I froze for just a second too long, before diving to the left after moving back a step out of the room.

The giant creature closed most of the distance in my slight moment of hesitation, tooth and claw baring down on me. I made it about halfway back towards the dining room table when it crashed straight through the doorframe, wooden splinters shooting off every which way. The things eyes narrowed, and it prepared to kick into another charge, and there were very few obstacles standing between us now. Heart racing, I took my gaze off it for a second, to figure out the best place to run-

As if seeing that and capitalizing on the weakness, it charged again. I moved as fast as I could, springing up onto a chair with one foot, onto the table with another, then throwing myself forward and across it. I landed on my feet, and looked at the table, and realized one unfortunate thing: the table had been cleared. The knives and other utensils I had eaten with earlier were gone, likely taken away by Virion’s wind. Dammit.

The bear was turning, snarling, seemingly taking a moment to plan it’s approach…and it did so almost a moment too long.

Enough time for me to turn, and sprint down the hallway I’d just come from, lacking any better options. I could feel my body ache and complain with each rapid step, I still wasn’t fully recovered, but I quite frankly didn’t care. I needed to not get mauled to death. Why was there even a bear here? They weren’t exactly good pets, especially if they destroyed your own house. Something else bound? No, it was too imperfect…

That’s when it dawned on me, just as the creature’s massive movement could be heard dashing through the dining room.

I’d seen Ni shapeshift during the fight. Was it possible that this was her? This thing was acting with more of a degree of intelligence then I’d expect from a bloodthirsty animal, plus it made sense for why it was here.

I called over my shoulder, spinning on my heel to face the bear which was now entering the hallway. I was in front of the garden door currently, but I felt slightly brave enough to stand my ground.

“Druid Ni, I am a guest of Virion, not an intruder. Please, cease your at-“

I was cut off by a roar, and another charge. My eyes widened, and I managed to avoid freezing again, instead I dove to the door, opening it in a rapid motion and using my body to knock the door inward. I saw the blur of brown fur and maw go past the door. I stumbled slightly, but soon righted myself. Backing off further into the room, interposing half a table between me and the potential druid.

That left me with very little options. Trapped in a small room. Either the creature attacking me wasn’t Ni, or it was, and she didn’t care. Either way, things were dire. There wasn’t any other exits. If I had minutes I could try and make some sort of basic sigil for any form of defense, but it would likely not do very much, and I still wasn’t convinced I had seconds.

I could hear the sound of it turning around from where it had skid down the hall. I took a few more cautious steps back, and that’s when I noticed it again.

The urns. I spoke aloud, as the sound of movement began to intensify.

“Boyle?”

“Back so soon?” The voice returned to my head.

“I wasn’t given much of a choice. Are you aware of any other creatures bound here?”

“No. But I have not left this room in quite awhile.”

“…Secondary question, if I free you right now, will you do everything in your power to defend me?”

“If that is what it takes, you have my absolute wor-“

The bear moved to be visible in the doorway, and looked at me. Letting out a low growl, and seemingly poising itself to break through another doorway, at any moment. I didn’t have a moment to lose, I lunged for the table, grabbing Boyle’s urn, and raising it up, with the intent of smashing it to the ground at the bears feet when it inevitably came charging in.

But I hesitated. Because the bear did too.

It had stopped dead in it’s tracks, letting out a large snort, as it’s eyes narrowed towards me. I followed it’s gaze, to the urn I had in hand. I saw, on the table, Lutum’s urn start to move, the form of the elemental starting to emerge. Saying nothing. Boyle, however, did speak.

“What are you waiting for? This enemy can fall to us together!”

I didn’t respond to the elemental, and instead narrowed my own eyes towards the bear. Taking a deep breath, before breaking the silence between me and the animal.

“You don’t want me to break this, I’m guessing?” I said aloud, trying to keep my voice as authoritative as possible.

It just let out another huff. Pawing at the ground. Almost like an indication of hostility…not that it meant much, considering how the last minute or two had gone.

“I’ll do it. Unless you either leave me be, or we discuss this on more amicable terms.”

Silence, for another few seconds. We glared at each other, beast and man.

Before beast became woman, with a small effect of light and magic.

I hadn’t seen much of Ni the last time, but I definitely recognized the form of the druid. She was about my height, maybe an inch or two shorter, definitely human, with pink skin that seemed like it hadn’t seen much sun. Her eyes were an amber color, striking and currently glaring. Red curling hair dropped to her lower back, with some kind of wooden ornament keeping it in line, and freckles dotted her face. Her outfit hadn’t changed much either, a combination of mostly furs with a bit of leathers, with an exposed abdomen and lower thigh. In her hand was a wooden implement, akin to a bludgeon, with four grooves down it’s shape which converged at the top. On her head, she wore something akin to a crown, weaved from what seemed to be flowers of various types. Her expression was in a scowl, as her glare maintained from form to form.

I slowly began to set the urn down, despite Boyle’s protest, but I kept my gaze on the druid.

“I don’t suppose I can expect an apology?” I asked, with some hope in my tone.

No response from the glaring druid. I let out a sigh.

“At the very least, can you move so I can leave?”

She took a step forward, into the room a few feet. Before speaking.

“You’ve been in here before.” Not a question.

“I have. I was looking around, and it wasn’t locked, Virion specifically informed me tha-“

“I don’t care what Virion has to say. This is my garden. You don’t just get to waltz in and threaten it.”

“What gives you any more authority to turn into a bear and attempt to maul me?” I fired back, crossing my arms. A huff from Ni, one that didn’t sound dissimilar to her bear form.

“And for that matter, for someone who supposedly respects personal property so much, you didn’t seem to have much respect for this hou-“

“Shut up!” She cut me off with a bark. Her glare intensifying. “I hate your voice already. You and Virion might be content to sip tea and mingle all day, but some of us hate seeing it.”

“…What does that even mean?” I retorted, just plain confused at this point.

“You talk like royalty.”

“I talk like a person.”

Another huff. Her glare kept dead on me. Another supposed impasse. I took a deep breath, realizing that if we were going to work together, like Virion seemingly wanted, this wouldn’t do for an introduction. I could be the better man, look past…whatever that was. It was for the best.

“Look. I’m sorry if my behavior is off putting or improper. I can try to do better, you’ll just have to tell me how. I’d like to work with you as opposed to against you, I’m pretty sure we share a goal here.”

She kept her arms crossed, gaze somehow narrowing even further. “And what do you think my goal is exactly, city boy? I don’t think you know much of anything. And I sure as hells don’t want to do anything with you.” Her tone was still horribly hostile. Lovely.

“…To stop Noctis? Isn’t that why you’re all here?” I craned my head slightly, trying to stay as non combative as possible.

She let out a long sigh. As if I’d asked some kind of horribly obvious question.

“I couldn’t care less about that, you sarvish. I’m here because I owe something. A life debt, one that saw me sent here to deal with this Noctis. I would like nothing more then to be done with this and to return home.”

I didn’t know what sarvish meant, or what language it was, but it sounded hostile, and I could infer the rest. I didn’t want to ask, and anger her any more then I very clearly already had.

“Right. Well, then I can help you get closer to fulfilling your goal of getting out of here then. Because the sooner Noctis is dealt with, the sooner you get to leave. I, for one, really want to see Noctis stopped. And I have no intention of giving up the fight until it’s done. So let me help you. Everything should be easier that way.”

I spoke slowly, and cautiously, to see if I could get a read on her during any point of that. But I just couldn’t, her expression barely budged at all, even as I finished speaking, and let the silence hang in the room. I was pensive in expression, half expecting to get attacked again at any moment. Bracing to find another plan of attack or escape.

I was surprised then, when she seemed to smile. A jagged smirk which crossed her face in the same way a fissure crossed the land. It was unnerving, but relieving at the same time, given the circumstances. It almost caused me to take a step back, but I held my ground where I was.

“You ain’t so bad then, I guess. Fine, I think we can work together nicely. Sorry for trying to maul ya, but I think we can make amends, yeah? C’mere, I can show you the rest of the house, if you want?”

The change in demeanor was near instant. Her tone was more cheery, though still not the most upbeat, and the glare was gone. Her arms hung at her sides once more. The implement was placed back at her belt in the process.

