Chapter 2

Villains

Part 9

Downward Spiral

Kalokova had never been closer to such dangerous criminals. She had usually found herself on guard duty in the slower parts of the district, a recruit given easy jobs, but now…

The air flowed through her helmet, and the scabbard at her side rustled uncomfortably, but she couldn't be bothered. The task in front of her was more important than any kind of momentary discomfort.

Her eyes narrowed. Her face was beaded in sweat. And she passed the arches away from the main ceremony room of the chapel into a hallway. The wooden door swung on its hinges. She sprinted towards them. The walls were covered in several small fountains, each one dripping blood, with words under each declaring what race the blood was from. Kalokova glanced to some and shuddered, but kept going.

The business of Orzhova, her commander had always told her, was its own. It was not anyone else's place to intervene. She had never believed in it. Perhaps some feeling of disgust had pushed her to take a dangerous mission like this one. To find those responsible for such brutal tithing and stop them.

She ran through the doors, and entered a smaller room, a dark stone place with a vaulted ceiling painted across with images of vampires performing kind deeds- and cruel jobs assigned by horrific taskmasters.

All around the room were busts of such taskmasters- the Deathless, in various states of revivification. There were eleven. As Kalokova scanned the faces of the empty room, she realized it was actually the same man, going from young and scared, onward to confident middle age, to wisened ancientness, to cruel dead, to terrifying undeath.

No- they were not Deathless. They were the Master Pontiff of The True Church of Glory Orzhova. And one of them looked different than the rest- while all of them were dusty, one particular one, the one in the middle of the furthest most wall, one depicting the newly dead face of the Master Pontiff, had no dust on its forehead. The closed eyes seemed to move. Kalokova thought it was just her mind, but she approached it anyway.

Indeed, the forehead had the smudges of a hand across it. She reached out with tentative fingers towards it, pressing it down. Nothing happened.

Kalokova looked away, disappointed, but something in the corner of her vision moved. She looked back, and the eyes seemed to have rolled back in the stone head. She pressed down the eyes simultaneously, and the mouth opened.

Kalokova bent down and inspected it. There was a button, made of gold, with a definite thumbprint. She ran her gloved finger over it and pressed the button too.

She heard footsteps behind her, an unfamiliar voice seeming to declare- "Stop!"

But she didn't have time to turn around before the bust's jaw closed, the floor in front of it opened up, and she fell into the darkness below.

Her eyes opened with a start.

Her chest hurt. Had she broken a rib? Had she fractured her spine? She couldn't tell, but she did know she was face down in soft dirt. The sounds of water echoed around, and hurried footsteps in the distance.

She pulled herself up into a crouch, and got on one knee, breathing heavily.

She looked ahead.

And Kalokova saw a twisting set of chambers. A massive waterfall flowed adjacent to a bridge before her. She stood up, and still her chest hurt. But it was certainly not that of a broken bone. How far had she fallen?

She couldn't tell.

But she had to find the Dimir agent, his companion, and the chaplain.

She broke into a sprint, looking around. Light streamed in from holes above, which was a massive ceiling, ran through with pipes and pillars.

There was so much dark.

She was underground, that was for certain. Where the Dimir and Golgari and Rakdos worked best.

Were the Rakdos implicated in this? The Dimir agent's companion certainly seemed to have been from the Golgari, judging by the waste covering his clothing and scarred face, but she hadn't had enough time to get that good of look, what with all the commotion and chaos.

The bridge was also soft dirt, held up by nothing, liable to break at any moment. But Kalokova, as with so many others, had joined the Boros because she liked to consider herself, at least partially, fearless- though things like this did get to her. She tried not to allow such feelings and certainly not to let them show to her peers.

Perhaps if she finished this mission, she would be promoted, and would never have to be on the frontlines of battle. She liked the idea, and knew her parents, who constantly feared for her life, would too.

She finished crossing the bridge. She looked back, seeing it crumble, just a little more. It creaked.

But a shadow covered the ground she had landed on not so long ago.

And then a figure dropped onto where she had landed, but Kalokova couldn't worry about helping them. She didn't need help herself, she had another job. She turned back, and ran again.

More rooms passed, empty, or covered in fungus. Lights continued to stream in from above, as well as other bridges of dirt.

She realized she was entering a catacomb. The Golgari were bound to be here, but she could still hear the pained shouts of the Dimir agent up ahead.

