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HTN 5-52 A guardian at the gate
🕑 Added 2022-03-29 23:13:39 +0000 UTCIn the still quiet of the void, Heather knew peace. She drifted gently through the emptiness as her mind flitted through random thoughts. She wasn't aware or unaware; she simply was and wasn't as if frozen in time. It was in this state that her world suddenly shattered as a voice rang out.
“Get up!” the voice shouted as Heather floated.
“What?” she mumbled in confusion, her mind unable to remember who she was.
“I said get up!”
“I can’t,” Heather sighed as she struggled to move. “I am dreaming, or I’m dead.”
“You’re not dead yet, but you are dying!” the voice shouted. “You have one minute to act.”
“Who are you?” Heather asked.
“The voice in the crown,” it replied.
“I thought you said you could take over if I was unconscious.” Heather groaned. “You do it. I just want to sleep.”
“I can’t do anything while you're wearing the ring!” the voice shouted back. “It's the only thing keeping you from being reclaimed, but they will notice if it goes on too long.
“Reclaimed?” Heather stammered as she drifted in oblivion. “What does that mean, and who will notice? I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to!” the voice shouted. “All you need to do is listen to my voice.”
“I just want to sleep,” Heather repeated and started to fade. “I need sleep.”
“You need to use the ring to open your panel. Then convert your essence to health and get up, now!” the voice shouted.
“I can’t open my panel,” Heather sighed. “I am dead.”
“You're not dead yet!” the voice shouted in annoyance. “You are in the buffer, but the reclamation process hasn't begun because the ring prevents it. It buys you three minutes to act, and you have already wasted two. Despite this not being your real body, you can still open your panel. Use the ring and tap on your essence.”
“My essence?” Heather replied and thought of the strange point pool her character sheet listed. She didn't understand how the voice knew, but she lifted one hand and saw the blue ring. With a touch, her panel came open, and she tapped at the stat labeled essence. To her surprise, it opened a submenu with options she had never seen before.
“This wasn’t here before?” she stammered.
“It only works in the buffer,” the voice replied. “It gives you options you were not meant to have. Now click the slider and turn some of your essence into health!”
Heather nodded to nobody as she peered at the new options for the mysterious stat known as essence. It was set to something called overcharge, but underneath it was a slider to turn essence into health. With a quick swipe, she moved the slider to the middle converting half the pool.
“Good!” the voice echoed in her head as Heather felt as if she was suddenly flying upward with great speed. “Remember, the collar might limit your abilities to low levels, but you can still overcharge them! Use the crystal handle; it is meant to be a focus for your power, so you can’t overtax! Now stop fooling around and WAKE UP!”
Heather's hand curled around the handle of her scythe as blue light and sparks of what looked like electricity crawled across her skin. The handle began to glow, as did the ring, shining with a blue-white light that drove away the darkness. Black smoke wafted around Heather’s form as her eyes came open and filled with green fire.
“Oh no!” Frank said as the light-filled the magical monitor.
“This is bad,” Legeis said as the whole banquet hall noticed the sudden change and began to point in confusion.
“She's going to go supernova right in front of a hundred people,” Quinny added.
“I hadn’t considered this,” Blackbast said as she looked about nervously. “How will we explain what happened?”
“Does she look bigger?” Frank asked, drawing all eyes to the scene as Heather rose to her feet.
“She is bigger,” Blackbast agreed and wondered where this display would end.
Heather shook her shoulders as the smoke formed into dark metal plates. It became a suite of armor decorated with hellish emblems and sharp spikes. She stamped the foot of her scythe on the floor, and the weapon was engulfed in flames that burned with an unnatural red color. The same fire suddenly spread up her horns and created a barbed and twisted halo over her head.
“That's hellfire,” Frank said as the whole room looked on in awe.
“She doesn’t have access to that,” Quinny said and pointed to her own neck. “The collar traps her at like level 2 in her race.”
“Somehow, she has broken the hold of the collar,” Blackbast said in shock.
