Menagerie of Adventures

Aegeum Ciders - Cellar

While the puddle trail chaotically criss-crossed all across the floor, and there was far more than one, they all seemed to lead back to one place: The bookshelf next to the desk. Elliot's search of the floor revealed nothing, as did investigating the walls. Over by Shard, the strange, almost amorphous liquid seemed to come out from around the piece of furniture, though the thing seemed fairly set into place and impossible to move. Kaeso came up to the one-eyed boy, rubbing the back of his own head.

"Damn thing doesn't want to budge. Been meaning to move all the stuff down here to another room upstairs so there's more natural light."

The bookshelf was full of books on business and accounts, though there were a few religious books. One that seemed to stand out was an ornately-bound, snow-white book titled "The Sanctuary of Phiien", much thinner than the other books in comparison.

Aegeum Outskirts - A Trail Through The Woods

"Well...if you all insist."

Lucius followed behind them as they approached the homely cathedral. As they neared the structure, far more imposing now that there was less distance between them and it, the air felt...different. Calmer. Xera would feel her weapons weighing down on her a bit, and even Lucius fiddled with the spear slung across his back uncomfortably. It was much like the air in the forest the day before and yet it wasn't quite...malicious or pent-up. The Rift was active here, but it was faint and faded.

"The god's power still lingers here after centuries...gives me the chills, honestly, even if this is supposed to be a safe place." For a simple town guard, he seemed surprisingly well informed and at least semi-skilled in sensing magic.

Still, the courtyard and the giant wooden doors beyond beckoned. The courtyard was a humble affair, stone benches gathering moss scattered around a fountain still spewing water from a miniature knight's helmet atop it into its tiered basins. The tiny knight stood up straight and firm, both hands resting atop a kite shield. It was about now that it would set in that the sound of softly trickling water echoing through the empty space was the only noise to be found in this place.

Here, the world was still.

Aegeum - Commercial District

Outside the Poison Apple, there was a bit of a commotion coming from inside, the sound of two women yelling. It steadily got louder, before the wooden door burst open, revealing a fuming Maya storming out of the establishment, followed by a tan human woman with aggressively dark-red hair, wearing clothes only befitting a noble.

"Maya, wait, I'm sor-" She reached out a hand, only for it to go flying aside as the half-Dragonfolk turned around sharply and smacked it away with the back of her hand, shooting a glare that withered the woman.

"I told you ages ago. I never wanted to see or have anything to do with you ever again. Not after everything you did, all the jobs you made me do. I've got my own life now, and I owe you nothing. So the best way for you to make up is to leave me the hell alone, because I have things to do. Now leave and never come back. Get a freaking hobby or whatever, I don't care."

There was no shouting, no loud proclamations or cursing. Instead, Maya's voice was cold and dead serious, a seething angry whisper. She eyed the group of her students behind her over her shoulder, then looked back at the woman, grabbing her by the shirt and pulling her close, eliciting a small squeak of terror.

"And if I catch you out trying anything on anybody, I'll make you crave death. Eternity's a long time, my life is short, but I'll make the short time I'm here a living hell for you if I get my hands on you. I moved on from you using me, but I won't be so forgiving if you use other good people. This is your only warning, and be glad you're getting one at all."

She let go of her with a rough shove, sending her to the curb, before turning around again and nodding at Freana, Sieglinde, Verona and Pick as she made her way off, but not before giving them a few parting words.

"I wouldn't trust a single word out of that snake's mouth if I were you all. Speaking from experience."

And with that, she vanished behind the small crowd that had gathered, mingling into the Aegeum faces.

Shard

All the trails led directly to the bookcase. The bookcase wouldn't budge when Kaeso tried to move it. Shard pulled on it a bit—no dice. That left only one answer.

"Secret passage!" he squealed, eye shining.

He eagerly pulled the books from the shelves, waiting for some mechanism to trigger and the bookcase to swing open, revealing a hidden passageway to wherever the thieves lived. How else would you explain why all the trails led to the bookcase?

"Alright alright...nothing, not yet, not this one— Ooh, maybe this is it!" Shard grabbed the thin white book and pulled.

Pick

As he'd said, Pick had a travelling cloak of his own. It was quite warm, mostly because it was made from an old blanket, cut and sewn into the proper shape, and tied around his neck with twine. On the back was stitched his name, 'Pick', in simple letters.

