The world has changed. He can feel it in the air. He can feel it in the ground. He can feel it deep within his bones.
His golden gauntlet covered hands grip the rests of his throne and squeeze tightly, carving deep lines into the wood. Oh dear, he appears to have done it again. All is well, he can wave his hand, make a request and within an hour a Plant Coven Witch will be beside themselves with the honor of repairing Emperor Belos' throne.
That can come at a later time. His mind wanders elsewhere, as it so often does. They linger on deep, dark and terrible thoughts.
Fifty years ago he brought peace and order to the Boiling Isles. Many foolish dissidents rant and rave about injustice, but they were too young to know the horrors of the bygone Savage Ages. Most of his allies from that ill era are dead, only he alone remains to safeguard the future.
Now someone is undermining that future, and they appear to be winning.
Once the beating heart of the Titan brought him comfort, the voice of the dead god would whisper into his ear as he slept of dreams of unity. Now that voice is ill, it speaks in mad ramblings of a coming darkness. Change is the theme, and it will hit the Isles as a meteorite strike. The heart now no longer beats. That comforting tempo has fallen silent.
An entire coven has fallen diseased to madness, and with it so too is the very spirit of the Titan.
All members of the Oracle Coven who practice that branch of magic are driven completely insane. Once mighty and wealthy Witches fall and become raving beasts, prophesizing the coming of change. They claim even the Titan itself is like them now.
How is it possible to infect a god, deceased or living? The answer strikes terror into his very heart, not that he will show it. He must remain strong and stalwart during these times of duress, for the sake of the spirit of those he governs.
So, with a heavy heart, he had the mad Witches rounded up and carted off to the Conformatorium so Warden Wrath and his guards could hide them away while the rest of the Emperor's Coven searches for answers and a cure.
The truth of reality is clear to him now. Another god has entered the Boiling Isles, a trickster god no doubt. Could it be one of the fabled human deities? No, they all vanished millennia ago when they were replaced by saints and the worship of one.
Perhaps... one of them have finally discovered the Isles? One of the sixteen Not Our Ancestors that trouble the lives of mortals so. He has done all he can to prevent their ilk of learning of his home, yet clearly it wasn't enough. Only one of them would work in such ways so swiftly through the heart of the Boiling Isles.
But when? When, how and why have they come now of all times? It must be a cruel act of fate when he was so close to Unity that one of the Princes would strike.
"My Lord? Lady Blight has arrived." Ah, Kikimora, his ever faithful servant and a true believer in Unity. How he can always count on his tiny red demon servant so.
"Send her in, Kikimora, and keep the guard ready."
The white-robed demon's eye widens for but a second. A knowing expression crosses her singular exposed eye and she steps to the side as the head of the great Blight name steps into his throne chambers.
Moments later she's kneeling before him and her words slip out like honey, so sweet and practiced it almost makes him feel sick. Truly, she's a politician.
"Emperor Belos, I came as soon as you summoned me. How may I serve you, exalted one?"
Ah, the pleasantries. If only he had such a time for this charade. Alas, Odalia shall meet her fate regardless of the words she chooses.
With a snap of his fingers, magical tendrils of demonic flesh burst from the ground beneath her feat and bind her completely so that she cannot use her magic.
"M-m-my Lord! What is the meaning of this?!" Her eyes are wide in alarm and she frantically kicks and struggles like a weak child. His enforcers appear from the shadows and begin dragging her away. Kikimora watches with a cautious eye as the now frantic woman is dragged past her.
"Lord Belos, surely you're mistaken! I've been loyal to you for all my life! My family has always been loyal!"
Belos tils his head slightly to the side as he stares down at her through the voided eye holes of his mask, "We all lie, my dear. Many even chose to lie to me. Normally I let such inconsequential actions be, but we do not have that luxury. Surely you see what is happening to our Isles? Yet, you clearly withhold valuable information from me."
The golden Emperor slowly shakes his head disapprovingly. "So many events, and so many more questions. These all seem to have started only a week after your daughter went missing. Then your husband fights openly with an unknown and destroys my library? Now we have a plague of madness corrupting our people. All within a week. Questions-questions, my dear. Perhaps Warden Wrath with loosen your lips, maybe then you'll be more forthcoming? Worry not, Odalia, I'll get around to finding your youngest as well. She might have answers we seek as well. In time, perhaps. Kikimora, take her away!"
Seconds later the screaming woman is dragged from his chambers, followed by the rest of his guard until his throne room is empty save for himself. Belos leans further back into his seat and once again finds his mind wandering.
The fate of the Isles now lies with his coming decisions, as it so often does, and he is left to let his mind wander... as it so often does.
"Nyeh! Hya! Hooooya!"
"Oh for the love of-! King, quit playing with your dolls so loudly! I'm trying to plan something important over here!"
The tiny demon jumps up in anger and points an even tinier claw at Eda who waves him off with another sip of apple blood.
"Hey, this is important business, too! A king must punish his treacherous subjects!" He kicks the stuffed rabbit away and crosses his arms to stare suspiciously at Eda as she hovers over papers covering the coffee table.
"What are you even doing 'planning'? That's so unlike you! Did you get possessed again or something? 'Eda' and 'plan' aren't two words to go together!"
