Okay, I know it's been a while since I last updated this, and I'll try and explain why as best I can at least.
My computer went out of commission for a few months. Basically, this is the second version of the chapter at the moment, and yeah I have a new computer now at least. Hopefully I can get back in the groove now. And, yeah, after that I just got sidetracked by other projects, but I'm gonna finish this one if it kills me.
So, shall we continue?
Disclaimer: I only own what I created.
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CHAPTER 9:
ARCHFIEND'S STAFF OF DESPAIR
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I have to admit that I don't know a lot about Quin Lamont or Morgana's Kin.
I mean we all know a few things about them, but the fact of the matter is that even with the conversations we've had together, I still don't know a whole lot. Quin isn't even from this universe as far as I can tell. I don't know if that's normal, or if there's some other reason for her being the representative.
That being said, we do know that they're here to help, especially with the risk of Tharizdun's return. But what I didn't know is that there were more secrets at play here that I wasn't aware of.
Or at least not yet.
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Quin placed a violin case down on the table and reverently opened it up and took out an old fashioned violin and bow. She placed it under her chin and plucked the strings a moment before she began to play.
She closed her eyes as she kept playing, the soft notes of music echoing through the otherwise empty penthouse. She kept playing, the tune becoming more complex as she kept playing, letting the sound of the music run through her body as she did.
"Well, I didn't expect this," Charlie commented, breaking Quin out of her moment as she looked up at her. "Is that a stratovarius?"
"No, it was made by the Kurenai family and given as a gift to one of our members who gave it to me because she didn't play the violin," Quin replied. She got a strange look from Charlie and then laughed a little.
"Kurenai, well that's a name I admit I didn't expect to hear, though I guess I'm not that surprised," Charlie commented. "What was that you were playing anyway? It sounds familiar."
"Tartini's Violin Sonata in G minor," Quin answered. "And before you ask, no, I don't know if he actually made a deal with the Devil to get the song. So, can I help you with something?"
"You and Judy mentioned the whole thing about the universe being split into four," Charlie said as she leaned against the wall. "I see that you're not ready to write in most of the Shadowchasers yet."
"Orders from higher up, we both know the threat posed by the Professor and his plans," Quin replied as she took a seat. "The Council agrees that only a few people should be aware of it, at least for the moment. The only reason you know is because Judy convinced the Council that you were the best option we had."
"Not to mention I already knew the truth," Charlie reminded her.
"Yeah, that too, it certainly made things easier," Quin chuckled. "Given the universe is split up into four dimensions, you should also know that we have to be careful moving forward. Hopefully, it won't be necessary to bring them fully into the know about what's going on."
"I don't like lying to my teammates," Charlie said with a sigh. "Eva and Steven are smart, they know something is up. They're going to figure out that we're not telling them everything eventually."
"I agree, but we can't just go telling them everything, not until the time is right," Quin sighed as she shook her head a little. "We've got enough to worry about with the Doomdreamers right now, do you really want them to worry about that on top of it?"
"Yeah, I guess I see your point," Charlie admitted as she glanced down at Quin's deck box. "I knew what I was getting into with this job. I guess I didn't think it would be this hard."
"Yeah, I can understand that," Quin replied as she looked at herself for a moment. "I'm not like Leslie or any of the others. I'm still new at this and I haven't had the wild adventurers or faced down the same kind of threats they have. I'm just a rookie, even with my training… I'm scared that it's not going to be enough. That I'm going to screw up somehow."
"We're all afraid of that, and I think some of this stuff is new for all of us," Charlie reminded her with a slight smile. "Let's just do what we can and maybe we'll get lucky and we won't have to deal with anything, you know?"
"Yeah, maybe," Quin said before her communicator started going off. "Excuse me, I need to take this."
"It's fine," Charlie said as she went to check on something.
"Quin here, is everything okay?" Quin asked as she spoke into the communicator. She didn't like having to take a call from her superiors in a situation like this, it was probably not good news.
"Quin, we need you in downtown Paradise City, there may be a situation," Leslie's voice said on the other end. "We picked up a reading near a bar, I'm sending the coordinates to your duel disk now."
"What kind of readings? Is it the Doomdreamers?" Quin asked and Leslie paused a moment on the other end. "Leslie, what's going on? What kind of reading did you pick up?"
"A quantum signature native to Universe KR-2009," Leslie answered on the other end. Quin flinched a little at the mention of the designation. "You know what that means, right? Seems like he's passing through your way. You know what to do, right?"
"Got it, I'll see what he wants and get rid of him if I have to," Quin replied as she turned it off again. She checked her Duel disk where the coordinates had come in and turned to Charlie again. "I have to go check something out downtown."
"Shadowchasers business or Morgana's Kin business?" Charlie asked as she eyed Quin curiously for a moment. "This isn't about the Doomdreamers is it?"
"It's probably nothing, just need to investigate an odd reading, I doubt it has anything to do with the Doomdreamers," Quin answered as she checked her duel disk for a moment. "Don't worry, I can handle this."
"Uh, okay, I'll see you later," Charlie said as Quin opened the door to the Penthouse and headed out. "That was weird, but I hope she knows what she's talking about."
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At around the same time the two Shadowchasers were talking, across the town was the Spirit Cauldron. It was a bar that catered to Shadowkind of a seedier reputation. It was pretty empty at the moment a few Orcs were shooting pool while a male Dark Elf was leaning on the bar. The only other patron was an odd human male with reddish-brown hair and dressed in a black jacket over a pink shirt.
The door opened again and Sayako walked in dressed in a low cut red dress that showed off her curves. The Orcs glanced up at her, but just shrugged and went back to their game as she walked over to the bar and took a seat next to the Dark Elf and gestured for the bartender. "I'll take a Sake and buy another drink for this guy."
