After splitting the potions equally between the four of them, with some help from the 'potions master' Nilesy, they each drank their portion of the potion - Lomadia took note on the recogniseable hat that his familiar, Lyndon, wore; so that's where it went. They could still see each other, yet no one else could. They easily made their way into the castle without alerting any guards; Sips did decide to play a little trick on one, but that was about it. As Honeydew predicted, Sjin did know the castle like the back of his hand. Even with major changes to the interior, he still knew his way perfectly. They first thought that Xephos would be in the prisons below, so they decided to check that out. They each took a different corridor of cells. Some were empty. Some were occupied. Others...used to be occupied, but now had a dead weight in it. Those were the worst to look at; especially if you were the prisoner opposite them. Sjin stopped outside one with a body in. He wasn't sure whether they were dead or not; they weren't moving, yet they didn't look dead. When he moved closer, the figure shot up, causing Sjin to jump back in fright.

Sjin?

"R-Rythian?"

What are you doing here?

"Xephos. Do you know him?" The figure's eyes glowed purple, piercing the darkness. He was looking directly at Sjin, even though he was invisible. Sjin put it down to his magical abilities. Rythian used to be a well known mage in a different town, and this one, but that's in the past.

Yes! Yes, I know Xephos! He's not been here for a while. I think he's been taken by the Mage!

"Thank you." Sjin knelt down, suddenly realising the marks and blood around Rythian's mouth. There were also clear marks of the taint that tore at his skin, leaving parts semi-detached or completely broken off. What the hell happened to him? "Your... mouth..." Rythian turned away, covering his mouth in shame.

D-Don't look. She...did this to me. Bastard. Using such an impure and corrupt magic... Taint... Sjin watched as Rythian tore a bit of his cape off and wrapped it around his mouth like a mask. He glanced back at Sjin, and Sjin guessed he would have been smiling if he could see his mouth. Better?

"Well, you can't see it now." The farmer shrugged.

Good. Now find Xephos. You know where the Mage's room is, right? I think he's there. Hurry, I don't know what's happening to him. The last time he was taken, he said he had some kind of weird moment. They might've done something to him. Rythian quickly explained. Sjin nodded, as he took off down the corridor to find the others. Rythian suddenly had a thought, trying to get Sjin back. Sjin! Wait! But it was too late. The farmer had gone out of reach. The Mage...he can probably see them too.

The four met up above the prisons, standing in one of the lobby-like areas. "Rythian said the Mage probably has him." Sjin explained. "And that we should hurry, since they might've done something to him." He added.

"Rythian? Huh, so that sly dog's still alive." Sips murmured. "At least he's being useful, and not being hateful towards you. I guess that's what prison does to you. You become grateful for everything." He shrugged. "Well, lead the way, Sjin." He added, and Sjin started walking. The four walked in silence, but hasted. Honeydew had his arms around Lomadia, trying to comfort her. They were worried now; have they done something to their loveable spaceman? They occasionally called him a spaceman, seeing as he just appeared on the doorstep at birth and has glowing eyes. They doubted it, though. It was just an affectionate term. Lomadia started counting the number of doors they had passed. Six, seven, eight, up two flights of stairs...it was beginning to get confusing as she began missing doors from the amount of royal blue everywhere. Sjin stopped outside a door lined in dark green.

"This MUST be the Mage's room. It's the only place not in blue, excluding the Knight's room and infirmary." He explained. "He's also a fan of green." He shrugged, slowly pushing the door open. The four crept inside, being sure to shut the door quietly. They froze as they saw the Mage glanced up, directly at the door; or, rather, at THEM...but none of them knew that. He blinked, before he went back to whatever he was doing, 'oblivious' to the group. When Lomadia's eyes landed on the unconscious Xephos, she immediately ran to his side. Lomadia carefully held Xephos' bruised hands, wondering what had happened to them. She pulled his body close, having to keep herself from sobbing. Honeydew briskly walked over, a hand on Lomadia's shoulder.

"Cry all you want, I don't care." The four were startled when they heard the Mage's voice. "You know, I should really get rid of you intruders." He folded his arms across his chest, his gaze moving from person to person. The Mage then sighed, shaking his head. "But...I don't have the heart to. Well, except Sips. We have an old 'grudge' to settle, don't we?"

"Huh, bring it on, Kermit." Even though it sounded like an insult, the slight grin on both of their faces showed otherwise.

"H-How can you see us?" Sjin asked, legitimately confused. Smith chuckled, shaking his head.

"Seriously? Best Mage in the kingdom and you think some invisibility potion is going to fool me?" He asked. Sjin turned slightly red, glancing away. Smith turned to Lomadia and Honeydew. "I've been trying to help him. Honest." He added, just before Honeydew lunged at his throat. Even by his size, he managed to knock the Mage over. It took both of the men from Sipsco to get the dwarf off of the green man.

