Chapter 6 - A Maze Full of Wizards

Chiron was in charge of the guild while the master was out. He was strongly against Marlow leaving, for he needed to stay and manage the guild. Chiron also felt that the whole quest was...off. Something was wrong that he couldn't put his finger on, yet he said nothing. Clouds began to form upon the horizon, posing the threat of a large storm. Nethertheless, Chiron was still in charge of watching over guild affairs and letting people go on quests. Melody and Rhyme were out dealing with a group of bandits targeting the small city of Peridot east of them. Isa and Hitari brought Anise and Juliet, hoping to start a team of sorts, with them while they went on a treasure hunting job pertaining to a sunken ship west-and-northward of Ceruleo. Erneslus Stone was sitting at one of the tables in the guild hall, all by himself. Other than that, the other members simply relaxed nonchalantly around the guild hall. Then, Hayle flew over to Chiron.

"You look all serious, is there something wrong?"

Chiron responded quietly, "I can't seem to lose the feeling that something is off, but it's probably nothing."

"You think so? You're seldom wrong when your instincts act up."

"I suppose you're right."

"You think something went wrong at the Labyrinth?"

"Not just that, but the other events that have occurred. We've yet to know who wrote the mysterious letter to Clara and Isa, not to mention the the job in Ivy Stone."

"You still never told me what was up about that. Wasn't it just a job dealing with a demon?"

"Not quite; on the surface, the job only mentioned the Aela demon, Vinde, that I've made a pact with."

"Oh yeah, that other bird. You've still never introduced me to her."

"My apologies, but getting back to the topic at hand, when I got there, the demon was already mostly subdued by the client, he just wanted me there as to receive another letter addressing me by I'm assuming to be the mysterious letter writer. He gave me the letter and loosed Vinde on me, to which I easily made a pact with. Don't get me wrong, I trust her, but I still don't understand why the client would have the letter delivered to him if it was for me."

"Do you think he was the author?"

"No, he seemed as confused as me about he; he did read it, though. I guess curiosity gets the better of some."

"Did you get a name?"

"Thomas Peyne, I believe. Anyway, the same day the letter came, as did the Aela demon. Being a wizard, Peyne subdued the demon quickly, but the letter instructed him to ask me to 'officially and publicly do the job' as to invite me over to get the letter."

"Odd, what did it say?"

Chiron sat silently for a moment, then said, "Besides Thomas' instructions, it said that we would need to go to Minetta's Labyrinth to find something of the author's."

Hayle gasped, "That's the place Arcadia's at!"

"Precisely."

"Wait, then who is this Erneslus Stone and why did he happen to come after you got the letter?"

"That's the answer I want to know."

The two stared cautiously at the suit-clad man as he casually sipped his coffee.

Water was filling the huge room slowly as a tentacle reached for Lorraine, glancing off of a magical ward that protruded from her ring. Arcadia's magic was quickly doused as soon as she tried to use it, so she was just yelling at Lorraine to, "Kill It! Kill It Now!" The voice of a woman heard before continued talking. "You can try, kids, but you're not gonna escape this room alive. You ever tangled with a Leviathan?'Cause few have lived to tell the tale." Neither Arcadia nor Lorraine could see where the voice was coming from.

"Show Yourself!" Lorraine shouted, but there was no reply. A tentacle swooped in from behind the two, but Lorraine quickly paralyzed it, leaving it immobile on the ground.

"I can't do crap, Lorraine, we need to get out of here."

"Any ideas?" Lorraine said sarcastically.

"Maybe…" Arcadia thought for a second, then had an idea, "Draw the tentacle towards the door; maybe he'll bust it open."

"It's worth a try."