Lilith uses a telekinesis spell to lift King up and magically move him upstairs. The tiny demon squirms and squawks angrily all the way until he vanishes in a room that she then locks. Eda sighs in relief and mumbles a quick thanks to her sister.
The oldest Clawthorne simply watches her sister scour over blueprints and paper with notes scribbled all over it.
"I must say, Edalyn, I'm surprised to see you putting so much effort into your work. What happened to that lazily sister of mine from Hexside?"
"Can it, Lily. Unlike Hexside studies, this is actually something important. It's for Luz, which means this heist has to go perfect!"
Lilith hums absentmindedly and reads over the blueprints, "I'm surprised the Emperor's Oracle Sphere is being brought out to the museum for display. Are you sure it's wise to steal it, let alone use it? You've heard what's happening to Oracle Witches. The very same could happen to you if you use it!"
The Owl Lady sighs deeply and side-eyes her sister, "It's a chance I have to take. If there's any divination artifact that can find another portal to get Luz home, then the Oracle Sphere is it. I know you can't understand it, Lily, but as that kid's mentor it's my responsibility to get her home any way I can, even if it destroys me."
Silence falls over the two of them again, as it seems to happen so frequently. Lilith twiddles her thumbs nervously and stews over Eda's words. As a former mentor herself Lilith understands Edalyn somewhat, but her relationship with Amity was only ever self-serving for both of them. A means for both of them to gain something for themselves without really cooperating. Amity and herself were complete opposites to Luz and Edalyn.
Even if she can't understand Eda's relationship with Luz, Lilith will help her sister and apprentice regardless.
"I... may not know how you feel, but as your older sister I am on your side. Whatever it is you need, I'll help you even if we destroy the Emperor in the process."
The Owl Lady feeds her sister a smug grin, "Lilith Clawthorne, rebel with a cause? That's the sis' I've been waiting to see all this time! Now don't take this the wrong way... but I need you to sit this one out."
"WHAT?! Edalyn, even after I open up like that?!"
"Ugh! Don't get your panties in a twist, Lils', but this is a heist, which means I need sneaky people, and as good as the goth look is, you're not sneaky. That's why I'm taking Bendu with me."
"Really?" Lilith deadpans, unamused, "You're taking a crotchety old man with you instead of your own flesh and blood? Titan, I could go for a glass of blood wine right about now..."
"For the love of-! Look, Bendy's been doing thief work for almost as long as we've been alive. Anything else it'd be you and me! But we can't mess this up, that's why I'm taking someone experienced with me. I'll teach you in the mystic ways of thievery later. You can count on that! Besides, you gotta pay rent at some point, so I figure some pickpocketing will get you that money lickity-split!"
"Edalyn... I-" The sisters jump in surprise as the door is flung open as Bendu saunters in while whistling a happy tune. His clothes are covered in purple Abomination goo and his hair is ruffled up, but otherwise he seems fine for apparently having been in a fight recently. The wizard drops a sack he was carrying roughly onto the table, knocking Eda's papers all over the place and holds his hands out dramatically.
"Tada!" He beholds the sack, "I've returned with my junk! It may not be good junk, but it's my junk and I love it all the same."
"You seem cheerful," Lilith notes deadpan as Bendu plops down in the decrepit recliner, "Did something happen? Specifically did something happen with an Abomination?"
"Hm? Ah, yes, It was quite the trip. Met some new friends, bought myself one of those fancy scrolls the kids play with, and to top it all off. I got ambushed! Been too long since I had a good ambush. Plenty of fun it was! Though I think I may owe the guard money for property damage. Oh! Maybe I'll get arrested and sent to jail so I can break out! I haven't done that in a while."
"Wow... if this is what you do for vacation I don't want to see what you do as a regular job. Listen, I've got a proposition for you, but get those rings enchanted first then we can talk about it."
"Yes! Quest progression! Ah, I hope it's something fun."
Luz wanders the halls of Hexside aimlessly. Normally she'd be in Intro to Oracle Magic at this time of the day, but the class and any like it have been cancelled because the teachers and students went bananas yesterday afternoon and haven't gotten better since.
That gives her an entire class free, and given that Hexside doesn't have study hall she was basically left to herself until her next class.
"Maybe I should check out the beast pens?" Why not, she supposes? The domesticated monsters of the Beast Track are kept in pens on school grounds and are pretty friendly and fun to hang out with.
She navigates through the winding hallways in search of the exit leading to the beast grounds. While she's been in Hexside before when no one was around, something about the silence really creeps her out. Maybe not so much the silence as more the strange tension in the air gets under her skin.
There's been tons of gossip lately about strange things happening. While Luz doesn't really know what it means, the money market is going crazy; People are losing money, crime is at an all time high, and to top it all off there's a frankly scary rumor about a disease turning people insane!
Supposedly, the reason Oracle magic users went crazy first is because their magic naturally works with understanding the future, so because of that they got infected first and soon everyone else will be too.
Everyone on the news channel said there's no need to be alarmed, and that the Potion Coven is already working on cures for everyone infected, but something about it didn't feel right.
That should be it, right? Some eggheads make a potion and magically cure everyone. Easy! Still, Luz can't help but be pretty shaken up by the idea of living during an epidemic.