"Whatever you say, lady," the bartender, a Dwarf, snorted as he went to get the drinks.
"What's your angle, lady?" The Drow asked with a slur as he looked over at the strange woman. "I'm not really in the mood for conversation right now."
"Well, are you sure?" Sayako asked with a slight smile as she leaned in closer to the Drow for a moment. He just grunted and shrugged a little "Hathoin Vaneer, you've fallen pretty far from the Pro Leagues, haven't you?"
"Don't remind me," Hathoin said as he took another drink. "I work hard and get a lot of money for Kooba Kola, and they dump me just because my old clan frame me as a cheater and even after getting cleared I can't get a job in the Dueling world."
"I see, well maybe I can help you with that," Sayako suggested as Hathoin gave her a confused look as she took a card out of a pouch on her pocket. "Use this and you'll be back on top."
"What is it?" He asked, a little confused as she handed it to him. He looked at it, his mind still a little addled from his drink, but he could still read it. It looked like it would at least work in his deck and nodded a little. "Yeah, uh, okay I guess it works… What's the catch though? I doubt you'd just give it to me for free."
"Yes, well there is something that I want you to do," Sayako replied as she took out a picture and showed it to him. The picture was of Quin and he eyed her weirdly. "Duel her and use that card and it's all yours. I can arrange for you to get back in the Pro Leagues as well, you just need to do your part."
The Dark Elf looked at the card for a moment and sighed. "Well, it beats the alternative. Fine, I'll give it a try."
"Good," Sayako said with a smile as Hathoin placed the card into his deck and it auto-shuffled. "I don't know how long it'll take me to find her though."
"Oh, I'm sure it won't take long at all," Sayako said with a smile as she finished her drink and got up to walk out. "I will come and speak to you once you are done. I will see you soon enough."
"Uh, okay," Hathoin said as the strange woman walked off.
The man in the black jacket watched them curiously and stroked his chin before raising a camera around his neck and took a picture of the two of them. "What a curious world this is…" he muttered as he walked out of the bar.
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Given she worked within the Four Dimensions, Quin had set up several places around the world where she could go to pick up resources. As such she had only to go to her local cache and climbed onto a motorcycle and headed through the streets towards where the reading had been picked up.
"Why's he even here?" She comments as she triggers her communicator. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
"No clue, Rei said he was last seen dealing with the Demon King of Time," Leslie answered. "I don't know what he's doing here. Should I call Rei?"
"No, I've got this, I hope," Quin said as she took a deep breath and stopped near the location, looking around. She was outside of the Spirit Cauldron with no sign of her target. "Are you sure it came from here?"
"Positive," Leslie answered.
"Well, he doesn't seem to be…" Quin started to say when she heard a voice behind her.
"Well, it's about time you got here," a male voice said and she turned quickly to see the same man with the black jacket as was in the bar. He takes out his camera again and snaps a photo of her. "I was thinking Morgana's Kin had lost its touch."
"Tsukasa, what do you want?" Quin asked as she narrowed her eyes at the odd man. Tsukasa Kadoya was another multiverse traveler who had a rather nasty reputation that earned him the nickname Destroyer of Worlds. "Or are you just passing through?"
"Your universe has drawn some attention," Tsukasa commented. "One world split into four with one of them causing this much trouble. I could've sworn I heard something from your comrade about not liking that kind of thing."
"It's complicated, but it's none of your business, this world has enough problems right now," Quin snorted. "So how about you just leave us alone before you bring more trouble here."
"Might be too late for that, I saw someone at the bar that I'm pretty sure is going to be trouble for you," Tsukasa replied. "Some sort of Dark Elf I think, but I didn't recognize the woman he was talking to though. Odd woman though, I'd keep an eye out if he's going to cause trouble for you."
"And why do you care?"
"I don't, but I don't particularly care for their cause either," Tsukasa commented with a smirk. "And your little group is amusing. I'll see you around."
He walked forward and waved his hand as a silvery wall of light appeared and rippled in front of him. He walked through it and gave a slight wave before it vanished before Quin's eyes.
"Well, that was a waste of time…" She muttered with a sigh as she activated her communicator. "He's gone Leslie, he just walked off after giving me a warning about a Dark Elf of some sort."
"Keep an eye out, I don't like this," Leslie said on the other end. "If he's here, you know there's trouble. And his part of the multiverse has its fair share of problems that might head your way. We'll keep an eye out, you do the same. But our top priorities are the Doomdreamers and Fusion."
"Of course," Quin said as she went back to her motorcycle and was about to start it up when she heard a voice behind her.
"Oh, well, that wasn't too hard…" a male voice said and she turned around to see a Dark Elf male taking a drink from a bottle. "Gotta say I didn't think you'd walk right into my arms like this."
"Oh… yeah I'll get back to you Leslie, I think I found who he was talking about," Quin said as she turned to look at the Dark Elf. "What do you want?"
"Oh, you know, a better career, a life that doesn't suck, not having to look over my…" the Dark Elf started to say.
"I meant right now, you need to lay off the sauce man," Quin said as she groaned. "What do you want right now?"
"Oh, well I heard you're quite a duelist, and this is my chance to get back on top," Hathoin, as that was who it was, commented as he placed his duel disk on his arm. "So how about it? A duel might be fun."
Quin was about to say no when her duel disk suddenly started beeping. She blinked in confusion and picked it up as she examined it. The Duel Disk's reader was picking up an odd reading of dark magic energy coming from the opponent's deck. He didn't seem like he was one to actually use that kind of power, more like a washed up duelist.
