A/N: Sorry for the delay. Bonus though, next chapter is done and in editing.
Chapter 22: Newborn
Gulping, Montmorency's words burned themselves forever into her memory. "It's a witch's barrier."
*******************Earlier*****************************
Louise clenched and released her grip, anxiously fidgeting in tandem with her impatient breaths. As she paced back and forth across the sand, she shot glances at the rest of her companions. Id sat atop the sand dune, keeping watch for elven patrols across the desert before them. Saito had taken Colbert aside for help with something stupid, she figured. At least Colbert was keeping the one with a shorter fuse than even herself busy. Though of course that left Louise to stew on her own worries as she looked to where Sylphid sat with Charlotte. The Princess whispered something and stroked her familiar's scales, coaxing the anxious dragon. "Charlotte," Louise spoke; spurred by her nervous heart, "Could you hurry Sylphid up?" She tried and failed to keep her tone polite.
After soothing the dragon once more with an unintelligible whisper, Charlotte turned to Louise and said, "No," as if that explained everything. Louise bit back the ill words threatening to leave her mouth.
Luckily, there was another person there to help. From where she lay in the sand, basking in the sun's rays, Kirche called out sweetly, "Elaborate, dear Charlotte. Knowing the reason will calm Louise." The Zerbst knew she had irked both parties and turned her head to smile sweetly at them.
Before Louise could condemn the sunbathing Zerbst, Charlotte spoke up. "Spirits more active here. Sylphid needs time to pick out the smell." Though still barren, the words were enough to sate Louise for the time being.
Kirche sat up and shook the sand out of her hair. "Louise," She waved lightly at the Valliere, "Come over here." She patted the sand next to her, gesturing for Louise to sit. Taking a breath to ease herself, Louise relented and sat down next to her. After a moment, the redhead spoke, "That isn't helping." Her tone was neutral rather than chastising, "Sylphid's sense of smell is magically assisted by spirits and we just entered the Elven borderlands." This of course Louise knew, but nevertheless, she could not ease her restlessness.
Kirche spoke up once again when Louise made to object, "Look at her, Louise." Following Kirche's gaze, Louise looked upon the young dragon. "Five people is a lot for a dragon to carry, especially one as young as Sylphid. She needs this time to rest." Louise swallowed her words.
Louise knew the Zerbst girl was right, but even still, she could not calm herself. Thoughts of the ones missing bubbled within her mind; disturbing any peace before it could be gained. Closing her eyes, Louise gripped at her emotions and began to push them down. Right now she needed to be calm, she was only hindering the others with her stress. Slowly her heart began to fall into stillness. Yet before she could finish, Louise's efforts were met with resistance. "Stop that." Id's tail swished above as it spoke to Louise privately. "I have plenty of data to sort through already." Louise looked to her familiar in a moment of hesitation. If she wanted to press the issue she would be forced to admit she was having trouble handling her emotions. Just when had Id become her crutch?
Though Kirche didn't know what was being said between Louise and her familiar, she knew they were speaking as soon as Louise turned to Id. From the dejected look in Louise's face, Kirche could only guess, but regardless of the why, the solution remained the same. Wrapping one arm around Louise, Kirche pulled the slender girl close to her side. "I never expected the Zero to turn into such a fine leader. Things may be tough Louise, but I believe you'll see us through." Rubbing Louise's shoulder, Kirche did her best to cheer the somber girl up.
Eyes downcast, Louise rebuffed the praise. "Some leader I am. Tiffania and Cattleya captured, Siesta is missing, and Montmorency could be dead for all I know." Sheffield was constantly one step ahead of her. Even when she bull-rushed the Pope's estate, Sheffield and her forces had already slipped inside. The commotion that rescue had caused no doubt only assisted in hiding the vile woman.
"Ah," Kirche softly spoke, "Montmorency is the root of it then. You're still beating yourself up for leaving her behind." Louise managed to cast a sidelong glance at the Zerbst. "She's been with you since the beginning of all this." Kirche smirked and half chuckled, "You're a lot like Charlotte, you know, so I'd guess that makes me like Montmorency." Louise's brow furrowed at the comparison, but made no move to interrupt.
Knowing further explanation was needed, Kirche looked off to the horizon. "Back in the academy, when we first met, I thought you and I were a lot alike, you know?" Kirche shrugged, "Both the youngest daughters of grand families, both a stain on their reputation, both simply a burden to be married off." Casting a glance at Louise, Kirche took a breath before continuing, "I have eight elder sisters. Every single political alliance my father wanted had already been secured by the time I came of age. So even marrying me off was a chore for him." Kirche remembered bitterly when she had realized just how useless she was, and what she had turned to. "Around the time he was in talks with some lowly merchant I began my 'rebellious phase' as he called it. I dallied with men, paid for whatever I pleased on his credit, and generally acted like a vapid airhead." Despite the dour memories, Kirche still enjoyed the blush on Louise's cheeks when the girl thought of her 'dallying.'
Turning back to the horizon, Kirche recalled the academy, "So after I turned from a useless burden to a disgraceful useless burden, my father had me shipped off to Tristain. There, I met you." Kirche shook her head with regret.
"You know, at first I wanted to be your friend." This raised an eyebrow from Louise. She had plenty of sour memories of Kirche in school, and few if any pleasant ones. Regardless of Louise's doubt, Kirche pressed on, "I was keen on the idea of writing home to my father about my Valliere friend." The Zerbst smirked, even now, at the fury that would bring her old man. "But then I saw your grand failures and realized how different we were. While I had been shuffled off and hidden out of sight," Kirche gestured to the Valliere, "You, a failure in magic, were in Tristain's own famed academy of magic. Despite everything, your family was still supporting you." Kirche's eyes fell to the sand below, ashamed of her jealousy, "I watched you try and try again despite everyone's jeers. I waited for you to be pulled from school, but you remained and just tried harder." Letting herself pause, Kirche took a breath before recalling the worst, "I hated you so much for it. I had every boy in school wrapped around my finger and I was one of the best mages in our class, but I couldn't help but be jealous of you."