Nah, there's nothing to worry about! There's professionals out there handling everything, they'll keep everyone safe.
Luz finally finds herself in the beast pen area. Like most of Hexside it's empty, save for the various monsters Beast students work with in more advanced classes. She absentmindedly wanders the various cages admiring the odd creatures when something catches her attention.
At the very end of the rows of monster pens is a new addition, a cage she hasn't seen before. Luz remembers Viney's instructions and approaches the cage carefully and without sudden movements. The new one is dark, hardly lit even with the afternoon sun out.
She gazes curiously into the large cage and makes out the vague form of something small relatively given that most of the Beast Class creatures are as large as an elephant! This one is only the size of herself, maybe a little smaller.
Suddenly, eyes glowing with purple fire sprout from the darkness and a familiar form charges at her with feral snarling and barking.
Barcus, Luz's old friend from the Detention Track bears his fangs and growls at her like some kind of fighting dog! Luz jumps back with a yelp and watches with wide eyes as her friend slowly slinks back into the shadows still growling.
Could it be... is Barcus infected too?!
Her dog-Witch friend is in the Oracle Track, after all. She just... she never thought someone she knew would be a victim!
"Luz? What in the heck are you doing here?!"
Viney, her other friend from Detention appears by her side and lifts her back to her feet. Viney's green eyes stare into Luz with worry, but the human can't help but notice how puffy and red her brunette friend's eyes are.
She's been crying, and recently at that!
"V-Viney! What happened to Barcus, why's he caged up like an animal?!"
The Dual Track student simply sighs and grabs a lunch box near her in the grass and pops the lid open to toss a couple sandwiches into Barcus' cage.
Luz and Viney watch pitifully as their friend carefully approaches the food and greedily gobbles it up. Luz can't help but be reminded of those dog rescue shows she used to watch, the ones where the poor dogs are completely feral and tear their food to shreds the same way they would other animals.
"It's... it's that new disease everyone's talking about," Viney's words sound raw, like they hurt her throat just saying them. "We didn't know soon enough until-until he tried reading my fate, just for fun, then went completely ballistic."
She pulls up one of her sleeves to show her entire forearm is wrapped in fresh bandages.
"Principal Bump had us put him in here for now. Did you here what the Emperor's Coven is doing with mad Witches?"
Luz shakes her head. Viney stares angrily into the cage and grips her fists tightly, almost breaking the skin inside her palms.
"They're just-they're just locking them away in the Conformatorium like criminals! Bump managed to save Barcus by saying he's a Beast Track animal, but who knows how long before the Coven figures it out and carts him away?! It's unfair! They're people, we shouldn't be treating them like this!"
Her friend sniffles and wipes her eyes with her sleeve. Luz wraps an arm around her friend's shoulder and lets her have time to compose herself.
"T-thanks Luz. Hey... sorry for blowing up like that. This just hits close to home, you know? Barcus is one of my best friends, and my dad's in the Oracle Coven too."
"Is he... is he okay still?"
"Yeah, he is for now. As long as Oracle's don't use magic they're okay. It's just hard because I'm hearing rumors they might toss sane Oracle's in jail too! I'm just... it's really scary. Hey, I only came out here to give Barcus lunch, but I've still gotta get back to class. Thanks for being a good friend, Luz. I'll see you around."
"Yeah... see ya'."
Luz waves Viney off as her friend jogs back inside the school. Luz finds herself glued to the spot with scary thoughts running through her mind.
Every excuse, every bit of reasoning and glimpse of hope fails to find her as she comes to a terrible conclusion.
"Oh my god... this is serious."
"Okay, we've got everything we need. Bendy, hurry up in there! I swear you take longer than Lilith to change clothes!"
"Leave me alone, woman! I haven't worn this stuff in years!"
The door to the downstairs bathroom opens to reveal Bendu dressed in incredibly form fitting leather equipment with a red tinted hood covering his head. He spins around unaware and shows off all sides of the outfit. His backside draws especially attention, not that he's aware of it. Eda goes red in the face, shaking like a bee trapped in a jar as she tries to hold her laughter in. The dam lasts barely three seconds before she throws her head back and cackles maniacally.
"Oooh my Titan what is that outfit! You look like you're getting read to go meet your Dom! Who in the world designed that gimp suit?!"
"How rude! This outfit was the best you could hope for and never get! Extremely exclusive, only members of the Brotherhood got to wear these!"
"What, were they into some nasty shit?! C'mon, even you have to admit that gimp getup is ridiculous!"
Bendu's lips tug down into a frown. He grumpily reaches into a pouch strapped to his thigh and tosses two rings at Eda. The Owl lady catches them, slips one onto her finger and passes the other to Lilith who does the same.
The door slams shut and moments later Bendu steps out dressed in his regular half red and purple outfit sans his staff which is stowed away in his craft bag. The archmage crosses his arms and looks away from the sisters with a pout. Eda just rolls her eyes and examines the new ring on her finger.
"Alright, alright, enough teasing ya'. How's my shiny rock work?"
"I too would like to know."
"..."
Eda leans back in her sofa and groans dramatically for the sky to behold, "Ughhhhh, I'm sorry! Jeez, you're almost as passive aggressive as my mom!"
