Each of the keys is quite large, but Kay holds all of them with relative ease, fanned out in her paws. So far as Fred and Mia are concerned, the three metal tokens are largely identical. They hold superficial differences in precise shape, size and lustre, but the glowing colors, pink, blue and green are only visible to Kay herself.

"I don't get it. We have all of them. Isn't something supposed to happen?" Frederich asks.

"I suppose it would make sense to need to take them somewhere." Mia says, leaning closer to examine the three artifacts. This closer examination offers no further clues, however. So far as she can tell, they are simply bits of metal, like any other.

"What? Why? If they need to be somewhere, it should be the place the third one was found!" the male mouse grumbles.

"We've been over this... repeatedly." Kay sighs, closing her eyes, not that it helps much. Even though her eyelids, the three sources of light, plus one more are clearly visible to her. "There was no way to tell which would be obtained last. It would probably have still required a visit to one of the past locations, neither of which I'm eager to revisit. There's a new point of light now..."

"Do you think it will lead us to our goal?" Frederich asks, briefly excited before growing wary. "...or is it just another key hunt? You know, where one will lead to the next and so on?"

"It had better." Kay grumbles, rising to her feet. "I've already had more than enough of this."

The three continue, but despite Kay's insistence that she is fine, the other two clearly recognize her nearly exhausted state, not to mention the fact that while she may no longer have the crazed look in her eyes, she mercifully hadn't been in a far gone state with the healing being enough to help her regain her sense, the mark which not so long ago merely ringed her eyes has now covered a sizable portion of her body.

"Maybe we should rest for a bit." Mia says in an anxious voice, following up before Kay can raise her predictable objections. "...and maybe... wash up a little?"

That idea appeals considerably more to the naked mouse than the prospect of proper rest, as she steps into to a nearby alley in search of a puddle large enough to wash her fur with. As for Frederich, he wipes off his sword which, although damaged, thankfully was able to be retrieved largely intact from the collapsed dark lord before it had recovered. Still, he looks to it with a disappointed expression, but an observant eye will notice that he isn't really looking to the sword,, he was instead looking towards his own paw. As it so happens, for all her weaknesses, Mia tends to be a very observant type.

"Is something wrong? You're not hurt are you?" Mia asks. She, herself, is looking far from her best. Her lovely, dark fur is mattered and grayed, color similarly drained from her eyes. Whether an actual result of her overuse of magic, or simply an optical illusion due to her haggard state, she also looks thinner, older, like a completely different mouse, and certainly not a stronger one.

Frederich, of course, notices this, but feels no need to point it out. He's certain that the young sorceress is well aware of her weakened state. "No, don't worry, I'm not hurt." he says. This isn't entirely true, but isn't quite a lie, either. He's hurting all over, of course, but nothing that could be considered a proper injury. At least he doesn't think so.

"Well, that answers one question, but it leaves the other." The sorceress says, smiling weakly, resting her shaking paw onto his own.

"I guess I'm just mad at myself. You and Kay can do such amazing things and me? I'm still the same weakling that I always was." he says with a sigh.

"Aren't you the one that's always talking about experience levels, and how they are everything? You're the same level as I am, and, well, things might be different with someone like Kay, but that means we should both be equally strong, right?"

"Yeah, I thought so too, but it's clearly not the case. I couldn't do anything against that dark lord."

The now gray furred mouse smiles, "What, and I could? You held it off way longer than I did! Maybe that spell I cast was impressive looking, but in the end, all it did was practically kill me. Not only did you manage to actually cut the flesh of the creature, you were able to endure its attacks as well. That's something I couldn't even dream of doing."

"I guess." he says with a sigh, clearly unconvinced.

"Oh. I think I get it." Mia says, looking to the larger mouse in his now tattered armor.

"What?"

"Um... it's nothing. Forget I said anything." The sorceress looks away, her earlier shyness, which has diminished significantly in recent days, not entirely vanished.

"Come on, just say it." Frederich says. He's not entirely sure he wants to hear the next part, but knows that the smaller mouse is much smarter than himself, and her judgement is more than worthy of trust.

"Well.. I don't think the problem is that you're not strong enough. I think you've gotten plenty strong. The problem is that you dreamed of this for so long, and it used to be a distant goal and now, well... now you have it, and it turns out that, well... you're still you." she looks back to him with a soft smile. "Your ultimate goal was to become a better person, and yet as far as you're concerned, nothing has changed."

