And, on we go. This part is slightly longer:

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Shadowchasers

Blue Blood

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Interlude

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Souled Out!

Part 2

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It was 1:28 PM. The three Shadowchasers could not help but keep their eyes on the clock tower right now.

The brief trip to the courthouse wasn't pleasant for Maddie. She tried many times to overcome this odd mental block that hindered her attempts to tell Sonya and Red what had happened. Is it some sort of geas? she thought.

She shivered at the thought of it - a wizard who could geas you was not a foe to be taken lightly. Eventually, however, her attempt to concentrate on this condition was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey, what's the word, dames?"

It was the hearth spirit, Baern, again perched on Sonya's head; all of them had really hoped he had decided to stay behind, especially when Red and Maddie saw he was about to light another cigar.

"DON'T!" screamed Maddie.

"Relax," said Baern. He stopped to light the stogie, and it seemed to lack the same stench as before. "This is just dwarven tobacco, I swiped from one of those Barrowbelt yutzes. So, what are we looking for now?"

Then Sonya motioned them all to stop, and said, "I… I think Zhent was talking about that."

The promenade in front of the Courthouse was dominated by a fountain… Not just any fountain, it was a fountain that put the Trevi Fountain to shame.

Well, it was debatable, but it would certainly give stiff competition. The exquisite fountain was of the typical Baroque style, with sculptures of leaping dolphins spewing water from their mouths, and beautiful nymphs frolicking. But these smaller statues were overshadowed by the centerpiece of the fountain, a powerful-looking man twenty feet tall. He had a face that looked elderly and wise, wore a long, ceremonial toga, the parts of his torso it didn't cover muscular, and a laurel crown. In his left hand he clutched a book, and his right hand lifted high above his head, his palm towards the heavens adding about ten more feet to the statue's overall height.

"Whoa," said Maddie.

"Yes, that is what most everyone says the first time they see the Lord of Justice."

Zhent had been good to his word again, the voice coming from one of two sentries whom he had sent. They would later tell the trio that the fountain was supposed to depict one of the greater powers of Law, probably Rao, but most everyone in Cauldron simply called it the Lord of Justice.

It seemed like the location of the third Crystal was clear; the challenge was actually getting to it.

"Any ideas here?"

"Afraid not," said one of the guards. "From what I've heard, the statue has an enchantment around it that keeps flying creatures away."

"Pigeons?"

"Mm, but not as many as you might think. Not sure if it would work on something the size of a man, but -"

There was a clatter in front of them; Red Feather had tossed her bow, quiver, Duel Disk, and satchel at Maddie's feet. "What are we waiting for?"

One flaw Red Feather had was that she was too headstrong. She quickly stepped into the fountain, wading to the large statue, and started climbing it. Well, she made an honest attempt anyway. The statue had many smooth and curved surfaces in its carefully chiseled and sanded surface and was slick and moist due to the constant spouting water. She managed to get close to the right shoulder but slipped and started to lose her foothold.

"I'd help out," said Baern, "but you know, I'm fire, that's water, not something I'm good at here."

Even as Red struggled to regain it while holding onto the shoulder (the crowd around the statue having caught notice and watching), Maddie clicked the control to her Disk again, as it was clear they'd need a different approach.

"Go ahead," said Zhent's voice.

"Listen, this isn't as easy as it looks, you know someplace we can get a ladder or something."

She heard what sounded like an exasperated grunt before he answered, his tone not all too pleasant.

"All right, there's a hardware store about three blocks to the south, and I'm almost certain it sells ladders. I think everyone around there can point you to it."

"Uh, not sure if they'll accept my credit card here."

"Oh, right, right. Fine, give them my name and tell them to charge it to Emmy-617."

"Uhm…" Then she stopped. Red had lost her grip and fell into the fountain's basin with a loud splash, eliciting laughs and applause (and a few wolf whistles) from the crowd.

"It's an account number, the city barracks has petty cash for this sort of thing."

"You sure about this, Sergeant?"

"Look, I've wanted to change the password number for over a month, this gives me the perfect excuse, now GET MOVING!"

"Well yes sir," muttered Maddie, as it hung up.

One of the guards was helping Red to her feet. She was soaked, angry, and humiliated, but at least not hurt.

"Guys, we have to -" started Maddie.

"Wait…," said Sonya. She looked intently at the palm of the statue's hand, almost ten feet above the basin.

"This seems a little too obvious. I mean, why would a terrorist put a bomb way up there?"

Slowly, the realization started to come to the three Shadowchasers. Indeed, if the bomb exploded way up there, it would likely not destroy anything except the statue itself. Was this a red herring, something to delay them?

As Maddie was pondering this, Sonya took the scroll from Red's satchel; she unfolded it and looked at it closely. "Sinister," she said to herself. "Sinister, sinister... Of course, it's the wrong hand!"

"Huh?"

"The word 'sinister' used to mean left hand! That's the right hand."

"The sinister machination is the high Hand of Justice".

The pieces fell into place quickly. Not only did that make sense, it said the machination is the Hand of Justice, not in the Hand. This had been a trick.

