Such pain, was this what we had celebrated all these years? There was no mercy in this, it was more brutal than an execution! It seemed as if our very essence was being drained whilst in a conscious state - a strong suction came from the monolith, my thoughts seemed to blur and all I could recall was accepting the pull, to vanquish the piercing pain. My sense of self, fading into the void, this would be it, my final moments.
I waited for the silence to engulf me, to finally be free of our wretched existence, instead a wave of sharp noise bombarded my eardrums. A buzz of overlapping layers, like a swarm of insects swallowing me whole. Hesitantly, I cracked my eyes open just a sliver and almost blinded by the light now seeping through. It was just like waking from a bad dream. The same harbour, the same buzz and the same people. I could see all of us, Guillaume, Adrien & Emma standing just as we were before & Maelle walking past briskly, her usual braided red hair was now devoid of life, painted white and lying loose. What in the hell had happened? She was waving her hands, golden petals were stirring and everyone was being revived.
Looking past the sea of people, blood tainted the floor, it had seeped in to the cobbled stone, despite appearing to have been cleaned. The whole city itself seemed tattered, had nevrons made it through?
Was it still safe? At least, it appeared so - taking a minute to orient myself and untangle the mess of what I had experienced, I got my head around the fact that I was somehow alive again. Surely, this was impossible! But rather than ponder the useless, even if I was in a brief dream, I had but one desire. Adrenaline pumped through my body, I weasled my way through the crowd. You had to be somewhere amongst the crowd, if this was truly what it seemed. You always said to rationalise, but this time, I was listening to my heart.
At first I panicked, after wandering through most of the crowd, without a trace of finding you. But then I heard Sophie, laughing - an unbelievable notion after what I remembered. Yet I still followed the voice towards her and standing right next to her, you were smiling.
Yet it all seemed too sirene, too good to be true. That smile seemed too artificial, like you had never seen a single battle outside from from the expedition. I just didn't want to accept reality then.
I immediately ran up to you, grabbed on your coat and cried out all my grievances. You as always, stood firmly as our pillar, patting my head, re-assuring me all was ok. I was willing to live in that fantasy. There was a part of me that felt hollow, like I was missing something. But I convinced myself, that was just a figment of my imagination. It would go away in time.
However, it didn't go away. A sense of sickness in my stomach stirred, it only ever festered over time. We all wanted some sense of normalcy, opting to settle back in our old homes, living life by the day, clearing up the city and taking life as it came. Day after day passed, but true happiness was unatainable. There was always something buzzing in my head, a tiny voice, that questioned everything that had come to be.
How had Maelle revived everyone? Wasn't it an impossible feat? How did she identify the method to perform a fate defying spell of such wonder? The most realistic rumour was Verso had guided her in finding a way, but the specifics never came to light. The only witnesses aside from Maelle & Verso would have been Monoco & Esquie, from what Sciel & Lune had shared, as the first netizens of Lumière to be revived. Esquie was a legend for his riddles, so I wouldn't expect a straight answer anyway and I always felt a strong sense of danger from him, like a predator watching it's prey frolick unfearlessly in it's net.
My only sane option, to uncover the truth, was establishing a link with Monoco. He was a question mark, none had ever heard of him before his arrival. The only finding was that he loved combat with a passion. Alas, here in Lumiere, with the new peace, he hadn't had a chance to flex his muscles.
It was a friendly match at first, to learn from one of the legendary hero's of New Lumiere. Then it turned into a routine friendly bout. I started chatting about mundane things to get a conversation going, a few sessions later, I was inviting Monoco to a drink at the bar. Once a relationship was established and I found an opportunity to single out Monoco in a private location, I stirred the pot with the query that had burning me from the inside, had he seen the process by which Maelle revived Lune & Sciel and how did she do it?
