Frolf [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMSnHBILTI9Xpz1Hkh9ADkIX1XDvo5GTHjBOVCYZM1vb4FChnmcM0At4dsmTbbGxBMNLGYS7wlOln-xbDVE-mTHPgFM9qTPxgy1hXY5-WZ4nrcawALSebI33YEWzpKvmm4XqV6crMBbVGAmFVux8Fhx=w639-h958-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
“Look, we have permission now to go in and ask questions,” Phoenix said, trying to convince her brother not to waste any of the two days they had to investigate, “There’s still an hour before we’re going to meet up with Everin and Camilla back here which should be plenty of time to get some initial information then return with Everin if we need to.”
“Would he even be allowed to help us on a mission without being an official party member yet?” Rayna asked as they were discussing the newest task among the garden atop the Wayland Estate.
They had decided to use this location to portal to for more casual discussions rather than the street outside the AOA building they would normally be at. Even little things like this were becoming a headache for them and Phoenix was feeling ready to leave just as much as everyone else seemed to be.
“I believe he’s working a different mission at the moment, but if he’s done with that already, I don’t think there would be anything preventing him from assisting,” Dazien replied thoughtfully, “It’s part of what I was going to discuss with him later. We should just wait and see what he has to say.”
“But—”
“No, Phoenix,” he interjected firmly, and she scrunched her nose at the interruption, “I’m putting my foot down on this one. One hour isn’t going to make such a difference that we can’t play this smarter. These people are supposedly strong enough to kidnap Casters off the streets. Do you want to risk any of our lives by going in too rashly when we have an Emerald willing to help us?”
“Well, when you put it like that, no,” she admitted. Phoenix hadn’t thought about it like that before. She just really wanted to go in and find Dazien’s parents for him. What if that one hour or few days really did matter? If it was Paul or her own mother who was trapped and being held as slaves, she’d want to free them as soon as possible. That was the whole reason she agreed to picking out her Spirit Gems instead of waiting, wasn’t it? Now, he wanted to wait, and it was making her frustrated.
Saiya leaned over to grab her arm instead of Dazien’s and said, “I know waiting seems counter-intuitive at the moment, but I agree that safer is better in this case. If someone might have known where we were in the wilds, there’s a good chance they know where we’ll be in the city, even with Pati shaking the AOA like a ruebean tree to find any rotten fruit.”
Phoenix gave an annoyed huff, and Dazien chuckled. “What?” she snapped, thinking he was laughing at the group mom scolding her.
He raised his hands defensively, “Sorry, you just remind me of Paul every time you seem exasperated like that.”
She softened at that. Offering a tentative smile, she said, “He did sigh at us a lot, didn’t he?”
“Some more than others,” Saiya interjected with a grin.
“I guess he never did that to you, did he?”
“I never gave him a reason to. Like running off to do something foolish without her party’s support…”
Phoenix sighed at the pointed look, “Fine. We’ll wait for Everin, but then I’m portaling straight back there. He’s stupid fast and can fly. He can meet us there.”
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Everin looked over the mission document with wariness, not liking the situation Dazien had just finished describing to him at all.
“I agree that now might be the best time to have me officially join your party if Emeralds are seeing you as easy targets. My presence alone should act as a deterrent to simple attacks of opportunity.”
Phoenix snorted a laugh, and he quirked a brow at her in silent question. She waved her hand dismissively, “Nothing, sorry, just the phrase reminded me of a game from my old world. I don’t believe it works the same way in this one, though. Combat would be very different if we all took turns properly.”
“Took turns? What, like, you just stand there for the enemy to have their turn to attack?” Dazien asked.
“Not like—” Phoenix paused as she amended, “Well, now that you mention it, I think some armies did something like that at one point —which I agree was super weird— but that’s not what I meant.”
“Every time you talk about your world, I wonder how anyone survived or remained sane there,” he grumbled.
She laughed, “We don’t have monsters trying to kill us constantly, remember?”
“Oh, right. Just the other humans, then.”
“They weren’t all bad. I survived okay there.”
Dazien gave her a flat look, “No, you didn’t.”
“While I love watching you two banter,” Everin said, interrupting the squabbling siblings, “We have more important concerns at the moment. Namely, completing this mission without any of you dying or appearing like you just handed it off to a stronger Caster outside of your party.”
“Is Scholar telling you anything?” Saiya asked him quietly as she clung to Phoenix’s arm.
“No, but it’s not like she’s always whispering warnings into my ear. She’s been completely silent on the whole Blackout issue, and if this is somehow connected to that, then I don’t expect her to suddenly start handing out answers now,” he replied, miffed by the whole situation.
“I was thinking the best way to avoid that reputation problem would simply be to have you join us in the investigation,” Dazien replied, refocusing on the task at hand. “I’m hoping that if you’re there as a deterrent, it will be enough for us to poke around, ask some very pointed questions, maybe even discover who’s behind all of this, then return with our report to the AOA along with the form declaring you as an official member of King’s Dream to waylay any negative rumors.”
