Since Adamai brought Lady Echo new allies/soldiers/prisoners/pets (delete what You want), it has been a week (and three days). Kira was quite fast in teaming up with Kalmia, Robin and Lucky. They frowned at the fact that their new acquaintance did not want to give up her religion, but Kira claimed that death was the only sure thing in life. Yaga, besides conducting the sparring with the demigods (apart from Echo, Adamai, the Iop and a small blue-eyed girl), was involved in the production of some sort of specifics that, as she claimed, kept her alive ("You have two options, my dear. You will agree and I will be a good, nasty reptile, or you will not agree, I'll end up drugs and I will die, and it's hard to find another shit of my species"). There was also suspicion that she was doing some mysterious rituals there (but for who?), but no one caught her during the act yet. And Qilby...
"AAAACHOOO!" The Eliatrope sneezed with such force that the hood of the protective mantle slipped off his head, scarcely taking his hat down also, and the laboratory glass clattered on the shelves and tables.
"For God's sake, go to a medic or something!"roared Yaga with all her kindness while sitting in her new lab, right next to (of course) the Count's laboratory (now Qilby's).
"I can't!" Qilby screamed equaly kindly as he put his hood back "I've got a job to do!"
One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important, Yaga sighed mentaly, and she said aloud:
"They don't acknowledge a sick notes here?!"
"Go back to your task, woman!"
"Go to a medic!"
And the show was going on, over and over again.
After the next three hours, Qilby was completely frozen and couldn't even tease with Yaga. Fortunately, it alarmed her, because it could have been much worse. With the force she entered to the lab (the Masqueraider guarding the scientist happened to disappear somewhere) and carried Qilby on her back to Robin's cave, where at least was warm.
Robin, Kalmia, Lucky, the "Nameless" Maskarad and (recently) Kira were one of the many Brotherhood's operating teams and, as one of the most effective ones, were given a small set of egg-shaped caves under the Cursed Citadel, which served as their sleeping quarters with large central grotto as a living room.
Yaga lifted Qilby on her shoulders to release one hand and knocked to the round wooden door.
"What?!" snarled Kalmia from other side.
"A bowl of broth, for a poor, unfortunate soul!" Yaga replied.
"Bleah" announced Qilby, who scorned a broth as an dishonor to the noble art of preaparing a meat.
"And a little water with soap, for the other, sweaty soul could wash herself..." Then the door opened wide and there was Robin smiling wide.
"Be our guest*," said cheerfully the dark-haired Cra.
In some places, magic is extremely anxious and sensitive to the emotions of beings able to contact with Her. It was therefore logical that by the presence of so many demigods and the burning anger of the one ivory dragon, the energy in the Cursed Citadel was... unstable. Lady Echo did her best to neutralize this 'hiccup'. She began to send some demigods to other hideouts or to the Tower of Dreams, something like the Brotherhood's headquarters. But the most pressing problem was Adamai. Whoever was his mother, this whole Goddess, gave her offspring a big, raw power that slipped out of control, mainly thanks to the young dragon's relative. Qilby and Adamai hated each other and any of them intended to give up. The wisest way out was to teach the ivory dragon greater self-control. Something that Grougarolagan and Balthazar apparently neglected. But who said that all dragons are reasonable?
"Focus, brother Adamai," whispered Lady Echo, while the multicolored ribbons of magic flowed between her and the young ivory dragon. They sat together on the floor of her office and tried to master the magic of the Eliatrope Goddess in body of one from her sons. "Calm your emotions, control anger. The key to full control over your power, yours and your sisters and brothers is serenity. Complete serenity..."
"Lady Echo!" A guard with a bandaged head came into the office (it was the same one Kira knocked out last week) with a scroll in his hand.
"What now?!" the furious woman roared, spreading her unmatching wings, and her yellow eyes glowing scary.
"I'm-... I'm-... I'm sorry, my lady!" The unlucky soldier crouched before the daughter of the goddess Eniripsa. "But an important report from the South came and...!
"Which post?" Echo interrupted him, trying to calm herself down and hide her emotions, but a note of anxiety crept into her cool voice .
"Dragon Mausoleum," the man rasped and handed his Mistress a scroll sealed stamped with wax seal with the post symbol. The wax was black, which, according to the Brotherhood's findings, meant the highest priority information. The last time they used these markings in the news was when Master Joris set out to look for the six Eliatrope Dofus.
Lady Echo quickly opened the message and began to read. With every sentence her eyes grew wider and wider. No, that could not happen... Not now! But He warned her that something like that exists and might reveal itself sometime. And their spy in the Suffokatian research team just confirmed this. But why now? Now when Pandora's Box was almost complete?! That could change completly force arrangement!
"We are the closest," she whispered, then looked at the guard and worried Adamai, "Brother, I have to talk to you in private"
The guard quickly escaped, and Echo made sure no one was listening near her door.
"It has to stay between us, Adamai," the woman said softly. "It can be a very bad turn of events..."
"Bleah" snapped Qilby, sending a bowl of broth on his lap a particularly disgusted look.
"Eat, not complain" Yaga jagged washing her neck "Or I plug your nose like a little brat's and I pour this soup right into your throat"
"Just try it" the Eliatrope bared his incisors, but he reached for a spoon and began to eat slowly (of course, making faces). Yaga's face filled in with a triumphant smile.
"Tell me..." Robin sat down next to the dark haired "With Kira we explained the Thing... And I'd like to know... how is it with you and..."
"If you're wondering if I'm inclined to come in with you in a more intimate relationship that's likely to end up with some kind of party on your mattress..." Yaga sighed heavily like the person who had been in such a situation so many times that she could calmly guess what Robin wanted to say to her even before he will think about it "the answer is no."
"Damn, woman, are you refusing everyone?" now Robin was pissed when he suddenly remembered something "I'm too low in the hierarchy for You?"
"That I was trying to seduce your boss-lady doesn't mean I was planning to go to bed with her!" Yaga snapped "That was a joke. When I see someone as rigid as an accountant in a gypsum I must mock! Loose the atmosphere! Otherwise I would go crazy. Now you follow?"
"Okay, good, you wanted to make a fun of Lady Echo... But what about me? What are your reasons to say no?"
"Put it that way... I have no problem with your appearance. You are also likable person, or at least I see you so... But I am temporarily resting from relationships. We understand each other?"
"Oh... Was he mean? Abusive?"
"First: it was she. And no, nobody hit anyone. It just... it didn't work out"
Robin may not have noticed this, but Qilby sensed a slight tremor in her voice. Contrary to what she said, her forward relationship didn't just 'work out'. Something went wrong, terribly damn wrong.
"Get up!" screamed, who suddenly appeared at the door. Everyone jumped up. "Robin, prepare your ship! Rest, pack up! You too, Traitor" here he looked with disgust at Qilby.
"Wait, what?!" Robin approached the young dragon with a sharp resentment on his face "What 'prepare the ship'?! This is my property and I will tell you when it can go on a cruise!"
"That's an order, not suggestion" that was the dragon's last word in this case and he walked away "You have one hour"
* Sorry, Guys, I couldn't stop myself! XD
Finally, a next chapter I promised You to add shortly after my return from Italy. Well, I hope I manage to do this before deadline, which Your patience gave me. Next one will be rather short. I will also try to add some parts focused on other characters, because I suck when I have to deal with too many characters and guess what I'm doing EVERY. F*CKING. TIME. When I'm writing something. I create more characters than I can handle.
I'm some kind of goddamnit masochist.