Maybe it was the look in my eye or the way I asked the question, but he sighed at me, confirming if I wanted to hear what he was about to say without regret. After my affirmation, at first he went on a tangent, asking if I had come across Pierre, as his passing was quite a long time ago, yet even he had been revived and was living a happy life with Sciel. I didn't get where he was going with this, but I nodded. He then asked me, how do you think Maelle revived Pierre if his Chroma had long been integrated by the Paintress and perhaps recycled into something new by now? Before I could respond, he hit me back with another rheutorical question, how many forms do you think the Chroma had before and after Pierre?
No one in the Dessendre family, has been able to control the soul. If they had the capability, the whisp of Verso's soul trapped inside this world or canvas as they know it, would long have been extracted or used in their own creation. If they can't even manipulate souls, what leads anyone to believe they can create them? No, all they have been doing is creating the shells, without understanding what breaths life into them. You might have already heard about the painted copies of the Dessendre family, that Aline created in this world. They had memories, they acted like people, yet they were not the same, were they?
If you want to hear the exact process, as it ocurred, after the "Crimson Blight" Maelle & Verso stood against Renoir. Esquie and I rescued them from a losing battle. Maelle seemed to be carrying an orb of Chroma she had come across from god knows where. She was practicing with it, trying to morph it into Lune & Sciel at the time.
Verso had asked Maelle to remember them and that painting wasn't about being true or real, it was about essence. This was the first clue I failed to pick up on, he wasn't asking her to reposition the chroma or perform any action that suggested revival. He was asking her to paint afresh.
Verso went on to remind Maelle that her father made the axons. Monoco mentioned he tried to help stating the names of "She Who Plays with Wonder & He Who Guards Truth With Lies", with Verso bouncing back that they were the essence of her mother and brother.
It seemed like Maelle understood whatever Verso was saying, as she imbued her sword with essence and struck forward. However, the cluster of red petals, changed to a golden hue. She had painted over them in a way I can not put to words. The chroma itself had been changed into something different.
Lune's first question was about Maelle's hair, not about everyone else or Lumiere. At the time she confronted Verso, as he knew all about this yet did not act, yet now she is happily married to him. Well, if you count the fact that Maelle knew Verso let Gustave be ambushed and our strategist, Lune would have come to the same conclusion, it becomes more bizarre, don't you think?
But that's a tangent, when Sciel asked about reviving all those who had gommaged, Maelle replied back that she needed Chroma. Lune mentioned the chroma trapped in the bodies of the people killed by nevrons, yet Maelle said that was old chroma, not pure. So any chroma could have been used to paint back Lumiere residents.
This itself should have rung bells, she didn't need the chroma of the original bodies returned to Renoir. Chroma was just energy. Yet I turned the cheek, wilfully ignoring the deception Verso was pitching. I have always been sitting on the sidelines, I agreed with the shenanigans of a dear friend to erase everything. I kept the truth to myself, to honor his memory and fulfil his deepest desire. Yet know I see the folly of my ways, perhaps I should have acted differently. Maybe it's too late now, but you can count on me if you need an ally.
Having said his piece, he left me to my thoughts, the world came crashing down on me. Our world was a lie, now our existence was too, none after the Crimson Blight were the same. The gommage has morphed to a guillotine that lusts after our collective necks, the rope hosting the blade high is fraying. We have a new paintress, just this one doesn't publicise our expiry date.
Alicia was too busy playing her make belief games to avoid the bitter truth, she tried to give us lives and happiness, but that could never equate to the real thing. Especially your painted copy, alongside the original expedition, had been warped beyond recognition, by her twisted mind. You were like puppets, soulless and dancing to her whims. The monster we now face is not nevrons, axons or an unreachable villain. But the worst kind; a powerful, broken human.
She didn't even put in an effort to hide the truth, we noticed several people, who shared behaviours - almost like twins, to a terrifying extent. Others lifestyle did not line up with memories from their close ones. Some of us were more "revived" than others. I saw a few people that could pass as zombies, their minds were a mush of what "Lumiere" was in Maelle's mind. A terrifying smile adorned their faces and they didn't really speak much, which perhaps was for the better.