Everin nodded, “That may work best, especially with our limited time given. I don’t think the AOA is expecting us to resolve all of this in only two days. The mission really does seem like they just want to buy some time to scare some rabbits out of their burrows.”
“Well, let’s get going then,” Phoenix promptly said, standing and conjuring her portal, “Time’s ticking, and if there are captives, I’m not going to let them suffer longer.”
Everin chuckled, “There’s the impatient hero we all know and love.”
She rolled her eyes at him, and he ruffled her hair, much to her adorable displeasure, and he added, “I’ll meet you there then. Just don’t break down the door without me.”
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When Phoenix pushed open the door of the Crimson Rose ahead of the rest of her party and went into the shop, she immediately wrinkled her nose at the smell. Poor Uriel almost keeled over beside her, and she pitied his particular perception power that was making the horrendous scent of death all the more pungent.
“I think I’m just going to wait outside. One of us should probably stand watch anyways,” Uriel managed to say before making his escape from the empty butchery.
While the Silencer completely shut down most abilities, things that were more fundamental to a person’s being, like some Transfigurations and Perceptions, were less impacted. For Uriel, that meant his sensitive nose was only able to smell someone a few meters away instead of down the street. She fully believed his nose was what made him such a great cook, however, and wouldn’t wish him any other perception.
“You’re not supposed to be alone,” Dazien replied, but Uriel waved him off.
“I’ll be right outside, and we can still whisper over the chat network. This is just too much blood and death for me… I need air,” Uriel said, walking back out the door looking paler than Phoenix ever recalled. She worried that he’d be sick from both the smell and potential memories it was conjuring up for him.
The odor made it even more obvious why the shop was empty, and Phoenix took advantage of the opportunity to practice not breathing as they made their way toward the back. It felt eerily silent as they wandered further in and didn’t find anyone to question.
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“Perhaps they don’t really expect company?” Phoenix asked Dazien over the mental communication so she wouldn’t have to open her mouth. He was also surveying the area with a concerned expression.
“That woman from before who first mentioned this shop did seem to have some kind of clue as to what this place might be. Maybe the locals just know to avoid it?” Saiya speculated.
“It’s probably just the smell and those prices,” Rayna argued, gesturing up at the sign listing prices for processing creatures. “You’d have to get insanely lucky with the loot to make it worth coughing up that many Bits.”
“It does seem odd for a shop, but my aura isn’t sensing any Casters in the building at the moment,” Everin stated, glancing around as well with those odd-colored eyes. “There are some animals and avals on the lower floors and Mundanes on the upper floors, but I’m pretty sure those are residential homes for workers in the area.”
“Must be cheap housing to be in this district,” Rayna muttered, then glanced over at the Defender, “Did you ever live here if you worked nearby?”
“Uriel wouldn’t be able to handle the smell, I think,” Dazien replied, “It’s also not cheaper than the place we found in the International District. A lot of people prefer living closer to work than closer to people they view as outsiders.”
“It hasn’t been too bad for us in the city,” Saiya said, “Sure, we get some curious looks, but I haven’t felt any hostility or anything.”
“With Epa Toivo as neighbors, voxen aren’t as uncommon of visitors as some of the other species, like draconids or felions.”
“Or gemites,” Uriel’s voice said bitterly over the chat.
Dazien frowned, “Let’s just keep looking around for some information,” he said, shifting the topic back to the mission, “We can say we were looking for the proprietor, which we are. Lady Saiya, why don’t you stay with Uriel? I really don’t like the idea of leaving him alone.”
They all nodded at the instruction then Saiya headed back out the door while the remaining four continued past the counter and through the only door leading further into the building. Phoenix noted the odd symbol of a red rose inside a wine glass emblazoned above the door and wondered if that was the reason for the allegorical shop name.
Instead of stairs leading up into the tall building, there were only stairs leading down to the lower levels. Most buildings in Tulimeir, aside from the temples, were made of metal and tinted colored glass and were at least ten stories tall, trying to make the most of the tightly packed space within the safety of the walls. Most of the buildings had an equal amount of floors below the ground as well, utilizing the space to surround the underground Reality Rift that was the heart of the city.
On the next floor down, they found rows of cages that held sickly-looking creatures, some already dead, that seemed to be the cause of the awful smell. Snolves missing tails, Icespitters and Flaywings with broken wings and muzzled beaks, declawed Frostprowlers trapped in too-small of a space.
Nobody was there, though, just as Everin had said, which made the group slightly more nervous as they continued looking around.
Phoenix felt disgusted by the sight of the animals forced to lay in their own filth and seemingly half-starved as they could barely whine, let alone attempt to be aggressive towards them.
A litter of dirty once-snow-white frolf pups made her heart twist in anger and sorrow as she saw only one still alive when it weakly crawled away from them, its ice blue eyes staring at her in fear.
“I see now what you meant by cruelty,” Phoenix muttered to Saiya, “I’m not sure even a monster deserves this kind of prolonged suffering.”
“We should kill the rest,” Rayna stated firmly, but Dazien raised a hand.
“We’re on a mission, remember? We can’t let these people get away with kidnapping Casters just because we got distracted by putting a few animals out of their misery,” he said pragmatically.
