The Angel of the Owl House
Season 2: The Human Realm
Chapter 10: Oracle of Angels
Hunter walked through the Emperor's Castle, searching for his Uncle to report on the status of his most recent mission. To his immense frustration, he'd been doing borderline grunt work ever since the disastrous mission to capture the Bat Queen's Stray Palismen, as his Uncle had been disappointed in his failure. Hunter could have avoided this, since it had been his idea to claim the Palistrom Trees from Head Witch Terra Snapdragon, but he had instead given credit for the idea and success of that mission to his sister, since she'd been even more terrified of disappointing the Emperor than he'd been. They'd have split the credit, but raw Palistrom Wood was not the same as actual Palismen, so it had only abated the Emperor's wrath a little… Hunter had a new scar on his leg from Belos' subsequent loss of control, brought about by his anger exacerbating his illness.
He considered it worth it though, even if his sister felt she should have shared the burden. After all, Hunter now had Flapjack, a Palisman of his own that he was keeping secret… purely for research purposes of course. Hunter felt that if he studied Flapjack carefully, he might be able to help Belos without the sacrifice of Palismen!
Eventually, Hunter found his way to one of his Uncle's workshops in the bowels of the castle, where simplistic Abomaton Mk I's were assisting the Emperor with constructing… something. Hunter had no idea what it was and briefly kept out of sight as he watched his uncle work. The man was growing frustrated over whatever it was, and that certainly wasn't helped by the inferior Abomatons.
"Blasted things… I must push Darius to work harder on reconstructing the Mk II's. These early models are worthless!" Belos growled, using his staff to blast one to dust after it bungled something. Hunter gulped; Odalia Blight had largely fallen out of favour with the Emperor following the botched showcase and the betrayal of her family. The only reason Belos was even keeping her around was because the Abomaton Mk I's her newly refurbished factory could build were still good for extra muscle, and because she was one of the few voices in Bonesborough that was still on the Emperor's side following the betrayal of the Alembics over a week ago.
Hunter tried to creep closer to get a better look at what his uncle was working on, though clearly he wasn't as quiet as he thought.
"Would you like to see my work up close, Hunter?" Belos said, turning to look where Hunter was hiding.
The boy gulped and stepped out of the shadows; "I didn't mean to hide, Emperor Belos." he lied.
Belos, still wearing his mask (though without his hood, so his long greying hair was visible), chuckled at him and beckoned him over to look at the table he was working at. A blueprint was laid out on it, showing diagrams of a new and improved Portal Door.
"You're constructing a new portal?" Hunter questioned.
"Indeed. The Owl Lady is infuriatingly difficult to keep a hold of. She has been captured and subsequently escaped from myself, Head Witch Terra, and Head Witch Vitimir, never being held for more than a day. We need the Portal Door before the Day of Unity, but at this rate…" Belos sighed angrily; "… well, I will continue to have her pursued, but I can no longer afford to count on her capture. So a new door is required… though constructing one is proving difficult."
"Maybe I can help!" Hunter asked excitedly, "What do you need?"
Belos looked at him and the boy promptly quietened down. "I have all the materials I need except for one; Titan Blood. But you have no need to worry about that; Kikimora is accompanying Head Witch Osran on a search for Titan Blood at the Knee."
"Kikimora? Why send her? Why not me and my sister? We can do it! We're far more powerful than her!" Hunter argued.
He received a warning look that promptly shut him up, as Belos put a hand on his shoulder; "You and your sister are important to the Titan's plans; the best thing you can do for now is complete the safe tasks I have given, or remain in the castle like your sister. Now speaking of tasks, report on your last mission."
Hunter stood at attention as he switched to a more formal demeanour; "The damages done to the Alchemist Atelier have been fully repaired, and Head Witch Hettie has reported that Head Witch Vitimir has made a full recovery. His mental stability has been called into question, but he is otherwise fine. Bounties have also been issued for Morel, Callisto, and Boscha Alembic for their betrayal of the Coven, as well as Bounties for the individuals known as Barcus, Rom, Howlena, and Morton. Sadly all are based in Bonesborough so attempts to capture them have stalled."
Belos hummed; "So yet more Witches and Demons have succumbed to the Owl Lady's influence."
"Head Witch Vitimir also passed along a request for something called a "Blood Silk Ruby". I'm not sure what it is, but his subordinate said he desperately needed it to recreate a potion that was sabotaged by the rebels." Hunter said.
"A Blood Silk Ruby? I gifted him one once years ago, as thanks for a service he performed for me. They are a kind of small organic stone that forms from a blood clot in the heart of a Goliath Ash Moth. They are next to impossible to acquire." Belos stroked his chin beneath his mask; "What could he be brewing with that…? No matter, I will not be spending resources to acquire one for him. Thank you Hunter, you may go."
Hunter opened his mouth to argue and try to convince Belos to let him help with the Titan Blood mission, but he already seemed to be in a bad mood and the boy had no desire to patch another wound, so he bowed his head and walked out of the room.
Unbidden, the words Luz and Gus had said back in their last encounter echoed in his head; "Belos gave you that scar, didn't he? And the knick in your ear too."
"Dude, I felt how thin and bony Silver was when I carried her earlier, and the bags under your eyes are obvious. I don't think he takes good care of you guys even without his sickness."
Hunter shook the memory away; his Uncle was a good man who wanted what was best for everyone! He wasn't going to doubt him! With nothing else to do, Hunter decided to head to his sister's room, which was right next door to his. He knocked on the door and waited until she opened it, putting a mask over her face as she did. It was only the mask version of her Silver Sentinel helmet, so Hunter could see her pointed ears and short brown hair sticking out from behind it.
"Hey Sis. I'm back from the Shoulder. How've you been doing?" Hunter asked.
"I feel weak and pathetic…" she signed, "My magic is low and Uncle won't give me a new staff. He says he wants me to stay safely in the castle for now… I think he's mad at me for failing to bring him any actual Palismen."
She invited him into her room and shut the door behind him, activating some silencing enchantments she'd carved into the wood and stone. "Speaking off, how is your leg?"