The ground started to get rockier, mulchier. There were skulls on the ground. Grass and fluorescent mushrooms grew from the ground, and the rooms started to get larger and more stuffy, though the path still stayed clear.

But soon, the cavern ended in a pair of steel doors.

Kalokova ran to them. She wasn't certain she could push them open. She stared up at the wall. It was, to her surprise, stone. She heard sounds on the other side. She knew it had to be the agent and his allies.

She pushed on the door as hard as she felt she could, but they only budged slightly.

The sounds on the other side stopped, but she continued pushing. She couldn't do it.

She looked up at the doors. Massive. Silver. Emblazoned with the seal of no guild- only a primitive shape, a circle with a dragon's head, as if it were the Izzet's, but from thousands upon thousands of years earlier.

She looked down, once again, but this time at her gloved hands that hid scars beneath, burns from years ago.

Then she looked to the door. She tensed her arms, and pressed them against the doors, not yet pushing.

She looked intensely forward into nothing, summoning all her strength.

She yelled, and pushed, the doors creaking madly. She screamed, her arms putting in all the strength they could, expelling might forward like a force of nature. And the doors, inch by inch, opened wide enough to walk through.

Kalokova turned around, breathing heavily. Her arms burned like they had so long ago, and she looked downward, hands on knees in exasperation. But still she heard creaking, and she looked over her shoulder, to see the doors opening of their own accord, ever more.

But that was not what alarmed her the most- it was what was beyond them.

An entire catacomb, entire complexes, buildings stretching farther and farther upwards, stone walls with cut windows, exits with no doors, and dozens upon dozens of the undead in various stages of rot.

All the undead in an entire necropolis looked with intent toward one lone Boros soldier.

But then, someone showed up at her side- an Azorius mage? The figure certainly seemed to have the armor of one. They looked to Kalokova, simply saying,"Run. Now." It must have been the person who fell in after her.

But she couldn't. Her feet were rooted to the spot, even as the mage raised his hand. As the mage's hand glowed a perfect blue, so bright she thought she might go blind. As the mage released whatever spell it had been into the crowd of undead, melting them away into parts less than what they had been. For some, their flesh melted away. Those with no flesh simply burned into dust, carried back by pure energy, spreading into the necropolis.

The mage turned once more. "Run!" he declared.

"I… I can't," Kalokova said, and, without thinking, her feet carried her forward into the necropolis, full of some still "living" undead, but many newly "dead" undead, too.

She unsheathed her weapon, cutting a couple of the zombies down. Some were elves, eyes full of hate. Others looked like Simic creations, mutants that could hardly stand in their rotting states. Still others were stitched together abominations, the product of the most vile of the Golgari and Simic, projects of a lost age.

But all fell beneath the blade, dust and putrefaction spraying up from agonized corpses and cadavers.

The mage screamed for her to stop, that she didn't know what she was doing, as several of the zombies ran to him, more than ready to tear him apart for desecrating their brethren. He was caught up in a battle as Kalokova ran ahead.

Kalokova knew, with a spell like that, he was going to be fine. She had a task to complete.

She kept running through the necropolis, which was strangely empty.

She caught sight of a small mountain ahead, a hill in the Underground cavern. It spiralled upward to an entrance, and there were three figures.

She knew what she had to do.

She charged forward into a small crowd of dead, deflecting some. One grabbed hold of her arm, almost biting down, before it was hacked away. Still others ran to her, or quickly shambled, rather, right into dirtied steel. They all fell, freshly slain.

Kalokova looked around- there had to be a way up the hill- it was much too steep.

A twinkling caught her eye. She looked down at a zombified elf, and on its waistbelt was a pair of keys. She didn't know if they might be useful, but she had seen a contraption like this in the Underground before, a staircase only formed by the turn of a key.

She took off running again, newly determined. A few more undead corpses shuffled to her, only to be quickly and brutally cut down.

The figures still didn't see her as she arrived at the base of the hill. She scanned around the steep rock face. It was carved with an intricate pattern, that of a dragon and several others around it, flying into some kind of electrical storm. At the forefront was…

Niv-Mizzet. His hand was outstretched in charity, and he was holding… an orb. The image was stretching further than her field of vision could see. She ran over to see what the orb was.