"You did this to him in the first place!" Honeydew growled. Smith wiped his sleeve along his lip, red sinking into the white. He suppressed the rise of his bloodlust, remembering when all he used to see was fire and the Nether itself. He didn't want to go back to that. There was no reason for him to get angry anyway; everything the dwarf was saying was true. He DID do this to him by toying with the poor man. Now he had to do anything to get him back, or Xephos would end up dead and he'd never get Ross back. For some reason, he felt like the unconscious male held the answers to bringing his friend back. "Fuck, I want to kill you!" The Mage simply blinked once, his gaze meeting the dwarf's. Suddenly the dwarf stopped, seeing the look in his eyes.

"Then kill me." The room became silent. No one dared say anything while the two watched each other. "If you want to kill me, kill me." Smith undid the top few buttons of his shirt, moving it from over his heart. "Clear shot. Make it quick." He blinked again. Honeydew watched the green man, before shaking his head. "...Good. Glad we got that out of the way." Smith muttered, doing his buttons again. "Now, yes, I did accidentally do this to your friend. But, I'm trying my hardest to bring him back. Not just for your sake, but for mine too." He explained.

"What do you get out of this, Kermit?" Sips folded his arms in front of his chest. The Mage got back to his work, with only a quick glance at the grey man.

"...Does it matter? It's only possible if he's conscious again. So, I just need to work on it." He replied quietly. He didn't want to tell them about the predicament with his friends. They didn't need to know. "I'd appreciate if you a) didn't disturb him too much and b) don't disturb me. I need to concentrate. Unless you want him to get worse." The Mage continued, as he kept working on...whatever he was doing. "And, for Notch's sake, don't get caught. That won't end up well for anybody, seeing as..." He stopped, concentrating on his work. Silence followed that, with only their breathing and the occasional slosh of chemicals or essentias filling the room. Lomadia held Xephos' hand gently, wishing he was awake. She rubbed her fingers gently in a circle on his palm, remembering how he'd do that to calm her down. Lomadia made sure she was gentle; she didn't want to hurt him any more than he already was. 'Xephos...please be ok.' She thought to herself.

"How many?" Sjin's question startled everyone. Smith blinked, glancing at the farmer. "How many are down there? Locked away?" He continued, his gaze moving down to his interlocked hands. "Why?" He whispered, daring to look up at the green man.

"...They objected the King. So they must pay." Smith's voice slipped back into it's monotonous tone, the one he'd use when he was just 'the Mage'. He sighed, placing the bottles down. "...They shouldn't be." Sjin was taken aback, as were the others. "His...no, OUR rule is oppressive. Absolute. It...shouldn't be. People should be able to speak out, voice their opinions. But...our fathers twisted us. Something... there's something we can't remember." The Mage leaned back against the wall, his eyes tracing the ground absently. Honeydew blinked, knowing what he meant, but he kept true to his promise with Lalna. "Ross he...he saw that." His eyes moved over to the window, a sad look in them. "I...I didn't believe him. I just sent him away and now..."

"Now I am better." The group jumped from the voice. The dark haired ruler stood in the doorway, glaring daggers at Smith yet still looking emotionless. His eyes were no longer the icy blue they used to be; instead they had stains of red over the blue. "You are broken. You feel...tch, useless." He blinked once, sending shivers down his friend's spine. His cold gaze then moved over the 'invisible' group. "I had a feeling you would try something. But this...this is pathetic." Ross clenched his hand into a fist, blood pooling in the centre of his palm, coating the tips of his digits. The invisibility then vanished, revealing them. Smith growled, holding his wand tight.

"B-Blood magic..." He whispered, recoiling at the thought of it. It was dangerous and plain stupid to use; risking your own life to do some little tricks. "You...why?!" He asked. Ross smirked, glancing at the blood on his palm. The look in his eye...you could only describe it as insanity.

"You thought you were the only one with magic? No...I made Trott find some other magic that was a little more, let's say...dangerous. Apparently my blood is also PERFECT for it." He blinked as Sips ran towards him. "...Interesting." Moving his hand slightly, the grey man froze. His body refused to move. "You see, Alex, this magic is far superior to your Thaumcraft." Ross continued, slowly walking over to the frozen man. He traced his finger along Sips' neck, a deep cut forming. Blood began to seep out of the wound, trailing down the pale neck. "You were just too STUPID to use it." Clenching his hand into a fist again, more blood began to flow from the wound. He was killing Sips by blood loss.

"Sips!" Sjin cried, beginning to run over to him. The King glared at Sjin, who stopped. He couldn't even get close; this magic was too strong, he'd have no chance. They all just watched as Sips slowly bled to death.