I was cautious to trust it at first. Surely I hadn’t swayed her that easily…but I tried to dismiss that thought from my mind. I was trying to be less paranoid around the people I was supposed to be collaborating with. I took a few forward, and moved towards the door.

Her expression didn’t shift from the somewhat smug state, as she ushered me out the door, she took a slight step aside to let me pass. I nodded, and moved to do so.

I wasn’t expecting the blow to the back of my legs. I went tumbling to the ground in the hall, a few paces past Ni. I managed to catch myself mostly, but not before she managed to get another swing off, around dead center of my chest, which fully floored me. I was seeing spots, looking up towards the red haired shapechanger with pure hate in my eyes. She returned the sentiment, the clear façade of friendliness gone.

“Did you really think I’d let you just invade this place as you saw fit, sigilist?”

She raised the implement again, and I tried to think of any way to stop myself from dying in my new superior’s hallway.

That naturally left me with the question of where I should start. The room around me was interesting enough, to start, I supposed. So, for my first order of business, I elected to go investigate those display cases, the four of them littered about the back walls of the room. I approached the one closest to me first, with a bit of careful trepidation in my step. I really, really didn’t want to break anything, and have to explain that breakage.

Peering into the glass confines of the case, which was about two meters across, I saw an interesting site. A long staff, made of a smooth white material I thought was perhaps bone, tipped with some kind of red gemstone. No descriptor or anything, but it rested carefully on a collection of ornate pillows which laid within the case. I elected to leave it alone outside of just mentally noting its existence.

Onto the next case, I was surprised to find a different type of object all together in this one, which was smaller then the previous, about half the size. A bound tome, one which looked like it was at least a few decades old, if not more, and seen heavy use. It’s cover was written in a language I couldn’t make out, nor one that I recognized, but it was intricate, and written in a script which made me imagine it was something of importance. This one had a descriptor, a note near the side, written in common, which simply read ‘Do not touch. This does double for Ni.’

That was foreboding. I elected to move onto the next case after that, committing the warning to memory as I did. Not that I expected to be rifling through these cases very much, but more of a general idea that things here could potentially be dangerous if I wasn’t careful about it.

The next case was filled again, with something very different then the previous one. Resting on the pillows this time, was something unbefitting of the now back to the size of the first case. A small ring, sitting on a model finger carved from wood. It was made of what seemed to be a bronze metal, with a flat surface on it’s epicenter. What was on that surface though, was quite intriguing. A sigil of some kind, engraved into the surface in an intricate and well done manner. I didn’t recognize the symbol, and couldn’t make out the finer details through the case…but I could tell it was a masterwork. Or at least, better then my somewhat shoddy work. The question was, how did these guys get something like this? The obvious answer was they’d stolen or killed someone for it, but the more important question was where. I’d have to ask Virion about it later, maybe ask to study it.

Onto the final case, this one the largest of them and using part of the wall as a brace. Peering in, I saw once more, something completely different, tying together the lack of any real cohesive theme outside of ‘perhaps magical’ and ‘looking interesting’. In this case was what seemed to be a large silver bowl, a meter and a half across, one with little special about it, no special runes or carvings here. The only odd thing about it was that it was filled with liquid, seemingly water, but clearly not-it visibly glinted and glittered as if filled with jewels, even though it was in fact, empty, save for the liquid itself. Why they had gone through the trouble of filling it and putting it into a case for storage was beyond me, but I just noted it down as another oddity before stepping away from it.

That was all of the cases. And everything I considered of note in that chamber. Which left me with the question of where I should go next. There were a few doors off the way that I’d come, I could check those. Then, there were the two doors to the back of the room, one of which I knew led to some kind of kitchen area, the other which the lizardfolk had gone through, however, I had no idea the destination of. Other then those, there was the hall across from the one I’d exited from, and then the front entrance Virion had exited from, which I was fairly sure just led back out to the street.

After a bit of pondering, I decided against the kitchen, as I could imagine what was in there without needing a look for myself, that, and I could hear the clattering coming from within, the trick Virion mentioned. I wasn’t sure if whatever force he was using to have the dishes and such done for him was anything sentient, or anything which would alert him, and I wanted to keep my borderline snooping as on the down low as possible. So, I decided to simply start with what I had a relative good idea about first, then move more and more into the unknown as I went.

To that end, I went back into the hallway I’d come from, and headed for the first door there, the first of three. It wasn’t locked, so I opened it with relative ease.

This first room seemed to be honestly odd. It was an indoor garden, separated into three rows via tables-one against the left and right wall, one in the center, and one against the very back, for four in total. I cautiously took a step within, not ruling out the idea that it could be trapped. Thankfully, nothing seemed to trigger. I took a few more steps forward. It was warm in here, humid, despite the enclosed interior. I could feel beads of sweat starting to form. The room was lit by white lights at the top of the room, seemingly magically generated. I walked through the isles, looking at the various plants. Most of them seemed to be herbs of some sort, though a few small fruit bearing plants could be seen. I recognized a few that grew around here, but most were foreign to me. I was curious, but I couldn’t exactly gleam much, so I started to turn to leave.

That was when I spotted them, glinting in the corner of my eye. Two small stone urns, each of them studded with what seemed to be gemstones. Each of them seemed about the same size and shape, but the craft of them seemed different for each. They rested between the two garden beds on the central table which divided the room. My gaze lingered onto them for a second, before I turned to look away…only for one of them to shake. Which locked my gaze right back on.

It shook again, briefly, before the lid popped off, moving to fall down onto the table, but something caught it. Emerging from the top of the urn was a mass of amorphous water, which had formed appendages from it’s own liquid, one of which placing the lid of the urn leaned up against the side, the others gripping the sides as if holding itself up.

I instinctually took a step back, sizing up what little there was to size up. That was when I heard it. Not through a mouth, or anything of the sort, but at the edge of my mind. Like I was hearing words unfold.

“Greetings. I have not seen you before.” The voice was devoid of any features. The statement matter of faculty.

I just froze, unmoving. Not responding, when the next message took form.

“Do not be afraid. I bring no harm. This method of communication is odd for your kind, but ultimately necessary.”

I hesitated, visibly, before speaking in careful, measured words.

“…My apologies for disturbing you. What manner of creature are you?” I tried to phrase the question as innocently as possible.

“I am Boyle. The elemental which inhabits the liquid within this urn. I am bound here by the one you may call Ni, should you be acquainted. And you did not disturb me. I simply noted your presence.”

Elemental. I had heard of those. Personifications of building blocks of the world, the life they had. I tried to remember more, but I blanked. What I knew had only been in passing.

“…Great pleasure, Boyle. You can call me Acuzio, a visitor of Virion. I was simply taking a look around while I await his return.” I took care to inject flattery, and use “You can” as wording. I knew enough about outer dwellers that wording around names was important.

“Of course, of course. May I ask you a question, visitor?”

“You may.” I replied, curiosity leaking into my tone ever so slightly.

“Do you oppose slavery?”

What. That wasn’t what I was expecting in the slightest. But the response was easy.

“…Of course I do. It’s forbidden in the Kingdom, and the Triumvirate.”

“Lovely. Then free me, if you would.”

“What?”

“Free me. Break the urn. If your ideals are as you claim, they line up perfectly. I am bound to this urn by primeval magic, and forced to obey the commands of the druid here. It is agony. I request an end to my bonds.”

The voice was empty, even describing supposed agony. But then again…it didn’t quite seem right. I hesitated, again.

“…Are you not bound for good reason? For protection or similar? Or by your own choice?” My questions were rapid, as I tried to reconcile it. The woman I’d met, Ni, didn’t exactly seem the nicest, so perhaps it wasn’t as benign as it seemed.

“I am bound to maintain the garden. A chore that could be done by hand. Does that justify enslavement?”

“I suppose no-“

“Then match your ideals and break the urn. Quickly.”

My heart was pounding. On one hand, Boyle was correct. I opposed this. On the other…even a small thing like this could earn the ire of the others.

I made the choice in a heartbeat. If this was the behavior this group condoned, I wouldn’t stand for it, I reached for the urn, intent on picking it up, and smashing it on the floor. That was when the other urn moved.