Louise had no words. Never once had she imagined that Kirche of all people was jealous of her. The redhead met Louise's gaze, "I bet you're wondering where all this leads. Well, I needed you to understand the root of my jealousy. You were trying to make good on the trust your family placed in you; you had purpose where I had none. Then, near the end of our first year, I met Charlotte."
Kirche's gaze turned upon the Princess tending to her dragon. "It was a bumpy first meeting, but we became fast friends." The redhead smirked remembering their less-than-friendly first interactions. "It wasn't long before I found out about the missions Joseph kept forcing her to undertake. They were dangerous enough for Charlotte to tell me to stay away, but of course I was too stubborn for that and butted in anyways." Smirking, Kirche shook her head, "Back then, I didn't know why, but those missions were the most important thing in the world to me. I almost died several times, but I never felt so alive." Turning to Louise, Kirche impressed her point upon the other girl, "It wasn't the rush of danger or the thrill of combat that I loved so much. No, it was because I was helping someone. I was supporting Charlotte, my friend, with everything that I had."
Looking into Louise's eyes, Kirche's gaze hardened, "I could see it in Montmorency too. That loyalty formed on the foundation of purpose. She, like me, would charge through anything to get back to the one we care for. So," Kirche's face softened and she placed a hand upon Louise's head. "Just believe in that muscle head. I doubt even death would hold her back." With a wink Kirche added, "And until she's back, just rely on me. Supporting is my specialty after all."
Louise's heart, tumbling since the failed rescue, finally began to settle. It felt stupid now that she thought about it, Montmorency had trusted her fully throughout this entire mess. It only made sense to return the favor. Though her inner peace was weak, Louise greeted it all the same and faintly smiled. "Thank you, Kirche." Closing her eyes, Louise let the worst of her stresses leak out of her.
"Ah," Kirche softly pulled Louise once more to her side, "Any time, fearless leader."
"Most interesting, indeed." Colbert's inquisitive voice fell upon the fragile moment like a brick. "Girls," He called as he walked over with Saito in tow. "If I could borrow you for a moment, Miss Zerbst?" Kirche turned to look at the oblivious professor and the musket ball he held in his hand.
Kirche released Louise as she broke away and the two stood up to meet the professor. "Tactful," Kirche dryly remarked, eliciting a confused look from the man. She shook her head, "What did you need professor?"
After a moment's hesitation, the professor disregarded whatever social misstep he had taken in favor of the intriguing item in his hand. Dropping the musket ball in the sand, Colbert asked politely, "If you would, Miss Zerbst, please melt that lead ball for me." Kirche glanced once to where Saito stood contemplatively and then back to the Professor and his ball. Shrugging, Kirche withdrew her wand and pointed it the piece of ammunition. Flame spouted from the wand on command, yet rather than burn into the ground, the flame dissipated roughly half an inch from the musket ball. Colbert visibly lit up with curiosity, "Most interesting indeed. Please keep it up, Miss Zerbst." Intrigued herself, Kirche poured more willpower through her wand. For a few more seconds, her summoned flame continued to dissipate, then whatever was eating her magic faltered and the field fell.
An academic herself, Louise waited for Kirche to stop before looking from the now red hot musket ball to Saito. Gesturing, Saito explained, "The enchantment on the pistol Eleanor gave me had failed, but then it had no problem piercing enchanted plate armor and that magical rock armor the man used back at the Pope's estate. Lastly," he flicked the omamori around his neck, "Bleu tried to run me through with a blade of wind, but this stopped it." He let the explanation hang for Louise to come to the same conclusion herself.
After a moment's thought, Louise realized it, "You think when Tiffania tried to enchant your bullets she actually succeeded." That... Louise was honestly surprised the half-elf had managed what she herself had written off as impossible.
Saito nodded as he retrieved more ammunition and held his hand out, offering a few of his remaining shot, "They could come in handy, if you want one." With only so many left he wanted to save a few as trump cards, but he would not deny his companions that same tool.
Such consideration was quickly rejected however, as Louise raised her hands in refusal quite quickly. "No thank you. When we transform, our soul changes shape with magic. I'd rather not even test what a dispel-enchanted shot will do to that." Dispelling one's soul... now there was a morbid thought.
Turning to the only non-magical girl, Saito looked to Colbert. Shaking his head, the professor refused as well, "My square class spells rely on holding fire close to the body, I'm afraid keeping one on my person could prove detrimental." Though Colbert offered a kind smile in thanks, Saito ignored it.
The boy instead replaced all but one of the shot into his ammunition pouch and then tucked the remaining shot into his omamori. The silent boy's hand lingered on the keepsake for a moment. Louise knew what was on the boy's mind. "Saito," she spoke with care, "We'll get her back." Though Saito remained silent, he nodded before once more retreating into himself.
Sensing growing discomfort, Kirche broke the tension before the silence could overwhelm them. "Professor," She began with mild teasing, "With the church after you just as much as the rest of us, we aren't about to cut you to the wind. There is no need to puff out your chest." Really, the man was intelligent, clever, and a bit cooky, but one of the elite few to reach square class magic, he was not.
Colbert paused and adjusted his glasses before glancing between Miss Zerbst and the equally disbelieving Miss Valliere. While he had told the two of his part during the rescue, he supposed he had worked rather hard to appear harmless to his one time students. "A demonstration then." Colbert spoke, knowing that seeing was believing. Chanting, he summoned forth his flame snake once more and burned it into the sand before him. Instantly the ground melted into glass, a feat not easily achieved even by a triangle mage like Miss Zerbst. Even the composed Louise had to pause for a moment to reevaluate her teacher. "I left the military life behind me long ago for the peace of teaching." Suddenly, Louise remembered all those times Colbert would talk about peaceful applications of fire magic. Had he been trying to convince himself as much as his students?
Whatever questions or concerns Louise had faltered when Sylphid 'kyuued' and hopped up; completely destroying the somber mood. Charlotte patted her familiar and turned to the others, "We have a direction."
"Why would humans choose to have legs like these?" Sylphid, now transformed once more into a human, complained yet again. Shaking the sand out of her sandal once more, she replaced it upon her foot and scuttled after Charlotte. "Big sister, can't we just fly?" Sylphid looked to the sparse few clouds above and fantasized about all the updrafts to be found in such a hot desert.