After his sword, it was his most treasured possession.

It even had a hood, though he kept the hood down as they headed to the Poison Apple. Surprisingly, Instructor Maya was there. Concerningly, she was in a shouting match with a woman who was presumably their client.

Maya's words were quite damning, but Pick didn't want to jump to conclusions. The woman had tried to apologize, after all, and Maya was known to be impulsive. So Pick nodded silently at Maya's words, then once the instructor left, strode up to the woman.

"Greetings. I am Pick. Are you the client who requested us to retrieve your sister's ring?"

Sieglinde von Brandt

Sieglinde had kept the hood of her own cloak up more out of a general anxiety than anything else, but once they'd arrived at the familiar tavern that was the Poison Apple she cautiously tugged it down. The shouting from inside caused her to bite the inside of her cheek worriedly, and her concern only grew upon seeing Maya's agitation—giving her a tentative smile in return to her nod before swallowing at her apparent warning.

Pick, naturally, seemed to be blatantly ignoring it.

Letting out a soft sigh, she straightened her stance and waved a cautious hello towards the woman. She was dressed quite elegantly, which somewhat reminded Sieglinde of her own mother. Except this was more showy, less combat-focused...

She assumed. It might've been intentional. By no means indicative of her abilities.

“Good morning~! What Pick said, but... Pick, the principal said we were s'posed to meet him here...” she earnestly warned, tugging at her diminutive friend's sleeve. “He'd tell us if we were gonna meet 'em here too, right...?”

She wasn't sure why, but she felt a little uneasy. Granted, it wasn't that hard to get on Maya's bad side, but she knew their combat instructor had a good general sense about her, and she was kind enough for Sieglinde to like unabashedly. It'd be strange if this was entirely unjustified...

Plus, she'd said something that implied she'd worked for her before or recently. Maybe this woman was overbearing...?

“Ahem, sorry. What's your name, Miss? If you... don't mind me asking...?” Sieglinde questioned, snapping out of her thoughtful daze as she tilted her head a mite to the side with a somewhat distant look towards the woman. “I'm Sieglinde von Brandt. You're dressed very pretty...”

Careful mention of her clothes. Perhaps she'd elaborate.

Cellar, Elliot.

...Well, this wasn't getting anywhere. At least the place was sturdy and no real sign of damage. Probably, he wasn't exactly an architect an-

His thoughts got cut short by the rather enthusiastic squeal about a secret passage that made the young noble flinch and quickly spin around, looking somewhat anxious only to find Shard was just...grabbing a book off a shelf. ...It couldn't be that easy, could it?

"E-Everything looks alright over here? Although I'm guessing since you two are standing by the bookshelf, you've found something?"

Freana

...wowza.

Freana didn't know enough to get the whole picture, but she knew these two had some history. What sort of history, she wasn't sure. Though she had some ideas.

Shame none of them were PG.

But judging by the dress, this girl was some sort of noble. So if what Maya said about her was true — using her, spouting lies like a snake oil salesman — it wouldn't surprise her one bit. She nearly walked away with Maya in solidarity on principle.

But she guessed she'd better make sure this was their client before she did anything rash. The principal said they'd be meeting their client there, but that didn't mean it was her. But even if it wasn't, maybe they get some dirt on their instructor while they were at it.

Assuming they could trust anything that came out of her pretty little noble mouth.

"What they said. But yeah, that's a very nice dress you got there. Can't imagine what it must've cost. Hell, I bet most people could go breaking their back at the docks for a whole year and they still couldn't afford it. But I guess it ain't a problem for you, huh?"

Seriously, if she was a noble, she wasn't sure what would stop her from ripping off that dress and giving it to someone who deserved it.

Or hocking it for a fortune.

Long as she stuck it to her fat ass, either one was fine by her.

Edited by kkhohoho on Dec 20th 2020 at 10:40:21 AM

Verona

Verona, despite her best efforts, was starting to get a little bored. So far this epic quest had been mostly walking to buildings to talk to people, and talking to people about the next building, without an iota of danger or mystery.

Plus, nobody had accepted her offer of those clothes she was never going to wear. Which stung, a bit.

All this was to say, Verona wasn't exactly focused on the task. She'd spent the walk over attempting to start a conversation about wyverns (although it had been a bit of a monologue at times). Now, approaching The Poison Apple, she was lightly considering ducking out to spend the day working on her secret passage plans if nothing interesting materialized soon.