“Even so,” Quinny said and pointed to the screen. “She still wasn’t high enough to use that, was she?”
“Not that I was aware of,” Frank said as a devil goddess with lava red hair captivated the entire room. All they could do was watch as Heather appeared on every screen, the hungry crowd captivated by the display of power.
Alura also noticed the light as she battled the horrific monster. She managed to drive it back just long enough to look over and see the woman bathed in hellish flames.
“Heather?” she gasped at the sudden transformation.
Heather rushed forward, leaving a trail of hellfire in her wake. She swung the scythe with such force that the blade cut through a blocking arm of the monster. It was buried in the stone nearly to the handle but was easily pulled free as the stone became molten around the blade.
The beast fumbled to turn and face both the intruders, but Alura pressed the attack, keeping it on the defensive. Heather leaped into the air, swinging the scythe overhead as she trailed fire and smoke. The monster lashed at her with two limbs, but her black armor blunted the attack. This time, the scythe managed to connect with the body, and the beast wailed in anguish.
“Burn!” Heather yelled as fire flared in her eyes. It ran down the scythe handle and across the blade, pouring into the wound.
The monster twitched and flailed, lashing at Heather with every limb that could reach her. She was battered and beaten but held on, burning the monster from the inside out.
Alura took advantage of the distraction and called for a quick strike, landing a blow on the beast's horrid head. The monster swung wildly to drive her back, but Heather anchored it in place. Alura was free to attack, landing blow after blow until the monster began to stumble. Eventually, the fire became too much, and the horrid thing finally collapsed to the floor.
Heather stood over the twitching form with a cruel smile on her face. Something about burning the creature felt natural, as if grasping for a long-forgotten memory.
“Are you alright?”Alura asked as she approached carefully.
“I’m fine,” Heather said as she remembered herself. “We should go before something else shows up.”
As if the dungeon were listening, the walls shuddered, and dust fell from the ceiling. It created the impression that the whole complex was about to collapse. They fled down the next hall, with Alura taking the lead. Less than a hundred steps in, the floor opened up, and Alura nearly fell in. Unable to stretch her wings in the narrow tunnel and too heavy from the coins, she hung from the side of a shaft until Heather pulled her up.
“I am tired of traps,” Heather growled as she threw out a hand. She broke into a song, causing plants and vines to grow from the stones, splitting and cracking them as they writhed. A moment later, a dart trap went off further down the hall.
“You can set them off ahead of time,” Alura said with an impressed smile.
“I can, but it slows us down,” Heather replied as they quickly moved down ahead through the now safe area. She continued to grow plants down every hall while wishing she could summon some skeletons. They would be able to run ahead and find the traps much more quickly, and they could fight if a monster attacked. However, she knew that summoning even one would give her away. A flower singer did not have undead, and it was too late to claim she was something else.
“I don’t mean to pry,” Alura said as they rounded a corner. “But why do you suddenly have black armor and a halo of fire?”
Heather looked up and saw the rim of her halo. It looked like red hot twisted wire with sharp thorns of black glass. The wire simmered with flames that danced on the surface and gave it an evil appeal.
“I activated a unique power,” Heather said in reply, unsure how to explain it. Not that she could explain it after all. Even mentioning essence would cause more questions than it answered, and somebody might know what it meant. She had to be as vague as possible while alluding that it was a devil-related power. After all, it was a devil power called hells defense, but the collar should have prevented access to it.
“And you decided not to use this earlier why?” Alura pressed.
“I can only use it so many times,” Heather replied as she thought about her limited use abilities. “And my plant armor is almost as good.”
“I doubt that,” Alura remarked with a suspicious glance. “Your plant armor can’t be anywhere near as good. It also doesn’t explain how you stood up from what looked like a fatal wound while glowing with blue light.”
Heather had to think fast and decided to build on an old lie. She held out the ring and told Alura that it was a gift from another, and it came with some perks. One of them was a healing power that only worked when she was knocked out. The light she saw was the power taking effect.”