Charlotte paid her familiar little mind, knowing that if she gave the child any ground the complaining would only grow. "No." Shielding her eyes, Charlotte looked to the sky as well; though her purpose was more to guess at the time rather than to fantasize.
Bringing up the rear, Kirche called out, "Elaborate, dear." Kirche's singsong tone warned Charlotte that she could soon have two annoyances if she didn't relent.
Taking a breath to steady her anxiety, Charlotte explained, "Elven borderlands mean elven patrols." Glancing meaningfully at her transformed familiar Charlotte pointed out, "Dragons stick out." Though Sylphid huffed in childish stubbornness she did relent and quiet down.
From the front of the progression, Louise held her tongue. Honestly, she did want to take Sylphid's suggestion and fly there. Based on the dragon's description of cloth, wood, and strange wind magic lingering with Cattleya's scent, Louise guessed Sheffield had taken her captives to an airship. If they were traveling by airship there was no way to catch them on foot. "Do you think we should fly?" Louise tried to reign in her impatience as she privately questioned the familiar upon her shoulder.
Id kept its eyes skyward, "That depends," After a pause the incubator suggested, "Have you considered trying to contact Bidashal? An elf's help in elven lands could be useful." Without any special way to remain unnoticed, flying would likely lead to elven interaction. If Louise wanted that, there should be no problem.
Though the idea of an elven ally seemed appealing, Louise shook her head. "Every time we blindly trust someone we always get stabbed in the back." Id conceded that point. For all Louise's hatred of deception, humans seemed well practiced in the skill. "Besides," Louise continued, "As powerful as Sheffield is, she won't risk a fight with elves. Her destination must be close to the border." If that was right, Louise was hoping to come upon the woman while she was embarked. For once, they might get the drop on Sheffield. It was certainly about time.
Id's tail swished against Louise hair, alerting her to its impatience. "Perhaps. If Sylphid begins to lose the trail, I suggest reviewing your decision."
Though Louise agreed with the advice, the fact remained Id was impatient. Something worth worrying over or at the very least investigating. "What is it?" She tentatively questioned.
Id paused to flick its tail once before deciding to reply, "The memories of your Founder suggested that the elven government had at least indirect contact with incubators through their liaison Sasha." Louise nodded, remembering the images from the mirror. "Perhaps they know what became of this world's incubators. For there to be zero active or passive signals means every physical shred of every single incubator had to be destroyed. Such an improbability borders on impossible." Again the familiar's tail swished with vehemence.
Now going down the slope of a dune, Louise did her best to keep steady as she replied, "You think someone wished them all dead?" If something impossible were to be made possible, a wish seemed required after all.
Id shook its head and replied in what Louie swore was a condescending tone, "A desire like that would be classified as a curse and thus the desire would not be fulfilled." The moment's pause confirmed Louise's suspicion, "Did you really think we would not have a plan in case some human wished us all dead?"
Clenching her jaw, Louise replied as she once more began to walk along the side of a dune, "So what then, couldn't they have just died out? You certainly are prone to making enemies." She herself had considered killing the familiar in the past.
Again Id shook its head, "Every platform can asexually reproduce and make necessary modifications to the next body. I have already adjusted my own egg to counter the Windalfr's signal. If even one Incubator deposited their egg after whatever purge you suggest started, then they would have repopulated by now." With what Louise interpreted as a snide flick of its tail, Id added, "Do not forget that our technology is many, many years beyond your own."
Though Louise initially wanted to snap at the irritating beast, she noted a better avenue of attack. "Wait, you're pregnant?" Louise suppressed the mischievous grin growing on her face.
Id's tail stilled, but answered nevertheless. "Not by your definition. All Incubator platforms keep a dormant egg at the ready. Unfortunately, without contact from my world, I will not be able to create a new consciousness for it, let alone activate and deposit it."
"My word," Louise replied after disregarding her familiar's explanation. "Before I thought you were just old and grumpy. Now I realize you are an old, irate, and pregnant lady. No wonder you don't deal with emotions well." Louise's grin broke free of her suppression as Id's tail began to swish back and forth with vehemence.
Thoroughly annoyed with its master, Id vainly tried to appeal to reason. "Stop applying human standards to me. I am old only by your species' lifespan, having a dormant egg at the ready is more comparable to a chicken and I am genderless; you... You malfunctioning drone." Though frustrated, Id was quite pleased at its first attempt to formulate an insult.
Sadly, in the realm of name-calling Louise was the master, "Oh ho? If you're so mad shall I set you down?" She reached up to grab the familiar in jest.
Not sensing the trap, Id's tail flicked indignantly, "Do not be foolish. My eyes and ears are many times more advanced than you humans. We agreed it would be best for me to focus on detecting any enemies." Just because Louise was one again sparking difficult to control emotions Id wasn't about to let its performance suffer as a result.
As Louise knew that response was coming, she responded with a purr of victory, "Too bad about that nose though." She grinned ever more when id stilled.
Id turned to Louise and momentarily abandoned its sentry duty, "That dragon's olfactory sense is magically assisted. No matter how advanced the nose, it should not be able to smell what isn't there."
Louise just nodded and patronized, "Fair enough, I apologize." Then, pausing just long enough for Id to huff and turn back to the sky, Louise added, "One should be careful with Old, irate, pregnant, and jealous ladies after all."
Id stilled once more before replying with a flick of its tail. "You are a bully."
Cattleya moved her arms about as best as the limiting chains would allow. It was getting harder and harder to relieve the stiffness in her joints as time passed. The chained Valliere paused when she heard the door lock click open a moment before it swung wide to reveal Jeanette. "Good... afternoon?" Cattleya guessed at the time.
Jeanette replied as she closed the cell door behind her, "Close enough." Then, turning to her captive she asked, "I literally just got back from setting a trap for your sister, are you going to keep up this happy-go-lucky charade even now?" Despite the fact that Jeanette had yet to detect any deception in the other girl, she refused to accept the positivity of her captive as real.
