Gambler hat women | Etsy

The results are in for Match 3…
After one final wood-splintering impact, the clock tower suddenly fell back to it’s relative silence, broken only by the constant mechanical whir of the heavy gears. Keith glanced down through the central railing, and upon seeing Jenny’s writhing, pain-cursing, barb-filled body embedded into the wooden floor four stories below him, wiped blood from his nose before limping toward the south wall.
The Temple had made no effort to conceal their newest addition, at least not yet; two walls of a completely different color jetted out of the southwest corner of the building to form a sort of corner-closet, protected by a heavy locked door. Spying a toolbox still open next to the setup, Keith’s eyes rolled as he sent a remaining cactus clone down to the fifth floor to see if the handyman had the key on him. He drew a long breath, the thought of his lost teammates still weighing heavy on his mind; the fight had let him vent the frustration from the news of their loss, and the anger he felt was likely to thank for pulling him through. With any luck, this whole scheme would be for something-
”Eeaaaugh..!” A scream from the earpiece Keith removed during the fight made him jump, immediately reaching for his pocket to re-equip the device. Metal objects fell onto a marble floor followed by something heavier, “Peart you… fucker… that book… since when..?” Heavily labored breathing made background noise tough to parse, but the deep voice of the reply was clear enough.
“As I said before being so rudely interrupted, Mr. Killian, Fate blesses it’s devoted with myriad gifts; open eyes to see the path before us, and a bulwark of faith to see our journey safely.” The voice grew louder, approaching Kilroy’s body. “Trespassing onto this holy ground will not go unpunished, for you nor your friends in the tower. Tell Ms. Stanton when you see her that her district is now in better hands.”
Keith gritted his teeth, running to the ladder to meet his cactus clone halfway with the key. That Syndicate idiot better have been right about this... He fumbled at the lock, clicking his tongue as he finally got it to turn. Inside was an almost completely barren set of shelves, holding only a small clear plastic case containing what looked to be a bloody heap of rags. Keith was momentarily transfixed, half-surprised to see anything at all, reaching in to grab the case and peer at it from different angles: it was two pieces of connected magenta-colored cloth, one thin and sporting what looked like eye holes while the other was larger with a cartoonish smile design, both badly faded and covered in blood; a mask of some kind? It looked like some kind of combination of a domino mask and a cloth mouth-mask, anyway…
Before he could remove it from the container, a loud crash of glass came from below, pulling Keith back to the present and over to the railing.
Jenny’s body was gone from the fourth floor below, leaving a trail of blood droplets leading to a nearby now-broken stained glass window. Keith nodded, making for the nearest ladder and sliding down to follow in escape. Stepping out onto a vertical path of cacti footholds, sirens and alternating red-and-blue lights approached the gate to the grounds below.
The Winner is Keith Moon, with a score of 71 to Jenny Kidd’s 67!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Underground Exodus	19-11	A reminder that a two-vote lead can go a very long way when exactly eight people get votes in, what started as an initial lead on Jenny’s part transformed over time into exactly the opposite in number by the end.
Quality	Tie	21-21	Reasoning
JoJolity	BADD GUYS	21-25	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10

Industrial District, Red Clay Correctional Facility, Later That Night
The metallic canine maw of Kaksi yawned, disinterested in the droning speech coming from the other side of the plexiglass wall. His user sat motionless on the prison cell bed, bathed in bright halogen light from all directions as she chewed away at her fingernails, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her with a tired expression. An attorney stood flanked by armed guards in the hallway adjacent, rattling off legal technicalities and case details at the seemingly distracted Emily. “...is apparently dismissible in court. I guess the court of Los Fortuna hasn’t heard of Stands yet, so evidence gathered using one is ‘tantamount to circumstantial at best’. Morons.” Aile sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose before continuing her ramble.
Emily shot a glance at the suited attorney while her eyes were closed. Why are you doing this, Aile? Her eyes shot back to the wall ahead of her before she could be caught. Months together and I couldn’t give you the time of day. Refused to. I treated you like dirt, you had every right to leave and never look back… but you still…
“...and the trip here, good lord.” Aile’s legal rant had, at some point, turned into a personal one. “Those ANVIL pricks seized the bridge, apparently. Had to get in by police boat, thank god the city could spare one in all this chaos. And even with an armed police escort, I was stopped every ten seconds by some checkpoint! The guards must be stressed out of their minds, some of them were just staring off into space, like we weren’t even there! PTSD, maybe? I swear, when the city council hears about the conditions of this facility…”
Would take an army to stop you, wouldn’t it? An army, or one heartless idiot with her head up her ass… I was afraid. Afraid of dragging you into this fucking catastrophe I call a life. I didn’t believe you were strong enough…
The electronic bleep of a guard’s radio interrupted the one-sided conversation. “Thirty seconds, Ms. Panther, facility is going on lockdown.”
“Lockdown!? I’ve been through hell to be here for five minutes and you’re kicking me out?!” AIle’s hands wrung her manila envelope violently, nearly tearing it’s documents in half. “I am legally required to relay my client all necessary information pertaining to her case and-”
“Out of my hands, ma’am. We got an incoming prisoner and the facility is already at maximum alert. All non-staff need to be escorted out to secure the indoctrination process. Twenty seconds.”
Aile sighed angrily, straightening out the red sleeve cuffs underneath her blazer before addressing her client once again, stepping closer to the glass and speaking in a hushed tone. “It’s chaos out there, Emmie. The city’s enough of a wreck that it’s spreading out here. I’m doing what I can, but if things get any worse…” She sighed, putting a hand on the glass to eagerly await a response.
You’ve done too much already! Emily’s eyes were still fixed on the wall ahead of her, feigning indifference even now with her mind racing. I’m sorry for using you, I’m sorry for putting this damned city ahead of you, I’m sorry for everything! Aile, please..! Standing from her bed, Emily turned away from her company and moved to her sink, muttering a blunt: “I’ll live.”
“Time’s up. This way, Ms. Panther.” Aile took in a shaky breath as she stepped back, clearing her throat and turning on a dime to begin marching down the hall with a scowl. Looking back at Emily, who’s hands were planted on her sink looking down at the running water, the attorney ended the meeting with a very curt, impersonal, and disappointed response:
“Goodbye, Emily.”
The intrigue of the Gambler, the Church, and the city of Los Fortuna continues to build up. Meanwhile, under new management from the super-stylish Man in Black, a security company outsources developing a training regimen to four unscrupulous Stand Users. There’s only a few hours left to vote in that when this post goes up, so please give it a look - and a vote - if you haven’t!
Scenario:
Midnight Sun University District - A basement space underneath CaraMel’s Confectionery - Afternoon
“Hmmm hmm hm! Hmm hm hmm! Something something I don’t know any Japanese~”
Cutesy hum-singing filled the small, dimly lit well-ventilated chamber, as large bronze boots tapped against the sterilized floor, dark hands washing intensely before donning heart-covered rubber gloves, goggles, and a face mask, arranging and rearranging all number of medical-looking equipment, strange vials and flasks. Of course, she was still wearing plenty of pink, a lab coat over shorts over leggings, looking quite a bit more like a mad scientist than a chef, minus an onion-shaped hair net. Just because she was dressed for the utmost of lab safety and sanitation didn’t mean CaraMel Dansen couldn’t be cute, after all.
She leaned in towards one particular test tube, kept within a glass case, holding a cluster of mysterious white semisolids which seemed to be moving, throbbing, and giggled, waggling her finger at the glass. “Feeding time’s soon, don’t worry! Oh, I wish I could put this on Insta today… But I must be strong!” She pumped her arms. “For his memory’s sake, I will resist you, social media!”
Down the stairwell outside, a pair of sneakers hurried, let through a backdoor by the restaurateur’s younger brother, then hurrying down a stairwell, quite audible in the franticness of its pace. Finally, a sweaty pale hand moved towards the locked door.
Knock knock knock knock.
Rhythmic. Fist positioned against different distinctive parts of the door. This was the secret knock.
So, a Stand body emerged to superheat a locking mechanism, causing its metals to weaken and the door to open, the yellow-hatted thirtysomething on the other side giving CaraMel an unamused look. “That’s a huge fire hazard, you know… If it was anyone but you, you would be yelling about that.”
“Well, I’m just different! Anyway, c’mon, check out what Violet found me in Drankwater’s houseboat-lab! You know what it is, don’t you?”
“I… No, how could I?” Theodore Lloyd was confused, stepping in and idly tapping at his eyepiece-Stand, ‘To Make Believe,’ as he continued, “just because I’m Institute doesn’t mean I can identify every weird thing that one of you guys discovers with a passing glance… Why was she going through his things anyway?”
“Because I asked Oh No to ask her to!” She peppily answered, before growing, momentarily, more serious, “after what happened with the Ocean Soul… What he died for, and having that taken away in an instant, I just couldn’t help but think. The old wizard didn’t just do things for no reason, yeah? The sort of explosive growth you could accomplish with Calamus Root… I knew for certain he must have something in mind for it, some reason to go capture it personally. Something he was working on, yeah?”
“I… I suppose that makes sense, but.” Teddy blinked. “You say that like No didn’t care about that part, so then why-”
“All Oh No wanted was to learn to talk to that sea monster… Communicate, get it to open up. His entire term for the Institute’s cooperation with Peres was that Holiday would split the Stand off, let him keep and help the big angry sea monster communicate with a world that it never got the chance to understand. If you talked to him, you would’ve known that way way way before me!”
“That… That sounds like that person, yes.” He stammered, pacing around carefully.
“Mhm!” She nodded. “Anyway, one of the things that fascinated the Wizard most was Bert… Both as a harmless novelty, a ‘homunculus,’ and then, as the thing that destroyed Capital Island, broke fate, and killed like twenty-thousand people. He’d been studying his actions, researching his history, all for what’s in this tube here.” She gestured to it again. “A ‘bioweapon’ meant to be capable of ‘killing Bert…’ That’s what was in the Water Tower, hidden away, and what I intend to finish, with or without those groundbreaking medical advances people literally died for only for that to be wasted at the last moment!” Her voice grew even higher and cuter; a sure sign she was seething so hard she could set a person on fire. “No is still grieving over the Ocean Soul, so I wanted to ask you to arrange for it… Get the Institute to watch over this thing, and let me help cultivate it.”
“I see… Heh. Guess he’s looking after us even now, then… Of course I’ll help.” He tilted his head, reading over what he’d just discovered of the ‘bioweapon’ with his own Stand… Unsurprised, ultimately. “Where do you factor into this, CaraMel? I thought you’d totally lost interest in biotech… I didn’t even know you’d kept all this stuff.”
“It’s for when I get the food science urges!” She pivoted and huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. “And anyway… I became a chef instead because I wanted to make people smile. To be fed and happy and enjoying good food in a nice place and living, yeah? I know Drankwater would scoff with Dollars behind my back for that, but… He was still a mentor of mine, and this is something I can do so the final projects of his life weren’t for nothing. That ‘Bert’ is a threat to the entire planet if not dealt with… And nobody can smile in a world so terrible!”
She kicked her boot against the ground, then, before adding with a roll of her eyes and a grumble, “plus, now that Byron went and got himself labeled a terrorist and killed a bunch more people, basically every big plan I had in the works for celebrating this February is shot. So I almost have something sort of resembling free time now!”
Teddy chuckled at that, and was about to ask what else he could do, when his phone began to vibrate, and despite not recognizing the number, he had a strange feeling about this… It needed answering.
“Y’hello, Mr. Lloyd… Is your refrigerator running?”
A chill ran down his spine, then. That old, jovial voice… It couldn’t be..! Paralyzed with unease at what he was encountering, all he could say, then, was a small, “y… yes..?”
“Well…”
A dial tone rang out at Teddy’s feet; the very floor tiles below him seemed to transform into cell phone screens beneath him.
Then, as his companion tried to shout something, tried to send her Stand forward to retrieve him, a Sonic blast from those newly-reformed floor tiles sent him and her Stand flying into the walls, knocking over countless pieces of equipment with a very clearly audible punchline to the booms.
“YA BETTER GO CATCH IT!”
The girl’s Stand only just able to stop anything from outright killing the weaker, older Stand User proved, predictably, far from the end of the troubles in the room. As Teddy struggled to stand with CaraMel’s Stand’s support, an old man in a bike helmet, flanked by a Stand of his own, stepped into the doorway, cracking his knuckles.
“Eheh… Refrigerator running. Sometimes, the classics can still crack you up, yeah?”
Naturally, CaraMel was knocked to the ground as well by the blast having struck her Stand, not to mention her own proximity to it, ears ringing and pained as she tried to gather her bearings, hearing a thumping against the walls closest to the ventilation shaft for the small room, only for the grate to be knocked out as something oblong and vaguely humanoid emerged, dress shoes stepping down with feet by her head, before with entirely too much flexibility, a stark white one-eyed figure was staring down at her and twisting his neck.
There was something dark atop the being’s head, something she was having trouble making out, resembling… A cap of sorts, resembling a buck-toothed dog, with…
Bert was wearing a fucking hat in the shape of Goofy, still boastfully bearing the tag from Walt Disney World.
“Yes, hello, I’m here to pick up an order… I hope you’ve kept it warm.”
CaraMel was alarmed, confused, in a horrid state of fight or flight, as her Stand could only be in one place at all, yet needing to protect Teddy, herself, and the bioweapon… How the hell was she supposed to do all three while boxed in like this?
“You gave quite the speech, Dansen…” Bert continued as they paced around, the air tense even through the funny joke Lemon had cracked. His hand rested on the table the weapon’s tube sat on, and and he continued, “it was quite inspirational, I think… And quite enlightening.”
He reached for the weapon, and CaraMel called out. “No, don’t!”
“Don’t what? You are developing something meant specifically to take my life… Is it unfair of me to wish to investigate that? Now, let’s see what-”
With a look on his sole eye indicating genuine surprise, Bert’s hand accidentally slipped and knocked the specimen meant to kill them to the ground, where it spilled out with a crack! The chef and the art school dean both cried out.
“…haha! My fingers slipped! And right now, I don’t feel very dead… Not ready yet, as you said. Though that shouldn’t be a surprise, with what a nostalgic sight that was.” He contorted his neck to the tense scene with Lemon, Lloyd, and CaraMel’s Stand, over 180 degrees away, though turning his head the opposite direction would have been easier. “Lemon, companion and ally, tell my story, why don’t you? Or at least, introduce it…”
“Gotcha!” The old man agreed, “see, my buddy Bert here… Some stuff in a lab made him, and he got out! And then they came here!” Lemon knew more, but he knew a bit when he saw one, and knew that Bert would want to hear themselves talk. It was why, for a Bertsmas gift, he got his good pal two cell phones.
“I was born by what many deemed random luck, some chemicals mixed together just right in some lab… But such things, the creation of life anew, are not the domain of happenstance, or of old men with white beards… No, it’s as I told Walter on my sabbatical, when I popped into his secret chambers to discourse on life extension.” He took a seat on a counter. “‘New life’ is the realm of ‘God,’ don’t you agree? Yet I exist, and I uniquely survive, and I will find a way to yet create life anew myself.” He stood up, then, spreading his arms. “To blaspheme in this way is only within the realm of I, Bert, the one who subverted fate! Who raised the dead! I am going to supersede God itself, whatever form He takes. What chance did two graduates cooking in a basement have to deter me?”
“You…” Teddy stammered again, clearly terrified, but looking to CaraMel, stood. “Your self important vision will die. You will be nobody’s God… You’ll be just another footnote in this city.” He turned, then, to his companion. “CaraMel, recall your Stand. Protect yourself, please. I won’t slow you down here. Do what you must.”
“But… N-no! I refuse to let you play hero now! Think about-”
“Ahahahahahehheaaahhh!” Bert laughed heartily, then, and Lemon snickered as well. “You have gall, you two… I can acknowledge that much at least. Yet it’s funny to me that you think either of you is leaving this room.”
Around the start of CaraMel and Teddy’s conversation - The streets of the College Town

hey casey jill’s rly upset cuz a friend of hers did some dumb bullshit again
the journalist? oh no… how bad?
not like war crime bad but ‘legit a srs dick move and self important about it’ bad
ugh. that’s always a pain… why tell me, though?
well bc im tryna console her an figured she could cope with sweets!
as one does.
as one does
anyway yea. u mind runnin to caramel’s an pickin up some of those sweet onion cream filled donuts? just a huge dozen to go to town on. ill pay u back promise. well have girls night itll be gr8
sure! jillian seems nice, and i never mind helping a friend of a friend!

