Chaldean Chronicles: Cadence of the Lostgrail
✅ - Mage Ascension / 〚🏙｜london-clock-tower
Days seemed to pass to Emiya, the carriage ride jolted him in the box up and down up and down. It didn't help with how cramped the box already was. Soon, he would be able to find himself on the waves, thrown about as he could see and smell seawater begin to leak into the box.
10
It wasn't a substantial amount of sea water. And while Emiya wasn't sure what exactly the box was made of, if he had really been thrown in the sea the leaking would be far worse and the box would have been crushed by the pressure. It was probably seaspray.
Probably.The waves eventually stopped and Emiya felt he was on a carriage once more moving this time on much more paved roads. Another day of it passed. The cart hadn't stopped since it had begun.
The smell was getting worse inside the box. Seawater didn't mix well.
Before it came to a stop.
Suddenly something rapped on the top of the box.
"Still alive in there?""Strong guy, say you got weapons with you I should know about before I open up?""Maybe. I need to know because we're letting you lose in the heart of our capital." Heather continued, "And you are an Assassin after all."The crate top suddenly opened up and Emiya would see the face of Heather staring down at him.
"You will also be required to wear a pair of these," she would drop a pair Dimensional Shackles into the box, "A request from the Captain of the Silver Guard.""You're an Assassin Servant," she said plainly, "It is up to you if you want to take the option. The Patriarch wishes you to be treated like a proper guest but the Captain of his guard has his own concerns. The Patriarch's word of course supersedes his but you may get a foul look from the captain.""Correct answer, you may come out now." she stepped back and turned around before shouting, "Honour Guard! Standby at ready!"
The Eclipse above blocked out most of the light but still twenty figures in silver armour holding lances as long as they were tall lined the side of the small path through the lush gardens towards the inner gates. Looking even above, Emiya found himself face to face with a disturbingly familiar sight.
A towering pillar of bronze and juttering gothic stone that spiraled into the air, gargoyles staring down at him with their watchful gazes and jaws wide open. It's massive clockface showed the time to the entire landscape, it's hands perpetually stopped one minute to midnight. (edited)
The anti-magic field was still in effect.
But Emiya could sense an extensive territory that had been created over a massive area.
The Clock Tower didn't stand alone but instead all around him in distant lights he could see a surrounding city. It was not quite medieval as many of the buildings had been renovated, their crumbling wooden exteriors replaced by lavish facades of marble and tiling. And furthermore they were of Islamic architecture or a hybridization of it with the rampant gothic styles that ran through. Large planes stained glass windows, pointed arches, rib vaults, and flying buttresses were intermixed with minarets, muqarnas, arabesque, and the charistic onion/pointed domes.
If Emiya didn't know any better he would have guessed he was somewhere that was a mix of Old Rome and Baghdad. Perception.
@Vormal/Asstolfo/Morban/Sword/Cat17 Twenty guards. Clad in silver armour from head to toe with long lances.
Issue was that they were each easily two and a half meters tall towering over the assassin.
They were all staring at him.
Ready for a single wrong move to make.
And it wasn't just that as well. He spotted a figure shrouded in shadow above sitting on a gargoyle, a something long a thin in both its hands that it was bracing with its shoulder.
The garden itself was about a 100 feet square with cloisters on each side next to walls about 15 feet tall. There were trees and waterfeatures in this garden. And given the fact there was an eclipse above, plently of shadows that the bonfires casted.
There was an additional gate behind him that he must have come through in the box. It was braced with steel and runes that glowed.
"Master. Can you hear me?"
"I'm Fine. Keep Watch, if I don't make it back, you can at least relay the Information."Heather stood by the main doors and pushed it open.
Emiya found himself in a wide open entrance hall with a staircase that curved upwards in ivory railings. Above, it seemed to stretch on forever, ten stories at least with banisters and railings on each floor until it reached the roof where a skylight showed the eclipse, never moving and ever hanging over the city like a dark eye that watched all.
Gaslit lamps lit the massive interior hall and on a nearby table next to the stairwell a gramophone was playing some soft tune orchestrated by a flute and stringed instrument, the music floating hauntingly through the massively tall space.
There was no one here, save for the man sitting at the bottom of the stairs listening to the gramophone.
The Servant would follow him slowly up the stairs as Emiya walked up the doors. They would open by themselves.
In front of him was a short corridor with oak floors and walls before it expanded out into a massive room with a wrought iron dome roof that opened up slightly to allow a telescope of considerable size to peak outwards, staring directly into the heart of the abyss. The rest of the room were dominated by the typical Magus' equipment, scrolls and ink-pens laying about with the walls covered in bookshelves filled with dusting tomes.
There several men and women in dark blue robes and suits with golden accents. They all had white hair and crimson eyes, each having their skin be as pale as paper as they seemed to work tirelessly to collect the data coming in from the telescope and obeying the commands of a man standing beneath the viewport of the instrument.
The man himself was richly dressed in stark yellow robes like the Servant Emiya had met but with little jewelry. His gloved hands held a staff of pure gold with the adornment of an eagle grasping a emerald orb beneath its claws.
His back was to Emiya as he feverishly spoke with a scribe who was dotting down something he was saying. (edited)
"Master, I need Staff. Please contact someone that can negotiate with the Lord."
"Sir," Heather appeared alongside Emiya. "Our first action?""Is that so wise?" she raised an eyebrow, "We have struggled with direct raids even with our Alchemic enhanced men. You really think you can take them all on?""Which area do you wish to survey first?" she said, "I can inform you further on the way.""Very well," she consulted a parchment as she strode down the staircase towards the gate of the Clock Tower, "The victim was one of my Patriarch's researchers when it came to the mining efforts, a decent Alchemic Magus by all means. Which makes his murder all the more concerning. We had a witness to the Magus' death but not off his killer, it was too dark to see anything more. Our Magus had thrown up a magical shield but a single bolt utterly pierced it as if it was not even there."
"And what happened to his corpse afterwards... is concerning." she continued, "The Crest cannot be recovered. It was entirely burnt out. I wasn't aware such a thing was even possible." (edited)"A single crossbow bolt. Though the bolt afterwards as the first watchmen arrived as observed to have dissolved before their very eyes into a pool of mercury.""It's still on location. We are attempting to find a Necromancer in order to possible reawaken some element of him, assuming he managed to see the killer. It's a in progress attempt."Soon the two of them would arrive at the gatehouse. It was void of trade and of citizens through the renovated streets of London which betrayed neither trash nor vermin with entirely new facades built. The gatehouse itself was more of a checkpoint towards the lesser built parts of the city with a slight barricade like wall with a tall wooden door that swung out and in.