“So it acts like a device of recovery,” Alura said with a nod. “Usually, only the highest level players have those.”
“As I said, it was a gift,” Heather lied. “It has some serious negative effects as well, but I don't want to talk about that when everybody is watching.”
“Most artifact items have negative effects,” Alura agreed and looked at Heather. “You are full of surprises.”
“You haven't seen even half of them,” Heather sighed and then filled the next hall with plants, setting off a trap of swinging blades.
They found a ramp that went up and deposited them in a room full of giant scorpions that were already slain. The tunnel from this room led back to the massive shaft and another ledge wrapped around it. The whole complex continued to shake and make groaning noises, but Heather ignored it and used her blink power to teleport Alura and herself up to a higher ledge. From here, they crossed a narrow bridge waiting for it to collapse, but they crossed without a problem. On the far side was a stair that went up along the wall, taking them closer to where Alura said the exit was.
“See that platform way above us?” Alura asked as she pointed with her sword. “The exit is there.”
“I wonder if I could blink us that far,” Heather said as she squinted to see the distant structure.
“What happens if you try and you can’t reach it?” Alura asked in concern.
“I don’t know,” Heather replied as she had honestly never tried to go so far. “Maybe nothing will happen, or maybe we will go as far as I can and then fall down the shaft.”
“I vote we get closer,” Alura suggested as the floor suddenly shook. They looked down to see lower ledges break free and fall down the shaft. It made Heather sick that she couldn't see the bottom, so they quickly ran for the stairs and headed up.
They arrived at another ledge as Heather wondered if she could use essence to boost the distance when they heard a shout. They heard more as they looked around and finally saw the source. Two people ran out of a tunnel on the other side of the shaft and headed along the wall. Moments behind them came what Heather could only describe as a giant horrific caterpillar. It had s segmented body with rows of hooked feet, but its entire face was a round hole like maw full of hooked teeth.
“A tunneler,” Alura said as she watched the two others flee.
Heather nodded with her gaze fixated on the worm until she noticed the arrows. “Wait? Breanne!” Heather shouted, alerting the two across the chasm.
“Heather!” Breanne called back before firing another arrow.
“Forget the arrows and keep running,” Skullman shouted as he grabbed her by the shoulder and hauled her away. They were running for another tunnel when the ledge collapsed ahead of them. Now trapped, they gave Heather a forlorn look as they turned to face the worm.
“No!” Heather cried as her third eye burned with green fire. In a flash, she was across the gap and practically tackled Breanne. She brought her to Alura's side, then turned to see Skullman raise his shield to meet the worm alone. For a moment, Heather thought about leaving him, especially since he had gotten them into this mess in the first place, but her conscience wouldn't allow it. With a flash, she was across the gap and grabbed a firm hold of him before vanishing again.
“How did you?” Skullman muttered as he spun around safely on the side.
“A devil power,” Heather said to cut him off. “Now, let's work together and get out.”
“We may want to do that quickly,” Alura added and pointed with her sword. “Your friend can scale the walls.”
Heather turned to see the worm crawling along the shaft wall as it worked its way to them. She growled and checked that Webster was still with them before urging them up the next flight of stairs. They ran as a group, as the beast below them made a hissing roar to see its food getting away.
“I am glad to see you are still alive,” Breanne said as they headed into a tunnel. “It wasn’t so hard at first, but then it turned into a house of horrors.”
“A meat grinder would be a better term,” Skullman said. “We found one of the teams torn apart by some kind of saw blade trap.”
“The whole place is riddled with traps,” Heather grumbled as they entered a chamber where they found a slain turtle-like creature.
“Maybe we will get lucky, and somebody has killed most of what's ahead,” Breanne suggested.
“I don't feel very lucky,” Heather grumbled as they quickly searched the room. Something rumbled from the hall they had just left, so they quickly headed for the far one. This led to a series of rooms full of slain monsters and missing treasures.
“I wonder who did all this?” Alura said as they headed up a flight of stairs. “Let’s hope they got out already and won’t be in our way.”