What's this guy's game? Quin thought as she examined the Dark Elf for a moment. "Fine, we can duel, what's your name anyway?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm Hathoin and…" Hathoin started to say when he noticed a familiar scar under her eye. What the… a Shadowchaser? What am I getting into?
"Let's duel then," Quin said as she activated her duel disk and Hathoin did the same. "I'm not going to hold back against you, you better know that."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Hathoin said as he activated his duel disk too.
"Let's duel!" The two say in unison.
(Quin: 8000) - (Hathoin: 8000)
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Back aboard the Chimera, Zaou was holding his hand out with a glass as a woman poured him a drink. He nodded to her as he took a drink and looked across the table at Steven who was waiting expectantly.
"So, you said you had information for me," Steven said to the Chinese crime boss. "This had better be important or we both just wasted our time."
"Yes, about the Force of Nature Duel School," Zaou said as he nodded to the same woman who had poured his drink. "Get the information for our Shadowchaser friend won't you? While she does that I will give you the gist of it. Though I'm sure you'll understand when I say this is all off the record."
"Of course," Steven agreed. He was pretty sure that the information would be helpful, but not enough to convict the school. "So what kind of information are you offering?"
"The fact of the matter is that the Force of Nature Duel School is not exactly on the up and up as they say," Zaou said as he slicked his hair back. "Anyone in the Underworld knows that if you need to learn how to use more unconventional techniques you can learn from certain teachers at the school. They claim Van Graff knows nothing about this of course, but you don't run one of the top Duel Schools in the city without being smart enough to recognize such things."
"Yeah…" Steven agreed. "So, you're telling me that they can teach stuff like Fusion, Xyz, and Synchro summoning? That would explain a lot actually. So, is that how Mei learned how to Synchro?"
"Like I said off the record," Zaou said with a shake of his head. "They have contacts in the Underworld both Mundane and Shadowkind. If what you're saying is true and they really are connected to the cult of the Mad God then the rest of the Shadow Underworld would turn on them, which I'm sure they're aware of already."
"Which would leave the Mundane Underworld since they don't know anything about him," Steven added and Zaou nodded. "We can't prove it, but we're looking into it right now."
"Then we'll be in touch," Zaou said. "The organization I represent has no interest in helping the Cult of Tharizdun. I will be sure to send any further information to you, as long as you do the same, agreed?"
"Agreed," Steven replied with a sigh. He didn't like having to make this deal, but Zaou was the best source of information right now. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"Make sure that I have all the information I can get, and then remove them as a threat if I can," Zaou said. "But this is your jurisdiction after all, Shadowchaser. I will give you a chance to remove them before we make our own move."
"Fine," Steven said, knowing he was better off not asking what the gangster meant. The woman from before came back and handed Steven a USB Drive with the information he had asked for. "Thank you for your time, Zaou."
"Of course, it's always a pleasure to deal with a Shadowchaser," Zaou said as he took a drink from his glass as Steven got up and walked out.
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"I'll go first," Hathoin said as he drew his opening hand. He took three cards and slid them into his duel disk. "I'll set two cards face down and activate the spell card Spellbook Library of the Crescent."
"A Spellbook Library? Well, that's not good…" Quin muttered as she looked at the spell. She had faced these before and she knew that they could be tricky. "Okay, so what cards do you pick?"
"These three," Hathoin said as three holographic cards appeared in front of him. "Spellbook of Power, the Grand Spellbook Tower, and Spellbook of Wisdom. Since you know how this works apparently, you should know what happens now."
The cards turned around and flipped face down before shuffling around and stopping. Quin eyed the three cards for a moment as she thought. I don't like this, all three of those were useful, so I have to be careful.
"Well?" Hathoin asked.
"Don't rush me!" Quin said before finally pointing at the card on the right. It flipped up to reveal the Grand Spellbook Tower. "Great…"
"Yep, which means it goes to my hand while my other two cards are shuffled back into my deck," Hathoin said as he shuffled his deck and slid the card into his disk. "And I'll activate my field spell, Grand Spellbook Tower!"
A tall spiraling tower came out of the pavement behind him as the street around them became cobblestone with the buildings around them changing to appear more mystical. The tower shimmered with magical energy as green lights and circles shone above them.
"Yeah, that's impressive I suppose," Quin said.
"Yeah, well I'll add my Defender the Magical Knight," Hathoin added as a blue and gold warrior with a cape and a pointed helmet appeared in front of him (1600/2000). "And I'll end my turn there."
It looks like he has a spellcaster deck, interesting, Quin thought as she drew her next card. She looked her hand over for a moment before selecting three cards. "I'll set two cards face down and activate my own Field Spell, Kozmotown!"
Half the field around them vanished as towering green buildings formed around Quin. flying vehicles flew overhead as she smiled a little and crossed her arms.
"Good-bye Yellow Brick road, hello Emerald City Planet," Quin said with a chuckle as she crossed her arms. "Last guy I faced didn't have the same appreciation for this place."
"I always was more a Stargate fan personally," Hathoin said with a shrug as he looked at her. "Is there anything else you want to do?"
"Oh, you have no idea, I summon my Kozmo Goodwitch!" Quin continued as a green-skinned woman with long blonde hair and a pair of fairy wings appeared. She took out a wand and ignited it as a green blade came out (1800/1000). "Goodwitch, attack his Defender the Magical Knight with Saberwand Slash!"
The fairy flew at the knight, raising her wand's blade and bringing it down on him. As she does however, the knight raises his shield and a sigil appears on it, absorbing the blow and leaving the magical knight standing.
"Let me guess, your monster's effect?"
"Yep, this lets me protect him or another spellcaster as long as I use a spell counter," Hathoin answered. "Anything else?"
"No, that's it, I'll end my turn," Quin sighed.