It was painted, unlike the rest of the gray wall, and beneath it was something etched in Draconic. Kalokova couldn't read it, but she saw what the orb contained- a keyhole. It was some feet above the ground, but she didn't care. She took the keyring, and jumped, jamming the key into the hole, turning it, and coming back to the ground. Several indentures slid back in the wall, like a ladder. It was an almost silent process that spread up the cliff face, a process and a device that still remained despite its age.

Kalokova jumped up once more to remove the key, and the steps of the ladder still remained, although they seemed to be moving back to their original position at a snail's pace. A loud grinding noise echoed through the cavern, and Kalokova started up the wall, hoping she was undetected. She slid her sword back into its leather sheath, and began climbing.

At the top, Kalokova saw the steps sliding back into their original positions. As she turned around, she accidentally dropped the keys down the rock face. She sighed, but knew that the task in front of her was much more important.

She looked back. An open archway lead inward, intricately, imprinted upon which was the symbol of the Izzet.

Tentatively, Kalokova walked up to the archway and walked inside. Dusty rooms sat along a massive and lengthy hallway that was partially caved in.

She walked down the hallway, looking into the rooms to see what, or who, might be inside. But there were only tables and beakers and skeletons.

Kalokova reached the end, where the ceiling caved in. She looked up, and light streamed in. She climbed up the rocks until she reached another room with a door thrown ajar. It was steel, grated, and had a sign stuck into it with a knife that said, definitively-

Dimir Safehouse. Those unauthorized to enter will face our wrath. Proceed at your own risk, or turn back. Either, to be frank, is fine with us, but one of them will lead to your certain death, now or later.

Kalokova scoffed. She had seen signs like these several times before. They were almost always empty threats. Almost.

She walked through the breach, and there was only another hallway leading to a cavern, smaller though, than the last.

She crept along. In her head, she already worked the idea of capturing them, turning them in, being known in the district, maybe even all of Ravnica, as the one who avenged the deaths of so many, even if she was only remembered for a moment.

She unsheathed her sword again and crept down the hallway, silent.

She heard whispering.

"This crack… the wall is hardly large enough to fit these scrolls through."

A second voice, one farther away, on the outside, perhaps?

Shadows were cast over the ground ahead.

"It's fine, just one at a time."

"How will we get out?"

"Someone will come along later to get you, don't worry."

A third voice.

"What if we're being chased!? What then?"

"I don't know. Defend yourselves. It can't be difficult. It's not like an entire legion is going to be coming after you. How many scrolls are left, Zaido?"

"I don't know Paige! A couple?" The man named Zaido wheezed. He was injured. He had to be the Dimir agent.

"Well, keep at it."

"Are there any soldiers up there?"

"Well, I have a couple vampires keeping watch if that's what you mean."

"No, it's not. Karkas, how many more?"

"Two," Karkas said.

A fourth voice, timid and anxious.

"Uh, gentlemen, did you hear that?"

"No, pontiff, shut your mouth. Last thing I need is to worried right now."

"O… okay."

Kalokova reached the end of the hallway, sword outstretched in her right hand, just covered by the wall. She breathed deeply, preparing for battle. Her eyes opened, and she moved the blade closer to herself, coming closer to the edge.

She breathed even deeper.

"Alright, so that's it?" Paige said from outside. He seemed glad, ecstatic even.

"Yes."

"Very good. We've already sent some agents to come retrieve you. Your service has been greatly valued. See you back at the sanctum tonight."

"Same to you," Zaido said back.

And with that, Paige scrambled to his feet and left.

There was silence for a few moments, and then shouts.

Kalokova stepped out from behind the wall, throwing a dagger from her belt at one of the men before her. She hit a tall, lanky one right in the knee. He fell the the ground amid curses and ravings.

Next, she positioned for the one on the ground, who was sweating profusely from blood loss. She looked down and saw his injury- perhaps life-threatening, though he seemed to be doing somewhat fine.

"So, right on time, huh?" Zaido asked.

Kalokova smirked. "I suppose so."

She walked closer, and the pontiff looked at her with fear.

"Please!" he declared. "This is all a misunderstanding, they forced me to come along! Don't do this! I'm innocent."

"Oh, pontiff," Zaido said with venom in his voice,"you're not fooling anyone."

"I…" the pontiff threw himself on the ground in pleads.