Tilting her head, Cattleya thought for a moment before asking, "If I hate you will it change anything?"
Jeanette quirked an eyebrow and leaned against the door, keeping well out of reach of the beast of a woman. "Not really." She honestly replied.
It was Cattleya's turn to look at the other with mild confusion, "Then why bother wasting effort on hate?" The captive then continued in somewhat of a ramble, "At least if I'm nice to you I can do some good. Besides," Cattleya looked down to the incredibly plain off-white shirt and long skirt she was wearing. "You got me new clothes." Tilting her head, Cattleya realized, "Was it hard putting them on?" Cattleya was actually fairly used to being dressed by others, but she was usually awake to assist them.
Rather than tackle the oddities of the woman head on, Jeanette moved to what she came for. "I had some of your blood tested, you aren't contagious. There isn't even a trace of you ever having had blood corruption." When Cattleya sighed with relief, Jeanette only pressed impatiently, "So what you did was useless. You wasted your one chance to escape on a useless gesture to an enemy." Her voice was tainted with frustration and repressed anger as she watched Cattleya's resolve to falter.
Rather than fall to despair, Cattleya let out half a sigh, "Even if it didn't have any effect, I don't think trying to help someone is ever useless." Though Jeanette wanted to snap at the idiotic woman, Cattleya's expression falling slightly calmed her, "It's just..." Cattleya trailed off halfheartedly.
Sensing weakness, Jeanette steadied herself and bid, "Just?"
With a slight blush, the pinkette relented, "Siesta took my first kiss while I was unconscious and my second was completely unromantic." First kisses never went like that in her books! It was thoroughly disappointing.
Jeanette found her frustration replaced by vicarious embarrassment, "You're an odd one, you know that?"
Cattleya huffed at the teasing, "I should hope so. I spent most of my life bedridden so if I was normal that would be truly abnormal, wouldn't it?"
Jeanette surprised herself when she suppressed a genuine chuckle. After a pause she relented weakly, "You have a point." Then, as silence fell between them, Jeanette asked with soft reservation, "Blood corruption... did it hurt?"
Leaning against the wall as much as the chains would allow, Cattleya mellowed as the memories came to her. "It did, but I got used to it. What truly hurt was being my own cage." The ever positive woman's face faltered, "Not being able to run or play was hard as a child. Even going out to sit in the garden was a supervised task." Closing her eyes, Cattleya focused on the good memories, "After Louise healed me and I ran for the first time..." Once more the woman's smile returned to life as she remembered the wind on her cheeks. She had no words to express the wonderful memory of that sensation."I can never repay her for that alone."
Jeanette studied her enraptured captive, "Your sister truly cares for you." Cattleya opened her eyes to meet Jeanette's just before the purple-haired woman let her gaze fall. "Damien, Bleu, and... and Jack are my half-brothers." Rolling her hand in an explaining gesture, Jeanette clarified, "Different servant mothers, same man-whore of a noble father." Feeling a strange melancholic grin rising to her face, she shook her head ruefully, "Jack got us together after our father stopped supporting us. Said we had to look out for one another."
As her grin faltered, Jeanette remembered the early days of barely scraping by, "It was tough at first, making money as mercenaries. Only Damien had gotten any real training with his magic, we all just had to piece together what we could." She still fondly remembered the three eldest sitting around as a seven year old Damien instructed his elder siblings like a tiny professor. "As time passed, we got stronger and jobs became easier, but we also changed. Bleu became obsessed with his stories and Damien got cold. I think only Jack was able to keep us together. Now, though..." Jeanette faltered. Now she didn't know if she could hold her remaining siblings together.
When it became clear that Jeanette wasn't going to continue, Cattleya spoke up. "Was that why you were so mad? Because you were grieving?" Jeanette hummed a muted confirmation. "He must have been a good man, to be missed so much."
With a force of will, Jeanette repressed the urge to stew on the memories of her brother and neutrally replied, "He was." Despite her conviction, Jeanette kept her eyes averted.
"Tell me about him." Cattleya's honest request stilled Jeanette. Faltering, the would-be torturer looked up to meet Cattleya's smile.
Feeling her resolve weaken, Jeanette nodded and began. "Well, I first met him when I was four..."
Though it was already afternoon, the desert sun still roasted the sand about Louise and her compatriots. Whenever they rested, Charlotte was able to conjure up a cool breeze for relief, but that served only as a brief reprieve. Now that they had stopped once more, Louise wanted to ask Charlotte for some more "magic AC" as Saito called it, but her better judgment cautioned her against wasteful uses of energy for now.
In the shadow of a larger dune, Louise laid upon the sand with Saito to her right. The boy held his spyglass to his eye and studied the rock formation ahead. The slight trail of smoke beyond the rocks worried Louise, but she wasn't about to waste the time circling around when she had an invisible scout to check ahead for them. "Any problems?" Louise whispered, keeping one eye to the sky. With only a single lazy cloud breaking up the bright blue sky, she doubted any airships were going to sneak up on them, but that was no reason to relax while Id was scouting ahead.
Saito watched as the white puff of a familiar trotted about the formation; disappearing behind boulders and arches only to reemerge elsewhere. "Besides your dick of a familiar?" His joke was met with silence. "Nothing..." The boy trailed off.
Once the initial scouting was done, Id skittered across the sand back to Louise. "There are signs of a battle - the smoke is coming from a downed Gallian airship. However, there are no bodies around. Cattleya's and Tiffania's scent is coming from within a cave that seems to delve underground for some distance." Id scanned the sky as it continued, "Did you want me to investigate the cave?"
Biting her lower lip, Louise chewed the thought over before shaking her head. "No, I'd rather not chance you getting controlled again somehow." Not to mention if Id got too far, she couldn't save it should it be detected somehow.
Id's tail flicked. "I will reiterate, I have adjusted this platform to compensate for any future external control attempts."
Glancing at her familiar, Louise replied, "I still don't want to risk you." Id looked away and flicked its tail, but made no further arguments. Louise tapped Saito's shoulder and slid down the dune with him to the others below. "Listen, there's a chance Tiffania and Cattleya are up ahead. Splitting up didn't work last time, so we all stick together and hammer through anything that stands between us and them." Louise looked to each to her companions. "I don't know what's waiting for us, so if you want to sit this one out and stay here, speak up."