It’s lid lifted in a swift motion, but instead of water pulling itself from the top, a mass of dirt emerged, with a similar amorphous shape to Boyle, forming appendages from it’s source. It seemed to have stones within it’s body, one of which dislodged itself from the mass, and struck me square in the forehead. I stopped my motion forward, just as a new voice put itself at the front of my mind. Tonally no different from Boyle, but I could feel some kind of difference almost instinctually.

“Stay your hand, mortal. The aqueous one lies to you.”

I stumbled back a step, as the stone clattered to the ground at my feet.

“-What?” I said, looking to face the earthen creature.

“What are you waiting for? Smash the urn, lest a stone get in the way of your value?” Boyle again. Almost agitated, if it were possible for the voice to take on that tone.

“It is deception. What have they told you?” The new voice.

“I was informed that they were…enslaved, by the druid that lives here?” I questioned, trying to figure out how best to address them given their current forms. I settled for a gaze in their general directions.

“That is a falsehood. They entered into their binding willingly, however regret the deal and thus wish to trick you into freeing them for revenge.”

“…Revenge?” I said, as if that was the important part.

“Yes. Should you shatter that urn, they will surge forth into a larger form, and likely attempt to kill you and everyone else living here.”

“I do not seek revenge, Acuzio, I seek freedom!” Boyle’s protest rung out in my mind.

“…Regret or no, they should not be kept here if they do not want to be. Perhaps an agreement can be struck?” I suggested, peering more closely.

“It is not that simple. They wish to make it simple, but it simply isn’t. You can speak to Ni if you wish to understand things further. I can sense that she dwells within the building.”

I had doubts. I didn’t trust Ni, but then again, how could I trust these two? I sympathized with Boyle, however.

“How about this. Boyle, I’ll see what I can do with Ni. If I find your binding is as you say, you have my word I will free you. If not, then you will remain. Is that fair?”

“Fine. Seek all you like. The result is the same.” Said Boyle.

“Be wary.” Said the other.

“I will depart, for now, but I will return. Creature of earth, what should I call you?”

“You may call me Lutum. And you?”

“Call me Acuzio. Farewell, Boyle, Lutum.”

“Fare well, Acuzio.” Said Lutum.

No response from Boyle, as I turned and left the room. Instantly feeling cooler as I shut the door. That left two more rooms in this hall.

I decided to keep going in something resembling an order, and moved to the middle door, opening it. This one wasn’t locked either, and allowed for entry into a room with a similar size to the garden. This one had no light, except from what part of the hallway poured in.

The room seemed to be a workshop. Various tools scattered across the surface of wooden benches, for a variety of crafts. I almost glanced over it and was done, however two things caught my eye first. Firstly, in one corner, a stone structure could be seen, within it I noted, barely visible in the light, coals. Looking over it in it’s entirety I noted it seemed to resemble a forge…something that should be impossible considering the size. I made note to ask Virion about it later…if it was magical, I wanted to know how to use it. However, more concerning, and drawing my eyes away, was a second distraction. One of the workbenches seemed to be completely coated in blood. Dried blood, but blood nonetheless. I took a step closer, and ran my hand across the surface of it. It was completely dried, and days old by the looks of things. Very evenly applied as well.

It was disconcerting, and I decided, a problem for later. I backed out of the room, and shut the door. One more left.

I opened it, and was met with something slightly more plain. The room was about the size of the others, with large bookshelves climbing to near the ceiling, and pushed up against every wall, along with scattered throughout. Wherever a shelf could fit, there was one.

I took a brief walk through, skimming the titles. They seemed disorganized to say the least, in no particular order. Some of them weren’t even in common, but in languages I couldn’t place. On a variety of topics as well, I couldn’t find a rhyme or reason.

Eventually, on one of the shelves against the back wall, a spine caught my eye. It read “Practical and Advanced Sigilism” written by an author by the name of Lyila Aine. Now that was interesting. I reached for it, and tried to pull it off the shelf, for inspection.

It didn’t budge. Odd. I pulled harder, nothing. I thought it might be caught on something, so I attempted to move some other books aside, and was met with similar failure to move any contents of any shelf. I frowned. Magic, if I had to guess. Protections. Another thing to ask about later, I supposed. I let out a long sigh at my continued bad luck, and left the room, shutting the door behind me once more.

I headed back into the dining room I had started in. I’d cleared effectively three paths-the hall I’d come from, one of the back doors, which I had seen led to a kitchen, and the front door, which based on where Virion had gone, led to the exit.

That left the other hall, across from the one I’d just searched, and the other door against the back, where I’d seen Gira go.

I opted for the latter. I wanted to see about introducing myself properly to the lizardfolk. I opened the door…

Only for a fully grown bear to turn, and charge me from the center.

That caught me a bit off guard, as he said it. Especially with his easy mode of speaking.

He wanted to offer me a job. Instantly, my mind was alight with possibilities, with what he could want or what that could possibly mean for me. Why would he care this much? What were his intentions? Was he planning on using me? Things like that, my mental power dedicated to alternate scenarios and ideas, and very little dedicated to actually formulating a response. When I realized I had been silent for over ten seconds already, I awkwardly formed what I felt was a reasonable reply.

“…Why me again?” I said, very dumbly in the process. Kicking myself for it almost right away.

Virion chuckled a little bit, as if he was expecting this reaction. His eyes settled on me after briefly flitting over to one of those display cases, which made me make a mental note to see what was being displayed before I left. But I filed that away as a thought and inquiry for later.

“That’s quite the complex question, more then you’d think. The short version is that we’re technically short a member. We’re supposed to have five members. We have four. Myself, Ni, Kellek, and the man you just saw, Gira. We each practice one of the five methods of magic. Myself, the divine, Ni, the primal, Kellek, the blood, and Gira, the arcane. We each fill a niche within our team with our various specialties. However, we are lacking one school, and one specialty. A sigilist, and a melee contender with…technique.”

He chuckled again, with a fond smile on his face as if thinking of something else in that moment. He looked to me for my reply in the same stroke. Folding his hands in front of him on the table.

I did note the lizard being an arcane user, though. That was good information to know. Anything about their capabilities was, in all honesty, worth knowing.

“…I’m flattered, but…” I trailed off, words failing me.

“…But?” He said, motioning for me to go on, seemingly curious as to what I’d cut out of my statement.

“Why me specifically? Sigilists aren’t common, but I’d imagine you have options, considering who you all are. Resources to find a better pick, or something.” That much was true, mostly. I did suspect scarcity was apart of the choice, but I was absolutely positive there was more to it then that.

He took a brief pause, contemplative, before responding next. “How many Sigilists do you think live in this city? I know of very few. Most are reclusive. I’ve found that the numbers of Sigilists are less the problem-and more that they lend themselves very much to a solitary lifestyle, and without need to leave their areas of work, will devote themselves to building power near endlessly in preparation. You and Tali are the only ones of any real significance currently engaged in this conflict. All others in this city are either too weak for me to reliably consider, in the early stages of magical development, or are reasonably powerful, but too far entrenched in their ways.”

I took that in. It made sense, at least, that I would be a prime candidate. It didn’t seem like Tali would be switching sides anytime soon, based on what I’d heard during my fight with him. Alright.

“So I’m the only candidate, then? Or-the only choice?” I said, raising an eyebrow. Trying, and perhaps succeeding, to put a bit of pressure on, maybe get him to reveal something.

“No, no, nothing like that. We don’t need a Sigilist, whereas we need a fifth member. And while what I said is true for here in Aressa, it’s not true universally. We have resources, and can acquire a new member from another area, it would simply be costly. There are other candidates from the Kingdom’s effort here, ones who we have helped in one way or another who would jump at the chance to join our numbers. All to say-you aren’t the default choice. I’m asking you, because I want you to join us.” He spoke with resolution, enough to tell that this was a genuine offer. He had actual interest. I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.

Once again, a moment, to process.

“Alright. Switching to a different line-if you’re alright with more questions?”

He nodded affirmatively.

“Right. Who exactly are you people? You seem like mercenaries, but Noctis definitely pays more then the Kingdom. You aren’t soldiers, and you don’t look like Phirine backup. What’s your angle, generosity?” I said the last part of my statement with heavy doubt. While some people from the Kingdom, like me, would be willing to fight for the preservation of our honor and land, this group didn’t seem like natives.