Casey Williams looked over that text log again as she made her way to the Confectionery which had so often been a hotly desired source of nutrients and socialization about the college town and adjacent areas, frequented by students, faculty, and people just living in the very expensive college town alike, but most popular of all among young women, children, and couples, no doubt because of how cute and pink the place was.
Food was damn good, even if it tended to be pricey. One of those onion donuts honestly sounded real good right now, though…
Thus, to that end, Casey kept walking, stepping off of a trolley and moving through a piece of environmental art she’d grown entirely used to by now, something where that Andre guy sought to successfully recreate something looking like a recursively looping set of stairs in the middle of a public park, only to notice something in the corner of her eye; Perseus Drakos was sitting up high on one of the stairs in question, waving down at her and, with a cheery tone, calling out, “afternoon!”
Then, he seemed to slip off of the heavy drop, yet still bore a confident look on his face. This time, he’d have an awesome heroic entrance; he’d do a somersault and jump up right in front of his teammate, and it would be so awesome, and-
“Ow!” He winced, hitting the soft grass below as Casey looked concerned, offering him a hand up.
“Are you alright? That was a hell of a-”
“I’m fine!” Desperate to save face, Perseus jumped up, putting his fists at his hips and puffing out his chest. “The glass dragon won’t shatter like that! That’s all I wanted to prove to you right now!”
“Are you well? You must let me catch you before you run off like that!” The Stranger’s ethereal voice came through, then, as it manifested, fixing Perseus’ posture as he tried to shoo his Stand away.
“I got it, c’mon. I know what I’m doing!” He sighed, then, before turning back to face Casey. “So what brings you out this way? Mind if I tag along? I’d been trying to survey this area for signs of trouble or villainy, but so far it’s… Pretty safe. I think I could use more scenery!”
“Oh, I wasn’t doing much, actually,” Casey answered, “just headed down to CaraMel’s to pick some stuff up for Violet… Cheering up a friend, so basically an emergency, yeah? I’m sure it wouldn’t be any trouble for you to hang out, though.”
The Stranger and Perseus both gave Casey blank expressions.
“What? Don’t want to after all?”
“CaraMel’s closed early today. Like, right after breakfast early…” Perseus huffed. “I was gonna buy myself lunch there, too, so it was really bothersome…”
“…huh, really. Hope nobody’s sick or something.” She got her phone out. “Guess I’ll just let Violet know that-”
“Wait.” The Stranger’s voice cut her off, then, and Casey and Perseus looked to him. “Think about who we’re dealing with here… This Violet Lange. It isn’t the first or last time she’s goaded one of us towards something or another on secretive, even duplicitous pretenses. And with how connected she is… There’s no way she didn’t hear anything about that. Couple that with how CaraMel’s has been used as a base of operations for the University Board before, and…”
“She was trying to get me to do something else?” Casey asked, catching on now. She considered Violet a friend, but she really could be a pain sometimes like this…
“Exactly. Whatever it is you were actually sent there for… Proceed with caution, if you mean to proceed at all.”
“Forget that!” Perseus defied his Stand’s warning. “If it’s that important, and that dangerous, we’re going to be a part of it! Don’t abandon your friend, and don’t even say a word about leaving me out, either! Because if you do, I’ll just follow you anyway!”
Casey… Couldn’t rebut a word of that, and neither could The Stranger. Both simply nodded. “Follow my lead, and don’t do anything crazy, alright?”
“Why are the ceilings so high here..?” Perseus asked as he led the way into the closed-yet-unlocked door. “I mean, it’s basically a bakery with house space above it, right? But so much bigger than everything else…”
“Because it’s artsy… And I imagine Mr. Dansen appreciates the distance from all the kitchen noise, with his condition.” Casey mused. “Makes for a real nice climbing spot. Once I ran into that ‘Black Angel’ eating up there with Wrenn, and it really is a great view-”
Their conversation was stalled, then, by the realization of what lay before them, tossed through a glass display case and with a rolling shelf knocked over. A tall, hurt-looking figure with blue hair was struggling to keep it from crushing him, a sight which, with an “oh my God!” from Casey, both MFAs hurried to remedy, helping pull him free and sit him up.
“What happened?!” Perseus asked, not noticing a response, before realizing exactly why… The man’s ears were bleeding profusely, worse than anywhere else he’d been injured.
“Hhh… hhahh…” He struggled to steady himself, trying and failing to stand and move towards a backdoor. “Sister’s… Still down there… Old man… Phones… Ghk, fuck..!”
The young man collapsed again, quickly being steadied by Casey, who looked him in the eye and spoke slowly, yet firmly. “Don’t worry. We’ll help her. Just… Clear out.”
Someone is attacking CaraMel’s..? But what for? Violet… Is this what you really sent me for?
With that, then, she had to pick up her pace and run into the backdoor stairwell. Perseus had already begun to charge in.
The stairwell was decorated with pink carpet and soft orange wallpaper, the railings a clean, sleek white. It was quiet… Uncomfortably quiet.
Then, a door down below opened, and Casey had to grab Perseus by the back of his shirt to stop him from rushing blindly down to meet the threat.
“I swear, to try and assassinate me with the first trick I ever learned… The audacity of it all. Well, at least that’s been nipped in the bud.”
Casey and Perseus both froze, then, feeling their skin crawl. Of course, both had heard the recordings of Jack Aurel’s final stand, of the way a serial killer and an artificial human challenged him… And that self-important tone was unmistakable.
“Hehh, yeah. Say, d’you think her brother’ll still sell us bagels? I know the sign said they’re closed today, but I really got a hankerin’ for an everything with dog-cream-cheese.”
“Regardless of his willingness to sell to us, there will be bagels, my friend. I assure you they will be delectable!”
“Ehehh, awesome! Can’t wait to-” Lemon Demon stopped, then, his humorous tone momentarily evaporating. “There’s someone up there. Two of them, looks like.”
“Ah! Excellent catch,” Bert praised Lemon. “Lucky we ended that fight unscathed and unexhausted, then… I have a feeling that they’ll be more of a worthy trial than those two were.”
Casey gasped, then, still trying to bide her time, observe their moves, now that the element of surprise was gone completely.
“Yeah, you’re telling me, Bert. Imagine if we were hot off the heels of those Red Carpet guys, or Jack, or even that keytar guy… I told you about how I barely beat him, right? Still a dang shame, that… Gotta respect a man in a thong rockin’ and rollin’ in the ID. Reminded me of me back in the day!”
Perseus felt himself grow even tenser, then… Angry, beyond even his usual hatred for villains, at such words passing. “Casey… This guy… I think the old guy has to be the one to…” He had seen how utterly devastated Aaron had been at the news of Rudolf’s death, and to hear someone speaking so casually about it, having clearly seen it, been there, probably been responsible…
He called out, heroically, “Hey, Bert! Old-timer! Chat up all you like, because this is the last fight you’ll ever fight! Here and now, it’s over for you!”
Before he could charge, however, Casey grabbed him and began running up the stairs, well aware that at this point, a fight in the stairwell was inevitable… Hell, hearing something like that, and knowing what was at stake, she couldn’t back away in good faith either!
Every fight she’d been in so far, she could run away, leave the dirty work to someone else, but here, she wasn’t going to simply cower behind a child. She would get them a tactically advantageous spot, work out a plan, and beat these bastards here and now!
“Those kids sound kinda mad… Hope I didn’t strike a nerve there.” Lemon remarked, nonetheless preparing for battle. He knew kids, how hotheaded they could get. This wasn’t a situation he could defuse with a funny joke or two, and hell, he didn’t really want to.
“We’ll be striking more than just nerves in a moment, Lemon… We’ll be striking up another chapter in the Book of Bert. Just try not to bring the whole house down. Those bagels won’t taste half as good with drywall and concrete in them, after all.”
OPEN THE GAME!
(Credit to CaptainSpooky27 for yet more awesome match art!)
Location: Inside of a stairway. This is a general reference image of the layout of the stairway. Note this image does not match up to the stairway in the match, only the general structure. So the railings, floors and stairs themselves are different.
Here is a top down view of the general layout. The left and right sides are flat and the south and north are the stairs. The center is completely open. The stairs go upwards following the arrows.
The flat portions are each 5 meters long and 2 meters wide. The stairs are 1 meter wide and there is about 9 meters between each floor.
Bert and Lemon Demon start at basement level (on what would be the right side) and Casey and Perseus are 25 meters vertically above the other team and on the left side.
Goal: RETIRE your opponents!
Additional Information: Leaving the stairwell over the course of the match is prohibited. After all, there are civilians and bagels that will be in great danger if you retreat now!

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Suburban Regalia	Bert	“I see, you're above me... you're hanging on a branch, huh?!” You are starting from the very bottom of this stairwell, but rise and rise you will, until you tower over this entire city! Make creative usage of the verticality and arrangement of the stairwell!
Suburban Regalia	Lemon Demon	“What would Koichi think if he sees a lit lighter resting on top of a piece of bread..? Would he think nothing of it? Definitely not! He would extinguish the flame!” Last big fight you went in, you destroyed an entire factory, and that looks like it got people real mad… Best to avoid that, and besides, bagels are on the line! Ensure that the stability of the building isn’t compromised over the course of the match!
Masters of Funky Action	Casey Williams	“If they stand just 'above' you, it'll be over.” You have the high ground, and you intend to make damn good use of this fact. Make creative usage of the verticality and arrangement of the stairwell!
Masters of Funky Action	Perseus Drakos	“For 24 hours, you are to guard that lighter without letting the flame go out!” These guys think they can just bust into someone’s home, someone’s business, and smash it to bits like it’s nothing? You will protect this place, and its occupants! Ensure that the stability of the building isn’t compromised over the course of the match!

Link to the Official Player Spreadsheet
Link to Match Schedule
As always, if you would like to interact with the tournament community and be among the first to get updates for the tournament, please feel free to PM a member of our Judge staff for an invite to our Official Discord Server!

Hail Travelers,
Welcome to Verum Weekly. A weekly post to summarize all the game sessions that happen in the week prior. Hope you like it.
​
Thursday

The Helix of Fate (Lrret1064)

Azalon, Archmage of Glies, stands before Los, former Archmage of Kalkatesh, and the two prepare to duel. Azolon comments on his old mentor's current status as a Servant of the Enemy. In response, Los tells him he now knows the truth of the universe; there is no end to this because it happened many times before. He believes this is the only way to ease the suffering. Not wanting to waste time chatting, Azolon starts off the fight by firing off a Prismatic Spray, testing what reaction Los will have to it. Los attempts to block, but it scuffs his cloak. In retaliation, he sends Meteors towards Azolon, and the Gliesian gets his robes scuffed in return. Los then pulls out two wands and fires a rain of Violet Magic Missiles. Using the druidic magic in his Staff, Azolon creates a shield that cleanses the Missiles of their Violet energy and sends them back to Los, breaking one of the Servant’s defensive wards.
Los then uses Violet energy to make his arm gigantic in an attempt to crush Azolon, but he sees it coming and Misty Steps right before the arm touches him. Azolon then disparages Los for abandoning his role as Archmage and relying upon the power of the Enemy that so far hasn't even been able to touch him. Los proves him wrong by shooting a laser out of his eyes that hits Azolon across his face, breaking his glasses and scarring him. Los quickly tries to use his arm to crush Azolon again, but he instinctively Vanishes and dashes towards Los while charging a Disintegration Ray through his Staff, which tears open a wound across Los arm. Seeing an opportunity, Los uses the blood from the wound to create Blood Spikes to pierce Azolon, but before they can connect Azolon heals Los’ wound, causing the Blood Spikes to turn into a harmless splash of water.
Azolon attempts to cast a Fireball directly in Los face, but his opponent is faster and grabs Azolon’s wrist, redirecting the Fireball and pulling him in for a headbut. While Azolon is disoriented, Los channels a Vampiric Touch and attempts to strangle him. Azolon drops his Staff to try to break free, but Los is stronger and breaks another of Azolon's wards. Thinking quickly, Azolon summons back his Staff to stab Los. Los uses their position in flight to reorient themselves and make the Staff miss, and he starts to strangle Azolon, draining his energy. Azolon however uses his druidic training to cast Stone Fist and smashes it in Los’ face, breaking free. He then taunts him while casting Mental Prison, baiting Los into meeting his gaze, which breaks through one of the Servant’s wards.
With Los distracted, Azolon flies in close once more to finish the fight by turning Los’ Flesh to Stone. However Los recovers fast enough to use his cloak to block the attack and counters with a fist charged with Violet energy. Remembering his research on the Colors, Azolon attempts to challenge the blow by casting Prismatic Spray, connecting it with Los’ attack. The energy expands and blows them both back. The resulting explosion chars Los arm, and the bit of Violet energy that reached Azolon’s right hand removes it from existence. Azolon keeps his composure and takes the opportunity while Los is still recovering to charge his Staff with druidic power. Los summons a Shield that clashes against the empowered Staff.
Suddenly Alexander flies up through the sphere, wielding a blade made of Negatia, a material that seals magic. With the force of the catapult that sent him flying, Alexander slashes at Los and easily breaks through the magic defenses. Not letting the surprise go to waste, Azolon manipulates the wind to blow Alexander closer to Los, making the slash go up from his chest, across his face, and through his right eye. At the apex of his flight, Alexander apologizes for interrupting and gives Azolon words of encouragement to finish off his foe before falling back down out of the sphere.
Azolon thanks his old friend for his assistance and disses Los, saying that serving the Enemy made him lose any connection to people like that, which makes him a shell of a man. Los admits Azolon is right about those things but wrong in other ways, because “life isn't fair”. He then casts False Torch, creating a Shard of Oblivion and placing it into his empty right eye socket. Now empowered, Los fires an Obliteration Ray. Azolon uses his Staff to block the attack, but Los charges the Ray with even more Violet. Azolon, knowing that he cannot handle the might of that attack, tries to redirect it away from him. However as he turns to redirect it, his Staff breaks and the Ray shreds his back. Azolon asks Los what made him like this, and he answers that he saw the truth. "The wheel must turn, one way or another; this is one is the best way — the only way.” Los fires another Obliteration Ray. Knowing he cannot handle that attack again, Azolon pulls out a ring that Los enchanted and tosses it at the attack. Since Los enchanted the ring, it is soulbound to him, so the Violet energy is absorbed back into the ring. It flies back to Azolon, pulsing with Violet power — power that could be used by him. However, without hesitation Azolon tosses the ring aside, and it instantly evaporates.
Seeing how easily Azolon rejected all that power, Los is dumbfounded. Azolon disparages Los again, asking what worth is there in existing if it means giving into something that doesn't care about him and will only use him as a tool. He asks Los how he could give himself so freely to the lies that spawned from madness of a being that doesn't even belong in their reality. Azolon reminds him of the man he was once before and the man he could have been today. Los begins to weep, remembering who he used to be. He then suddenly grabs his false eye and rips it out. Azolon casts Dominate Person, and the spell cleanses Los of the Violet's control, returning his eye to the shade of blue it was before. Using the hold he has on Los now and his studies regarding the nature of the Violet, Azolon attempts to put a Geas on Los to completely remove the Violet’s enchantment.
However as the magic ripples, Azolon sees the Herald flying in the sky. As he gazes upon the comet, instead of seeing stone and ice, he sees silently screaming faces burning in Violet fire. On top of the comet he sees a silhouette within the Violet light, who begins to speak: "Wise wizard, now you will see the truth, just as he did!" The Herald begins to assault Azolon's mind, but Azolon uses all of his knowledge on the Violet to resist its corruption. Instinctively Azolon uses his signature Color Spray, firing it at the Herald, and he breaks free of its assault on his mind. He returns to the fight, reaches back into the magic over Los’ mind, and pulls out a Violet Shade, giving Los control of his own body once more. Azolon shouts, "Now Los!" Los turns around and fires one last spell, Annihilation Sphere, and grabs the Shade, tackling it into the Sphere. Los gazes back at Azolon with a look that simply says "It's your turn" and disappears along with the Shade.
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Friday