The two ran to the door on the far side, drawing two tentacles toward them. Lorraine shielded one striking tentacle off, and drew her sword to strike the other. She barely missed, and the tentacle positioned itself towards her. Arcadia yelled, "Hey! Thing! I ate your mom at a seafood restaurant. She tasted rubbery!" Lorraine looked at her with a dumbfounded look as she mouthed What? The tentacle, however, went towards Arcadia, although it was due to hunting, not mockery. The tentacle struck her, but barely missed, striking the door. It wasn't broken, however, and Arcadia yelled again, "You're face is probably stupid!" Arcadia then muttered to herself, "Although I can't see- Nevermind! You suck!" Both tentacles poised toward her, while two more came from the hole. The water level came up to their knees now, and Arcadia yeled one more time,

"I'm pretty sure you can't understand me so words words words-"

She was cut off by four tentacles striking the door she was at, Arcadia almost dodged all of them, but on struck her in the shoulder, dislocating it. Arcadia swore, and Lorraine ran towards her, pushing her into the room before another tentacle struck her. She got up, and ran up a hallway. Tentacles followed, but got caught in the doorway. The two ran up the stairs. When they reached the top, they entered a room with two more hallways. They disregarded all sense of caution and plopped themselves in the center of the room, exhausted.

Arcadia was the first to speak, "Who the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but I don't believe she belongs here."

"Yeah...Wait."

"What?"

"We can't go back that way. How are we going to get back?"

"I don't know, keep pressing forward?"

"Sure." Arcadia got up, but then felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She let out a cry of pain and then swore some more.

"Here, let me set it back." Lorraine offered.

"What!?" Arcadia responded, "That's gonna hurt like a bitch!"

"It'll hurt less than not doing anything."

Ughh," Arcadia moaned, "Fine…"

Lorraine did, and Arcadia cried some more

"You're such a child. It doesn't hurt that bad."

"Your mom doesn't hurt that bad!" Arcadia yelled, but Lorraine just shook her head. Arcadia felt bad suddenly, "Thanks, I'm not a very mature person."

"I can see that."

"Sorry…"

"It's alright, let's press onward."

"Sure."

The two went down the right hallway. It went downward, then turned right. They entered another room, one that was shaped hexagonally. In the middle of the room stood a large stone monument with words on it. The two went down to it to read it, but it was written in some sort of old text that Arcadia couldn't read.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a text from the Old Kingdom of Sin, I trained in a lot of texts and languages when I was younger."

"...Who are you?"

"I was a busy child." Lorraine muttered quietly.

"Well, what does it say?"

"Hmm...Let me see...I think it's...some sort of...incantation?"

"Ooh, what kind?"

"It says 'The' Something 'Incantation of…Zeref?"

"Wait, Zeref the bad-guy Zeref? The killed-a-lot-of-people Zeref?"

"I don't know, but I think so."

"Well ,what did Zeref do?"

"The incantation seems to call for a list of ingredients to make the spell work. I've never seen such an extensive list for an incantation, though."

"Go on."

"Let's see, it calls for, hmm… 'The Blood Opal of Minetta', 'Fire Bird Essence-'"

"Wait, like a phoenix?"

"I'd imagine."

"This is that incantation those Daunt guys were after! This is bad."

"Why?"

"'Cause they said this spell could kill any number of people that the caster chooses."

"That's Zeref for you." Lorraine mused as she gently laughed.

"Do you think that's what octopus lady's after?"

"It would make sense…"

"Ah, great. What else does the spell need?"

"...'Ink from' someplace I don't know, something else I don't know, 'Seven Sacrifices'," Arcadia looked surprised, "and...something about magic energy. You take the Opal, which is said to have the blood of Minetta in it, take the blood of the sacrifices, cleaned in...the thing I don't know and the phoenix feather, then write...something on the stone in ink, place it in a hole here in this stone, and...I don't know the rest."

Arcadia stood for a second in silence, then said, "What the hell kind of spell is that?"

"A powerful one."

Arcadia looked confused.

"Think about it; if you can control the lives of all, you rule the world."

"Oh," Arcadia responded with disgust, "What is...how do...Why's it here?"

"I don't know."

"What do we do?"

"I don't know…" Lorraine repeated, with a stunned look in her eye.

Suddenly, Lucky, Roger, Tony, and Marjoh, who had been frozen in time, heard a quiet, pained voice, "Why, hello. We were just on our way out. don't mind us." Behind the guy who had one arm, there was a shadowy figure and a...dinosaur? Tony was confused as to how he could see and hear him if time was frozen. "Oh, Atzedeck, is that the little girl the rabbits were looking for?" The shadowy man simply shrugged.

