//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 // Story: Yes, My Lady // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// As part of the cover Sebastian had given for 'Citrine's behavior, he and Scootaloo were given a room with a view of the setting sun, along with several candles to give the room full illumination. Sebastian then waited patiently for His Lady to regain her composure, knowing that if it was something that had caused her to relive trauma - as it had felt to him through the Link of the Contract - it would likely be several hours before she fully recovered. He settled himself around her so she was comfortable and protected, and then waited. As per the terms of the Contract, unless something related to his Duties called him away, he would wait forever. As per his request, the pair were left alone until the following day, save for meals left just inside the door. It was just after sunset when the dinner offering - a rather simple salad for each of them - arrived, and as he arose to place them on the small table that Scootaloo finally stirred. She sat up slowly, blinking her visible eye as she almost instantly gained complete control of herself. As she moved to hop up into her seat on the table, Sebastian sat across from her. "Tell me what you saw," he instructed softly. This was not actually a request for information. As her servant, he didn't need the information unless she decided he did. However, having her speak it to him would allow her to organize the information and deal with it intellectually, without the emotional impact. Scootaloo slowly ate her salad as she let her mind move back over those events, her weather magic working internally as her heart became surrounded by a deep cold to keep her reactions under control. "Beneath the Tower of Death is an abattoir," she murmured softly, her voice completely monotone. "The dead are laid out on tables like a morgue, with a light to feign respect...but there are no spells to preserve the dead, no true respect, not even a spell to contain the stench. And the dead have been desecrated. Pieces of their flesh have been carved off, including all wings and horns. Pieces of flesh that match the cut portions in shape but show signs of having been cut from living flesh rest next to the bodies. The tables stretch back into the dim room, further than I can see. The scent assails my nostrils...the scent..." She began to shake as the ice around her heart started to crack. "Come back," Sebastian instructed firmly, reaching forward and pressing one talon against her nose. Scootaloo's eye crossed in response, and she came back to herself. Scootaloo shook her head as she dispelled the recollections, focusing on them as nothing but a set of facts. "Whatever this is, it's no simple religion," she stated flatly. "Does it mean anything to you? What I've described, I mean?" Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. "There are numerous possibilities based on my experience," he allowed. "However, I am not native to this world. There is no telling what of my experience might apply here, and any that don't might color your expectations, and thus your perceptions. As such, it is best I not divulge any of my experience until we have more information. All the same..." His voice trailed off, scratching the underside of his beck with one talon. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "All the same?" she coached firmly. "Nothing in my experience involving such things would ever be qualified as 'good' for mortals by anyone sane," Sebastian concluded. "I know not what purpose such things could have here, but it would be best to be careful. Given what has been perceived, it would be best none learned of our suspicions...and that we left as soon as possible." "Not yet," Scootaloo countered. "There's one more place we need to investigate." "...the Tower of Life," Sebastian allowed, his voice resigned. "You are not making it easy to keep you safe." "If it were an easy task, I'd have brought Flamberge," Scootaloo stated bluntly. "It doesn't need to be easy if I brought you...now does it?" Sebastian grinned softly. "Agreed. I would not be worth my salt if I could not do this much." Scootaloo looked out the window. "It's after sunset," she observed calmly. "As soon as I've finished eating, we'll move." She slowly started pulling back on the 'mourning outfit', though this time slipping a black bodysuit on underneath it that had been hidden in the one suitcase they'd brought, which Sebastian had claimed contained 'Citrine's medicine for 'panic attacks, among other things'. "You'll take me for a walk in the night air, and when we aren't being observed I'll 'slip away in the dark', and make my way into the Tower of Life." "And should you be discovered, I'll be at your side immediately, apologizing for your wandering," Sebastian confirmed. "So young and undergone such recent tragedy...you plainly weren't ready to be amongst people again as yet." Scootaloo grinned, glad to see that - as always - they were on the same page. "Then let's go." The grounds of the monastery at night were deathly quiet, with not even the sounds of the desert around it penetrating into the interior. Sebastian led Scootaloo around for a time, but their original plan was thwarted upon the discovery that the door into the Tower of Life was locked. Scootaloo considered ordering Sebastian to break it down, but knew that even if he was successful, the noise would draw far too much attention and they'd lose their chance to discover anything. Not only that, it was a magical lock rather than a physical one, making it impossible to pick since they still didn't know what sort of magic it was. It seemed like it would be impossible to get in...until they saw green light approaching from the entrance to the Tower of Death. At a sign from Scootaloo, Sebastian seized her and pulled them both up to the underside of the roof of the covered path, allowing the group to pass by without noticing them. Scootaloo saw the group consisted of four of the clergy - it was impossible to tell from this angle if they were Sisters or Brothers - with horns illuminated with green light in a four square around a congregant in a white robe who was supporting a pony in a black robe, who staggered along as though they were in extreme pain but refused to let even a single sound escape his lips. The group was making a beeline to the Tower of Life at a slow and steady pace. Sebastian didn't need to be told what to do. Shifting Scootaloo to between himself and the roof, he made his way carefully along after the group, making sure the shadows cast by the green light would hide them both. However, despite their best efforts, they weren't able to get into the Tower after the group before the door sealed behind them. "The Tower of Death was open air at the top," Scootaloo whispered. Nodding, Sebastian shifted Scootaloo to his back, then silently took to the skies. Once above the tower, he was able to see clearly down onto it, and mentally recorded every detail so he could pass it on to His Lady later. From what he could see, the Tower top was completely flat, but covered in runic designs. There was a spiral staircase descending down into it, up which the group they had witnessed ascended. In the exact center of the tower roof was a hole, through which green fire rose in a continuous stream. -Warning- And then the stallion let his black robe drop as he approached the green flame, and the cause of his pain became visible. Bits of his flesh had been surgically removed, and chunks of dead flesh stitched in their place. The stallion was a unicorn...and part of the stitched on dead flesh included a partially decayed set of wings. At the guidance of the clergy, he stepped into the green flame. To the eyes of the congregant, it must have looked like a magical transformation...but Sebastian saw more clearly. The stallion fell into the fires and burned away without scent...and something arose from the fire wearing his image, stepping out of the fire with no sign of dead flesh on him, and a healthy set of wings in addition to his horn. -Warning- Only a few things in Sebastian's experience explained what he had just witnessed, and all of them said that if he was to protect his Charge, he had to get out of there now. "We are leaving immediately," he whispered urgently to Scootaloo as he winged back down into their room, grabbing everything they had brought. "What did you see-" Scootaloo began to demand. "I will tell you when we are back in Applewood," Sebastian interrupted. "Forgive my disrespect, but I cannot achieve your vengeance for you if you are dead." Nodding, Scootaloo clung to Sebastian's back as he flew straight for Applewood.