The Tearing Veil Ep. 17 (RoyalCaster)

The party leaves the room where they encountered the evil weapon. Eventually they are led to a room with a statue of Vavren. They move the two hands of the statue together in a praying position, and the walls shift, opening an entrance to a room that seems like it serves as a place to help people escape. They enter and hear someone scribbling past the door. They bait the person by creating a sound and putting a flyer of the Unwise Six under the door. While he goes to investigate, the party passes by him under the veil given to them by Falaael.
They decide that they should take care of Falaael’s task first and later deal with freeing the designated prisoners. They head upstairs and find themselves in another room which has another pair of stairs that takes them to a courtyard. Climbing even more stairs they eventually get to the roof and find a dais with statues of the White Pantheon on it. Vim holds the orb given to him amongst the statues. Angorn recites a prayer, and the orb begins to float and dissipate, forming a smaller statue of Falaael that takes its place amongst the others. Nidhogg suggests to Angorn that they should desecrate the other statues in favor of Falaael. After an hour they head out to hopefully find a map of the prison or to get an idea where they can find the prisoners.
They sneak past a multitude of guards, inciting violence within the guards’ ranks to cause a distraction. They take advantage of the situation and get into an office room where they take the prisoner manifest containing the whereabouts of the prisoners. They find prisoner 48; at first he seems quite apprehensive, but he accepts help from the group. He offers his help in getting the other prisoners out; he can conjure a door to teleport him and everyone else out of the prison. They ask him to go to the rooftop and wait for them. They continue to the opposite side of the cell floor and decide to split up. Vim, Angorn, and Wisp see a guard standing in front of the cell of prisoner 34, so they head to prisoner 17 instead. They find a woman covered in the markings of the skinwalkers. Her cell’s bars are especially thick and cross themselves in a lattice-like pattern. She also wears a silver waist belt that she claims is bothering her. They open her doors, but she does not exit. She taps in front of her, revealing an transparent forcefield, but Vim touches and removes it. She exits and transforms, revealing her drider form. Prisoner 17 mentions that they must free another prisoner not on their list: prisoner 19. She leads them to the warden’s chambers where prisoner 19 is being held.
Meanwhile, Nidhogg, Raber, and Flamewrath stay behind to keep watch. Flamewrath slicks the staircase behind them with oil to safeguard the others and eventually guard come by and fall. Other guards come in and they find a note planted by Flamewrath claiming the prank to be the work of the prison’s flower club. The guards become furious and go away to reprimand them.
Back to the other group, they find a small person hanging from the ceiling, encased in bandages. They help her down and free her of the wrappings, revealing a young girl marked with ritualistic markings and her mouth sewn shut. Vim cuts the stitches from the girl’s mouth, and she takes deep greedy breaths. She thanks them, and the room shimmers with magic. They tell the two prisoners of the plans for getting them to escape, and the two women declare they want to help. They explain that the girl they freed was the actual prisoner 17 and that her voice can command anyone to do what she says. Using her ability, they plan to command the guard that was at prisoner 34’s cell.
The group comes across the guard that was patrolling the area. Prisoner 17 commands him to go away, and he magically obeys. They find prisoner 34 and discover that he is an expert forger and promiscuous deviant. They take everyone to the roof where prisoner 48 is waiting for them. The area darkens, and Oloken’Hai speaks to them. Now that the last bit of their quest is upon them, Oloken’Hai will distract those that would stop them and will put them on their way to defeat the corruption that holds the White Pantheon in their grasp. Nidhogg asks Oloken’Hai why he decided to choose him for his divine spark, but Oloken’Hai claims that it was him who chose himself. As the door opens, it is time for them to enact Oloken’hai’s will.
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Saturday

Shadow of Tyre Ep. 26 (RoyalCaster)

Raost splits off from the group to find Seren, asking her to come with him for a moment. They walk off together and stop when they get to the rock where Toot first prayed to Hizigori. Roast approaches the rock and exhales. He pulls out his notebook and opens it to take out the Clementia flowers he got from Falcon’s grave in their wing. He untangles them and starts to tell Seren how she remained a constant in his life, which means a lot to him, and no matter what happens to her or him, he wants to be with Seren forever. He offers the flower to her and asks her to marry him. At first Seren is silent, but looking down at him she says that marrying him would make her a hypocrite. However, just this once she will be okay with that title. While hugging, Seren pushes him into her chest to show him that her heart is not beating anymore since her Dephtar transformation. She mentions that she still does not know what happened on Azengolt that made her like this. Raost however starts sweating and recommends that they should probably talk with Toot.
They find Toot and ask him if he could marry them, but they also ask about what exactly happened on Azengolt. As Toot explains the intention of his actions, Seren is seething but contains her feelings. Upon hearing this, Xetor pulls Raost aside for some wisdom. He warns him of the tribulations of being married, even more so with how incompatible their forms are. He recalls his own marriage and mourns the brief stint he had with his wife as she was taken by a sickness, but he also remarks that the bliss of being with your loved one outweighs the sorrow. Xetor asks if they would use the rings of him and his wife, handing him the pair. They are far larger than human-sized rings, so they'll wear them as armbands.
As Seren’s honorary dad, Mad Morc gives Raost the dad talk. Marrying Seren means he becomes family, so Morc wants to indict him into the Tops, and Raost happily agrees. Also, Morc discusses the contingency that comes with being with Seren; one day Raost might have to put her down if she loses control. Raost steels himself, so Morc gives his blessing.
Both Seren’s and Raost’s parties gather, and a few more of the people of the camp come by. With Toot leading the ceremony, they speak their vows. As Toot pronounces them husband and wife, they kiss each other. Seren gives Raost a beaded necklace from before she changed, and he gives her a small mirror he got while exploring the temple where they found Xetor; it has a crude drawing of both Raost and Seren on it.
After receiving their items from the Vega and the Gambler Black, the party catches Zacharias up on what they are supposed to do in the Labyrinth. As they enter the labyrinth again, they appear at the entrance of the third floor, the stairs leading up to the destructed second floor behind them. They venture into the halls until they come across a room with seven statues and a pool of mercurial substance; a gigantic hand statue reaches out from behind it, a faded crystal in its palm. Moe uses his cyclopean eye to discern the secrets and sees various events that take place across the timeline of Kalkatesh. Toot messes with one of the statues and accidentally pops it open. Moe recognizes this as an Angel of Band he saw on Eldar Sharkai; however, it seems more like an imitation, as it misses the moving screens and the spikes around the place where the head goes means it’ll probably kill the controller.
They also find tapestries of the events that Moe saw at the Altar, recreated with thread and needle. Investigating more closely, they seem to depict various accounts of fate, but their falsehood is evident. As they move closer, the composition shifts, and it becomes clear that these tapestries are prototypes of what Tyre was trying to create: artificial fate. To the right of the room, Zacharias examines a portal emanating a purple aura. Getting closer, he begins to feel ill, unable to understand what it is. Though everyone feels the same uneasiness, Raost tosses a pebble into the portal, but nothing seems to happen. They decide to avoid it and walk deeper into the room, finding stone containers containing Dust. Zacharias recognizes it as the purest form of life energy, the runoff of the silver cord that keeps you attached to yourself when one is Astral Projecting. Ahst and Raost pocket a bag each and join Toot and Moe at the southern end of the room. They come across a silver chest; Moe looks inside with Latos Zatar and sees a spectral screaming in silent agony. Ahst casts Silence around the chest, and as Raost opens it and looks at it with his soul vision, he sees it is an experiment, a distilled memory to recreate a soul. They decide to close the chest and leave it be.
Moe sees the Dust the others found and examines it by licking it. The magic of the Dust infuses Moe with magical powers and a crippling addiction. They move on and find an aisle full of sarcophagi. Raost looks at them all with soul vision and sees a soul in each one of them. Further down the hall they find two significant tapestries; the group is unable to discern their meaning, but they feel like they have seen it before. They gather that the one on the left is the old god of luck and that the other was supposed to be the god of portals. Using his cyclopean vision, Moe is able to see the remnants of two lost deities, the result of Tyre’s experiment of stealing a moment from a god.
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Sunday

Shattered Crowns S3 Ep. 10 (Lrret1064)

Meena leads the party into the facility. The walls are bloody, flesh is stretched across the walls and ceiling, and there are corpses wrapped in body bags and stuffed in containers. Anthem warns Huck that they should only touch the stuff when needed. Ikkar asks Bethany if she's okay as she is strangely silent, as if she's seeing something the others can’t, but she seems unwilling to share what she sees. Guy asks Meena why they are here and she answers it’s to "save them from Home." However, she doesn't know where the item she needs is, only that it's a big oval made of stone and steel.
They detect a strange noise behind one of the doors. Scrumpo suddenly kicks the door open, awakening the creatures behind it. The undead with giant mouths start attacking the party, but Ikkar is able to Destroy the Undead to clear a large number of them. Iron Pipe uses a Wall of Force to stop the rest from swarming the party, but a large one flanks them from behind. Quick on his feet, Ikkar Banishes it. As the biggest threat is gone, Meena suddenly reappears and instructs everyone to leave the room. As they leave, she tells Iron Pipe to remove the Wall. The creatures flood the room, but Meena flips a lever that ignites a fire through the grating below.
Meena then leads the party quickly around the facility, like she's familiar with the place. She guides them to an office that contains more corpses in body bags and points out a book on top of one of the corpses, saying it belonged to the leader. Iron Pipe reads the book with the help of Drifter Sai’s and Meena's translation; it’s an experiment log on testing methods of movement or transportation, but none of the subjects were able to survive the experiment as something called ‘invitalisation’ caused their death. Meena explains that invitalisation turns the subject’s body inside out. Ikkar expresses his worry that it might happen to them, but Meena says she knows another way. Huck starts to get suspicious of Meena and senses her desperation; she doesn't fully believe what she's saying. Huckleberry then waits for everybody to leave and tells Ikkar what he noticed. Ikkar asks Huck to distract the others so he can cast Augury. Ikkar asks Sekelcuse if they should continue to follow Meena, but another being answers instead: "Woe."
They continue through the facility and approach a strange room. Meena immediately walks in and starts looking in a dresser, as if she knows where to look. Huck takes this chance to inform the others what he saw, and Ikkar tells about his Augury. However, they decide that they don't know who to trust, but that they should stay on guard. While this is happening, Meena pulls out a journal containing sketches and writing of a younger Meena progressing through her life; in the middle is a keycard which Iron Pipe takes. They continue to follow Meena as she approaches a big metal door. Pipe swipes the key card, opening the door. Meena suddenly rushes inside saying “Save you.” The party cautiously walks into the room after Meena.
They see a big metal structure that fits the description of what Meena described. Meena runs up to the metal structure and places her hand on it, repeating “Save you.” Ikkar notices that Meena is looking sickly and asks what the machine does, to which she responds that it “makes people Home better, different, makes door.” She then walks up to a console and enters a code, and a voice greets her as Dr. Jeckin. Ikkar asks Meena if she’s dying. The voice answers that she isn't alive, and Meena confirms it by pulling back her shirt showing that she’s mostly wires. She then points to the back of the machine where they see the letters ‘YU’. She explains that it means Yolnas Unvas, ‘Second Chance’, and that it refers to the machine. Ikkar asks the voice what the purpose is of the machine. It explains that the machine is a last ditch effort to save the Ragdarians by sending embryonic sacks to a different planet to repopulate, but no destination has been given yet. Meena expresses her desire to send the machine to Maltos and makes the party promise to launch it. She then limps toward the machine and pulls out a wire from inside her and puts it into the machine as she starts to lose her light. She thanks the party, and her body falls limp. Everyone realizes that Meena contained the history of the planet and is giving the machine that knowledge to pass on.
Guy asks the voice how to break the Covenant of Death, but it says that information is classified. Trying to fill in the password, they look through the books they took to search for clues; the password ‘Jekin’ let’s them access the files. The voice gives them two options, launching the machine and serum integration. They recognize the serum from one of the books they found; it is able to stave off death. Guy volunteers to go first, thinking it will turn him into a full immortal vampire, and the console injects him with the serum. However, it cures Guy of his dampirism. Ikkar goes next, and it makes him feel younger. When Huck takes it, he feels Anthem’s connection lessen as inside his mind palace Anthem appears as an angry black horse stuck inside a stable. When Scrumpo takes it, he gains a full afro. When Pipe takes it, his augments become more part of him, making him more like a cyborg. While Pipe is distracted, Ikkar lights his pipe and uses Thaumaturgy to burn away the bird suit. When everyone has taken the serum, they ask the voice how it can help them defeat Death. It explains that it injects nano constructs into them that make them immune to instant death effects. The party gets ready to launch the Second Chance to Maltos and asks Drifter Sai if they can follow it. Sai confirms it is possible and that it greatly reduces the fuel required to reach the planet by siphoning the residual energy from the Second Chance.
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Monday

Heart of Tyre Ep. 25 (av5hadow)