"Healed up fine, though it scarred." Hunter confessed. His sister clenched her fists angrily, so he continued; "But speaking of Palisman; someone wants to see you."
He opened his cloak and Flapjack flew out with a cheerful tweet, and landed on Silver's shoulder. She immediately made a delighted noise and began petting him, much to Hunter's amusement and Flapjack's pleasure.
"I think you like him more than I do." Hunter joked, ignoring Flapjack's indignant complaint inside his head.
The two sat together for a while as siblings, chatting and venting their frustrations to each other while playing with Flapjack. Silver listened to Hunter complain about being kept from the Knee mission, and scowled behind her mask upon hearing Kikimora being assigned to it instead of them.
"That conniving little monster has been plotting to take back her position from me since I got it. Mark my words, she'll try to replace us both if she succeeds in getting Titan Blood! And Uncle is so annoyed with us that he might just let her!" Silver signed dejectedly.
Hunter frowned, then suddenly smirked as a thought came to him; "Well then, maybe I should make sure she doesn't succeed… and snag the Titan Blood while I'm at it!"
"What? You're going to sneak out?" Silver asked.
"Sure! If I get the blood for Uncle, he won't be mad at me any more! And it'll keep Kikimora replacing either of us! It's perfect!" Hunter grinned, holding his hand out for Flapjack. The Palisman turned into a staff in his hand, as he opened Silver's bedroom window to fly out.
"Wait!" Silver rapidly signed, pulling him back; "What about me? Let me come with you!"
Hunter shook his head; "You can't, not in your current condition. It's too dangerous!"
"And it's less dangerous for me to be stuck in a castle of backstabbers without someone to protect me? Uncle won't give me another staff, so what will I do if something happens while you're gone!?"
"You can use my staff! Uncle doesn't know about Flapjack, so he gave me a new one to complete my most recent mission with." Hunter said, quickly handing Flapjack to Silver then rushing to his room and grabbing his artificial magic staff, then rushing back to give it to Silver. "There, now you can defend yourself just fine!"
Silver gripped the staff, but before she could try to argue that now she could go with him, Hunter had already taken Flapjack back and was flying out the window, using an illusion to disguise the Palisman as a broomstick and himself as a regular scout; "I'll be back before you know it! See you later, Sis!"
And with that, Hunter disappeared into the distance with a flash of golden magic. Silver watching him disappear, gripping the staff he'd given her even tighter.
"Oh no you don't! We're a team, brother! I'm coming with you whether you like it or not!" she thought, promptly sinking into the shadows.
[Meanwhile]
Luz found herself sniffling as she waited for the meeting of the CATTs to start. Her nose had felt stuffy ever since returning from school the previous day, though she'd felt a little off for a few days before that. She chalked it up to worrying about the situation with her Mami back in the Human Realm, as Luz's recent adventures had really stressed the woman out.
It had been a full ten days since the rescue mission to the Alchemist Atelier, and it had been a fairly quiet time for Luz and her friends. The day after the encounter with Vitimir, Luz had gone home to her Mami as she did every weekend, taking Amity with her to help give her the confidence she needed to tell her Mami about what happened. Camila had been pleased to hear about Luz helping Mason and Luna (though less so with Hooty messing things up a bit), but she'd gone completely ballistic upon hearing about Vitimir and his plans. Luz was certain that if her Mami hadn't thought it would hurt her daughter more, Camila would have forbidden her from ever going home. She'd never seen her Mami so angry, or heard her use such bad language! Luz, Vee, and Amity had all been left blushing by the time she was done! The rest of that weekend had been spent with Camila smothering Luz, and asking Amity to pass along her thanks to Boscha for stopping Vitimir from taking away her daughter.
It had made things a bit tense and uncomfortable, but Luz couldn't blame her Mami for being concerned. Plus with all the smothering, Luz did get to spend more time with Vee and show off her new wind glyph powers!
When they returned to the Demon Realm, Luz and Amity had learned that Boscha and the new CATTs recruits were settling in well. Boscha was fitting into the Hexsquad surprisingly well; bantering with Willow and surprisingly getting along well with Matt. She'd gone out to dinner with Skara while Luz and Amity were away, and it had apparently gone great! The two weren't dating yet, but just about everyone that knew them were already betting on how long that would take to change. Meanwhile Morton and the Alembics had started working with Eda and Luna in the CATTs' potions lab, while also slowly studying new types of magic now that they'd burned off their sigils. Their actions had inspired many others too, and Luz had needed to work with the CATTs' other healers to help fix up several people who'd taken drastic measures to remove their own sigils. It was mostly the formerly petrified witches that did this however, as the others kept their sigils so they could keep up their covers in the Coven system. Raine had also gotten their sigil removed too, though they weren't that interested in learning other magic types.
The week that followed was a relaxed one, with Luz and the Hexsquad not having to do anything but go to school and help out with minor things on Digale Island. As such, they'd spent a lot of time hanging out together and training their magic. Luz had trained with Eda and Eber, as well as working with King to practice her new wind magic. Amity trained with Lilith and Darius, and helped her father with his work for the rebels too, becoming a lot closer with all three of her mentors. Willow spent a lot of time with Hanu and Jerbo, the three working to refine their Plant Magic together. Gus did the same with Edric and Emira, as well as Viney who had begun taking a bit more interest in illusions since her girlfriend was a part of that track. Matt was also studying illusions with Gus now, and had actually begun to multi-track to broaden his horizons, especially since he'd finally pushed Leia down to the number two spot in the construction track! He was also receiving some mentoring from Steve and Mason, when the two men had some spare time away from their covens. Skara was training hard with Raine and had become their fourth apprentice, alongside Katya, Derwin, and Amber. Lastly, Boscha had begun taking lessons in transmutation, the most advanced Potions Magic art from Luna Miphari, while also (begrudgingly) learning a bit more about plant magic from Willow (since the Plant Element was a component of Potions Magic).
