Chapter 2: Emily and Greta
Emily's grip on the skiff's rudder unconsciously tightened as she approached the grey skyline of Dunwall. The air was unusually dry, and unnervingly still. The city of her birth was quiet, frightfully quiet. It was as if Delilah had gutted the soul of the city, and that very well could be the case. She docked the skiff, and made her way to the tower. Bodies of the City Guard were strewn across the street, and the closer she got to the tower, the more she saw the corpses of Overseers as well. The atmosphere of quiet misery sparked anger in her chest, anger at both Delilah and herself.
"If only I had seen this coming!" she thought as she scaled the wall into the Tower Gardens. Emily looked around, using both her natural sight and her Dark Vision, but she could see no threats. In fact, the witches she could see were lying still on the ground, as if asleep. She crept close to a small group, curious. One had a sleep dart in their shoulder; another had bruises upon their neck. The last two had their skulls bashed in, their faces a mess of blood and brains. Emily winced, recoiling from the final two. Something seemed afoot.
She wandered around the Tower grounds, and it was more or less the same. Witches left unconscious or dead, with little to know indication as to what got them. There was the odd footprint in the ground, but it could have come from the witches as likely from the assailants. Emily was not sure whether to be thankful or frightened. She crept to the Tower door, and slowly entered.
Indoors was cluttered with furniture and décor strewn about, dim with the lighting of a few candles. Two witches idly discussed Delilah's whereabouts and the painting she was working on, and Emily carefully listened until she could hear their footsteps moving away from each other. She was about to move when she heard a cry and a thump, then one of the witches called out with anger.
"How dare you you sightless bitch!"
She looked at the room with her Dark vision, and saw what appeared to be two women locked in combat. The eyes of one of the women appeared to glow, and that women put the other in a choke-hold. The body soon went limp and the struggle was over.
"Is this my ally?" Emily thought. It was unnerving, not knowing for sure. Her gut told her to play it safe, so she prepared to slink off.
"I see you, crouching down there!" called a youthful, friendly voice. "If you are no witch, then I am a friend!"
Emily froze behind the couch, unsure what to do. Before she could decide there was a rapid pace of footsteps towards her place, and as she looked up, Emily was greeted with the sight of a red-haired Oracular Sister peering down at her with a large smile. Emily stood, still wary.
"I take it that you are responsible for the witches outside?" Emily asked.
"Me and my chapel," the Sister answered, shifting her mace to one hand and offering the free one to shake. "I am Sister Greta Manderly. We are here to get rid of Delilah and welcome back Empress Emily, who should be coming from Serkonos at any time to retake the throne."
Relief and confusion flooded Emily, and she pulled down her mask. "Well I certainly appreciate the support!" she said, taking Greta's hand and shaking it. Greta's jaw dropped and she immediately dropped into a curtsy.
"Empress!" she stuttered, her freckled cheeks flushing red. "I cannot believe you are here! Not that we are not glad to have you, but there is grave danger here!"
Emily waved a hand, silently bidding Greta to rise. "I can handle myself. It is surprising to see that the Oracular Sisters are able to handle themselves against the witches."
Greta straightened, looking proud and eager to please. "We have found silence and surprise to be our greatest assets. We have been doing our best to carefully neutralize the coven so Delilah will not have anyone to call on."
Emily nodded, pleased with the Sisters' strategy. "While in Serkonos I found a way to defeat Delilah, but seems she is up to something big, and was using the chapel in the Tower to do it. You may join me in investigating if you wish."
"I am honored to join you!" Greta pronounced with pride, her chest puffed up. The Sister then put on a serious face. "The swiftest way to the chapel is through the banquet Hall, but none of my Sisters have been through that floor yet. There are several Clockwork soldiers within the Tower as well, so there can be some patrolling that area. We have spent most of our time outside and in the basement"
"Thank you for the intel," Emily said as she went over and climbed the blockaded entrance to the main hall. Corpses of servants dangled from the chandeliers, and Emily fought the rising feelings of disgust and anger as she carefully crept along the wall. Greta followed close behind. The Outsider's Mark burned oh so slightly atop her hand, and Emily was suddenly reminded that the Abbey rabidly hated the Outsider and his magics.