The dinosaur suddenly turned into a tall man who seemed to have scaled skin. He asked, "Wait, you say you saw rabbits? Were they talking rabbits?"

"Why, yes. You've met them before?"

"They are the ones who disbanded Daunt."

"So they've started a guild, hmm?"

"It seems."

The one-armed man with the clock tattoo turned to Lucky as he started time again and asked, "Are these rabbits yours?"

"Yeah, they're a part of my guild. why, what did you do to them?"

"Left them, I suppose. Forgive my asking, but you don't belong to the Ruby Phoenix Guild, do you."

"Why should I tell you?"

The one-armed man simply sighed as he said, "I'm going to stop time now; I can do that. Are you sure you want to deal with the consequences of your insolence?"

Tony spit at him. Roger yelled, "Stupid boy, now you've done it."

"Fine, Atzedeck?" The shadow-man went toward him, but Tony was too fast.

"Cosmic Dragon Roar!"

A blast of what seemed to be stardust and force pushed toward Atzedeck. He was hit squarely on his head, but he melted into the ground in a puddle of shadow. The one-armed man stopped time and spoke through what seemed to be tears, "I fear you've made an enemy of us. Tell us the name of your guild or I'm afraid I'll have to kill the girl and you'll need to explain how you failed your mission."

Lucky hesitated, but relented, "Yeah, we're with Ruby Phoenix. Why?"

The dino-man spoke up, "Well, I met with your rabbit friends before, but I let them live on the account they didn't follow me. Why are you here?"

"We had to find the girl. That's all!"

The one-armed man and the dino-guy exchanged glances, then the one-armed man said, "That's what your friends said. It can't be coincidence. Who sent you?"

Lucky responded, "A man named Erneslus Stone; Marjoh's father."

Marjoh spoke up, "That's not my daddy! Daddy's name is Clark!"

Now everyone was confused. Tony looked at Lucky and asked, "Then who is that Erneslus Stone guy?"

Lucky spoke, "How should I know?"

One-arm then asked, "It seems that there are more players in this game then just us. Julius, find Beorra and Estelle. Destroy the guild."

"Stop!" Tony yelled.

"Who are you!?" Roger demanded.

"I am Clockhand, and I am simply a player in this game of life. You are but an obstacle, and I'm afraid I will prosper." He turned to Atzedeck and said, "We need to incapacitate these people, I fear, then continue looking for the Blood Opal. Would you do the honors?" And Atzedeck nodded.

Time stopped again. Julius turned into a dinosaur and ran off. Atzedeck came back and formed a collection of shadows around his fist and jabbed Lucky in the face, forcing him backward into Tony's frozen body. Suddenly, Clockhand formed a magic circle and there was a flash. Suddenly, everyone was gone. Marjoh passed out due to looked at Lucky, who was unconscious, and yelled, "Wake Up! We gotta get back to warn the guild! Lucky!"

Roger extended a claw and said snidely, "Allow me." as he scratched Lucky's face continuously. He woke with a cry of pain, "What the hell, cat?"

Roger just shrugged.

Tony spoke up, "Lucky, you gotta take Marjoh back to the guild and warn the others."

"Sure," He answered, "Whatevs."

Roger interrupted, "And just what will you be doing?"

"We gotta find Marlow and Arcadia and Caden and Lorraine and tell them 'bout the guys!"

"It seems they've already met with Marlow…"

"But still! We gotta find them to get them to go back and help the guild!"

"I see."
Lucky picked up Marjoh's fainted body as he ran off saying, "Don't die, kid. And save that babe for me, 'ya hear?"

Roger looked disgusted, "He's twelve."

"Whatever…" Lucky ran off.

"So," Tony started, "Whose path do we follow?"

"I believe Marlow and Caden, having not defeated these hooligans, need the most assistance."

"OK, let's go!"

"Fine."

Marlow and Caden continued down the hallway until they reached a turn that lead them to a hexagonal room. To their surprise, they found Arcadia and Lorraine, yet not Marjoh. Arcadia noticed them and asked, "Hey, you guys OK? You look bruised."

Marlow answered, "Yeah, we ran into some wizards, but they went away."

Lorraine looked confused as she said, "As did we, I think. Come look at this."

Marlow wondered out loud, "What about that girl?"
"This is more important, guys." Arcadia responded.