Luckily she didn't have to worry about that.

She stared at Maya's retreating back for a moment, trying to reconcile the angry yelling Maya from the day before with the cold, quiet Maya walking away from them now. For some reason, the contrast unnerved her.

The others' questions went unheard as Verona mulled it over. They were saying something about the client, and the clothes the lady wore, maybe? Boring stuff.

At length, Verona turned back to the wealthy-looking woman.

"So what did you do to make Maya hate you so much? Must've been pretty bad, right?"

Verona didn't give the woman a chance to respond before she continued.

"Also, what was the deal with that whole eternity thing? Are you immortal or something?"

Zyan Zyat

"Wow..."

And really, what else could Zyan even say in regards to this? It was massive, monolithic and the energy that coursed through here, however faint, gave him a light tingle up and down his scales as he looked around. Eyes wide with silent wonder and his lips curling into a grin.

"This is...this is amazing." he spoke. Approaching the fountain, he stared up at it, his claws resting against the edge of the basin, looking at the water, at the statue and just...admiring it.

"It's like...a little part of history that just got cut out. untouched by years of changes." He said, leaning forward a bit. "It's almost unreal..."

Xera

Xera looked around in wonder at the sight before her. It was truly a sight out of time, something out of an old myth perhaps. She adjusted her blade that was sheathed and resting on her back, wondering why it suddenly felt heavier. In fact, this whole place had an unusual feeling to it that she was unfamiliar with.

"Indeed," she nodded in agreement with Zyan as she walked around to get a better look at the fountain. "I've never seen anything quite like this."

Aegeum Ciders - Cellar

Shard's hand easily pulled the book out from its home, the aged tomes it was sandwiched between still upright. Behind the book, almost completely camouflaged against the rough woodwork, was a tiny keyhole, easily overlooked if it weren't given the tiny window focusing on it.

"What...? Well, I suppose that might be where one of the keys on my grandfather's keyring might go."

Kaeso stepped up to the bookcase, rifling through the keys on his keyring, before pulling out to the fore and trying to fit it into the lock, giving it a cursory twist with a rattle as the key barely budged.

"No, not this one..."

For the next few seconds, there was much rattling of metal as Kaeso went through key after key, until one finally fit, turning with a neat click. A small panel of the back of the bookcase opened, revealing a circle button in the stone wall, too small for any adult non-Terran finger to fit into, as Kaeso demonstrated by pressing it curiously. With a rumbling of stone and ancient mechanisms, the entire wall came loose like a door, bookcase and all attached to it. Old musty air and the small of dampness burst through with a gust of wind as the secret door opened, revealing a stone staircase heading even deeper into pitch darkness.

"Well...I'll be, an old secret passage. I was wondering why Aegeum didn't seem to have an underground half like so many Terraforman cities I heard about..."

It was quiet, though the faint echo of drops of water hitting age-old puddles rose to a soft crescendo up the stairs.

Aegeum - Commercial District

"I...I'm not your client, sorry. I was just here to apologize to her and...well, you saw how that went." The girl slowly got to her feet, dusting off her clothes. She perked up when Sieglinde and the others mentioned her clothes.

"Oh, these? I made them myself." With most of the dirt dusted off, she heaved a heavy sigh, shoulders sagging. "I'm Rizilia, by the way. And yes, I'm immortal. A...god, if you will. That's what your kind tends to call us and what we tend to think of ourselves as. As for why Maya hates me...I'll leave that for her to tell you. I wouldn't want to make her even angrier by revealing something she's made clear she wants to move past. It's nice to meet you...Sieglinde, Freana, Verona and Pick. Although Pick, aren't your kind usually not so..."

She looked uneasy for a moment, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as she tried to avoid looking at Pick too much, gritting her teeth.

"Errr...self-aware? Sapient? Basically not like robots acting out whatever commands they're given? I wonder if I could tell you what to do and if it would work..." She was...blatantly wondering out loud if it was possible to override Pick's own free will.

Not unexpected for a god, really.