Shortly after Seren’s marriage, Morc and Neve decide to get married immediately and travel to the Trees of Marriage. Amaris, Braktor, and Vizier Lozenkor show up. Seren starts the Orc wedding as the shaman, and the couple makes their vows. Morc reveals that Neve has shown him that hope is more than just survival, and he expresses his desire to grow old with the changeling. Neve recounts their journey since the beginning; Morc was always there, a pillar of emotional support. She vows to stand and fight alongside the half-orc. After Seren affirms that the two will uphold their marriage responsibilities, the two bite each other's hands. The wedding moves on to the bouquet-tossing event; while Amaris, Ozzie, and Braktor are distracted by each other, the Vizier and Ives reach out. Ives however is quicker than the Vizier whose composure is gone for the first time as he eats the dirt. Ives is confused as he acted on instinct, so he gives the bouquet to the Vizier. As wedding gifts, the Tops receive a lot of gold from Braktor and Amaris. Morc carries Neve to a tent, and they fade into black. Seren thanks the Vizier for his efforts and wishes him happiness with the one who will do the same. He voices his doubts but gathers the courage to tell Azalon the truth.
Derok spots Xetor and Ili’ith next to the Oracle’s Well and greet them. The three talk, revealing that Derok is a first generation Vega and is from the Vegan Isles. After years of not knowing himself, Derok Dranf finally finds a home. The Vega teach him the true pronunciation of his last name and reveal that his clan was known for staff creation. They are also willing to help the party upgrade their gear.
Derok asks the Azengoltians for advice on fighting the Depthar. Alice gives her wrapped silver chalice to him, saying that silver is effective against the Depthar; they could melt it down to coat their weapons with the silver. Braktor tells Derok that the Vega might have materials that are infused with emotion, which are effective against the Depthar as well. However, augmenting gear with this material will forgo any other Vegan upgrades. Seren, Ives, and Derok go to a now disheveled tent to inform the newlyweds about the augmentations. Neve decides to forgo her armor augmentation to receive an anti-Depthar shortsword.
Seren requests an audience with the Eldar and Letol. She offers Depthar samples to Letol, but he immediately refuses. He begins to berate the Brass Queen, but the Azengoltian Eldar stops him. Letol once again gives his warnings about the Depthar, but he accepts the blood samples. He then expresses his wish of being wrong about the creature, but after being in so many similar situations, he doesn’t want to gamble. Letol thanks the creature, stating that he’ll free the pure innocent soul that is controlling its actions if it exists.
Shortly after the Tops leave, Letol addresses the Azengolt group. He asks for their future plans. Azalon asked them for their help to contain and fight the Depthar on Glies. Alice asks if Letol will come, but he says that someone needs to guide Kalkatesh. He then says that no matter where they go, the group is always welcome to wherever Letol calls home, for “together, they survived what Iron and Sorrow could throw at them.”
Alice provides some supplies to the Tops and tells them the Depthar can adapt to anything. Archibald suggests to cycle their attacks and to leave the anti-Depthar weapons for the final blow. Morc then takes off his pilgrim hat he got from Zorikal, wanting to activate the rune. He wishes to test it. Everyone backs away, except for Hackne who identifies the rune as a divine Word of Recall. The destination is anyone’s guess, so Morc doesn’t touch it. Seren walks away as the Tops discuss who should hold the portal stone in case she goes rampant. The current holder, Derok, says that it doesn’t matter as she’ll read his mind. Braktor gives his group’s stone to Neve to be used as a distraction.
The Tops return to the first floor of their wing, finding themselves in their starting location. As they head towards the Flesh Refiner, Seren takes a new nurse’s outfit in her current size, and Neve gives her Breathless Amulet to Morc who is vulnerable to the fog that will be released. On their way, they hear the familiar stomps in the main room behind them. The Tops configure the Refiner. The party waits out in a room as they have undone the seals on 120 creatures. Ives hears sounds of battle, and Seren feels pain and chaos. During this time, Morc attunes to the Amulet.
“Theta protocol initiated. Releasing cleanse.” Green fog fills up the room and affects the now Depthar Seren, so she puts on the nurse’s mask. The party immediately heads off to the main room where the fog is much thinner; they see environmental damage and viscera covering the path. As they enter the main room, FCO walks underneath the archway. It gazes at each Top member, and its sight lands on the Brass Queen.
A horrifying screech marks the start of the fight.
Before the Tops can get into position, FCO rushes down Neve. Its arm barely misses, but FCO poisons Neve with Hypoxia. Derok, Morc, and Illan enter the melee. The Hypoxia spreads among the melee fighters via Life Pulse. FCO banishes Derok with a Maze-like ability, and Illan gets destroyed. FCO reaps the poison in him and places all the stacks on Seren.
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Tuesday

Weal and Woe (No Session)

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Soul of Tyre Ep. 26

The party uses their newly acquired money to buy better equipment. Alexander gets a Vacuum Edge Sheath which gives the Negatia Blade a chance to destroy spell slots or mental attributes of his enemies. Braktor buys a Weaver Staff augment that empowers its attack and adds thunder damage. Hackne gets an Anointed Court Mage Robes of Temperance which gives her more defense against curse effects and gives her allies advantage against her spells. Ozzie buys the Armor of the Autumn Assassin which gives him more poison damage and can turn him invisible. Belanovan decides to save more money to see if he can get a better item. Braktor also attunes to the Ancient Ring of Regeneration which was taken from Tyre’s Drop. When they’re done shopping, Gailen informs them of the current Wendigo situation. While the party was away, it seemed that the wendigos had united under a king. They are now considered a rising civilization, and Gailen hopes to create diplomatic relations with them. The party agrees to talk to the wendigo ambassador to see what is going on.
As they travel to the contact point at the Rotting Wound, they spot a plateau surrounded by wendigo guards. An ashen guard approaches and leads them to the wendigo ambassador. While walking towards the ambassador, the party sees archaic stones floating around a well of shadow. Eventually, a wendigo speaks to them and introduces themself as Volos. The party walks towards Volos while Alexander looks into the well of shadow, noticing that it is a portal to the Dream Realm; here Inu’s strand should be planted. Volos explains that this portal was already built when they arrived, but the wendigos plan to do a ritual on it so that they can get energy to fuel their kingdom. Belanovan assumes that this energy allowed Volos to speak, but the diplomat corrects him that wendigos have always been able to talk, they just had no reason to.
Volos explains that his nation has been watching Gailen’s Gate and he praises the settlement’s altruism. Belanovan asks who the wendigo king is, but Volos declines his request as people can use the king’s name to harm them and their nation. Belanovan follows up by asking how they can sustain their kingdom and Volos shows them the wendigo’s grand scheme. It is known that wendigos can only gain sustenance from consuming humanoids. However, there is an exploit: If they can use the dreams of humanoids as a spice, they can gain nutrients from livestock and not resort to cannibalism. Belanovan asks how long the king has been in power and Volos replies that they have been the leader for a long time. They and the nation only came into prominence now because they wish to help the fight against the Enemy so that their race can gain tolerance from other nations.
The party contemplates using the strand of Inu; they do not know its exact effect, but they do know it will cause massive changes to the wendigos. Hackne interjects by worrying about the adverse effects of taking other dreams. Belanovan then hypothesizes that Negatia could possibly stop the effects of their curse. They test the hypothesis, but Volos vomits; the Negatia has no effect. As the party studies Volos on his truthfulness, they can see that he is a skilled diplomat, but he’s not lying. However, there is a slight sense of desperation in his tone.
Still unsure, Belanovan asks what the wendigo's plan is. They plan to build settlements in the barren wasteland of the Badlands that will start the foundation of their nation. Belanovan follows up by asking how the wendigos will increase their population. Volos pauses, fear emanating from him. He responds that they are willing to convert the destitute of other nations. This worries Alexander, so he asks Volos if he feels guilty about converting others, as it is guilt that transforms beings into wendigos. Volos does not answer the question, but strain can be seen on his face. He then reveals that he knows that Braktor is a Weaver, a class that counters the undead. Braktor assures Volos that he is not biased against the wendigos because they are still beings. Ozzie proposes to be their ambassador for the Dream realm, but Volos wishes to show the strength of his nation and wants to be the one to talk. Belanovan wishes to talk directly to their king, and Volos accepts this request.
Volos contacts his king and allows them to talk through him. Another voice comes out of Volos’ body and introduces itself as the wendigo king. It is revealed that they are actually a half-wendigo. It was in their search trying to find their origin that they found the well and desired to make a nation for the wendigos. Belanovan wishes to actually meet the king and learn why they are a half-wendigo, and Alexander asks if they even want the curse to be removed. The king responds that he wishes to find a way to remove the curse of wendigos while keeping themselves alive; the current way of removing the curse results in death. The party offers alternatives to the wendigos, such as using their own dreams or living in the Dream Realm, but the king tells them that those paths won’t bear any fruit.
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Wednesday

The Herald's Call Ep. 12 (AsAlternateAsItCanBe)

The battle continues. They learn that Nojack is able to Wild Shape into animals using his Ki, that Vida fights with poison that she’s able to strengthen by hurting herself, and that Urien utilizes multiple stances to fight: Commander, Vanguard, and Desperate. It is also revealed that Urien is their leader; if they’re able to deal with him, it seems it will stop the ritual.
Vida gets knocked unconscious by Riku’s double Scorching Ray, followed up by a hit by Zada’s morning star, which brings her close to death. Archael sees that the Violet ritual circle is getting stronger over time and that it is absorbing Vida’s blood; it seems that the more people are killed, the faster the ritual is completed. Despite this revelation, the party decides to finish Vida off as Arienne draws first blood. Boris predicts that the party will attack again the next round, gaining additional damage to his Smite should he be correct. Meanwhile, Urien decides to attack Zada, allowing Archael to hit him with a critical Smite. Analyzing the situation, Urien throws away his two greatswords and pulls the third from his back. The sword starts to glow with unstable Violet energy; Violet Death is possible.
Seeing the desperation of their enemies, the party decides to finish this quickly. Zada uses her Soulfire ability to refresh everyone else’s and uses Apholios to knock Boris unconscious. Archael attempts to disarm Urien with a Clash, and with the power of Glory on his side, he severs Urien’s arm and the sword falls to the ground. Arienne then uses her whip to fling the sword outside the room to prevent Urien from taking it. Midas sees that the sword is the real key to the ritual, not Urien, and he picks up the sword to attempt to stop the ritual completely. However, as he picks up the sword, Violet flames lash out and try to corrupt him, but Midas resists the temptation and holds his ground. He is faced with two choices: either seal the ritual or allow it to continue and summon the Violet Servant. If he chooses the latter, the party will be able to ambush the Violet Servant and deal a massive blow to the Enemy. Midas decides to hold the decision until the combat is over. Azylea summons Asuna to bring the knocked-out Boris away from the battle. Unfortunately, Boris stands up and strikes Asuna with an empowered Smite. The spider gets hit so hard that Azylea sees the statue crack just from that blow. Meanwhile, Urien once again attempts to Clash with Archael using his normal greatswords and aims for his eyes, but once again he fails. With the momentum on his side, Archael uses Shining Assault to knock Urien out. The battle ends with Arienne rushing towards Nojack and Boris, knocking them out in the same turn. Midas then kills them, gaining three Soul Coins, and starts the discussion about what they should do with the ritual.
The party decides that they will ambush the Violet Servant. They’ll be fighting it at their full strength and will know all of its abilities immediately when it spawns. In addition, the party can seal two of its abilities at the start of the fight. But before the final fight of the campaign starts, they are granted level 5.
​

Steel and Silence Ep. 5

Before the party heads into the ruins, Rev’lis Wisp breaks out from its body and begins to transform. It transforms into a Veld with cracks in its skin and shining with colors. After the familiar introduces himself to the party and Rev’lis names him Shiny, the Lord of Blades teleports them to the ruin.
They arrive at one of the many world roads in Steton. Rev’lis flies ahead and scouts what seems to be an abandoned village. As she looks around the town, Rev’lis finds a stonehenge in the center which glows with a Violet light. She quickly flies back to the party and informs them of what she saw. The party cautiously heads into the town and searches the nearby houses. In one house, Shiny notices that whoever left the village, they left long ago and in a hurry.
At the door of another house, Vaeri finds some dragon scales on the ground. She and Terryn enter the house and find a broken blade on a table. As Vaeri walks closer, she notices draconic writing on the blade, reading “Death to the false serpents.” She identifies it as a dragonslayer weapon. Meanwhile, Terryn searches the house and finds a discarded cloak from the Steton Striders. The more Terryn looks around, the more articles of clothing from the Steton Striders she finds. Vaeri tells Terryn to bring the rest of the party here to show them the Strider clothing. They theorize that the resident of this house was trying to hide from the rest of the town that they were a monster hunter. Vaeri takes the broken blade and the party continues their search in the village.
As they walk by a crossroad leading toward the stonehenge, Zara suddenly feels the call of the warrior. She follows the call, and it takes her to an entrance to the Hall of Heroes. Zara enters the gate and finds herself on a rainbow bridge, but the line of violet is missing. Eventually, Zara enters the Great Hall and is greeted by the Throne of War, a stone chair and the leader of the Hall of Heroes. She explains her quest to the Throne and it respects the flame in her heart. If the red orc wants to succeed in her quest, she needs a mentor to guide her. A dragonborn is summoned behind her; Nox will be Zara’s mentor and teaches her the fighting style Dragon’s Fury. The two finish their training session and Zara comes back to the waking realm.
The party hugs Zara as she comes back, and they finally head to the stonehenge. They find a ritual pulsing with Violet energy. Umi sees that these stones are an anchor point for a portal and the only way to destroy the portal is to destroy the spirit residing in the stone in the center of the stonehenge. Terryn slowly approaches the stone to study it and shoots an acorn towards it. Suddenly, the sky darkens as the Aphotic Indefatigable is summoned. The time for mercy has passed.
​
Edited by PalladiumDrake
Thanks for reading.