Painted Verso pulled a fast one on us, he had decieved Maelle into thinking her powers were greater than what they were. Maybe as a push to spurr her on to fight & fulfill his purpose. But now after all that had happened, she was no longer open to reason or willing to accept the truth.
The Dessendre Family, everyone now knows that name. We stand firmly against what Alicia has done, we were better off resting in peace than being zombified and desecrated. She was no longer the lovely Maelle, so many of us remembered.
A resistance had formed, yet we were powerless. Anyone that defied her, when found out, was warped further and further into insanity, in an attempt to make them "happy". None could leave, what had become "New Lumiere". It had become our defacto home, nothing had changed. Just instead of a gommage, we had a captor. Yet she wasn't untouchable, none of the Dessandre family are, inside the canvas. She hadn't transcended immortality, just had enough of us under her control to use as a meat shield, especially our strongest.
She was growing old, the painting was corrupting her. Some amongst our ranks, entertained the possibility of it all ending. Just waiting patiently for the end to come. Others were more proactive in finding a way for this world to survive. Your motto had become our calling, "For those who come after". Yet, there was no "after", there were no children. Maelle was the only one who could paint offspring as new beings, yet they were also soulless. As time passed, more and more of Lumiere was giving in, the same people who once spat on the cultists as cowards, bent their backs to please Maelle. The majority now fell into this category.
We, on the other hand, were being hunted when found, we could only hide in plain sight. Maelle knew everyone she had painted, just her vision on us was more lax, as she didn't care all too much for us and couldn't fathom us as a threat. We still had a semblance of a conscious and a moral compass. Somehow, you & Sophie still had fight in you. Sophie was our open leader, she stood in firm opposition to Maelle, refusing to co-ordinate costumes or change her stance on children. It got on her nerves, but she played her game. By her own imaginary rules, Maelle couldn't do a thing to her. She did however take it all out on Verso. Poor Verso, he never got his wish of release. He's being paraded as a covert warning what happens to those who stand against her. There can be no sadness in our kingdom, we must always be smiling. Lune was broken, to ease Verso's suffering she had no choice but to share the burden.
A son was granted as a peace offering from Maelle, which seemed effective. Sciel was trapped in her own head, with Pierre's return and Maelle's influence. Monoco could not act with Verso and the rest held captive and Esquie had no cause to fight. Great minds however, fear not adversity. If after 67 years the strongest Dessendre Family member was defeated. We could definitely triumph over the weakest, we just needed a plan of action. Upto this point, I hadn't gathered the courage to read through your journal. After all, there was a version of you right here right? But speaking to that version in private now, was almost impossible. Alicia, had eyes on you like a hawk, every word spoken was watched.
Unfortunately, after the Crimson Blight, the journal had ended back in Maelle's hands. There was only one way to get it back and that was to ask for it's release from the lioness's grasp[1]. Gathering the courage of an elephant, I wondered into a secluded street, buried in decorative banners that were to celebrate every day for the "joy it brings". At the end of the street was the manor, what once was an imitation of the Dessendre's family home in the real world and now was the residing place of Expedition 33. As I had raised my hands to knock, the door opened by itself, with Sciel greeting me with a cheery desposition - beckoning me further inside to the belly of the beast.
In the main hall, a tea ceremony seemed to be taking place, with bakery delicacies, such as butter croissants and almond tarts stacked on platters. A buzz of cheerful conversation rattling against my ears, yet it seemed too intense, a glaze artificial. At the family head's chair, sat Alicia - glancing me at me in sheer amusement. With that simple movement, the place went penny drop silent, all around the table were now staring at me, as if to ask what my presence was requesting? Before I could address her, she gestured me to sit and obliged me to join in their celebration of another day of freedom.