Guards in their black and gold armour had cordoned off the area
In front of the gate was something covered by a sheet of silk.
The first thing Emiya noticed here was that the smell of burnt blood was almost overpowering."Under the sheet, sir," Heather would gesture over to the sheet on the ground.
Nearby a crowd had gathered.
Emiya saw a tall figure in a full body brown cloak within the crowd standing out like a sore thumb against the plain clothed citizens around him. The figure was staring right at Emiya at the edge of a cordon that the guards had established. (edited)24 The corpse was a young man that hadn't even reached twenty yet.
His skin and rough and brown with his hair turning into a shock of white. But it was incomplete he could tell, his skin was lighter in too many places for this to be natural.
There was a hole in the center of his chest over his heart which was terribly burnt with black viens spreading out from the strike. On closer inspection, Emiya could tell the magic circuits weren't just stripped, they had been overcharged to the extent they had burnt themselves clean through to the extend they had destroyed parts of the corpses' body. It was not too different from how Origin Bullets worked.
And on his shoulder carved in quickly with a knife there was a sigil of a circle with two parrell lines running through it.26 An very old sigil. That of the Celtic cults before the advent of Rome and later Christianity would crush them. The few Celtic magi left in his time were typically druids, Celtic priests with a deep relationship with forests and monuments. They held a special position in the political machinations of Celtic society.Emiya would suddenly notice that the hooded figure wasn't alone.
Several more had appeared in the crowd all around him dressed in the same dark brown cloak staring at him with pinpricks of sickly yellow light under their eyes.
The Guards didn't seem to notice them at all.
One of them had openly drawn a sickle and nobody responded.13 They seemed to be starting to all move towards the guards."What?" she turned around towards Emiya before looking in the direction, "Did you see something?"
As they came closer Emiya could feel the mana burning off them in a almost metal like smell as he could see sweat trickling down their exposed skin as they came closer and closer to the line of guards. They had now all drawn small daggers or sickles yet the Guards didn't seem to notice.One of them would suddenly start at Emiya's sudden approach, not expecting such an agressive first move as they struggled to draw something from beneath their cloak.15 
Result: 1d20 (14) + 1
Total: 15The Cultist was taken aback by the sudden shove, stumbling several steps back before righting himself, and with a shout with draw his dagger and charged at Emiya.Current initiative: 24 (round 6)
================================
28: Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)
# 24: C1 <Bloodied>
8: C2 <Dead>
4: Guards
- G1 <Injured>
- G2 <Bloodied>
- H <Bloodied> -----COMBAT ENDED----- (edited)!init join
If it's a 5e monster: !init madd <monster name>
Otherwise: !init add <modifier> <name>24.28 The cultist actually managed to react, but it wasn't enough.Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <128/128 HP> (AC 19)
17 23
acrobatics: 1d20 (6)
Total: 6The breath collasping out of their mouth as Emiya disarmed them in CQC, the man gasped as he found he could no longer have control of his dagger arm.25
Damage: 1d6 (6) [magical piercing] + 1d4 (4) [psychic] + 6 [magical piercing] = 16 26
Damage: 1d6 (1) [magical piercing] + 1d4 (3) [psychic] + 6 [magical piercing] = 10
Attack 2
To Hit: 2d20kh1 (19, 30
Damage: 1d6 (4) [magical piercing] + 1d4 (1) [psychic] + 6 [magical piercing] = 11
Total Damage: 21 Despite blood spurting out of his neck in a fountain, the cloaked man still stood upright. His eyes glowed red as he stared at EMIYA.
People all around the pair were screaming in terror as they were soaked.
The two guards were frozen in shock at the sudden move while Heather was shouting orders, already having drawn her sword and running forward.
"Six of them!" she shouted, finally seeing past the illusion. 10 Demoralize. When you do so your opponent must make an opposed Charisma (Intimidation) against you. If you win, the target becomes Frightened of you. This effect lasts 1 minute. The target may use an action to try and shake off this effect, allowing them to make an opposed Charisma (Intimidation) check against you once again to end it early.
Intimidation: 1d20 (2) + 4
Total: 6But despite his inhuman endurance, he was still human at the very core as the man took several more steps back in shock as he turned pale. (edited)C1 <Injured>Shouting in shock the man reached into his cloak and drew another sickle, making a pair of slashes at Emiya with desperation and enhanced speed.22
Damage: 2d4 (2, 3) + 5 [slashing] = 1019
Damage: 2d4 (1, 4) + 5 [slashing] = 108.
C3 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (5) + 5 = 10.
C4 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (20) + 5 = 25.
C5 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (7) + 5 = 12.
C6 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (11) + 5 = 16.C6 <Healthy>C5 <Healthy>C3 <Healthy>C2 <Healthy>G1 <Healthy>
G2 <Healthy>
H <Healthy>Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)The crowd are begining to scatter and break in all directions, bumping into every figure.
At the start of every attack roll a 1d6. Rolling a 2 or lower gives the attack a -5 and if the total is lower than 10 it hits a commoner. "Forward men!" Heather staggered several steps as she saw Emiya seeming vanish from sight, in the crowd or somewhere else she had no idea.C4 <Healthy>Shouting out loud the first hooded figure erupted from the press of the crowd and stabbed at one of the guards with the hidden dagger beneath it's cloak.24
Damage: 1d4 (4) + 5 [piercing] = 9
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (16) + 10 = 26
Damage: 1d4 (2) + 5 [piercing] = 7
Total Damage: 16The Knight grunted as the blade slid beneath the gaps in the armour.C1 <Injured>
11
1d20 (5) + 1 = 6
17 total.C6 <Healthy>
Result: 1d20 (2) + 1
Total: 3
Result: 1d20 (18) + 1
Total: 19
Result: 1d20 (14) + 9
Total: 23Another hooded figure attempted to drag the Knight down.C5 <Healthy>
Result: 1d20 (6) + 1
Total: 7
Result: 1d20 (19) + 1
Total: 20
Result: 1d20 (19) + 9
Total: 28C3 <Healthy>C2 <Healthy>11
Miss!