"Heh." he says, shaking his head, eyes closed. "So, no matter what I do, I'm still going to be me, huh? That's a depressing thought."

"It doesn't have to be. If you really want to change, you can. You just can't expect it to happen through gaining experience levels." she says, pausing at his still downcast expression. "There's another option, too, of course. A much easier one."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"You can always just accept that being you isn't such a bad thing. That while it's always good to try to improve yourself, to get stronger and to be someone that others can depend on, you can also still accept yourself for who you are: Not a legendary hero, just you, a very brave mouse who never gives up in the face of adversity."

He can't help but laugh at the words."Really? That's supposed to be the easier option?" he replies, but he can't help grin a little as well.

The sorceress gives the matter some thought before shaking her head and smiling back. ""No, I suppose you're right. That isn't so easy. Sometimes, accepting yourself for who you are, the good and the bad, can be the hardest thing that there is. Still, I've never taken 'Frederich the Mighty' as the type to back away from a challenge."

He sighs, shaking his head. "Damn, you just had to add that last part, didn't you? Guess I'll have to add that item to the list. I'm not happy about it, though."

"That's okay. I'm sure you'll get over it." the sorceress says, as she gives him a light pat to his armored shoulder.

From the entrance of the alley, Kay watches the pair with her own soft smile. Despite being very different people, it's nice to see how well they get along, how well they connect. Even as she watches, she feels a certain sting in her chest at the realization of just how long it's been since she's had a proper connection with anyone. How it's virtually certain that she never will again. She knows that, in more ways than one, her own journey is likely nearing its end, but theirs? Theirs is just beginning. It's a comforting sensation to know that something good might come of all of this, but that little sense of jealous longing refuses to go away. A part of the naked mouse wonders what she could have done differently, in the past both immediate and distant, but in truth, she can't really think of anything. She couldn't really have a deep connection with the pair. They live in a different world, and a much better one. One that is best left untainted by someone like her. While the twinge of jealousy remains, it is a small sensation, compared to her general sense of peace and tranquility. There is still some good in this world, and even if she isn't meant to be a part of it, it's still nice to know that it exists.

Her cleaning job went rather poorly, partially due to the fact that she only had a shallow puddle to work with, but considerably moreso due to the fact that her body is stained with far more than just blood. Her hands are calloused and discolored, and she reflexively tried to wash them clean over and over again, but they refused to regain their original pale complexion. The actual fur of her arms and shoulders hardly fares better, as while there are still clear traces of the white, far more of it is blackened red, often thin enough that the pale and even unhealthier looking flesh is visible underneath.

In truth, aside from the scale of the discoloration, this is hardly new. Her face had looked much the same for quite some time now, but one tends to lack a clear or frequent view of their own face. That's more of a problem for others who need to see it, and easily ignored when you're a less than sociable sort. While in constant clear view, however, it is impossible to not ignore, and the expanding numbness which spread down her arms made the flesh feel all the more foreign, alien and unclean. Eventually, she had to give up. It was clear that the curse mark, like so much else, wasn't something that could simply be washed away, and while she had recovered somewhat from when she had retrieved the third key, the pain, even if not quite as severe, remains, along with a coldness which flows throughout her entire body. It isn't quite hurting but it does offer an unpleasant and unnatural sensation nonetheless, as though a warning that, before long, this body would no longer be hers anymore. Whether that meant that she would die, or something far worse is anyones guess.

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"Ready to go?" Mia asks, looking up, approaching the naked mouse still standing at the mouth of the alleyway. She speaks nervously, both due to it being her default manner of speak and the fact that she had suggested this break in the first place, and felt rather strange about similarly suggesting it cease, as though it were somehow hypocritical. Still, she knows that both ideas, even if rather contradictory are entirely valid. Rest is required, but similarly, they can't afford to linger long, for a variety of reasons.

"Sure." Kay sighs, after taking one last effort to rub the discoloration from the fur of her wrists with her bare paws.

"I know it's been rough, but hey, we're almost done now!" Mia smiles.

"Maybe, maybe not." The naked mouse grumbles, looking down at her distorted reflection in a nearby puddle of rippling water. "We still don't know what 'done' means, either. I find it hard to believe there will be some great treasure or power to be found at the end of this, no matter how hard we worked. Things rarely tend to work out that way."