Maddie turned to the guard and asked. "Do you know anyone around here who is left handed?"

"Uhm…" said a voice behind them. "Oh damn, this way, quick!"

The man who had spoken was a guard in a different uniform, that of a bailiff, and it seemed he was not much for explanation at the moment. Grabbing Maddie's hand, he yanked her with him, rushing for the main entrance to the courthouse; Red and Sonya had little choice but to follow them.

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At the back of the crowd, Ferid - again concealed in plain sight by the sheer number of spectators - was watching.

"Didn't work, huh?" said a squeaky voice next to him.

Ferid was very startled by the female gnome's voice; as he looked back and forth, then down, but saw nothing.

"Azi? Azi, where are you?"

"Down here, Ferid. Eh, yeah, see, I was getting all that stuff you needed from the storeroom, and then Rivaldi buzzed and asked me to bring here this necklace and bracelet set she was keeping there… Then Alurad buzzed me and asked to bring him a sandwich from the commissary, but when I went to get it, my hands were full, so I put the bracelets and necklace on, and… I think one of the bracelets had an invisibility enchantment on it, heh, go figure."

"So, take them off!" said Ferid, trying hard not to draw attention.

"Uhm, I can't, see I'm having trouble finding my arms here."

"How…"

"Well, uh, before I got the message from Rivaldi, Shanafa called and asked me to bring some potions she kept there, and one of them might have been a potion of random polymorph, and…"

"You drank it?"

"Hey, not on purpose! Whose idea was it to store potions in used fruit juice bottles."

Ugh, gnomes, he thought. Of course, he really couldn't blame them all for asking Azi to pick up all those things, seeing as they wouldn't want them there when the mainlanders' time ran out. He took a pouch from his belt, a bag of holding where he kept his emergency supplies. "Fear not, I have a wand of dispelling here somewhere."

"Peachy," she said. "So, it seems they figured out that one PDQ."

"An unfortunate turn of events, yes, but not unrecoverable. After all, I invested a good deal of funds to put an added factor in this part of the plan, and I intend to get my money's worth." He heard a giggle from Azi in reply. "What?"

"This 'factor'... You paid him in advance? Does he know what's going to happen to him if he's in there at four o'clock?"

Another sly giggle from her made Ferid wonder, for the second time today, why he ever decided to take this job…

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The bailiff - Ricture - explained on the way, as quickly as he could. The highest authority in the courthouse right now was Chief Judge Felsias Kopru, and he was indeed left-handed.

Judge Kopru was hearing preliminary cases today (which meant deciding whether they should go forward and, if so, which court to refer them to) and he was a stickler for rules, allowing nobody in his courtroom while proceedings were in session, no exceptions. Usually he would have a one-hour recess for lunch break at one o'clock, but the second-to-last case before he intended to do so presented a problem, as the defendant was a derro (a type of Shadow not known for being social) who was illiterate and only spoke Undercommon. The court clerk had to translate using a manual, and it was 1:37 by the time the issue was resolved. Because everyone needed a short break after that, Kopru had called a five minute recess. That was four minutes ago.

It was fortunate that he had gone outside to get some air and saw the whole business with Red Feather trying to climb the statue. Right now, they only had about a minute to the courtroom before Kopru started the last case, at which point the court would be inaccessible until it was finished. They were lucky that Ricture had been there to supply escort, as Red was soaked, Maddie was covered in filth, and Sonya, while clean, was wearing an outfit that most would view as inappropriate. But as the bailiff was there, most everyone inside the courthouse was willing to step aside and let them pass. They made it into the main courtroom on the first floor with only a few seconds to spare.

They only got a brief opportunity to look around at the layout of the room, which seemed typical of a courthouse, if old fashioned.

"All rise!" The order naturally came from another bailiff, a lady dwarf in a uniform with a long ponytail; the three Shadowchasers knew enough about court proceedings to know this was an order that had to be obeyed. "Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Felsias Kopru residing."

It was hard to gauge whether Kopru was human or not. He was a tall man with no hair on his head whatsoever, other than his eyebrows, with a strong jaw and a ridged brow. He seemed very elderly but exuded an air of authority that was hard to ignore.

"Please be seated," he said.

"Uhm, your honor, forgive the interruption," said Maddie. The judge looked sternly at her, but didn't respond, showing she was free to speak.

"Uhm, there's a situation we need to address, that -"

"Are you certain it cannot wait?"

Briefly, Maddie considered saying it could not, but it was quickly overshadowed by a desire not to get on this man's bad side - he was that forceful. Looking around the courtroom - which had quite a few spectators and officials - Zhent's request not to cause a ruckus may have been a wise one. She just nodded and sat down.

"Very well, let's get this done with," said Kopru.

A set of doors to the right of the bench opened, and the defendant was brought in - a brutish, muscular, blackscale lizard man, his arms bound by shackles. Sonya looked at him suspiciously… There was something familiar about him…

The lady bailiff started reading from a scroll, "Gnarsh Ront. Charged with vandalism, aggravated assault, armed robbery, extortion, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, disturbing the peace, cruelty to animals, gross indecency, and acts of outraging public indecency consisting of vomiting on private property… uhm… defecating in public property."

