Wizardquest 3 Part 7: Monstrous Intrigue

Chapter 17

>Tobias

                “Tobias.”

                “Yes, Clint?”

                “Can you answer me a quick question?”

                “Anything for you, my dear friend.”

                “Why are we being escorted like criminals to the capital of the Monster Nation?”

                “That is indeed a quick question, one which I am afraid I don’t have the correct answer to.”

                The man turns to look at you with a droll expression as you sit on the front bench of your wagon, surrounded by armed, rather large, Monsters. Despite getting to keep most of your weapons, the Monsters had you surrounded and surveilled to the point that even turning a little out of line earns you glares from your escorts.

                Alice lets out a deep sigh from under her hood. “We could have made excellent time if we weren’t hobbled by these cows.”

                One of the Minotaurs escorting you nudges your wagon at the remark, which jostles everyone. Alice merely grumbles and crosses her arms. Ophelia sighs and shrugs her shoulders, “Well, not much we can do about it now. I suppose they weren’t just going to let us through the country that easily.”

                “It’s fine, we’re sort of under the protection of the Monster Lady, right?” Clarissa asks.

                All you can do is shrug and say, “Probably. I mean, she’s technically my mother-in-law now so that has to count for something, right? Surely Monsters value family to that degree, right? Of course, that this means for Alice, Clint, and Finn, you don’t know…

                The other, strange bovine Monster from before moves up to keep pace with you at the front of the wagon, though you aren’t exactly moving fast. You’re surprised at the stamina of all these Monsters, able to keep pace with your horses for hours without slowing these past few days. You’d almost find it admirable if you weren’t so worried.

                “We will be nearing the capital city soon. Once we arrive, you will listen to all regulations and procedures and should you deviate in the slightest, we will not hesitate to use force.”

                “I understand.” You say, nodding at her and giving a soft smile.

                She blinks in surprise and looks away, blushing, before falling farther back. Aww, looks like she likes those with roguish charm, huh? Hells, that’s going to be a problem you hadn’t fully thought of in this capital city. Many, many cock hungry Monsters looking for fresh husband material. While you and Clint might be okay on virtue of your wedding ring and Ginelle respectively, you can’t say the same for Finn.

                Of course, when you look back, you see both Rayleigh and Alice leaning into the man, to which he doesn’t seem to notice or care, merely reading through a notebook. Well… maybe things will work out okay.

                It’s a few hours later when, true to her word, you see as you rise the crest of a grassy hill the capital in the distance.

                Large, stone structures dot the landscape all around you, spreading out to encompass a wide swath of land. Though you can’t tell for certain at this distance, there appears to be green wrapped around the bleached white stone, looking to be vines trying to reclaim the city. Spires in various states of disrepair dot the outside of a wall showing patchwork repairs through the ages while around the wall and out into the countryside surprisingly are farms growing all sorts of crops. The two most interesting features, however, are the palace and the temple.

                Sitting at the edge of the city is an enormous place made in a style you can’t place. It seems to predate even sanctifrond’s architecture, seeming both square and yet containing curves you’re surprised to see. In the center of the city through is an even more impressive structure, one which stands atop a hill and dominates all around it. With circular pillars around the side and a tall, triangular roof, you have no doubt that this is the Sacred Temple of Dollora, the grandest Dolloran shrine in all of the world.

                Even Ginelle whistles as she beholds the structures before her. All of this must be incredibly ancient and yet here it is, still in use. Though some more modern buildings using Deleorian techniques can be seen around the periphery, most of the buildings stand testament to a bygone age. It is at once breathtaking, and perhaps sad. What humans used to live here, you wonder, before they were consumed by the Monsters who once wished to eat them, but then wished to fuck them?

                “Fits all the descriptions of Carthos I’ve read about.” Patricia says, nodding her head as she looks out from behind you. “The ancient capital of the Monster Nation.”

                “Sort of like a homecoming for you, huh?”

                “I don’t see why that would be the case. Mother’s pack was probably always in those woods, even before the Great Transformation. This would be more of a homecoming to Rayleigh.”

                “Huh?” The Squirrel Girl says, ears twitching. “What are you talking about, I was born in Deleor.”

                “Was your mother?”

                She pauses for a moment before frowning. “You know… I’m not sure actually. Never really thought to ask.” She shrugs, “Pretty irrelevant though.”

                “History is never irrelevant.” Patricia says, looking down at her furred hand before clenching it. 

 

——————————————————————————————————————–

                Your entrance into the city under normal circumstances would be met with wide-eyed stares of curiosity and a general murmuring of excitement. Given that there’s been a stop on trade and you’re being escorted by armed guards, the tone of the chatter is a little less friendly.

                As you pass under the ancient gates to the city, you become acutely aware of just how much diversity there is in Monster races.  Spread out all around on the sides of the road, watching your procession are many familiar Monsters such as Wolf Girls, Cat Girls, etc. but also more Oni than you’ve ever seen in one place, Hellhounds, and even Unicorns. Harpies galore fly through the sky while Succubi cavort through the streets, giving the place a strange sense of controlled chaos, kind of like a circus in a way.

                Men are in attendance as well, usually attached closely to a Monster. For the most part, they seem rather happy, affectionately holding onto their wives or the hands of their children. Some seem a little more glum or nervous, but you suspect they were once captured in raids or battle and haven’t come to accept their lot in life now. At least it’s pleasurable but at the same time you feel for the men, though they don’t look mistreated beyond those being held in the arms of their wives. Pelvis breaking is still a thing, even after the weakening of Monsters, it seems.

                The general murmuring in the crowds is something more akin to distrust and it makes it uncomfortable as you pick out words like, “prisoners” and “Order dogs.” Of course, they can’t know that you have Order members, right? But who else would be out here? Guess you’ll just have to keep things on the down low. You do, however, feel a little embarrassed when you also hear murmurings like, “Oh, he’s cute” and “Nice piece of jailbait…”

                Eventually you’re taken down a side path through the city of ancient stone, overgrown as you suspected by fairly well manicured plant growth. A large building stands before you, though this one seems to have a few more modern accoutrements to it. The reason for this becomes apparent when you’re told to dismount and enter the building to find it as a sort of holding facility. At this point, you’re forced to hand over your weapons and wait inside a large chamber locked with a rather sturdy looking steel door.

                “Well.” Clint says, leaning back on the bench in his cell. “We’re in the capital. We did it.”

                “Clint, please.” Ginelle says, though she clearly looks frustrated as she squats. “I don’t think we could have fought ALL of them.”

                Ophelia looks at the couple, askance, before sighing. “How long do you think they’ll make us wait here?”

                “Can’t be too long.” You say, drumming your fingers on a table in the middle of the room. “The Monster Lady will probably ask questions about this group lead into the city under armed guard and I don’t think a lie will go over well. We just have to sit tight until-“

                Footsteps sound, cutting you off. A few moments later, a short Monster approaches the bars, flanked by much taller Lamia holding spears. The shorter Monster unlocks the door and steps in before being locked in herself. She sighs and walks over to a chair at the table before pushing herself onto the seat and looks at you while clasping her hands together.

                “What a mess of trouble you’ve caused.”

                Surprised, you look between your party members before turning back to the diminutive Monster. On examination, she looks rather human, her only distinctly Monster characteristics being her sharp teeth and two horns atop her head. You think for a moment she might be a Succubus, but she lacks wings and a tail. Wracking your brain, you eventually come to a conclusion: Goblin.

                Coughing into your hand, you say, “I apologize for the confusion. Have you been made privy to the letter the Monster Lady provided us?”

“I am.” The Goblin says curtly before pulling it out. She sighs and looks it over again. “Things are a little tense here at the moment, as you can tell, and even on the Monster Lady’s authority, we need to do a through check of you and your companions before we let you go.” She grunts,

                “This would have been easier had you not had weapons.”

                You shrug. “It’s dangerous territory here, but I understand the concern.”

                “I don’t think you really do.” She leans forward and says, “Do you truly support the Monster Lady?”

                The question confuses you at first before it hits you. Taking a small breath of surprise, you sit up a little straighter. The two of you lock eyes as you say, “The Monster Lady has our full support, and we have no intentions of interference in the governance of the Monster Nation.”

                The Goblin studies you a long time before sighing again and pinching her nose. “We’ll still need to process your equipment and get statements and-“

                “I think that’s quite enough of that, Murdocka.”

                Blinking in surprise, the Goblin turns about to look at a newcomer outside the cell. Standing between the perplexed looking Lamia guards is a beautiful Monster wearing a dress of red and gold which hugs and accentuates her curves very nicely. If you weren’t married, maybe you’d find her appealing. Oh, and she’s also your sister-in-law.  

                Sophie runs a black furred hand through her long, brown hair, her nine, bladed tails swaying behind her. She notices your expression and smirks, feline ears atop her head twitching before she goes back to frowning at the guards.

                “Tch.” The Goblin, Murdocka, says, crossing her arms. “I didn’t think she’d send her brat so soon.”

                “Oh please, Mother didn’t do anything, I came here on my own accord when I heard of your little parade through town. A few questions was all I needed to learn what’s really going on.” She waves a hand, “It would be in your best interests to release the guests of the Monser Lady.”

                Murdocka grinds her teeth before grunting. “Fine.” She waves to the Lamia guards who look at each other warily before opening the door. The Goblin walks past, and grumbles something to Sophie before walking outside. The Cat o’Nine Tails watches her go before shrugging and walking in herself, hands folded before her. Before you can say anything, she bows to you, taking you off guard.

                “Esteemed guests. I welcome you to the Monster Nation and apologize for how you were treated. On behalf of the Monster Lady, I formally apologize.”

                “Uhhhh, Sophie what are y-“ You cut off as the guards watch you with curiosity. Coughing into your hand, you straighten up and say, “Of course, it was little trouble and we were brought to the capital safely. All in all, I consider this a positive turn of events.”

                “I must still apologize. Please, once we have gathered your belongings, I would like to escort you to your accommodations for your stay in the capital.”

                “Ah…” You begin, but trail off as one of Sophie’s tails twitch. Opting to just shake your head instead, you say, “Of course. We are in your care.”

                The rest of your party, seeming utterly confused, just follow along. Your gear is haphazardly tossed into your wagon by the staff here, though you’re quite ready to just leave without organizing it. When you go to get your horses however, Sophie shakes her head to stop you.

                “It would be best to gather your things and take them with you. Horse drawn wagons attract too much attention here.”

                “Won’t we attract attention anyway?”

                “Yes, but not nearly as much. As long as you hide your Order symbols, no one will care too much.”

                “And don’t you attract attention.”

                She huffs and pushes a part of her dress to open it up a little and retract her tails inside. Once cone, she raises an eyebrow and you hold up your hands. Okay fine, that works well enough.

                “We’re ready to go.” Ophelia says, walking up to you and nodding to Sophie. The other Monster merely makes a polite gesture and your large group begins to walk through the streets toward the palace.

With the sun shining over head and a nice, even summer heat permeating, you feel like you’re on some sort of vacation instead of a quest to save the world. The exotic and ancient architecture, the vibrant display of Monsters, and the comfortable weather make things interesting to watch as you walk. Unfortunately, you also get a few looks, but the Monsters and human men you see don’t have the same level of concern you saw beforehand. Instead, they seem more aware of you individually, paying keen attention to Finn for some reason. Can they sense that he’s single?

