//------------------------------// // 38. The Seer // Story: The Trials of Shmarity: an Ogres and Oubliettes Story // by TheMessenger //------------------------------// 38. The Seer An anguished wail filled the air as Alharir openly wept. She flung herself over Aibnatu and pulled her into a tight embrace, much to the embarrassment of Aibnatu and all those around them, including a number of curious onlookers that had wandered near the gathered crowd. “Mother, please. You promised you would not cause a scene,” the young mare moaned, but the protest only drove Alharir to strengthen her constrictive hold, and despite Aibnatu’s pleading look, no one, not Biala Diyn nor Steel Nerves nor Rarity, dared move to intervene. In the end, it was Tariq who finally managed to separate his wife from their daughter. “It is time to go,” he said with a solemn sigh as he all but carried the sobbing mare back to their wagon. “I know, love, I know, but it is getting late, and we must be off. Do not worry, I am sure another opportunity will arise, and we will visit again soon enough.” Aibnatu shook her head as she also let out a sigh. “Please keep them safe,” she said to Biala and Steel. Biala placed a hoof over his chest and bowed his head. “On my honor, no harm shall befall upon them.” “Hey, you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s what we were paid to do,” said Steel, his chest proudly puffed out and his head held high before turning to Rarity. “So, uh, guess this is it then. You sure you‘re not gonna tag along?” Rarity gave the minotaur a sad little smile. “I’m afraid there are still a couple of things I have to take of before I can leave the schools.” Her thoughts turned to three days prior, to the moment she had crossed the lavender veil and returned to previous area with the basins and the glass urns and the garrison of skeletons. Only two of the three aforementioned still remained when Rarity got back as according to the rest of the party, the moment she had disappeared behind the curtains, the ground suddenly opened up and swallowed the entire skeletal company before closing while the ash that made up the remaining shadows immediately returned to their containers. Once Rarity finished convincing every creature that she was alright and had retrieved her dropped dagger, they resumed their short rest, taking the time to gather their energy, address their wounds, and discuss what Rarity saw on the other side. The group’s skepticism was to be expected, Rarity had no delusions to how ridiculous her supposed encounter with some massive ghostly alicorn sounded, but Rarity was surprised to see that what support she did receive came not from the pious Biala but from Miss Athkatla Bones. As it so happened, the diamond dog had heard of this Moonmaiden, a deity from a long forgotten pantheon, a goddess of the moon, of life and knowledge, and though her knowledge on Selune was limited, just confirming her past existence lent Rarity’s claim credence. If that wasn’t enough, the sudden lack of the critical wound Rarity had sustained on her leg earlier certainly gave the others pause. There wasn’t even a leftover mark or scar, and the previous pain had already faded from her memory. They left the temple soon after catching their breath, which suited Rarity just fine now that she had gotten exactly what she came here to retrieve. The whole possibility of an actual, potentially wrathful deity dwelling within these walls on top of their clash with those endless skeletons and their ash directors tempered the group’s collective curiosity and avarice, and they left the remaining locked tombs alone. It, however, didn’t stop Athkatla and Steel from raiding the pile of loot that had already been gathered, and when they had finally stepped out of the temple and gulped down their first breath of fresh air in several hours, the pockets of Rarity’s saddlebags were bulging with silver. They had arrived at the schools’s entrance tower and returned to town some time in the late afternoon, their expedition having taken much of the day. A liaison from the school of necromancy was there to greet them at the main campus building and to let them know that Dean von Zarovich would not be available until the next day. Any reports would have to wait until morning, so after a celebratory meal of flaky pastries and several rounds of fizzy fruit drinks, the party went their separate ways. That following morning, Rarity alone returned to the cathedral in the center of town where she met up with Elkraps Thigliwt. Before going to bed the previous evening, Rarity had let the dean of the school of evocation know of her success through her borrowed sending stone, and as the two mares made their way up to von Zarovich’s office, Rarity did her best to describe her little adventure and answer as many of Elkraps’s questions as she could in a manner that didn’t quite violate her agreement of secrecy. As far as the evoker was aware, exploring the temple of Valmeyjar for von Zarovich was what the necromancer had demanded in return for his services, and not surprisingly, the lack of details left Elkraps largely unsatisfied. Sergei von Zarovich had not been the only being waiting in his office for Rarity. Two additional ponies in similarly dark robes, a gaunt stallion with the largest rings over his eyes that Rarity had ever seen and an older