"Better. I was worried the enchantments wouldn't take hold without materials from my world but that doesn't seem to be the case. The rings are passive and should work all the time with no issue. No need to recharge, those Slitherbeast souls will keep the rings going for at least another three hundred years give or take. Try yer' magic and see if it works."
The Clawthorne sisters cast large spell circles in the air. Blue and Gold rings of magic swiftly turns into incredibly bright orbs of light. On the sister's own command, the orbs of light disperse into residual particles of magic that swiftly dissipate into nothing in the air.
"Oh yeah," Eda clenches her hands into fists, savoring the return of her legendary power, "Oh yeah, mama missed this!"
She reaches over and pulls Lilith into a crushing hug. The older sister smiles happily with a tint of blush on her cheeks and does her best to emulate the strange affection ritual she learned from Luz.
"The Clawthorne's are back in business! Now, let's get out of here. We gotta scope out the museum until they close tonight. Lily, keep an eye on Luz, will ya'? Things are starting to look dicey out there..."
The sisters break from their embrace, "Of course, Edalyn. Luz shall be perfectly safe under my watch."
"Good... good." Eda holds her hand out and moments later her staff flies into it, "Hop on. I know a place to camp out until night."
The Bonesborough Museum, despite being built over a hundred years ago, is one of the few buildings in the city to use aspects of modern human design in its own construction. Tall arches, anime posters and strange human artifacts crafted by the fabled artisans of 'Costco' decorate the walls of the museum. Constantly being renovated, a common joke is to say the building changes more often than its exhibits!
The current design uses columns, large stained glass windows, and tall sweeping peaks that humans are all the rage about, so says the 'experts' that designed the exterior of the building.
Eda disagrees. She's been to the human realm plenty of times before and let her tell you this, they love squares more than anything! Square houses, square schools, square yards, squares-squares-squares!
What was she talking about? Oh right, the museum! Like anything high class with a lot of money invested in it, the Emperor's goons are taking up guard duty. Given that the lot of them are grudgby reject morons, stealing the Oracle Sphere will be a piece of cake!
Well... maybe not so much given that the thing weighs five hundred pounds, which is why she brought her shrink sack with her. All she has to do is scoop it up in the bag and voila! The ball weighs nothing and can be transported easily!
Bendu and herself have been camped out on top of a nearby building for hours passing time playing cards and sharing their crime stories. Ho-boy, the stories that man has to share are pretty crazy!
"I can't believe you got away with it! Though I guess it was easy since they were a bunch of blind monks. Nice for that one count guy to get back with his wife at the end. I've never heard of demons strong enough to essentially erase a person's identity! I'd be glad to live the rest of my life and never have to meet any like you did."
"Yeah, haha..." He chuckles suspiciously and suddenly points at the museum, "Look, a distraction! They've shut the place down, now's our chance."
Eda observes the museum from afar. The crowds have long since dispersed and all of the bright lights inside have been turned off. There's several squads guarding the museum, though more specifically the sphere, but they're Enforcers so they're nothing but a bunch of idiots.
"Okay, that's our que. I'll cast an illusion to make you look like a captain so you can distract them while I come in from the skylight and make off with the loot."
"I'm ready when you are. I'll distract them for as long as I can and meet at the shack later."
"It's called the Owl House, jerk, I don't live in a shack!"
"Quit wasting time, we've got to get a move on."
Eda mutters some nasty words under her breath and casts the illusion spell on Bendu.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"
"Oh for the love of-! Steve, quit quoting that damn show already, we're all sick of it!"
"Awwww, c'mon, man! It's such a good show!"
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"
The two enforcers jump in surprise. Suddenly in front of them is an Enforcer captain, but... why is there a captain here? It's just guard duty after all! The duo Enforcers stand at attention and salute their golden bird masked commander. The captain scrutinizes them for a good second before motioning them at ease.
"Uh, Captain Sir! We were just idle, sir!"
"Yeah?! Well, idle hands let things slip by! I could be an imposter for all you know! Drop and give me a thousand! NOW!"
Steve yelps and starts doing pushups. His companion tilts his head to the side and eye's the captain suspiciously. "Hey... how do I know you're legit? We had no orders saying a captain was coming..."
Bendu waves his hand and casts a silent but powerful charm spell. Immediately the demeanor of the guard changes and he steps to the side and salutes their 'captain' again.
"Sorry Sir! I was out of line sir!"
"At ease, soldier. Gather the guards and bring them all to the reception hall. I've got to inspect every Enforcer present."
"Sir yes sir!"
The guard runs off into the museum. Bendu chuckles to himself and struts past the struggling Steve into the museum with his hands behind his back. Inside the museum Bendu observes the primary reception hall and whistles appreciatively at the elaborate building.
At the very back of the hall he can see a large golden sphere surrounded by ropes, no doubt the very thing Eda and himself came here to steal given the elaborate display surrounding it. He turns away from the orb and examines the rest of his surroundings.
The entrance hall is tall and open, reaching well over a hundred feet up in the air with four visible floors no doubt filled with hundreds of artifacts and curiosities of the past. Center in the hall is the massive skeleton of some monstrous creature that looks like a gigantic Guar easily over thirty feet long.