                You never really read much into the Monster Nation’s daily life growing up and still didn’t have much of a reason, even after marrying into this family, to check. There was little reason to go here, after all. You knew that the Monsters hadn’t built any major cities of their own, instead utilizing the structures left behind by ancient humans or ones built by captured humans during the invasions. Their agriculture also should have been stunted, relying more on hunting and gathering, but by having men teach them their ways and opening up things such as commerce, a function society has flourished here.

                In the last twenty years you suspect this has grown even further, especially with the policies put in place by Selene, who opened up a greater dialogue with Deleor and allowed much greater flow of goods and people. This may account for why they have markets like you’d expect to see in Deleorian cities or buildings like that jail which were likely absent in the past.

                Still, when a young Monster with large, feline paws, ears, and orange to black stripes runs up asking you to buy some flowers, you find it both surprising and expected. Given the right resources and relative peace, even a Monster run nation will be similar to one such as Deleor. People and Monsters really aren’t as different as everyone fears, huh?

                Chuckling, you give her two copper coins and she hands you the flowers, blushing furiously as she touches your hand before running off. You look down at your hand before looking up at Sophie to find she has a shit-eating grin on her face. Well, perhaps there are some differences- namely the lack of human men.

                After walking through the busy city for maybe twenty minutes, you pass along the structure of the Sacred Temple of Dollora and take a moment to appreciate it as well. From a distance it was impressive, but close up you can almost feel something radiating off the place- either magic or just the gravity such a structure holds. Even Ginelle, who rarely had much use for the Gods, pauses a moment to marvel at it.

                “You can pay your respects later.” Sophie says, moving you along. Part of you kind of wants to take her up on that… but no, you can’t stay long. You have a job to do.

                Your destination isn’t much further, though it surprises you. Instead of arriving at the palace, you instead arrive outside a mansion-like structure within sight of the palace. The wall around the place crumbled years ago and clearly no one finds it necessary to guard the place, that you can see anyway, so you just walk inside to find it moderately furnished. While in no way like the mansions of the nobles in Sanctifrond, it cares a similar level of sophistication and charm. Infact, the least sophisticated thing about the place is Sophie who, upon the door closing, pulls out her tails and then promptly flops down onto a plush couch.

                “Ugghhhh.”

                Once again, your party looks around in confusion until Sophie looks up and shrugs. “What, no one’s watching and it’s a little warm outside. It’s nice to rest in the shade.”

                “Ah, I figured that was all an act.” You say, setting aside your gear. “I seem to recall you having absolutely no manners at my wedding.”

                “That is extremely rude!” Sophie says, lifting a tail in the air.

                “Uhm.” Ophelia says, rubbing the back of her head. “What is going on?”

                “Sophie’s just being herself.” Alice says, seeming nonchalant about the situation as well. “You said you were going to head up here, didn’t think we’d see you though.” 

“Mmm, well, mother had let me know someone was going to be coming through, though she didn’t exactly tell me why. Just to keep an eye out for you. Of course, I didn’t expect that you’d be lead in like prisoners though, so I figured I’d intervene.”

                “Aren’t you the Monster Lady’s daughter?” Clint asks, seeming perplexed. “Why aren’t you in that palace?”

                “Politics mostly.” Sophie says, sitting up. “But also because I wanted to do things on my own. See the Nation with my own eyes, get to know the people here.”

                “In a mansion?”

                “A girl’s got to have a little style.”

                Ginelle sniffs the air and cocks her head. “Are you all alone here?”

                “Yes, mostly.” She says, waving her hand. “I came to learn that mother has this sort of spy network like those Kunoichi that Ammon had. Scary girls.” Her feline ear twitches and she snickers. “Anyway, it’s fine to stay here. Company will be nice.”

                “I apologize for my brusqueness, but why exactly did you bring us here? We don’t plan on staying long.” Finn asks, getting to the point.

                “Well, I saw my darling brother-“

                “Brother-in-law.” You say, raising a finger.

                “Right, in-law. Also Alice and Patricia, and figured I should help. Besides, being where you were, I believe you could use a friend.”

                “Couldn’t the Monster Lady help us?”

                Sophie folds her hands in her lap and looks contemplative. “In truth, mother should have returned here as soon as she returned from Ectria. The politics of the Monster Nation are on a razor’s edge and even her writing you a writ of passage is going to send some ripples through the factions. She can’t afford to bring you under her wing.”

                “I understand.” You say, nodding to her. In truth, things are a little nebulous about that fact, but you believe you understand what must be going on. “As Finn said, we do not plan to stay long. We merely need to resupply since we’re here and head north toward an old observatory.”

                Sophie raises an eyebrow. “On a mission from mother?”

                You pause before saying slowly, “She was one of the deciding factors, yes.”

                She studies your expression before smoothing out her dress and standing up. “I see. Well we all have important information to keep these days. It might be wise for you not to linger anyway, as not to cause any undue attention to the city or become something which the other factions can use against mother.”

                “We’ll leave tomorrow then.” You say.

                “Do we need to leave so soon?” Patricia asks, looking a little crestfallen. “I mean, I hear that there’s a library in the Sacred Temple so…”

                Sophie chuckles. “Oh Patricia, you really have gotten into the books? You’d get along quite well with Sylphie these days.”

                “Bah, it’s only your other sister I have problems with.” The Wolf Girl says, waving a hand. She turns to you and gives puppy dog eyes.

                “Well…” You say, remembering what happened in Cair.

                “Oh it will be alright.” Sophie says. “I’ll escort her, no one will cause her trouble. Besides.” She waves a languid hand toward you, “Do you even know where you’re going? The library may be the only place with any sort of maps in it, though Dollora knows if anything useful is in there.”

                “I’d be interested as well,” Ophelia says. “It’s not like anyone here wants to kidnap me, right?”

                For more than once in this journey, do you wish you hadn’t brought so many VIP’s.

———————————————————————–

                The rest of the day you spend inside Sophie’s cozy little mansion, grateful for the beds. It isn’t too much and the rooms aren’t exactly the cleanest they can be (seems Sophie doesn’t entertain that many guests), but there’s enough beds that everyone can have one, or at least share in some cases.

                While you wish you could go and get some extra supplies, both Sophie and Alice advise against it. Married or not, human males aren’t exactly common enough that everyone will keep their hands to themselves. It’s kind of strange really, hearing things that most mothers tell their daughters… but you suppose things are a little reversed here, aren’t they?

                Though you prepare yourself to eat pack food for the evening, it’s a welcome discovery to find that Sophie is quite stocked on foodstuffs. Alice assures you that Sophie’s cooking is excellent and you’re very happy to report that it is indeed delectable.

                “Why aren’t you married yet?” You ask while eating some stewed carrots, a dish which Ophelia devoured heartily.

                “Because she was a shut-in with her sister for most of her life.” Patricia says, much to the host’s consternation.

                Despite the banter, the evening is rather nice and you get the feeling that Sophie enjoys people her age around almost as much as she actually does enjoy playing the host. It kind of makes you wonder why it looks like the place hasn’t seen much in the way of traffic then… but perhaps it’s not your place to ask. You’re just here for tomorrow and then you’re gone the next day.

                Speaking of which, when the next day comes, you’re loathe to get out of bed and ready yourself to go out into the city. But you have a job to do and it wouldn’t do to be caught being lazy in front of your team. Or your sister-in-law. Or your mother-in-law by way of your sister-in-law, etc, etc.

                After a quick breakfast, you head out into the morning, the sun shining down upon you while a gentle breeze off the mountain cuts some of the summer heat. It’s actually much nicer here than in Deleor at this time of year, though you bet the winters have to be brutal. Good thing Monsters are a hardy sort, but you suppose all sorts live in the deserts too, huh?

                Walking the streets yesterday drew attention, but walking the streets today with Sophie leading the way draws even more. The mix of curious vs. angered eyes is quite surprising and it makes you feel incredibly wary. You’re fairly confident most of those stares are not for you, but instead for Sophie and you have a good idea why. This might also be why her abode didn’t see many people coming through…

                Finn and Clint give you nods, clearly having noticed the tension. All three of you are on guard, though perhaps that’s silly to say as you’ve been on guard anyway. Alice checks the sword at her side but Patricia, Ophelia, Rayleigh, and Clarissa seem blissfully unaware, merely taking in the sights of the city. For Ginelle’s part? She merely stays close to Clint and bares her teeth at anyone getting close.

                When you come to the Sacred Temple of Dollora again, you have to stop again to take it all in. Through millennia this place has stood and been changed by Monsters and humans living here to a house of worship to Dollora. Who knows which Gods the ancient people here used to worship, but at least one must have been Solos. Though you’ve been to a few Dolloran temples, you have to wonder what’s inside this, the largest in the world?

                As you approach the doors, you notice two Lamia guards sit there, halbreds in hand as they watch the flock of worshippers entering and leaving. They cross their weapons as you try to pass, barring your entrance. You make to say something when Sophie stands up very straight and says,

                “We have come to look through the archives and to pay our respects to great mother. It is by the will of the Monster Lady and the High Priestess that all who come searching for Dollora’s light be shown entrance.”

                “Perhapssss that is the cassse for some.” One of the Lamia says, the unfortunate thing suffering from that speech impediment that some Lamia have. “But there are unbelieverssss in your company.”

                Sophie looks over her shoulder at you and you frown before stepping forward and showing your ring. “I am married to a Monster and we have a two daughters. I believe in the co-existance between Monster and human and give praise to all the Gods.” You pause,

                “Except Jackor. Fuck that guy.”

                The Lamia exchange looks before nodding to Clint. The man goes to say something but Ginelle grabs his arm and bares her teeth at the Lamia, who back down. Their eyes linger on Alice before one of them mutters, “slut” and moves onto Finn, giving him an appraising look.

                The tall man grits his teeth before exhaling. “I am…”

                “Going to be on his best behavior, right?” Rayleigh says, stepping up before him, though they have to look down due to the comical difference in height. Finn blinks once before nodding his head, surprised.

                The guards look between each other slowly withdrawing their weapons. You’re not exactly certain what just happened there, though you have a hunch, but it’s enough to enter the temple. Surprisingly, they don’t take you’re weapons, though you’re about to find out why.

                Passing through the great doors, you find yourself within a entrance corridor lined with tall pillars like on the outside. Braziers lit with burning coals line each of them and on the sides built into the wall are alcoves filled with texts and artifacts clearly related to Dollora. While it’s overall on the darker size, like most Dolloran temples, it still manages to feel… comfortable? Like there is a presence watching over you in a manner similar to that of entering a shrine to Solos.

                Patricia wanders off to one of the side alcoves and you have to send Ginelle to pull her back in line before she can touch anything as you enter further. While there are side passages, the area that catches you attention is directly in front of you, leading toward another set of massive doors. Other Monsters flow past you, seeming less concerned than they did outside, perhaps from the temple’s influence. They flow with you as you enter into the large chamber and gasp at what you see.

                A massive statue of Dollora stands at the far back of the chamber, but this one is different than those you’ve seen before of her. Most have a duality, half angelic visage, half monstrous. This statue shows Dollora as entirely angelic, her wings spread out behind her as her arms stretch out to embrace the worshippers. Below her is an altar, a large slab with multiple candles and smaller carvings of the more traditional Dollora likeness.