As expected, no one took Louise up on her offer, but she made it regardless. She didn't like the idea of pressuring anyone into running into an unknown situation. Taking a breath, she readied herself. "Sylphid, don't transform until I give the okay. Sheffield shouldn't know you're a dragon, so I'd like to surprise her if we need a quick getaway." Her orders given, Louise waved the rest after her and left for the rocks.
The trek from their hiding place to the rock formation was filled with tension. Even as Louise forced herself into a calm state, she still kept waiting for a trap to spring. The tall spires and twisting arches of the approaching rocks cast ominous shadows before the group, yet they pressed on through. The light crackle of a flame beyond echoed through and around the rocks as Louise stepped within the border of the strange formation. Looking about, she searched for any hidden enemies, yet found only barren rock and muted shadows. A small gap between spires allowed her to spy the mast of the downed airship and the thin smoke escaping skyward. Just what had happened here?
Louise's silent question was answered as the cave Id had mentioned came into view. At once, several mounds of sand grew in all directions, pushed up by something underneath them. Even before the figures were visible, Louise instantly knew they were surrounded. Falling back to back with the rest, wands, staves, and a pistol were raised in a defensive ring.
Whatever Louise had expected to rise from the numerous mounds, skeletons and half rotted corpses of Gallian soldiers were not on the list. The macabre walking dead still clutched their weathered blades in their undead hands. "Fireball!" Louise called out, her own voice mixed with the spells of the rest and the crack of Saito's musket. Javelins forged of ice shattered skeletons like tinder, three blasts of flame burned deadened flesh to ash, and Saito's shot hit the shoulder of a fresher zombie and toppled it like a puppet with its strings cut.
Yet just before another salvo could be fired, Louise paused as her breath hitched at the sight before her. The shattered remains of Charlotte's targets were cobbled back together by some invisible force and even the bones of the burnt undead reformed into walking skeletons. Only Saito's target remained motionless – a small blessing. A quick count was all it took for Louise to know there were far more enemies than Saito had bullets and more kept rising beyond. Louise's eyes glanced skyward, but then she saw them. The magically animated bones of great dragons were climbing from the sand onto the spires, their wings webbed with a sickly ethereal substance. The sky was no easy escape. Wait... Louise scanned around quickly and realized it. The undead weren't advancing, they had stopped a dozen meters away from the group.
The scrape of bone on rock sounded from within the cave. Louise held up her hand, signaling the rest to hold their fire as her gaze fell on the thin figure exiting the cave. Clad in layers of rotting robes and an assortment of dangling gems, the light itself seemed to shy away from the pearl white bones of the skeleton. Unlike the mindless undead about, Louise could feel the gaze of this one fall upon her. The thing's hollow eye sockets held a glint of curiosity as it slowly looked over Louise's group. "Are you with the fools from before?" Its voice was magically conjured and seemed not to emit from the figure's mouth itself. The deep timbre of the being's voice reverberated off the barren bones of the cloaked skeleton as it gestured to one undead bearing a shield with Gallia's standard emblazoned upon it.
Having no reason to lie and plenty reason to stall, Louise replied honestly. "No, although we were tracking some Gallians." Louise's thumb traced the soul gem on her ring finger, fighting over whether she should use some of the magic she had left, if it came to that.
Louise cursed herself when the skeleton noticed even that minor movement. Eyeless gaze falling, it paused and studied the soul gem. "You are a lich." It wasn't a question, but a statement. It paused for a moment and waved a hand forward. Some strange wave passed over Louise, tumbling her gut ever so slightly. Once more the skeleton gazed over the group, pausing on Charlotte and Kirche. "As are you two." The magical, echoing tone was alien, yet Louise could pick out a faint tinge of emotion in it.
Resisting the urge to glance back at her friends, Louise nodded, "We are… and so are you." Even without her night of research back at the Romalian library, the sentient undead and wandless magic made putting two and two together rather easy.
With another wave of its arm, the lich glanced over its conjured army. Sand parted and the undead turned and plunged back below the desert sands. When all but the undead dragons had disappeared beneath the shifting sands, the lich spoke again, "We are alone for over two hundred years, then we get two sets of visitors in one day." The laugh that followed could only be described as maniacal. "Ehem," the lich stopped itself, "That was supposed to be jovial. Forgive us, we haven't practiced this speech spell in many years." Glancing between the three it cared about, the lich strode forward and completely disregarded the tensed combatants before it. Once it stood before Louise, a robed arm rose to reveal a skeletal hand held forth.
After a moment's hesitation Louise steadied herself and accepted the awkward handshake. A quiver of energy probed through her body, stunning her momentarily. "You..." The lich trailed off as it released Louise from its grip. "This is your original body." Once more, it stated the fact as some sort of revelation. "You can't be more than a year old." For once, the lich actually studied the rest of the group, "Yet you have thralls already."
Though Louise initially felt anger flare at the insinuation, she hastily corrected, "These are our friends, not thralls." With the lich's army tucked away, Louise considered her options as she stalled for time again.
Seemingly startled, the lich turned back to Saito and abruptly kicked him in the shin. "Ack!" The boy cried out in surprise. Derflinger flicked up and decapitated the lich in one stroke as Saito stumbled back.
"Fascinating," The disembodied head spoke as its body bent down and picked it up. "Our apologies, thralls don't have involuntary reflexes." Ignoring Saito's grumbling and the multitude of foci leveled at it, the lich reattached its head to its body. "We didn't expect any living being to accept undead until their genocidal religion died out." Louise felt somewhat miffed at the insult to the religion she was raised with, but let the comment slide, especially given her recent experiences with that religion.
After sizing Louise up once more, the lich spoke, "I take it you aren't here to ask for our help in studying your new magic. What with the fact that you keep threatening a lifeless body. None of these," It ran its fingers through the gems, "are our phylactery." With an intentional sigh, the lich continued, "So I'll be nice enough to disregard your poor manners. How can I help you?"