"Tyranosaurus Rex..." He reads from the description plaque, "A fierce creature Humans rode into combat as mounts in the mythic thousand year Ice Age Wars. Their bite force was fabled to be able to tear holes in metal boats and their scales were hard enough to deflect blasts from Laser Raptors. This skeleton is believed to be a juvenile named 'Karen' that singlehandedly destroyed over two dozen human warlords in her time... Wow, neat! What in blazes is a Laser Raptor?"
Instead of getting an answer, two dozen Enforcers run into the hall and stand in neat rows and salute their presumed Captain. Bendu nods and begins slowly walking up and down the rows of guardsmen, inspecting them as he does.
He stops by a particularly lanky Enforcer and scrutinizes him even deeper. He leans in close and takes a deep whiff, unsettling the guard greatly.
"Do any of you know what I smell?!"
"Sir no sir!" They all chorus at the same time. Bendu continues, "I smell weakness!"
Glass shatters distantly in the museum followed by a very audible swear. The guards begin looking around, suddenly alert. Damn, Bendu's losing them! Time to step it up!
"DID I SAY TO BREAK FORMATION?!"
They all snap back into formation. Bendu stalks around them like a beast and continues barking at them, "I SEE WEAKNESS! NOT IN THE BODY, IN THE MIND!"
At the back of the hall he sees Eda, covered in glass, slowly sneaking over to the golden sphere they came here for. A new challenge emerges as The Owl Lady realizes the Orb is bolted down to the floor. She reaches into her hair and pulls out a rusty hacksaw and starts loudly cutting the metal.
"Uh, sir?"
"YOU SPEAK WHEN I SAY SO, MAGGOT! YOU'RE GARBAGE! DUNG! YOUR MOTHER WAS A SKEEVER AND YOUR FATHER SMELLS OF JUNIPER BERRIES!"
The guard falls to his knees and begins to weep. Bendu winces behind his illusionary mask and turns to another nearby guard, pretending he meant to mentally break the poor man.
"You're the sorriest sonsofbitches I've ever met! The Emperor himself sent me down here to whip you into shape and by Sithis I'm gonna do it!"
Some of the guards feel a stirring in their hearts. Suddenly the berating words makes them want to improve themselves as better Enforcers.
"Those cronies down at the office may look down this outfit, but I say no more!" Eda hisses loudly as she forces the saw through a bolt too fast and accidentally stabs her leg with the pointed metal teeth. A few guards start turning their heads, but Bendu continues his bullshittery and gets their attention once more.
"I'll make men out of you yet! You'll be the envy of enforcers all across the world!" Many of the guard begin nodding their heads, by now all of them have pride swelling in their hearts. "Now, who's with me?!"
They all raise their fists in the air and begin shouting. Eda peeks over at the sudden rallying but shrugs and continues hacking away at the last bolt.
"Now get out there and show me why this is the best damn squad in the Coven!"
"Huzzah!"-"Huzzah!"-"Huzzah!" All of the guards spin around enthusiastically to return to their posts and freeze on the spot as they watch the infamous and well wanted criminal struggling to cut the last bolt holding down the artifact they were sent here to guard in the first place.
Eda looks up awkwardly and greets the empty stares of dozens of masked Enforcers. Slowly they all use their limited magic and conjure various magical swords, axes, knives and maybe a bomb or two. The Owl Lady groans angrily and points a finger at the 'Captain'.
"You were supposed to distract them, not line them up to take me out!" The illusion covering Bendu fades and reveals his true form. The Enforcers turn back and see him for he truly is. "Hey, this isn't all on me, lady! You were hacking that damn thing up louder than a Nord snores!"
"I don't get that reference!"
"You don't have to, it's only culturally relevant to me!"
"Ehem?" Eda and Bendu end their bickering and realize the Enforcers have all turned their weapons on both of the would be robbers. Eda mumbles a curse under her breath and spins Owlbert into a combat ready stance. Bendu holds his hand up to stop her before she can whomp the guardsmen. "Hold it! I've got just the spell to get us out of this!"
He waves his hand over the few dozen enforcers and releases an orb of purple magic that flies into them and disperses into a large cloud of the same color. Seconds later it vanishes completely, leaving all of the Enforcers in a dazed, altered state of mind.
"Blessing of Mania. They'll start fighting amongst themselves while we make our get away."
The first Enforcer to shake off his daze takes his axe and immediately lobs the head off of the closest fellow to him. Blood shoots from the headless body as it slumps to the ground and sprays many of the nearby guards, shaking them from their trance and causing a chain reaction of slaughter. Limbs are hacked off, bodies are torn and shredded until finally one of the guards with bombs screams to the high heavens and starts lobbing them around frantically.
Eda and Bendu are blown back as the bombs swiftly ends the lives of the remaining Enforcers and destroy much of the main hall. Eda's ears ring painfully and her vision is wobbly and blurred until after several agonizing moments her faculties return and show her the aftermath of the mini civil war.
Bodies are strewn all over the front entrance. Most, if not all are in less than whole pieces with limbs, viscera and burnt crispy entrails scattered over many of the entrance exhibits in cruel and demented ways, as though a serial murderer was given permission to decorate with the bodies of their victims. True horror dons over Eda and she slowly turns to her companion who idly dusts his suit off, completely unbothered not only by the results of his action, but the very act of it itself.
Bendu is completely detached from the horrible slaughter he caused, and that shakes her right down to her core.