Cathedral of Phiiren

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised. They say that the gods are the only ones who can work magic that lasts forever or something like that. Is it really that much of a surprise that this place feels like it never changes? It's been abandoned for over 20 years, but it existed for long before that. Almost as old as the town itself. At least in the books I read." Lucius stepped up to the twin doors towering over the trio, and with a heavy huff, he pushed it open. The ancient hinges flipped with barely a noise even as the door only slowly moved inwards, the sound of the wood creaking resounding like thunder from the interior. As the door finally could move no more, Lucius swung around the edge of it, quickly latching it to the wall so that it stood open by itself. Inside, there was a heavy, almost blanket-like silence and pressure. The main hall was mostly empty, save for a few stone pews. Scattered on the floor and benches were old bits of bandages and moldy food, long-forgotten toys now crumbling to dust and long-aged stains of blood. A heavy smell of herbs and old, dried blood wafted through the air.

"Must've used the benches as beds for treating and resting the injured on back during the war.

Lucius seemed...different. Gone was the man who was dead inside, replaced by a man who was almost equally in awe as Zyan and Xera, almost as if he had some passion left inside him. As opulent as the place was, it was sparsely decorated and furnished. This place had been looted already by those brave enough to risk the ruling god's wrath while their power now waned in this place long-forgotten by them.

"Kind of a shame we're not the first ones here since the place got left alone. Can already tell the water slimes have broken in here as well." He pointed at several trails of gooey water trailing along the floor and walls, squeezing underneath the doors and cracks in the wall from outside.

"Damn pests. Sooner they're gotten rid of, the better. Would save me the endless complaints. So how long are we going to be sightseeing then? Place gives me the creeps." He folded his arms, frowning, tapping his foot impatiently.

Shard

Shard almost squealed with excitement at the sight of the keyhole, clasping his hands together. "Secret passage! I knew it!" Where did it lead? Treasure beyond his wildest dreams? A study full of magic none had ever even heard of? The lair of a monster that would devour them whole?

...okay, hopefully not that last one.

His excitement only built as Kaeso tried each key, watching with a shining eye as the panel opened to reveal the button. When the button was pressed and the bookshelf opened to reveal a real secret passage, well...

"AAAAAAAAAH SECRET PASSAGE!" Shard squealed, bouncing in place. "LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GOOOOOOO!" Throwing caution to the wind, he started dashing down the stairs.

Sieglinde von Brandt

“Ohhh, you're a god. Huh...” Sieglinde blinked, nodding at this before blanching at the woman's comment regarding Pick and promptly moving in front of him in a defensive fashion. “Uh... let's not test that. Pick's a friend. Not under control anymore, and that's that. But anyways...”

She drew in a breath—hoping this firm statement of hers would be enough to dissuade the immortal—before letting her somewhat vacant gaze pass over the woman's clothes again in an attempt to change the subject again.

“So you made those? They're really nicely done~! My mom's tailored some clothes too, before... but I've never seen anything like that. Is that some sorta god thing...?”

Pick

"Ah." Pick said. He prepared to walk past her and find their actual client, but the woman explained herself and Pick paused.

He slowly tilted his head. "There is a phenomenon on this world wherein Mesmer suddenly gain awareness. In doing so, they are no longer bound by divine commands. You will find I am no easier to control than any of my companions."

Pick frowned. "It is odd that you don't know that, given you are a god. I would think you would be aware of the root cause of the phenomenon, assuming the gods weren't responsible for it themselves. Given your relationship with Maya as well, I would assume you've been present on this world for quite a while - have you truly never seen a self-aware Mesmer like myself?"

Freana

Okay, so. Good news and bad news. Good news was, she wasn't a noble. So that meant she wasn't at the top of her shit list.

Bad news, she wasn't their client. And she was a God. Freana was never sure on where her faith stood, but she knew that no Gods had come to her aid when she was hungry and homeless. And this woman certainly hadn't. If she knew enough about them that she could list off her name without batting an eye, and what she said was true, then...

...hold the phone.

She knew her name. She knew all of their names. Listed them all off like that.

Either she was a God, or she was the best-damned informant she'd ever seen. But if she was a God, then she had a treasure trove of questions. Starting with the big one.

"That so? In that case, I got a question for ya." She raised her head, eyes growing fierce as she glared at her square in the face. Where the hell were you? If you're all supposed to be looking down on us, making sure things go off without a hitch and the trains run on time, then why haven't you done more? Hell, somehow, you know my name! You know what I've gone through! You know what everyone's gone through! You've got people all over struggling to make ends meet and you know it, but you haven't done jack shit! If you're supposed to be Gods, then why don't you act like it?!"

...she'd been keeping that one bottled up for ages, hadn't she? Of course, there was every chance she'd get smote for saying such a thing to her holier-than-thou face.