Marlow looked concerned as he inquired, "More important than the job? What is it?"

Arcadia looked him dead in the eyes as she said, "This is literally the grocery list containing the recipe to kill everyone, probably."

"You mean that thing that that Ahiri guy wanted Hayle for?"

"Yeah, we believe so."

Meanwhile, Caden approached Lorraine, then dropped to one knee as he attempted to serenade her, "Hello, my darling sweet. I hope that no harm befell you on your journey."

Lorraine looked confused, "No...I'm fine."

"Thank heavens, my sweet. So tell me, what is this mysterious power you've discovered?"

Marlow spoke, annoyed, "It's that thing that those Daunt guys wanted," he turned to Arcadia, "So, this is an incantation...with a list?"

"Yep."

"That's kind of weird. Spells don't usually require ingredients."

"Yep."

"Well, do you know what it says?"

Lorraine turned away from Caden as she informed, "It was written in an ancient language, but I was able to decipher most of it. It calls for-"

Arcadia interrupted, "It needs a thing, another thing, Hayle, a rock, seven sacrifices, and magic."

Caden and Marlow looked stunned, then Caden spoke up, "Do you think that those wizards who we ran into and the wizards you ran into are looking for this?"

Lorraine solemnly answered, "We believe so."

"So, what should we do?"

Marlow responded, "First things first; I don't truly believe a single spell can do that-"

Arcadia interrupted, "What if we told you that Zeref made it?"

"The Black Wizard Zeref?" Caden asked

"If I've translated it correctly, I believe so." Lorraine answered.

Marlow continued, "OK, that changes things. We've got to stop those wizards when they get here."

"Who's to say they haven't already gotten here?" Caden declared.

There was a silent pause, then Marlow said, "OK, then...we stop them. Let's go back to the first room and see if Lucky or Tony found the girl, then we look for the wizards. If they're not there, then we go down the hallway they went down. If this incantation is a real thing, then we have to not let it come to fruition."

"What do we do with this room?" Arcadia inquired.

"We can't just leave this here." Lorraine added

Marlow responded, "We definitely cannot split up again; we are in a maze. This room is made of stone, and therefore indestructible to the best of our ability-"

"Just gravity it or something." Arcadia commented.

"Umm, no. That would take up too much magical energy and I would die. Anyway, we're going to have to leave here. Maybe I'll collapse the doorway or something, but only for one way. Can we go back the way you came, Arcadia?"

Lorraine and Arcadia simultaneously said, "No."

"Alright then, we'll go back our way then. You laid the rope down, right Caden?"

Caden looked down from where he stood and realized it was gone, "I think maybe; I don't know here, but those people may have taken it or something."

"You don't have it?"

" I do not."

Marlow let out a stressful sigh, then continued, "Then we guess. C'mon, let's go."

And they all went back the way Marlow came from, only to, unbeknownst to them, go down the wrong hallway.

Hayle and Chiron were starting to become suspicious towards Erneslus. They went over to Milo, who usually handled job requests and such, and questioned him on anything Erneslus may have told him.

"I am aware that the man simply barged into here urgently, yet, in order to have a legitimate job request, he'd need to give all the information regarding the job to someone."

Milo responded, "Yes, I asked him about the job's details. Why?."

Hayle implored Milo, "You need to tell us what he said."

"Well, he said that he was on some sort of business trip in Ceruleo when his daughter, Marjoh, went into Minetta's Labyrinth as they were nearby. He didn't know what drew here in there. He came to the nearest wizard's guild, which evidently was here. He had a carriage driver available to get there, and he said he'd pay 1,000,000 jewel. That's all, sorry."

"No, that's good enough." Chiron then turned to Hayle, "Does anything seem suspicious?"

"Well, if he were going to a meeting or something, unless he was coming from one to Ceruleo, why is he still here? Also, isn't there a guild in Dawn City or something, and one near the capitol or something. Those are closer, not to mention the fact that no trade routes or anything go through the woods by the Labyrinth."

"Right." Chiron answered.

"Wait," Milo started, "Sorry, but you guy's think that Erneslus is up to something. He is legit; I have the money with me."