“You’re correct, we aren’t from Phirine, thank the Five for that-well, save for Gira, who I believe trained there. We all don’t really share a common origin, we’re from all sorts of corners of the world. I, for one, hail from the Egaitheion, a holy center to the west. Ni is from the Elven Wood, Kellek from the Coalition. We are all…mercenaries in a sense. Though we each have significantly different reasons for it. I am not someone who frequently partakes in work of this sort. I serve my god, Shie-Kar, the best I can, and I believe the best way to do that is travel. Unfortunately, his temples are not to be found in every city, so I attempt to make coin best I can to fund my excursions. I, personally, want to attempt to help those of this world the best I can, and thus that is why I have not taken money from Noctis. The others do this for their own reasons, you will have to ask them. But I believe they are good people.”

I had the information Shale had given me, and that was a card I wanted to keep close to my chest. I didn’t trust the Noctis member fully of course, but considering how he’d acted, I had little reason to believe what he’d told me had been entirely fake either. Virion’s story was too spotless for my taste. Regardless, though, I nodded, not showing anything but a measure of trust. “Alright, I suppose that makes sense. What makes you think I’m a good recruit, though? And why do you need five members?”

“It was apart of the contract. I was in charge of recruiting five skilled individuals for our overarching mission, and being somewhat familiar with most of the other three, or having heard of them through other means, I recruited them. I had another fifth in mind, but he left the area, and things began to intensify here, so we elected to engage before finding the fifth. We’ve dragged our feet ever since, but after seeing your performance…I figured it would be best to kill two birds with one stone, yes?” He smiled at me. Dammit. Convincing.

“And you hadn’t heard of me previously?” I said, covering my bases.

He shook his head. “No, finding you was a surprise. The others I’d heard of, or was directed their way with rather…glowing reviews, shall I say. I hadn’t heard of you before this. And I haven’t found all that much since, to be truthful. A few potential contacts and references, but we never really poked further into those since we never really found the need. Your merit, by and large, has spoken for itself.”

That was odd. Based on his description, he should have been more through. So I switched lines of questioning, somewhat. “Is there some kind of timetable here? Something you’d need me for?” I said, raising an eyebrow slightly.

He paused a moment. A bit of recognition. Affirmation. Ha! I’d gotten it.

“…As a matter of fact…” He sighed, and paused another moment “…Yes. There is a matter that we would appreciate your help with, that your specialty would apply to. It’s a part of the reason I propose this now instead of at a later point.”

“Right. So again, I suppose my question is, how much of this is my merit compared to your need.” I squinted a bit at him. Trying to make it seem like I was still reading him, when I’d been doing it the whole time, for the most part. Trying to get a bit more of a figurative squeeze on the situation as a whole.

“It is your merit that makes you qualified for our need, Acuzio. We need a Sigilist, yes, but we also need a qualified Sigilist. One who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, and knows his way around a battlefield. Not just some random newbie, or some ingrained master. You fit perfectly into the role we need.” He remained steadfast, in a way I couldn’t help but be slightly moved by. He was serious, about all of this. Which only left me with one question, really.

“So then…what’s the job? The one that you need a Sigilist for?” I said, tilting my held slightly. I couldn’t think of much that one of their other members couldn’t accomplish on their own.

“That is the trick of things. If I tell you, I’m afraid you’ll have to accept the job. It’s quite confidential otherwise.” He gave me a half stern look.

“Right. That makes sense, with Noctis at play…” I trailed off, then paused for an uncomfortably awkward long moment.

“Take all the time you need to decide.” Virion said, smiling slightly, folding his hands and waiting.

I took a bite or two of food, and mulled everything over. Dammit. I was torn. On one hand, volatile mages who apparently had a kill count. On the other hand, we shared an enemy. And if they got out hand, I could inform the Kingdom and they could be dealt with accordingly. An information gathering tool as a contingency. The only thing I stood to lose, realistically, was my life. And if I was giving it in service of the Kingdom, that was a sacrifice I was willing to make, even if I didn’t like the idea of dying at my age. The pros outweighed the cons enough…and besides, I liked Virion so far. He seemed like a good enough guy. The rest…less sure, but at the very least, they’d be on my side.

That was that, then.

“Alright. I’m sold. I’ll join your team. What’s the job?” I made sure to smile, even if it wasn’t instinctual.

Virion’s expression, on the other hand, lit up with a sense of measured glee.

“Excellent! I’m thrilled to have you Acuzio!” He nodded to my secondary statement. “Yes. The job I need help for…I want for us to strike a blow to the core members of Noctis. The organization is held up, in terms of morale, by a stark few people-relatively powerful magi who make up it’s inner circle, and act as heroes in the lines. If we can strike a blow to one of them, we can both clear a threat from the field, and deal a strike to their morale. And I have a particular target in mind. A wizard, one by the name of Golomora. A dwarf, who specializes in warding magic. A school of magic which borrows heavily-“

“-From Sigilism. Right. I’ve heard of that” My inner magical scholar took over a moment, to the point where I hadn’t noticed interrupting Virion. “-Sorry.” I hastily corrected.

“Perfectly alright. As I was saying. It borrows from Sigilism, to imbue objects with power, but generally stationary ones. They’ve been using her capabilities to make sieging their inner fortresses much more difficult. However, they won’t persist, if her well of power were to be…cut off from this world. Permanently.”

That made sense too. Since most magic users (with the exception of Sigilists and Malificars) drew power from sources that weren’t rooted in this world, once they were removed as a conduit, most of their magic would simply fade.

“Right. I can manage that. But how are we going to get close?” I couldn’t imagine getting close to her would be easy, especially if he intended to attack her residence.

“That’s the trick of things. Gira has gotten us some fairly good intelligence, as to the layout and location of many of the wards. He believes this operation is still…too risky, for his tastes. But he rarely attends these missions to begin with. I believe, that with the information we have, this objective is perfectly within our grasp. And could open up more in the future.”

That set off some alarm bells. But then again…I trusted Virion more then the mystery lizard.

“Ok. Sounds like a plan. When?”

He frowned.

“That’s the trick of things. I’ll need to gather the others and inform them of the situation. And perhaps see if they have opinions. I’ll call a team meeting in a day or two. That being said, something else to mention. The room you stayed in tonight, it’s available to you, should you desire it. Staying close together has worked thus far for us, in terms of avoiding having our home base attacked.”

I thought about that. But came to a quick conclusion.

“No. I’ll be alright. I have my own place that I’d like to keep maintained.”

Virion nodded. “Perfectly understandable. Other then that, I have little else to mention. I will call you here when I require you. But feel free to come and go whenever and howeveryou would like. This place is now open to you as if you were one of us. Welcome to the team, Acuzio.”

He stood, passing by me, clasping me on the shoulder firmly, before walking out of the room, the front entrance to be specific. Out of the building entirely.

I elected to finish my food first, being hungry, before standing from my chair.

I was tempted to just go. But then again…

If I had the run of the place, I may as well look around. After all, I should probably learn more about my new…

Friends.

I woke up with a splitting pain all over my body. That was all I felt, for a solid thirty seconds to a minute, as my vision blurred above me. I eventually brought it back to focus as the pain numbed from the initial burst. I was trying to get my head in order, after everything…

My eyes widened when I realized I didn’t recognize the room I was in, and slowly but surely the nights events was coming back to me. I sat up with something of a jolt, which my body then insisted was a mistake, with the wave of lethargy and pain which rolled over me. Ok. Bad idea to move, sure. But still this was bad.

I’d ended up in Virion’s home. Which, while better then being captured or killed by Noctis, still wasn’t ideal. I wasn’t restrained, either. Another good fortune, however caution was still the right move, I knew. I recalled what Shale had said about them being loose cannons…and I wasn’t keen on owing them anything. The fact that I was alive said something about the situation, however. It just meant I had to be VERY careful when approaching this.

The room, though, wasn’t half bad. Relatively spacious, a few dressers, a spottily decorated bookcase, and the relatively large bed I had been in. A near perfect guest bedroom, under normal circumstances.

