Chapter Seventeen: Subterranean Scuffle


Sanguinus may have wanted to avoid a fight, but once it was thrust on him, he was no less fearsome than his fellows. He darted around the chamber with remarkable agility, slicing through Willow's vines with his blade. He was, however, mostly fighting defensively, focusing on evading her spells while only occasionally sending a light stun spell her way.

On the flip side, Briares was much less worried about hurting the kids, going all out with his hammer. Its iron head tore what was left of the room apart as he chased after Gus, getting past his mirror clones by smashing each one as it appeared. He didn't strike with the most finesse, but more than made up for it with his brute strength, having Gus on the ropes trying to avoid his strikes.

This left Ophelia to go after Luz. The Scuttlejaw was intimidating, but seemed to take after her master in preferring to take them in alive. She preferred to throw around her body weight and tail whips to disable Luz, occasionally snapping at her to drive her back. But Luz wasn't one to be driven back easily.

She hurled a shock glyph at the beast, the lightning momentarily stunning her. This only seemed to anger Ophelia, who roared as she leapt into the air, trying to pounce on the human. With a quick roll, Luz avoided being squished, but she didn't avoid Ophelia's follow up attack. The creature's tail slammed into her, knocking her off her feet.

Before Ophelia could grab Luz in her jaws, a fire glyph made contact with her mouth instead. The Scuttlejaw let out a shriek as she staggered backwards, dragging the burn through the dirt. She glared furiously at the human, who held another fire glyph at the ready. "Back up!" shouted Luz, preparing to throw it. "Don't make me use this thing! …Again!"

If the monsters of the Boiling Isles shared one thing with the animals of earth, it was an instinctual aversion to flames. Ophelia backed away from the human, though made it clear by her snarling that she wasn't happy about it. Luz grabbed a handful of the glyphs and threw them to the ground, creating a wall of fire to separate Ophelia from the rest of the room.

Luz joined Willow, launching herself into the air with an ice pillar, and throwing another glyph to freeze Sanguinus. He turned just as she did so, slicing the slip of paper in half so that two icicles appeared on the wall behind him. He was grabbed by vines when he landed, just as quickly cutting through them.

"That's an interesting way of casting spells," Sanguinus mused as he faced off against Luz and Willow. "I had heard humans' greatest strength was their creativity, but I never imagined one would find a way to use magic."

Despite his status as an enemy, Luz grinned, feeling that his complement was sincere. "You'll find I'm full of surprises!" She glanced at Willow, and the two launched a joint attack, combining their vines and electricity into a cage around him. When Sanguinus tried to cut through it, he found that a current ran through his sword and into him, the jolt making him stagger back.

Admiring the trap they had placed him in, Sanguinus grinned as well. "Not bad. But you aren't the only creative one here, human!" He whistled, the shrill sound drawing the attention of his companion. Ophelia propelled herself off the wall and over the flames, biting through the vines. The volts affected her, but much less than her master. Within seconds, he was on her back, brandishing his blade like a knight on horseback. "Now, to discard the training wand!"

"Hey guys, think we can wrap this up? I'm almost–Woah!" Gus appeared behind the two, having to avoid Sanguinus' sudden rush forward as well. Ophelia carried her master to the far end of the room, before doubling back and standing beside Briares. "-Almost out of juice…" He looked up at the Inquisitors, not liking how they seemed to be preparing something.

"Just hold on a bit longer, I think we've got them on the ropes!" said Willow. The three of them prepared for the duo's counterattack.

On the ropes the Inquisitors were not. "Surround them!" shouted Briares. He charged to the left as the beast rider charged to the right, circling the young witches. Luz threw a light glyph into the air, shielding her eyes as a blinding flash lit up the room. While it had the intended effect of disorienting their attackers, Briares didn't need to see to use his magic. He drew a quick spell circle that went around his wrist, before driving his fist into the ground.

