After a quick discussion, they had lain out Maria's mother on a sheet Larna Smith had pulled from her pack. The former director had then used Wind Magic to make the entire sheet float about a foot off the ground, suspended by wind, allowing Maria's mother to lie on what was essentially a flying hammock. The wind, of course, spread the smell everywhere, but everyone was pressing through it at this point, although they each promised themselves a thorough bath after wards.
"Someone will need to hold the back and front so it doesn't float all over the place," Larna Smith said as they stood next to the floating sheet with Maria's mother, to one side of the old wooden table. Estella Almera lay unconscious on the other side of it. "And one of them will have to be me to maintain the spell."
Miss Shelley immediately moved to stand at the end where Maria's mother's head was.
"I'll bring along the prisoner, so that Maria's free in case she has to kill something on the way up," Rafael said.
"I need to keep this contained," Maria said, gingerly holding the orb of darkness in one hand. It quivered every so often, but she felt she mostly had it under control. Considering she had no idea what it was besides 'made of Dark Magic', 'mostly' was the best she could hope for until they could… well, probably throw it in the ocean and make it someone else's problem.
Larna Smith's eyebrow twitched. "Why do I keep getting leg duty?" she sighed.
"You're the newbie," Rafael said. "You get all the dung pie jobs. But hey, maybe we'll get lucky this year and get some new souls in the department."
"Hah! Yeah, right," Larna Smith scoffed, even as she reluctantly moved towards Maria's mother's legs, where most of the smell was. "Everyone wants to get into a popular department like Soul Arts Research, the Magic Research Department, Medicinal Magic Department, or Abyss Watch Department."
"Yeah, the old director totally let the fire fade on that one, not doing anything to make our department more appealing," Rafael said.
"Are you ever going to stop going on about that?" Larna Smith said.
"That's 'Are you ever going to stop going on about that, Vice-director', newbie," Rafael said.
They made their way up the passage, Rafael and eventually Maria dragging the unconscious Almera woman along the cold stones. Fortunately, the dark spirits they encountered stayed finally dead as they passed the large space that had once been a ritual circle. Once they reached the cabin above, they got some rope and replaced the flimsy-looking manacles securing the woman while Miss Shelley took Maria's mother upstairs to wash her and get her into something that wasn't covered in filth. They left the woman collapsed next to the stairs, like luggage they needed to remember to bring with them.
"I'd better go see if we have any more ogres to worry about," Larna Smith said, ducking out the door to scout around and probably try to avoid any more dung pie jobs.
Maria and Rafael, lacking anything better to do, collapsed onto the cabin's sofas, likely soiling them. Idly, she considered that with the cabin's caretaker dead, there'd be no one to clean it. She supposed they'd have to report his death to whoever owned this place…
"What a day," Rafael said tiredly.
Maria nodded, not feeling like speaking, concentrating on keeping the orb she held contained. Outside, the last vestiges of sunlight were fading and night was about to fall. Thankfully, the candles and prism stones provided light, but they'd have to light some new ones soon, given how low many had burned.
But later.
"We still need to find the Dark Magic wielder," Maria said, too tired to be angry or furious right then. "She's still on the loose, and probably nearby, since those ogres were still under her control."
Upstairs, wood creaked as someone walked around.
"Maybe she went to the bakery, and we just missed her," Rafael joked.
For a moment, they both just sat there, utterly exhausted. Maria reached out her free hand and gently placed it on Rafael's thigh.
He twitched at the contact, looking down at her gloved hand in bemusement. "Is that going to be a regular thing with you?"
"We are engaged," Maria said. "We should get used to living under more intimate, permissive rules of propriety that will include you eventually ravishing me to sate your carnal lusts."
Rafael shuddered. "Please leave the swampy talk for later when we don't both smell like swamp?"
Maria smiled. "All right," she said and made to pull back her hand. As it left his leg, Rafael gently covered it with his, his warmth enfolding her.
They sat there, enjoying the moment.
There was a moan as the Almera woman started regaining consciousness.
They exchanged looks as they heard the woman start to mutter. "Should we knock her out again?" Maria suggested.