"It's not the money that concerns me," Chiron responded, "On my last job, I received a letter explaining that I should go to the Labyrinth, and the next day, Erneslus comes with a job pertaining that location. The author was anonymous, but I believe he was the author who wrote to both Clara and Isa before the guild started."

"Do you think Erneslus wrote it?" Milo asked.

"I don't know."

Hayle interjected, "Chiron, you should go talk to him. See how he acts."

"I suppose that would be a good idea. Milo, don't tell anyone; I don't want to raise unnecessary attention."

"Got it."

Chiron walked over to Erneslus, who was sitting in the corner table calmly reading a newspaper. Chiron spoke, pretending to adapt a cheerful persona.

"Hello Erneslus. Can I call you Ernie?"

"I prefer Erneslus, if you don't mind."

"Sorry. So, I was thinking that the Labyrinth is a dangerous place, and maybe I should send someone else to see how the group is faring."

"Isn't six enough? I don't know much about it. If you think you should send more, please do; anything to save my daughter."

"OK, I will. So….tell me about your daughter."

"Oh, Marjoh?" Erneslus put down his newspaper and coffee, then continued, "Ever since I lost my wife, she has been the light of my life; company be damned. My employees and consultants think I spend too much time with her and should spend more on economic whatnot, but I just love her too much."

"What does she look like?"

Erneslus recollected for a moment, then spoke, "She has long, brown hair, like her mother; not me. She's pale and short, but she has a lovely voice. I can't," He sniffled into a handkerchief, then continued, "I can't bare to live without her. Thank you so much for helping."

"No problem!" Chiron smiled brightly, which was an emotion he seldom displayed, and walked back to Milo and Hayle, "He didn't do anything too suspicious."

"Maybe he's being played as well by someone?" Hayle suggested.

"Either that," Chiron responded, "Or he is an excellent actor. I suppose we wait, for now, to see what happens."

Lucky went back the way they came, and thankfully, there were no traps to kill him. He carried Marjoh's unconscious body with him, which was difficult due to Lucky's inability to carry much weight. And just in case you were wondering, she weighed 85 lbs (that's about 37 kg.) As soon as he reached the gates leading into the Labyrinth, he plopped Marjoh down and took a breather.

"That carriage better still be there…" Lucky muttered to himself as he stood up and carried the girl for a little while longer. After about a minute, he dropped her, and yelled, "WAKE UP, I'M NOT CARRYING YOU ANYMORE!"

She woke up with a start, "Ah! What happened?"

"Tony went back to find the others and I got stuck with bringing you back to the guild."

Marjoh looked confused, "But daddy and mommy aren't at the guild."

"Yeah, yeah. But there's a guy there who's claiming to be your father or something. Wait, What does your dad look like?"

"Well, daddy has curly brown hair and he smell like fish a lot, and mommy has straight brown hair and she knits pretty clothes."

"Do they live in Ceruleo?"

"Yes, sir."

Lucky though for a moment, confused. Then he inquired, "Do you know anything about an Erneslus somethin'-or-whatever. He's blonde and wears a stupid suit."

Marjoh got a look on her face, as if in remembrance of something, "Yeah, there was a man in a suit. He came to our house one day asking about some colorful man and a phoenix. I didn't hear much, though; mommy put me to bed."

"Did he say Ruby Phoenix?"

"Yep, that's what he said."

"What did he say about it?"

"I don't know; I didn't hear."

Lucky suddenly had a serious look on his face, "OK, kiddo, let's get back to your folks. I got a carriage around here or something."

They looked, and the carriage was no where to be found.

Lucky got annoyed, "Fine! We'll walk! I don't even care anymore."

"Just don't sing, mister. My ears still hurt from last time."

"Shut up, kid."

The two continued through the woods in contempt silence. Finally, the two ventured among a trail, and they didn't have to walk far before they found a random carriage en route to Ceruleo carrying honeymooners. Lucky paid the driver, and the two were off with a constantly kissing man and woman. They didn't say much through their locked lips, so Lucky was left to just stare out the window while Marjoh kept asking why the man was grabbing the woman's chest.

Tony wandered through hallway and hallway. After a while, he emerged into a large room with various walkways connected to form a maze. There were edges off the sides of the walkways which led into an abyss.