(Q: 8000) - (H: 7800)
Hathoin drew his next card as he held a hand up and a book fell down into his hand. "I start by activating the effect of my field spell, this allows me to draw a card after I place a Spellbook card on the bottom of my deck," he said as he took a card out of his graveyard and placed it on the bottom of his deck before drawing again.
Tricky, but clever, though he's going to have to be careful if he wants to use any plays that require those cards, Quin thought.
"I'll then summon my Temperance of Prophecy," Hathoin continued as a figure dressed in brown robes and holding two cups connected by a wire appeared in front of him (1000/1000). "And I'll continue by activating my continuous spell card, Spellbook Star Hall."
The area around him shimmered as the card appeared. A light shone above him as an orb appeared behind him.
"And what does that do?" Quin asked.
"You'll find out soon, in the meantime I'm using Temperance's effect, which lets me summon a level 5 or higher spellcaster from my deck, like my Emperor of Prophecy!" Hathoin said as Temperance vanished.
The new monster that appeared was a tall man dressed in purple and gold robes. He had a crown on his head and was holding a golden scepter in his hand that had several crossbars on it with a crescent shape at the top (2300/2000).
"Now, my Emperor, take out her Goodwitch with Render Unto Caesar!" Hathoin commanded as the Emperor raised his scepter and it glowed with energy which he blasted Goodwitch with and she cried out before exploding. "Defender, attack her directly!"
Defender nodded and raised his shield. Energy flowed through his shield and then a beam of light went out, hitting Quin in the chest.
"And I'll end my turn there," Hathoin finished. "You have a lot of room to improve if you're going to take on a former pro."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not going down that easily," Quin said as she straightened up. She wasn't about to let this Dark Elf win, she just had to figure out what she was going to do here.
(Q: 5900) - (H: 7800)
"My draw," Quin said as she drew her next card and flinched a little. Well, that's not going to help other than to stall a little, she thought.
"You need to work on your poker face," Hathoin commented. "Do you have anything you can do or are you going to end your turn?"
"I'm going to use my field spell," Quin said as she took a card from her hand and shuffled it back into her deck. She could've shuffled the other two in but she figured why not save them, at least for the moment and then drew another card. "Alright, that's better, I'll set one monster in defense mode and one card face down."
Two cards appeared in front of her. She glanced at them for a moment, it was enough to protect her for now at least. She just had to hope that it really was going to be enough.
"Alright, I'll end my turn there," she finishes. "Let's see what you've got now."
Hathoin drew his card and glanced it over for a moment before placing it on his disk. "I'll set one monster in defense mode and attack your face down monster with Defender!"
Defender's shield glowed again as the beam of magic flew out towards the monster. It just glanced off of a lanky golden figure without a face (500/1800).
"Sorry, that was my Kozmo Strawman, your monster was too weak to beat it," Quin said with a sigh of relief.
"Fine, Emperor, take it out with Render Unto Caesar!" Hathoin said as the Emperor blasted the monster, only to have the attack be intercepted by a metal scarecrow. "Really? Scrap-Iron Scarecrow?"
"What can I say, I enjoy the classics," Quin chuckled. "Plus it's useful in most situations. Are you going to do anything else?"
"No, I'll end my turn there," Hathoin sighed.
(Q: 5900) - (H: 7600)
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Half a world away from Paradise City in New York City was a small building set aside that most people wouldn't notice without looking at it. Inside was a group of chairs situated around a small stage and pedestal where a woman was talking.
"We must seek peace through the Light," a female Dark Elf spoke as she stood at the head of a group, mostly made of other Dark Elves but also with an odd mix of others. "The world is a broken place, torn apart by catastrophe and war. By embracing the Light of the Luxon we are able to become whole once more, and one day we may be reborn. New life can be found among the Light. Someday, the Light shall come to this world, and when that day comes we, the chosen, shall be embraced by it."
As she finished her sermon the congregation murmured amongst themselves. A few of them went up to talk to the woman, but most walked away. As most of them left, the woman who had been speaking took a deep breath and took a seat in one of the chairs.
"Theira Duendalos, it's been a while," a voice said from behind her and she jumped as she looked behind her to see Leslie standing here. "You're doing well for yourself. I thought you weren't doing the evangelization thing much anymore after what happened last time."
"What happened last time was not my fault," the Dark Elf said calmly as she collected up her things. "The followers of the Betrayer God Lolth are strong in this world. I should have expected it to happen."
"You could learn a thing or two from Eilistraee's followers, they know the value of being secretive," Leslie commented. "Things are very different here than in Rosohna."
"You and the other Shadowchasers saved my butt at least," Theira said as she pulled a chair out in front of her. "Take a seat I suppose. I'm guessing this isn't a friendly visit."
"You are in a unique position to help us with a situation we're dealing with right now," Leslie said as she took a seat across from the Dark Elf priestess. "I've read about your home world, and I know you're in a unique position due to your magical properties from the Luxon. However the rules keep us from visiting. I want to know more about the Calamity, and Tharizdun in particular."
Theira narrowed her eyes a little. She was a unique individual among Shadowkind on Earth, she wasn't from the Homeworld of Shadow but another similar world called Exandria. The only inhabitant of Exandria currently known to live on Earth in fact. She had come here as a child without memories of her world, at least not at first.
The unique properties of the Drow in her part of Exandria had given her the memories that seemed to transcend even the power of whatever displaced Shadowkind. As such, she remembered Exandria, and in particular the stories of the Luxon. She was considered a curiosity by most Shadow and a threat by others, but she was mostly just trying to find her place like anyone else.
"The Chained Oblivion? I see, I suspect you know far more than I do," Theira said as she crossed her arms and looked at her. "Why do you want to know more about him?"