Another home visit had followed the relaxed week, and Luz had taken King and Rasiel back home with her. It was a lot more chilled out than the last visit since nothing big had happened, and without any major distractions taking her attention, Camila had been a lot more focused on the fact Rasiel was basically a living god to Angel kind. Thankfully that ended pretty soon when it became clear Rasiel was actually a fairly normal person, albeit slightly old-fashioned in the way he spoke and acted sometimes. Camila and Rasiel became fast friends, and would share tea as the kids played video games or watched movies, then share harder drinks once the kids had gone to bed. Camila was quite glad to have an adult friend she could drink with; she had human friends, but she tended to be casual with her magic when tipsy, so couldn't drink with them.
Now it was Tuesday, and Luz had come to Digale Island with Amity so her awesome girlfriend could have some training with Darius and Luz could attend the leadership meeting.
Sniffling again, Luz cast a healing spell on herself to clear her sinuses and make herself feel better. She'd cast these spells a lot today, as the feeling kept coming back. Luz just figured she had to keep casting them until whatever was causing them was fully shaken off.
King, who had been sitting with her and playing a game on her old DS, looked up at her. "You okay Luz? You've been sniffing a lot."
"Yeah, I feel fine. Just a little off. It's nothing to worry about though." Luz reassured him as she looked around the meeting room.
The meeting room was a simple one within the fort that had been built in Digale Village to function as the CATTs HQ. It contained a big table with a map of the Boiling Isles on it, and had some chairs and a refreshments table, but it was otherwise pretty sparse. A lot of "official" CATTs property was kept intentionally spartan, so as not to waste their limited resources, the majority of which went to helping the oppressed across the Isles, especially as the Rebellion escalated. Luz and her friends hadn't been the only ones going on adventures after all…
Only a few minutes later, Raine arrived with Katya, and greeted Luz and King with a smile, asking how the former's day at school had been. Eda and Lilith showed up right after, followed swiftly by Mason and Luna, then Eber and Steve, and finally Darius and Amity, whom the Abominations Head had decided to make his secretary and assistant during the meeting.
"Alright, we're all present and accounted for. Let's begin the meeting." Darius said, taking a seat at the table. The others took their own seats too and one by one, they each began giving their reports.
It was largely simple reports on skirmishes, successful and failed missions to disrupt the Emperor, negotiations with sympathetic factions across the isles, the continued development of Digale Island, and the goings on at the castle and other information gained through espionage. Overall, Luz got the impression that the CATTs were slowly gaining ground, but were still far from being able to topple Belos. Short of a decisive victory in battle against the man himself, they were in this fight for the long haul.
"… and that concludes my report on negotiations with Latissa. They're slowly coming around I think, but the Emperor's Coven is really cracking down their control there. It's building anti-Belos sentiment, but also making them afraid to stand up and rebel."
"Should we go and try to liberate the town? If we manage it, the CATTs will have liberated pretty much the whole Right Arm!" Luz suggested, feeling anxious to go out and do something useful after a week without any major adventures.
Darius shook his head; "Not until we develop counter measures for the Amber Pustules. Even Eda and Raine were easily captured thanks to those things. Your friend Willow is already working on it with our few Plant Witches, but progress is slow. However, I do have some news to report."
He cast a spell to cause a little abomination to appear on the map, directly on the Titan's Knee.
"Belos has gotten impatient. With the Day of Unity approaching in a few weeks time, he's given up on capturing the Portal from Eda and has decided to construct his own from scratch. To accomplish this, he needs Titan Blood and has sent Kikimora and Osran to the Knee to find Eclipse Lake and recover some blood." Darius reported, shaping the abomination into a mini replica of Kikimora.
"Wait, Belos can just make a portal now?" Eda crossed her arms.
Luz frowned; "Come to think of it, Philip Wittebane talked about constructing one in his diary, which Belos has read. I always thought Eda's portal might be the one Philip made, so if Belos remembers the instructions, he really could make one of his own!"
"Why hasn't he done so then? He's been after Eda for years; you'd think he'd get the hint and give up before now!" King said.
Luna frowned; "Belos is a stubborn monster. He likely didn't want to admit that someone had bested him."
"Whatever the reason, we can't let him succeed in getting that blood!" Raine declared; "We should send a team to the Knee to sabotage their expedition and claim any remaining blood for ourselves."
Steve raised his hand; "I volunteer. As a Coven Scout, I could sneak into their midst and sabotage them. Steve could do with going on a real mission!"
"I'd like to go too!" Luz quickly volunteered, before she began coughing. Her throat suddenly felt kinda scratchy, making the others watch her with concern.
"You okay, Owlet? You're not lying about wanting to go, right?" Eda asked with concern, thinking the coughing had been brought on by the burning sensation of lying.
Luz shook her head vigorously and cast a healing spell on her throat; "No, I'm not! Why would I? I really want to help! I think I just strained my voice in my bard classes today." she said truthfully. Her throat had started feeling a little odd around that time.
"Oh, I've been there!" Katya said sympathetically, "And I volunteer to go too!"
"I'm all for Steve and Katya going, but why send you too, Little Light?" Darius asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Osran could use Oracle Magic to detect Steve and Katya! If I'm there with them, my angelic magic would cause interference." Luz argued.
"But wouldn't that also tip Osran off that you're there?" Raine pointed out.
Amity piped up; "Not exactly. A few different things can interfere with Oracle Spirits; salt and angelic magic are just two of those things. There's no way for an Oracle to tell what's causing the problem without seeing the cause, so if Luz stays out of sight, Head Witch Osran might assume it's just a salt deposit in the Knee, or something else. Wild Carbuncles also like to live in old Titan Veins and they can mess with Oracle Spirits too."
Seeing as Amity was the only witch with any Oracle skills present, the others had no choice but to believe her.
"I say we let Miss Luz go along. She hasn't failed a mission so far, even with the odds against her. And she is technically our most powerful member." Mason said.
"If Luz is going, I want to go too!" Eda declared; "It's been too long since we got to go on an adventure together!"
Eber shook her head with a bark; "Owl Lady is needed. Eber has plans to attack airships! Prisoner transport from Palm to Castle. Need flyers."
Eda scowled; "Dang it… that's important. What about you, Lilith? Can you go with Luz too? I don't like her going with just two others as back up; no offence to Steve and Katya."
