In the gutters of an old alleyway, a rat skittered silently against dirty cobblestones, ruby eyes glinting in the dim light. Standing on two legs it took a moment to sniff as though searching for something. But whatever that was it did not find, and so it dropped back to all fours and continued its wanderings.

Moments later it passed by a puddle of stagnant brown water, the kind not even the most desperate of animals would dare to drink. A distorted mirror followed its tiny footsteps, recognizable in shape if not coloring to the rodent above. And as the puddle ran out of water and the rat moved on the reflection simply followed, pulling itself from the filth and into the open air. Quartz paws clacked daintily against the cobblestones as a crystalline creature which could only loosely be called a rat shook the last drops of mud from its fractured pelt.

The original did not look at the copy, and neither did the copy look at the original. Instead both turned and ran in different directions, futilely searching for something only they could know to find.

Two blocks away a young girl slumped against a building, pressing her palms into her eyes to stave off the headache that came with the adding of another perspective to the choir constantly dragging at her attention. At this point the pain was becoming too great, and she swore to herself that this would be the last.

A few minutes later an emerald eagle flew behind a broken window, and two flew back out.

"Chiara," Teresa grabbed her shoulder suddenly. The holy woman held her upright even as the throbbing in her skull nearly sent her tumbling to the ground. "Are you alright?"

"'m fine," she grunted, blinking between eagle and rat and mouse and eagle again and again and again. It was too many threads to follow, but she did not need all to be perfect—only one to find her friend, and then the rest could be discarded.

Teresa sighed, putting a hand against her forehead. With a murmured prayer the pain abated for a moment, but once the hand was gone it simply slammed back all the harder.

"You're pushing yourself too much, brat," the Crusader grunted, shaking her when she didn't respond. The sudden motion nearly made her vomit. "You won't find Palmira if you pass out from the strain already."

"Already," she gurgled, barely collecting herself enough to speak. "It's been hours! Maybe… maybe more. If something's happened to her… I need to help… I'll search the whole… whole city if I have to."

"You'll break your brain if you do that, dumbass," Teresa groaned. "Pace yourself, you're no good to her if you give yourself a concussion. Leo agrees with me, right Leo?"

Leo grunted, the Orc merely looming behind them as he had since they'd left the guild. While very useful if then ended up in a fight, right now he was decidedly unhelpful.

"That's not good enough!" Chiara hissed, eyes narrowed murderously. "There could be a whole Demon Lord after her! What if… what if she's already…"

"Hey," Teresa's eyes softened, even as her grip on the younger girl's shoulder tightened. "Hey. Don't even think like that. Palmira's fine. She's a stubborn little shithead with her own fucked up staff to protect her. She's fine, okay?"

"Perhaps not as fine as you think."

The two women jumped, spinning around at the sudden interruption. Leo was already facing the person, though had seemingly decided not to warn them, the ass.

Though perhaps he had good reason, as she recognized the man who approached.

Sinbad the Paladin walked up to them, his good eye dark and his mouth drawn in a painful grimace.

"…Sinbad?" Teresa asked cautiously, narrowing her eyes at the man. "What are you doing here? Wait, no, actually what did you mean by that? What do you know about Palmira?"

"I know far more about the girl than I'd like, though I imagine far less than you two," he sighed, coming to a stop a few feet away from them. Even with her attention mostly taken up by her scouts, Chiara couldn't help but notice something off about the man. "But I've learned something that I felt compelled to inform you of. The girl—Palmira—was corrupted by the Demon Lord Nypholeph, and is being dragged out of the city as we speak."

That… what? Corrupted!?

Chiara felt everything else fall away, even the pounding in her skull replaced by a quiet horror at learning her friend's fate.

"…Bullshit."

Teresa stalked forward, planting herself directly in front of the Paladin and pressed a finger into his chest. "There's no way she was corrupted. I checked her immediately after the crisis was over, just like I did everyone in the guild! I know she was safe, Sinbad!"

The man was silent for a long moment, simply staring at her quietly.

"…She must have come across somebody else who was corrupted after the fact," he murmured, a dark grimace twisting across his face. "I doubt the All-Seeing played all of its cards at once. There's no telling how many could still be hidden in the city, quietly waiting for their master's command."

The holy woman's frown deepened, but she found she had no way to refute him. It was easily possible, especially now when order was in short supply.

But it was not the how that was important right now.

"Do you…" Chiara took a deep breath, letting some of her scouts disintegrate so she could focus on the conversation before her. "Do you know where she is now? If we could stop her before…!"

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"Unfortunately, I do not," he shook his head. "I only know her destination, and even that was information hard fought. I could not tell you if she is even still in the city."

"But we must still have time to save her!" she snapped, feeling her fingers crackle as she clenched them. "She couldn't have gotten too far yet!"

"You aren't wrong, if you are skilled and lucky enough. But she's almost certainly out of the city by now, and getting further every minute that passes. You'll need to move fast if you don't want her to vanish into the wind."

"Then what are we waiting for!?"

Unfortunately, not everyone here seemed to agree with her.

"Hold. You've clashed with the Demon Lords before, haven't you Sinbad?" Teresa crossed her arms, her rhetorical question sounding almost mocking. "You were one of the people who 'slew' the Lich-King back in the day, after all. Surely if you know this much, you must have some way of tracking someone who's been corrupted, don't you?"

"As I've said before, I am unable to do so. But I can at least tell you where she is being taken, and let that inform you of your path forward," he told them. "Beyond the old heartlands of the Lich-King, in the western reaches of the Demon Lands, you will find the core of the Demon Lord Nypholeph's power. In the catacombs beneath the city Lumiere, buried deep and dark, you will find the Lord itself, a twisted abomination aping a nobility it does not possess. If there is anywhere it is taking the girl, it would be there."