"Well this puzzle's stupid. You can just fly me across." Tony suggested.

"And what makes you think the maze isn't trapped" Roger challenged.

"C'mon, that'de be way too much effort to put into one room."

"Fine, but don't complain if I drop you."

"You wouldn't."

"Not voluntarily, but if so due to the fact that I am no weight lifter."

"Oh, OK." Tony thought for a second, "Then I'll walk and you show me the way."

"Sure…"

Roger sprouted his Exceed wings and flew over the abyss and onto the doorway leading further into a hallway. Roger made it to the center of a crevice, but was suddenly caught by a force that pulled him down. "Roger!" Tony yelled, but then, the red cat fell from the ceiling, moving faster than before. Tony thought fast, then roared a Cosmic Dragon Roar, knocking Roger unconscious, but safe.

"Roger! Are you Alright?" Tony yelled as he raced over to the spot that the Exceed lay. Roger sputtered out in pain as he sarcastically remarked, "Idiot...I...told you...it as trapped."

"Don't talk, you need to save your energy."

"I'm not going to...die...if that's…what you're thinking."

"Of course not, buddy. I'll carry you."

Roger passed out, but Tony carried him further into the maze. He emerged into a hallway and out of the room after meandering through the maze. He went through more hallways and rooms after a while when he emerged into a hexagonal room with an odd stone tablet written in a foreign language. He waited there for Roger to recuperate. But, after a while of sitting there, he began to hear voices. The first was a woman's,

"...alright, but do you know the way out of this damned maze."
The second's was the dinosaur man from earlier, "Estelle, would you kindly find a way out?"

A young girls' voice was heard. It seemed stressed, "A-alright."

There was a pause, then Estelle spoke, "Beorra, Julius, there are people in the next room!"

Beorra responded, "More wizards? Why are there so many of them in-"

Julius interrupted, "Shh! They might be able to hear us." There was a pause, then Julius whispered, "They're from a guild; the guild Clockhand said for us to destroy. They're looking for a girl or something who got lost."

Roger, having woken up, spoke softly to Tony, "They're three to one against us, we need to run."

Tony challenged, "We're not gonna run, I can take 'em."

"Tony, don't!"

And suddenly, the three step foot into the hexagonal room. One was a black-haired, red-eyed woman who dressed in a black robes and pants, save for the colored feathers she wore. The second was a white-haired little girl who wore an eyepatch and had a crossbow. The third was a dinosaur.

Beorra was the first to speak, "Heh," She laughed, "It's just a kid. Hey kid, what are you looking for?" Suddenly, a black door opened up in mid-air and a humanoid shape appeared, entirely made of beetles.

Beorra continued, "Kill 'em!"

The man of beetles thing broke apart and swarmed towards Tony and Roger, but they turned tail and ran out of the room. Tony heard Julius speak, "Find them, before they can warn their guild." Tony ran down a different hallway than he originally went to get there. He kept running, with the swarm of beetles close behind, regardless of traps. He ran so fast, that he managed to catch up to Marlow, Caden, Arcadia, and Lorraine. He crashed into them, and all six were pushed over an edge and into a large pool of water in a large room.

Marlow was the first to speak, "Tony! Good, we found you. Where's Lucky?"

Tony responded through gasps of air, "We found Marjoh, huh, Lucky took her back, huh, she's not Erneslus' girl."

Everyone except Arcadia spoke in unison, "What?"

Arcadia said something else, "Ass-hats! I can't swim. And the water's rising!"

And she was right, the water level of the room seemed to rise. The door in which the five wizards fell through seemed to seal itself off, as did another door leading elsewhere. However, the beetle-man seemed to be lock behind the seal.

"Holy Fuck! I'm drowning!" Arcadia screamed as the water levels surrounded her head. Lorraine grabbed her and pulled her up, due to the fact that rabbits and children can't lift much weight.

"I've got you." Lorraine comforted as Arcadia kept cussing. The water still rose, despite Marlow's efforts to block off the flow. It seemed to come out of no where, until Caden looked up and saw a hole in the ceiling.

"Guys," Caden started, "We have to swim towards that hole-ceiling-thing."