"I'm more interested in what happened during the Calamity itself," Leslie said, Theira started to say something before Leslie raised her hand. "As I said, we don't know a lot about your world. There are even rules we have to follow. There are things about your world that mean the gods do not wish us to intervene."
"You have some odd rules I must say," Theira said as she reached for her book. "The Calamity though… that is a complicated question. My inherited memories do not go back nearly that far. The Dynasty however has records of what happened with the Calamity, and perhaps I can give you an answer."
"Perhaps?" Leslie asked. "You don't seem very sure."
"I will have to look at my books," Theira said. "This may take some time however. I'm sorry that I can't just give you an answer right now. The fact of the matter is that there are only so many things I have on the Calamity itself."
"It's alright," Leslie said as she brushed her hair back a little. "We're looking into whatever options we can at this point."
"Is there anything in particular I should look for?"
"Look for the name Raum."
"Raum… Raum… alright, I'll see what I can do," Theira said with a nod. "I do remember a cult from a past life. But from the Calamity? Yeah, like I said, that's going to take some doing."
"Alright, just be careful," Leslie said. "The Doomdreamers are getting more active again. If they somehow get wind of this then you might be in danger. I can get in touch with the local Shadowchasers if you'd like."
"I'll be fine, besides they don't really like me that much," Theira said with a shrug. "Still, I guess it wouldn't hurt if you think it's necessary. I'll see you around, usual number?"
"Yeah, talk to you later," Leslie said as she walked off and vanished through a portal.
Theira walked off and headed out to her car and got in. She started it up and paused for a moment, thinking to herself. Tharizdun, that was a name she knew all too well. If the Doomdreamers really were coming back then they may go after her.
She sighed a little and started down the road to her home. She had some books to look over.
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"Alright, it's my turn then," Quin said as she drew her next card. She smiled a little when she saw that the card was Kozmo Dark Planet. Alright, I'll have to save this card for later, but at least there's something else I can try right now, she thought as she reached for the other two cards in her hand. "I'll activate the effect of Kozmotown again and shuffle Kozmo Farmgirl and Kozmo Tincan back into my deck."
She placed the cards back onto her deck and it shuffled before she drew two more cards.
"Well?" Hathoin asked as he watched Quin look over her new cards. "Did you get anything useful?"
"I flip summon my face down monster, Kozmo Strawman," she said as the Strawman appeared again (500/1800). "And I can now banish it in order to summon a stronger monster from my hand, so welcome to the field Kozmo Landwalker!"
Kozmo Strawman vanished as there was now a sound of metal steps. A large brown four legged spider-like machine walked into view. Its silver head stared down at Hathoin and his monster who took a step back (2400/1200).
"Well, crap," Hathoin said as he glanced at his Emperor. "Well, I have to admit that's impressive, but nothing I can't handle."
"Well, your monster certainly can't, Landwalker destroy his Emperor of Prophecy with Laser Bombardment!" Quin ordered as the massive machine focused in on the Emperor and fired several lasers at it, causing it to explode.
"Well, that was impressive, but it's still not enough to beat me," Hathoin commented. "Is there anything else you want to do?"
Quin looked over the remaining two cards in her hand, they weren't going to help her at the moment. She shrugged a little and nodded back to the Drow. "Alright, I'll end my turn there, let's see what you've got now.
(Q: 5900) - (H: 7500)
Hathoin drew a card and sighed a little before reaching to his disk. "I'll switch Defender to defense mode and end my turn," he said simply.
Quin eyed him for a moment as she drew her next card. "I'll summon my Kozmoll Wickedwitch!" She said as a woman with long dark hair with a hood pulled over it and dressed in black robes appeared. She took a double bladed lightsword off her belt and activated it, swinging it around with a flourish.
"Great, the Wicked Witch of the East meets Darth Maul," Hathoin commented. "Well, what are you going to do now?"
"Landwalker, take out his Defender with laser bombardment!" Quin said as the large machine turned its head and fired, causing Defender to explode. "Now Wickedwitch, take out his face down monster with Dual Fates Slash!"
The woman leapt forward, swinging her blade around and slashing down through the face down monster. The monster was revealed to be a man with spiked hair dressed in elaborate robes and carrying two staffs (300/100) before it shattered into pixels.
"What was that?" Quin asked.
"That was my Stoic of Prophecy, which lets me add a level 3 Prophecy monster to my hand," Hathoin answered. A card slid out of his deck and he added it to his hand. "Is there anything else you want to do?"
Quin looked at her remaining cards for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I'll end my turn there. There's nothing else I can do right now."
Hathoin drew his card and smiled a little before he reached for another card. "I'll start by activating my Spellbook of Knowledge, so by discarding this card…" he said as he slid the card he just drew into his disk. "I can draw two more cards."
I've got a bad feeling about this, Quin thought as the Star Hall glowed brightly.
"And now I'll add my Twin Twisters, so by discarding this monster I can destroy your Scarecrow and your field spell," Hathoin said as two twisteds flew out of the card and blew the two cards away, the city around Quin shattered. "And…"
"Hold on, since you destroyed Kozmotown I get to add one Kozmo monster to my hand," Quin interrupted as she took a card out of her deck and added it to her hand. This will be useful later, but for now I should be able to handle whatever he can throw at me.
"Alright, well then I'll summon my Strength of Prophecy," Hathoin continued as a red haired spellcaster dressed in red robes and carrying an axe shaped like a lion's head (1500/1400 + 100). "And I'll add my Dark Magic Veil spell card. This lets me special summon one dark spellcaster in exchange for 1000 life points, so welcome back my Emperor of Prophecy!"
A spell circle appeared in front of him and began glowing brightly. The Emperor appeared again, smiling as he pointed his staff at Quin (2300/2000 +100). "So, by shuffling the Spellbook of Eternity I just discarded back into my deck I can increase Strength's attack by 500 and level by 1."