She definitely knew what I was there for, but she led me by the nose, engaging in idle conversation. Asking about Guillame & Adrien's health. How our lifestyle was going as entry level engineers, having been promoted from apprentices to workers with their own projects. As if to ragebait me, she aluded to Emma visiting on a regular basis, but she hadn't seen any of us for months, did we not have any filial piety towards Gustave who had nurtured us under his wings. That wouldn't do, she wanted at least one of us to visit once a week and help liven up the atmosphere.
It seemed harmless, but was 100% a way for her to monitor us more closely, as she sensed we were now up to something. But that was a price we had to pay, as she knew what my goal was from that visit that day. Grudgingly, I had to agree to it and play it off, as us being busy in our work trying hard to leave our own marks as distinctly as Gustave had. They do say to greet your enemies with a smile and it seemed both of were tango'ing on thin ice. I did excuse myself, as I had other places to be and of course, Alicia took the high road and graciously offered to provide Gustave's journal to read through his tales of adventure and sacrifice, to maybe learn something from it. No discrete jabs there, just straight up plowing the knife through my heart.
But at least, from that one moment of restraint, I now had what I had been after and could see for myself what your experience on that suicide mission had been. Page after page of living on the knife's edge and devestating blows physically and mentally, it was disturbing to say the least that life was so treachorous on the continent. Yet, despite the adverse conditions, the light didn't dim. A lantern, shielding those in it's range, providing the boost to take one more step into the unknown. The same kindle of sparks we revered as a father, as an older brother and as a mentor that pushed us to greater heights. Telling tales of adventure, of gestrals, of pebbles, of beauty and of hope.
I started to recall the last moments more vividly, where Maelle shared some details of your Expedition. However, the journal, really was a refresher and despite your attempts to downplay danger, showcased how dangerous it truly was. When I reached the part about Maelle's nightmares and your adventure to Stone Wave Cliffs, I knew you would help them all pull through this.
Yet, the next entry was from Maelle, it took a minute for me to process what this meant. I scrambled through the next entries, just in case it was a prank, she had always been the mischievous sort. Yet my heart clenched, as it sunk, that was your last moment.
Was it 10 times, 20 times, even a 100 times? I read, re-read and cycled back to the stories you had penned. I could almost see your face narrating those stories, maybe with a hint of embellishment, but you definitely more than deserved that. If anyone stood a slight chance to change our pre-destined fate, it would be your unrelenting mug.
The tears had dried, there was no time left for sorrow or grief. We were all witnesses and victims to the cycle of grief, sorrow & uncontrolled power.
The journal had details about Maelle, her skills and her emotions. Exactly what we needed, to stand a fighting chance. She had burn, void, sword/ physical powers and had self taught herself a lightning ability in your memory. Her strongest ability seemed to be harnessing powers from the void, which none of us could counter.
Our lack of knowledge on the abilities Alicia had, didn't provide much of an assurance. As it wasn't just the abilities of Maelle, but also the abilities of the paintress we needed to be cautious about. The only ones who had insight into those would be Monoco & Esquie. So we had to get the both of them in a room and on our side. The side opposite the most powerful entity currently in the canvas and once a good friend to the both of them.
Of course, what better way than via a meeting at the council. A place Alicia did not get involved in, as she hated the atmosphere within such a political place. Getting Monoco on board wasn't too difficult, he was already on the fence - not liking the direction Alicia had taken this utopia of hers. Getting Esquie onboard would be the most challenging, as he rarely moved for anything. Somehow, Monocco had been able to liase with Esquie and relay our message for a meeting. His message back, was nothing short of our expectations, a cryptic riddle which hinted of a way to change all our fates, but to get more information we needed to meet his demands in locating all his rocks, which had been lost - scattered across the continent. Perhaps Monocco had promised that upfront, which had gotten us a hint and a nod that there was a way forward.