Rafael sighed. "No, I'd better interrogate her or something. At least properly inform her she's arrested."
They both stood, Maria carefully checking on the orb of darkness she still held, before making their way to loom over the bound woman.
She was struggling against her ropes frantically, as if in disbelief. "No…" they heard her muttering. "Have to go… that whore… have to make her pay… stole my man… have to make her pay for that… that noblefucking tramp…" She kept muttering as she tried to struggle out of the ropes like they were a tight dress she was trying to squeeze out of.
"Estella Almera?" Rafael called, trying to keep her attention. "Estella Almera?"
The woman glanced briefly at him, as if annoyed he was bothering her.
"You're under arrest," Rafael said. "For the kidnapping, imprisonment and assault upon the person of Alice Campbe–"
Estella Almera let out a cry of rage, lunging so threateningly at Rafael he instinctively took a few steps back, even as she only managed to flop like some kind of fish.
"The whore!" she roared. "The dirty, stupid, fucking whore! Are you the one? Are you one of those she opened her legs for have her little bastard? That stupid, cheating sow, she wasn't good enough for him, only I was good enough for him!"
Maria found Rafael's hand on hers as she went for her sword, and she glared at him. This was later, wasn't it?
"That's not why we're here," Rafael said over the woman's ranting. "We're here because you kidnapped her. Tell us where your accomplice is and we might be inclined to be lenient."
"Why do you care?!" the woman screamed. "That bitch is nobody important, just some quim who thought she was pretty! Why come for her when you didn't come when she stole my man! He should have been mine! I was prettier than her, my tits were bigger!"
"We don't care about that–" Rafael tried to interject.
Upstairs, the wood creaked, and Miss Shelley's face peered over the banister on the second level. "Shut that bitch up, she'll upset Alice," she snapped.
The Almera woman heard her voice and looked up, her face twisting into a sneer. "SEE! See! There's her new noble fuck! That whore will spread her legs for anybody, she's trash! I saved myself for him, kept myself pure for him! I deserved him!"
"You're mad," Miss Shelley said dismissively.
"She promised!" the Almera woman howled. "Lady Sarah promised I'd be rewarded for helping her! That whore's death is mine! MINE! I'LL SEE HER D̵̶̜̱̹͓̻̝̘͕̰͇͈͝É̡̀͏̦͉͚̠̯̩̞̜̟̝̘̦͝A͏͙̰̙̹̪͓̗̟̟̱̥͖͞D̸̨͎̯͈̣̜̬̞̙̹̜̤͉̬͚͡ͅ ̳͔͚̞̦͚̖̜́͜͞A̸̖̪̤͍̗̳̹̼̥̟͕̦̬̕̕Ǹ̛҉̡̬̻̤̟̼̰̩͖̗̫͖̮̦̭ͅḎ̵̨̛͎̖͖̯͇̹̲͓̯̺̩̤̪̼͇͞ ̴͏̜̘̪̜͙̝̱̝C̛͙̜̙̬͖͔̝̖͚̪͖͙̬͎̯̭̺͡ͅO̷҉̢͍͓̰̥̬͔͔̳̬͉̪̙͟ͅͅN̷̪͔̯̳͉͕̘͖͕̯͉͈̼͇͠S̢̠̞̯̺̜̪͔̘̱̠̻̹͜͡͝Ù͈̖̦͓͔̯̜̞̪͇̼̙̣̯̹̹͇̕M̶̨̨̹͚̩͕͎̳̗͓̪̬͍̯̘͚͟͠È̴̶̷̳̲̻͖͖̖͕̙̘͖̟̙͝ ̶͔̼̬̤͕͕͚̦̮̟͕̩̦̖̮̘͕́͠ͅH̵̬̰̝̰̪̬̲͓̤̙͜͢ͅȨ̶̗̘̼̟͚̝̹̖͕̝͚͟͜͟R̷̳̬͓̙̖̦̙̺̱̣̙̝͇͢͡͡ ̧̘̝͓͔͕͘ͅͅS̡̩͇̗̟O̡̲͓͖̲͙̫͚̲͍̗̥̤͖͕̕͘͘͢ͅÚ̡͖̥̱͈͉͇̩̬͍͉̘͎̳̯̤̙̞͠ͅĹ͇͕̩̖͕̙̦̠̪̜́͠͡!̸̶̡̳͍̙̱̞̲͓͢͝!̸̡̨͇̜͉̯̜̰͔̟͙̦͘!̢̛͈͇͓̲̭̭̭̳̤̫͠ͅ!̨͎̠̜̞͚̘̖͖̯̦̬̘͖̠̀!̶̱̤̺̤̺͞"̶̨̥͖̙̩̖̼̠̳͈͉͜͠͝
The last was a scream Maria felt in her Dark Soul as the darkness around the woman seemed to erupt and thicken, as it started to burn like a black flame. Maria hauled Rafael back as nauseating waves of Dark Magic flowed over her, even as they heard the woman's howl rising, saw her limbs contort and thicken. The ropes binding her tore as her body became too big to hold, and the burning darkness around her became the center of a flailing, energetic mass of limbs.