Strength glowed brightly as magical runes flew around her (2100/1400).
"And now, I'll bring them both together to xyz summon one of the best monsters in my deck," Hathoin said as he spread his hands as the vortex appeared and the two monsters turned into energy and flew into it. "I bring together the power of magic to bring forth she who will bring forth the Prophecy!"
A bright light filled the field. A throne appeared with a tall woman with an elaborate white and gold set of robes and headdress. She was holding a staff in one hand and a shield in the other as she got up, her eyes glowing with magical light (2000/1700 + 700).
Quin's eyes went wide. She had heard of this monster, it gained 300 attack points for every Xyz Material Hathoin had. In addition, he would be able to use her effect to look at the next 5 cards on his deck and destroy monsters for the number of spellbook cards. She had a monster in her hand that could handle it, but if she summoned it it would only be destroyed if he activated that effect.
"Now, Empress of Prophecy, destroy her Wickedwitch with Light of Prophecy!" Hathoin commanded as the Empress raised her staff and blasted the Wickedwitch with it, causing her to shatter. "Ding dong the witch is dead."
"You couldn't resist could you?" Quin asked with a groan.
"Nope, and I end my turn there," Hathoin finished.
(Q: 5100) - (H: 6500)
Quin drew her next card before sliding it into her disk. "I'll set this card face down and activate my trap card Psychic Trigger, so by banishing my two witches I can draw two more cards," she said as the two cards slid out of her graveyard and she pocketed them before drawing two cards. "And I'll summon my Kozmo Soartroopers!"
A monster dressed in black armor with long armored feather wings behind it appeared holding a blaster rifle (1000/1000).
"And by banishing it, I can summon one of my strongest monsters!" She said as she pocketed the Soartroopers card and held another card up high. A shadow fell over the field as a massive ship shaped like an arrowhead with black metal and reddish-purple lights along it with a large section jutting out of the back (3000/2800). "My Kozmo Dark Eclipser!"
Well, she's managed to summon a Star Destroyer, this will be hard but nothing I can't handle, Hathoin thought.
"Dark Eclipser, attack with Turbolaser Barrage!" Quin ordered as a series of lasers rained down on the field and hit the Empress, causing her to explode. "Now Landwalker, attack him directly!"
Hathoin automatically shielded himself as several lasers flew at him and struck the ground around him. "Alright, well that wasn't too bad."
"We'll see if you're saying that next turn," Quin said with a chuckle as she crossed her arms. "I end my turn there."
(Q: 5100) - (H: 3900)
Hathoin drew his next card and glanced at his hand for a moment. There wasn't a lot he could do at the moment, but this would at least help keep him in the game for the moment. "I play my One Day of Peace, so we can both draw a card and neither of us take damage until my next turn," he said and they both drew a card.
Quin looked at her card, it was another trap card, and not one that would be immediately useful. Still, it was better than nothing.
"Anything else?" Quin asked.
"I activate Spellbook of Secrets, so I can add another Spellbook to my hand," he said as a card slid out of his deck and he added it to his hand. "I'll end my turn there.
Quin drew a card and glanced at her opponent. While he was wide open she couldn't hurt him, so she just had to hope that whatever he had up his sleeve wouldn't be enough. She took two cards from her hand and slid them into her disk. "I'll set two cards face down and end my turn there."
Hathoin drew his next card and selected another one in his hand and set it on his disk. "I'll set one monster in defense mode, and activate my Swords of Revealing Light!" He said as a series of swords fell around Quin and her field.
"Seriously? That's only going to hold me for three turns," Quin commented as she eyed the swords for a moment. He was stalling to try and get something, that much was obvious, so the question was what.
"Yes, I know, but it's still going to be enough," Hathoin said as he nodded. "I'll end my turn there."
Quin drew a card and glanced at it. It wasn't going to help right now, but it at least would help stall for time if she needed it. "I'll set this monster face down and end my turn," she said as the set monster appeared in front of her.
Hathoin drew a card and looked at it for a moment. It was the same card that the strange woman from the bar had given him. It shimmered a little with magical energy, but he didn't notice it as he added it to his hand.
Quin on the other hand shivered a little. She got a sudden very bad feeling about the card he had just drawn. It gave off an aura of dark magic that she could recognize with no problem. She had a very bad feeling about this as he reached for his graveyard.
"First, I'm going to activate the effect of my field spell again and place my Spellbook of Knowledge on the bottom of my deck and draw a card," he said as he did so, looking his hand over for a moment before he flipped up his face down monster and another Temperance of Prophecy appeared (1200/1000). "I activate my Spellbook of the Master. So by revealing my Spellbook of Power, I can use the effect of Spellbook of Secrets in my graveyard."
Uh-oh, I've got a bad feeling about this, Quin thought.
Hathoin reached for his deck and took the card from the bottom of his deck and grinned as it auto-shuffled. "And now I get to use Temperance of Prophecy's effect to summon one of the strongest monsters in my deck, World of Prophecy!"
Temperance of Prophecy vanished and a shining light fell down around the group. A tall woman with a long dress with a pair of wings wrapped around her waist. She was dressed in elaborate robes with a long fan behind her and a white and gold headpiece (2900/2400).
"And now, I get her effect which lets me add two Spellbooks to my hand, and I get her other effect," Hathoin continued as he took two cards out of his graveyard and added them to his hand. He grinned as four cards appeared above him. "By revealing these four Spell cards, I can destroy all other cards on the field!"