"You're all going to the Monolith, you are. You!" She pointed to Zaido with disgust. "For heinous acts against Ravnica and its people! And you!" She pointed to Krakas, who was rolling on the ground in fury, trying to remove the dagger from his leg. "For assisting this maniac, helping him find refuge and escape! And, finally, the pontiff." She pointed at him and he twitched like an animal deciding whether or not to run. "For doing the same. Those are all crimes for which the angels and the Senate will find you all… most gu-"

She was interrupted.

Someone else had stepped out from behind her.

She turned briefly, and saw in a flash that it was the Azorius mage from before. "Excellent," she exclaimed. "Help me take these wanted criminals in, would you? Or go get some more help."

The mage was silent, just standing there with helmet on. His skin seemed unusual, but Kalokova just chocked it up to cloth on his face. It made sense that he would have it though, since almost every part of him was now covered in some kind of viscera. He was brandishing a buckshot pistol. It sat loose in his hand, full of intent and potential.

"What? Come on now!" she said, chuckling. His behavior was very unbecoming for an Azorius mage, especially one of his stature in the hierarchy of the Azorius, to be is a position as high-risk as this.

Still he didn't move.

"Look, I'm sorry I left you behind back there. I saw that incredible spell you pulled off, wild stuff. I knew you could take care of yourself, and you did. So let's put that behind us and put this-" She pointed at Zaido, Karkas, and the pontiff-"in front."

Still silence, but then… "I am not here to arrest these men."

Kalokova smiled. She didn't understand. "I don't understand," she said, matter-of-factly."

"I have come from a very far place, and forsaken so many bonds and people to be here, Kalokova."

"How do you know my name," she interrupted, but still he continued, a blank look on his face.

"I have done too many wrong things. So you must understand me, this is simply something I must do myself. They will have to die in the process."

Kalokova was stunned. This was not how justice was supposed to work- not even the Boros could be that cruel.

The mage began spinning the pistol in his hand. "Get out of the way," he said to no one, and one person in articular. Now he turned his gaze to Zaido, who was starting to have a panicked expression on his face.

"No." Kalokova stood there, defiant. She twirled her sword in her hand. "I will not allow you to perform such an act of gross misjustice. Perhaps you should leave, hm? I can do this myself if you insist."

Suddenly, the mage's expression changed, and he stared directly to Kalokova. Slowly, he reached up with his free hand to remove his helmet. He slid it off his head, and looked up to Kalokova. She was staring at what a more enlightened person might call a "moonfolk". But she only had one thing to say.

"Are you some kind of Simic creation?"

Yataeso, descendant of the moonfolk of Kamigawa, explorer of the Multiverse, friend to all and mage of so much, looked at the soldier on a world so far away coldly and simply answered,"No. I am from a world far away. I, Yataeso Gotachi, have spent so many years uncovering a mystery, a deception, planted in the heart of the Dimir. And I am so close to solving it, and I believe these three are the key to unlocking it. Now, I will say this one more time- I am a desperate man, and I will get what I need to get, my revenge. I know you desire moving up in your organization, I have seen into your mind. I know you hate conflict, and it is something you never want to encounter again. You simply want peace. If you want it, help me. Help me. By moving. And never coming back."

Kalokova looked over the creature before her in stunned silence. Was he being true, real? Could she trust him…

Or was this simply another Dimir deception?

She looked up into Yataeso Gotachi's eyes, a name she had never heard before, and a being she could not comprehend. White hair, but so youthful, blue skin but no disease, long ears but no mutation, and she settled upon his impossibility. That it must be Zaido playing tricks on her mind to escape.

She turned back to Zaido, but he was still sitting there, looking nervous.

Then she turned back to Yataeso and held up her sword.

It gleamed in the small beam of light, glinting back a reflection of an illusion, an incredible trick.

"You are an illusion. And I cannot allow you to compromise my work."

The fraud looked at her with certainty.

A look of sadness blotted in his eyes, as if he knew he were the villain, not those he was hunting. But he looked to this young girl on a plane so far away, doing a task that could compromise his entire life.

He had never considered himself an impulsive person.

But this was simply something he had to do.

No one could know.

No one.

"Very well, Kalokova Jekira. Then you are of no use to me. If you will not cooperate-"

His mind flashed with darkness and rage at those who forced him to do this.

"-then perhaps your corpse will."

And so he raised his pistol, and the room filled with noise.

And so, Kalokova fell fell to the ground bloodied, defeated, but most unfortunately, dead.