As the pain dulled enough for me to actually think in longer sentences then a handful of words and base instincts, I took stock of the situation. The door was closed, but the lock was on this side. Another good sign. I could get out of here. The dressers and tables, along with the bedframe, all have a level of them, indicating to me that they hadn’t been used in awhile before I was put here. My cloths were the same, bloodstains and all, which meant they hadn’t interfered with my body or anything in that vein. Also good signs.

In my investigation of the chamber, I kept my footsteps as light as possible. I wasn’t sure what floor I was on, the two windows in the room had their blinds up and curtains in front of them. I could barely see the light outside through them. I’d check them, but after everything else.

The final thing to notice, I found, was a small unsealed envelope with my name written in a relatively fancy script on the outside of it, resting on the bedside table, being the only thing to disturb the dust on any of these surfaces. I picked it up, opening it, to find a short note inside. I decided to read it.

“Dear Acuzio

You fell unconscious shortly after my spell dropped, likely from fatigue and lingering injury. I cast my standard array of healing spells, but that wasn’t enough to wake you right away, so I put you here. I hope you had a good rest. If I’m not here when you wake up, you’re welcome to leave, though I believe we should stay in touch. Otherwise, I will speak with you soon.

-Virion”

I read it a few times to make sure I understood it all correctly. Not that it was a particularly complex document, but I wanted to make sure I had caught his meaning, and had the situation well comprehended. After being fairly certain the short message had no double meanings, I placed it back down on the bedside. Right. The only question was, would he be present.

I decided to get some final lays of the land before potentially leaving the room.

Checking the windows, peering out the curtains and through what I could of the blinds, I saw that at the very least, we were still in the city. Buildings of the same sort as the rest, matching up. The building I was in seemed to be on the older side, though. Made of older combination of wood and a bit of stone, and seemingly being larger then I’d seen before. I was in an outward section, off to the side, an almost tower shape. I could see another off to the side, jutting off of the two story building they were attached to. The pair of towers were a big higher, about half a story up, and while I couldn’t see what was above the one I was in, I did assume it mirrored it, they seemed to top off with a spiraled shape, like a classic wizards tower of old. The rest of the house was positioned in front of it, and the towers were slightly blocked by the buildings around it, explaining how they weren’t as visible from the front.

Overall, things seemed fine. Though it did mean I couldn’t escape out the windows without risk of relatively serious injury with the twenty five foot or so drop to the ground. Damn.

I sighed.

The best way out, like always, it seemed, was to face my problems head on. As always. Gathering my last remaining dormant composure from the depths of my tired body, I moved for the door, opening it, and finding it thankfully not locked by any means of unseen engineering, and finding myself before a staircase leading downwards, a spiral through this tower area. It seemed I’d been correct about the idea of me being on the top floor, with no further way up, only down. I took a moment to listen, to see if I could hear any trace of anyone perhaps waiting for me along the way. After that moment passed, and I heard nothing, I started down the steps, keeping my movements light to the best of my ability. The stairs didn’t creak or anything of that sort, so I was lucky there.

After a moment, I found myself on the next story down. Another door, akin to the one above, but this one shut, and by the looks of things, and me trying the door, locked. I assumed it was another guest room, and so after another instance of waiting, I continued down the stairs as opposed to waiting around any longer. This led me to what seemed to be a bottom floor. A small combinations of rooms, a kitchen in one half, though one that looked like it hadn’t been used in awhile, a thin layer of dust covering most of it, though it was fairly neat, whoever last used it very clearly having cleaned up after themselves and organized. I couldn’t place anything that was out of order. The aesthetical part of my mind appreciated that, on a level. The other part of the room was a lounge area, equally abandoned, with some old looking chairs and a formerly plush couch now somewhat dilapidated. The table in the center, likely meant to allow two or three people to sit around it comfortable, joined its fellows in the room with it’s own dust and somewhat disarray. Though, like the kitchen, it was well organized, at least, even in it’s abandonment.

After looking around the room and walking through it for a cursory inspection, I came to the conclusion that there wasn’t anything hidden here either. No further ways down or up, only a door on the right side, currently shut, but also only had a locking mechanism on this side, which meant I wasn’t locked in. I approached, with the intent to open it, but paused a moment to listen again. Now, I could hear something. The distant sound of voices, from some point further past the door. It was just far enough that making anything specific out was frustratingly difficult to the point of impossibility. It was enough that I could make out seemingly only one person talking, which was odd, all things considered, there didn’t seem to be any kind of conversation going on. I could barely make out of the voice as resembling Virion’s, his clear and somewhat blunt tone hard to mistake. Realizing I wasn’t going to get anything done by listening to something I couldn’t parse, I decided to try and get a bit of a closer listen. They sounded far enough away that I was hopeful I could open the door without much notice. Thus, after trying it to once more ensure no trickery was afoot with it, I opened the door a crack. After hearing that there wasn’t a creaky hinge or other obstruction to make noise, I slowly but surely opened the door all the way.

It opened into a hallway leading down a little ways. A few doors leading to areas off to the sides, before opening out into some kind of larger space, one which seemed to have some furnishing in the form of cabinets, and I could make out at least one display case in the part of the room I could see from my limited view. More importantly though, I could start to make out what Virion was saying.

“-Tali moved last night. Attacked a different area, one we couldn’t reach. Our backup also is very stubborn about fighting in the central corridor. They seem to think there’s a hope of pushing through there, even with Frah as a factor. “

Virion paused his speech. As if receiving a reply, or waiting for something. But nothing happened, before he continued to speak.

“Indeed, those aren’t our only problems, but they’re premier on our list. Noctis has a core of magi which hold up their morale, heroes within the ranks. Tali and Frah are among them. If we can deal a crippling or killing blow to either, the same goes with their morale. It’s unlikely we’d need to defeat all or most of them, one or two would suffice.”

Another pause, this one longer the the last, I noted. I slowly began to creep down the hallway, which thankfully had a rug over it which likely helped to mask my footsteps in come capacity. I didn’t get close enough to see more of the room ahead, merely got about halfway down the hall, before I stopped as Virion began to speak again.

“I suppose I see the merit in your point. Our golden chance to deal with Tali has passed. But a silver one could perhaps emerge. We do have a job to do after all, I’d hate to get behind schedule.”

For the third time, he paused, and I advanced a little further, more and more slowly the closer I got. Three quarters of the way before he spoke again.

“I had not considered that either. I would not like to force the unforeseen factor to make an appearance. Especially since we just now got our promised forces from Phirine. He could demolish them, in theory, and I’d like to hope that we can keep our reputations intact. Perha-“

He paused more abruptly this time. I didn’t move.

“Oh? I see-Acuzio, is that you up and about?”

Virion’s voice called towards the hall I was in. I didn’t hear movement, but I knew either way that my hiding chance had expired. Damn. How’d he know?

Making a split second decision, I walked at a normal stride out of the hallway and into the room proper.

Now seeing it in full, it seemed to be a dining room. A large well carved wooden table in the center, and around the room various other cabinets, and notably, four display cases containing contents I couldn’t quite make out from here, one on each wall. Lights lined the walls, in the form of hung lanterns. There were five exits I could see. Two against the back wall, with shut doors, another hall on the left center, one on the front right, with another shut door, and one directly in the front, that was open to reveal a smaller room of some kind that led somewhere else.

The room was populated by two people at the moment. Virion, sitting at the head of the dining table, a long since cleaned plate of food in front of him, a glass containing some kind of purple liquid sitting half full in front of him. He wasn’t wearing his armor at the moment, a plain white tunic and trousers in it’s place. He still wore a holy symbol of Shie-Kar, a cloud with a stone fist wrapped through it, dangling around his neck, in the form of a carved bronze emblem. On his hand, he wore a rather extravagant looking gem studded golden ring which didn’t quite match the rest of his rather humble appearance. He had his hair tied back this time, though it wasn’t that long to begin with. He smiled when he saw me. Friendly.

The other person at the table, sitting in the seat to the direct right of Virion, was a bit more odd. A taller lizardfolk, with dark blue scales which glinted in the light of the room, and a long neck which stretched above his body a spell. He wore a brown robe, a hood pulled up that covered most of his face, making exact features hard, but I could make out the yellow predatory gaze beneath it. The robe obviously had objects hidden within it, but the nature of the way he was wearing it made it impossible to tell what. He regarded with some kind of expression I couldn’t read.

Virion though, gestured me forward.