June 17th, 1887
​
We camped for the night, without a fire up a ways on a ridge where we had a half-decent vantage of the town. Through the fog, you could see the glow from the Church fire pulsing like a beating heart. Starkmann had patched me up about as well as he could, but my new gunshot wound still hurt something fierce.
​
It was dawn when I finally woke again, the boy we’d taken from the town, Henry was still trussed up and gagged, although even if he hadn’t been I doubted the little shit would’ve had the balls to run. Starkmann was fast asleep under a nearby tree while Cooper was keeping low in the brush, watching the dirt road we’d taken into town. He glanced back at me as I sat up and flexed my arm. It still hurt like a sonofabitch, but I could deal with the pain.
“How’re you feeling Roy?” He asked.
“Like shit.” I replied.
​
I picked myself up and kept low as I joined him in the brush. It didn’t take me long to see what he saw. Horses, about nine or ten of them, making their way back the way we’d come. Up in front, I spotted a pale, bony looking thing that looked as if it had crawled out of a graveyard and atop it sat none other than Kennard herself. Riding up her flank was a mountain of a man that might have been Jonsey… Although this fella still looked to have his whole head intact as opposed to the broken fragments of bone we’d left him with. I opted not to think about that too much.
“Where do you think they’re headed?” I asked.
“Hell if I know. Back across the border, maybe.”
“Well that’s good, ain’t it? Fixes our little issue with jurisdiction.”
“Yeah, if they’re actually going… After last night, I’m ain’t so sure I’m willing to follow them anymore.”
​
He spit into the dirt and opened his flask of water for a drink. He offered me some as well. My throat was parched, and I was happy for the drink.
“You talk to the boy at all?” I asked as I returned his flask to him.
“Tried. He wasn’t too chatty last night… But you’re welcome to give it a shot, if you feel so inclined.”
“I just might,” I said and stood up. From the corner of my eye, I saw Starkmann standing behind us. I hadn’t heard him get up but I knew he was watching Jones, Kennard and their associates ride off, and judging by the look on his face he was none too happy about it.
​
“Those rotten little whoresons… Marshal, you got a shot on ‘em?”
“Son, we blew Jones’ head clean off last night and he kept on shootin’. I’m content to just observe right now if you don’t mind.” Cooper replied plainly.
“The hell you are…”
​
Starkmann went for his pistol and took aim at the distant horses. For a moment, I was sure he was crazy enough to pull the trigger, but he just stood there, aiming at those horses before he swore. That rage in his eyes didn’t fade though. Instead, they turned on the boy. If Henry had been asleep when I had awoken, the commotion had since woken him up and he was greeted by a very angry Doctor Starkmann coming at him with a sixgun in hand, and a terrible bloodlust.
“You …” The Doc growled as he rolled the boy onto his back and jammed his pistol right up under his chin.
“You are gonna tell me where the hell your friends are riding to, or so help me God, you will shake hands with Saint Peter today!”
​
“I don’t know!” Henry squealed, sounding more like a pig and less like a man. “I swear it! I swear that I don’t know!”
“Then who does?” Starkmann growled. Cooper raced to his side to try and put a hand on his shoulder but the good Doctor just pushed him off and gave him a warning glance that made it clear he would not take kindly to an interruption. The Marshal had a hand over his pistol, but he didn’t draw.
“Your people clearly have some other business to attend to. What was it?” Starkmann asked.
​
“K-Kennard…” Henry stammered, “S-she was lookin’ for something. Some sort of ritual, I think? Said she had to kill the preacher to talk to the Old Fae and it’d tell her what she needed.”
“What ritual?” Starkmann snarled.
“I don’t know! I swear!”
Starkmann kept the gun pressed under his chin as Henry whimpered like a kicked dog. I was almost sure he might shoot the poor bastard but in time he holstered his piece.
​
“Kennard, was she the one who left that… Thing at Dick Roberts place?”
Henry tried to sit up, tears and snot running down his face. He managed to nod.
“She’s… Some sort of Doctor. Not like any Doctor I ever heard of though. A witch, more like. S-she does things, with anything dead. Cattle, horses, hell even people… Cuts them apart then sows ‘em back together but not in the same way they were before… She even was doin’ it to Jonsey… Putin’ things in him and taking them out.”
“Things?” I asked. Henry nodded.
​
“Y-yeah… Saw her cut the heart right out of one of the cattle back at Dicks place. Then she cut open Jonsey and put it in. Seen her take bones, lungs, other things. Jonsey says she’s makin’ him stronger. I don’t know about that…”
Cooper and I traded a look. If we hadn’t seen some of Kennards ‘work’ firsthand I think we both would’ve thought him insane. Starkmann on the other hand just kept an intense eye on the boy.
“What was your business with Bishop Strickland?” He asked, “You said Kennard killed him to try and talk to something? To ask it about this ritual?”
Again, Henry nodded.
​
“The girls in Del Rio said we needed a holy man. Not just a preacher. Someone higher up. We heard he was abroad, close to the border and he seemed like easy pickings. We looked for him, all we found was a telegram sent from some foreign fella, Egor something' or other saying’ he was coming to visit.”
I saw a flash of rage enter Starkmann’s eyes.
“So you hit the train he was on…” He said quietly. Henry hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly.
“Starkmann, relax. Let’s back up a step.” Cooper cut in, “You mentioned some girls in Del Rio. What girls?”
​
“Them? Awfully queer group they are, like Kennard. I-I can take you to ‘em! They’ll know a hell of a lot more than I do!”
“Well now son, that is music to my ears…” Cooper replied, his smile returning for the first time since we’d crossed the border. Starkmann glanced at Cooper before taking a step back away from Henry. He spat in the dirt beside him before heading down towards the horses. In the distance, Jones and Kennard were just specks who’d probably long since forgotten about us. They had other places to be, as did we.
​
The trip back across the border was a little nicer than the trip there. We cut Henry free but kept a close eye on him as we rode two days back to Del Rio. Our little visit on foreign soil had exhausted us, but we pushed on all the same and when I set foot in Del Rio again, I caught myself breathing easy for the first time since we’d left San Antonio.
​
It was late when Henry led us to the Bittersweet Brewhouse and I imagine that both the Doctor and the Marshal expected more than a glorified run-down whorehouse. It was a seedy little building right by the water that stank so strongly of alcohol, I could smell it from down the street. Cooper stopped dead in his tracks as he laid eyes upon the building, then looked warily at Harry.
“Son, exactly what kinds of girls are you taking us to see?”
“Not the kind you’d think…” Harry replied meekly. “Jonsey said that whatever you do, it’s best not to look ‘em in the eye… That’s how they get you…”
“Do they now?” Starkmann scoffed. He drew his iron again. “Boy if I find out you’re trying to trick us…”
​
“Put that thing away, Doc.” Cooper said. “I think we’ve all seen enough these past few days to have a little faith in our friend here. If it turns out he is leading us on, well I may not notice if he were to get shot through some unknown means and fall into the river… But we won’t know for sure until we see what’s in the whorehouse.”
Starkmann scoffed and reluctantly holstered his gun again, but if mere looks could kill, Henry would have been dead as a doornail.
​
With his usual vibrant smile, Cooper gestured for Henry to lead us into the brothel, which for the most part was no more pleasant inside than it was outside. The men in there were mostly older, haggard gentlemen who had not been treated kindly by life and yet the women… I can’t recall the last time I ever saw so many lovely ladies in one place. They looked young, with flawless skin and charming smiles. Just looking at them, I almost forgot why I’d come in. Hell, I almost forgot about Sarah at home. A hand on my shoulder pulled me back to reality.
“Don’t look them in the eye!” Henry said, his own eyes wide. “Don’t ever look ‘em in the eye!”
​
“Well, well. Henry Smith, is that you?” A voice rang out behind him. Henry looked over his shoulder slowly to see one of those lovely ladies of the night sauntering towards him. She had silky dark hair and sun-kissed skin, along with a coquettish grin that made my heart throb. I caught Cooper eying her up beside me and I could hardly blame the man.
“Hello Makayla…” Henry said quietly, voice shaking as if he were being approached by a hungry lion and not a beautiful woman.
​
“Back in town so soon? And with new friends to boot… Couldn’t stay away, could you?” She asked. Her toothless grin widened as she lovingly caressed his cheek and tried to coax him to look up at her. To the boys credit, he followed his own advice and did everything in his power not to look her in the eye.
“I-I’m still with Primrose Kennard…” he croaked. “A-and I am under her protection…”
“Kennard ain’t here, darling and your friend there is wearing a Marshal’s badge. I ain’t a gambler, but looks to me like you turned traitor… Naughty boy… But I suppose that means no one will miss you.”
​
“Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Cooper began. “But we were just looking to ask you a few questions regar-”
Makayla’s head turned towards Cooper.
“Shut up and sit down, cowboy,” She said and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Cooper went dead silent. Obediently he pulled up a chair and sat down quietly. Starkmann took a step back from him, before glancing at me, unnerved.
​
“You there. Wildman. You stink like dead meat… If I had to guess, I’d say you’re a hunter by trade, and you Mr. Moustache look like neither a lawman nor an outdoorsman. Judging by the smell of you and sling on Mr. Wildman here, I’ll assume you’re a doctor. Am I correct?”
“Yes ma’am…” Starkmann said quietly.
“You will either walk out of this establishment on your own two feet, or you will float on the bottom of the river until your gnawed, bloated carcasses wash up on the beach. Which you’ll do depends on how I like your answer to my question which is: What are you doing in my fine establishment?”
​
It was at that point that from the corner of my eye, I saw one of the drunkards in the corner sitting with a whore only what I hadn’t noticed before was the river of fresh blood running down his neck. I watched as the whore sank her teeth into his wound and seemed to drink down mouthfuls of blood, and I felt my stomach turn. Looking at Makayla in front of me, I could see a row of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth through her slightly parted lips and I knew that whatever she was, she sure as hell wasn’t a prostitute. I caught Starkmann studying a pair of whores feeding off an old man near the back and knew he’d figured that out long before I had.
​
“We’re looking for Primrose Kennard,” I said quietly. “Henry here tells us you might be able to tell us about that ritual she was asking about.”
“The ritual?” Makayla asked, before scoffing. She fixed her eyes on Henry. “Get us a drink, would you kindly?”
Obediently he shuffled off to fulfill her command and Makayla pulled out a chair beside Cooper.
“Sit down before I make you sit.”
​
Starkmann and I didn’t need to be told twice.
“What’s your interest in Kennard?” She asked. I struggled to tear my eyes away from the whore drinking the blood of the dying man in the corner before I managed to answer.
“Well if you cared to ask the Marshal, he might tell you that she’s wanted for the murder of Bishop John Strickland.”
​
“I’m not asking the Marshal, I’m asking you,” Makayla said. “You idjits are aware that you don’t stand a chance in hell of arresting the likes of Kennard, right? Hell, if she’s even still human I’d be surprised…”
“We’re well aware,” Starkmann said. “All the same, she killed a dear friend of mine and left my brother catatonic. We’ve also had the pleasure of seeing some of her work firsthand.”
​
“Did you now?” Makayla chuckled, “And you’re still alive? Good for you. I can only imagine what you’ve seen… When she passed through, I heard her talking about all sorts of nasty beasts, the sort that might make my Sisters and I look paltry in comparison.”
“And what… exactly are you, if you?” I found myself asking as Henry returned to the table. He set our drinks down and stood at attention with a vacant look on his face, waiting for his next order.
“Me? I’m a siren. Unlike Kennard, I was born this way. I didn’t need to work for my gifts and from the sound of it she certainly has been hard at work, if she’s killed the Bishop. I can’t imagine it will be long before she’s completed the ritual she was looking into, assuming she even survives it.”
“And exactly what ritual was that?” Starkmann asked.
“It’s complicated… I don’t suppose either of you are familiar with Shaal, are you?”
​
Shaal… That name sent a shiver through me.
“The name’s popped up,” I said. “But I don’t know what it means.”
“Few do,” Makayla said. “Supposedly, before reality itself came into being there was just nothing save for Mother Void. Now, in due time Mother Void gave birth to three children. First came Sailia, the Greater God of creation and well, obviously they created. Next came Mal’ibo, who became the guardian of all that is. Then, finally came Shaal. The Destroyer. Now, according to the old stories, they’ve sorta just run the cycle of reality over and over again. Sailia creates it, Mal’ibo tends to it and when the time comes, Shaal destroys it. This is what always has happened. This is what always will happen. No changing it. Now… I’ve heard of plenty of people who have dealt with Mal’ibo, but not a lot who have dealt with Shaal, and guess which camp Kennard falls into?”
​
“Shaal.” I said quietly. Makayla nodded.
“Yup. Now, she didn’t tell me all the details, only that she’d found a way to contact Shaal and strike a bargain to gain power from it, which if you’d ask me is already playing with fire. What Kennard was looking for when she came to me though, was something a little… Well.. Stronger…”
“What do you mean, stronger?” Starkmann asked.
“There’s rituals out there that not even the Greater Gods want folks to know about. Kennard heard tell of one that would let her get a little more bang for her buck. Shaal gave her a little sip of water, now Kennard wants the whole damn river.”
​
“And I assume that’s possible?” I asked quietly. Makayla shrugged.
“If it is I wouldn’t know how to do it, nor would I be quite insane enough to try… But I told her who she could ask. I’ll assume you boys aren’t familiar with the Old Fae, correct?”
“Not exactly, no.” I said.
“They tend to know things. Things that no one else does and if you offer them something in return, they might just gift you with somethin’ good.”
​
“So we ask one of these Old Fae?"
“That’s far easier said than done, Wildman. They aren’t easy to find and there’s almost always a catch. A trial, a sacrifice. They don’t do handouts. The one Kennard dealt with only comes when offered the blood of a holy man, and trust me: She picked the easy one.”
“We’re not murdering a man to speak to some monster!” Starkmann said. “Especially not another bishop. There can’t just be the one nearby. There have to be others.”
​
“There are,” Makayla said. “But as I said… This one won’t ask for a lesser price…” She paused, thinking for a moment before she continued. “There’s a pond, not far from here. I can take you… But you’d best think well and hard before you go. This Fae will want something personal. Something you can’t stand to lose…”
“Whatever it is, I’ll pay it gladly.” Starkmann said. Makayla just chuckled.
“Sure you will… That’s all I’ve got for you boys. If you’re serious about meeting the Old Fae, come and meet me here by the river just before dawn. In the meanwhile, I don’t give out information for free…”
​
She stood up from her chair and patted Henry on the shoulder. He’d barely moved since he’d delivered the drinks we’d barely touched.
“I don’t suppose you’ll be needing him, will you? Because I can think he’s just what I need…”
“He’s headed back to San Antonio when we’re done,” I said. “If it’s payment you want I’ve got-
“Take him,” Starkmann said, cutting me off. I stared at him in disbelief.
​
“Doc, we’re not leaving this boy to-”
“He ain’t no different than the rest of those thugs riding with Jones. Let her have him.” Starkmann growled.
“He’s a kid, damnit! We’re not leaving him!”
Makayla just playfully shook her head, watching us bicker. She didn’t see Cooper's gun raising out from under the table and pointing right between her eyes.
​
“The kids coming with us,” Cooper said calmly. I saw Makayla’s brow furrowed in frustration and noticed a few of the other whores, stopping their business to watch us.
“Cooper put that goddamn gun down!” I hissed only to be ignored.
“The kid comes with us,” Cooper repeated. “And ma’am if you try anything on me again you will be dead before you hit the floor.”
“You’re a bold one, cowboy,” Makayla said, her voice as level as Coopers. “How long have you been back in it?”
“Long enough. I’ll pay you whatever you want in cash, right now. But the boy comes with us.”
​
For a few moments, that whorehouse felt awful quiet. Cooper kept his gun aimed at the woman’s head, ready to splatter her brains all over the floor. It felt like years passed before at last, she started to laugh.
“Oh I like you, Cowboy!” She said. “I like you a lot! How about you pay for your drinks and get out… I’ll just wait for Henry here next time he passes through. That sweet young blood won’t go too far, of that, I am positively certain…”
​
She patted him playfully on the behind before turning away from us, still grinning like a wolf. Cooper lowered his gun and dropped it on the table. For the first time, I noticed he looked downright scared. We didn’t linger much longer. I’m sure I left far more money on the table than we owed, but I’d have preferred to be safe rather than wake up with those whores teeth in my neck.
​
We were barely down the street, with a dazed Henry in tow behind us when Cooper let loose on Starkmann. He hit the Doc with a slut out of nowhere, hard enough to drop him to the ground.
“The hell’s wrong with you?” He snapped as Starkmann lay in the mud. “You were gonna leave that boy to die, and then what?”
“He’s just another thug.” Starkmann hissed as he picked himself up. His hand moved back towards his gun but Cooper drew first.
​
“He’s a goddamn boy, Starkmann. A dumb fucking boy, I’ll give you that. But a boy all the same. I get that you’re angry. I get it. But you don’t decide who lives or dies!”
“Says the man who happily sat by and watched Roy cut a man's throat back in Mexico,” Starkmann growled. “Where exactly do you draw your line?”
“I’ll kill a man, Doc. Test me on that and you’ll find out. But him?” He gestured to Henry. “What are you, boy? Fifteen? Sixteen?”
“F-fourteen…” Henry stammered. He was still a little out of it, and stood stock-still and pale.
​
“Fourteen. Jesus, Doc. You saw what them girls were doing in there, you were gonna let them have a fourteen year old fucking boy?”
“I was gonna let them have some two bit thug,” Starkmann corrected. “Do you let every dumb kid you see get away, Marshal?”
“Only the ones I know are makin’ a mistake.” Cooper replied. His eyes shifted over towards me before he put his gun away and offered a hand to help Starkmann up.
“Don’t make me repeat myself on this, Doc. Are we clear?”
The Doctor hesitated for a moment before taking Cooper's hand.
“Crystal…” He said, although I could tell he still wasn’t all that happy about what had been said.
​
We found a more reputable place to sleep for the night, although I can’t say any of us managed to doze off. Images of rivers of blood, trickling out of the necks of drunkards and past the ruby red lips of those ‘sirens’ were still burned into my mind. Another horrible thing I could’ve lived my life without seeing… And I knew that it would only be a few hours until dawn when we’d need to see Makayla again. One thing I knew for sure was that if I never walked into Del Rio, Texas again, it would be far too soon.
​
June 18th, 1887
Dawn came quickly, and none of us had slept too well. Either way, we rose early all the same. The ride back to the waterfront was a tense one. Starkmann had a shiner blooming on his eye, and refused to so much as look at anyone else and Henry just hung behind us, quiet like a limping dog. I couldn’t blame him. The boy was probably too scared to speak a word to us. I would’ve been for sure.
​
We passed out front of the Bittersweet Brewhouse, which still stank of booze. At dawn, the place seemed quieter although as we reached the sore I couldn’t help but crane my neck to watch the place. Near the back, I could see the shadows of two women carrying something out to the river. From the dark waters, a third figure emerged to take what the first two women had brought her, before carrying it down to the depths. I got a good enough look to know that what they were hiding in the river had likely once been a man. We stopped our horses by the river and waited, none of us quite sure exactly what to expect. We didn’t wait for long, though.
​
The sound of approaching hooves drew our eyes a little further down the river, away from the Brewhouse and we watched as a woman on a chestnut horse rode up towards us. At a glance, I hardly recognized Makalya outside of her saloon girl getup. She’d donned a straw rancher's hat and a riding skirt, but her wolfish grin looked no different than before.
“Good morning boys,” She crooned as she drew nearer to us.
“Ma’am.” Cooper said quietly. “Last night, you mentioned you could take us to see one an Old Fae. You meant that?”
“So you were listening,” She teased. “I’m a lot of things, Cowboy but I ain’t a liar. I said I can take you to an Old Fae. I meant it. But we’ll need to leave now. This one only ever shows at dawn, so we’d best get moving.”