Phoenix glanced around at the zoo of torment and said bitterly, “I think the bandits we killed were less like monsters than these people…”
Rayna scowled at her, “Monsters are monsters. You should put them all out of their misery. I thought you’ve gotten past this?”
She gave a small shrug as they resumed walking back towards the door to continue downwards, “There’s a difference between those who do evil deeds with good intentions and those who do it for selfish gains,” she said, gesturing towards the animals planning to be slaughtered for profit, “Is a thief who steals to feed their children truly as bad as the person who would abuse those children to feel powerful or torture and murder living beings for money?”
Rayna followed behind Phoenix as Dazien led them down to the next floor with Everin bringing up the rear. “Are you suggesting these people are stealing other people to feed their children?”
“Of course not,” Phoenix said with her own scowl towards Rayna, “It’s just an example. My point is that I don’t think it’s as black and white as you make it seem.”
“Look, I’m not going to stop defending myself just to ask why they’re trying to kill me. If it makes you feel better, just think of the moment I have to take their life as deliverance from whatever poor circumstances or evil reasoning they had.”
Phoenix gave an annoyed huff as she crossed her arms and asked, “But what if we can help them change? To get better? Shouldn’t we question why they did it so we can prevent the same thing happening to others?”
“Sure,” the bard responded with a noncommittal shrug, “We should always work towards a better tomorrow, but for today,” she punched a fist into her other hand to emphasize her next words, “I’m going to kill these evil pricks.”
Phoenix rolled her eyes at the melodramatic display and continued questioning, “But it’s like the snolves; how can we truly tell the difference between monsters and men? Uriel’s own history makes it clear that even doing evil things isn’t always because the person themselves is evil.”
“True, but even if it was someone like Uriel attacking us, I would agree with Rayna in this case,” Dazien surprised her by saying over his shoulder, “We can work to try and stop people from experiencing what Uriel went through. We can even try to heal any we manage to save if the situation allows for it.”
He paused in the stairwell as he turned to make eye contact with her, “But when you come face to face with a monster that threatens everyone, even one being controlled by others, do not hesitate to release them from that fate rather than risk the lives of the innocent, which includes yourself. Hesitating in the middle of combat because you wonder if you can save them will only get other people killed.”
They stared at each other for a moment before Phoenix bowed her head in acquiescence, “You’re right. I’ve either been too hesitant or too reckless, and others have paid the price more often than I have. It’s hard to find the balance, though.”
Dazien gave her a reassuring smile, “That’s what you have us for. Together, we balance each other.”
Her party leader turned and opened the door to the next room and they stared in confusion at the large and mostly empty space. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all smooth marble that was black instead of the usual whites and grays found in most of the city construction. In the center of the floor was a large grate like a sewer drain.
On the opposite side of the room was another door and something about the size and shape of a large armoire covered in a canvas sheet.
Dazien glanced at Everin, who shrugged at the unspoken question and said over the mental network, “I don’t sense anything, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t physical traps. Send Phoenix in first and meet back at the garden if it goes horribly wrong?”
“Sending me in as a sacrifice?”
“Better the immortal than one of us.”
Phoenix rolled her eyes and took a step into the blank room. Nothing happened. She focused on the grate in the floor as the rest of the group followed her inside the strange room a few moments later. Dazien and Rayna seemed more interested in what was under the sheet as they both walked straight towards it to investigate.
“What is this for?” she asked, gesturing towards the drain.
“Well, I’m not an expert in butchery, but I think this is the slaughter room,” Everin replied, joining her in examining the room’s center.
The weight of the door had it slowly closing on its own behind them, and as she heard it latch shut, Everin suddenly froze before staring back at the closed door. The look of concern on his face had her ask, “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t sense anything outside the room anymore,” he replied with a frown as he moved to reopen the door… which didn’t budge.
Instead of opening, the door began to glow. Intricate runes visually materialized as the magic within seemed to get re-triggered upon its closing, spreading out from the door and lighting up the walls with even more diagrams that had Phoenix’s eyes going wide at the unfamiliar enchantments.
“Well, that’s definitely not good,” Everin said as the room lit up with the blue glow, and he tried yanking the door handle again.
The sound of the canvas sheet hitting the floor and a sharp gasp drew her attention back to her brother and friend as she saw the source of their surprise.
It was a glass display case mounted into the wall… holding a complete skeleton made of crystalline amethyst bones.
“Oh. My. Gods. That is soooo shiny! And purple, too! Can I keep it?!” Tala’s voice interjected into her mind.
“What? Absolutely not!” she replied to the Familiar and was about to scold her further when the magic surrounding them drew her focus back to the bones.
To her horror and adrenaline-spiking panic, when the glowing mana making its way through the enchantment’s ley lines across the room finally reached the inert skeleton, it seemed to almost come alive as the dark hollows of its eyes began to glow with the same Arcane blue and a feminine voice spoke from its open jaw.
“Intruders detected. Defensive protocols initialized. Lockdown and neutralization rituals will now commence.”
Dazien gently touched the glass separating him from the long-dead figure as he said in a broken whisper that made her heart hurt, “Mom?”