Chiara felt her determination solidify, now with concrete direction rather than the aimless flailing they'd been doing up until now. Instantly she pulled her scouts away from their previous orders and sent them west, as though if they were fast enough they might be able to catch up to Palmira already.

"If that is all," he gave the three of them a final nod, turning to leave. "Then I'll leave you too your work. You have my prayers that you find the girl—the world has lost too many good souls already."

"Wha—that's it?" Teresa exclaimed incredulously, glaring at the man's back. "You come to us, tell us a Demon Lord has kidnapped one of our friends, give us vague directions on where to go, and then you—Sinbad the Paladin, the man who slew the Lich-King—has the gall to turn around and leave without even offering to help? Surely you can at least—!"

"I cannot!" he cut her off, the Paladin refusing to even turn around. Then he sighed, his tone softening even as his shoulders slumped. "I cannot, Teresa. Leave it at that. Please."

And without another word he walked away, leaving a fuming holy woman, a scowling Half-Elf, and Leo, who was also there.

And so, with a heavy heart, they returned to the guild, preparing alone to chase down their lost friend.

-<X>-

Fernando hummed a soft tune as he sat against a wall on the outskirts of Firozzi. The sun had long since begun to set, casting the city in orange and gold as day fell into night. It was a good day for travel, not too cold and skies clear and bright. It was a shame he'd have to start so late, but what can you do? Delays happen, it was best to suck it up and deal with these things as they came.

The wagon sat stationary beside him, packed to the brim with clothes and grain and gear. It was everything his family would need for their trip out to the countryside. They'd been prepping for months now, ever since… well, he didn't really remember why they'd decided to go in the first place. His memory wasn't great at the best of times unfortunately, but the why wasn't as important here. It'd been years since he'd last taken off work, and he was already looking forward to the break from the hum-drum day-to-day.

So here he was, everything packed and prepared, just waiting for the rest of the family to come join him.

His uni-auroch began to grunt and stomp its feet suddenly, and the older man let out a groan at the sight.

"Always something with you Lele, isn't it?" He asked as he pushed himself off the ledge, circling around to the wagon. Grabbing a half-full back of oats he heaved them over to the spoiled bovine, offering her an evening snack to calm her down.

"Eat slowly now," he told her, not that she could understand him. Her single horn came down and nearly poked his eye out, but he moved out of the way absently, far too used to her games. "You don't want to cramp your stomachs while we're out on the road. Just because you're a cow doesn't mean we have to stop for you you know!"

There was a bit more shuffling and near-misses, but eventually the uni-auroch calmed down and began to eat. Slowly and warily, but he gave her her space. She'd always been a bit jumpy, and that was before she'd lost sight in her left eye. It took a soft hand to get her to do much of anything these days.

Soon the bag began to empty, and he pulled away with one last affectionate rub on the flank. The bovine watched him go with wary eyes, but he ignored her eccentricities through years of long practice.

Fernando settled in once again, but this time he didn't need to wait long.

Only a few minutes later wife came meandering down the old road, carrying their little girl on her back like she was a decade younger. From how she was drooling against her neck it looked like she'd tuckered herself out getting ready, and he felt himself smile at the sight.

"Good evening stranger!" his wife smiled prettily at him, her eyes twinkling in the dim light. "You happen to see a handsome young lad around these parts? My husband said he'd wait for me here, but I don't see hide nor hare of him anywhere!"

"I'm afraid I haven't seen any young men nearby, but trust me that I'm far more handsome than any of them," he shook his head in mock-regret, fighting down a smile. "But if your husband's not here, perhaps I could take his place for the night. I don't suppose a beautiful young lady like you needs a ride out of the city? My wagon's got enough room for two, after all."

"Careful now, I'm a married woman," she laughed, and before leaning in for a kiss and a hug. "Ah, Fern. Is everything ready?"

"It's all set," he smiled at her, lifting their daughter off her back. "Only two more important packages left to load and then we'll be ready to head off."

"Ah, thank you dear," she murmured, cracking her back. "I'm getting far too old to carry the girl anymore. Or maybe she's just getting too big! Oh, back when she was young I could… I could… hm…"

"Dear?" he frowned worriedly at her.

"Oh, nothing, nothing, just forgot what I was talking about," she waved him off. "You mind settling the girl in for me? I'm gonna jump in the front, stretch a bit before we head out."

Fernando nodded, smiling amusedly at his wife as she continued to grumble about her back. Heading over to the back of the wagon he gently laid the girl down alongside the firegrass and the water jugs, making sure she was comfortable while keeping her near the less flammable materials. It was always good to be careful, after all.

He then made sure to untie the toys she had on her waist, throwing them in the back as well. The mace was simple enough, though he paused on the staff, grimacing at the sight of it. Surely… surely the girl wouldn't mind if they just didn't bring it? It was so creepy…

But it was his daughter's favorite toy. They couldn't leave it behind.

The older man frowned, rubbing his chest. The heartburn had been getting worse recently—too much city air, he supposed. Ah, maybe that was why he decided on this trip. The fresh air would do him good.

Nodding to himself he tossed the toy into the back of the cart, ignoring how it screamed and shouted at him. Toys didn't talk, naturally, so he wasn't going to be bothered by something that didn't know the proper way of things.

With the last of the cargo packed and squared away, he joined his beautiful wife at the front of the cart, settling in for a long drive. Cracking the reigns the wagon began to move, and the aging couple sang a cheerful tune as they drove their way out of the city. The journey would be long, but they couldn't wait to get to their destination.

It had been far too long since they'd last seen Grandfather, after all.

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