Lily without conscious thought, instantly knelt down and pricked
herself with a shard of glass. From that dot of blood she drew forth a small
sphere of bone. She then smashed it onto the ground and it disintegrated with
an incredible light. The intensity was reflected throughout the vault. The
creature had not vanished, rather its image had now been carried in the light.
Eryn and Shroud were, for a split second, blinded and as it faded, the after
image of the flayed creature melted into the dark. Lily ran as fast as she
could, the glass below crunching under her feet. The mirrored panels were fracturing
towards her, a tip of the creatures flesh touching the mirror where it split. It flitted, mirror to mirror, it's eye
never blinking. The shattering of the glass beneath its tip oozed tar like
blood with sheen of oil. It was slashing itself on the glass intentionally.
With each successive movement more and more poured forth. She dodged left and
right, glass now blasting from their fixtures.
Her aimless flight took her stumbling over the others and there was
silence. Only her frantic breathing and the mirrors crunching under them.
She tried to explain to them what she had seen but before
she could finish they both interrupted with the same image. She confirmed that
whatever it was in here with them, it was behind the mirrors, possible trapped,
but violently desperate to get out. Hollow, metallic banging echoed in the
chamber. Both Eryn and Shroud told Lily that they had to look after Neave, who
seemed to be in a more stable condition and urged her to go check it out. With
clenched fists she skulked around the storage pillars, keeping the sides at arm's
length. On her way she tried to poke what looked like rippling in the glass,
only for it to crack and fall to the floor. She knelt down to where the banging
was coming from. The glass was vibrating under her touch but it was not
rippling, this was something else. She shone her glowglobe in both directions
to the left and right before taking out her lock picking tools. There were muffled
cries now coming from the container as she worked, there was someone alive.
With a final clink she pulled out the drawer and looked inside and was disappointed.
Chloe blankly blinked at her, clutching the bag and flower. Lily turned around
and took one step to walk away from Chloe, when in the corner of her eye she
saw the creature coming towards them at speed. She grabbed the now standing Chloe
by the wrist and pulled her to the group but they had gone. She dare not call
out and covered Chloe's mouth when she tried to speak. She put a finger on her
lip and sternly looked at Chloe, whose eyes had gone from amazement to terror. Mirror
smashed in the dark. A guttural almost serpent like roar shattered any mirror
still standing. Then there was silence again.
Lily heard Eryn's shout and for a split second considered
not to go. It was foolish of him to shout in a chamber that echoed with a
predator like that, and perhaps the creature could mimic his voice. If she was
to die here, she would meet it face on, it was the now only option left. She
caught glimmers of the light of their glowglobes; some in the mirror but most
from blood dripping from the now empty frames. They could still see it, in the shards on the
floor, its writhing mass trying to force its way through. Eryn had found the
way out and they left as quickly as they could. It was a relief to find the
mirror to reception still intact. On the other side however it would seem the
creature had broken through. The salesman that had discussed Styenbeck's finances had been flayed open by
glass, with large shards lodged all over his body. The room was immaculate
otherwise, he seemed to have just died in his chair. The blood dripped to the
marble below and in small droplets slid across the floor to form a line from
the centre to the mirror behind his corpse. The receptionist stepped through
carrying another tray of refreshments from the other side and screamed when she
saw the body. The metal tray crashed to the floor with the delicate plates and
cups a steaming scattered mosaic.
Shroud instantly accused her of the man's death and the
assault of Neave. She screamed at his aggressive behaviour and collapsed into
sobbing. Eryn knelt down to the woman and asked if there was somewhere they
could rest Neave. She nodded, and pointed to the mirror behind. There was now distant
shouting of men, perhaps they attacked. Lily listened to each mirror and found
the voices were coming from the main mirror in to the room. She poked her head
through and saw two Grapnel guards. There were discussing the uncanny knowledge
of Ironspur and his strange requests since he was promoted. Each remark ended
with a curse towards him, being a weak merchant than a fighter. They were
looking for a necromancer and that meant her.
She silently slipped back through and grabbed Chloe and told
everyone to get into the room next to this one. After they had all passed
through the receptionist put her hand on the glass, it shined with octagonal
glowing markings. They could now hear more guards entering the room. They all
reacted, to Lily's surprise, with pretty weak stomachs, some almost vomiting
just after arrival. They were ordered to search the room to which they found
everything in order. Then it was the turn of the rooms adjacent. The group
tried to hide as well as they could. It was a cross between a dormitory, a kitchen
and a lounge and offered ample hiding space, if you knew where to look. Unfortunately
for Lily, her over attentiveness to the room beyond left her vulnerable, so too
did Shroud's lack of self care for his own anonymity. Chloe on the other had
had a perfectly good hiding position, but with terrified screams and ramblings
under her breath she stepped out.
The guards arrested them all on the spot. They were having
to restrain Lily's servant girl for unstable afflictions and that, if she girl
did not behave, she would be handed over to the Aeon Priests to further study. Shroud said his goodbye to Neave, who was
slowly coming around to consciousness. Eryn, who was next to her, confirmed a
plan to meet up outside the Academy as soon as it was safe. Shroud only hoped
that his link could carry across the city.
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