The ground and ceiling alike shook from the impact, causing both pillars of stone to shoot up from beneath them, and bits of earth to fall from above. Willow created a barrier out of branches, but most weren't strong enough to completely protect them. The floor was uneven, leading to the three being separated. Ophelia carried her master out of harm's way, but Sanguinus doubled back to bisect a rock that would have landed on the children. "Briares! A little more restraint would be nice!"

"The time for restraint has passed!" Briares replied, grabbing hold of Luz and lifting her up. "These witchlings have proven themselves unreasonable. Now, we must deliver this human to our new master!"

With Briares' enormous hand wrapped around both her arms, Luz couldn't reach her glyphs. This didn't stop her from struggling. "Let me go, tu gran simio feo!" she shouted, kicking at his side for all the good it did. "Bajame antes de que me ponga realmente enojada!"

She didn't expect the Inquisitors to listen to her, and they didn't, carrying her through the tunnel they had made through the mural. She found herself in the old mines, atop a wooden walkway that looked like it would fall apart any minute. Beneath them, quite a long way down, was a river running through the cavern.

Briares dropped her down in front of Ophelia, whose bared teeth prevented her from running off then and there. "You hold her," said Briares. "I will need two hands to navigate this treacherous ruin."

Sanguinus had sheathed his sword, running a hand along Ophelia's side. "Easy, girl. She may be tough, but she's still just a child." He drew a spell circle, and Luz's hands were magically bound behind her back. "Alright. Let's get you out of here."

Luz struggled as he lifted her onto Ophelia's back, being surprisingly gentle with her. "Hey! Put me down!" she protested, trying to snap through her magical bindings. "You just wait 'til Gus and Willow get here, we'll kick your asses six ways from sunday!" Sanguinus wasn't put off in the slightest by her words–if anything, a brief look of sympathy crossed his face. Once she was in place, he climbed onto the beast in front of her, and they set off.

"I know this isn't ideal for you, but trust me, it won't be as bad as you think." While Briares lumbered across the precarious walkways, Ophelia was far more nimble as she crossed the bridges over the cavern. "I doubt Belos plans on keeping you imprisoned, at least for too long. He's…well, ruthless is putting it mildly, but I don't think he'd hurt a kid."

Luz glared at the back of her captor's head. "You get how that doesn't exactly reassure me," she said. "And even if he just wants to talk, or whatever he wants, am I supposed to just ignore that he wants to capture Eda? Or take over the Isles? I can't just leave!"

"And why not?" Sanguinus turned to face her. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Belos has all but taken over the Isles already. And as for your mentor, I know how close the two of you are, but she is still a criminal. A word of advice: sometimes the only way to win is to run away."

While he was talking, Luz had been reaching into her back pocket. "If we're talking words of advice, here's some for you: just because you tie someone up, it doesn't mean they're helpless!" A vine shot out of the plant glyph in Luz's hands, wrapping around a wooden beam and pulling her off of Ophelia. She swung over the chasm, planting her feet on a bridge which she narrowly avoided stumbling off. "Woah! That was perilous…"

The Inquisitors turned to pursue. "After her!" bellowed Briares, leaping across the chasm into a nearby wooden platform, which splintered under his weight, but didn't fall. After getting his footing, he leapt onto the next, and the next after that.

"What else would I be doing!?" Ophelia carried Sanguinus after the escaped human, who scurried to the other side of the cavern. Her hands were still tied, but she was able to throw a fire glyph, setting the bridge alight and fending off the beast.

"Oookay, just don't look down, don't look down," Luz said to herself as she stumbled down the wooden path. The structures were exceedingly ancient, barely able to support the weight of a single human, let alone two massive creatures chasing her. The fire she had set wasn't helping, either. The supports creaked under the strain, looking to collapse any moment. Just as Luz looked behind her to gauge her pursuers' distance, there was a powerful crash in front of her. She yelped and stumbled back as Briares rose up and loomed over her.

The ogre gripped tightly to his hammer, but didn't raise it yet. "Inquisitor Sanguinus was right: you are bold, Luz the human. But you are out of your league against Belos and his legions. Give up now, while you still can."