Heather assumed they had to be out, considering how close to the exit they already were. They had come up several floors inside the maze, and once they reached the central shaft should be close enough to teleport. Alura and Skullman began to argue about the route, with Alura insisting they needed to check any halls that went left. Skullman was of the opinion that most of the stairways were on the edges and wanted to go deeper in to find them. Heather used her plant powers to check any halls they thought were suspicions, but it seemed the traps were magically gone. Everything was going far too easily until they heard another loud gong.
“I hope that doesn’t mean this is about to get worse,” Heather grumbled.
The halls began to fill with a white mist as if to answer her, and Skullman urged them to run. They ran blindly down the tunnel, with Alura taking the lead and guiding them toward the central shaft. She was rewarded for her efforts by coming out on another ledge to look down and see the water pouring from the lower halls.
“The lower tunnels are flooding,” Breanne remarked as she looked down.
“I bet that mist it to alert us that our tunnels are next,” Skullman said and pointed down the ledge to where it ended at a ladder. “We need to go up.”
“Can you teleport us?” Alura asked as she looked up to note the exit platform floating in the center of the shaft was much closer.
“I think so,” Heather said as she considered the distance. She was about to test it herself when something massive crawled over the ledge from below.
“The tunneler!” Alura cried and charged with sword raised. Skullman joined her side as the massive worm latched onto Alura's shield, nearly swallowing it hole.
“Oh, this keeps getting worse,” Heather groaned as Webster tapped at her leg. She looked down, and he chirped, telling her he would climb up so she could look through his eyes. Then she could see where she was going and do it far more safely.
“Go,” Heather agreed and turned to help fight off the massive worm thing blocking the path.
Breanne focused on arrows, using her shadow magic to blend with them and fire arrows of pure black. They pierced the hide but didn’t seem to do much damage as the beast began to toss Alura around.
“Let go of the shield,” Skullman shouted as Alura was slammed into the wall.
“Yes, let it go,” Heather agreed as she readied her scythe. Alura did as they said and fell to the ground, rolling away as she tripped over her wings. Skullman helped her up as the worm lifted its head high, spitting the shield into the open shaft before turning back to the group.
“Now, you're mine,” Heather said as the shaft of her scythe began to glow blue, and red hell flames danced on the surface. She threw it in a blazing buzzsaw, aiming for the gaping mouth. The creature was struck inside the throat with the shaft sticking out as the whole thing blazed with flames. The beast shrieked and wailed as it tried in vain to spit the weapon out, slamming its body into the wall and along the ledge in terrible pain.
“The ledge is going to collapse,” Skullman shouted as fissures opened in the rock. They ran for the hall they had just left as the worms thrashing finally brought the whole structure down. It fell into the water below, steam hissing from its mouth as the liquid contacted the hellfire.
“You lost your weapon now,” Skullman snapped, but Heather held out a hand and uttered the command word. Black smoke formed into the shape of her scythe, and a moment later, she held it firm.
“You were saying?” she asked as water poured around their feet.
“A nice trick,” Skullman replied with a smile. “Can you teleport us to the ladder so we can climb up before these tunnels flood?”
“I can do one better,” Heather replied and focused on seeing through Webster's eyes. “Stand on what's left of the ledge,” she said and took Breanne's hand. They vanished in a flash of green, only to have Heather return a few moments later on the ledge. “Hurry!” she called and quickly took Alura's hand and vanished again. She returned for Skullman, who accused her of leaving him for last on purpose, and she smiled wickedly before taking him too.
“Where is this?” he asked when they arrived on a circular platform with a long narrow archway to a much larger platform that floated over the central shaft.
“The way out, I hope,” Heather said as she nodded to the helpful spider standing by the wall. She turned to look over the simple stone bridge that led to a floating platform. In the center was a pillar of white light through which could be seen Maline's party hall.
“That's the way out,” Skullman said and pointed, but something suddenly stood in their way.
