True to his word, Bravura was able to triangulate the location of the cult’s base of operations - during their journey towards his initial estimation. They had been walking as he worked to pinpoint their base but, when Bravura had finished said work, Cloud had summoned a sizable Support Circle and was flying them there at a comfortable pace. Thanks to being able to fly across the treetops without issue, they travelled far more hastily than if they had travelled on hoof. Even still, the journey took around three hours, and dawn graced them upon their arrival.

The camp was enormous, visible from very far away in the sky. While it almost looked like the camp was within a large, natural clearing, Bravura was quick to notice the clearing was artificial. Cloud landed in a thicket of trees outside of the clearing, and the two began planning their two-person assault on the international cult. They talked for a good twenty minutes, but ultimately kept coming back to the same conclusion:

“We need more information,” Bravura concluded. “We need to know who we’re dealing with properly, and more importantly we need logistics of the camp.”

Cloud smirked. “I got this.” He sat down comfortably, calmed his breathing, cleared his mind, and summoned a Shade Circle. A shade was created immediately thereafter.

Bravura’s jaw went slack. “Whaaat the heck-”

Cloud’s shade flew upwards out of the thicket and further east towards the camp. While he at first thought staying high in the air would be the best idea, an idea soon struck him and he instead flew back downwards to the ground. He began phasing into the ground, keeping only the top of his head poking out. He continued forward like this, ready to dip into the ground at the first sign of cultists.

As he approached the site, Cloud could see a wide circle of tents. He travelled closer. Past the tents, the land sloped downwards, dug into an artificial pit. In the centre of the pit was a half built temple, its walls unfinished. The top of the temple was a golden statue of an eye Cloud had become all too familiar with. He could see cultists all around now. Most were Horses, though a fair amount of Gryphons and Zebra were mixed in too. A few Minotaurs roamed about, as well as a race Cloud didn’t know about but recognised: Their bodies were like that of Apes, but as large as a Minotaur; hulking muscles were spread across their dark, furry bodies, and thick white manes covered their head and necks like lions. Their eyes were a startling blue, and their fingers ended in black claws. They look like that guy who strangled me back on that boat…

Trying to be cautious, Cloud slipped his shade deeper into the ground. Fully submerged, he was unable to see, but continued forward towards the temple. After a few moments, he poked his head up to check his location, and found himself inside the temple. A throne forged of gold and silver sat at the far end. Cloud spotted a trapdoor to the left of the entrance. He wasted no time in investigating.

The trapdoor led into a rather regal room, its walls and floor decorated with chiseled marble. Throughout the room were various shipping crates. On each of the far ends of the room were two crude, metal doors, sticking out from the rest of the room. Going through the one to his right, Cloud found a cavernous hole stretching into the depths of the earth. It went at an angle, making it possible to walk into. Crashes and thuds could be heard every few seconds. A mine, maybe? Cloud felt his shade reaching its distance limit, and stopped himself from going particularly deep. He doubled back and tried the other door.

The other door led to a smaller room with a much clearer intention. Cells lined the dank stone walls, the sniffling of dozens of kidnapped children could be heard, and in the middle of the room was a crucifix bearing a rotting body of a Horse. Though the sight of the dungeon shocked Cloud, what shocked him more so was the contents of a particular cell. Abandoning stealth, he flew over to Mawr.

Mawr began to stir, her vision blurry. The floor was hard and uncomfortable, and the room stank of death. She sat up, then resisted the urge to shit herself as she noticed a dark spectre standing over her.

“WHAAT THE FUCK?!” She screamed, startling awake Kufn, who was lying in the same cell. He sat up in a panic, his mind solely focused on the lack of sword on his person. He looked around, feverishly, until his eyes locked onto the ghost in their cell.

“[WHAAT THE FUCK?!]”

Mawr froze, trying to comprehend both what had happened, and what was happening. A laser Horse knocked me out with previously mentioned lasers… I'm in some sort of dungeon… There's an apparition of some sort in front of me… Mawr's mind froze as she realised she had no idea what to do.