"WHAT?" Quin asked as suddenly World of Prophecy's eyes glowed and a wave of magic flew out and shattered all the other cards on the field. "Well, I get two effects, which let me summon Kozmo Goodwitch and then add one monster to my hand…"
The fairy winged witch appeared before her again kneeling in defense mode. She then took a card out of her deck and added it to her hand.
"Yes, well I get to add a Prophecy monster to my hand that's level three or less," Hathoin said as he took a card out of his deck. "And I can summon him now, so welcome to the field, Fool of Prophecy!"
A new spellcaster appeared. This one had messy reddish hair and was dressed in green robes with a yellow coat over them. He carried a staff with a large golden part on the end and adjusted a hat on his head (1600/400).
"And I activate Spellbook of Power to increase World of Prophecy's attack to 3900!" Hathoin continued as World of Prophecy's attack points jumped up by a thousand. "And I'll equip my monster with the spell card Dark Forge - Staff of Woes."
"Wait, Dark Forge?" Quin asked.
Before Hathoin could answer, shadows coalesced in World of Prophecy's hand. A gnarled looking staff made of bones and some unknown type of wood. On it was a fiendish looking skull with several markings that glowed brightly circling it. World of Prophecy's eyes glowed with malevolent energy as fiendish magic flew around her.
"How in the name of the gods did you get that?" Quin demanded. "That is a card of powerful dark magic. You don't seem the type to do that, so I want answers now!"
"That's my business, not yours," Hathoin answered in a monotone voice. He stared at Quin unblinkingly as he pointed at Fool of Prophecy. "Now Fool of Prophecy, take out her Goodwitch!"
The Fool nodded and blasted the witch with his staff. Quin covered her face as her monster shattered. She was about to say something when the empowered World of Prophecy suddenly loomed over her. She was about to say something when the monster raised the Staff of Woes and blasted her with it, sending a jolt of pain through her body and causing her to scream in pain.
"If you can still hear me, this activates the effect of Staff of Woes," Hathoin said. "You now have to banish cards off the top of your deck face down equal to my monster's level."
Quin weakly reached for her deck as she picked up nine cards and pocketed them. She groaned a little as she rubbed her head, she didn't think it would've hurt that much. But she was not going to let him win.
That spell was controlling him somehow. So now it was her turn to free him, and she had just the card to do that.
"I'll end my turn there," Hathoin finished.
(Q: 1200) - (H: 2900)
Quin drew a card, it would certainly help but it was going to be a bit of a gamble. But if it worked this duel would be her's. "I activate Allure of Darkness, so I can draw two cards as long as I banish a Dark monster afterwards," she said and drew two more cards before quickly pocketing a card.
She looked across at Hathoin who still seemed to be in a trance. She looked at the staff that World of Prophecy was holding. She needed to get rid of that equip spell and she needed to do it fast.
"Now I activate my spell card Psychic Path, by paying 800 life points I can take two Psychic monsters that were removed from play and add them to my hand," she said as she took two cards out of her pocket and added them to her hand.
"That won't do you any good," Hathoin said in the same monotone.
"This however will, you see, by banishing 10 levels worth of monsters, I can special summon the strongest monster in my deck," Quin said as she took three cards and slid them into her pocket. All of a sudden the sun seemed to be eclipsed as something large appeared over them.
"What's going on?" Hathoin asked, suddenly a bit worried. Quin grinned and pointed up at the sky.
He looked up and saw a large looming shape appear in the sky above them. It resembled a green sphere surrounded by a black ring. On the top and bottom were black metal pieces that resembled a castle as lights danced across it (4000/4000).
"Is that a moon?"
"That's no moon, it's my Komo Dark Planet," Quin said then grinned as she picked another card and put it in her disk. "Next I'll activate my spell card D.D.R. - Different Dimension Resurrection, which lets me bring back a monster I banished. So I'll bring back the monster I discarded with Allure of Darkness, Kozmo Dark Destroyer!"
A new spaceship appeared, it was sleek and made of silver metal with a black line on the front of it appeared. Two long wings came out from its body as it adjusted itself, pointing its weapons down towards Hathoin (3000/1800).
"And when it's special summoned, I can destroy one monster like World of Prophecy, and that spell card of yours," Quin continued as the Dark Destroyer bombarded the spellcaster with lasers. For just a moment after the staff shattered, the spellcaster actually looked relieved as Hathoin began to shake his head, trying to clear it.
"Now Dark Destroyer, attack his Fool of Prophecy with Orbital Bombardment!" Quin ordered and several shots hit the Fool of Prophecy before it shattered.
"Now Kozmo Dark Planet…" Quin said.
"What… what's going on…" Hathoin groaned.
"Attack directly with Superlaser Desolation!" Quin shouted as a green laser fired down from the Dark Planet and hit Hathoin head on, knocking him back.
(Q: 400) - (H: 0)
Quin ran over to Hathoin, only to find him unconscious. She pulled him to his feet, only to notice that a card had fallen to the ground, the Staff of Woes card. When she tried to reach for it, it vanished in a swirl of shadow.
"That doesn't bode well…" She said. She needed to get word back to the others as soon as possible.
00000
Back in the Doomdreamers' headquarters, Raum opened his eyes as the Staff of Woes card appeared in front of him again. He picked it up and put it back in the case with the others as Silas came back in.
"Your card didn't help much," Silas commented.
"It wasn't supposed to, it served its purpose," Raum said as he got up.
"Yes, and now the Shadowchasers are aware that the Dark Forge cards are back in play," Silas reminded him. "They're going to be prepared."
"Which is why we're going to be very careful moving forward," Raum answered with a shake of his head. "Trust me, Van Graff, I know what I'm doing. For now, we sit back and wait and see what happens."
Silas shook his head as the Demon Lord walked off.
00000
"You're saying he had a Dark Forge card?" Judy asked as she looked at the Paradise City Shadowchasers in her magical projection.