The two waved it off, understanding the mother's concern, but sadly Lilith shook her head; "I've got an interview for a new job after this at the Bonesborough Museum. I can't keep freeloading from Mom or the CATTs; I need to earn my keep. I'm sorry."
The Owl Lady huffed, then declared; "Fine! Then Boots and King can go with Luz!"
"YES! Finally! I haven't had any fun since the desert! It'll be great to use my magic on scrubs I can actually beat up!" King cheered, hopping onto the table and doing a little happy dance.
Amity also smiled brightly; "I'd love to as well! I can use some of my new skills that Darius has been teaching me!"
Darius frowned, but decided there was no point in arguing. He could argue that it was wrong to send three kids into the fray, but all of them had proven themselves several times over by this point and the rebellion really couldn't afford to bench such powerful fighters. Even the 8 year old King had been able to go toe to toe with the Silver Sentinel back in the Simmering Shoals.
"Alright. All those in favour of sending a team of Steve, Katya, Luz, Amity, and King on this mission?" he asked, raising his own hand.
Everyone else in the room raised their hands too, making it unanimous. Luz and King both cheered and exchanged high-fives, then Luz ran to hug Amity. Steve and Katya grinned at their enthusiasm as well, each looking forward to working with the excitable kids.
"Since this mission will require infiltrating the Emperor's Coven, Steve should be in charge." Raine declared; "Any objections?"
The kids shook their heads, and Katya winked at Steve; "I'm down with that. Think you're up for this, Hot Stuff?"
Steve grinned with a faint blush; "Oh yeah, Responsibility for Steve! We'll kick butt!"
With that decided and little else to report, Steve and his team headed to the bunkhouse Katya was staying in so she could get some appropriate winter gear for the Knee, then did the same at the Blight House, where Amity let her siblings know that she'd be going on a mission. Once two of the team were outfitted for the weather, they walked to the Teleportation Circle to get back to the Boiling Isles. As they arrived, they found Eda, Eber, and Rasiel waiting patiently for them.
"Eber and I are about to head out too." Eda said, giving her kids a quick hug; "And look, I know you can handle yourself Luz, but don't underestimate Osran even if his magic is useless against you. He's the ONLY Head Witch that the Oracle Coven has ever had, being there from the start. He's got tricks up his sleeves, so be careful."
Luz nodded, "I'll be fine. I- ACHOO!"
Luz's sudden sneeze startled her friends, though thankfully she'd covered her face with her hands first. When she pulled them away, her nose was a bit redder than it should be and she felt her nose become stuffy again. "Oof, am I getting allergies?"
She cast another healing spell on herself, clearing her sinuses once again; "Ah, much better! Thank the Seraphim for magic!"
Her friends all looked at her strangely, and Eda and Amity both had suspicious looks in their eyes.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Luz?" Amity asked.
"Yep! I feel fine." Luz replied honestly.
Eda and Amity exchanged looks; they knew Luz was being truthful, but they weren't fully convinced she was correct. It was enough to make them both nervous too, so Eda decided to be a little more protective than she usually would; her motherly instincts going crazy.
"Alright, I'll take your word for it. But I want Rasiel to go with you in Spirit Form, okay?" Eda said, shooting a questioning look at the Ancient Seraphim.
"That's fine with me. I can just leave my body in the Owl House as we pass through." he agreed.
"A spirit scout would be useful to have too. Welcome to the team, Rasiel." Steve grinned.
Eda wasn't done yet though, and reached into her hair and pulled out the Portal Key; "Take this too. If the worst should happen, retreat into the Human Realm with the portal."
"Mom, you're overreacting a little." Luz said, rolling her eyes as she took the key regardless and hung it around her neck, before tucking it into her school uniform.
"Maybe, but even if you've succeeded in all your missions so far, none of them have gone as planned. Maybe this is that famed Mother's Intuition, but I've got a feeling this is gonna be the same." Eda said seriously, before pulling Luz into a hug; "Take care of yourself and King. Come back to me safe and sound."
Luz chuckled as she returned the hug; "Careful Mom, saying stuff like that is considered a death flag in anime!" she joked.
Eda rolled her eyes and stooped to hug King; "Keep an eye on your sister." she whispered.
King nodded and whispered back; "I will."
Following that, Eda said her goodbyes to the rest of the team heading to the Knee, then once Lilith arrived, Luz teleported them all back to the Owl House, where Eda immediately left with Eber to intercept the prisoner transport, and Lilith headed to her job interview. Luz then went up to her room to change into winter clothing, while Rasiel went and laid down in his own room, leaving his body behind again so his spirit could enter Luz's ring. Since King didn't need winter gear and Steve's scout uniform was already insulated, they were now officially ready to head for the Knee.
"Alright, King will fly with me. Steve, you can fly with Amity or Katya." Luz said.
"Ride with me, Hot Stuff. I'll keep you warm." Katya winked.
"Are you always this much of a flirt?" Steve asked, grinning as he straddled her staff.
"Only with the cute ones." Katya retorted, making Luz and Amity both giggle as they all took off and began flying for the Knee. Steve wasn't aware of it, but he was actually a pretty desirable bachelor among the single population of the CATTs; he was kind-hearted, handsome, a fun guy, and pretty powerful to boot. He ticked all the right boxes for a lot of people, Katya included. She'd been attracted to him since they'd worked together at the Petrification Ceremony, though she'd been too busy with the CATTs to act on it until now.
Steve blinked, feeling like he was missing something here, but then just smiled brightly; "Oh yeah, compliments for Steve. Getting called cute by a pretty lady is a great way to start a mission."
Katya laughed; "Dang right! Shame all the prettiest ladies are taken or not interested! I mean have you seen the Clawthornes? Raine is a lucky Bard, and Lilith broke a lot of hearts by being Ace."
"Tell me about it. Is it weird to admit that I had the biggest crush on Lilith when we first met?" Steve said.
"No way man, I was the same with Eda! I had a huge crush on her after she and Luz busted me out of the Conformatorium! You'd think I'd have been more upset when I found out she and Raine were a thing, but honestly? I ship it so hard!" Katya gushed.