“I told you this was a good idea,” came a gruff voice as an incredibly short man stepped to the edge of the bridge. He was no taller than Heather's waist and dressed in metal armor with a slight pink hue. He wore red goggles on his bearded face and, for all intents and purposes, looked human. Beside him was a woman with slitted eyes and an unnaturally long neck. She had a greenish hue to her skin and wore sheer white robes. She held a staff of silver that ended in what looked like a giant pearl that glowed with a bluish light.
“A pity more of the teams didn’t make it this far,” the woman said.
“What does it matter,” the short man replied. “The winner is the one who escapes with the most treasure, and if nobody escapes but us, we win by default.”
“What?” Heather called in alarm as the miniature man barred her way. “You mean you have been waiting here just to kill people?”
“Wouldn't you?” he laughed. “The plan is perfect. Let the other teams wipe each other out, and the survivors haul the loot here. Then we kill you, take the treasure and leave. It couldn't be more simple.”
“It could be more polite,” Heather said distastefully.
“That's pretty funny coming from a devil traveling with a paladin and an angelic. Were you planning to betray them at the exit, too?” he asked.
“I am not evil just because I play this class,” Heather replied as her eyes narrowed.
“Can we please just kill them and toss their bodies over the side like the others?” the greenish woman asked.
“Of course, we can,” the short man replied with a smile.
“How do you plan to kill us?” Heather asked as she gestured to her friends. “It’s four against two.”
“Two, you say?” the short man replied, then suddenly tossed something that looked like an egg on the floor. It grew with alarming speed, taking on a metallic sheen and covered in small gears. Before Heather could react is sprouted bird-like legs and wings with razors for feathers. With a final squawk ahead like a mechanical vulture thrust out and the beast began to stalk them.
“What is that?” Quinny asked as they watched the creature come to life.
“That guy is a gnomish engineer of some kind,” Legeis said as she studied the machine in the viewer. “I bet he's configured for close combat and gadgets.”
“Maybe Heather will know how to deal with him because she has worked with you?” Frank asked, but Legeis shook his head.
“I am kitted out for traps and ranged attacks. I only fight up close with my armor, and even then, only when I have to. I bet he's got more machines like that hidden in his belt,” Legeis said.
“She should use her teleport to run through the portal,” Blackbast growled.
“How can she?” Frank asked as the mechanical bird advanced on the group. “She never leaves people behind.”
“She wouldn’t even leave Lydia behind,” Legeis added.
“Be that as it may, she should grab Breanne and get out,” Blackbast insisted. “The other two got them into this, and they can get themselves out. If she keeps this up, people will begin to ask questions.”
“At least she didn’t go wild with her blue power,” Quinny said. “Maybe nobody will realize she was using powers she has no access to.”
“We had better pray they don't,” Blackbast added as they watched intently.
Breanne loosed arrows at the metal creature as Skullman moved to intercept it before it got off the bridge. The strange woman created a bolt of green liquid and began to hurl it at Heather. Heather used a plant shield to block the attacks, but they sizzled on the surface, causing the plants to die rapidly.
“Is that poison?” Heather said in alarm and had to duck under a bolt. The short man produced what looked like a slingshot and fired a glowing red ball that exploded on Alura's armor as she tried to aid Skullman. Heather had enough of the two, so she blinked across the gap, arriving behind the short man who tumbled out of the way.
“Ah-ha!” he cried and tossed something down.
Heather was alarmed to see it looked like a bundle of old-style dynamite. However, this bundle had two legs and large black eyes that flashed with a red light. It ran at her with alarming speed as the wicks on top sparked and hissed while burning away. She ran away from the bomb only to find he had placed two more that were now patrolling the platform as he aimed his slingshot at her. In a flash, she was behind him, but he reacted first, dropping the slingshot and swinging what appeared to be a heavy wrench. Heather felt the impact as it collided with her black armor, the shock stinging her leg.
“That’s some nice armor,” he said with a sneer as he danced aside and avoided her scythe. “But I know how to dismantle armor.”