On instinct she's on Owlbert and rises into the air, her eyes not leaving Bendu as she gains altitude. Thorny plant vines burst from the ground underneath his feet and hold him in place. The archmage looks up in surprise and witnesses Eda's spell circle as the source. Their eyes meet and Bendu finally realizes the truth. She's betraying him. No doubt by now the explosion has alerted more Enforcers who will stumble upon him trapped and standing over the corpses of two dozen of their kinsman.
He can't blame her for it. Sheogorath was right all along, his newest friend has seen the true face of Bendu, the face he had been trying to pretend never existed and she acted just as he would expect.
She passes a final agonized look to Bendu before turning up and flying out of the opening in the ceiling on her staff into the night sky, leaving the shamed Hero to his fate.
Clap...Clap...Clap...
He tightens his fist painfully, more than enough to draw blood, but none drips from his hand. Blood belongs to mortals. He has none now. A familiar birdsong whistle echoes in the empty and painfully silent museum, occasionally accompanied by pleasant humming. Bendu refuses to meet the dead god in the eye. The shame, the defeat, it's become unbearable.
"Lovely. Very lovely indeed! Couldn't've done better myself. Oh wait, I did do this! Fancy that." The old Sheogorath saunters around him in circles like a serpent stalking its prey, "I warned ya' this would happen. I've seen it a thousand times before, and you'll see it a thousand times again."
The disgraced Champion of Cyrodil says nothing.
"Bah! Quit being such a tiny baby! This was always going to happen, it was written in the stars! Just like old Uriel, you knew it was going to happen, maybe even when if ya' paid attention fer' once!"
Silence answers the dead god.
"But ya' didn't want to know, now did you? And now, here we are. Right where you always needed to be. So, Sload got your tongue? Well? OUT WITH IT?!"
"What do you want from me, madgod?!" His shout causes the deity to smile, "I didn't want this! To become this way, to become you!"
"Whine-whine-WHINE," Sheogorath mocks back in a fake tender tone, "Why, it simply boggles the mind that we're even still talking. I gave ya' fair warning, didn't I? Oh, don't tell me, it's the girl isn't it? Ha! How precious. Was some new apprentice supposed to ward away the evil? Funny isn't it? You drove yourself mad trying not to drive yourself mad, all because a little figment of yer' psyche was preparing ya' for the main event."
Bendu finally looks Sheogorath straight in the eyes. The dead god finds it greatly amusing, like a cruel parent savoring a child's fit. For Bendu, it will be his finally defiant act before the name vanishes into the annals of history.
"Whatever you have planned, it will now work. I have faith in my friends. They'll stop you yet, madgod!"
Eda lands at the front of the Owl House and nearly collapses as her feet touch the ground. All that chaos, that bloodshed, yet she still feels regret for betraying Bendu. It was the right thing to do, obviously. A maniac like that will never be around Luz, even if he did genuinely help herself and her sister.
Hooty is remarkably quiet as she stews. Normally the quirky house demon would be screaming her ear off by now... something must've happened!
"Hooty! Hooty, what happened, what's with the silent treatment?"
The Owl demon is uncharacteristically neutral, "You should talk to Luz... hoot..."
She wastes no time slamming the door open. In the living room Luz is shouting various things in her strange other language while trying to wrestle Lilith's staff from her hands in an emotional tug of war.
"You don't understand, she needs me!"
"Luz, for Titan's sake use reason! I'm not letting you take my staff to run off like a chivalrous knight!"
"WHY NOT?!"
"Because you'll die," Lilith finally notices her sister standing in the doorway, "Eda! You have to talk sense into your apprentice! She wants to run off and fight Bendu!"
Eda's temper finally snaps and she shouts in genuine anger over the childish fighting, "ENOUGH! Both of you, sit your asses down on the couch and tell me what's going on this instant!"
Like whimpering dogs the older sister and the human sit down on the couch with sad expressions. Eda taps her foot angrily and crosses her arms, leering down at the two who find their shoes to be very interesting all of a sudden. Eda grits her teeth and shouts, "Well?! I'm not getting any younger!"
Lilith winces at the shouting and sighs in defeat with her ears drooping down. She conjures a spell circle and summons an entertainment orb. Eda raises an eyebrow, but Lilith continues to explain, "Here, you need to watch the news. It has some... unfortunate revelations."
Light spins in the orb then shoot up into the air and projects a recent recording of the Bonesborough News channel. 'Breaking News!' flashes across the projection in big red letters then flies off to show a dark-skinned Witch staring grimly out of the projection.
"Breaking news from the Emperor's Coven. Amity Blight, the youngest daughter of esteemed Odalia and Alador Blight has been declared missing and kidnapped by her family members. A white haired, fair-skinned male by the name of Bendu Olo has been named by the victim's family as the kidnapper and has been described as an incredibly powerful Wild Witch. The destruction of the Bonesborough Library and surrounding streets has been proven to be the terrorist actions of Bendu Olo earlier this morning. In addition, Emperor Belos himself has named Mr. Olo as involved in the recent plague of madness that has poisoned Oracle magic Witches all over the isles. Also released to the public, Odalia Blight herself has been imprisoned by the Emperor's Coven for withholding information regarding her daughter's disappearance, as well as crimes against the realm for withholding information regarding Olo. In other news... hold on...! This just in; Bendu Olo has been sighted inside of the Bonesborough Museum! Enforcer's are already present and have surrounded the premises with no additional information available as to the state of the guards already posted to the Museum to safeguard a relic donated by our esteemed Emperor himself. More news to follow!"