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (10) + 10 = 20
Miss!G1 <Healthy>
G2 <Injured>
H <Healthy>16
Miss!10
Miss!29
Damage (CRIT!): 4d8 (6, 8, 8, 1) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 31
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (17) + 9 = 26
Damage: 2d8 (7, 2) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 17
Total Damage: 48The pair of Knights attempted to fight back against the growing horde of enemies.While Heather ran for Emiya.Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)
* Invisibility [59.9 minutes] <C>
* Invisible [59.9 minutes] (Attack Advantage; Break Invisibility; Parent: Invisibility)
- Anything the target is wearing or carrying is invisible as long as it is on the target's person
- The spell ends for a target that attacks or casts a spell
Result: 1d6 (1)
Total: 121
Damage: 1d6 (1) [magical piercing] + 1d4 (1) [psychic] + 6 [magical piercing] = 8
Result: 1d6 (5)
Total: 527
Damage: 1d6 (4) [magical piercing] + 1d4 (1) [psychic] + 6 [magical piercing] = 11
Result: 1d6 (1)
Total: 116
Miss!
Result: 1d6 (1)
Total: 1The dagger strike barely misses a civilian who at the very last moment ducked.10
Miss!
Result: 1d20 (14)
Total: 14
Result: 14 + 6
Total: 2011 30 C4 <Healthy>12.
Result: 2d4 (4, 3) + 10
Total: 17C1 <Bloodied>C6 <Healthy>
Result: 1d20 (13) + 1
Total: 14C5 <Bloodied>
Result: 2d4 (2, 2) + 10
Total: 14M1 <Healthy>Suddenly a figure in a green cloak stepped out. Emiya could see mana begin to crackle from his fingertips as he began to prepare a spell as the Guards were distracted.
His eyes were solely focused on Heather it seemed.786 〇
dex save Heather: 1d20 (10) + 9
Total: 19
1
Result: 2d4 (2, 4) + 3
Total: 9The spell struck heather, portions armour suddenly turning to dust as she screamed from the pain of having a good chunk of her body suddenly crumble. But there was some sort of magic resistance property from her armour that surely saved her life.
But barely."A Mage!" she gasped as she stumbled onto the feet, "How! We control the Magus in this city!"C3 <Healthy>C2 <Healthy>G1 <Injured>
G2 <Injured>
H <Bloodied>11
Miss!
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (18) + 9 = 27
Damage: 2d8 (7, 1) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 16
Total Damage: 1613
Miss!
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (18) + 9 = 27
Damage: 2d8 (3, 7) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 18
Total Damage: 18
Result: 1d10 (7) + 10
Total: 17
perception: 1d20 (20) + 10
Total: 30Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19) (edited)Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19) (edited)27
Damage: 1d6 (2) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (1) [force] + 1d4 (3) [psychic] + 3d6 (2, 3, 2) [force] = 27 31
Damage: 1d6 (3) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (3) [force] + 1d4 (2) [psychic] + 3d6 (5, 1, 3) [force] = 31 28
Damage: 1d6 (5) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (2) [force] + 1d4 (2) [psychic] + 3d6 (5, 3, 4) [force] = 35
Attack 2
To Hit: 2d20kh1 (29
Damage: 1d6 (4) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (1) [force] + 1d4 (2) [psychic] + 3d6 (6, 5, 3) [force] = 35
Attack 3
To Hit: 2d20kh1 (16, 29
Damage: 1d6 (4) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (4) [force] + 1d4 (1) [psychic] + 3d6 (4, 1, 5) [force] = 33
Attack 4
To Hit: 2d20kh1 (31
Damage: 1d6 (2) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (3) [force] + 1d4 (3) [psychic] + 3d6 (6, 2, 6) [force] = 36
Total Damage: 139
Result: 8 + 13
Total: 21
Result: 1d6 (1)
Total: 1
Result: 1d20 (7)
Total: 7
Result: 1d20 (11)
Total: 11
Result: 11 + 13 + 1
Total: 25The Mage turned in time with a grin on his face, yellow specks still on his teeth as he lifted up his hand to cast a shield.
"Really? That little knife?" he laughed, "I am a Magus! I am your God!"C4 <Injured>29
Damage: 1d4 (1) + 5 [piercing] = 6
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (12) + 10 = 22
Damage: 1d4 (3) + 5 [piercing] = 8
Total Damage: 14C1 <Bloodied>Suddenly screaming out of the crowd came a single cultist with sickle couched to his side as he charged Heather.11
Miss!30
Damage (CRIT!): 4d4 (3, 3, 2, 1) + 5 [piercing] = 14
The cultist would suddenly sheathe his blade and attempt to slip back into the crowd.
Result: 1d20 (13) + 6
Total: 19C6 <Healthy>14
Miss!
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (12) + 10 = 22
Damage: 1d4 (4) + 5 [piercing] = 9
Total Damage: 9C5 <Bloodied>18
Miss!
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (18) + 10 = 28
Damage: 1d4 (3) + 5 [piercing] = 8
Total Damage: 8M1 <Dead>C3 <Injured>
M1 automatically removed from combat.27
Damage: 1d4 (2) + 5 [piercing] = 7
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (15) + 10 = 25
Damage: 1d4 (2) + 5 [piercing] = 7
Total Damage: 14C2 <Healthy>20
Miss!
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (5) + 10 = 15
Miss!G1 <Injured>
G2 <Bloodied>
H <Bloodied>18
Damage: 2d8 (4, 1) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 13
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (12) + 9 = 21
Damage: 2d8 (5, 8) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 21
Total Damage: 3426
Damage: 2d8 (6, 3) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 17
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (17) + 9 = 26
Damage: 2d8 (8, 5) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 21
Total Damage: 3812
Miss!
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (15) + 9 = 24
Damage: 2d8 (2, 1) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 11
Total Damage: 11Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)The Knights would rally and begin to fight off the tide of cultists, Heather joining the fray with a flurry of her blade.
"For the patriach!"33
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (6, 5) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (2, 2) [force] + 6d6 (6, 4, 2, 2, 6, 3) [force] + 2d4 (2, 1) [psychic] = 55
Result: 1d6 (5)
Total: 522
Damage: 1d6 (2) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (1) [force] + 3d6 (4, 5, 3) [force] + 1d4 (4) [psychic] = 33
Result: 1d6 (2)
Total: 210
Miss! 12
Miss!