Brother this could take a while, thought Maddie.

"I've also skipped about five months of alimony payments," said Gnarsh with a snarky smirk.

"Keep quiet, wise guy," said the bailiff.

"Well then," said the judge, "seems all I have to do here is refer this to a grand jury -"

Huh, maybe not.

'- unless you have anything to say before I do so Mr. Ront."

"Nothing to say, your honor, '' said the lizard man, "but I do have a gesture I'd like to make if my hands weren't tied."

This raised a bit of a stir and mumbling among the spectators; Judge Kopru naturally raised his gavel and shouted "Order!" And that's when the three Shadowchasers saw it. The symbol of a judge's authority was a gavel, that was the "hand of Justice" held in Kopru's left hand, and Crystal was on his gavel. Specifically on the underside part where that would hit the sound block when he used it.

What would happen if the Crystal broke? Could it break? Those questions went through the minds of all three Shadowchasers within the span of a second, and Sonya was not about to take a chance. She stood up and was about to launch herself at the judge's bench and grab the gavel, hoping to explain herself later.

But… The blackscale had other ideas. "You want an order, old guy," he laughed, "I got your order up right here! One knuckle sandwich to go, coming up."

Then everyone gasped as he bull-rushed towards the judge's bench, intent on ramming it with his shoulder.

"JUMP!" screamed Sonya.

Judge Kopru made an honest attempt to, but his attempt to jump from his bench was more like a stumble and then a fall. Sonya had, of course, been ready to lunge for him to begin with and managed to catch the old man with little difficulty. Unfortunately, while he was safe, the bench was as lucky, as the lizard man plowed into it and smashed it into shards of wood.

"You okay?" asked Sonya.

"I… will be," he grunted. Then he looked up at Gnarsh, noticing that the bailiff was sneaking up on him. "You'd best have the money to pay for that."

Gnarsh grinned, the type of grin that had far more teeth than actual grin. Then he threw his fist backwards, belting the unfortunate bailiff in the face. He had broken free of his shackles - in fact, it seemed likely they had not been properly fastened to begin with. Sonya was about to go for her weapon, but barely managed to grab the hilt before he seized her by the arm and yanked her to her feet.

"I'll deal with you later, gramps," he said, "remember me, beautiful?"

"I was trying to forget," she growled, and tried to kick him in the knee.

"Ooh, I'm in trouble now," he laughed. Then he spun around, facing Red Feather and Maddie, the former about to use her bow. "Drop it!" he ordered.

He was going to use Sonya as a shield!

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Azy (which, by the way, was short for "Aszithef", Professor Aszitheft to Colfer students, mostly the ones specializing in Illusion magic) was still in a cheery mood for someone who had just accidentally turned herself into a grick and was fortunate she was still invisible when the spell was cast.

Now visible, she was an amusing sight, a short (4'5'', tall for a gnome), spunky-looking gnome woman with her (pink!) hair tied in pigtails that reached halfway down her back. (Mundane eyes often perceived her as a child, part of the reason she had moved to Cauldron in the first place.) Much like any gnome magic user, she tended to carry a lot of her belongings with her, and had a dozen sacks, pouches, and cases on both a belt and bandoleer. Most of her students didn't dare laugh, but it seemed hardly necessary to be afraid of her - she was one of the sweetest, friendliest, and approachable professors at Colfer.

Not the wisest opinion.

While her cheery and cheeky disposition wasn't exactly a facade, it certainly threw off any suspicion that she was a Cagewright apprentice, though one with several months more seniority than Ferid had.

"Did you get what I requested?" he asked.

"Sure." She tossed him one of her bags, a large (for her) leather shoulder sack. "Got everything on your list, the brooch of misdirection, ring of pilfering, a few power tattoos, skeleton keys -"

"The tin versions, I assume?"

Azy nodded. "Aaaand, my personal favorite, the clockwork amulet!" She tossed him the final trinket, an odd metal device on a chain. "Made it myself!"

"Why such generosity? I thought you hated me."

"I do! Just doin' this for laughs. I really have no idea how you plan to get in there with those cheap remedial trinkets. I mean, even if you were to storm into that place driving apparatus of Kwalish packing a staff of power and wearing a robe of the archmagi, you'd have about a second to use them before you were zapped by that security system."

"Which would then destroy said apparatus, staff, and robe, sound an alarm that half of Cauldron will hear, and then enact a guards and wards lockdown, I know. So, if such mighty magics as the ones you mentioned would fail, how could one stand a chance with these apprentice-class devices with weak dweomers? Because, my dear Azy, that is the whole idea. The facility's system has one flaw, which I learned by, eh, convincing one of the staff."

"Do tell," she snarked.

"The system doesn't respond to all enchantments, only those that it perceives as a legitimate threat. As a result, these cheap magical trinkets are beneath notice. In theory, careful use of these devices is the key to a successful infiltration and extraction."

"Clever!" she chuckled. "Uh, say, if this doesn't work, can I have your hat?"