                Row after row of pews and open areas for larger Monsters seat those who have come to offer praise to their Goddess, despite there being no current sermon. A “thump” next to you breaks you out of your slack-jawed stare, and you turn to see Ophelia kneeling before the statue, tears in her eyes.

                “Uh… are you alright?” You ask, shocked.

                “I… It’s Dollora… she… this is really her.” The Rabbit Girl rubs at her eyes and blinks, as if surprised to see them there. “I’m crying? Oh…”

                “I know what she’s feeling.” Clarissa whispers. “I was never one of temple but… seeing this I know that she’s there, watching over us.” She chokes up a moment before taking a breath to steady herself.

                “I don’t get it.” Rayleigh says, staring at the statue. “This one isn’t like any of the others, but I feel… it’s more right than them.”

                “No one’s quite certain, but it’s said that this statue was actually built by the ancient humans who used to live here before the Great Transformation.  This may be on the one representation of Dollora like this that exists.” Sophie says in a quiet voice. “Though my father is bound to Solos, I sometimes come here to think about Dollora and all of the Gods.”

                All of you quietly contemplate for a long time, either saying prayers or just… absorbing everything before eventually Patricia says in a low voice, “We should move on.”

                “Ah, right.” You say. “You give worship to Hevensferth.”

                “Do not think that I don’t also give my thanks to Dollora.” The Wolf Girl says as Sophie leads you toward the entrance to the library. “Any Monster who doesn’t is lying to themselves.”

                Ginelle mumbles something as Clint rubs her arm while walking toward the library. There’s no guards here, surprisingly, though a fair number of robed Monsters (see: still showing excessive skin and cleavage) going through books, cataloging things or reading. Few other Monsters are around however, and you suspect the largest reason for this is that most Monsters never learn to read. While literacy is exploding in Deleor, it still seems the rest of the world has yet to catch up.

                Patricia hails one of the robed Monsters and asks after literature detailing the ancient human civilizations. The Monster seems at first surprised, then ecstatic to help someone, easily pointing you along the way. Poor thing must not get to do that very often. At least she’s good to her word and you soon fine an old, wooden bookshelf containing tomes you’re afraid will break if you touch them.

                The Wolf Girl slides her fingers up and down the spines until she clacks her tongue and pulls one off the shelf before grabbing a few others and settling down at a table. She opens one up carefully and takes out a notepad from her bag before pausing and looking at you.

                “Uhm. I don’t do well with an audience. Go find something else to do.”

                “I’ll help.” Ophelia says, going to take a book from Patricia. The Wolf Girl gives a little snarl, which surprises all of you before she puts a hand to her mouth, shocked.

                “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t think… oh Gods that’s just like my mother, I apologize.” She coughs into her furred hand and shakily passes a book to Ophelia. “Most of these appear to be written in ancient Deleorian so…”

                “Please. I studied a little ancient Deleorian.” Ophelia says, huffing.

                “Oh, same.” Alice says, taking up a book, much to Patricia’s shock. “Ah, been awhile but it still makes sense.”

                The Wolf Girl looks hurt. “J-Just let me know if you find anything you might think is relevant. And I mean ANYTHING.”

                The three get to work while the rest of your party moves to a different table and convenes, talking low amongst yourselves. Leaning forward on the table, you say, “Well, they’ll probably be at it for awhile.”

                “Shouldn’t we go and gather supplies?” Rayleigh says, to which Finn frowns.

                “It would be best to stay in one place I think.”

                You agree with this notion. “I don’t want a repeat of Cair. We’re just looking some things up and leaving tomorrow, no matter what happens, alright?”

                “Fine, fine.” The Squirrel Girl says.

                “Ah, fair enough.” Sophie says, nodding her head. “I suppose cooking for one more night will be fun. It was nice having guests actually, though staying here may not be the best.”

                “Oh?” Clarissa asks. “Why not?”

                “Does it have to do with us being near you?” Clint asks.

                The Cat o’Nine Tails smiles. “Yes, I’m afraid so. As I’d mentioned beforehand, it’s a political thing and, well, I’m sure you noticed the looks we got on the street.”

                “You’re not exactly popular.”

                “Well Tobias, that really hurts.” Sophie says, hand to her heart. “But it’s the truth, in a way.”

                “Like I said, we’ll be leaving soon.” You say, waving a hand. Before you can say anything further, one of the robed Monsters, a Cat Girl, walks up to your table and bows her head.

                “My lady, I apologize for bothering you, but I must ask if it is acceptable, who is Wolf Girl?” She nods to Patricia. “Her voracious appetite for knowledge is most intriguing.”

                “Her name is Patricia Boudreaux.” Sophie says. “She has formal education training in Deleor.”

                “Oh my, is that so? I see she’s reading books related to ancient human culture and I saw her looking into Hevensferth. There are certain artifacts in the library that I would be dying for her to look at and give her opinion on…”

                “She’s preoccupied at the moment.” You say, cutting her off. The Cat Girl blinks in surprise before frowning at you.

                “I’m certain it’s something of value. I’ll go speak with her-“

                “She asked not to be bothered.” Ginelle says, giving the Cat Girl a level look. The Monster gulps for a moment before giving a small smile to Ginelle.

                “Of course. Perhaps another time.” She backs away and vanishes into the stacks of books.

                All of you watch her go before Clint crosses his arms and frowns. “What was that about?”

                “I don’t know.” You say, a worried feeling creeping through you.

                “Ah!” Patricia says, standing up quickly and catching your attention. She turns and makes to head for the bookshelves again. Hurriedly standing, you follow her and watch as she riffles through the titles before grunting in frustration.

                “Damn, they have a great cataloging system here, surprisingly and I’d hoped the reference book I needed would be here but it’s not.” She groans and leans back. “I think someone took it.”

                “What’s so important about this book?”

                “If my notes are correct, then this particular book has information related to practices by ancient worshipers of Hevensferth. Given what we’re looking for, that would be the best guide!” She sighs and taps her chin. “I could have sworn this book was here before when I was checking though. Where did it go?”

                “We’ll ask around.” You say, moving to ask the robed Monsters if they know of the title. Unfortunately no one has it out and books do not leave the library without the Monster Lady or the High Priestess’s express approval, so it has to be somewhere in here… or someone took it.

                “You know.” You say as you ask a final Hellhound of all things about the whereabouts. “I think that the Cat Girl we saw earlier went that direction into the stacks.”

                “Cat Girl?” The Hellhound asks.

                “You know, she’s one of yours. Average height, brown hair, brown eyes.”

                The Hellhound frowns. “There’s no one like that who works in the Temple staff, I am afraid.”

                Your worry senses from before being to ring a little more as you turn to Patricia. “How important is that book?”

                “Very. Perhaps the other books will work, but that one is the best lead.”

                “Miss Patricia?” A voice says, catching your attention.

                You turn to see a younger Kobold in the robes of the temple holding a piece of paper. She hands it to Patricia, who reads the words before frowning deeply. She gives it to you and you grit your teeth as you read,

                “I would really like to speak with you. I even have a book you might find enjoyable. Please come find me near the Terebithian district. Or I’ll find you.”

                Groaning, you rub your forehead. Can’t you just have something nice happen in a big city for once?

 

Chapter 18

 

                The Kobold cocks her head as you walk over to your table and slap down the piece of paper before turning to Ginelle and asking, “The Cat Girl who was just here, can you get her scent?”

                She blinks twice before nodding her head. “Yeah, I think so.”

                “Good. Everyone, let’s get ready to move.”

                Sophie looks at the paper and frowns as she passes it to Finn. No one questions what’s on it, instead rising quickly and efficiently. Leaving the books on the table, you leave the library quickly, much to the confusion of the staff before exiting the temple back into the city.

                The heat of the day shines upon you again, but you make no notice of it as you look about, trying to spy the Cat Girl. If she’s watching you then she should be around here somewhere…

                “This way.” Ginelle says, pushing forward into the sea of people, all of whom watch your group with interest before going about their own business.

                “Why exactly are we going to find this person? The book can’t be that important.” Sophie says, her tails nimbly nudging people aside with the precision of a living being.

                “In some ways it is, in other ways it’s not.” You say, still scanning the crowd as you move. “But that Cat Girl seemed very interested in meeting Patricia.”

                “For what purpose? If they seek to kidnap her to force Blake’s hand, I don’t see the good. Even for his daughter he won’t try to lead Deleor in favor a regime that opposes my mother.”

                “Exactly.” You say, worried. “But I’d rather we catch her than be caught off guard.”

                Sophie sighs but says nothing further as you pass farther way toward a series of tenement buildings made of stone like the rest of the city. Ginelle pauses and sniffs the air before turning toward a side street where you see a familiar set of ears. A moment later, a head follows and you see the face of the Cat Girl. When she realizes you’re watching, she smiles and ducks back into the side street and out of view.

                You push on forward, breaking out from the foot, hoof, and tail traffic of the main street. There’s no one traveling this street at this time, making it seem like a different world as the buildings cast long shadows, shading parts of the street from the oppressive sun above. In the distance though, you think you spot movement, though the others of your party notice it as well.

                Ginelle, Finn, and Rayleigh move forward down the street to the side of the building where the movement was. Finn looks around the corner and looks to Ginelle, who nods to him, before he signals the rest of you over. Hiding in the shadow of the building, you crouch down to speak to the man.

                “Looks like an apartment complex. Ginelle thinks she entered here.” He signals in three directions. “Probably three exits, front, side, and back. I suggest we split up and cover all the exits so they can’t escape.”

                “No, we should move together.” Clint says. “This isn’t the movement of prey trying to escape, this is deliberate to lure us here. Splitting up makes us easier to take out individually.”

                “I agree.” Ginelle says.

                “If they laid a trap, they can take us all out at once.” Alice counters.

                “We’ll be fine. I doubt they have anything that can disable all ten of us.” You say. “Besides, I don’t need a repeat of Cair. We’ll protect Patricia and find out what’s going on here, okay?”

                They all nod their heads in agreement before moving to the side entrance. Finn and Ginelle take point while the rest of you make a formation around Ophelia, Patricia, and Clarissa. On the count of three, Finn opens the door and moves in, hand on his sword while Ginelle bears her claws, sniffing.

                Nothing comes to greet you, just an empty hall of doors leading to domiciles. Ginelle continues to sniff the air before turning down a hall and motioning to the rest of you to follow. Though the hallways aren’t that large, you can move three abreast without difficulty, moving up a set of stairs at the far end. With the noise you’re making, you assume you’d attract attention, but no one has opened the doors, nor have you seen anyone moving through the halls.

                “It’s empty.” Sophie says, listening to a door before opening it, revealing a deserted room. She frowns, “There are parts of the city which are uninhabited, but I figured a place like this would be a little different.”’

                “Seems a great place to jump someone then.” You say as Ginelle leads you down a hall heading to the center of the complex. You pause when you come before a door with ancient letters chiseled into the stonework above it.

                “Gymnasium?” Patricia says, cocking her head. “On the second floor?”

                “Her scent is strong here.” Ginelle says, nodding her head. “I think she just came this way.”