But damn if it wasn't worth it.

...Well, that didn't quite answer my question, but...

The staircase swinging open like a door made Elliot blink in surprise before giving a cheerful grin.

"Heh, do you think anyone's going to believe us when we tell them when we get back, Shar-" Elliot stopped in his tracks as Shard had already taken off.

Which meant his attempt to gently grab Shard's shoulder to try and hold him back from rushing on ahead into the darkness failed entirely.

...Well, he'd probably be fine. He could just create magical sparkles or something to light things up for him. Elliot wouldn't be so lucky as he wasted no time in rummaging through his pack and eventually found a lantern with tinder to light it.

"Might be something to try and see for ourselves at least once in this life of ours rather than just hearing about it, don't you think? It's certainly got me interested in seeing a city like that now that you mention it."

Verona Auer

Verona had mostly been kidding about the whole ‘immortal’ thing, so she was wholly unprepared for the woman to come out and admit it so readily.

Aren’t gods supposed to be secretive about this sort of thing? ‘Walking the land in the guise of a mortal’ and all that?

See, if Rizilia had denied it, or been startled by the question, Verona would have been convinced she had to be a god in disguise. But Maya’s parting words were still echoing around in her head.

‘I wouldn't trust a single word out of that snake's mouth.’

“I don’t buy it. Maya could’ve told you our names, or you could’ve found them out from the school, or something. And what kind of god hasn’t heard about awakened Mesmer?”

Verona looked around at her friends (and Freana), who all seemed to be various shades of fascinated by the woman claiming to be a god, and felt a twinge of nerves at contradicting them.

Don’t be a buzzkill, Verona. Say something interesting.

“I mean, if you’re a god, prove it. Tell us something only a god would know.”

Zyan Zyat

Shaking his head, Zyan looked back and forth at the area around him and released a little wistful sigh as he crossed his arms. History as old as time itself and here at his beck and call, lost to time. So with a nod of his head, he tried to shrug off the energies that coursed through the air and cleared his throat.

"Yeah I think we've done enough sight seeing for now. At least we know where this place is! We can bring the rest of the class here when we have some free time. Who knows, there may be some neat things to find if we all look. But Lucius is right, we had enough sight seeing, now let's go ahead and do this job. The sooner, the better." He chopped his hand into his open palm.

Xera

Xera was swiftly brought back to reality by Lucius and Zyan.

"Right," she nodded. "Let's go then."

Aegeum - Commercial District

"You...really overestimate how much we're aware of at any one point." Rizilia bit her lip at that, looking nervously off to the sides and then up at the sky as Freana blew off at her. There was no smiting, no booming curses. Rizilia didn't even give the Fenrir an annoyed look. "I've grown kinda distant from most of the others so I'll tell you this. We might not like to admit it, but we don't know everything all at once. We can know anything with a bit of focus, like how I knew your names, but everything all the time? That's a bit much. Do you notice every ant scrambling around in an anthill? Take that, magnify it several thousand times. Prayers and stuff? Lucky to make a blip if it's any sort of large following. Even then, direct interference in the mortal worlds is frowned upon. So I'm sorry for any hardships you may have, all your unanswered prayers, but to think we're all-knowing is just something my kin would want you to believe. Also...most of us rather enjoy the tragedy and problems mortals get up to by themselves, maybe with a bit of help from us. It's seen as a break from the tedium of floating around in the Rift for all of our immortal lives. But I wouldn't try revealing this to the wider public. The gods may have moved on from Menagerie, but a few of the diehard devotees are still around."

At being questioned about not knowing about Awakened Mesmer, Rizilia rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Well...I thought that they were simply acting on the orders of another god before. Or that it was a one-time oddity. But...here's Pick, and Maya's married to one too, so...my bad? I have no idea how that happens, they're basically supposed to be mindless beings made to look after things on our behalf."

When Sieglinde complimented her on her clothing, she just gave a brief glance downwards, as if wondering what the big deal is, while also giving a glance at Verona asking her to prove her godhood. "Well...I can make anything I want. Perks of being a god is that we can make anything out of nothing and it'll last forever, unlike anything mortals make. Bet that would have been useful in your little 'accident' near your hometown, wouldn't it Verona? That should be enough proof I know more than Maya can tell me. So I 'made' this in that sense. I'd switch it out for something else if I wasn't concerned for everyone else finding out about my status. I'd hate to have to wipe their memories or something, I've moved on from that kind of thing."