I really should've looked into the shade not being able to speak.

“[WHY IS THERE A DEMON IN THE CELL?!]”

“[I DON'T KNOOW!]”

Maybe I could use a telepathy spell? No, I'd need a Support Circle, and there's no way this form has enough magic stored in it to begin with.

“[TRANSFORM INTO A SWORD SO I CAN KILL IT!]”

“[I DON’T HAVE ANY ENERGY TO TRANSFORM!]”

The annoying way, then...

The shade raised a ghostly hoof and pointed at Mawr, who tensed up. It then turned, and pointed back at himself. Many thoughts ran through Mawr’s mind about what it meant, and none of them pleasant. It pointed back at Mawr, more violently this time.

“[What the hell is it doing?!]” Kufn whispered to her. Mawr shook her head, bewildered and terrified.

The shade pointed a third time at Mawr, this time thrusting its leg for extra emphasis. An idea plopped into Cloud’s mind as he did this, and he next pointed down to the floor beneath him. Mawr’s gaze slowly followed where the shade pointed… and all fear disappeared as something clicked in her mind.

“Wait…” She blinked. “...Oh. Oh.” The shade was standing on top of a magic circle.

“[Are you speaking in tongues or just a different language?]”

Mawr stood up, ignoring Kufn, and stood face to face with the shade. She frowned.

“Hurry the fuck up, then,” she barked at it. Despite not understanding the meaning of her words, Kufn’s bewilderment doubled all the same. “I’ll start from this end.”

The shade nodded in response.

“I had a quick look at the site,” Mawr continued. “Are we in the church, or temple, or whatever?”

The shade began to nod, but stopped partway. It cocked its head, then held up a hoof. It pointed at her with its other hoof, then placed the second hoof underneath the first.

“...Underneath?” Mawr guessed.

The shade nodded.

“Right. Okay, I’ll make it to the church’s entrance, you either clear a way through the camp or have that flying circle ready to get us out. I’m not sure where the nearest town is, so I say we head east to to coast and plan further ahead there.”

The shade shook its head.

“What?” Mawr frowned. “Why not?”

The shade turned, and pointed at some of the other cells nearby, then pointed upwards. Finally, it brought its raised hoof slamming down into its other.

“...Free the prisoners, fight the cultists?”

The shade nodded.

Mawr placed her head in her hooves. “...Damn it to the stars…” She raised her head and sighed. “Fine. Whatever it is you’re planning, commence in fifteen minutes. I need to… ‘recharge’ first, but starting our assaults at the same time will cause confusion and makes things easier for both of us.”

The shade nodded, and turned to leave.

“Wait, wait!” Mawr exclaimed. “I almost forgot, the leader of these assholes is a Horse that can shoot laser beams.”

“A Horse that can what?” Bravura asked, the third person Cloud had bewildered that day.

“That’s what she told me,” Cloud replied, “and if it’s gonna live up to the kind of shit I’ve been through so far, he’s probably the boss of these lot.”

“It would be thematically appropriate, yes.” Bravura paused. “But, why did she need fifteen minutes?”

“W-well…” Cloud’s face reddened slightly. “In my experience… Changelings have an… odd way of, uh… collecting energy…”

“[...And that’s the situation,]” Mawr finished explaining, and assumed the position. “[Alright, let’s hurry up and get this done so we can get out.]”

“[No can do,]” Kufn said simply, shaking his head.

“[What? Why not?]” A realisation ran through Mawr’s head. “[Oh.]” She rolled her eyes. Her body was covered in a brief flash of green flames as she equipped a sword. “[You done complaining?]” He asked.

“[Oh yeah!]” Kufn grinned.

Cloud blushed like a filly at the thought of the sticky situation.

Fifteen minutes had passed. Bravura finished his stretching, then offered a hoof to help Cloud stand up.

“You ready to fight?” Bravura asked, a hint of a smirk on his face. Cloud smirked right back.

Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXs9TovhPkU&feature=youtu.be