                “Alright.” Finn says, drawing his sword. The others prepare themselves for battle as well, drawing weapons, powering them up, or preparing magic. The man takes a few breaths before pulling back and kicking the door open.

                Your party piles into the room to find… nothing. Weapons still drawn, you enter into the room, looking around for any sign of danger but see nothing. After a few, tense minutes, you turn to Ginelle, who sniffs the air before giving a bewildered expression. “I don’t understand, she was just-“

                *CRACK*

                Her words are cut off as the floor underneath her suddenly caves in, dropping her, Finn, Clint, Alice, and Rayleigh to the lower level. You’re far enough back that you can pull Patricia back with you while Sophie nimbly leaps aside and Clarissa grabs Ophelia, flapping her wings to pull her away from the devastation.

                “What the fuck happened?” You ask, moving carefully to the side of the ruin. The floor had caved in from the center it seems, leaving only the edges safe. This clearly wasn’t because of a structural failing, this had to be intentional. This is confirmed a moment later when an annoyed voice says,

                “Tch, didn’t get them all. Alright girls, you know the drill.”

                Below you, in a meeting hall area now filled with rubble, you see your teammates trapped in the stone, groaning. At the far end of the hall though is the Cat Girl, holding the book in one hand, the other on her hip as she waves to a group of Monsters mainly made up of Cat Girls and Oni, the former holding nets while the later have clubs.

                “Tobias, I hear sounds coming from behind us.” Sophie says to you.

                Looks like they came prepared… and damn, most of your combatants are down in that mess. All you really have is yourself and Sophie, because you’re certain that Clarissa, Ophelia, and Patricia can’t put up much of a fight.

                The Cat Girl chuckles, “You know, this worked out well. I only wanted to get the wolf, but if we take the Monster Lady’s precious daughter too, this could work quite well in our favor.” She shouts to you, “Hey boy! Don’t try to resist and we’ll make this easy on you!” She considers for a moment,

                “Though Rose did say she’d like to have you all to herself… hehe. She never said anything about having some fun with you first.”

                “Rose? Shit.” Ophelia says, holding her Magitek electocuter close to her body, the device spitting out sparks. “Tobias, what do we do?”

                “Ophelia.” You say, running your plan through your head again. “Do you have any of those explosives?”

                “Uhm, I have one.” She says, fumbling in her bag to pull the device out.

                “Good, I need you to throw it in the hall behind us.”

                “Tobias, that might collapse part of-“ She cuts off before cursing. “I just hope this section can hold on.”

                “It’ll be fine.” You say before grabbing Sophie’s shoulder and whispering in her ear, “Grab Patricia and run once Ophelia gives the signal. I’ll distract them.”

                “What? No, you need help fighting-“

                “No, I need the city guard or whoever the fuck they are here as soon as possible. Get Clarissa to grab Ophelia and have her broadcast for help, I don’t care how she does it, we need support.”

“Wait, what about you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m a mastery of trickery.” You say, hoping that the cats below haven’t heard anything. Taking a deep breath, you walk to the edge of the crumbling stonework and look down. It’s… not that far a fall, just one story. You’ll be fine, right?

                “What the hells are you thinking to do?” The Cat Girl asks, expression concerned. “I saw you talking with ‘her highness’ don’t you think I didn’t-“

                “Ophelia!” You shout, cutting her off.

                A moment later you hear a beeping sound as Ophelia activates the bomb and hurls it down the hallway (not that she can throw it that far). Pinpointing the oncoming Monsters below, you cast a simple illusion of dust making them cough and get in their eyes from the earlier cave-in. It’s a simple enough thing and the effects are immediate. Good thing too, because if you had to work any harder-

                *WHOOMPH!*

                *CRACK*

                The explosion from Ophelia’s bomb sounds followed by the shattering of stone and shouts of pain. You hear Sophie grab Patricia, the latter protesting while Clarissa grabs Ophelia. They dash off to a window on the side of the room, Sophie using her free tails as anchor points as she dashes across before shattering the window and leaping down while Clarissa flies through the tinkling glass. For your part, you look down again at the rubble and prepare yourself.

                *CRUNCH*

                Huh, that’s not a good sou-!

                A cry escapes your lips as the floor beneath you crumbles, the explosion from Ophelia’s bomb ruining the remaining integrity of the already abused floor. More tremors shake the building, but you can’t quite seem to care as you land in the broken stonework, hard. Groaning in pain, you push yourself up to see Alice beneath you, the woman unconscious. Great, just great.

                “What the fuck, *cough*, was that?” The Cat Girl says through a cough. “You son of a bitch, are you *cough* trying to bring this place down on our heads?”

                “N-No.” You say, picking yourself up slowly, trying not to cry out in pain. Fuck your foot hurts. Did you sprain it? “I was merely showing you a taste of what’s to come if you don’t drop this charade.”

                “What are you talking about?” The Cat Girl says. “You’re surrounded and most of your group is lying in a pile of rubble. You have nowhere to run.”

                “Are you so sure?’ You say, pushing your illusion up again as another tremor sounds, this time having dust rain from above. You’re not certain how much longer this will work before they get smart and cover up. “It’s not too late for you instead to give in. I know you’ve been hired to nab Patricia, but I promise you that it will not end well for you.”

                “Oh? How so.” The Cat Girl says, doing exactly what you feared she would. She pulls out a handkerchief and wraps it around her mouth, the others following suit. No more coughing you guess, and they’re starting to shield their eyes. Fantastic.

                “We are on a mission for Justice. One which you are interfering with. You think you might be doing some noble and just, but in the end you’ll only damn not only yourself, but the world.”

                “Says you.” She says, motioning to the others to move forward.

                “Yes, says me.” You say, noticing a shifting of the stone nearby. Edging closer to it, you continue to speak. “However, let’s think about the short term. You stole a book from the Sacred Temple of Dollora. In the Monster Nation capital. How insane are you?”

                “It’s just a library.” She says, shrugging. “Oh no, I’ll have to pay a fine.”

                “Are you not from around here? At best they’ll torture you, at worst they’ll slap on a chastity belt.”

                The Cat Girl pauses at that before giving a worried chuckle, “Hah… not that it will come to that. Almost makes the punishments in Galmathoria look civil.”

                Galmathoria? Wait what in the hells- nevermind. Shaking your head you kneel down, which basically means you collapse. Not exactly ideal when you’re trying to project confidence. At least it gives a good excuse for you to root through the shifting stone beneath you as more groans sound.

                “You know this won’t end well for you. Just hand us the book and walk away. No one needs to know about this, least of which the Monster Lady. Just walk away.”

                “I think not.” The Cat Girl says before pointing. You turn in time to see one of the Cat Girls with the nets throw one toward you. As it sails forward, you pull with all your might to bring forward Ginelle, who roars in a mix of rage and pain. The net covers her just as the Oni goes to club her, bringing the weapon down and-

                Ginelle catches it in one, clawed hand. She turns her gaze upon the Oni, who backs up in surprise, despite her larger stature. The Badger Girl rises from the rubble, net still on her before releasing the club and grabbing the net with both hands. In a feat of sheer savagery, she roars and tears apart the net, releasing herself.

                The Cat Girl in front of her drops back on her ass, terrified while the Oni’s eyes widen in shock. She hesitates a moment before swinging her club at Ginelle again. The Badger Girl ducks underneath and springs forward to drive into the chest of the Monster, sending both of them tumbling down the pile of stone. The Oni tries to reach up and push Ginelle off, the but enraged Badger grabs her head and violently slams it into the floor until she’s unconscious and a little more so.

While brutal, it does, however, leave her open for another Oni to hit her full force in the back with a club, driving Ginelle face first into the unconscious (or maybe dead) Oni. She makes for another swing when a whirring noise sounds and a bolt of energy blasts the Oni’s leg, dropping her to the floor in agony.

Turning about, you see Clint holding his rifle in shaking hands. Blood dribbles from his forehead and you have no doubts in your mind that the man has a concussion. This is furthered when he wobbles and falls to his side in the rubble, just as another pair of netter and clubber arrive. They rush toward you, ignoring the fallen man, forcing you to prepare and illusion when a hand reaches up and grabs the leg of the clubber, dropping her atop the netter as she falls.

Finn lets out a groan as he picks himself up, armor dented but still intact. His sword is out of his hand, but he’s able to drag himself up while the Oni turns and kicks at him as she picks herself off the ground. The man grunts but stays put, though you can’t see the reason at first until he shies away to the side, revealing Rayleigh’s fluffy tail covered in debris.

The netter gets up and turns, throwing her net on the man and trapping him, allowing the Oni to pull herself free. Before she can hit him though, the lead Cat Girl shouts, catching the Oni’s attention in time to see Ginelle fly over the rubble and plow into the Monster, sending both of them tumbling away. This leaves a confused looking cat with a net covering Finn who doesn’t react in time when you throw a punch, dropping her to the ground.

                You follow suit a moment later, your ankle hurting abominably as you help Finn from his netting, a process that’s actually rather difficult. A stirring catches your attention and you see Rayleigh push herself up, words slurred as she tries to speak.

                “F-Finn? What… happened-!?”

                She’s cut off as the Cat Girl who lured you here rubs up and round house kicks her in the head, dropping her cold. Finn shouts but takes a kick of his own to the side of the head and he staggers, still conscious but dazed. Before you can react, she grabs you by the collar and shakes you like a doll.

                “You fucking shit. Why can’t you just make this easy? Just fucking stop and hand over the fucking wolf!”

                “Good luck with that.” You say, giving her a pained smile. “She left the building awhile ago.”

                The Cat Girl blinks and looks behind you before looking up. She grits her teeth and turns her gaze back to you. “Fucking hells. I can see why she mentioned you too. Fine then, I’ll just take you instead. There will be plenty of opportunities to get the wolf.”

                “I’m not so certain of that.” A voice shouts from behind.

                The Cat Girl turns and gasps, dropping you at what she sees. When you pick yourself up, you smile as you see Sophie standing at one of the doorways, a group of well dressed (still revealing cleavage) Monsters with weapons behind her. The Cat o’Ninetails points and says, “You’re under arrest for destruction of property and plot to kidnap. Guards?”

                “Fuck this.” She says, leaping over you and sliding down the rubble to head to the other exit. “I ain’t getting no chastity belt!”

                She makes it to the door and opens it before letting out a squeal of pain as a flash of light goes off. A moment later, she drops to the floor, unconious. Ophelia steps over her, magitek device in hand giving off sparks as she says, “I got her!”

————————————————————————————————————————–

                “Why am I not surprised to see you mixed in this, Sophie?”

                A small, tired looking Monster with green skin and horns says as she pours herself a cup of tea before sitting in her chair and rubbing her eyes. She looks up a moment later at your assembled group and sighs before sipping her tea.

                After being rescued, you find yourself back in the building you initially entered when you came into town, this time in the office of the chief, an Imp. Your more severely injured are currently elsewhere in the building being healed, though Sophie assure you they’ll be fine. Patricia, Ophelia, Clarissa, Sophie, and yourself sit in the office, watching the chief.

                “That building was empty, thank Dollora, but now it will all have to go due to this mess. At least none of the surrounding buildings were damaged, but we can’t exactly go destroying good living quarters if we get the population for it.”

                “As you have seen, we were ambushed there by a group of dissidents.” Sophie says. “But we thank you for your timely response.”