​
With that, she trotted her horse past us and a little further down the river. We watched her for a moment before forming up behind her as she led us out of town. I’m sure the idea that this was some sort of trick had crossed our minds but given our lack of other options, none of us spoke up about it.
​
Up ahead, about half an hour out of town I could see a grove of trees and she was headed straight for it. At its edge, she dismounted her horse and tied it to a tree before fixing her hat. She waited for the rest of us to dismount as well.
​
“Stick behind me because the path is precise,” Makayla said. “You need to follow it exactly. Go where I go. Walk where I walk and whatever you do, don’t get lost because if you do there’s not a thing in all of creation that’ll save you. If you’re having second thoughts, I’d recommend you speak now because once we start we will not stop.”
“You said this is the only way we can find out where Kennard went,” Starkmann said. “You meant that?”
“I did.” She replied.
“Then we don’t have a choice. Take us to the Fae.”
​
Makayla’s smile faded, just for a moment before she turned and started into the woods. Starkmann was the first to follow, with me, Cooper, and Henry staying behind him.
​
I hadn’t imagined that little patch of woods would be all that thick and yet as we followed Makayla we just seemed to go deeper and deeper inside. Looking up, I saw that the sky above seemed darker than before and the air seemed quiet and heavy. No birds, no animals. Nothing at all.
​
Starkmann kept his eyes ahead, following our fae guide through the twists and turns of the forest but Cooper's eyes wandered. The trees seemed taller and thicker… yet also looked dried out, as if they were dead. From the corner of my eye, I could’ve sworn I saw movement in the shadows. Shapes of things I couldn’t quite name, climbing on the trees as if they were trying to get a look at us.
​
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” I heard Henry whispering but his prayers sounded empty and echoed through the forest.
“Prayers won’t do you no good here, Henry,” Makayla warned, her voice a cold whisper. “Nothing here will hear them as anything more than a dinner bell, and the old Gods of the forest don’t listen to the begging of whelps.”
Henry’s mumbled prayer died in his throat and he stopped in his tracks for a moment, before scrambling not to be left behind.
​
Pale and luminous mushrooms dotted the forest floor ahead of us, offering the only light in that dark, otherworldly place we were in. Not even our own footsteps seemed to make a sound anymore and for what felt like hours all was silent until at last we heard running water.
​
The woods opened up into a clearing that was dark as night. I could see the pond in the center of it only because the tranquil surface of the water reflected the little dots of light from countless glowing mushrooms like stars. It was as if someone had poured the night sky itself into a cup, although far more beautiful. Makayla lingered near the edge of the clearing, refusing to set foot any further in, and by the look on her face, I knew it was because even she feared what we were about to face.
​
“It knows you’re here,” She said. “Go on. Call to it and be respectful…”
Starkmann was the first to enter the clearing. He rounded the pond, staring down at it for a moment before looking around. He didn’t see the water swelling as something deep within began to rise from the depths.
​
“Has the world fallen into such a state, that the Sisters of the Rio Grande do not even offer up greetings when leading strangers into our midst?” A voice hissed. Starkmann turned to see what Cooper and I had already noticed.
​
A shape emerged from the water. At a glance, I thought it some sort of wolf or coyote but it was far too large. Its dark fur was matted with moss and algae, while the patches on its body where there was no fur looked like burlwood and had a fiery glow to them as if they were burning from the inside out. I could’ve sworn I saw eyes blinking in amongst that glow but I never got close enough to see for sure.
​
“I-I meant no offense, great Guardian of these woods!” Makayla stammered. “These men insisted! They come seeking information!”
“Do they?” The great beast asked. Its head shifted to focus on Makayla, eyes burning into her. She knelt to bow, keeping her head low until it seemed satisfied. Then its attention turned to us. “And what information is it that you seek?”
“The ritual forbidden by Shaal,” Starkmann said. “The one that draws power from it. How is it performed?”
“You tamper with a force that is far beyond you, human,” The Old Fae hissed. “You would not be wise to deal with the Destroyer.”
“We’re not the ones dealing with her,” Cooper said. “But there’s a lady out there who is and if we don’t stop her, I’m willing to bet that what she’ll do ain’t gonna be any better for you than it’ll be for us!”
​
There was a low, deep rumble that shook the earth beneath us. Laughter.
“We are beyond your world, Human. Beyond your petty struggles. The doomed effort of Apotheosis of one human is of no concern to us. If Shaal discovers her, her fate is already sealed. You waste your time. Leave this place.”
The Old Fae turned as if it was about to return to the water, but I called out to it.
“This isn’t just some woman. We’ve seen the things she’s done. She’s already drawn some power out of Shaal, and God only knows what else she’s capable of.”
The beast stopped and was silent for a moment.
​
“You speak of Primrose Kennard…” It said after a few moments.
“I do.”
The creature huffed before fixing its eyes on me.
“Ill tidings indeed… There is a chance Shaal may destroy her, but Kennards dealings go deeper than most humans. If you are so committed to learning the ritual, I will tell you what you need to know. But a price must be paid.”
“And what price might that be?” I asked.
“Information this precious requires something precious in return… I see you, Roy Wilson. I see what you hold dear… You may have what you seek. But only in return for what you hold so close to your heart.”
​
The eyes burned into mine, and in them, I could see Sarah’s face. I could see Jack. I opened my mouth, ready to say no but the words caught in my throat. With just one simple word, I was about to lose everything that ever mattered to me, in exchange for what? Stopping some mad Witch? Could I really say it?
​
“And what about what’s close to my heart?” A voice said, stealing the Old Fae’s attention before I could give my answer. The creature looked over, fixing its eyes upon Marshal Cooper. “Would that be enough for you?” He asked.
“Harrison Cooper… How interesting… You would give up what you held most dear to me? All for your one shot at Primrose Kennard?”
“I would…” Cooper said. “Now do what you’ve got to do and tell us what we need to know!”
The great creature chuckled again, eyes remaining fixed on Cooper.
​
“Very well then… Our contract is sealed.” It said and I could hear a cold glee in its voice. “Now… The Apotheosis Ritual. It cannot be performed inside the mortal realm. No. To draw such power from Shaal, one must gain access into the Abyss, Shaal’s realm. Getting there will not be easy, its temples are spread thin. Yet one exists close by, buried under rock and time in the Chisos. Kennard is there now and grows ever closer to her prize. Through the temple, she shall enter the Abyss. Once she is inside, she will grow more powerful by the moment. I know of no way to stop this, beyond drawing the attention of Shaal which is most unwise. Should Shaal find you, even I could not say what they would do. Yet I know your fates would make death seem envious. You must destroy Kennard or the temple before she enters the Abyss. After that, it will be too late.”
“So the Chisos mountains…” Cooper said. “That’s where she is?”
“Move quickly, she will reach the temple soon. Then, it is in the hands of fate.” The beast said as it turned to descend back into the pond. We watched as it vanished beneath the surface of the water, leaving it still and tranquil once again.
​
Cooper's breathing sounded heavier than usual. He looked unsteady on his feet and I ran to his side to grab him before he collapsed.
“We got what we came for.” Starkmann said, “We should move now.”
“Give him a minute!” I said, “Marshal, what the hell did you give that thing?”
​
“Only thing I ever cared about...” He replied. There was a new wheeze in his breath and I could’ve sworn that his skin looked white as a sheet. “It’s all about the chase, Roy. It’s always been all about the chase…” He steadied himself on his feet. “Don’t think too much on it. We all make our last ride eventually, and if we’re lucky we go out in a blaze of glory. Makayla, take us back into town. We’ll need pick up some supplies. I’d say I’ve still got one last ride left in me and I’m gonna make it count.”
​
Smiling that same boyish smile he always wore, Harrison Cooper started back towards the woods. Even Makayla shrank back a step from him, watching him as he started back the way we’d come.
​
The trip back out of the woods went faster than the trip in, but that ride back into Del Rio felt like it took ages. Cooper almost looked as if he’d aged fifty years. He didn’t need to say a word for me to know that he was suffering. Tomorrow morning, we ride for the Chisos Mountains to finish this for good. I know it’ll be Cooper's last. Hell, it might be the last for all of us.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter (16/02/2021)
Synopsis: Tasked with rebuilding civilisation five years after the world has ended in the 21st Century, the survivors struggle against the forces who would see them fall back into the ashes. A shadow gathers in the west as a determined woman delves into a dubious death; murderous marauders raid the farm belt while cutthroat pirates torment the coast; and desperate settlers threaten to topple those in power as alliances shift in the scramble for safety.
***
Liam Caldwell sat watching the pair of men in the back corner of the saloon mutter back and forth. He had not been the only one paying attention, either. Several men seated at the nearby tables turned away from the conversation with disgruntled expressions.
Having pushed through the batwing doors a few minutes after Quentin, nobody had realised that they were together; or, the more likely scenario, nobody cared. His job had been to watch whoever Quentin sat down with in order to gauge their level of interest in the deal he was offering, but it seemed the gauge’s interest level was hovering somewhere between indifferent and irritated. In fact, it seemed as though the pair of men had already changed the topic.
“Sleep in the car,” Quentin said out of the side of his mouth as he stalked by, his cold blue eyes trained on the prostitutes at the other end of the saloon as they filtered out into the crowd of drunken men.
Liam nodded subtly, sipping his cola as he eyed the wedding ring on the man’s finger. Quentin Davis was one of the Mayor’s senior officers in Brimvale, who had been forced to bring Liam along with him on his diplomacy mission out into the prairies. If either of the two would have had any say in the matter, Liam would have been all too happy to spend the night in Brimvale.
The last place he had wanted to be was in a room full of drunken degenerates, and Coyote’s Rest was notorious for being a town teeming with boozers. He pressed his lips together with distaste as he listened to the cowboys hurling slurred insults at each other, some in good nature, but some with troublesome undertones, as they argued over which women they would be bedding tonight.
These were the same types of men who had ended his world almost five years ago.
Plenty of people would have argued that it was the missile that had brought about the end of the world, but for him, the end of the world had started with the drug addicts. The missile hadn’t killed his family, the drug addicts did; desperate men and women from The Gutter who were looking to score their next high, and were willing to gun down anyone who got in their way. But for some of those depraved men and women, drugs weren’t the only way to have fun.
Everyone who was old enough to remember The Long Summer Night wished that they had been young enough to forget. While the majority of Brimvale’s upstanding citizens had been marching on the town hall, protesting against the tyrannical rule of the Army Reserves who had put themselves in charge, the suburbs had been left virtually defenceless against the flood of fiends who knew that the authorities would have their hands full.
And while the protestors, former police members and the Army Reserves were battling it out in the plaza, all of the suburban neighbourhoods, all of the close-knit communities, and all of the family homes, were served up on a platter. Medicine cabinets, wine cellars and carefully-rationed food stockpiles were all ripe for the taking. Even as the saloon’s piano played, Liam could still hear tyres screeching, windows breaking, shrill screams and maniacal laughter.
He scrunched his eyes shut for a moment, the scenes of his home invasion flashing in grisly black-and-white snapshots, before sipping his cola to bring him back to the present.
A buxom woman was leading Quentin by the hand upstairs to a private room. If the man was happy about at least one successful negotiation that night, he sure didn’t show it. Liam remembered the boys in the office had dubbed him “Quentin the Unsmiling,” brazen enough to even say it to his face. Liam smirked sardonically as he recalled Quentin had especially earned his nickname that day.
A large, boisterous man sitting at the dice tables attempted to flirt with the bargirl, despite the plethora of prostitutes milling about the gamblers, surveying each man’s stack of golden bucks. The piano’s tune played off-key momentarily as the musician in the front corner of the room eyed the pair enviously, his jaw set as he resolved to finish the song.
Liam was watching intently when a young woman fell into his lap, spilling his drink.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I wasn’t lookin’ where I was goin’,” she exclaimed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “Good thing you were here to catch me.” She studied his face, her thin eyebrows furrowing slightly as she compared him against her long list of ex-clients. “You’re new here, aren’t’cha? What brings you ‘round these parts?”
Liam sighed through his nose as he mopped up the spill with a napkin, more concerned with the cola stain spreading across his shirt’s chest than making up some trivial answer for her to caw over.
“Oh, I can take care of that for ya,” she said, coyly pulling a frilly strip of linen from her perky cleavage. “I mean, it’s the least I can do...”
It was only then that Liam had realised that she wasn’t wearing a bra, her firm nipples forming tiny lumps in her white button-down shirt. She parted his knees to kneel in front of him in one fluid movement, tenderly placing one hand on his upper thigh with practiced technique as she dabbed at his chest. He had the feeling that this wasn’t the first time she had spilled someone’s drink.
“So, you here for a good time?” she asked, getting to business, her hand creeping down his abdomen, leaving the stain as she worked towards his crotch. She licked the side of her mouth with a kittenish smile.
“I was having a good time before you came along,” he answered flatly.
She dropped her jaw in surprise, more shocked than offended, before stowing the dirty cloth back in her cleavage. She dug her fingernails into his thighs slightly as she stood up.
“Gee, you really oughta lighten up,” she said. Then, leaning down far enough to give him a full view beneath her blouse, and what he would be missing out on, she murmured softly into his ear, “And to think, I would’ve given you a discount ‘cause I thought you were cute.”
She brushed his face with her breasts before strolling over to the bar with a pronounced sway in her hips, looking back to see if he had begun to have second thoughts, before ordering herself a drink.
Pulling himself closer to the table to hide his discomfort, Liam turned his attention back to the two cowboys he was supposed to be watching. The large, boisterous man who had been flirting with the bargirl earlier had swaggered over to their corner table, leaning against a sign in the corridor which pointed towards the bathroom. Apparently, he had been on a winning streak at the dice tables, and he wanted to see how far he could push his luck.
“I got five hundreds that say I can beat you ‘round that track with your own horse,” the large man boasted, his beer spraying the floor as he made the wager.
“And why would Emmett give you his horse, Big-Stack?” asked the other man sitting at the table.
“Well, why the hell not?” said Big-Stack, “If he wants to prove he’s a better rider’n me, then it don’t matter which fuckin’ horse he rides, does it? I’ll let him ride mine if that makes him feel better.”
“I’ve got nothing to prove to you,” Emmett said quietly. “Besides, you’re drunk and it’s raining outside, mighty fine night for an accident.”
“Afraid to get wet, huh?” Big-Stack chuckled. “You know, I always figured you for a pussy, but now I know for sure.”
“You take that back,” the third man growled, moving to get out of his seat, but Emmett held him down firmly. He kicked the table instead, drawing the attention of the other men drinking nearby, temporarily averting their gazes from the women sitting in their laps.
“I’ll take your money,” said Emmett, accepting the challenge, “Two thousand, you good for it?”
Big-Stack swallowed, his forehead perspiring, feeling the weight of the stares in the room as more drunken revellers turned to face them.
“Make it three thousand, and your horse if I win,” said Big-Stack, less boisterous than a minute ago.
“You got yourself a deal, partner,” said Emmett, donning his hat and coat.
Big-Stack stood in disbelief for a moment as the rest of the cowboys got to their feet, cheering them on. He downed the rest of his beer, slamming the empty glass on the table.
“About time you grew a pair, Emmett!” the big man yelled, clenching his fists to disguise his shaky hands. He thrust them into the air, as if he was already victorious, bringing on another cheer from the crowd as they all hustled outside into the rain.
Only a handful of people remained in the saloon; mostly men who were too drunk to stand up straight, and women who were too preoccupied with making money of their own. The piano player stopped mid-tune, ambling towards the bathroom, relieved at the prospect of an unexpected break. The bargirl hurriedly cleared the glasses from the empty tables, setting them on the counter, before rushing over to watch from the front window.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I wasn’t lookin’ where I was goin’,” the young woman with the white button-down shirt recited as she fell into another man’s lap.
Seeing that there was no longer anything worthwhile watching in the saloon, and hearing Quentin’s buxom woman shrieking in pleasure in one of the private rooms upstairs in the relative silence left behind, Liam headed outside to join the group of spectators, only to see the two men’s horses disappear behind a building in the distance.
Having no desire to follow them to the racing track on the dark wet evening, the crowd began to disperse, some pushing through the saloon’s batwing doors, and others rushing through the rain to the boarding house, eager to undress their companions for the night.
Liam ducked through the rain towards the black SUV parked on the corner, unsure why he was so concerned about getting wet since his shirt was already ruined by the cola stain, yet he ran all the same. He unlocked the doors with the remote and climbed behind the steering wheel. Quentin the Unsmiling would just have to wear his blank face of disapproval when he discovered his wet seat in the morning.
He pondered why Mayor Paxton had seen fit to send him to accompany Quentin at all. He had missed half of the negotiation, could barely hear the other half, and he had nothing to report from his surveillance other than Quentin paying a prostitute with taxpayers’ money, which was supposed to have been allocated towards their mutual accommodation. He supposed it was due to Lora’s recent promotion, that he now had to step up to take over her old role, and all of the trappings of success that came with it, like sleeping in the car.
His stomach grumbled, and he realised he had forgotten to eat dinner at the saloon. He reached for his backpack on the floor of the passenger’s seat, searching for the apples from Brimvale’s orchards which he’d had the good sense to pack. He fiddled with the seat’s height and angle, finding a comfortable position, ensuring Quentin’s maximum displeasure.
This would be a nice town, if it wasn’t for the people, he reflected, admiring the quaint and rustic architecture of the surrounding buildings for the first time. Coyote’s Rest was a re-enactment town of The Wild West, for cultural preservation and tourist attraction purposes. It had been abandoned during the missile’s fallout, but after a few years, when the level of residual radiation became mild enough to safely move out into the countryside again, the town was recolonised and refurbished, the old buildings serving an actual purpose, rather than just being there for show.
The rain came down harder as droplets tracked down the windows. Only a handful of stragglers were standing underneath the saloon’s veranda now, peering out into the night. Another cowboy had turned to head back inside when one of the riders galloped back into town. He jumped off his horse, throwing the reins to one of the spectators as he whooped and hollered in victory, the rest of the saloon cheering him on as he strode inside.
There was no sign of the other rider.
***
Thanks for reading, all comments are welcome!
All free chapters are rough drafts. Please find me on Patreon (Steve Heuzinkveld) to support the story and read the refined chapters (+4,700 words of additional content) ahead of public release.
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter (16/02/2021)