The others listened to Katya and Steve chatting as they continued flying to the Knee. Amity was smiling and giggling at their oddly adorable flirting and their mutual "I just love love!" attitude, while King rolled his eyes and pretended to gag. Luz ended up doing both, enjoying the shipping talk before she suddenly felt nauseous and gagged like she was going to throw up. The others looked at her with shock, as she cast another healing spell on herself to clear the nausea.
"Ugh, sorry about that. My stomach churned for a second there! I'm fine now though." Luz smiled reassuringly.
"You sure you're okay, Owlet Girl? That's like the third time we've seen you cast a healing spell on yourself." Steve frowned.
"I'm fine, really!" Luz replied, again being truthful. She really did feel perfectly fine; she'd just had a few funny feelings that were swiftly fixed! Nothing to worry about!
None of the others looked fully convinced, but it was too late to turn back now. "Maybe hearing about how we had a crush on her Mom made her feel grossed out!" Katya joked to lighten the mood.
"Maybe…" Steve frowned. "Still, make sure to tell us if you're not feeling well" he ordered.
Luz gave a little salute in agreement, and they continued flying in silence. They soon arrived at the Knee and landed over by Zara's old dragon skeleton, which still stood exactly where it had been left after Luz's last trip to the Knee. Hiding in its shadow, Steve pulled down his mask and gestured for the others to either put on disguises of their own with illusions or find a place to hide. Luz decided to use illusions to disguise them all as Coven Scouts, then followed Steve towards the old mine entrance a little further down the Knee. They soon arrived at the mining expedition, where they found dozens of scouts and Abomaton Mk I's digging into the old collapsed tunnels. They were being supported by witches and demons in dark purple robes and hoods, each of whom had a black face mask with a purple eye inscribed on it, as well as a crystal ball in their hands.
"Oracles." Amity whispered as they got close; "Luz, switch my illusion disguise to one of them."
Luz silently obeyed, hiding Amity behind the taller Steve so she was out of sight before changing her disguise. They then crept further in, and Amity secretly created a few abominations modelled after Abomaton Mk I's, which Luz completed with an illusion spell. Now they were blending in with the other digging teams.
Steve looked around and noticed Head Witch Osran and Kikimora, along with a Scout Captain, watching from a nearby hill.
"Dig faster, Scouts!" Kikimora yelled.
"Kikimora, Ma'am. These tunnels are old and unstable. Maybe we should slow down?" the Captain said cautiously.
Kikimora scoffed; "Not now, Captain! This is the perfect chance for me to show Belos that I should be by his side instead of those two brats! Once I bring him the Titan Blood, I will finally knock those two masked mites back down where they belong!"
"I understand, Ma'am. But if we're too hasty, we'll just collapse the tunnels again. Head Witch Osran, what do you think?" the Captain asked.
Osran's eyes briefly flashed purple as he stared into his crystal ball, only to frown at what he saw. "My vision has become clouded… there is a large hole in my scrying magic." he said sagely.
"A hole in your magic!? What nonsense is this!?" Kikimora spat.
"It means something is interfering with my spirit… Oracles, report." he ordered, his tone soft even as voice echoed unnaturally.
One by one, each of the Oracles looked into their crystal balls as the purple eye on their masks glowed, then each shook their head as they said some variation of "My spirit is not responding. Something is causing interference."
Amity played along too, and when Osran narrowed his eyes, Katya used some Bardic magic to disguise her voice, then quickly raised her hand and said; "I heard skittering and then saw a flash of something red just seconds ago, Head Witch. It was over by that tunnel."
Osran hummed and used one of his four arms to stroke his chin; "It must be a Carbuncle. We likely disturbed a nest of them. Their magic can confuse Oracle Spirits."
"What!? Scouts, find them and wipe them out!" Kikimora ordered.
"Belay that order." Osran quickly interjected; "They are harmless creatures if not disturbed. If you play with them for a bit, they'll leave you alone and may even leave their crystal horns as prizes. Such things are valuable."
Kikimora stamped her foot: "We aren't here to play, you old fool!"
"We aren't here to be cursed either." Osran retorted; "Killing a Carbuncle invites its curse upon you. It's why they are so rarely hunted despite their valuable horns. One would do well not to incur the wrath of a Divine Curse."
"Divine curse…?" King whispered from Luz's shoulder, hidden by her illusion.
Luz just shrugged and listened as Kikimora basically asked the same thing. Osran explained; "Carbuncles are also known as Angel Rabbits and are an invasive species in the Demon Realm. Ancient Angels kept them as pets and brought them from the Divine Realm. They bred rapidly until there was a large population."
"So that's why the Oracles are getting interference. The spirits don't work well with Divine Realm magic." the Scout Captain commented.
Luz's friends all looked at her questioningly, and she whispered back; "I knew they had Carbuncles in the Divine Realm too, but I didn't know the ones in the Demon Realm were the same creatures."
Before anyone could say or do anything, Kikimora suddenly ordered the Abomaton she was standing on to blast some magic at a random tree just a little ways behind her, startling everyone. The tree toppled over but nothing could be seen or heard from that direction, causing Osran to immediately yell at her.
"Must you act without thinking constantly!? What if you killed a Carbuncle with that blast!?" Osran demanded.
"Then the Abomaton would have been cursed. It's about all these hunks of junk are worth. Besides, I thought I heard an annoying voice…" Kikimora retorted. "And get off my back, Old Man!"
"Idiot! The Abomaton is a weapon, the curse would go to its wielder! Otherwise the Emperor would have just sent Abomination Witches to hunt Carbuncles!" Osran yelled; "And remember who outranks who here, you little imp! I am a Head Witch while you are barely above a Scout Captain!"
Kikimora and Osran continued to argue, while the scouts and Abomatons got back to work. Pretending to work too, Luz whispered; "Those two really don't get along."
"Not surprising. They're from opposite clans of Claw Oni, a species of Biped Demon." Amity whispered back as she pretended to be trying to read a crystal ball. "The Red ones like Kikimora are hot-headed, emotional, and aggressive, while the Blue ones like Osran are cool, logical, and calculating. The clans always butt heads, so they don't usually work together very well."
"Let's use that! Our mission is to sabotage their excavation, so we should capture one of them. With one of their leaders going missing, they'll have to abandon the dig to look for them!" Katya suggested. "If they don't get along, it should be easier to separate them then pick one of them off!"