                “Yeah, yeah. This makes it, what, the third time you’ve been attacked by ‘dissidents?’”

                You cock your head and look to Sophie, the Monster maintaining a cool poise the entire time. Three attacks though? Just what has this girl been putting up with.

                “I suppose that is correct.”

                The Imp sighs and take another sip of her tea. “Listen, Sophie, I know you want to support your mother and all, but you’re just becoming a target for people to get to her. Why don’t you just go back to Deleor?”

                “I politely refuse.” She says, though the Imp just rolls her eyes.

                “Of course you do. Well this time you got these uh… fine… folk in a mess.”

                You make to say something, but one of Sophie’s tails tugs on your leg and you pause as she continues to look straight. “I apologize, but at least our assailants are to be put away?”

                “Yeah, yeah. We’ll deal with them.” She shakes her head, “Stealing from the Sacred Temple, the nerve of these Monsters these days.”

                “Speaking of which.” Patricia says, talking out of turn. “The book she was carrying, we were interested in potentially reading it.”

                The chief looks at her with surprise before pulling the book out of a drawer. “I’ll have to return it soon, but if you read it here then that’s fine.”

                Patricia eagerly takes the book and pours through it, nodding her head as she takes notes. You watch her as she does this before turning to the chief. “Does this mean we’re free to go?”

                “I suppose, though you did cause quite the commotion.” She nods to Ophelia. “The bunny here was basically shouting hysterically into some device she had, though I can’t fathom for what reason.”

                “I was ah, trying all the signals to get help.” She coughs into her hand. “I thought the guard might be listening.”

                “Not sure what she’s even talking about. We don’t have much magitek out here.” The Monster says, shrugging.

                “It’s a good thing I was able to fly and get help then.” Clarissa says, puffing out her modest chest.

                “Yes, yes. Now then, your wounded should be healed soon though are you sure you’re alright?” The Imp asks, cocking at eye at the little splint you’re wearing.”

                “I’ll survive. Healing potion is kicking in already.”              

                “If you say so. Anyway, Sophie.” She says, turning back to the Cat o’Ninetails. “I know your mother is going through a lot right now and those who don’t agree with her are getting more aggressive. I want you to consider leaving again, or at least moving in to her protection in the palace. I can’t be seen overtly supporting you, you understand, but I can at least give you advice.”

                “I’ll take it under consideration.” Sophie says before rising and bowing. “Thank you for your help.”

                “Bah, technically I should bow to you.” The chief sighs as Patricia snaps closed the book and places it on the table.

                “There, I have what we need.” She stands. “Shall we go?”

————————————————————————————————————————————

                The return trip to Sophie’s mansion by late that afternoon leaves all of you exhausted. Your leg hurts abominably, though you’re assured it will be fine in the morning, but Clint and Rayleigh had to be carried back. They have little in the way of external injuries, not like Ginelle, but they took blows to the head that the healers say they’ll recover from with rest. Finn, Ginelle, and Alice are fine, if tired.

                “So much for getting out tomorrow.” You sigh, sitting down on one of the couches in the sitting room. “We’ll be lucky to get going by the next day.”

                “The healing is effective, it just takes time.” Sophie says, pouring tea for everyone. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

                “Why? They were after us. You should have let me tell that Imp about it.”

                “I think… it’s best she believes it was another attack on myself. We do not need outside actors raising suspicions, nor more eyes watching you.”

                “I suppose that’s true.” Ophelia sighs as she lays back into the couch. “But you know what’s weird? When I was cycling through channels, I could swear I got a lock one of them. Can’t remember which but it makes me think SOMEONE has a communication device here.”

                “Maybe inside the palace?” Clarissa suggests.

                “Maybe.” Sophie says, shrugging. “It’s probably best to lay low for now and have you leave as soon as you can.” She nods to Patricia. “Did you get the coordinates?”

                “I did.” She says, holding up her notes. “There’s a description of an observatory that used to look to the heavens to see the face of their God and offer praise to him above. It appears to be located near a lake inside the mountains to the north, hidden through a pass.” She beams,

                “It also had details on specific rituals they used to try to commune to Hevensferth, though whether or not they were successful it didn’t say.”

                “You read far too quickly.” Clarissa says. “Makes my head hurt thinking about it.”

                The Wolf Girl shrugs and Sophie chuckles. “Well, all’s well that ends well I suppose. We’ll get you rested up and head out as soon as you’re ready.”

                “If it only ends here.” You say, thinking. “I’m afraid we were traced here by a group in Deleor, though they were after Ophelia at first and now Patricia… and they had an interest in me.”

                “You think they’ll strike again?” Sophie asks.

                “They were bold enough to do so in daylight. Who knows what they’ll do.” You shake your head. You go to say something more when Sophie raises a hand, her ear twitching. Ophelia does the same and a moment later a knock comes at the door. Frowning, Sophie stands and walks to the front, opening the door.

                You hear her speaking as she asks, “Vinnetta? What brings you here?”

                “I apologize for coming here, but I wanted you to know before anything happens. Rumor has it that the daughter of the Order’s leader is here in the Monster Nation and that you’re holding her.”

                “What? Who told you that?”

                “It’s just a rumor going around town. Look, I just wanted to tell you because I’m your friend, but even if it’s false, people are going to come knocking, daughter of the Monster Lady or no.”

                “I see… thank you.”

                The door closes and a few moments later, Sophie re-enters, looking disturbed. “You heard all of that?”

                “Yes.” You say, frowning. “This complicates things a little.”

                “Sorry.” Patricia says, looking down. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”

                “It’s fine.” Ophelia says, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Being damsel in distress isn’t too bad. Besides, Tobias comes through with a plan that works most of the time.” She beams at you. “So, what will it be this time?”

                What do you do, what do you do? Every two-four days, it’s “what do you do?” You wish you were home right now, snuggled up with your wife while your daughters play together. But alas, here you are in the far north, trapped in a cycle of politics with an ankle that hurts and a bunch of people out of commission. But hey, at least you’re not insane!

                Though damn does your back itch, no matter how much that voice tells you otherwise.

                “Sophie.” You ask, getting the host’s attention. “How secure is this place?”

                “Secure enough. When I first came here there were those who thought they could do things to me, however I quickly disabused them of that fact.”

                “So basically there’s no security at all.”

                She huffs and crosses her arms under her breasts, tails flicking in annoyance. “You continue to be rude!”

                “Yes, yes, we’ve gone over this charade.” You sigh, rubbing at your forehead. “Alright, but if we keep on our toes we should be fine tonight, right?”

                “Probably, I doubt anyone will make such a quick and obvious move tonight. If they attacked here then I doubt mother would sit idly by.”

                “So you assume they’ll wait.”

                “Or be subtle.”

                Patricia cocks her head. “What could they gain by abducting me though?”

                “Depends who wants you, I suppose.” You say, leaning back on the couch. “I don’t even know all the players in this farce.” When no one responds, you cough into your hand.

                “Oh, the rudeness continues. Good think I love you like a brother.”

                “We’ve really only met like twice.”

                “Family is family.” Sophie says before taking a seat herself and leaning forward. “Let’s see where to begin… in the city there are two major factions vying for power currently. There are those who support my mother and those who preferred the old ways.”

                A tail raises and wags each time she names one. “Those in the outlying cities and around the country often take a stance against my mother, because they don’t see as much of the benefit of cooperation. You have to remember that men are a commodity the same as wheat or chicken. Without them, a town will be destroyed in time. However, you can’t just trade for them… well, except from Ectria, however…”

                “There’s been talks of the slave trade changing, at least in intensity in Ectria. Some harpy is leading the cause alongside the new Sultan, right?”

                Sophie smiles. “Ah, Ebe. She’s a Ghandharva, you know? I’m glad she’s still doing well. I miss her sometimes.” A soft sigh escapes her as she sits back up. “As far as the Sultan goes, I doubt he’s actually all that on board with stopping it, but on the surface the slave trade has diminished. This is what most Monsters see and, with raiding essentially being outlawed…”

                She waves a tail for you to speak. Ophelia beats you to it though as she hits her fist into her hand. “Oh! They’re growing worried about their supply of men!”

                “Correct. I fear I am partly to blame for that current circumstance, however, but I make no apologies. Either way, it has lead to a growing number of Monsters who wish to change leadership, if for nothing more than cummies.”

                “Cummies?” Patricia asks, to which Sophie coughs into her furred hand.

                “Semen. Yes, in order to produce children, a drive inherent in all Monsters, whether they accept it or not.”

                “So then, where’s your husband?” You ask, to which Clarissa slaps you in the face with a wing.

                “Thank you, Clarissa.” Sophie says, nodding her head. “My rude brother’s words not standing, this has lead to the rise of Gloria, a Manticore from the mountains with a curious level of intelligence for her species and a mouth able to gather Monsters to her cause.”

                You really want to ask, “which mouth,” but decide it’s best not to. Instead you sit up and ask, “Very well then. So you believe this faction may want to capitalize on Patricia?”

                “And Ophelia too, perhaps. I find it curious that one has been made public but not the other?”

                The Rabbit Girl shrugs. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe Monsters up here don’t have much of a use for magitek.”

                Sophie considers this for a moment before nodding. “That is true. However Patricia is related to one of the greatest enemies of the Monster Nation, in their eyes. If they were to subvert you somehow and make you see their logic, you could be turned into a weapon against your father.”

                “Preposterous.” Patricia says, canines bared in a way similar to her mother’s. “I will not be used in such a manner.”

                “Oh, I know you wouldn’t willingly, but you might not have a choice. Or at the very least they can make it look that way, gaining more support to their side.”

                Patrica looks down, concern on her face. You sigh and cross your arms. “What about the faction that supports your mother? Can’t we just ask for their help?”

                Sophie frowns deeper. “While the end result is keeping the same policies, it’s not necessarily a good thing. Many of the higher levels of Mother’s supporters are, for better words, toadies.” She raises a finger, “One actually is a toad, but that’s beside the point. They wish to gain favor for better treatment.”

                You snort, “Selene doesn’t exactly seem the type to tolerate that sort of thing.”

                “To a degree, yes. Mother has also been out of the country for six months and left things in charge of others. Others who made a little mess of things mainly in the hopes of furthering their own position if, say, the Monster Lady never returned.” She gives you a knowing look. “The rumors of what happened in Ectria and her second missing tail don’t exactly make things better.”

                “So what would they get from Patricia?” Clarissa asks. “Wouldn’t it be in their interests to keep her away from the detractors?”

                “Precisely.” Ophelia says, nodding her head. “By bringing her to their side. It’s far more likely she’d voice political support for them and thus increasing confidence in the shaky treaty between the Order and the Monster Nation. More importantly, whoever has their hooks into Patricia will look better in the people’s eyes.”

                “Yes, and I can assure you that anyone who does will look favorable to the people. Especially if they can leverage this before mother.”

                By this point, Patricia has her face in her hands. She groans, “Gods above, I didn’t think this would happen. I just wanted to see some of the culture and go on an adventure. I didn’t mean to drag people into something like this!”

                Ophelia rubs her back while giving you a piteous look. What, you’re gathering information at the moment, she needs some patience. Didn’t she hear the story of the Rabbit Girl and the Tortoise Girl? They tried to get the same man but the rabbit took it too fast and- This story isn’t relevant in the slightest, you’re just nervous.