Stunned a little at the honest question, Louise furrowed her brow, "That's it?" Liches were akin to elves in her childhood boogeymen stories. For one to be so... amicable was rather odd.
Knowing Louise's thoughts well enough, the lich explained, "When you were human, if another human asked you for help at little to no cost to you, would you not help them?" At Louise's tentative nod, the lich continued, "It's the same here. Only rather than dealing with a friendly neighbor, it's more like I'm forced to deal with my neighbor's clumsy toddler. You are rude and walking all over my front yard, but you are only a child so I'll let it slide."
Still hesitant, Louise decided there was no harm in asking, "We were tracking the Gallians because they captured my sister and another of our group. My sister looks like me, only about her height and build." Louise gestured to the more curvaceous Kirche.
Nodding, the lich confirmed, "And a half-elf with blonde hair. Yes, they were in separate cells aboard that airship." Louise's heart jumped at the mention as the lich gestured to the ruined airship. "We had them taken into the tunnels for healing. The crash injured the half-elf especially. We were going to experiment on them later-" The lich was once more faced with readied foci and hardened expressions.
"You will do no such thing." Louise warned, already weighing the pros and cons of sending Id ahead to scout the cave.
Reaching forward, it daintily pushed Louise's wand aside. "Lifeless body, remember?" Louise's gaze brooked none of the friendliness the lich tried to impart. With another intentional breath to mimic human anxiety, the lich explained, "Humans kill and dissect orcs, a sentient race that often tries to kill humans." Pausing at the odd shift in topic, Louise waited for the being to elaborate. "We do the same thing. Humans tend to attack us whenever they get the chance."
Explanations or not, Louise wasn't about to back down and let her friends get hurt. "But no, we won't harm your friends, if it's that important to you." Though Louise lowered her wand, she kept a spell in mind. Satisfied somewhat, the lich tried to assuage the distrust his words had evidently sparked. "If they accept you even after your soul's removal we won't harm them."
Hesitant, Louise asked, "So, can we have them back?" This was too easy. Despite her desire to see Cattleya again, Louise's instincts were telling her something was wrong.
The lich nodded and turned to the cave. "We'll lead you to them."
Louise held out a hand to stop Saito as the boy made to step forward. "Bring them out here." Louise paused as the lich turned to her. "I'm… afraid of underground caves." It was a dumb excuse, but not one easily challengeable.
"Well," the lich paused, "That isn't advisable. As we said, they were both injured by the crash. We are healing them below, but for obvious reasons our healing magic isn't the best. Moving them now could prove fatal." It made sense; too much sense.
Swallowing, Louise glanced to her companions before nodding. "Very well, take us to them so I can heal them." Satisfied, the lich turned and entered its coven.
Biting down, Louise steeled herself and strode forward. "This is a trap." The conviction of the telepathic statement faltered the others. Not waiting for them to catch up, Louise continued with the others just a step behind. "Id, find Cattleya and Tiffania. We'll stall until you do." Not hesitating in the slightest, Id landed upon the cave floor without a sound and darted beyond the oblivious lich.
The group descended into the domain of the lich, guided by the ethereal blue torches along the cave walls. Kirche was the first to question, "Are you sure, Louise?" Not that she doubted the other girl, but some information would be nice.
Hiding her racing mind behind a smile, Louise replied, "This is all too convenient and the lich was too ready for us. It knew just what we wanted to hear and just how to respond to my caution. Every time we take something too good to be true it always is." Ahead, the lich was talking about something or other, but Louise tuned it out, "My gut says Sheffield is behind this. She's always been a step ahead of us." As much trouble as Louise had in believing Joseph just happened to have a lich friend, she was going to plan for the worst case scenario this time. "But Id does smell them, so the lich knows something. We play along until we find them or some clue."
Not knowing it was being tuned out, the lich ahead kept talking, "So we told them, 'Good luck, we're behind seven hundred skeletons'." With a chuckle that sounded slightly less maniacal this time, it turned to find no one laughing. "We haven't told jokes in centuries, but pity laughs used to be considered polite." Though it paused at Louise's forced chuckle, the lich pushed open a door and led its guests into an expansive room.
A chill passed through Louise, eliciting a shiver as she stepped through the door. Beside her, Sylphid whined and clung to Charlotte, whispering something into the mage's ear. Damn dragon, use telepathy. Before Louise could question Charlotte, Id's voice filled her mind. "The estimated probability that this is a trap should be increased. I have passed through several mundane and magical barriers meant to detect invisible entities. It seems my scouting was anticipated." Though Louise tensed in fear, Id continued to calm her, "Do not worry. Derecognition goes far beyond simple cloaking and I have upgraded since the Windalfr's subversion. I am still undetected." Louise wasn't sure if that was simple pride or bold hubris; she hoped for the former.
Taking a moment to scan the room, Louise looked over the rows of books and wooden tables scattered about. Though the work area was carved out of a cave and the walls were still rough stone with numerous short inlets, Louise could still be impressed at the work that had gone into converting the natural cave into an efficient study. As Louise glanced over the large wooden table, she noted the skeletal hamster running in a circular wheel, the piles of books scattered about, then froze at a set of cases. "Those..." Louise's voice left her unbidden in surprise.
Though the cage-like cases were mostly empty, two held within them an item Louise knew well. "Ah," The lich replied in earnest. "You may know them as void stones, but the proper name for them is grief seeds." Indeed, within two of the cases were grief seeds. One black and muted, ready to clean a soul gem. The other worried Louise as it pulsed with alien power, just like when Id had requested to dispose of the one Saito had involuntarily cleaned. Was a witch going to hatch?
Glancing to Saito, Louise ordered, "Don't get near it." Then she turned back to the lich and tried to keep her face even. "Is it safe? It's pulsing." At the risk of tipping her hand, Louise needed to get a better idea of the possible danger.
The lich just chuckled; believably this time. "We've had that in stasis for hundreds of years. There is no need to worry, spiritkin." Louise froze at the term, her eyes snapping to the soulless gaze of the lich. "We are surprised. Your kind was supposed to be wiped out long ago." Louise became acutely aware of the lich's gaze studying her body.