"Do you really expect me to surrender that easily?" Luz fired a bolt of lightning at her attacker, hitting him directly in the face…only to turn back with fire in his eyes and no marks left behind.

A low growl escaped his throat. "You think you stand a chance against me, Luz the human?" He raised the hammer above his head, holding it like a trophy. "You now face Briares Hyperborea, mightiest gladiator of the Isles! A fearless warrior, forged in the pits of Underbelly!" Luz threw an ice glyph, but he was only frozen for a few moments, easily breaking out of the ice. "This is where your resistance ends!" He swung the hammer, bringing it down. Luz shielded herself, when an unexpected voice sounded.

"Stop!" Sanguinus and Ophelia crashed into Briares, pushing all of them onto the stone behind him. "What is the matter with you!? I get that you were raised with violence, but are you seriously going to flatten a kid!?"

Angrily, Briares shoved Ophelia off of him and stood up, facing down at his fellow Inquisitor. "What does it matter!? I learned from a young age to defeat your enemies by any means necessary, no matter who they are. I would have thought a bounty hunter would have had similar ideals. Or has service to the Emperor made you a coward?"

"This has nothing to do with that!" While the two argued, Luz stealthily began her escape. "What about following orders, I know you learned that! Because Belos specifically told us to bring the human in alive–smashed with a hammer typically doesn't lead to that outcome!"

"Guys! You made it!"

Luz froze as she heard her own voice crying out further along the cliff. She and the other two turned to see her running to join Gus and Willow. "Hurry!" said Gus, equally loudly, "we have to get out of here before they notice us!"

Predictably, as loud as they were being, Briares noticed them. He bellowed as he gave chase, hammer raised. "Too late!" shouted Willow, as all three of them ran for it. Briares hadn't noticed, but Luz had, that the other her's wrists weren't still bound, though she suspected she knew why.

"Psst! Luz!" Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a brief flicker of another Gus and Willow beside her. "C'mon, we gotta go! Those illusions won't last forever!"

"You made it!" Luz grabbed hold of Gus' hand, turning her invisible as well. "I was worried you guys might've been flattened!"

"It'll take more than that to flatten us!" said Willow triumphantly. "Oh–here." A quick spell was all that was needed to reverse Santuinus' bindings. Luz smiled as she rubbed her wrists–they weren't really sore, what with them being magical bindings, but it still felt right. "Now let's get going, I've had enough of those two for a while!"

The trio remained hidden as Briares and Sanguinus gave chase, but they hadn't escaped the notice of one keen eye. Though they were invisible to the human–or witch–eye, they still caught the attention of a certain Scuttlejaw. Leaving her master's side, she leapt across the bridges to where the young witches hid. "I think it sees us!" Luz whisper-shouted.

Anxious by the beast's approach, Gus pulled his two friends faster. "Nah, it's probably a coincidence," he said nervously. "Maybe she just saw a…a butterfly or something. She can't have seen us, we're invisible!"

But Ophelia's path put her directly in front of them, not only blocking their path, but glaring directly at them. She growled like a guard dog, not attacking, but not letting them past. "No, she definitely sees us," Willow said.

"That wasn't a bad trick." Luz turned around as Sanguinus blocked them from the other side. "You really had Briares fooled. Even had me fooled. But you can't fool my girl." He pointed at Ophelia with his sword. "Now look, I know you wanna fight. I would too, if I was in your shoes. But right now isn't the time, and it definitely isn't the place. C'mon, let's get out of this place. I'll even let you sit up front."

There was really no point in remaining invisible anymore at this point, so Gus dispelled the illusion. "So you're telling us to just give up?" he said.

He shrugged. "It's better than the alternative. If we keep this up, one of us is going to get hurt. It might be one of us, or it might be one of you. But I know that, really, you don't want it to be either. You're a good kid, I could tell right away.

As much as she hated to admit it, Luz knew he had a point. She wasn't afraid to fight for her friends, be it Eda, Amity, Willow, Gus…but at the end of the day, she didn't want anyone to get hurt. "Is that why you let me go? Back at the Owl House?"