Secret Passage

There was one thing Shard would notice when the steps finally reached their end.

It was impossible to see. At least, until Elliot followed close behind with a lantern, illuminating the wide, rough-hewn stone passage that spread into the depths before them. Long-abandoned torch scones lined the walls, and more of the watery mucus trailed on the floor, always getting bigger around where small puddles were forming from moisture condensation. Kaeso's voice bellowed from atop the stairs.

"I'll wait up here! If there's anything down there, I wouldn't be much help anyways! Also better just in case the door closes and needs to be opened again from this side!"

There was a faint breeze coming from ahead of them, as if this passage had another opening far off in the distance. In fact, the air wasn't quite as stale or stuffy as one would expect, though it did still have the musty smell of a damp, underground tunnel. Perhaps it ran under the nearby river?

Temple of Phiiren

Right as Lucius, Xera and Zyan turned around to leave, there was a brief glimpse of blue rushing past the doors outside, circling around to the other side of the cathedral. The fountain had also stopped spewing out water, with a trail of viscous goo leading away from it and keeping in step with the strange, dark blue...thing, they had just seen slither away.

"Water jellies. They've spread here, huh?"

Lucius moved to draw his spear, but the moment the weapon left his back and was pulled into a ready position, he was forced to the floor with the clatter of wood and metal, kneeling as if the spear weighed a thousand tons. The air grew heavier, more hostile and active as he did.

"What the?! Dammit!"

He tugged and heaved, but to no avail. Lucius simply could not lift his weapon again...until he could, the weight suddenly lifting as he slung it back across his back. It was as if the very aura about this place could sense aggressive intent, and punished those who dared attempt it.

Sieglinde von Brandt

“Hmm...” Sieglinde squinted, considering the supposed deity for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and giving her a dozy look. “I won't tell anyone! Promise~! Still, being a god sounds... weird. Really weird.”

Despite her seemingly amicable words, Sigi didn't much care for the woman's tone. Out of instinct she drew nearer to both Verona and Freana, giving the woman a prolonged stare before eventually losing interest and diverting her attention back towards the tavern.

“Anywaaaaays~! We gotta meet with Principal Alexander now, so... sorry! Nice to meet you, anyways~!”

"Very well! If we find anything, we'll try to let you know!"

...Alright, Kaeso's comment made sense but Elliot was still somewhat uneasy. At least the moisture and stuff on the walls wasn't blood and even if it was shut behind them, the air was fresh...so breathing wouldn't a problem.

And to be honest, even with that fact, this still was a tunnel or secret passageway, so it was a little hard to keep composed with just that cheerful grin as he carefully continued through the underground passage to find Shard, lantern raised to light up the way.

"Shard...? I know you're eager, but in the unlikely chance there's something down here, wouldn't it be better to stick together...?"

Freana

...was she real?

Not only did she admit to being a God straight to her face. Didn't so much as deny it. But she had the gall to compare them to ants. Ants. Not worth their attention. They could pray three times a day and slaughter enough bulls to stink up the whole city, but they wouldn't care.

They were nothing to them.

And then she went after Verona as, what, proof? Like, maybe it was proof, but she didn't need to go taunting her with it or anything. She already felt bad for doing it herself, but seeing someone else rub it in made it ten times worse. She placed a hand on her shoulder, knowing that whatever she was feeling, it was nothing next to what Verona was going through.

And then she spat straight in God Lady's face.

"FUCK. YOU."

...welp.

They were fucked.

But damn if it didn't feel good.

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 7th 2021 at 10:39:28 AM

Pick

As Rizilia gave her speech, Pick could only stare a moment, looking back and forth between her and Freana, before Freana spat in her face.

For a brief moment, Pick smiled at that. Then he returned his face to neutrality. "Perhaps..." He said at last, "My kind gained self-awareness, because they realized the orders of gods were not worth following."

He turned to walk away. "Good day, miss. C'mon, everyone. Let's find the actual client."

Aegeum - Commercial District

"Oh please, I would be so glad if you didn't tell anyone, I'm kinda through with having any sort of influence as a god. Who's Principal Alexander though? I can't summon any info-" A glob of spit hit her on the face, causing the goddess to flinch, eyes wide in shock.

The world trembled in sudden stillness.