unicorn mare whose long mane stripped with sections of snow white between ash grays was braided into her matching beard, flanked von Zarovich’s desk. “Professor Hollows,” von Zarovich had introduced, motioning to the exhausted-looking stallion before moving to the unicorn. “Madam Enyaba. They are, shall we say, experts in this regard.” He waited for everyone to finish exchanging salutations and nods then cleared his throat and turned to Elkraps. “Dean Thigliwt, if you wouldn’t mind giving us some privacy. This is, after all, strictly necromancy business.” Elkraps’s lips pursed together into a scowl, but she nodded and had left the room after giving Rarity a look of encouragement, her appearance softening to allow a small smile. The door closed with a click, and the three remaining mages turned their attention back to Rarity. “So, Princess Shmarity.” The bald stallion tapped his hooves together, but Rarity could see that they were trembling with an impatient eagerness. “What did you find?” Rarity told her tale, this time without any limitations or censoring. Her audience looked mostly disinterested until near the end when she got to her meeting with Selune. That tidbit caused a visible stir among the trio of necromancers, and the thin stallion on von Zarovich’s right would have interjected had his dean not quieted him. Rarity then opened her saddlebags and carefully laid the three scrolls Selune had granted her on the desk in front of them. She watched their eyes grow wide and hungry as their hooves slowly crept toward the rolls of parchment until at last von Zarovich picked one up. “Can you, give us a moment please?” he asked, his gaze glued to the scroll and mustache twitching with each nervous swallow. “We, need to perform a few identification tests and, standard procedures, make some records. Shouldn’t take us too long, you can just wait outside. We’ll let you back when we’re finished.” She stepped out as requested and waited with Elkraps until after some several minutes, the unicorn had to attend to her own obligation and left Rarity to survive the rest of the uneventful, hoof twiddling half hour by herself. Eventually, the door reopened for her, and she was invited back inside. The stallion behind the desk gently tapped the now unraveled scroll, and sighed as he looked up to Rarity. “This, is an incredible find. It certainly is the most powerful necromancy spell I’ve ever been privy to,” said von Zarovich while his assistants nodded in agreement. “To be able to return a multitude of souls back their ruined bodies and restore them to the fullness of life even after a hundred years of decay,” Enyaka had muttered before breaking into a soft crackle. “We should not be so surprised to learn that divine magic is involved.” “And in only a matter mere seconds,” added Hollows with a scowl upon his face. “Bah. It’s too good of a spell to be real, and to think we’ll be giving one away like this.” Rarity ignored the last comment. “So then, this is what I’ve been looking for, isn’t it? I can use this spell to save my friends.” “Well, yes, about that,” von Zarovich had started to say, and Rarity saw that he had a less than encouraging grimace on his face. “Theoretically, it should revive your friends without issue, though you are going to need at least a piece of each of their corpses and their spirit must be willing and available, but there is another, complication. Now we agreed that you would be provided with one of these spell scrolls, and rest assured that I fully intent to honor our arrangement, but you should know that they aren’t quite finished yet.” “The magic may have worn off over time, or the scribe may have simply left the spell incomplete for some reason,” the stallion named Hollows had interjected before Rarity could recover and demand an explanation. “Whatever the cause, the spells are now missing a very key component, and without it these scrolls are little more than old parchment. Still immensely valuable for study, much less so for any practical use.” Rarity’s heart had sunk like a stone. “Is it possible to complete the spell?” she asked. “If we had the missing material, then yes, most likely,” von Zarovich answered, and the others nodded. “We may not be versed in divine magic, but given that everything else is already in place, it should only take us a little time. The only issue we’d have would be acquiring the necessary component, which could take, I’d say, a few months or so.” “A few months?” Rarity repeated, her growing despair apparent in her voice. “At least. The school of necromancy only has so many diamonds, all of which have already been allocated for other projects, and getting more at this time will be challenging. The budget for the school has already been set for this quarter, and the deficit resulting from such a large and sudden purchase would no doubt draw unwanted attention.” “Wait, did you say—“ Rarity quickly rummaged through the pockets of her cloak until she found the sack Sir Gustford had given her the morning of her departure. She nearly ripped the cloth bag apart in her haste and let its contents tumble out. “Will this be enough?” she had asked, pointing to the mound of bright, shiny diamonds that now occupied a portion of the table’s surface. The three mages, once they had gotten over their shock, took a few minutes to pick out the largest of the