"You're probably right." The young sorceress nods. "There's a very good chance that whatever arranged... all of this, that it's less than benevolent. Even if not outright evil, it seems like it might have something to gain from this, and it's unlikely that these keys and whatever lies at the end are simple products of nature. Still, there's always a chance, right? It wouldn't be very fitting for a protagonist to just give up now, would it?"

Kay looks to the sorceress' grinning face with a frown. "Ugh, I forgot I had that ridiculous class name... thanks for the reminder."

"It's not so bad. Do you know what it means to be a protagonist?"

The naked mouse sighs, shaking her head. "I don't know... being super strong, beating the bad guys and saving the day?"

"No." Mia says before pausing. "Well... sometimes. Sometimes people are heroes because they're strong and brave and determined and actively work to right some injustice. Sometimes they start kingdoms, defeat mighty demons and completely change the world. More often, however? They're just ordinary mice, thrown into some awful situation that they never asked for. They don't have some grand destiny or brilliant mind or unbeatable combat prowess, they're just living their lives, doing what they think is right, and rising up to an occasion that was forced upon them."

"I don't see how that helps." Kay says, looking away from the gaze of the young sorceress.

"Maybe it doesn't. All it means is you don't have to do anything special, you just need to be you. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do, any of us can do, is simply making it through the day. Some mice forge destinies, some are just products of their times, but if you're a protagonist, well all that means is that you have a story worth telling. That something important is going to happen, if not to you, at least around you."

"That doesn't mean much. Lots of stories out there have unhappy endings." the older mouse sighs.

"Well, this one won't." Fred says, approaching from her other side. "Maybe me and Mia here aren't the brave protagonist, but if the world decides that it wants to kick you around some more, it's going to have to answer to us!"

The nameless mouse raises her head to object in her usual way, but feels little motivation to do so, even less than usual, especially after she looks to the smiling faces of her comrades, an infectious gesture which even she succumbs to, even if just slightly. She turns her gaze towards the pillar of blinding white light, but even as it stings her eyes, she refuses to look away.

"Yeah. It's time we finish this. If this leads us to another key, we'll get it, and if that leads us to another one, we'll get that too, as many times as it takes, but whoever is behind all of this had better realize that I'm in a seriously bad mood right now, and they're going to pay dearly if they dare try to make it worse."

Frederich sheathes his sword, and Mia nods, both following Kay towards the final pillar, deeper into the city, neither quite as confident as they had earlier let on, but similarly both determined to see this through to the end, one way or another. In a way, their journey is a short one. In a more accurate way, even as they essentially reach their goal, they find a long way left to go. All three lean backwards, staring up at the massive building.

"Um...I don't suppose it looks like the last target in on the ground floor?" Fred asks, hopefully.

"No, that would actually be sort of convenient, so of course that couldn't be the case." Kay sighs. Even her unnaturally enhanced eyes can't quite see the peak of the structure, but still, she just knows. "It's at the top."

"Okay, still, this is progress!" Mia chimes in, looking about. "So, how do we get up there? That wall looks pretty smooth. We might be able to find the occasional footholds, but I doubt they'll take us to the peak. Plus, if we get high enough, all it will take is a single gust of wind to send us plummeting to our deaths."

"There has to be a way. The Makers might be giants, but they're nowhere close to this size. They must have a way to get up there, and if so, maybe we can use the same approach?" Fred says, similarly looking about but seeing little. The width of the structure isn't trivial but not unmanageable, either. For sheer square distance, it is considerably smaller than the water treatment plant they had visited in search of the second artifact, the main issue is the height. It has the usual heavy metal doors, and at this late hour, it is highly unlikely any Makers will come by to open it, and even if they did, running in alongside them would leave them very much exposed. The option of finding some sort of crack or opening still existed, but in truth, they'd already been quite fortunate in that regard. Most mouse-sized entrances weren't simply lying around, and had to be made ones-self, usually over an extended period of time, and despite Kay putting on a relatively brave face, all thee of them know that time isn't a resource that they have in abundance.

It is only once Kay looks down, away from the light that she notices something unusual. Another light, mercifully tiny and just as mercifully close. She doesn't say a word, rushing along the brick wall to investigate it, rounding the corner to find the source.

"Did you find something?" Frederich asks, rushing in behind her.