The challenge was Alicia's watchful gaze, which prevented anyone leaving New Lumiere. To add to our troubles, one of us had to visit the manor once a week. Mobilising a giant ship would garner too much attention. Luckily, the entire Engineering Guild was on our side and the underground HQ offered an advantage of being able to build discreet technologies. We had been able to recreate submarines, supported by pictos etched onto them, with a heavy load on the user. Unfortunately, one of us alone would not be able to keep it in operation and rest adequately, to be prepared for the continent. It required us going in pairs, which meant we had to go there and reach back in 2 weeks. Luckily for us, Lune had charted the entire continent from her travels during the Expedition, which we had gotten Jules to "borrow" on one of his deliveries.
Of course, it would have been a tremendous project for us to do this alone, without the support of Lumiere behind us. Not everyone could be trusted with the knowledge of what our objective was. For unknown reasons - the Nevrons were not erased by Alicia, the continent was as infested by them as it had always been.
Hence, our first stop was Gestral Village and naturally we bought Monoco along - he wasn't the type to sit still. To facilitate his absence, Esquie was pretending to be taking Monoco to scavenge for resources. Of course on his back was just a plush that Jules had been kind enough to make life-sized and believable from afar.
At the Gestral Village, we were blocked by the latest version of Sakapatate's. We were grateful Monoco was accompanying us, alone we probably wouldn't have survived that encounter. Finally, we got to meet Golgra and get her on-board our mission. Although for some reason Moncco picked a fight with her and we all took a beating as a result. However, Glogra, did pose two demands for us to meet - one was getting the Grandis to agree to this request as-well. The continent was too large for just the Gestral's to traverse and with four rocks to find, which could be anywhere, we needed all the hands we could get. With Monoco here, we were able to get some Gestrals to draw Florrie, Soarrie, Dorrie & Urrie, should make them easier to identify. Secondly, she wanted to be present in the meeting we had to decide the fate of this world. Both of which we had agreed to.
Unfortunately, in this expedition - we didn't have the time to also visit the Grandis. We needed to head back to avoid startling the snake.
The second expedition was with just myself and Guillaume. Adrien had been on the previous one and now it was his turn to vist. We hadn't wasted any time, we had departed just after dropping Adrien down. The toll on myself was heavier, with Monoco having also been left behind - to not blow our cover. Yet, I persisted. It was a bigger stretch and would have been impossible to make, if we hadn't already asked Golgra for help. On the way, we picked up Noco, a gestral merchant who Golgra advised could help speed up our journey[2].
It was a bit difficult to negotiate with them, they seemed to be really good at negotiations - we ended up promising a few tonnes of books from our library in exchange for each rock they found and records of the journals we had found from prior expeditions. The difficulty would be in getting that material here un-noticed. But that was a challenge for another day.
We made a hasty trip back, bringing Noco with us, as we didn't have time to drop him off at the Gestral Village. Leaving him at the workshops in the HQ, we could simultaneously exchange our knowledge with one another. Don't underestimate the engineering of Gestrals, they definitely had merit in succeeding with the Sakapatate's.
Being my turn at the manor, I was a bit drained from the excursions, but still had to put on a cheerful and bubbly desposition. Somehow I made it through the day, without raising eyebrows.
Exhausted, I lay down on the bed. At least I had a weeks rest, Adrien & Guillaume were now out helping the Gestrals & Grandis with requests and trying to locate the rocks. Just as I was about to get some shut eye, there was a loud knock on the door. I'll deal with it tomorrow, I thought. But the knocking only got more frequent and louder.
Fuming, I opened the door to find an unpleasantly familiar face. It was Paquette standing there, with a look of annoyance etched on her face. What took you so long? Flabbergasted at the question at this time of day I facepalmed and greeted her inside.
She took a seat before I even said anything and asked for something to eat. A frown forming on my face, maybe a few wrinkles on my forehead too. The audacity to come in here, at this time of day and ask for something to eat. This was my home, not a restaturant. Yet for some reason, I chose to bear with it and served fish stew & chocolate cake.