                “Okay then.” You say. “We have two factions in town who can both use Patricia. You don’t think they’ll come and attack tonight because it will tip the other off and cause too many problems initially. So what do you expect?”

                “They’ll visit tomorrow and ask after her to try and talk. Once that fails, they will then try to stall her in town or find a way to abduct her.”

                “Great.” Patricia says. “Just great.”

                “Maybe we should leave tonight then?” Clarissa asks, worried.

                “No can do.” You say, shaking your head. “In fact, this information might have been leaked for the exact reason to push us to action.”

                “Ah.” Sophie says. “If you ran now, they’d be waiting for you.”

                “And we aren’t in a good place to fight.”

                “Who would be waiting?” Clarissa asks, cocking her head.

                “Same people who attacked us today.”

                “That Cat Girl? She’s in the jail…” She trails off before clacking her tongue. “Ah, right, whoever she’s working for.”

                “Rose.” You say offhanded. “She mentioned her name.”

                “That name again…” Ophelia spits, her ears folding down. “Bitch can’t leave us alone.”

                “A third faction in all of this…” Sophie muses. “While the other two are known quantities, this third one can present a problem trying to leave the city. It would be best to gather information on them before formulating a way out.”

                “So you can get us a good way out north?”

                “Probably.”

                “Does it involve your mother?”

                Sophie frowns and looks down. “I’d rather not make trouble for her at the moment.”

                You watch her and then shake your head, keeping your question. “Alright, so that means we need to do some interrogating. I’d like to know more about Rose also. All we know she is works for Galmathoria but… something is off about all of this.”

                “Galmathoria?” Sophie says, raising her eyebrows. “That’s…” She shakes her head. “No matter, once everyone is recovered, we’ll figure a way to get you out here.”

                You smile, “Thanks, sis.”

                She beams, “What is family for?”

—————————————————————————————————————————-

                The next morning, as expected, you’re not ready to leave. While Ginelle, being the big lug she is, happens to be recovered quite well, Clint is still a little woozy while Alice, Finn, and Rayleigh just need some more rest. All in all, getting a wagon loaded and out of here with any semblance of fighting prowess or stealth would be impossible. And thus, you find yourself with another day to get answers and not be dragged into politics.

                You wonder if you can succeed at either to be honest.

                Your leg feels much better than before, so you prepare to go out into the city to try and get answers and maybe some supplies. While you’d like to take Clint or Ginelle with you, it’s best to keep them at Sophie’s place under guard. This is reinforced by the fact that, before you can get going, a knock at the door heralds a Sheep Girl with soft, curly, white wool over everywhere but her head and torso holding a basket of food stuffs.

                “Good day your highness.” The sheep says, bowing as Sophie opens the door. She notices you standing nearby and gives you a soft smile, though underneath it is calculation. Sailing past it, she asks Sophie, “How are you this day?”

                “Very well, Loliana. How can I help you?”

                “Well, there’s been rumors around that you might have a particular guest. I am quite interested in speaking with her, might I come inside and we can have breakfast?” She holds up the basket and smiles.

                “I’m afraid I already ate.”

                “Oh? Well then, if I could have a moment of your time anyway…”

                “I’m terribly busy, I’m afraid we’ll have to chat some other time.” Sophie makes to close the door, but the Sheep grabs the edge and pulls with surprising strength as she gives a half smile.

                “Now then Sophie, you could at least introduce me to this lovely man here. Have you two had sex? Your mother will be overjoy-“

                Sophie uses her tails to get extra leverage to slam the door closed, almost on the fingers of the Sheep Girl, though she pulls away before she can be hurt. Sighing, Sophie shakes her head and turns to you.

                “She’s one of mother’s supporters.”

                “She seemed aggressive for a fucking sheep.”

                “Yes. I assume her next attempt will be far less amicable.”

                Sophie nods to the back. “Come on, you better leave from here. Be back before nightfall, alright?”

                “Got it.” You say, preparing to leave when Clarissa walks up and folds her wingarms.

                “I’m going too.”

                “Sure.”

                “I won’t take no for an answer. You need someone to give you cover in this place and I’m a nobody so no one will wan- hey what?” She pauses and cocks her head at you.

                “I said, sure.” You say, stretching. “It’ll be good to have someone else along and you’re the only one healthy enough that we don’t need to protect.”

                “I… yes! Good!” Clarissa says, nodding her head with sagacity to save face you suppose.

                Waving goodbye to Sophie, you throw on a cloak and head outback and through some backstreets until you arrive into one of the main throughfares of the city. Despite the wind, it’s still dreadfully warm in this cloak, but you’d rather hide your identity a little if you can help it. Besides, it doesn’t seem to be uncommon for a Monster to walk with her man like this in town, possibly to keep his visage out of view of other Monsters. Either because they’re ugly or because they don’t want others to look at them, the quirk of this city allows you to pass by without much detection.

                “You know, I never really thought I’d walk the streets of the Carthos like this.” Clarissa says as you head toward the holding facility. “I mean, I always just flew by or delivered a package and then headed home, you know? Maybe I figured once relations are better between the countries I could visit for something more like tourism. Of course, it would be nicer with a man.”

                “I’m not a man, huh?”

                “Oh please, Tobias, we cleared that water awhile ago.” She waves a wing at you. “Anyway, it’s nice here. It feels… it just feels right for some reason.”

                “To be surrounded by other Monsters?”

                “Maybe that’s it.” She says. “Does it feel that way when you’re in Sanctifrond?”

                You have to think about it for a moment. Eventually you shake your head. “Maybe in the past. Maybe still a little, but ever since our little quest I’ve been more comfortable in the company of Monsters.” A chuckle escapes your lips, “Does that make me a traitor to my species?”

                “No.” She says, shaking her head. “I think that just makes you whipped.”

                She giggles and you push her wingarm in jest, smiling yourself. “Okay, fine, that was a good one. But I do understand what you mean. While coexistence is nice between peoples, places like this should exist.”

                “Maybe.” She says before nodding her head and then frowning. “Do you think they’ll be alright at Sophie’s place?”

                “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” You say as you dodge a centaur who turns to look at you with curiosity. “Ginelle is awake.”

                “Oh, right.” Clarissa says, leaving it at that. “I should be worried about them, then.”

                “Yep. Or at least, for ourselves.” You say, stopping. She stops as well and you both look at the building in front of you: the holding facility.

                “What do we do now?” She asks, looking up at it.

                “Right, I figure we’ll go in from the roof, drop down and infiltrate her room where we’ll tie her up and use a truth serum to extract the info we need before stealthily making our getaway.”

                “I didn’t bring any rope.”

                “Shit, then we’ll just have to go in the front door.”

                Clarissa blinks in surprise as you walk to the entrance, the Crow Girl following in your wake. Once you reach the front door, you reach into your pouch and pull out your [DSS badge] before handing it to Clarissa, who deftly holds the item with her winghand.

                “Alright, if anyone asks who we are, show them this badge.”

                “Uhm, it says Deleorian Secret Service.”

                “Sure, but that’s not what they’ll see.”

                “Oh. Illusions.” She nods her head. “I hate those sometimes.”

                “Me too. Let’s go.” You say, waving her forward. She enters before you and the two of you walk through a converted reception area toward a reinforced door to the back. When Clarissa puts a winghand on the door, the Monster on watch, a Wolf Girl raises an eyebrow.

                “That’s bold.”

                “Just trying to get in.”

                “Even bolder. How about you scram?”

                Clarissa fumbles for a moment before pulling out the badge and showing it. “O-official business.”

                The guard frowns and looks at the badge closely. You aren’t exactly sure what to make it look like, so it’s seems a little fuzzy to the Wolf Girl as she looks at it. That, or she’s illiterate. You’re banking on the latter. “The hells does that say?”

                “I- it’s a new kind of badge delivered by the Monster Lady herself.”

                The guard blinks for a moment before growling. “Ah, fucking chat noirs. I figured the Monster Lady only wanted cats in that group.”

                “Well, I am black as well so…”

                “Whatever.” The guard says, opening the door. “Just get your business over with.”

                Both you and Clarissa exchange looks before heading inside and through the halls. No one else asks you who you are as you follow the path you’re pretty sure you came from before, eventually reaching the holding cells. Seems the guards are elsewhere at the moment, so you grab a set of keys hanging, yes, hanging, within sight of one of the cages, take some rope on the ground (which would have been great earlier), and then look for your Cat Girl. You spot her easily and her ears perk up as you try each key on the lock.

                “Oh?” She asks, walking over to the door as you work the lock.

                “Am I being sprung free? Did Rose send you? How uncharacteristic for-“ She pauses when she looks into your hood before hissing. “YOU!”

                “Meeeeee” You say, before finding the one key that clicks the lock open. As soon as it opens, she pushes at the gate, but you merely pull out a handful of normal, everyday sand from your [Pocket Sand] and throw it in her eyes. She lets out a shout of panic and hisses as you push her backward and into the cell.

                Rubbing at her eyes, she still manages to try to get away. Unfortunately for her, she can’t see much so, grabbing her by the neck, you throw her into a chair and wrap the rope around her while Clarissa holds her in place. Despite her protests, you’re able to tie her up pretty well, though she had cleared most of the sand from her eyes which appear very red and tearing.

                “What the fuck is this?” She snarls. “It would have been easier to stab me!”

                “Yes, but dead cats don’t talk and I need answers.”

                “Fuck you! The guards are coming soon!’

                “Maybe, but I doubt they’ll stop us.” You say, sitting on another chair in the room. “Now then, why did Rose hire you to capture Patricia?”

                “What? Fuck off.”

                “Hmm.” You say, reaching into your bag to pull out more of what looks like normal sand. When you throw it in her eyes, however, the sand begins to let out a high pitched scream, which sounds a lot like the Cat Girl’s.

                “AHHHH WHAT IS THIS?!” She shouts, struggling against her bonds.

                “Screaming sand, clearly.” You say, rolling your eyes. This bag of sand is so unpredictable. “If you want it to stop, then tell me what I want to know.”

                “W-what? You mean it won’t stop on its own?”

                “Maybe when you tear it out. Though it might get crusted and just sit there, screaming in your eyes until you go insane. Trust me, you don’t want that, it’s not fun.” Damn does your back itch.

                “Y… you’re crazy!”

                “Not anymore.” You say, shrugging. “I mean, I think the sound is fine, but gosh does that have to hurt. I can always up the ante though-“

                “No! No Gods know please just make it stop.” You can’t tell if she’s weeping or if it’s just her abused eyes tearing, but either way, it runs down her cheeks. “We’d been a cell living in the city here, trying to shift thing to support Galmathoria. We got a message over this magitek device that was brought in one way, told us to nab her and bring her to the Galmathorian embassy. We figured we’d be able to jump her so we laid the trap and then you came and ruined it and oh my Gods please stop it.”

                Shrugging, you pull out a water flask and dribble in her eyes, washing out the sand and stopping the sound all together. She sighs in relief as you do, seeming like she aged years.

                “Is Rose here in the city?”

                “I don’t know, we’ve never actually seen her.” The Cat Girl says. “That’s all I know, really.”

                “What would she have done with Patricia?”

                “You’d have to ask the jerks at the embassy, I just do grunt work.”