Result: 1d6 (1)
Total: 19
Miss! 19
Damage: 1d6 (4) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (2) [force] + 3d6 (4, 5, 6) [force] + 1d4 (2) [psychic] = 37 5 〇 (-1) Once more at the worst possible moment a panicking woman with her child grapsed at her arm suddenly ran past Emiya as he stabbed.
Only some sort of divine luck made sure she turned around at the last moment and it only grazed her cheek, leaving a light cut.
Result: 6d8 (1, 1, 7, 8, 1, 1) [force]
Total: 19
Result: 1d6 (5)
Total: 530
Damage: 1d6 (6) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (6) [force] + 3d6 (4, 3, 2) [force] + 1d4 (1) [psychic] = 36 Suddenly taken from behind by Emiya the two cultists crumpled onto the ground, their life slowly ebbing out from them in the form of brutally efficient stab wounds.30
Damage: 1d6 (2) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (6) [force] + 2 + 3d6 (5, 4, 4) [force] + 1d4 (4) [psychic] = 41 Another cultists grabbed his back, trying to pull the dagger from his spine before he lost all control below his hips.12
Result: 1d20 (1) + 1
Total: 2C4 <Injured>
aoo: 1d20 (14) + 9
Total: 23
Result: 2d8 (4, 2) + 5
Total: 1114
Miss!
Result: 1d20 (1) + 10
Total: 1131
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (1, 1) [magical piercing] + 2d4 (3, 4) [psychic] + 6 [magical piercing] = 15 C1 <Bloodied>
stealth: 1d20 (8) + 7
Total: 15C6 <Dead>C5 <Dead>
C6 automatically removed from combat.C3 <Dead>
C5 automatically removed from combat.C2 <Injured>
C3 automatically removed from combat.11
Miss!14
Miss!G1 <Injured>
G2 <Bloodied>
H <Bloodied>20
Damage: 2d8 (1, 6) + 5 + 3 [slashing] = 15
Attack 2
To Hit: 1d20 (4) + 9 = 13
Miss!
Total Damage: 15Suddenly G2 comes in with the steel chair and slashed the back of the Cultist attacking Emiya.26
1d20 (17) + 9 = 26
1d20 (2) + 9 = 11
1d20 (2) + 9 = 11
74 total.
Result: 4d8 (3, 8, 2, 5) + 10 + 6
Total: 34Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)"We have them on the run!" Heather shouted as she fought back against the few remaining cultists.20
Damage: 1d6 (3) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (6) [force] + 3d6 (4, 4, 5) [force] + 1d4 (4) [psychic] = 40
Result: 1d6 (1)
Total: 128
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (3, 6) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (4, 1) [force] + 6d6 (5, 5, 4, 3, 1, 1) [force] + 2d4 (1, 1) [psychic] = 49 Suddenly C2 was taken from behind, he expected a stab but suddenly was smashed face first into the ground and went limp.It seemed that the last cultist had fled through the crowd. Taking any shot would risk hitting civilains within that heaving mass of humanity.C4 <Dead>C1 <Bloodied>
C4 automatically removed from combat.
Result: 1d20 (2) + 7
Total: 9Heather fell to her knee, gasping as she felt blood dripping from her armour. She used her sword as a staff to try to keep herself kneeling up.
"T-t-that was a mage," she said out of breath."They've never been this blatant before, these upstarts," she said, still grasping her wound as it continued to bleed, "You. Are you injured or hurt in any way, Assassin?""You can't go alone," she grimaced through the pain, "I can't let you go alone. I have my orders from the Patriarch. You're too valuable. This wasn't supposed to even happen.""The wounds will close themselves... my body has long ceased to really even require blood," she admitted as she picked up her sword, "The two of you," she pointed at her guards, "Secure the area and bring that man to the Patriarch's dungeons. No doubt our Lord will wish to question this Heretic himself."
Heather turned back to Emiya, "Where did the culprit flee?""Then let's move," she nodded,"The winding streets were confusing to saw the least. It was too much of a reminder of the forest where all the trees and landscape blended into the same blur. Everyday men and women going about their lives suddenly would jump to the side as Heather and Emiya would race between them towards the location of the cultists.
Heather would have to shout several times for others to move out their way.
In front of them the scene of commotions that had past. Several stalls and people had been knocked over and they all pointed in the same direction Emiya could sense the cultist. There was blood on the ground. A wounded animal.
Eventually the pair of them would reach a dead end alley, a building on all three sides each easily fifteen feet tall. In the alley at the very end of which was a pile of steaming hot trash that had been thrown from an upper story window. The blood trail ended here.
The singal was underground and moving fast."That leads into the sewer system," heather wrinkled her nose at the frankly awful smell, "I hope that Servants don't have such a strong sense of scent my kind are cursed with."Suddenly from below the trash head Emiya would hear a sharp yelp and something splashing into the water."You first," Heather insisted.Several feet down.
Right into something that squelched and went up to his ankles.
It was dark down here but that was no issue for him.
The sewer down here was a long drainage pipe from old roman times. Graffiti from almost a thousand years ago were still on the walls. It had long ceased to be part of the central system but still water leaked through the clay brick walls and trash found their way down from the streets.
About fifty feet in front of Emiya was a figure writhing in pain, leaning on the wall for support.
"D-d-damn it," it rose up and began limping slowly down the sewer.
Ahead there was a small wrought iron gate in the wall of the tunnel where a small lantern hung on a hook next to it. He took a key from his robe and opened the lock, stepping through the begining to close the gate.Wounded and half-dead, the Cultist just dropped.
Ahead the corridor wound went down a staircase for another thirty feet
Behind him, Emiya heard the splash and Heather voice as she walked up, "It's worse than I could ever have believed," she looked down at the knocked out Cultist, "This must be the old Roman tombs. The Patriarch had been looking into excavating this area for artifacts from the Age of Gods but we moved closer to where the Clock Tower is now after we found... well whatever it is under the tower. The Patriach has ordered a vial of secrecy over whatever is going down there.""I'll stay back but first sound of trouble and I'll come in as support," she nodded as he turned invisible before her very eyes, "Never get used to that."
The cultist had a chain of keys on him with two more not including the one already used.
Descending down the staircase Emiya would hear a multitude of voices. How many he couldn't exactly count at the moment. He first entered a chamber with another door at the opposite end where the voices were coming from. This chamber was small, fifty feet from each wall to wall, but was packed full of wooden barrels each with a red stripe painted onto the side.
