Black ichor bubbled and spurted from the wound as her horn sank into the half-melted flesh, the sliver tried to push her off but failed miserably as large globs of Void-flesh simply slid off of its body.
The first thing to give out were its legs, causing it to topple backwards without a sound, not even a gurgle of pain. Kissing the floor with a wet squish, it quickly began to dissolve in a manner that Muur had seen so very often through a screen in her previous life. Its flesh bubbled and popped as it liquefied itself, until nothing but a vile black stain and a rapidly corroding skeleton remained under her.
Finally, it was over.
With that single realization, she felt something crumble. A single glance told her that her protective regalia had reached its limit… and so had she. In the midst of it all, she hadn't felt it, but whatever energy she'd been using to fuel her new power was exhausted and she'd been running on fumes.
Worse, the adrenaline was wearing off and woo boy, was her meatsack upset.
“Muur!” Her hard-won calm didn't last long thanks to the rapidly approaching, blood covered and (mostly) sane looking Kofle, “Are you okay!? did you– You're wounded! Oh Twelves your horn– that son of a bitch, I'll fucking string by his guts and tear his spine out so I can—!”
“It’ll grow back, even if ‘m not looking forward to my head feeling lopsided the whole time.” Muur mumbled, “Come on, let’s get the survivors and limp out of here so I can—”
Muur’s sentence was cut short by a sudden feeling of imminent danger. One moment, her body had allowed itself to relax and leave the battle high it had been locked in for the last few hours. The next, everything screamed for her to run. She barely had time to process any of this before the air somehow flash-tasted a mixture of pure capsaicin, ozone and power.
In the blink of an eye, a wall that had been there simply… disappeared as a vortex of flames, thunder and aether unmade it utterly. “DESPAIR!” From beyond the quickly expanding wall of ash, came a call that oozed with palpable power. And frankly? If Muur hadn’t recognised it, she may just have had to obey it. As it stood, as soon as she heard it, she knew she could relax as much as she wanted. “FOR I HAVE COME TO ERRADICATE YOU! FECKLESS WORMS. PRAY? BEG AND PLEAD FOR MERCY IF YOU SO WISH! BUT KNOW THAT NONE OF THE IDOLATRIES YOU WOULD CLAIM AS PATRONS SHALL HEED YOUR WORDS! FOR EVEN WHERE THE STALK THEIR EMPTY LANDS, THE FEAR THE NAME OF THE ARCHDUKE OF DEVASTATION, COCOBUK– Apprentice!?”
Standing in the middle of the dissipating cloud of dust and debris was her teacher and Guildmaster, looking quite baffled by the sight of her, “What in the Seven Hells are you doing here!? You were meant to deal with a wasp infestation!”
“We found a hidden tunnel in the nest and things got real complicated real fast.” Muur sighed, silently thanking her lucky stars for her teacher to have kicked down the wall not a moment earlier, she was way too wrung out to explain things right now.
___________________________________________________________
Thankfully, Thancred was there to explain everything. Clearly the man was a known and trusted face in the upper echelons of Ul’dah– or at least the echelons related to the Sultansworns and the Order of Nald’Thal, for rather than a squadron of Brass Blades, multiple squads of Sultansworn and Members of Algar’s order that flooded the tunnels the trio of adventurers had trapsized through for the better part of the day.
Speaking of the Viera holy knight of Thal, he was standing at attention next to Cocobuki as the Guildmaster listened to what Thancred had to say. The impromptu debriefing was taking place in the merchant’s commandeered office room, which had the unfortunate side-effect to subject them all to his chronic lack of good taste. Fortunately, the couch Muur was laying on was quite comfy despite looking like a leprechaun had used it as a spit-bucket. Additionally, her girlfriend had all but forced the lizard to rest her head in her lap, and was now combing her fingers through her hair.
“This is…” Cocobuki groaned as he rubbed his temples. “Gods.”
Mood, Guildmaster. Mood.
He remained silent for a long time, clearly digesting the heavy lump that he had just been made to swallow. Muur couldn't say she'd interacted all that much with the man, but the times he'd engaged in quiet ruminations in her presence were rare to non-existent.
“If I may?” Leaning forward in his seat, Thancred made good on his unofficial role of the party's speaker when neither members of the Order raised an objection, “How did you come to raid this place, Ser Cocobuki? I can hazard a guess, but I would rather it be confirmed— I also wonder about your company. The Order of the Black Blades answers only to you, your brothers and the Prioress, so their presence is hardly a mystery. But Sultansworn in such numbers? I cannot help but be curious.”