“Acuzio my friend, it’s good to see you. Please, take a seat. Can I get you anything? Breakfast, something to drink?” He asked with the same calm demeanor he’d had in my previous talks with him. That hadn’t changed at least.

I moved to sit, moving somewhat slowly with a semblance of caution, but ultimately took the seat at the table to the direct left of Virion, as to be sitting directly across from the lizardfolk. I nodded in return to Virion.

“Breakfast would be great. Whatever you have. And some water.” I found it best to take people up on offers like these. It’s unlikely that they wouldn’t already have it prepared either. Plus, I wasn’t not hungry.

He nodded, snapping his fingers into the air. Nothing seemed to happen, but he looked to me as if that was resolved now. Odd.

Even odder, a moment later after I’d sat down, the lizardfolk stood, wordless. Pushing in his chair, and turning to one of the back doors, saying nothing as he walked out of the room, and shut the door behind him.

“…Did I do something?” I asked Virion, with a measure of curiosity. I hadn’t expected that.

He shook his head.

“My friend there just isn’t very…sociable. He came to talk business, and likely had no interest in small talk. I might introduce you two more properly later if things go well.”

Well that was foreboding. I took a second, before following up, making sure my phrasing was clear.

“…What are you hoping goes well. Why am I here, exactly? Pretty sure you know where I live at this point. And why all of the interest in me anyways? This can’t be all about returning a favor, can it?” I made sure to keep my tone polite regardless.

Virion tilted his head slightly.

“Most of this is what I would have done if you simply owed me a favor as well. However some of it is a special interest as well-”

He was cut off by the sound of clattering, and one of the doors opening. The one the lizardfolk hadn’t gone through in the back, opened now to reveal a much larger and more active kitchen. A set of platters were floating towards us, as if hovering through the air, whooshing towards us in a clattering cacophony of noise. It reached me, and I tensed, mostly out of reflex, but they simply placed a grouping of plates and a glass in front of me, before retreating, with Virion’s empty plate. After thinking about it, I supposed that checked out, for the apostle of the sky god.

Virion waited for them to leave before continuing.

“Ah, that’s a useful trick. Regardless, yes, a special interest. I kept you here for one reason.”

He paused again, as if deciding how to phrase himself.

“I’d like you to give me an answer on my offer.”

He settled for the blunt approach. Smiling still.

The low hissing of air escaping a confined space pounded in Isala’s ears as the chamber began to unseal. It was an almost rhythmic sound, lining up with her observation of time spent within, and it being something she heard on a day to day basis. The air escaping, followed by her standing up, then opening her eyes. Air. Stand. Eyes. Door.

The door had already moved out of her way by the time she got to it. On schedule. She stretched her bare body out as she emerged into the primary area of her chambers, to avoid anything from cramping up after her usual night in a metal tomb she used to keep her power from triggering in her sleep and wasting her reservoir. A few close calls involving particular dreams caused her to commission this piece, and her position delivered it with potence. She’d noticed feeling stronger since she began her nights within the simple cubical chamber, lined with a magical absorbing metal and a vertical bed within. Her advisors had thought it a bad idea, considering the lack of her equipment or anything protective she could have within while using it, but she had fired back with confidence that if someone broke in there and survived all other defenses, her clothing and equipment wouldn’t make much of a difference. They’d deferred to her choice.

She outstretched her hands, feeling slight cracks down her arms as she held them upwards, and tapped her wellspring, a sensation akin to submerging in a pleasantly warm pool of water. Her robes flew out from their storage and wrapped themselves around her body in an instant, their magical properties flaring into her knowledge and comprehension. They were one of a kind, a gift from the blue caste upon her ascension to the throne, expanding her reserves and sharpening her mind, according to them. She hadn’t noticed much of a difference, but perhaps that was thanks to her reservoir being truly and effectively endless even before the gift. Still, a nice gesture, and the emanation of power which came from the blue gold and white garments seemingly by the sheer nature of what they were, a magical item stronger then most people would ever see in their lifetimes, and they’d someone become a symbol of her centuries long rein, something the blue caste would use to maintain relevance anytime their necessity was called into question. A staff slipped itself into her hands next, an artifact which dated back even before she’d been crowned, a hefty weapon barely liftable in any hands besides hers, in which it was lighter then air. It was made of wood of what she’d been told was a living tree, and tipped with a crystal charged with mana, a focus which to channel her reservoir through. Next to slip itself on was three rings. One was her wedding ring, a silver band imbued with a diamond, which she still wore out of spite and for its magical properties of flight. Another was a golden band inlaid with a ruby, a spell storing gem which contained one of the few apocrothos spells still able to be cast, something which she kept close to avoid…incidents. The final one was a simple though odd quartz ring, which was shined so she could see her reflection refracted in it. A backup focus, and an important reminder of where she’d come from. Penultimately, her spellbook attached to her side, a tome which appeared to be the size of the average magical volume, but was also enchanted to instead contain the volume of her entire lifes research, much bigger on the inside then it was on the outside. Every feasible spell and magical feat she knew how to perform was recorded within, and it was somewhat vital to her abilities. In addition to its magical proportions, it was indestructible and unopenable by anyone but herself. Necessary measures.

Finally, came her crown. Composed of a mix of gold and platinum, with six colors of gems, one for each of the castes, and a diamond to represent her role. It was magical as well, though it’s properties were all over the place. Each caste had forged its gem, which made it one of the most powerful artifacts in existence to be forged within Phirine’s walls. Anything from storms of fire, to resurrection from the dead, to negation of existing magic up to the highest levels, if you could name it, the crown could probably do it, drawing on reservoirs that weren’t even hers.

All items called to her, she moved for her mirror on the other side of the room, a massive gold framed object with an almost glittering surface. As she stood before it, tapping her reservoirs once more to cast a brief glamour over herself to make herself look as imposing and authoritarian as possible, she spoke the command phrase.

“Jewel of the Triumvirate. ”

As she spoke the all too true phrase, the surface of the mirror rippled and morphed, the face of her secondary advisor Trombly looked back at her, slightly tilted since the corresponding mirror was of the hand variety. A fair faced elf which had served her five centuries, the slight signs of age on him was ever lessened due to his elvish nature, hair still blonde and straight cut in an orderly fashioned, and his golden robes indicated him as apart of her personal chosen.

“The assembly is ready for your arrival whenever you wish to present yourself, my Queen.”

She considered, as always, being a bit late, just to spite the squabbling castes only a few hundred feet below her. But, unfortunately, she had something of a reputation to uphold. Her mental clock said she had a little over a minute.

“Understood Trombly. Prepare to herald my descent, and have the silencing array ready. I expect I’ll need it.”

“It will be done my Queen.” He bowed his head, then deactivated the mirror. Isala turned, and headed for the door, the glyphs on it thrumming though not triggering thanks to her design of them. The door led into a small circular chamber with a variety of magical symbols on the walls as if indicating options. She outreached her magic once more, manifesting a simple telekinetic spell, a false nonexistent hand laying itself onto the symbol which read in Old Aulian “The Children”

The room glowed, and she closed her eyes to not get spots in them, as she seamlessly was transported somewhere else.

She opened her eyes again, and she saw the walls all around her, the darkness mixing with the light pouring in from below, along with the silence of the area she was now in mixing with the cacophony of voices from below. She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes again and trying to isolate any running theme of the voices below, or to see if it was just an endless tide of squabble and foolishness.

It was naturally the latter, since this was the castes she was talking about. Her internal clock said ten seconds left. She slowly drew on both her ring and her reservoir, taking out a metaphorical cupped hands worth of magic into herself to fuel and focus the rings properties, and to obscure it from it’s creator, another act done out of spite rather then true sense. When previously she was simply hovering, now she had direction, slowly lowering herself down into the light and sound filled room like she did on routine at this point. The multicolored sections of the room would be blindingly disorganized to anyone who hadn’t spent centuries in this assembly, and thus intrinsically understood the incomprehensible ways the mages of the city had chosen to organize themselves in the assembly. She picked out the red caste in a line through green and blue, yellow cutting through red in a squiggled line as if drawn by a child, grey having actually stayed together, and purple encircling them all in a likely very petty move and something which would be changed the moment the other castes felt like filing the rearrangement motion.