"Bah," he grunted, "hold onto this." He tossed her the sack he had taken the wand of dispel from, as he knew most of the things in there would obviously set off the alarm. "Your part in this endeavor is done, Aszithef, begone."

The gnome shrugged, and started to leave, saying, "Yeah, yeah, anyone ever tell you you're a nut?"

Ferid didn't vocally respond, and returned to watching the courthouse, while thinking to himself, Several people have, Azy, several times, but few have questioned my sanity more often than I myself have…

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"You think you're going to get away, Gnarsh?" Sonya was trying to struggle, but pound for pound, he was much stronger. "This is the City Court, there's -"

"About a dozen armed guards in the hallway outside this room alone, I know." His grip on her tightened. "They'll probably bust in here in about five minutes to drag me back to the holding cells in the lower level." He lifted his fist. "Course, I'm willing to bet I can rearrange your pretty face before they do, so -"

"I'll take that bet, ugly."

"Eh, what?"

"Up here, big guy."

To the lizard man's bemusement and shock, Baern was sitting on his knuckles, casually smoking his cigar.

"Huh, you little -" Almost instinctively, Gnarsh let go of Sonya and brought the fist down on the witness box next to the destroyed bench, but Baern was far quicker and far more agile, leaping onto the blackscale's shoulder and then… dove down the back of his shirt!

"Get out of there!" shouted the angry lizard man. He groped and frantically reached for his back, like someone frantically trying to scratch an itch.

Then Baern poked his head out of the back of Gnarsh's trousers. "YEECH! Stinks in here!" Now infuriated, not just by Baern, but by the laughs coming from everyone watching, Gnarsh tried to slam his back into the witness stand, managing to crush it under his weight and then fall on his back. Baern, however, had moved again, and was in his left pant leg. "Ugh, it's even worse here!"

Gnarsh managed to get up, and Baern moved again. "I'm here now!" said the tiny elemental, poking his head out of the frontof his collar. Gnarsh again tried to grab the tiny elemental, only for Baern to blow soot in his eyes. "GAH!" he screamed.

"Anyone ever tell you you're cute when you're stupid?"

Finally, with both hands, he managed to grab Baern. "GOTCHA!" But then he howled in pain, not surprising, given that Baern was literally made of fire.

"And I got you, chump!" Sonya's fist slammed into the brute's face, hard.

Baern dove to safety, but Sonya was not finished. "You know… What you said about alimony… Gnarsh Ront, huh? Think I know your ex-wife. Is she about yay-tall, with a frill down her back and a broken tooth here?"

She was about to point to her upper left incisor, but stopped to dodge a punch from the very angry lizard man. "Yeah, I spoke to her a few times, she told me she had insomnia for years before she met her first husband; I assume that was you."

This elicited some laughs from the spectators in the court, throwing the blackscale into rage. "I'M GONNA TEAR YOU TO -" started Gnarsh. Then he realized something. "Wait, first husband? You mean…"

"Oh yeah, she's with someone else now, a greenscale." Gnarsh snarled, but she went on. "Think he's a doctor."

Gnarsh howled in rage and lunged for the Shadowchaser, but she was more than ready for this careless assault, her right fist plowing into his face, then her left one into his gut.

"We should really stop this," said Red Feather.

"Why?" asked Maddie.

"Good point."

"Okay, okay,' said Sonya, "technically he's a witch doctor, but offhand he's not the type who'd be brought in for taking a shit in public. Seriously, that was TMI there. So, ready to throw in the towel?"

Gnarsh was hurt, and worse, humiliated. His hands were burnt, there were bruises all over his face, arms, and torso, his lip was bleeding, and his left eye was swollen.

"Never…" he grunted.

Sonya shook her head; truth be told, as foolish as he was being, it hardly came as a surprise, so when he tried to make a rush for her again, one simple open palm strike to the face caused him to collapse on his back. He didn't get up.

As Maddie, Red, and both bailiffs surrounded the unconscious criminal, Red keeping her bow and arrow pointed at him and Ricture producing a - hopefully more secure - set of handcuffs, Sonya bent down, picking up the gavel that had been discarded on the floor.

Three down, three to go. And according to her watch, it was 2:05…

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Now that Azy was gone, Ferid was carefully going over the things she had given her - he didn't trust her at all (nor did he trust any of those others she was doing the favors for) and would not be surprised if she planned a double-cross.

Still, it all seemed okay, even the clockwork amulet seemed legit. When he was sure it was all safe, he stuffed it all back in the bag, then slung it over his shoulder and left the pavilion, knowing he would likely have to contact his three pawns very soon.

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Despite the satisfying victory at the courthouse Maddie, Red Feather, and Sonya were not in the best of moods. They had, up to noon, thought they'd be spending the day reminiscing with Hank and Nichole, but instead they were "volunteered" into dealing with a madman.

On one hand, they were doing remarkably well, having found three of the Crystals, with two hours and five minutes remaining. On the other hand, they were getting tired, and were hungry, the madman's first attack forcing them to skip lunch, and with the hot weather, thirsty too. It was hardly the time to stop to get sandwiches, but as they realized they had to stay hydrated, and lest the sun finish them off before the bombs could, they stopped at a small outdoor kiosk to get lemonade.