Slumped against one of these barrels was a man in simple armour with a spear against his side, but was snoring loudly with his arms crossed.Within the barrel was what looked like fine black sand even if it reeked strongly of something that smelled like urine.
EMIYA would know would this was. Some sort of primitive gunpowder.
And given the fact that this room was packed full of barrels, that was quite a bit of fire powder.Now he recalled the London he lived in.
Not really the London of 1300s
But this London was built eerily similar to his version as well.
And if his mental map was correct part of these old tunnels would be under the Tower of London which served as the containment site for the most dangerous of those given Sealing Designations.And if he recalled briefly there was a certain Magus from his time which would be imprisoned at this period, even over 800 years before.
A certain Magus named Judias of Athens which had survived for so many years by creating perfect copies of himself in the minds of those he could possess and control like puppets, so that he would never truly die. Disturbingly similar to what Touko would do. If anything, he would be long before her.
So right now he would be in some chamber above, waiting.
Emiya approaching the door would continue to hear the voices muffled from behind it. But it was hard to at the moment...26 "We have everything in place."
"I'm still not sure about it boss."
"Still not sure?! Still not sure?" the voice raised. "We've lost about half the cell we infiltrated the city with. Taking down that Magus in order to lure the Captain out was costly enough. And the fact we haven't heard from them back means they failed. So this has to work or we'll be rooted out like rats and nothing we have done will be of consequence."
"But still, boss, that man above is the Highest Heretic declared bearing a Sealing Designation. The Patriarch is a heretic for not already burning that blasphemer but setting him free?"
"It's what she ordered. We can't refused a Clock-God, hallowed is her name."
"Hallowed is her name," came the following chants. Emiya counted at least 8 and judging from the echoes in a very tight room.
"Get to work. We'll light to the fuse to the flash-powder in a minute."The sleeping Guard never woke up.
The door stood before him.Three pairs of footsteps
The door swung open.
The fight thing they saw was a smoke filled room.
One of them cried out, "Fire!"Current initiative: 32 (round 3)
================================
# 32: Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19, Swift Quiver [7 rounds])
17: G1 <Dead>
5: H <Healthy> -----COMBAT ENDED----- (edited)!init join
If it's a 5e monster: !init madd <monster name>
Otherwise: !init add <modifier> <name>
32 -l <level> to cast at a different level, !g lr to take a long rest, or -i to ignore spell slots!5 〇 6 〇 20.
C2 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (13) + 5 = 18.
C3 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (11) + 5 = 16.
C4 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (20) + 5 = 25.17.
G2 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (9) + 0 = 9.
G3 was added to combat with initiative 1d20 (5) + 0 = 5.13.Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)
* Swift Quiver [9 rounds] <C>The first one began to move into the room, coughing and swiping at the air.
"Fire!" he cried, "Put it out before it blows us to bits!"32
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (6, 3) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (2, 1) [force] + 6d6 (5, 1, 3, 4, 3, 2) [force] + 2d4 (2, 2) [psychic] = 48
Extra Crit Die: 1d6 (4)
Total: 428
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (4, 4) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (5, 5) [force] + 6d6 (4, 3, 2, 5, 4, 4) [force] + 2d4 (1, 2) [psychic] = 57 Suddenly the first men that stepped into the room was dead.
All anyone could hear was his screams.
"Calvid?" the one behind him shouted through the coughing, "What was that!"33
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (1, 1) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (2, 3) [force] + 6d6 (6, 6, 2, 5, 2, 5) [force] + 2d4 (2, 3) [psychic] = 52 24
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (3, 1) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (2, 5) [force] + 6d6 (3, 3, 3, 2, 4, 4) [force] + 2d4 (4, 2) [psychic] = 50 25
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (2, 5) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (2, 5) [force] + 6d6 (1, 2, 2, 6, 4, 6) [force] + 2d4 (3, 1) [psychic] = 53 30
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (3, 3) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (4, 5) [force] + 6d6 (6, 6, 2, 2, 1, 3) [force] + 2d4 (3, 3) [psychic] + 2d8 (2, 3) [force] = 60 31
Damage (CRIT!): 4d10 (2, 7, 9, 3) + 10 + 2 + 2d6 (4, 2) [magical piercing] = 39 36
Damage (CRIT!): 4d10 (7, 9, 7, 2) + 10 + 2 + 2d6 (6, 2) [magical piercing] = 45 Suddenly from beyond the smoke the last man was yanked in and silenced, prompting massive shouts of shocks from the rest of the room before the gunshots began.
Result: 4d6 (1, 6, 4, 4) [Psychic]
Total: 15
Result: 12d6 (5, 1, 6, 5, 6, 3, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 5) [magical piercing]
Total: 55
Result: 15 + 55
Total: 70 Suddenly the Mage's head exploded, dousing the entire room in his brains.33
Damage (CRIT!): 4d10 (1, 8, 5, 1) + 10 + 2 + 2d6 (3, 5) [magical piercing] = 35 21
Damage (CRIT!): 4d10 (10, 4, 5, 9) + 10 + 2 + 2d6 (1, 4) + 10 [magical piercing] = 55 Another head exploded less then a second later.
Someone dropped their sword.28
Damage (CRIT!): 4d10 (4, 7, 5, 10) + 10 + 2 + 2d6 (4, 2) + 10 [magical piercing] = 54 14
Miss! 27
Damage (CRIT!): 4d10 (10, 9, 5, 7) + 10 + 2 + 2d6 (3, 6) + 10 [magical piercing] = 62 27
Damage (CRIT!): 2d6 (1, 2) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 2d6 (4, 6) [force] + 10 + 6d6 (1, 6, 6, 5, 2, 4) [force] + 2d4 (3, 4) [psychic] = 68
Result: 1d20 (14) + 2
Total: 16
additional crit dice: 1d6 (2)
Total: 2C4 <Dead>C1 <Dead>
C4 automatically removed from combat.C2 <Bloodied>
C1 automatically removed from combat.G1 <Healthy>C3 <Dead>M1 <Dead>
C3 automatically removed from combat.G2 <Dead>
M1 automatically removed from combat.G3 <Dead>
G2 automatically removed from combat.Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)
* Swift Quiver [8 rounds] <C>
G3 automatically removed from combat.The sword hit the ground.
Six of the best warriors of their age dead.