And they all swam, except Arcadia, who was dragged. The water kept rising until all were swept through the hole and deposited back into the room that Arcadia and Lorraine were before, the one with the kraken-thing. Despite being soaking wet, everyone got out unscathed.

Arcadia sat by herself, looking stunned and afraid. Marlow was the first to try to comfort her, "Are you OK, Arcadia?"

She responded, "No, I...that was a lot of water."

Tony asked, "You afraid of water or something?"

"Well, she is a fire wizard," Lorraine answered, "but why weren't you afraid when we were here earlier?"

"I can handle water and stuff, considering I need to drink it too live. I just...I can't swim."

Caden further elaborated, "She had that problem ever since we were children."

The five wizards and a now conscious cat were recuperating from another trapped room when Lorraine spoke up, "Arcadia and I were in this room earlier, I believe I can find our way out at this point."

Arcadia continued, "Yeah, but what about those other wizards?"

"We need more than just us to defeat them. Their power exceeds ours at this point, and we don't have the strength to use a substantial amount of magic."

Marlow had a struggled look, then said, "She's right, I can't float that much right now. My magic energy is drained."

Caden, however, managed to turn invisible, "Hmm, I seem to have more strength than all of the rest of you." then he laughed. Arcadia hit him, "You don't even do anything."

Everyone laughed as Caden rubbed his head, but everyone stopped laughing as they heard a familiar voice in the doorway. Everyone turned to see Clockhand and Atzedeck at the hallway that led out of the maze.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave. My associates learned that you have learned our plans, and we can't let you find Minetta's Opal…"

"Really!?" Arcadia challenged, "I don't even care about the bad things, I don't care what you do, I just want my booze!

"I'm sorry, but my associates are sent to destroy your guild."

"Oh," Marlow answered, "Then we're going to have to stop you. Great."

"You believe you can?"

"I don't know, probably. I don't even care, there's, like, a dozen or more or whatever of us and two of you." Arcadia ranted

"Actually, there are six."

"Great. Now shut up." Then, Marlow tried to force Clockhand into the ceiling. However, he forgot his magic was drained. Arcadia got the hint and tried to spark a fire to alight the duo, but the water foiled any attempts to do so. Arcadia shrugged, then Tony spoke up, "I guess it's up to me!"

Caden interrupted, "Not really, I'm fully capable of-"

"Well then shut up and do something." Arcadia double interrupted.

Caden suddenly vanished, then Tony took in a breath of air as space itself seemed to shimmer. Suddenly, he let out a Cosmic Dragon Roar, but instead of stardust, it was a stream of pure, dark force. Caden then reappeared behind Clockhand, but it was too late. Clockhand suddenly appeared just out of reach as Atzedeck gathered shadows and was about to unleash them upon Caden. Caden simply stood there and took the full front of the attack, or so it seemed, as the shadow energy passed through Caden and hit Clockhand, sending him flying.

"Hah, Imbecile! No one bests me once and hopes to get away with it!"

Then, his knife was gone. Clockhand reappeared wieling it at Lorraine's throat.

"No!" Caden yelled, "My Lovely Flower! I yield! I am defeated, you sly bastard!"

Lorraine shrugged, and the one-armed man was on the ground. Lorraine's paralysis stunned him and he was unable to move. Meanwhile, Atzedeck shrank into a shadow, then flowed towards Lorraine and the rest. However, Tony was too fast, and he let loose a shimmer of cosmic force, and he was forced out of the shadow. Caden vanished, then reappeared with his Moonstabber as he struck the man over and over again. Atzedeck parried with a shadowy arm, then blasted Caden towards the wall. This attack hit, however, and Caden was sent back. Atzedeck turned to see Tony, who let loose another Cosmic Dragon Wing Attack. the ground around the shadow man was crushed, but then, he was succumbed to a sharp sense of pain, via Lorraine. Caden rushed back, and struck the man with his blade, draining his magic power completely. The five wizards won the battle, even though Arcadia and Marlow were useless. The two wizards were subdued, and Marlow tied them up with a tight rope as so they wouldn't escape. Caden smugly muttered, "Lame. That wasn't a difficult fight." Lorraine began interrogating,

"Who are you and what do you want with us?!"