Readying herself, Louise ordered, "Be ready everyone." Louise tried to keep herself calm and stall for more time, but Charlotte subtly tapped Louise's ankle with the bottom of her staff. Louise glanced to Charlotte's unwavering gaze and realized it. "Can anyone hear me?"There was no answer.
Mind racing, Louise considered giving the attack order, yet just before she did, she felt it. A nagging at her heart as alien emotions flitted into her. This was... Id? Forcing her instinctive resistance away, Louise opened her mind. Smelling the sounds that formed the pictures in her mind felt like rubbing sandpaper across her tongue. Comprehension failed, but as Louise tried to let her mind accept the unfathomable, she could see the images. Pigeons laden with notes flew across the sky, pierced by an arrow each. Below, Sheffield took aim with a bow and shot the carrier pigeons down one after another. Colors swirled and then Id took form; sitting before empty bird cages. The familiar turned to a dog with a scroll in its mouth and the beast ran away, deftly skirting behind the oblivious archer and onward to Louise herself.
"So," The lich drew Louise's attention from the visions back to itself. "Shall we all drop the acts now?" Louise's eyes narrowed on the lich as the rest of the group scanned about for any danger.
Calm as ever, the lich began. "Sending the incubator ahead was a smart move, but Brimir developed liches specifically to deal with incubators." The sound of bone clattering on rock echoed from the tunnel behind. The others readied themselves for battle, but Louise stilled them with a raised hand. Nodding appreciatively, the lich continued, "They were so interested in the seemingly free, sustainable energy created by us undead that they failed to realize that we had developed counters to their derecognition." This time, when the lich chuckled, it echoed with dark malice. "Only the Windalfr could control them, but without that passive defense, they are no harder to catch than a simple rabbit." The echoes from behind turned thunderous as a multitude of skeletons and zombies poured in, circling around and surrounding the workroom. Then, once the army had settled, the lich proposed, "Now that I have your incubator, your half-elf, and your sister, shall we talk business?"
As if to drive the lich's superior position home, a large stone door slid shut with a thunderous thunk, sealing off the workroom from the exit as one last undead stepped through. "Do not suffer the undead. Purge them in the name of the Founder." The deep, tainted voice of the undead Cardinal Torquemada elicited a cringe from Louise.
Once again back to back, Louise's companions shot her glances for guidance. Did they attack – try to push through to the surface? Or did they wait and stall in hope that some opportunity would prevent itself?
Louise received her answer in the form of a vision. Once more, her mind tumbled under the strain, but she could see Id standing beyond an assortment of traps with a series of tracks weaving safely through. Id then looked to the side; following her familiar's gaze, Louise saw an image of the lich blindfolded and holding a stuffed doll replica of Id. Hesitant hope flared within Louise. For now, she needed to buy time.
Steadying her resolve, Louise did her best to seem defeated but resilient "What do you want?" Placing her hand behind her, Louise pushed Charlotte's staff down. Right now she needed to delay a fight as long as possible.
The lich went straight to the point, "Your body." Knowing he had his captive audience's attention, the lich continued, "Spiritkin bodies do not rot. The ability to pass unnoticed through human lands would be quite desirable. Surrender yourself to me, and your friends can go free." Though the others tensed for a fight, Louise held up her hand to still them. Turning her hardened gaze upon them, Louise stilled any would be heroics.
"I apologize for the delay." Louise nearly sighed with relief at the sound of Id's voice. Turning back to the lich, she found her familiar standing in front of the lich and paying the skeleton little attention. "It seems short range telepathy still works. The jamming signal is coming from Sheffield." Louise tuned out whatever ominous speech the lich was ranting through in favor of following Id's gaze to the wall off to the side. "She is hidden in an alcove there and preparing the sleeping artifact Kirche described. She melded through the stone wall, so I suggest catching her before she has a chance to retreat. I have not detected any other enemies."
Turning back to Louise, Id explained, "I also discovered Tiffania's and Cattleya's clothes below, it is unlikely they are here. Also this," Id opened its mouth and a mundane looking metal marble clattered to the floor. "Is transmitting a signal similar to a soul gem. I assume it is the lich's soul gem equivalent." The way Id flicked its tail could only be described as prideful. "I have been sending its consciousness false images, but now would be a good time to act."
Louise did not need to be told twice. As the lich's gaze fell to the phylactery in surprise, Louise commanded. "Kirche get Sheffield! Everyone else on the Cardinal. Don't hold anything back. Now!"
The lich got as far as, "That's our-" Before Louise exploded into action. The light of three transformations lit up the dim room. Louise's black energy collided with the phylactery in a second. All around, skeletons, zombies, and even the lich itself crumpled to the ground as the magic that powered them vanished.
Kirche blasted off like a rocket. Fire trailed behind her, pushing her across the room in the blink of an eye. Stone exploded into a cloud of dust and obscured her from view. Only Sheffield's surprised shriek escaped the thunderous crunch of stone buckling under Kirche's strength. The deceased Cardinal Torquemada bellowed and charged toward his mistress. "Do not suffer the undead!"
Colbert's fire roared to life. He had sworn to never kill again, but an undead was not something he needed to hold back against. "Flame Snake!" Fire hot enough to melt sand lanced forward into the charging cardinal, colliding with the thrall's specialized defense. Steam erupted outward as the serpent of flame met the cardinal's water shield. Colbert recalled his snake as Saito leveled his pistol. With the water still coiling around his body, the Cardinal charged two more steps before the wheel of Saito's pistol spun. The once-impenetrable shield shattered into droplets and the undead beast spun under the impact of the musket ball piercing his shoulder.
Even with his arm hanging limply, the cardinal did not stop his charge. Even with Colbert's flame burning away his body, the thrall pressed on. The Cardinal charged through, shouting against the evil of the undead just as the flame faded to reveal Sylphid charging forward. With the spirits coiling around her, Sylphid let her human form drop as scales once again covered her body. Cramped as the dragon was in the cave, Sylphid had plenty of room to spin and slam her tail into the cardinal, launching the man back into the boulder blocking the exit.
