There was something… mesmerising to the sight of Voidsent unflesh drifting through the air, ribbons of blood-like aether swirling after them in a web of impure connections. Each twirl of her scythe severed yet another link and let the crimson plasma bite deeper, taking away another foothold of the Void’s denizen to this world by removing a chunk of the body entirely.
It was quick work, lasting only as long as one of its monstrous blinks. Yet, it was slow enough that its singular eye glared hatefully at– no, past Muur. Only for just a heartbeat though, as in the next it was a savaged steel helm that clattered down to the floor. Thus did this battle end.
It was in the strange half-moment of silence replacing the dint of battle, of tension making way for relief that the scythe-wielding Thaumaturge felt Ather being drawn in. A minty taste danced on her tongue as behind her Umbrage called on a simple manifestation of ice and– “Rather not the way I thought we would meet again.” –The moment was ruined when the voice of a certain womanising bard sliced through the air, “And yet, something tells me none would be more fitting than this.”
Peering over the railings of the first floor's walkway was Thancred.
“That’s two times now. Three and it’ll be a trend.” Muur snorted as she smacked the butt of her weapon against the ground with a sound of metal on stone, all the sanguine red saturating the air and turning her staff into a scythe sluicing into her amulet. Speaking of, “Use that mask of yours to check I didn’t miss any spots and the amulet is doing its job?”
“Not quite what it is meant for…” The man sighed, before vaulting over the rails and joining Muur on the ground floor, “But I suppose I can see if it can be used this way.”
Taking his odd mask off of his shoulder, he affixed it to his face and quickly turned it on. “Friend-owowowow-of y-ow-urs?” Glancing at Umbrage, Muur saw that her fellow Thaumaturge had fashioned herself a crutch out of ice. Wincing with every step, she was slowly hobbling her way towards the pair, “Potion's still on offer?”
“Yes on both counts. As I said, get chugging.” Muur said as she fished the healing concoction back out of her bag.
Accepting the philter with a vague sound of acknowledgement, the roegadyn drained it like a man lost in the depths of the desert given some water. That is to say in a single, thirsty, pull. Once the can's worth of potion had vanished down her throat, Umbrage handed the empty bottle back to Muur, “Tastes a bit funky, not like those of the market at all…” Leaning further on her icy crutch, she gingerly poked at her ribs through her blood-soaked robes, “Heals a lot better though…”
“The ambient aether is thick with Void taint,” Perhaps sensing that a rather uncomfortable silence was on the verge of forming, Thancred spoke up, “Now, someone more versed in the arts may be able to say something more definitive, but it doesn't seem to be originating from you. Not unless you've suddenly turned into the fellow we've done away with in the cellar.”
“Right, we’ll have to send a cleanup crew.” Muur grunted, deciding that if Thancred wanted to bring up that guy in front of Umbrage, that was on him. “Umbrage, what was the situation upstairs other than ‘bad’? I cleared out the ground floor and found two of the kidnapped girls, they’re hiding for now.”
“Wait, hold on.” Lifting her free hand to forestall any questions, the roegadyn frowned. “I feel like I'm missing a good half of the story here. Could I please get some explanations first?”
“Not at a discretion to, sorry, Guildmasters told me to keep my mouth shut. You’ll want to ask Thancred.” The junior Thaumaturge said with an apologetic wince.
Turning to look at the man in question, he offered her a million gil smile, “It'd be my pleasure to elucidate such a fine Void Hunter as yourself as best I can, my lady.”
“Aw, you'll make me blush~.” Either Thancred was quite a bit smoother than Muur had thought, or her friend was a complete pushover. Somehow, that had been all she needed to act like a flustered maiden. “Erm– let me think… I know enough about things to know I'm never getting an answer about whatever that was with the Void Lighting. So, can you explain your mask? It can let you know who did the ritual upstairs?”
“Not quite, no. But at the same time, yes.” The man unhelpfully provided, "You have to understand its basic function first. As you are both mages, I'd wager I needn't go over how some can sense aether?” When neither of the girls spoke up, he continued with a small nod. “I am personally unable to so much as feel the current of the aether in the air. However, my usual brand of investigation is heavily tied to massive aetheric shifts. Thus, we commissioned the Ironwork to create devices that would allow our various investigators to track shifts in the ambient aether.”
“Ambient being the keyword, I’m guessing.” Muur chimed up, getting a feeling the mask could only peer so deep to whatever it may be pointed at.
“Indeed, its readings are only skin deep.” Nodding in agreement, he kept up with his explanation, “Thus, its usefulness extends only as far as allowing me to catalogue the state of the local aether. The fact I was able to pinpoint the secret passage in the nest was very much the most advanced ‘trick’ it is capable of, and even then, mainly because of my own experience in such things. I suppose it might have given you a false impression as to what these masks are capable of doing.”
“Alright. I think I get the gist of it. Magitech wonder lets you see aether in the air, but not in people. Which means it’s great to see how it flows from place to place…” Umbrage trailed off with a small frown, “How exactly does that help with– the other stuff?”
For a moment or two, the rogue struggled to find the right words to convey what he was most likely seeing, “My aetherically gifted comrades are fond of saying that: ‘Just as no two artists will put brush to canvas the same way, no two individuals will shape a spell in the same manner.’ With that in mind, the similarities between the ambient aether in the aftermath of the cellar, and what I am able to see here paint a simple picture.”
“The same person is responsible for both…” Umbrage murmured to herself, having caught the implication. “I'm not so sure though.”
“Do tell. Because I’m not sure if I’d rather it be the person I’m thinking of doing this or someone else.” Muur sighed tiredly. On one hand, devil she knew. On the other hand, it being a dipshit who got themselves killed would be less of a problem.
“Everything was already underway when I got there. Lambs and Alacran were already sacrificing the ‘workers’.” She explained with a sigh that caught Muur’s attention, “Tried to stop it, but they slowed me down just enough that I couldn't do anything about it.” Ah, there it was, she wasn’t sad, she was frustrated. Understandable, but concerning, given the lack of mind she was giving to her own wounds. That eye wasn’t looking too good even after the potion.
“Tch.” Muur couldn’t quite help the unhappy click of her tongue, though, because this meant that the only survivors would be the girls downstairs, left a bad taste in her mouth but two lives saved were two lives saved. On top of how much death had been averted by way of electrofrying that Voidsent valkyrie wannabe. Something to hold onto. She’d have to keep an eye on Umbrage to make sure she didn’t spiral, though. “Any ringleader of indeterminate gender who loves the sound of their own voice? About yay tall?”
“Have you any idea how little that narrows it down?” Umbrage asked with a chuckle before shaking her head, “None that I saw. Maybe those two girls you mentioned did?”
“We’ll be questioning them anyways.” Muur grunted agreeably. Danger was over, this was just cleanup now.