Trust Throughout Turmoil
In the morning, Petra is gone. You sit up when you notice her weight missing from next to you, only to see that she's nowhere to be found. You get up out of bed and don your armor, and then see that on the table is a note. Burned into a torn piece of cloth, and stuck into the table with one of her paladin knives, which alone is assurance that she expects to see you again, it reads: "Heading out, catch up soon". You grab them both and start towards the door.
When you reach the Spider's chamber, Petra is off to the side, collecting her things. You nod at the large Fallen as you enter the room, who waves, and then move towards her. As she sees you she perks up and says, "Oh, good. I wanted to talk, but I didn't want to... wake you." She mutters the last part as she suddenly remembers the Fallen are present. You open your mouth to speak but she interrupts you, saying, "I can't rest. I want answers. I want to know how to protect my people from whatever horrors infect the other side of that gateway." She stops and then slowly adds "And... The Prince must be laid to rest. I'm going through the Watchtower... To the Dreaming City." She reaches down, and from a pocket removes a small stone figurine and hands it to you. "Take this talisman. It will grant you safe passage. Follow me when you can." She looks you in the eyes, and then continues, "There's no one else I'd rather have watching my back. And if anyone deserves answers..." She steps towards you and the two of you grasp hands for a moment, "It's you." Then she releases your hand, steps past you, and leaves down the hall. You look the talisman over, then decide to ask the Spider how to go about fixing it.
When you step into the large observatory tower hours later, battered and still thrumming with the light you used to destroy the Taken outside, Petra's voice is a welcome sound. "You made it!" She exclaims, and rushes to embrace you. After stepping though the dark and battling the Taken in this mysterious new place, feeling her weight against you once again was more than refreshing. She releases you and begins to talk as she moves back towards a panel at the base of a huge spinning orrery. "I know what happened to Uldren. I've seen the evil that we face. I have to tell the Queen, or we are lost." She taps on the panel one more time and smirks as she says "There, watch this." The orrery begins to spin, and once aligned, she speaks again, "Mara Sov! My Queen. Are you there? Can you hear me?" After a long moment, the room remains silent except for the gentle humming of the huge machine.
"Damn it!" She exhales and drops her arms. "Calibration looks good. Signal is strong. And the Offering... Wait. The Offering is missing," She realizes and turns to you.
"The Offering?" Your Ghost chimes, just a beat ahead of you as always.
"This is an Oracle. It can do nothing without an Offering. Maybe I can override it somehow, but..." She glances at you.
You nod, and your Ghost replies "We'll look around." As you start to move off, your Ghost suddenly asks Petra "What happened to Uldren?"
She bites her lip, and then says "There is an immense creature at the heart of this place. But I cannot say more. The Queen must be the first to know." And then she turns to you and adds "I'm sorry."
You reach out and touch her arm reassuringly, and she lingers in your grasp for just a moment before your Ghost responds "We understand. Where is everyone?"
As Petra fiddles with the panel once again she explains, "We evac'd just before the Taken War. Queen Mara ordered everything to be locked down. Then she and the Techeuns sealed off the Watchtower, and Mara made a deal with the Spider; Protect it, and she would turn a blind eye to his businesses." She stops and says, "No one was supposed to come back here until everything was safe," Then backs away and gestures up to the orbiting spheres as she says "But I'm so glad you can see this place. You, more than anyone, deserve answers."
"And this machine?"
"The Techeuns call it an Oracle Engine," She explains. "They say Queen Mara used it to walk between realities. No one knew where she went, but they used the Oracle to learn from her while she was gone. Mara has told me it's much more than that... Perhaps you and I will see, someday."
"You talk about her like she's still alive. Uldren did too." Ghost states as you immediately turn to glare at it.
"Uldren was not himself. He believed he heard her voice. I believe she lives."
"Why?"
"She had a plan. She always had a plan. Queen Mara does not fail. But whatever it was that spoke to Uldren was not our queen. It was that thing." And at that she too turns to look directly at Ghost. "Did you see the Queen's Techeuns?" She questions as she turns back.
"Yes. Three of them, all Taken. They attacked us while we were trying to find you."
"Kalli. Sedia. Shuro Chi. They were with Mara on the bridge..." She trails off, and you see her eyes lost in space. Just before you reach out, she snaps back to place and says, "Those women raised me. If there's a way to save them, we must take it." She stops fiddling with the panel and says, frustrated, "We need to get this working. I must speak to the Queen. The fate of the Dreaming City is at stake." She rests one hand against the monitor and stares intently. In her silence, you slip past and head out the door.
The Scorn who wait outside are no match for your raw Light. As the largest one crumbles, a dark crystal falls, and you grab it from the air. You hurry back to the Oracle as your Ghost chimes in over comms, "We found an Offering, Petra. The Scorn had it."
"I should've guessed - vengeful thieves. Bring it up here." You ascend the staircase to find her waiting on a balcony near another panel. As you draw near you hold out the shard. She takes your hand, smiles at you, and with hers on top of it, presses it to the panel. The crystal dissolves underneath, leaving the two of you resting against it. The Oracle slowly, achingly, powers up and begins to spin. The orbiting spheres align, and violet electricity crackles in the nebulas between each solid shape.
"Petra Venj," A commanding feminine voice echoes through the room.
Petra's hand leaves yours as both of them fly up to cover her face. You see tears well up in her eyes as she manages to say aloud, "Mara! You're - alive! I'm so - I mean- " She falters for a moment, then brings her hands back to her sides and proudly addresses her as "My Queen."
"And I see you brought the Guardian." You can imagine the Queen's piercing gaze resting on you, her amused smile covering the lethalness underneath.
Petra hesitantly replies, "Yes, forgive me, Your Grace. But I have news. Your brother, Prince Uldren is-"
"Dead." She finishes for her. "I know."
"Of course." Petra says. "He - his soul was corrupted by the Taken. He suffered from delusions, which I now believe were caused by-"
"Riven." She interrupts again.
After a slight beat, Petra responds, "Yes, m'lady. She, too, has been Taken, as have Kalli, Shuro, and Sedia."
"So many loved ones turned against us." The Queen's voice muses sadly. There is a pause as neither seems sure of how to continue.
You feel Petra's hand brush against yours, and your fingers intertwine. You squeeze her hand, and she returns it as she looks up at the Oracle, and slowly says, "Tell me what to do, my lady... Please."
After another moment of silence, Mara's voice rings out boldly, "Assemble a team, Petra. Send them into the heart of the City. Kill that creature and extract its heart. I offer the riches of our realm as bounty. Open the gates, and let the Guardians in." As she finishes, a slight rumbling can be heard, and then she returns with, "I must go. The battle rages on. If you have news, send it. I will answer as I am able." As she finishes, the Oracle slowly begins to turn again, and the connection is broken.
You turn slightly towards Petra, both excited and concerned, and Ghost exclaims, "You were right!"
Petra turns to you, a gleam in her eye and joy splashed across her features, glowing a brilliant blue. "Yes. Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken, LIVES. I'm going to get my ship. Meet me when you can." She takes both of your hands in hers, steps forward and kisses you deeply, and then breaks away and hurries down the stairs, leaving you standing there, star-struck and mind-blown.
"Things seem to be going well for you two." Ghost comments. "This is exciting!"
Sorry that we didn't get to any juicy bits in this one. All of the Dreaming City exposition is gonna be important to the Guardian/Petra/Mara relationship, so I wanted to set it aside here, and we'll get back into the good stuff next time. Promise it'll be out quicker than this one, too. Thanks for the reviews dudes!