Burnt flesh knitting, the Cardinal slowly began to rise. "Chapter 20: Forest of Snares." Tabitha called forth the image of Ivaldi turning the orc hunters' own snares against them and a thousand wires of ice wrapped around the cardinal, pinning him to the wall like a bug caught in a spider's web.
The crunch of stone sounded once more and Sheffield came soaring out of the dust cloud like a rag doll. The woman landed with a crunch upon the large wooden table far away from her thrall. "Please, try to run again, plucking you was fun." Kirche's playful voice echoed as she strode out of the smoke and toward her quarry. Panicked, Sheffield scrambled off the table to the stone below. In an instant, Kirche was next to her. A clawed gauntlet wrapped around Sheffield's neck and pulled roughly.
The villain screamed as she was lifted from the stone she sought to escape through. Hoisting her up, Kirche slammed the woman down upon the wooden table. Sheffield's arms, still covered in clinging stone from her meld, flew to her throat in a vain attempt to pry Kirche's iron grip free. Green fire flared to life around Sheffield's bejeweled arm, but Kirche merely closed her free hand around it and crushed the artifact without so much as a flinch. "Agh!" Sheffield cried as the bone beneath cracked under the pressure. "You!" She accused, her voice dripping with vile accusation.
Kirche just smiled. "Me." This was a long time coming. Kirche briefly flirted with the idea of ending Sheffield then and there. However, she stilled herself when she felt Louise lay a hand on her arm.
Offering a tempering look to the redhead, Louise ordered the rest. "Make sure the cardinal stays put." Then, nodding to Sheffield, Louise carefully informed, "We need her alive." This woman knew where Cattleya and Tiffania were. Finally, Louise looked to her enemy struggling under Kirche's grip. "Stop him, it's over."
Behind, the cardinal continued to regenerate the wounds inflicted upon him and struggle pitifully against his bonds. Sheffield stopped her own struggling and looked indignation to Louise. "Is it?" The woman smiled, feigning superiority even in this situation.
Said smile faltered when Kirche tightened her grip. "You are out of spies and out of plans. Give up." Kirche's heart wavered with anger. This was the woman who had done so much harm to Charlotte. Never again. Kirche would not allow any more torment to her friends.
With her eyes gleaming like a viper, Sheffield replied with a purr. "Wrong on both counts, my dear." Runes flared to life across Sheffield's brow. Electricity tingled down Kirche's spine and her grip released. Stunned, Kirche could not react before her own arm slammed into Louise, launching the pink haired leader away in a tumbling mess of limbs.
Despite every effort, Kirche's body refused to move as she told it. Though Louise was up quickly with staff leveled, Sheffield clung to Kirche's back. "Louise, I..." Kirche tried to ground out but even her voice was barely her own.
Tracing a finger down her body-shield's cheek, Sheffield purred into Kirche's ear. "Just because I am out of unwilling spies doesn't mean I am out of unwitting ones." Smiling, Sheffield watched the foci leveled at her for any attack. "Look at them hesitate. They could strike now, but they care for you. They want to protect you." Sheffield edged to the side in tandem with Kirche, making sure to provide no opening.
Everything was wrong – she couldn't force herself to move as she wanted, but her body moved nonetheless. "How?" She ground out, throwing all her will into moving her body. There! It was just a little, be she felt some resistance. Just a little more time and she could...
"How?" Sheffield replied; her voice dripping with superiority. "You would be surprised how artifacts powerful enough to borrow another's senses and control their movement can be small enough to hide in a healing elixir." Kirche's eyes widened, remembering the wound from the manticore and the healing potion she had been given. "Did you really think I would simply help the greatest thorn in my side?" Sheffield reached behind and grabbed what she sought. "Since then, I've watched you all. It was so adorable, all that talk of supporting and being useful when you were the reason I could predict your every move. It was why Bleu knew just how to get into your good graces and how I knew exactly when to kidnap the elf while you all kept the Pope busy." Sheffield's hand pressed into Kirche's own. Though it was hidden from Louise in the cup of Sheffield's hand, Kirche could see the sickly throbbing grief seed pressed to her own soul gem.
Darkness fled from the pulsing grief seed, clouding Kirche's soul with a sickly miasma. No no no... Kirche panicked as darkness fell over her heart. She had to fight, to move! There, she moved a little more. She needed to warn Louise, to say something. Throwing all her will into it, Kirche tried to form the words, but only gasps escaped as pain flooded her mind and soul. Was it really so useless? Was she really so useless?
Sheffield finally reached the stone wall and backed into it. "Have fun playing decoy, my cute little spy." With that, Sheffield melded into the stone wall and Kirche crumpled to her knees.
Kirche's transformation dropped as the others raced to her. Tears formed at the edges of Kirche's eyes. It was her fault. All their failures, everything wrong that had happened. The darkness and guilt pressed in around her as she began to sob. Even now, Sheffield had escaped because of her. Despair blotted out any light, any hope, from reaching Kirche. It was useless. Some support she had turned out to be.
"Kirche!"
Charlotte's voice cried on the edge of Kirche's senses as she raced to her best friend. Kirche vaguely looked to her oldest friend, but her clouded eyes remained unfocused.
"Kirche!" Louise cried, flying forward, but time had slowed to a crawl. Her mind raced as she saw the sickly black soul gem. If she could just reach Kirche in time, then-!
Looking up with eyes full of tears and a soul tainted with hopelessness, Kirche weakly smiled. She didn't deserve the love of such good friends. They were better off without a burden like her, the one who had continually brought ruin upon them. "I'm so sorry... In the end, I was useless."
The shattering of Kirche's soul echoed through the fabric of the world. Reality cried and power exploded outward, launching those approaching into the walls around. Charlotte pressed against the whirling power, desperately pushing toward to the fragments of Kirche's soul gem as they formed into a grief seed. "Kirche!" Her shout faltered on the wind, unable to pierce through the torrent of despair.
Stone cracked and the discarded bones of the undead flew about. The air itself split as a labyrinth was born, pushing reality away. There, in the swirling worlds between reality and pure despair, Kirche's lifeless body floated beneath a newly birthed grief seed.
In that whirlwind of twisted grief, Kirche von Zerbst died and a witch was born.