"Yes, and it vanished after the duel," Quin commented. "I honestly wasn't expecting that to happen. I've done some reading up on the events in Chicago, but she hadn't expected them to pop up again.
"That's odd," Charlie commented. "I was under the impression that they had vanished during the events in Chicago.
"Then again I don't think we ever found out where they came from…" Eva commented as she looked at the ceiling for a moment. "That wasn't in the files, was it?"
"No, Dugan and the others never found any information on where they came from," Judy answered as she shook her head a little. "If there actually is a chance that the Dark Forge cards are back in play, then we will need to approach with caution."
"So, what are we going to do now?" Steven asked. "We can't just let them run wild in the city with dark cards."
"No, we can't, but at this point I don't know what we can do," Eva replied with a sigh. "We need to find out where they are, and what we're going to do next."
00000
Dark Forge - Staff of Woes
Equip Spell.
Image of a wicked looking demon in robes holding a staff high above his head. When you activate this card, pay 1000 life points. This card can only be equipped to a SPELLCASTER type monster. When a monster equipped with this card destroys an opposing monster or deals damage to the opposing player, the opposing player must banish a number of cards from the top of their deck equal to the level of the equipped monster face-down. You can only have one Dark Forge card face-up on the field at a time.
00000
Again, I'm sorry for the delay, but I'm going to do my best to keep it from happening again.
Next time, we travel across the ocean and a continent to New York City where Theira Duendalos is doing research for Leslie. However her research is interrupted, and she has to defend herself and her studies. What will happen next? Find out when we return to this story in "Dark-Piercing Light."
I'll see you then!
00000
Morgana's Kin File.
The Mistwatchers, Guardians on the Edge of Dread.
Origin Universe.
There have long been stories surrounding Mists. Tales have been told of lands and communities that were once thriving, before they were drawn into the mists such as Odaire or the Nightmare Lands. And those who have come from beyond Shadow have on occasion brought with them stories of names and places that would strike fear into the heart of even the bravest souls.
Strahd Von Zarovich of Barovia, Azalin Rex of Darkon, Vladeska Drakov of Falkovnia, and more. Lands ruled by fear and death as mysterious figures known as the Dark Lords rule over them, and the Dark Powers that kept them imprisoned. This land is infamous among those who know about the world of Shadow, as it has come to be known as Ravenloft.
Morgana's Kin became aware of the existence of Ravenloft when a group of their agents in the Homeworld of Shadow found themselves being drawn into the Domain of Falkovnia. When the survivors returned, they reported that the land had been overrun by the Undead, and ruled by a madwoman who cared more for victory than anyone's lives. And so the documentation of the Domains of Dread of Ravenloft began.
Realizing the threat posed by the Mists, the Council agreed to form a special task force to study and counter any incursions by the Mists. They came to be known as the Mistwatchers, specialists who would slowly realize exactly what kind of task was before them.
The Mistwatchers have been tasked with watching the mists, but they have only had moderate success. The Dark Powers of Ravenloft are mostly uncaring about their actions, so they instead usually focus on studying where a new Dark Lord may be chosen. However this is an imprecise thing for the most part.
The Mistwatchers will occasionally enter Ravenloft of their own accord when they can. As such they've made several allies such as Rudolph Van Richten and his allies. However they are no closer to ending any potential threat to the rest of the multiverse from Ravenloft as they were when they first began.
While the Mistwatchers' membership changes regularly depending on who is needed for an operation, the following members are always part of the core team:
Andrea Li: The team leader and part of the military team that had originally been drawn into Falkovnia. Andrea is from the Origin Universe and was trained by Morgana's Kin's special forces in order to help deal with hostile multiverse incursions. However she was not prepared for the apocalyptic scale of what was happening in Falkovnia. The Mistwatchers are now under her command as she does what she can in order to keep everything together.
Naerala Silvermoon: An Elf from the homeworld of Shadow, Naerala had been involved in studying the stories surrounding the disappearances of people to the Domain of Dread of Bluetspur. As such she is often an expert on Illithids and other similar creatures. She sometimes vanishes for hours or even days or weeks. When she returns she often has new information, apparently she is traveling to Bluetspur or one of the other Domains.
Anya Duerach: A civilian that had traveled back with the original team from Falkovnia. Anya has a skill in magic that she often combines with her teammates' technology. She was born and raised in Falkovnia, having been trained as part of the defenses for the city. She ran away during the last attack on the Falkovnian capital, and is afraid of any possibility of returning to the Domain of Dread knowing that she will be executed by impalement.
Kaera Shadowstep: A Deep Gnome from a distant universe that has only recently been documented by Morgana's Kin. Kaera is the group's technology expert and a specialist in the more esoteric elements of magic and technology. Kaera is usually the most approachable member of the group, and one who often researches the information on Ravenloft. Not a lot is known about her past however, as she tries to keep to herself.
Mischelle Fawkes: The team's medic, Mischelle comes from an alternate version of Earth and has seen the terrors of Ravenloft first hand. Her father had been drawn into the Mists and became the Dark Lord of a Domain called Varegan. She barely managed to escape her father's soldiers and into the mists and was rescued by the Mistwatchers. She does what she can to keep her life together and keep everyone alive, but she's really on the verge of mental collapse most of the time.
The membership of the Mistwatchers changes from mission to mission and there may be other teams involved.
Story Ideas: The Mistwatchers are a team associated with the world of Ravenloft, as such they are deeply ingrained in horror stories of different kinds. As such they are hard to work into a normal story, unless someone wanted to directly delve into Ravenloft in a fanfiction. A story involving the Mistwatchers will invariably involve Ravenloft, so approach with caution, and become familiarized with the setting.