June 17th, 1887
​
I don’t think a single one of us believed that Daniel Jones and Primrose Kennard had died when I’d set the Church alight. We’d rode out of the mist as if the Devil himself were after us, and as far as we knew he damn well was, and we didn’t stop until we were well away from that abandoned town. We camped for the night, without a fire up a ways on a ridge where we had a half-decent vantage of the town. Through the fog, you could see the glow from the Church fire pulsing like a beating heart.
​
I barely had time to finish scratching things down in my journal before passing out. Starkmann had patched me up about as well as he could, but my new gunshot wound still hurt something fierce. Cooper was kind enough to keep whatever smartass comment he probably had in mind to himself and while they kept eyes on the town, and our new prisoner I slept.
​
It was dawn when I finally woke again, the boy we’d taken from the town, Henry was still trussed up and gagged, although even if he hadn’t been I doubted the little shit would’ve had the balls to run. Starkmann was fast asleep under a nearby tree while Cooper was keeping low in the brush, watching the dirt road we’d taken into town. He glanced back at me as I sat up and flexed my arm. It still hurt like a sonofabitch, but I could deal with the pain.
“How’re you feeling Roy?” He asked.
“Like shit.” I replied. “Very kind of you to ask, Marshal.”
​
I picked myself up and kept low as I joined him in the brush. It didn’t take me long to see what he saw. Horses, about nine or ten of them, making their way back the way we’d come. Up in front, I spotted a pale, bony looking thing that looked as if it had crawled out of a graveyard and atop it sat none other than Primrose Kennard herself. Riding up her flank was a mountain of a man that might have been Jonsey… Although this fella still looked to have his whole head intact as opposed to the broken fragments of bone we’d left him with. I opted not to think about that too much.
“Where do you think they’re headed?” I asked.
“Hell if I know. Back across the border, maybe.”
“Well that’s good, ain’t it? Fixes our little issue with jurisdiction.”
“Yeah, if they’re actually going… After last night, I’m ain’t so sure I’m willing to follow them anymore.”
​
He spit into the dirt and opened his flask of water for a drink. He offered me some as well. My throat was parched, and I was happy for the drink.
“You talk to the boy at all?” I asked as I returned his flask to him.
“Tried. He wasn’t too chatty last night… But you’re welcome to give it a shot, if you feel so inclined.”
“I just might,” I said and stood up. From the corner of my eye, I saw Starkmann standing behind us. I hadn’t heard him get up but I knew he was watching Jones, Kennard and their associates ride off, and judging by the look on his face he was none too happy about it.
​
“Those rotten little whoresons… Marshal, you got a shot on ‘em?”
“Son, we blew Jones’ head clean off last night and he kept on shootin’. I’m content to just observe right now if you don’t mind.” Cooper replied plainly.
“The hell you are…”
​
Starkmann went for his pistol and took aim at the distant horses. For a moment, I was sure he was crazy enough to pull the trigger, but he just stood there, aiming at those horses before he swore. That rage in his eyes didn’t fade though. Instead, they turned on the boy. If Henry had been asleep when I had awoken, the commotion had since woken him up and he was greeted by a very angry Doctor Starkmann coming at him with a sixgun in hand, and a terrible bloodlust.
“You …” The Doc growled as he rolled the boy onto his back and jammed his pistol right up under his chin.
“You are gonna tell me where the hell your friends are riding to, or so help me God, you will shake hands with Saint Peter today!”
​
“I don’t know!” Henry squealed, sounding more like a pig and less like a man. “I swear it! I swear that I don’t know!”
“Then who does?” Starkmann growled. Cooper raced to his side to try and put a hand on his shoulder but the good Doctor just pushed him off and gave him a warning glance that made it clear he would not take kindly to an interruption. The Marshal had a hand over his pistol, but he didn’t draw.
“Your people clearly have some other business to attend to. What was it?” Starkmann asked.
​
“K-Kennard…” Henry stammered, “S-she was lookin’ for something. Some sort of ritual, I think? Said she had to kill the preacher to talk to the Old Fae and it’d tell her what she needed.”
“What ritual?” Starkmann snarled.
“I don’t know! I swear!”
Starkmann kept the gun pressed under his chin as Henry whimpered like a kicked dog. I was almost sure he might shoot the poor bastard but in time he holstered his piece.
​
“Kennard, was she the one who left that… Thing at Dick Roberts place?”
Henry tried to sit up, tears and snot running down his face. He managed to nod.
“She’s… Some sort of Doctor. Not like any Doctor I ever heard of though. A witch, more like. S-she does things, with anything dead. Cattle, horses, hell even people… Cuts them apart then sows ‘em back together but not in the same way they were before… She even was doin’ it to Jonsey… Putin’ things in him and taking them out.”
“Things?” I asked. Henry nodded.
​
“Y-yeah… Saw her cut the heart right out of one of the cattle back at Dicks place. Then she cut open Jonsey and put it in. Seen her take bones, lungs, other things. Jonsey says she’s makin’ him stronger. I don’t know about that…”
Cooper and I traded a look. If we hadn’t seen some of Kennards ‘work’ firsthand I think we both would’ve thought him insane. Starkmann on the other hand just kept an intense eye on the boy.
“What was your business with Bishop Strickland?” He asked, “You said Kennard killed him to try and talk to something? To ask it about this ritual?”
Again, Henry nodded.
​
“The girls in Del Rio said we needed a holy man. Not just a preacher. Someone higher up. We heard he was abroad, close to the border and he seemed like easy pickings. We looked for him, all we found was a telegram sent from some foreign fella, Egor something' or other saying’ he was coming to visit.”
I saw a flash of rage enter Starkmann’s eyes.
“So you hit the train he was on…” He said quietly. Henry hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly.
“Starkmann, relax. Let’s back up a step.” Cooper cut in, “You mentioned some girls in Del Rio. What girls?”
​
“Them? Awfully queer group they are, like Kennard. I-I can take you to ‘em! They’ll know a hell of a lot more than I do!”
“Well now son, that is music to my ears…” Cooper replied, his smile returning for the first time since we’d crossed the border. Starkmann glanced at Cooper before taking a step back away from Henry. He spat in the dirt beside him before heading down towards the horses. In the distance, Jones and Kennard were just specks who’d probably long since forgotten about us. They had other places to be, as did we.
​
The trip back across the border was a little nicer than the trip there. We cut Henry free but kept a close eye on him as we rode two days back to Del Rio. Our little visit on foreign soil had exhausted us, but we pushed on all the same and when I set foot in Del Rio again, I caught myself breathing easy for the first time since we’d left San Antonio.
​
It was late when Henry led us to the Bittersweet Brewhouse and I imagine that both the Doctor and the Marshal expected more than a glorified run-down whorehouse. It was a seedy little building right by the water that stank so strongly of alcohol, I could smell it from down the street. Cooper stopped dead in his tracks as he laid eyes upon the building, then looked warily at Harry.
“Son, exactly what kinds of girls are you taking us to see?”
“Not the kind you’d think…” Harry replied meekly. “Jonsey said that whatever you do, it’s best not to look ‘em in the eye… That’s how they get you…”
“Do they now?” Starkmann scoffed. He drew his iron again. “Boy if I find out you’re trying to trick us…”
​
“Put that thing away, Doc.” Cooper said. “I think we’ve all seen enough these past few days to have a little faith in our friend here. If it turns out he is leading us on, well I may not notice if he were to get shot through some unknown means and fall into the river… But we won’t know for sure until we see what’s in the whorehouse.”
Starkmann scoffed and reluctantly holstered his gun again, but if mere looks could kill, Henry would have been dead as a doornail.
​
With his usual vibrant smile, Cooper gestured for Henry to lead us into the brothel, which for the most part was no more pleasant inside than it was outside. The men in there were mostly older, haggard gentlemen who had not been treated kindly by life and yet the women… I can’t recall the last time I ever saw so many lovely ladies in one place. They looked young, with flawless skin and charming smiles. Just looking at them, I almost forgot why I’d come in. Hell, I almost forgot about Sarah at home. A hand on my shoulder pulled me back to reality.
“Don’t look them in the eye!” Henry said, his own eyes wide. “Don’t ever look ‘em in the eye!”
​
“Well, well. Henry Smith, is that you?” A voice rang out behind him. Henry looked over his shoulder slowly to see one of those lovely ladies of the night sauntering towards him. She had silky dark hair and sun-kissed skin, along with a coquettish grin that made my heart throb. I caught Cooper eying her up beside me and I could hardly blame the man.
“Hello Makayla…” Henry said quietly, voice shaking as if he were being approached by a hungry lion and not a beautiful woman.
​
“Back in town so soon? And with new friends to boot… Couldn’t stay away, could you?” She asked. Her toothless grin widened as she lovingly caressed his cheek and tried to coax him to look up at her. To the boys credit, he followed his own advice and did everything in his power not to look her in the eye.
“I-I’m still with Primrose Kennard…” he croaked. “A-and I am under her protection…”
“Kennard ain’t here, darling and your friend there is wearing a Marshal’s badge. I ain’t a gambler, but looks to me like you turned traitor… Naughty boy… But I suppose that means no one will miss you.”
​
“Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt,” Cooper began. “But we were just looking to ask you a few questions regar-”
Makayla’s head turned towards Cooper.
“Shut up and sit down, cowboy,” She said and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Cooper went dead silent. Obediently he pulled up a chair and sat down quietly. Starkmann took a step back from him, before glancing at me, unnerved.
​
“You there. Wildman. You stink like dead meat… If I had to guess, I’d say you’re a hunter by trade, and you Mr. Moustache look like neither a lawman nor an outdoorsman. Judging by the smell of you and sling on Mr. Wildman here, I’ll assume you’re a doctor. Am I correct?”
“Yes ma’am…” Starkmann said quietly.
“You will either walk out of this establishment on your own two feet, or you will float on the bottom of the river until your gnawed, bloated carcasses wash up on the beach. Which you’ll do depends on how I like your answer to my question which is: What are you doing in my fine establishment?”
​
It was at that point that from the corner of my eye, I saw one of the drunkards in the corner sitting with a whore only what I hadn’t noticed before was the river of fresh blood running down his neck. I watched as the whore sank her teeth into his wound and seemed to drink down mouthfuls of blood, and I felt my stomach turn. Looking at Makayla in front of me, I could see a row of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth through her slightly parted lips and I knew that whatever she was, she sure as hell wasn’t a prostitute. I caught Starkmann studying a pair of whores feeding off an old man near the back and knew he’d figured that out long before I had.
​
“We’re looking for Primrose Kennard,” I said quietly. “Henry here tells us you might be able to tell us about that ritual she was asking about.”
“The ritual?” Makayla asked, before scoffing. She fixed her eyes on Henry. “Get us a drink, would you kindly?”
Obediently he shuffled off to fulfill her command and Makayla pulled out a chair beside Cooper.
“Sit down before I make you sit.”
​
Starkmann and I didn’t need to be told twice.
“What’s your interest in Kennard?” She asked. I struggled to tear my eyes away from the whore drinking the blood of the dying man in the corner before I managed to answer.
“Well if you cared to ask the Marshal, he might tell you that she’s wanted for the murder of Bishop John Strickland.”
​
“I’m not asking the Marshal, I’m asking you,” Makayla said. “You idjits are aware that you don’t stand a chance in hell of arresting the likes of Kennard, right? Hell, if she’s even still human I’d be surprised…”
“We’re well aware,” Starkmann said. “All the same, she killed a dear friend of mine and left my brother catatonic. We’ve also had the pleasure of seeing some of her work firsthand.”
​
“Did you now?” Makayla chuckled, “And you’re still alive? Good for you. I can only imagine what you’ve seen… When she passed through, I heard her talking about all sorts of nasty beasts, the sort that might make my Sisters and I look paltry in comparison.”
“And what… exactly are you, if you?” I found myself asking as Henry returned to the table. He set our drinks down and stood at attention with a vacant look on his face, waiting for his next order.
“Me? I’m a siren. Unlike Kennard, I was born this way. I didn’t need to work for my gifts and from the sound of it she certainly has been hard at work, if she’s killed the Bishop. I can’t imagine it will be long before she’s completed the ritual she was looking into, assuming she even survives it.”
“And exactly what ritual was that?” Starkmann asked.
“It’s complicated… I don’t suppose either of you are familiar with Shaal, are you?”
​
Shaal… That name sent a shiver through me. I caught Makayla's eyes shifting towards me, and her wolfish grin grew wider.
“The name’s popped up,” I said. “But I don’t know what it means.”
“Few do,” Makayla said. “You worthless humans are so obsessed with your new Gods, that you’ve forgotten the old ones. Hell, most of the Fae barely remember the Greater Gods anymore… Supposedly, before reality itself came into being there was just nothing save for Mother Void. Now, in due time Mother Void gave birth to three children. First came Sailia, the Greater God of creation and well, obviously they created. Next came Mal’ibo, who became the guardian of all that is. Then, finally came Shaal. The Destroyer. Now, according to the old stories, they’ve sorta just run the cycle of reality over and over again. Sailia creates it, Mal’ibo tends to it and when the time comes, Shaal destroys it. This is what always has happened. This is what always will happen. No changing it. Now… I’ve heard of plenty of people who have dealt with Mal’ibo, but not a lot who have dealt with Shaal, and guess which camp Kennard falls into?”
​
“Shaal.” I said quietly. Makayla nodded.
“Yup. Now, she didn’t tell me all the details, only that she’d found a way to contact Shaal and strike a bargain to gain power from it, which if you’d ask me is already playing with fire. What Kennard was looking for when she came to me though, was something a little… Well.. Stronger…”
“What do you mean, stronger?” Starkmann asked.
“I’m getting there! See, there’s rituals out there that not even the Greater Gods want folks to know about. Kennard heard tell of one that would let her get a little more bang for her buck. How do I say this? Shaal gave her a little sip of water, now Kennard wants the whole damn river.”
I caught Starkmanns eyes shifting over towards me.
​
“And I assume that’s possible?” I asked quietly. Makayla shrugged.
“Who's to say? Either way, if it is I wouldn’t know how to do it, nor would I be quite insane enough to try… But I told her who she could ask. I’ll assume you boys aren’t familiar with the Old Fae, correct?”
“Not exactly, no.” I said.
“Well to keep it simple, they’re really fucking old Fae. But they tend to know things. Things that no one else does and if you offer them something in return, they might just gift you with somethin’ good.”
​
“So if we ask one of these Old Fae.” I said.
“More or less,” Makayla said. “But that’s far easier said than done, Wildman. They aren’t easy to find and there’s almost always a catch. A trial, a sacrifice. They don’t do handouts. The one Kennard dealt with only comes when offered the blood of a holy man, and trust me: She picked the easy one.”