As she floated down to her platform, a floating balcony composed of golden light mixed in with the colors of the castes, Trombly stood in front of a pair of royal guards dressed in sea green armor. The elf shouted, his voice amplified by magic and the simple nature of the massive room causing a slight reverbing echo throughout.

“All silent in the Assembly for the descent of the High Wizard Queen of Phirine, Archmagi Isala Matadele!” His voice commanded respect, that and his status around Phirine meant no one was keen on getting on his bad side. The Assembly for likely the only time that day, went silent, as Isala made the final stage of her descent, gently and gracefully making little sound upon her landing on the ‘solid’ ground of the balcony. She surveyed the room with a cold stare, her green eyes finding themselves somehow acutely visible to each person in the crowd who thought their whispered conversations were going unheard. When all were truly silent, she straightened herself, cleared her throat, then began to speak, once more taking a cupped hand full out of her reservoir for more glamour and to project her voice across the room.

“Good morning. Where do we stand?”

*The cacophony began to start again, until Isala slammed her staff down, using it to activate silence projectors, silencing all in the room briefly, before she released.

“We shall do this in a set order, since you all are too childish to take your turns like sound minded people. Red Caste. What do you have to propose or report.”

The primary speaker for the Red Caste, a lizard humanoid with fiery orange scales, a perpetually flaming two pronged spear slung over his back and a red robe with an eye on the top by the name of Juxis took the primary platform afforded to the group, also magically projecting his voice with a slight bit of warm flare to it. She negated it with the crown the moment she realized what it was, being a charisma enhancer, but she almost commended the effort. Almost.

Without missing a beat at the loss of his spell, he began to speak.

“We have desired to begin construction on a new grand design for three and a half years now, and request approval for an Alpha Crystal to be used for the project.”

“Denied.” Isala said, for the fifty sixth time now.

“-and if not that, then we request the blue caste be asked to cooperate in acquiring an alternate power source.”

“Do you intend to pay them for their services?” She inquired with a twinge of annoyance.

“Freely and fairly my Queen.” He fired back.

“Then your proposal is granted, on the condition that any payment is approved by my branch first.”

This elicited a set of groans and gripes from one corner of the mass of people, the ones wearing blue specifically.

“Anything else from the Red Caste today?” She said, ignoring them.

“Not at this time, my queen” Juxis said, seeming to have gotten what he wanted as he stepped down from the pedestal.

“Very well. Does the blue caste have anything helpful to propose or report?” She turned her head over to the section of people still seeming annoyed. One, a high elf with a staff and chain mail armor stepped up to the primary pedestal for the blue caste. She knew them as Phran, not a common speaker, though she couldn’t locate the normal speaker in the crowd either.

“While the previous ruling is regrettable, looking past it, we do have a report. The city is under an epidemic of magical abuses as of late, and we request something be done above it. We are the city of Phirine, the magical capitol of the world, we shouldn’t be overrun with cases like these”

Isala raised an eyebrow, the first she was hearing of this. “Give me an example of the highest profile case.”

“I could go on all day. We have a botched super solider programs subjects running amuck and their creator still at large, an imaginator in the underground, and a group calling themselves the orange caste trying to build a apocrothos generator. The grey castes protections and divinations have been insufficient and we motion for their immediate removal and execution.” They said this calmly, despite its outlandish nature.

“Denied. I will have order in my city however. I’ll deal with the generator personally the moment we adjourn, the other two I expect the purple caste to collaborate with the grey caste to to deal with the other-“

A purple caste member raised a hand to object. She gestured towards him with her staff.

“If we are to help, we request an incendiary cyclone wand from the red caste to deal with the imaginator.”

“Motion granted.”

A disgruntled look from Juxis and his sect.

“Anything else from the blue caste?” She said, eyes casting over back to the elf. They shook their head.

“Not at this time.”

“Very well. Green caste. Anything to propose or report?”

A well regaled human in simple cloths took the podium. She knew his name to be Halamar.

“A proposition. Our normal speaker, Caliban, is our east dealing with the growing Noctis issue in Zariya. We motion for him to be recalled in favor of a split effort between the castes. It is unfair for our largest asset to be taken up fighting a foreign dignitaries war while the rest shoulder no burden.”

“Motion denied. The Exemplar requested Caliban by name to deal with the threat. We believe Noctis may be consorting with demons, which if true, leaves him best equipped to deal with the issue. That, and it wouldn’t bode well to have an allies city be taken by rebels beneath them, and disrupt the balance of power in the region.”

“Then we motion for the other houses to have to contribute as well. If this issue is as large reaching as you say, then it seems only fair.”

“Motion denied. It won’t be a good look. We must appear as if just one of us is enough to turn the tide of conflicts.”

“Then we motion for greater compensation, if we are being used for the purposes of image of the entire city.”

“Motion denied. You are being rewarded fairly, and Caliban was happy to go.”

“That will be all.” The human sat down without another word, expression still neutral.

At least he was a good sport. “Yellow caste, anything to propose or report?”

“We propose to adjourn, because we have better things to do then to sit here and barely get anything done” An unknown speaker called out from the crowd.

“Denied. Enjoy your tongue being attached to your forehead for the next few hours however.” Isala said this coldly as she used more of her reserves in a personal act of spite, a muffled scream being silenced by a projector moments after it escaped his mouth.

“Grey caste. Anything to propose or report.” Moving on as if nothing had happened.

A female lionkin stood up onto her castes podium, in full plate armor without a helmet, a sword bigger then most people present strapped to her back. Her name was May, and she was normally not big on speaking, which meant it was likely important.

“Potential portals across the east. Soon after the start of the Noctis conflict in Zariya, our precognitive mages began to pick up traces of abyssal corruption. I had submitted this report to you previously, and Caliban was dispatched. I am here to state to the assembly that the problem has worsened. The corruption has started to impose physical changes to areas in the Central States, and the border with the Kingdom. If they become something full scale, then we may have issues.”

She paused, considering, before responding. Actually valuing the Grey Caste’s opinion.

“Should we trust The Exemplar and his men to handle the situation?”

“The Kingdom is our direct neighbor to the North. If they fall to corruption, either us or the Central States are next. We can hold off, the states cannot, unless they form themselves together. If they fall, it could domino the entire continent, save for us and the Dwarves.”

“Could, being the key word. How likely is it that the Kingdom can repel this corruption, with Caliban’s help?”

“Likely. But it’s not impossible for them to fail.”

She nodded slowly.

“Remain on standby. We will monitor the situation more carefully, and if things go poorly, we will dispatch the Grey Caste. Anything else to report?” She had her cities image to consider. Just sending one archmage provided the view she wanted, that the city’s will was indomitable, that one of their mages could spell doom for adversaries. Sending anything more could compromise that. She also didn’t want to reach too far. The city was on thin ice as it was, considering the strong coalition of powers on the Continent.

“Nothing, my Queen.” She said with a bow. Seemingly satisfied with that answer.

“Very well. Purple caste, anything to propose or report?” She said, looking to the encircling group as May stepped down from her podium.

Stepping up next was a well dressed green skinned goblin, wearing full formal wear all colored purple, and a purple top hat served to complete the look. A wand he’d likely need to hold in two hands was slung over his back. His name was Zrokatilan, and he was one of the most powerful destruction mages the purple caste had, and was pretty much the pinnacle of what the group strove for.

“We propose full apocrothos access”

“Denied.” She said sharply. The purple caste had started every meeting like this for the past seventy years.

“Then we report to confirm that our suspicions about the uprising out east are true. Theosien is behind it, however, he is working for someone else.”

“Caliban will deal with him and whoever else is necessary.”

“We propose to send him a stockpile of scrolls nonetheless.”

“Granted. Send the list of the requested ones to me and I’ll approve it.”

She’d part with a few scrolls if it meant bringing one of few traitors to Phirine down. Theosien was strong…but Caliban was most definitely stronger. And even if there was some kind of greater power, he had The Exemplar’s help. Nonetheless, the group gathered called Noctis was certainly problematic, and perhaps additional support would do the green caste’s archmagus well.

“We also propose a vote of no confidence in your leadership.”

That one was new. She was speechless for a solid two seconds. She couldn’t actually deny that motion, by the rules of the assembly.