Steve nodded approvingly; "Good idea. Let's aim to capture Kikimora; she'll be harder to catch since her magic will work unlike Osran's, but being high up in the Emperor's Coven means she'll know more about his plans and we can get more information out of her!"
The others swiftly agreed, and Steve told them his plan. Luz made the necessary preparations with Amity, then went with Katya and King to hide at the ambush spot, which was a small ravine that was right beside the mine tunnels. Once they were hidden in place, Amity went and stood in the largely empty base camp that the EC had set up, then watched as Steve approached Kikimora, who was still bickering with Osran.
"Ma'am, there's a call for you from the Castle." Steve said, bowing formally.
Kikimora huffed and turned her back on Osran; "Very well, lead the way." she ordered.
Steve led her over to Amity, while Osran muttered something about disrespectful youths and something about "back in his day." Once Kikimora reached the camp, she looked around from the top of her Abomaton and scowled.
"Well? What is this call?" she demanded.
"Forgive me, Ma'am. That was a ruse to separate you from the Head Witch. I didn't want him to overhear what I had to say." Amity said, her voice distorted by her illusory disguise.
"One of the Old Man's oracles? What do you want?" Kikimora snapped.
Amity gave a salute and said; "I wanted to report something. Shortly before the Carbuncles started disrupting our spirits, I was able to find a way into the mines. There is a cavern just down in that nearby ravine; it leads deep into the Knee through the Titan's Veins. I wasn't able to see how deep, but I believe it goes all the way to Eclipse Lake!"
Kikimora's eyes sparkled with greed, before she narrowed them on Amity; "And why would you tell me and not your Coven Head?"
Amity reached up to her mask and removed it (it was actually a wooden one that King had made with a plant glyph, before Luz covered it in an illusion) to reveal the change Luz had made to the illusion on Amity. Amity's face had been changed to that of a Red Claw Oni, not unlike Kikimora.
"The Head Witch hasn't made me feel very welcome in his coven, so I thought it better to help one of my own kind." Amity lied.
Kikimora grinned widely; "Thank you, Sister! You've done well! Stick with me, and I may just share some of the credit with you! See if we can't have one of our own clan finally replace that decrepit old fool! Now lead me to this tunnel!" she ordered.
Amity put the mask back on and nodded, then she and Steve flanked Kikimora and led her out of the base camp and towards the ravine that Luz, King, and Katya were hiding in. As soon as they entered it, Luz used some wind magic to whip up a gale from her hiding spot, while King used an Ice Glyph to generate huge amounts of snow, creating a mini-avalanche that quickly blocked the path out of the ravine.
"A freak wind caused an avalanche!" Steve said, pretending to gasp with horror.
Kikimora scowled; "I hate this freezing place! I want to go back home to Palm Stings…" she complained, then hopped off the Abomaton; "Go and clear that so we have a way back. I'll continue on foot." she ordered.
Amity and Steve exchanged hidden looks above Kikimora's head; they'd only blocked the path so she couldn't escape and reinforcements couldn't reach her if she called for them, but having her separate from her Abomaton worked too!
Steve led her to the very end of the ravine, while Amity hung back a little to keep an eye on the Abomaton, which was struggling to melt the snow with its magic blasts, thanks to King hiding under his invisibility combo and continuously making more snow with an ice glyph. Once Kikimora reached the end of the ravine, she looked around with a scowl, finding no signs of a cave entrance or tunnel.
"Well, where is this entrance you found?" she said impatiently.
"About that…" Amity said, drawing a spell circle and causing Kikimora's Abomaton to be torn in half and reduced to useless sludge; "… there's been a change of plans."
"What!?" Kikimora cried, as Katya, Luz, and King leapt out of their hiding places and surrounded her, all dropping their disguises (except for Steve). Rasiel even came out of his ring to make it look like Kikimora was even more outnumbered than she actually was. The little Demon's eyes narrowed on Luz, who was smiling even as she sniffled a bit; the cold of the Knee must have been getting to her.
"Hey Kiki. Long time no see." Luz grinned, sounding a bit off since her nose was stuffed.
"You! The Angel! Forget the Titan Blood; with you in my grasp, the Emperor is sure to promote me to his right hand!" Kikimora smirked.
"Nice plan in theory, but you're kinda outnumbered." Luz pointed out.
Kikimora sneered and tried to draw a spell circle, but Amity quickly bound her in some abomination slime from a pot on her hip, leaving the Demon helpless. "You wretched traitor! I'll have your head when this is finished!"
"That would be a lot more intimidating if you were, you know, actually intimidating." Katya smirked; "Let's knock her out and hide her somewhere, then we can finish our mission and take her back to base for interrogation."
Steve was just about to agree when King suddenly smelled something and began looking around, putting the others on guard. Then they all heard a tweeting sound, followed swiftly by a Coven Scout screaming as they tumbled into the ravine, apparently pulled over by something. They hit the snow face first and groaned as the rebels eyed him warily.
"A Coven Scout!" Amity growled, preparing a pink light beam.
The scout sat up slowly, keeping his mask on as he looked around at the bound Kikimora and rebels pointing staves and spells at him. Nervously, he gulped and raised his hands; "Uh, yes! I am but a humble scout! I surrender?"
Amity, Katya, and Steve looked bewildered, while Luz and Kikimora both narrowed their eyes. Luz wasn't sure if it was just the stuffy feeling in her head, but this scout sounded very familiar. King seemed to think the same thing as he reached up and slapped off the scout's mask, revealing that it was actually none other than Hunter the Golden Guard.
"I knew I recognised that annoying voice!" King glared.
Hunter actually looked a bit hurt; "Why does everyone say that…?"
"This is the Golden Guard?" Amity questioned, still pointing her light spell at him; "He is a lot… scrawnier than I imagined."
Hunter growled; "And you're the youngest Blight. A lot more treacherous than I imagined."
The girl rolled her eyes; "Scathing." she deadpanned, "I guess you weren't promoted for your skill with words."
Luz giggled and waved; "Hey Sad Bad Boy! Where's your sister?"