stones and check them for imperfections. “Yes, this should suffice,” von Zarovich said when they finished their examination, and at his direction, the ponies at his left and his right gathered the diamonds and the scrolls and carefully stored them in a chest. “The completion process will take us about a week at most. We will meet again then, but for now, if you would excuse us, there is much we need to get done.” Almost two days had passed since that meeting, and in the days that followed since she was ushered out of von Zarovich’s office, Rarity once again struggled to keep herself occupied. Any activities she attempted just blurred together into a dull mess as her impatience that was worsened by how close she was to achieving her end goal made it difficult to concentrate on anything else, and before she knew it, Biala came to inform her that it was time for them to go. “Well, alright then,” Steel Nerves said, pulling Rarity back to the present. “Hope you finish whatever it is you’re trying to do soon, and, uh, good luck making your way back home. It’s been fun.” Steel stepped to the side to allow Tariq and Alharir, now she had regained some of her composure, to say their goodbyes and some words of thanks. Then came a line of the mares and fillies Rarity had helped liberate, and finally, at the very end, it was Biala Diyn’s turn. The stallion laid a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder, and with the other he held up his holy symbol. “May you find still waters and peaceful pastures in all your travels. May your steps always land upon solid ground, and may good fortune and health forever be your companions, until it is your time to return to the Green.” Biala opened his eyes at the prayer’s end. “I wish you the best of luck, Madam Rarity. Fare you well.” “Thank you, Sir Biala. Farewell.” The crowd walked off towards the edge of town, and slowly it shrunk until her old traveling companions disappeared from Rarity’s view. There was a hefty sigh and a sniff from the mare next to her, and after a short acknowledgement, Rarity and Aibnatu parted, their paths splitting as Aibnatu went back to the main building and Rarity headed towards the Hag’s Haven. The sun neared the horizon, painting a small section of the darkening sky deep red, and as Rarity continued down the street, her heart grew heavy. She was alone again. As of this hour, her fellow travelers were her fellows no longer, and though they hadn’t interacted all that much since their arrival at the schools, at least Rarity knew that they were all somewhere in town. She shook her head and took in a deep breath. The actualization of the group’s departure without her meant that Rarity now needed a new way to journey safely through the desert, though that was comparatively simple concern when considering that she also had to figure out how to get back to Spiketopia. Coming up with a means of returning to Spiketopia, thinking of a plan to retrieve Spike and Discord’s bodies from the Squid Wizard and possibly to topple the villain themself, oh, and she still needed to follow up on the Queen of Fey’s clue and restore her horn and magic. Even with a way to save her friends secured and her primary purpose for coming here on the verge of being fulfilled, Rarity still had much to get done, and dwelling on her new loneliness was only going to prolong her streak of unproductiveness. Rarity stopped to take a seat on a roadside bench, and from her bag she got out that little red stone with a face. Good evening, Dean Thigliwt,[i/] she silently spoke as she held the stone to her forehead and felt its buzz. Sorry for the disturbance, but I require your assistance with some matters. Can we meet at your earliest convenience? Thank you. A couple of seconds passed without a response, then, Understood. I’ll have to check schedule. Will contact you once I know my next availability. If it’s urgent, let me know first thing tomorrow morning. Soon after, the stone ceased its humming, and Rarity put it away. There really wasn’t a whole lot else she could accomplish in the few remaining hours of the day, but it was at least a start, and that was admittedly more than she had gotten done in the past few days. Tomorrow Rarity would need to focus on her investigation into where her horn might be, but for now, as her empty stomach was not so gently pointing out to her, it was time for supper. She continued on to the inn, and pretty soon she arrived at the establishment’s entrance. The pudgy raven perched on the sign cawed out a greeting as Rarity pushed open the door and stepped through. As always, the lobby was littered with cats strutting around like they owned the place. Who Rarity assumed to be the true owner of the inn, if only because she appeared to be the only sapient being working here, was at her desk, busy chatting away with a mare in a red hood. The receptionist cut her laughter short as she noticed Rarity approach her desk. “Ah, welcome back, dearie,” she said in that odd juvenescent tone that didn’t match her grandmotherly way of speech. “Heading off to dinner, eh? Well, be sure to save some room for dessert. You’re in for quite the treat tonight. Made that apple cobbler myself.” The mare in red tossed her head back and snorted, and in doing so, her hood fell back. Like the receptionist, there were wrinkles on the mare’s face and the