deathwish [solo mission]

Eventually, Sovereign made it out into a clearing, emerging from the dead forest and beginning to see rubble, scrap metal and tires scattered around the area. It was almost like a trail, an indicator to show travellers that they were near the town. There wasn't very much of it, since he supposed a town in such a desolate region would need every resource they could gather. But as he headed closer,  he began to see the so called wards of magic that protected the people from the mana beasts in the area. 

They were grotesque and demonic, amalgamations of magic given solid form and the bloodied remains of corpses. Yet at the same time, he was so fascinated by them he might have called them beautiful. "That's not why we're here." One Sovereign said to a few others that had been entranced by them. "Careful, look at them too long and you might turn to stone."

"I'm more concerned about them turning me into one of those things." One jested, all of them grinning as the group made their way past the threshold and into the town. 

But the moment he set foot past the invisible barrier of effigies, his duplicates collapsed into dust, their bodies dissipating into heaps of ash right at the border before a gust of wind swept it all away. Sovereign, the real and remaining one, stopped instantly in his tracks when it happened. He needn't look behind him to know they had gone, for he felt a strange anomaly in his mana, a gap of where it once was. The sudden void of mana made him feel sick. Not just physically, but emotionally. 

It was hard to find a location to ask questions when all the buildings looked the same. He was hoping to find a shop, or a tavern, maybe even a community hall of some kind. Maybe there was some kind of way to differentiate them all, or perhaps it was purposely made that way so only the townsfolk knew their way around. But maybe that was just Sovereign being paranoid...

"Dammit," He cursed, "I'm beginning to sound like my brother."

William was always paranoid, and it lead to his death, risking Quatro Cerberus and a few emotional events involving Sovereign. He lifted a hand to his mask, resting his fingers against the cold metal. His older brother was the reason he wore this mask, at first because of embarrassment of the wound inflicted upon his face, but now as a means of remembering him. 

Sovereign smiled to himself, thinking of the strange relationship he had with his brother. But when he was the only family he had at the time, he could never be hateful or fearful towards him. But now there's only one Pale left, remaining to fix other peoples messes and gain the power and strength his deserves. 

No longer caring about who he may intrude on, Sovereign knocked loudly on the front door(?) of the closest building. He assumed that the collection of tires was the entrance, as it was the only area that had rubber while the rest was made of wood and stone. He waited for a while, before he heard a meek "H- hello?" coming from inside. 

Finally, someone who can answer some questions. 

"No, no, no." She mumbled, looking up at him from beneath her messy fringe that hung in her face. "Someone's got here before you. She attacked us, breaking into Alois' home and... I don't know now. Everybody has been hiding in their homes for most of the day now."

How peculiar, that someone would force entry into this town and steal an effigy without giving notice of accepting the mission. Not only does that mean it could mess up with his payment, but someone has now ran off with a dangerous artefact with some kind of purpose. Sovereign had got himself into a situation more complicated than he had signed up for. "I see. Did you get a good look at this person?"

She nodded, rubbing her temple as if the memory was painful to think of, "I think... Gold. Yes, she had a gold mask on and dark clothes. Then there was this weapon she possessed. It bent light to her will." 

Sovereign tapped his chin, "You say this person had a mask on, how do you know she's female?"

"Her figure, her voice. It's what everyone else in the town thinks." 

"Is she still here? How long ago was all this?" Sovereign was getting concerned now, but also more interested in the matter. A weapon that bent light? And something so powerful it managed to break through the towns defenses? Now that is something that needed to be controlled.

"About an hour ago, I think she grabbed the effigy and left. Nobody knows who this person is or why they attacked. She's strong. Our wards didn't even dampen her magic one bit, and our own spells were powerless against her."

Nodding, he paced around the room and pieced it together. Yes, it would make sense that their powers wouldn't work against that of light. That's if to assume the rumours of the people here using dark magic were true, but for the wards to not even weaken her slightly? It sent shivers down his spine. Sovereign hoped he did not meet her any time soon, Guild Master he may be, he was new and weak, yet to possess the power that matched the title. 



 

Once again, he was back out in the clearing of this empty town. Everyone holed up inside the safety of their rubble and rust, likely watching him through the gaps of their homes as he wandered around. He wasn't sure what was worse, not knowing that he was being watched or knowing that he had the town's eyes on him now. Cracking his neck, he headed in the direction that was said, and this time keeping a more watchful eye on the surrounding area. 

"Definitely signs of magic." He whispered to himself, seeing strange scorch marks along the ground and even ethernano residue from some of the building that had been caught in the crossfire. 

The closer he got to the back of the town, the more noticeable the damage was. In fact, the scorch marks now had an odd glow to them, much like its own source of light. Could this be the aftermath of the intruders attacks? Careful as to not touch any of it, he'd step over some of the burnt earth and swiftly make his way to a larger source of light, which he assumed was where the main attack had happened. 

"Scout the area." He verbalised, as he attempted to summon his clones. Sadly, although he attempted to make three, the magic dampening effects of the effigies only allowed for one other to be made. They looked at each other and shrugged, before the duplicate jogged ahead, being sure to share its senses with the other Sovereign. 


 

"I want to figure out who did this and why." They both said in unison, a drive to complete this mystery beginning to grow and showing in their fierce tone of voice. They looked down at the body together, fascinated by the injuries and magical residue that hung around the area. "We might be able to use this." 

Before they could inspect further, the sound footsteps could be heard from behind. They both spun around, grabbing their maces and assuming a defensive stance, ready to strike if need be. Growing louder, a shadow soon followed from around the corner, and following it was an older man with a scruffy beard and goggles on his head. Despite his fairly steampunk-ish look, he still had a variety of magical trinkets like amulets and voodoo dolls strapped to his belt. 

"Ah, I see you found my brother, Wyatt." He said calmly, adjusting the goggles slightly before crossing his stocky arms. "You must be the one here to pick up the effigy. I'm Alois."

Sovereign sighed with relief, standing up straight and lowering his mace. "Ah, I thought you were dead." The two both said, "I was worried we'd never understand what was going on here."

Alois also sighed, staring down at his dead brother. "Someone came to steal an effigy, that is all. I suggest the two of you just forget about this." Grabbing a pouch from a leather pouch on his pocket, he'd chuck it over to them, "The jewel, for your troubles."
 
The duplicate reached out and caught it in his hands, surprised at how weighty it was. Could it really just be regular payment, or was this more of bribe money to stop him from pursuing this further? 

"I don't understand. Someone's stolen the thing you wanted disposed of and you want me to just forget about it? I spoke to some townspeople, they sounded rather distressed by this invader."

Alois raised an eyebrow, "You spoke to them? About what?" There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, perhaps not happy with the fact that the townspeople were talking with an outsider about matters that didn't concern him. 

"Doesn't matter, like you said." Sovereign said smugly, both copies smiling together.