Sanguinus nodded. "I…don't think a lot of people out there would consider me a good person. Myself included. But all of this? Sending all these unstable criminals after one person, a kid at that? That's where I draw the line."

"Then why don't you stop?" said Willow.

"Wish I could, kid." He shot a glance over at Ophelia. "Wish I could."

Stomping footfalls heralded the arrival of the other Inquisitor. "Enough stalling, Inquisitor Sanguinus!" shouted Briares. "You speak of obedience, now obey our master! Bring them to him!"

"He's right." Reluctantly, Sanguinus beckoned Ophelia. "Bring 'em here." The Scuttlejaw snapped at the witchlings to drive them to the other side, the bridge creaking beneath their feet. Any attempt to escape could cause it to collapse–something that once Luz realized, gave her an idea.

Reaching into her pocket, she whipped out an explosion glyph, holding it above her head. "Alright, nobody move!" she yelled. "If any of you comes any closer, this entire place is coming down! Don't think I won't do it!" While they weren't entirely sure what spell was on that glyph, her attackers backed off, not sure what it could do.

"Luz, no offense, but what are you doing!?" Willow hissed. "I thought the whole point was to get out of here alive, not blow ourselves to pieces!"

"I'm, uh, kinda making this up as I go," answered Luz. Even though the inquisitors had backed off, the trio was still on a bridge with nowhere to go. Nowhere to go…except down. "Willow? When I give the signal, do you think you could cushion our fall?"

"I-I'm sorry, what?" said Willow.

Both Sanguinus and Briares were trying to figure out how to approach this situation. "Easy with that thing, kid," said the former. "She's right: you're not going to accomplish anything by putting yourselves in danger. Just put the glyph down, and we can talk about this peacefully."

She did, slowly lowering her arm. However, she was still holding tight to the paper. "You know what? Maybe you're right. Sometimes the only way to win…is to run away." Her thumb tapped the glyph, and she dropped it over the edge.

Five pairs of eyes watched the slip as it drifted downwards like a leaf, glowing brighter all the while. Soon enough, a deafening boom shook the entire cavern as it exploded like a bomb, taking a good chunk out of a support beam directly beneath the trio. The bridge quaked, stalactites fell from above, and everyone nearly lost their footing. And the broken pillar creaked as it began to tilt, threatening to take the bridge with it.

The entire system of bridges and platforms started to collapse. "You maniac–what have you done!?" roared Briares, grabbing hold of a rope. "You have doomed us all!"

Luz stared at him triumphantly, quite unlike Willow's and Gus' concerned expressions. "What I did was secure us an exit!" As the pillar fell, it took the section of bridge they were on with it. Wood splintered and ropes tore, and the three of them plummeted into the water below. "See ya lateeeeeer!" Luz said as she fell.

"This isn't how I wanted to go out!" moaned Gus as the water below rapidly approached. "I always thought I'd have a nobler death, not falling to my doom in some random mine!"

"We're not dead yet!" said Willow. She thrust out her arms, and a flurry of leaves swirled around the trio, pulling them closer. These leaves wrapped themselves around them, sealing the three into a giant leaf cocoon. The mass of leaves splashed down into the water, disappearing beneath the surface.

After several seconds, the cocoon resurfaced, and all three took a deep gasp of air. The leaves unfurled into one single giant leaf that acted as a raft for them. Soaked but unharmed, the trio was finally able to catch their breath.

Luz, unlike the other two, was elated. "Ha-ha! I knew that would work! In your faces, Inquisiturds!" She pointed up at the duo, who were still trying to navigate the collapsing bridge. Come to think of it, the cavern still seemed to be rumbling. "Huh. That explosion must've been stronger than I thought!"

Willow was nowhere near as happy as she was. "Nice job almost killing us!" she snapped. "Hey, next time you plan on throwing yourself and everyone around you into a river, don't! Or at least run it by us first!"