"I know you are up to something" she casually stated whilst sipping her soup, not even sparing me a glance. My eyes narrowed, not having been a fan of her from day 1, what trouble was she cooking up now? "Don't worry, I don't bite." she followed on smirking and then looking up to me. "I want in, whatever you sneaky lot are up to". I grimaced internally, what was she playing at here?
I just said I was tired and had no idea what she was rambling on about, maybe she should come visit some other day. "Oh, don't be like that now. I know you and I have our differences. But you can't deny someone needs to give that b*tch a reality check." a creepy smile invading half her face. Did the repainted copy of her seem a bit twisted, maybe, but right now they did need all the help they could get.
I never thought I would be the one to say this, but that was probably one of the best decisions I had made in that point in time. Although to this day, I still am not sure, if her support came from a genuine passion to change things for the better, or the fact that I stood on the opposing side of what were her "enemies".
Once we had Paquette on-board, she quickly had her team arrange logistics in such an effortless way, it seemed unreal. The problem of books getting to the Grandis? Sorted. A trade channel to the Gestrals and Grandis opened up in a manner unseen by most of the city. Technologies were being interchanged in a way never done before. Things we could not dream to accomplish were being done. Francois, a giant immovable turtle on the continent. Now was moved to the Engineering HQ. Materials from the Monolith itself mined and stored at the Engineering HQ.
Research on all forms of Pictos, Weapons, further evolutions to the Lumina Converter and much more were seeing progress unheard of. With food and resources coming from the continent via trade, a large workforce of researchers had formed, with the number revived - new people were being turned to our side with what trickery, we would never know.
It didn't take years, within a few months we had all the stones. In no time, we were sitting not at the council building. But for the first time the council would adjourn at the Engineering HQ to recognise the efforts of recovering multiple pre-fracture technologies. At least that was the cover story. To keep Maelle busy, we created an "ice- cream" festival with a public holiday declared, to keep the streets jam packed.
The first meeting of it's kind, between different species - with the unifying purpose of solving the current dilemma. In the fight between painters, many Gestrals & Grandis had fallen, they did not know how long they could stay alive with the axe of destruction hanging on everyone's heads. Also, with the lack of humans on the continents and maybe some manipulation from Alicia, the nevrons seemed to have evolved and gotten more dangerous. Gestrals & Grandis were being injured and some had fallen. It was only getting worse with time.
Esquiee shared that Maelle's power of the void had made her the strongest paintress from the Dessendre family he had seen, yet a lot of her abilities remained untapped. It seemed like a seal had been placed on her, maybe it was Aline's work, but the reason would remain unknown. We needed to break the seal, harness that energy and could send back a relic through time of our choosing to anyone currently alive in Lumiere.
The choice was overwhelmingly for you to be the one, the Gestrals, Grandis, heck even Paquette voted for you. The object would be this very journal I am now writing in and addressing you from.
The only object in this world with enough energy was the eclipsed sun in the North, behind the monolith. We had always assumed it was locked behind an object that made it appear so, but Esquie shared in this painted world, not everything followed natural order. That was an object painted by Aline, before the fracture - he didn't eloborate on the why, we assumed it was grief, mirroring her blackened heart. But it also served as they key/ gateway between both worlds. By destroying/ erasing the sun, we would firstly cut-off the connection the canvas had with the real world, but it would alert the Dessendre Family something was wrong and they may try to get through.
Working with all now living in the now rebranded, "One Canvas Engineering Guild[3]" (OCEG for short), we created a ship that was coated in Lumina, to make sure it would not melt from the heat of the sun. Esquie had nominated himself to do the flying there and back, carrying the whole ship. It was unavoidable that the exercise would catch Alicia's attention. So we had split ourselves into two teams.