They did have a minute to spare, at least. The new riddle on the scroll was confusing, and Zhent wasn't at the moment, responding.

An imposter alight

In the skies of the night,

Tho' that be a lie,

Tis' not really the sky.

It seemed puzzling. At first, it seemed to suggest stargazing, but the sun wouldn't set until at least six, and by then it would be too late.

As Red Feather brought the lemonade, Maddie and Sonya tried to study it, while Baern looked over Maddie's shoulder - or rather, looked at it while on her shoulder. They didn't exactly like him being there - not only because of his cigars, but because of his attitude - but he had been such a big help so far, they didn't feel like they could just tell him to leave.

"Not really the sky? Maybe it's a… fake sky?"

"A fake sky?" asked Red. She handed the two of them the lemonade, having already consumed hers. "How can the sky be fake?"

"Uhm," said Baern, "when it's a planetarium?" Then he noticed all three of the Shadowchasers had turned to look at him. "What?"

"Baern, I could kiss you!" exclaimed Sonya.

Unfortunately, that caused the little elemental to freak, and he leapt from Maddie's shoulder, leaping to the roof of a building nearby. "WAIT!" she shouted. "Damn."

Then the Duel Disk on her arm started to buzz - Zhent was paging them now - they'd have to put Baern on hold.

She tapped the switch and said, "Go ahead."

"Sorry I couldn't respond to you last time, ladies." Zhent's voice sounded tired and exasperated - it seemed they might have caught him on a bad day too. "Listen, sorry how I snapped at you back there, the thought of that bomb going off in the courthouse is a disaster we do not need. That building has about two centuries worth of legal records in it -

"Calm down, we got it," interrupted Maddie. "This is why we use something called a database, you know, it's something you could -"

"Uh, I hate to interrupt here," said Sonya, alerting them to priorities for the second time.

"Right, right, Sergeant, does Cauldron have any planetariums?"

"Well, uhm," he started. "Planetariums… Obviously the one at Colfer, but -"

"Really?" exclaimed Maddie.

"Pretty sure everyone in Cauldron -"

"No, no, we know someone there. Listen, see if you can contact Professor Fawley, and fill him in. We'll be there in, uhm… Twenty minutes, give or take."

"I'm on it. Good luck."

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The clock ticked to 2:20 PM.

Of course, upon hearing of the potential threat, Fawley was not the type to sit around and do nothing. By this time, two sentries and one professor were leading students out of the College of Celestial Theory - a building where classes were held on divination magic, astronomy, astrology, and various related sciences - and they weren't too pleased. One professor planned an exam today, and no student wants to cram for a test and then have it called off. Of course, given the death toll that would have occurred had it gone off here, it seemed likely the three Shadowchasers had interpreted the riddle correctly. The only problem would be finding it.

The Celestial Apex, as it was called, was one of the greatest wonders of engineering and magic in Cauldron. Literally hundreds of gems - from decorative agates and azurites to valuable opals and sapphires - had been collected, carefully cut, polished, and enchanted, and placed in a reproduction of the night sky. Or rather, more than one night sky. The mechanism of the Apex itself could rearrange them in order to detail the stars of any month of either hemisphere. Plus, the stars could be linked with lines to emphasize specific constellations, including many that were only detailed in Shadowkind mythologies.

Fawley was now looking at the Apex through a special visor, one designed with the spell truesight cast on its lenses, hoping to find one star that shouldn't be there.

"Caius, switch to April of the South, I have a hunch here."

"Got it," said a voice from a balcony above them.

Behind him, another professor was comforting a woman. Dr. Myru Flores (a dean) - a lovely woman who could be mistaken for an elf, if not for her deep, green, catlike eyes and feline ears - and the Celestial Apex was her brainchild, a project she had spent 70 years - more than half of the lifespan of a hito-neko like herself - building it. The blueprints alone had taken two decades to perfect. It was her life's work…

"Calm down, Myru, we'll find it." As he continued to peer through the lenses, he wondered if he believed his own words.

"HEY!" shouted a voice from outside the door, followed by Maddie's voice shouting "Let us in!"

The door opened, with a large, hulking sentry half-carrying Maddie and Sonya with Red Feather standing behind with her usual - deadpan - expression.

"Put them down, Lorne" said Fawley, not needing to turn around, "I know them." Lorne nodded and dropped them, Red Feather following them into the Apex.

"Sorry about that, ladies, but I'm sure you know what the situation is."

"Well, sorry we couldn't shower before we got here, so any luck?"

Fawley looked over at Dr. Flores, then motioned for them to come closer. Once they had, he lowered his voice.

"Actually, kind of grim. Every gem in the Apex has an enchantment on it, and even assuming this Fire Crystal can be found that way, well -"

They looked up at the huge dome, with its swath of multicolored gems representing stars, all of them glowing and twinkling with magical light. The phrase "needle in a haystack" came to mind.