“Fine. A vote, then, who votes no confidence?”

She cast her voice out to the room.

The blue and purple caste almost entirety raised their hand. A few higher up greens did, and a fair few reds, grey and yellow didn’t raise a single hand.

“And who votes against no confidence?”

Most of green, some of red, and yellow and grey raised their hands.

“That matter is settled again. Am I to be privy to what garnered this affair?”

She said, glaring at Zrokatilan, the goblin remaining resolute and neutrally calm.

“You have been levying your power inappropriately according to some. I intend to be adding a second entry to my frequently asked questions. Other representatives of the assembly, I encourage you to come find me and we can discuss our grievances in accordance with each other, and hopefully we can all get what we want.” He said to the room, before stepping down from the podium with a smug energy.

Isala took a moment to calm, then spoke out to the room.

“Then, I shall conclude this meeting of the assembly with this note: I don’t believe I have d one anything to any of you outside of refute frankly rather silly requests. The ones that haven’t been childishly simple grabs for power have been strains on the cities resources or causing more greater harm then good in any net gain. I have done nothing not befitting my position, and anyone who thinks otherwise is recommended to consult the history books and see for themselves. We are consistently in crisis for centuries now, and for those circumstances I feel as if I have done remarkably well, in protecting both my investments, all of your investments, and the city of Phirine’s investments. The city is intact, you are are intact, and magic is intact. All of these things reflect great success, not to mention the expansion of all of the aforementioned things. If you truly think all of that is worth nothing, I’d recommend listening to the power hungry well dressed goblin. If not, brush him off like the glutton he is. Assembly is adjourned, thank you, and good day.”

She turned, and began to walk away, her impudent compatriots bickering and shouting at each other the entire way she made. She didn’t get angry at them, not anymore, but this was the closest they’d been in nearly half a century. She really did hope this wouldn’t go anywhere, she didn’t want to have to deal with vote of no confidence proceedings every meeting, especially since the castes might just be spiteful enough to work together just to oust her and replace her with someone who would fulfill all of their wants via the cities vaults and values simply by virtue of being afraid of the caste’s power to hurt them without anyone noticing.

Which is why she couldn’t allow it. The caste’s run rampant would destroy the city. And her objective of clawing her way back into security of position meant starting with a bunch of nobodies trying to build an apocrothos.

She materialized in the undercity. No one actually lived down here anymore, they’d seen it as a barbaric thing to force on anyone, living underground. Now, it was mostly for the purposes of mining out the crystals beneath the city, or, in this case, hiding illicit magical artifacts and constructions.

This one was especially dangerous as well, being an apocrothos generator. She wore a ring containing one such spell, the pinnacle of mortal magic as it was known. Apocrothos spells could level countries, darken the skies near permanently, raise an entire nation as undead, tear massive holes in the planes, and much, much more. They were originally cast by the liches of old, using their entire reservoirs and stored powers, and they tended to drain even them to the point of near exhaustion. However, no mage alive could still cast an apocrothos from their own reserves. She even only had one, and it was simply contained in her ring, she hadn’t cast it. The city had several contained spells like that, and had used a few in truly dire situations, or to be used in less dire situations if something managed to slip through. Those were the incidents Phirine ended up known for. Thankfully, it had been over a century since one had been cast, and she intended to keep it that way.

Based on the name of the so called ‘orange caste’ she assumed that these ingrates were trying for a more destructive spell. She doubted they could have the skill to contain it, and would botch it, spelling destruction for the grand city above. She obviously couldn’t allow that. Even if they could contain it, she couldn’t risk anyone but the city of Phirine having access to that kind of power.

She lowered herself slowly into the cavern. She could smell the magic, the rancid attempts to leech power, to combine it, to throw it together into a foul smelling magical power amalgam, with nothing but raw energy to show for the sacrifices needed. She saw the prisoners first, mages of several classes, tied up and not moving. Likely already drained. The orange robed people were seen next, tending to the ugly machine of bronze and stone, imbedded with the crystals she knew all too well. It was a crude job, but she had no doubt it would work, given time. Generating the power for someone to tap and cast the spell.

She was spotted after a moment. Two of the orange robes took up combat stances, making broad gestures and firing blasts of flame at her. She decided to not bother with her own reserves for this, simply cancelling the blasts with the grey gem on the crown, before countering back at one caster with a beam of blue, which he, for his credit, attempted to defend from the blast with a decent enough shield, but the beam was simply on another level from what he could feasibly do. The beam punched through the shield, and blew a clean four inch hole in his upper right chest, not an instant kill, but a slow, incapacitated and painful one, which his compatriots could see. She simply hovered silently, as they repositioned and all focused on her as opposed to splitting focus between that and the main task of the machine. Fireballs mostly, but with some thrown in force beams, propelled stones and acidic streams.

Rather then cancelling them, she actively defended, forming a purple dome around herself, each attack hitting it and slowly transmogrifying into a greater mass of energy and dome circumference, the protective barrier expanding as more attacks struck it, and the magi below emptied every spell they could throw into her. Once the attacks began to slow, she counterattacked.

The dome dropped away from her, and she felt the reserves she held personal expand, enough to where she wanted to use them.

First, a whip of flame formed in her grasp, she cast it outwards towards one mage, wrapping his midsection in it and tugging, the flesh already melting through, and with a yell of agony, two sizzling halves fell to the floor. The whip then arced forward and incapacitated two others nearby with sheer heat, unable to notice the flames catching on their bodies in their unconsciousness. None of their allies were keen on helping given the circumstances.

Next, a hail of daggers, transmuted from thin air, cascading downwards in an array of steel, wholly puncturing the flesh of three more and injuring others. The daggers were gleaming, glinting…green, on their tips. The poison was fast acting, and the ones who’d been even just nicked didn’t last much longer after that.

Thirdly, she turned over to the right flank, who were attempting to kickstart the machine and throw something stronger at her. Since that could actually be problematic, she focused on them next. The earth beneath them softened, and they sank within, just to slow them down a moment before they could activate the machine concretely. A triage of lightning bolts then struck all three of them dead. She heard the calls for help from another passage, reinforcements footsteps hurrying down, along with others running to the other side of the machine, while those in front continued to try and engage her with more spells forming within their stance and grasps.

She cast a hand outwards, and summoned an old friend in the passage, opening up the briefest of gateways for that purpose. The sound of a blade slicing and flashing of radiant light indicated Eaiel was doing her work. She was an angel of the radiant sea, and she was very particular about who she was summoned to deal with. This seemed to suffice, by the looks of things.

With more immediate concerns, she looked to the spells being thrown at her from down below, and turned her skin to steel just as the flame rolled over her, then dispersed it, and cast molten metal leftover downwards, blinding them and likely far worse as they were left writhing on the ground. She flew to the right, not quite vain enough to land on the ground and give up the tactical advantage of flight. One of them had activated the machine, drawing the power into herself, and draining her friends, who laid unmoving at her feet. She smirked up at Isala, and fired the strongest thing she could with every single reserve afforded by the machine at the sovereign of Phirine. Not quite an apocrothos, but close enough.

It manifested in the form of a pure black ray of…it couldn’t be called light. It was the antithesis of light, something which stripped all away. Isala widened her eyes, and made a split second call to pull out the stops. Containment wasn’t worth it.

She outstretched and hand and manifested power from the crown and her own reserves, only slightly. Dipping both hands into a sea. But it was still more then she’d withdrawn in months.

The barrier came first. A refraction of magic and power, something to buy her a second, before it punched through, ready to annihilate her. It then struck every personal magical defense she could muster, and it was winning, nearly reaching her flesh. But she didn’t allow it. Instead, she pointed a finger forward, and fired about a handful of magical energy straight into the body of the orange caste member. The spell empowered, but more barriers warded it off, as the woman began to scream, hitting the ground as her flesh began to melt, her body consuming itself to maintain the amount of energy she’d been given, and her aim faltered, the beam striking the roof of the cavern. Isala used this chance to switch away from her defenses, fueling all of it into a single pinpointed blast of energy which punched a two inch hole in the center of the would be apocrothos caster’s head.

The beam vanished, and Isala breathed a small sigh of relief, before getting to cleaning up the wreckage. She had at least a hundred more things on her itinerary for the day more important then this.