"Hey, I did ask if you could catch us," Luz said. "And you did! Don't worry, I wouldn't put us in danger if I didn't think we could handle it. Besides, now we're safe!"

But the cavern was still shaking. "Uh, are we?" asked Gus. The rumbling was growing louder, almost like something was getting closer. Whatever it was, it shook the cavern even more, furthering the collapse of the bridge above. As it got closer, it almost sounded like rushing water. And then they saw it: a massive wave of water, racing right towards them.

"Okay, time to go!" said a fearful Luz. Willow created leaf paddles that began pushing the raft forward, while Gus put up a small shield behind them. But their efforts weren't enough to stop the enormous tidal wave heading their way. "Hold onto something!"

Within seconds, everything was washed away. The force of the water on the cliff's sides tore what was left of the bridges away. Ophelia clung to the wall, Sanguinus holding onto her tail. Briares lost his grip, plummeting into the river. And the leaf raft was swept away, like a leaf in a churning river. Which it was.

Since there was nothing to hold onto except the ground, that's what the trio held onto as they were thrown this way and that by the white water. "Gus? Gus!" cried Luz, trying to locate her friend.

"I'm here!" he called back, holding on tight. "How far does this thing go!?"

"Beats me!" replied Willow. "I guess we'll just have to–Urgh!" A piece of debris from the bridge crashed into the raft, shunting it violently to the side. Willow was thrown off by the impact.

"Willow!" Luz whipped out a plant glyph, catching her friend with a vine before she could be lost to the churning waters. She hauled her back aboard, holding her tightly along with Gus. "Are you alright!?"

She was even more soaked than before, but Willow was no worse for wear. "I can't believe I used to like rides like this!" she said.

What had once been a lazily winding river through the underground tunnels had now turned into a raging torrent screaming through the mountainside. The leaf raft barely made it through hairpin turns and jumps from waterfalls as it raced to a destination that was hopefully nearby. A violent mass of broken wood and stone churned behind them, threatening to reduce their raft to pulp if it got too close.

From out of this same mass burst a familiar and quite unwelcome figure. "Graaagh!" Briares latched into the raft, intent on pulling himself aboard. "You will not escape, Luz the human!" His added weight threatened to pull them under as he crawled closer to his target.

"Is this really what's important to you right now!?" said Gus.

Scrambling back as the brute came closer, Luz rooted through her pockets for a glyph that wasn't completely ruined. She threw a fire glyph, but it had little effect, only seeming to make him angrier. Eventually, she found a light glyph, just dry enough to work. "Luz! Wait for my signal!" shouted Willow.

Luz waited, unsure of what she had planned. Willow sent out some vines, which wrapped around a rocky outcropping on a nearby wall. She dug in her heels and pulled, the momentum of the raft turning it to the side. When she let go, Briares was on the side that was in the path of a large rock.

"Go for it!" Luz did, throwing the light glyph right into his face. Briares roared and clutched his eyes, completely unaware of the rock in his path until he collided with it. He was thrown off of the raft, disappearing back into the water.

That was one problem dealt with, but there was still the matter of the peril they found themselves in. "Well, that's him down," said Willow. "Hopefully." The raft continued on its path, the water showing no signs of slowing.

"Uh…guys?" said Gus. "I've got good news and bad news."

"Huh?" Luz was surprised their situation was enough to have both. "Well, go ahead!"

"The good news is, I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said, pointing.

"That is good news!" said Willow, squinting to see the approaching exit. "...Oh." She deflated once she saw it.

"Yeah," said Gus. "That's the bad news."

They were indeed approaching a light, showing that the way out was close. Unfortunately, what was an exit from the caverns for a lazy river was nowhere near big enough for all the water and debris rushing towards it. "We'll be crushed!" said Willow.

"Not if I can help it!" Luz rifled through her pockets once more, searching for the one thing that could save them. "C'mon, c'mon!" she groaned as she pulled out soggy slip after soggy slip. "There's gotta be one here!"