                “Hmm.” You say as Clarissa cocks her head.

                “Tobias…” She says. “I think I hear slithering.”

                You place a hand on the fur of her bound arm and slowly push it the wrong direction. Her tail shoots up in the air and she whimpers, “Oh Dollora, please no, not that.”

                “Come on… you say. You must have some idea…”

                “I don’t- I don’t know! Maybe they’ll ransom her off or just kill her and blame it on the Monster nation! She’s important, right? Fuck please don’t do that!”

                You stop and she sighs again in relief. Leaning forward you whisper, “Are there more in the city like you?”

                “Yes.” She says before chuckling. “But nothing I say will help you. Juniper is far, far more clever than I am, so at least I’ll have that revenge when she gets what we want.”

                Standing up as lamia guards approach, you face them with your cloak’s hood up while Clarissa holds up the badge. “C-Chat noir!”

                A chuckle sounds from behind the Lamia as an actual black furred Cat Girl steps in from behind their shadow, wearing pure black. She smiles at you and says, “But of course you are.”

                Both you and Clarissa exchange looks and gulp as the Lamia open the gate and usher you out before tending to the Cat Girl who weeps about screams in her eyes. The two of you sheepishly walk to the black clad cat, who nods her head for you to follow. No one says anything until you exit the building and turn a corner to a side alley.

                “Impersonating one us is a serious offense.” The Cat Girl says, knife suddenly in her hand. You didn’t even notice her draw it, though all she does is admire the blade. “I could kill you here and no one would bat an eye.”

                “But you haven’t.” You say, cautiously. “So I assume you’re on business for the Monster Lady.”

                “Possibly.” She says. “We can operate to a degree of independence, however I’d heard someone was impersonating so I made to check. Surprise surprise to find the Monster Lady’s son-in-law and… friend… interrogating a new prisoner, and not even a native of the Monster Nation.”

                “You’re well informed.”

                “It’s my job to be informed.” She says, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “We are aware of your entrance into the city and your stay with the Monster Lady’s daughter. We are also aware of the current strife affecting you and yours.” She leans forward,

                “Unless the Monster Lady says otherwise, it is not my business to care what you’re doing. However, if it causes trouble for the Monster Lady or the Monster Nation in any way then…” She trails off, you getting the message.

                “We’ll be careful.” You say, to which she nods her head.

                “Good. Now then, I’d advise you return. I hear there have been unsavory folk asking after you and yours.”

                “Aren’t some of them supporters of the Monster Lady?”

                The Cat Girl merely smiles and then steps away into a shadow before fading from view. Well, she doesn’t vanish or anything, more like she scurries away rather quickly and with stealth, but it’s about the same.

                “Well that was weird.” Clarissa says as you head back, stopping to gather some food supplies and health potions along the way. You consider asking for stronger potions, crazy stuff like something that would make you go insane or something, but that in itself is insanity. What if you had to talk to Jackor again? No thank you! In the end, you settle for the basics as they’re the most useful.

                >You gain 5 [Health Potions]

                >Insert names for other potions.

                “A little.” You say, finishing a purchase. “But not unexpected. I don’t believe for a second that Selene isn’t keeping tabs on her daughter.”

                “Do you think Sophie knows?”

                “She’s not stupid, of course she knows.” You say, frowning. “The real question is, why doesn’t Sophie want to stay in the palace with her mother? What does she gain by staying out here on her own?”

                “I don’t know.” Clarissa says, worried. “But we should really return and see how the others are doing.”

                “Makes sense. We can leave tomorrow if they’re up and about and potentially avoid this mess.”

                “Yep!” Clarissa says as you walk through the ancient streets, finally reaching the mansion. When you come around back and knock on the door, nothing happens for awhile. Worried, you nod to Clarissa and prepare your magic before testing the door to find it unlocked. You open it slowly and enter the back, looking around but finding nothing.

                Walking through the halls as silently as you can, you’re suddenly startled when Ginelle turns a corner and says in a weary voice, “Tobias, Clarissa, we have a problem.”

                “H-How did you know it was us?”

                She taps her nose and nods toward the sitting room. Following behind Ginelle, you enter the room to find Sophie, Patricia, and Ophelia standing over the corpse of a single tailed Kitsune, blood draining from puncture wounds in her chest. They turn when you approach and Sophie sighs, raising a hand toward you as well as one of her tails, which drips with blood.

                “I’m afraid we have an issue.”

                “Uh, that’s a corpse.” You say, confused.

                “That’s not the issue.” She says. “The issue is the one who ran away and witnessed it.”

                Confused, you set down your bag and take off your cloak. “I don’t understand, did they try to attack you?”

                “It seemed that way, however, this was one of the prominent detractors of my mother. Which means that the one who escaped will spread far and wide the tale of the Monster Lady’s daughter and the daughter of the Lord Commander of the Order murdering one of their opposition.”

                She gives a weak chuckle, “Fake or not, we’re about to be in, as my father would say, ‘deep shit.’”

Chapter 19

                “Wait, wait, wait.” You say holding up a hand. “Okay, we need a few more facts here before we start panicking.”

                “I don’t think anyone is panicking.” Sophie says, outwardly calm, but you see her hands shaking. Hasn’t she killed people before?

                “Uh huh.” You say, squatting next to the corpse. Getting a better look, it appears to be two punctures made by Sophie’s tails, one piercing the heart. Death must have been swift. Reaching over to push aside her long hair, you can see a look of shock on her face. Was she that confident in her abilities that she didn’t expect to die? Against Sophie of all people? This is just weird.

                Rifling through her pockets, you don’t find any weapons, just some coins in a pouch and a full vial of semen. Frowning, you look around the room and see a scorch mark on the wall behind you, but nothing much else beyond the blood.

                “Hmm.” You say, rubbing your chin.

                “What is he doing?” Sophie asks, to which Ophelia shakes her head.

                “He does this sometimes. I think he’s investigating.”

                “Do you have a deerstalker hat?” You ask suddenly, to which Sophie blinks in surprise.

                “I- yes, actually.”

                “Wait, serious- I mean, yeah. Bring it here.”

                “Shouldn’t we be contacting the guard?”

                “What difference does it make, they’ll be here soon.” You say. “We need to piece all of this together.”

                Sophie returns a moment later and you put the [Deerstalker Hat of Investigation] on before crossing your arms. “Alright. Looking at the body it seems obvious how the victim died, however there are a few questions we need to answer.”

                “Should we really be discussing this over the body?” Clarissa asks, looking nervous.

                “Yes, it’s best in case we think of anything out of the blue.” Turning to Sophie, you ask, “First off, who was the victim and the witness?”

                “Her name is… was, Runa. She’s a rather firebrand in the detractor faction known for her fiery temper. She’s also a pyromancer, if that means anything. As far as the witness, I don’t know. She’s a Kikimora I haven’t seen before, but I can’t exactly know everyone.”

                Hmmm, so Sophie has intimate knowledge of some of the detractor faction? Interesting.

                “What did they want?”

                “I believe they wanted to take Patricia by force after they tried to push past me earlier in the day.”

                “How do you figure?”

                Ginelle pips up, “They broke a window. Did it quietly but Ophelia heard them come in. I was checking on Clint at the time but I came down when I heard the shouts.”

                “That was me.” Ophelia says, nodding her head. “I was here with Patricia when Sophie went to answer the door. That’s when I heard them coming and I shouted for help.”

                “That answers the next question.” Turning back to Sophie you ask, “Why did you kill her? Saya tells me your precision with your tails rivals even that of your mother’s. How did this happen?”

                Sophie stiffens before crossing her arms under her breasts. “When I answered the door to find no one present, I considered searching for who knocked, but then I heard Ophelia’s shout. I entered the sitting room to find the two coming for Patricia. I was able to intervene between Runa enough to let Ophelia get Patricia away. I pulled her back with some of my tails, but she cast a fireball somehow and I let her go enough that she could lunge at me.”

                She looks down at the corpse and winces. “I guess I panicked and struck, though I didn’t want to. It was almost like she drove herself onto my tails, but sometimes they react without me thinking.”

                Looking back to the scorch mark on the wall, you cock your head. Most Monsters use their hands at least to cast from, so if she was bound, how did she do that? Must have been quite the firebrand you suspect.

                “I see. And what happened after she was stabbed.”

                “I was surprised as she fell onto me, dying. I barely noticed the Kikimora before she was gone.”

                Turning to the others, you ask, “What were you doing?”

                “I was leading Patricia away from them. We didn’t see what had happened until the Kikimora rushed past.” Ophelia says. “Understandably we didn’t chase her.”

                “I saw her bolt out the door.” Ginelle says. “But I smelled blood and hurried to find Sophe sliding the corpse off her tails.”

                Well this is unfortunate. You consider this by tipping your nice hat when Patricia says, “I found it odd how fast the Kikimora left in relation to the blood. It almost seemed like she left before I could smell Sophie… well.”

                “Kikimoras are rather perceptive.” Ginelle says. “The ones at Clint’s mansion often know what we want before we can even think of it.”

                “Perhaps.” You say. “How about the others upstairs, how are they?”

                “Fine.” Clint says, coming down the stairs while rubbing his head. “Ginelle told me to stay put and I sort of fell out of bed instead. Finn wanted to rush down too, but I managed to win the lot to come on down, though everyone can probably fight if need be. Can someone give me the run down?”

                You do so and he grits his teeth. “I see.” He says, frowning. “So we’re going to be in trouble soon.”

                “Maybe we should just go?” Clarissa says before wincing. “Ah… sorry Sophie.”

                She taps her arm for a moment before sighing. “It’s okay. I understand you have an important task to take care of, otherwise mother wouldn’t have written you a letter of passage. I think I’ll be okay if you need to leave.” She bites her nail, “I could always speak with mother and… well…”

                “Sophie, you should probably take a seat.” You say, leading her over to a chair. She protests for a moment before sighing and slumping into the chair and sighing.

                “This is all a mess now.”

                Clarissa cocks her head. “Can’t we get this chat noir to help us out? I know they support your mother so…”

                Sophie frowns. “How do you…? Nevermind, if the Kikimora has already spoken to someone then there’s little they can do without people noticing. It might be best to get the guard on our side after all but…” She shakes her head. “Maybe it’s best you do go.”

                You tug on your hat again, thinking it all through. Something about this is off, but what do you? Should you go or stay and try to work this out? There’s a countdown for you to get this relic or whatever it is at it stands, so can you afford to take the time? But what will happen to Sophie if you don’t help her? What will happen to her mother?

                “Sophie.” You say, turning to the Monster. She cocks her head as you walk up and take her hand. Her ears and tails stand up for a moment before she bows her head as you gently pat it. “It’ll be fine, we won’t leave you to face this alone.”

                “I-“ She says, looking up into your eyes before looking back down. “I don’t deserve this.”

                “Well, you’re my sister damnit.” You say, chuckling. “And what is family for?”

                Sophie quirks an eyebrow and looks up at you before rolling her eyes. With a sigh she steps back and folds her arms under her breasts. “Well, I can see why Saya fell for you, you smooth talker. Though Rommel gives much better headpats.”

                “Sure, okay.” You say before composing yourself. “Right, we don’t have much more time so let’s get a few more things straight.” You turn to Ophelia and ask, “Can you get Rayleigh?”