"At home in the castle. I decided to handle this on my own." Hunter replied, "And stop calling me that!"
Luz laughed at his angry pout, but her laughter quickly became a hacking cough. Her friends looked at her in concern, especially as her throat began to really hurt, making the coughing quite painful. It wasn't as bad as when she lied, but it was still unpleasant.
"Uh, are you okay?" Hunter asked, raising a concerned eyebrow; "You don't look so good."
The Arch-Angel cast another healing spell on herself to fix whatever was wrong with her throat, as well as clear her sinuses again. "I'm fine now. I guess my throat is still a little tired from class, and the cold air up here isn't helping. Also, is the air a little thin this high up too? Breathing feels a bit harder."
Amity and King exchanged concerned glances, as did Steve and Katya. But while they were all looking at each other or focused on Luz, Kikimora was able to wriggle enough to make a finger-shaped whistle fall out from her collar. She had to squirm on the floor like a bug to get it into her mouth, but once she did, she blew on it sharply, drawing all attention back to her. Amity immediately shot her light blast at the whistle, vaporising it as she used the abomination slime she'd bound Kikimora with to hold her in the air.
"Did that whistle get the attention of the other scouts!?" Amity asked urgently.
Luz quickly made herself invisible with an illusion and flew up a little to see towards the dig site, but saw no signs of a reaction from any of the Coven members. She sighed with relief and flew back down (feeling a little woozy after her sudden ascent).
"Doesn't look like it. Whatever she was planning didn't work." Luz said, becoming visible again and landing behind Hunter so she was ready if he tried to run.
Kikimora just smirked; her collar pulled down enough that they could see her mouth for the first time; "I wouldn't be so sure, Corrupted Angel!"
There was a sudden roar in the distance, and they all looked up to see something flying towards them from behind the clouds. As it got closer, Luz and her friends paled.
"DRAGON!" Steve cried, quickly casting a spell to pull three stalagmites out of the ground and launch them at the approaching creature.
The Dragon easily weaved around the projectiles and landed in the ravine so it could glare down at the occupants. They stared up at the beast with horror, as it was quite a terrifying sight even for a dragon! It was an Amphithere (meaning it had a long snake-like body as well as wings), but that was where the common aspects of it ended. The dragon appeared to be constructed from hands and fingers, matching Kikimora's Claw Oni appearance; it was teal coloured with two four-fingered hands clasped together to form its head, with fangs on the inside of each finger along with a sharp black talon on the ends, and a barbed tongue coming from where the palms meet. The finger nails of the thumbs served as the creature's eyes, and were red and terrifying. The dragon's wings also took the form of giant hands with thumbs on its shoulders and six webbed together fingers making up the brunt of the wings. Lastly, it had dozens of little finger nubs serving as centipede-like legs, and it had a giant hand on the end of its tail too, plus odd purple pustules on its back and horns on the hands that made up its head.
"A Clasping Amphithere! That's a breed of Lesser Dragon." Rasiel said, eyes narrowed; "It's a strong beast, but only a beast! It lacks intelligence or any kind of breath weapon. Compared to the likes of Zara and Godric, it might as well be a literal worm."
His words snapped the others out of their shock and they all focused on the dragon, ready to team up and defeat it! Kikimora (whom Amity stuck to her back like she was in a baby sling) screamed to the dragon; "Princess eat them all! But keep the Angel alive!"
Luz and the others blinked at the name "Princess", but they were soon distracted by it snarling and lunging at Amity, aiming to free its mistress first. Amity leapt back and blasted its open maw with a pink light blast from her staff while using her other hand to control some abomination slime and turn it into a simple sword to parry the creature's surprisingly hard tongue. The beast powered through the light blast, but it was quickly sent smacking into the side of the ravine by a double sonic blast from King and Katya, the former using his roar and the latter using a magically empowered slap to her tambourine. The impact stunned it for a moment, giving Luz and Steve a window to act; the former growing roots from the ground to try and bind Princess's body to the ground while Steve manipulated the earth beneath them with some Earth Magic to try and bind its jaws shut.
However their focus on Princess meant they'd taken their eyes off of Hunter, who hadn't yet been restrained. Seeing his opportunity to perhaps capture Luz, who clearly wasn't feeling too hot, he summoned Flapjack into his hands in staff form and immediately flashed towards Luz, tackling her to the ground. He then grabbed the back of her winter coat and tried to flash away from the others before they could react. Luz was disoriented and felt her head spin from the sudden rapid movement, but gathered her wits enough to release a burst of wind from her entire body, blowing Hunter away from her and causing them both to go tumbling into the snow at the top of the Ravine.
"Luz!" Amity cried, preparing to go after her, only for Princess to worm its finger-maw out of Steve's attempted muzzle and devour it, before chewing through Luz's roots to attack the youngest Blight. King tried to stop it with another roar, but Princess slithered through the air to avoid it, then backhanded him into Steve, making them both fall down. Amity was then forced to dodge a whip-like lash from Princess's tongue, before creating an abomination to hold the tongue and gum up Princess's mouth. She then summoned her Oracle Spirit and ordered it to wrestle the creature's tail and keep it occupied while she tried to get to Luz. Princess wasn't one for being ignored though, and even with its jaws and tail occupied, it could still fly and move, so it slammed its body toward Amity, cutting off her attempts to fly towards Luz.
Seeing this, Luz yelled out; "Hermosa, I'm fine! I can handle the Golden Goof! You worry about Princess!"
At that moment, Hunter darted towards Luz from where he'd landed, intentionally firing blasts of yellow flame into the snow around Luz to kick up steam and smoke clouds to obscure her vision. Luz used her wind magic to easily blow it all away, then shot a light beam at Hunter. He flashed to the side, trying to get around Luz's flank, and she tried to follow him, but the fast movement made her head spin and she found herself swooning. Her eyes were seeing double and everything felt like it was wobbling, making it hard for her to stay on her feet. She staggered a bit, then tried firing another light beam. Luz thought her aim was true and she'd hit Hunter, but she'd mistakenly aimed at one of the doubles that her messed up vision had produced, giving Hunter the window he needed to get behind her and hit her in the back with a bolt of magic.