And the sword hadn't even hit the ground yet. (edited)27
Damage: 1d6 (4) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (6) [force] + 3d6 (2, 2, 3) [force] + 1d4 (2) [psychic] = 33 7 C2 <Dead>The man didn't flinch, dropping his sword and instead taking a piece of flint and steel.
Deciding to take his chance the man tried to run past Emiya towards the other room.31
Damage: 1d6 (1) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (3) [force] = 18 4 〇 (-1)
Result: 5d8 (1, 8, 7, 8, 1) [force]
Total: 25
Result: 1d10 (5) + 10
Total: 15Suddenly as G1 began to move through the doorway, running as fast as he could, another figure came through the smoking doorway.
Heather wielding her sword.7
!help init remove for help.5.G1 <Injured>
C2 automatically removed from combat.H <Healthy>22
Damage: (2d8 (4, 1) + 5 + 3 + 1d8 (5) [slashing]) / 2 = 9
Attack 2
To Hit: 2d20kh1 (2, 11
Miss!
Total Damage: 9
Result: 1d20 (5)
Total: 5Kiritsugu EMIYA(Assassin) <118/128 HP> (AC 19)
* Swift Quiver [7 rounds] <C>"His mind will be plundered by us," she nodded, "So yes."29
Damage: 2d10 (10, 3) + 10 + 2 + 1d6 (1) [magical piercing] = 26 22
Damage: 1d6 (2) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1d6 (6) [force] = 22 "You should have told me you were going in," she said as he checked the bodies. All quite dead. Save for one, "But it looks like you didn't need the help."Another tunnel that lead into the sewers that streched to his left and right. There was a steel rung ladder opposite that lead to the surface."Interesting," she smirked on her face as she looked around with a glance, "Gunpowder treason and plot, that's what the Patriarch said. The Sealing Designate was never in danger. We secretly moved him several days ago when we heard about this.""We know." she said, "We let them.""Yes," she smiled, "You certainly went out of your way to help us here even though it didn't benefit Chaldea directly, at least at the moment. Though your weapons were an interesting but no unappreciated surprise."
She looked around, "We let them get this far so we could have them all in one place. A killing blow and when we moved the target, one without risk. And you delivered that blow. Then again I suppose that's your title, Assassin.""The city has a territory over it," she stated, "We have a wall around it and the best warriors in the entire island manning it. I am sure they only made it through luck and evaded us for this long. Any larger and we would have crushed them long ago. And even if they were survivors, they would be too few now to have any effect. Whichever Lord sent these agents has lost some of their best men for little to no gain. I doubt they would try again for similar results.""Now," she said, clearly reading the air of silence, "Chaldea will be allowed to establish a teleportation circle within the London Branch of the Clock Tower under the protection of the Patriarch. And he seeks to speak with those amongst you to make arrangements for our future bondship. However he does not wish for Animusphere to partake in these talks. To be forward, he has little trust for that family and would prefer to speak with those who must suffer and bleed for the sake of Chaldea, be it Master or Servant."
"Any arrangement will be made to facilitate the first arrivals, you simply need to inform Chaldea. The communication interference created from Rider's territory is no longer in effect.""Save for restricted centers of the Clock Tower and the Tower of London, the grounds for London are free for you and your fellows. But do not dare to make trouble. We Knights of Gold and the Bronze Guard do not tolerate mischief and havoc even from amongst our our citizens.""We have one," Heather said, "The lower chambers of the Patriarch's personal quarters. We will be able to disguise it as his personal travel and the travel of his supplies."
She reached into a pocket and gave Emiya a lump of gold, "He told me to give this to you. Said that this will serve as a guiding light for those who wish to make his home their home." London. Soon to be the Hub of an Empire which would forever leave its mark on the world from its domination on every single continent. That great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained.
But that glory from the future is now made manifest, now. No longer is London some backwater trading point, filled with old roman buildings and rotting structures made by peasants on the verge of collaspe. No. Now it is a bustling city, the center of the Lord-Patriarchs' Empire within an Empire. A strange mixture of Islamic and Victorian architecture clash together as sturdy buildings rise alongside clean paved streets.
The streets are filled with traders and pilgrims that have come from all over the isle to pray to the ascendant Patriarch and hope that he may bless them with health and of gold.
They will never see him. For he has occupied himself within the Clock Tower.
A towering pillar of bronze and juttering gothic stone that spiraled into the air, gargoyles staring down at him with their watchful gazes and jaws wide open shooting upwards to seemingly lunatic heights. It's massive Clockface showed the time to the entire landscape, it's hands perpetually stopped one minute to midnight. All around it replicated in the mish-mash of Gothic and late Victorian is a massive wing that extends outwards housing no doubt the vast research institutes the association is known for.
The rayshift here would bring a brief feeling of nausea and the sudden oncoming rush for Taigong that a territory encompassed them all. They were allowed to be able to rayshift in the first place.
The group would find themselves in a lush garden surrounded by low walls. Trees and the sound of waterworks behind the bushes to their left. They themselves were in a small opening between the shrubbery and trees that had recently been cleared with open dirt.
A single small gold nugget sat in the middle of this circle. 
Taigong could tell already quite clearly this was a Servant."Master Theano, Master Monta. This is a Servant, I don't remember its mention in the proper report. If it's true, either we're dealing with a strong Territory Creation... Or even a Noble Phantasm of similar capabilities. I suggest to exercise caution."Understood.Concerning
4As they approached the tower itself suddenly Taigon and Monta would spot a figure up on the very rooftops, amongst the gargoyles with his cloak flying in the half-light. It was a figure of shadow holding something very long with both its hands that was braced against its shoulders. It watched the group as they approached.
At the gate there were a pair of guards. These two were abnormally tall, two and a half meters easily, and made lean. They were both clad in pure silver each holding a lance as long as they were tall and in their free hand a shield. Their tall helmets strangely possessed no holes for visions and were utterly featureless save for plumes of feathers at the very top. Theano didn't need eyes to know they were well-trained. The fact there were only two of them said enough.
The Servant would snap his fingers and the two guards would open heavy wrought iron doors. Monta right at that second could tell from the very sound they made they were alchemical reinforced beyond any natural metals. The entire citadel would shatter before those doors did.
Above, it seemed to stretch on forever, ten stories at least with banisters and railings on each floor until it reached the roof where a skylight showed the eclipse, never moving and ever hanging over the city like a dark eye that watched all.