"Great," she mentally groaned as she dropped down to the marble floor. "I cannot use my gifts so long as the Sister is around, watching me."
They passed bright blue markings on the floor, a semi-circle in front of a statue of Delilah. Behind that, there was yet another barricade. Greta let out a long sigh, and turned her blindfolded face to Emily.
"How about this? You can go through the banquet hall to the chapel, and I can go through the music room and the inner hall to get to the chapel?"
"Thank the Outsider!" Emily thought in relief. Outwardly, she gave a stiff nod while looking up at the top of the barricade. "That is a sound plan. We shall meet in the chapel in twenty minutes. If either one of use does not show, you know where to look."
"Alright," agreed Greta. "Stay safe Empress."
Emily arrived at the chapel first, which she expected. The gruesome mock banquet boiled her blood, and it was with great pleasure that she knocked each witch out from the rafters above. She hoped Greta was alright.
The chapel was much changed from how she remembered it. A tree grew from the middle, but it kept to the lower bounds, not stretching up past the chandelier. Potted plants, sacks of pigment, workbenches and a painting transformed the staid place of worship into an art studio. An audiograph sat on one of the workbenches, and with a tap Emily played it.
"It worked!" uttered Delilah's voice, sounding all the world like a satisfied cat. "I painted the chapel, but added a tree to the painting. After arranging the runes across the chair, both pure and corrupted, I was able to transpose the chapel made of paint with the one made of stone. With more runes, I should be able to do the same to all the empire. This will be my greatest undertaking. Transposing my painting –The World as it Should Be- with this wretched dung heap we are all born into. At last, all will be made proper and good."
A chill ran down Emily's spine upon hearing the words. So, this was Delilah's plan. And it seemed close to fruition.
At that moment Greta opened the chapel doors and slid in, out of breath. She lifted her green blindfold up to gape at the chapel.
"What on earth happened to this place?" she asked, her voice hushed with disbelief.
"This will explain it," said Emily grimly, before pressing the play button on the audiograph again. She watched as horror bloomed across Greta's pale face.
"We have to stop her!" she hissed, a desperate look in her eyes, her blindfold pushed up like a headband.
Emily picked up a scrap of paper next to audiograph, reading it carefully.
"I think I have an idea," she said. Greta went up to her side, and read the paper.
"Oh must we craft a corrupt rune?" the Sister said anxiously. "I don't like that there is so much dark magic here already, must we add to it?"
"Do you know how to make a pure rune that will sabotage Delilah's magic?" Emily retorted somewhat testily. "Delilah has delivered us her downfall, do you really want to risk it all just to avoid a little more magic?"
Greta looked torn, and even a little sick. She audibly swallowed and whispered: "Alright. If this will save the Isles, then we can do this."
Emily smiled at the Sister, pleased she was seeing reason. She turned and easily enough found a skull and algae, and placed them on what looked like an alter. Greta grabbed a fistful of pigment, and sprinkled it over them. The Sister's blindfold was on again, and she seemed to be muttering the Strictures. Emily tried to restrain from rolling her eyes. As the last grains of pigment fell, an orange light curled around the items, and the dissolved and were remade again as symbols glowed underneath. The corrupt rune lay before them, and Emily pocketed it.
"I'm going to the throne room," she told Greta, who was making a valiant effort not to look composed. "I suggest you find your Sisters, and join me there later."
"A wise idea Empress," Greta replied, her voice a squeak. "Some of my sisters are nearby and heading up to the third floor. We'll make sure no one interferes with you and Delilah. Good luck my Empress!"
The Sister carefully snuck out of the chapel, and Emily noticed her shudder as she left. With the rune pulsing in her pocket, she reached up with her gifts and went up to the next level. It was time to confront Delilah.