"I thought it might be in the Chamaeleon constellation, but no such luck. Without getting up there and looking closely at every single one, it's hard to be sure, and that could take days."

If only there was a way to… Wait… No… "Fawley! Is there any way to… Turn the stars off?"

"Well, yes, but -" Then Maddie's idea came to him too. "YES! That's brilliant! Caius, shut down -"

"Way ahead of you, chief!" said the voice from the balcony. "Cutting power to the Celestial Apex… Now!"

The stars on the dome started to wink out, one color at a time, while the main lighting started to dim. After about thirty seconds or so, it was dark in the large chamber, almost no twinkle from the gems above… Almost.

"There's the stinker," said Sonya.

Indeed, while the mechanism that powered the device was what gave the gems their light, the planted Fire Crystal glowed with light of its own and its location was now obvious.

"Okay, we found it, we're going to need a ladder or something to get it -"

"Wait."

"Dr. Flores?" asked Fawley.

It was, and she seemed more confident now. "I know a faster way, here."

She produced something from her robe and offered it towards Maddie. It was a flask with a - live - spider and what looked like a small blob of tar.

"Uhm…," said Maddie. She had no idea what Flores meant for her to do with this, but then she heard Jigsaw's voice in her head, chuckling.

"Bitumen and a spider, hmm, both necessary for someone - I assume that's you - to use the novice transmutation spider climb. Which means if you want to go up there and get it, you'll have to eat them."

"Oh, you are so dead when I find you," she whispered.

The response came after another chuckle. "Certainly then, your hatred of me is enough to endure a little… discomfort?"

"Gimme," said Maddie out loud. She took the flask and looked closely at the still-moving spider. Even doing that made her feel a little sick. "You just happened to have this on you?"

"Twice a week the Apex has to be cleaned," explained Flores. "Usually, the job is done by students who are given detention."

Of course, she thought. She opened the vial. Well, here goes…

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Fawley looked at his pocket watch. 2:32 PM

"Left Madelyn," said Casius. Right, a little more. Stop. Now go straight."

In retrospect, that spider and lump of tar weren't the worst things she had ever forced herself to eat (the casu marzu cheese some kobolds had given her once came to mind - obviously an acquired taste) but now that she had, actually climbing the wall and then the ceiling to get to the gem was a difficult task that she really wished she had experience with. As she crept slowly towards the Fire Crystal, her eyes closed for the most part, Casius directed her while Fawley helped by spotting.

"Take it slow and easy, Maddie," called Sonya, "pretend you're Spider-Woman."

As she did so, Dr. Flores and the other professor were going through a notebook, her keen cat-like eyes and a soft light from his torchlight spell letting her do so with relative ease.

"No, no," she mused. "No."

"What's in the book?" asked Sonya.

"It's a book used for recording dweomers," said Fawley, "it records and identifies spell use cast within a hundred feet of it."

Flores pointed to the most recent entry in the notebook, where the word "torchlight" had just appeared. "I use this in case any students try to cheat," she said, sternly. "If our saboteur used magic to break into this room or plant the Crystal within the last three days, it should be documented here." She sighed, and then tossed it on the desk in front of her. "If he used magic at all, either he did it before then or somehow found a way around it."

"Our foe is certainly well prepared," said Red Feather. "Do you think he may be a student? Or a former student?"

Sonya was thinking the same thing, and also reconsidering her previous presumption about random targets.

Thus far, the targets have been a metallurgist who supplied the town guard, the Civics Office, the Courts, and now this… A successful attack on even one of them would cost the city dearly, and the Apex and Jacob's shop seemed… personal. There has to be some sort of common thread to it all.

"Okay, Madelyn, you almost have it," said Casius, "it's just a few inches from your right hand. That's it…"

Maddie chanced to open her eyes and saw it. Slowly, her hand crept to the Crystal…

"GOT it!" she exclaimed. Her hand closed around it.

"Good, good, now twist it counterclockwise two or three times and it should come out."

"Heh," said Maddie, her nervous tone showing a small iota of satisfaction, "you lose again, Jigsaw."

Unfortunately for her, it seemed he had one more trick here. Fawley saw it first - on the wall opposite where she was, there was another star that shone with its own light, a green gem that had just appeared…

"No, Maddie!" he shouted.

Too late. Maddie ripped the Crystal out of the wall as the green Spell Crystal unleashed a powerful Lightning Bolt towards her…

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Maddie was falling.

But it was more like floating, not plummeting. What had happened? She remembered reaching for that Crystal and trying to unscrew it, then Fawley's warning, and grabbing hold of it right before some flash of light…

Was she asleep? Was she dreaming?

Am I dead? she thought.

Then she heard it again, the female voice that had given her the "extra" riddle. The one she had yet to answer - it had another…

A five-letter word, I am used to make bread,

Remove one letter, I'll burn you instead,

Instead remove two, what you do to a stew,

Mix that around, a drink you can brew.

Ugh… she thought. Wheat?

"Correct. You are on the right track."

"Maddie?" said Fawley's voice. "Maddie?"

Then her eyes snapped open. The riddle she had just heard was still at the front of her mind, right next to the first.