Gaslit lamps lit the massive interior hall and on a nearby table next to the stairwell a gramophone was playing some soft tune orchestrated by a flute and stringed instrument, the music floating hauntingly through the massively tall space. Taigong would know that song at once, it was a perfect rendition of the tale of The Drunken Concubine. (edited)I do not have a good feeling about this place. Be on guard.Oh, master Theano, trust me. Spending a good portion of your life in warfare gives you certain skills. We will be fine.The doors opened into an elevator.
An elevator straight from the 20s it seemed.
Upon taking it, they would feel like they were ripped upwards at high speed. Almost supersonic speeds. Clearly modified. If Taigong could guess from the time they spent traveling upwards they were at least 900 feet up.
The doors would open.
A large metal dome made up the ceiling of the observatory at the very top of the Clock Tower itself. There were several openings in the floor with railings around that revealed the dizzying heights they had traveled upwards but also the floors upon floors of research and offices populated by seemingly hundreds of people.
Within this observatory, between the typical Magus' equipment, scrolls and ink-pens laying about with the walls covered in bookshelves filled with dusting tomes that didn't fit this time period was a massive telescope aimed straight at the eclipse over the landscape.
A man stood looking through the viewport. The man himself was richly dressed in stark yellow robes like the Servant they had met but with little jewelry. His gloved hands held a staff of pure gold with the adornment of an eagle grasping a emerald orb beneath its claws. Monta would see these guards were clearly not bred naturally. Their limbs were too long to be baseline humans for once but what little exposed skin they revealed was pale white. A typical sign of homunculi.
Well-made ones, at least alchemically he could tell.
@Crafter/Flower/Illya/Dad/OniMaster Theano, I understand your cause of anger and I share it. But it is not wise to threaten a Lord in his seat of power. We must bid our time.If we show weakness he will exploit it, Rider. I'd rather they fear us than see us as subservient cowards.And what you do when you see a rat that may bring plague to your household? You kill it. Hope he doesn't see us as worth killing.If he does, then so be it. I won't go down without fighting. I have enough fight in me to take him down with me should he desire it. Making enemies of Chaldea would be foolish for him, otherwise he wouldn't try to acquire us.He really wants all aspects of this stuff... Whether it works in theory or paper. He mused to the other two.
"We're stepping in thin ice, Theano.""What part of 'we're in thin ice' was not clear with all due respect?!"
1"I'll be honest. I didn't think there was someone more reckless than Nezha."Shut it rider."Hm, let's see if your proposal goes through and I'll do it."
Rider didn't say a word. Sometimes reckless force truly was needed.
"All of Chaldea is an exception to you, then.""No. It is not. Most of it isn't."
"This is technical operator Henderson reporting in, I just got a notification."Hello! How are you? We finished chatting with one of the lords and is speaking to other high ranking magus always tense and liable for headaches? He chimed back"Well I haven't really dealt with the big-ups before. I typically hand my reports to Da Vinci or at most Director Olga's desk when she's not around. But I would guess it's not exactly the most healthy thing to do all the time."Understandable! The Lord in Question is named Sourd!
He also has a offer for Chaldea at that! And conditions as well that's a bit over my head so I wanted to send it over to the Staff. He is willing to give us a lot of information and resources and insight on all the others lords and the Demon pillar.""That's great!" he said, "In all honesty when I sent you into this mission I thought it was going to be a trap where you'd all horribly die but for once the simulations prove me wrong!"
"Right who do you want it passed to?"Be it Ms. Olga or Ms. BB. Oh right. He also wanted two other things...First he wants controlling stake over Chaldea..I'm not touching that one..and also apparently he wants out of the Singularity. We kinda been told that is pretty hard/sketchy/impossible to do no?"Yeah I think I'll have to pass it up ASAP."
"Director you have a code vital line to agents in the field."
"Agents, this is the Director speaking, what appears to be the problem?""One of the lords of the clocktower is proposing giving Chaldea plenty of resources in exchange for us getting him out of this singularity.""He knows that such a thing is impossible outside of true magic or some other incredibly strange phenomenon, right?""I highly doubt he's stupid. Yes.""So he's asking us to achieve True Magic... And you're SURE he's not stupid?""He sounds like he was pulled here by force and really doesn't want to be here. Completely content on just leaving the other lords and the pillar behind. But it does seem that is something beyond our power at this point. None of us are..you know Magicians.""Could this be a ploy?" suddenly Henderson cut in, "It's such a big ask surely he knows it's impossible. Or maybe he does know and he's playing on the fact that Chaldea will at least make an attempt to assist him. You mentioned Mr. Muramasa about the Illya situation. Records are damaged due to the damage we suffered but the Grail did allow it to be possible, am I not wrong?""Yosh! She managed to become a True magician and she left out of a Singularity but I figured that wasn't something we could do since there was a active Holy Grail War that she was in. I am not sure there is a war going on.
And even with that. That would mean we would have to declare/force a holy grail war to start, win it and let the wish be Sourd becoming a Magician or teleporting him to present time...Which is probably so excessive that its more we can do. Yosh.""There is theoretically another way.""Granted, I'm not a magus so I don't know how plausible it is but rayshift technology could potentially be used backwards if transported. I don't know the potential ramifications of that however.""It would have to be without a coffin, even if we were to construct one it would disappear when the singularity collapsed, and his existence in our world would have to be consistently proven by our own technology. If the systems in Chaldea went entirely down for just a moment he would be rejected from our worldline.""Indeed. However an anchor could be constructed to tie him into the world. Something akin to a master contract. He would essentially be a being from another timeline in our own.""Regardless. I'm merely discussing possibilities. I'd rather not waste a Grail on him.""Not to mention. Reliance on us to keep him alive would cause dependancy and clear motive to work with us.""That is a thing. We had that old man show up and fling some folks to another time and place. Again true magician but at this point we are just theory crafting.
I don't think giving them a Grail is a good idea. But hey. We can tell him.