Luz screamed and fell forward in the snow, shakily casting a healing spell to try and fix whatever was wrong with her. It worked for a few seconds, giving her a chance to stand up, but the effort made her nauseous and the poor girl nearly collapsed again, ready to throw up. Hunter watched her with a frown; she was clearly not in good health, and he felt pretty rotten fighting her in this state…
"Oh well. Once I get her back to the castle, Uncle can fix her up; body and soul." he decided.
While this was happening, Amity and the others were still dealing with Princess, who was surprisingly slippery for something so large. After it had cut off Amity's attempts to get to Luz, it had attempted to maul her to free its master, eventually chewing up Amity's abomination and swallowing it to free its maw. It then turned to bite at the spirit holding its tail, but Rasiel flew up and distracted it. Princess wasn't smart enough to realise Rasiel was just a spirit, so each time she attempted to eat him, he just phased through her mouth and flapped his astral wings in her face. This left her wide open for Katya and Steve to launch a combo attack, the former user Myla's Requiem to begin growing crystals on spears of rock that Steve was pulling out of the wall of the ravine, creating razor sharp crystal spears that he could launch at Princess. Kikimora (who could see what was happening behind Amity thanks to being strapped to her back) screamed for Princess to evade the spears, and Princess immediately took to the skies to escape the projectiles, them went barrelling down on Amity again, mouth open wide and all its teeth and talons pointed right at the girl.
King tried to stop it by firing off a sonic shout straight into Princess's open mouth, but he was a moment too late and Amity had to rapidly summon her spirit back to her and have it sweep herself and King out of the way at the last second. Steve and Katya also had to dive out of the way as Princess couldn't stop fast enough and ended up crashing through the wall of the ravine, exposing a collapsed mine tunnel and a nest of Carbuncles.
These were small white furred creatures that resembled rabbits, having the ears and hindquarters of wild rabbits, but also having a puppy like torso and fore-paws, a head that resembled a Fennec Fox, and the eyes and tail of a cat, not unlike Ghost. They all had red crystals on their heads too; the adults having sharp, unicorn-like horns while the babies and juveniles had little smooth pearl-like crystals instead.
"Huh, guess there really was a tunnel over here! The Carbuncles must be why the Oracles didn't find it…" King commented, watching the creatures flee further into the tunnels.
He didn't have long to observe them however, as Princess soon came roaring out from the tunnel. Unfortunately for her though, crashing into the ravine had resulted in a lot of loose rock and rubble, which Steve manipulated into a sandstorm to disrupt the Dragon's attempts to fly to her master's side. With Princess roaring and trying to escape the sandstorm, Katya had an opening to play another Bardic Song on her tambourine, opting for the Rondo of Rending, which created red and gold discs of magic (like the cymbals on her tambourine) that Katya shot at Princess. It severed one of the fingers that made up Princess's right hand-wing, causing her to roar in pain and crash land, hitting the ground not far from where Luz and Hunter were fighting.
The witches got onto their staves (King hitching a ride with Amity and Steve with Katya) and darted over to it. King jumped off as they flew over Princess, and tossed a paper wind glyph beneath him before unleashing a sonic roar on it, creating a massive hurricane roar that blasted the dazed dragon straight into the ground so hard that it resulted in a crater. It also broke his fall, so King landed safely on Princess then hopped off so Amity could bind it thoroughly with abominations.
"That's one problem taken care off! Now to help out- LUZ!" Amity suddenly cried, looking back towards the edge of the cliff overlooking the short ravine. Luz was panting on her hands and knees, looking pale and extremely sick, while Hunter stood over her menacingly, his staff crackling with yellow electricity.
"Get away from her!" Amity demanded, running with King, Katya, and Steve, while Rasiel floated along beside them. Seeing them coming, Hunter hastily grabbed Luz by the back of her coat and forced her into a kneeling position between him and the rebels, while pointing his staff at her threateningly.
"Hold it right there. I don't want to hurt Luz, but I won't hesitate if you give me no choice!" he said seriously.
Amity growled and grabbed Kikimora from her back, then made a knife with abomination slime and held it to her throat; "If you hurt Luz then I'll hurt your colleague!" she threatened.
Hunter snorted; "Go right ahead."
"Do you think we're bluffing? We'll do anything to protect our own!" Katya yelled, ready to fire off a spell of her own with her tambourine.
"I'm sure you will. I just don't care." Hunter said casually; "Kikimora hates me and the feeling is mutual. If our positions were reversed, she'd hurt Luz out of spite just so you'd hurt me in return. I literally lose nothing by letting you kill her."
Kikimora sneered at the boy, but noticeably didn't act surprised or deny his accusation. Amity held the knife a little closer to the Demon's neck, but Hunter didn't even raise an eyebrow. Instead he said; "The only way for Luz to get out of here unscathed is to do as I say. I'm feeling generous, so let Kikimora go and I'll take Luz and leave without a fuss. If you kill her, I'll still be leaving with Luz, but I'll also be sure to alert Head Witch Osran and the others about you." he looked down at Luz, whose head was beginning to droop down as her condition got worse; "I suggest you decide quickly, before Luz keels over entirely."
Amity grit her teeth furiously, but she and the others already knew they were in a no-win situation. Their hostage was useless, and with Luz clearly sick, she hadn't been able to stand up to Hunter despite the difference in power between them. Reluctantly, Amity withdrew her knife and dumped Kikimora to the ground, recalling all her abomination slime in the process, which freed Kikimora and her pet dragon Princess.
As the little demon was getting to her feet and brushing the snow off herself, Hunter grinned; "You're welcome, Kiki. I'll let you get on with your hunt for the Titan Blood; I've got something much better to bring back now."
Kikimora fumed; it was humiliating to be saved by the Golden Brat! And for him to piggyback on her mission and claim a bigger prize!? That was unacceptable! As the rebels were distracted by the brat, Kiki walked over to Princess and drew a spell circle, summoning a saddle onto her back. She climbed on, as if to fly back to the dig site, but then suddenly yelled.
"Princess! Devour them all and claim the Angel! I won't let that brat take my prize!"