"Maddie?"

"I'm awake!" she shouted. She lifted her hand, which was still clutching the Crystal. Ripping it out of the fixture had damaged the device, as had the lightning bolt that had fortunately missed, but thanks to Fawley's split second casting of feather fall, she was safe, and the fourth Crystal was secure.

"Are you sure?" asked Red.

Maddie nodded in reply. "I'm fine, just… didn't expect it. What time is it?"

"It's 2:43 And now we have another riddle."

Red lifted the scroll, which now had changed for the fifth time:

The Wanton Wench at Lakeside,

Her arms are open wide,

Beneath her bales of golden hair,

Her hidden charms reside.

"Oh, I definitely know where Lakeside is," said Fawley. "It's a cross street about five blocks from here to the south - a lot of students go there after classes, there's a lot of bars and nightclubs on it if you know what I mean."

"Okay then," said Sonya, "lets -"

"Wait, wait," said Maddie. She groaned a little, her head was pounding. "Red, Sonya, you think you can manage this one on your own? I… I think there's some… research here I could do that we could use. To… to find this guy."

"Are you sure?"

Maddie nodded. "Red, give me your Disk, we can collaborate with three-way contact here."

None of them had any idea what Maddie had in mind, but she seemed sure and there was no time to explain it. Red Feather nodded, then handed the Disk over, taking her deck from it and placing it in a pouch on her belt.

"Uh, Fawley," asked Sonya, "don't suppose we can bum a shortcut off you?"

Fawley smirked, then snapped his fingers three times in unison. "Apportation specialist, remember?" The teleport other took hold on Red Feather and Sonya, and they faded away.

Once they were gone, Maddie's head had started to clear. Of course, both Fawley and Myra were as confused as Red and Sonya were.

"Uhm, what exactly did you need to -" started the professor.

"You, uhm, got a notebook and pen I could borrow?" asked Maddie quickly. "Oh, and…" She noticed that her shorts and t-shirt were a complete mess. "Maybe a change of clothes here?"

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Fortunately for Maddie, Fawley was able to get her a replacement for her filthy and soiled clothing (which she told him to burn) rather quickly. The student academic robes she was given were loose, billowy, and strangely comforting.

She was in a library in the same building as the planetarium now, where she quickly wrote down those two verses that the odd female voice had told her. An idea had come to her with the second one - this odd curse prevented her from outright telling anyone about this strange voice, but maybe she could relay the messages indirectly.

The first one, which she had yet to decipher, was:

You need a hook to catch a fish,

A flickering lure to catch its eye,

But minnows are a paltry dish,

When one has bigger fish to fry.

The second was:

A five-letter word, I am used to make bread,

Remove one letter, I'll burn you instead,

Instead remove two, what you do to a stew,

Mix that around, a drink you can brew.

She had already solved this one, at least the voice had told her she had. But Maddie couldn't help but think this was one of those riddles with more than one answer. "Wheat" was indeed a five-letter word for something used to make bread, while removing one letter made "heat", and removing the first letter of that gave you "eat". Which was an anagram of "tea", a drink that was brewed.

"Peculiar." Fawley noticed them, looking over her shoulder. "You got these from -"

"Somewhere," she replied. "Not the same person as the one planting the Crystals, but I'm not sure if that makes it better for us or worse." She pointed to the first verse. "I'm starting to wonder if this one is a riddle at all. A hook, a lure…"

"Bait?" added Fawley.

The realization started to come to Maddie. "Flickering? Are all these attacks just meant as a distraction?"

"Unfortunately," said Fawley, "I'd say it's very likely."

I started to make sense. In a terrifying way. If this was a distraction, what was his main goal? What did he want that was so important that such a horrid swath of destruction was - in his sick mind - justified?

"Whatever this madman's true goal is, I doubt it has anything literally to do with bread, stew, or tea."

"Jigsaw may have dropped an important clue back there - he knew what the spider and tar were for."

"Well, spider climb is a pretty remedial spell, almost all wizards know the components."

"Well, he is a wizard, that much we know."

Maddie had a strange feeling there was some part of this she hadn't gotten yet.

"Dr. Fawley, not to change the subject, but does the name 'Pollodema' mean anything to you?"

"You mean the infernal consort of Hextor the Wrathful One? I've got a pretty extensive file on that in - uh, Maddie, are you okay? You just turned pale…"

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In the south part of Cauldron, Red Feather materialized; Fawley's spell was almost on target, the pair appearing about a block away from Lakeside Avenue, both of them fortunately appearing in the same place.

Something Red Feather started to realize - they had first gotten the scroll at the east part of Cauldron, and since then, they had nearly circumnavigated about three fourths of the city in a counterclockwise path. Was there a purpose behind this?

For now, it had only been a short walk to Lakeside Avenue, a long stretch of road that Sonya later likened to "Westeros' Vegas". There were indeed a lot of bars and nightclubs, many of which seemed shady and risqué, though given the time of day, only a few of them were open.

As they considered what to do now, the communication device on Sonya's Disk started to flash and vibrate again. She hit the response button and asked, "Zhent?"