Willow knew what she was planning, and she didn't like it a bit. "Luz, don't! We're in enough danger as it is! We don't need you making more!"

"I dunno, Willow, it's not like this can get any worse!" said Gus. And, as if on cue, a thrashing shape emerged from the water nearby. Ophelia rose above the surface, swimming towards them. "Ah, of course! Why'd I have to open my mouth!?"

The wall with only enough space for a brook was coming closer. "Just one, c'mon, just gimme one!" said Luz. The wall was within strolling distance. "Got it!" Luz pulled out one more explosion glyph, preparing to hurl it at the wall.

Ophelia pounced. Luz threw the glyph. And the wall was blasted to pieces.

It was like a dam bursting. The side of the cliff exploded, sending bits of rock raining into the pond below as thousands of gallons of water gushed through the new opening, carrying tons of debris, a giant leaf, and five waterlogged witches with it. The mountainside was completely soaked as the water flowed into the ocean, carrying most of the driftwood with it. Meanwhile, Luz pulled her head above water, coughing.

"Guys? Guys, are you alright!?" she shouted. Gus was lying prone on the beached leaf raft, while Willow was wringing out her hair on the shore.

"No…" said Gus. Willow pulled Luz ashore as he continued to lay there. "I think I've had enough water to last me a lifetime. I may never be thirsty again."

A pained growl made the three of them jump, turning back towards the entrance. Luz's explosion had caused the opening to collapse behind them, and beneath it was Ophelia, trapped underneath a wooden beam. She futilely scrabbled at the ground, but the weight of the rocks on the beam was too much for her to lift.

"Come on, we should go before they come to," Willow said, pulling the other two away from the pool.

Gus noticed that they were leaving footprints in the sand. "Wait a minute…hang on, I've got an idea!" He led them over to a path, only to double back once they reached it. They hid behind a rock, as he further obscured their position with an illusion. Even if Ophelia could see them this time, she was in no position to chase after them. Luz had to admit, she did look kind of pitiable like that, like a rat in a mousetrap.

Briares emerged from the water, snorting like an angry bull. "Those children are as formidable as they are unpredictable," he said, pulling Sanguinus up. He scanned the area, following the footprints when he saw them. "Come. We must pursue them before they get far."

Sanguinus shook water out of his ear. "Man, you just got flushed out of a giant toilet! How are you still…no. No, no, no no!" Noticing his beast trapped underneath the rubble, he immediately ran to her side. "What did they do to you!? Hey, calm down, I'll get you outta there." He tried to dig through the rubble to free her, but the sheer amount of rocks made this a futile effort.

"There is no time for that!" said Briares. "If we hesitate, they will escape from our grasp! Leave her, we will return."

"I can't just leave her!" shouted Sanguinus. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up once she's free."

Growling slightly, Briares looked like he wanted to argue further. Instead, he turned to the direction the trio's footprints had gone, and chased after them. His footfalls vanished into the distance as the three of them watched him go from their hiding place.

A sigh of relief from Gus. "Okay, I think he's gone," he said quietly. "C'mon, let's get out of here before that Scuttlejaw comes after us again! I think home's this way…" He set off, making sure they were still invisible.

But Luz stayed still, her eyes fixed on the trapped creature. "Luz?" said Willow. "Luz, come on, we have to go. …Oh, don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking! He tried to kill us, we can't help him!"

"We can't just leave him, either," said Luz. "I know he works for Belos, but…so far, he's been a lot nicer to us than any of the other Inquisitors. Besides, just look at her! I-I know it doesn't make much sense, but…" She shook her head, having made up her mind. Against the others' whispered protests, she walked out of the illusion and made her way over to him.

Sanguinus had made no progress towards freeing Ophelia, with neither magic nor his hands making any dents in the pile. Panting, he was using his sword as a lever, which seemed to be going the same way. Ophelia had stopped struggling as well, seemingly resigned to her fate. "You're okay, stay with me, girl," he said, still keeping up his efforts.