Team One would go to the Shadow Sun & use two new technological devices developed by OCEG. The Chroma Capture Device (captures any targeted chroma in the vicinity when activated) & The Chroma Field (freezes any targeted chroma for 5 minutes). Enough of these would be carried to drain the sun completely. We were able to get a zeppelin made that could hold the devices without breaking and the surface area allowed it to be covered in pictos and a large amount of people could get on to it.
Team Two would be buying us time. Which included myself, Adrien & Guillaime.
Team One was led by Paquette and bringing Francois had won some brownie points with Esquie, who volunteered to help carry the zepplin there and back before we (Team Two) got squashed into oblivion.
I'm not clear on all the details of Team One, I know the richness of the Chroma meant the Chroma Field didn't quite work as intended, so there were many "Expeditioners" who formed a human bridge off the safety of the zepplin with heat resistant features, to get close enough to extract chroma from it, sacrificing their lives. I say Expeditioners, as we called it Expedition 1, too long we had been counting the wrong way, it was time we took the initiative on our own two feet. The high density of the chroma energy caused malfunctions on some of the Chroma Capture Devices, with a dozen or so becoming unstable - with several expeditioners pouring all their chroma and essence into the contraptions to stabilise them. We couldn't afford the loss of energy by throwing them away. Every little scrap of Chroma could be the difference between success and failure.
That wasn't all either, the new generation of nevrons included many species with the ability of flight - Esquie didn't make any moves beyone escorting. So naturally many expeditioners had stepped up, both on the way and back, entangling with nevrons to keep the zepplin safe. We hadn't seen casulties like this for years and it was all of our own voilition, to seek the right to write our own destinies. Not crippled under the hands of whichever member of the Dessendre Family decided it was their turn to play.
Back to Team Two, the key fighters would be;
Alexandre, Adrien, Guillaume[4], Monoco, Francois, Golgra, Bastien, Noco
vs
Alicia, Gustave, Verso, Lune, Sciel, Sophie
With us 3 vs Alicia, whilst the rest kept each other company and prevented intervention. With many other Grandis & Gestrals keeping the rest of Alicia's supporters under control. The likes of Matthieu, Bertrand, Dominique, Julien taking the lead.
Our best bet was to restrain Alicia, knock her unconscious. Otherwise, either Renoir would erase the canvas or Alicia would return with a vengeance.
We needed to buy enough time for Team One to return. So our first gambit was using the next theatre attendance as our chance to strike. We had set up in the theatre beforehand, there would be no non combatants attending. A large array for the Chroma Field was put into place, we just needed to guide Alicia to the spot it was directed at.
The ball was set into motion, whilst the theatre was in session, Team One departed. Of course, there were some rats who saw this and ran to inform Alicia - this had been anticipated. They were blocked and skirmishes were taking place. The final count-down had been kicked into motion. It was only a matter of time before the skirmishes began to get closer or Alicia noticed something odd. She probably was already sceptical seeing us all in attendance, when we skipped these. We had dug an underground level, which would raise itself with Francois and the rest when the battle started. Hopefully no noise would make its way up here. One sneeze could compromise the whole plan.
Time was ticking and for a brief moment it seemed like this might be pulled off smoothly. Until out of nowhere, a large boom sound could be heard, the ground seemed to be quaking and the roof seemed to be crumbling.
Which fellow with a screw loose had fired a live cannon round on to the venue? Did they not care about lives at all. Nevermind, that was a rhetorical question, in their minds Alicia would probably revive anyone who was caught in the cross-fire. Damn these lunatics, things were messed up enough with the cultists, but these guys had cranked the dial past 20.
I could feel a venemous glare lock on to me, shit she knew we were involved in whatever was going around. I braced for impact as a sword seemed to be aiming at disarming me literally. Sigh, here we go I thought. Not how we planned it, but when do things ever go according to plan?
---
To be continued.
[1] Feel free to correct me if I got this saying wrong.
[2] Provide AP to power the submarine.
[3] All citizens of One Canvas, regardless of species.
[4] Us 3 apprentices