Heather used rush to close the gap and make a slice, only to find his small size hard to hit. He rolled away and battered her again, causing her leg to sting. As she turned to face him, something behind her exploded as the mobile bomb finally caught up.
“Heather!” Breanne cried as Heather was thrown into the air to crash on the side of the platform. The gnome rushed in and produced a comically large hammer just as she got up.
“Enjoy the fall,” he said and swung it like a golf club, battering Heather over the side.
“Fly after her!” Skullman shouted as he dodged a wing slash from the mechanical bird.
“I am too heavy to fly after her,” Alura replied and stabbed at the monster as a green light flashed behind them. She glanced back to see Heather down on hands and knees beside Webster, panting in shock.
“Thank goodness,” Breanne remarked and turned her arrows on the snake-like woman. She fired several only to have them strike an invisible barrier as the woman laughed.
“Those two are well prepared,” Skullman said and tried a powerful swipe to topple the mechanical bird. All he managed to do was scratch the metal as the bird lashed back with a powerful bite. It caught him in the shoulder, crunching his armor as it lifted him from his feet. He cried out in pain, but a whistling noise caught his ear as a hellish red light collided with the bird.
“What the?” Breanne said as Heather's scythe buried in its chest and began to blaze with hellfire. The bird's body began to melt even as Heather appeared out of a flash of green to grab the handle. A second later, she was gone, only to appear on the central platform ablaze with fire.
“Didn’t learn your lesson the first time,” the gnome laughed. “You aren’t fast enough to catch me.”
“I don't need to catch you,” Heather growled as the two turned on her. She blinked away, arriving beside the woman with her scythe leveled and used an old trick. “Let's see if you like my flavor of poison.”
The woman covered her eyes with a wail as Heather sprayed her with a cloud of perfume. The gnome charged at her immediately but the air filled with golden pollen. From the outside, the central platform appeared hidden inside a ball of golden pollen before suddenly turning into an inferno. For a brief moment, they saw Heather standing in the heart of the flames with her head thrown back as she screamed in anger, then it boiled away into obscuring smoke. Screams and curses echoed from the cloud, and when it parted, the gnome was rolling away while trying to beat out the fire in his beard. The woman was nearly down, gasping for air and clutching a deep wound to her chest.
Heather threw her burning scythe, striking the gnome before he could recover. He tumbled close to the edge and quickly reached into a pouch. He threw down something that resembled a spider with four legs and a pincer-like jaw. It fired the jaw like an arrow, the weapon trailing a thin cord behind it. Heather blinked out of the way, arriving just to the side as she recalled her scythe.
“You’re a pain in the butt,” the gnome growled as he threw down a second spider.
“You should have left when you had the chance,” Heather snarled and dodged away from the second spider's attack. She arrived beside the snake woman to score another hit and topple her to the floor. The gnome shouted in rage and produced a funny-looking ax that suddenly fired a spreading net. Heather blinked and arrived just before him as he swung up and cut a line across her armor. A light on the ax flashed as it cut, and suddenly her armor started to come apart.
“It’s called an ax of dismantling,” the gnome laughed. “It specializes in breaking armor.”
Heather ignored the sudden gaps and rushed in, slicing wildly to hit the elusive gnome. He tumbled away with a laugh and left another mobile bomb where he was standing. It exploded, sending Heather flying to the side to crush with a thud.
“Ow,” she groaned as the gnome raced her way with the ax in hand. She struggled to get up as Breanne fired arrows to stop him, but he ignored it and raised the weapon high. Heather was too stunned to blink away and could only watch as her death came rushing down. Before he could complete the strike, something landed on his face as Webster tackled him in defense of his owner.
“Get off, you worthless pest!” the gnome yelled and dropped the ax to try and pry the spider away.
Heather struggled to get up when something snapped around her leg. One of the mechanical spiders had fired its jaws and clamped them around her leg. Now it rewound the cord, dragging her across the platform as the robot began to beep. She realized it would explode when she got there and wasn't about to endure another blast. With a flash of green, she escaped to the other side of the gnome. He managed to throw Webster aside and produced another heavy wrench out of thing air to wield it like a club.