The projection shuts off, leaving the trio in silence. Now it makes sense why Luz was so gung ho about going after Bendu. Her crush on Baby Blight got the best of her and that misplaced confidence fed it even more. As much as Eda despises the Emperor and his cronies, she may have unintentionally solved not only hers, but the Emperor's problems as well.
"Look kid, I'll level with you here. I ditched Bendu back at the museum because he did something bad. He did something really bad. The things that happened to the Enforcers at the museum... Luz, he's not a good guy, and even if the Emperor's Goons are telling the truth, which they never do, then it's best we let them take care of Bendy. He's dangerous kiddo, even more then me, maybe even more then Belos himself. Trust me on this, we outa' sit this one out."
Luz stands and stares into Eda's eyes with a passion. Her face and mouth is clenched tight with anger and red tints her cheeks as she argues back, "He has Amity, Eda! She's my best friend! He hurt her and he hurt my other friends too! I can't just sit here and do nothing! I beat Belos, I can handle him!"
"Luz!" The teen shrinks back from the sudden thunderous look on Eda's face. The Owl Lady holds her intense expression for a good while to get her point across until she sighs deeply and relaxes to comfort her apprentice as best she can. "I get it. She's important to you, but you can't take the law into your hands like this. The heat on Bendy right now, there's nothing we can do to get past it. The Emperor's Cronies'll actually do something good for once and take him in, find out where he hid your friend and get her home safe. Hey, trust me, kiddo! This is the one time we shouldn't stick our nose into this."
Her apprentice sniffles and leans into Eda's shoulder to cry softly. She doesn't like doing this, normally Eda would rush out there to stir up trouble and handle things herself, but with the sheer insanity going on in the Isles now she can't let her kid do it in good conscience. Luz is good with her glyphs and braver than anyone she knows, but the kid is going to dig herself a quick grave butting in on Belos' this time. It was a miracle Belos didn't kill her back at the castle, and miracles don't happen twice.
Eda embraces Luz and motions for her sister to join them. Lilith looks unsure given the 'embrace' Luz taught them is new to the Isles, but she wraps her arms around her family and gives the best hug she can all the same.
They hold it for a good while until Luz finally stops crying, only then do they break up the group hug. "I'm going to pour us some Apple Blood. I'll be right back."
"Wait!" Luz shouts, startling the sisters, "W-wait, I'll do it! I found a box of human drink packets in Eda's junk. I'll make it for us... to say thanks for being there and knocking some sense into me."
Eda smiles appreciatively, "Knock yourself out. I'm excited to try a human drink made by an actual human."
Luz simply looks away and chuckles suspiciously.
Checking behind her to make sure no one is looking, Luz ducks down into one of the lower cabinets filled with various potions Eda stores to sell and searches for a specific label. "C'mon-c'mon, where the heck is it?!... Aha!"
She pulls out a white vial with a label marked with three big Z's and brings it over to the kitchen counter where she has three glasses half filled with pink lemonade. Luz uncorks the sleeping potion and fills two with the potion and leaves the un-doctored one for herself.
Is she really going to do this? Is Luz bold enough to drug her mentor and her sister, steal Owlbert and take off after Bendu? A sudden pit forms in her stomach and the idea suddenly doesn't sound so good. Luz isn't that kind of person... it would be wrong on so many levels! Eda trusts her, why would she do something so stupid and ruin that trust?!
Then Amity's face pops into her mind. The haughty, proud and incredibly sweet Witch who would do anything to keep Luz safe, even break a leg for her... would Luz leave her behind? Leave one of her best friends to suffer who knows what fate at the hands of a liar like Bendu?!
Rage and determination swells within her and she grabs the drinks to bring to Eda and Lilith. She's made up her mind, there's no going back on this!
In the living room she slaps on a fake cheery expression and hands the drugged drinks to the older sisters. "Here, for you, Lilith. And one for you too, Eda."
The sisters eye the pink drinks carefully and swirl it around in their glasses. Luz watches nervously as they both bring the drink to their lips and let the tiniest of drops drip down their throat. Eda loudly smacks her lips and rocks her head side to side when suddenly her eyes widen in alarm. Oh no, she's been had! Eda knows it's drugged!
"Dang kid, this is pretty good!" Luz almost melts into a puddle in relief. Eda takes a big gulp and nudges Lilith, "Lily, you gotta try this!"
The oldest Clawthorne shrugs and throws the drink back. Only seconds after her eyes begin drooping and her body becomes loose. Eda's does the same, and after a few minutes of fighting their drowsiness the sisters lose and fall into a deep slumber. Luz feels hollow inside. She could turn back now, make up some excuse that human sugar makes Witches drowsy and call it their.
...No! Amity needs her! Luz acts quickly and throws her cape around her shoulders, straps Umbra to her belt and snatches Owlbert from Eda's hands. Just as she's about to break for the door, a familiar tiny demon overlord yawns loudly and walks into the room with droopy eyes while scratching his behind.