"No, it's me," said a female voice. Dr. Flores was in a far better mood, as the cheery tone of her voice showed. "Listen, I think I know where you need to go, one of the establishments is a bar called the Moxie Maiden. 'Wanton' could be construed as a negative synonym for 'moxie', while 'wench' could be the same for 'maiden', and there's a figurehead inside shaped like a mermaid with her arms outstretched." Sonya started to look around, but Flores had further directions. "South end of the street, near a stables. Good luck."

With a short "Thanks!" they ran down the street in that direction, briefly checking the clock tower which now read 2:50.

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When Fawley had left to find a book for a reference, Maddie was going through, of all things, a Bible. She had remembered that "feeding the multitude" story where Jesus had fed thousands of people with only a few loaves and fish. Unfortunately, it seemed only a coincidence here.

"Here we go," said Fawley.

The tome he placed on the desk had the ominous title, Magicians, Martyrs, and Madmen, the author listed as Leon Zundinger. As Fawley leafed through the large tome, Maddie noticed several full-page, color illustrations, many of them well-made, but with disturbing imagery.

Finally, he stopped at one of them, a painting of a kneeling female with her head bowed, with four arms, two outstretched with palms facing up, and two clasped, praying.

"That's her!" she exclaimed. "She's Hextor's wife?"

"Yes, and she's bad news," said Fawley with a nod. "As far as infernal nobles go, Pollodema is very, very young. She only became known to mortal diabolists and occultists about seven centuries ago."

"Heh, a rebellious teenager, huh?"

Not a bad analogy, actually. But the thing is, when infernal nobles have spoiled or disobedient daughters, they often try to discipline them by 'giving' them to more powerful rulers as concubines, something they regard as a… lesson in character building. But it seems Pollodema caught on fast, learned how to manipulate and seduce others the way devils typically do, going from a concubine to Hextor's favored consort fast and then a consort, plus an unofficial advisor. Given how politics in Hell work, her parents would have been very proud."

"So, she's a succubus then?"

"Maybe that word could have described her once, but since then she has evolved into something else… a Devil of Corruption."

"Uhm, never heard that before."

Fawley explained as best he could. A "succubus" preyed on mortals through carnal desires and lust, but a Devil of Corruption expanded on that theme. Mortals had many other vices that a diabolical tempter could exploit.

"Have you ever known someone who was frugal to a fault, so much that everyone calls him a cheapskate? You know the type, he's the only adult you know who brings a sandwich to work rather than eat at the cafeteria. He shops at outlet stores, often buying clothes that are out of style or the wrong size, and buys generic brands of food, always complaining about high prices. Everyone knows at least someone like that."

Maddie nodded - of course she did. Fawley continued. "But sometimes he takes it a little overboard. Maybe he has 'one bad day'. He wakes up, checks his bank account, and finds the bills are going to be higher this month, then he stops at a store to get milk and finds the price is higher, and then he finds out his daughter needs her wisdom teeth removed. All this in one day causes him to fly into a rage and vow to tighten his belt even more.

"Before you know it, his 'frugal' habits seem better described as 'stingy' and 'selfish'. The whole concept of generosity is a burden to him. The rare times he goes to restaurants, he undertips, or maybe doesn't tip at all. He refuses to buy napkins, reusing cloth rags. Then he refuses to use fuel for lights, or heat, or even cooking. Finally, after all his friends and family desert him, he becomes a true miser. He does his best to avoid spending money at all, and any time he has to, he rants and complains about ending up in the poorhouse, an ironic statement given the squalor his behavior has reduced him to. Eventually, he becomes malnourished from living on cold oatmeal and stale bread, and unable to make himself burn fuel in the coldest of winters. Eventually he dies alone, having amassed a fortune he would never let himself enjoy."

"That's… grim," said Maddie.

"Now, he could have ended up like this on his own - in fact, that is the most likely possibility. Or maybe… Maybe that 'one bad day' where he got angry and started to go too far, something took notice, a dark beast who whispered to him from the shadows, warning him that splurging even once might send him down the path to financial ruin, the unfortunate victim never knowing that the small spark of Greed within him has now consumed him and he has become something far worse.

"That is how a Devil of Corruption operates."

"Whoa," said Maddie.

"And that is just one example. Sometimes it's an athlete who is bested in a competition and proves a sore loser, complaining about it for days - if he dwells on it too long, he can become bitter and obsessed. A beautiful woman who freaks when she looks in a mirror and sees a single gray hair? She might obsess over it until her flaws are all she sees. Those bad days are a beacon for those who would corrupt and exploit. And that's what Pollodema is."

"Well, I -" started Maddie. "UGH!"

"Maddie?"

The young Shadowchaser clutched her head as the now familiar female voice started talking again. This time, however, she was ready. She took the pen and started writing the words as they came to her mind…

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The next part of the "Souled Out!" interlude should be up by next Wednesday. Until then, be here this Wednesday (as in, tomorrow) for "BLOCKBUSTER! Yu-Gi-Oh!".

Gonna be a smash.