gray in her mane, but the way she carried herself and the youthful life in those bright hazel eyes made Rarity secretly wonder just how many seasons the older mare had truly seen. Those girlish pigtails her mane was styled in only furthered Rarity’s bemusement as they swayed with the mare’s cackle. “You seeing something funny, Sister?” asked the receptionist with a raised brow. “Please. I don’t need to consult the cards to know what state your latrines will be in by tonight’s end.” The mare let out another loud snicker as she stepped out of the path of the receptionist’s swung pipe. “Oh, are the two of you siblings then?” The receptionist sighed and smiled. “In a sense, yes,” she said, answering Rarity’s question. “We were part of the same coven when we were younger. Ah, those were some wonderful times.” It took her a moment to shake off the look of nostalgia. “Ah, ahem. Well, don’t mind us, dearie, you go and enjoy that dinner and have a good night.” “Thank you, and you as well.” Rarity turned towards the hall leading to the dining room only to find her path blocked by the mare with the pigtails. The mare’s mouth was opened slightly as she stared at Rarity with a questioning look. “Oh, er, excuse me,” Rarity said, and she tried to move to the side and walk around, but the mare immediately shifted herself back in front of Rarity. Rarity held back her irritation and forced herself to smile politely. “I’m sorry, was there something you needed from me?” she asked, making sure to keep her tongue in check. “Hm?” The mare blinked, and her inquisitive expression turned instead to surprise. “Oh, no, it’s just, well.” She leaned forward, causing Rarity to take a step back. “You, child, have quite the interesting fate. Oh yes, a most interesting fate indeed. It shines so brightly, it would be blinding if it weren’t for the mist in the way.” The smile on Rarity’s face faltered as she continued to back away from the strange mare. She looked to the receptionist for assistance, but the mare at the desk simply watched with a thoughtful, curious frown. “I’m sorry, I’m not entirely sure I understand what you’re saying. Now, if you wouldn’t mind letting me pass, I’ll just be on my—“ “You’re, looking someone, aren’t you? No, not someone, something. Something lost, something magical.” The older mare’s eyes shut for about a moment before suddenly shooting open. “A horn perhaps, yes?” Rarity froze. “How did you—“ The mare gestured her to the coffee table, and after clearing the couch of cats, she took a seat and laid down a deck of ornate cards. “You are lost, my child,” she said as she shuffled the deck. “Confused, unsure. There is a cloud hanging over your fate. I can banish that cloud and help you find what you are searching for.“ She smiled and stopped her shuffling. “Provided, of course, that I receive proper compensation.” “You’re a fortune teller.” The grin became a sneer. “Oh child, no. I do not tell fortunes, I read fates. Now, would you like me to show you how yours will read?” Rarity’s suspicion clashed with her intrigue. The mare’s mention of her lost horn surely couldn’t have simply been a lucky guess, could it? She walked over to the opposite side of the table and stood directly across from the mare in red. “How much?” she asked. “Today I’m in a good mood, so I’ll be generous. That silver plate you’re carrying, the one with the Moonmaiden’s symbol, will do nicely,” said the mare, pointing a hoof toward the inner folds of Rarity’s robes. That confirmed it, the older mare in front of Rarity was clearly far more than what her odd but unassuming appearance suggested. Still, Rarity needed several long seconds to considered the proposal before she ultimately gave in and took out her souvenir from Valmeyjar’s temple. It was the last one she had after reluctantly selling the rest of her share of the artifacts to supplement her rapidly dwindling funds, each one worth enough to pay for several additional days at the Hag’s Haven, and after giving the plate one final look, she placed it down on the table. The mare clapped her hooves together. “Wonderful. Then let us begin,” she said, and she took out a pouch and from it poured sticks of incense and stalks of a bluish grass onto the plate. Then, with a spark produced by the flick of her hoof, she lit the grass and the incense and tossed a small, decorated wood effigy of a pony into the flame where it was swiftly consumed. The rest of the lobby disappeared as sweet scented smoke surround Rarity, the seer, and the table. “Oh fates, you who pave our paths,” the mare muttered, but despite the whispered tone the words were as clear to Rarity as they would have had they been shouted. “Grant me sight. Show me what this poor soul must do to find what is lost to her.” The sound of rustling drew Rarity’s eyes to the coffee table, and she saw that the deck was quivering untouched. The mare in red grabbed the shaking cards, and with a sweeping motion she laid out all of the cards in a cross. Now of the twenty or so cards spread over the table, only five still continued to move. The mare flipped those five over to expose their faces underneath, revealing the images of a regal mare sitting in a throne with a scepter in her grasp, an elder stallion in red stately robes and a matching form-fitting skullcap holding a book, a dark, imposing tower not unlike the one Rarity