'We can try, make a coffin for you on our side and have him come up with ways to anchor him. Seems that a proper contract with a servant might do it..on paper!""Having him within Chaldea would also allow him to lend aid directly as well.""Sounds about right! So what's the official response should I give him?""I will allow director Olga to say that but in my personal opinion from what I've heard, at the moment taking his deal would be good in the short term for his support. What contingencies he has if we fail could be troublesome though."Oh right, failure..Some words was passed as he wanted to Geas us? And my soul being his or something like that? I don't know how that works. But maybe we are passed that point and that's no longer on the table!""That sounds like a Scroll," sounds of typing from the other sound, "'Placing a written contract upon a scroll of vellum that would appear as only meaningless figures and well-made patterns to those who are not magi, it is a curse that directly binds the Magic Crest of the target.' that's pretty heavy stuff. 'Once the conditions are fulfilled, the target will give up part of their free will, and the contract will be confirmed as an unbreakable curse.' and 'Even if the caster's life is lost, the Crest would bind the soul of the dead man and not pass down to future generations.'" (edited)"It really do be like that sometimes. Spooky.""It really do be like. Do you require extraction?""I don't think so. At the very least I should continue on with the meeting with him. I think prefers prefers to talk to me right now and not the tense moments with Theano.
For now I shall tell me, Chaldea will look into it, It may require a coffin being made and ways to anchor him but they attempt will be made. How's that?""You're the one on the other side. Just be careful, there's a territory that could go right back up at any moment and you could be alone in the middle of enemy lands without an easy way out." there was a sigh, "Look, whatever it takes to come home in one piece. I don't need the first mission assignment I've been given to end in a disaster and I don't think I can take the weight of any of your deaths on my shoulder... not after the losses with suffered this far and so close to the finishing line.""Man I can't die right now. Then all my commissions will go incomplete and my work not done! I don't have time for death! I'll tell him that we came to a decision and give him the heads up!" With that said and a nod of his head his hand went up and ding'd on the bell in the room.And beside him stood the servant from before who looked wordlessly at the trio with his arms folded.Taigong would spot a clause within the text due to his years as ruling Lord that would basically have Chaldea use any and every single methods once the singularity was coming to a close no matter the drain on resources or even possible lower-ranking Master fatalities. Penalty for doing so would be enforced through the Geas Scroll.Does it specify low ranking masters?There was also a slight mention that he would keep at least a 10% of the stock after the singularity was over though he stated his intention was mostly to keep this stock so that he could keep his eye on Chaldea and continue to use them as another way to spend his extraordinary amount of cash.A wordless spell was cast. His staff glowed golden for a moment.Speak.
Came a voice in Nicolo's head.
"What is your name and purpose," one of the Silver Guard spoke at Nicolo, brandishing a lance to block the door. "Speak or perish.""He is pre-occupied." they said sternly.
After ascending up the elevator back the observatory Theano would see in the center was Sourd speaking to a group of figures covered from head to toe in yellow robes. Beside them were trays upon trays of instruments and in the very middle of the room was a seat not quite unlike one someone would see in a dentist's office. Of course around the leg areas, wrists, and head there were iron restraints. "Correct it will involve the sash and infusing it with your body," he said, "What do you wish to hold onto? I have everything within my citidel."Nicolo would be given a literal log of wood somehow wrapped in a silk cloth worth more than everything she had ever owned.With that the Tuners began to close in like a descending circle.To describe the work was... impossible to be honest. It all would become a blur to her of muttered spells being cast. Scalpels and saws seeming to be used indiscriminately. Arguments breaking out every minute, happening as often as the complications that followed.
And the pain, Christ Above, how to even come close to comprehending it. Surely even her teacher would have balked at this.
(Make constitution and charisma saving throw.)9
21 12 With the skin of her teeth she was able to avoid permanent damage to her body and before her nerves were literally fried.
"We're losing her! We're losing her!" one of the Tuners shouted as suddenly a massive geyser of blood exploded from somewhere.
The pain was too much for Theano and it seemed that everything went black.
Opening her eyes she was in some sort of weightless back void.
Yet her feet were touching some sort of ground.
"Who's out there?" a familiar voice came wafting in from the black... Vee's voice! "W-who's out there?""Maybe." she said, "It has not passed that line yet. Even if it is close. But I have seen the lengths you have gone to restore our legacy, sister, the lengths you would have been willing to go to restore it...""We..." she paused for a long while. "are the Nicolos. You, Me, Dee, we're a family. Even though the most difficult times were always had and held each other no matter what. Every time that bond was tested, even when I sacrificed myself to save all of Chaldea, I still came back to say one last goodbye. We are so much more beyond a simple sash, we do not need to be Amazon by blood or sash in order to be forever connected to them. We are Nicolos. Nothing can ever tear that apart, not a decaying magical crest, not any foe we face... heh, not even ourselves."
"It may just be you and Dee now. But you have each other and that will overturn anything this universe throws at you."
"I can not turn you away from reviving your legacy at your own personal cost."
"I just ask you don't lose yourself in the pursuit of our dusty past and forget to embrace what you have now." (edited)"And I love you for that," a giggle came from the void, "There's no doubt you are my Sister, Fee."
"You are right. Our legacy is not without worth... but it your pursuit of it that has truly makes it our own. By chasing after it you have shown you simply do not receive it by simply having Ares blood or given ownership over a sash, but that you deserve to have it. That you are of Ares even if somehow you were to lose your blood. That is truly what makes a Nicolo, Fee, that is what made me a Hero. I must have felt that rush too.
"To me that rush was merely a faint feeling that showed me the general direction of my foes. But what pushed me to take up my spear was who stood behind me, my dear friends and you and Dee. When I fought for my life, I was truly fighting for those I loved. I didn't just fight for that rush, I fought for you. That was what made me do those feats."
"Through your pursuit of it, you have proven you are worthy of it. Really."
"Completely illogical maybe... but no less right." (edited)
A light appear before her before gradually expanding outwards untill...
She was face to face with an emotionless mask of gold leering over her.
"I assume you are still alive to fulfill the side of your contract correct?""It is indeed," he took a step back as he handed Theano a towel, "Though you came rather close to crossing the boundary at one moment. But I suspect you already are aware of that."
He handed her the sash, glowing a deep red from it, no longer blighted by damage from the ages or frayed from misuse. Perfect as the day it was created.
"I do hope you appreciate it. I will add in the fact it may take a while before it comes to its full power."
Two large three-meter tall Knights on silver stilts braced their spears and blocked Bezy's entrance at the gates to the tower itself.
"State your purpose.""Let her through. She is of Chaldea." came a booming voice from above.
The Knights pulled back their spears and they opened the gates, revealing a large hall and grand staircase with an open elevator at the very top.The elevator rumbled as it slowly brought her to the very summit of the tower. There was a large telescope with an iron dome.
Sitting in a small red attached seat on the side of the telescope was the golden mage.
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