“We’re not murdering a man to speak to some monster!” Starkmann said. “Especially not another bishop. There can’t just be the one nearby. There have to be others.”
​
“There are,” Makayla said. “But as I said… This one won’t ask for a lesser price…” She paused, thinking for a moment before she continued. “There’s a pond, not far from here. I can take you… But you’d best think well and hard before you go. This Fae will want something personal. Something you can’t stand to lose…”
“Whatever it is, I’ll pay it gladly.” Starkmann said. Makayla just chuckled.
“Sure you will… That’s all I’ve got for you boys. If you’re serious about meeting the Old Fae, come and meet me here by the river just before dawn. In the meanwhile, I don’t give out information for free…”
​
She stood up from her chair and patted Henry on the shoulder. He’d barely moved since he’d delivered the drinks we’d barely touched.
“I don’t suppose you’ll be needing him, will you? Because I can think he’s just what I need…”
“He’s headed back to San Antonio when we’re done,” I said. “If it’s payment you want I’ve got money an-”
“Take him,” Starkmann said, cutting me off. I stared at him in disbelief.
​
“Doc, we’re not leaving this boy to-”
“He ain’t no different than the rest of those thugs riding with Jones. Let her have him.” Starkmann growled.
“He’s a kid, damnit! We’re not leaving him!”
Makayla just playfully shook her head, watching us bicker. She didn’t even notice Cooper's gun raising out from under the table and pointing right between her eyes.
​
“The kids coming with us,” Cooper said calmly. I saw Makayla’s brow furrowed in frustration and noticed a few of the other whores, stopping their business to watch us.
“Cooper put that goddamn gun down!” I hissed only to be ignored.
“The kid comes with us,” Cooper repeated. “And ma’am if you try anything on me again you will be dead before you hit the floor.”
“You’re a bold one, cowboy,” Makayla said, her voice as level as Coopers. “How long have you been back in it?”
“Long enough. I’ll pay you whatever you want in cash, right now. But the boy comes with us.”
​
For a few moments, that whorehouse felt awful quiet. Cooper kept his gun aimed at the woman’s head, ready to splatter her brains all over the floor. It felt like years passed before at last, she started to laugh.
“Oh I like you, Cowboy!” She said. “I like you a lot! How about you pay for your drinks and get out… I’ll just wait for Henry here next time he passes through. That sweet young blood won’t go too far, of that, I am positively certain…”
​
She patted him playfully on the behind before turning away from us, still grinning like a wolf. Cooper lowered his gun and dropped it on the table. For the first time, I noticed he looked downright scared. We didn’t linger much longer. I’m sure I left far more money on the table than we owed, but I’d have preferred to be safe rather than wake up with those whores teeth in my neck.
​
We were barely down the street, with a dazed Henry in tow behind us when Cooper let loose on Starkmann. He hit the Doc with a slut out of nowhere, hard enough to drop him to the ground.
“The hell’s wrong with you?” He snapped as Starkmann lay in the mud. “You were gonna leave that boy to die, and then what?”
“He’s just another thug.” Starkmann hissed as he picked himself up. His hand moved back towards his gun but Cooper drew first.
​
“He’s a goddamn boy, Starkmann. A dumb fucking boy, I’ll give you that. But a boy all the same. I get that you’re angry. I get it. But you don’t decide who lives or dies!”
“Says the man who happily sat by and watched Roy cut a man's throat back in Mexico,” Starkmann growled. “Where exactly do you draw your line?”
“I’ll kill a man, Doc. Test me on that and you’ll find out. But him?” He gestured to Henry. “What are you, boy? Fifteen? Sixteen?”
“F-fourteen…” Henry stammered. He was still a little out of it, and stood stock-still and pale.
​
“Fourteen. Jesus, Doc. You saw what them girls were doing in there, you were gonna let them have a fourteen year old fucking boy?”
“I was gonna let them have some two bit thug,” Starkmann corrected. “Do you let every dumb kid you see get away, Marshal?”
“Only the ones I know are makin’ a mistake.” Cooper replied. His eyes shifted over towards me before he put his gun away and offered a hand to help Starkmann up.
“Don’t make me repeat myself on this, Doc. Are we clear?”
The Doctor hesitated for a moment before taking Cooper's hand.
“Crystal…” He said, although I could tell he still wasn’t all that happy about what had been said.
​
We found a more reputable place to sleep for the night, although I can’t say any of us managed to doze off. Images of rivers of blood, trickling out of the necks of drunkards and past the ruby red lips of those ‘sirens’ were still burned into my mind. Another horrible thing I could’ve lived my life without seeing… And I knew that it would only be a few hours until dawn when we’d need to see Makayla again. One thing I knew for sure was that if I never walked into Del Rio, Texas again, it would be far too soon.
​
June 18th, 1887
Dawn came quickly, and none of us had slept too well. Either way, we rose early all the same. The ride back to the waterfront was a tense one. Starkmann had a shiner blooming on his eye, and refused to so much as look at anyone else and Henry just hung behind us, quiet like a limping dog. I couldn’t blame him. The boy was probably too scared to speak a word to us. I would’ve been for sure.
​
We passed out front of the Bittersweet Brewhouse, which still stank of booze. At dawn, the place seemed quieter although as we reached the sore I couldn’t help but crane my neck to watch the place. Near the back, I could see the shadows of two women carrying something out to the river. From the dark waters, a third figure emerged to take what the first two women had brought her, before carrying it down to the depths. I got a good enough look to know that what they were hiding in the river had likely once been a man. We stopped our horses by the river and waited, none of us quite sure exactly what to expect. We didn’t wait for long, though.
​
The sound of approaching hooves drew our eyes a little further down the river, away from the Brewhouse and we watched as a woman on a chestnut horse rode up towards us. At a glance, I hardly recognized Makalya outside of her saloon girl getup. She’d donned a straw rancher's hat and a riding skirt, but her wolfish grin looked no different than before.
“Good morning boys,” She crooned as she drew nearer to us.
“Ma’am.” Cooper said quietly. “Last night, you mentioned you could take us to see one an Old Fae. You meant that?”
“So you were listening,” She teased. “I’m a lot of things, Cowboy but I ain’t a liar. I said I can take you to an Old Fae. I meant it. But we’ll need to leave now. This one only ever shows at dawn, so we’d best get moving.”
​
With that, she trotted her horse past us and a little further down the river. We watched her for a moment before forming up behind her as she led us out of town. I’m sure the idea that this was some sort of trick had crossed our minds but given our lack of other options, none of us spoke up about it.
​
Up ahead, about half an hour out of town I could see a grove of trees and she was headed straight for it. At its edge, she dismounted her horse and tied it to a tree before fixing her hat. She waited for the rest of us to dismount as well.
​
“Stick behind me because the path is precise,” Makayla said. “You need to follow it exactly. Go where I go. Walk where I walk and whatever you do, don’t get lost because if you do there’s not a thing in all of creation that’ll save you. If you’re having second thoughts, I’d recommend you speak now because once we start we will not stop.”
“You said this is the only way we can find out where Kennard went,” Starkmann said. “You meant that?”
“I did.” She replied.
“Then we don’t have a choice. Take us to the Fae.”
​
Makayla’s smile faded, just for a moment before she turned and started into the woods. Starkmann was the first to follow, with me, Cooper, and Henry staying behind him.
​
I hadn’t imagined that little patch of woods would be all that thick and yet as we followed Makayla we just seemed to go deeper and deeper inside. Looking up, I saw that the sky above seemed darker than before and the air seemed quiet and heavy. No birds, no animals. Nothing at all.
​
Starkmann kept his eyes ahead, following our fae guide through the twists and turns of the forest but Cooper's eyes wandered. The trees seemed taller and thicker… yet also looked dried out, as if they were dead. From the corner of my eye, I could’ve sworn I saw movement in the shadows. Shapes of things I couldn’t quite name, climbing on the trees as if they were trying to get a look at us.
​
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” I heard Henry whispering but his prayers sounded empty and echoed through the forest.
“Prayers won’t do you no good here, Henry,” Makayla warned, her voice a cold whisper. “Nothing here will hear them as anything more than a dinner bell, and the old Gods of the forest don’t listen to the begging of whelps.”
Henry’s mumbled prayer died in his throat and he stopped in his tracks for a moment, before scrambling not to be left behind.
​
Pale and luminous mushrooms dotted the forest floor ahead of us, offering the only light in that dark, otherworldly place we were in. Not even our own footsteps seemed to make a sound anymore and for what felt like hours all was silent until at last we heard running water.
​
The woods opened up into a clearing that was dark as night. I could see the pond in the center of it only because the tranquil surface of the water reflected the little dots of light from countless glowing mushrooms like stars. It was as if someone had poured the night sky itself into a cup, although far more beautiful. Makayla lingered near the edge of the clearing, refusing to set foot any further in, and by the look on her face, I knew it was because even she feared what we were about to face.
​
“It knows you’re here,” She said. “Go on. Call to it and be respectful…”
Starkmann was the first to enter the clearing. He rounded the pond, staring down at it for a moment before looking around. He didn’t see the water swelling as something deep within began to rise from the depths.
​
“Has the world fallen into such a state, that the Sisters of the Rio Grande do not even offer up greetings when leading strangers into our midst?” A voice hissed. Starkmann turned to see what Cooper and I had already noticed.
​
A shape emerged from the water. At a glance, I thought it some sort of wolf or coyote but it was far too large. Its dark fur was matted with moss and algae, while the patches on its body where there was no fur looked like burlwood and had a fiery glow to them as if they were burning from the inside out. I could’ve sworn I saw eyes blinking in amongst that glow but I never got close enough to see for sure.
​
“I-I meant no offense, great Guardian of these woods!” Makayla stammered. “These men insisted! They come seeking information!”
“Do they?” The great beast asked. Its head shifted to focus on Makayla, eyes burning into her. She knelt to bow, keeping her head low until it seemed satisfied. Then its attention turned to us. “And what information is it that you seek?”
“The ritual forbidden by Shaal,” Starkmann said. “The one that draws power from it. How is it performed?”
“You tamper with a force that is far beyond you, human,” The Old Fae hissed. “You would not be wise to deal with the Destroyer.”
“We’re not the ones dealing with her,” Cooper said. “But there’s a lady out there who is and if we don’t stop her, I’m willing to bet that what she’ll do ain’t gonna be any better for you than it’ll be for us!”
​
There was a low, deep rumble that shook the earth beneath us. Laughter.
“We are beyond your world, Human. Beyond your petty struggles. The doomed effort of Apotheosis of one human is of no concern to us. If Shaal discovers her, her fate is already sealed. You waste your time. Leave this place.”
The Old Fae turned as if it was about to return to the water, but I called out to it.
“This isn’t just some woman. We’ve seen the things she’s done. She’s already drawn some power out of Shaal, and God only knows what else she’s capable of. Hell, we’ve seen the things she’s made! Monsters, made out of dead flesh, she changed a man so he could keep on fighting without a head! Now unless you can swear that she truly doesn’t have a chance in hell of pulling off what she’s trying to do, we need to know how to stop her!”
The beast stopped and was silent for a moment.
​
“You speak of Primrose Kennard…” It said after a few moments.
“I do.”
The creature huffed before fixing its eyes on me.
“Ill tidings indeed… There is a chance Shaal may destroy her, but Kennards dealings go deeper than most humans. If you are so committed to learning the ritual, I will tell you what you need to know. But a price must be paid.”
“And what price might that be?” I asked.
“Information this precious requires something precious in return… I see you, Roy Wilson. I see what you hold dear… You may have what you seek. But only in return for what you hold so close to your heart.”
​
The eyes burned into mine, and in them, I could see Sarah’s face. I could see Jack. I opened my mouth, ready to say no but the words caught in my throat. With just one simple word, I was about to lose everything that ever mattered to me, in exchange for what? Stopping some mad Witch? Could I really say it?
​
“And what about what’s close to my heart?” A voice said, stealing the Old Fae’s attention before I could give my answer. The creature looked over, fixing its eyes upon Marshal Cooper. “Would that be enough for you?” He asked.
“Harrison Cooper… How interesting… You would give up what you held most dear to me? All for your one shot at Primrose Kennard?”
“I would…” Cooper said. “Now do what you’ve got to do and tell us what we need to know!”
The great creature chuckled again, eyes remaining fixed on Cooper.
​
“Very well then… Our contract is sealed.” It said and I could hear a cold glee in its voice. “Now… The Apotheosis Ritual. It cannot be performed inside the mortal realm. No. To draw such power from Shaal, one must gain access into the Abyss, Shaal’s realm. Getting there will not be easy, its temples are spread thin. Yet one exists close by, buried under rock and time in the Chisos. Kennard is there right now and grows ever closer to her prize. Through the temple, she shall enter the Abyss. Once she is inside, she will grow more powerful by the moment. I know of no way to stop this, beyond drawing the attention of Shaal which is most unwise. Should Shaal find you, even I could not say what they would do. Yet I know your fates would make death seem envious. You must destroy Kennard or the temple before she enters the Abyss. After that, it will be too late.”
“So the Chisos mountains…” Cooper said. “That’s where she is?”
“Move quickly, she will reach the temple soon. Then, it is in the hands of fate.” The beast said as it turned to descend back into the pond. We watched as it vanished beneath the surface of the water, leaving it still and tranquil once again.
​
Cooper's breathing sounded heavier than usual. He looked unsteady on his feet and I ran to his side to grab him before he collapsed.
“We got what we came for.” Starkmann said, “We should move now.”
“Give him a minute!” I said, “Marshal, what the hell did you give that thing?”
​
“Only thing I ever cared about...” He replied. There was a new wheeze in his breath and I could’ve sworn that his skin looked white as a sheet. “It’s all about the chase, Roy. It’s always been all about the chase…” He steadied himself on his feet. “Don’t think too much on it. We all make our last ride eventually, and if we’re lucky we go out in a blaze of glory. Makayla, take us back into town. We’ll need pick up some supplies. I’d say I’ve still got one last ride left in me and I’m gonna make it count.”
​
Smiling that same boyish smile he always wore, Harrison Cooper started back towards the woods. Even Makayla shrank back a step from him, watching him as he started back the way we’d come.
​
The trip back out of the woods went faster than the trip in, but that ride back into Del Rio felt like it took ages. Cooper almost looked as if he’d aged fifty years. He didn’t need to say a word for me to know that he was suffering.
​
Tomorrow morning, we ride for the Chisos Mountains to finish this for good. I know it’ll be Cooper's last. Hell, it might be the last for all of us… Either way, we’ll make it count.