"Hmm? Oh, hey, Luz. Going out?" His eyes wander to the snoring sisters, "Woah, looks like they got into Eda's wine again. Don't worry, I'll wake them up in a bit after I make a snack. See ya, Luz!"
Luz chokes on her response. The realization of her actions makes her feel like an awful person, but she can't turn back now. Amity needs her and by god she'll be there for her friends! Luz is out the door without a word and flies off into the night sky on Owlbert.
It doesn't take her long to reach Bonesborough, and finding the museum was even easier given the ridiculous amount of Enforcers! As Luz gets closer, the crowd of goons is much less impressive than it looked on the news. The Enforcers shamble about the street around the museum aimlessly and rant and rave about things that make no sense at all. Could this be Bendu's work? If Belos said Bendu is related to the madness plague then maybe he has a way of spreading it with a spell?
She swallows a nervous gulp and flies over the roof of the museum. She spots a part of the glass roof that's missing and flies down the hole into the building. She lands on the ground floor and spots Bendu standing, waiting for her with a patient expression. Her breath hitches as she spots mutilated corpses behind him with the old wizard seemingly unbothered by the carnage only yards behind him.
Umbra slides soundlessly from its sheath as Luz stares Bendu down with Owlbert in one hand and the sword in the other. Bendu has no reaction. He simply stands there proper-like with his one hand tucked behind his back and the other holding his signature eyeball staff.
Suddenly Luz doesn't feel so confident anymore. She feels like a sheep staring down the maw of a lion. A very patient and still lion, but a lion none the less. Suddenly she feels her body begin to quiver as fear shoots through her. Oh god-oh god-oh god, why did she come here?! Bendu could kill her in the blink of an eye and there's nothing she could do!
Images flash through her mind. She sees her mother, Eda, Lilith, Gus, Willow, King, Hooty and Amity. All the people she's closest too. Is this really it, is this how she repays her friends for looking out for her?!
Instead of lunging at her and ripping her body to pieces, Bendu simply asks her an answerless question. He sounds almost... sad, as he does. Like it's a final farewell from a man about to die.
"Do you know what time is? It's an artificial construct. An arbitrary system based on the idea that events occur in a linear direction at all times. Always we go forward, never back. Is the concept of time correct? Is time relevant? It doesn't matter. One way or another, I fear that my time has come."
He looks up through the glass ceiling into the night sky, "Tell me, what am I? I mean, what do you see when you look at my form?"
Luz isn't sure she understands what he means, "Um... A man? A human, a wizard? I don't understand the question."
Bendu chuckles sadly, having expected the answer. The future of the Boiling Isles is soon to be a grim one.
"I'm none of them, my dear. I am a Daedra, a divine spirit that took no part in the creation of the mortal realm. Your kind would call me a demon or a devil. Ask your mentor what it means, she'll understand. I wasn't born as one, you know? I was given the mantle through trickery by a cursed god. He got to walk away as something new and me? I became his replacement."
"Wait, are you saying you're a god? Is that why you're hurting everyone, why you took Amity away from me?! Is this all some stupid divine joke to you?!"
"That's the kicker, isn't it? I had nothing to do with your missing friend. It was simply a mistake that brought me here while she went elsewhere. I tried explaining it to everyone, I really did, but they wouldn't listen. I didn't mean to bring this misfortune to your home. Things like this, well they just simply happen whether I'm aware of it or not. I tried holding it back, pretending I was still just a simple man, but it couldn't be. And now my time has come. Bendu Olo... Bendu Olo is-!"
He suddenly bends forward like he was punched in the gut, his spine making a sickening crunch as he does. He shouts in pain straightens out with more popping sounds. Suddenly a pressure fills the air and wind starts blowing through the room like a hurricane! Light of all colors of the rainbow swirl around Bendu's body as he begins to grow in size, rising high enough his hands brush the third interior story of the museum.
"BENDU OLO... IS DEAD!" His voice is deep, inhuman and louder than a jet engine! "THE HERO OF KVATCH... IS DEAD! SHEOGORATH LIVES!"
The intense pressure builds and builds, threatening to tear Luz apart to her very basic particles. The feeling, the sheer power is beyond human understanding. It grows and grows, gnawing at her flesh and shaking her bones when suddenly... it's gone! The light, the pressure the intense noise, it's all gone along with Bendu himself! Any trace of his being has completely vanished, yet the lingering fear of being watched by the lion remains.
Bendu, or Sheogorath, or whatever he calls himself now is not dead, she's sure of it! She doesn't know how to explain it more than a gut feeling, but deep down she knows Bendu's going to come back and when he does things will be much worse than before.
Luz's legs wobble and she crashes to the floor a shaken, terrified mess of a girl. Luz almost certainly wet herself, but she can't bring herself to feel embarrassed by it... She experienced divine wrath in person and lived to be able to tell the tale. Regardless of her messy state, she's alive.
Horror dawns as a new meaning becomes apparent. There's an angry god on the loose, and the only thing she knows about it is that there's nothing anyone can do about it.
They're the playthings of a high power now, completely at his mercy. Luz, the sole witness of the coming of a new god, simply curls up in a ball and weeps madly.
Nothing is going to be the same ever again.