaking from the cold and sweating from the heat.
But she didn't have time to worry about herself.
"Gah... on your feet, you dozy bint..." the Imp grunted, limply hauling herself to her feet with the help of a nearby fencepost.
She heard someone grunt over to her left. Her usable eye widening, she whipped around to see a grizzled Golem standing by a paddock full of cows. He was dressed like a farmer.
"First a Devil slayer and now it's raining Imps. Hell of a day," the man grunted, folding his arms.
"You! What did you say?!" Quinn cried, clutching her throbbing chest.
"Was talking to myself."
"Did you say Devil slayer? Incubus?! Blue skin and all that?! Was he with a-?!"
The farmer raised his hands.
"Slow down. I've dealt with enough strangers today. If you're looking for someone, go find them yourself," he grumbled, doffing his hat.
He lurched off towards a nearby hat, complaining beneath his breath. Bearing her teeth, Quinn gave him a middle finger as she looked around frantically. There was nobody else around, save for the shaggy cows in the paddock.
Wait.
"Oi!" the Imp called, hobbling over to the fence.
She climbed over it, nearly slipping in the mud as the cows all looked up from their feed troughs. Cows were usually gossips; they would have had to have seen something.
Quinn frantically swiped through her phone and presented them each with the picture of Lottie.
"Any of you girls seen her?" she asked, struggling to catch her breath.
The cows began to murmur, surrounding the Imp. A few of them mooed excitedly.
"You know her?!"
They responded affirmatively.
"Well where is she?!"
One of the cows - her lengthy horns identifying her as the eldest - stepped forward and began to explain how they had met with Lottie just a few hours ago before she and her blue companion headed off in the direction of the mountain.
"The mountain? What...?"
The cow mooed again, prompting Quinn's eyes to widen.
There was a monastery at the very peak, and Lottie was headed there with Cobalt. But why...?
"Right... Right! Thanks girls!"
Vaulting the fence again, the Imp gazed up at the tallest mountain in the range. It looked as though it would take a couple of hours to scale, so Quinn had no chance of catching up if she tried to climb it by herself.
But if she flew...
"Agh..." the Imp grunted, feeling her heart twinge once more.
Could her body take it? She already felt like total shit.
No. Lottie came first. It was Quinn's responsibility to make sure she was safe. Because she...
Well...
She...
"Agh! Itcaf aitseb!" she yelled, cracking her aching knuckles.
As red magic began to swirl, she narrowed her eyes at the peak of the mountain.
"Suvroc!"