Having up until this point remained unnoticed, Luz spoke up. "Um…hello," she said awkwardly. "I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear from me right now, but…do you need some help?"

Although Sanguinus was surprised to see that Luz was still here, he didn't try to chase her, only sighing in frustration. "You haven't run away, huh? Ah, it's just as well. I'm not gonna chase you, so you might as well go." He sat down next to his partner, defeated. "No sense in gloating."

"No, no, I'm not gloating!" said Luz. "I really want to help. You were right: I don't want anyone to get hurt. Especially someone who doesn't deserve it." She knelt down next to Ophelia, retreating when she was growled at. She looked at Sanguinus for permission to move forward.

He thought for a moment, then placed a hand on Ophelia's side. "Easy, girl. It's alright." The Scuttlejaw was wary, but allowed Luz to approach. Underneath the beam that held the beast, she drew several glyphs in the dirt. Once the numerous sigils were in place, she tapped them one at a time. Pillars of ice rose up from the ground, lifting the beam off of Ophelia. She crawled out once it was high enough, standing beside Sanguinus. Both of them looked relieved as they touched foreheads.

"There," Luz said, "all better. So, uh…would it be too much to ask that you not turn me in now?"

Sanguinus chuckled. "No, I think I'll let you off the hook this time. You really did me a kindness, kid. I told you you were a good egg. Ophelia thinks so, too!" Although she was glad to be free, the Scuttlejaw didn't seem to fully trust Luz yet, watching her warily. She decided it would be best not to try and pet her.

"Phew. Thanks." Luz wiped her brow, relieved. "You two are pretty close, huh?"

"You could say that," Sanguinus replied. Ophelia trilled as she nuzzled against him. "This old girl's the closest thing I've got to family. She's more than a partner–she's a part of me." Luz looked closer, noticing a mark on the creature's stomach.

She at first thought it was a cut. "Oh no, is she alright? I could…huh?" On closer inspection, the mark was not a cut, but a slot, seeming like it had been carved into wood rather than flesh. She had seen marks like that before, though none exactly like that. "Is she…your palisman?"

He nodded. "She was, a lifetime ago." He held up his sword. "Same way this used to be my staff. We've both changed a lot since then. She's really grown up!" He patted her side. "Unfortunately, you know how Belos feels about Palismans."

"Um…no, actually, I don't," Luz said. "Why? Does he not like them or something?"

"Don't worry about it," said Sanguinus. "Let's just say I'd do everything to keep her safe–well, almost anything." He climbed atop Ophelia's back. "Well, I'd better go and find Briares. He's on the trail of that human and her friend, we should hurry before it goes cold!" He winked.

Luz smiled. "Best of luck to you! I hope you and your friend can stay safe."

"Me too, kid." His jovial expression was traded in for a more grave one. "Oh, but before I go… Look, I'm grateful for what you did. If it was up to me, I'd let you leave you and friends alone for good. But it's not up to me. I…" He sighed. "I won't come after you myself anymore, but I can't leave the Inquisition. I still have to do what Belos says. Just know that if we cross paths again, and I'm not alone…I won't be able to look the other way. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand," said Luz. "Still, I'm sure we could figure something out. Eda's been on the run from the emperor for a while now, I'm sure she could help you do it, too."

"I appreciate the offer, but if she's who I think she is, there's a reason she's been so successful in avoiding him." Luz had no idea what he meant. "Besides, I prefer to do things alone. Almost alone." He patted Ophelia. "See you around, kid."

Luz waved. "See ya, Sanguinus."

"Please, call me Lithian." And with that, Ophelia bounded away, carrying her master with her. Luz watched them disappear into the distance as Gus and Willow joined her.

"So…that was something," said Willow. "I'm surprised he let you go."

"Me too, kinda," replied Luz. "I was half-expecting him to let her eat me!"

"What did you guys talk about, anyway?" asked Gus.

She shrugged. "Eh, a little of this, a little of that. Now, who wants to go home?"

The answer was all three of them. And so, homeward they went.