"Get my mother of here!" Maria cried as she finally drew her sword. She lunged at thing that had once been a woman, but the darkness, like a wave of force, repulsed her, and she was forced to roll to regain her balance even as the orb of darkness in her hands roiled violently in seeming sympathy.
Annoyance mixed with rage in Maria as she glared at the dark orb and she crushed it in her fist and her will, and the thing finally stopped resisting her, stopped moving.
Umbasa for small blessings.
That seemed to be all she was getting though as a sudden wave of heat struck her, flames starting to billow out of the mass of writhing, contorting, growing limbs and thick, burning darkness.
The door opened, and Larna Smith appeared, taking in the situation at a glance… then ran for the stairs behind the flames, which had already set the floor beneath it alight, and with a roar of Wind Magic she bounded past, barely managing not to get clipped by a huge, flaming, thin limb as she ran upstairs, calling for Miss Shelley to get Maria's mother.
Maria instantly resolved to be much, much nicer to Larna Smith from now on. The woman was a hero.
"Get everyone outside and away," Maria said to Rafael, staring at the form that was resolving itself as the fire settled and the darkness burned. It was enormous, with grotesque, elongated limbs of dark flesh that for all their thinness jiggled as if made of flab and fat. Long, narrow legs and elongated feet and ending in wicked, curling claws. A long, maggot-like torso with hanging, shriveled breasts drooped like elderly udders, framed by ribs seemingly erupting out of the flesh on either side. There was a crash as a long, worm-like, blubbery tail struck the wall that had the fireplace, shattering timber and cracking the masonry. It's right arm was long, and thin with that flabby quality, ending in long, elongated wingers with curving, sword-like claws. It's left arms was twice as long and much, much thicker, covered in flames and burning darkness. Thick, tangled and bestial-seeming hair grew in waves from the thing's head, down the neck and onto the shoulders, moving as if unbound by gravity, burning with flame. A pair of twisted horns grew from either side of a monstrous, bestial head with enormous glowing crimson eyes that burned with hate and madness, framing a mouth wide enough to swallow Maria whole beneath. "Get outside, Larna Smith will likely try and take my mother out a window."
The beast of fire and darkness roared that Dark Soul-sickening roar, a roar of hate and bloodlust that made Maria feel like she was being consumed. In the confines of the cabin, it seemed to fill every remaining space as its horns brushed the ceiling, gouging and burning the wood around it.
Rafael, bless him, hesitated, reaching for his sword. Then he ran.
The sudden movement seemed to goad the beast to movement… but instead of heading for him or attacking Maria, the beast turned and tried to climb the stairs, even though it's face was level with the second floor and a single one of its feet was too wide for the staircase.
Upstairs.
To Maria's mother.
Her sword slammed into the beast's back with all the fury of a daughter protecting her mother, the titanite-alloy blade glowing blue let out a roar of her own.
It was later.
And now Maria was going to kill her.
Estella Almera, The Covetous Demon of Hatred
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Lady Maria Campbell, The Daughter of Alice
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