“I am going to feed you to my mechanical shark,” he said, but Heather was focused on communicating a plan to Webster. She rushed at the gnome with her scythe raised, and he quickly brought his weapon around to attack. She stopped short and sprayed him with perfume, causing him to gag and curse, but his goggles protected his eyes.
“Perfume?” he said as he tried to spit it out.
Heather shrugged and swiped, driving him back as he laughed and easily avoided it. He went to tumble to one side but suddenly found his feet rooted to the spot. Webster scurried away, leaving a trail of sticky silk, giving Heather just enough time. She lunged at him and wrapped him up, squeezing him against her armor. He yelled and flailed with surprising strength while trying to pry her off. A moment later, she felt two thumps as the spider bots latched on and began to reel. Heather dug in, and instead of being pulled to them, the spiders came to her. She timed it perfectly, waiting until they were almost on her before blinking away and leaving the gnome facing his two pets as they exploded.
Surprisingly he was still standing, with a sooted face and smoke curling from what was left of his beard. He pointed the wrench her way before toppling over at last. Heather breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention on the mechanical bird to see her friends were finishing it off. They began to cast heals when the whole space shook, and the bridge began to crack.
“We can heal on the other side!” Skullman shouted and limped onto the bridge as the other two followed. Heather waited for them and was the last to dive into the pillar of light as the platform began to crumble.
The sensation was like stepping through her magic doorways, and an instant later, they were standing in the center of the party hall.
“We have our winners!” Maline shouted as the crowd cheered to see the heroes had returned.
“Thank goodness that’s over,” Heather sighed and nearly fell to her knees. “I am so tired of carrying this pack.” She let go of the spell that created her armor, letting it melt away in a puff of smoke.
Maline relieved them of their treasures, and it was apparent immediately that Heather's team had won. She announced the winning team and heaped the spoils at Heather and Alura's feet.
“We did it,” Alura said with a weak smile. “You are an outstanding player.”
“I just want to sleep,” Heather sighed and had to lean on her scythe. Around her, the room was alive with comments about her being the most creative flower singer ever. She tuned it out as Blackbast arrived with the others and quickly had Frank support her.
“Lady Blackbast,” Maline began with a broad smile. “I will divide the spoils, and you may take your slave's share.”
“Then get it done,” Blackbast hissed with ears pinned back. “I am weary of your little game.”
Maline shrugged and had two of her maids set about the task of dividing the loot. She wanted to have Heather and Alura speak to the crowds, but Blackbast had Frank take her away. She was sequestered back in their little space, where Quinny was quick to get her a drink.
Blackbast gave Maline a look that said she wasn't pleased with how this turned out but demanded the treasure be delivered to their space. She then returned with Alura, Breanne, and Skullman as Heather laid flat on the pillows with Webster at her feet.
“Are you alright?” Blackbast asked as she knelt beside Heather and applied a heal.
“I am tired,” Heather admitted. “I think I depleted a lot of my magic.”
“Well, you certainly surprised me,” Alura said as she loomed from the side. “I must say I am delighted to have met you. I hope our paths will cross again.”
“I have a feeling they will,” Breanne remarked as she scowled at Skullman. “What did you think you were doing by dragging us in there?”
He smiled and leaned in close, giving her a slight wink. “Consider that payback for how you left me before. Do you have any idea how much I missed you?”
Breanne sighed and looked away as Alura smiled and began to laugh. “Oh, so you two had a thing before.”
“It wasn’t a thing,” Breanne remarked. “It was complicated.”
“Well, I am going to change my outfit and return to the party,” Alura said. “It was an honor fighting at your side, Heather. I will see you when our time comes again.” With that, she sauntered away and left Skullman, who took Breanne aside to whisper to her privately.
Heather didn't care what they were saying. All she wanted to do was sleep, and quickly faded away.