Clockhand began crying as he responded, "I-It is t-too late. Our colleagues h-have already left for your guild. We and them are j-just catspaws of a-anoth...another...faction."

"What faction?"

"Nevermind. It doesn't matter anymore. Th-the three after your guild will destroy it, i-it is their...specialty."

Marlow then looked confused, "You said there were six of you… but there is two here and three after our guild."

Clockhand stopped sobbing, and eerily regained his usual, melancholic tone, "The sixth...I'm afraid our superior doesn't partake in our affairs. He was not to accompany us on our endeavors to find the Opal."

Lorraine inquired, "The Opal to accommodate Zeref's Incantation, I presume?"

"Zeref? What does he have to do with anything?" Clockhand's voice was becoming less sad and more serious and deep.

"The Incantation to kill any person the caster chooses?"

"That is not the necessity of the Incantation, nor does it have anything to do with the Black Wizard. How did you come to believing that?"

"The Stone Tablet I read?"

Clockhand's hand tattoo then began to move to form a clock's face resembling 12:00. "You are wrong." He uttered in a guttural tone, then his entire head twisted sideways. his body disintegrated in mid-air, and a white magic circle formed above them. And the two wizards disappeared, or so they thought. Atzedeck, the tall shadow man, was at the far doorway as he said in a deep voice, "The Opal," He suddenly melted into a shadow and left.

Arcadia hung her mouth open, then, after a moment of silenced, said, "What the hell?"

After a very long and awkward carriage ride with a fondling pair of honeymooners, Lucky and Marjoh arrived in Ceruleo. Marjoh guided Lucky to Marjoh's real parent's house, and, thankfully, they were both there unharmed. The two, a young couple, were a lovely looking lady who sewed dresses, and a gruff looking fisherman. They were both visibly worried, due to their lost daughter,but upon seeing her safe, the burst into tears of joy and hugged her. The insistently thanked kluck for finding her, and the lady rushed her daughter upstairs to clean her up or something. Lucky began to question the man, "Clark, was it?"

"Yes? What do you want? Anything at all."

"I was wondering if you met a dude by the name of Erneslus Stone."

"Oh…" His voice trailed off, "Erneslus...yeah, He came in a few days ago asking directions or something. However, after a while, he seemed transfixed with our daughter, and he kept asking questions about her."

"Like what?"

"Like...her favorite food, her bedtime, allergies. Things like that. I told him that he was acting strangely and I told him to get out. he looked me dead in the eyes and told me to be silent. Just that, 'Be Silent.' After long, Marjoh disappeared. I was going to go to the guard or a wizards guild, but I was afraid that Erneslus would do something awful to her. I did as I was told and kept silent, but then you came and brought our dear Marjoh back unharmed. I'll never be able to thank you enough."

"No probs, but…"

"But what? What is it?"

"Erneslus told us, he, uh, went to my guild, that is, that he was her father, and he sent us to Minetta's Labyrinth to look for her."

"Oh my… I hope you and your friends weren't hurt or…"

"Oh, no. no. They're fine. I was just stuck with- er...sent back with your daughter. All's well.." I hope.

"Where's Erneslus?!"

A dark thought went to Lucky, "...At our guild, oh crap."

"Oh no! Let us help you! We'll, my wife and I, we'll get the guards to help you!"

"That would be amazing. Sorry I can't stay and chat, but there's a pedo-bad buy at my guild."

"What's your guild's name?"

"Ruby Phoenix."

"We'll never forget you as long as we live."

Lucky stopped for a second, then asked, "Do you have any money?"

"Of course, how much do you need?"

"Enough for a carriage ride, and some food. That'll probably be enough."

"Consider it done, sir." And Clark gave him enough jewel for his request. Marjoh came downstairs looking cleaner and prettier in a white dress. She was smiling, "Thank you, Lucky. You saved me!"

"That I did, sis," he started, "By the by, what's your guys' full names?"

Clark answered, "I am Clark Hollens, this is my wife Holly, and our only daughter Marjoh."

"Got it, see ya."

And Lucky left. He paid for a reliable carriage back to the guild hall, and nagged the driver to hurry up as it was important. Lucky had to warn the guild about Erneslus, and probably the wizards in the Labyrinth, and just a whole bunch of important things.