had first found herself in, a stallion hung upside down by the ankles of his hind legs, and finally a crescent moon in a starless night sky looking down upon a barren land. The mare studied the upright cards intensely, her braided pigtails swinging about as she stared down at them while Rarity reminded herself to breathe. At last, after a time, the fate reader leaned back and let out a long exhale. She pointed first to the mare on the throne. “Your search is coming to a rapid end, child. You will very soon have what you are looking for, and it will thanks to someone you are already somewhat familiar with,” she added, pointing to the card with the hierophant before moving on to the tower. “It will not, however, go without its share of adversity. Be prepared to lose something of value.” She then tapped on the last two cards, the hanging stallion and the moon. “An important revelation shall be made, and with it comes distress.” The smoke faded away, returning them to the cat infested room as the last of the flame died, leaving nothing in the plate. “Is that, it?” Rarity asked, nearly demanded as her frustration and disappointment swelled and threatened to overcome her manners. “Hold on now, child. The fates still have two more pieces of information you may find useful,” said the mare as she began to clean up the cards. “You are planning to go to the main campus’s library tomorrow. Do so, but do not step foot into the library itself. And finally, I have for you the name of your quarry. You seek the Horn of Halaster.“ “The Horn of Halaster?” “That’s right. Can’t say I know much about whatever that is, but maybe your future acquaintance will know more.” The mare slowly stood up, stretched, and waved away what smoke still lingered in the air. Then, turning to Rarity, she flashed an unnervingly knowing grin, as though the mare was aware of more than she let on. “Well, wasn’t that fun? It’s been a time and a half since I last had the chance to do that, so thank you. Oh, and best of luck, child.” The mare suddenly jerked forward, causing Rarity to flinch, and patted Rarity’s check not so gently, then with a final nod toward the receptionist, she flipped her hood back over her head and head up the stairway leading to the rooms. “Quite the eccentric mare, ain’t she?” the receptionist said with a chuckle and a shake of her head. “Ah well, whatever she told you, I wouldn’t worry your pretty little head too much about it. I’ve seen too many fools who spend all their time trying to figure out the future, their heads all up high and looking out toward the distance when they should be focusing on the ground, making sure they ain’t about to step in something nasty. No sense in fretting about what’s to come. Now there might have been some good advice in my sister’s little show, but don’t forget, you’ve got to live in the present.” “Er, right. Um, excuse me.” Rarity hurried down to the dining area, calming only once she had taken a seat and had a couple glasses of water. When her order eventually arrived at her table, she barely tasted the herb and cheese encrusted pumpkin pasta as she mulled over and digested the augur’s prognostication. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved to hear that this fruitless search for her horn was close to ending or to agonize on what this supposed distressful discovery she would soon be facing could possibly be. Any hopes of having a easier time after completing the impossible task of bringing life back to the dead, or at the very least finding a way to do so, had been thoroughly dashed at the promise of future ordeals, though Rarity had to conceded that such expectations were overly optimistic in the first place. And the acquaintance that was mentioned, the helper who she was already familiar with, Rarity wondered of their identity. Could it be Elkraps? Would the unicorn find the time to talk sooner than expected? Or what about Sergei von Zarovich? Rarity could definitely imagine how his assistance could lead to some negative epiphany. Alharir, Tariq, Biala, and Steel were all gone, so unless something were to bring them back, it couldn’t possibly be any of them, but what about Alharir and Tariq’s daughter? Aibnatu was a student here, maybe she had heard of this Horn of Halaster. And that just one more thing to puzzle over. This Halaster was a mystery to Rarity, and she could not find any mention of them in Princess Shmarity’s memories. Were they a place, an event, a being, a monster, and how did it end up becoming associated to her horn? More questions and no definite answers, but at least now Rarity had a name to ask around or look into, and that may have been worth the silver plate. Speaking of plates, hers was now empty, and lacking the appetite for dessert, bowel wrecking or otherwise, Rarity decided to head back to her room and call it a day. As always, Mister Whispers was at the top of the stairs waiting for her, and as the tom rubbed himself against her legs, purring loudly, Rarity felt her mood improve slightly. She got to her room, completed her nightly rituals, and settled into bed where she spent the next couple of hours staring up at the ceiling. Those questions that were such a distraction all throughout dinner continued to plague her, but slowly, as the night wore on, Rarity’s thoughts quieted and eventually allowed her to finally find sleep.