"Yeah." The naked mouse nods, looking up at the door ahead. Simple wood with a metal knob, not unlike many she'd seen before within the city. The crack beneath it far too small to crawl under, and sealed tight, it doesn't appear any less impregnable than the front entrance. Still, right in the center of that round knob, halfway up the surface, the blue spark of light gleams enticingly.

Much to the surprise of her allies, Kay charges the wall, running up the surface as far as she can before taking a leap towards the knob. A jump that distance would normally be impossible, but as unpleasant as the curse mark may have been, it did occasionally have its advantages. All three keys still hung from a chain about her neck, dangling across her back, and as she awkwardly climbed atop the slippery metal surface, she withdrew a single artifact, one indistinguishable from the others so far as Mia and Frederich were concerned, but a specific one regardless. The treasure earned from the defeat of the rat king, and from up here, she can clearly see the small and unnaturally shaped hole glowing blue hole.

Things don't look good at first. While the tip of the key looked to be the right size, she just can't seem to get it to fit, leading her to worry that her original belief was mistaken. She turns it over several times between attempts, each effort a rather slow one, as she can't manage an easy angle from atop the knob, but eventually it slides into place, all the strange, irregular teeth vanishing leaving only the rounded base visible. Victory! She waits. And waits. And waits. Nothing happens.

"Oh, I think I know! It's a Maker's device... you know, like all the little pieces at the first shrine? They all have a specific purpose and go together a specific way. I'd seen a lot of others during our travels, too. They don't just go inside one another, because they'd just slip off. You need to turn them, and wrap them around one another!" Mia excitedly squeaks.

Kay isn't entirely convinced, but it's not like she has a better idea. Her efforts don't go any better than before, however. There is a little bit of give and a sense of it wriggling inside the hole, but it just doesn't want to turn. Maybe it's due to the fact that even her own enhanced strength is significantly less than a human, maybe it's due to a poorly maintained lock prone to sticking, or maybe, once again, the angle is hindering her. Knowing little about keys and locks, she decides on the third option. She climbs down, hanging from the metal key, avoiding looking down. It's not a lethal distance, but certainly an unpleasant one. Planting her footpaws to either side of the metal lock, she grips each side of the base of the key, grits her teeth and puts all her strength into turning it. The naked mouse nearly is thrown off by how suddenly the key base transitions from vertical to horizontal, as she hears the loud mechanical thunk sound. The added momentum does have another effect, however, turning the knob entirely. A fortunate side effect, as the three hadn't even considered turning the knob itself, not that it would have accomplished anything due to the lock. Still, they might have otherwise waited quite a while after the lock had come undone, having no idea of what to do next.

Kay slides down the trim of the partially opened door, retrieving the key before she does so. As she rejoins the others, she notices that the key-hole no longer glows blue, and is now simply a Maker's machine like any other. The key, however, still shines radiantly. The three nod to one another and step inside.

"What is this place?" Mia asks, looking about. Something about the aesthetics of this place reminds her of their last stop. An endless hallway ahead, countless doors but rather than the scent of dark lords, it's the scent of Makers. They could be heard as well, through the floors, through the walls. Most not being deliberately noisy, but they are noisy creatures by their very nature. There's a strange, uniform look to everything, the floors filthy, the walls discolored. Each and every single door identical, the whole place feeling plain and mechanical rather than lived in, despite the clear scent that humans had been living here for a very long time.

"It's a Makers shrine." Kay says. This may be the first time she'd been inside of one, proper, but during her life in the city has seen them a great deal. "I think I heard somewhere that around the kingdom, individual shrines tend to be a lot bigger? Each one of those doors leads to a huge chamber, where one or more of the Makers live."

"Yeah, I guess each one would be smaller than the buildings around the kingdom, but there's so many of them..." Frederich says, looking about, awestruck.

"Each one far larger than the entire city. Just an endless number of portals to an endless number of worlds, each housing an endless amount of treasures..." Mia says, swallowing. "And yet, there's something sad about this place. All those Makers crammed together like... like..."

"Like mice?" Frederich grins.

"Heh. Yeah." Mia smiles, shaking her head. "Like mice. I guess that's not so bad. I just expected something... more."

"This way." Kay says, largely ignoring the current conversation, her enhanced eyes looking forward. She runs ahead, the other two following behind them. The fact that they can sense the presence of so many Makers on the other side of the thin walls makes them hesitant to linger.