“The Sultansworn are the result of fortuitous, yet wholly unexpected timing. All here know of the events that unfolded at the Sultantree, in broad strokes, if not intricate details.” Nodding at the two lovers on the couch, the small powerhouse drummed his finger against the desk— only to stop and grimace when he found the sound wanting, “Not even real– Bah. Regardless, as you are similarly aware, the Order's duties include the culling of Voidsent and any issues arising from such creatures. I need not expound poetics on why the incident was shameful to us.”
“Similarly,” Algar added after being prompted to by a wave of the hand, “The Sultansworn’s honour and competence were called into question. More so than the Order as they protect the very symbol of the nation: the Sultana. Such a lapse might spell disaster for their Order. As such, the Order of Nald'thal and Sultansworns sought to share information— I was part of a small detachment meant to facilitate such a thing. But partway through the talks, reports of Lambs of Dalamud in the streets reached us.”
Muur jolted, almost hitting her girlfriend with one of her horns, “In the– please tell me those were just some power-drunk loose ends of theirs instead of anything organized, because if they felt confident in strutting around openly…”
“Fret not my dear apprentice.” With a wave of his hand, Cocobuki urged Muur to go back to being (s)mothered by her girlfriend's attention. Not that Kofle gave her much of a choice, putting a hand on her head and pushing the lizard wizard straight back into her lap. “There was no confidence to their numbers. Likewise, they lacked any power to find themselves drunk upon. No, if there was aught they drank deep of, it was terror! Like men fleeing from the Twins themselves they fled this very estate, babbling on about ‘butchers’ slaughtering those that had stayed behind!”
“We thought that some manner of Voidsent had slipped its leash.” Algar quietly added.
“Thus, they called for a rapid mobilisation— it just so happened that I was engaged in business nearby.” Shooting Muur a look, her master chuckled. “T'was meant to allow me a day free of responsibility to the Guild. I wished to personally oversee your tutelage as my friend desired, if only for that single day.”
Good news, Muur was no longer concerned. Bad news, she was deeply confused. Why the hell would the Lambs be spooked about some magically-assisted deaths? That was their day in, day out whenever Thaumaturges caught wind of them. They definitely hadn’t been subjected to anything more grisly than what was done in their own rituals.
“The Lambs are a rather secretive group.” Thancred quickly explained when he saw Muur growing confusion, “In Ul'dah at least. They are far more open about their dealing in other parts of the realm. Sniffing them out has been my less than glamorous duty for the past… two or so years. To, I am ashamed to say, no true success until today.”
“We also did kill close to a score and a half, probably more, people down there.” Kofle added as an afterthought. “And in my experience, those sorts of people can never handle being on the receiving end of whatever they dish out.”
“They were skinning people alive on repeat, how the hell do they not have the stomach for something as pedestrian as seeing some of their buddies zapped like errant bugs?” Muur groaned. Ugh, she’d never understand people like this. If you engaged in that sort of thing, you should make your bones with it being flipped around on you.
You didn’t hear her complain about Himiko’s slivers trying to turn her into deli meat every time things got desperate enough for Muur to call upon her strange bedfellow!
“Try as they might, a lamb shan't ever become a wolf. Is it truly a wonder that such sheeple would break and run in terror at the sight of a true predator in their midst?” Algar asked with a shrug, before quickly adding, “There were more than a few Alacran thugs trying to flee as well, but we treated them all the same.”
“I may spend some time in the Ossuary figuring out how to shape my fireballs into screeching skulls and suchlike, if their morale is that fragile.” Muur chuckled, her tail slithering around to present its tip, a violet tongue of Dynamic Fire crackling merrily a few inches above it. Shifting between vaguely humanoid forms writhing in pain and screaming silently to the deathshead she had mused on, the aether polarity of the Void churning chaotically as was its wont.
“A most thoughtful idea!” Her teacher said with a nod. “Tomes and training will serve you well when you will be made to face their leader once more. I, of course would rather not you be involved further,” he quickly added just as a warning growl left Kofle's throat, “But not only are such individuals ill equipped to let slights pass. Ensuring they will return, seeking revenge, once their wounds are treated… You would not be Gankma's apprentice if you would not seek to end what has been started on this day.”
“They’re going to prepare for dealing with me, it’s only common sense to answer in kind. And even if someone else offs them and they never come ruin my day? Still useful skills.” Muur shrugged languidly, letting the flame gutter out and her tail drop.
Cocobuki readily agreed with her, then quickly bid the three adventurers to leave. “After such an unexpected ordeal, I wager you'll wish to rest. No?” He reasoned, before having Algar escort them out.
As soon as they were out of the office, Thancred peeled away from everyone, opting to stay and aid in the investigation. He offered his goodbyes and was gone as quickly as he'd appeared, but not before telling the pair he'd contact them if he learned anything.