The air became eerie, otherworldy, just as it had been in the forest. This time though, it was outright malicious, controlled and dripping with metaphorical venom, though the expression on Rizilia's face as she wiped off and banished the spit did not match this. It was almost...sad, disappointed. Melancholic. Her eyes pinched slightly at the corners, a gulp caught in her throat mid-swallow.

"Well...so that's how it is then...?" Rizilia turned to look back at Freana, her voice shaking with her body as she spoke in a whisper. Two hands turned to face the sky, palms facing up, as the pressure of the very essence of reality squeezed around them.

"I'm sorry, Maya, for doing this when I said I'd stop. But I cannot stand for this."

When she next spoke, it rang crystal clear, though the crowds moving through the city passed by as if nothing was happening. The universe sang in unison with Rizilia's quaking words. The air around them warped, flickering in-between that of reality and the starry space of the evening sky, with Rizilia gently floating off the ground, a pair of blinding white lights shining in her grasp.

"Freana Gasdvur, taken family of Osgol Gasdvur and a daughter of Skollmark. Orphan. Thief. Scam artist. Adventurer. May your sins come to bear, weighing down upon you as your transgressions weigh upon others. You who would steal and deceive, who would take advantage of the weakness of others such as Verona Auer, know that as you tip the scales, fate shall tip them back. As you take, so shall you be taken from. As you harm, so shall your harm return to you. May all your causing of misfortune and sadness be caused unto you in balance. This is my curse as Rizilia of the Divine Scales, Goddess of Balance and Equilibrium, unto you. May your bear this brand as a tally of your due comeuppance and misfortune for all your selfish, harmful deeds."

Cuffs and chains of ethereal golden light erupted from the air and ground, snaking their way up Freana's legs and arms, binding her in place with a grip that would make even a Bogovi uncomfortable to struggle against. Rizilia raised her hands higher, merging the two orbs into one above her head. The giant, singular ball of light exploded with a radiant burst of energy, forming into a symbol, a brilliant anima, in the shape of a pair of scales. With a flourish of her hands as she separated them she pointed a singular finger at Freana, the lustrous scales flying forth, becoming smaller and smaller as it neared Freana and homed in on the back of her hand. When it touched her skin, searing, numbing, excruciating pain would jolt through her, as if she had been frostbitten and then suddenly dipped into lava, wispy tongues of light whirling all around them as the symbol grew to blinding levels.

"May your sins of the past, present and future be your harsh teacher of the balance of the world, starting now and forevermore. We shall meet again, and I hope you will have learnt your lesson by then."

And with that, it was over. The shackles binding her shattered. The world faded back into reality once more, and Rizilia was gone. Life had come out of its brief stasis. Children cried and laughed as they ran through the streets, people gossiped on town corners and merchants plied their goods and services once more. But the softly glowing scales on the back of Freana's right hand, quickly fading to a scorched black mark and taking the aching pain with it, glared back at her with the reality of what had just been happened. It was there for all to see.

She had just been cursed by a god, forever.

Sieglinde von Brandt

Sieglinde's smile and ditzy countenance began to fade as she realises what was going on, and silently wished that she and Pick could've had more influence over the group overall in that moment. Her eyes sharpened and her expression became tight-lipped as she witnessed Freana's reaction, and outright drew back and pulled up her chin once the supposed god began to curse her. Muttering to herself beneath her breath, she started to rifle through her limited things for some drawing material and her pen; beginning to write down word-for-word what Rizilia had said.

She didn't flinch, or show much outward sympathy, or otherwise react much barring a constant grinding of her molars from behind her closed mouth as she overheard the agonizing process. Instead she just finished what she was writing with a final few underlines to certain words of emphasis, and then (after noticing the marking on Freana's back and roughly sketching it as an afterthought) clapped shut her book once things began to fade back to normal.

She considered the whole turn of events for a fair while, leaning back on her heels and resting her chin against her palm, before deciding to speak up—picking her words carefully.

“Freana. Don't answer back because it'll probably make things worse. But listen to me a sec, and to what I'm actually saying. Are you alright? I don't mean that as a dumb question, I mean is it hurting you at all now?”

She hated to use a firm tone, but she was not in the mood to be shouted at out of anger Freana couldn't deliver to the person responsible. Sieglinde was severely unimpressed, but she wasn't going to let that get in the way of sense.

She didn't take these things lightly.