                “Uh, sure.” The Rabbit Girl says, bounding up the stairs as you turn back to Sophie.

                “Once again, you’re CERTAIN that it’s your tails that killed her?”

                “Quite. I’d rather not compare the wounds, however.” She says, looking down at the cooling corpse.

                “I have to ask, how did you get so panicked? I’ve heard about your exploits, and you always sounded the cool headed one.”

                “If it wasn’t panic, then what else was it? It’s not like she impaled herself on my tails, did she?”

                You’re quiet on that fact for a moment before asking, “When you went out front, did you notice anything weird?”

                “Yes, actually. A rather odd smell. I came back here before I could smell more of it though.”

                Nodding to Ginelle, the Monster goes out front. A moment later the door slams closed as Ginelle shouts, “Dear Gods, it smells like something died out there!” She returns a moment later, looking abashed. “Err, sorry.”

                “Not going to have luck getting a scent on who knocked on the door, huh?”

                “No way. I can barely smell at all anymore.” She says, wincing. “I did find this though.”

                Taking the item she proffers up, you look it over to find it an empty vial. You’re not certain what was in here beforehand, but certain potions are often kept in vials like these, as well as semen. It kind of even smells like semen. Curious.

                “Ophelia, can you and Clint use your [Magesight Goggles] to check out the window? Make sure it’s their way in.”

                “Got it.”

                They leave to the other room while you make a frame with your fingers, lining something up. Patricia cocks her head at you while you do this before asking, “What are you doing?”

                “He’s lining up the shot for that fireball.” Rayleigh says as she walks into the room wearing pajamas. They’re kind of cute how striped and loose they are… wait are those Sophie’s? “I’d assume anyway. Kind of a piss ass fireball though.”

                “So it is from a fireball?” You ask, to which Rayleigh chuckles.

                “Of course. Scorch marks fit a pattern of a standard fireball, though clearly this one wasn’t meant to burn anything down. Seems a waste really.” She looks to you. “Trying to see where it came from.”

                “Yes.” You say as Rayleigh walks over and traces a shot.

                “No time to arc… straight shot probably…” She turns to you. “Pick me up really quick.” You do so and she holds out a hand. “Yeah, about here I’d say.”      

                Sophie blinks in surprise. “But that’s not where I was holding her.” She steps forward and pulls out her tails, making a mock show of wrapping something up. “I had her like this.”

                “How would she even cast without her hands?” Rayleigh asks before sighing. “Seems implausible really.”

                Sophie looks very confused now and makes to speak when Clint and Ophelia return. The shrugs, “Window was clearly broken from outside, pieces are on the floor. How no one heard it, I’m not certain.”

                “[Privacy Barrier]?” Rayleigh asks. “It’s one of those weird spells that just about anyone can cast.”

                “How did I hear them coming into the room then if they covered their sound?” Ophelia asks, confused. “Unless they weren’t thinking and went out of range of the spell.”

                “That’s most likely it.” You say, nodding your head. “Unless they decided to drop it early.”

                “This… isn’t making a lot of sense.” Sophie says. “You’re making it sound like they wanted to get caught and she wanted to…”

                “I don’t think she did.” Finn says, joining you as well. “That is not the face of a martyr. That’s the face of someone who is utterly shocked.”

                “Weren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” Rayleigh asks, to which the man frowns.

                “Everyone else is down here and I’m tired of sleeping.” He looks about the room and then nods. “I think I can get the gist of what happened.”

                “What? So fast?” You ask, slumping your shoulders. “And here I thought I was the detective.”

                “You’ll figure it out some day.” He say, shrugging.

                Patricia folds her arms and says, “So they wanted to get caught and the victim died by surprise. It doesn’t necessarily fit unless you take into account the fireball which was both low power and couldn’t have been cast by the victim.” She frowns deeper. “That would mean that the Kikimora cast it? There was no one else in the room unless…”

                “I highly doubt an illusion was used.” Tobias says. “There wouldn’t be evidence like this left. An Illusionist could do this work without all the rigamarole. But that would either imply a human or a mindflayer and frankly I doubt both.”

                “Why don’t you ask Jackor?” Clarissa asks, to which you give her a flat look.

                “I’m not that insane yet.” You say, though a voice in your head says otherwise. You tell it to shut up.

                “So if there wasn’t a third person in the room, then the Kikimora cast the fireball but missed?” Clarissa asks, to which Rayleigh shakes her head.

                “At this range? With Sophie not noticing? I doubt that extremely.”

                “Then she intended to miss and create an opening. During which time the victim pushed away as Sophie raised her blades in defense before-“

                The door bursts open as an armored minotaur stalks into the room, flanked by three Hellhounds, each carrying a variety of weapons. The moment they spot you, they shout, “Don’t move! You’re under arrest.”

                Shaking your head, you turn to them and, with a flourish, both remove your cap and draw forth your badge to show. Looking them in the eyes, you say, “Ah, we’ve been expecting you. Tobias Shady, Deleorian Secret Service. Might we have a word?”

                The lead Hellhound just tackles you to the ground while the others wrangle up the rest of your party as more guard enter the room. You’re both surprised and yet not, as you should have expected this kind of response. Of course they wouldn’t respond favorably to a foreign secret serviceman showing off his badge. That was actually a very silly move. It’s further compounded when the Hellhound strikes you in the face.

                “Stop this right now!” Sophie cries as two Monsters pin her. “We are not resisting!”

                “Shut it, your highness.”

                You could easily cast illusions, Sophie could easily kill her captors, and Ginelle should break all their necks, easy. However, you just let this happen. Struggling is the worst possible thing you can do in this situation, despite the Hellhound sniffing your neck and maybe nibbling on your ear a little.

                More footsteps sound as more and more guards enter the room. Lying on your back, Hellhound getting handsy with you, you look up to see a familiar little Goblin standing above you, an annoyed look on her face. She sighs before waving a hand.

                “What are you fools doing? They could kill you where you stand if they wanted to. Let them go.”

                You’re just as surprised as the guards, who look between you and the Goblin for a few moments before slowly rising. Standing up and dusting yourself off, you nod to your savior.

                “Thank you, miss Murdocka.”

                “It’s Mrs. Murdocka to you.” She sniffs. “You’re playing with some real fire here, all of you.”

                “Was that really necessary?” Sophie asks, checking her tails.

                “There’s a corpse on the floor with marks that fit your blades.” The Goblin says. “Of course it’s necessary.” She rubs her forehead as one of the guard whispers in her ear. Frowning, she turns to you,

                “Great. You’re some kind of Deleorian spook? What made you think that was a bright idea to bring up?”

                “Because I figured it would keep me from being tackled.” You say as she groans.

                “Move into another room, we need to discuss this further.” Following her while being guarded, you move to the dining room where you sit and wait for Murdocka to finish giving orders to her officers. When she’s finally settled, she says, “You have one chance to tell me what happened before I have them really take you down.”

                “I’d like to see them try.” Ginelle growls until you hold up a hand. Putting on your straightest face, you look the Goblin in the eye and say,

                “We came here investigating an anonymous tip that the Monster Lady had received. Apparently a group of traitors were seeking to remove her from the throne by sabotaging her reputation and were targeting her daughter for that purpose to pin a murder on her and make her seem like a tyrant. Because she could not trust anyone among her entourage, she requested aid for a foreign intelligence agency to perform an unbiased investigation. Turns out her hunch was right.”

                You lean forward. “If you wish to verify, bring it up with the Chat Noir.”

                Murdocka doesn’t seem to respond at first, merely blinking once, twice, three times, before sighing the deepest sigh you think you’ve ever heard.

                “The Monster Nation is in a tenuous position with Deleor and Galmathoria at the moment. If what you are saying isn’t a load of shit, then by announcing your true colors, along with tying this in with the Monster Lady might as well just be asking for people to declare treason.”

                Finn gives you a long look and you gulp. “Is that do? Clearly there is something underfoot happening however, so I’m certain that-“

                “Can you prove it?”

                You blink in surprise, staring at the Goblin. Her eyes never leave yours as you think this over. You have plenty of evidence in the room, or well, you hope you still do, however it could be shown as circumstantial at best. Which means you might just be dismissed outright and have made things that much worse. On the other hand, if you do actually find the culprit then Selene will instead gain support by having foresight, right? Surely the Monsters wouldn’t just be mad at bringing in outsiders regardless? Surely?

                “It seems we have no choice but to find the true culprit.” Sophie says, hands in her lap.

                Caught off guard by her coming to the same conclusion as you, you move a hand to hide your surprise as Murdocka turns to the Cat o’Nine Tails.

                “What do you mean, true culprit? There’s a witness who called us here and we found exactly what we’re looking for.”

                “Was it a Kikimora? Do you have her?”

                “No, I’m afraid not. She just made a ruckus but vanished and I don’t exactly have a reason to look for her at the moment.”

                “What did she say?”

                Murdocka shakes her head. “Said that the daughter of the Monster Lady murdered her friend. We came over and found exactly what she described.”

                “I see.” Sophie says, considering. Taking the opportunity, you jump in.

                “What if I were to tell you that this was all set-up? That the victim did not actually attack Sophie, nor did Sophie have any intention to kill her?”

                “I’d say you’re retarded.”

                “Fair assumption, but don’t count us out.” You say, face serious. “We have every reason to believe that someone else orchestrated this in order to create a martyr and resentment toward the Monster Lady.”

                You hear the guards behind you murmuring, but they quiet down when Murdocka gives them a stern look. She leans across the table and says. “Listen to me very carefully. All of you are this close to being executed and bringing about a civil war when we can ill afford it. Once this spreads through the city, I’ll have no choice but to detain you.”

                Your frown deepens until it comes to you. Taking in a sharp breath, you then say, “Ah. I see.”

                “The daughter of the Monster Lady must stay in custody, as well as the daughter of the Lord Commander or whatever. However, no one really knows about anyone else here, do they?”

                Sophie frowns. “Murdocka… why?”

                “Because, Sophie, despite being a royal brat, your mother has actually done some good here. I met my husband because of her changes and I’d rather not lose him.” She stands up from the table and waves to the guards. “Take these two into custody. The others we will… begin a search for eventually.”

                The guards look between each other before nodding and taking Sophie and Patricia, the two not resisting. As she leaves, Murdocka gives you a knowing look before shaking her head and leaving to the other room as well.

                Silence descends over the dining room as your group considers your options. It seems with revealing your identity like that, especially by lying, you actually made things a little more complicated. However… you’ve been given a chance.

                “We probably have until morning.” Ophelia says, ears twitching. “I doubt we’ll be able to make much of a move otherwise.”

                “Perhaps we should leave.” Clint says, much to the consternation of Clarissa.

                “We can’t just leave Sophie and Patricia!”

                 “Our goal is much more important than that.” He says, though you don’t think he really means it.

                “How is finding this observatory so important anyway?” Rayleigh says. “How is it more important than saving the life of the Lord Commander’s daughter and averting a crisis up here that could affect Deleor?”

                Finn looks to you. Though he doesn’t say anything, his eyes express it all. Why are you out here, really?

                “Give me a moment.” You say, putting your thoughts together. The clock is ticking, in more ways than one. What will you do in regards to Sophie, your team, and your mission?

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